But the nanny never worried the Massachusetts mother might be a danger to her children or to herself.

“I observed a wonderful mom who loved her kids,” Elaine Rossi told the jury on the seventh day of the trial in Plymouth. “She was concerned about their safety, and Callan eating and sleeping. She was a wonderful mother.”

Clancy’s defense says she was a loving mother who was overmastered by postpartum psychosis, a dangerous psychiatric condition that afflicts a small proportion of women after childbirth and affects their hold on reality.

Prosecutors contend that she acted intentionally on Jan. 24, 2023, and should be held criminally responsible for the deaths of Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged in age from 8 months to 5 years.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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Rossi was hired in September 2022, a few months after Callan was born. She was let go in December after Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, decided not to return to work. Rossi said she wasn’t told why Clancy chose to remain at home.

She testified Wednesday about her time with the family, describing Cora as a “girly-girl” who loved arts and crafts. Three-year-old Dawson was “full of energy, rambunctious, funny, silly.” Callan was the “sweetest, happiest baby.”

The defense sought to portray Clancy, 35, as a doting mother who acknowledged her mental health difficulties. Prosecutors likely hope the jury will see a mom who wasn't impaired by her mental health.

Rossi testified that she saw prescription medicine bottles in the house, and that Clancy "shared with me she had postpartum and couldn’t sleep,” and had taken to sleeping in the basement.

In her journals during that time, Clancy indicated she was struggling with anxiety and feeling overwhelmed by motherhood.

Both the prosecution and defense read excerpts from her diary to the jury Monday, where she catalogued an ever-shifting lineup of psychiatric prescriptions, as well as thoughts of suicide. Clancy remains paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from her home's second-story window on the night of the killings.

Clancy wrote about her struggles to get newborn Callan to sleep, and constant worries of his being sick. She also expressed concerns about going back to work, not being able to breastfeed, and feeling disconnected from her children and her then-husband.

“I’m so desperate to get a mental break from taking care of everyone that my mind is trying to find something physically wrong with me,” she wrote in a Nov. 18, 2022, entry.

“I have crazy brain fog. I feel like I can’t make a plan,” she wrote in another, undated entry. “I live moment to moment waiting for the next nap time.”

Clancy’s lawyers don’t dispute that she killed the children. But in the criminal trial and a medical malpractice lawsuit, her attorneys say she had bipolar disorder that wasn’t fully diagnosed until after the killings. Her attorneys say her condition seemed to worsen on the psychiatric medications, some of them problematic for bipolar patients.

Several officials with the state police crime lab testified this week that Clancy had multiple prescription medications in her blood after the killings, including antipsychotics, antidepressants and benzodiazepines.

If convicted of murder, Lindsay Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If found not guilty due to a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

The lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the department and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s criminal investigation into Epstein and others, taking steps that “actively harms victims and undermines the public interest.”

The lawsuit sought judicial intervention to force the federal government to turn over materials to New Mexico's investigators. It was filed the same day that the New Mexico House of Representatives released a report saying “those directly responsible for protecting New Mexicans relied on others to do their job,” including federal prosecutors in New York.

According to the Washington lawsuit, Torrez and his senior prosecutors “have faced sustained resistance” to the kind of information-sharing common between state and federal investigators.

Justice Department says it's following court orders to protect victims

In a statement, the Justice Department said it was not releasing some information the state requested because federal court orders ban disclosing “victim-identifying information carte blanche, and New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures.”

It said protecting victim privacy remains a top priority, though the Justice Department "remains available to assist New Mexico’s investigation consistent with the law and binding court orders.”

The lawsuit said the Justice Department and Blanche were hiding information about Epstein and his co-conspirators when New Mexico is one of the few jurisdictions that may still be able to hold Epstein's associates accountable or “provide some sense of justice to survivors.”

In a video conference call with reporters, Torrez said his office has made 10 separate requests for key information and has been ignored or denied.

“We have heard repeatedly they will cooperate and what our team has experienced is anything but cooperation,” Torrez said.

State calls on Todd Blanche to fix things with ‘a stroke of the pen’

“Todd Blanche today with a stroke of a pen could grant us the access that he claimed,” Torrez said. “Instead they have decided to stonewall, to obstruct and to frankly conceal for whatever reason.”

Epstein took his own life in a federal jail in New York City in August 2019 after he was denied bail on sex trafficking charges lodged against him when he was arrested a month earlier.

His former girlfriend and close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking charges at a trial in Manhattan, where some witness testimony alleged that Epstein and Maxwell had sexually abused women at the New Mexico ranch.

Meanwhile, the interim report by the New Mexico Survivors' Truth Commission, established in February by the New Mexico House of Representatives, in part blamed federal prosecutors in Manhattan for a dearth of information about Epstein's activities in New Mexico, saying they "never prioritized New Mexicans, focusing instead on Epstein’s misdeeds in New York, Palm Beach, Florida, and the Virgin Islands, while leaving Epstein’s offenses in New Mexico unexamined.”

Commission blames New York prosecutors but then cites their work

Later in the report, though, the commission cited evidence gathered by New York's federal prosecutors to describe women who described suffering sexual abuse from Epstein at his Zorro Ranch.

At Maxwell's trial, Annie Farmer, now a psychologist, testified she was 16 when she agreed to go to Epstein's New Mexico ranch, where Maxwell touched her breast during a massage and Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her.

A spokesperson for New York federal prosecutors sent along the Justice Department statement on Epstein in response to a request for comment.

Coinciding with the release of the report, about 50 members of the media and the public gathered in a legislative hearing room at the New Mexico state capitol on Wednesday to hear about the commission’s preliminary findings.

Epstein accuser recounts abuse at commission meeting

Rachel Benavidez, the lone speaker in the “survivor testimony” portion of the meeting, alleged that Epstein sexually abused her at Zorro Ranch. Benavidez said Epstein’s connections with powerful people in the state allowed him to “roam free here in New Mexico unchecked” after he had been convicted of sex crimes elsewhere.

“We don’t need more paper files sitting as artifacts,” Benevidez said, urging the commission to question “co-conspirators” who helped Epstein evade accountability in the state.

She has said in interviews that she was brought to the ranch to work as a massage therapist beginning in the late 1990s. In her testimony Wednesday, Benavidez said Epstein had exploited “the one thing that meant everything to me at that time, my hard earned career.”

Epstein purchased his sprawling estate in Stanley, New Mexico, a sparsely populated ranching community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Santa Fe, in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and built a hilltop mansion with a private airstrip and helipad.

Epstein's ranch has been renamed ‘San Rafael Ranch’

The property was sold by Epstein’s estate in 2023 to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican who was recently appointed state comptroller in Texas. In a February social media post on X, Huffines said the property has been renamed San Rafael Ranch after a saint associated with healing and that his family plans to operate a Christian retreat there.

In December, the Justice Department started releasing investigative records pertaining to Epstein and Maxwell in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Complaints quickly arose about shoddy redactions and too many sealed materials from accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the transparency act. Records that were released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context.

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AP writer Larry Neumeister in New York and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

He is seeking to shore up support for Republicans ahead of the November elections, which will determine which party controls Congress.

Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, defeating U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in a massive victory for the party’s progressive wing in a battleground state. The real test will now come in a November matchup against Republican Mike Rogers for the seat, which is pivotal to Democrats’ chances of flipping the Senate.

The AP declared El-Sayed the winner after confirming Wednesday morning that there were simply not enough votes left to count that would allow Stevens to catch up. El-Sayed’s victory was so narrow that his victory wasn’t assured until almost all statewide ballots were counted. At the time AP declared him the winner, El-Sayed led Stevens by 14,893 votes — a margin of just under 1 percentage point — out of more than 1.5 million ballots counted. See full results.

Here is the latest:

Trump insults Canadians as he takes the stage in Las Vegas

Trump was expounding on the tariffs he’s imposed that’s touched off a contentious trade war with Canada and told the crowd that, “Canada’s nasty. They are. They’re nasty.”

“I love the people, but they’re nasty,” Trump added.

Las Vegas’ tourism-dependent economy has been hit by a slump in visits from tourists and the city’s mayor has said visits from Canada — Nevada’s largest international market — has dried up in the wake of Trump’s trade policies and insults to its northern neighbor.

Nevada governor urges Republicans to vote in November’s election

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in what is considered one of the most competitive governor’s races in the country.

“You have a choice to get up off the couch,” he told a crowd of hundreds waiting to hear Trump speak. “You have a choice to walk to the ballot and cast your vote.”

Nevada residents also have an opportunity to vote for a state ballot initiative on voter ID in November, he said. It passed by a significant margin in 2024 but needs a second vote to take effect.

Lombardo highlighted his partnership with Trump, the first Republican presidential candidate to win the Silver State in 20 years. He said a federal decision had threatened Nevada’s solar industry, so he spoke to Trump about it and Trump fixed it.

“He’s always taken my phone call,” the governor said.

Trump will be talking about the economy at a Las Vegas casino

Hundreds of people waited in a long line wrapped around slot machines at the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa to get in to see the president.

Tom Port, a professional driver, said he is saving money with Trump’s move to cut tax from tips.

“That’s about the best thing he could have possibly done for me, considering a large portion of my income comes directly from tips,” said Port, 36.

Terilyn Taylor, 60, a teacher in Las Vegas, said she likes Trump, but also thinks home prices, interest rates and gas prices are too high.

“I don’t think it’s all Trump’s fault,” she said. But she would like to see the Iran war end.

“I thought the gas prices would be temporary, so I’m really ready for the Iran thing to be resolved,” she said.

Temporary status officially ends for 350,000 Haitians

U.S. District judge Ana Reyes on Wednesday was forced to lift her stay that had blocked the Trump administration from terminate Temporary Protected Status for about 350,000 Haitians who had been living and working legally in the United States since 2010.

She issued the order after a Supreme Court ruling on June 25 that sided with the administration’s decision to end the program.

As part of its crackdown on immigration, the Trump administration terminated TPS for about 1 million people from more than a dozen countries, including Haitians.

“As a result of today’s order implementing the Supreme Court’s decision, Haitian TPS holders — all of them noncriminals — can no longer legally work, and many are subject to removal to Haiti,” Geoff Pipoly, the lead counsel for the Haitians, said.

Brazil’s president calls the Trump administration’s decision to revoke ambassador’s visa ‘irresponsible’

The United States’ decision followed Brazil’s denial of visas last month for two American diplomats who sought to visit ahead of upcoming elections as well as what the U.S. said was Brazil’s stalling on approving Trump’s nominee to be ambassador in Brasilia.

While Brazil’s ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti is not being expelled from the United States, if she leaves she would have to reapply for a visa, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in an interview Wednesday.

“I think it’s an irresponsible, ill-considered course of action for a country with 203 years of diplomacy and diplomatic relations,” Lula said.

Plane took off as Trump’s helicopter approached Reagan airport

The FAA is investigating because it appears to be a violation of safety procedures put in place after last year’s midair collision between an airliner and an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport.

A commercial jet took off Tuesday from the busy Washington, D.C., airport at the same time that Marine One left the White House for Andrews Air Force Base with the president aboard. The jet was climbing above Marine One as the helicopter approached, so the two aircraft were not on a collision course.

After a January 2025 collision that killed 67 people, the FAA decided all takeoffs and landings at Reagan would be halted anytime a helicopter passes by the airport.

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Bernie Sanders praises El-Sayed’s primary win as historic sign of ‘unstoppable’ change for Democrats

“Abdul’s victory was, in my opinion, the most extraordinary victory that I can think of in modern American politics,” said Vermont independent Sen. Sanders during a call with reporters.

Sanders also congratulated two progressive candidates who won U.S. House primaries in the state and commended Rep. Haley Stevens for conceding a “tough” race.

Sanders said El-Sayed “took on” the Democratic establishment and outside spending from groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He said the result was a sign of further change.

“The new Democratic Party is going to be broad-based. It’s going to be open and encouraging the participation of working-class people, of young people, of lower-income people. Democracy is messy, and I’m not going to sit here and tell you that everything is going to go 100% smoothly and there’s not going to be differences of opinion. That’s called democracy. I happen to believe in that. But that is the direction in which we are heading, and I think that is unstoppable.”

Sanders dismisses concerns about El-Sayed’s electability

Asked about progressive Abdul El-Sayed’s ability to turn out core Democratic constituencies including Black and Jewish voters, Sanders said that El-Sayed’s economic message had broad appeal.

“I think his economic message will resonate across Democratic constituencies, and I think there’ll be working-class Republicans who will support that,” Sanders told reporters.

He argued that El-Sayed “has the capability of expanding the voter turnout universe, and much many of those new voters will be voting for him.”

Sanders dismissed concerns that El-Sayed’s criticism of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza will alienate Jewish voters.

“To be critical of the right-wing extremist government of Netanyahu and his horrific policies in Gaza does not make you antisemitic,” said Sanders, who is Jewish.

Democratic turnout in Michigan primary one of the highest in state history

The Democratic U.S. Senate contest in Michigan has surpassed turnout for previous Senate and gubernatorial primaries and almost every presidential primary going back to at least 1978, according to Michigan Secretary of State records.

As of noon ET Wednesday, a total of 1,528,280 votes had been counted. The total could end up being higher as ballots continue to be processed.

But it already surpasses the roughly 1,181,000 votes counted in the 2020 U.S. Senate Democratic primary, and the approximately 1,131,000 votes counted in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

The 2026 turnout total so far trails the nearly 1,588,000 votes counted in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. About 1,117,000 votes were counted in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards quits reelection bid after committee finds inappropriate conduct

The House Ethics Committee recommended the Republican be censured for unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female aides in his office. Edwards denied intending any of his conduct to be a sexual or romantic advance, but the committee said his behavior would “lead a reasonable observer to interpret it as such.”

State law requires Edwards to submit his Wednesday withdrawal in writing to the state Board of Elections before ballots are mailed to overseas voters and the military. Since the primaries were months ago, the Republican executive committee in his district will name a replacement.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is already juggling other disruptions as he tries to retain the GOP House majority, including in Ohio where Rep. Max Miller is under pressure to resign over his own ethics investigation.

The seat Edwards will be vacating includes progressive Asheville, and farmer Jamie Ager, the Democratic nominee, is hoping to flip it.

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US removes Fly Baghdad from sanctions list

The U.S. removed sanctions on three Iran-linked companies, including Fly Baghdad Airlines, which was sanctioned in January 2024 for allegedly providing assistance to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian proxy groups in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Also removed from the sanctions is Fly Baghdad’s CEO and two aircraft.

In addition to lifting sanctions on Fly Baghdad, the U.S. on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Iraq Express and another Fly Baghdad-linked company. A Treasury official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the sanctions said the decision to remove Fly Baghdad from the designations list was not indicative of any shift in U.S. policy toward Iran’s government.

— By Fatima Hussein

El-Sayed said he condemns antisemitism, wants to address ‘everybody’s pain’

El-Sayed said he wants to unify people rather than divide them, and that people should focus on ending wars and corporate influence in politics. He has previously faced criticism for calling Israel’s military campaign in Gaza a “genocide.”

El-Sayed said “we can be talking about everybody’s pain.”

“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as I’ve got a commitment to my own kids,” he added. “That’s the highest commitment I can offer.”

Peters says El-Sayed needs to reach out to people to unify Democrats

Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, whose retirement led to the primary that Abdul El-Sayed won, said Wednesday that the new nominee needs to start reaching out to “folks” to unify the party.

“I’m sure he will, and that it has to start immediately, which, he assured me will happen,” Peters said.

Peters had little to say about El-Sayed’s views on Israel and whether his win marks a shift for the Democratic Party. El-Sayed has criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza as well as pro-Israel campaign spending to defeat him in the primary.

“He campaigned on that issue, and the results speak for themselves,” Peters said.

Rogers calls El-Sayed an ‘extremist’ who represents ‘complete insanity’

The Republican Senate nominee posted a lengthy statement on social media Wednesday, saying his general election opponent “is leading a movement grounded in ideological fanaticism.”

Rogers also swiped at El-Sayed for stumping with popular but controversial streamer Hasan Piker, who has said “America deserved 9/11.”

Rogers said he never imagined he’d face an opponent with that view, ascribing the comment to the candidate, not the online personality.

His own campaign, Rogers said, is based on the notion that “Michigan has a future built on common sense.”

AIPAC says it’s committed to defeating El-Sayed in November

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent roughly $30 million in a failed effort to defeat El-Sayed in the Democratic primary, says it’s committed to opposing him in the general election.

“Our members remain determined to ensure that voters reject Dr. El-Sayed and his radical anti-Israel agenda in November,” the group’s statement said.

El-Sayed responded on Wednesday: “You want more pain?”

The son of Egyptian immigrants made AIPAC and the tens of millions of dollars it spent to support Rep. Haley Stevens a centerpiece of his primary campaign. He has called Israel’s military campaign in Gaza a “genocide,” described the Israeli government as “evil,” and argued that AIPAC’s influence distorts Democratic politics.

Thune calls race between Rogers and El-Sayed ‘a great contrast’

On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, the Senate Republican leader called the GOP nominee “a great candidate, very experienced” who is “running a terrific campaign.”

Thune spoke as El-Sayed addressed supporters at a victory news conference in Michigan and issued a five-debate challenge to Rogers.

Thune called the Democratic nominee “the extreme radical choice,” and said Democrats are “going to have to accept those positions that he has been advocating for in a general election setting, which I think puts us in a pretty good spot.”

GOP Senate super PAC ad labels El-Sayed ‘dangerously radical’

That’s the theme of a new commercial out Wednesday from the Senate Leadership Fund, the principal super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

The ad features video clips of El-Sayed “in his own words,” calling himself “dangerous” and vowing that, “under my leadership, our state will not expend a dime enforcing federal immigration policy.”

The group says it’s spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to air the ad.

El-Sayed talks affordability, hammers Mike Rogers as beholden to Trump

El-Sayed focused on affordability and healthcare in his speech, inviting people who voted for Trump in 2024 to “join this movement now.”

He positioned himself as the candidate who will stand up to Trump, in contrast to Rogers, who El-Sayed said went to Florida “so he could lick every single boot Donald Trump owns.”

El-Sayed challenges Rogers to 5 general election debates

“I know you’re gonna say no because you’re a coward,” El-Sayed, addressing his Republican opponent directly.

“Five debates, all right? If you’re willing to stand with me and have a conversation, you and I both know that you will wither in front of your own crimes.”

El-Sayed quotes boxing legend while speaking to supporters

“In the words of Muhammad Ali, we shook up the world,” El-Sayed told supporters.

El-Sayed was heavily outspent in his primary campaign, and his candidacy was opposed by the Democratic establishment.

JD Vance quips about future ‘President El-Sayed’

The vice president was addressing a roundtable focused on combating fraud, and making the point that the work of a task force he’s leading needs congressional approval to prevent its results from evaporating once the Trump administration is over.

“God forbid you’re going to have President El-Sayed in a few years,” Vance said, referencing Abdul El-Sayed, who clinched Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary just moments prior to his remarks.

“We don’t want him to undo all the incredible work that we’ve been doing,” Vance said.

Michigan Democrats rally around El-Sayed

Curtis Hertel, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, urged unity within the Democratic Party.

“We have got to work together to take this country back,” Hertel said. “I can tell you what we need is a fighter ... Abdul El-Sayed has been a fighter for the people over and over again.”

McMorrow said that “for all of the differences that we may have had in the primary, that those differences pale in comparison to the contrast that we face in November.”

Republicans are counting on rifts inside the Democratic Party, but “this is the start of a celebration of all of us coming together,” McMorrow said.

Democrats stress unity after difficult primary

Before speaking to supporters on Wednesday morning, El-Sayed spoke to state party chair Curtis Hertel Jr.

El-Sayed was flanked by Mallory McMorrow, the state senator who dropped her own primary campaign earlier this year after failing to gain traction. She announced her support for El-Sayed, and Stevens has as well.

Hertel stressed Democratic enthusiasm as the party looks toward November.

“Yesterday was the highest turnout for Democrats in the history of a primary,” Hertel said.

Van Hollen says El-Sayed’s win is a ‘wake-up call’ to establishment Democrats

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who backed Abdul El-Sayed, said in an interview that his victory is a “very significant win” and shows that his politics has gained traction with voters.

“This should be a wake-up call to, you know, the Washington Democratic establishment and the Washington insiders in the pundit class,” he said.

Van Hollen stressed how important winning in the fall is for the party. “We need to win Michigan, he can win Michigan,” the senator said, adding that El-Sayed’s “brand of populism can connect with voters across the political spectrum.”

On the day that Infantino reportedly held a meeting with senior staff in Rabat, Morocco, European Leagues, which includes top competitions like the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, described the proposal as “dangerous” and said it pointed to deeper concerns about how world soccer's governing body operates.

It said it raised “serious questions about FIFA’s governance, internal culture and decision-making.”

“Now more than ever, FIFA requires governance reform that ensures that all relevant stakeholders have a formal role in decisions that shape the future of our game.”

In the statement, European Leagues hit out at the possibility of further expanding the World Cup to 64 teams and said “FIFA must not be allowed to continue taking unilaterally disruptive decisions.”

It said that until there was reform it would reject the “expansion or creation” of FIFA competitions.

Portugal and Real Madrid great Luis Figo also called for Infantino to step down, saying he had “debased the office.”

Later on Wednesday, FIFA denied a British media report suggesting Infantino, in seeking support for his presidency, had offered Morocco the hosting of the final at the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco are the main co-hosts for the 2030 edition. Morocco hopes to host the final at the planned 115,000-seat King Hassan II Stadium near Casablanca; Spain has at least two contenders — the home stadiums of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

A FIFA spokesperson said it's “false and misleading to claim the FIFA president has made any promise in relation to hosting the FIFA World Cup 2030 final. A decision will be made by FIFA in due course.”

Canada's Carney raises concerns

Also Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he no longer has confidence Infantino. He said the FIFA president committed a “fatal” governance failure by not consulting senior advisers.

“Certainly I don’t have confidence in Mr. Infantino," said Carney, who had appeared alongside Infantino at several events during the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The latest condemnations of Infantino's leadership come after a tumultuous week, which has raised questions about his presidency of FIFA ahead of elections in March.

European soccer's governing body UEFA has applied the most intense pressure by voting to boycott the World Cup if Infantino pressed ahead with the controversial plans to sell profits in its top competition through a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that would run tournaments.

Even after Infantino's climbdown UEFA said it had lost confidence in FIFA’s leadership — possibly paving the way for a challenge to his presidency. The governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer (CONCACAF) also said FIFA leadership had “stopped putting football first.”

On Tuesday top FIFA officials Arsène Wenger and secretary-general Mattias Grafström distanced themselves from the FFE plans, which emphasized divisions within the organization that were evident when Infantino's senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned last week and chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said staff were “deceived” by the president's lack of openness.

Wednesday's summit in Rabat was dubbed a “crisis meeting” in media reports amid growing expectation that Infantino will be challenged in next year's election when he was aiming for to win a fourth and final term in office.

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

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

Cyclospora cases have been reported in at least 47 states this year, and investigators have continued to probe how many could be linked to a common contaminated source.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of states tied to the deadly outbreak had grown from nine to 15. Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina were added to a list that previously included Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Investigators initially narrowed in on lettuce served at Taco Bell. Federal officials subsequently said they are focused on Taylor Farms as the source of the lettuce in the outbreak, and the company has recalled iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.

There are several reasons cyclospora outbreaks can be hard to investigate and contain, said Dr. Juan Luis Marquez, medical director of the Washtenaw County and Livingston County health departments in Michigan.

It can take weeks between when someone is exposed to the parasite and when they come down with symptoms; it's harder to analyze the parasite in laboratories; and it's a lot of work to interview everyone who is sick and clearly identify common exposures, said Marquez, an adjunct public health professor at the University of Michigan.

Also, “there have been staffing cuts at all levels of public health — federal, local, state — so there are less resources and capacity generally available,” Marquez said in a statement.

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by other germs, including salmonella and E. coli. Many cyclospora cases are never linked to a specific food or other source.

The worst year in the U.S. for infections was 2019, when about 4,700 illnesses were reported nationally. This year has far surpassed that. Michigan alone has reported more than 12,000 — including two deaths. Adding in the other states that have reported cases, the national total stands at over 25,000.

The FDA says it is tracking five separate ongoing cyclospora outbreaks. The 15-state outbreak is by far the largest. No products have been linked to the other outbreaks, including one that has sickened 115 people.

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

Officials reported Wednesday that firefighters had established containment lines around the perimeters of all three fires affecting Spokane and that they were focused on reinforcing those lines. Temperatures were expected to climb from the 80s the past two days into the upper 90s (36-37 degrees Celsius), with less humidity, late this week.

The fires — one of which authorities say was deliberately set by a man who was arrested and charged with arson — have destroyed about 850 buildings and forced the evacuation of around 67,000 people since they erupted last weekend. Damage assessment crews have yet to tally exactly how many houses have been lost or damaged. No deaths have been reported.

Unclear how long evacuations will last

The other two fires were also started by people, though not necessarily deliberately, investigators have said. They remain under investigation. Those fires, the Autumn Lane and Fairview fires, started independently of the arson-caused Old Trails Fire, they said.

Some evacuees were allowed to return home, but officials did not immediately say how many. Others remained in a shelter set up in a Spokane convention center, at hotels or rentals, or at the homes of friends or relatives, with no idea of how soon they might go back — if they have a house to return to.

“We figured it would be a day or two, not four or five. It’s not the best situation,” said Debra Curran, who has been staying at the convention center since Saturday with her husband, who has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Their house survived, but her husband would need to be transported by ambulance, which officials won't do until the fire risk in their neighborhood drops.

Among those under evacuation orders are patients and staff from the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane. When the fire approached on Saturday, the staff moved 27 patients to local hospitals and temporary shelters, said Bret Bowers, a spokesperson for the center. The medical center was not burned in the fire but several staff lost their homes.

Adam Wilson, a communications officer at the Washington State Auditor's Office, fled Saturday with his wife and three children, ages 9, 14 and 16. They had moved into their Spokane home a little over a month earlier and were still unpacking, he said.

Since then, they've stayed at a hotel 90 minutes to the south and with his father in Idaho. This weekend, they'll move again, to a rental home in Spokane that their insurance is covering.

Their house is fine, Wilson said, despite flames that leveled an entire cul-de-sac just two blocks away, leaving only chimneys standing in some cases. The neighborhood remains under an evacuation order. Even if they could return, there's no power and no internet service, and no information about how soon either will be restored.

“What you really want to hear, nobody can tell you,” Wilson said. “It is oddly emotional and disorienting. We did not lose any property. From the outside it looks like a family trip — ‘Hey, kids, we’re going to go visit Papa for a week, pack your bags.' ... And yet you feel like something isn't right.”

