James Perry sent photos of a Lowe’s store which had damage to the front of it as well as outdoor merchandise that had been blown around by strong winds.

This comes after a round of heavy storms Saturday morning. Viewers sent photos of lightning from the storms in to Click2Pins.

More storms are impacting the area Saturday afternoon and they are also dropping heavy rain and lightning.

This video shows a loud thunderclap in the Upper Kirby area.

In Galveston, a viewer captured video of a waterspout off the coast.

• Tracking Flash Flood Warning across Brazoria County, Downpours continue in Houston

📍Send us your weather pics and let’s track the storms together.

Here’s how to submit. There are four ways to make it easy📸🤳:

1. Go to Click2Pins.com to share them! It’s easy -- login or create an account. Go to the upload a pin button, find your photo on your phone, and tell us about it. Choose your category under a channel, then click upload and you’re done!
2. Go to the Click2Houston app and click on the top left menu. In the dropdown tap Click2Pins. Log in or create an account. Go to the upload a pin button, find your photo on your phone, and tell us about it. Choose a category and channel that fits best, then click upload pin.
3. Go to the KPRC 2+ app, click on the menu at the top left of the screen to find Click2Pins, or scroll down to the Click2Pins box. Go to the upload a pin button, find your photo on your phone, and tell us about it. Choose a category and channel that fits your pic best, then click upload pin.
4. Go to the KPRC 2 weather app and click on the camera icon at the bottom of the screen. Log in or create an account. Go to the upload a pin button, find your photo on your phone, and tell us about it. Choose a category and channel that fits best, then click upload pin.

Flash Flood Warning for Brazoria, Fort Bend, Harris and Waller County until 6:15 p.m.

Flash Flood Warning issued for Brazoria and Galveston counties until 5:45 PM. Watch for street flooding.

3:35 PM: Special Weather Statement issued for Harris, Galveston, Wharton, Fort Bend counties through 4:15 pm. Wind gusts up to 40 mph.

2:25 PM: Flood Advisory issued for Brazoria, Fort Bend, Wharton, Galveston counties until 5:30 pm. An additional 1 - 2 inches of rain are possible.

1:35 PM: An additional flood advisory issued for parts of Galveston County that includes Bolivar Beach. The advisory goes until 4:45 pm. This area has already picked up 1.5 inches and an additional 1 - 3 inches are possible.

POWER OUTAGES: Right now more than 9,000 customers are without power while areas to the north at are a little over 5,500.

Your weather team continues to track more rain and thunderstorms as our viewing area is under a flood watch until Monday 7 pm.

As more rain is expected today but the next several days - you can check radar here at any time.

We woke up to several thunderstorm warnings throughout the morning as areas that have already been hit hard receive more rain - which is why our flood watch is until Monday 7 pm.

As a line of powerful storms knocked out power for thousands of people:

YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT POWER OUTAGES HERE

Houston power outages: Nearly 42K customers have no power Saturday morning after severe storms

FUTURETRACK:

We’re getting a break before noon but storms look to ramp up around 1-3 for entire viewing area breaking up to the north and east by 6 pm. But don’t put up the umbrella, much more rain is headed our way.

Sunday’s forecast:

It’s tough to nail down an accurate forecast for Sunday. I think a lot of it will depend on how Saturday’s storms develop. If Saturday night’s storms are strong it’s because the area of low pressure that’s creating the storms is close by. If Saturday’s rain isn’t as intense it’s because the low is farther to the east of us. If this is the case, we’ll have rain Sunday morning. And these storms would be strong because now the low is moving through. It’s a bit complicated. My best advice is checking back here Saturday and watch Brittany and Daji this weekend on KPRC 2.

Memorial Day Monday:

The area of low pressure responsible for creating the excessive rain moves out Monday. This means while storms are still possible, the storms become isolated and confined mostly to the afternoon.

7-Day Forecast:

Because of a lingering trough of low pressure, scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible each afternoon through Friday. Expect a few bright spells in between, but don’t put away the rain gear just yet.

Have you captured a dramatic rain photo or video? Share your weather moments with the KPRC 2 community through Click2Pins at Click2Houston.com/pins.

While the rally at a central square in Belgrade passed peacefully, groups of young assailants later clashed with riot police, throwing flares, rocks and bottles at police cordons, who responded with pepper spray as they charged forward to disperse them.

The groups, including apparent soccer hooligans, rolled trash cans into the streets as shield-carrying riot police tried to surround them. Police parked anti-riot vehicles in a central Belgrade area to block the demonstrators from returning and the violence soon ended. Police said 23 people were detained.

Protests have shaken Vucic

Crowds of protesters earlier on Saturday streamed into central Belgrade, many carrying banners and wearing T-shirts inscribed with the “Students win” motto of the youth movement which organized the gathering. Columns of cars drove into Belgrade from other Serbian towns earlier in the day.

Vucic has sought to curb the mass demonstrations that have shaken his hard-line rule in the Balkan country. Big crowds on Saturday suggested the dissent persists more than a year after protests first started to demand accountability for a train station tragedy in Serbia’s north in November 2024 that killed 16 people.

Serbia’s state railway company on Saturday canceled all trains to and from Belgrade, in an apparent bid to stop at least some people from coming from other parts of the country.

The president said in a video on Instagram on Saturday that protesters “have shown their violent nature and that they cannot stand political opponents.” Vucic, who was on his way to China for a state visit, added that “the state is functioning and will continue to work in line with the law.”

Anti-corruption protests forced then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic to resign in January 2025 before authorities pushed back hard against the protesters. Many people in Serbia blamed the concrete canopy crash at the station on alleged graft-fueled negligence during the renovation work on the building carried out with Chinese companies.

The students on Saturday demanded an early election and the rule of law, accusing the government of crime and corruption.

Prosecutor Bojana Savovic told the crowd that “a state where laws are not implemented or are implemented selectively is no longer a state, it becomes a mafia organization.”

Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic downplayed the student rally, saying “it offered nothing new.” Police estimated that 34,300 people came to the rally, while organizers said it was many more, without giving a specific figure.

Vucic's supporters gathered at park camp

Clashes first erupted in the vicinity of a park camp of Vucic's loyalists outside the Serbian presidency building that he set up ahead of another big anti-government rally last March as a human shield against protesters. Folk music blared from a fenced area surrounded by rows of riot police in full gear.

The Serbian president has faced international scrutiny for his hard-line tactics against the demonstrators in the past year, including arbitrary arrests and use of excessive force. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, criticized Serbia’s government in a report this week and said he “will monitor the situation closely” on Saturday.

O’Flaherty also cited “reports of police protecting unidentified and often masked attackers of journalists and protesters.” He said the overall rights situation has deteriorated since his previous visit in April 2025.

Serbia is formally seeking European Union entry but it has nourished close ties with Russia and China. The democratic backsliding under Vucic could cost the country around 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in European Union funding, the EU’s top enlargement official warned last month.

The venue on Saturday was Belgrade’s Slavija Square, the scene of a huge anti-government protest in March 2025. That rally ended in sudden disruption that experts later said — and the government denied — involved the use of a sonic weapon against peaceful demonstrators.

Students prepare for elections

The youth movement’s quest for justice and rule of law has resonated widely among Serbia’s citizens, who are disillusioned with established politicians after decades of perpetual crisis.

Students now say they plan to challenge Vucic at the approaching elections that they hope will oust the right-wing populist government. Vucic said this week that the ballot could be held between September and November this year.

Vucic, government officials and the pro-government media have branded critics as foreign agents who wish to destroy the country — rhetoric that has ramped up political polarization.

Protester Maja Milas Markovic said students “managed to gather us here with their youth and wonderful energy; I really believe that we have right to live normally.”

___

Associated Press writer Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.

“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump said on social media, with no details on timing. He said he had spoken with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, and separately with Israel.

He described it as a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE" that still must be finalized by the United States, Iran and the other countries that participated in Saturday’s talks.

There was no mention of Iran's nuclear program and highly enriched uranium, which Iran has sought to discuss later.

There had been growing optimism among officials

The United States and Iran were closing in on a deal to end the war, a regional official with direct knowledge of the Pakistan-led mediation efforts said earlier Saturday, after the U.S. weighed a new round of attacks on the Islamic Republic.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door deliberations, cautioned that “last-minute disputes” could blow up the efforts. This is not the first time in recent weeks that a deal has been described as close.

He said the potential deal would include an official declaration of the war's end, with two-month negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. The Strait of Hormuz would be reopened and the U.S. would end its blockade of Iran’s ports.

Iran, meanwhile, had signaled “narrowing differences” in negotiations with the U.S. after Pakistan’s army chief held more talks in Tehran, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists in India that “there’s been some progress made” and “there may be news later today.”

Both Iran and the U.S. emphasized their key positions and have warned of the risks of resuming attacks and disrupting their ceasefire. Rubio repeated the U.S. stance that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and must turn over its highly enriched uranium, and the Strait of Hormuz must be open.

Iran describes it as a ‘framework agreement' for more talks

Iran state TV earlier quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as describing the draft as a “framework agreement” and adding: “We want this to include the main issues required for ending the imposed war and other issues of essential importance to us. Then, over a reasonable time span, between 30 to 60 days, details are discussed and ultimately a final agreement is reached.”

He said the Strait of Hormuz is among the topics discussed.

“Over the past week, the trend has been toward narrowing differences,” Baghaei told Iran’s official IRNA news agency, adding that nuclear issues are not part of current negotiations.

“Our focus at this stage is on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,” Baghaei said, adding that lifting sanctions on Tehran “has explicitly been included in the text and remains our fixed position.”

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported that the Lebanese militant group's leader, Naim Kassim, received a letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying Tehran will not abandon its allies. There is a fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, a conflict that began two days after the Iran war started.

Limiting Tehran's support for armed proxies in the region has been a stated goal in the war, along with targeting its ballistic missile program.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the lead negotiator in historic face-to-face talks with the U.S. last month in Islamabad, said Iran has rebuilt its military assets and if Trump resumes attacks, the result would be “more crushing and more bitter” than at the start of the war.

State TV said he spoke after meeting with Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, who also met with Araghchi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. Qatar sent a senior official to Tehran to support Pakistan’s efforts.

Trump had said ‘serious negotiations’ were underway

Trump earlier said he was holding off on a military strike against Iran because “serious negotiations” were underway, and at the request of allies in the Middle East. Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.

The U.S. and Israel sparked the war with attacks on Feb. 28, cutting short nuclear talks with Iran. Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the region’s oil, natural gas and fertilizer, causing global economic pain.

The U.S. then blockaded Iranian ports. The U.S. Central Command on Saturday said U.S. forces had turned away more than 100 commercial vessels and disabled four since the blockade began April 13.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo and Lee from Washington. Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Aamer Madhani in Washington and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

At a 79th Cannes Film Festival that saw few films breakout, “Fjord” found wide admiration for its engrossing tale of what Mungiu called “left-wing fundamentalism.” It stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as Romanian Evangelicals who move to Norway, but soon after have their children taken from them by child services for spanking them.

“Today the society is split. It’s divided. It’s radicalized,” said Mungiu. “This film is a pledge against any type of fundamentalism. It's a pledge for these things we quote very often, like trauma and inclusion and empathy. These are lovely words but we need to apply them more often.”

Mungiu becomes just the 10th filmmaker to win the Palme d’Or twice. His “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” a Romanian abortion drama, won the award in 2007.

The win for “Fjord” extends one of the movies’ most extraordinary streaks. Neon, the specialty label, has now taken seven Palme d’Or winners in a row. “Fjord” adds to its unparalleled run, including last year’s champion, Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” and the 2024 winner, “Anora.” The latter went on to win best picture at the Oscars.

‘Minotaur’ wins Grand Prix

The Grand Prix, or second prize, went to “Minotaur,” Andrey Zvyagintsev’s domestic thriller set against Russia’s war with Ukraine. Loosely based on Claude Chabrol’s 1969 film “The Unfaithful Wife,” “Minotaur” is about a Russian businessman suspicious of his wife’s indiscretions. At the same time, he’s tasked with conscripting 150 of his workers for Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

By wide consensus, it wasn’t a banner festival. Hollywood largely sat out this year’s edition. Many of the selections struggled to bowl over critics. The global buzz that Cannes typically generates was fitful at best.

But the awards handed out Saturday as the 79th Cannes drew to a close will significantly raise the international profiles of the winners. Last year's Cannes produced a long string of Oscar nominees, including “Sentimental Value” and “The Secret Agent.”

The nine-member jury that decided the awards was headed by Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook. Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao and Stellan Skarsgård were also jurors. Chan-wook, a Cannes regular including last year with his satirical thriller “No Other Choice,” joked that he preferred not to give away the Palme.

“To be honest, I didn’t want to award the Palme d’Or to any of the films, because it’s an award I myself have never gotten,” Chan-wook told reporters after the ceremony. “But I had no other choice.”

Awards are split and shared

Two films won for best director: the Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski, for his postwar drama “Fatherland”; and the Spanish creative duo Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo for “The Black Ball,” a generation-spanning queer epic “The Black Ball.”

Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, the two stars of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden” shared the best actress award. In the elegantly empathetic drama, the two play women brought together in friendship out of their mutual sense of care for others.

The jury also split the best actor prize. They chose Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, the two stars of "Coward,” Lukas Dhont’s drama about young Belgian men sent to the front lines of World War II.

The prize for best screenplay was awarded to Emmanuel Marre for “A Man of His Time,” a French drama about a Nazi collaborator in Vichy France. Marre based it on the experiences of his own great-grandfather.

The jury prize, or third place, went to German filmmaker Valeska Grisebach’s “The Dreamed Adventure,” a crime drama set in a Bulgarian border town.

Saturday’s ceremony was missing its tribute honoree. Barbra Streisand was to receive an honorary Palme d’Or, but a knee injury prevented her from attending. Isabelle Huppert nevertheless celebrated Streisand during the ceremony, and Streisand appeared in a taped video message.

The Camera d’Or, Cannes’ award for best first film, went to Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo’s post-genocide drama “Ben’Imana,” the first Rwandan film to be officially selected for the festival.

Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, announced the decision Saturday in a statement issued by the federation's media relations official. FIFA has not confirmed the move.

Iran had been scheduled to train in Tucson, Arizona, but a move has been a possibility because of uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East and security concerns. Officials at Tucson's Kino Sports Complex had no comment.

The federation says the team will now be based in Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego. This year's World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved FIFA," Taj said in his statement. "Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in the Tehran with the respected FIFA secretary general, our request to change the team's base from the United States to Mexico was approved.”

Iran plays Group G games in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium six days later, then faces Egypt on June 26 in Seattle. The federation said Tijuana's relatively close proximity to Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angeles, will benefit the team and the new location “includes all training facilities, gym, private restaurant and everything else the team needs."

Team Melli is appearing in its fourth straight World Cup and seventh overall. It has never advanced past the first round.

Iran's federation said moving the base camp will resolve potential visa issues since the team will enter the U.S. through Mexico. The president said that the team “may even be able to travel to and from Mexico using Iran Air flights.”

Teams use base camps for training ahead of and after matches.

___

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

No injuries were reported after the pressurized tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors at a company site in Garden Grove, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Evacuation orders were issued for 40,000 people, and several shelters remained open Saturday, including at three high schools. Officials have no timeline on when residents can return to their homes.

Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey said Friday evening that efforts to cool the tank appeared to be working. But on Saturday he backtracked, saying a reading conducted by drones Friday showed the temperature on the outside of the tank, not the inside.

Cooling the tank is important because the liquid chemical's flashpoint is 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. If the chemical heats up, it can release a vapor that is harmful to people’s health. It can cause respiratory issues, itching and burning eyes, nausea and headaches, said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the Orange County health officer.

Covey said emergency crews were able to see the troubled tank’s temperature gauge in person late Friday.

“Unfortunately I do have to report that the temperature was 90 degrees," Covey said Saturday. “Yesterday morning it was 77 degrees when we backed down. It's been averaging about a degree an hour increasing.”

The concern is that the tank could fail and crack, releasing the liquid chemical onto the ground, or it could explode from pressure buildup, Covey said. If the contents spill, containment barriers have been set up to prevent the chemical from getting into storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean, he said.

Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton, who gets called into emergencies and disasters where public safety and health is at risk, said the “best-case scenario is that the tank springs a leak and spills the chemicals on the ground and people are warned about what to do to protect themselves.”

The damaged tank is located at GKN Aerospace, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft. The tank holds between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons (22,700 and 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate, used to make plastic parts.

“Letting this thing just fail and blow up is simply unacceptable to us,” Covey said.

He said the valves on the tank are broken or “gummed up” and prevented crews from removing the chemical or relieving the pressure on the tank.

In a statement, GKN Aerospace said it was focused on working to ensure the safety of the community, its employees and responding agencies.

Initially, residents in Garden Grove were ordered to leave. Evacuation orders were expanded Friday to some residents of five other Orange County cities — Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster. Some residents with pets said they planned to sleep in their cars.

Marco Solano, a 32-year-old resident, spent Friday night at his parents’ home. He said he was frustrated by the situation and was monitoring the news to see if he could go back to his home.

“I don’t think that they should have dangerous chemicals in a neighborhood area, especially that dangerous that they have to evacuate people,” Solano said. “But again, it's not up to me. I don’t make the laws. I don’t make the rules. We just have to do what is best I guess.”

Solano, who has multiple jobs, said he wasn’t feeling well Saturday, believing the stress of the chemical leak was exacerbating his anemia and ulcerative colitis.

“Right now I’m extremely tired. I have no energy. I’m super weak,” he said. “This has been affecting me quite a bit.”

He said he went to his apartment after work Friday to grab belongings and saw other residents who had not evacuated, and he was worried for them.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Orange County. The declaration will make state resources available to local agencies and allow the use of state-owned properties and fairgrounds as shelter for residents if necessary.

Garden Grove is about 38 miles (61 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles and next to Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders as the Memorial Day weekend got underway. Park officials said they are monitoring the chemical incident and supporting park employees impacted by the evacuations.

___

Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this story.

No one was hurt in the attack, according to initial reports but as patients ran out to escape the fire, 18 people with suspected Ebola infections left the facility and are now unaccounted for, a local hospital director said.

The angry residents had arrived at the clinic in the town of Mongbwalu on Friday night and set fire to a tent set up for suspected and confirmed Ebola cases by the Doctors Without Borders humanitarian group, Dr. Richard Lokudi, director of the Mongbwalu hospital, told The Associated Press.

“We strongly condemn this act, as it caused panic among the staff and also resulted in the escape of 18 suspected cases into the community,” he said.

On Thursday, another treatment center, in the town of Rwampara, was burned down after family members were banned from retrieving the body of a local man suspected to have died of Ebola.

Burials of Ebola-victims stir anger, frustration

The bodies of those who died of Ebola can be highly contagious and lead to further spread when people prepare them for burial and gather for funerals. The dangerous work of burying suspected victims is being managed wherever possible by authorities, which can be met by protests from families and friends.

A communal burial for Ebola patients in Rwampara took place on Saturday under tight security as tensions between health workers and the local community ran high, said David Basima, a team leader with the Red Cross overseeing burials.

Armed soldiers and police monitored the burials as Red Cross workers clad in white protective suits lowered sealed coffins into the ground. Crying family members stood at a distance.

Basima said his team, after arriving at the scene, “experienced a lot of difficulties, including resistance from young people and the community.”

“We were forced to alert the authorities so that they could come to our aid, just for safety,” said Basima.

Authorities in northeastern Congo on Friday banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

The outbreak is a high risk to Congo, WHO says

The World Health Organization has said that the outbreak now poses a “very high” risk for Congo — up from a previous categorization of “high” — but that the risk of the disease spreading globally remains low.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that 82 cases and seven deaths have been confirmed in Congo, but that the outbreak is believed to be “much larger.”

There is no available vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus, a rare type of Ebola, which spread undetected for weeks in Congo’s Ituri province following the first known death, while authorities tested for another, more common, Ebola virus and came up negative. There are now 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, though more are expected as surveillance expands.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a response to the outbreak must include building trust with communities.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Saturday that three of its volunteers had died from the outbreak in Mongbwalu. The agency said it believed the three healthcare workers contracted the virus on March 27 while handling dead bodies as part of a humanitarian mission unrelated to Ebola.

If confirmed, this would significantly push back the timeline of the outbreak from the previous first confirmed death in late April in the town of Bunia, the capital of Ituri.

The US bars green-card holders from Ebola-stricken countries

U.S. federal health officials said on Friday night that they are banning green card holders who have been in Ebola-affected countries from returning to the U.S.

Green card holders are people who are not U.S. citizens but have been granted authorization to live and work permanently in the United States.

According to a Federal Register notice on Friday, the U.S. government is enacting a rule that restricts green card holders who have recently been in Congo, Uganda or South Sudan from reentering the United States.

It's unclear why South Sudan was on the list as the country has not confirmed any Ebola cases so far in this outbreak.

Such a ban will help ensure that Ebola screening, contact tracing, quarantine monitoring, and medical monitoring will be available to U.S. citizens, according to the notice.

Federal law provides for a period before such decisions become final but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can argue that the order can take effect immediately in certain circumstances.

The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

___

McMakin reported from Dakar, Senegal. AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report.

Two Marine Corps Osprey aircraft, which have characteristics of both a helicopter and a fixed-wing airplane, flew over the recently reopened U.S. Embassy in Caracas. They landed in the parking lot with the downdraft blowing tree branches. Forces then descended from the aircraft.

“Ensuring the military’s rapid response capability is a key component of mission readiness, both here in Venezuela and around the world,” the embassy said on Instagram.

Venezuela’s government had announced the drill earlier this week. Foreign Minister Yván Gil said the United States would conduct the exercise to prepare “in the event of medical emergencies or catastrophic emergencies.”

The drill comes almost two months after the U.S. formally reopened its embassy in Caracas. The reopening followed the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country after Maduro's ouster in early January.

Some Caracas residents gathered near the embassy to watch the aircraft, while a few dozen others gathered elsewhere in the city to protest Saturday's exercise. The protesters held a Venezuelan flag with the message “No to the Yankee drill” written over it.

U.S. military aircraft last flew over Caracas on Jan. 3, when elite forces rappelled down from helicopters and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both were taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. They have pleaded not guilty.

Squadron markings on the Ospreys that landed in the capital Saturday identified them as belonging to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263. The same squadron is currently deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean Ocean. Maduro and Flores were flown to that warship immediately after their detention.

The head of U.S. military operations in Latin America observed the exercise firsthand. Marine Gen. Francis Donovan, head of the U.S. Southern Command, also met on Saturday with senior Venezuelan officials and embassy staff.

U.S. Southern Command said on X that Donovan arrived in one of the Ospreys for his second official visit to Caracas this year. During a visit in February, Donovan met with Venezuela's defense and interior ministers.

Tens of thousands of Houston-area residents woke up Saturday without power after a round of severe thunderstorms tore through the region overnight.

The good news? Both utility companies are getting power back on for many. CenterPoint Energy has cut its outages​ from more than 30K customers around 6:30 this morning to 9,098 customers without power at 1 p.m. Entergy, which had more than 12,292 outages early this morning was down to 5,624 customers without power as of 1 p.m.

The storms packed a punch overnight, generating more than 700 lightning strikes alongside rumbling thunder in the early morning hours.

And the rough weather isn’t done yet. Meteorologists at KPRC 2 are tracking the storms throughout Memorial Day weekend, and Houston is under a flood watch through Memorial Day Monday. After days of heavy rain this week, flash flooding is the biggest concern heading into the holiday.

RELATED: Houston is now under a flood watch through Memorial Day Monday

The purge of news releases documenting criminal charges, convictions and sentencings is the latest step by the Trump administration to dramatically rewrite the history of the assault on the Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of Republican President Donald Trump stormed the building in an effort to halt the congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump, on his first day back in office in January 2025, pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes during the Capitol assault, including those convicted of attacking officers with makeshift weapons such as flagpoles, a hockey stick and crutch.

On Monday, the Justice Department announced the creation of a $1.776 billion fund meant to compensate Trump allies who feel they were unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not ruled out that rioters convicted of violence will be eligible for payouts, prompting bipartisan anger in Congress.

After a journalist on Friday observed on the social media platform X that the Justice Department was “quietly” removing news releases on its website that were related to the Jan. 6 attack, including about a Texas man who pleaded guilty to assault and also faced separate state charges of soliciting a minor, the department responded through its “rapid response” account that there was “nothing ‘quiet’ about it.”

“We are proud to reverse the DOJ's weaponization under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes,” the post said. “This includes stripping DOJ's website of partisan propaganda.”

Among the releases removed from the site were those concerning seditious conspiracy cases against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, far-right extremist groups. The Justice Department, in an unopposed motion last month, asked a federal appeals court to vacate those seditious conspiracy convictions, a request that was granted Thursday. The department on Friday moved to dismiss the cases against the group members.

Dakota Hunter, vice president of Kyle Busch Companies, said in a news release the family received the medical evaluation on Saturday.

Busch, a two-time NASCAR champion, died at 41 on Thursday, a day after passing out in a Chevrolet simulator.

Sepsis is considered a life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body has an extreme, overactive response to an infection, causing the immune system to damage its own tissues and organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Typically the immune system releases chemicals to fight off pathogens like bacteria, viruses or fungi, but with sepsis the response goes into overdrive. The results can cause widespread inflammation, form microscopic blood clots and make blood vessels leak.

Busch was thought to have had a sinus cold while racing at Watkins Glen on May 10 and radioed in to his team saying that he needed a “shot” from a doctor after the race. However, he bounced back to win the Trucks Series race at Dover last weekend, and then he finished 17th in the All-Star race on Sunday.

Busch, who was preparing to race Sunday at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

During the emergency call placed late that afternoon, an unidentified caller calmly told the dispatch: “I’ve got an individual that’s (got) shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out, and is producing a little bit of blood, coughing up some blood.”

The caller said Busch was lying on the bathroom floor inside the complex and told dispatch “he is awake,” according to audio provided by the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office. The man then gave directions on where emergency responders should go and asked that they turn off any sirens upon arrival.

NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski said he knew Busch wasn’t feeling well recently.

“Yes, but I won’t go into any specifics," Keselowski said. “But then when he ran the Trucks race last week, those (thoughts) were honestly kind of erased in my mind.”

Keselowski said running multiple races on the same weekend can be difficult on a driver's health — but most don't want to miss a race for fear of being replaced.

“There’s no shortage of drivers that would love to take my seat or anybody else’s seat if we weren’t feeling well, and I think every driver feels that pressure,” Keselowski said. “All athletes do. It’s not unique to NASCAR in that sense. We’re all thinking to ourselves, ‘I don’t wanna be replaced.’ ... So you try to power through it the best you can."

Keselowski said Busch’s unexpected death has forced him to pay attention to his own health moving forward.

Chase Briscoe said Busch’s health issues served as a “wake-up call” for him and other drivers, who often put aside dealing with potential issues because they are so busy traveling around the country and competing on a weekly basis.

He said if something feels off, “you need to get checked out.”

Busch's Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon was not made available for comment.

Austin Hill will replace Busch on Sunday and drive the No. 33 car. RCR is temporarily retiring Busch's No. 8 until his 11-year-old son Brexton is old enough to race.

All 39 cars in the field for Sunday’s race will include a small black No. 8 decal to honor Busch.

Busch won 234 races across NASCAR’s top three series over his two-decade career, more than any driver in history.

Drivers spoke at length on Saturday about his accomplishments, praising his toughness, competitive spirit and penchant for speaking his mind — all of which led to him earning a reputation as NASCAR's villain.

“He was a polarizing figure that no matter if you like him or disliked him as a racer, he was always talked about,” Ryan Blaney said. “Just this guy that was always there and won too much, which is why people didn't like him. And he always spoke his mind. I think people came to respect that about him, that he was true to who he was and that never changed."

Blaney added that Busch's personality outside of the car and his competitiveness behind the wheel made him "a larger-than-life person in racing.”

___

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

We were BUSY this morning with even more thunderstorms and power outages. We tracked a handful of special weather alerts, Thunderstorm Warnings, and power outages. According to the NWS, we’ve already picked up 1-3 inches across the area in the last 72 hours, with 6-8 inches along the coast.

Here is a look at the latest 24-hour rainfall totals which is expected to go up with more rain on the way.

View this post on Instagram

And we have more rain on the way as we get into the afternoon and evening. Timing can shift, but it looks like the second round of rain starts in the afternoon and turning into a little more widespread rain as we get into the evening.

TIMING: It can change but this give you an idea of what to expect but overall, you’ll want to keep checking radar.

Since we’re under a Flood Watch, I was going back through some of my past stories to pull some wisdom for this weekend’s rain event. Yesterday’s post was from the Kingwood flooding in May of 2024.

WATCH: Here is the interview and something I always think about after talking to Rene Sigman, a storm damage attorney about the dangers lurking in flood waters.

View this post on Instagram

As you can imagine, there are some pretty scary and strange things lurking in flood waters — including what experts call Category 3 Black Water.

What does that mean? Here’s her answer:

“Black Water” is grossly contaminated water. It typically involves sewage that enters indoor areas through flooding or a sewage backup. Storm flood water is considered Category 3 because it carries contaminants from sewers, ditches, and outdoor environments into homes and buildings. There are strict protocols required when cleaning up or remediating damage from Category 3 water.

Avoid contact with flood waters if at all possible. If you can’t, make sure to wear rubber boots and long clothing for protection.

The CDC recommends washing any exposed skin with soap and clean water as soon as possible. If that’s not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer or wipes.

And always cover any open cuts, wounds, or sores with waterproof bandages before any potential exposure.

YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT FLOODING INSURACE HERE:

• Q&A: Houston storm damage attorney’s guidance on flooding and insurance claims

This as we continue to track more rain in our forecast and that means more problems when it comes to flooding.

WATCH: But what does it mean when the soil is saturated and how does that play a role in flooding?!

View this post on Instagram

Keep radar close to you this weekend — the timing with these storms has been tricky but a quick look at radar will always help you!

Many paused to share photographs and other mementos of children and young people who have died or are battling cancer because of the pollution.

Leo's visit to the so-called Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, came on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ big ecological encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be), and indicates Leo’s commitment to carry on his predecessor’s environmental agenda.

“I have come first of all to gather the tears of those who have lost loved ones, killed by environmental pollution caused by unscrupulous people and organizations who for too long were able to act with impunity,” Leo said in remarks to family members and local clergy inside Acerra's cathedral.

The pontiff recalled that the area now dubbed the Land of Fires was once called “Campania felix,” Latin for blessed or fruitful countryside, "capable for enchanting for its fertility, its produce and its culture, like a hymn to life.

"And yet — here is death, of the land and of men,'' the pope said.

The European Court of Human Rights last year validated a generation of residents’ complaints that mafia dumping, burial and burning of toxic waste led to an increased rate of cancer and other ailments in the area of 90 municipalities around Caserta and Naples, encompassing a population of 2.9 million people.

The court found Italian authorities had known since 1988 about the toxic pollution, blamed on the Camorra crime syndicate that controls waste disposal, but failed to take necessary steps to protect the residents. The binding ruling gave Italy two years to set up a database about the toxic waste and verified health risks associated with living there.

Bishop says the dumping continues

Bishop Antonio Di Donna estimated 150 young people had died in the city of some 58,000 over the past three decades — emphasizing in his opening remarks that the number didn't take into account adults and victims in other municipalities.

He urged the pope to admonish those who continue to pollute, noting that the dumping of tons of toxic waste was reported a day earlier near Castera. Di Donna said that Italian officials had identified dozens more human-caused contamination sites throughout the country, including the Venetian port of Marghera, and the leaching of PFAS forever chemicals into groundwater near Vicenza.

"We say to those brothers of ours ensnared in evil and seized by a mirage of fabulous earnings: Convert, change your ways, because what you are doing is not only a crime, it is a sin that cries out to God for vengeance,'' the bishop said.

The pope later greeted the mayors of the 90 communities impacted by the toxic dumping, and greeted thousands of people waving yellow flags and chanting “Papa Leone” along the route of his popemobile and in a central piazza.

Families of young victims appeal to the pope

The victims include Maria Venturato, who died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 25. Her father, Angelo, said he hopes to speak with the pope to explain their reality, “not for me … for the next generation.”

“I’d like to give these young people a future, so I’m asking for the pope’s help with this. That is, I’m making a strong appeal to him to go to those in power and say, ‘Look, let’s heal this land of fires,’" he said on the eve of the pope's visit.

Inside the cathedral, Filomena Carolla presented the pope with a book containing memories from the life of her daughter, Tina De Angelis, who died of cancer at the age of 24.

“I’m just angry at the people who poisoned the soil, because what did our children have to do with it? What did they have to do with it, so young,” Carolla told The Associated Press on Friday.

Francis' plans to visit the area in 2020 were canceled due to the pandemic.

“As of today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory. This decision follows his unspeakable actions toward French and European citizens who were passengers on the Global Sumud Flotilla," the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, announced in a post on X.

“We cannot tolerate that French nationals can be threatened, intimidated or brutalized in this way — all the more so by a public official,” Barrot posted, calling on the European Union to also sanction Ben-Gvir.

The Associated Press has sought comment from Ben-Gvir's spokesperson and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This week, Ben-Gvir sparked global outrage after promoting a video of himself taunting detained flotilla activists.

In one clip, Ben-Gvir is seen waving a large Israeli flag over hunched-over detainees whose hands appear to be bound. In another, he taunts a kneeling detainee whose wrists are zip-tied, yelling “Am Yisrael Chai” at him — Hebrew for “The nation of Israel lives.” In a third, detainees can be seen — foreheads to the floor of an outdoor pen — as the Israeli national anthem plays and armed guards encircle them.

Foreign leaders — and even coalition partner Netanyahu — condemned Ben-Gvir's on-camera treatment of some 430 flotilla detainees.

In his post, the French minister was also critical of flotilla activists, who were attempting to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

“We disapprove of this flotilla’s approach, which produces no useful effect and places an additional burden on diplomatic and consular services," Barrot wrote.

The flotilla of 50 boats was intercepted in international waters some 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the coast of Israel. Detained activists accused Israeli forces of mistreatment, describing beatings, tasers and attack dogs.

Poland has also barred Ben-Gvir, announcing a five-year-ban on Thursday.

“In the democratic world we do not abuse and gloat over people in custody," Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski posted.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the accident at Changzhi city’s Liushenyu coal mine happened on Friday evening.

At a news conference late Saturday, local authorities said 82 were dead and that more than 120 people were hospitalized. Two were still missing. The death toll was a revised, lower number from earlier reports by state broadcaster CCTV that said 90 had died.

The scene at the coal mine was “chaotic” in the immediate aftermath of the accident, they said, and figures provided at the time were initial and not definite.

The explosion was under investigation, local officials said, adding there were “serious violations” of the law by the mine’s operator. They did not elaborate on any specific violations.

Earlier on Saturday, Xinhua reported that rescue work was pressing on a day after the accident, with hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel sent to the site. Among the injured, many were hurt by toxic gas, according to CCTV.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an all-out effort to rescue the missing, Xinhua reported. Xi also called for a “thorough investigation" and accountability "in accordance with the law.”

Xinhua later reported that those responsible for the company involved in the mine accident have been "placed under control,” citing the local emergency management bureau.

An investigation team sent by China’s powerful State Council, equivalent to the country’s Cabinet, would be conducting a “rigorous and uncompromising” probe into the deadly explosion, a separate Xinhua report said following Xi’s remarks.

Wang Yong, one of the hospitalized miners, told CCTV in a video interview that he smelled sulfur “like firecrackers” and saw smoke.

“I told people to run,” he said. “As I ran, I saw people being choked by the smoke. And then I blacked out.”

The state broadcaster also reported that blueprints provided by the coal mine did not match the actual layout, hampering rescue efforts.

The coal mine, operated by the Shanxi Tongzhou Coal & Coke Group with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons, was placed on a national list of disaster-prone coal mines by China’s National Mine Safety Administration in 2024 for having “high gas content.”

Shanxi province is known as China’s main coal mining province. With a size larger than Greece and a population of around 34 million, the province's hundreds of thousands of miners dug 1.3 billion tons of coal last year, almost a third of China’s total.

In China, coal remains a key energy source due to its lower cost and high availability, even as the country accelerates its transition toward green energy. Mining disasters have been common although authorities had implemented measures to improve safety over the past years.

In February 2023, 53 people were killed after a collapse at an open-pit mine in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region. In November 2009, an explosion at a mine in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province killed 108, according to state media.

Another surprise: The 2022 world champion at 100 meters, banned from the regular track circuit until August 2027 for missing tests required by a system he portrayed as disrespectful and intrusive, has every intention of being on another starting line.

“I will compete at the LA Olympics in 2028," he said.

When Kerley signed onto the Enhanced Games roster, he became their most recognizable name and gave the new enterprise a headliner it had been missing.

Some six months later came his two-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit for missing tests, a violation of the antidoping code that doesn't necessarily mean an athlete is taking drugs.

The 31-year-old Kerley, who bet on himself after the COVID-19 pandemic when he successfully gave up the 400-meter grind for the 100-meter straightaway, insisted it was the multimillion-dollar contract, not the prospect of taking performance enhancers, that led him to the breakaway league.

“I don't need it,” he said. “God gave me fast feet for a reason. I'm here to showcase my talent. You still have to work. Drugs aren't going to give you an advantage if you're not putting the work in.”

USADA's doping control officers on hand this week

That, in part, is what the Enhanced Games will or will not prove on Sunday. Most of the 50 athletes competing in track, swimming and weightlifting are taking performance enhancers under the watchful eye of doctors and trainers. A few, like Kerley and Olympic gold-medal relay swimmer Hunter Armstrong, say they are not.

Rick Adams, the former chief of sport performance for the U.S. Olympic team whose move to become an executive for Enhanced also gave the enterprise a greater sense of legitimacy, said doping control officers are on hand in Las Vegas this weekend, testing on behalf of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which still keeps a list of active athletes who could return to traditional events.

“There's a lot of scrutiny, not only against me but against the Enhanced Games,” Armstrong said. “I want them to test me because I don't want there to be a single doubt that I'm a man of my word.”