Bad fire season strains resources

The fires were among dozens across the Western U.S. that have stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. In Washington, there are 16 uncontained wildfires burning more than 672 square miles (1,740 square km) and being fought by more than 7,000 fire personnel, said Thomas Kyle-Milward, a spokesman for the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

“We’re looking down the barrel at one of the worst fire seasons in state history,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington said Wednesday that senators had received a briefing from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Wildland Fire Service Director Brian Fennessy, who assured them that keeping firefighting assets, including ground crews and aircraft, in the Northwest is a priority.

“We are still at the highest risk in the nation and appreciate being the highest resourced,” Cantwell said in a written statement.

The man charged with starting the Old Trails Fire, Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, was expected to be arraigned Thursday. According to court documents, he was arrested after a resident reported him being in the area where the fire began. He denied having started it when questioned by deputies.

Authorities said they previously contacted him during two fire investigations last year, including one in a state park that prompted evacuation notices, though he wasn’t charged in either.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the last name of the VA medical center spokesperson is Bowers, not Bower.

___

Johnson and Bellisle reported from Seattle. Associated Press writer Ed White contributed from Detroit.

The order comes as crews across the southern border race to complete one of President Donald Trump's highest domestic priorities — barriers that span four states and received over $46 billion in federal funding. Controversies have sprouted up in Texas and California, with border-town residents and environmentalists reporting a wide variety of issues with construction.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees border wall construction, has said water is needed to make concrete for roads, wall construction and dust suppression. Cattle ranchers in the area say the drought has already forced them to reduce their herd size.

“It would put us in an immediate catastrophe and having to do something with our livestock. I mean, it could potentially put some people out of business, us included,” said Russell Johnson, a cattle rancher whose property runs along the border.

Johnson raised the issue at a public meeting in July after noticing an industrial well, which drilling crews told him would pump 300 gallons a minute, on land he leases for grazing. Johnson has roughly 12 wells across his ranch, which pump between three and seven gallons a minute.

A spokesperson for CBP said on Monday that border wall contractors in New Mexico have been instructed to stop drilling new wells, but did not comment on whether the wells already drilled could be pumped. The agency said they would collaborate with New Mexico and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a groundwater strategy.

“CBP is committed to working collaboratively with local landowners to ensure that construction activities do not adversely impact their water needs,” read the statement.

The federal contractors building the wall in New Mexico — Caddell Construction Co. and Fisher Industries — did not respond to emails or phone calls seeking comment. Messages left with receptionists for Barnard Construction and Spencer Construction Co., the contractors building near Johnson's ranch, were not immediately returned.

State agency that monitors wells said contractors drilled illegally

The New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, which monitors and approves wells across the state, said staff have counted eight wells drilled without the office’s permission along the southern border, but cautioned there could be more. Staff visited two wells in July and reported they were pumping 200 gallons per minute.

“All non-tribal wells in New Mexico, whether they are drilled on state or federal land, must have permits from the state engineer before they can be drilled or water can be pumped from them,” the Office of the State Engineer said in a statement.

The wells for border construction were all drilled on a federally owned strip of land 18 miles (29 kilometers) wide that extends just north of the border called the Roosevelt Reservation. CBP did not respond to follow up questions about whether the federal government has a right to pump groundwater on federal land without state oversight.

Cattle ranchers report culling herds due to water scarcity

Tom Patterson, president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, says water is the No. 1 concern for ranchers and that if wells start to go dry, it’s already too late. During wall construction in Trump's first term, Patterson said, contractors bought water from farms, ranches, or municipalities in the area, which meant the amount of water being pumped from nearby basins didn’t increase during construction.

“Why do they need all this water?” said Patterson. “And why can’t they buy it as they have in the past from farmers, ranchers, or even from Luna County?”

Johnson said the moratorium on future well drilling is a step in the right direction, but he’s still worried after a contractor told him the well near his ranch could eventually be pumped if crews ended up needing the water. Though beef prices are up, Johnson has been forced to reduce his herd to one third its original capacity. He cites the drought, which has left less grass for cattle to graze on, as the main reason for the drop.

Before the first border wall went up, Johnson remembers seeing at least one truck of people crossing his ranch every week. Now, he says illegal crossing hardly ever happens on his ranch. As a former Border Patrol agent, he supports the border wall but doesn’t believe it should cost him his livelihood.

So far, half a mile of secondary wall has gone up near Johnson’s property.

“They need to stop pumping all of these wells because they were all drilled illegally,” Johnson said.

New Mexico politicians scramble to claim credit for deal

Both candidates in the race for a congressional seat that represents this area in New Mexico claimed credit for the moratorium.

Congressional candidate Greg Cunningham, a Republican, said he advocated for the agreement between CBP and border wall contractors and was the first to announce the news over social media on Friday.

“Ranchers, families and local officials brought us their concerns. I raised it with the Trump Administration. They listened. They acted fast,” Cunningham said in a post on X.

Congressman Gabe Vasquez, who faces Cunningham in November's midterm elections, spoke about the issue on the House floor earlier this month.

“This illegal drilling by this administration should never have happened, but when it did, I heard our ranchers’ concerns loud and clear and immediately raised hell in Washington to get the job done and protect New Mexicans’ water rights.”

___

Schuettler is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

—-

This story was first published on Aug. 3, 2026. It was updated on Aug. 5, 2026 to correct the distance of the wells from the border. The wells were drilled on a federally-owned strip of land 18 miles wide that extends just north of the border, not 60 miles north of the border.

The uncertain trading on Wall Street followed two days of big gains that gave the week and August a strong start. Several big technology companies slumped, though, ultimately weighing down the market.

The S&P 500 fell 12.97 points, or 0.2%, to close at 7,723.55. The index spent most of the day higher after surging to a record on Tuesday.

“The coiled spring investors have been waiting for has finally released, with the S&P 500 Index surging to record highs for the first time in two months,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, in a report.

The Dow Jones industrial Average rose 263.24 points, or 0.5%, to 54,349.12, reaching another record.

The Nasdaq fell 221.55 points, or 0.8%, to 26,363.44. The index was weighed down by big technology companies losing ground, including a 4% drop for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and a 1.1% drop for Microsoft.

The market has been generally rising as companies head into the closing stretch of their latest round of earnings reports with sharp overall gains. Three-quarters of the companies within the S&P 500 have reported results so far, and Wall Street expects profit growth of 50% when they are all finished.

The Walt Disney Co. rose 3.6% after easily beating Wall Street’s profit forecasts, helped by a $1 billion box office haul from “Toy Story 5” and theme park revenue.

Booking Holdings jumped 6.6% after reporting that strong travel demand drove profit and revenue growth during its most recent quarter.

Elon Musk's SpaceX fell 13.6% following the release late Tuesday of its first quarterly report as a public company, which showed that it sharply boosted spending on artificial intelligence. The company did help give semiconductor giant Nvidia a 3.4% boost after announcing it would exclusively use that company’s chips for its artificial intelligence technology.

That announcement weighed on Advanced Micro Devices, which fell 7%. Musk had previously said that SpaceX and his electric vehicle company, Tesla, would use chips from both Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia.

Treasury yields slipped in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.61% from 4.63% from late Tuesday.

European markets were mixed.

Strong corporate profits and expectations for more growth ahead have been steering stocks higher. Wall Street has also been worried about stock prices becoming unjustifiably high, especially within the technology sector and for companies focused on artificial intelligence. Profit growth, especially for some of the big chipmakers, like Nvidia, could help justify some of the big investments those companies are making in AI.

AI-focused companies, with their big market values, have been behind many of the big market swings and most of Wall Street’s gains.

“The market appears to be moving from rewarding companies for AI spending to assessing the revenue and earnings that these investments can generate,” said Brian Therien, analyst, investment strategy, at Edward Jones, in a report.

Uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. war with Iran continues hanging over the market. President Donald Trump said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday. But there have been many stops and starts during the five-month old conflict that has stifled the global supply of oil and rattled energy markets.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.1% to $79.45 a barrel. Oil prices have been swinging for months and were as high as $102 per barrel at one point during the conflict, jolting already stubbornly high inflation. Higher oil prices pushed gasoline prices higher and increased shipping costs for a wide range of products.

Inflation concerns have been hanging over markets and the Federal Reserve. The central bank has been holding its key benchmark rate steady as it monitors the costs and the impact on the economy. Wall Street expects the central bank to raise rates at least once before the end of 2026. Household spending remains resilient, despite the stress from higher costs on everything from gas to groceries.

The jobs market has been one of the stronger areas of the economy, though growth has been slowing. Wall Street will get another update on Friday with the monthly employment report for July.

___

Associated Press writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.

Officer got to the scene around 7:45 p.m. on Monday night.

According to HPD, 19-year-old Jose Acosta and his 15-year-old brother were in a car when three armed males robbed them. Acosta attempted to get away and at least one of the males shot into the car, which ended in a ditch.

Acosta was injured and transported to a hospital, where he passed away. His brother was not injured.

Southeast officers are at a shooting scene 7100 Tierwester. Adult male transported in critical condition. 202 pic.twitter.com/EIBRYcptZr

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 4, 2026

Investigators are still looking for the three suspects, who took off after the shooting.

They ask anyone with information to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS

El-Sayed will face Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman, in November in a race that will help determine control of the Senate. His first challenge will be unifying Democratic factions after a bitter primary that offered divergent visions for a party desperate for a path back to power.

The margin was extraordinarily close. El-Sayed walked off the stage at his Tuesday night election party without declaring victory, and the race was not called until early Wednesday, after nearly all ballots statewide had been counted. At the time The Associated Press declared him the winner, El-Sayed led Stevens by 14,893 votes — just under 1 percentage point — out of more than 1.5 million ballots counted, the most in recent state history.

The political significance of the result, however, extends well beyond the slim margin.

“Abdul’s victory was, in my opinion, the most extraordinary victory that I can think of in modern American politics,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders Wednesday, a leader of the progressive movement who was an early supporter of El-Sayed’s candidacy.

El-Sayed, 41, has never held elected office and entered the race seven years after losing Michigan’s Democratic gubernatorial primary by more than 20 percentage points. This time, running on an unapologetically progressive agenda, he overcame more than $60 million in outside spending and an opponent backed by many of Michigan’s top Democrats, including outgoing Sen. Gary Peters, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

“In the words of Muhammad Ali, we shook up the world,” El-Sayed said early Wednesday, standing before The Spirit of Detroit, a landmark bronze statue in the city’s downtown.

El-Sayed went from political wilderness to progressive breakthrough

El-Sayed was joined on Wednesday by state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a former opponent in the Senate primary, and Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. It was an initial step toward a unified front after a bitter primary, and it reflected El-Sayed’s extraordinary political trajectory in less than a decade.

After losing the 2018 Democratic primary for governor to Gretchen Whitmer, El-Sayed retreated into the political wilderness. He started a podcast, wrote a book and became a regular presence on YouTube and television, slowly building a following while waiting for a political opening he did not know would come.

It arrived when Peters made the surprise announcement that he would not seek reelection, creating an open Senate seat in one of the country’s most competitive states.

El-Sayed launched his campaign in April 2025 with a staff of four. In his victory speech Wednesday, he recalled the small rooms that defined its early months.

“Back in April, I remember talking to a room of five people,” he said. “It was an opportunity for us to share a honest conversation about pain and about purpose. And I’ve been able to have 500 more of those discussions over the past 15 months.”

El-Sayed said he visited 110 cities and hosted more than 500 events. His volunteer network grew alongside the campaign, eventually reaching 12,000 people, according to his campaign.

Julie Brink, a 29-year-old volunteer from the Detroit area, said the campaign still felt like an “underdog” when she joined in February. From there, she said, it was “gaining momentum really consistently.”

“It was a lot of little things along the way,” Brink said. “The field narrowed and Abdul had consistent showing in debates and public appearances where he just cuts through the bullshit all the time.”

The campaign also embraced a media strategy that reflected El-Sayed’s years outside elected office, aggressively pursuing attention across traditional outlets, podcasts and online platforms. Some appearances, including multiple interviews with controversial streamer Hasan Piker, drew swift backlash.

A turning point came when an opponent dropped out

On July 5, McMorrow ended her campaign, leaving a two-person race between El-Sayed and Stevens. Soon after, El-Sayed stood before door-knocking volunteers in a Grand Rapids park and declared that “we have a chance of winning this election.”

“More importantly, we have a chance at winning our politics,” El-Sayed said. “What we’re doing is building a movement of the many against the money.”

In the final days, El-Sayed leaned even further into the strategy that had helped build his campaign. He marched through downtown Detroit alongside social media influencers, then attended a private pool party with content creators, including Piker.

On Election Day, El-Sayed did three interviews with content creators at Detroit’s Eastern Market before doing three more with traditional news organizations, including The Associated Press and MS NOW.

Hours later, the campaign that had once struggled to fill small rooms packed Detroit’s Majestic Theatre for an election night party.

Progressives see a test of their movement

El-Sayed’s victory gave progressives something they have been seeking — evidence that their politics could prevail not just in deep-blue cities and congressional districts, but in a Democratic primary in one of the nation’s premier swing states.

“Abdul El-Sayed is now the tip of the spear for the theory that shake-up-the-system economic fighters can win in swing states,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, who campaigned alongside El-Sayed in the final days.

The November race against Rogers, Green added, is “put up or shut up time” for the movement.

El-Sayed campaigned on “Medicare for All,” ending military aid to Israel and campaign finance reform. He had support from progressive leaders including Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who framed the race as both a grassroots movement and a broader fight against the establishment and big-money spending.

Outside groups backing Stevens ultimately spent more than $60 million, including more than $30 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its affiliates.

“We took on a machine,” El-Sayed said Wednesday.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, another progressive leader who endorsed El-Sayed, said the victory “should be a wake-up call to the Washington Democratic establishment.”

The harder test comes in November

El-Sayed now has three months to prove the movement that carried him through the primary can win a general election. Failure could be a dramatic setback for progressives, who have insisted for years that their approach could be more successful in a political era defined by President Donald Trump.

The Senate Republican campaign arm has already reserved $45 million in Michigan advertising to support Rogers, a number likely to grow as Republicans make clear they prefer their chances against El-Sayed.

AIPAC, which spent more money on Michigan's primary than any other race, also signaled Wednesday that its involvement would not end, saying it would oppose El-Sayed and “his radical anti-Israel agenda” in November.

The narrowness of El-Sayed’s victory also complicates any sweeping conclusions about what the result says about the Democratic Party. Nearly half of Tuesday’s primary voters backed Stevens, who argued throughout the campaign that her more moderate approach and history of winning competitive races made her better positioned to defeat Rogers.

Stevens called El-Sayed early Wednesday to concede the race, with El-Sayed describing it as a “great conversation.” She pledged her support for him, and Michigan Democrats are expected to gather for a unity breakfast Thursday before a public rally Friday.

Hertel, the state Democratic chair, said the primary’s ideological fight was not itself a problem, arguing that voters — rather than party leaders — should determine their direction.

“I don’t think that having a robust discussion is a bad thing,” Hertel said Wednesday. “What I think is important is that we are united afterwards.”

“We will unite together, and we will win this race,” Hertel added, “because we have to.”

—

Associated Press reporter Jacqueline GaNun contributed to this report in Detroit.

Seven raccoon bites have been reported in just two weeks — and officials worry that may only reflect the cases people actually called in. Just one day before KPRC 2 visited the area, a city animal services supervisor counted 21 raccoons on that stretch of the Seawall — many of them congregating right between the signs telling people not to feed them.

Josh Henderson, a supervisor with Galveston Animal Services, says the animals have completely lost their fear of people — and the reason is simple.

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“All of these snacks being delivered to the raccoons — whether it’s cat food or your leftover McDonald’s — is far outside of their normal diet,” Henderson said. “And because it’s being offered in mass, they come to expect it. When I came out here yesterday morning, they’re just lined up, coming right up. I had them chewing on my boots. Just begging. No fear. Zero fear.”

KPRC 2 witnessed the problem firsthand. A couple was spotted handing out food near the warning signs. When asked if they had seen the signs, they said they had just arrived and hadn’t noticed them.

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This isn’t a new problem. Henderson says the city has been dealing with it since last year, when warning signs were posted and nine raccoons were relocated in an effort to get things under control.

The bigger concern is rabies. Raccoons are one of the animals most commonly known to carry the disease. But testing them isn’t as simple as it sounds.

“It’s not just a simple blood test,” Henderson said. “It does involve euthanizing the animal in order to test. It doesn’t seem the most humane approach to come out here and rabies test what would effectively only be a fraction of the population — because it’s going to be impossible for us to say we absolutely got them all.”

So what should you do if a raccoon bites or scratches you? Dr. Philip Keiser, CEO of the Galveston County Local Health Authority, says don’t wait.

“Wash the wound right away — but then seek care. Don’t wait days,” Keiser said. “You’ll get some injections in the wound which will neutralize it and then undergo a series of antibodies. The old way of getting rabies shots in the stomach — that’s done. We don’t do that anymore. We have very good vaccines that can be given intramuscularly.”

Henderson says allowing this to go unchecked would be reckless. His goal is straightforward — educate the public, keep visitors safe and stop the raccoons from becoming dependent on handouts from people passing through.

Jeanine John Taele, 38, was due in court Wednesday on a federal weapons charge but the hearing was cancelled. He is being held at a downtown LA jail on state charges, according to booking records and not yet in federal custody, said a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office.

Taele was arrested Sunday at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, two days before Trump visited for a fundraising dinner.

Taele was first seen on the property Friday, walking throughout the course wearing an earpiece and taking photos and videos of federal agents' activities as they conducted a security assessment, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Taele drove away but then returned to the course Sunday. He approached federal agents and said he was employed by the State Department and was there for a security detail. Taele said he had a loaded weapon in his vehicle and was arrested after it was searched, according to federal officials. Authorities also found a 16-round magazine with ammunition in his pocket.

He already appeared in court on state weapons charges and a second-degree robbery charge for an unrelated incident.

Taele is charged federally with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle that was found at this home, authorities said. The complaint alleges the firearm is an illegally modified AR-style rifle with a barrel that was cut down to 10 inches (25 centimeters) from 14 inches (35 centimeters).

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said a search of his pickup truck in the club parking lot turned up a loaded 9mm pistol, binoculars and a badge that read “security protection agent," according to federal prosecutors.

Law enforcement searched his home in the nearby city of Downey on Monday and found a rifle and other firearms, magazines and ammunition, body armor and notebooks with “concerning statements," federal authorities said. No details about the statements were released.

“Mr. Taele’s troubling behavior at the President’s public golf course merely days before the President was expected to arrive raised serious red flags for law enforcement,” Patrick Grandy, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said in a statement. “There is no room for error, particularly in light of previous attempts on President Trump’s life.”

In brief remarks about Taele's arrest to Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said “only consequential presidents” are targeted, “and I am definitely consequential," which he said brought him “a little solace.”

Taele was a corporal in the U.S. Marines who was deployed to Iraq in 2008 and Afghanistan in 2010 and worked as a warehouse clerk, according to the U.S. Marine Corps. He earned numerous commendations, including an award for good conduct, during his service from 2008 to 2016.

State records show Taele is a licensed security guard, with his most recent license issued in February of this year and expiring in 2028. Records also show several cancelled or suspended permits to carry a firearm as a security guard. State officials did not immediately respond to a request for more details about those permits.

The Los Angeles County public defender's office, which is representing Taele in the state criminal case, did not immediately return an email seeking comment Wednesday. Family members could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last year a jury found a man guilty of trying to assassinate Trump at the president’s Florida country club. And while a candidate in 2024, Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by a shooter on a roof at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Schwartz was confirmed in a 51-44 vote. The 54-year-old becomes the 22nd leader of the Atlanta-based CDC, which is charged with protecting Americans from preventable health threats, and the agency's first confirmed director in nearly a year. Her resume includes medical and law degrees, a stint as deputy surgeon general, and a leadership position at the U.S. Coast Guard.

Schwartz's nomination appeared to be on shaky ground after a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last month. The chairman, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and others questioned whether she would be willing to stand up to Republican President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., if he ordered CDC to do something unsupported by science and good public health practice.

But weeks later, Cassidy said he had spoken with Schwartz after that hearing and with others who knew her, and said he had gained confidence in her.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials did not immediately respond to questions about when Schwartz will start the job or her salary.

The CDC has been in turmoil since Trump returned to office last year.

Largely due to layoffs and resignations, the agency has lost 3,000-plus employees, more than one-quarter of its workforce. Morale has plummeted as a succession of mostly temporary leaders has come and gone. The front office has been staffed by political appointees with little or no training in medicine or public health.

“Now, Dr. Schwartz needs to prove that her leadership will serve science and not the whims of politicians. CDC needs a Director who will protect public health workers, defend evidence-based guidance, and refuse any directive that would undermine public safety,” said the National Public Health Coalition, an organization of former and current CDC workers, in a statement Wednesday.

When Schwartz was nominated in April, public health experts were cautiously optimistic, citing her background. They also noted that Schwartz was the choice of Trump and not Kennedy, who is a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement before he was tapped to oversee the CDC and other federal health agencies.

Schwartz was the third Trump nominee for CDC director in the past 18 months.

The first was a former Florida congressman, Dr. David Weldon. His Senate hearing in March 2025 was canceled an hour before it was to begin. Weldon said at the time that he had been told not enough senators were willing to vote for him.

The White House then moved on to Susan Monarez, who had been serving as the CDC’s acting director. Monarez was confirmed by the Senate, but ousted from the job in less than a month. Trump administration officials said she was not aligned with the president’s agenda, so they terminated her.

Since then, there have been a series of HHS officials as acting CDC directors.

“With all the turmoil of the past two years, the CDC desperately needs stability, experienced leadership and a steadfast commitment to science,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association, in a statement Wednesday.

The CDC position was one of several leadership vacancies among federal health agencies, including the U.S. surgeon general and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday they were investigating what happened when a commercial jet took off just as Marine One left the White House for Andrews Air Force Base with the president aboard for the first leg of a West Coast trip.

The FAA decided after 67 people died on Jan. 29, 2025, when an airliner collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter that all takeoffs and landings at the Washington, D.C., airport would be halted anytime a helicopter passes by on a conflicting route. The airspace near the White House and Reagan is heavily congested with military and commercial aircraft.

The airplane that took off Tuesday was climbing above Marine One as the helicopter approached, so the two aircraft were not on a collision course.

The FAA said in a statement that a preliminary investigation showed “there was a momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another.”

“The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation,” the FAA said.

The White House emphasized that Trump was never in danger.

“Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world, and at no point was the President in harm’s way,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement.

The Marine Corps defended the actions of their helicopter pilots.

“There were no ‘close calls’ with the routine Marine One movement,” Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Jacob Sugg said in an email. “Washington National Tower did not delay the helicopter crew, ask them to hold, or otherwise alter their flight profile.”

The Wall Street Journal first reported the incident.

Poor communication between the military and the civilian air traffic controllers at Reagan has been an issue in the past. It came out last spring after one of the hearings on the midair collision that a hotline connecting the Pentagon to the tower at Reagan hadn't been working for more than three years, and the FAA hadn't even realized it.

The FAA took steps to ensure that helicopters and airplanes would no longer share the same airspace around the airport shortly after the investigation into last year's collision began. The rules also require air traffic controllers to use radar — and not rely on pilots' eyes — to maintain separation and require all military aircraft to broadcast their locations.

The main group of family members of the victims of last year's crash questioned why the government hasn't done more to prevent collisions in the crowded airspace around Reagan in a post Wednesday on the social platform X. The family members have been urging Congress to reach a compromise and pass the package of aviation safety reforms that the NTSB recommended after the midair collision.

___

Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska.

Williams reflected on his path to becoming a WWE Superstar, sharing that he first signed with WWE in 2021. Before stepping into the ring, he grew up inspired by athletes and entertainers who could captivate an audience.

Now, Williams has built a reputation as one of WWE’s most energetic performers. He explained that his “Trick” persona is an extension of who he is, allowing him to turn up the intensity when the lights come on.

For a WWE Superstar, the work doesn’t stop when the match ends. Williams opened up about the physical demands of performing night after night, including recovering from injuries while continuing to entertain fans.

“I just had a match where I split my head open,” he said. “But the show must go on.”

Despite the challenges, Williams says the energy from the crowd makes it all worth it, especially when performing in front of passionate fans in Houston and having tens of thousands of fans are chanting “WHOOP THAT TRICK.”

The conversation also touched on Williams’ personal life. The WWE Superstar recently married fellow WWE star Anriel Howard who goes by Lash Legend, sharing that their relationship grew from a connection built while they were both pursuing their athletic careers.

Now, Williams is focused on the next big chapter: Survivor Series: WarGames. The event marks the 40th annual Survivor Series and continues WWE’s long history of unforgettable moments.

Williams highlighted the significance of the event, pointing out that some of WWE’s biggest stars have had major moments at Survivor Series, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Houston native The Undertaker.

General presale for Survivor Series: WarGames begins tomorrow at 10 a.m. with the code ‘HOUFIRST’ GA tickets will be available the following day, Friday August 7 at 10 a.m.

Click HERE to register.

Williams encouraged fans to mark their calendars and get ready for a night filled with surprises, rivalries, and unforgettable moments.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Dr. Maryam Qayum, 68, of Montgomery County, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in March to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances.

Federal prosecutors said Qayum owned and operated Recare Health Clinic in Kingwood, where she served as the sole prescribing physician. Investigators said the clinic functioned as a cash-only operation that sold prescriptions for highly addictive opioid medications, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, to street-level drug dealers.

Authorities said the drug dealers, referred to by clinic staff as “providers,” paid cash for prescriptions that were often written without a legitimate medical purpose and, in many cases, without Qayum ever seeing or examining the patient.

According to court documents, Qayum issued prescriptions for more than 3 million opioid pills between 2022 and 2025 before law enforcement shut down the clinic.

Investigators said the clinic charged different prices depending on the street value of the drug. Court records show prescriptions for 30-milligram oxycodone sold for as much as $500, while hydrocodone prescriptions typically cost about $300. Staff members also allegedly accepted tips from drug dealers to speed up prescriptions.

Federal agents executing a search warrant at the clinic recovered a handwritten pricing list detailing cash costs for controlled substance prescriptions, prosecutors said.