Kerley, a man of few words, says he will be ‘fast’ on Sunday

Kerley, who has a reputation as a man of few words, has spent large parts of 2026 using his social media feed to rip into antidoping authorities, while teasing that a 9.4-second run could be possible. He has turned himself into maybe track's most intriguing character this side of Sha'Carri Richardson.

Does he think Usain Bolt's 9.58-second world record can be broken Sunday — a feat that would earn the record breaker $1 million, in addition to a $250,000 first prize? “It's going to be destroyed," Kerley said.

How fast does he think he can go? “Fast.”

How fast? “Fast.”

Does he have a time in mind? “Fast.”

When Kerley's ban for missing tests was announced in March, the easy conclusion was that he didn't care about testing anymore now that he was part of the Enhanced Games.

But the reason, he explained, had to do with the 24/7 whereabouts requirements in antidoping. In essence, athletes in the testing pool have to spell out where they'll be at all times and give drug testers specific windows when they'll be available.

When the ban came down, Kerley argued he had no intention of answering phone calls that looked like spam from Mexico while he was in the U.S. Those, apparently, were from doping control officers trying to track him down.

On Friday, he went a little deeper.

“I grew up with family,” he said. “You just don’t come and disrespect my space. Once you come and start disrespecting my space, it’s irritating.”

But, he says, despite the ban and despite his presence with Enhanced, he continues to be tested by the AIU and USADA.

He says the move to Enhanced had nothing to do with taking drugs, everything to do with signing a contract that he suggested on social media would take $12 million-plus to top.

Like so many in his sport, he has grown tired of shoe contracts that place too many obligations on athletes and sometimes go away if an injury hits or times falter.

“We're training, basically, 365, and it hasn't changed from back in the day when all the greats were running,” Kerley said.

Banned for taking PEDs, Marvin Bracy-Williams makes a comeback

Also running in the 100 on Sunday is Marvin Bracy-Williams, whose own curious doping case resulted in what could have been a career-ending 45-month ban but instead led him to the Enhanced Games where he said he is, in fact, taking drugs.

Bracy-Williams, who finished second at worlds to Kerley by .02 seconds in 2022, conceded that his sudden disappearance from track in 2023 came because he was doping after a series of injuries.

He ended up providing information to authorities that led to the arrest of a Florida man, who faces up to 10 years in prison for violating a law passed in 2020 that allows U.S. authorities to prosecute doping crimes involving international events.

The reduced ban wasn't enough to salvage the 2028 Olympic hopes of Bracy-Williams, now 32, so he jumped when he saw the chance to go to the Enhanced Games.

“We get in these situations where the treatment is good when you're good,” Bracy-Williams said, referencing a $100,000 reduction in his contract that came if he failed to make a U.S. national team. "But when you're in a place where you're not doing so good, it just goes away, and sometimes, for some people, that can be hard.

Bracy-Williams said he trained with Tyson Gay in the early 2010s when Gay got nailed for doping. He passed no judgment on him or anyone else.

“The dude never changed,” Bracy-Williams said. “I didn't look at him like he was some boogeyman now."

He rattled through a long list of great sprinters who had tested positive for doping through the years.

“But you meet them behind closed doors, and they're good guys,” Bracy-Williams said.

As he spoke at a table surrounded by media, his two kids sat quietly against the wall and played on cellphones. There was no need to ask why Bracy-Williams, who has a two-year contract with "lots of zeros" on it, was trying to extend his career at the Enhanced Games.

Same for Kerley, who promises that track and field hasn't seen the last of him.

“At the end of the day," Kerley said, “I'm here to provide for my kids and myself.”

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

For Scott Remer, the champion spellers' coach, posing for a picture was more than just a celebration. It was a business necessity.

While nearly every National Spelling Bee champion over the past 15 years has worked with a coach, the 32-year-old Remer is the country's only full-time, professional tutor for elite spellers. Most coaches are former spellers who are still in college or even high school.

When the field of 247 spellers at this year's bee — which begins Tuesday and concludes Thursday in Washington — is cut down to 10 or so finalists, it's all but inevitable the group will include multiple Remer students.

“He’s probably one of the most influential figures in spelling over the past 10 years,” said Shah, now 17.

Remer has coached five national champions, and since the bee emerged from the pandemic disruptions of 2020 and '21, he has scaled up the coaching profession. He claims 34 spellers as his students this year and has worked with no fewer than 29 during each of the past four bees.

He charges more than other coaches: up to $180 for an hourlong private lesson. If spellers finish in the top 10 and earn a cash prize, he receives up to 10% of their winnings, which he called “a performance-based bonus.”

Many spellers and their families believe Remer is worth it — despite, or perhaps because of, the intense personality that emerges during his lessons.

Always earnest and gregarious on any spelling-related topic, Remer describes coaching as a passion that grew out of his disappointing fourth-place finish in 2008, his final year as a speller. He says he's motivated by sharing his knowledge, helping kids reach their potential and the challenge of discovering spelling bee-worthy words.

“This is really about the love of language and the love of the competition. Part of it is once you're stung by the bee, there's kind of no going back,” Remer said. “I'm not going to deny that it pays well, because it does. But I don't know that there's anything wrong with that.”

The last two champions he coached say he was crucial to their victories.

“Even though his classes are more expensive, it's definitely worth it,” Faizan said. “I saw results.”

Faizan's father, Zaki Anwar, said he negotiated a reduced rate of $120 an hour for Remer's services because Faizan was already an accomplished speller. Remer took home 7% of the champion's prize haul of $52,500 — a bonus of $3,675.

“After winning, it doesn't really matter,” Anwar said.

Expensive and demanding, Remer is not for everyone

Remer drills his students on roots, language patterns and the exceptions to those patterns. He seeks to instill a deep understanding of languages that will allow spellers to figure out a word even if they have never seen or heard it before, as Shah did with “rommack” in 2023.

But Remer's pricing, and his coaching style, have led some spellers to seek help elsewhere.

“I found it prohibitively expensive,” said Navneeth Murali, a University of Pennsylvania student who competed through 2020 and now coaches spellers, charging roughly $50 for an hourlong lesson. “It wasn't a realistic option for me.”

Grace Walters, who coached 2022 champion Harini Logan, charges $75 an hour. She and Murali take a handful of students each year.

“I'm very much quality over quantity. It's really important to me that I'm able to get to know each speller as a whole person, not just as a speller, and tailor my curriculum to them as individuals,” said Walters, a graduate student in linguistics at the University of Kentucky. “But I have to give credit where it's due: If everyone was doing it like me, there wouldn't be enough coaches for all the spellers out there.”

Sree Vidya Siliveri was coached by Remer before her 60th-place finish in 2024 but didn't respond well to his methods, said her father, Sreedhar Siliveri. She found a new coach and finished 10th in 2025.

“We were looking for alternatives and found some of the fresh, like, high school students who can be friendlier and charge less,” Sreedhar Siliveri said.

Even spellers and their parents who swear by Remer say he can be brusque and demanding of his middle school-age pupils. Simone Kaplan, who finished runner-up to the “octo-champs” of 2019, appreciated Remer's tough coaching but said it's not for everyone.

“Scott is a true logophile, a master of languages. He pushes his students to keep up with him,” Kaplan said. “That can inspire some spellers to learn and succeed, but it can also leave a student feeling like they've disappointed him if they don't spell every word right. And that's difficult for a kid.”

Remer said his goal is to be supportive while giving spellers the feedback they need to avoid repeating mistakes.

“I try to be tough but fair, and I also try to modulate my teaching methods, based on the kids' needs and the kids' personalities,” he said. “Whether I'm always successful at that is I guess an open question.”

From the Ivy League to full-time spelling coach

Remer graduated from Yale in 2016 and earned a master's degree from Cambridge a year later. His first study guide, “Words of Wisdom: Keys to Success in the Scripps National Spelling Bee,” was published in 2010, when he was a teenager. That was also the year he coached his first champion, Anamika Veeramani.

He has published three other books and has worked for the Council on Foreign Relations and as the communications coordinator for an LGBTQ-friendly synagogue in New York. Since 2020, he has been a full-time spelling coach while also offering tutoring in Chinese, Spanish, writing and standardized test prep. Born and raised in the Cleveland suburbs, he now lives in Mexico City.

Remer has written an op-ed about the bee for the Guardian every year since 2019. He emails out lists of his students and sends updates on their progress, calling them “my spellers” even if they have multiple tutors. (Faizan had three coaches last year.) During bee week, Remer is a constant presence, giving lessons on-site and sitting with spellers' families while the television cameras roll.

He knows he has to market himself, but he says he doesn't enjoy it.

“I think I'm trying not to be particularly self-aggrandizing in general,” Remer said, “so if the question is, does it come naturally to me to do that sort of promotional and marketing work, the answer is no.”

Scripps, the Cincinnati-based media company that has run the bee for a century, does not endorse coaching, but Corrie Loeffler, the bee's executive director, described the practice as inevitable, given the intensity of the competition.

Loeffler gently pushed back at the idea that any coach should claim credit for a speller's success.

“It's hard work, it's study ethic, it's perseverance,” she said. “These kids are doing pretty incredible things at a really high level, especially at a young age, and I want them to be able to take credit for that themselves, knowing that it's a community and they've had so much support along the way.”

___

Ben Nuckols has covered the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2012. Follow him at https://x.com/APBenNuckols

It’s a battle that nominally began last April, but whose contours were set long before — in 2023, when Cornyn cast doubt on President Donald Trump’s electability and Paxton faced an impeachment from members of his own party; in 2022, when Cornyn negotiated a bipartisan gun safety bill and Paxton was one of just two elected officials to show up at Trump’s presidential campaign launch; or perhaps in 2020, when the attorney general led the legal charge to overturn Trump’s presidential election loss.

At stake is the soul of the Texas Republican Party, which has been caught in a tug-of-war over the past several cycles as insurgents have worked to oust the old guard. The outcome will also shape what looks to be a competitive general election, deciding who will be the GOP’s standard-bearer against Democratic nominee James Talarico.

Tuesday’s runoff will be the biggest, most consequential test of whether Texas Republican voters are willing to support an elder statesman and self-described Reagan Republican over a “MAGA warrior,” in the words of Trump, whose ethical and legal baggage have made him simultaneously a hero and pariah to different segments of the GOP.

Trump made his highly-coveted endorsement earlier this week, when he threw his weight behind the attorney general, citing Paxton’s loyalty and Cornyn’s lack thereof “when times were tough.” The decision went against the advice of Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the Republican political machine in Washington, who have spent tens of millions of dollars boosting Cornyn.

President Donald Trump speaks at the Port of Corpus Christi on Feb. 27, 2026. Pete Garcia for The Texas Tribune

The incumbent senator finished first in the March 3 primary, at 42% to Paxton’s 40.5%. But with U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt pulling 13.5% of the vote, no candidate clinched the nomination outright, sending Cornyn and Paxton to an overtime round.

Runoff electorates tend to be smaller and more hardline, a natural advantage for Paxton. But the Cornyn camp’s strategy has been to press its significant financial advantage to bring the senator’s supporters back out and bury Paxton under a deluge of negative ads.

Numerous GOP operatives said Cornyn still has a path to victory after the endorsement, but the realities of runoff electorates and the Trump endorsement have created a powerful advantage for Paxton.

“Runoff voters as a group — independent of demographics, of region, even to a certain extent of high or low levels of vote history in primaries — the primary runoff electorate is just skewing to the right, or towards Paxton anyway … in a way that just conforms pretty strongly to the conventional wisdom,” said Ross Hunt, a GOP operative and pollster who is uninvolved in the contest.

Throughout the race, Cornyn and Paxton have maintained consistent pitches to the voters.

Cornyn has leaned into the electability argument — that he’s the best candidate to extend the Texas GOP’s three-decade statewide winning streak in what’s expected to be a difficult cycle for Republicans. In the eyes of Cornyn and his establishment allies, he is a reliable pro-Trump vote, and if Republicans reject him, they would jeopardize the Senate majority needed to pass Trump’s priorities.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn speaks to members of the press after casting his vote on the first day of early voting for the Texas primary runoff elections at the Circle C Community Center in Austin on Monday, May 18, 2026. Joel Angel Juarez for The Texas Tribune

“I won in 2020 by 10 points, and President Trump won that same year [in] Texas by six points,” Cornyn said in an interview with The Texas Tribune Monday. “So I think I’ve demonstrated that I can help the ticket up and down the ballot, and Paxton would be an albatross — and also divert hundreds of millions of dollars that would be spent trying to salvage this Senate seat that could be used in places like Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan and New Hampshire.”

But Paxton, whose brand has long been fighting the Republican establishment, frequently derides Cornyn and his fellow Republican senators for their deference to conventions like the legislative filibuster, while promising himself to take a “sledgehammer” to such customs. His stump speech typically begins by challenging voters to name an accomplishment of Cornyn’s, contrasting the senator’s record to his own history of suing the Biden administration and left-leaning organizations.

“The MAGA agenda is dead under John Cornyn,” Paxton said on Fox Wednesday. “He kills it every time, just like the Republican Senate that he’s part of.”

Trump’s decision to endorse Paxton Tuesday was ostensibly the most consequential moment yet in a contest between two well-known, longtime partisans.

“We don’t know for a fact what will happen on election day, but any observer will acknowledge that President Trump’s endorsement makes it significantly more likely that Ken Paxton wins,” Sen. Ted Cruz, who has stayed out of the contest, said on his podcast Tuesday. “How much more likely, I don’t know.”

To that end, in interviews and on the trail since the endorsement, Paxton has begun to pivot to the general election. His campaign and the main super PAC supporting him, Lone Star Liberty PAC, have switched to airing positive ads touting the president’s endorsement. The PAC went up with an anti-Talarico spot Friday, its first that has looked beyond the GOP primary.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton delivers a speech during a campaign event at Hog Heaven in Dripping Springs on Thursday, May 21, 2026. Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune

At a rally in Dripping Springs Thursday, a few days after receiving the president’s endorsement, Paxton appeared to be in a good mood.

He first tested nicknames for Talarico to laughs from the crowd of about 30 people. He said an aide had come up with one she was proud of, “Low-T Talarico,” and asked her to share it. Paxton said it was like “Low Energy Jeb,” Trump’s moniker for Jeb Bush during the 2016 presidential primaries. He also tested “Tofu Talarico,” knocking the state representative for a baseless claim that he’s vegan. Meanwhile, former GOP state Rep. Rick Green shouted “Talafreacko.”

Paxton’s 20-minute stump speech largely focused on his political journey, from moving to Texas to deciding to run for U.S. Senate. He struck a confident tone and encouraged people to take their friends and family with them to vote because of anticipated low turnout.

“We can win this with people, people that care about what’s happening in Texas, people that care about sending a message to Washington that it’s time to have two senators fighting,” he said, standing in front of an American and Texas flag.

Cornyn, meanwhile, has staked his chances on expanding the electorate, posting a video Thursday in which he appealed to registered voters who did not vote in either primary to turn out in the Republican runoff.

At his final get-out-the-vote event in Corpus Christi Friday, Cornyn was resolute that he could win the runoff — if a broader group of voters than those who typically vote in runoffs showed up to the polls.

Still, he acknowledged that this contest “is kind of a strange position for me to be in,” noting that he’s been through plenty of contested elections, “but in many ways I feel like there’s never been more at stake in an election than this one.”

Cornyn said his campaign’s efforts to mobilize voters had surpassed that of any of his prior races, and he predicted the runoff would end in a “similar surprise” to the primary, when he finished first.

“I think the small fraction of people who actually vote [in runoffs] are not necessarily representative of the whole state and all voters, so that’s the reason why we’re working [as] hard as we can to try to get a broader base to the electorate to make that choice,” Cornyn said. “Because I believe that character does still matter, and it is on the ballot.”

How we got here

The seeds of Tuesday’s runoff were planted long ago, as Paxton’s profile grew and Cornyn cast doubts on Trump’s electability as he was weighing a 2024 bid.

Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas Republican strategist who managed Cornyn’s 2014 reelection, said Paxton was “emboldened and empowered” after defeating an impeachment push from his own party.

“It gave him some political momentum, and he felt like the feedback from a lot of the activists in the party was in support of him — even though the House had voted to impeach him by a pretty wide margin,” Steinhauser said. “I think that he felt emboldened, and it just set all this in motion.”

When Paxton announced last April that he was joining the race, he started from a position of strength, leading Cornyn by double-digit margins in early polling.

But Cornyn, an adept fundraiser with decades-long relationships in Texas and Washington, closed the gap by majorly outspending Paxton, much of it paying for ads touting that he voted with Trump’s stated position 99% of the time and that he was the choice of the Border Patrol union and other law enforcement groups.

After finishing first in the primary, Cornyn appeared to be on the precipice of earning Trump’s endorsement. But two critical things happened that first week of March. First, news of the potential Cornyn endorsement leaked, bringing a massive wave of backlash from Paxton supporters. And then, Paxton took a political gamble that changed the course of the runoff — he offered to consider dropping out of the race if the Senate passed the SAVE America Act, a voting restrictions bill at the top of Trump’s agenda that cannot advance because it lacks the requisite number of votes to overcome a filibuster. Paxton allies and unaligned observers alike see the episode as crucial to the attorney general’s success in securing the endorsement months later.

“By floating the idea of dropping out, and essentially making himself a martyr for the cause of voter integrity, with leverage that he did not have, he showed that he would go further for Trump than most other Republicans — and at the very least, probably further than Cornyn was willing to go,” said Joshua Blank, the research director at the Texas Politics Project. “I think Paxton’s move there was really adept.”

Later in March, Cornyn dropped his longstanding support of the filibuster, expressing his openness to reform in order to pass the SAVE America Act.

But that didn’t seem to be enough, in Trump’s eyes, to match Paxton’s resolve for smashing the system. Trump backed off his endorsement pledge until this week, when he specifically cited Paxton’s support for terminating the filibuster and his championing of the bill.

“What the people of Texas want is a senator who doesn’t have to be dragged to the right during the Republican primary just to get them to do their job,” said Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound, who endorsed Paxton in April. “And I think the president recognized that.”

During the runoff, Cornyn’s camp hit Paxton from every direction. Some ads criticized his divorce over an alleged affair. Others attacked the wealth he’s accumulated in office. Numerous spots tackled allegedly soft plea deals the attorney general’s office made in sexual abuse cases.

Paxton’s negative ads capitalized on the anti-incumbent fervor in both parties, calling out the length of Cornyn’s political career and the senator’s old comments expressing skepticism about Trump’s plan for a border wall.

While over $135 million in advertising was spent throughout the primary, operatives said both candidates are so well-defined that the race became more like a general election — where it’s difficult to persuade voters to drop their beliefs about either.

“Republican primary voters are not gullible,” Hunt said. “They don’t think that John Cornyn is a huge moderate. They also don’t — even before the Trump endorsement — they didn’t think that he was President Trump’s best friend. And both of those things are true.”

Early voting tea leaves

Most of the runoff vote has already been cast, with a week of early voting in the books — making some inferences about the runoff possible.

With opinions about both candidates relatively calcified, turnout, rather than persuasion, will drive the runoff results. Two major factors are at play — where Wesley Hunt’s voters go, and which voters from March will come back to the polls for a second go-round.

The Trump endorsement may be most meaningful for Hunt voters, who make up a sizable chunk of the dwindling stable of undecided voters. Hunt himself endorsed Paxton in quick succession after Trump and urged his supporters to vote for the attorney general.

Steinhauser said the Trump endorsement is unquestionably a boost for Paxton, but noted that the attorney general still needs to ensure it’s communicated in advertising this week and over the weekend for election day voters.

“It’s going to make an impact, but it still takes time and money to get the message out about the endorsement,” he said.

Ross Hunt, the GOP data guru, said his analysis of the early voting electorate demonstrated that “there is no big headline” — no obvious advantage for either candidate.

“[If you’re] squinting, you can see a tiny advantage for Cornyn relative to his Round One early vote distribution, but you’ve got to squint pretty hard,” Hunt said. “It’s basically just a wash.”

If Cornyn were to pull it off, Hunt said, he would need high turnout in the Austin area, selective mobilization of the precincts where he overperformed in Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth areas, and for Paxton voters to stay home — the latter of which may be unlikely because primary turnout was robust for both candidates.

Hunt also said that in his analysis of the first two days of early voting, 85% of those who turned out were voters returning from the March primary. Only 3% were new voters who had not previously voted in any primary.

— Kayla Guo and Alejandro Serrano contributed to this report.

Texas businessman B. R. Israel’s MAGA hat, signed by President Donald Trump during a visit to Mar-a-Lago, sits on a chair before Paxton’s campaign event in Dripping Springs on Thursday. Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune

Authorities in the city of Novorossiysk said falling drone debris sparked a fire at an oil terminal, injuring two people. Russia’s Astra news outlet said Ukrainian drones struck the Sheskharis oil terminal and depot, the terminus for Russian state-controlled pipeline company Transneft’s main oil pipelines in the region. Images posted by Astra appeared to show smoke rising above the oil terminal, but they could not be verified.

On Saturday afternoon, Ukraine's General Staff said its forces had struck the Sheskharis oil terminal overnight.

“The facility provides shipment of oil and oil products for export and is involved in meeting the needs of the Russian army,” the General Staff wrote on Telegram, adding that Ukrainian forces had also hit a tanker in the Black Sea belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.”

Ukraine has expanded its mid- and long-range strike capabilities, deploying drone and missile technology that it has developed domestically to battle Russia’s 4-year-old invasion. Attacks on Russian oil assets that play a key part in funding the invasion have become almost daily occurrences.

Meanwhile, the death toll from a Ukrainian drone strike overnight into Friday on a college dormitory building in Starobilsk, a city in Ukraine’s Russia-occupied Luhansk region, rose to 18, the press service of Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said. According to the ministry, 60 people were wounded in the attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday denounced the attack on the dormitory as a “crime” and ordered the military to submit its proposals for retaliation. He said there were no military or law enforcement facilities near the college.

At a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on the strike, held at the request of Russia, Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Melnyk denied his Russian counterpart’s accusations of war crimes, calling them a “pure propaganda show” and asserting that the May 22 operations “exclusively targeted the Russian war machine.”

___

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

When police got to the Pine Gardens Apartments on Pitner Road near Soway Street around 10 p.m., they first found one man had been shot. He died at the scene.

A second man was shot twice. He was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition and has since been upgraded to stable.

Investigators believe the victims and the shooter all lived in the same area and may have been drinking together before things turned ugly. When the two victims tried to walk away from the argument, the shooter opened fire.

The surviving victim was able to describe the shooter and his vehicle to police. No arrests have been made yet.

It happened around 11 p.m. in front of the American AM grocery store along Bellfort Avenue near Northdale Street. Officers arrived to find the man who’d been shot.

• Morning storms knock out power for thousands

Houston Fire Department crews rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he went into surgery. He was initially in critical condition, but doctors say his injuries are no longer life-threatening.

Investigators believe a woman at the corner store got into an argument with the victim that may have turned physical before shots were fired.

• He wasted millions in Houston. Now he’s running Flint’s housing authority

Officers pulled surveillance video from the scene and say they have a strong lead on the suspect.

Rep. Mark Takano, whose American-born parents were both incarcerated as young children with their families during the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II, could not help but see the parallels between that chapter of American history and this one.

“I do feel like there's a similarity of circumstance of my own 2-year-old father and my 1-year-old mother being labeled as enemy aliens and they’re considered a danger to national security," he told The Associated Press in an interview.

“They’re put into these incarceration camps,” he said. “Similar arguments have been made by this administration — that immigrants pose a grave danger to our country and it’s for the security of our country that we’re doing this.”

Echoes of history in Trump's immigration sweeps

President Donald Trump’s campaign promise of the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history is at an inflection point. Americans are seeing what it looks like to round up, detain and deport thousands of people, particularly in the aftermath of the deaths this year of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, U.S. citizens protesting the actions in Minneapolis.

The White House changed the leadership at the Department of Homeland Security as it reframes its approach. New Secretary Markwayne Mullin promised to keep the department off the front pages.

But Trump is also under mounting pressure from conservative groups not to let up on the goal of deporting 1 million people a year. The president's Republican allies in Congress are fueling the immigration and deportation actions with billions of dollars in special funds.

Takano, the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, has drawn from his own family history — and the country's eventual redress to Japanese Americans who were detained — to challenge Trump's approach.

“We look back on that era of history as a shameful one, as a time when our political leaders failed the Constitution, failed the American people,” he said.

One family's story among many

A former high school history teacher before being elected to Congress in 2012, Takano grew up in Southern California and came to understand the family stories.

His grandfather Isao Takano arrived in the U.S. from Hiroshima and married Kazue Takahashi, a U.S.-born citizen. Together they settled in Bellevue, Washington, and launched a business growing tomatoes, strawberries and chrysanthemums for the marketplace in Seattle.

When the U.S. entered the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, they were among some 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, immigrants and those born in the U.S., forcibly relocated.

His father, William, was 2 years old when his family was sent in 1942 to the incarceration camp at Tule Lake in California. His mother, Nancy Tsugiye Sakamoto, born in California to American-born parents, was a year old when she was relocated to the detention facility in Heart Mountain, Wyoming.

Then, as now, he said, people are being swept up in the anti-immigrant detentions.

“Will Americans generations from now visit Alligator Alcatraz and think to themselves, How could our government do this?” Takano said during a House floor speech, referring to the Trump-era immigration detention facility in Florida.

“These future generations of Americans will look to us, the Congress, to see what we did to try to stop it.”

A Reagan-era law is seen as model for redress

Takano remembers his father taking him to see the land the family once owned. He learned about his great uncles who served in the Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team of Japanese American soldiers; one was killed in action in Italy. He recalls his own father later collected donations for the national redress campaign.

In 1988 Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act, which sought to apologize for the “grave injustice” that had been done and provide $20,000 to each person detained. Republican President Ronald Reagan signed it into law.

Takano's parents were among those who received a letter of apology from the federal government, he said, and a payment.

Talks are underway among some in Congress, he said, for a similar redress to the people who have had their car windows smashed in, their homes raided and livelihoods upended as part of Trump's immigration enforcement operations.

“Remarkably the country did come to realize the mistake,” he said. “I believe we’re living through one of those eras of mistakes and I believe we can come out of this moment stronger.”

Track it all on our live radar:

• Check the latest weather alerts
• Check real-time traffic conditions
• Check the forecast
• Share your weather pictures and video
• Download the free Storm Tracker 2 app

Rubio's first official trip to India comes as Washington seeks to stabilize relations with New Delhi after ties soured over President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which raised duties on several Indian exports.

Much of Rubio’s four-day visit, however, will focus on a multicity tour, along with a gala reception in New Delhi marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

“There’s a lot to work on with India, they’re a great ally and partner. We do a lot of good work with them so this is an important trip,” Rubio said ahead of his visit to India.

Rubio arrived in eastern city of Kolkata early Saturday and was scheduled to visit Mother House, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa. In coming days, he will also visit northern cities of Agra and Jaipur, known for iconic monuments and palaces.

Later Saturday, Rubio called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and “shared U.S. perspective on various regional and global issues, including the situation in West Asia,” a statement by Modi's office said. Modi reiterated India’s support for peace efforts and stressed the need to resolve conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, it said.

Rubio briefed Modi on progress in bilateral cooperation across defense, strategic technologies, trade and investment, energy, connectivity, education and people-to-people ties, the statement added.

Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador in India, in a social media post said Rubio extended an invite to Modi on behalf of Trump to visit the White House in the near future. He said the meeting was productive and focused on ways to deepen U.S.-India cooperation in security, trade and critical technologies.

Rubio is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Sunday.

On Tuesday in New Delhi, Rubio will participate in the ministerial meeting of the Quad that has repeatedly accused China of flexing its military muscles in the South China Sea and aggressively pushing its maritime territorial claims.

Beijing maintains that its military is purely defensive to protect what it says are its sovereign rights and calls the Quad an attempt to contain its economic growth and influence.

After his inauguration in January last year, Rubio’s first formal international engagement was meeting with the foreign ministers of the other Quad countries, both jointly and in separate sessions.

The Global Sumud Flotilla of 50 boats was intercepted in international waters some 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the coast of Israel, and activists along with journalists and at least one lawmaker from Italy were transferred onto military boats and brought to a larger military vessel at the Ashdod port in southern Israel, where they were held in containers, according to their accounts. They told The Associated Press they were punched and kicked, as well as dragged and pulled by their hair.

Israel's far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has called for deporting political opponents and was barred from mandatory military service for his extreme views, sparked global outrage after promoting a video of himself taunting activists from a flotilla to Gaza who were detained by his police force. Foreign leaders have condemned his on-camera treatment of the detainees and several countries summoned Israeli envoys to air their concerns.

Israel denies mistreatment. The allegations were “false and entirely without factual basis,” said Zivan Freidin, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prison Service.

Some 420 activists departed for Turkey on Thursday after they were deported from Israel, many wearing gray sweatsuits and Arab kaffiyehs.

The AP spoke to some Thursday and Friday as they reached Istanbul, Athens and other European cities:

Here are their accounts:

Zeynel Abidin Ozkan, Turkish flotilla board member

He detailed being held in a container alongside other detainees shortly after the flotilla raid and he said some people were taken outside the containers where he heard them being physically assaulted.

“We faced periods where we couldn’t stand, our heads were bowed to the ground, we were dragged and pulled by our hair. The handcuffs left serious marks on us.”

After arriving at Ashdod port, Ozkan says he was denied the right to contact his lawyer, embassy officials or relatives back home. He describes being told to sign papers under duress, which he refused.

“When we refused to sign, they treated us like prisoners, creating a file, taking photos, forcibly handcuffing our hands and feet with iron shackles. And then, with the soldiers, dragged us along the ground, surrounded by dogs, releasing the dogs on us, before loading us into prison trucks.”

Christopher Boren, activist from Hawaii

“When we got to Ashdod port, I was immediately grabbed by five IDF (soldiers) or police officers. They put my head down and started beating me. One of them had gloves on with hardened plastic and he started punching my face and it swelled shut,” he said, showing his black eye.

Alessandro Mantovani, Italian journalist for the daily Il Fatto Quotidiano

“During the crossing, we were put on our knees, blindfolded, and told to make sure the blindfold didn’t move. They repositioned mine 30 times because I kept trying to look around. And there’s absolutely no possibility in this situation to say ‘I’m a member of parliament’ or ‘I’m a journalist’ — you’re dealing with machines that scream and accompany their screaming with physical gestures. They put you flat on the ground, then on your knees, with zip ties on your wrists. The blindfold, plus an additional zip tie securing your wrists down to a metal structure, just a few inches from the deck. So you’re forced to travel in an extremely uncomfortable position on rough concrete. And I had cramps in my legs the whole time, obviously.”

After they were transferred to a ship that was used for detention “the treatment became immediately more violent. We entered through this small hatch and were shoved and dragged by force with our arms twisted behind our backs, forced to kneel in front of a wall with our heads down.”

At one point, he was thrown down “flat on my stomach, hands behind my back, face pressed, head pressed against the soaking wet and dirty floor of this ship — pressed down with their feet — and then they pressed my hands behind my back.”

Once inside the container, “I was kicked in the shin. Honestly, I don’t expect it. And they say ‘Welcome to Israel.’ Then a punch to the face, one from this side, one from that side. A closed-fist punch. I moved to get up and I got kicked in the leg. A little jolt from a taser to the ribs. And then I make it out the other side of this container and reach the deck.”

Mantovani said he was also strip searched, and his eye glasses and wallet discarded. He and the activists on his ship threw their cellphones into the sea when the Israeli boats approached, and he didn’t wear a watch on this mission after his was nearly confiscated on a previous flotilla.

Yiannis Atmatzidis, Greek activist

“I was struck with a taser, beaten with punches and kicks, insulted and humiliated. On the prison ship there was a container that everyone had to pass through. You entered through one door and a group of six or seven people would beat you mercilessly until you emerged from the other side. Every single one of us went through that.”

Atmatzidis said he was being processed for identification when Ben-Gvir was touring the prison ship.

“The minister entered the room and asked me where I was from. I replied, ‘from Greece.’ He then asked why I was there, and I told him that I had come to deliver humanitarian aid to people who needed it. He responded, ‘Are you a friend of Hamas?’ I explained that our mission had no political agenda and was purely humanitarian. He was surrounded by four armed guards who aimed their weapons and laser sights at me while I sat there handcuffed behind my back.”

He added: "Whenever we told them that circulation was being cut off and our hands were going numb, they showed absolutely no mercy. I do not have the words to describe the brutality and cruelty of these people. It is something I will never forget.”

——

AP journalists Emrah Gurel in Istanbul, Andrea Rosa in Rome and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.

Republicans are eyeing a seat opened by the retirement of Rep. Bobby Guerra, a Democrat from Mission who represented the area since 2013, after the president carried the district last cycle with 50.3% of the vote — a 7-point swing to the right from his 2020 performance.

Similar lurches toward Republicans played out across the Texas-Mexico border, where the Texas GOP’s yearslong efforts to make inroads with Latino voters helped Trump claim 14 of the 18 counties within 20 miles of the border, including some that had not voted for a Republican presidential candidate in more than a century.

But it is not clear those gains will hold, as polls suggest the president’s immigration crackdown and an inflation-hampered economy have cracked the support from Latinos in the state and country. As Republicans brace for political headwinds in a midterm election and Democrats try to ride anti-Trump momentum, HD-41 is shaping up to be a battleground.

Julio Salinas, a 26-year-old former legislative staffer, has pitched himself to Democratic voters as a young progressive ready to take on the Pink Dome’s establishment and fight for affordability, better infrastructure and healthcare access for district residents.

He also wants to give teachers $15,000 raises and cap prescription drug costs.

“I have a fighting track record of fighting up against MAGA Republicans,” Salinas said in a recent phone interview as he block-walked in Edinburgh. “And winning.”

Salinas’ primary opponent, McAllen City Commissioner Victor “Seby” Haddad, says he has the upper hand with seven years of experience in local government and working with small businesses — crucial ties for a representative in a district that covers the Valley’s urban core, including McAllen.

Haddad has also outspent Salinas, who received the most votes in the March 3 primary.

Despite struggling to keep up with Salinas’ fundraising, Haddad spent $164,000 between late February and last week, when he filed his latest campaign finance report. Salinas spent $76,000 in the same period. Salinas has received financial backing from a variety of people, but his biggest donation came from gun control activist David Hogg’s Leaders We Deserve, which gave him $30,000.

Haddad also has another potential advantage to some in the district: Guerra’s endorsement. Meanwhile, Salinas has received endorsements from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and state Rep. Christina Morales, the Houston Democrat who Salinas worked for.

What’s resulted is a clash between a more traditional moderate Democrat and an insurgent progressive.

Salinas has knocked Haddad for his history of voting in GOP primaries and business connections, saying he’s for the grassroots and his opponent is all for the banks.

The vitriol reached a boiling point last week when Salinas blasted Haddad for a mailer that featured a photo of Haddad with Morales, the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee chair, with a caption that says she “stands with Seby in the fight for working families.”

Morales endorsed Salinas months ago, before she took on her role leading Democrats’ campaign arm. Salinas demanded an apology from Haddad, and Morales released a short video to reiterate her endorsement of her former employee.

“If they wish to make that request, they can make it directly,” Haddad said, dismissing the idea.

It’s placed Morales in an awkward position. “That race is getting very intense, and I was trying to stay out of it as much as I could,” Morales said.

In an interview, Haddad said his Republican voting history was no secret and he sees bipartisanship as a strength.

“I’m proud to say I am a moderate,” he said. “I’m a South Texas Democrat.”

Across the aisle, two GOP candidates are also vying to be on the ballot in November. Activist Gary Groves is facing criminal defense lawyer Sergio Sanchez, who previously voted in Democratic primaries.

Neither of their campaigns responded to interview requests.

Renzo Downey contributed to this report.

Before it became the somewhat easy-to-mispronounce name of a rare type of Ebola virus, Bundibugyo is a mountainous district in western Uganda that even some locals would struggle to pinpoint on a map.

It's home to roughly 200,000 people. Many are cocoa farmers who search for whatever cultivable land they can find in the impossibly steep landscape of hills and valleys marking Uganda’s border with Congo. As an example of the classic village idyll, Bundibugyo is a beautiful place.

Yet it now trends for an unpleasant reason, making some Ugandans rue Bundibugyo's association with the current Ebola outbreak, which has infected hundreds of people in eastern Congo. There are 160 suspected Ebola deaths in two provinces.

Virus type discovered in 2007

The Ugandan district's connection to the Bundibugyo virus stems from an Ebola outbreak there nearly two decades ago that was flagged as a new species of Ebola, a viral disease that usually manifests as hemorrhagic fever.

The outbreak wasn't the Sudan virus, named for the area in present-day South Sudan where that type was first identified. It also wasn't the type known as Zaire, as present-day Congo was known when Ebola — itself the name of a Congolese river — was first discovered in 1976.

So the November 2007 outbreak in a remote part of western Uganda came to be known as Bundibugyo, one that scientists even now haven't studied as much. That is why Ebola specialists say it is particularly dangerous. Moreover, it was spreading in Congolese villages before health authorities there identified it as the cause of sickness in a growing number of people.

The 2007 outbreak in Bundibugyo killed at least 37 people but had been contained by the end of the year. A second outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, also relatively small, came in 2012 in Congo's northeast.

Initial cases in those outbreaks were identified early, allowing for a quick public health response, according to Dr. Tom Ksiazek, a University of Texas Medical Branch virologist who directed the group within the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that first identified the Bundibugyo virus.

Ugandans upset about the name

This time, while there is no Ebola in Bundibugyo, a lingering connection to the picturesque Ugandan district is hurtful, said Ugandan government spokesman Alan Kasujja, who has urged global health authorities to clarify that Uganda isn't the epicenter of the latest outbreak.

“Bundibugyo is too beautiful to be the name of a disease,” he said on X. “We need to take back its name from this madness.”

The World Health Organization is responsible for the taxonomic descriptions. As was seen with the global mpox outbreak — the disease's name was changed in 2022 from monkeypox — the United Nations agency is sensitive to the use of descriptors or tags that may expose whole communities to stigmatization.

With Ebola, however, the trend has been to name viruses for the places where they were first identified.