Others connected to the case also sentenced

Four other people involved in the operation have also been sentenced:

• Melvin Sampson, 56, of Houston: Sentenced to 210 months in prison after admitting he recruited patients, filled prescriptions and resold the drugs on the black market.
• Tomi-Ko Bowers, 71, of Cleveland: Sentenced to 96 months in prison. She worked as a nurse practitioner at Recare.
• Lester Stokes, 38, of Houston: Sentenced to 63 months in prison. He served as the clinic’s security guard.
• Jared Williams, 49, of Pearland: Sentenced to 42 months in prison after admitting to unlawfully distributing controlled substances. He owned and operated Surge Rx, a pharmacy that prosecutors said filled illegitimate prescriptions issued by Qayum.

The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Conroe Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Here's a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Wednesday. Full coverage can be found here.

Israel tells residents to leave village in southern Lebanon

For the first time in weeks, Israel's military told residents of an area of Lebanon to evacuate. The military said the warning for the village of Mansouri was in response to what it described as “a blatant violation of the ceasefire” by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

The military later said it was conducting “precise strikes” in southern Lebanon. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said one person was killed and 12 wounded in an Israeli strike in the town of Tebnine.

The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome for a second day to discuss implementation of a deal under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament.

A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy, said the second day of talks ended early “due to events on the ground” but could continue on Thursday.

A shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has largely held since June 20. The fighting erupted two days after the Iran war began when Hezbollah fired at Israel.

— Matthew Lee in Washington

Iran and the US say a deal on the Strait of Hormuz is close

Iran said Wednesday it's in the “final stage” of drafting an agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump said on Tuesday night that a deal could be announced this week. That could potentially reopen the critical waterway, ease pressure on the world economy and help bring an end to the war.

But the agreement is likely to be contingent on the United States lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports. The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would cement Iran’s grip over the strait, which would amount to a major loss for the U.S. and a break with global norms.

Iran has insisted on some measure of control over the strait, saying it will not go back to being an open international waterway, as it was before the war.

Yemen's Houthis claim 2 attacks on Saudi oil tankers

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they fired ballistic missiles at two Saudi oil tankers, one in the Red Sea and the other further east, in the Gulf of Aden. They did not provide evidence and there was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

A vessel sailing off Yemen in the Gulf of Aden reported a loud explosion nearby, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said, adding that the crew was safe.

In July, the Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi shipping, putting at risk another key world trade route running through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels of oil exports to the Red Sea since the Iran war choked off the Strait of Hormuz, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.

The US lifts sanctions on 3 Iran-linked companies

The U.S. has lifted sanctions on three Iran-linked companies. A Treasury official said it came after an appeal and was not indicative of any shift in U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the sanctions.

One company is Fly Baghdad Airlines, sanctioned in January 2024 for allegedly providing assistance to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Sanctions also were lifted on Iraq Express and another Fly Baghdad-linked firm.

— Fatima Hussein in Washington

According to a Wednesday announcement from Paxton’s office, the investigation centers on whether the nation’s largest professional association of pediatricians issued vaccine recommendations influenced by financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies rather than scientific evidence.

The attorney general’s office said it has issued a Civil Investigative Demand, or CID, seeking information about the basis for the organization’s vaccine recommendations and its role in shaping childhood immunization guidance.

The investigation follows changes made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the federal childhood vaccine schedule.

According to the release, the American Academy of Pediatrics had worked alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other organizations for decades to develop and promote the CDC’s childhood immunization schedule. After Kennedy restructured the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the organization sued HHS in 2025, arguing the changes lacked a scientific basis.

The attorney general’s office also noted that the American Academy of Pediatrics published its own immunization schedule in August 2025 and encouraged insurers to cover all vaccines it recommended.

Paxton alleges the organization’s top corporate donors include pharmaceutical companies that could face financial losses if fewer vaccines are recommended under the revised federal schedule. The investigation will examine whether those financial relationships influenced the organization’s recommendations.

“Parents deserve vaccine recommendations that are driven by science and the best interests of their children, not by financial gains or bribes from Big Pharma,” Paxton said in a statement. “If the American Academy of Pediatrics is giving medical guidance that is fueled by financial incentives, we will expose and put an end to this unlawful behavior.”

The announcement says the investigation builds on a broader inquiry Paxton launched in January into pediatric medical providers, insurance companies, vaccine manufacturers and other entities over what his office describes as potentially deceptive recommendations related to childhood vaccines.

The attorney general’s office has not announced any findings or allegations of wrongdoing against the American Academy of Pediatrics. The investigation remains ongoing.

The CEO and executive vice president of the Academy of Pediatrics, Mark Del Monte, JD, released the following response:

For nearly a century, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ mission has focused on one thing: following the science to best protect children’s health. All our recommendations, including those related to vaccines, are rooted in decades of peer-reviewed science.

As the nation faces its worst measles outbreak in 30 years, including more than 750 cases in Texas, the AAP continues to support pediatricians and parents with evidence-based information about immunizations, while Ken Paxton’s “investigation” serves only to undermine public health, sow confusion, and put more children at risk of preventable disease.

The Houston Rockets are hosting 2026 Clutch City Dancers open auditions on Saturday, August 15th.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Audition Details

• Date: Saturday, August 15, 2026
• Registration: 8:00 a.m.
• Auditions Begin: 9:00 a.m.
• Registration Fee: $35 (cash only)

Location

Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA Registration: 8:00 AM | Auditions: 9:00 AM Applications close at 11:59 PM the night before auditions, so don’t wait.

Register at rockets.com/entertainers

Who Can Audition? Applicants must:

• Be 18 years or older
• Be a high school graduate
• Present a valid photo ID on audition day
• Be either a full-time college student and/or employed full time

The Rockets ask auditionees to wear:

• A fitted black two-piece dance outfit (must show the midriff; no pants)
• White dance or athletic shoes with non-marking soles
• Flesh-tone tights or pantyhose (optional)
• Performance-ready hair and makeup

The Clutch City Dancers are searching for performers who demonstrate:

• Strong dance technique
• Athleticism and stamina
• Confidence and showmanship
• A positive attitude
• Professionalism
• The ability to quickly learn choreography
• Excellent communication skills as ambassadors for the Rockets organization

What Does the Team Do? The Clutch City Dancers perform:

• At every Houston Rockets home game
• At community events throughout Houston
• Corporate appearances
• Charity events
• NBA special events and international appearances

Watch as Derrick Shore and Lauren Kelly chat with Clutch City Dancers Head Coach and Choreographer Jackie Garza, Clutch City Dancers Jannah and Nyelle along with Clutch the Bear for all of the upcoming audition details!

The lawsuit was filed July 30 in Harris County District Court by Emily Roth, Audrey Rosa Nath and Sanjam Kaur Sohal on behalf of themselves and their six children. The children attend schools in Spring Branch, Houston and Cypress-Fairbanks independent school districts.

The lawsuit also names Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath as defendants.

The parents are asking a judge to temporarily block enforcement of Texas Education Code § 1.0041, which requires every public elementary and secondary school to display a state-selected version of the Ten Commandments in each classroom. The law requires the display to be placed conspicuously and remain readable to someone with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.

An in-person hearing on the parents’ request for a temporary restraining order is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, in Harris County’s 215th District Court before Judge Nathan Milliron.

Spring Branch mother challenged poster through grievance process

Roth said the legal fight began last October after her daughter’s elementary school principal informed families that someone had donated Ten Commandments posters and that they would be placed in classrooms.

At the time, Roth’s daughter was 5 years old and attending kindergarten.

“I definitely wasn’t planning on talking to my five-year-old about the Ten Commandments,” Roth said.

Roth said she was horrified by the display because she believes a state-mandated religious text could make children from other religious and nonreligious backgrounds feel excluded.

• RELATED: Houston rabbi among families planning Supreme Court appeal after federal court upholds Ten Commandments law

“I feel like it’s such a massive institution that is condoning exclusion,” Roth said. “Kids are supposed to be able to go to public school and feel like they belong.”

Roth said she filed three levels of grievances with Spring Branch ISD. She asked the district to remove the posters or, if they remained, adopt a policy intended to make students of different religious backgrounds feel included.

All three grievances were denied, including her appeal to the full school board.

Parent raises concerns about language and religious exclusion

Roth said her concerns are not limited to whether teachers formally instruct students about the posters. She believes young children notice what is displayed in their classrooms and may view it as an endorsement by their teachers, school and state.

“There is a zero percent chance she did not notice a brand-new, weird, black-and-white poster on the wall,” Roth said. “There’s just no way.”

Roth also objects to some of the language being displayed in elementary classrooms, including references to killing, adultery and coveting a neighbor’s wife.

“My daughter was learning how to read in that kindergarten classroom,” Roth said. “Do I want to explain the concept of adultery? These are adult themes.”

Roth said she does not believe the underlying moral concepts found in the Ten Commandments are inherently wrong. However, she argues public schools should not elevate one religious text over the beliefs of other families.

New lawsuit uses Texas law instead of First Amendment

The new lawsuit takes a different legal approach from a federal challenge filed in 2025.

The earlier lawsuit argued that the classroom mandate violated the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment. A federal judge initially blocked the law for the school districts involved, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later reversed that ruling, vacated the injunction and dismissed the federal constitutional claims.

The Harris County lawsuit does not assert an independent First Amendment claim. Instead, the parents are relying primarily on the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, commonly called TRFRA.

The state law prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person’s religious exercise unless it can prove that the burden advances a compelling governmental interest through the least restrictive means.

• RELATED: Paxton investigating Texas schools to ensure posting of Ten Commandments

“This is kind of like a parallel lawsuit that relies on a different source of law,” said Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston.

Blackman said Texas’ religious-freedom law can provide protections beyond the federal constitutional standard, but he remains skeptical that the parents will establish that the classroom displays substantially burden their religious exercise.

“Usually you have people invoking this law to allow them to engage in religion, and they’re trying to use it to stop the state from putting this document on the wall,” Blackman said.

Blackman said the case could be different if teachers required children to read, recite or discuss the Ten Commandments as religious truth. He questioned whether a passive display alone would meet the legal threshold.

“It’s a piece of paper on the wall,” Blackman said.

Lawsuit also cites parental rights

The parents alternatively argue the mandate violates Article I, Section 37 of the Texas Constitution, a parental-rights amendment approved by Texas voters in November 2025.

The provision recognizes a parent’s fundamental right to exercise care, custody and control over a child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing.

Blackman said that claim may be stronger in some respects, but he questioned whether simply displaying the Ten Commandments interferes with how parents raise their children.

He said the legal analysis could change if teachers used the poster to instruct children that one religion is true or required students to discuss religious morality.

The parents argue that the display itself carries the authority of the state and forces them to counter a religious message their children encounter every day at school.

What the parents are requesting

The lawsuit asks the judge to:

• Temporarily block the state and districts from implementing or enforcing the classroom-display mandate.
• Prohibit Spring Branch ISD from continuing to comply with the law.
• Order Spring Branch ISD to remove posters already placed in classrooms.
• Ultimately declare the mandate unlawful under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act or the Texas Constitution.
• Award court costs and attorneys’ fees.
• Award Roth monetary damages from Spring Branch ISD for its alleged violation of the state religious-freedom law.

The Friday hearing concerns the request for a temporary restraining order. It will not decide the entire lawsuit, but the judge could determine whether the posters must be removed while the case proceeds.

KPRC 2 has contacted Spring Branch, Houston and Cypress-Fairbanks ISDs, as well as the Texas Attorney General’s Office, for responses to the lawsuit.

A Cy-Fair ISD spokesperson said it cannot comment on pending litigation. However, the following letter was sent to parents about the posters.

“Dear CFISD Families,

As the 2026–2027 school year begins, students may observe a facility update in many campus classrooms. Texas Senate Bill 10 (SB 10) is a state law passed in 2025 that requires public schools to post donated copies of the Ten Commandments in campus classrooms. During the 2025-2026 school year, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD was subject to a court injunction that prohibited it from complying with this law. However, at the end of the school year, the court of appeals determined that SB 10 was constitutional and the District is now required to display any privately donated copies of the Ten Commandments.

Under the law, we are required to display the Ten Commandments in instructional spaces when a donation meets specific statutory size and content criteria. Public schools are not required to purchase posters and CFISD has determined it will not expend public funds to procure the posters. Because display of the posters relies exclusively on private donations, available inventory is being distributed systematically across eligible classrooms as supply permits. To ensure districtwide uniformity, the posters will be positioned in the upper left-hand corner of standard classroom bulletin boards, or in a consistent location on an available wall if a bulletin board is not present. These displays serve as passive building fixtures and are not designated for instructional use or curriculum delivery. The complete statutory text for this law is available for review on the Texas Legislature Online Portal.

The district implements these displays to fulfill state statutory requirements and maintains a position of strict viewpoint neutrality. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD remains committed to its core educational mission of providing a supportive environment that fosters a sense of belonging for all students across the community.

To prevent disruption of normal school operations, all inquiries or secondary donation offers or requests will be handled centrally. Please direct any correspondence on this matter to the Office of the Chief of Staff at 281-517-6332 or brandy.baker@cfisd.net.

Sincerely,

CFISD Communication"

The Commanders agreed with Diggs on a contract for this season, according to a person familiar with the agreement. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the deal had not been announced.

Diggs, a native of nearby Gaithersburg, Maryland, joins Washington for a 12th year in the league and reportedly can make up to $12 million. He spent last season with New England, making 99 catches for 1,123 yards and five touchdowns in 21 games, including the Patriots’ playoff run to the Super Bowl.

New England released him in March, and the 32-year-old went unsigned in free agency while facing strangulation and other criminal charges in connection with a dispute with his former private chef. Diggs was found not guilty in May, and the NFL said in June that he wouldn't face any discipline after a review determined there was not enough evidence to punish him under its personal conduct policy.

The Commanders had a hole at the position, and they are banking on Diggs filling it. The in-house options of Treylon Burks and Luke McCaffrey would have put Daniels in a tough spot and likely made No. 1 receiver McLaurin deal with plenty of double teams this coming season.

Signing Diggs could rule out going after Brandon Aiyuk, a friend of Daniels' who is still under contract with San Francisco. Aiyuk said on social media in June that he would join Washington immediately if the 49ers released him.

Aiyuk remains on the reserve/left squad list out West, while Diggs is now in an NFC East that features receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens with Dallas, DeVonta Smith with Philadelphia and Malik Nabers with the New York Giants.

Diggs previously played for Minnesota, Buffalo and Houston during a career that included him being an All-Pro selection in 2020, when he led all players with 127 catches and 1,535 yards. Since making his debut in 2015 after the Vikings took him in the fifth round of the draft that year, Diggs has 1,025 catches for 12,523 yards and 79 TDs in the regular season and playoffs combined.

That included the “Minneapolis Miracle” catch for Minnesota in the divisional round in January 2018. With 10 seconds left, Diggs leapt and evaded a tackle to score a 61-yard touchdown and beat New Orleans 29-24.

Off the field, it has been a more tumultuous ride, including getting fined more than $200,000 by the Vikings during his final season with them in 2019 for unexcused practice absences. Diggs was traded to Buffalo in March 2020.

Diggs led the Bills in receiving four seasons in a row, but sideline outbursts and cryptic social media messages were also part of his tenure before being traded to Houston in April 2024. A torn ACL ended his time with the Texans, and skipping a voluntary offseason workout got him off to a bumpy start with the Patriots before he turned out to be a reliable option for QB Drake Maye.

Cut in part because he was owed $20.6 million, Diggs now is teaming up with Daniels, who was taken one spot ahead of Maye when they went Nos. 2 and 3 in the 2024 draft.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

At one point, the outage map showed more than 30,000 customers without power.

The ZIP codes with the highest number of outages were:

• 77450: About 13,000 outages
• 77094: About 10,000 outages
• 77449: About 3,500 outages
• 77494: About 3,000 outages

All of the hardest-hit ZIP codes are in and around the Katy area. The number of outages continued to decline Wednesday morning.

CenterPoint told KPRC 2 power was restored as of 10:40 a.m. The problem was due to a transmission issue.

CenterPoint Energy released the following statement:

“CenterPoint Energy is committed to delivering reliable and safe electricity to all customers we are privileged to serve throughout the Greater Houston area.

“This morning at approximately 9:45 a.m., an equipment issue caused an outage affecting approximately 30,000 customers in the Katy area. Our crews immediately took action to restore power to all impacted customers by 10:40 a.m. We understand how frustrating and disruptive any interruption in service can be for our customers, and we sincerely regret the inconvenience this outage may have caused.”

The New England-based plaintiffs sued the Monterey Bay Aquarium for defamation after the aquarium's Seafood Watch conservation program placed American and Canadian lobster on its do-not-eat “red list” in 2022. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is deciding whether the lawsuit can go forward.

One of the appellate judges, Judge Seth Aframe, said during oral arguments on July 27 that it doesn't strike him as a defamation claim and that he finds the case troubling “from a First Amendment perspective.”

“The more you broaden the class of people that fall within this, the more it feels like everybody can sue,” Aframe said.

Seafood Watch placed lobster on its list of seafood to avoid because of the threat posed to rare whales, such as the North Atlantic right whale, by potential entanglement in fishing gear.

The lobster fishing industry, based mostly in Maine, has pushed back, saying the claim inaccurately portrays it as a threat to whales and constitutes defamation that has caused economic harm. It claims that the whales face greater threats from other fishing industries, including the Canadian snow crab fishery.

Conservation groups have long made the case that lobster and crab fisheries are both dangerous to the whales, and government agencies have acknowledged that entanglement in fishing gear is a critical threat to the giant animals.

The industry is sticking to that claim despite the judges' comments during oral arguments, Kevin Lipson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said Wednesday.

“Monterey Bay Aquarium in their Seafood Watch report didn't disclose any of the countervailing evidence. In fact, they hid that evidence,” Lipson said.

Seafood Watch is one of the most cited sustainability reports about seafood, and many restaurants and stores use it to inform which products to carry. Some major retailers, including Whole Foods, announced they were pulling Gulf of Maine lobster after the red listing.

A representative for Monterey Bay Aquarium declined to comment Wednesday. During oral arguments, Amy Saharia, an attorney for the aquarium, said that Seafood Watch didn't single out any of the plaintiffs with a direct reference.

The case has lingered because of ongoing legal maneuvers. A lower level federal court ruled last year that the lawsuit could proceed after the aquarium had requested it be tossed.

Maine fishermen caught more than 78 million pounds (35 million kilograms) of lobster last year — a down year by the industry's recent standards. The crustaceans were worth more than $460 million at the docks and are a key piece of the economy and culture in the state.

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This story was corrected to reflect that oral arguments took place July 27, not July 26.

The Texas City Metal Trades Council announced Wednesday that it reached an agreement with Ashland, ending a 42-day strike that began June 24 when the prior contract expired. The council includes members of IUOE Local 564, IBEW Local 527, UA Local 211 and IAM District 776.

Lewis Crawford, IUOE Local 564 business agent and the council’s lead negotiator, praised members for staying unified through the walkout, saying:

“Our Texas City Metal Trades Council members showed up for each other, every single day. A strike is never easy. It asks everything of our members and their families, and this one asked more than most. We didn’t win every fight at that table — but we won something no contract can put a price on: trust, unity, and a brotherhood forged on that picket line. We’re not just going back to work. We’re going back stronger, together, than the local that walked out 42 days ago.”

Lewis Crawford

According to the union, the new contract includes a 9.25% wage increase over three years, 80 hours of paid incidental sick leave, 25 weeks of short-term disability leave, limits on incidental craft work, increased vacation days, restored packager bidding rights and restored seniority for bidding on new positions.

• Local company accuses TSU of skipping payment after homecoming as late fees push bill past $71K

Texas AFL-CIO President Leonard Aguilar said the contract reflects a broader push focused on workplace and community safety, stating, “We’re proud of the union members who put it all on the line to guarantee safety for themselves and their community.”

Gulf Coast labor leaders also pointed to the strike as part of a recent stretch of labor actions in the region, with Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation Executive Director Hany Khalil saying, “For 42 days, these workers stood in solidarity.”

KPRC 2 has contacted Ashland for a comment on the new contract. We are awaiting a response.

The progressive candidate narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens to set up a November matchup with former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers. El-Sayed has little time to celebrate before pivoting to patching up divisions in the party after a bruising primary.

During much of the Trump era, Democratic primary voters have often followed the urging of party leaders and favored moderate candidates like Stevens. But this year, they've veered toward outsiders like El-Sayed, who tapped into widespread discontent with the Democratic establishment and the status quo in Washington.

Democrats need to rack up as many wins as possible to take back the U.S. Senate, so the party has little room for error against Rogers.

More primaries unfolded in Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington. The contests will solidify November matchups, particularly in Virginia, where Democrats failed to redraw the state's congressional map earlier this year.

Here are some takeaways from Tuesday's elections:

Democrats aim to bury their differences now

El-Sayed and Democrats moved quickly Wednesday to stress their unity after the contentious primary. El-Sayed called for mending fences, and Stevens offered her support, saying it was more important to keep Rogers from winning.

“There is so much more that unites us now,” El-Sayed said during a victory speech on Wednesday morning.

Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the Senate primary earlier this year, stood alongside El-Sayed.

“What is most important now is that we recognize that for all of the differences that we may have had in this primary, that those differences pale in comparison to the contrast that we face in November,” she said.

The seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, and Democrats are under pressure to defend it to preserve their chance of winning control of the chamber.

The campaigns took sharp aim at one another. Sanders, one of El-Sayed’s most prominent supporters, called Stevens “nothing more than an employee” of billionaires. El-Sayed has been a pointed critic of Israel and called the military campaign in Gaza a “genocide,” an accusation rejected by the Israeli and U.S. governments.

Stevens has criticized El-Sayed’s style, comparing him unfavorably to a celebrity who is always “running at the first mic or camera.” She has also suggested he’s not electable in the fall, saying Republicans have been propping him up because they think El-Sayed will be easier to beat.

Trump’s endorsement overpowers self-funded candidate for governor

Republican voters picked their nominee for Michigan governor on Tuesday as well, going with Trump's endorsed candidate, Rep. John James.

The president’s backing typically carries significant weight in Republican politics, but businessman Perry Johnson had lent his campaign more than $30 million, according to Michigan campaign finance records.

Trump's endorsement hasn't always overcome big spending. In Georgia’s race for governor, Rick Jackson spent $100 million, largely of his own money, to defeat Trump-backed Burt Jones in a runoff.

On the Democratic side in Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson defeated Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

AIPAC continues to be a lightning rod

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has long been an influential force in U.S. politics, but it's been under pressure as Democratic support for Israel erodes over the war in Gaza.

The organization has suffered a series of losses in Democratic primaries that saw a surge of progressive candidates. Victors range from Rep. Analilia Mejia, who won a special election to Congress in suburban New Jersey, to Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who captured the Democratic nomination for a U.S. House seat in Illinois.

AIPAC's biggest investment has been in Michigan, where it and its affiliates have spent more than $30 million supporting Stevens, a stalwart backer of Israel. El-Sayed and his backers have seized on the group's intervention as an example of the problems of big money in politics.

After El-Sayed won, AIPAC said it would work to defeat him and “his radical anti-Israel agenda.” El-Sayed was defiant, issuing his own challenge to AIPAC — “You want more pain?”

AIPAC had some success Tuesday. In Missouri, former Rep. Cori Bush fell short in her rematch against Rep. Wesley Bell, who defeated her two years ago.

Bush had blamed her previous loss on AIPAC, even vowing revenge on the organization in her concession speech. "AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down!” she pledged.

However, she was quickly defeated as voters in the St. Louis-area district decided to stick with Bell.

Virginia is on Democrats' minds

One of Democrats' most bitter defeats this cycle took place in Virginia, where that state's supreme court in May overturned a voter-approved initiative to redraw the state's House map to make four more seats easier for the party to win.

The failed effort was part of Democrats' attempt to match Republicans' own redistricting campaign, which was spurred by Trump last year in hopes of making it easier for his party to hold control of the House.

Democrats are optimistic they can recover at least a couple of those Virginia seats the old-fashioned way. On Tuesday, they got what they wanted in the state's two swing seats, with former Rep. Elaine Luria winning the nomination to compete for the 1st District in Virginia Beach and prosecutor Shannon Taylor getting the nod to run in the Richmond-area 2nd District.

The longer shot comes in the heavily rural 5th District in central Virginia, where Tom Perriello, who briefly represented the region in President Barack Obama's first term, won the Democratic nomination to try to win a now even more conservative-leaning seat.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the Maryland Jockey Club announced the decision Wednesday. No Triple Crown race has ever taken place on a Sunday in the century-plus-old history of the series.

The shift marks a major change on the horse racing calendar, following significant debate and speculation. Except for 2020 during the pandemic, the Preakness has been on the third Saturday in May, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, since 1950.

Maryland Jockey Club CEO Bill Knauf acknowledged the tradition while also calling this the time to move the Preakness back.

"It’s been discussed for a very long time (and) we recognized the different trends and training methods recently," Knauf told The Associated Press. “We entered the discussion maybe even saying, 'Hey, is two weeks the right amount? I think the week was the right placement. It still gives an incredible test for a horse and a champion to go through that, even at three weeks.”

The aim is to get more Derby horses to participate in the second leg of the Triple Crown. For decades, it was normalcy but has become increasingly rare in recent years.

Two consecutive and three of the past five Derby winners have bypassed the Preakness to aim for the final jewel, the Belmont Stakes in June. Of the 95 horses who ran in the Derby dating to 2022, just 13 have gone to the Preakness (13.7%) with just one winner in that group.

“We are going to move it back to be able to ensure that the winner of the Kentucky Derby will then be prepared to compete in the second leg of the Triple Crown,” Moore said at a news conference in Annapolis. “By moving the day, you’re then providing additional time and space for our horses and the people who compete in the Derby to be able to then now compete to be able to be part of that Triple Crown.”

For at least next year, it has the chance to produce the opposite effect, with the Belmont scheduled for June 5, as announced Monday. Going from a three-week to a 13-day gap between the Preakness and Belmont could force owners and trainers to choose between them, given that modern 3-year-old thoroughbreds typically get significantly more time off.

Knauf said it was a decision made for the long-term future of the Preakness.

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018 is the only trainer to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978, said in a social media post Monday that if he has the right horse from the Kentucky Derby, he will continue to go to the Preakness annually. That was in response to the unveiling of a new championship series of races at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Belmont Park on Long Island and Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York and does not — for now — include the Preakness.

Future changes to the schedule are always possible beyond 2027. The shift does put the Preakness on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend beginning in 2028 and running through '31.

“We believe this creates tremendous excitement for our local economy and businesses,” Knauf said. "Baltimore will become the place to be on Memorial Day weekends, as the spotlight of the racing world descends on Pimlico.”

The change comes with an extension of the media rights agreement with NBC Sports through 2032. The Preakness — as well as the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for fillies on the third Saturday in May — will air on NBC and Peacock for the next six years.