Ugandan health authorities have experience dealing with Ebola, one reason they are adamant there is “no Ebola” in this East African country and want WHO to be more specific in its updates on the toll of the outbreak now deemed to be of global concern.

Cases in Uganda linked to Congo

Uganda has reported five cases, all linked to the outbreak in Congo. One of them, a 59-year-old Congolese man, was admitted to a hospital in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, on May 11 and died three days later. On Saturday, Ugandan health authorities said a driver and a health worker — both Ugandans — exposed to that Congolese patient have since tested positive. The others are two Congolese women who sought medical care in Uganda before Congo declared an outbreak on May 15.

This outbreak is on “the Congo side” mainly, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Thursday, urging local tourism authorities to fight the perception that Ebola is spreading in Uganda.

Museveni urged Ugandans to “stop shaking hands” as part of measures to avoid infection. He also ordered the postponement of an annual religious event that attracts thousands of pilgrims, from Congo and elsewhere, who converge around a Catholic basilica just outside Kampala by June 3.

Other measures announced Thursday include the suspension of all public transportation and flights between Congo and Uganda.

Contact tracing is key

The risk stemming from cross-border commerce is high, said Dr. Emmanuel Batiibwe, who led efforts to stop an Ebola outbreak in 2022 that killed at least 55 people.

Stopping the current outbreak from spreading into Uganda will require “enhanced surveillance at all points of entry,” he said.

Uganda has had multiple Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2000 that killed more than 200 people. There was an outbreak in Kampala last year.

All available vaccines and treatments for Ebola don’t work for Bundibugyo patients. Tracing contacts and isolating them is seen as especially key to stopping the spread of this virus, in addition to getting healthcare workers proper protective equipment.

A family of fruit bats is believed to be the natural hosts of the viruses that cause Ebola, according to WHO. Ebola is spread by contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials.

“I don’t think people had this on their bingo card,” Golden Knights defenseman Dylan Coghlan said. “We knew we could do it.”

Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev scored in a 2:07 span in the third period and the Golden Knights stunned the Avalanche 3-1 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Final.

Eichel tied it, then set up Barbashev for the go-ahead goal with 8:38 remaining. Barbashev added an empty-netter with 1:03 left. The comeback stunned the capacity crowd and wiped out the top-seeded Avalanche's 1-0 lead.

By winning twice at Ball Arena, the Golden Knights put the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche in a huge hole. Since 1982, road teams that started 2-0 in the conference finals have a 13-0 series record.

“They understand the situation,” said Vegas coach John Tortorella, who has watched his team go 17-4-1 since he took over on March 29. “I’m not sure where the series goes. I’m not sure where Game 3 goes. But I know I’m not going to have to worry about that, because they get it."

Carter Hart had another stellar performance, stopping 29 shots. He made 36 saves in a 4-2 win on Wednesday.

Colorado was cruising after Ross Colton opened the scoring in the first period. But things unraveled for the Avalanche in the third. Eichel lined a shot past Scott Wedgewood for his first goal in 11 games to get Vegas on the board.

“I haven’t scored in a million days,” he cracked.

The Golden Knights then took advantage of a miscue — Devon Toews and Brock Nelson struggled to clear the puck along the boards in the Avalanche end — as Eichel sent a pass to Barbashev, who rang in a shot off the post.

This was the fourth third-period comeback by the Golden Knights in this postseason, the most in a single playoffs in team history, according to NHL Stats.

“Just resiliency,” Hart said. “That’s the key word for our group here — we’ve just stuck in games and just grinded it out, and just battled. Resiliency, that’s a term that describes our group really well. We’re never out of the fight, and we’re always grinding in games.”

Game 3 is Sunday night in Las Vegas. The Avalanche are hoping to have star defenseman Cale Makar back in the lineup. He has missed the last two games because of an upper-body injury.

“There's urgency to get him back since he got hurt,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “He's doing all the work he can possibly do to get back as fast as he can.”

Before the Golden Knights' rally, the Avalanche were 45-0-0 when leading after two periods in the regular season and playoffs combined.

“It stings for sure right now,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “But tomorrow we’ll wake up, have a meeting, fly to Vegas and regroup. That’s all you can do.”

Vegas struggled on the power play, going 0 of 4. The team also saw defenseman Brayden McNabb limp to the locker room in the first period soon after taking a check along the boards. He returned for the third period. The hard-checking Golden Knights finished with 32 hits and 16 blocked shots.

“We know how hard it is to win,” Eichel said. “A lot of that falls on playing hard defensively.”

Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson briefly left late in the second period after delivering a check on Barbashev and then ramming his face into the boards.

Wedgewood had 22 saves.

“We can't ride the emotional roller-coaster like fans,” Bednar said. “If you lose Game 1, you're getting swept. If you win Game 1, we're sweeping them. That's not reality. You have to deal with the task at hand and what's to come. We're not going to try and win four games the next night in Vegas. We're going to try to win one game.”

___

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

Jared McCain had 24 points and Jaylin Williams added 18 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder were without Jalen Williams, who sat out with left hamstring soreness.

Oklahoma City’s bench outscored San Antonio’s 76-23, including 15 points by Alex Caruso.

“We just went out there and competed,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They obviously jumped on us early. First game in their building, their crowd behind them, they were excited to play. We just wanted to make sure we competed from that point on. We obviously didn’t give our best effort to start that game, but can’t do nothing about it. It’s behind us. All we can do is focus on the next possession, and we did that.”

Victor Wembanyama had 24 points for San Antonio. Devin Vassell added 20 and De'Aaron Fox had 15 in his series debut.

The Thunder have won two straight after the Spurs' double-overtime victory in Game 1. Game 4 is Sunday.

Fox (sprained right ankle) and Dylan Harper (right adductor soreness) were cleared to play 45 minutes prior to tipoff.

Fox's return sparked a historic start.

The Spurs raced to a 15-0 lead, the longest run to open a game in the conference finals since the play-by-play era began in 1997.

Fox opened the run by wrapping in a driving layup and Wembanyama followed by crossing over Isaiah Hartenstein to drill a 3-pointer. Vassell’s 3-pointer put the Spurs up 10-0, leading to an early timeout by Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.

“Other than the first 15 points, our defense was really tight,” Daigneault said. “We got back, settled down into the halfcourt. Our offense had something to do with that. We ran good offense tonight, despite the fact that they were amped up and ready to go, the Spurs were. It’s a discipline series. We did that. We couldn’t be reckless against them, they are too good with the ball, too well coached, too talented. So you’ve got to be able to do it with discipline. I thought we really were disciplined tonight.”

Isaiah Hartenstein broke the drought with a runner over Wembanyama, but the center was immediately greeted with thunderous boos after his physical play against the Spurs in Game 2.

The Thunder went on a 13-2 run when Wembanyama went to the bench and closed the first quarter trailing 31-26.

It was a pattern the Spurs could not overcome.

“It’s my first playoffs,” Wembanyama said. “It’s the first playoffs for many of us. Of course, there was going to be hard trials. It’s to be expected, but now we’re going to see what we’re made of.”

The series continued to be chippy with emotions boiling over early in the second half. Stephon Castle hit the court on back-to-back dunk attempts. The second resulted in a flagrant 1 foul against Ajay Mitchell and technical fouls on Mitchell and Vassell after the two exchanged words following the foul.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams extended Oklahoma City's first lead to 35-31.

___

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

“Just let it rip downrange and see what we got,” the New York Yankees ace thought to himself.

Cole allowed two hits over six shutout innings Friday night in his return from elbow ligament reconstruction surgery. He left with a 1-0 lead that the Yankees wasted in a 4-2 loss to the major league-best Tampa Bay Rays.

“It was almost like a second debut," the 35-year-old right-hander said. “It was nice to get back in the fire.”

Cole had not pitched a big league outing that counted since Game 5 of the World Series on Oct. 30, 2024. He had reconstructive surgery the following March 11, then started a rehab path that included two spring training outings this year and six minor league rehabilitation starts beginning April 17.

“Some ups and downs, for sure. A long road," Cole said. “And yet at some point tonight it was almost like I had never left.”

With a few days of stubble on his face, Cole warmed up to the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.”

“Let’s go swing the rock around,” catcher Austin Wells told him. “Have fun.”

Cole averaged 96.1 mph with 35 four-seam fastballs, reaching a high of 98.6 mph in the first. He mixed in 13 sinkers, 10 sliders, eight changeups and six knuckle-curves.

“It's great to have our ace back in the mix,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He did a lot of game management things really well.”

Cole threw 50 of 72 pitches for strikes, starting 18 of 22 batters with an offering in the strike zone.

“It was lovely,” he said.

Chandler Simpson singled leading off and Junior Caminero walked but Cole retired Jonathan Aranda on a flyout, picked off a dancing Simpson at second and got Yandy Díaz to take a sinker for a called third strike.

Using his new overhead hand movement in his windup, adopted during his rehab, Cole needed just seven pitches in the third inning and four in the fourth. He retired 10 in a row during one stretch.

“He looked healthy to me,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He’s as special as there is.”

Cole munched on a banana between innings at one point to keep up his energy. He struck out two and walked three, including Richie Palacios on four balls that followed a first-pitch strike and Taylor Walls on four straight balls.

Against the high-contact Rays, he induced just five misses among 31 swings.

“The command was good enough. It was hard to trust some off-speed pitches there early,” Cole said. “Controlled the zone well and sequenced well. Brought ourselves room inside the strike zone and beside some lapses in control kept pressure on the opposition throughout the at-bats.”

He thought there was room for improvement.

“There’s probably some opportunities to get a little further outside of the strike zone, but at the same time, knowing that that might not be as crisp as it has been before,” he said.

He joined a rotation that includes Carlos Rodón, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers, taking the spot that opened when Max Fried went on the injured list because of a bone bruise in his left elbow.

Wells backed him with his first home run since April 28, a fifth-inning drive off Nick Martinez.

José Caballero, back at shortstop after missing 10 days because of a broken finger, allowed Simpson’s one-hopper to bounce off his glove leading of the eighth. The Rays burst ahead on Aranda's RBI double, Palacios' two-run single on a comebacker off the glove of leaping reliever Tim Hill and Ryan Vilade's sacrifice fly, then held on to improve to 4-0 against New York this year.

Yankees captain Aaron Judge went 0 for 4 with a game-ending flyout to the center-field warning track with a man on against Bryan Baker. Judge is in a 1-for-24 slide that dropped his average to .245 and has gone a career-high 11 games without any RBIs.

Cole will start again next week at Kansas City. During his long rehab, he had thought about the night of his return.

“It was kind of what I imagined it would be,” he said with a smile.

___

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

Houston Police said Jadiel Rodriguez was killed in a drive-by shooting two weeks ago in the Durham Park neighborhood. Another teen was injured in the same shooting. Police have identified a man known as “Junior” as a person of interest in the killing.

• RELATED: Grieving Houston family pleads for return of missing memorial honoring 16-year-old shot and killed

Following a vigil for Rodriguez last week, family members noticed flowers, candles and a custom name plate had been taken from the memorial near Blackhawk Ridge and Sunny Terrace. On Thursday, KPRC 2 News first reported the missing items taken from the memorial. Loved ones said neighbors had seen a man removing the times.

On Friday, family members say a neighbor spotted the same man allegedly taking more items from the memorial and took pictures, capturing his license plate number. The family rushed to the scene and confronted him. Their next call was to KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel, who spoke with the man directly.

When asked where the items were, the man said he did not have them but promised to return them.

“I told them I’ll do as fast as I can get the items. I’ll provide them,” he said.

• RELATED: Person of interest sought in fatal shooting of 16-year-old in SE Houston

When pressed further, the man grew impatient.

“The sooner I quit this conversation, the process will stop,” he said before driving away, just before police arrived.

A neighbor’s quick thinking helped partially recover some of the missing items.

“One of the neighbors, thanks to her, she was able to take pictures, and her brave husband was able to go into the trunk, take the stuff out of his trunk and give it to my sister-in-law, who amazingly was passing by during the moment of the exchange,” said Victor Perdomo, Jadiel’s uncle.

Cell phone video captured by Perdomo shows the man reportedly describing his actions.

“I go and I pick up the trash,” the man said on the recording.

Perdomo says the family is devastated by the situation on top of their grief.

“It makes us feel horrible, miserable. There’s no word to describe it,” he said.

Despite everything, Perdomo says the family is willing to forgive, they just want their items back.

“We’re willing to forgive him. But just give us the stuff back. It’s our stuff,” Perdomo said. “The message is, if it’s not yours, don’t touch it, leave it alone.”

KPRC 2 News is not identifying the man because he has not been charged with a crime. Police went to his home but he was not there. The man told Corley he would contact the family and arrange to meet them to return the remaining items.

The officers who conducted a welfare check at the home of Caleb Vazquez wrote that he was “involved in suspicious behavior idolizing nazis and mass shooters,” and obtained a court order on Jan. 29, 2025, to remove 26 guns under a 2014 California law allowing the confiscation of firearms from people considered dangerous.

Vazquez's father initially denied police entry into his home when they requested to see how he was storing his weapons.

Vazquez’s parents had voluntarily removed the guns from the house and placed them in a secure storage facility days earlier, according to an affidavit signed by Marco Vazquez, the father.

Authorities have said Vazquez, 18, met Cain Clark, 17, online, where they both were radicalized. Police haven't shared more details about how they knew each other, or specified whose weapons were used in the shooting.

Cain Clark’s mother told law enforcement that weapons were missing from her home on Monday, kicking off an hourslong search for the teens before they committed the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego and then killed themselves, police said.

Court filings indicate mental health struggles

Court filings show Vazquez decided to “secure all sharp knives in the home” and removed from the house the firearms that they had previously kept in a secure gun safe into an outside storage facility. The affidavit also mentions unspecified serious allegations against their son, who was also previously committed to an involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. The court filings, first reported by The New York Times, didn't say what he was admitted for.

The Vazquez family said in a statement released Thursday that Caleb Vazquez was on the autism spectrum and had grown to resent parts of his identity — but didn’t specify what aspects were challenging to him.

“Coming from a diverse family that not only includes immigrants but Muslims as well, we always taught the importance of acceptance, compassion, and love for one another. We are proud of the different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and religions within our family and community,” their statement said.

“We believe this, combined with exposure to hateful rhetoric, extremist content, and propaganda spread across parts of the internet, social media, and other online platforms, contributed to his descent into radicalized ideologies and violent beliefs,” said their statement, released through their attorney Colin Rudolph.

His family said they tried to get him help

They encouraged him to seek help and he spent time in rehabilitation centers, the statement said. Vazquez's parents did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment from The Associated Press. An attorney who represented Vazquez's parents when their guns were confiscated also didn't immediately respond to calls.

In writings by Vazquez and Clark that expressed white supremacist views, Vazquez wrote of having “some mental health issues” and being rejected by women. They suggest both teenagers idolized previous shooters who have died while carrying out mass shootings. The writings expressed hatred toward Jewish people, Muslims, Black people and a range of other groups.

Vazquez left the San Diego Unified School District in June 2018 after attending Washington Elementary up until the 5th grade, district spokesperson James Canning told The Associated Press. It’s unclear where he went to school after that.

Clark was enrolled in a virtual high school in the district, Canning said.

Police began searching for the teens on Monday after Clark's mother called to say her son was suicidal and ran away. She told them he was dressed in camouflage, had taken multiple weapons from the home, and was with an acquaintance, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said earlier this week.

Officers were still interviewing the mother about places the teens might be when the shooting began at the county's largest mosque.

De-radicalizing people is becoming more difficult

Vazquez's father said in a 2025 court statement that his family made a concerted effort to steer Caleb Vazquez back onto the right track. He said when they locked away their weapons, they were in communication with his school, were monitoring his social media presence closely and he was in therapy twice a week.

“We observe all of his online activities, who he talks to, what he talks about, and who he is friends with,” Marco Vazquez wrote, emphasizing that he didn't support his son's ideology.

Some experts say it's increasingly difficult to help people drawn to the kind of radicalism Vazquez and Clark expressed.

Samira Benz works for the Violence Prevention Network, which conducts interventions when people are radicalized into believing in violent extremism. Benz said the work has become increasingly complicated as the internet blurs ideologies and creates niche, meme-based languages that can be fleeting and hard to decipher.

“Even if a parent is looking at the phone of their child, they don’t necessarily see something bad is going on,” Benz said.

___

Associated Press writers Julie Watson and Javier Arciga in San Diego contributed.

Vietnam's U.N. Ambassador Do Hung Viet, who chaired the conference, announced that there was no consensus among the 191 parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on even a watered-down final document.

He told a news conference later that “no one blocked consensus.” But he said “a very important reason” for the failure to reach an outcome was a provision in the final draft that said Iran “can never seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.”

It was the third failure in a row at a conference reviewing the NPT, considered the cornerstone of global nonproliferation and disarmament. At the last treaty review in August 2022, Russia blocked agreement on a final document over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and references to Moscow’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed regret at the failure when the “elevated risk posed by nuclear weapons demands urgent action,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. He appealed to all countries “to make full use of all available avenues of dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation to reduce tensions, lower nuclear risks, and ultimately eliminate the nuclear threat.”

Tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program escalated ahead of the Iran war, which began with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28. President Donald Trump has said the war was aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels but insists its program is only for civilian purposes.

The U.S. and Iran have clashed since the opening of the review conference on April 27. The U.S. has accused Iran of showing “contempt” for its commitments under the treaty, while Iran has said U.S. and Israeli attacks on its nuclear facilities violated international law.

Iran is a party to the NPT, which requires countries to open all nuclear sites to inspection by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. But Iran has not given inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency access to nuclear sites that were bombed by the U.S. last June.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said the United States insisted that Iran be named in the outcome document for its refusal to comply with its NPT obligations, including inspections, and it was. Iran objected to being singled out and insisted that the U.S. and Israel be condemned for attacking its nuclear sites, which violates the NPT, but that was not included, he said.

In speeches at the end of the conference, the United States called Iran a “prolific treaty violator” and said it had spent the conference “shirking accountability for its grotesque violations.” Iran accused the U.S. and its allies of conducting a “relentless campaign” to legitimize their “unlawful attacks” on the country and its nuclear facilities.

Kimball said the conference “showed that rhetorical support for the NPT is strong, but the foundations of the NPT are cracking due to inaction, inattention, and intransigence on the part of the major powers.”

“Much more enlightened, engaged, and pragmatic leadership and diplomacy will be needed to guard against the growing risks of an unconstrained nuclear buildup, threats to resume nuclear testing, and the risk of a nuclear-armed Iran," Kimball said.

Britain’s Rebecca Johnson, founding executive director of the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy, had harsh criticism for both the U.S. and Russia, the two largest nuclear powers, which she said "double down on nuclear threats, blame others and try to undermine or ignore the NPT’s nuclear disarmament commitments and related agreements,” including on nuclear testing.

Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in federal court in Manhattan chided Wolff for an “inappropriate level of tactical gamesmanship” and said she “will not be conscripted to oversee an abusively presented spat.”

Vyskocil, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, agreed that Wolff and the first lady “have a real dispute,” but said “they must litigate it according to the same procedures as everyone else.”

Wolff sued Melania Trump last October after her lawyer, Alejandro Brito, told him in a letter that she would be “left with no alternative” but to sue him if he didn’t retract statements that the lawyer said had caused her “overwhelming reputational and financial harm.”

Wolff wanted a judge to declare that he did not defame the first lady and that, were she to pursue a lawsuit against him, she would be liable for costs, fees and unspecified monetary damages.

Wolff originally sued in state court in New York under a law barring lawsuits designed to silence critics. Such lawsuits are known as SLAPPs, or strategic lawsuits against public participation. Brito then had the case transferred to federal court and later sought to have it dismissed or moved to a federal court in Florida.

Vyskocil, in her 45-page decision, said that while federal court does have jurisdiction, she was declining to exercise it and “dismisses this case to be litigated like any other.”

Nick Clemens, a spokesperson for Melania Trump, said she “is proud to continue standing up to, and fighting against, those who spread malicious and defamatory falsehoods as they desperately try to get undeserved attention and money from their unlawful conduct.”

In April, Melania Trump made a statement at the White House denying any affiliation with Epstein, the millionaire financier and convicted sex offender who killed himself in jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Reading prepared remarks, the first lady said she and her lawyers were fighting back against “unfound and baseless lies” that suggested she had ties to Epstein.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” Melania Trump said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”

In his lawsuit, Wolff argued that the Trumps “have made a practice of threatening those who speak against them” with costly legal actions “to silence their speech, to intimidate their critics generally, and to extract unjustified payments and North Korean style confessions and apologies.”

He said the threats were “designed to create a climate of fear in the nation so that people cannot freely or confidently exercise their First Amendment rights.”

Wolff has published a dozen books, including four bestsellers about the president.

Wolff said in the lawsuit that Melania Trump’s threat to sue him was related to statements he made to The Daily Beast and in three social media videos. Some statements were incomplete phrases and were taken out of context, he said.

Others, the lawsuit said, were protected speech. For instance, the statement that the Trumps were in a “sham marriage, trophy marriage,” was a “fair and justified” statement of opinion, it said.

The lawsuit noted that Wolff never said Melania Trump was involved in any of Epstein’s crimes.

In July 2025, after receiving a letter from Brito, The Daily Beast retracted an article titled, “Melania Trump ‘Very Involved’ in Epstein Scandal: Author,” that was based on an interview with Wolff.

Wolff, in his lawsuit, said his comments pertained to the first lady’s “involvement” last year managing the matter “behind the scenes” at the White House — not that she was involved in any of Epstein’s crimes.

Among other statements Wolff said were true were those his comments about Melania Trump meeting Donald Trump in Epstein’s social circle, and that Donald Trump liked to have sex with his friend’s wives and first slept with Melania Trump on Epstein’s private jet.

___

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed.

Jason Tomas Maldonado was taken into custody by the Montgomery County Pct. 5 Constable’s Office on Thursday. He is charged with inappropriate relationship between educator and student.

• Eight elections in less than a year: The rising cost of voting in Harris County

According to court documents, the investigation started on Dec. 15, 2025 when authorities say the school’s assistant principal was made aware parents were making allegations of inappropriate behavior by Maldonado.

The court documents say Maldonado met with law enforcement for an interview on December 19, 2025 where he allegedly stated he knew he pushed the line being overly friendly with students and even if it was not a crime, he knew the school had an argument that standards of conduct had been crossed. Maldonado also allegedly said he gave the kids candy and if they wanted to hug him because they got candy, they could. Maldonado stated students would come up to him, hug him and sit on his lap, but these situations were uncommon.

• Third Ward residents gain real-time air monitoring along Columbia Tap Trail ahead of World Cup

Over a several month long investigation, multiple students alleged Maldonado had touched them inappropriately, ranging from asking students to sit in his lap, to putting his hands up clothing.

Several students alleged Maldonado would ask them to sit in his lap and they did so because they were afraid of getting in trouble. One student alleged Maldonado threatened to call her parents if she refused.

Most of the allegations from the court records were from the 2025-2026 school year, but one was from last year’s school year.

Montgomery County jail records indicate Maldonado has been released after posting a $150,000 bond.

Magnolia ISD released the following statement:

Magnolia ISD is sharing an update regarding a law enforcement investigation involving a former teacher at Magnolia Parkway Elementary. On December 15, 2025, the district took action based on parent reports, the employee was placed on administrative leave, and the proper authorities were notified. The employee has since resigned.

Montgomery County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office notified Magnolia ISD on May 21, 2026, that it had concluded its comprehensive investigation into this matter and that the individual had been taken into custody. Throughout this time frame, Magnolia ISD continued to cooperate fully with law enforcement. The district was not at liberty to communicate this information to the public until now to avoid interfering with the ongoing law enforcement investigation.

Busch died Thursday at age 41. No cause of death has been given, though his family said earlier he had been hospitalized with a “severe illness” three days before he was to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told the AP.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because details have not been disclosed by Busch’s team or family.

During the emergency call placed late that afternoon from the General Motors training facility, an unidentified caller calmly told the dispatch: “I’ve got an individual that’s (got) shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out, and is producing a little bit of blood, coughing up some blood.”

Busch was lying on the bathroom floor inside the complex and the caller told dispatch “he is awake,” according to audio provided by the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office.

The man then gave directions on where emergency responders should go and asked that they turn off any sirens upon arrival.

NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell addressed reporters at a news conference Friday but declined to answer any questions about the cause of death or any health problems that might have plagued Busch.

“We are 24 hours from getting a phone call and out of respect for the family, and they have asked for privacy, I am not going to address anything,” O'Donnell said. “But transparency is something that we all believe in. So in due time I think that everyone will be comfortable with where things stand.”

O'Donnnell talked at length about Busch's legacy, his rebellious nature and even his feuds with NASCAR, while calling him “an American badass.”

“We certainly had our battles but I would give a lot of money to have a few more battles,” O'Donnell said.

He joked about the time Busch pretended to be seriously hurt when NASCAR had ordered him to go to the infield care center after hitting the wall at Texas.

“He laid flat out on a pit cart, made fun of us,” O'Donnell said. “I was mad at the time, but I look back and that was damn funny — and that was Kyle.”

O'Donnell mentioned NASCAR might consider adding Busch to this year's list of Hall of Fame Class of 2027 inductees, which was determined earlier this week with Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Larry Phillips being voted in.

The news of Busch's death sent shock waves across the motorsports world on one of racing's biggest weekends, which also features the Indianapolis 500.

The NHL's Carolina Hurricanes honored Busch with a moment of silence before Thursday night's Eastern Conference Finals game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Vice President JD Vance took to social media, saying “I had the opportunity to meet Kyle, one of NASCAR’s greatest racers, on the campaign trail in 2024. Usha and I are praying for him and his family. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.”

Richard Childress Racing announced plans to suspend use of Busch's No. 8 Cup Series car until his 11-year-old son, Brexton, is old enough to begin NASCAR racing.

Gloomy, gray skies hung over the track on an unseasonably cool day in Concord, which seemed a fitting background for the in memoriam photo of Busch on the videoboard.

Christopher Bell was among the drivers planning to run in the NASCAR Trucks Series race on Friday night, one that Busch had been scheduled to compete in. Busch won last week's Trucks race at Dover — the final win of his career — giving him 234 victories across NASCAR's three national series, the most of any driver.

“It's going to be very strange to be out there without Kyle in the field,” Bell said. “It's going to take a long time before things feel back to normal.”

Bell called Busch's death a “gut-wrenching feeling.”

He said he spoke to Busch before the last Trucks Series race and said he seemed “normal, like completely normal.”

On Monday, Busch posted a birthday message to Brexton on Instagram, saying, “Your mom & I are so proud who you’re turning out to be!”

The father and son spent Tuesday night in Durham, North Carolina, with the Andretti family at the opening of a go-kart facility.

“I guess it is a very stark reminder of how fragile life can be,” Bell said.

O’Donnell said NASCAR never seriously considered canceling the Coca-Cola 600.

“Kyle Busch would probably be pretty (upset) if we didn’t race,” O’Donnell said. “So we’re going to honor his memory and make sure people know what he was all about.”

___

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

Ken Martin, the committee's chair, faced new calls to resign from elected officials and Democratic operatives, who say he mismanaged a report originally intended to be a comprehensive examination of the party’s failures and a potential road map for its future. Martin kept the document under wraps for months, stoking speculation about its contents, only to release it this week and insist it was too flawed to be useful anyway.

“There doesn’t seem to be a plan to turn things around and the clock is ticking. November is literally around the corner,” Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, told Semafor. “I believe it’s time for him to move on.”

“He should resign,” Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said to Axios.

And in a radio interview, Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., said he agreed with a caller saying Martin should be replaced.

But Martin maintains support from many state party leaders, who have benefited from a steady stream of funding from national headquarters since he took over. In a conversation with DNC staff on Thursday, Martin apologized for his handling of the autopsy and said he was determined to continue leading the organization.

“This was a major mistake. I own it, and now it’s time for us to move forward at the DNC, and I hope that you’ll move forward with me,” Martin said, according to a person with knowledge of the call who was not authorized to disclose a private conversation.

Martin, a little-known Minnesota operative before emerging last year as the head of the national party’s formal political machine, has already faced criticism for dismal fundraising and inability to inspire confidence among his party's unruly membership.

However, there was no sign that a serious alternative was emerging. The Associated Press contacted a half dozen Democratic presidential prospects to gauge their support for Martin and all of them declined to weigh in.

The intraparty feud represented an extraordinary distraction for a Democratic Party showing signs of momentum in its fight to break President Donald Trump's grip on power in Washington. Democrats hope to regain majorities in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate in the November midterms, and Republicans could be vulnerable because of Trump's low approval ratings, dissatisfaction over the war in Iran and lingering economic frustration.

Martin's allies across the country lashed out at Democrats who were fueling the election-year drama, dismissing them as unhappy consultants and supporters of Martin's previous rivals for DNC leadership.

Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna RePass described calls for the first-term chair to step down as “ridiculous and dangerous.”

“It is dangerous for Democrats to be playing politics with our leadership when these elections are five and a half months away,” she said. “The American people are counting on us.”

Janet Kleeb of Nebraska, who leads her state party and the DNC's association of state committees, said the fighting “is nuts.”

“I haven’t had a single chair come to me saying I think Ken needs to resign,” she said. “Ken was elected by the DNC members to do a four-year term, and he has not violated any of our rules or bylaws where there would be a two-thirds vote, right? Because that’s what it would take to remove the chair.”

Kleeb added, “These reports are such distraction.”

The long-awaited postelection autopsy said Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America” during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Trump with sufficient “negative firepower,” among other key findings.

Martin shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from Democratic operatives. He originally promised to release the autopsy even before taking over the committee last year, only to keep it under wraps because he worried it would interfere with Democrats’ focus on the November midterms.

“I didn’t want to create a distraction,” Martin wrote on Substack. “Ironically, in doing so, I ended up creating an even bigger distraction. And for that, I sincerely apologize.”

Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats’ focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him after he dropped out or the party’s acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.

___

Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina.

On Friday the flood watch was expanded to include Houston and Harris County as well as most of southeast Texas. The only areas not included in the flood watch right now are the far northern and northwestern counties. For everyone else, conditions are favorable for flooding, although flooding is not actively happening at the moment. It’s important to remember that a flood watch means flooding could occur due to the right ingredients in place, but if flooding starts, it will become a flood warning, that’s when you should take action, including seeking higher ground.

Keep the umbrella handy. The forecast is calling for an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms on Saturday. The first big round of storms is set to arrive between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, with the heaviest action along and north of I-10. Some areas could see four hours of very heavy rain before a brief break.

Sunday’s forecast:

It’s tough to nail down an accurate forecast for Sunday. I think a lot of it will depend on how Saturday’s storms develop. If Saturday night’s storms are strong it’s because the area of low pressure that’s creating the storms is close by. If Saturday’s rain isn’t as intense it’s because the low is farther to the east of us. If this is the case, we’ll have rain Sunday morning. And these storms would be strong because now the low is moving through. It’s a bit complicated. My best advice is checking back here Saturday and watch Brittany and Daji this weekend on KPRC 2.

Memorial Day Monday:

The area of low pressure responsible for creating the excessive rain moves out Monday. This means while storms are still possible, the storms become isolated and confined mostly to the afternoon.

7-Day Forecast:

Because of a lingering trough of low pressure, scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible each afternoon through Friday. Expect a few bright spells in between, but don’t put away the rain gear just yet.

Have you captured a dramatic rain photo or video? Share your weather moments with the KPRC 2 community through Click2Pins at Click2Houston.com/pins.

The protesters gathered In Kyiv to oppose legislation passed in February on the legal status of missing persons that critics say allows courts to declare missing Ukrainian military personnel legally dead before their fate has been fully confirmed.

“Today all the families came out so that the missing are not equated with the dead,” said Mariana Yatselenko, 27.

More than 90,000 people are listed as missing in Ukraine’s unified registry of persons who disappeared under special circumstances, according to Artur Dobrosierdov, the country’s commissioner for missing persons.

The missing date back to 2014

Neither Russia nor Ukraine publish regular casualty numbers in the war, although analysts estimate hundreds of thousands of casualties in the fighting.

The Ukrainian register covers people who went missing during combat, as a result of armed aggression or in occupied territories, mostly after Russia’s all-out invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022. But some cases date back to 2014, when Russian soldiers invaded the Crimean Peninsula and pro-Russia forces started fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The registry began operating in May 2023, and at that point, information about both military personnel and civilians from previous years was entered into it.

Similar demonstrations have been held previously over the issue.

Russia says Ukraine struck a dorm, killing 6

Ukrainian drones hit a college dormitory building in Starobilsk, a city in Ukraine’s Russia-occupied Luhansk region, killing six people and wounding 39 others, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. He added that another 15 remain missing as emergency workers are clearing the debris.

Speaking at a meeting with war veterans in Moscow, Putin denounced the attack on the dormitory as a “crime” and ordered the military to submit its proposals for retaliation. He noted that there were no military or law enforcement facilities near the college.

Later in the evening, Putin called Russia's Security Council meeting to discuss the attack on Starobilsk.

In New York, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on the strike on Friday at the request of Russia.

During that session, Melnyk Andrii, the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.N., blasted and refuted his Russian counterparts’ accusations of war crimes, calling them a “pure propaganda show.”

“Such false accusations belong to a textbook disinformation campaign from Moscow designed to deflect from its own war crimes and manipulate international public opinion,” Andrii told the 15-member council.

He added that the May 22 operations “exclusively targeted the Russian war machine” with strikes neutralizing an oil refinery, “which was fueling occupation forces, ammunition depots, air defense assets, and also command centers.”

The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said that it intercepted 217 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, including the Moscow region and St. Petersburg, the country’s second-largest city.

For the fourth time this month Ukraine struck Russia’s Yaroslavl oil refinery, around 700 kilometers (440 miles) from the border, in an overnight operation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday.

Ukraine has been pounding Russian oil facilities in an effort to deny Moscow funding for its invasion.

U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting have brought no significant results and recently appeared to peter out.

“They were not fruitful, unfortunately,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said of negotiations over the past year with Russia and Ukraine.

No talks are happening now, he said during a trip to Sweden, although they could resume if Washington sees an opportunity for progress.

Zelenskyy had a call Friday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to brief them on the progress made in recent weeks, according to Starmer's office. The leaders agreed that “standing up to Russian aggression remains vital for European and global security, and reaffirmed their commitment to securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine," the office said.

Russian barrages as Ukraine makes battlefield gains

Ukraine’s air force said that it shot down or jammed 115 of 124 Russian drones that were launched overnight, in regular bombardments of civilian areas that in recent months have escalated.

Russian attacks across the northern Sumy region wounded 11 people, including a child, the National Police said. Also, a Russian drone killed a man in the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, according to the region’s military administration chief.

The number of Ukrainian civilian casualties verified by the United Nations increased by 21% in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year, with 815 civilians killed and 4,174 wounded.

In Washington, the Trump administration approved a modest $108 million arms sale to Ukraine that will help the country sustain its midrange air defense missile system.

The U.S. State Department announced the sale of ground-to-air Hawk missile components, spare parts and logistic support late Thursday. Under U.S. President Donald Trump, Washington has slashed military support for Ukraine.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian counterattacks have driven the Russian army out of more than 400 square kilometers (150 square miles) of southern Ukraine since the end of last year, Western analysts say.

Those successes are attributed to Ukraine’s increasingly homegrown drone and missile technology, as well as Russian forces being denied access to Starlink satellite services used to steer drones toward targets.

Ukraine keeps a wary eye on Belarus

Zelenskyy said that Russia could be planning new attacks on northern Ukraine, launched from Belarus.

Moscow “is eager to draw (Belarus) deeper into this war,” Zelenskyy said on social media, warning that “there will be consequences” for the Belarusian government, if it provides a platform for strikes on Ukraine.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha alerted allies at a NATO meeting in Sweden about what Ukrainian intelligence services say are growing threats from Belarus. Sybiha urged partners to take unspecified deterrence measures against Minsk.

Russia and Belarus held joint nuclear exercises earlier this week.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, underscored “Russia’s ability to leverage Belarus for future Russian military operations and Russia’s deepening de facto control over Belarus.”

___

Matthew Lee in Washington, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed to this report.

___

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

The World Health Organization said that the outbreak now poses a “very high" risk for Congo — up from a previous categorization of “high” — but that the risk of the disease spreading globally remains low.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 82 cases and seven deaths have been confirmed in Congo, but that the outbreak is believed to be “much larger."

There is no available vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus, which spread undetected for weeks in Congo's Ituri Province following the first known death while authorities tested for another, more common, Ebola virus and came up negative. There are now 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, though more are expected as surveillance expands.

“We are trying to catch up,” Congo Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner told the AP. “It is a race against the clock."

Efforts ramping up in Ituri Province

Supplies were being rushed to Ituri in the northeastern corner of the country, where nearly a million people have been displaced by armed conflicts over mineral resources. Ramping up contact tracing is a priority, Kayikwamba Wagner said.

In the provincial capital of Bunia, AP reporters saw empty emergency treatment centers, and doctors in the nearby town of Bambu using expired medical masks while tending to suspected Ebola patients.

The provincial government said Friday it was temporarily banning wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people. It said funerals must be conducted in strict compliance with health protocols. The authorities also required journalists to obtain a permit to report on the outbreak, impeding their work.

Illness spreads in rebel-held areas

The illness also has been reported in two Congolese provinces to the south of Ituri — North Kivu and South Kivu, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group controls many key cities, including Goma and Bukavu, where the rebels reported two cases.

The group said Friday it was creating a crisis team to fight the outbreak.

Kayikwamba Wagner said having the illness in rebel-held areas was alarming because “M23 is, despite whatever ambitions they may have, thoroughly ill equipped" to fight the disease.

She said the Congo government and rebels were not communicating on the outbreak.

Response clashes with local customs

The efforts of health officials and aid groups have met with pushback from communities due to misinformation or situations where medical policy has clashed with local customs such as burial rites.

On Thursday, an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara was set on fire by youths who were angered when they were blocked from retrieving the body of a friend who apparently had died of Ebola, according to witnesses and police.

The dangerous work of burying suspected victims is being managed wherever possible by authorities, because the bodies can be highly contagious and lead to further spread when they are prepared for burial or when people gather for funerals.

Julienne Lusenge, president of Women’s Solidarity for Inclusive Peace and Development, a local aid group, said the population’s anger is mostly due to misinformation. “We have lived through years and years of conflict and hardship so rumors spread easily,” she said.

She said some churches have told their congregations the outbreak is fake and that divine protection makes medical care unnecessary.

Grief and the lack of a proper goodbye

In the Ituri province mining town of Mongbwalu where the outbreak is believed to have originated, Lokana Moro Faustin lost his 16-year-old daughter to the disease and bemoaned the fact that he was not able to give her a proper goodbye because of Ebola restrictions.

“At first, we thought it was malaria. But then came vomiting, a high fever, nosebleeds, and bloody diarrhea,” he said, grief-stricken.

The teenager died on May 15 and her body was taken from the hospital by specialized teams and taken directly to the cemetery for a secure burial. Faustin was not able to say goodbye because he was in self-isolation, and it pained him to have his daughter buried by people who were not family.

In Bunia, coffin workshop manager Christian Djakisa said demand has soared since the outbreak began. “We're here every hour making coffins,” he said.

Aid is being flown in, but front line staff lacks resources

The United Nations said Friday it released $60 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to accelerate the response in Congo and in the region.

The U.S. has pledged $23 million in funding to bolster the response in Congo and Uganda, and said it would also fund the establishment of up to 50 Ebola treatment clinics in the affected regions.

Lusenge said her group’s small hospital near in Bunia lacks basic protective equipment, exposing nurses and doctors to possible infection, she said. “We only have hand sanitizer and a few masks for the nurses, but we need much more than that," Lusenge said.

Public health officials say that a person infected with Ebola generally passes the virus along to one to two other people — which is less contagious than measles, whooping cough and chickenpox, in which one person can infect around a dozen others.

But researchers note that transmission rates have varied in past Ebola outbreaks, and they are still trying to determine how contagious the Bundibugyo virus is.

The outbreak is bigger than official figures show, WHO says

Both the WHO and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the outbreak is larger than the cases reported so far.

The region’s already-weak health infrastructure and surveillance capacity has been further weakened by international aid cuts, experts say. The International Rescue Committee said it had to stop its surveillance activities in three out of five areas in Ituri over the last year because of funding cuts.

Armed conflict in the region further complicates efforts to handle the crisis. To get from Bunia to Mongbwalu, aid groups have to brace for potential attacks from armed groups.

“The outbreak can still be contained but the window for action is narrow,” Gabriela Arenas from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Friday.

——

Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Constant Same Bagalwa in Bunia, Congo; Jean Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo; Jonathan Poet in Philadelphia; Mark Banchereau and Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.

——

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

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

The 30-year-old South Korean put himself in position to break 60 with a curling 17-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 17th hole at TPC Craig Ranch. It was his 12th birdie of the day, putting him at 12 under on the par-71 layout.

Kim was in the fairway on the 18th, but blasted his second shot over the green. His chip coming back stopped about 19 feet short of the hole, and his putt for par lacked pace and broke to the right for his only bogey of the day. Kim shot 11-under 60 for a five-shot lead at 18-under 124 after two rounds.

The 18th hole at Craig Ranch — about 30 miles north of Dallas — is a par 4 for the first time in the six Nelson tournaments it has hosted. A $25 million overhaul designed by Lanny Wadkins changed it from a par 5, and it has played as the hardest hole on the course through two rounds.

Most of the rest of the holes are as easy as they've been in the past — despite more bunkers along the fairways and contours on the greens. Part of the the reason is soft conditions from a rainy opening day and calm winds that aren't supposed to pick up on the weekend, either. Because of the rain on Thursday, players were still allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls in the fairway.

Kim, playing with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, took full advantage.

The four-time PGA Tour winner who lives in Dallas already had seven birdies through 10 holes when he put his 166-yard approach shot at the par-4 11th inside 3 feet.

Needing just one birdie over the final three holes for a 59, Kim missed by inches on the par-4 16th. Hopes dimmed with his tee shot on the stadium hole at 17, until he dazzled by far the biggest of any of the galleries on the course with a perfect putt.

“I hit it great and putted great,” Kim said. “So everything was perfect, other than the last hole. I’ll still take it. Sixty is hard, but I was a little bit of thinking about the 59 after I make that on 17. It was a little bit of like adrenaline.”

Jim Furyk has the PGA Tour's 18-hole record with his 58 from the 2016 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. A 59 has been recorded 14 times, including by Furyk and Scheffler, who shot his at TPC Boston in 2020. That was two years before the first of his 20 tour wins, and four major victories.

“I definitely wasn’t going to tell him anything about his round today as we were out there,” Scheffler said. “I would say it would definitely be in poor taste to remind somebody they’re on 59 watch.”

The 59 watch overshadowed Scheffler's 8-under 63, which included a stretch where he was 5 under over four holes with a 45-foot eagle putt.

Scheffler was five shots back in second place, tied at 13 under with Kim's fellow South Korean, Sungjae Im, Japan's Kensei Hirata and Wyndham Clark. Im aced the par-3 seventh and shot 61.

“I feel like, when you’re watching somebody like Si Woo, especially when you’re paired with him, just watching somebody birdie every hole and you feel like the tournament is getting further and further away from you,” said Scheffler, who had a runaway eight-shot victory at his hometown Byron Nelson last year. “I think I did a good job of staying patient and not forcing things.”

Kim said he chose a hard 6-iron over a 5-iron for the approach on 18, and said the chip might have been too clean because it had too much spin and stopped sooner than he hoped.

“Yeah, it was a tough shot,” Kim said. “But I’ll take it still — 60.”

___

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

“Her speech was rapid and slurred, her gait was unsteady, and she was fidgeting with her fingers,” the report from the California Highway Patrol said. “Her mood changed from confrontational and agitated to flamboyant and compliant. She also appeared to speak with a British accent at times.”

Spears told officers, “I could probably drink four bottles of wine and take care of you, I’m an angel.”

But she said that in actuality she only had one drink, a mimosa, hours earlier, and she put her level of drunkenness at “zero.” Breath tests put her blood alcohol level at .05 and .06, below the .08 level at which someone is presumed impaired in California.

A bottle of Adderall — the stimulant used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — was found by an officer in her purse, and was not prescribed to her, the report said. She also gave a blood sample for a drug test, but those results were not included in the report.

A Spears representative did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Spears was pulled over for speeding and swerving on U.S. 101 in Ventura County near the Los Angeles County line in the area where she lives on March 4, authorities said. She was later charged with misdemeanor DUI and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

Spears at first refused to get out of the car, saying she had been pranked and harassed in the past and as a woman she had a right to decline. She also said she feared getting out on the highway. When officers said they could take her around the corner, she suggested they go to her house.

“I’ll make you food or lasagna, whatever you want. I have a pool,” Spears says on the video.

She was eventually cuffed, taken to jail and released on bail hours later.

Spears voluntarily checked into a rehabilitation facility soon after.

On May 4 she pleaded guilty to reckless driving involving alcohol and drugs and avoided more jail time. Ventura County prosecutors said the plea agreement is standard offer for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road and a low blood-alcohol level.

“I don’t think anybody’s happy about pleading guilty to anything, but under the circumstances, to get this behind her, I think everybody is pleased with the result,” Spears' lawyer Michael Goldstein said after the plea hearing, at which she did not appear.

Spears grew to superstardom in the 1990s and 2000s with several platinum-selling albums and hit singles including “Toxic,” “… Baby One More Time” and “Oops! … I Did It Again.”

She became a tabloid obsession in the early 2000s and a source of intense public scrutiny as she battled mental illness and paparazzi fought to document her private life.

Spears spent nearly 14 years in a court-ordered conservatorship controlled primarily by her father before she was freed from it in 2021. Since then she has married, divorced and released a bestselling memoir, “The Woman in Me.”

___

This story has been updated to correct the date of Spears’ arrest to March 4, not March 5.

Friday, May 22

• Get your bike ready for summer rides with these simple safety tips
• • Sun & Ski Sports
• This easy road trip from Houston comes with luxury suites, gaming, and a powerful legacy
• • Coushatta Powwow
  • Coushatta Casino Resort
• Hear the hits - ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’ in Houston
• • “The Carole King Musical” at Theatre Under the Stars
• Support local veterans while having fun at the Patriots Charity Classic
• • Patriots Charity Classic Event

Thursday, May 21

• The World comes to Houston! Here’s what to expect ahead of the FIFA Fan Festival™ kicking off in EaDo
• • FIFA Fan Festival™
• This easy road trip from Houston comes with luxury suites, gaming, and a powerful legacy
• • Coushatta Casino Resort - New Legacy Tower
• SUMMER SWEEPSTAKES: Enter to win 3 weeks of free airport parking from The Parking Spot
• • The Parking Spot
• Train for Houston’s in demand jobs at HCC Northeast - Public Safety, Automotive, & more
• • HCC Northeast
• Schlotzsky’s Deli launches new stacked subs in Houston - Try three bold flavors
• • Schlotzsky’s Deli

Wednesday, May 20

• Schlotzsky’s Deli launches new stacked subs in Houston - Try three bold flavors
• • Schlotzsky’s Deli
• Swap, shop, sustain: Houston’s eco-friendly clothing event returns this Sunday
• • The Houston Clothing Shop
• A Houston little boy’s toughest battle led to a monster surprise!
• • Gexa Energy
• Early detection, AI tools, personalized care redefine preventive health
• • Fountain Life Houston Clinic
• Get your backyard summer ready with pest control, pool upgrades, trampolines and whole home backup power
• • Kathryn Emery
• Need summer plans? This easy Galveston getaway has dinosaurs, beaches & lazy rivers
• • Moody Gardens

Tuesday, May 19

• In the Kitchen with Kroger: Memorial Day hosting doesn’t have to start from scratch
• • KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for your chance to win a $250 Kroger gift card!
  • Kroger
• Moody Gardens
• Houston Ballet closes 2025-2026 season with two standout productions
• • Houston Ballet
• From award-winning tv to action-packed films, Bob Odenkirk chats ‘Normal’
• • Follow Bob Odenkirk on Instagram

Monday, May 18

• Celebrate World Ocean Day in Galveston with art, music & ocean fun for free 🌊 🌊
• • Artist Boat
• A collector’s dream: U.S. Coins & Jewelry opens brand new showroom for buying and selling
• • U.S. Coins and Jewelry
• Mental Health Awareness Month: How to spot the signs when stress becomes something more
• • The Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD)
• Spring couple transforms builder-grade patio into beautiful backyard with Allied Outdoor Solutions
• • Allied Outdoor Solutions
• Why natural looking dental implants are the new luxury in facial rejuvenation
• • Texas Dental Implant Center

Friday, May 15

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• At Houston’s Alley Theatre, “Dear Alien” explores the beautiful weirdness of being human
• • “Dear Alien at Alley Theatre
• Gear up inside the newly renovated and relocated Sun & Ski Sports Memorial City
• • Sun & Ski Sports Memorial City
• The Travel Mom on the perks of RV life on the road
• • The Travel Mom
  • Go RVing

Thursday, May 14

• Musaafer Houston Beekeeper cocktail program highlights honey from local neighborhoods
• • Musaafer
• Help us save lives at the KPRC 2 Community Blood Drive with Gulf Coast Blood
• • Schedule an appointment
• Port Aransas
• Children’s Museum Houston

Wednesday, May 13

• Why one Fulshear homeowner calls his generator “The Easy Button”
• • GenPro.com
• Family fun meets coastal charm in Port Aransas, Texas’ premier Gulf Coast getaway
• • Port Aransas
  • Red Dragon Pirate Cruises
• Local chef turns pandemic setback into a thriving Filipino food pop-up business
• • Aleng Nina’s
  • Chef Nina’s Pop-up Event at Third Place

Tuesday, May 12

• Rob Riggle among authors featured in ‘A Celebration of Reading’ 2026
• • Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation
• Texas’ legendary 1877 tall ship ELISSA joins Sail250 voyage to New York Harbor
• • The Official Official Tall Ship of Texas
  • Galveston 250 Kickoff Party Tickets
• The Future of noninvasive wellness is in Sugar Land
• • Oasis Aesthetics & Wellness and Oasis Dry Eye Center
• Chef Jose Hernandez on his roots, restaurants, and fresh pasta
• • Savoir Restaurant
  • Patton

Monday, May 11

• Texas breweries shine at World Beer Cup as American Craft Beer Week kicks off
• • What’s on Tap Radio
• Could Retirement Living Actually Feel Like a Resort? Inside Life at Eagle’s Trace
• • Eagles’ Trace by Erickson Senior Living
• Empty Bowls Houston returns for its 20th anniversary
• • Empty Bowls Houston
  • Houston Food Bank

Friday, May 8

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• Children’s Museum Houston and Houston Life present a first look inside the ‘Gallery of Wonder’ on KPRC 2
• Easy at-home kitchen STEM activities to spark curiosity with Children’s Museum Houston
• • Children’s Museum Houston
• Rung Film Festival returns to Houston, highlighting Pakistani storytellers on the big screen
• • Rung Film Festival
• Scammed out of $90,000: Houston woman shares warning for seniors
• • AARP Houston
• KPRC 2’s “Eat Like a Local”

Thursday, May 7

• Celebrate National Hamburger Month with OMG! Burger
• • OMG! Burger
• How Houston City College Is Building the City’s Workforce
• • Houston City College
• The Insperity Invitational presented by United Healthcare happening in The Woodlands this weekend
• • Insperity Invitational
• Bridge the Gaps

Wednesday, May 6

• From local finds to feel-good vibes, ‘Shop Fulshear First’ family-friendly night market
• • “Shop Fulshear First”
• Why you keep repeating the same unhealthy relationship patterns and how to change them
• • Jenn Pinkerton
• Houston Grand Opera

Tuesday, May 5

• Bun B announces “UGK Been Ridin’ Dirty,” Celebrating 30 Years of a Southern Hip-Hop Classic
• • Bun B Presents “Been Ridin’ Dirty” Tickets
• From classroom to center stage: The Tommy Tune Awards showcase Houston’s rising theatre talent
• • Tommy Tune Awards Finalists List
• Houston Life co-hosts learn calligraphy with live event artist Jenny Blaschke
• • Jenny Blaschke

Monday, May 4

• “Houston’s Enchilada Queen” Sylvia Casares serving up big flavor & family tradition
• • Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen
• This Houston program uses comedy to build confidence and change lives
• • Comedy Unlocked
  • The Opportunity Center
• Hot products: Summer grillin’ and chillin’ with Lifestyle and Home Improvement expert Kathryn Emery
• • Kathryn Emery
• New Smile: AI-driven design at Texas Dental Implant Center
• • Texas Dental Implant Center

Friday, May 1

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• Teatro Indigo
• Teatro Indigo at Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
• Mahjong for a Cause
• Sam Houston Race Park

Thursday, April 30

• St‑Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• National Pet Month is here! Houston SPCA offers tips for responsible pet ownership
• • Houston SPCA
• From Knee Replacement to the Boston Marathon: A Story of Movement, Medicine, and Meaning
• • Dr. Richard A. Berger Outpatient Hip and Knee Surgery
• Tyler Henry “The Hollywood Medium” heading to Houston for unforgettable live show
• • Tyler Henry Live at Smart Financial Center
  • Connect with Tyler Henry

Wednesday, April 29

• In the Kitchen with Kroger: Celebrate Mother’s Day with Kroger, the world’s largest florist
• • KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for your chance to win a $250 Kroger gift card!
• Sail into Alaska with Princess Cruises - tips from The Travel Mom, Emily Kaufman
• • The Travel Mom
  • Princess Cruises
• How wearing denim became an international symbol of supporting assault survivors and victims
• • National Denim Day
  • Fort Bend Women’s Center
• Country superstar Parker McCollum surprises nurses ahead of National Nurses Week

Tuesday, April 28

• Inside Golden Roastery: A popular Middle Eastern shop serving traditional desserts and coffee
• How to make a popular Arab dessert Kunafa
• • Golden Roastery (Walk-in offer only; get 20% off Kunafa items from now to May 10)
• Help us save lives at the KPRC 2 Community Blood Drive with Gulf Coast Blood
• • Community Blood Drive at KPRC 2
• Cedric The Entertainer brings the laughs in new Netflix animated film ‘Swapped’
• • Netflix’s ‘Swapped’

Monday, April 27

• Summer safety for kids: what parents need to know
• • Bivona Law Firm
• From Blueprint to Backyard Oasis: A Missouri City Transformation Designed for Real Life
• • Allied Outdoor Solutions
• First annual AAPI Fest coming to Alief
• • AAPI Fest
  • Kaminari Taiko of Houston,
• The story behind Agnes and Sherman where Asian flavors meet American comfort food
• • Agnes and Sherman
  • AAPI Restaurant Weeks
• Hosts Mike “The Miz” Mizanin and Rocsi Diaz chat reboot of ‘American Gladiators’
• • American Gladiators

Friday, April 24

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• Step inside August Wilson’s “Fences” at Houston’s Alley Theatre - A timeless story of love, legacy, and second chances
• • August Wilson’s “Fences” at Alley Theatre
• Prime Video’s ‘Cocaine Quarterback’ Owen Hanson visits Houston, shares incredible comeback story
• • “Cocaine Quarterback” on Prime Video
• National Bucket List Day: A Trafalgar River Cruise with The Travel Mom
• • The Travel Mom
  • Trafalgar

Thursday, April 23

• Silambam Houston highlights the beauty of Indian classical dance at the Hobby Center
• • Silambam Houston
• A preview of Great Age on the Green, Houston’s new festival celebrating aging boldly
• • Great Age on the Green
• Kids learn money the fun way with Financial Fortunes card game
• • Financial Fortunes Card Game
• Teeing off for the LPGA’s first major of the season - The Chevron Championship
• • The Chevron Championship

Wednesday, April 22

• Houston is driving the Biotech future - starting with students
• • Texas Medical Center BioPath Program
• From ‘Dance Moms’ to the stage and page: Nia Sioux’s next act
• • Follow Nia Sioux on Instagram
• From ‘Dance Moms’ to the stage and page: Nia Sioux’s next act
• • Nia Sioux’s Memoir “Bottom of the Pyramid”
• Wildflowers, western heritage, and a Mother’s Day to remember at The George Ranch
• The George Ranch

Tuesday, April 21

• Orchid care 101: Simple tricks to keep your orchids blooming longer
• • Ace Berry
  • Flora & More
• Affordable luxury: New upholstered bed collection unveiled at Texas Mattress Makers
• • Texas Mattress Makers
• Music, food and rodeo fun for all at the Galveston County Fair & Rodeo
• • Galveston County Fair & Rodeo
• Texas Dental Implant Center

Monday, April 20

• Robins Landing Neighborhood Floor Plans - Houston Habitat for Humanity
• Homeownership Process - Houston Habitat for Humanity
• Volunteering - Houston Habitat for Humanity
• ReStore - Houston Habitat for Humanity
• Third Ward - Houston Habitat for Humanity

Friday, April 17

• ‘Houston Life’ is live today at the Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market Spring
• • Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market® SPRING
  • Dog Collar World
  • Linked by Stevi
  • The Hive
  • Big Creek Farms
  • EK The Boutique
  • House of Cottonwood
  • ParkerJoe

Thursday, April 16

• TUTS presents ‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ rides into the Hobby Center
• • Monty Python’s Spamalot at TUTS Tickets
• One ticket, endless fun at the Galveston County Fair and Rodeo
• • Galveston County Fair and Rodeo
• Carpet Giant celebrates 50 years of proudly serving generations of Houstonians
• • Carpet Giant Website (mention Houston Life to get $150 off your purchase of $1,000)
• Faith ‘One Arm Wonder’ Malton and Zack ‘Pitbull’ Ruhl rappel 30 stories for non-profit Camp For All
• • Camp For All
  • Faith Malton

Wednesday, April 15

• Brush up on your makeup routine at Blushington River Oaks
• • Houston Life Deals (Get 20% off beauty services at Blushington River Oaks)
  • Blushington River Oaks
• The King himself shares how to save 20% on tickets to the Texas Renaissance Festival
• • Texas Renaissance Festival
• Ethan’s Ohana
• Cube Against Cancer 2026 Houston
• Cube Against Cancer
• Fortis College

Tuesday, April 14

• Former Texans WR Steven Sims Jr. to host FREE youth football camp
• • Must See Foundation
• Why it’s not just the generator - it’s the company behind it
• • Gen Pro
• How the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce helps local companies grow
• • Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Step Onward Foundation uses music to fight homelessness in Texas
• • Step Onward Foundation
  • Sunday Funday Community Celebration

Monday, April 13

• Robins Landing Neighborhood Floor Plans - Houston Habitat for Humanity
• Homeownership Process - Houston Habitat for Humanity
• Volunteering - Houston Habitat for Humanity
• ReStore - Houston Habitat for Humanity
• Third Ward - Houston Habitat for Humanity

Friday, April 10

• Your guide to the Houston Barbecue Festival this weekend: Top pitmasters, unlimited BBQ samples, and more
• • Houston BBQ Festival
• Texas CASA’s partner agencies train volunteers to be a voice and a lifeline for children in the foster care system
• • Become a CASA
• ‘Grow the Game’ Initiative expands soccer access in Houston ahead of the World Cup with Guinness World Records attempt
• • Airbnb GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™
• Houston’s Garden Theatre celebrates 5 years with Stephen Sondheim’s “Company”
• • The Garden Theatre
• Father daughter duo Steve Zahn and Audrey Zahn chat new film ‘She Dances’

Thursday, April 9

• The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary kicks off 22nd annual ‘Chic Boutique’
• • Chic Boutique
• Aramie Payton brings Broadway pedigree to Alley Theatre’s revival of “Fences”
• • Alley Theatre
• Layoff leads Houston creator to viral small business mission
• • Follow David on Instagram
• At just 19, Jalyn Hall is stepping into his moment
• • NBC’s “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins”
• KPRC 2’s “Eat Like a Local”

Wednesday, April 8

• Houston Underwater Film Festival returns this weekend with stunning ocean films 🌊🌊
• • School, college and scuba students: claim a free ticket by emailing huff@hups.org
  • Houston Underwater Film Festival Tickets
• Celebrate Earth Month by sipping sustainably!
• • Wine and Travel Contributor Daniela Garrido
• Shred Day Houston: Safely destroy documents and fight hunger on April 18
• • Comerica Shred Day Houston
• Trade-show-tested home picks: Coffee, Water, Bidets and Moving Gear
• • Kathryn Emery Home Improvement & Lifestyle Expert
• A kid’s guide to top play picks to cut screen time and spark creativity
• • Kid-trepreneur Dylan Emery

Tuesday, April 7

• Grand Marshals Kam Franklin & Brian Ching preview the 39th annual Art Car Parade
• • Houston Art Car Parade
• This Texas artist is turning Titanic artifacts into art
• • Souls of the Titanic
• In Houston, Your Windows May Not Last as Long—Here’s What to Know (and What to Do About It)
• • Pella Windows and Doors
• Houston’s Trillest Chef bringing bold flavors of H-Town the national stage
• • Follow Chef Machete on Instagram
• Texas Dental Implant Center

Monday, April 6

• Houston’s Garden Theatre celebrates 5 years with Stephen Sondheim’s “Company”
• • The Garden Theatre
• Sysco’s World Cup-themed food show is a preview of how Houston plans to feed the world
• • Sysco World Cup-themed food show
• The Houston Art Car Parade

Friday, April 3

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• WWE Wrestler Je’Von Evans
• WWE Monday Night Raw at Toyota Center Tickets
• IBEW Local 66
• KPRC 2’s “Eat Like a Local”

Thursday, April 2

• Disney on Ice
• The Chevron Championship
• Maxine Sharf brings ‘Maxi’s Kitchen’ to Houston Life with her mom
• • Follow Maxine Sharf on Instagram
  • "Maxi’s Kitchen: Easy Go-To Recipes to Make Again and Again"
• Father daughter duo Steve Zahn and Audrey Zahn chat new film ‘She Dances’

Wednesday, April 1

• Spring gets sweeter with two easy recipes: Carrot cupcake and blueberry crumble bun
• • Follow Cookbook Author Florence Jackson on Instagram
• This Houston Restaurant Hasn’t Raised Prices Since Its Food Truck Days
• • Black Restaurant Week
  • Chitalian Pizzeria
• Tarot, the Fool card and finding meaning on Derrick’s birthday (April Fool’s Day)
• • Tarot Card Reader Amber Ambrose
• Theatre Under the Stars presents ‘Back to the Future: The Musical’ through April 5th
• • TUTS “Back to the Future: The Musical”

Tuesday, March 31

• Send Well Wishes to Tessa on her last day
• • Tessa Barrera announces she’s leaving ‘Houston Life’
• Calling all book lovers: Houston indie bookstore crawl returns for its third year of literary adventure
• • 2026 Houston Bookstore Crawl
• Preview the 13th annual Insperity Invitational presented by United Healthcare
• • Insperity Invitational
• Texas roots and coastal growth, how the Oyster Bros in Palacios are redefining the gulf oyster
• • Oyster Bros
• Goodtaste with Tanji Patton

Monday, March 30

• How Autism Moms of Houston became a lifeline for families raising children who are neurodivergent
• • Autism Moms of Houston
  • Autism Awareness Festival
• An offer fit for a new you! Grab the Alloy Personal Training Houston Life Deal
• • Alloy Personal Training Houston
  • Houston Life Deals
• Who’s responsible when a child is hurt at daycare?
• • Bivona Law
• At just 19, Jalyn Hall is stepping into his moment
• • NBC’s “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins”

Friday, March 27

• Family fun, charity, & of course golf shine at Texas Children’s Houston Open ⛳
• • Texas Children’s Houston Open
  • TCHO Cleats for Kids

Wednesday, March 25

• Tessa Barrera announces she’s leaving ‘Houston Life’
• Plan aims to turn Garden Oaks Theater into an arts hub before it’s too late
• • Save the Garden Oaks Theater
• Fore! Preview the 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open
• • Texas Children’s Houston Open
• Women, Wealth, and breaking ‘The Success Lie’
• • Chantell Preston
  • “The Success Lie” by Chantell Preston
• McGovern Allergy & Asthma Clinic
• Gexa Energy

Tuesday, March 24

• From puppy playtime to pesky nipping, helpful springtime tips for dog owners
• • Stephanie Bennett’s Believe in Dog Training
• How one Houston program is helping kids discover confidence—and their future
• • Sam Houston Area Council Boy Scouts of America
• Houston Ballet’s Busy Spring: Nutcracker Market, Sons de L’âme & YAGP Finals
• • Houston Ballet
• Breaking barriers and popping corks with CEO and Master Sommelier June Rodil
• • Master Sommelier June Rodil
  • Goodnight Hospitality

Monday, March 23

• Blooming Wonders at ARTECHOUSE
• • Spring arrives at ARTECHOUSE Houston with ‘Blooming Wonders’
• Texas Dental Implant Center
• • Trusted Dental Implant Care in Houston — Board-Certified Periodontist Helps Complex Cases
• Disability Attorney Marc Whitehead
• • Expert tax advice: Are your Social Security and Disability benefits taxable?
• Allied Outdoor Solutions
• • From basic to beautiful: See this stunning backyard transformation in Weston Lakes

Thursday, March 19

• Springtime fun at the Houston Zoo
• • Zoo Bloom
  • All you can Zoo
  • Saving the Galápagos Islands

Wednesday, March 18

• Houston Latino Film Festival celebrates 10 Years with Cheech Marin
• • Houston Latino Film Festival
• Find the good vibes every weekend for Jazzy Sundays in the Parks
• • Jazzy Sundays in the Parks
• Get to know Dash rising star, Avery Patterson
• • Houston Dash
• Kevin Williamson makes fans SCREAM all over again in latest franchise installation
• • Kevin Williamson
• Self Employed? Tax Filing Moves That Help You Qualify for a Mortgage
• • Habayit Home Loans
  • Mortgage Expert Rich Bonn’s Upcoming Webinar

Tuesday, March 17

• Houston’s Mezclada Dance Company blends hip hop, Latin and contemporary dance forms into high-energy performances
• • Performing Arts Houston New/Now featuring Mezclada Dance Company
• METRO rolls out systemwide changes: A first look at the new technology to help streamline your ride
• • Metro Houston
• Houston Life Deals: Fun & savings for the entire family
• • HoustonLifeDeals.com
• Frontier Utilities teams with Kids’ Meals Houston to pack thousands of meals
• • Frontier Utilities

Monday, March 16

• Affordable rodeo-ready outfits you can find at Target this season
• • Target.com
• Houston’s growing need for linemen: Why the trade pays and how to start
• • IBEW Local 66
• ET hosts Nischelle Turner and Kevin Frazier share highlights from the 98th Academy Awards
• • Entertainment Tonight Oscars Coverage
• Houston Ballet principal dancer Karina González brings Frida Kahlo to life in Broken Wings
• • “Broken Wings” at Houston Ballet Tickets
• The Largest Indoor Waterpark in the U.S.? It’s Just a Road Trip from Houston
• • Kalahari Resorts and Conventions

Friday, March 13

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• Houston Life Deals: Fun & savings for the entire family
• Outriding the Devil: Angela Ganter’s incredible rodeo comeback
• • Outriding the Devil premieres at River Oaks Theatre
• ‘Aliens’ 40th anniversary cast reunion and more at Pop Culture Con 2026
• • Pop Culture Con
• Alley Theatre brings Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” to Houston with a fresh twist
• • “The Importance of Being Earnest” at Alley Theatre Tickets
• Bounce your way to better fitness: trampoline workouts in West U
• • Motiv Fitness at West University
• Moon 2 Mars Festival returns to Space Center Houston with out-of-this-world fun and concerts this spring break
• • Space Center Houston

Thursday, March 12

• KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for your chance to see Tim McGraw at RODEOHOUSTON
• The Birthday Joy Program helps kids in foster care, shelters and group homes celebrate their special day
• • the Birthday Joy Program Website
• Inside “The Feminine Universe” Houston’s new all-women immersive art experience
• • The Feminine Universe Art Show Tickets
• Bring the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo home with these sips and bites
• • Entertaining Expert Paul Zahn
• Spring is in full swing at CITYCENTRE Houston
• • CITYCENTRE
• Kalahari Resorts and Conventions

Tuesday, March 10

• Enjoy Spring Break at the Houston Museum of Natural Science
• • Houston Museum of Natural Science
• Honoring the fallen & recognizing community heroes
• • Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
  • BP America
• Houston author Margie Seaman proves it is never too late to chase a dream
• • Margie Seaman
  • “Someday Is Our Horizon” by Margie Seaman on Amazon

Monday, March 9

• NestFest beach cleanup invites volunteers to protect nesting sea turtles on the Galveston Coast
• From bumper boats to STEAM activities, enjoy a FUNonmenal spring break at Discovery Green
• • FUNomenal Spring Break at Discovery Green
• This veteran-owned business is helping Houstonians keep the heat the out and the savings in with new windows
• • The Window Source
• You’ve been diagnosed with cancer, now what? Non-profit CanCare pairs you with survivors who can help
• • CanCare
• Spring Break Staycation: Why The Travel Mom says Houston families love Great Wolf Lodge
• • The Travel Mom
  • Great Wolf Lodge

Friday, March 6

• Houston Life Deals
• Pickle vs. anime: Largest pickle festival in Texas comes to Rosenberg with anime-inspired food
• • In A Pickle Festival
• Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks: Best days to book, when to fly and top savings
• • Expedia Air Hacks Report
• The Parking Spot making airport parking a breeze
• • The Parking Spot
• A rustic dream venue just outside Houston
• • Country Oaks Venue
• Rare Texas artifacts step out ‘From the Vault’ at The Bryan Museum
• • The Bryan Museum
• Rhythm Energy Question of the Week

Thursday, March 5

• Gold Buckle Foodie Awards at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Houston Life Deals
• Avoiding vacation headaches: New Vrbo survey on group travel reveals common pet peeves
• • Vrbo
• Houston wellness trend: A local body sculpting technique focused on lymphatic health
• • The Tox
• Catching up with Russell Dickerson ahead of debut RODEOHOUSTON performance
• • RODEOHOUSTON

Wednesday, March 4

• Houston Life Deals
• Moon 2 Mars Festival returns to Space Center Houston with out-of-this-world fun and concerts this spring break
• • Space Center Houston
• What to Wear to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo: Your Ultimate Style Guide 
• • Boot Barn
• Destin-Fort Walton Beach, more than beaches: reefs, fishing, little adventures
• • Visit Destin-Fort Walton Beach
• Baz Luhrmann’s ‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’ gives fans a front-row seat to The King
• • “EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert” Film

Tuesday, March 3

• Diana Ross coming to Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
• Learn about the untold history of Black baseball
• • Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy
• Houston Life Deals
• Modern dental implants give Houston patients natural, comfortable smiles
• • Texas Dental Implant Center
• Houston native Kyrie McAlpin Talks ‘The Burbs’, Keke Palmer & a very Seth MacFarlane Christmas party

Monday, March 2

• Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• • Houston Life kicks off opening day at 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Suits & Boot Injury Lawyers

Friday, February 27

• Gabriel Basso takes us behind the scenes of Netflix’s ‘The Night Agent’
• • Netflix’s “The Night Agent”
• Mudbug Mania: Tanji Patton celebrates crawfish season in Houston
• • Goodtaste with Tanji Patton
  • Crawfish Shack
  • Crawfish Hideaway
• Theatre Under The Stars reveals 2026-27 season with Broadway tours & local shows
• • Theatre Under the Stars
• Boot Barn
• What to see and do in Malta — beaches, history and booking tips from The Travel Mom
• • The Travel Mom

Thursday, February 26

• Diana Ross at The Sugar Land Smart Financial Center
• KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for a chance to see Creed perform at RodeoHouston
• Get a peek inside RodeoHouston’s World Championship BBQ Cookoff
• • Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Soulful river cruises that connect Black travelers to heritage and culture
• • AmaWaterways Soulful Experience River Cruise
• Houston Life Deals
• Allied Outdoor Solutions
• HCC Southeast College

Wednesday, February 25

• Behind the scenes of TUTS’ ‘Million Dollar Quartet’
• • Tickets to ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ at Theatre Under the Stars
• Houston influencers share their best thrifting tips for Rodeo
• • Find your nearest Goodwill store
• Plan the ultimate spring break getaway for everyone at Moody Gardens
• • Moody Gardens
• Ride along: METRO Police Chief explains new safety measures for Houston transit
• • Metro Houston

Tuesday, February 24

• Spring Break, but make it San Antonio
• • Visit San Antonio
• Alley Theatre’s ‘English’ explores identity, belonging, and the weight of learning a new language
• • Tickets to ‘English’ at Alley Theatre
• Looking for a Career Change? Here’s How You Could Be Job-Ready in 10 Months
• • Learn more about programs at United Education Institute Houston

Monday, February 23 (WE ARE BACK!!!)