NBC Sports President of Acquisitions of Partnerships Jon Miller said at the news conference that the network as far back as 10 years ago broached the idea of pushing the Preakness back at least a week, but previous ownership was not interested.

“It’s a success factor for everybody by moving it to the eight days later,” Miller said. “The idea of doing it Saturday-Sunday, quite honestly, was to create a weekend celebration and not just have it be a one-day event in the middle of a Triple Crown series.”

Moving the Preakness coincides with its return to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore as part of a $500 million reconstruction project, after a one-time stop at Laurel Park. Next year, there is expected to be limited capacity, with the full, new Pimlico scheduled to be completed by the spring of 2028.

“It’s something business has been a huge champion of,” Greater Baltimore Committee President and CEO Mark Anthony Thomas told the AP. “And so people are very enthusiastic around the state’s investments.”

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

But the agreement is likely to be contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports. The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would cement Iran's grip over the strait, which would amount to a major loss for the U.S. and a break with global norms.

Iran has insisted on some measure of control over the strait, saying it will not go back to being an open international waterway, as it was before the war.

The U.S., along with Israel, launched the war on Feb. 28, citing various goals including toppling Tehran’s government and ending its nuclear program. Those have not been achieved, and the conflict has devolved into a fight over the strait as Iran's assertion of control and attacks on shipping have ground traffic to a near-halt.

Closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas once passed, has driven up the price of fuel and basic goods, roiling the global economy. Trump is also under mounting pressure to end an unpopular war ahead of U.S. congressional elections.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said that the agreement with Oman is in the “final stage” of drafting, and that a joint statement will be issued “if certain parties do not obstruct this process,” apparently referring to the U.S.

Regional officials tell AP negotiators have finalized a draft

Iranian and Omani negotiators have finalized the draft deal to reopen the strait and await final approval from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, two regional officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Khamenei is believed to have been wounded in the war's opening strikes and has not been seen in public since then.

The officials, who were briefed on the negotiations, portrayed the potential deal as a temporary solution to the dispute over the strait. They said it is tied to an agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran in June that aimed at ending the fighting and reopening the waterway but ultimately collapsed.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks, said the potential deal will pave the way for the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Earlier, they had said the potential agreement would have ships enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman. Service fees would be charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, the officials said.

The U.S. has said it is strongly opposed to any arrangement that would see Iran charge fees.

Trump said a deal to reopen the strait is close

Trump was asked on Tuesday evening by reporters about a report on the Axios news site that an announcement on the strait could be made on Wednesday.

“It could happen. Tomorrow or the next day,” Trump said. “A lot of progress has been made.”

Oil prices initially eased but later inched up. Brent crude, the international standard, was around $80 per barrel on Wednesday — still well below the levels it hit at the height of the conflict.

In recent days, Trump has alternately threatened massive strikes and voiced support for diplomatic efforts.

Attacks on regional shipping continue

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed Wednesday they had fired ballistic missiles toward a Saudi oil tanker on the Red Sea off the Saudi port of Yanbu, without providing evidence. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

A vessel sailing in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen reported a loud explosion that happened in close proximity, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Wednesday, adding that the crew was safe. The Houthis claimed to have fired a ballistic missile at another Saudi oil tanker.

A recent escalation between the rebels and Saudi Arabia threatens to reignite Yemen's civil war, which pitted the Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition supporting the country’s government.

In July, the Houthis announced they were closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea for Saudi-linked shipping. That puts additional pressure on international shipping since the Red Sea became a key alternative route for Saudi oil exports during the war.

Israel and Hezbollah’s ceasefire increasingly shaky

The shaky ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah grew more volatile Wednesday, as the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning to residents of the southern Lebanese village of Mansouri — the first such warning in weeks.

Later, the Israeli military said it had begun conducting “precise strikes” in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as “a blatant violation of the ceasefire” that had largely held since June 20.

The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome for a second day to discuss implementation of a deal under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they are occupying in southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament.

A State Department official said the talks in Rome ended early “due to events on the ground” but could continue on Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the diplomacy, said the discussions "were extremely productive.”

___

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece, and Superville from Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Aamer Madhani, Fatima Hussein and Matthew Lee in Washington and Claire Galofaro in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the State Department official was referring to Israel-Lebanon talks ending early and not the talks over the Strait of Hormuz, and that the vessel reporting a loud explosion was in the Gulf of Aden, not the Red Sea.

Hugo Balderas-Ibarra stood alongside his attorneys in a Harris County courtroom and formally rejected the state’s offer on Wednesday.

The judge explained that Balderas-Ibarra had three options: accept the 18-year plea deal, enter a plea and allow the judge to determine his punishment, or take the case to a jury trial.

• Immigration attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra representing ICE shooting witnesses faces $500,000 malpractice lawsuit

Balderas-Ibarra chose to proceed to trial, which is scheduled to begin October 19.

Attorney accused of strangling woman outside Hobby Airport

Balderas-Ibarra was indicted in February on a felony charge of assault of a family or household member by impeding breathing or circulation.

According to charging documents, the case stems from an alleged confrontation outside Hobby Airport on May 30, 2024, involving a woman Balderas-Ibarra was dating at the time.

Investigators said the woman had decided to leave the relationship and went to the airport early for a flight to Florida. Balderas-Ibarra allegedly agreed to bring her luggage to the airport.

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The woman told investigators that Balderas-Ibarra threw her luggage on the ground and grabbed her neck as she bent down to retrieve it. She alleged that he squeezed and twisted her throat, preventing her from breathing for several seconds.

According to the affidavit, an officer photographed redness and swelling on the woman’s neck following the alleged assault.

The charge remains pending, and Balderas-Ibarra is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

If convicted, he could face between two and 20 years in prison. The judge also indicated that deferred adjudication could be a possible outcome depending on how the case is resolved.

• Related: Houston Lawyer for key ICE shooting witnesses convicted in Florida domestic violence case

When KPRC 2 previously asked Balderas-Ibarra about the Harris County charge, he said:

“I maintain my innocence and believe the focus should continue to be on my clients, rather than shifting focus onto me. Don’t lose focus!”

Florida battery conviction and probation

The upcoming trial comes after Balderas-Ibarra accepted a plea agreement in a separate criminal case in Seminole County, Florida.

Last month, he was adjudicated guilty of misdemeanor battery and placed on probation.

Following the Florida case, Balderas-Ibarra wrote on Facebook that he prayed “we put this behind us and focus on the real issues.”

Former client alleges malpractice led to deportation

Balderas-Ibarra and his law firm are also defendants in a civil legal-malpractice lawsuit filed in Somervell County, southwest of Fort Worth.

A couple, alleges that Balderas-Ibarra negligently handled the husband’s asylum and immigration case, resulting in his deportation to Mexico.

The couple is seeking more than $500,000 in damages for alleged lost income and earning capacity, mental anguish, loss of companionship and loss of household services.

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The petition does not identify the specific act or omission the couple claims caused Perez’s deportation.

Balderas-Ibarra and his firm have denied the allegations. In a court filing, their attorneys argued that the lawsuit is too vague and does not identify what Balderas-Ibarra allegedly did—or failed to do—while representing the husband.

The defense is also seeking to move the lawsuit out of Somervell County. A hearing on that request is scheduled for Oct. 14.

The civil allegations have not been proven, and no court has found Balderas-Ibarra liable for malpractice.

Probationary law license in Texas

According to the State Bar of Texas, Balderas-Ibarra has practiced under a probationary Texas law license since January 2025.

A State Bar spokesperson previously told KPRC 2 that he has never held a full, unrestricted license to practice law in Texas.

Balderas-Ibarra is also licensed to practice law in New Mexico.

Texas disciplinary rules allow the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel to seek compulsory discipline when an attorney is convicted of a crime that meets the rules’ definition of a “serious crime.” It has not been determined whether Balderas-Ibarra’s Florida conviction qualifies or whether any disciplinary action has been initiated.

Balderas-Ibarra represents two witnesses who were inside a van with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo when an ICE agent shot and killed Salgado Araujo in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood on July 7.

The club made the move following a nightmarish stretch in which the three-time All-Star could never seem to get on track.

The Pirates, who entered Wednesday 3 1/2 games behind Arizona for the National League's third wild-card spot, promoted outfielder Ronny Simon from Triple-A Indianapolis to take Ozuna's roster spot.

Pittsburgh signed Ozuna to a one-year deal worth $12 million in February, a rare free agency splurge for the budget-conscious Pirates. The team hoped the right-handed Ozuna would help balance out a left-handed-heavy lineup.

Instead, Ozuna started slow and never found the form that helped him hit 296 homers during previous stops in Miami, Atlanta and St. Louis.

Ozuna hit just .203 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 70 games with Pittsburgh and had seen his playing opportunities cut significantly in recent weeks thanks to the emergence of rookie Esmerlyn Valdez. Ozuna was scheduled to make $10.5 million this year, and a mutual option of $16 million in 2027 with a $1.5 million buyout.

The decision comes on the heels of a trade deadline in which Pittsburgh, seeking to end a decade-long playoff drought, fortified its leaky bullpen with a series of moves, including acquiring prominent reliever Luke Weaver from the New York Mets.

Manager Don Kelly and general manager Ben Cherington defended Ozuna repeatedly, with Cherington expressing confidence the underlying metrics showed Ozuna was close to turning it around and Kelly praising Ozuna's influence on the club's Latin players. But with a chance to play meaningful baseball into September on the line, the team opted to move on.

Pittsburgh also activated left-handed reliever Evan Sisk off the injured list and optioned reliever Wilber Dotel to Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.

___

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

During a virtual news conference Wednesday, leaders with CHILDREN AT RISK stressed that no official changes have been made to Head Start regulations and encouraged families not to panic while awaiting any formal action from the federal government.

The organization said it is concerned that reported changes under consideration could weaken quality, transparency, accountability and accessibility standards that have guided the federally funded program for decades.

“If your child is enrolled in Head Start or Early Head Start, continue bringing them to their program and stay in touch with your program director,” Kim Kofron, executive director of early childhood education with CHILDREN AT RISK, said during the news conference. “No regulations have changed, and we’ll know more if and when a proposed rule is released. Until then, families should stay informed, not alarmed.”

At the time of the news conference, no Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or NPRM, had been released by the federal government. If a proposed rule is published, it would go through a public comment period before any final changes take effect.

CHILDREN AT RISK leaders said preserving existing Head Start standards is especially important in Texas, where many families already struggle to find affordable child care.

According to the organization, Texas is home to nearly 465,000 low-income children with working parents. The state has capacity for about 148,675 child care subsidy seats, while Head Start and Early Head Start programs serve approximately 69,450 children.

“Weakening early childhood education, including Head Start, standards would be like tearing down the foundation of a house,” Dr. Bob Sanborn, president and CEO of CHILDREN AT RISK, said. “How can we expect the walls and roof to remain standing when the foundation begins to crack?”

Head Start was established in 1965 to provide free early childhood education, health and family support services to eligible low-income families. Supporters point to decades of research showing the program improves school readiness and long-term educational and economic outcomes.

The program also serves children experiencing homelessness, military-connected families and children with disabilities.

Advocates said families should continue attending their local Head Start and Early Head Start programs as scheduled while monitoring updates from program administrators and federal officials.

No official proposal outlining changes to Head Start regulations has been released.

In a letter posted by the district on Facebook, the district said it hired a third-party environmental consultant to conduct air and surface testing in July after campus administration reported increased moisture and additional visible surface mold in portions of the building.

“The results indicated elevated mold levels in both air and surface samples that warranted immediate action. The testing did not identify the presence of black mold,” the district said. “The District partnered with its remediation contractor, Texas General Contractors, to further evaluate the conditions within the building. That evaluation found two primary factors contributing to the issue. Even though HVAC was running during the summer months, it was not sufficient to effectively manage the level of moisture within the building. Second, moisture associated with a portion of the HVAC system had saturated sections of the roof deck and infiltrated portions of the building. Once these conditions were identified, the District expanded the scope of work to address both the immediate concerns and the underlying causes.”

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The district said replacement of the HVAC units contributing to the problem were already planned and work is scheduled to begin within the next few weeks. A portion of the roof over the affected areas is also approved to be replaced and they are working to schedule that.

“We recognize that our community expects us to provide safe learning environments for every child, and we acknowledge that in this instance, we fell short of that expectation. We take responsibility for correcting both the immediate issues and the underlying causes, and we are committed to implementing stronger monitoring, maintenance, and operational procedures to help prevent this from happening again,” the district said.

The district says this work must be completed before the building can safely reopen. Because of this, the start of the school year at Westwood Elementary will be delayed.

“In addition, Kinder Camp, originally scheduled for this week, has been postponed until a new date can be determined. We recognize this news is difficult and that it may create challenges for your family. We sincerely apologize for the disruption this causes and understand the inconvenience and uncertainty it brings. While we know everyone is eager to begin the new school year, we believe taking the time necessary to complete this work is the only responsible decision. The safety of our students and staff must come before any timeline,” the district said.

Right now, there is no set date for the campus to reopen, but the district says it will provide another update on Friday, Aug. 7.

The school year for Friendswood ISD starts on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

“So many of them came because this was a good opportunity for them to make some money, and this second bite at the apple is equity instead of cash,” O'Neil said at a news conference at Trump Bedminster, site of this week's LIV Golf New York event.

O'Neil was short on details, starting with the identity of the investor and how much money was involved. He said the lead investor “has signed a term sheet approved by our board, which will carry and fund LIV going forward.”

“It's very good news for all of us,” O'Neil said.

O'Neil said LIV is getting “strong interest” from more than a dozen other parties who would be minority investors as the league tries to survive.

“We don’t need them, but we have the opportunity to do it,” he said of other investors.

LIV Golf New York is the penultimate individual event in a season that has been marked by upheaval, particularly the stunning announcement in March that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia — the financial muscle of LIV since it began — is withdrawing funding after 2026.

One tournament in New Orleans already has been scrapped, and there are serious doubts the season-ending team event in Michigan on Aug. 27-30 will be played, particularly after reports the tournament has not even started preparing for it.

“We have not made any final formal decisions and hope to in the coming weeks,” O'Neil said.

LIV Golf, which launched in 2022, has spent more than $5 billion on the league. That includes some of the nine-figure bonuses to lure top players like Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson.

Prize funds were $20 million, with an additional $5 million for the team component.

But it all began to fall apart earlier this year. Koepka was let out of his contract and returned to the PGA Tour, and Patrick Reed chose not to renew his deal. He is leading the European tour points list and will be eligible to return to the PGA Tour next year.

Lucas Herbert, who has won twice on LIV Golf this year, said Tuesday his management has been in touch with PGA Tour officials.

“If LIV were to go away and you’ve got nowhere to play, I think ultimately you need somewhere to play as a professional golfer. So we’re just doing due diligence,” Herbert said.

O’Neil met with team captains on Tuesday, and DeChambeau led a player-only meeting later in the afternoon, though none of the players shared details.

O'Neil said he expected to finalize terms with the lead investor in the next few weeks with the goal of getting it done in September. The plan for what is being referred to as “LIV Golf 2.0” is for 10 team events each year, five of them in the United States and five others around the world.

It also wants to stage events leading into the majors and having a schedule that allows its player to compete on other circuits. Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton already play on the European tour. The PGA Tour still has a one-year ban on anyone competing on LIV.

The $20 million prize money — now matched by the PGA Tour at its signature events — will have to be substantially less going forward. Even with a lead investor, questions remain whether the biggest names will stick around.

“I think we have enough support from enough players, and we have such an interesting format and global format, I think we’ll do quite well in getting the right stars for this game," O'Neil said.

Among speculation is whether LIV would file for bankruptcy as it sought a new structure.

“When you’re in a situation that is a bit fluid, where there’s a bit of uncertainty, where there’s some challenges and maybe some surprises here or there around the corner, we want to make sure that we are giving ourselves the best opportunity to do what’s best for this organization to carry forward,” O'Neil said. “We’ll consider the best options at that time. That’s not a decision we have to make, and we’ll continue to do what’s best.”

___

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

The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia — a fierce defender and decades-long friend — openly refuted Trump’s claims of vandalism regarding one of his treasured construction projects in the nation's capital, admitting in court filings that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was due to shoddy workmanship.

The moment comes as the Republican president is struggling to convince Americans that they should believe what he is telling them about the economy, his agenda and his war on Iran before pivotal midterm elections in the fall — and reveals the inherent challenges for his team in delivering hard truths he does not want to hear. Trump has historically engaged in exaggeration, but this was a moment in which he wanted a U.S. citizen, Olympic canoeist David Hearn, to be indicted, tried and possibly imprisoned for the act of touching a chunk of sealant in the already damaged pool.

The White House said that Trump was not aware ahead of time that Pirro’s office would drop the charges.

Trump says he told Pirro he was “not happy” about her decision and that a video backed him up even though it is not clear from the footage shot at a distance that any property destruction occurred. “Well I just think she was totally wrong,” Trump told reporters Tuesday night. “And everybody saw the vandalism.”

By publicly rebuking Pirro, Trump sent a message to other administration officials that he is not to be contradicted, regardless of what the facts show.

“He just blows it up like a keg of dynamite — it’s a form of intimidating employees to be in group-think,” said Rice University professor Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian. “'If you work for me, you triple down.' Never disagree with the boss, even in a small fractional way.”

Some Republicans have blamed Trump's choices on ‘bad advice’ from staff

Trump has faced withering criticism for launching the war with Iran without fully laying out the rationale for the public or considering that country’s ability to withstand intense bombing. Trump snubbed a housing bill to address the affordability problems that voters say are their biggest concern, letting it become law without his signature.

Some Republican lawmakers have suggested that Trump is being sheltered from facts or chalk up his choices to poor staff work. During Trump’s second term, Republican senators including Ted Cruz of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have said Trump was receiving “bad advice,” a subtle critique of the president that shifts blame onto the aides who are supposed to be providing him with credible information.

The latest blow-up "reflects a president who is struggling to shape the narrative as his national approval ratings remain extremely low,” said Julian Zelizer, a political history professor at Princeton University. “The more controversy that he faces — over Iran, the Epstein files, inflation and more — the less control he has and the stronger the chances that he will be forced to confront reality.”

The president continues to dwell on the 2020 election that he falsely claims to have won. He likes to boast that America is booming with an unverifiable $19.2 trillion in investments from foreign countries, even as economic growth has been meager over the prior three months. He posted a Jesus-like picture of himself on social media and said after a backlash that he thought it depicted him as a medical doctor.

The White House did not respond to questions about how aides brief the president and whether officials feel comfortable providing information that could contradict his public statements.

Pirro had been faithful to Trump's wishes, until now

Until now, Pirro, a former judge in Westchester County, New York, and TV show host, has largely been faithful to Trump's wishes. Her office sent a subpoena in January to the Federal Reserve regarding the congressional testimony by the central bank's then-chair, Jerome Powell, about a $2.5 billion renovation of its headquarters.

Pirro defended her decision to threaten Powell, who said the threat of a criminal indictment was really a pretext to pressure the Fed into slashing its benchmark interest rates in accordance with Trump's wishes.

“This office makes decisions based on the merits, nothing more and nothing less,” Pirro posted on X. “We agree with the chairman of the Federal Reserve that no one is above the law, and that is why we expect his full cooperation.”

Her actions temporarily slowed efforts in the Senate to confirm Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair. The Department of Justice dropped the investigation in April, roughly a month after a federal prosecutor said in a closed-door court hearing that the government had not found any evidence of a crime.

On the reflecting pool, Pirro pursued the investigation despite what defense lawyers say was abundant evidence from the outset that the damage at the pool was the result of preexisting problems that had nothing to do with Hearn. A new court filing from Hearn’s team disputes the department’s contention that it only recently learned its case was flawed and urges a judge to not only dismiss it but to foreclose the possibility of ever resurrecting it.

“From day one, the case against Mr. Hearn was motivated by political considerations and devoid of adequate factual support,” defense lawyers wrote. “Those political pressures have not dissipated in the mere four weeks since the government saw fit to obtain the indictment.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to discuss internal Justice Department conversations related to the case.

He deflected on the question of whether or not he supported the decision, acknowledging on one hand that Trump has “every right to be extraordinarily frustrated with damage done to our national monuments in this city and elsewhere” while simultaneously praising Pirro for what he asserted was “an unprecedented effort” to improve safety in the nation’s capital.

“When you look at the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s body of work over the past year and a half and where we are in this city compared to where we were, they are doing a phenomenal job,” Blanche said. “Now does that mean that every case goes exactly the way that President Trump wants or I want or U.S. Attorney Pirro wants? Of course not, it doesn’t.”

Pirro blamed others for giving Trump bad advice

What makes the reflecting pool incident different was that the administration contradicted claims of property damage made repeatedly by the president.

On Friday, the government moved to dismiss the criminal case and said any damage to the pool was caused by the bungled work of the contractor and “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026."

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has supported Trump’s claims that vandals damaged the pool. That suggests that the conflict around this issue could continue to simmer.

While Trump and many of his supporters are able to exist within their own information bubble, the administration had basically declared in court that the president was wrong. That was different from a judicial ruling or news report fact-checking him, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

“It’s difficult to discredit that by saying these are anti-Trump forces,” she said.

___

Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Darlene Superville in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., contributed to this report.

Nearly three months into the outbreak, new cases are doubling in some hot spots, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X after meeting with officials in the capital, Kinshasa. It was the second visit by the WHO director-general to the Central African country since the outbreak was declared in mid-May.

“We all agree that we must urgently and massively scale up all our efforts across all pillars of the response and by all partners,” Tedros said.

The outbreak has accounted for 3,874 confirmed cases, including 1,751 deaths, as of Monday, according to the latest data from Congo’s Ministry of Health.

In Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, families said many front line workers have gone on strike, worsening access to healthcare that was already challenged by rebel conflict in one of Congo's most remote and vulnerable areas, its east near the borders of South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda.

While some workers say they have started receiving payment in the last week for work done since the outbreak began, they are demanding improved wages.

Anicet Baluku, a resident of Bunia, the capital of Itur, blamed the death of his two brothers from Ebola on the strike. “We urge the authorities to quickly find a solution to prevent other families from experiencing the same tragedy,” he told The Associated Press.

The U.S. Department of State said on Wednesday that it will provide an additional $242 million in funding for immediate Ebola response and preparedness efforts in the region and for humanitarian assistance related to the outbreak. Such funding, it said in a statement, has now exceeded $512 million in direct assistance.

The outbreak has eclipsed all previous Ebola outbreaks in its speed of transmission and is the second-largest outbreak on record, behind the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak that recorded more than 28,000 cases, including over 11,000 deaths.

The Bundibugyo virus that is causing this outbreak has no approved treatment or vaccine, and local officials believe it began in a remote area long before it was declared on May 15.

The outbreak is still “spreading at an alarming and unprecedented rate,” the medical charity Doctors Without Borders said on Wednesday, adding: “The response is expanding but is still not reaching communities quickly enough to break transmission chains.”

Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease and Control, said on Tuesday during a visit to Bunia that contact tracing isn't working, with at least 60% to 70% of new cases coming outside of those being monitored after exposure to patients.

Late detection of cases has been a key contributor to the 45% fatality rate, officials say. Of the 77 most-recent cases reported during a 24-hour period, 44 were fatal, according to the health ministry. At least 717 patients are in isolation while 749 patients have recovered.

Kaseya, who met with Tedros on Wednesday, said Africa CDC is aligning its efforts with responders “around earlier detection, stronger contact tracing, rapid access to quality care and deeper engagement with communities.”

Tedros called for action to reach all affected localities, strengthen coordination under the government’s leadership and protect health workers.

“Above all, communities must be at the center of and have ownership of the response,” he said. “We cannot stop Ebola without their trust, leadership and partnership.”

Houston Tents and Events sued the university last week over the missed payment dating back to October 2025, records show.

The company alleges that TSU had a contract for tents, tables, generators, chairs, and labor for set up and breakdown for a homecoming event. The cost was $24,579.04, according to the lawsuit, for rented materials and labor.

But when the company tried to get paid, TSU allegedly didn’t pay and interest has been accruing at 3 percent per week since Oct. 20, 2025.

• Houston immigration attorney rejects 18-year plea in assault case

With the late fees, the lawsuit alleges the university now owes $71,690.

KPRC 2 contacted TSU about the lawsuit last Thursday, the day the lawsuit was filed.

In a response Friday, a spokesperson for the university shared this statement: “Texas Southern University is aware of the lawsuit filed by Houston Tents and Events, LLC. The invoice at issue has been paid in full. We value our vendor relationships and remain committed to prompt, transparent handling of our accounts.”

It’s unclear when exactly the invoice was paid in full, but Harris County court records do not show the lawsuit has been dismissed at this time.

Houston Tents and Events told KPRC 2 on Wednesday the university is trying to work with the company to rectify the issue, but wouldn’t provide any additional details.

Late last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for the Texas Rangers to ⁠investigate the university following a state audit that found evidence of poor bookkeeping and financial mismanagement. In February, TSU launched “Operation Tiger Reset,” a 100-day plan “to achieve full operational compliance, stabilize critical infrastructure, and finalize leadership structures ... in response to the recent audit.”

As of mid-June, the university ⁠reported being near completion on all audit remediation actions.

A bridal shower and yard-sale barbecue were canceled. So were English-language classes. Roosevelt Toussaint, the senior pastor of the nondenominational congregation in Salisbury, said attendance at Sunday’s service dropped by more than half. Normally, more than 500 people would have heard his sermon, titled “What to do in a time of crisis.”

The reason for empty seats, Toussaint said, is that many community members are unwilling to venture from their homes, fearing arrests and deportation since the Trump administration moved to end Temporary Protected Status for more than 1 million people from numerous countries. Among those affected: roughly 350,000 Haitians who have been living and working legally in the U.S. for years.

In Salisbury, the Eastern Shore's biggest city, about 10% of the 33,000 residents are Haitian, many of them employed under TPS as farmworkers, caregivers and in the poultry plants that are the region’s economic backbone.

Like other Haitians losing TPS, they face an agonizing choice: try to stay in the U.S. and find underground work, constantly fearful of being caught by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Or return to a nation so overwhelmed by gang violence and poverty that some feel deportation is tantamount to a death sentence.

Pastor has a message for the president

Toussaint, the Word of Life Center's pastor since 1995, said he had a message for President Donald Trump.

“We’re expecting you to have compassion for our people. They haven't done anything wrong,” Toussaint said. “All they came to this country to do is to work, to make a difference in our economy. … There’s no security at home. If you really send us over there, you send us to die.”

At Sunday's service, the first since TPS protections expired, Toussaint exhorted his congregants to persevere.

“I’m praying this afternoon that God can make you invisible to the enemy,” Toussaint told them in Haitian Creole. “They put a lot of terror in your heart. But God has come to tell you: Do not be afraid!”

Some of the congregants who are U.S. citizens said they attended the service in solidarity with those losing TPS. Among them was Marjorie Estimé, who wore a Haitian flag draped around her neck.

“I want to tell the president of the United States to stop the ICE program, so that the people can work, so ICE can stop shooting them, persecuting them, and we can go back to normal,” Estimé said of the administration's crackdown on immigration.

ICE has pressed ahead, according to advocates and attorneys who say the agency is calling Haitians in for ankle bracelets and telling them not to travel more than 75 miles (121 kilometers) from their home address.

“Instead of them heavily descending on communities, they are using tactics to bring those people into their offices to either detain them or fit them with an ankle monitor, and telling them that if they don’t self-deport, they will be called back to report within a month,” said Guerline Jozef, president of the Haitian Bridge Alliance.

Court rulings fueled confusion

The TPS termination affecting Haitians was challenged in district courts. On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court  sided with the government, allowing TPS to end and triggering weeks of confusion around enforcement timelines.

On Wednesday, the Haitians who had been shielded from deportation officially lost their protection. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes was forced to lift her stay that had blocked the administration from terminating TPS for those who had obtained it.

“It’s just like a hurricane at Category 5 — that’s how bad it is,” said Samson Orneus, a member of Toussaint's church. He helps the pastor lead the local Haitian Development Center of Delmarva and runs WOLC Immigration Services, an immigrant assistance business in Salisbury.

Throughout last week, news spread on social media about arrests by immigration authorities at gas stations and outside supermarkets.

“We had a population living legally, raising their kids, paying their bills, and with the decision (to end TPS), they were left in limbo,” said Marie D. Fouché, founder and executive director of Safe Harbor Circles. It provides support to immigrant communities across the Eastern Shore and recorded more than a dozen arrests of immigrants recently, including some with TPS.

“They have left their kids at home,” she said. “They went to the grocery, shopping at Walmart to cook for them and feed their family. But they got arrested in the parking lot, and they’ll never go back.”

Asked about ICE enforcement activities in Salisbury, the Department of Homeland Security said via email that it “does not discuss ongoing or future operations.”

“Temporary Protected Status is exactly that — temporary,” the email said. “For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent.”

At a nearly empty barber shop in Salisbury, a Haitian with TPS ventured in for a haircut. Like others, he asked to remain anonymous for fear of deportation.

“They’re not going after the people committing crimes,” said the 39-year-old man, who has been a caregiver at a nursing home since moving to Salisbury in 2020. “When I go out to the street, I’m in fear.”

TPS protections for Haitians date back to 2010

The United States initially gave TPS to Haitians following a devastating 2010 earthquake and extended it several times since.

The Trump administration pushed to end that status, saying conditions in Haiti improved. Yet almost 1.5 million people have been  displaced because of gang violence, and most Haitians need humanitarian aid.

“What this administration is doing hurts me so much because it’s inhumane,” said Leila Borrero Krouse, an immigration specialist with CATA, a nonprofit supporting Eastern Shore farmworkers.

“In all of these years that I’ve been working with immigrants, I’ve never met a criminal, a rapist, an abuser,” she said. “Most come to take jobs that others don’t want. And it’s heartbreaking to see how they’re suffering.”

The immigration crackdown has upended the life of Patricia Grace Louis-Jacques, a nursing student at Salisbury University with family members and friends affected by the end of TPS. Last week, her best friend asked her to take care of her infant child if she got detained.

“From that moment, I knew things got bad,” Louis-Jacques said at a nearly empty Caribbean Creole Cafe under a painting of Toussaint L’Ouverture, a leader of the Haitian Revolution. “Their lives have tremendously changed.”

Not far from the church, near a Perdue Farms poultry plant, a Honduran woman spoke from the home she has rarely left since the Trump administration ended TPS for nearly 80,000 Hondurans and Nicaraguans.

She said she worked at Perdue for more than two decades, repetitively cutting chickens with scissors on a fast-paced line, before losing her job last year after her TPS expired.

Her 25-year-old son, who was born in the U.S., worries that she will be detained. He often calls, reminding her to keep her living room curtains closed and avoid answering the door. Sometimes, she said, she hides by locking herself in a bathroom, where she keeps a Bible.

She used to attend church and volunteer at events advocating for immigrants' rights. These days, she only takes her two dogs to the yard and then returns indoors.

“It’s terrible to live in this anxiety,” she said. “It isn’t fair to those of us who came to this country not to cause harm, but to try to have a better life.”

___

Associated Press writer Gisela Salomon in Miami contributed to this report.

___

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

Photos captured by The Associated Press on Wednesday show construction workers using a jackhammer on the helipad, which no longer carries the dark gray trim of a presidential seal that was visible last week. It was unclear why the seal was being removed.

The White House said it's continuing to make improvements as part of efforts to best match the needs of the building and its grounds. Trump has said the helipad is needed because new helicopters in the fleet used for Marine One are so powerful they rip out the South Lawn grass.

“For years, the White House has desperately needed a proper helipad on White House grounds that will allow the president to land safely and also protect the beautiful South Lawn grass from the fierce exhaust fumes of the incredible Marine One," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said on Wednesday. "Thanks to President Trump, the White House has never looked better, and it will only continue to get better under his leadership.”

The helipad is part of a long list of renovations that Trump has undertaken in his second term. His projects include a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-meter) ballroom; a Rose Garden paved over with stone; a new marbled interior in the Palm Room, a lobby-like room that leads out to the West Colonnade and Rose Garden; and an Oval Office that continues to add gilded decorations.

Trump described the helipad at length during an Oval Office appearance last month, saying it would be made of carved granite and calling it a “beautiful thing.” The president also said Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin, would be paying for the project, which he estimated would cost up to $6 million. Lockheed referred comment on the helipad construction to the White House.

The new helicopters used for Marine One are manufactured by Sikorsky and made their debut under then-President Joe Biden in 2024. But their use has been limited because their exhaust vents aim heat downward, posing a risk to the South Lawn grass.

Trump has said that using granite rather than concrete for the helipad was his suggestion. He has also noted that the landing pad could be used for other White House events, such as press conferences.

The removal of the seal was first reported by The Washington Post.

The barrage, which lasted about two hours, was the latest in a series of large-scale Russian missile strikes that have become almost routine this summer. Moscow is exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptors for the U.S.-made Patriot systems, the sole air defense weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles.

Zelenskyy has pleaded with other countries, especially the U.S., to send more of the ammunition made scarcer by the Iran war. Failing that, he wants to make Patriot ammunition in Ukraine or win permission from Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia that can hit its missile launchers.

It's unclear how many interceptors Ukraine has left. Zelenskyy said after a Russian attack Friday night that air defenses shot down only one ballistic missile “solely because there are no missiles for the Patriots.” Supplies of defensive missiles for Ukraine in the first half of this year fell to one-third of the 2025 level, Zelenskyy said.

“Ballistic interceptors are what could have saved the lives of those killed today,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday on social media. “It is very important for our partners to understand that delays in supplying them, or a reluctance to hand over anti-ballistic systems, lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction.”

The targets hit in the barrage included a brewery, a warehouse for construction material, and a mail sorting office that had nothing to do with the war, Zelenskyy said. But Russia's Defense Ministry said the businesses had military ties.

Thursday was set as an official day of mourning for the 17 people killed, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's regional military administration. In addition to the dead, at least 44 people were injured.

Ukraine retaliates with long-range drones

With U.S.-led peace efforts apparently stalled, Ukraine has stepped up its deep strikes on key Russian targets such as oil refineries to try to compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate. Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump but Putin has refused.

In its latest attack on facilities for Russia’s biggest online retailer Wildberries, Ukrainian drones hit a warehouse in the Tula region south of Moscow, the company and the region’s governor said.

Ukraine has struck over a dozen Wildberries facilities in under three weeks, saying the company provides goods that can be used by the military. Kyiv is also keen to unsettle the Russian public with high-profile attacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces downed 475 Ukrainian drones overnight over 16 Russian regions, as well as in illegally annexed Crimea and the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

Russia says it struck war-related targets

Russia fired 24 ballistic missiles, four other missiles identified as either hypersonic Zircon or supersonic Onik cruise missiles, and 115 drones, many of them jet-powered and harder to stop due to their speed, Ukrainian authorities said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it struck transport, logistics and distribution centers involved in war-related activity, four of which were in Kyiv.

“The enemy is attacking everything indiscriminately — retail warehouses, food storage facilities, logistics hubs, enterprises, building materials warehouses,” Zelenskyy adviser Serhii Beskrestnov, said on Facebook.

It was not immediately possible to independently reconcile the different Russian and Ukrainian accounts of the military value of the targets.

Kyiv warehouse worker Mykhailo Hukov said an air raid warning that included a ballistic missile threat sounded just after midnight.

“So everyone started running,” he told The Associated Press. “I turned everyone around so they wouldn’t go back inside for their backpacks.”

In an underground shelter minutes later, they heard “very loud explosions.”

Ukraine’s largest private postal operator, Nova Poshta, said a Russian cluster munition destroyed one of its sorting centers in Kyiv.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the center was “storing and distributing dual-use goods, including those used in the production of long- and medium-range uncrewed aerial vehicles, as well as robotic systems and electronic warfare systems.” It claimed that two other logistics centers in the Kyiv region stored drones or components for drones.

Separately, Russia said its forces hit three bulk carriers on the Black Sea south of Odesa that it claimed were transporting Ukrainian weapons and military equipment. Ukrainian officials didn't comment on that claim.

Truck drivers make a narrow escape

Ivan Braga, a 46-year-old truck driver from Moldova who was in Kyiv during the attack, said he and a colleague ran from their vehicle when it was struck by shrapnel in a blast wave.

“We didn’t even have time to grab our documents or anything else,” Braga told AP. “I couldn’t believe it. I’d already been in Kyiv and had heard explosions before, but nothing like today.”

One of the companies that came under heavy fire was Epicentr, one of Ukraine’s largest retail and construction chains. It said in a statement on Facebook that “in minutes, Russian missiles destroyed what the company had built over decades.” One employee was killed and three others were wounded.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Epicenter logistics center handled order processing, sorting, storing, and delivery of dual-use goods and components for drone production.

Russian drone factory chief badly hurt in a car blast

The director of a factory that makes drones for the Russian military was seriously injured when his car exploded in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, news reports said Wednesday.

Vladimir Tkachuk was hospitalized after the explosion late Tuesday just outside the city 1,400 kilometers (about 870 miles) east of Moscow, the state Tass and RIA Novosti agencies said.

His factory, Uraldronzavod, manufactured the Upyr, a cheap and simple drone that was popular with troops for the protection it offers against jamming.

Russian officials made no comment, but authorities previously have blamed Ukraine for a string of bombings and other attacks targeting military officials.

___

AP reporters Illia Novikov, Volodymyr Yurchuk and Dan Bashakov in Kyiv contributed.

___

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

The 38-foot mobile clinic—equipped with two private exam rooms—will be parked at 1500 McKinney Street, with screenings available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Organizers say the exams are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants can also pick up educational materials about spotting warning signs and sun safety, along with sample sun-protection products.

• Understanding Skin Cancer: Houston doctor explains the importance of screening

A local dermatology team led by Leonard H. Goldberg, MD—vice president of The Skin Cancer Foundation and a board-certified dermatologist with DermSurgery Associates—will conduct the screenings.

The Houston stop is part of the program’s ninth year on the road. The RV travels nationwide in two seasonal legs, operating from May through July and again from September through November, stopping in about 40 cities. The 2026 tour began April 15 in Columbus, Ohio, and is scheduled to end Nov. 20 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Organizers say the program aims to reduce barriers to early detection. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and incidence continues to rise.

• Headed outside this summer? Doctors say these sunscreen tips can help protect your skin

The Foundation estimates 5,910 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in Texas in 2026. Medical experts stress that when skin cancers are found and treated early, they are often curable—one reason dermatologists recommend annual skin exams, along with monthly head-to-toe self-checks for new or changing spots.

Walker was carted off the field at training camp on Tuesday after going down following a pass-rush play. The injury was quickly feared to be an ACL tear, as the second-year pass rusher was unable to put any weight on his left leg.

The Falcons selected Walker with the No. 15 pick in the 2025 draft after an outstanding career at neighboring University of Georgia. He immediately bolstered the Falcons' pass rush, recording 36 tackles, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in a strong rookie campaign.

Walker's efforts helped bring the Falcons from the bottom of the sack leaderboard in 2024 to the second-most sacks (57) in the NFL this past season, behind only the Denver Broncos (68).

The future of the Falcons' pass rush this season is murky, as Walker's counterpart, James Pearce Jr., could be awaiting a suspension following an offseason arrest. Police referred to the Feb. 7 incident as a domestic dispute with WNBA player and ex-girlfriend Rickea Jackson.

Walker expressed his excitement about the upcoming season after the Falcons' first day of training camp. He said he stayed local during the offseason, splitting his training between the Falcons practice facility and the University of Georgia.

“I've been itching at the bit just to get back in the building and get on the grass,” Walker said. “Enjoyed the time off, but it's time to start to roll and get the ball moving.”

The Falcons will now turn to a group of edge rushers consisting of Samson Ebukam, Azeez Ojulari, Cameron Thomas, Bralen Trice and Keshawn Banks. DeAngelo Malone was placed on the reserve/PUP list on Tuesday.

___

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

Wednesday, August 5

• Yuma
• WWE Survivor Series: Wargames
• Clutch City Dancers open Auditions

Tuesday, August 4

• Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly talk love, loyalty and drama of ‘Ransom Canyon’ Season 2
• • Ransom Canyon on Netflix
• Houston’s own Cris Sosa competes on NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ Season 21
• • Comedian Cris Sosa
  • NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”
• Gexa Energy
• Brassica Shares the vegan secret behind its signature chocolate chip cookie
• • Brassica
• Master P Brings Hip-Hop History to Houston With Cash Money and No Limit Reunion Tour
• • Cash Money & No Limit Tour

Monday, August 3

• Houston students and teachers share their work beyond the classroom in new exhibition “The Sequence Is Yours”
• • Contemporary Arts Museum Houston‘s ‘The Sequence Is Yours’ Exhibition
• Sip, savor and celebrate Labor Day Weekend at the Galveston Island Wine Festival
• • Celebrity Chef Brian Duffy serves up a preview of the Galveston Island Wine Festival
  • Moody Gardens Galveston Island Wine Festival
• Modern dental implants give Houston patients natural, comfortable smiles
• • Texas Dental Implant Center

Friday, July 31

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• ‘Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live: Glow-N-Fire’ brings high-octane family fun to Houston
• • Hot Wheels Monster Truck Live Glow-N-Fire at Toyota Center
• There’s a story behind every building: Take a tour of Downtown Houston with Preservation Houston
• • Preservation Houston

Thursday, July 30

• Meet the twin sisters who turned their cheesecake passion into a successful business
• • KK Cheesecakes
• How HCU’s high-tech simulation lab is preparing nursing students for in-demand jobs
• • Houston Christian University Linda R. Dunham School of Nursing
• Gexa Energy marks 25 Years by volunteering with Meals on Wheels and The Beacon
• • Gexa Energy
• Garbage Girlfriend

Wednesday, July 29

• Houston Shakespeare Festival is back at Miller Outdoor Theatre with a reimagined lead in “The Tempest”
• • Houston Shakespeare Festival
• In the CLASSROOM with Kroger: How they’re helping parents and kids start the school year happy, healthy, and prepared
• • KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for your chance to win a $250 Kroger gift card!
  • Kroger
• Happy National Lipstick Day! Here’s the lowdown on choosing a matte, glossy, or satin pigment 💄
• • Makeup Artist Darcie Teasley
• Tony Danza is coming to Houston this week, here is where to see him
• • Doc’s Houston Presents Tony Danza - “Standards and Stories”

Monday, July 27

• Back-to-school safety: What kids should know and what parents should watch for in case of a school emergency
• • CPR and Safety Lady Gail Gould
  • Back to School Safety Webinar with CPR and Safety Lady Gail Gould
• Anaheim: The Urban Basecamp You Didn’t Know You Needed In Southern California
• • Gabe Saglie The Travel Guy
• Houston students turn thousands of plastic bags into an award-winning business
• • Plastic Free July
  • Next Use
• Allied Outdoor Solutions

Friday, July 24

• Houston celebrates Art House Theater Day with a “Car Wash” screening and preshow party
• • Houston Art House Theater Day
• The best tacos in Texas arrive in Houston this weekend + Texas Monthly Taco Editor‘s spicy gig getting paid to eat tacos
• • 2026 Texas Monthly Taco Fest South
  • Huncho’s Tacos
• BISSELL Pet Foundation Empty the Shelters
• Rosenberg Animal Control and Shelter

Thursday, July 23

• Meet the Houston Rig Hands: The city’s pro 3-on-3 basketball team 🏀🏀
• • Follow Houston Rig Hands on Instagram
  • BIG3 Playing at Toyota Center Tickets
• Houston City College’s Coleman Campus: Training the next generation of health care workers
• • Houston City College
• Vic Mignogna on Anime Matsuri, Star Trek & life with Dominique Sachse
• • Follow Vic Mignogna on Instagram
  • Anime Matsuri

Wednesday, July 22

• 16th annual Mayor’s Back 2 School & Health Fair brings free supplies, screenings to Houston families
• • Mayor’s Back to School & Health Fair
• Tips for Planning the Perfect Summer Getaway
• • Travel Expert, Jeanenne Tornatore | The Outside Insider
  • Marriott Bonvoy
  • Official Guide to Breckenridge
• Celebrate National Tequila Day at Zanti Cucina Italiana in River Oaks
• • Zanti Cucina Italiana
• Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman heading to Houston for blues experience
• • Performing Arts Houston Presents “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience”

Tuesday, July 21

• How CenterPoint Energy says they’re building a stronger, more resilient electric grid
• • CenterPoint Energy Action Center
• NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior”
• Ox St. Kitchen
• Ivan Chavez Chavos BBQ
• The world’s fragrance community comes together at FRAGCON in Houston
• • Global Fragrance Convention

Monday, July 20

• Houston’s Girl Gone Grilling shares her buffalo chicken stuffed garlic bread
• • Katherine Salom “Girl Gone Grilling”
• Powerhouse performer Christina Wells, now in a wheelchair, is still lighting up Houston stages
• • Christina Wells
• When a smile needs more than veneers: one Houston patient’s transformation
• • Texas Dental Implant Center

Friday, July 17

• Hidden Omakase serves up a Summer favorite while continuing its comeback story
• • Hidden Omakase
• East Houston Medical Center works to improve access to health care in the community
• • East Houston Medical Center
• “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
• 13th Annual Ohana Surf Dogs Competition

Thursday, July 16

• 93Q’s Cowboys & Angels Concert Brings Country Stars to Houston
• • 93Q’s Cowboys & Angels
• Here’s Blue Willow Bookshop’s summer reading picks you need to add to your TBR
• • Blue Willow Bookshop
• UniverSoul Circus brings big top thrills to Houston Life
• • UniverSoul Circus

Wednesday, July 15

• Llamas, haunted houses, and mermaids?! Houston realtor Noel Collier talks HGTV’S ‘Extreme Buyers Club’
• • HGTV’s ‘Extreme Buyers Club’
  • Noel Collier Group
• Protect Yourself After a Crash: What to Do If You’re Illegally Solicited
• • The Miller Law Firm, home of The Texas Bulldog
• Skip the oven and beat the summer heat with this no-bake chocolate raspberry tart
• • Florence Jackson
• Raising Cane’s and the Norris family to honor Chuck Norris’ legacy on National Chicken Finger Day
• • Raising Canes

Tuesday, July 14

• Casa de Cultura turns a Houston gallery into a living archive one family story at a time
• • Photographer Violeta Álvarez
  • FreshArts
• The late Chuck Norris continues to empower kids through Kickstart Kids martial arts program
• • Kickstart Kids
  • Raising Canes
• Protein-Packed Plates: Casa do Brasil, Los Tios and a High Protein Bowl with Tanji Patton of Goodtaste TV
• • Goodtaste for the Soul with Tanji Patton

Monday, July 13

• Remembering the iconic artist David Adickes on his 99th birthday and his lasting legacy in Houston
• • David Adickes Art
• Spend the Summer at Moody Gardens: Animal encounters, weekly themes, and how to register
• • Moody Gardens
• There’s a story behind every building: Take a tour of Downtown Houston with Preservation Houston
• • Preservation Houston
• Celebrate 713 Day with Houston Rap Legend Lil’ Keke
• • Follow Lil Keke on Instagram
• Best places and deals around Houston to celebrate 713 Day

Friday, July 10

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• Houston Hula Academy brings the spirit of Polynesia to Houston Life
• • Houston Hula Academy
  • Drums of the Pacific
• A car lover’s dream! Where to see life-size Hot Wheels cars in the Houston area
• • Hot Wheels Legends Tour
• Fire Up The Grill: Easy Grilling for a Crowd
• • III Catering
• Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Thursday, July 9

• Meet the Houston 6-year-old golfer makes national tournament history
• • Ascend Golf Academy
• Fort Bend County Fair Celebrates 90 Years with Pat Green, Sawyer Brown and a Star-Studded 2026 Lineup
• • Fort Bend County Fair
• Houston City College: College that fits your schedule
• • Houston City College
• Goode Company Seafood celebrates 40 years
• Goode Company Seafood x Texas Parks and Wildlife

Wednesday, July 8

• Fort Bend County Fair
• Fung’s Kitchen
• East Houston Medical Center hosts free FIFA World Cup 2026™ watch parties and a chance to win a free trip to the final
• • East Houston Medical Center
• Houston’s Ensemble Theatre marks 50th anniversary with premieres, revivals and, honoring the past
• • The Ensemble Theatre
• Stars of Netflix’s ‘Little House on the Prairie’ chat reimagining the iconic story
• • Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie

Tuesday, July 7

• KPRC 2 Insider
• Inside the New Era of Fitness: How 24 Hour Fitness Is Rethinking the Modern Gym
• • 24 Hour Fitness
• Cosmic Ice Cream and Trill Burgers teaming up for National Ice Cream day
• • Cosmic Ice Cream
  • Trill Burgers
• Houston Ballet’s Dance 2 Thrive program brings movement, music and wellness to the Community
• • Houston Ballet
  • Dance 2 Thrive registration form

Monday, July 6

• Why Trae Tha Truth Keeps Turning His Birthday Into Houston’s Biggest Give-Back
• • Traeday 2026
• PopUp Bagels lands in Houston — grip, rip and dip your way to a viral bagel
• • PopUp Bagels
• When a smile needs more than veneers: one Houston patient’s transformation
• • Texas Dental Implant Center
• Your Bucket List Guide
• Flora Houston
• Make this at home! The Two-Ingredient Cocktail Popping Up Around Houston During the FIFA World Cup 26™
• • Bucanita by Buchanan’s

Thursday, July 2

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• These women athletes from Afghanistan escaped Taliban rule. Now the players of Houston Shine FC find joy in soccer again
• • Houston Shine FC
• ‘Read With Jenna’ debuts cozy Book Nook aboard MSC Seascape sailing from Galveston
• • ‘Read with Jenna’
• Keep Kids Safe Around Water: Expert Guidance on Supervision and Drowning Prevention
• • Bivona Law Firm
• New Sprouts in Kingwood Is Here | And Yes, You Can Sample Just About Anything
• • Sprouts Farmers Market

Wednesday, July 1

• Celebrate America’s 250th with Houston Life’s special Fourth of July Show
• • Houston Christian University’s Independence Hall
  • Baytown’s Fourth of July Festivities
  • PBS’s Annual A Capitol Fourth celebration
  • Houston Zoo
  • Blue Bell Creameries
• LIST: Fourth of July fireworks, parades, celebrations across Greater Houston

Tuesday, June 30

• This Thai-inspired hot dog brings new flavor to your Fourth of July cookout
• • MaKiin Concepts Hospitality Group
• Firework Safety | Cy-Fair Fire Department, TX
• United Against Human Trafficking
• Houston native shares how being stranded at sea during COVID inspired a documentary, memoir and mission to help others
• • Angela Harger Productions
• 5 Things Houston Homeowners Should Know Before the Next Power Outage
• • GenPro.com

Monday, June 29

• Meet the cast of ‘Young Washington’ ahead of the film’s July 3rd release
• • ‘Young Washington’
• From Houston to American homes: Good Ranchers celebrates America’s 250th with homegrown meat
• • Good Ranchers
• New Zealand by train: Scenic journeys, culture and food
• • Gabe Saglie The Travel Guy
• Gexa Energy gives back: Make-A-Wish reveal brings joy to local child
• • Gexa Energy
• Hands-on training at Houston City College prepares students for high-demand careers
• • Houston City College

Friday, June 26

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• Best Friends Animal Society hosts a free pet adoption event this Saturday
• • RSVP to Best Friends “Bring Love Home” Adoption Event
• Houston’s own Tyce Green stars in Disney’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’
• • Houston Broadway Theatre’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
• Stay connected with reliable internet during hurricane season
• • Ezee Fiber
• Better STAAR scores, bigger goals: Here’s why Good Reason Houston focuses on a path to a living wage
• • Good Reason Houston
• Baytown Is Going Big for the Fourth of July
• • Visit Baytown
• Rodney Atkins

Thursday, June 25

• Best Friends Animal Society hosts a free pet adoption event this Saturday
• • RSVP to Best Friends “Bring Love Home” Adoption Event
  • Best Friends Houston
• A New Sprouts Farmers Market Has Opened in Webster—Here’s What You’ll Find Inside
• • Sprouts Farmers Market
• Why this financial expert says small business success starts with financial organization
• • Aragon Tax Return Services
• Mattress expert links poor sleep to serious health risks
• • Texas Mattress Makers

Wednesday, June 24

• Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announces historic agriculture complex benefitting Texas youth
• • Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Vegan recipes to add to your summer cookout menu
• • Dr. Chinwe Orabuchi
• Could your roof be hiding storm damage: What Houston homeowners should know
• • Adams Roofing
• Companion Energy brings ‘Energy that Cares’ to the Houston Humane Society
• • Companion Energy
• Travel Mom Emily Kaufman says now’s the time to book Australia
• • Travel Mom
  • Visit Sydney
  • Visit South Wales

Tuesday, June 23

• Houston Life goes LIVE from new IKEA Webster ahead of Grand Opening
• • KPRC 2 Insiders, Enter for a chance to win IKEA gift cards!
  • IKEA
  • IKEA Webster: Friends and Family Shopping Event