• Indian Film Festival of Houston celebrates France with film, food and culture
• • Indian Film Festival of Houston Website
• KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for a chance to see Riley Green perform at RodeoHouston
• • Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Chris Hemsworth will keep you on the edge of your seat in ‘Crime 101’
• • “Crime 101” Movie Times
• Modern dental implants give Houston patients natural, comfortable smiles
• • Texas Dental Implant Center

February 6 - 20

• Houston is off air due to the Winter Olympics, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop entertaining you. Be sure to follow us on social media to see all the HL fun. We’ll be back Feb. 23.
• • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Thursday, February 5

• Papa Johns Pizza
• The Cody Stephens Foundation saves lives with free heart screenings for young athletes
• • Cody Stephens Foundation
• Get ready for the return of the one and only Monster Jam in Houston
• • Tickets to Monster Jam at NRG Stadium
• Getting your best night’s sleep: How the latest materials and technology can help you sleep better
• • Texas Mattress Makers
• What is an “Orphan Generator”? And why it could put Houston homes at risk during an outage
• • GenPro.com
• Follow Mersha the Mini Panther on Instagram (Use MERSHA20 to get a discount at PrettyLitter)

Wednesday, February 4

• Simon & Garfunkel Story at The Sugar Land Smart Financial Center
• Behind the scenes of ‘Real Women Have Curves’ on stage at Alley Theatre
• • Tickets to ‘Real Women Have Curves’ at Alley Theatre
• Decoding body language: How to spot liars, read subtle signals, and communicate with confidence
• • Jan Hargrave
• In the Kitchen with Kroger: Why they are your one stop shop for the Big Game and Valentine’s Day
• • Kroger

Tuesday, February 3

• MFAH’s new exhibit explores Frida Kahlo’s lasting legacy
• • ‘Frida: The Making of an Icon’ at MFAH
• United Way of Greater Houston’s 211: Help is one call away
• • United Way of Greater Houston’s 211 Helpline
• After the freeze - now what? How to care for perennials and shrubs in Houston
• • Gardening with Skip
  • Houston Home and Garden Show
• Go back in time at Popfancy Dessert Bar’s new retro 80’s sci-fi arcade cafe
• • Popfancy Fan Cafe

Monday, February 2

• Kenny G at The Sugar Land Smart Financial Center
• The relationship advice that helps couples feel closer — even during hard conversations
• • Connection Expert Jenn Pinkerton
  • Connectin Cards Couples Edition on Amazon
• Paris Hilton’s “Infinite Icon”
• Arandas Bakery
• Texas Dental Implant Center

Friday, January 30

• Monster Energy Supercross heads into Houston featuring the world’s fastest racers
• • Monster Energy Supercross at NRG Stadium This Weekend
• From Trinidad and Tobago to Top Chef: Tristen Epps’ journey is rooted in culture
• • Chef Tristen Epps
  • A Classically Black Dinner - Vibrant + Modern + African
• Few physicians leave a legacy like this: Houston honors cancer pioneer Dr. Philip Salem
• • Salem Oncology Center
• The Travel Mom: Family-Friendly Wave-Season Deals from Princess
• • The Travel Mom
  • Princess Cruises

Thursday, January 29

• The Simon & Garfunkel Story at The Sugar Land Smart Financial Center
• Former KPRC 2 reporter shares ‘With Love From Harlem’: The story behind America’s First Black power couple
• • ReShonda Tate’s new book ‘With Love from Harlem’
• American Home Buyer
• How personalized aesthetics - Botox, fillers & lasers - can help you age better
• • Anti Age Institute
• The cast of ‘Bridgerton’ takes us behind-the-scenes of the ton for season 4
• • Netflix’s Bridgerton Season 4

Wednesday, January 28

• KPRC 2’s new evening anchor Stephania Jimenez makes her Houston debut with passion and purpose
• • Follow Stephania on her KPRC 2 Instagram Account
• Cars, boats and more: What to know about this year’s Houston AutoBoative Show 2026
• • Houston Autoboative Show (Save $20 with Family Four Pack Option)
• Get a taste of Old Town Katy with Tanji Patton of Goodtaste TV
• • Goodtaste with Tanji Patton
  • Peanut Butter Pie from Southern Dough
  • Southern Dough Baking Co.
  • Humble Grounds Coffeehouse
  • Harvest Kitchen & Bakery
• A Family Business Built on Trust: Luke’s Plumbing & Air Conditioning Serves Houston for Over 30 Years
• • Luke’s Plumbing & Air Conditioning

Tuesday, January 27

• Remembering the iconic artist David Adickes on his 99th birthday and his lasting legacy in Houston
• • David Adickes Art Website
  • Follow ‘Adickes Art’ on Instagram
• Plan a Vacation Day: Experts share 2026 travel trends and how to protect your trip
• • The Travel Mom
  • Follow The Travel Mom Emily Kaufman on Instagram
  • Travel Guard Insurance
• Texans Serving Texans: Gexa Energy gives back
• • Gexa Energy
• Bill Skarsgård steps beyond horror roots in new film, ‘Dead Man’s Wire’

Monday, January 26

• Houston relationship and intimacy expert dishes on the small relationship habits that make love last
• • Houston Relationship Therapy
  • VIVID Relationships app
• Crawfish & Noodles gearing up for a busy crawfish season
• • Crawfish & Noodles
• Traveling smarter in 2026: What travel experts say to book now
• • Travel Expert Jeanenne Tornatore
  • Follow the Outside Insider on Instagram

Friday, January 23

• Discover why Sam Houston Race Park is a top spot for family outings with “Houston Life”
• • Sam Houston Race Park
  • Corgi Races
  • Shannon Jewelers Presents Diamond Dig
  • Wiener Dog Races

Thursday, January 22

• WEIGH IN: What are your must have products during a freeze?
• Cars, boats and more: What to know about this year’s Houston AutoBoative Show 2026
• • Houston Autoboative Show (Save $20 with Family Four Pack Option)
• Honoring Dr. Philip A. Salem for innovations in cancer care and research
• • Salem Oncology Center
• Bert Kreischer talks fatherhood, fame, and his new scripted comedy series, “Free Bert”
• • Netflix’s “Free Bert”
• Last chance to enjoy the Green Mountain Energy Ice at Discovery Green
• • Ice at Discovery Green

Wednesday, January 21

• Seth Rogen, Ike Barinholtz & Chase Sui Wonders chat comedy series ‘The Studio’
• • Apple Tv+’s ‘The Studio’
• Allied Outdoor Solutions
• Living Designs Furniture
• The Women’s Resource empowers women and girls through free financial and career coaching services
• • The Women’s Resource
• Houston woman helps bring Black cowboy history to PBS
• • Alma’s Way on PBS Kids
  • Black Cowboy Coalition

Friday, January 16

• School Makes You Super: KPRC-TV reporter and mom Haley Hernandez debuts first children’s book to ease school anxiety
• • Buy ‘School Makes You Super" here
• Children’s Museum Houston celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• • MLK Day Celebration at Children’s Museum Houston
• Two experts explain why Key Largo, Florida should be on your 2026 travel list
• • The Travel Mom
• The man known as “the human lie detector” works to keep serial killers behind bars
• • Killer Confessions

Thursday, January 15

• Young voices, lasting legacy: Houston students honor Dr. King in 30th Annual Oratory Competition
• • Foley MLK Jr. Oratory Competition
• Breaking through the plateau with Dr. Ian Smith’s ‘The Last 15′
• • Follow Dr. Ian Smith on Instagram
  • Purchase “The Last 15″ on Amazon
• Mindful eating tips and a pesto vinaigrette recipe to kickstart a healthier new year
• • Leaf & Grain
• Stay powered and protected with GenPro.com, Houston’s premier generator specialists
• • Call or log on to book an estimate and receive a functional mini generator worth $50 for FREE

Wednesday, January 14

• Check out the fun, food and giveaways for Houston Rockets fans this week
• • Houston Rockets Game Day Tickets
• A Kroger pharmacist’s guide to everyday wellness in 2026
• • Enter for a chance to win a Kroger gift card
  • Kroger
• Mix-MATCH Festival returns with over 20 performances celebrating Houston’s creative spirit
• • Tickets to 3rd Annual Mix-MATCH Festival
  • Daisies & Pancakes

Tuesday, January 13

• Kick off the new year with magic: Magician Curt Miller returns with his show “The Conjurer”
• • Curt Miller
  • Tickets to The Conjurer: An Intimate Magical Experience with Curt Miller
• Brad Meltzer Book Signing
• • Follow Brad Meltzer on Instagram
• Innovative Lasers of Houston

Monday, January 12

• Turn to tea this year to slow down, reset, and satisfy without regrets
• • Tea Please
• The Travel Mom: Family fun at Knott’s Berry Farm - a California getaway everyone will love
• • The Travel Mom
  • Visit Buena Park
  • Knott’s Berry Farm
• Pet adoption events for the new year at Fort Bend County Animal Services
• • Fort Bend County Animal Services
• New Year, New Smile: AI-driven smile design at Texas Dental Implant Center
• • Texas Dental Implant Center

Friday, January 9

• Shop The Sale Houston with proceeds benefitting childhood cancer research
• • The Sale Houston
• A new chapter begins: Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones chat about their new pairing
• • TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle
• Former radio personality, Sarah Pepper returns to Texas to emcee 2026 Chevron Houston Marathon
• • Follow Sarah Pepper on Instagram

Thursday, January 8

• Belle comes to Houston - Kyra Belle Johnson stars in Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ now at the Hobby Center
• • Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” Tickets at Hobby Center
• Mathew Knowles launches new Destiny’s Child nationwide tribute tour; Houston is first stop
• • Destiny’s Child: Iconic Reimagined Tribute Tickets
• Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Wednesday, January 7

• The story behind Luke’s Plumbing and Air Conditioning serving Houstonians since 1991
• • Luke’s Plumbing & Air Conditioning
• Where karaoke meets claw machines: Welcome to Klaw‑Oke Kingdom in Pearland
• • Klaw-Oke Kingdom
• Brace yourself, the 1993 Oilers vs. Bills game is featured in new docuseries ‘Don’t Call it a Comeback’
• • VICE TV’s “Don’t Call It A Comeback”
• New Year, Strong Start: EōS Fitness Experts Share Tips to Crush 2026 Goals
• • EōS Fitness

Tuesday, January 6

• Houston bagel pros talk schmear, slices and specials ahead of National Bagel Day
• • Bagel Shop Bakery
• Comedian Chinedu Ogu takes H-Town-rooted comedy on a national tour
• • Chinedu at Punch Line Houston
• Start your new year weight loss journey at Health Solutions and Weightloss
• • Health Solutions and Weightloss
• Enroll Now: Key deadlines and tips for 2026 Marketplace coverage
• • Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

Monday, January 5

• Rosca de Reyes Season is here - and this Houston bakery is busy
• • Arandas Bakery
• Damp or Dry January? These non-alcoholic wines actually taste like wine
• • Daniela Garrido | Wine and Travel Expert
• New Year, New Smile: AI-driven smile design at Texas Dental Implant Center
• • Texas Dental Implant Center
• Freeze Miser

Friday, January 2

• Tough but fair: NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas visits Houston Life
• • NBC Nightly News
  • Tom Llamas
• Tarot Card Reader Amber Ambrose
• Opening weekend kicks off at Sam Houston Race Park TODAY!
• • Sam Houston Race Park

Thursday, January 1

• New Year’s fitness made simple: Tips and a low-impact workout for beginners
• • Hoodfit
• Chantell Preston
• HiFi at The Finn

SEEN ON HL 2025 ARCHIVE

SEEN ON HL 2024 ARCHIVE

SEEN ON HL 2023 ARCHIVE

Three people found inside the house on Wednesday died. A fourth person who was in the house and one of the emergency responders who became sick were still being treated at a hospital Friday.

A doctor who saw the responders exhibiting symptoms — including nausea and dizziness — said their symptoms most closely resembled fentanyl exposure. However, the investigation into how the exposure happened and what caused it was ongoing.

University of New Mexico Hospital Chief Medical Officer Steve McLaughlin said during a news conference in Albuquerque that authorities were working “under the assumption” that fentanyl was to blame. He said the responders' symptoms ranged from mild to slightly more severe.

“It’s probably not absorbed through your skin, but it would be absorbed through your eyes, nose, mucous membranes, or if you inhale it,” McLaughlin told The Associated Press.

Meth is notoriously toxic when exposed to it, and fentanyl less so. Authorities noted during Friday's news conference that the responders who became ill had directly treated the people found inside the house east of Albuquerque, in the rural town of Mountainair.

More than a dozen first responders were quarantined and decontaminated after responding to the scene.

Of the two people still hospitalized Friday, one was a person who was found unresponsive in the home where three died. Authorities said they were called to the home by a co-worker of one of the people inside after they failed to show up to work.

New Mexico State Police Chief Matt Broom said investigators did not immediately find evidence of drug manufacturing in the house.

State police said early on that there was no threat to the public and that investigators did not believe the substance that caused the responders to become sick was airborne.

Two of the victims were identified Friday as Mika Rascon, 51, and Georgia Rascon, 49. The name of the third person who died has not been released, and the cause and manner of their deaths has not been determined.

Audio archives from the Torrance County Fire Dispatch channel on the site Broadcastify showed that responders went to the home following a report of a 60-year-old man unconscious but breathing.

Within minutes, a dispatcher is heard saying there were three other people at the home, two of whom might not be breathing. Then came a call for naloxone, the opioid-overdose antidote. One person was revived using naloxone, authorities said.

Less than an hour after the initial call, the dispatch center relayed that there were multiple exposures.

Some first responders began coughing, vomiting and experiencing dizziness, authorities said. Most had no symptoms, hospital officials said.

The initial responders on the scene did not have protective gear but followed safety protocols, said Torrance County Fire Chief Gary Smith. They saw two victims inside, pulled them into the fresh air and attempted to resuscitate them, he said.

“This did come in as an overdose. There was no indication of any type of hazmat type scenario,” Smith said.

Debriefings were planned in coming days to determine if there were any weaknesses in the response, he added.

Scientific evidence shows fentanyl, a potent opioid, does not cause overdoses through casual skin contact or brief airborne exposure in typical field scenarios. Experts say overdoses require significant ingestion, injection or inhalation of the substance.

Residents around Mountainair, a town with fewer than 1,000 people, have voiced frustration about drug use in the community and elsewhere.

New Mexico had the fourth-highest rate of drug overdose deaths of any U.S. state in 2024, with 775 deaths, according to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

___

Claudia Lauer contributed reporting from Philadelphia.

___

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

Spieth is giving himself a chance to answer, although Si Woo Kim's flirtation with history while settling for a 60 left the three-time major winner with plenty of work to do.

Kim was in position for the 16th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history on Friday before a bogey on the final hole left him at 11 under for the day and 18-under 124 through 36 holes. Scheffler was among the players five shots behind the 30-year-old South Korean.

Spieth started his back nine — the front side of TPC Craig Ranch — with six consecutive birdies on the way to a 9-under 62 and was 12 under.

Spieth was one shot behind playing partner Sungjae Im, who aced the par-3 seventh moments after Spieth's sixth birdie in a row and finished his 61 with an eagle on the par-5 ninth. Im was tied with Scheffler, Japan's Kensei Hirata and Wyndham Clark, who matched Scheffler's 63.

A nearly $25 million renovation at the TPC Craig Ranch added bunkers and put plenty of contours in the greens. But a rainy Thursday and minimal wind left the Lanny Wadkins-led redesign as vulnerable as the course was the first five times it hosted the Nelson.

“I think the problem right now is that this is like the first time in the history of Dallas, Texas, that you’ll have four or five days of very little east wind and soft conditions in May,” Spieth said. “You get your normal what we had on Monday out here, that’s how it’s designed. I think it would show that it’s significantly harder, but also fair.”

Tom Hoge shot 62 and Tony Finau had a 63 to join Spieth at 12 under, one stroke ahead of first-round leader Taylor Moore, who followed his opening 62 with a 69. Tyler Duncan and Keith Mitchell also were at 12 under after each shot 66.

Brooks Koepka, who opened with a 63 and is looking for his first victory since his return to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf, shot 69 while playing with Scheffler and Kim. He was eight shots back.

Spieth credited a par at No. 18 for setting up his birdie binge, which started with a 12-footer. He hit the first four fairways after struggling off the tee on his first nine, made a 12-footer at the par-3 fourth, a 4-footer on the par-5 fifth and capped the surge from 9 feet on the sixth.

After Spieth put his tee shot 29 feet right of a pin to the far left at No. 7, Im bounced his 222-yard shot between the fringe and the hole and watched it roll in, raising his arms and looking skyward after the ball dropped. The 28-year-old was tied for the lead at that point.

“That was one of the prettiest hole-in-ones I’ve ever seen,” Spieth said. “Prettier than any one I ever made. There’s only a few people that would land that left of it on purpose. He might be one of them.”

Spieth's birdie run ended when his 29-footer at No. 7 came up about a foot short, while Im added another eagle with a 14-foot putt at the par-5 ninth. Spieth finished a bogey-free round with a birdie on No. 9. Im had a bogey and seven birdies to go along with his hole-in-one and eagle.

“I was hurting my head trying to figure out what our best ball was,” Spieth said. “I think it was 57, which is pretty good.”

Spieth, who contended on Sunday as a 16-year-old high schooler at his first Nelson in 2010, finished fourth a year ago when Scheffler won by eight at 31 under while tying the tour's 72-hole scoring record of 253.

The 32-year-old Spieth with 13 tour victories was actually worried about the cut line when he was 5 under at the turn. Then he went on to match his career best at the Nelson from the final round last year.

“Just a lot of it just comes down to knocking in putts,” he said. “It’s not a normal week, and it’s fantastic. Now that our families have grown and stuff, you get the little kids coming out, and it makes it even better.”

Scheffler kept himself in contention by playing a four-hole stretch in 5 under on the back nine, including a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 12th.

Hirata, a six-time Japan Golf Tour winner looking for his first PGA Tour victory, followed a 64 that included an eagle with a bogey-free 65. A short birdie putt on the ninth pulled him even with Im.

___

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

It’s what we do.

And across H-Town, other stories are unfolding every single day - stories built on compassion, generosity, and people stepping up for one another when it matters most.

Neighbors helping neighbors.

Communities lifting communities.

Ordinary people making an extraordinary impact across our city.

Maybe it’s a young person leading change.

• RELATED: 2 Helps You: Community Helping Community, DeAnda Brothers Boxing Gym

Maybe it’s a teacher, coach, veteran, volunteer, pastor, or your 83-year-old “abuela” quietly helping others with no expectation of recognition.

We want to shine a spotlight on the people making Houston stronger - one act of kindness at a time.

This initiative is deeply personal to me. I grew up right down the road in Lake Jackson, and I experienced firsthand what I call “Texas Kind” - people showing up for each other in moments big and small.

• RELATED: More than baseball: Houston’s Texas Monarchs are saving a game — and teaching history

I know that spirit is still very much alive across Houston.

I want to tell those stories.

Contact the 2 Helps You Desk: https://help.click2houston.com/new/?category=7

More specifically, to a large warehouse shed at the corner of Darwin Road and the Eastex Freeway feeder road.

It’s there that, within minutes, we heard a 22-year-old tell us, “We’re just here to help people,” said Manny DeAnda of DeAnda Brothers Boxing.

The professional boxer, still in the early stages of his career, quickly pointed out, “I think we are doing something great.”

Manny is right.

He and his brother, Maximus, run the gym where they help train up to 60 kids every Monday through Friday. Manny started the program when he was 17 years old.

• More than baseball: Houston’s Texas Monarchs are saving a game — and teaching history

“We’re here to set a foundation in the community, to give some of them something to go to. And, you know, I think we’re doing something great.”

I’ve stepped into many boxing gyms in my day, and I am uniquely qualified to say the gym these two brothers operate is as raw, gritty, and ruggedly beautiful as the best of them.

It’s a place where champions of the community are being made.

Where children tell us they are being trained “not to be a bully,” while also having a lot of fun. One little champion-in-the-making named Ethan told me, “It’s something I love and something I’m passionate about.”

A passion project for two brothers in their twenties, that has become the heart of their community.

In fact, even Harris County Sheriff’s Officers have embraced program and have routinely stopped by to work with the kids.

When 2 Helps You asked Manny if he truly comprehended what he was doing for the community, he admitted, “Not really, man. Because I do it because I love it.”

As for Maximus: “I mean, I feel like we brought something to the neighborhood that is positive, that is good.”

What’s next for the two brothers? A professional fight for Manny on June 6 in Galveston.

Maximus will be in his corner.

Rebecca Briscoe says the incident happened at MacGregor Elementary School and involved a security guard employed by Jet Security LLC, a company contracted by HISD.

Briscoe says she was walking to pick up her son from school when she heard him screaming.

“I heard a shrilling sound as I was approaching the front door,” Briscoe said. “And as a parent, especially a mother, you know the difference between an emotional, like my feelings is hurt, humiliated cry, and someone who’s in distress or pain.”

According to Briscoe, her son told her, “I couldn’t breathe. The school resource officer, he choked me.”

• He wasted millions in Houston. Now he’s running Flint’s housing authority — and making more money than ever

Briscoe also alleges school administrators did not initially address her concerns.

Briscoe said she and the child’s father later reviewed surveillance footage with the school principal.

“I watched the video,” she said. “My child’s father and I actually witnessed and watched the video with the principal, and we saw where my son was sitting on a bench, unprovoked, by himself.”

She alleges the footage showed the security guard approaching her son and putting “his hand around his neck.”

“My child is only eight,” she said. “Why would an officer approach my child and put their hands on him? What would give him the right to use excessive force on a second grader?”

• Eight elections in less than a year: The rising cost of voting in Harris County

KPRC 2 News requested access to the surveillance video from HISD, Jet Security LLC, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. But we have not been allowed to review the footage independently.

In a statement to the station, Jet Security LLC CEO Endri Cenolli said the company was told the surveillance footage does not support the allegations.

“The last piece of information we received from the principal at the school viewing the cameras stated that the allegations did not happen as we were told it was on cameras,” Cenolli said in part. “HISD is still investigating these allegations, so I have nothing to comment until the investigation is complete.”

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office confirmed prosecutors declined charges “at this time.”

“We can confirm the office declined charges at this time, as there was not enough reliable evidence to prove a crime occurred,” the DA’s Office said in a statement. “However, as in every case, if new evidence is discovered, we may reopen the case and pursue charges.”

Briscoe says she still wants charges filed and is calling for accountability.

She also wants HISD to publicly release the surveillance footage.

“To me, if they don’t want to show the video, that tells me something,” Briscoe said. “If we’re keeping this investigation open and fair, let it out. Show the video.”

Briscoe says she believes the district has not adequately addressed her concerns or checked on her son’s well-being following the incident.

Along the Columbia Tap Trail, 17 air quality monitors are being installed in homes, churches, and businesses, creating a neighborhood-level network designed to track pollution in real time.

For longtime resident Vernon Goosby, the issue is deeply personal.

“Because I’m a sickly person, and I had a heart attack and all of that, but I’m getting better,” Goosby said.

• The World comes to Houston! Here’s what to expect ahead of the FIFA Fan Festival™ kicking off in EaDo

Goosby, 85, says she spends time outside her home watching peacocks that roam the neighborhood — moments she says bring her joy.

“They come up on my porch, and I’m a country girl. And I love that,” she said.

“And it just thrilled me to death to see her with her babies.”

Long-Standing Air Quality Concerns

Goosby says her health makes air quality a concern as she spends time outdoors.

The monitoring project is being led by Air Alliance Houston, which says the goal is to provide residents with accessible, real-time information about local air conditions.

“We’ve been working on installing them for the last two months,” said Juan Flores with Air Alliance Houston. “The smaller ones that you see over there, those are about $225 each. And then the bigger ones that we have, they’re about 6,000 to $9,000 each.”

Flores said the network will eventually include 17 monitors spread along the Columbia Tap corridor from East Downtown toward Highway 288.

“Once we get everything together, we’re going to be at 17,” he said.

Real-time data for neighborhood air quality

The monitors feed into an online dashboard where residents can check conditions before going outside. You can find the monitor closest to you, here.

“If it’s green, the air is good. If it’s like, you know, red, it getting bad. If it ever gets to purple, you shouldn’t be outdoors,” Flores said.

• Houston prepares for 2026 FIFA World Cup with massive NRG Stadium turf transformation

“It’s good to know what the air quality is so they can make a decision so the good day to be outdoors.”

Early efforts along the Columbia Tap Trail

Community advocates say concerns about pollution along the trail are not new.

Friends of Columbia Tap Trail leader Ed Pettit said earlier efforts involved mobile sensors mounted on bicycles to map air quality.

“One of our first initiatives was to go along the trail with small mobile air quality monitors that we put on our bicycles,” Pettit said.

“One of the hotspots for particulate matter… was at TSU.”

Pettit said those early findings showed localized areas of higher pollution, reinforcing the need for more permanent monitoring in the neighborhood.

Funding tied to World Cup-related investment

The project is funded through Impact Houston as part of World Cup-related investments, with organizers saying the goal is to leave behind a lasting community benefit.

Looking ahead

Air Alliance Houston says residents will be able to access the monitoring data online in real time, helping families make day-to-day decisions about outdoor activity.

For neighbors like Goosby, the effort represents both reassurance and awareness as she continues her daily routine outdoors — peacocks and all.

Police said officers responded to a shooting call around 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of Oak Vista Drive and Ramble Creek Drive.

When officers arrived, they found two teenage boys suffering from gunshot wounds. Investigators said a 17-year-old Hispanic male had been shot in the chest, while a 19-year-old Hispanic male suffered a gunshot wound to the arm.

• ‘Holidays don’t erase problems’: Houston expert shares family violence prevention tips

Both victims were transported to a nearby hospital, where the 17-year-old was later pronounced dead. The 19-year-old is expected to survive.

According to investigators, the teens had gathered in the area for a meetup when gunfire broke out.

Homicide detectives are now working to determine what led to the shooting and who was involved.

• Do you know this man? He’s a person of interest in 16-year-old’s death

Police said one person was detained at the scene, and officers recovered two firearms during the investigation.

Authorities have not released the identity of the teen who was killed, and no charges have been announced at this time.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Houston Police Department or Crime Stoppers.

But the eyebrow-raising move — the latest in his push to prove his loyalty to Trump — has agitated the same Republican lawmakers whose support he would need if he is nominated for the permanent job.

Blanche insists he’s not auditioning for the job of attorney general. But a series of splashy steps the Justice Department has taken under his watch since he took the position on an acting basis last month, including an indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, has left no doubt about the impression he’s hoping to make on the president who appointed him.

The fund in particular has put Blanche at the center of a Republican firestorm at a time when he aims to establish himself as the perfect person for the post for the remainder of Trump’s term. And it sharpened concerns from Democrats and other Blanche critics that he has not shed his mantle as the president’s personal attorney.

“So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong — Take your pick,” Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former majority leader, said in a statement.

From Trump's former lawyer to the Justice Department's top job

A former federal prosecutor in New York, Blanche came to public prominence for his lead role on Trump's defense team, including during the Republican's hush money trial in New York. That perch afforded him, he has said, a firsthand look at what he contends was the weaponization of the criminal justice system against Trump.

He was brought into the Justice Department as deputy attorney general, the No. 2 job, then was elevated last month after Trump ousted Pam Bondi.

Now he finds himself the latest Trump-appointed attorney general to simultaneously confront expectations from subordinates to uphold institutional norms and demands from the president to do his bidding.

Trump's first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, was forced out after the 2018 midterms after infuriating the president over his recusal from an investigation into ties between Russia and the 2016 presidential campaign. Another, William Barr, resigned after their relationship fizzled over Barr's refusal to back Trump's baseless claims of massive election fraud. Bondi was removed after struggling to bring successful prosecutions against Trump's political opponents.

Blanche has moved to advance Trump's interests

Two weeks after becoming acting attorney general, Blanche announced the appointment of Joseph diGenova, an 81-year-old former Justice Department prosecutor from the Reagan administration, to a special position inside the department, where he'll oversee a Florida-based investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine Trump.

“At some point, at the right time, that will be made public and the American people will see exactly what happened to this administration and President Trump over the past decade," Blanche said in a Fox News Channel interview.

Prior government reviews of the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation, a centerpiece of the current conspiracy investigation, have failed to produce criminal charges against senior officials or evidence of criminal conduct by them. It's not clear what, if any, new information the continuing investigation has developed.

The Justice Department also last month obtained an indictment charging Comey, a Trump foe whose prosecution the president has long called for, with threatening Trump through a social media photo of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47" — a case legal experts say will be challenging for prosecutors. Comey has said he wouldn't be surprised if the Justice Department pursues additional indictments against him.

In other moves, Blanche announced an indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that has long been the target of conservative outrage, with misleading donors about its activities, and has publicly defended a Justice Department crackdown on leaks to the news media, including subpoenas to reporters.

The $1.8 billion fund sparks Republican resistance

Arguably the most audacious demonstration of loyalty to Trump came this week when the Justice Department announced the creation of a $1.776 billion fund to compensate people who feel they've been unjustly investigated and prosecuted, coupled with a guarantee of immunity from tax audits for Trump and his eldest sons.

As Republican concerns grew, Blanche held a tense meeting with GOP lawmakers Thursday. Shortly afterward, Senate Republicans abruptly left Washington without voting on a roughly $70 billion bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies.

Blanche, who defended the fund at a congressional hearing this week, has said anyone who believes they've been persecuted can apply for compensation regardless of political affiliation. But the fund has been widely understood as a boon to Trump allies investigated during the Biden administration.

“It’s pretty clear that he’s not the attorney general for the United States as much as he's the attorney general for President Trump,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former senior Justice Department official. He said Blanche would get an A+ if report cards were issued for loyalty to Trump.

David Laufman, a former chief of staff to the deputy attorney general in President George W. Bush's administration, said that rather than protecting the Justice Department's independence, Blanche has been a “willing and ardent accomplice for carrying out any partisan or corrupt scheme the White House may devise.”

Blanche says he feels no pressure to please Trump

Blanche’s supporters dismiss the suggestion he is trying to curry favor with Trump to secure the permanent job.

“What he is doing is he is seeking justice based on facts and the law,” said Jay Town, who served as a U.S. attorney in Alabama during the first Trump administration. “And I don’t think that will ever change about him, whether he is the attorney general going forward or doesn’t spend another day in the administration. He is an honorable man and anybody that knows him knows that to be true.”

Blanche also insists he is not angling to keep his job or feeling pressure to placate Trump.

He has told reporters he would be honored to be nominated but, "if he chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will say, ‘Thank you very much. I love you, sir.’ I don’t have any goals or aspirations beyond that.”

In recent days, he's functioned as the fund's public face and most visible defender, a role consistent with his comfort in the spotlight. He sometimes holds multiple press conferences a week and grants interviews to a variety of news outlets, a contrast to Bondi, who largely stuck to Fox News appearances.

His defenders say his experience as a federal prosecutor has made him a more sophisticated communicator for the department than Bondi, but his statements have at times invited backlash, such as his refusal to rule out that violent Jan. 6 rioters could be eligible for payouts.

Though Blanche will appoint the five commissioners tasked with processing claims, his precise role in the fund’s conception and implementation is unclear. He told CNN it was developed through negotiations with Trump’s private lawyers, not him.

But for some Democrats, that's a difference without a distinction.

“Mr. Attorney General, you are acting today like the president's personal attorney," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, told Blanche during a combative exchange in the Senate hearing, "and that's the whole problem."

Just hours after Rubio departed for Friday’s NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden, Trump stunned virtually everyone by announcing he would send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, a country that recently was told it would not be getting an expected deployment.

At the meeting, Rubio tried to calmly explain the situation to Europeans who have been unnerved by Trump’s constant unpredictability: The U.S. remains committed to NATO but will adjust its military footprint in Europe, which eventually will mean fewer American troops on the continent.

Rubio and NATO chief Mark Rutte insisted that the U.S. is consulting with allies. Yet the announcements have blindsided some countries.

“At the end of the day, I think it’s well understood in the alliance that the United States’ troop presence in Europe is going to be adjusted," Rubio told reporters. “That work was already ongoing, and it’s been done in coordination with our allies. I’m not saying they’re going to be thrilled about it, but they certainly are aware of it. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody.”

Rubio insisted that “none of this is surprising, although obviously I understand why it creates some nervousness.”

America's top diplomat has often been called on to offer a calmer, less antagonistic presence from the Trump administration. Rubio has been dispatched on several such missions this year, including to the Munich Security Conference in February and, more recently, to Italy, where he met with Italian officials and Pope Leo XIV after Trump criticized the American pontiff for his stances on crime and the Iran war.

Lack of clarity remains about US troop drawdowns in Europe

Friday’s meeting in the city of Helsingborg, which precedes a NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey in July, also came amid great uncertainty over how the war in Iran will play out and whether stalled U.S. efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict will resume. Resentment also still simmers on the continent over Trump’s criticism of allies and his interest in taking over Greenland, a territory of NATO ally Denmark.

Still, it was the abrupt reversal of the Poland decision and an earlier announcement about drawing down thousands of U.S. troops in Germany that attracted the most attention.

Rubio said “this is not a decision that was made on the back of a napkin” and that the Germans “didn’t freak out about it” because the reduction brought the numbers back to where they were three years ago.

With details about the Poland deployment still unknown a day later, Dan Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland and assistant secretary of state for Europe, slammed the Trump administration for its initial decision and an inability to explain the reversal.

He called it the result of a “bad process or lack of process” and said it created “an absolute mess” with America’s European allies. “It was a poorly managed decision — people were appalled,” he said.

Fried, who was traveling throughout Europe for three weeks before returning home Friday, said he had been doing a live TV interview in Poland on Thursday night when Trump announced the surprise reversal. He said he and the host had to laugh when they saw the news.

Although Fried welcomed the step, he said it pointed to larger issues that raise major concerns about the administration’s commitment to NATO and its seriousness about demanding reforms, such as spending more on defense, that most members have already agreed to.

“The administration’s seriousness about that policy is now in serious question,” he said. “They are so haphazard and chaotic that they can’t take yes for an answer. The administration needs to pull itself together.”

For the second day in a row, Rubio declined to discuss any further changes to the American military presence in Europe, including a possible reduction in the number of troops that the U.S. will commit under the NATO Force Model, which is a contingency plan for European defense in the event of serious security concerns.

Rubio reiterates criticism of NATO over the Iran war

Rubio repeated that he is a “strong supporter” of the transatlantic military alliance and called it important. But he reiterated complaints that some NATO allies, notably Spain, had refused to allow access to U.S. bases for the Iran conflict and others had been reluctant, if not resistant, to join a coalition to reopen and protect the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route that Iran largely has closed.

“When some of those bases are denied to you during a conflict that we’re involved in, then you question whether that value is still there,” he said Friday. “So that’s going to have to be discussed.”

Rubio, who was heading next to India, noted that nearly all NATO allies agree that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, but few, if any, stepped up when Trump said he would take action to prevent it.

November’s general election. December runoff elections. A January special runoff. March primaries. April and May special elections

For election workers, it’s nonstop. For taxpayers, it’s expensive.

Before counting May’s runoff elections, Harris County has already spent nearly $5 million on elections according to county figures reviewed by KPRC 2 News.

That money comes from local tax dollars, every time voters are asked to return to the polls.

And the costs keep adding up.

• Texas public school enrollment drops by more than 76K students, most are Hispanic

In 2024 alone, Harris County spent roughly $15.6 million conducting primary elections and runoff contests, according to county election data.

Now, county leaders and election reform advocates are asking a bigger question: can Harris County reduce repeat elections and save taxpayers money without changing who gets a voice in the process?

“Elections are very expensive”

“When it comes to costs for the third largest county in the nation, the largest county in the state of Texas, elections are very expensive,” Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth told KPRC 2 News’s Rilwan Balogun. “This is a massive operation here in Harris County.”

Hudspeth says many voters do not realize the scale of the operation required to run elections across Harris County. The county oversees elections for city, county, state, and federal races functioning almost like a contractor for every jurisdiction holding an election.

Hudspeth says the costs start long before voters cast ballots.

• He wasted millions in Houston. Now he’s running Flint’s housing authority

“Election workers are trained and they are paid. We have to evaluate all that equipment before it goes into the field,” Hudspeth explained. “We audit the equipment, prepare ballot language, provide translations, and after voting concludes, all machines and paperwork have to come back for audits and hand counts.”

Facilities are another major expense.

“The county clerk’s office, we don’t have the authority to say, ‘Hey, you have to be a polling location and make your facility free,’” Hudspeth said. “On average, we have more than 80 early voting sites. On Election Day, anywhere from 500 to 700 polling locations. So just on facilities alone is a high-cost factor.”

According to Hudspeth, the county has conducted eight elections in less than a year.

“November, December, January, March primaries, then a special election for the City of Houston, then May 2nd, then a runoff, then the May 26th primary runoff,” Hudspeth said. “Eight elections nonstop.”

• Eight years after the Santa Fe HS mass shooting, families want answers, accountability

Could election dates be combined?

Hudspeth says one possible solution may not require changing how Texans vote but when they vote.

Texas law currently restricts many elections from being consolidated during primary election periods, forcing counties to conduct separate elections for vacancies and runoff races.

“There is a way to streamline,” Hudspeth said. “When elected officials vacate seats and cause a vacancy, it would be really great for those elections to take place on the next uniform election date rather than prescribing its own election date.”

Hudspeth says combining races onto fewer election dates could reduce staffing, facility, and equipment costs.

“It’s really important to create these dates in a way that makes it feasible for counties,” she said. “It’s more cost-effective. We’re being fiscally responsible in making sure that we can get those races all on one particular date.”

• Your kids could end up in different school districts because of the Houston Texans new headquarters

What is Ranked Choice Voting?

Some election reform advocates believe another option could dramatically reduce the need for runoff elections altogether: ranked choice voting, also called instant runoff voting.

The system is already used in places including Alaska and New York City.

Instead of selecting just one candidate, voters rank candidates in order of preference: first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on.

If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-performing candidate is eliminated. Those ballots are then reassigned to voters’ next preferred candidate. The process repeats until one candidate earns a majority.

Supporters say the system effectively conducts a runoff instantly without requiring voters to return weeks later for another election.

• How to check if the wrong water meter was installed at your Houston home

Mary Beth Gilbert with Instant Runoff Voting for Texas says the system captures voter preferences while turnout is highest. Gilbert argues Texas taxpayers are paying repeatedly for duplicate election infrastructure.

“You’re putting out the same machines, paying the same clerks, the same administrative fees, you’re doing it all a second time,” Gilbert said.

In January alone, one runoff election cost approximately $1.6 million for a single race.

“Taxpayers are paying,” Gilbert said. “Whether it is the secretary of state, counties, cities they’re all tax-collecting organizations and we’re paying for it.”

Gilbert says ranked choice voting could save both money and time.

“Texas is a conservative state, and part of conservatism is an effective use of taxpayer dollars,” she said. “Millions and millions of dollars can be saved.”

Hudspeth agrees the idea deserves discussion though she noted any major election changes would require approval from the Texas Legislature.

• 3 ways you can make sure you don’t buy a stolen vehicle in Texas

“Can Harris County in a state like Texas benefit from ranked choice voting? Absolutely,” Hudspeth said. “But this is really something that the Texas Legislature would have to say, ‘we want to really dive into this.’”

FairVote research shows turnout drops in runoffs

A 2024 report from the nonpartisan election reform organization FairVote found that runoff elections often experience dramatic declines in voter participation.

According to the report:

• Since 1994, 97% of congressional primary runoffs have seen lower turnout than the original election.
• In 2024, runoff turnout dropped by 63% compared to initial primaries.
• FairVote estimates federal primary runoffs cost taxpayers between $6.9 million and $12 million in 2024 alone.
• The group also found that most runoff winners actually received fewer total votes in the runoff than they did in the original election.

FairVote argues ranked choice voting functions as an “instant runoff,” allowing elections to be decided in one trip to the polls while turnout is highest.

The organization also says research suggests ranked choice voting can reduce negative campaigning because candidates have incentives to appeal to voters beyond their core supporters.

• Check now: Is your Houston neighborhood a power outage hot spot?

Texas Republicans oppose Ranked Choice Voting

But despite growing national interest in ranked choice voting, opposition in Texas remains strong especially among Republicans.

In 2023, the Republican Party of Texas passed a resolution formally opposing ranked choice voting.

The resolution argued that ranked choice systems can create “ballot exhaustion,” referring to ballots that become inactive if voters do not rank enough candidates.

The party also stated that ranked choice voting could “increase election distrust,” “disenfranchise voters,” and create “costly and confusing technology.”

The resolution added that Republicans want to keep voting “simple and secure.”

KPRC 2 News reached out to the Republican Party of Texas for comment but did not hear back.

Gilbert acknowledges skepticism exists.

“I think there is some distrust of instant runoff voting because of how it’s been used in other states,” she said. “Texas is unique. Every state is unique.”

Critics of ranked choice voting also argue voters may not want to rank multiple candidates.

Gilbert counters that voters are not required to rank more than one.

“There’s no need to rank any more than one candidate,” she said. “But you have an opportunity to express support for other candidates.”

• Meet the candidates for Harris County Judge

The bigger question: How can counties save?

For now, any changes to Texas election law would have to come from lawmakers in Austin.

But with election costs climbing and voters repeatedly being called back to the polls, county officials say the current system may not be sustainable long term.