Monday, June 22

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• Family-owned restaurant Foreign Grill shares Uzbek flavors ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ match
• • Follow Foreign Grill on Instagram
• Prime Day Picks to upgrade your home
• • Home Improvement Expert, Kathryn Emery | Be The Best Home
• Meet the Houston skincare brand embracing beef tallow with no frills and all the beneficial ingredients
• • NutréLux Beauty
• Future-Proof Careers: Celebrating the HVAC Technicians Who Keep Houston Cool
• • Fortis College
• Why cruises are the hottest ticket this summer - expert tips & where to go
• • Carnival Cruises
  • Travel Expert, Jeanenne Tornatore | The Outside Insider

Thursday, June 18

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for your chance to win a $250 Kroger gift card!
• • Kroger
• The South Dakota Road Trip You Didn’t Know You Needed
• • Your Bucket List Guide
  • Travel South Dakota
• Hands-on training at Houston City College Southeast prepares students for high-demand careers
• • Houston City College
• Stay connected with reliable internet during hurricane season
• • Ezee Fiber

Wednesday, June 17

• WANTED: An audience ready to laugh at the Texas Outlaw Comics tonight at Houston Improv
• • Texas Outlaw Comics
• The cast of Netflix’s ‘I Will Find You’ talks bringing the bestselling thriller to life
• • Netflix’s Harlan Coben’s “I Will Find You”
• Saunawelt opens Houston’s first public European sauna house
• • Saunawelt
• Village Plumbing, Air & Electric shares summer safety tips as company celebrates 80 Years of servicing Houston
• • Village Plumbing

Tuesday, June 16

• ‘Heart & Hustle: Houston’ Star Muneera Page opens up about fame, friendship and season two
• • OWN’s “Heart & Hustle: Houston”
• Looking for a Father’s Day activity? See more than 100 exotic cars at Velocité in Houston
• • Velocité – A Father’s Day Tradition in Motion
• AEW Star Thunder Rosa balances two wrestling worlds while inspiring fans to chase their dreams
• • All Elite Wrestling at Smart Financial Centre
  • Follow Thunder Rosa on Instagram
• Transform your outdoor space with Carvestone - Plus, a chance to win $5,000 in outdoor furniture
• • Allied Outdoor Solutions

Monday, June 15

• Local 17-year-old filmmaker makes her mark with movie focusing on men’s mental health
• • “Used to Be” tickets
• WWE star Braun Strowman chats season 2 of ‘Everything On The Menu’
• • USA Network’s “Everything on the Menu With Braun Strowman”
• How Houston Habitat for Humanity is helping families build generational wealth
• • KPRC 2 Habitat for Humanity
  • Houston Habitat for Humanity
• Houston’s own Cris Sosa competes on NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ Season 21
• • Comedian Cris Sosa
  • NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”

Friday, June 12

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• Why the Rothko Chapel may be Houston’s most transformative space
• • Rothko Chapel
• Keep your home cool and save on energy with these tips from Champion & Nash
• • Champion and Nash
• Marco’s Pizza brings New York-style pizza to your neighborhood
• • Marco’s Pizza
• Meet Yassine Cheuko, personal bodyguard to soccer superstar Lionel Messi

Thursday, June 11

• FIFA Fan Festival™ Houston

Wednesday, June 10

• Houston physician and educator Dr. Tim Garson makes history approachable and relatable to modern life in new book
• • Dr. Arthur “Tim” Garson
  • Book: “Five Thousand Years of Controversies: A Family’s Journey Through World History”
• Ishida Dance Company presents ‘Waiting/Rex’ at Asia Society Texas
• • Ishida Dance Company Tickets
• Father’s Day finds and summer-ready home upgrades
• • Kathryn Emery
• Peptides and functional health: How Antiage Institute helps Houstonians age better
• • Antiage Institute

Tuesday, June 9

• How a community effort saved Houston’s printmaking legacy
• How custom coasters are made by hand at Red Bird Press studio
• • Red Bird Press
• A 34-Day soccer watch party in Houston with Diplo, wagyu burgers and VIP lounges?
• • The Ranch Presents Pitch Live
• Find the right mattress with expert help in Texas
• • Texas Mattress Makers

Monday, June 8

• Meet Saxboy Billy, the man behind the viral “Puerto Rico Song”
• • Follow Saxboy Billy on Instagram
• Celebrate Culture through music and movement with Tx2 Dance Company
• • T2 Dance Company
• NBC’s ‘American Ninja Warrior’ Season 18: What Lauren Kelly learned from the Hosts
• • NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior”
• Replace an entire arch, not just a tooth: How ONEARCH changes lives
• • Texas Dental Implant Center
• Visit San Antonio

Friday, June 5

• The music collective behind the Houston remix for FIFA World Cup 2026™
• • Bombón
  • Official FIFA World Cup 26™ Houston Sonic ID
• Why Alley Theatre’s “Misery” is leaving Houston audiences gasping
• • Misery at Alley Theatre
• Young Houstonians will learn how to train like a pro at the Simple Truth Will Anderson Jr. ProCamp
• • Will Anderson Jr. Football ProCamp

Thursday, June 4

• Magician Michael Carbonaro is ready to wow fans in Houston with his new show ‘WONDERBOY’
• • Michael Carbonaro at Houston of Blues
• HCC Southwest ramps up hands-on training in AI, robotics and cybersecurity
• • Houston City College
• The Travel Mom’s tips for planning and booking a breathtaking Alaskan cruise
• • The Travel Mom
  • Holland America Cruises
• Spice Routes: Cardamom Challenge a culinary passport awaits at Houston’s stunning Ismaili Center
• • Ismaili Center

Wednesday, June 3

• Celebrate Freedom Festival returns to Emancipation Park this Saturday
• • Juneteenth Houston
• Why this red velvet cornbread recipe belongs on your Juneteenth table
• • Chef Cassi
• Houston Rockets Skills Camp returns to various locations this summer
• • Houston Rockets Youth Skills Camp
• KPRC 2’s 2026 Hurricane & Flood Survival Guide
• IMDB “Masters of the Universe”

Tuesday, June 2

• CPR and AED basics: Simple skills that can help save a life
• • Register for FREE CPR webinar on June 3
  • Gail Gould
• Meet the local break dancers uplifting women and youth through hip-hop, culture, and the arts
• • BGirl City Worldwide
• Cool Treats in the Heights: Where to find Hawaiian shaved ice and frozen cocktails
• • Happy Go Lucky

Monday, June 1

• Houston Author Jenny Block drops new book about finding authenticity, success and joy in life
• • Follow Jenny Block on Instagram
• The laughs keep coming in season 2 of Netflix’s ‘The Four Seasons’
• • Netflix’s “The Four Seasons”
• Discovery Green celebrating summer with free family fun and soccer-inspired events
• • Discovery Green
• Why natural looking dental implants are the new luxury in facial rejuvenation
• • Texas Dental Implant Center

Friday, May 29

• Texas Teen Pageant Queens use their platforms to empower foster kids, fight bullying, and inspire future farmers
• • Kyleigh’s Kidz
• Immersive Gamebox is launching ‘Soccer Arcade,’ the world’s first immersive soccer experience
• • Immersive Gamebox
• Tanji Patton reveals what’s next after 11 seasons of Goodtaste TV
• Sweet, Savory & Spicy: Creative cantaloupe recipes worth trying this Summer
• • Goodtaste with Tanji Patton

Thursday, May 28

• Game day skin care tips for FIFA World Cup 2026™ watch parties and summer heat
• • Board-Certified Dermatologist Dr. Sherry Ingraham
• A Quick Drive From Houston, This Louisiana Resort Delivers Vegas-Style Luxury Without the Flight
• • Coushatta Casino Resort
• Licasa Treatment Center Opens in Conroe to expand compassionate mental health and addiction care
• • Licasa Treatment Center

Wednesday, May 27

•  Powering Houston’s future: Electrical apprentices showcase skills at annual Wire-Off Competition 
• • IEC Texas Gulf Coast
• Los Souldees is the local band bringing the sounds you love from the past with a fresh Houston twist
• • Los Souldees

Tuesday, May 26

• Lone Star College
• A Houston little boy’s toughest battle led to a monster surprise!
• • Gexa Energy
• Captain MC’s Seafood
• The Window Source Houston

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

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Although no one observed the actual 5,400-mph (8,700-kph) collision, a telescope in Chile spotted what astronomers have identified as the debris plume resulting from the crash. Space tracking experts said it was inevitable that the leftover rocket segment plowed into the moon.

It’s the latest instance of lunar litter, a problem that many fear could worsen as the U.S. and China race to put astronauts on the moon. In 2022, a Chinese rocket unintentionally hit the moon following a lunar mission, and many more stray rocket pieces likely struck the moon in decades past without scientists' knowledge.

SpaceX's Julianna Scheiman said this week that the company is working with NASA to avoid future wrecks, stressing that this projected crash was not deliberate. A combination of solar activity and gravity accidentally put it on a collision course with the moon, she said.

Boston University's Carl Schmidt said he is “100% certain” that his team's observations revealed signs of the lunar crash. The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope detected a stream of sodium and lithium stretching for miles (tens of kilometers) into space for at least five to 10 minutes following the impact, he added.

“We don’t have images of the impact" but there's telescope evidence, Schmidt said in an email.

Even before signs of the debris plume were spotted by the telescope in Chile, retired astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell noted that observations of the dead 4-ton upper stage on Tuesday night showed it heading straight for the moon. The anticipated crash site was a dusty, barren patch near Einstein Crater on the moon’s sunlit western limb — near the edge of the near and far sides, which is especially difficult to observe from Earth.

“There's no doubt in my mind" that the rocket “is now in teeny, little pieces scattered over the moon near Einstein Crater,” McDowell told The Associated Press.

“As a physicist, I know that what goes up must come down,” he added.

Stargazers knew it would be difficult, if not impossible, from the ground to see the plume of dust and rock ejected from the resulting crater, let alone the flash of light from the impact. Orbiting spacecraft had the best chance of witnessing anything — or at least observing the crater after the fact.

Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek was among those aiming his telescope at the moon at the appointed time, but he came up empty.

"We knew this would be a long shot,” Langbroek said.

Like McDowell, Langbroek said he had “no doubt” the rocket met its doom.

Visual confirmation, McDowell noted, will have to wait for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to fly over the crash scene and send back photos of the impact crater. The space agency doesn't expect that to happen until next week.

The Falcon rocket's upper stage — a fat cylinder more than 40 feet (12 meters) long — hoisted two private lunar landers from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 15, 2025. It ended up adrift after putting Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience on course for the moon. Resilience wrecked, but Blue Ghost aced its touchdown, becoming the first private spacecraft to do so.

The moon is the new go-to destination in space, with NASA envisioning a stampede of robotic craft over the next several years to form the foundation for a sustainable lunar base. Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin will provide the lunar landers for NASA's Artemis astronauts.

Musk's Starship is making steady progress in test flights from Texas. Bezos' Blue Moon lander has yet to launch. One or both landers will take part in next year's Artemis III, a docking rehearsal in orbit around Earth. A lunar touchdown by astronauts — the first since NASA's Apollo moonshots — could follow as soon as 2028.

“Things are going to get a lot busier near the moon,” McDowell said. “At that point an impact like this on the lunar surface plowing up huge amounts of dust going for hundreds of miles around is not going to be acceptable.”

___

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

The 65-year-old Edwards, who is serving his second term, said that he made the decision to drop his reelection bid after “much prayer and reflection” and that he would complete the current term.

The Ethics Committee recommended the censure, an act registering its deep disapproval of a lawmaker’s conduct that does not meet the threshold for expulsion, on Monday. The panel highlighted numerous examples of actions it considered improper, including Edwards providing the young women with lavish and recurrent gifts, making comments regarding their appearance and dress, inviting them to intimate dinners and vacations, and sending notes regarding his affection.

Edwards denied that any of his conduct was intended as a sexual or romantic advance, but the committee said his behavior would “lead a reasonable observer to interpret it as such.”

“Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life,” Edwards said in a post on X. “Thank you for your trust, prayers, and support. God bless WNC and America.”

GOP colleague says it's good Edwards quit the race

North Carolina Republican Sen. Ted Budd said Edwards "did the right thing by withdrawing from the race.”

In a statement, the senator said the congressman has been “a fighter for the people of Western North Carolina as they work to recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene, and I know he’ll continue to advocate for disaster funding for the remainder of his time in D.C.”

Budd’s spokesman, Christian McMullen, said the senator found the House Ethics Committee's report on Edwards “deeply concerning" and believed the congressman already faced a significant uphill battle trailing in the polls even before the report's publication. He declined to say whether the senator asked his colleague to step aside, saying the senator does not discuss private conversations.

Edwards’ attorneys call censure ‘harsh’

The Ethic Committee described Edwards' actions as “beyond inappropriate” but said it found no evidence that he explicitly propositioned any people under his employ or engaged in any sexual activity with them.

In a response to the Ethics Committee's report, Edwards’ attorneys argued that the committee’s findings “exonerate” the congressman. His attorneys said the recommendation of censure was an “extraordinarily harsh and infrequent punishment” based on vague standards, “not based on a direct violation of House rules addressing sexual misconduct.”

State law requires Edwards to put his intent to withdraw in writing and submit it to the state Board of Elections before ballots are mailed to overseas voters and the military. The Republican executive committee in Edwards' 11th Congressional District will meet next week to select a nominee for the midterm election.

“The people of Western North Carolina deserve a strong conservative voice on the ballot this November, and our Party is prepared to move through this process quickly and efficiently,” state GOP Chairman Jason Simmons said in a statement.

House GOP majority is at stake in the midterms

The political upheaval in North Carolina adds to the difficulty Republicans face as they work to keep their slim majority control of the House this fall.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is already juggling other disruptions, including in Ohio, where Republican Rep. Max Miller faces his own ethics investigation in a district that typically has been favorable to the GOP.

Johnson, R-La., has remained upbeat about his party's chances of keeping House control, but he can only afford to lose a few seats that will make the difference between which party holds the powerful speaker's gavel.

The seat Edwards will be vacating encompasses much of the rural western part of the state but also progressive Asheville, and it has been one to watch as a bellwether in the race for the House, as Republicans and Democrats battle for party control.

Even before the decision by Edwards to step aside, election analysts had shifted their assessment of the race from one that was more favorable to Republicans to more competitive.

Democrats, who have nominated farmer Jamie Ager as their candidate, have poured attention on the district as one to flip to their column.

Republicans had wanted Edwards to step aside and believe the seat is still winnable for the GOP, hoping to mount a fresh campaign with a new candidate.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

The state Tass and RIA Novosti agencies said that Vladimir Tkachuk was hospitalized in grave condition following the explosion late Tuesday in Bolshoy Istok just outside Yekaterinburg, 1,400 kilometers (about 870 miles) east of Moscow.

There was no immediate comment from the authorities.

Tkachuk headed the Uraldronzavod factory that manufactures Upyr (Russian for Ghoul) drones. Tkachuk, a small-scale entrepreneur, set up a team of engineers that developed the Upyr and organized its production near Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city and a key industrial hub in the Ural Mountains.

The Upyr, a cheap and simple first-person view drone, was hailed by troops for the protection it offers against jamming. In September 2024, Tkachuk was pictured presenting his designs to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a display of military drones in St. Petersburg.

Tkachuk, an ardent supporter of the Kremlin's military action in Ukraine, also has run the Obsessed with War channel that has over 650,000 followers on the Telegram messaging app. A message posted on the channel Wednesday said that he was in emergency care in stable condition after an attempt on his life.

Kommersant said that a week ago, the head of another maker of drones for the Russian military, Andrei Cherezov, was shot and wounded in the city of Tula.

Russian authorities have blamed Kyiv for a series of bombings and other attacks against senior military officials and public figures after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

The explosion followed Saturday's deadly bombing at an upscale Moscow restaurant, which the Russian Embassy in Rome blamed on Ukraine, describing it as an attempt to intimidate the Italian community in Russia. It said in a statement Monday that the attack on the Balzi Rossi restaurant killed five and injured 19.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reposted the embassy statement without comment, and Russia's security agencies haven't named the suspected culprits. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has described the bombing as a “brutal terrorist act,” but did not say who was responsible.

Several Russian media outlets claimed the bombing targeted a Russian general who was celebrating his birthday at the restaurant. Some claimed that the general was Col.-Gen. Alexander Chaiko, who led the troops that made a botched attempt to storm the Ukrainian capital in 2022 and recently was appointed the chief of Russia’s aerospace forces. The claims could not be independently verified.

Disney also announced a global short-form content sharing deal with TikTok on Wednesday. The agreement will bring Disney-focused fan-created content from TikTok to the Disney+ app.

Shares climbed nearly 3% in early morning trading on Wednesday.

The Walt Disney Co. cautioned earlier this year that its theme parks division would likely see modest growth due in part to declining tourism from abroad.

International tourism in the U.S. has waned for a number of reasons after President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, including tariffs, a crackdown on immigrants, and repeated jabs at alliednations.

The Experiences division, which includes Disney’s six global theme parks, its cruise line, merchandise and video game licensing, reported that operating income climbed 20% to $3.02 billion and revenue totaled $9.97 billion. Operating income rose 27% at domestic parks, while operating income declined 13% for international parks and Experiences.

Overall attendance at U.S. parks climbed 3% from a year ago on an increase in attendance from domestic tourists and annual passholders. The company said the performance was also helped by summer promotions and new experiences being offered at the parks.

CEO Josh D'Amaro, during a conference call after the first full quarter he has overseen since taking over for Bob Iger about five months ago, said that spending was also up at domestic parks despite the current economic uncertainty.

“The consistent investments that we’ve made over time, combined with the fact that the experience Disney provides to its fans, it’s truly differentiated and highly valued,” he said.

The growth in attendance at parks is being driven by U.S. residents, but Disney is also seeing more robust traffic at domestic parks from overseas visitors.

D’Amaro became the 9th CEO of the 100 plus-year-old company after overseeing Disney theme parks, cruises and resorts for about six years.

Disney got a substantial boost from “Toy Story 5” during the third quarter, which has already pulled in $1 billion at the box office globally. The film boosted interest in other Toy Story films on Disney+ as well, and Toy Story merchandise sales helped give the company its strongest quarter of year-over-year growth in consumer products revenue in 20 quarters. The company also noted the strong performance of “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” particularly overseas.

Revenue for the entertainment streaming business - which includes Disney+ and Hulu - climbed 11% to $5.53 billion. The results were helped by adding more subscribers, price increases and higher advertising revenue.

Disney continues its transformation from cable to streaming entertainment as viewers cut the cord in huge numbers.

The company on Wednesday announced that it is selling its 50% stake in A+E Global Media, the owner and operator of the History and Lifetime channels.

A+E Global has been a joint venture between Disney and Hearst, and an affiliate of Hearst is buying Disney's stake for $1.2 billion.

Disney earned $2.64 billion, or $1.51 per share, for the three months ended June 27. It earned $5.26 billion, or $2.92 per share, a year ago.

Removing one-time charges and benefits, earnings were $2.06 per share. That easily topped the $1.86 per share that analysts polled by FactSet predicted.

Revenue for the Burbank, California-based company rose 7% to $25.25 billion. Wall Street was looking for $25.39 billion.

Disney said it recorded an approximately $100 million tariff refund after the Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump’s most sweeping levies on trade. The company said that it may receive additional refunds in future quarters, but that the monetary amounts are expected to be insignificant.

The Fort Bend County Hazmat Response Team is assisting at the scene near U.S. 90 Alternate and Behrens Road in Beasley.

• Chipotle pulls jalapeños from some restaurants as health officials investigate salmonella outbreak

Officials said the westbound lane of U.S. 90 Alternate is closed while crews work to contain the fuel spill and safely clear the roadway.

Drivers are urged to use caution when traveling through the area, expect traffic delays and consider taking an alternate route until the cleanup is complete.

There is no word on what caused the spill or how long the lane closure is expected to last.

Performing on late-night has historically been a unique avenue for musicians hoping to access new audiences — think of a rising Chappell Roan on “The Late Show” or even The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” But when James Corden left CBS' “The Late Late Show” in 2023, his program — and its coveted performance space — was never revived. NBC's “Late Night With Seth Meyers” has cut back on live music, while ABC's “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” reduced performances to twice a week. As it stands, only NBC's “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” consistently books live performances.

Emerging artists still see incredible value in these performances — and are hopeful that nascent online programming will offer a new alternative.

Breaking through on late-night

March 3, 2014, was the day that changed everything for rock band Future Islands. The synth-pop group was a stalwart of America's underground music scene due in no small part to charismatic frontman Samuel T. Herring and his idiosyncratic voice, somewhere between Tom Waits and Rammstein's Till Lindemann. That day, they performed on “Late Show with David Letterman,” and the host was transfixed. “I'll take all of that you got!” Letterman cheered, and the DIY band was cast into true virality.

“At the time that we played Letterman, we were in a transitory period for the band,” said bassist William Cashion. They'd signed to the larger indie label 4AD Records, hired management and were promised a late-night TV spot but never thought it would pan out. “Our team, they told us, ‘It’ll be good for your fans and your friends and family, but it’s not really going to move the needle. These things don’t really do what they used to,’” he recalls.

But that wasn't the case.

“All the festivals that initially turned us down all of a sudden wanted us to come play. Everything kind of shifted after that moment,” he said. “It was definitely a huge turning point and gave the band much greater exposure.”

New media offers an alternative place for discovery

A dearth of late-night spots particularly affects independent acts — the kind that could really benefit from the exposure, just like Future Islands. Representatives for CBS, NBC and ABC did not return The Associated Press’ requests for comment.

Chloë Walsh, co-founder of publicity firm The Oriel, points to the music bookers behind the scenes. “Of course, they have to book all the biggest things in the world, but they also have things that they want to champion,” she says. Fewer slots means developing artists are competing with big names for dwindling opportunities.

But there are other avenues to discovery.

“We’re kind of an anomaly in the way that our song and that performance took off,” says Cashion. “But we’ve seen other bands have TikTok viral hits and stuff like that.”

There are many examples of artists cracking the code online: Singer-songwriter Gigi Perez's career was launched with the TikTok smash “Sailor Song,” as was Malcolm Todd's with a few viral hits, landing him a major label deal with Columbia Records. Indie band Beach Bunny saw their punky-pop go viral with “Prom Queen” just ahead of the pandemic, leading to performances on Kimmel and Fallon.

Even legacy artists are experiencing second winds of music discovery: Weezer's 2010s power-pop track “Go Away,” featuring Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, recently made the rounds on TikTok and became a top song for both on Spotify.

“It seems like a lot of different aspects of the album cycle have kind of been replaced with short-form content,” Beach Bunny singer Lili Trifilio explained. “And it is a bummer because late-night is a service to musicians in such a major way. You are helping people reach new fans.”

“And I think now a lot of the responsibility of advertising is falling on the artists to be their own late-night special on TikTok or whatever,” she continued. “I don’t think that these 30-second, one-minute self-made clips hold the same value.”

Internet creators reimagine traditional formats

“The media landscape is always changing. Sometimes that’s good for music and sometimes it’s bad for music,” says Walsh. “There’s a whole breed of young creators at the moment doing really interesting stuff. … Hopefully there will be more opportunities out there and we don’t have to rely on the networks.”

She points to “Track Star(asterisk),” the online music trivia series, which has begun hosting live performances, and to Julian Shapiro-Barnum of “Recess Therapy,” who has launched a late-night YouTube show, “Outside Tonight,” that features live performances.

Shapiro-Barnum says “Outside Tonight” was born out of necessity. “We know that the entertainment industry is hard to break into. And so, what’s been so cool about digital media is that it’s circumvented that,” he says.

“How can we do late night, but different?” was his approach. The show takes place outdoors, bypassing a traditional studio. The musical bookings also lean independent. Recent performers include rapper Erick the Architect, indie rock soloist Annie DiRusso and the multi-instrumentalist and experimentalist L'Rain.

“There was no version of the show that didn’t have music,” he says. “To me, it feels like a staple.”

Beach Bunny performed during the first “Outside Tonight” episode.

“It’s so cool to see people that are like movers and makers be like, ‘Hey, this is a gap I’m seeing. Late-night is being placed on the back burner. We need to revive this; I’m gonna figure it out,’” Trifilio said. “I hope that it inspires other people to step up.”

She sees it as part of a larger YouTube renaissance, shifting away from prioritizing short-form content.

“I think that people are yearning for some longer-format stuff,” she says.

The power for live performance is exposure — not sales

In traditional late-night TV spots, artists benefit from exposure — but that doesn't necessarily mean a jump in sales. Ideally, that will also translate to these new media spaces.

“It’s a showcase for touring. And that’s really where artists make their money,” says Walsh. “People say, ‘It doesn’t really give you a bump if you’re on a late-night TV show.’ They’re looking at the sales, they’re not looking at a promoter in Minneapolis going, ‘Oh my god, I want that,’ or a radio playlist director saying, ‘Oh that was fantastic, we should add that.’”

“Every musical guest who’s come on ‘Outside Tonight,’ everyone in the crew, everyone in the audience, has not stopped listening,” says Shapiro-Barnum. “In real time, it spreads and creates all these fans. So, I have to imagine that happens online as well.”

But for many, landing a late-night TV performance is still the north star of a press run.

“For a lot of people — especially international artists that are coming to slog it out across the U.S. in some club shows they may not even be headlining — if you could get on ‘Jimmy Kimmel,’ it’s like we’ve cracked it,” says Walsh. “The whole thing was worth it. And that’s huge.”

Our mid-week forecast will bring more heat and a few storms for the evening commute. Temperatures climb to the upper 90s with a 20% chance of more thunderstorms. The heat index will range between 104°-106° in the afternoon.

Some storms could be slightly aggressive if they are slow to move, similar to what we saw on Tuesday with storms dropping 2-4″ along the Tomball Parkway.

Thursday’s forecast:

Our next weather pattern change occurs Thursday. An area of high pressure develops to the east of us. That will bring a richer flow of air from the Gulf. Three things occur when this happens. First, we’ll get a little more active sea breeze which will create hit and miss afternoon storms.

Second, this flow will increase the humidity and cloud cover. Third, temperatures will lower. Don’t get too excited about this. While temperatures will be slightly lower, with a higher humidity the heat index will not change. It will feel just has steamy as does right now.

Tracking the tropics:

August is the “real” start of the hurricane season. 93% of hurricanes form after August 3rd. However, this is not your typical hurricane season. With an incredibly strong El Nino the numbers will be kept way down this season. No storms are expected in the next 10 days and probably a little further than that. Wind shear in the Caribbean is the strongest it’s been since 1979. Oh, and there is some thick Saharan dust over the Atlantic. We’ll keep you posted on what’s expected for the later part of August.

10 Day Forecast:

Beginning Thursday, temperatures lower slightly and rain changes go up slightly. Our best chance of widespread heavy rain and thunderstorms is Sunday and Monday. But even an isolated storm that forms before can be strong and bring street flooding similar to what we saw Tuesday.

A rare chord change on Wednesday — from seven notes to eight — represented the completion of about 4% of the 639-year endeavor of the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt.

It was a historic moment inside the medieval Burchardi Church, in Halberstadt, Germany, that reflected the past, present and future of the project, as well as those who are following its — albeit very slow — progression.

“As fast as our world is developing, I think it’s a wonderful place to be and to come to yourself and just to be touched by this ‘being there,’"said Anneli Borgmann, chairwoman of the John Cage Organ Project Halberstadt’s board of trustees.

While the project commenced in 2000, the performance began Sept. 5, 2001 — Cage’s 89th birthday — with a silent pause that lasted until Feb. 5, 2003, when the first chords could actually be heard.

The composition — called “ORGAN²/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible)” — is scheduled to finish on Sept. 4, 2640.

An electric-powered blower system sends wind into the organ to create a continuous sound. A chord change, done manually, means that the sound of the organ pipes changes either because new sounds are added or existing sounds end.

More than 150 people squeezed inside the church Wednesday to witness what was the piece’s 17th chord change, with dozens more watching a livestream outside.

For three minutes, the crowd listened to the “old” chord with its seven pipes. Then, an eighth pipe was slotted into the small organ, bringing with it a new sound that reverberated throughout the church. The spectators listened for another three minutes — some filming with cellphones, others taking it all in with their eyes closed and heads bowed — before breaking out into applause and cries of “bravo!”

“It’s a very subtle difference,” said Jeffrey Lependorf, executive director of the John Cage Trust in New York. “There’s a higher sound that’s a little more prominent.”

Cage’s music inspires after his death

Cage, an American avant-garde composer, was born in Los Angeles in 1912 and died in New York in 1992. He was also a renowned music theorist, artist and philosopher whose only direction for this piece was to play it as slowly and as softly as possible. He initially composed it for the piano in 1985 and updated it for the organ in 1987. It was reimagined into the 639-year project after his death.

The interpretation of the composition in Halberstadt has resulted in the smallest unit being one month long. Other units — as well as silences — can last years.

The project has transformed the Burchardi Church, which was left largely in ruins before money was raised for a new roof and other fixes to make the piece a reality. The sound there envelopes visitors throughout the church and gives them new experiences to hear as they move through the empty space.

“I think it really is the organ playing the church and not the other way around,” Lependorf said. “You move two inches in any direction and it sounds not subtly different — very different.”

Generations of stewards ensure organ’s future

The piece will last 639 years, from 2001 to 2640. The time frame was chosen to be a tribute to a historic organ in Halberstadt that dates back to 1361, or 639 years before the project was initiated in 2000, according to Borgmann.

The time frame allows the project’s stewards and visitors to contemplate not only Cage’s legacy but their own as guardians of an organ that will outlive them as each chord change depends upon a new generation of musicians, volunteers and craftspeople to keep the piece going.

Cage fan Michael Barnett, 55, from Glasgow, in Scotland, said attending the chord change was a bucket list item.

“This is just one of those things, one of those unique things in the world of music,” he said. “It comes up and you think ‘I just want to do this thing once.’”

Barnett and other enthusiasts also debate what the world will look like by the end of the piece.

“You just wonder what will be left here in 600-odd years time,” Barnett said. “Who will come to the last performance? Will the building still be here? Will the organ still work? What will the world be like?”

The organ, at least, is built to last.

Organ builder Johannes Hüfken said the pipes he’s crafted for this will last at least another 500 years.

“This John Cage project is a good example of thinking ahead for the next generation — thinking outside the box, beyond the completely normal and traditional,” he said.

The next chord change will take place on Oct. 5, 2027, when the overall sound will be reduced by releasing the E4 pipe.

Inheritable “final tickets” for the Sept. 4, 2640, finale are already being sold for 2,640 euros ($3,045).

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Markus Schreiber contributed to this report.

The Metropolitan Police said early indications suggest it was a mental health-related incident and that scissors were recovered at the scene. Police said four men aged 34, 39, 42 and 52 were found with stab wounds and a 47-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and assault.

The injured were taken to a trauma center following the incident Wednesday afternoon on Endell Street. Two were discharged and two remained with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.

“While still at an early stage of the investigation, we would like to reassure the community that we currently believe this to be an isolated, mental health-related incident," Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart said.

A manager of a fish and chip shop near the scene said random people were stabbed.

“I didn’t see any scissors, but I heard it was with small scissors,” Arjan Gjorga said, adding that "the police responded immediately.”

In an update, deputies later confirmed the man died from his injuries after being taken to a local hospital.

According to preliminary information, a branch came into contact with a nearby power line, triggering an electrical incident. EMS was on scene as first responders worked the call.

• 2 teenage suspects shot by guard after attempted armored truck robbery in SW Houston

Officials used the term “electrocuted” in their initial report. In general, electrocution refers to being injured or killed by an electric shock.

Deputies asked people to avoid the immediate area so crews have room to work.

It's dangerous to look directly at the sun without proper eye protection. But researchers were able to peek at its scorching surface with the help of the National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, located on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

Scientists originally took the images for a different reason: to fine-tune and test the limits of the telescope. But when they looked at the results, they realized they'd photographed the sun's bright outer shell at higher resolution than ever before.

What's more, they saw strange feathery patterns rippling across the surface.

“That reminds me of famous paintings, like the swirling skies in Van Gogh's Starry Night,” said solar physicist Ruizhu Chen with Stanford University, who was not involved with the new research.

Researchers saw ripples of instability on the sun's surface caused by bits of magnetized plasma moving past each other at different speeds — similar to waves that stir when a gust of wind blows over water. It's a well-known phenomenon that guides how fluids move.

This has been glimpsed on Earth and other planets like Jupiter and Saturn, but “it has not been observed ever at that level on the solar surface,” according to study co-author Friedrich Wöger with the National Solar Observatory.

The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Scientists are curious about the sun's inner workings to better track massive bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections that can hurl toward Earth. When they hit, they can trigger solar storms, potentially scrambling GPS communications and producing colorful auroras.

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

It wasn’t Sanders juking half the defense on one of his dynamic touchdown runs. Instead, the Hall of Fame running back who inspired a generation of running backs with his sensational, elusive, shifty style was walking up and down the sideline handing out refreshments to his teammates.

“They were talking about how great of a player he was but they had a clip of him holding Gatorade cups and he’s walking down,” Barkley said on the AP’s “On Football” podcast. “He is going to his teammates and just the way that he carried himself. So I would say I have to give my flowers to him there.”

Barkley joined Sanders as one of nine players to rush for 2,000 yards in a season in 2024 when he was the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and helped the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl.

Barkley demonstrated he’s a team-first player by sitting out the final regular-season game when he needed 101 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s record. Earlier in the season, he told coach Nick Sirianni to let other backs get some carries after he had already rushed for 176 yards against his former Giants teammates and needed 14 more in the fourth quarter to set a new career-high.

Barkley finished with an NFL-record 2,504 combined rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs.

He credits his parents, Alibay Barkley and Tonya Johnson, for instilling in him an unselfish mindset.

“Just how my parents raised me,” he said. “Everything, who I am a person, it stems from my family, my brothers and sisters, and the coaches that I had growing up. But I don’t think you should get flowers for being a great teammate. I don’t think anything that I’ve done or that I said is rare. At least it shouldn’t be rare. It should be the norm, and it is the norm. I might have just got caught on camera, or I might've had an article written about me, but there’s other stuff that I have done that’s behind the scenes, and I have multiple teammates that have done great things for me, too. And it’s a winning culture. You want to create that culture. If you want to win football games, you want to be competing for championships, that matters. And I bought into that at a very young age and I think that’s what, I guess you could say, separated me.”

Barkley’s first season in Philadelphia after playing his first six with the New York Giants couldn’t have been scripted any better. He followed up his All-Pro campaign with 1,140 yards rushing in 2025 behind a banged-up offensive line.

The Eagles won 11 games, captured their second straight division title but lost a wild-card game to San Francisco. An inconsistent offense cost offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo his job.

Championship parades are the new standard in Philadelphia.

Some athletes don’t want to play in a pressure-packed environment. Barkley loves it.

“I embrace it. I don’t think pressure is a real thing from the outside force,” Barkley said. “You have to hold yourself to a high standard. I know Philly holds us to a higher standard already, but I feel like the way I carry myself and how I train and the standard I hold myself, I fit right into the city and into this fan base. ... You want to win every year. That’s the goal.”

Barkley’s acrobatic backward hurdle over a Jaguars player during the 2024 season ended up being the Madden 2026 cover. It also inspired DIRECTV’s recent campaign featuring Barkley jumping through hoops, flipping over a utility cart and hopping onto a crossbar.

“Watching football shouldn’t feel like jumping through hoops. That’s why I have DIRECTV,” Barkley says in the television commercial.

Of course, he lauded the brand’s team spirit.

“The kind of culture that they have and the day I was able to spend with them, I was knocked away and I’m just thankful for the opportunity,” he said.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The move Tuesday closes the book on the Jan. 6 cases that were wiped out with Republican President Donald Trump's sweeping pardons and commutations last year, freeing from prison people convicted of violent of assaults on police and other crimes.

The Department of Justice in April acted to vacate the convictions of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and others in the seditious conspiracy case who had their sentences commuted but did not receive pardons. It was a stunning reversal from the Democratic Biden administration, which hailed the guilty verdicts in one of the most serious cases stemming from the Capitol attack.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who oversaw the Oath Keepers' trials, criticized the department's move, writing in his ruling that the government "asks to absolve these Defendants of crimes against the United States itself." But Mehta wrote that he had no choice but to grant the administration's request.

“This is the last of the prosecutions seeking to hold accountable those responsible for the events of Jan. 6. That book is now closed,” wrote Mehta, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama.

“Today’s epilogue diminishes the gravity of that day, denigrates the work of the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who secured these convictions, and excuses criminal acts that caused a centuries-long pillar of our democracy — the peaceful transfer of presidential power — to buckle. The court cannot write a different ending,” he wrote.

Juries in the nation's capital convicted Oath Keepers leaders and members of another group, the Proud Boys, of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Trump’s 2020 election loss to Biden. Rhodes was released from prison in January 2025 after Trump commuted the 18-year sentence he received in the case.

Rhodes, who did not enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, has denied any wrongdoing and described himself at his 2023 sentencing as a “political prisoner.” James Lee Bright, an attorney who represented Rhodes at trial, wrote in a text message that he was “disappointed in the tenor" of Mehta's opinion, adding that it was “not necessary to inject his personal opinions in such a fashion.”

Trump has argued that the Jan. 6 defendants were treated unfairly by the justice system, saying the pardons were intended to end “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people” and begin “a process of national reconciliation.”

More than 1,200 people across the United States were convicted of Jan. 6 crimes, including roughly 200 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement.

Most of the Jan. 6 defendants were granted “full, complete and unconditional” pardons, while Rhodes and other defendants in the seditious conspiracy cases only had their sentences commuted. Trump also ordered the attorney general to seek the dismissal of roughly 450 cases that were pending before judges stemming from the largest investigation in Justice Department history.

They made camp in tents and the backs of cars. One truck parked sideways across the road. They awoke at 3 a.m., their headlamps tracing the ground, as they took their positions.

An hour later, headlights appeared in the distance. A logging truck slowed, idled, then turned around. Nobody got out. Nobody spoke.

It was a small, inconclusive victory in a fight that has spanned generations. But for those gathered in the forest, it mattered.

“There is no dispute about what happened to our land,” said Bill Jones, a First Nations Pacheedaht elder who sat in the road as daylight crept in. At 86, he’s watched the forests on his nation’s territory disappear for most of his adult life. He started logging himself at age 18, he said, before he understood what he was helping to dismantle.

“There’s nothing left — it’s practically naked, bare,” he said. “There’s few remnants here and there, and so we have to save what we can.”

Vancouver Island’s old-growth rainforests are among the rarest ecosystems on Earth

Coastal temperate rainforests cover barely half a percent of Earth’s land surface. Vancouver Island’s remaining stands — some are home to thousand-year-old trees — store more carbon per hectare than nearly any other forest system, according to the Sierra Club of British Columbia.

Yet trees that took a millennium to grow can be felled in under an hour. Since industrial logging began more than a century ago, most of Vancouver Island’s productive old-growth forests — those capable of growing the large trees characteristic of the island’s rainforests — have been cut. About 20% of those forests remain, according to the Sierra Club, and most of what remains is still open to logging.

Old-growth western red cedar, defined by the province as trees 250 years or older, produces wood so durable and rot-resistant that it fetches significantly higher prices than other local species. It’s widely used in construction and, despite recent tariffs, the United States remains a major export market. Second-growth forests, by contrast, are younger stands that regenerated after previous logging and produce less-durable wood products.

Although the province says more than 11 million hectares of old growth remain, scientists say there is only about 415,000 hectares of productive old growth capable of growing the largest trees.

The fight is not unique to British Columbia. During what became known as the Timber Wars of the late 1980s and 1990s, activists occupied giant redwoods, chained themselves to logging equipment and blockaded roads across California, Oregon and Washington. The battles ultimately helped secure protections for many of the remaining ancient forests.

The conflict has flared for decades

More than 850 people were arrested during the 1993 “War in the Woods” protests at Clayoquot Sound. Nearly 30 years later, more than 1,100 were arrested at Fairy Creek, where blockades won temporary protections now set to expire in September.

As old-growth logging has continued elsewhere on the island, activists are again returning to the forests.

In the Walbran Valley, also on Pacheedaht territory, logging by Tsawak-qin Forestry, a company co-owned by the Huu-ay-aht First Nation and forestry giant Western Forest Products, has exposed tensions over whether forests on traditional territories should be managed for economic development, conservation, or both, and who within Indigenous communities can decide.

British Columbia’s forests minister, Ravi Parmar, said that if a long-term agreement with the Pacheedaht Nation is not reached before the Fairy Creek deferral expires he would seek another extension.

The province says it has deferred or protected 2.4 millions of hectares of old growth since 2021, but critics say most of those measures are temporary and some deferred areas continue to be logged. At the same time, British Columbia Premier David Eby's government has pledged to increase timber harvests in an effort to revitalize the forestry sector. Opponents argue those goals are incompatible.

The ecological consequences of losing what remains would be extensive

Some coastal old-growth stands on Vancouver Island have not experienced a major disturbance since the end of the last ice age some 12,000 years ago. Their layered canopies, nurse logs and ancient root systems create habitat for hundreds of species, including threatened marbled murrelet seabirds and salmon.

“Once an old-growth forest is logged, it will require millennia before it has the structure, composition and function of the forest that was logged — if in fact it can ever recover in times of changing climate,” said Andy MacKinnon, a forest ecologist in British Columbia.

The forests also drive tourism, which some researchers argue outweighs their value as lumber. Visitors from around the world flock to the island's ancient groves to experience towering, moss-draped cedars and Douglas firs.

Still, the transition away from old-growth logging cannot happen overnight, said Parmar, the forests minister.

He pointed to the province's old-growth deferrals and protections, alongside investments in second-growth hemlock milling, as evidence that British Columbia is moving away from dependence on old-growth timber. He said the industry is also under pressure from U.S. tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber, which now top 45%.

“Forestry is the foundation of our economy. It provides good paying, family supporting jobs — about 100,000 direct and indirect,” he said. “If we were to shut down harvesting of all old forests here in British Columbia, it would shut down our sector completely on day one.”

For some, the fight to protect old growth is personal

“This is our ivory trade,” said Steven “Shambu” Daniluk, a longtime blockader who spent nearly two years on the front lines at Fairy Creek. But unlike the illegal poaching of elephants, much of the world remains unaware of what is happening in British Columbia’s forests, he said.

“People feel unheard,” he said. “Being engaged in this way, risking that arrest, is the only way.”

Veronika Sitar, an outdoor enthusiast from Campbell River, has found her own way of reckoning with the losses. Most weekends she drives and hikes hours into the backcountry to document old-growth stands before the loggers reach them — spending time, she said, with trees she fears won’t be there when she returns.

On a recent trip into the north island’s Prince of Wales range, she pushed through dense undergrowth and snaked around thorny plants to reach General Buxton, one of the largest yellow cedars in British Columbia. She was still catching her breath when she spotted flagging tape just 200 feet (60 meters) away, marking the route of a proposed logging road.

“I don’t want to get too attached knowing what will be logged,” she said.

Back at the blockade, word spread of a new area where logging was being planned, this time on Ditidaht First Nation territory to the north. They began making calls, hoping to connect with local land defenders.

Jones, the Pacheedaht elder, said he was troubled not just by the loss of the forests, but by people's connection to them and, in turn, to themselves. That, he said, is why they continue to protect the remaining old growth.

“We’re just fighting over the leftovers.”

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Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram: @ahammergram.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

Note: Availability is typically first-come, first-served and may be limited while supplies last. Some events require kids to be present to receive items.

19th Annual Back to School Drive, Health Fair & Business Expo

• When: Saturday, July 25 | 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Where: PlazAmericas Mall 2nd Floor, 201 Sharpstown Center, Houston
• What to know: This is a free, family event giving out 5,000 backpacks and school supplies; free immunizations and medical screenings; health and wellness resources; business expo exhibitors; and family activities.

Operation Backpack (Attorney Brian White) — 3,000 filled backpacks + free entertainment

• When: Saturday, July 25 | 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
• Where: Launch Family Entertainment, 13331 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77077
• What to know: Organizers say the event will distribute 3,000 backpacks filled with essential school supplies. Families will also get free admission to Launch during the event, with access to attractions (including trampolines and other activities).
• Details: Backpacks are available while supplies last; children must be present to receive a backpack.

Vida City Church Back 2 School Bash

• When: Saturday, July 25 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Where: Vida City Church Houston, 1300 W Mount Houston Road, Houston
• What to know: Organizers are offering free backpacks and school supplies in addition to community resources.

Verizon retailer Round Room “School Rocks” Backpack Giveaway (Houston-area locations)

• When: Sunday, July 26 | Starts at 1 p.m. (lines expected before start)
• Where (Houston area):
• • 3420 7th Street, Bay City
  • 1140 North FM 3083 West Road, Suite 300, Conroe
  • 27117 Fulshear Bend Dr., Ste 200, Fulshear
  • 3351 Clear Lake City Blvd., Ste 600, Houston
• What to know: Round Room, a Verizon authorized retailer, says it is giving away $3 million worth of free backpacks nationwide during its annual “School Rocks” event.

Pasadena to Fill the Bus for Local Students

• When: Monday, July 27 | 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Where: Pasadena Convention Center, 7902 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena
• What to know: The City of Pasadena is collecting donated school supplies for students. Community members will then deliver the supplies throughout the day. Volunteers will receive and organize the donations.

Back to School Community Giveaway (Attorney Kristopher A. Alvarez) - school supplies giveaways + free food

• When: Wednesday, July 29 | 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
• Where: 6841 Avenue I, Houston
• What to know: Organizers said the event will offer free backpacks with school supplies. There will also be food and drinks, games, activities, free haircuts and live entertainment. More than 200 children are registered for the event, organizers say.

Buckner Family Hope Center Back-to-School Health Fair & Backpack Distribution

• When: Friday, July 31 | 12 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Where: Buckner Children and Family Services of Houston, 8600 Sweetwater Lane, Houston
• What to know: The Buckner Family Hope Center will be distributing backpacks with school supplies to 1,000 kids in Houston’s northside in addition to shoes. Organizers said there will also be community and health resources. Families can also enjoy activities like arts and crafts.

Houston Rockets annual Back-to-School Bash powered by Reliant

• When: Friday, July 31 | 4 p.m.-7 p.m.
• Where: Sunnyside Community Center, 3502 West Bellfort Avenue, Houston
• What to know: The Houston Rockets and Reliant, in partnership with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, are hosting their annual back-to-school event, offering free backpacks and school supplies. Organizers say each backpack will also include vouchers for Chick-fil-A and Pizza Hut locations. Hall of Famer and Comets legend Cynthia Cooper, Rockets legend Rafer Alston, and more prominent figures will be making appearances. Organizers say there will also be free health screenings and family activities.

The Mayor’s Back 2 School & Health Fair presented by Shell

• When: Saturday, Aug. 1 | 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Where: George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas, Houston
• What to know: The Houston Mayor’s Office will be holding its 16th annual back-to-school fair with backpack and school supply giveaways in addition to free health/dental screenings and routine immunizations. Make sure to register your student beforehand.

HISD “Ready, Set, School!” Back-to-School Resource Fair & School Supply Giveaway

• When: Saturday, Aug. 1 | 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
• Where: Delmar Fieldhouse, 2020 Mangum Road, Houston, TX 77092
• What to know: Houston ISD says families can receive free backpacks and school supplies, plus free routine health screenings.
• Extras: District teams including enrollment, transportation and nutrition will be available to help families get ready for the school year.

YES Prep Public Schools Backpack Giveaway & Back-to-School Fair

• When: Saturday, Aug. 1 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Where: YES Prep West Elementary, 9910 Sharpcrest Street, Houston
• What to know: YES Prep Public Schools is giving away 300 backpacks full of school supplies to students ahead of the 2026-27 academic year. Organizers said there will also be free vaccines and free/low-cost haircuts. The event is open to the public and will also feature family activities, community resources, and special appearances from local leaders.

Fellowship of Love Church Operation Backpack Drop

• When: Saturday, Aug. 1 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Where: Missing Bend Boys & Girls Club, 8709 Addicks Clodine Road, Houston
• What to know: Love Works is holding their annual school supplies giveaway and health fair. Organizers say the first 300 school-aged children will receive free sneakers. There will also be family activities at the event.

IDEA Public Schools Backpacks for Bright Futures

• When: Saturday, Aug. 1 | 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Where: IDEA Hardy Academy and College Preparatory, 1930 Little York Road, Houston
• What to know: IDEA Public Schools is hosting a free back-to-school backpack giveaway for the first 600 students at the event. Parents and guardians must be present with their children in order to receive the supplies. More community resources, giveaways, games and vendors will be at the event, organizers said.

Revive Fest 2026 - Christian Hip Hop performances + school supply drive

• When: Saturday, Aug. 1 | 12 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Where: Life Community Baptist Church, 2626 Avenue N, Rosenberg
• What to know: A back-to-school drive will be taking place at Life Community Baptist Church’s Revive Fest for students. Organizers say this is part of the larger community event, which includes family activities, live Christian hip-hop performances, food, giveaways and a basketball tournament.

Harris County Precinct 4 Free Snow Cones

• When: Monday, Aug. 3 | 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Where: 6817 Cypresswood Drive, Spring
• What to know: Harris County Precinct 4 leaders are holding a free snow cone event for community members to kick off the new school year. Note: This event is not a school supplies drive or giveaway.

Free Back-to-School Immunization Clinic (State Rep. Suleman Lalani, M.D.)

• When: Tuesday, Aug. 4 | 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Where: Office of Rep. Suleman Lalani, 12550 Emily Ct, Suite 300, Sugar Land
• What to know: State Representative Suleman Lalani in partnership with the Texas Children’s Hospital is holding a free immunization clinic for Medicaid-eligible and uninsured children. Organizers said walk-ins are okay, but appointments are recommended and can be scheduled by calling 832-824-6355. Organizers said parents and guardians should bring their child’s immunization records. Note: This event is not offering school supplies.

Boykins Youth Foundations 12th annual Back-2-School Drive & Free Haircuts

• When: Wednesday, Aug. 5 | 8 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Where: Evan E. Worthing High School, 9215 Scott Street, Houston
• What to know: Boykins Youth Foundations and community partners are holding their annual back-to-school event offering free school supplies, backpacks and uniforms. Organizers say there will also be free haircuts and hairstyles on offer, in addition to free physicals and eye exams.

Harris Health Back-to-School Health & Wellness Fair + free school supplies

• When: Saturday, Aug. 8 | 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Where: Strawberry Health Center, 927 Shaw Ave, Pasadena
• What to know: Harris Health is offering back-to-school vaccines and health screenings. Organizers said the first 225 school-ages children will get free backpacks with school supplies. The Houston Food Bank will also provide free food to families, while supplies last. Harris Health is also offering mammogram screenings for attendees, but they must be scheduled in advance by calling 281-454-0913.

Judge Bob Wolfe Back to School Supply Giveaway

• When: Saturday, Aug. 8 | 10 a.m.
• Where: 16715 Clay Road, Houston
• What to know: Precinct 5, Place 2 Justice of the Peace Bob Wolfe is holding a back-to-school supply giveaway until supplies last. Organizers say there will be free food and drinks, too. Children must be present in order to receive supplies, according to the judge.

Community Back-to-School Bash for Families (Attorney Cherika Edwards)

• When: Saturday, Aug. 15 | 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Where: 3310 West Fuqua Drive, Houston
• What to know: The Law Office of Cherika Edwards is holding its annual back-to-school event, offering free school supplies (while supplies last), free food, free family activities, and community resources.

Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law — $200 gift card giveaway (Texas residents)

This is a statewide drawing (not an in-person Houston backpack event), but it may still help some families.

• What: The firm says it will award 15 Texas residents a $200 gift card through a random drawing.
• Deadline: Runs through 10 a.m. CT on Aug. 19 (per the announcement).

Have a giveaway to add?

Send details (date, time, address, what’s being given away, and any registration requirements) to Desk@kprc.com and we can update this list.

Now, he can feed Bailey spoons of peanut butter while she lies on his lap and play fetch with her in Central Park. His allergies didn't go away: Bailey's saliva and hair no longer contain a key allergy-causing protein.

“The feeling right now is sort of a mix of relief and awe and gratitude that it worked,” said Walker, a geneticist. His company, Kindred Companion Sciences, created Bailey and her twin Alfie using a Nobel Prize-winning technique called CRISPR.

It'll take years before the millions who suffer from dog-related allergies can walk into a pet store and buy a pooch like Alfie or Bailey.

Scientists have to monitor the long-term health effects of the genetic tweak, and find ways to commercialize the approach to make it affordable. And experts not involved with the effort say it could hurt shelter and rescue animals waiting to be adopted.

“It opens the door to a lot more people being able to own pets. On the negative side, it may discourage people from trying to use strays and unwanted animals that are not engineered to be allergy-free,” said bioethicist Arthur Caplan with New York University's Grossman School of Medicine.