Hudspeth says even if Texas never adopts ranked choice voting, lawmakers should still consider ways to reduce the number of separate election dates counties are forced to administer.

“The state law now says no other elections can take place during a primary election,” Hudspeth said. “But if there’s a special election within a certain timeframe, it would make sense to hold it on the next uniform election date.”

Hudspeth says consolidating elections could make the process more efficient for counties across Texas.

“It’s really important to create these dates in a way that makes it feasible for counties,” she said. “It’s more cost-effective and fiscally responsible.”

If lawmakers eventually change the rules, it could mean fewer election days, fewer trips to the polls and potentially millions of taxpayer dollars used elsewhere.

One warm weekend — and suddenly everyone is back outside running, playing pickleball, or hitting the basketball court. But doctors say jumping into intense activity too quickly can lead to painful injuries that may keep you sidelined for weeks.

Orthopedic specialists say one of the biggest mistakes people make is going from little or no activity straight into high-impact exercise. Instead, they recommend easing back in gradually — starting at about half of what you think your body can handle, then slowly building up over four to six weeks.

• Waymo temporarily pauses driverless ride service in Houston ahead of severe Memorial Day storms

Experts say some soreness after a workout is normal. But sharp pain, swelling, bruising, numbness, or discomfort that lasts more than a day or two could be signs of a more serious injury.

Doctors stress that stretching — especially the calves and Achilles tendon — is one of the best ways to prevent problems before they start. And for sports with a lot of quick side-to-side movement, like pickleball, tennis, and basketball, warming up properly is even more important.

Dr. Drew Burdi, a Podiatric Surgeon, said daily mobility work can also help lower injury risk.

“Habits that you can get into are just doing something on a daily basis. So other than stretching, you can do foot and toe mobility drills, eccentric heel raises, balance type of exercises. There’s not like a simple answer, but doing stuff to kind of warm up the whole body and get yourself moving again is the big key.”

• Person of interest sought in fatal shooting of 16-year-old in SE Houston

Doctors also recommend holding stretches for at least 30 seconds to a minute to make them effective.

And don’t forget about footwear. Worn-out shoes with poor support can increase the risk of plantar fasciitis and ankle sprains. Experts recommend shoes with solid arch support, cushioning, and stability — and say ankle braces may help people with previous ankle injuries.

The bottom line from doctors: start slow, stretch first, and pay attention to what your body is telling you. A few extra minutes of preparation now could help keep you active — and out of the doctor’s office — this Spring.

Allan Hursig, owner of The Bearded Baker in the Heights, was jolted awake in the middle of the night on Thursday, not by a call or a text, but surveillance footage of burglars making a beeline for his cash register.

“It was just like you’ve got to be kidding me. Again? And now?” Hursig said.

It was the fourth time his bakery had been broken into.

• Waymo temporarily pauses driverless ride service in Houston ahead of severe Memorial Day storms

“I don’t know if they’re hitting bakeries, small businesses. I don’t know if economy is pushing people to go back to this, cause when we were hit earlier, it was around COVID times,” Hursig said.

The break-in came at an especially difficult time. Hursig was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer and started chemotherapy just one day before the burglary.

“I try to look at the positive because it doesn’t bring me down as much,” he said.

Still, he admits the break-in added another layer of stress at a time he’s already fighting through so much.

The Bearded Baker wasn’t the only shop targeted that night. About 25 minutes away in West University Place, Michael’s Cookie Jar was burglarized just an hour later, and a safe containing about $250 was taken.

“I think they’re connected, definitely, they’re wearing the same clothes. And you can tell their builds are very similar, so yeah definitely,” Savino said.

• Eight elections in less than a year: The rising cost of voting in Harris County

Both owners provided information to the Houston Police Department to help determine for sure whether the cases are connected.

Citywide data tells a different story than what these owners are living. Burglaries across Houston are down about 20% this year compared to last year. In the Heights, they’re down about 6%.

But for Savino, the statistics don’t match what he’s seeing on the ground.

“I mean in our plaza, there’s been one or two break-ins this past week,” he said.

Both owners are now asking whether small businesses are being targeted again, similar to what happened during the pandemic.

Now, both owners say they’re changing security protocols and daily routines, hoping it’s enough to keep them from becoming targets again. For Savino, that includes going cashless.

Because even if the numbers show burglaries are falling, they say it only takes one break-in to change how safe a business feels.

There is a civil case in Maryland where he has been challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s attempts to deport him to a series of African countries. A criminal case in Tennessee, where the government accused him of human smuggling, has just been dismissed after a judge found evidence of “vindictive prosecution” by the Justice Department.

Here is a timeline of key events:

Arrival: around 2011

Abrego Garcia flees El Salvador for the U.S. as a teenager.

Arrest: March 28, 2019

Abrego Garcia is arrested outside a Maryland hardware store. Police accuse him of being a gang member and turn him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Immigration court: Oct. 10, 2019

A Maryland immigration judge rules that Abrego Garcia cannot be deported to El Salvador, where a gang has threatened his family. He is given a work permit and placed under federal supervision.

Detained by ICE: March 12, 2025

Abrego Garcia is detained by ICE in Baltimore while driving home with his 5-year-old son.

Deportation: March 15, 2025

Abrego Garcia is mistakenly deported to El Salvador and held in a notoriously brutal prison.

Supreme Court: April 10, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court says the Trump administration must work to bring Abrego Garcia back.

Criminal charges: June 6, 2025

Abrego Garcia is returned to the U.S. and charged with human smuggling, based on a Tennessee traffic stop from 2022.

Attempts at second deportation: July 23, 2025—present

ICE announces plans to remove him to a series of African countries, but is blocked by an injunction from a Maryland federal judge.

Released from jail: August 22, 2025

Abrego Garcia leaves the Tennessee jail, where he has been since June, to return to his family in Maryland and await trial. Within minutes of his release, ICE sends notice that they intend to deport him to Uganda.

In immigration custody: Aug. 25, 2025

Abrego Garcia reports to an immigration office in Baltimore and is taken into custody.

Judge orders release: Dec. 11, 2025

A federal judge in Maryland orders ICE to immediately release Abrego Garcia.

No immigration detention: Feb. 17, 2026

A Maryland federal judge rules ICE cannot re-detain Abrego Garcia.

Judge dismisses criminal case: May 22, 2026

A federal judge in Tennessee dismisses the human smuggling case against Abrego Garcia after finding evidence the government engaged in “ vindictive prosecution."

For over half a century, foreign nationals with legal status have been able to apply for and complete the entire process for permanent residence in the United States — including individuals married to U.S. citizens, holders of work and student visas, and refugees and political asylum seekers, among others.

The announcement from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said foreigners who are in the U.S. temporarily and who want to apply to become lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, have to return home and apply there, except in “extraordinary circumstances." USCIS officers would decide whether applicants meet those.

“Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process,” the agency said in a statement.

It is the latest step by the Trump administration making legal immigration more difficult for foreigners already in the U.S. and for those hoping to come here.

Hundreds of thousands apply for green cards from the US each year

“The goal of this policy is very explicit. Senior officials in this administration have said over and over that they want fewer people to get permanent residency because permanent residency is a path to citizenship and they want to block that path for as many people as possible,” said Doug Rand, a former senior advisor at USCIS during the Biden administration, who added that about 600,000 people already in the U.S. apply each year for a green card.

USCIS did not say when the change would come into effect, whether individuals would be required to remain in another country throughout the entire process, or whether the policy impacts foreigners whose green card applications are already underway.

In an emailed statement to the Associated Press the agency said people who provide an “economic benefit” or “national interest” could likely stay in the U.S. while others would have to go abroad to apply.

The changes come on top of steps the administration has already taken to restrict and limit entry for people from dozens of countries. In some cases, there are outright bans on travel from those countries, while people from others face pauses in visa processing. Experts and attorneys warned that forcing people from those countries to return home to apply for a green card would result in them being barred from coming back.

“If families are told that the non-citizen family member must return to his or her country of origin to process their immigrant visa, but immigrant visas are not being processed there, it’s a Catch-22. These policies will effectively create an indefinite separation of families,” wrote World Relief, a humanitarian and refugee resettlement organization.

Confusion over who the change applies to

USCIS described the change as a return to “the original intent of the law” and closing a “loophole.”

But immigration lawyers and aid groups pushed back, saying it was longstanding practice for many groups to be able to adjust their status in the U.S. and that many people couldn’t return home because it wasn’t safe or they had no embassy to apply at. The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, for example, has been closed since the U.S. pullout in August 2021.

“USCIS is trying to upend decades of processing of adjustment of status,” said Shev Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “This all applies very broadly to anyone seeking a green card”.

Among them could be individuals married to U.S. citizens, immigrants with humanitarian protection who are applying for a green card, and holders of work visas — including doctors and professionals — as well as student and religious visa holders, the attorney noted.

At some U.S. consulates abroad, wait times for a visa appointment could take up to more than a year, said Dalal-Dheini.

Immigration attorneys were picking through the policy memo and announcement Friday afternoon, trying to decipher who it would apply to.

Organizations that provide legal and other assistance to immigrants said they were hearing from clients concerned about what the new guidance would mean for them.

“It’s really hard to tell how this is going to be applied,” said Jessie De Haven, senior staff attorney with the California Immigration Project a non profit that provides legal services to low income immigrants. “I do think it might have a chilling effect on people applying.”

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting happened just before midnight at the Mira Bella Apartments located on Imperial Valley Drive near Parramatta Lane.

Investigators have not released details about a suspect or what may have led up to the shooting.

The victim’s mother told KPRC 2 she believes her son was set up.

• 21-year-old man shot to death outside north Houston apartment complex, mother says son was ‘set up’

As families across the Houston area prepare for Memorial Day weekend gatherings, experts say holidays can sometimes create the perfect storm for conflicts to escalate into violence.

“You would be surprised at the uptick that we see around holidays,” said Dr. Conte Terrell, a domestic violence recovery expert.

Memorial Day weekend is often filled with cookouts, parties and family gatherings, but Dr. Terrell says high emotions, unresolved conflict, alcohol and even social media can quickly intensify tense situations.

“You have to be really careful, you have to be mindful holidays do not take away the same issues that you had prior to the holiday,” Terrell said.

Dr. Terrell says families can take simple steps to help prevent violence before it starts.

Memorial Day Family Violence Safety Tips

• No guns or weapons at the party
• Be careful what you post on social media
• Watch alcohol consumption closely
• Set a clear start and end time for gatherings
• Keep a guest list and know who’s attending
• End the party early if tensions rise

Last year, KPRC 2 reported on several shootings tied to the Memorial Day holiday, including a deadly shooting on FM 517 in Texas City.

Terrell says family violence is preventable if people pay attention to warning signs early and are willing to step in before tensions spiral out of control.

“Once something starts, it’s really kind of hard to go backwards,” Terrell said. “You want to do as much preparation to prevent as possible. And so a lot of times, being aware, not overlooking the red flags, not being intimidated or afraid to speak up, but be mindful that sometimes, many times, in these cases, you might want to call the law.”

As part of KPRC 2’s “Meet the Candidates” series, all week long, KPRC 2 sat down with each of the four runoff candidates, both Republican and Democratic, to discuss the issues impacting Harris County families.

To ensure fairness, each candidate was given the same amount of time and asked the same set of questions focused on the county budget, flooding and infrastructure, affordability, and restoring public trust in local government.

Democratic runoff: Annise Parker

Former Mayor Annise Parker says she is leaning on her years of public service and executive leadership experience as she campaigns for Harris County judge.

During her interview with KPRC 2, Parker discussed how she would address Harris County’s projected $129 million budget deficit while maintaining county services. She also shared her plans for improving infrastructure, addressing housing affordability, and increasing transparency in county government.

Parker is facing former Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer in the Democratic runoff.

Democratic runoff: Letitia Plummer

Letitia Plummer sat down with KPRC 2 earlier this week to discuss her vision for Harris County if elected judge.

Plummer spoke about economic concerns facing residents, including rising living costs and job opportunities, while also addressing flooding, infrastructure needs, and how she would work to build public confidence in county leadership.

She also discussed her priorities for transparency and accountability during her first year in office.

If elected, Plummer’s win be a historic one as she would become the first black person ever elected Harris County Judge.

Republican runoff: Orlando Sanchez

Orlando Sanchez joined KPRC 2 to answer questions on the county’s budget challenges, public infrastructure, economic concerns, and restoring trust in county government.

Sanchez served as Harris County treasurer from 2007 to 2018 after making political history as the first Latino immigrant elected to a Houston citywide office.

Sanchez also outlined his approach to addressing flooding concerns and improving services for Harris County residents.

Republican runoff: Warren Howell

Warren Howell also sat down with KPRC 2 as part of the station’s runoff election coverage.

Howell is a lifelong Harris County resident, air force veteran, and president and owner of employer’s risk insurance, where he helps businesses manage risk and operate responsibly.

Howell spoke about how he plans to balance the county budget, manage growth and infrastructure demands, improve affordability for families, and increase transparency within county government operations.

What voters need to know:

Early voting ends Friday, and Election Day is Tuesday, May 26.

The ruling amounted to an extraordinary rebuke of a Justice Department that under President Donald Trump has repeatedly been accused of targeting defendants for political purposes. The Trump administration touted the charges against Abrego Garcia last year at a press conference in which then-Attorney General Pam Bondi declared, “This is what American justice looks like.”

“The evidence before this court sadly reflects an abuse of prosecuting power,” U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, in Nashville, Tenn., said in his ruling granting Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss for “selective or vindictive prosecution.” Without Abrego Garcia’s “successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution."

Abrego Garcia’s deportation became an embarrassment for Trump officials when they were ordered to return him to the U.S. In his motion to dismiss, Abrego Garcia claimed that both the timing of the criminal charges and inflammatory statements about him by top Trump officials demonstrated that the prosecution was vindictive.

Despite the win in criminal court, his future in the United States is uncertain. Barred from deporting him to El Salvador, administration officials have threatened to deport him to a series of African countries, most recently Liberia.

“Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a victim of a politicized, vindictive White House and its lawyers at what used to be an independent Justice Department," his criminal defense attorneys said in a statement after Friday's ruling. "We are so pleased that he is a free man."

The Justice Department vowed to appeal, calling the judge’s order “wrong and dangerous.”

Crenshaw stopped short of finding the government acted with “actual vindictiveness,” a rarely-met standard that usually requires evidence like a prosecutor admitting that charges were filed in retaliation against someone. But the judge did find there was enough evidence of “presumptive vindictiveness” — including the timing of the indictment, statements made by then-U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and the sustained oversight of the case by other top Justice Department officials — that the case against Abrego Garcia was thoroughly tainted.

The government’s own explanations weren’t convincing, Crenshaw wrote.

Abrego Garcia was charged with human smuggling and conspiracy to commit human smuggling, with prosecutors claiming that he accepted money to transport within the United States people who were in the country illegally.

The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding. Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows a calm exchange with Abrego Garcia. There were nine passengers in the car, and the officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. However, Abrego Garcia was eventually allowed to continue driving with only a warning.

In the Friday ruling, Crenshaw wrote that the timing of the charges was central to the presumption of vindictiveness. Homeland Security had been aware of the traffic stop for two years and had closed the case against Abrego Garcia when it deported him. Once the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he should be brought back to the U.S., they reopened the case. While the government bore the responsibility to rebut the presumption of vindictiveness, prosecutors did not call as a witness the person who reopened the case, to explain why. Instead they offered only “secondhand testimony.”

In a statement released by the group We are CASA, which has been supporting Abrego Garcia and his family, he thanked God for the dismissal of the criminal charges.

“Justice is a big word and an even bigger promise to fulfill; and I am grateful that today, justice has taken a step forward,” he said.

Abrego Garcia's deportation violated a 2019 immigration court order granting him protection from deportation to his home country, after the judge found he faced danger there from a gang that targeted his family. Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen with an American wife and child who has lived in Maryland for years although he immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager. The 2019 order allowed him to live and work in the U.S. under Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervision, but he was not given residency status.

The 94-year-old stood tall and unwavering under a warming sun, even as some people nearby fainted before the May 1 event began. Standing behind him was his security detail, led by grandson Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro.

It was a rare public appearance for the last Castro from the revolutionary era. While he is believed to wield significant influence over the government, he maintains a low profile even as a general of Cuba’s army.

He was in the spotlight Wednesday when U.S. prosecutors unveiled an indictment that accuses Castro of ordering the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles. The charges include murder and destruction of an airplane. Castro was minister of defense at the time.

The indictment and remarks Thursday by U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio renewed fears of a possible U.S. military intervention in Cuba, much like what happened in Venezuela in early January.

“We expect that he will show up here, by his own will or by another way,” acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in announcing the charges against the former Cuban president during a press conference in Miami.

Cuba’s socialist government condemned the charges and held a rally Friday to honor Castro.

Thousands of people crowded into Havana’s famed seawall to demonstrate their support for him and decry the indictment against him. Raúl Castro did not attend, but present were his grandson and his daughter, Mariela Castro.

“Who do they think they are to judge Raúl?” Gerardo Hernández asked as the crowd that had gathered in front of the U.S. embassy cheered. Hernández is one of five Cubans accused of being a spy who was imprisoned and later released by the U.S. in 2014.

“For the United States, the law is a tailor-made suit,” he said before punching the air with this fist to a shout of “Viva Raúl!”

The crowd responded to his call: “Homeland or death, we will vanquish!”

Castro is rarely seen in public

In July 1953, Castro was arrested in Cuba after being accused of armed rebellion following a failed assault against military barracks. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison but was released two years later following a political amnesty. He then left for Mexico and helped organize the revolution.

He married a guerrilla fighter, Vilma Espín, in the 1960s and the couple had four children. Little else is known about Castro's private life: He is considered a family man and officially resides west of Havana.

Even during his years as defense minister under his late brother, Fidel Castro, and later as president, his routine stood out for its discretion: no agendas, official ceremonies, or public or family gatherings.

Since stepping down and handing over to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Raúl Castro has rarely been seen in public. He wears his signature olive-green military uniform when greeting visiting dignitaries.

“He still has influence, and the leadership seeks his opinion on major decisions, but he is not running the government on a day-to-day basis,” said William LeoGrande, a political scientist at American University in Washington.

“If the U.S. were to abduct him, it would not change the operations of government, unlike what happened in Venezuela,” LeoGrande said.

Tensions between the US and Cuba worsen

The indictment against Raúl Castro has deepened tensions between the U.S. and Cuba, which recently announced that its oil reserves had run dry because of an ongoing U.S. energy blockade.

The island’s crises have worsened since the Jan. 3 U.S. invasion of Venezuela, which halted critical oil shipments from the South American country. Then in late January, Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.

Top Trump aides — including Rubio, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and other senior national security officials — have met with Cuban officials in recent months to explore improving relations. But the U.S. side has come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to more sanctions imposed on the Cuban government in the past week.

__

Associated Press reporter Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Blackwell, who served in the Army for more than 21 years, said the event was created to help veterans struggling with PTSD and the lasting effects of combat. He shared that Camp Hope provides immediate support for veterans without the red tape many face when seeking help.

The tournament has raised more than $20,000 over the last five years, but organizers hope to raise $20,000 this year alone. The free event happens May 30 at Community Fieldhouse Sports Bar & Grill and will feature rugby matches, live music, vendors, and family-friendly activities throughout the day. The public is invited to show up, have fun, and give back with veterans and their families.

Organizers say the event is about more than rugby. It’s about building community, honoring veterans, and making sure no one fights alone.

Rubio spoke days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was holding off on a military strike against the Islamic Republic because “serious negotiations” were underway. Trump has been threatening for weeks that the ceasefire reached in mid-April could end if Iran does not make a deal, with shifting parameters for striking such an agreement.

America's top diplomat made the comment ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, where the military alliance discussed what role it could play in helping police the Strait of Hormuz once the war is over.

Rubio said he did not want to exaggerate the progress, saying there had been “a little bit of movement and that's good.” In recent weeks, repeated claims of progress have emerged, but a deal has stayed out of reach.

Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off. But he’s also previously indicated he would hold off on military action to allow talks to play out, only to turn around and launch strikes. That happened at the war’s outset, when he ordered strikes in late February shortly after indicating he would let talks play out.

The president said he called off attacks on Iran this week at the request of allies in the Middle East.

Pakistan's army chief arrives in Iran for third round of talks

In a renewed push for a peace agreement, Pakistan's top army officer arrived Friday in Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders, Pakistani officials and the military confirmed. It's the third round of meetings between Pakistani and Iranian officials in recent days.

Field Marshal Asim Munir will be joined by Pakistan’s interior minister, who has already met with Iranian leaders in Tehran twice this week. Pakistan has sought a deal between Iran and the U.S. since Munir facilitated face-to-face talks between the two countries in Islamabad last month.

Qatar also sent a delegation to Tehran, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks. The delegation is working in coordination with other countries, including Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the official said.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the shipment of oil, gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products. The U.S. is blockading Iranian ports and has redirected 94 commercial vessels and disabled four others since mid-April, U.S. Central Command said.

At the NATO meeting in Sweden, Rubio said he discussed reopening the strait with other foreign ministers. He said there needs to be a “plan B” if Washington and Tehran fail to reach a deal.

“Someone’s going to have to do something about it, OK?” Rubio said, insisting that Iran was not going to “voluntarily reopen” the strait.

No mines have been found in the Strait of Hormuz

The American military has not found or destroyed any explosive mines in the Strait of Hormuz so far, but it is still searching, a U.S. official said Friday.

No ships have been struck or damaged by mines in the strait either, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations. That is even as some commercial traffic has been flowing, though at much lower volumes than before the war began.

Trump said last month that he ordered the military to begin mine-clearing efforts as part of a broader push to get commercial ships to traverse the strait again following several attacks by Iran.

No evidence of mine-laying by the Iranians has emerged since the start of the conflict, and U.S. officials have repeatedly said that they targeted and destroyed that capability as part of the airstrikes across the country.

Trump's war pause sparks tension with Netanyahu

Trump's decision to give more peace talks a chance sparked tension with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media said Thursday that Trump and Netanyahu had a “dramatic” phone conversation Tuesday about the status of the Iranian negotiations and that Israel is angry with Trump’s efforts to strike a deal with Iran.

The White House declined to comment on the substance or tenor of the call. Trump told reporters after the conversation that Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do.”

The comments are some of the first public signs of daylight between the leaders since they launched the war.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE separately struck Iran

Two regional officials and a Western diplomat said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates separately launched multiple attacks on Iran and Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq during the war. An Israeli military officer with knowledge of the situation also confirmed that the UAE proactively struck Iran at least once.

All of them spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. The regional officials said the strikes on Iran targeted military facilities.

One of the regional officials said strikes by Saudi Arabia targeted hideouts of Iraqi militias, mainly Kataib Hezbollah, after Riyadh assessed that most of the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia came from neighboring Iraq. He said Saudi Arabia has repeatedly briefed Baghdad before deciding to strike.

The Western diplomat and one of the regional officials said the UAE had pushed for a collective military response from the Gulf Arab countries since the onset of the war.

Asked for comment, the UAE referred to a May 16 statement that "all measures undertaken by the UAE have been within the framework of defensive actions aimed at protecting its sovereignty, civilians, and vital infrastructure.” Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran has not publicly addressed being targeted by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt, and Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Geir Moulson in Berlin; Konstantin Toropin, Matthew Lee and Aamer Madhani in Washington; Farnoush Amiri in New York; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Deputies said the shooting happened just before midnight at the Mira Bella Apartments located on Imperial Valley Drive near Parramatta Lane.

Authorities said a tenant called 911 after hearing multiple gunshots coming from outside the complex. When patrol deputies and EMS crews arrived, they found a 21-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

• Waymo pauses driverless ride service in Houston ahead of stormy weekend

Investigators said first responders attempted lifesaving measures, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses told investigators they heard a barrage of gunfire overnight before seeing emergency crews performing CPR on the victim outside the apartment complex.

Homicide detectives spent the early morning hours interviewing neighbors, collecting evidence, and reviewing surveillance video from the property to determine exactly what led up to the shooting.

Investigators are also searching for a possible vehicle that was seen leaving the area around the time of the gunfire.

• Houston area under flood threat through Memorial Day

The victim’s mother, identified only as Yolanda, told investigators she believes her son may have been targeted and set up before the shooting.

“The young lady ended up taking his life,” the victim’s mother said. “Whoever she was with ... she stood over him and shot him 29 times.”

The mother told investigators several people had been taking photos with her son shortly before the shooting happened.

So far, authorities have not released any suspect information or identified a possible motive in the case.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Harris County Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers.

The S&P 500 added 0.4% and pulled closer to its all-time high set in the middle of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 294 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.2%.

Ross Stores helped drive the market and rose 8.1% after the off-price retailer reported profit and revenue for the latest quarter that easily cleared analysts’ expectations. CEO Jim Conroy said it saw strong customer traffic through the three months, and the company may have benefited from households spending their tax refunds.

Estee Lauder jumped 11.9% after saying it was no longer considering a possible merger with Puig, the Spanish fragrance and beauty products company.

Workday rose 5.2%, and Zoom Communications jumped 9.2% after both delivered better profit reports for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

They’re the latest companies to top analysts’ expectations for earnings for the start of 2026, and the cavalcade of such reports has helped U.S. stocks remain near their records. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term.

The strength is coming even after a survey of U.S. consumers by the University of Michigan found sentiment fell to a record low, piercing below a bottom in 2022 when inflation peaked above 9%. Households are feeling worried about how bad inflation is now because of expensive oil created by the war with Iran.

U.S. consumers are forecasting inflation will worsen to 4.8% in the coming 12 months, up from a forecast of 4.7% last month, according to the survey. In the longer run, their forecasts for inflation jumped to 3.9% from 3.5% last month. Such rising expectations are a concern for economists because they can drive behavior that creates a vicious cycle that makes inflation worse.

Sentiment dropped in particular for lower-income consumers who are least able to absorb higher costs for essentials, and it fell for Republicans as well, according to the survey.

Helping to keep uncertainty high have been continued swings for oil prices. They yo-yoed again Friday, like they did through the week on uncertainty about when the United States and Iran may find a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The closure has prevented oil tankers from exiting the Persian Gulf and delivering crude to customers worldwide.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil to be delivered in August added 0.7% to settle at $100.21 after erasing an earlier decline.

Worries about inflation staying high have pushed bond yields higher worldwide, threatening to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the AI data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.

Yields had been down Friday morning, offering some relief, before wavering after oil prices erased their losses and the survey on consumer sentiment showed worsening inflation expectations.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.56% from 4.57% late Thursday, but it remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war.

Worries about inflation have climbed so high that traders on Wall Street have eliminated bets that the Federal Reserve will resume its cuts to interest rates later this year. Lower rates would give the economy a boost, but they could also worsen inflation.

An important member of the Fed, Gov. Christopher Waller, said in a speech Friday, “If I believe inflation expectations start to become unanchored, I would not hesitate to support an increase in the target range for the federal funds rate.”

But he also said that is not the case now in his speech titled “Policy Risks Have Changed.” Instead, he said it “is time to simply sit and watch how the conflict and the data evolve.”

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across Europe and Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.7% to another record after a report showed inflation hitting a four-year low in April, at 1.4%, despite higher prices for oil and gas due to the war.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 27.75 points to 7,473.47. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 294.04 to 50,579.70, and the Nasdaq composite added 50.87 to 26,343.97.

___

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

But he veered off-topic right from the start, going off on tangents about voter identification, crime in cities, transgender women in sports and “Dumocrats,” his new chosen moniker for the opposition party. He complained that toiletries are locked up in pharmacies, making them harder to buy, and polled the audience on what he should call his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

Eventually, he landed on the topic of the speech, telling the crowd that he and his party worked to slash taxes and increase take-home pay, while Democrats opposed the effort at every turn.

"I cut your taxes, cut the taxes on workers, families, small business, who are the soul of this state," Trump said to the audience at Rockland Community College. Listing off the various provisions of the tax law, the president said: “These are all Republican tax cuts. The Democrats voted against every one of these tax cuts.”

Trump traveled to the Hudson Valley area to appear with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who is up for reelection in what will be one of the most closely watched House races this November, for an event meant to promote the tax law Trump signed last year, particularly the quadrupling of the deduction for state and local taxes, which is critical in a high-tax state like New York.

Trump called Lawler “fantastic” and mused about how the congressman was a “pain in the ass” as he badgered the administration on expanding the deduction.

He pulled Lawler onstage during the event, and the congressman thanked the president “for working with me to deliver a big win” for the people in his district. He said that more than 90% of the people in his district were able to fully deduct their state and local taxes.

Also appearing with the president at the event Friday was Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Trump-backed Republican candidate for New York governor. Trump said, “Guys like Mike Lawler, guys like Bruce Blakeman, you put them in, they’ll turn it around.”

Trying to reverse a slumping approval rating

The White House has been looking for more opportunities to highlight Trump’s economic accomplishments as his approval rating on the economy has slumped. About one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy, according to a new AP-NORC poll, down slightly from 40% at the start of Trump's second term. Trump had promised to bring prices down, but gasoline prices have surged this year due to the war in Iran.

Lawler is just one of three House Republicans who represent a district won by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in 2024. Unlike the other two — retiring Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon and Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who’s been a critic of Trump policies — Lawler has chosen to embrace the polarizing president in hopes of not alienating Republican voters who support the party’s leader.

“Look, the people who hate the president — and that’s their sole basis for their vote — are likely never voting for me, and you know, obviously, you need to turn out your base, and you need people energized,” Lawler told The Associated Press in an interview on the sidelines of the White House congressional picnic earlier this week. “Moreover, I have a record in my district that is one I’m very proud of, and a record that appeals to a broad middle.”

Lawler, wearing a red ball cap emblazoned with “Mr. SALT,” the acronym for the state and local tax deduction he fought to include in the bill, added, “I am confident that I will be reelected on my own merits and my own record.”

Trump established a SALT cap in 2017 through his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Last year’s law expanded the SALT deduction to $40,000 from $10,000 after arduous negotiations with Republicans, including Lawler, whose district has high local taxes. The law also raised the average tax refund for New Yorkers to more than $3,800, according to data provided by the White House.

“My constituents were seeing anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 refund checks, which is pretty massive,” said Lawler, who said he wanted to give Trump one of his “Mr. SALT” ball caps.

A competitive House race in New York

Trump formally endorsed Lawler for reelection last year, although it came at a time when the congressman was publicly mulling a run for governor of New York. The endorsement was viewed as a way to keep Lawler in a reelection bid rather than opening up a competitive House seat.

Five Democrats are vying for the party's nomination to compete against Lawler in the general election. The Democratic primary is June 23.

“Nothing says ‘I don’t understand my district’ quite like Mike Lawler bringing Donald Trump to NY-17 to tout a disastrous economy that’s crushing working families at every turn,” said Riya Vashi, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Richard Hudson disputed that, arguing that Trump's Friday appearance will “absolutely” help.

“His poll numbers are pretty good in Lawler’s district,” said Hudson, a North Carolina congressman. The NRCC has been polling in competitive districts and Hudson said the “president’s numbers are good. Democratic numbers are tanking.”

The remarks were an official White House event and not a campaign one, said Lawler, who noted that more than 5,000 people registered to attend in the first 12 hours that a sign-up was available.

___

Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

Trump is heading to a toss-up congressional district in New York to test his midterm message on the economy, even as voters largely disapprove of his stewardship of it. The focus of the event is to promote the tax law Trump signed last year, particularly the quadrupling of the deduction for state and local taxes, which is critical in a high-tax state like New York.

Trump on Thursday said the U.S. will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, stirring confusion following weeks of changing statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the American military footprint in Europe. And in Sweden, Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced NATO allies confused by contradictory administration statements.

The Latest:

Trump says he is posthumously awarding Presidential Medal of Freedom to man who helped rescue people on 9/11

The president, during the rally, announced he would be recognizing Welles Crowther of Rockland County, who lost his life on Sept. 11, 2001. Crowther died as he helped people escape the World Trade Center’s South Tower after it was hit by a hijacked airplane.

Crowther wore a red bandana on his face, which is on display at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Trump called Crowther’s mother to the stage after announcing the award, America’s highest civilian honor.

Trump veers off-topic during speech in New York that was supposed to be on the economy

The president has begun testing his midterm-year message, focusing on the economy.

But in New York, he quickly veered off-topic, discussing voter ID, crime, and transgender women in sports. He complained that toiletries are locked up in pharmacies, making them harder to buy, and polled the audience on what he should call his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

He eventually highlighted his tax cuts, claiming Democrats opposed them.

“I cut your taxes, cut the taxes on workers, families, small business, who are the soul of this state,” Trump said to the audience at Rockland Community College.

Trump appeared with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, praising him for supporting the tax law that expanded state and local tax deductions. Lawler, up for reelection, said he will embrace Trump to energize Republican voters.

The White House aims to spotlight Trump’s economic achievements amid declining approval ratings.

▶ Read more

US says Congolese World Cup team cannot return home before traveling to tournament

A U.S. official said members of Congo’s World Cup team, who have trained for weeks in Europe, far from the Ebola outbreak, will be exempt from the U.S. travel ban on non-Americans recently in affected countries — provided they do not return home before the tournament.

The official said U.S. authorities advised the athletes, coaches and staff currently in Europe that they will be subject to the entry ban and any quarantine restrictions should they return to the Congo or the broader affected region before traveling to the U.S. The impacted area includes Uganda and South Sudan. The team is not prevented from traveling elsewhere to compete in pre-World Cup matches.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversations between the U.S. and the team, said the Trump administration “will continue to uphold the highest safety and health standards for the United States and all World Cup participants.”

US military hasn’t found or destroyed any explosive mines in the Strait of Hormuz, AP source says

A U.S. official says the search for mines in the vital oil shipping corridor is ongoing, though none have been found.

No ships have been struck or damaged by mines in the strait, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations. That’s even as some commercial traffic has flowed through the waterway where Iran has a chokehold, though at much lower volumes than before the war began.

Trump said last month that he ordered the military to begin mine-clearing efforts as part of a broader push to get commercial ships to traverse the strait again, following several attacks by Iranian forces.

No evidence of mine-laying by the Iranians has emerged since the start of the conflict, and U.S. officials have repeatedly said that they targeted and destroyed that capability as part of the airstrikes across the country.

Trump calls Lawler ‘Mr. Salt' as he praises him in New York

The president opened his rally with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler by touting the congressman’s fight for SALT, the acronym for the state and local tax deduction he fought to include in Trump’s sweeping tax cuts law last year.

“He wouldn’t stop. He was driving us crazy,” Trump said.

Trump also gave a shout-out to Nassau County’s Republican Bruce Blakeman, who is running for governor.

“You better watch yourself, Kathy,” Trump said, referring to New York’s incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is running for reelection.

“You got a race,” Trump added.

Judge dismisses human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported

A human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia in Tennessee was dismissed Friday without a trial.

Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation to El Salvador last year became an embarrassment for the Trump administration when it was ordered to return him to the U.S.

Abrego Garcia claimed the timing of the criminal charges and inflammatory statements about him by top Trump officials demonstrated the prosecution was vindictive.

A federal judge agreed to dismiss the charges against Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen with an American wife and child who has lived in Maryland for years. Abrego Garcia immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.

▶ Read more

An all-women Senate delegation is heading to the Arctic to reassure US allies

A bipartisan group of senators is departing for a tour of Arctic nations to reassure U.S allies. And this time they’re leaving the men behind.

From the eight senators to their staff and military liaison officers, the group will be entirely women. They are paying diplomatic visits to government officials in four Arctic nations, witnessing the challenges for militaries operating in the region and visiting a Norwegian archipelago so remote they will need escorts to avoid run-ins with polar bears.

The trip comes at a time when Trump has taken an aggressive, go-it-alone stance in the region.

“We will reassure our allies that we recognize and appreciate the importance of our allies and partners in the Arctic as in so many other areas,” Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Associated Press. She leads this trip alongside Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

▶ Read more

Trump says he’s skipping his son’s weekend wedding

The president wrote on social media that he “very much wanted to be” at the wedding of his son Don Jr., but “circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so.”

“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time,” Trump wrote.

The president had originally been scheduled to spend the weekend at his estate in Bedminster, New Jersey, and was not scheduled to head to the Bahamas, where the wedding is reportedly taking place.

His post came a day after Trump told reporters that his son would “like me to go” and “I’m going to try and make it.”

But he also added, “This is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things.”

Senate Democrat says Gabbard replacement needs to restore trust in top intelligence post

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate’s Intelligence committee, said that with Gabbard’s departure, her successor should help restore the reputation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Warner said that “at a time when the boundaries between verified intelligence and politically convenient claims have too often been blurred...the next DNI must be committed to restoring trust in the office, protecting the integrity of our intelligence, and ensuring our nation’s intelligence professionals can speak truth to power, without fear or interference” in a statement released shortly after Gabbard’s resignation became public.

Last summer, Gabbard revoked the security clearances of dozens of U.S. officials who she said had engaged in the “politicization or weaponization of intelligence” to advance personal or partisan goals, failing to safeguard classified information, failing to “adhere to professional analytic tradecraft standards” and other unspecified “detrimental” conduct in a memo released at the time.

Trump says Gabbard did ‘a great job’ in the post she’s leaving

In a social media post, the president wrote that Gabbard was “unfortunately” leaving his administration at the end of June.

“Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him,” Trump wrote.

He added, “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her,” and that Gabbard’s “highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence.”

Tulsi Gabbard resigns as director of national intelligence, citing her husband’s health

Gabbard has resigned as Trump’s director of national intelligence, saying she needed to step away as her husband battles cancer.

She is the fourth Cabinet official to depart during Trump’s second term. In her resignation letter, which she posted on the social platform X, she wrote: “Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.”

There had been rumblings that Gabbard would split with Trump after he decided to strike Iran, which caused some division within his administration. Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in March, saying he “cannot in good conscience” support the war.

Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii known for opposing foreign wars, faced an awkward moment when the U.S. joined Israel’s attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

▶ Read more

Senate Republican chairman urges Trump to resume Iran war

Sen. Roger Wicker, the GOP chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is telling Trump not to settle for a peace deal with Iran.

In a statement, Wicker says the president “is being ill advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on.”

“Our commander-in-chief needs to allow America’s skilled armed forces to finish the destruction of Iran’s conventional military capabilities and reopen the strait,” he added.

Wicker’s statement stands in contrast to the position of a small but crucial number of Republicans who are calling on Trump to end a war that he started without congressional approval.

GOP leaders in both chambers have struggled this week to find the votes necessary to defeat war powers resolutions brought by Democrats that would compel Trump to end the war. A handful of Republicans have switched their votes to try to end the war.

Warsh bri

efly nods to the issue of independence

Warsh, in his remarks, said he saw former Fed chair Alan Greenspan as a model for the role, explaining that the Fed can help with the nation’s prosperity.

“Our mandate at the Fed is to promote price stability and maximum employment. When we pursue those aims with wisdom and clarity, independence and resolve — inflation can be lower; growth, stronger; real take-home pay, higher,” Warsh said.

America’s central bank has a new chairman

Kevin Warsh has been sworn in as Fed chair by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Warsh said it was an honor to be sworn in by his “esteemed friend,” Thomas. He explained Kavanaugh’s presence by telling the audience the two of them had worked at the White House earlier in their careers.

He’s also talking about former Fed chair Alan Greenspan, calling him an idol.

Greenspan was sworn in at the White House by President Ronald Reagan.

Warsh said that, like Greenspan, he intends to fill the role of Fed chair “with energy and purpose.”

Trump says he wants new Fed chair to be ‘totally independent’

“I really mean this. This is not said in any other way,” Trump said. “I want Kevin to be totally independent. I want him to be independent and just do a great job.”

“Don’t look at me, don’t look at anybody. Just do your own thing and do a great job, okay?” he added.

The pressure Trump placed on outgoing Fed chair Jay Powell to lower interest rates raised questions about the independence of the Federal Reserve.

Trump hosts swearing-in ceremony for Kevin Warsh as new Fed chair

The East Room was packed for the ceremony, which usually is held at the Federal Reserve Building.

Among those attending are Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council and at one point a top contender to succeed Jay Powell as Fed chair, until Trump decided he wanted to keep Hassett at the White House.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence will deliver the oath. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was also present, as were members of Trump’s Cabinet, other top Trump administration officials, and current and former members of Congress.

Trump opened with praise for Warsh, predicting that he “will go down as one of the truly great chairmen of the Federal Reserve.”

“I think he’s got abilities that very few people have,” Trump said.

Blanche thrust into Republican firestorm over $1.8B fund

When Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed off on a nearly $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate Trump’s allies for alleged political prosecution, he may have pleased his boss. But the eyebrow-raising move — has agitated the same Republican lawmakers he would need to secure the permanent job.

Blanche insists he’s not auditioning for the job of attorney general. But a succession of splashy steps taken under his watch at the Justice Department, including an indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, have left no doubt that he’s trying to prove his loyalty to the president.

The fund in particular has put Blanche at the center of a Republican firestorm just when he aims to establish himself as the perfect person for the job for the remainder of Trump’s term. Read more

Buoyed by Trump, Paxton makes final pitch in Texas against Sen. Cornyn

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is riding high ahead of his Republican primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn, now that he has the president’s backing.

“I don’t know if y’all noticed this, but Donald Trump endorsed me,” Paxton told a small rally in a town outside Austin, inciting whoops and applause.

The senate race in Texas has drawn gobs of money and attention, including from Trump, who continues encouraging voters to boot any politician who displeases him.

Paxton has been turning his focus to state Rep. James Talarico, opening his latest event with attacks on the Democratic nominee, a sign of his confidence heading into Tuesday.

▶ Read more:

Judges in Maine and Wisconsin reject DOJ efforts to obtain voter rolls

Democrats are cheering rulings by federal judges in Maine and Wisconsin that dismissed Justice Department demands for detailed voter registration information.

The DOJ has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking to force the release of voter information including dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. Thursday’s defeats follow similar rulings in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island, In Georgia, a judge dismissed a DOJ lawsuit filed in the wrong city, prompting the Trump administration to refile elsewhere.

Bianca Shaw, state director of Common Cause Wisconsin, said the decision protects voters “from an unauthorized national database that would have been a goldmine for hackers and a tool for intimidation.”

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat and Trump opponent who is running for governor, said the ruling affirms that states run elections.

Trump IRS immunity shocks experts, who warn of undermining trust in tax system

Trump has a reputation for slashing his taxes using techniques that some experts find aggressive. Now the Justice Department has told the president he doesn’t have to worry about being called out on it.

In an extraordinary decision this week, the IRS is suspending probes into his past returns to settle a lawsuit that Trump brought against the agency he ultimately runs. Trump says tax authorities targeted him politically — a claim for which he has given no proof — and that he was right to seek a remedy.

Law experts say the move is unprecedented and unfair.

“This is giving the president and his affiliates completely different set of rules than everyday taxpayers,” said Brandon DeBot, policy director at New York University’s Tax Law Center.

▶ Read more:

Rubio says an Iranian tolling system can’t happen. Iran says it already has

“Iran is trying to create a tolling system,” Rubio said. “That’s just not acceptable. It can’t happen. If that were to happen in the Straits of Hormuz, it will happen in five other places around the world.”

Iran’s official Mizan news agency reported that 35 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy in the previous 24 hours.

Without specifying the nationalities of the vessels, Mizan quoted the Revolutionary Guard navy as saying that the oil tankers, container ships and other commercial ships transited the strait after obtaining permission and in coordination with, and under the protection of, the Revolutionary Guard navy.

Iran has demanded the right to collect the tolls as a precondition for reopening the waterway vital to world oil supplies.

Rubio says US remains ready to resume Russia-Ukraine peace efforts

The Trump administration remains ready to resume mediation efforts that have been stalled for some time, Rubio said.

With concerns high in Europe, particularly in the Baltic states, that the administration’s interest in ending the conflict is waning, Rubio told reporters that the U.S. still believes the “the war can only end with a negotiated settlement. It will not end with a military victory by one side or the other.”

Previous rounds of talks were unfortunately “not fruitful,” Rubio said, but “if we see an opportunity to pull together talks that are productive, not counterproductive, and that have the chance to be fruitful, we’re prepared to play that role.”

Rubio: ‘Someone’s going to have to do something about’ Hormuz

The secretary of state said he and other foreign ministers discussed the issue of reopening the critical waterway, and that he reiterated the need for a “Plan B” if a deal isn’t reached between Washington and Tehran.

“Someone’s going to have to do something about it, okay?” Rubio said. “They’re not just going to voluntarily reopen the straits in that scenario.”

Rubio said he received lots of “nods” from European allies when he brought it up Friday. In the same breath, Rubio confirmed what Iranian officials had been saying, that progress is being made in the negotiations.

“I wouldn’t exaggerate it and I wouldn’t diminish it,” he said. “But there’s more work to be done.”

Rubio says US force posture in Europe will eventually be reduced

Rubio says America’s NATO allies understand that eventually there will be a reduction in the U.S. troop presence in Europe as the Trump administration evaluates its force posture globally.

“I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” Rubio told reporters.

NATO allies have been confused by contradictory statements coming from Trump and his top aides, including an announcement last week that troop levels would be reduced in Poland that Trump appeared to reverse on Thursday. A previously announced troop reduction in Germany appears to be going ahead but Rubio noted that the Germans “didn’t freak out about it” because it brought the numbers back to where they were three years ago.

The State Auditor’s Office report cleared UT System schools and the community colleges on one narrow question: whether they spent state money in violation of Senate Bill 17, the 2023 Texas law that forced public colleges to close DEI offices, end required DEI trainings and stop using diversity statements in hiring.

The report does not detail about what auditors found at each campus, what issues they raised privately with university leaders or how schools draw the line between banned DEI work and classroom teaching the law still protects.

Randa Safady, UT System’s vice chancellor for external relations, said the private communications mentioned in the report were not necessarily findings. She said such language often means auditors asked about “process or clarification, not a substantive issue.”

UT institutions changed staffing, programs, training and spending when the DEI ban took effect, Safady said. The system also updated its policies and certified to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that all institutions were in compliance, she added.

The audit, first reported by KXAN on Thursday, covered all 14 UT System institutions and the following 15 community colleges:

• Alvin College
• Amarillo College
• Austin Community College District
• Brazosport College
• Clarendon College
• College of the Mainland
• Frank Phillips College
• Galveston College
• Houston City College
• Lee College
• Lone Star College System
• San Jacinto College District
• South Plains College
• Victoria College
• Wharton County Junior College

Officials at Austin Community College District, one of the larger systems reviewed with nearly 44,000 students enrolled last fall, said it would continue to follow the law.

“ACC will continue to use effective, student-focused practices to help all students access resources and supports they need to achieve their academic and workforce goals,” said Sydney Pruitt, senior media relations coordinator.

Auditors interviewed college employees and reviewed state-funded spending from Sept. 1, 2024, to Aug. 31, 2025. They looked at hiring records, job postings and descriptions, promotion and merit-pay records, training, programs, websites and documents related to former DEI offices.

They reviewed samples of such records. The report cautions that the audit’s results should not be used to draw conclusions about every record at each school.

At UT-Austin, for example, auditors reviewed 25 employees, 25 new hires and 25 promotions or merit increases out of thousands of records in those categories.

The State Auditor’s Office has found problems before. Its first audit of the ban, released in February 2025, flagged Texas A&M University-Central Texas for contracting with a vendor to perform DEI office duties and McLennan Community College for requiring a new employee to take DEI training.

Republican leaders spent much of last year accusing universities of failing to fully comply with the DEI ban. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick threatened budget cuts to state campuses if universities did not “kick DEI out of their schools.” GOP senators later warned they could block funding increases after claiming they had found “numerous” violations, though they did not publicly identify them.

In the end, lawmakers created a faster way to investigate complaints by creating a new ombudsman office to act on written complaints from students, faculty and staff who allege their school violated the DEI ban. The office must notify a school’s governing board within five days of a qualifying complaint and can recommend lawmakers block the school from spending state money until the auditor confirms a violation is addressed.

As of mid-March, none of Texas’ eight public university systems had records showing they had received formal complaint notices from the ombudsman’s office, according to public records responses obtained by The Texas Tribune.

Outside groups are keeping up the pressure too.

Accuracy in Media, a conservative group that uses undercover videos, recently published recordings of UT-Austin and UT-Arlington employees.

In the UT-Austin video, an employee in the department of women’s gender and sexuality studies said the DEI ban created more work for staff but did not change academic work. In the UT-Arlington video, an academic recruiter in the School of Social work said faculty still cover topics related to race and gender but avoid certain language.

The Tribune reached out to Accuracy in Media for comment on the audit.

The organization’s president, Adam Guillette, issued a statement saying that “multiple administrators at more than a half-dozen Texas universities have bragged about continuing their DEI programs, often in defiance of state law.”

“The auditor’s office needs to immediately address our findings and issue an explanation,” Guillette said.

UT-Austin officials did not immediately respond to questions Friday while those at UT-Arlington said leaders investigated after the video circulated online.

“The statements reflected in the video do not represent university policy or practice. As a result, the employee referenced in the video is no longer employed by the university,” said Jeff Kaplan, UT-Arlington’s director of media relations. He declined to comment further.

Safady, at the UT System, later added, “Any allegation or complaint that suggests an institution is not following the law is investigated to ensure full compliance with law.”

Academic course instruction and scholarly research are exempt from the DEI ban.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

Disclosure: Amarillo College, Austin Community College District, Brazosport College and University of Texas System 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.

She hosts “The Lo Show” weekday afternoons from 3 to 7 p.m., while also juggling duties as Assistant Program Director and Music Director.

Before going country in Houston back in 2022, Lo worked in Top 40 radio across cities like Tampa, Portland, and San Antonio.

These days, she’s bringing what she calls “love, laughs, and girl boss energy” to Houston afternoons — along with plenty of stories about brunch, tacos, fashion and even the time her now-husband Matthew didn’t believe she was actually “Lo from the radio” when they met on Tinder!

Watch as Lo joins Lauren Kelly in the co-host seat for a fun Friday chat!

In her resignation letter, which she posted on social media, Gabbard said she told Trump she would leave her job overseeing the coordination of 18 intelligence agencies on June 30. She said her husband had recently been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months.”

“At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle,” she wrote in the letter, which was reported earlier by Fox News.

Trump, in his own social media post, said “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her.” He said her principal deputy, Aaron Lukas, will serve as acting director of national intelligence.

While Gabbard says her departure is for personal reasons, the juxtaposition between her long-held, anti-interventionism stance and Trump’s series of overseas military operations had seemed to put them on a collision course.

Iran put Gabbard and Trump at odds

There had been rumblings that Gabbard would split with Trump after the president's decision to strike Iran, which caused some division within his administration. Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in March and said he “cannot in good conscience” back the war.

Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, built her political name on her opposition to foreign wars. This put her in an awkward position when the U.S. joined Israel in launching attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

During a congressional hearing in March, her measured comments were notable for their careful non-endorsement of the Iran war. She repeatedly dodged questions about whether the White House had been warned of potential fallout from the conflict, including Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial for global oil shipments.

Gabbard said in written remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee that there had been no effort by Iran to rebuild its nuclear capability after U.S. attacks last year “obliterated” its nuclear program. That statement contradicted Trump, who has repeatedly asserted that the war was necessary to head off an imminent threat from the Islamic Republic.

This created several awkward exchanges with lawmakers who asked Gabbard for her opinion on the threat posed by Iran as the nation’s top intelligence official. She repeatedly said it was Trump’s decision to strike, not hers.

“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” she said.

Gabbard’s departure follows Trump having ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in late March, in the midst of mounting criticism over her leadership of the department — including the handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster response.

The second Cabinet member to leave was Attorney General Pam Bondi, in response to growing frustration over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. And Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April, after being the target of various misconduct investigations.

Lukas, who will be taking over for Gabbard, was an intelligence aide to the acting director of national intelligence, Ric Grenell, in 2020 during Trump's first term. A former policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, he also served as deputy senior director for Europe and Russia at the National Security Council in the final year of Trump’s previous administration.

A surprising choice for the job

A military veteran but without any intelligence experience, Gabbard was a surprising choice for director of national intelligence. She ran for president in 2020 on a progressive platform and her opposition to U.S. involvement in foreign military conflicts.

Citing her military experience, she argued that U.S. wars in the Middle East had destabilized the region, made the U.S. less safe and cost thousands of American lives. Gabbard later dropped out of the race and endorsed the ultimate winner, President Joe Biden.

Two years later, she left the Democratic Party to become an independent, saying her old party was dominated by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues. She subsequently campaigned for several high-profile Republicans and became a contributor to Fox News.

She later endorsed Trump, who also was a strong critic of past U.S. wars in the Middle East and campaigned on a pledge to avoid unnecessary wars and nation-building overseas.

Iran caused early tensions

But friction with the president started soon after he began his second term and tapped Gabbard to lead ODNI, which was set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to improve coordination between the nation’s intelligence agencies.

Shortly after taking on the job and before this year's war, Gabbard testified before lawmakers that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons. After Trump launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites last June, he said Gabbard was wrong and that he didn’t care what she said.

She appeared to be back in Trump’s good graces when she took a lead role in Trump’s effort to relitigate his 2020 election loss to Biden. She appeared at an FBI search of election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, even though her office was created to focus on foreign espionage, not state elections.

Gabbard made big changes in her time in office

Gabbard vowed to eliminate what she said was the politicization of intelligence by government insiders. But she quickly used her office to support some of Trump’s most partisan arguments — that he won the 2020 election.

She also worked to undermine the results of earlier investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia.

In her year on the job, Gabbard oversaw a sharp reduction in the intelligence workforce, as well as the creation of a new task force that she charged with considering big changes to the intelligence service.

Earlier this year, an intelligence sector whistleblower filed a complaint that Gabbard was withholding intelligence for political reasons, a complaint that prompted calls from Democrats for Gabbard’s resignation.

Gabbard, 44, was born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa, raised in Hawaii and spent a year of her childhood in the Philippines. She was first elected as a 21-year-old to Hawaii’s House of Representatives but had to leave after one term when her National Guard unit deployed to Iraq.

As the first Hindu member of the House, Gabbard was sworn into office with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu devotional work. She was also the first American Samoan elected to Congress.

During her four House terms, she became known for speaking out against her party’s leadership. Her early support for Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ 2016 Democratic presidential primary run made her a popular figure in progressive politics nationally.

___

Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.

Before carving out a solo career with the landmark Tapestry album, King helped craft chart-toppers for artists including The Shirelles, The Drifters and Aretha Franklin — songs that shaped a generation. Expect a soundtrack of classics: “It’s Too Late,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “So Far Away” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

Meet the cast

Kyra Kennedy stars as Carole King, returning to the iconic piano bench for the fourth time. Her résumé includes Carole King at Paper Mill Playhouse and multiple regional productions, plus stage and songwriting credits in New York and nationwide.

Dylan S. Wallach plays Gerry Goffin; he returns to TUTS after Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional credits that include Leopoldstadt and national tours. Both bring heartfelt musicianship and storytelling to this intimate, music-filled biopic.

Why Houstonians should go

Beautiful is more than a jukebox musical — it’s a portrait of resilience, creative partnership and finding one’s voice. The show’s mix of nostalgia and emotional honesty makes it perfect for longtime fans and first-time theatergoers alike. Whether you grew up with these songs or are just discovering them, the production promises piano-driven arrangements and close-up performances that resonate.

Show info & tickets

Beautiful runs May 19–31 at the Hobby Center. Tickets and exact performance times are available from Theatre Under The Stars. For group sales, accessibility information or media inquiries, contact TUTS’ box office.

That message is shared after officers had to wrangle a small alligator out of a resident’s pool.

The department shared body-cam video of the capture. In it, you can see the small alligator that decided to take a swim in the pool.

• Houston is now under a flood watch through Memorial Day Weekend with Rounds of storms

After several attempts, one officer was able to get control over the gator and remove it from the pool.

The reptile was then placed into the back of a patrol car.

Dallas Cowboys team doctor Dan Cooper, a widely renowned orthopedic surgeon, is expected to perform the procedure, per sources.

The medical outlook for Speed is at least a three-month recovery followed by rehab and some hope he can return to play during the season with no exact timetable.

Speed got injured training in the Texans’ offseason workout program while lifting weights.

Speed, a key linebacker and special-teams contributor, signed a two-year $13 million maximum value contract rather than head to free agency after his original one-year, $5 million contract expired.

Speed emerged as an important part of the defense, recording 62 tackles, three for losses, two quarterback hits and one pass defensed in 16 games with nine starts for a playoff squad. He played 44 percent of the defensive snaps and 52 percent of the special teams snaps last season.

With Speed out on a long-term injury, the Texans will lean heavily on Pro Bowl middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To’oTo’o. They have Jake Hansen, Jamal Hill, Marte Mapu and Jake Hummel on the roster along with rookie draft picks Wade Woodaz and Aiden Fisher.

Speed received a $4 million signing bonus and $7.5 million of the deal is guaranteed, with base salaries of $1.75 million (fully guaranteed), another $250,000 total available through per game active roster bonuses and an additional $1.5 million in incentives.

His total first-year payout has a base value of $5.75 million and a max value of $7.5 million. In the second year, he has a $3.75 million base salary with $1.75 million of that guaranteed and identical playtime per game and incentives as this season.

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

Judges on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia voted 6-5 against having the court's full complement of judges review the ruling. In January, a three-judge 3rd Circuit panel found that a federal judge in New Jersey who had sided with Khalil and ordered his release last year from immigration detention didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which is involved in representing Khalil, said his lawyers will ask the 3rd Circuit for an order preventing the decision from taking effect — and barring Khalil from being detained or deported — while it asks the Supreme Court to take up the case.

An appeal to the high court is expected in the coming months, possibly in late summer.

“Today’s decision is not the final word, and we still strongly believe in our arguments going forward,” ACLU senior counsel Brett Max Kaufman said in a statement.

In its January ruling, the 3rd Circuit found that Khalil's lawsuit challenging his detention and U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz’s subsequent rulings in the case were premature because federal law requires that such challenges first move through the separate immigration court system. That system is part of the Justice Department, not the judicial branch.

The decision didn’t decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.

Judge Cheryl Ann Krause, who had voted for the 3rd Circuit to review the decision, wrote in a dissent that the court was “abdicating our duty to meaningfully review Khalil’s constitutional claims. The Judicial Branch, she wrote, cannot fulfill its role as a check on the other branches of government, “if we write ourselves out of relevance and leave the Executive Branch to check itself.”

Khalil, 31, has also appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana, where he was detained, after the Board of Immigration Appeals upheld his removal order.

Through his lawyers, Khalil argued that the immigration judge who issued the order failed to consider relevant evidence and wrongly upheld a charge that he had misrepresented information on his application for legal permanent resident status. That charge, Khalil's lawyers said, was brought in retaliation for his protest activity.

The immigration judge suggested Khalil could be deported to Algeria, where he maintains citizenship through a distant relative, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family. Khalil's lawyers have said he would face mortal danger if forced to return to either country.

An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested in March 2025. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his child.

Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They also accused Khalil of failing to disclose information on his green card application.

Khalil has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous,” framing his arrest and detention as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”

The government justified the arrest under a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests. In June 2025, Farbiarz ruled that justification would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released.

President Donald Trump’s administration appealed that ruling, arguing the deportation decision should fall to an immigration judge, rather than a federal court. The 3rd Circuit ruled 2-1 in the administration’s favor.

Judge Emil Bove, who was involved in investigating student protesters while a top Justice Department official, did not participate in the 3rd Circuit vote on whether to review the decision. He later issued an order denying a request by Khalil's lawyers that he step aside from the matter, calling it moot.

___

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.

The lawsuit adds fuel to a mounting backlash against the Trump administration's creation of an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to resolve the Republican president's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.

Plaintiffs' attorneys from the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward are seeking a court order halting the fund's implementation and preventing the Trump administration from disbursing any payouts from it. The federal suit, filed in Alexandria, Virginia, claims there is no legal basis or accountability behind the fund.

“The unlawfulness that has imbued the Anti-Weaponization Fund from its inception requires that it be wholly dismantled,” the suit says.

Another advocacy group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, separately filed its own lawsuit on Friday in Washington, D.C., to challenge the “slush fund” created by Trump's “sham settlement.” CREW's suit refers to the fund as "a jaw-dropping act of presidential corruption."

Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol from a mob's attack on Jan. 6, 2021, also sued this week to prevent anyone, including Capitol rioters, from receiving payments from the settlement fund.

During a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wouldn’t rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 could be eligible for fund payouts.

The plaintiffs for Friday’s lawsuit include former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Floyd, an Alexandria resident who prosecuted Capitol riot cases in Washington, D.C., before he was fired last year by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. Floyd was a deputy chief of the Justice Department’s Capitol Siege Section. He believes his firing was retaliation for his Jan. 6 work.

Another plaintiff is California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, who was acquitted of an assault charge. He was accused of throwing a tear gas canister at federal agents during a 2025 protest against an immigration raid at a Camarillo, California, cannabis farm.

Also named as plaintiffs are the government watchdog Common Cause; the city of New Haven, Connecticut; and the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers. New Haven claims the Trump administration officials have targeted it and other municipalities that they perceive to be “sanctuary” cities. The federation fears that the fund will issue payments to people who have attacked abortion clinics, providing an incentive for more violence against its members.

The suit's defendants include the Justice and Treasury departments, Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Spokespeople for the departments didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The Capitol riot investigation was the largest in Justice Department history. Trump ended it with the stroke of his pardon pen, erasing hundreds of Jan. convictions.

Nearly 1,600 people were charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 1,200 were convicted and sentenced before Trump handed out mass pardons, commuted prison sentences and ordered the dismissal of every pending Jan. 6 criminal case.

Beneficiaries of Trump’s sweeping act of clemency included supporters who assaulted officers at the Capitol. He also freed far-right extremist group members who were imprisoned for plotting to attack the Capitol to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.

After Trump returned to the White House last year, he appointed conservative activist Ed Martin as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin, a leading advocate for Jan. 6 defendants, fired or demoted some prosecutors who worked on Capitol riot cases.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

US withdrawal followed German criticism

The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

The US has a commitment to keep at least 76,000 troops in Europe

About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.

But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.

Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.

Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”

___

Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.

——-

This story has been updated to correct the title for Gen. Alex Grynkewich

Jadiel Rodriguez was shot and killed in the 8700 block of Blackhawk Ridge Lane at about 3:55 p.m. on May 7. Another male was also shot and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

• Grieving Houston family pleads for return of missing memorial honoring 16-year-old shot and killed

HPD released a photo of the person of interest, who they say is only known as “Junior”.

Anyone with information on the identity or whereabouts of the person of interest or in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

A state government reporter at the Miami Herald, Glorioso was part of the team that uncovered that the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis orchestrated the transfer of $10 million in public funds to a foundation spearheaded by his wife. DeSantis and his wife, Casey, had hailed the Hope Florida Foundation as an alternative to welfare, one that would help needy Floridians. Instead, the nonprofit was used to divert Medicaid settlement funds to the bank account of a political committee controlled by the governor’s then-chief of staff. The committee focused on defeating an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana.

The work of the reporting team, which also included Tampa Bay Times reporters Lawrence Mower and Justin Garcia, ultimately showed that more than $35 million had been funneled from state coffers to political campaigns that targeted and helped defeat the marijuana initiative and another measure that would have repealed Florida’s six-week abortion ban.

The reporting prompted a criminal grand jury investigation by local prosecutors. The Legislature changed the law to prohibit future administrations from using public money for politics. Lawmakers also refused to give Hope Florida additional funding.

Glorioso, Mower and Garcia were named finalists for the 2026 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

Before joining the Herald, Glorioso worked for other local and national news organizations, including the Naples Daily News and Politico. She also freelanced for The New York Times and for The Guardian.

While at Politico, Glorioso exposed sexual harassment and misconduct accusations from six women against Florida’s Senate budget chairman, Jack Latvala, a Republican who had been planning to run for governor. Two independent probes later confirmed much of the reporting. Latvala, who maintained his innocence, resigned from office after the investigations.

Glorioso has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Arizona State University’s Barrett Honors College and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

“We are thrilled to have Alexandra on our team,” said Zahira Torres, editor for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative unit. “Her work shows a clear passion for accountability reporting and for investigations on topics important to Texas, including healthcare, politics and governance.

“A cancer survivor herself, Alexandra understands the importance of access to quality healthcare and the financial obstacles that many Texans must overcome. Her colleagues described her as compassionate, collaborative, fearless and relentless. We can’t wait to get started.”

“It’s a total dream job for me to join ProPublica’s Texas team and to do what I love: statewide political and healthcare investigations,” Glorioso said. “There’s so much energy in Texas politics right now, and I can’t wait to join my colleagues in shining a light on the dealmaking.”

In 2020, ProPublica and the Tribune began a first-of-its-kind collaboration to publish investigative reporting for and about Texas. Under the jointly operated investigative reporting unit, both organizations publish the team’s stories, which are distributed for free to news organizations in Texas and beyond.

Judge, who was born into slavery on George Washington’s plantation, was 22 years old when she slipped away from the president’s official residence in Philadelphia on May 21, 1796. She hid on a boat that carried her to New Hampshire, where she later married and had three children.

May 21st has been officially declared Ona Judge Day in Philadelphia, where a rally took place Thursday at the President’s House site, a target of the Trump administration’s efforts to remove information it deems “disparaging” to Americans from federal properties. Participants chanted “Tell the truth! Restore our history!” after hearing from those involved in fighting to restore exhibits about Judge and other people enslaved at the site.

The panels were abruptly removed in January following an executive order from President Donald Trump. Some of the exhibits were restored following a judge’s order, but the work has been halted while the administration appeals.

A panel featuring Judge is among those that have been rehung, and she is further memorialized in a series of bronze footprints embedded in the sidewalk symbolizing how she escaped to freedom.

“We remember her courage, her passion, her determination, that we make sure that in no way, shape or form she is ever forgotten," said Cindy Bass, a member of the Philadelphia City Council. “Each one, teach one. Everyone, tell someone.”

Dawn Chavous, a volunteer for the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, said it's important to acknowledge the contributions of all people who shaped the country.

“You can’t love America without knowing the good, the bad and the ugly,” she said. “Slavery was part of our American story, and that is not something that we should hide or run away from.”

In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a 13-by-25-foot mural depicting Judge is being unveiled Saturday on the side of a building owned by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. The organization has featured her story for years with tours and other educational programs.

“At a time when stories of struggle and freedom are being erased, New Hampshire is choosing something different: to make the quest for freedom visible, permanent, and undeniable,” the organization said in announcing the mural project.

____

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

But similar pressure campaigns do not equal similar results, experts say, even if President Donald Trump has often warned that "Cuba is next.”

“President Trump viewed the Venezuelan intervention as a fantastic success,” said Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group and a former State Department lawyer. “And he’s sought to replicate the Venezuela model elsewhere, including in Iran. But obviously, Cuba, like Iran, is a very different country than Venezuela."

If the U.S. were to depose Cuba's leadership, there is no obvious successor who would work with the Trump administration, Finucane said. That is unlike Venezuela, where the U.S. captured leader Nicolás Maduro in January and his second in command, Delcy Rodríguez, stepped in with U.S. approval and remains in power.

Cuban officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, say “there is no Delcy in Cuba.”

The number of American forces in the Caribbean Sea now is also smaller and far less foreboding than the massive military buildup off Venezuela's coast in the months ahead of Maduro's ouster, Finucane said. Plus, an indictment against a 94-year-old former Cuban leader — Raúl Castro — is less impactful than charging Venezuela's sitting president with drug trafficking and using that to justify his capture.

Here are some of the similarities and differences between the U.S. pressure campaigns against Venezuela and Cuba:

Trump has threatened military action

Like other conflicts, Trump began to lay the groundwork for U.S. intervention in Venezuela — and the possibility for Cuba — with escalating threats months before military action took place.

He has warned the leaders of the Caribbean countries to either get in line or face American might. Weeks before the audacious military operation that plucked Maduro from power, Trump stood with his top national security advisers in Florida and made what would be one of his last public threats to the autocratic leader.

“If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough,” Trump said in December. Just after Maduro was whisked to the U.S. to face trial, Trump shifted his focus to other countries in the region, namely Cuba, as being next on his list.

“Cuba is ready to fall. Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall. I don’t know if they’re going to hold out,” he told reporters on Jan. 5.

He went on to threaten tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba and said the U.S. might have “the honor of taking Cuba” following military operations in Venezuela and Iran.

On Thursday, he repeated his threats, calling Cuba “a failed country.”

“Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something,” Trump said. “And, it looks like I’ll be the one that does it."

US squeezes countries with oil embargoes

U.S. oil embargoes on Cuba and Venezuela have been designed to have the same impact: Putting intense pressure on ruling elites — but push diametrically opposite means to achieve those goals.

With Venezuela, the Trump administration was targeting the country's oil exports, aiming to starve the Maduro government of revenue. After Maduro’s ouster, the focus shifted to denying Venezuela the ability to export oil to certain countries — primarily Cuba, from which it did not receive cash payments — and forcing it to agree to U.S. conditions for such shipments.

Much of Venezuela’s crude is now or will soon be sent through U.S. refineries.

With Cuba, the embargo is aimed at starving the energy-strapped country of oil imports, although the U.S. has allowed some limited shipments to arrive on the island, which recently declared it had run out of reserves. The oil embargo, an extension of the broader U.S. blockade on Cuba in place for decades, has made it far more difficult for the government to provide electricity and gasoline to its citizens.

The measures could go too far, Finucane said, and prompt many Cubans to head 90 miles north for Florida in makeshift boats as many did in the 1990s.

“President Trump especially cares about immigration. And if they push too hard on Cuba and destabilize the island, there’s the possibility of some kind of a refugee crisis,” he said.

US brings charges against figures in power

The Justice Department had charged Maduro with narco-terrorism conspiracy and other counts during Trump's first term in 2020.

The case was used to justify capturing Maduro, who is now in New York awaiting trial and has pleaded not guilty. The move changed Venezuela's relationship with the United States, which has allowed the sale of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil to U.S. companies and on global markets, a massive shift after largely blocking dealings with Venezuela’s government and its oil sector for years.

The immediate aim of the indictment against Castro over the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles is to take another step up the ladder of escalation in the Trump administration's pressure campaign, said William LeoGrande, a professor specializing in Latin American politics at American University in Washington.

But he said that capturing Castro following charges that include murder and destruction of an airplane would not change the operations of the Cuban government.

Castro “still has influence and the leadership seeks his opinion on major decisions, but he is not running the government on a day-to-day basis,” LeoGrande said.

Building up a US military footprint in the region

In the months before Maduro was captured, the U.S. dispatched a fleet of warships to the waters near Venezuela in what became its largest military buildup in Latin America in generations.

The nation's most advanced warship, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, was notably rerouted from Europe to join in the operation. Three amphibious assault ships carried around 2,000 Marines as well as helicopters and Osprey aircraft.

U.S. forces spent months attacking small boats accused of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean — and still are carrying out those strikes — while fighter jets flew over the Gulf of Venezuela.

The actual mission to capture Maduro involved more than 150 aircraft launched across the Western Hemisphere.

The U.S. military now has a smaller force in the Caribbean Sea, which still includes two amphibious assault ships with Marines onboard. It touted the arrival of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and accompanying warships on the same day the charges against Castro were announced this week.

But the Nimitz is on its last ever tour, taking part in maritime exercises in the region, before being decommissioned.

“They're very different situations, and it's very difficult to see similar outcomes," Finucane said. “A snatch-and-grab raid against Raúl Castro or someone who's actually in a leadership position doesn't seem like it's going to have the same outcome in Cuba as in Venezuela.”

___

Associated Press writer Andrea Rodríguez in Havana contributed to this report.

If your bike has been sitting in the garage or needs a basic tune-up, experts from Sun & Ski Sports share a safety checklist for smoother, safer rides. A quick five-minute inspection can make a big difference, from testing your brakes and checking tire pressure to adjusting seat height for a better fit.

Watch the video above to see how even small maintenance steps can improve the riding experience for both adults and kids.

You can also attend Sun & Ski Sports’ free bike clinics this Saturday, May 23, at any of the five Houston-area locations, including Memorial City, Westheimer, Katy Mills, Baybrook Square and The Woodlands. Store experts will be available at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. to help guests with hands-on tips and basic bike maintenance.

For more information, visit sunandski.com/locations.

Today, visitors arriving at Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder, Louisiana, are greeted by luxury accommodations, award-winning dining, championship golf, live entertainment and a gaming floor buzzing with excitement. But behind the bright lights and recent expansion is a story that runs much deeper.

It’s a story of perseverance, vision and a tribe investing in its future.

The newest chapter in that story is the Legacy Tower, a stunning new addition to the resort that offers guests a more elevated experience while honoring the generations who helped make it possible.

For longtime visitors, the transformation is impossible to miss.

Lori and Bob, a Houston couple who regularly visit Coushatta, were returning for the first time since the Legacy Tower’s completion.

Their reaction was immediate.

“Are we even in the right place?” they laughed.

The couple said they barely recognized the property after the extensive expansion and renovations. What began as a familiar getaway now feels like an entirely new destination, blending the excitement guests have always enjoyed with a more elevated resort experience.

The Legacy Tower’s spacious rooms, contemporary design and upscale amenities represent the latest chapter in the resort’s evolution. Yet while the property continues to grow, its mission remains rooted in something much deeper than hospitality.

The Legacy Tower is more than the name of a building. It’s a reflection of what generations of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana have worked to build.

The ancestors of today’s Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana have called this region home for generations. Federal recognition opened new opportunities for the tribe to invest in economic development, self-determination and a future built on their own vision.

When Coushatta Casino Resort first opened in the mid-1990s, it represented far more than a business venture. It was an opportunity to create jobs, strengthen the tribal community and build lasting opportunities for future generations.

Three decades later, that vision continues to grow.

The resort now welcomes visitors from across Texas, Louisiana and beyond. Revenue generated through tourism and gaming helps support tribal programs, infrastructure, education, healthcare and community development initiatives that benefit tribal citizens today and for years to come.

In many ways, the Legacy Tower stands as a symbol of that progress—a reminder that when communities are given the opportunity to invest in themselves, remarkable things can happen.

Of course, for many guests, the appeal begins with a little excitement.

From slot machines and table games to poker and sports betting, Coushatta offers plenty of opportunities for those hoping Lady Luck might be on their side. As always, guests are encouraged to gamble responsibly and play within their means.

Beyond the casino floor, visitors will find pools, golf, entertainment and dining experiences that make Coushatta a destination in its own right.

And there’s even more on the horizon.

This summer, Coushatta will host one of the largest Native American powwows in North America, bringing together dancers, drummers, singers, artists and tribal members from across the continent.

The annual celebration offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience Native American culture, traditions, and community firsthand. Colorful regalia, powerful drum circles and generations of history come together in an event that is both educational and unforgettable.

It’s another reminder that Coushatta is about more than entertainment.

It’s about culture.

It’s about community.

And it’s about legacy.

As the resort continues to grow, the Legacy Tower stands as a physical representation of where the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana has been—and where it’s going next.

For visitors, it offers a beautiful new place to stay, a place to unwind, reconnect and maybe even enjoy a little excitement along the way.

For the tribe, it’s something even more meaningful: another investment in the generations yet to come.

Because the true legacy of Coushatta isn’t found in the tower itself.

It’s found in the people who built it, the generations who came before, and the generations who will benefit from it long into the future.

Planning a visit? The new Legacy Tower is now open at Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder, Louisiana, just a few hours from Houston. Visitors can enjoy luxury accommodations, dining, entertainment, gaming and a calendar of cultural events, including one of the largest Native American powwows in North America. For information on accommodations, entertainment and upcoming events, visit CoushattaCasinoResort.com and remember...please gamble responsibly.

The guidelines, posted days before former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned, will allow companies to launch certain nicotine-based products before they've been fully vetted by regulators.

Some FDA officials tasked with enforcing vaping regulations were not consulted on the changes and only learned of them the night before the document was published earlier this month, according to two staffers who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential agency matters. The document's sudden appearance sparked internal confusion about how the policy came about and who authorized it, the staffers said.

In recent days, agency officials have convened hourslong meetings grappling with how to implement the six-page memo, which breaks with longstanding FDA policy requiring scientific verification of health benefits for smokers before any new products are introduced.

It’s highly unusual for the FDA to draft new policies without input from the staffers who oversee them.

“It begs the question of whether the true subject matter experts may have actually opposed this policy and were ordered to do it anyway,” said Mitch Zeller, who retired as the FDA’s tobacco director in 2022. “And that goes to the ability of the public to have trust and faith in institutions like FDA.”

The vaping guidelines bypassed a federally required period that allows for public comment and revisions. Instead, the FDA published them as a finalized policy hours after media reports surfaced that President Donald Trump had approved a plan to fire Makary. He resigned from the FDA last week following months of complaints from industry lobbyists close to the White House.

A Health and Human Services spokesperson did not address the origins of the guidance in a written statement.

“This approach strengthens protections against youth nicotine addiction while supporting evidence-based alternatives for adult smokers seeking to move away from combustible tobacco products,” Andrew Nixon said in a statement.

Messages seeking comment from Makary were not immediately returned Friday.

FDA eyes new approach to vaping flavors

Most health researchers agree that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than traditional cigarettes, and the products have been promoted in the U.K. and other European countries as an alternative for smokers.

In the U.S., the FDA has struggled to police the market for over a decade. The agency has authorized vaping products from five companies while rejecting millions of other applications, mainly due to the presence of fruit, candy and other sweet flavors that were deemed appealing to kids. And yet, unauthorized vapes are widely available.

But recent changes in Washington and across the U.S. reflect a shifting landscape.

Underage vaping among U.S. teenagers has fallen to its lowest level in more than 10 years, following the disruptions of the pandemic and new state and federal restrictions.

Trump came to power last year after vowing to “save” the vaping industry. Major tobacco companies, such as Reynolds American and Altria, have contributed millions to political action committees supporting Trump and other administration priorities, including Trump's inauguration and his proposed White House ballroom. Both companies have invested heavily in e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, in addition to cigarettes.

Despite the influence campaign, vaping issues took a backseat at FDA under Makary. On rare occasions when Makary addressed e-cigarettes, he voiced skepticism about the data showing declining underage use.

Even as FDA staffers were poised to shift course on flavors, Makary and other agency leaders intervened.

In February, one of Makary’s deputies blocked an FDA decision that would have authorized the first fruit-flavored vapes, according to internal memos later released by the agency. FDA reviewers had determined the products were unlikely to be used by children when combined with digital age-verification technology.

The mango- and blueberry-flavored products were finally OK’d during Makary’s last full week heading the FDA, just days before the agency posted the new guidelines allowing unauthorized nicotine products.

Under the guidance, the FDA is supposed to publish a list of e-cigarettes and pouches that are not yet authorized but will be subject to “enforcement discretion,” meaning they can be sold without regulators targeting them for removal. While there is no public list of products that might qualify, the policy is expected to allow for new flavors that had previously been blocked by regulators.

“What we’re seeing is a broader opening up and responsiveness to flavored products by the agency both in terms of a stronger appetite for authorization but also less appetite to take enforcement action against flavored products,” said Brian King, former FDA tobacco director now with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

US stores are already packed with illegal flavored vapes

While FDA’s new approach breaks with precedent, it may have little impact on the flavors already available at gas stations, vape shops and convenience stores.

The U.S. market has been flooded for years by unauthorized vapes containing mango, gummy bear, strawberry and dozens of other flavors.

These disposable e-cigarettes filled the vacuum left by Juul when it pulled its high-nicotine flavored products from the market, after they became ubiquitous in U.S. schools beginning around 2017. Currently, the company only sells FDA-authorized e-cigarettes in tobacco and menthol flavors.

Juul and other companies now see the chance to directly compete with disposable Chinese vapes, which by some estimates account for 80% of U.S. sales.

“The choice we face is not whether flavored vaping products should be sold in the U.S. They already are,” said Robyn Gougelet, a Juul vice president. “The choice is whether those products should be regulated and responsibly marketed — or illegal, untested, and smuggled into the country.”

Rather than targeting flavors, the FDA said its new enforcement approach will focus on vapes with specific youth-appealing features, such as designs that resemble children’s toys.

“The reality is they’re just deluged by illegal products coming across the border,” said Jonathan Foulds, a tobacco-addiction specialist at Penn State University. “So they’re making it clear what should be common sense: ‘We’re going to focus on the worst actors.’”

New policy may create winners and losers among vaping firms

It’s far from clear whether FDA’s new approach will be embraced by the vaping industry at large, which includes multinational tobacco companies alongside hundreds of smaller companies selling imported devices from China.

As written, the guidance suggests only e-cigarettes that are under “scientific review” will qualify to launch without FDA authorization. Only a small number of applications typically reach that stage, which requires detailed health data on smokers who switch to the new product, King noted.

“This is certainly going to benefit the larger tobacco companies, which have the resources to get far enough into the application review process and thus won’t be prioritized for enforcement,” King said.

Lobbyists for smaller companies say it’s too early to tell whether the policy will be help or hinder their clients, but they fear being left behind.

“The big companies would love nothing more than to see their largest swath of competitors out of the marketplace,” said Tony Abboud of the Vapor Technology Association.

___

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

• CHECK: Harris County Judge Primary Runoff Election results
• CHECK: Fort Bend County Primary Runoff Election results

Runoff elections determine each party’s final nominee for races in which no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary.

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, while early voting for the runoff election was held March 16–22.

Voters who participated in one party’s primary election in March were required to vote in the same party’s runoff election, according to Texas election law.

Visit the Politics page of Click2houston.com for complete election results and news.

Audience expectations around local media have changed. People don’t just watch the news anymore — they react to it, share it, question it, and expect interaction across platforms in real time.

The Audience Engagement Specialist monitors audience conversations, identifies meaningful trends and concerns, and helps ensure audience feedback informs content and engagement decisions.

Working closely with newsroom leadership, marketing, and Houston Life, this role helps strengthen how KPRC 2 connects with audiences across social, streaming, digital, and community platforms.

Success in this role requires strong communication instincts, sound news judgment, curiosity about audience behavior, and the ability to recognize what matters to people beyond metrics and comment counts.

Key Responsibilities:

Audience Engagement & Community Connection

• Monitor and engage with audience conversation across social platforms, streaming platforms, apps, and digital products
• Help strengthen how KPRC 2 responds to viewers, users, and community feedback across platforms
• Identify recurring audience questions, frustrations, concerns, and interests that can inform editorial and content decisions
• Surface emerging community conversations and trends that may impact coverage, engagement, or audience trust
• Help create feedback loops between audiences and internal teams, so audience insight becomes actionable
• Support audience participation opportunities tied to station initiatives, reporting, investigations, and community-focused projects

Platform & Content Support

• Help identify opportunities for engagement-first content across social, streaming, and digital platforms
• Collaborate with newsroom, Houston Life, and Audience Growth teams to help shape platform-native audience interaction strategies
• Assist with publishing, audience response, and engagement workflows tied to major station initiatives or breaking news coverage
• Help develop approaches that strengthen loyalty, participation, and repeat engagement across platforms
• Track engagement performance and audience behavior trends to help improve content strategy

Community & Event Engagement

• Support audience-facing station events, activations, and community initiatives as needed
• Assist with gathering audience feedback and insights during in-person engagements
• Help strengthen relationships between the station and local communities through meaningful interaction and responsiveness

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, marketing, media studies, or related field — or equivalent experience
• Experience in audience engagement, social media, community management, digital content, journalism, or related media roles
• Strong understanding of audience behavior across social, digital, and streaming platforms, with the ability to identify meaningful insights and trends
• Strong communication instincts and ability to engage audiences in a professional, conversational, and trustworthy way
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple conversations and workflows simultaneously
• Comfortable working in fast-moving news and content environments
• Ability to collaborate effectively across the newsroom, marketing, and content teams
• Experience with social publishing, analytics, and audience engagement platforms preferred
• Interest in local news, community issues, and audience behavior trends strongly preferred

Location: KPRC2

8181 Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77074

Application Requirements

Please submit:

• Resume
• Examples of audience engagement, community management, or platform interaction work
• Examples of content, campaigns, or audience initiatives you helped support
• A brief response to the following prompt: How should a local media company build stronger relationships with audiences in today’s media environment?

Send materials and completed application to Wes Rodda, Marketing Director at wrodda@kprc.com

Click HERE to download and complete employment application.

Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verifications and reference checks. You must hold a valid driver’s license and be insurable under Texas Law.

No Phone Calls Please

KPRC 2 is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In addition to complying with the requirements of federal law, KPRC 2 will comply with applicable state and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

The Harris County Judge position oversees the Commissioners Court and plays a major role in managing county government, emergency response and the county budget.

The runoff election determined which candidates would advance as the Democratic and Republican nominees ahead of the November general election.

Polling places ae open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, while early voting for the runoff election was held March 16–22.

Under Texas election law, voters who participated in one party’s primary election earlier this month were required to vote in the same party’s runoff election.

Visit the Politics page of Click2houston.com for complete election results and news.

Runoff races in Fort Bend County included the Democratic nominations for Fort Bend County Judge, Fort Bend County Clerk and Fort Bend County Treasurer. The winners of Tuesday’s runoff elections will advance to the November general election.

The Fort Bend County Judge position oversees the county’s Commissioners Court and county administration, while the county clerk manages public records and election-related duties. The county treasurer is responsible for overseeing county funds and financial operations.

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, while early voting for the runoff election was held March 16–22.

Under Texas election law, voters who participated in one party’s primary election earlier this month were required to vote in the same party’s runoff election.

Visit the Politics page of Click2houston.com for complete election results and news.

The following restrictions apply:

• Tour Times: 10:30 a.m. weekly on Wednesdays (tours run about one hour long)
• Tours are offered at no cost and are intended for schools and community groups. We are unable to offer tours on an individual basis.
• Age minimum: 8 years old and over
• Group Limit: 25 people maximum, 8 people minimum per tour group

Please note:

• We are now accepting tour requests for the 2026-2027 school year. September 2026 availability is limited. No tour dates remain in October 2026.
• Tour openings for community groups are available beginning in November 2026 and beyond.

Please visit our Help Desk to request a tour for your group.

A KPRC 2 representative will contact you once your tour request has been confirmed.

If you would like to request an elementary school visit for a larger group with KPRC 2 Chief Meteorologist Anthony Yanez, please visit this page.

Friction has grown between Congress and the Trump administration in recent weeks as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle push for updates on what has happened with $400 million in Ukraine aid and $200 million more for defense programs in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The money was allocated by Congress last year. Even Republican lawmakers have aired their frustration as President Donald Trump's administration disengages with Ukraine and other European allies.

“Ukraine has persistently and bravely repelled a four-year Russian onslaught, but its military needs and deserves continued American support,” said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley in the joint letter.

Republican Sens. Kevin Cramer and Thom Tillis and Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and Catherine Cortez Masto also signed onto the letter.

During a congressional hearing over three weeks ago, Hegseth had told lawmakers that the Ukraine funding had been “released” and a spending plan would soon be sent to lawmakers. But the senators say the Pentagon failed to meet the promised May 15 deadline for that plan.

“Any further delays — particularly as the Department reportedly plans troubling U.S. troops withdrawals from the region — risks our ability to adequately deter Russia,” the senators said.

The letter was the latest sign of Senate Republican frustration with the Trump administration after a week in which the president endorsed the primary challenger to Texas Sen. John Cornyn, angering many.

In a back-and-forth with the president on social media Friday, Tillis blamed Trump's advisors for a list of policies he says are hurting the GOP politically, including, “Firing our very best generals and not holding Putin accountable for his systematic kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder of Ukrainian civilians.”

Several Republicans have also taken issue with Hegseth's firing of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George last month. George had pushed to reconfigure the Army's battlefield strategy to incorporate drone warfare and had worked with Ukraine's military to learn from its experience.

In the House, a Democratic-backed proposal to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia and send $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine has gained momentum as well. While that aid package is unlikely to become law, it’s helping fuel a renewed push among lawmakers for supporting Ukraine’s war effort.

The $400 million in security aid for Ukraine is relatively small compared to the multi-billion dollar aid packages that Congress initially approved in the months and years immediately following Russia's invasion, but for lawmakers, the provision has also taken on significance as a sign of their continued support.

Paxton filed the lawsuit Friday in a Collin County state district court, the latest in a recent flurry of lawsuits by Paxton’s office against tech companies and other businesses ahead of his U.S. Senate GOP runoff against incumbent John Cornyn on Tuesday.

Texas joins Nevada, Indiana and New Jersey as states that have recently sued Discord. Florida announced its investigation of the company in March. Many private lawsuits have been filed in recent months, as well, largely from families accusing the messaging service of allowing children to be sexually abused or exploited while using Discord.

Paxton first opened an investigation into the messaging platform in 2024, along with several other tech companies, all broadly focused on user data privacy. Paxton announced last October, following the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, that he would expand the investigation of Discord to include a focus on the sexual exploitation of minors and extremist content on the platform.

Discord is an online messaging service generally used by people to communicate while playing video games. It also includes chat functions and the ability for users to create topic-based servers. Paxton has sued other video game and social media platforms, like Snapchat, Tiktok and Roblox, in recent months over similar concerns that they are violating users’ data privacy and allowing their platforms to be used to exploit children.

“Discord has allowed and invited all kinds of nihilistic violence and evil,” Paxton said. “We live in a time where the dangers children face online have never been greater, and every parent in Texas deserves to know their child is protected.”

Discord did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In 2023, Texas lawmakers strengthened laws requiring social media platforms to protect minors from inappropriate content online. That legislation, called Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, is still fighting its way through the courts and parts have been blocked for being unconstitutionally vague.

Paxton has used the remaining provisions of the SCOPE Act to bring lawsuits against Discord and the other tech companies.

The lawsuit asks the courts to require Discord to implement age verification for all users under that law, the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act. The lawsuit also seeks for Discord to pay fines under the state Deceptive Trade Practices Act, arguing the company has misled users about the safety of the platform.

Paxton cited a 2025 lawsuit filed by the family of a 13-year-old girl who says she was groomed on Roblox, then later Discord, before being sexually assaulted in her home. The family’s lawsuit argues the companies failed to protect the girl.

This week, Paxton also sued WhatsApp and its parent company Meta, alleging the platform can access users’ private messages.

Trump spent months criticizing Warsh's predecessor, Jerome Powell, for being reluctant to cut interests rates, with the Republican president arguing that lower borrowing costs would provide an economic boost. By taking the unusual step of holding the ceremony in the East Room and not the Fed, Trump made clear his pleasure that Warsh is now in charge.

The war with Iran has caused gas prices to spike, unsettled financial markets and driven inflation concerns across the economy. Those developments have led to recent doubts about whether Warsh might heed Trump's calls and push the Fed to lower rates.

Still, Trump said he had faith that Warsh would prioritize a strong economy.

“Thankfully, unlike some of his predecessors, Kevin understands that when the economy is booming, it is, that’s a good thing,” the president said. Trump said it was not necessary "to go crazy. Just let it go. We want it to boom.”

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath of office. Also on hand were House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Justice Brett Kavanaugh, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Cabinet members.

“I expect he will go down as one of the truly great chairmen of the Federal Reserve that we’ve ever had,” Trump said of Warsh.

Republican President Ronald Reagan swore in Alan Greenspan as Fed chair at the White House in 1987. Republican President George W. Bush attended the 2006 ceremony at central bank headquarters when Ben Bernanke became chair.

But having the event at the White House raises more questions about the Fed's independence at a time when Trump has constantly sought to bend the independent central bank to his will.

Trump's Department of Justice began an investigation into Powell and the Fed’s extensive building renovations. That drew backlash from lawmakers and the department scrapped the investigation. The Fed’s internal watchdog is now handling the matter. Powell’s term as chair ended last week, though he has opted to remain on the Fed board for now.

Trump made a point of saying during his remarks, “Honestly, I really mean this. This is not said in any other way: I want Kevin to be totally independent.”

“I want him to be independent and just do a great job,” Trump said. “Don’t look at me, don’t look at anybody. Just do your own thing.”

In the next breath, however, Trump said that “in the eyes of many, the Fed has lost its way in recent years” under his predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump also suggested that Warsh is looking to lead policies that promote “positive economic growth” and that doing so did not have to mean higher inflation.

Trump also noted that the stock market had risen Friday. "That means they like you,” he said of Warsh.

Warsh once harshly criticized Fed’s policies, including its low interest rate policies coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, which he says contributed to the largest U.S. inflation spike in four decades in 2021-2022. More recently, he has sometimes echoed Trump’s demands for lower rates.

Warsh says productivity gains from artificial intelligence will help the economy grow more quickly without spurring inflation, enabling the Fed to reduce borrowing costs. Many Fed officials, however, disagree that AI’s development will support rate cuts, especially because the technology has also been blamed for large-scale layoffs in the computer sector and other parts of the economy.

On Friday, Warsh promised “to lead a reform oriented Federal Reserve, learning from past successes and mistakes, both escaping static frameworks and models and upholding clear standards of integrity and performance."

He told Trump that he believes “these years can bring unmatched prosperity that will raise living standards for Americans from all walks of life. And the Fed has something to do with it.”

Warsh further noted that the Fed's mandate “is to promote price stability and maximum employment. When we pursue those aims with wisdom and clarity, independence and resolve, inflation can be lower; growth, stronger; real take home pay, higher and America can more prosperous."

As he left the ceremony, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced Trump's message, predicting to reporters that Warsh will "do the right thing for inflation and growth.”

The red carpet at Cannes is one of the most famous fashion showcases in the world. Unlike events such as the Oscars ceremony or Met Gala, the display goes on for more than a week.

That gives both celebrities and their stylists lots of opportunities to pull luxe looks together, on top of plenty of daytime casual couture for Cannes photocalls.

Here's a look at the couture highlights — and lessons on what not to wear — from the festival this year:

Gowns bring drama and volume

While voluminous gowns were frowned on by festival organizers — see also barely-there dresses — that didn’t stop structural elegance from making an appearance.

Eschewing slinky silhouettes were Cate Blanchett who popped up her frilly collar on a Louis Vuitton gown, and Sharon Stone who swept along the red carpet in an oversized creation by Sophie Couture.

Joan Collins also brought drama with a gown by Stéphane Rolland that orbited her like a delicate origami flower.

Stunning outside the Palais, but not great for anyone sitting behind them in the cinema, who wants to see the screen.

NSFW: Not suitable for walking

For those not careful, the outfits may impress when standing still in the mirror — but fail once the wearer starts moving.

Seen this year: Guests tripping over, being reduced to a crawl or going up the Palais' 24 steps sideways, making the wrong impression on the Croisette crowd.

Some victims of their fashion were caught out by a dress train that's too tight around the knees, heels that were too high, and flying fabric strands tying one up at the first hint of a breeze.

Demi Moore's seemingly bottomless wardrobe

The biggest selection of styles come from the never-ending wardrobes of the jury members, who attend daily premieres to watch the movies.

This year the panel, lead by Park Chan-wook, included Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Laura Wandel, Diego Céspedes, Isaach De Bankolé and Paul Laverty.

Moore, in particular, switched up styles with off-the-shoulder lavender Gucci, a body-hugging gown by Jacquemus, a dramatic shaggy fur from Gucci’s Resort 2027 collection, and a huge hot-pink gown by avant-garde fashion label Matières Fécales.

Honorable mentions

Chefs' kisses go to Colman Domingo, who wore a caped, twinkly purple Valentino shirt; Blanchett in backless floral Givenchy, complete with tassels; Isabelle Huppert in a delicate fanned out, bright red Gucci gown; Ruth Negga in black and white tuxedo tailoring; and vintage lover Dita von Teese channeling Old Hollywood in Tamara Ralph Couture.

From the eight senators to their staff and military liaison officers, the group will be entirely women as they pay diplomatic visits to government officials in four Arctic nations, witness the challenges for militaries in the region and visit a Norwegian archipelago so remote they will need escorts to avoid run-ins with polar bears.

“I want them to experience, first of all, the awesomeness of the Arctic," said Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who is leading the trip alongside Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The trip was born out of both senator's work to stabilize relations with U.S. allies in North America and northern Europe at a time when President Donald Trump has taken an aggressive, go-it-alone stance in the region. Just this week, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. would pause participation on a joint board with Canada for continental defense that dates back to World War II.

Murkowski and Shaheen said that is the wrong approach in an Arctic region that has increasing strategic value and unique challenges.

“We will reassure our allies that we recognize and appreciate the importance of our allies and partners in the Arctic as in so many other areas,” Shaheen told The Associated Press, adding that she expected the group to discuss “what more we can do as members of Congress to support those relationships.”

The group is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, with Sens. Cindy Hyde Smith, Katie Britt and Cynthia Lummis making up the Republican side, and Sens. Maggie Hassan, Kirsten Gillibrand and Catherine Cortez Masto from the Democrats. Departing Friday, they will visit Arctic or sub-Arctic regions in Canada, Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark, Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago that is one of the northernmost inhabited areas on earth, and Iceland.

Understanding the Arctic

Murkowski and Shaheen said they want the group to come away with a deeper understanding and appreciation for Arctic communities that are experiencing the effects of climate change, as well as the unique challenges of conducting military operations in the region.

“It’s to understand what it means to go into a remote, isolated community that has no access by road,” Murkowski said, adding that the group would see how military sites need airplane hangars because aircraft cannot be kept outside overnight in the Arctic cold.

NATO has recently tried to foster cooperation in the High North through a series of joint military exercises, especially as nations like China and Russia increase their activities there.

As climate change thins the Arctic ice, it could potentially create a northwest passage for international trade as well as reignite competition with Russia, China and other countries over access to the region’s mineral resources. The region is also host to a number of undersea cable projects that hold strategic value.

The group will also visit Indigenous communities that have lived in the region for generations and understand the environment. Murkowski said she hopes the senators come away from the trip “excited and intrigued and hopefully inspired.”

As Trump threatened to take Greenland earlier this year, Shaheen and Murkowski also teamed up to push for legislation that would prevent the U.S. from attacking any fellow NATO member. They are among the lawmakers pushing to include language in this year's defense legislation that would prevent the Trump administration from withdrawing military commitments to NATO allies.

Shaheen said, “I also want to know if there are policy directives that we should be thinking about. And it will be great to have a strong bipartisan group there to discuss what we might want to do when we get back.”

How an all-women trip will be different

For some of the nations the group will be visiting, a high representation of women is nothing new. Iceland's parliamentary body is comprised of roughly 46% women, one of the top ranking countries globally for female political representation.

Shaheen said that research suggests that “when women are the negotiating table, that agreements that are made have a much better chance of lasting for a longer period of time.”

She added that data shows that representation of women in government leads to more stable societies, as well as investments back into their communities.

“There are very real reasons why we need to make sure that women are at the table,” she added.

There was nothing to laugh about Thursday night early in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, when Hart missed three 3-pointers to continue a postseason shooting slump. His frustration was evident as he slammed the ball down a few times, and he wondered why what he was doing in practice wasn't showing up in the games.

“I’m just like, bro, it’s not translating right now,” Hart said, once he finished chewing a slice from the box of pizza he carried to his postgame news conference.

His teammates — particularly the ones who were also his teammates at Villanova — knew eventually it would.

“I know we joke around a lot about his practice habits, but he does work hard,” Jalen Brunson said.

Hart broke out with five 3-pointers and scored a playoff career-high 26 points as the Knicks pulled away for a 109-93 victory over Cleveland to move two wins from their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. He exited to a standing ovation, two nights after he was on the bench for nearly all of New York's comeback from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Even with everything he does for the Knicks, it was hard to keep Hart on the court at that time. The Cavaliers, like a number of NBA teams, view the forward's outside shooting as one of the weaknesses in a potent lineup headlined by All-Stars Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and assign their center to cover him. He realizes he will have room to shoot from outside, because opponents want him to.

Knowing that, Hart worked extra hard on his shot fundamentals leading into Game 2.

“When you have guys that are gamers, they do stuff that people don’t think that they can do at any time,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “And he knows the work that he puts in, we know the work that he puts in, and his confidence is not going to waver. He's going to put pressure on himself to take that next one and make that next one.”

Hart was shooting only 26.7% behind the arc in the playoffs going into the game, so sagging off him is statistically a sound strategy — except Hart is not a player to be judged solely by the numbers.

“I’m never a huge analytics guy," Hart said. “At a certain point they’re a lamppost to a drunk person. You can lean on them, but it won’t get you home.”

As Towns, seated next to him at the podium, removed his sunglasses to stare at Hart in bemusement, Hart explained that the quote belonged to Jay Wright, his coach at Villanova.

Hart, a couple years older than Brunson and Mikal Bridges, was the scorer late in his career with the Wildcats. After they won the 2016 NCAA championship, he averaged a career-high 18.7 points and shot 40.4% behind the arc and was the Big East player of the year as a senior.

Brunson is the dominant scorer now, while Hart's value to the Knicks is for the many other things he does. He's taken a large role in the defending of Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell, and his defensive rebounding, while standing only 6-foot-4, allows the Knicks to push the ball up the court quickly in transition.

“He’s the perfect example for any basketball player who wants to learn how to truly impact the winning of a team and he does that at the highest level,” Towns said. “What he does not only talentwise but mentally for our team, when he goes out there, he’s hustling, he’s playing that hard, you feel like you’ve got to match his intensity.”

And on nights like Thursday, Hart can punish teams that dare him to shoot. Just like he did two years ago in the first round, when he made the series-clinching 3-pointer against Philadelphia in Game 6.

So Brunson, who had a playoff career-high 14 assists in Game 2, will keep looking for him.

“I mean, I’m really not trying to look for him. He just happens to be open, so I give him the ball,” Brunson said, with a smirk that resembled his sidekick. “I have the utmost confidence in him, watching the things he does and after practice with his routine and everything. He works hard.”

___

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

Days after U.S. President Donald Trump raised doubts about continuing arms sales to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, acting U.S. Navy Secretary Hung Cao said Thursday that the sales would resume when the administration considers it appropriate.

“Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for ‘Epic Fury,’” Cao told the U.S. Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, referring to the Trump administration's name for the Iran operation. “Then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary.”

Taiwan's authorities have seen the reports, “but currently there is no information regarding any adjustments the U.S. will make to this arms sale,” Taiwanese presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said Friday when asked about Cao’s comments.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province to be brought under its control by force if necessary. Like other countries that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Beijing, the U.S. doesn't recognize Taiwan as a country, but Washington remains the island’s strongest backer and arms supplier.

Trump’s Republican administration authorized an $11 billion weapons package for Taipei in December, but it has yet to move forward. American lawmakers also approved a separate $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan in January, though the deal can't proceed until Trump formally submits it to U.S. Congress.

In an interview with Fox News on his way back to the United States from last week’s trip to Beijing, Trump said that arms sales to Taiwan are “a very good negotiating chip” in Washington’s dealings with China.

On Wednesday, marking his two years in office, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said that if given the chance, he would tell Trump to continue U.S. arms purchases, which Lai called essential for peace.

China warns US over Taiwan

When asked about Cao's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that “China’s opposition to the U.S. arms sale to China’s Taiwan region is consistent, clear-cut and resolute.”

Last week, during Trump's visit to Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a strong warning, telling him that the “Taiwan question” is the most important issue in U.S.-China relations and that the two nations could “have clashes and even conflicts,” if the issue isn't handled properly.

Trump later told reporters that he needed to talk to the person who is running Taiwan, without naming Lai, who Beijing deems a separatist.

Trump and Lai holding talks likely would anger China, which typically responds strongly to visits to Taiwan by U.S. politicians.

Kuo, the Taiwan presidential spokesperson, said Friday there was no more information about a potential conversation between Lai and Trump.

Another five rockets followed in rapid succession, before a second HIMARS truck drove out of its concealed position in a copse of evergreens, fired its salvo of six rockets, then retreated back to cover.

The live-fire exercise this week at the U.S. military’s Camp Fuji east maneuver area lasted only a few minutes, but was a significant demonstration to Pacific allies of American capabilities as Washington seeks to deter possible Chinese aggression against Taiwan, the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own and hasn't ruled out taking by force.

Deterrence through strength, not confrontation

It was also a demonstration of how the U.S. has been shifting tactics in the Pacific, made necessary by the rapid modernization and improvement of China’s military in recent years.

“The U.S. does not want China to invade Taiwan, but it would not be relying on the traditional aircraft carrier-based attack wings of the past,” said Euan Graham, a senior defense analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

“In Iran, with the U.S. conflict there, there were over 40 U.S. aircraft, manned and unmanned, either destroyed or damaged against a much less capable adversary, so in the case of conflict with China that vulnerability would be much greater," he said. "That’s why we’re seeing the U.S. emphasizing ... these smaller units.”

According to the Pentagon's latest annual report to Congress, the goal is to “deny the ability of any country in the Indo-Pacific to dominate us or our allies." It said the priority was on bolstering deterrence “through strength, not confrontation.”

Recent wars and proliferation of drones underscore need for mobility

The function of the HIMARS is implicit in its full name, “High Mobility Artillery Rocket System." It's a truck-mounted pod of rockets that can be hidden from drone or satellite surveillance, driven out to fire its GPS-guided missiles, then quickly back to a new hidden position using what the military commonly calls “shoot-and-scoot” tactics.

“It depends on the crew, but it can get as fast as four minutes, (even) two minutes sometimes,” said Sgt. Kevin Alvarez, section chief of one of the two Fox Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division HIMARS involved in the Camp Fuji exercise.

Introduced about 20 years ago, the HIMARS has been used in Iraq and Afghanistan, but was largely unknown to the general public until Ukraine was able to use it with great success in its fight against Russia.

Those conflicts, especially with the proliferation of drones on the battlefield that can quickly identify static artillery positions, have underscored the value of mobility, said Lt. Col. Ryan Anness, commander of the 3rd Battalion.

“They’re much quicker, much faster, and much easier to hide than, say, traditional cannon artillery, and obviously having the precision fire weapons and having the ability to hide easier is why so many countries, and why it’s important for us, to have the HIMARS,” he said.

HIMARS can now hit targets at more than 300 miles

The HIMARS can fire a variety of missiles, and initially only shorter-range munitions were provided to Ukraine until the U.S. decided to allow Kyiv to have the ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, that can hit targets at about 300 kilometers (180 miles) away.

In the first days of the war against Iran after the U.S. and Israel attacked on Feb. 28, the HIMARS was used to fire both ATACMS and, for the first time in combat, the even longer-range Precision Strike Missiles, sinking “multiple” Iranian surface ships and a submarine in port, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said.

The so-called PrSM can reach targets at ranges greater than 500 kilometers (310 miles,) according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Together with the Army’s Typhon — another truck-based launching system that shoots longer-range Tomahawk missiles and others, but is less maneuverable than the HIMARS — the two systems could easily cover the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China, and the strategically important Luzon Strait, between the Philippines and Taiwan, if deployed on Taiwan and the Philippine and Japanese islands nearby, Graham said.

Both waterways would be critical to any sort of Chinese invasion or blockade plan.

“In advance of a conflict around Taiwan, there would likely be a large-scale outflux of U.S. assets within the envelope of China’s missile capabilities,” Graham said. "All that would be left is submarines, which are more survivable, and small units based on rugged survivability — mobile systems like the HIMARS.”

Exercises demonstrate capabilities, and partnership

The maneuvers carried out at Camp Fuji on Wednesday used dummy rockets — concrete-filled tubes with no explosives — and were carried out under strict safety guidelines and observed by Japanese military officials, who shut down a local road during the exercise just in case one of the projectiles fell short.

Even though the precautions meant carrying out the live-fire exercise somewhat slower than the HIMARS would be used in combat, Lt. Col. Anness stressed the value of it both for his Marines and for ties with U.S. allies.

“Being able to have long-range precision-fire weapons provides deterrence here in the Pacific, and we train with our Japanese partners as much as we can to make sure we’re ready,” he said.

In an exclusive interview with KPRC 2 and his first local television interview in Houston, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson spoke about why he’s investing in Houston youth through his G-Unity Foundation and its G-Unity Business Lab program.

“Houston’s perfect for it, it’s built on entrepreneurship,” Jackson told KPRC 2.

• Houston ISD students pitch businesses at NRG Arena

The yearlong program selects more than 100 Houston Independent School District high school students to learn the foundations of entrepreneurship, including how to launch, manage, and financially operate a business.

Throughout the program, students work alongside mentors and coaches before pitching their business ideas during the “Hustle Tank” competition held at NRG Arena.

Students present their ideas directly to 50 Cent and a panel of Houston business leaders in hopes of gaining support and confidence in their entrepreneurial dreams.

50 Cent said one of the most valuable parts of the program is the confidence students gain throughout the process.

“I think that’s probably the biggest thing the program is offering them,” 50 Cent said. “A different kind of confidence.”

Students involved in the program say the experience is helping reshape how they view themselves and their future.

“In the end, we’ll look back and laugh because although it was hard at some point, it was worth it,” student Genesis Rodriguez said.

50 Cent also spoke candidly about relating to many of the students’ personal struggles, including growing up without both parents in the home.

“I had that in my background and experience, so I can relate to them on that level,” 50 Cent said. “It makes it easier for me to communicate with them.”

For 50 Cent, the mission goes beyond business pitches and competitions. He said the goal is to expose students to opportunities they may have never imagined and show them success is possible regardless of their background.

“I have every reason why you would not be successful in my background,” 50 Cent said. “If you want to make it, you’re going to make it.”

50 Cent said he hopes to continue expanding the program in Houston, calling the city “the right place for it.”

Warner is not surprised what would seem to be an overdue honor came more than 30 years since his last game for the Panthers.

“My career has never been conventional, so why should my HOF induction?” Warner wrote in a lengthy text to The Associated Press. “Most UNI HOFers will be recognized for their accomplishments at the university. I will be recognized for what I was able to do because of my time there.”

Warner, whose selection was announced Thursday, won one Super Bowl and played in two others during an improbable 12-year NFL career that ended after the 2009 season.

The Burlington, Iowa, native was a member of four straight conference championship teams at UNI but didn't become the starting quarterback until he was a senior in 1993, when he was conference offensive player of the year. Warner said he had a hard time believing his college accomplishments merited selection to the school hall of fame. He said Megan Franklin, UNI's second-year athletic director, and new football coach Todd Stepsis convinced him otherwise.

“It totally makes sense to me now, that when looking at a college HOF it does not have to be limited to what you did in your time there but can be fully representative of what you went on to do beyond your days at the university,” Warner said.

Warner went to training camp with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1993 and was cut, going on to stock shelves at a grocery store and star in the Arena Football League.

In 1998, after leading NFL Europe in touchdowns and passing yards, he joined the St. Louis Rams and became the team’s starting quarterback in 1999. He led the Rams' “Greatest Show on Turf” offense to a Super Bowl victory over the Tennessee Titans in 2000 and was the game's MVP. Warner made it back to the Super Bowl with the Rams in 2002 and with the Arizona Cardinals in 2009.

Warner had a lukewarm relationship with UNI in the years after he left, according to a 2009 story in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. But in 2021, UNI and its trademark licensing agency partnered with Warner and his agency, Priority Sports, to develop and launch a merchandise line celebrating Warner’s legacy. That was the year “American Underdog,” a movie about Warner's life, was released.

“We are excited to celebrate Kurt and the other members of our 2026 UNI Athletics Hall of Fame Class,” the athletic department said. “Regardless of the paths they took to receive this recognition, we are thrilled to celebrate their induction!”

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Guardiola had a year left on his City contract but will take charge of his final game on Sunday against Aston Villa in the Premier League.

“Don’t ask me the reasons I’m leaving. There is no reason, but deep inside I know it’s my time,” he said.

City said Guardiola will become a global ambassador and it was naming its newly developed stand at Etihad Stadium after him.

Enzo Maresca — the former Chelsea manager who was previously assistant to Guardiola at City — is the favorite to take on the daunting task of filling the Catalan's shoes after a decade of unprecedented dominance.

Since joining City in the summer of 2016, Guardiola has led the Abu Dhabi-owned team to six Premier League titles and a first Champions League crown in 2023.

He won 17 major trophies including a domestic double this season of the English League Cup and the FA Cup. He has won 35 major titles across his coaching career including at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

City was by far his longest job in management, having never previously stayed more than four years in a role.

“I will not train for a while,” the 55-year-old Guardiola said. “I feel I would not have the energy that is required to daily … with the expectations to fight for the titles.”

Guardiola set new benchmarks; City became the first team to win four straight English leagues and the first to amass 100 points in a single season in 2018. The following year City was the first team to win the domestic treble of the league, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season.

His biggest achievement was leading City to the ultimate treble in 2023, winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup — matching Manchester United’s feat from more than 20 years earlier in 1999.

He also brought to England a style of soccer — a possession-based approach that started with playing the ball out from the goalkeeper or defense — that ended up being mimicked across the country, from kids’ teams at grassroots level to rivals in the Premier League.

“The unique approach that he brings to his coaching has allowed him to constantly challenge the accepted truths of our game. It is the reason that in the last 10 years he has not only made Manchester City better — he has also made football better,” City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said. He added it was the “right answer” for Guardiola to walk away now.

While he goes out on another trophy-winning campaign, this was the first time in his career that he has gone two seasons without being crowned league champion. City was also eliminated from the Champions League before the quarterfinals in the last two years.

City said Guardiola's new role would see him give technical advice to clubs in its ownership group.

“Pep’s legacy is extraordinary and its true impact will be better assessed by Manchester City historians of the future,” chief executive Ferran Sorriano said. “If there is something more difficult than winning, it is winning again. It requires incredible persistence, resilience and the humility to start again every year, with the same energy, again and again. This is what Pep did.”

While Guardiola will go down as one of the greatest managers in Premier League history — rivaling Alex Ferguson — he repeatedly had to defend City against allegations of financial breaches, with more than 100 charges still hanging over the club.

City was accused of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period from 2009-18 — a span in which it won three titles and signed some of the world’s best players like Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne. One of those titles was won under Guardiola.

City has always denied wrongdoing. Guardiola said he was “fully convinced” the club was innocent.

“We worked. We suffered. We fought. And we did things our own way. Our way,” Guardiola said in his farewell message to fans.

___

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