Researchers have tried to create hypoallergenic pets before, mostly using cloning. But this led to sicker pups that were too genetically similar. Two years ago, researchers used CRISPR to reduce levels of an allergy-causing protein in a cat named Alsik. But it's not yet clear whether this technique is safe to be tested on other cats.

Dogs that shed less, like poodles, are often thought of as hypoallergenic. But these pups still produce allergy-causing proteins that end up in their saliva, hair and dander, so they can still make people sniffly.

To create Alfie and Bailey, scientists started in the lab. They edited the genetic code inside dog skin cells, switching off the main gene responsible for producing allergy-causing proteins. Then they transferred the edited genetic code into eggs that went into a beagle surrogate that gave birth to two healthy female pups in September 2024. Scientists tested their saliva and fur and didn’t find signs of the allergy-causing protein.

They also performed an allergy test, pricking Walker's skin with extracts from Alfie and Bailey's saliva and dander. His skin reacted to samples from a poodle and goldendoodle, but not from the beagles.

The research, published Wednesday in the CRISPR Journal, is the first time such an approach has been tried successfully in dogs.

Walker says all dogs have the same allergy-causing gene that was edited in Alfie and Bailey. Kindred Companion Sciences hopes to test the technique on other dogs and service animals to see if they can breed an allergy-free line of pups beyond beagles.

Future research should test the gene-edited hypoallergenic dogs on more people with pet allergies to be sure they can soothe symptoms across a broader swath of the human population, said Dr. Jeff SoRelle, a pathologist at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Since the switched-off gene is the main — but not the only — allergy-causing culprit in dogs that was tested, “we don't exactly know just how effective or broadly useful this could be for stopping dog allergy in humans,” said SoRelle, who had no role in the study.

Bailey lives with Walker in New York, and Alfie lives in Florida with another Kindred scientist. The edit made to their genes is rare but does occur naturally in some dogs, so Walker said it's unlikely to have any negative effects on the pups. But it will still be important to monitor them at routine vet visits and make sure they stay healthy.

Walker has had Bailey for a little over a year and says she's become a member of the family.

Despite being a lifelong dog lover, his allergies kept him away from pups growing up. Even breeds that were supposed to be more hypoallergenic, like his family's goldendoodle, gave him itchy eyes and painful rashes.

But he and Bailey can play tug-of-war together in his living room, and she snuggles at his feet to comfort him when he’s sick.

“It feels just amazing to get to have a dog,” Walker said.

___

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

The move brings the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's list of targets to 58, an ambitious list that reflects Trump's diminished standing with the electorate and Democrats' belief that they can capitalize on voters' frustrations over the economy, the war in Iran and the chaotic nature of the Republican president's second administration.

“MAGA Republicans who historically have considered themselves ‘safe’ have let down the people they were elected to represent, passing disastrous policies that are crushing working families and our communities,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement.

The expansion spans from GOP-held districts in swing states like Nevada to those in Republican strongholds Indiana, Arkansas and Tennessee and Democratic-dominated New York. The list includes DelBene's counterpart at the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina. The targets include other incumbents and some open seats.

Democrats need just a handful of seats to erase Republicans' narrow majority and control the chamber for the final two years of Trump's tenure. Republicans lost a net of 40 House seats in the 2018 midterms during Trump’s first presidency.

Here's a look at some notable new Democratic targets:

— NORTH CAROLINA 9TH: It's notable for Democrats to target House Republicans' campaign chairman. Trump won the district by 15 percentage points in 2024 against the Democrats' presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. But Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein carried it in the same election cycle in his successful campaign for governor. Democrats note that since 2020, the district has gained 15,000 Black voters, who tend to vote for Democrats. The Democratic nominee is Richard Ojeda, who ran for Congress in West Virginia in 2018. He lost but got 44% of the vote in a district where Democrat Hillary Clinton got only 24% in the 2016 presidential election against Trump.

— ARKANSAS 2ND: Democrat Chris Jones, the party's 2022 governor's race nominee, is trying to unseat six-term Rep. French Hill in a district that once elected moderate Democrats. Trump won the district by 16 percentage points. The electorate is about 20% Black and has a growing Asian and Latino population. Democrats point to the March primary turnout, when Democratic ballots outnumbered Republican ballots for the first time since the 2018 primaries.

— FLORIDA 12TH: Held by Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis, this is one of the districts affected by Republicans' gerrymandering efforts after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision gutting a Voting Rights Act provision that protected minority voting strength. But as part of the GOP redraw, Bilirakis' Tampa Bay area district became more Democratic and about 14% less white, according to the DCCC's analysis. Democrats will choose a nominee this month, but Washington party leaders are looking to Darren McAuley, a former Air Force surgeon, as the potential challenger.

— NEW YORK 21ST: Trump won this district by about 21 percentage points in 2024, but not long after that he pulled Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination for U.N. ambassador because Republicans did not want to risk the seat with their narrow House majority. Stefanik, who launched a 2026 campaign for New York governor but dropped out of that race, is not seeking reelection to Congress. Now it's an open-seat battle between Republican Anthony Constantino, a Trump-aligned businessman who is self-funding his campaign, and Democrat Blake Gendebien, a dairy farmer. The district has been represented by a Republican since 2015, but Democrat Barack Obama won it twice in presidential contests.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Each returning migrant is met with the question: Have you seen my son? My daughter? My brother?

Authorities say all but a few thousand of the 72,000 migrants who crossed into Ceuta in recent days have since returned to Morocco. Some families were relieved to welcome them home. Others were disappointed that the migration attempt failed.

Other families still wait desperately for news.

Families hold up photos of the missing

The surge to Ceuta was largely driven by poverty and fueled by online rumors that the border was open, triggering a crisis resonating across Europe. More than 80 people died on both sides of the border, according to authorities, as people swam or climbed fences in the attempt.

Nearly all of the migrants who survived were expelled by Spanish authorities or returned voluntarily after seeing they were unwelcome. Many of those who made it back borrowed phones from strangers to reassure anxious relatives because they had lost or abandoned their phones in the journey.

As the first migrants trickled back to Morocco, an Associated Press reporter watched families hold up printed photographs of missing relatives, stopping returnees one by one in hopes that someone might recognize a face.

The migrants studied each picture, offering what reassurance they could, often saying only that they hoped the missing person was safe.

“I have been looking for my son for five days now,” said Ibtissam Chari, whose son Rayan crossed with friends after hearing that the border had opened. “He called me when he arrived, and since then I haven’t heard anything from him."

Another woman stood silently facing the border. She said she has heard nothing from her 12-year-old son, who crossed into Ceuta with his older brother. Only the older one has returned.

“I have nothing else to do but come here and wait,” said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect her children. “I spend all my days here. I will come back tomorrow again.”

Facebook groups that helped the crossing seek the missing

An estimated 1,000 of the few thousand migrants estimated to remain in Ceuta are minors. Spanish security forces are not authorized by law to expel them, and their fate is uncertain.

It remains unclear whether all of the dead have been found or returned to Morocco. Local newspapers and a source at the morgue in Tetouan, the largest Moroccan city near Ceuta, said the facility had received more than a dozen bodies. Journalists were not allowed to enter. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

Meanwhile, Moroccan authorities have welded shut the small opening in the border fence that had been opened to allow many returning migrants to re-enter the country.

Facebook groups that had circulated videos showing where to swim and tracking Spanish and Moroccan patrols have now taken on a different purpose. Families post photos there of missing relatives, hoping someone has seen them.

“If anyone has seen this girl in Ceuta or Castillejos, please let us know. Her family is going crazy,” one user, Hiba Nakaax, wrote in the Facebook group Fnideq Bab Sebta.

Some parents hope their children try again for Europe

Migration has long been woven into the aspirations of many young Moroccans. Poverty and youth unemployment remain high, particularly in inland regions that have not shared in the economic gains seen along parts of the coast.

For many, Europe represents the possibility of work, stability and a different future. Last year’s youth-led Gen Z protests in Morocco reflected growing frustration over inequality and the quality of public services.

Some parents knew their children intended to make the journey.

After returning from Ceuta, 26-year-old Othmane El Merzoug was barefoot and hungry and desperate to communicate with his family. He asked to borrowed an AP reporter’s phone to call his father in the Moroccan city of Salé.

“Dad, I’ve returned from Ceuta. They didn’t allow me to stay,” he said over speakerphone. His father promised to send money to get him home.

A traumatized 17-year-old from Taounate, Mohamed Chakor, also asked to borrow a phone to call his father, who asked for help in finding other ways to reach Europe.

___

Majd Semlali in Fnideq, Morocco, contributed to this report.

Houston Restaurant Weeks returns Saturday, Aug. 1, launching a 38-day run that organizers say will include nearly 400 restaurants across Greater Houston. The annual “Dine Out & Do Good” campaign runs through Labor Day, Sept. 7, pairing prix-fixe deals with donations that help stock the Houston Food Bank.

How it works (and what it costs)

Participating restaurants create multi-course, fixed-price menus for brunch, lunch and dinner, with a built-in donation attached to each meal sold, according to the Cleverley Stone Foundation, which produces the event.

Menu price points for 2026 include:

• Brunch: $25 (donation included)
• Lunch: $25 (donation included)
• Dinner: $39 and $55 (donation included)

Organizers say dinner participation is required for restaurants, while brunch and lunch options vary by location.

A fundraiser that’s grown into a Houston tradition

Now in its 23rd year, Houston Restaurant Weeks has become a signature late-summer tradition in the region — a time when restaurants typically see slower traffic and diners are more willing to explore new menus.

The Cleverley Stone Foundation says the campaign has generated more than $23 million for the Houston Food Bank since it began in 2003 — an impact the organization translates to more than 70 million meals provided across Southeast Texas.

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“Houstonians are truly special. I don’t know of another city that comes together in quite the way Houston does to support one another,” Katie Stone, president of the Cleverley Stone Foundation, said in a statement. She added that the event continues the vision of her mother, the late Cleverley Stone, and the idea of bringing people together “around the table” to make a local impact.

Where to find restaurants and menus

Organizers say the most up-to-date list of participating restaurants and their menus will be posted on the Houston Restaurant Weeks website, with updates continuing as the start date approaches.

Among the returning participants listed by organizers are well-known Houston-area names such as Brennan’s of Houston, Bludorn, Hugo’s, Xochi, Rainbow Lodge, and multiple locations of Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille, Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill and other restaurant groups.

This year’s newly added participants listed in the release include restaurants such as Bistro Mistral, Cafe Brasil, Caribbean Jerk Palace, El Tiempo Cantina (multiple locations), North Italia (multiple locations), Truluck’s Ocean’s Finest Seafood & Crab (Houston and The Woodlands), and others.

The scenes caused by a record heat wave in Northeast Asia illustrate how extreme temperatures have gripped South Korea, North Korea and Japan.

In most of South Korea, a major heat wave advisory was in place Wednesday as temperatures in densely populated greater Seoul, home to 20 million people, and adjacent areas soared as high as 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

North Korean authorities have issued a heat wave advisory in many areas and called for people to take safety steps to avoid heat-related health problems.

Japan's anti-disaster agency reported more than 18,000 people with heat stroke symptoms were transported to hospitals during the week of July 20 to 26.

South Korea heat is a ‘national disaster’

Since mid-May in South Korea, about 2,220 people have been diagnosed with heat-related illnesses and 19 have died, according to a report from Interior and Safety Ministry. About 17,140 livestock, such as chickens, ducks and pigs, and about 160,000 farmed fishes also have died.

On Sunday, the southeastern city of Yangsan saw temperatures reaching 42.5 Celsius (108.5 Fahrenheit), the highest figure recorded since weather observation began in Korea in 1904.

In a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials to view the ongoing heat wave as “a national disaster” and make all-out efforts to protect lives.

On Tuesday night, a spectator in his 20s collapsed while watching a baseball game between SSG Landers and LG Twins at a stadium in Incheon city, west of Seoul. Emergency personnel administered CPR and transported him to a hospital, halting the game for about 10 minutes.

Another fan in his 20s fell unconscious and received treatment at the stadium after the game, according to the Korea Baseball Organization, which announced Wednesday that all 10 games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday were canceled and would be rescheduled.

North Korean hospital official recommends cooling food

Min Son Yong, deputy director of the internal medicine department at Pyongyang General Hospital, told North Korea’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday that people should eat dog meat and fish porridge to supplement protein to beat the heat.

Euphemistically known as “dangogi,” or sweet meat, dog meat has long been considered a stamina food in North Korea and is traditionally eaten during the hottest time of the year.

Min also recommended watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, mung beans and ginger to cool down, the newspaper reported.

Dog meat also has been eaten in China, Vietnam and African countries, as well as in South Korea, which plans to formally ban slaughtering, breeding or selling dog meat for human consumption beginning next year.

Humans and animals suffer in Japan heat

Japan’s Environment Ministry issued a heat stroke alert for most of the western and southern Japan on Wednesday. While temperatures in the Tokyo region temporarily fell this week, intense heat continued to hit southern Japan.

In the southwestern city of Kumamoto, relief and cleanup work continued following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake on July 28 that killed 38 people, including a woman in her 70s who developed heat stroke while taking shelter in a car. More than 43,000 households were still without water on Wednesday.

Three lions have died at a Tokyo zoo, with a number of their animal peers developing apparent heatstroke symptoms.

Tama Zoological Park said, Mugi, a 3-year-old female lion, developed a loss of appetite on July 19 and was unable to stand the following day. Suspecting heat problem, zoo keepers provided ventilation and a water sprinkler to cool her down. The lion eventually died on July 28 despite treatment with subcutaneous fluid, liver tonics and vitamins, the zoo said.

Two other female lions, Ichigo, 11, and Luena, 15, also died within a few days, the zoo said.

Autopsies showed dehydration and multiple organ failure in all three animals and officials say they believe heat was the cause of the health problems.

___

Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.

With August typically bringing some of the hottest weather of the year, home cooling costs can quickly add up. The good news is there are several inexpensive ways to keep your home cooler while reducing energy use.

Close blinds and curtains during the day

One of the easiest ways to keep your home cool is by blocking sunlight before it heats your living space.

Closing blinds, curtains or shades on windows that receive direct afternoon sun can help reduce indoor temperatures and lessen the workload on your air conditioner. Blackout curtains or thermal shades can provide even greater protection from the heat.

Adjust your thermostat

Experts recommend setting your thermostat to around 76 to 78 degrees when you’re home. Lowering the temperature won’t cool your house faster; it simply causes your air conditioner to run longer, increasing energy use and utility costs.

Take advantage of cooler mornings and evenings

When outdoor temperatures are cooler, open windows to let fresh air circulate through your home. Using fans to create a cross breeze can help flush out warm air before temperatures begin rising.

Once the outside temperature heats up, close windows and window coverings to keep cool air inside.

Use appliances after sunset

Appliances such as ovens, dishwashers and clothes dryers generate extra heat inside your home.

Running them in the evening or early morning can help keep indoor temperatures down while reducing the strain on your cooling system.

Change your air filter

A dirty HVAC filter restricts airflow, forcing your air conditioner to work harder than necessary.

Replacing or cleaning your air filter regularly can improve your system’s efficiency and may help lower cooling costs.

Use ceiling fans correctly

Ceiling fans don’t lower the room’s temperature, but they help people feel cooler by circulating air.

During the summer, make sure your ceiling fan is spinning counterclockwise to create a cooling breeze. Turn fans off when you leave the room since they cool people, not the air.

Other money-saving cooling tips

• Seal gaps around doors and windows to keep cool air inside.
• Use LED light bulbs, which generate less heat than traditional bulbs.
• Cook outdoors or prepare meals that don’t require the oven during the hottest part of the day.
• Consider installing a programmable or smart thermostat to better manage cooling schedules.

With a few simple changes, homeowners can stay more comfortable during Houston’s summer heat while helping keep monthly energy bills under control.

All-Star wins fourth career AL Player of the Month Award, second this season

HOUSTON, TX – Major League Baseball announced today that Astros DH Yordan Alvarez has been named American League Player of the Month for July. It is the fourth career AL Player of the Month Award for Alvarez and his second this season, also winning the award in March-April.

For the month of July, Alvarez hit .360 (31x86) with nine home runs, 22 RBI, a .467 OBP, a .721 slugging percentage, and a 1.188 OPS in 23 games in the month. In July, Alvarez led the AL in home runs, RBI, OPS and SLG, while ranking second in walks (15), second in hits, and fourth in batting average and OBP.

As part of his prolific month at the plate, Alvarez received AL Player of the Week honors for the week of June 29-July 5. That week was highlighted by his game on July 4 vs. Tampa Bay, when Alvarez had two home runs and six RBI, including a walkoff home run in the bottom of the 9th inning in a 10-8 Astros win. Also during the month, Alvarez posted a 16-game on-base streak, which is still active, and a 10-game hitting streak from July 10-24. Alvarez also started the All-Star Game this month, going 1x2 with a run scored in the Midsummer Classic on July 14.

July was a continuation of Alvarez’s MVP-caliber year, a season in which he currently leads the league in all three Triple Crown categories, ranking first in batting average (.330), HR (35), and RBI (84). Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.092), OBP (.442), SLG (.650), extra-base hits (59), and total bases (262). In the AL, he ranks first in hits (133) and runs (77), and third in walks (77).

Alvarez is now just the second Astros player to win two Player of the Month Awards in a single season, joining 1B Jeff Bagwell, who won the NL Player of the Month in June and July of 1994, which was his MVP season. The Astros have had several pitchers win multiple Pitcher of the Month awards in a single season, most recently accomplished in 2019 by RHP Gerrit Cole, who won three times that season.

Along with his four career AL Player of the Month Awards, Alvarez has earned six career AL Player of the Week honors and was named AL Rookie of the Month three consecutive months in 2019 (June-August).

According to reporting by WDTN, Buc-ee’s filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against Beaver’s Mini Mart in Beavercreek, Ohio, alleging the store’s branding could confuse customers into thinking it’s affiliated with Buc-ee’s.

The lawsuit claims Beaver’s Mini Mart uses a cartoon beaver with “wide eyes and a smile” and prominently features the color red, elements Buc-ee’s says resemble its federally registered trademarks. The chain is asking the court to order the business to stop using the disputed name and logo, remove related signs and marketing materials, pay damages and attorney fees, and surrender any profits allegedly tied to the infringement. The company has also requested a jury trial.

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Beaver’s Mini Mart owner Vik Boparai’s family says the convenience store has operated since 2017, years before Buc-ee’s opened its first Ohio location in nearby Huber Heights earlier this year. The store is located about 16 miles from the Buc-ee’s travel center.

The lawsuit has sparked backlash from some community members, who have organized “cash mobs” and other efforts to support the family-owned business. Some residents told WDTN they believe Buc-ee’s is targeting a longtime local business despite its years of operation in the community.

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The case is the latest in a series of trademark disputes involving Buc-ee’s. The Texas chain has previously filed lawsuits against several businesses it claims use logos or branding that are too similar to its iconic beaver mascot.

WDTN reported that both Buc-ee’s and Beaver’s Mini Mart have been contacted for comment.

In adding the seat to its “Districts in Play” list, the House Democratic campaign arm is signaling party leaders’ growing belief that they can flip the sprawling district, which runs from San Antonio into West Texas and has been held by Republicans since 2015. The designation also means the DCCC can spend against the Republican nominee in the district.

The 23rd District, which covers a large chunk of the Texas-Mexico border, was most recently represented by Tony Gonzales, a moderate Republican who resigned earlier this year over a sex scandal with a staffer.

Katy Padilla Stout, a San Antonio attorney and former teacher, is the Democratic nominee in the district.

Her Republican foe this fall, gun rights activist and YouTuber Brandon Herrera, had challenged Gonzales in the primary and forced him into a runoff. He secured the GOP nomination after the congressman dropped out of the race before the runoff election.

Herrera, a highly online influencer and activist with a history of edgy, controversial comments, fits a different mold than the district’s recent representatives, including Gonzales and the moderate Republican who preceded him, former Rep. Will Hurd. Herrera is endorsed by the Freedom Caucus Fund, which aims to grow the caucus of hardline conservatives known for its absolutist approach and willingness to defy GOP leadership.

The district voted for President Donald Trump by a 15-point margin in 2024, and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district as “likely Republican.” It has not favored Democrats in any recent statewide election, voting for Sen. Ted Cruz by a 3-point margin in 2018, the best election cycle for Texas Democrats this century.

But DCCC chair Suzan DelBene said Democrats see an opening to play offense because of polling that has shown Hispanic voters’ support for Trump eroding, along with Herrera’s trail of contentious remarks.

“Brandon Herrera’s disturbing history of extremism, violence, and antisemitic rhetoric puts this open Congressional district squarely in play,” DelBene said in a statement.

Herrera has made Holocaust jokes on his YouTube channel and discussed owning a copy of “Mein Kampf,” both of which were among the footage circulated by Democrats after Herrera locked up the nomination. His campaign has dismissed allegations of antisemitism as “bizarre, desperate and false.” A spokesperson previously noted that Herrera has “simulated the execution and poisoning of Adolf Hitler” in his work as a historical firearms educator, and that the clip of him discussing Hitler’s book omitted his comments “ridiculing and condemning” it.

Thus far, Herrera has outraised Padilla Stout over the course of the cycle. At last count, Federal Election Commission records showed that Herrera had $309,000 in his main campaign account at the end of June, to Padilla Stout’s $171,000.

Republicans currently have a 218-212 majority in the U.S. House. Democrats need a net gain of three seats in order to win control of the lower chamber.

The redistricting war kicked off by Texas Republicans last year yielded more newly drawn seats that favor the GOP than the number redrawn to elect Democrats. The House’s minority party could recapture the chamber without winning seats like the 23rd District. But to build a buffer and avoid the chaos that has stemmed from Republicans’ wafer-thin majority, Democrats will need to win in more Trump-friendly districts like this one.

With the addition of the district, the DCCC is now targeting three seats in South Texas, with a list that already included the 15th Congressional District, represented by Edinburg GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz, and the 35th Congressional District, an open seat anchored in Bexar County and redrawn to favor Republicans. All three have majority-Hispanic voting populations.

On the GOP side, the National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting five seats in Texas, all of which were redrawn by the Legislature to be friendlier to Republicans. They include the 9th Congressional District in Houston, the 32nd Congressional District in North Texas, the open 35th District and the Trump-leaning seats of two incumbent Democrats: Rep. Henry Cuellar’s Laredo-based district and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez’s Rio Grande Valley seat.

Whether your child is starting kindergarten, moving to middle school or simply entering a new grade, it’s normal for them to feel nervous about the transition.

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Dana Sheridan, M.A., LPC, a counselor at The Village School, encourages parents to start conversations before the first day of school.

Rather than assuming everything is fine, ask your child what they’re excited about and what worries them most. Listening to their concerns and responding with encouragement can help ease anxiety.

Another way to help children feel more comfortable is by visiting the school before classes begin. Meet the teacher, tour the classroom, and become familiar with the campus. Knowing what to expect can make the first day feel less overwhelming.

Sheridan also recommends establishing a strong relationship with your child’s teacher early in the school year.

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“If you have a partnership, parents can message the teacher, ‘Hey, we had a rough night,’ so they’ll be able to notice some of those things. If they do have to have difficult conversations, it just makes it that much easier,” Sheridan said.

As the school year begins, parents should also encourage independence rather than solving every problem for their child.

“Try to teach them that they need to problem solve. If you’re a parent who’s going to jump in all the time, you’re almost hindering their development. Overhelping is just as bad as underhelping,” Sheridan said.

Experts also remind parents that teachers are adjusting to a new school year as well. If concerns arise, it’s best to communicate directly with your child’s teacher before escalating the issue to school administrators.

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Tips to help your child adjust to a new school year

• Ask your child what they’re excited or worried about.
• Keep conversations positive and reassuring.
• Visit the school and classroom before the first day, if possible.
• Introduce yourself and build a relationship with your child’s teacher.
• Encourage your child to solve age-appropriate problems independently.
• Be patient with teachers as everyone adjusts to the new school year.
• Address concerns with the teacher first before contacting school administrators.

Helping children feel prepared and supported before the first day of school can make the transition smoother and set them up for a successful school year.

Can you believe it? It’s almost time to send our kids back to school. It seems like summer just started, and for some, it probably did. But, students across the Houston area will be headed back to school in the coming weeks, and we here at KPRC 2 are doing everything to make sure not only the students are prepared, but so are parents. Keep reading to get all the news you need to know on back-to-school.

As always, follow us for the latest on Click2Houston.com and watch us live on KPRC 2+.

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“Not much changes with our forecast Wednesday. Temperatures climb to the upper 90s with a 20% chance of an isolated shower. The heat index will range between 104°-106° in the afternoon.”

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Houston’s Top Headlines 📰

New details emerge after missing 2-year-old girl at center of AMBER Alert in San Antonio found dead

A neighbor recounts the moments that led to her son finding the body of a 2-year-old girl who was reported missing in San Antonio on Monday, KSAT News reports.

An AMBER Alert for Aryana Trevino Martinez was issued Sunday after she disappeared around 7 p.m. in the 4000 block of Allegheny Drive in San Antonio, Texas, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

2 teenage suspects shot by guard after attempted armored truck robbery in SW Houston

Houston police officers are at a scene on Bellaire Blvd. where a guard reportedly fired gunshots at several suspects who were allegedly trying to rob an armored truck, hitting two of them in the process. Lt. Larry Crowson with HPD says the guard with the truck was coming out of an ACE Cash Express when he saw two or three suspects approach. The guard was reportedly sprayed with bear spray by the suspects after coming out of the store.

New Harris County tool helps residents find low-cost healthcare clinics across Houston area

Finding affordable healthcare in the Houston area may soon become easier thanks to a new online tool launched by Harris County Public Health and the Houston Health Department.

The agencies have released the 2026 Access to Care Report and an interactive Low-Cost Clinic Finder Tool, designed to help Harris County residents locate affordable healthcare services and better navigate the region’s public health system.

BBB warns consumers about ‘free’ gas and grocery card mail scam

With the cost of groceries and gas continuing to strain household budgets, a postcard promising gift cards can be tempting. But the Better Business Bureau says consumers should think twice before responding.

The BBB is warning people about scams involving official-looking postcards that claim recipients can receive hundreds of dollars in free gas or grocery gift cards after paying a small “processing” or “shipping” fee.

Chipotle pulls jalapeños from some restaurants as health officials investigate salmonella outbreak

Chipotle Mexican Grill said Tuesday that it had removed jalapeños from some of its restaurants after determining the peppers could potentially be tied to a salmonella outbreak public health officials are investigating.

In a brief statement, Chipotle maintained that the “health and safety of our guests and employees is our highest priority” — and that it had pulled the jalapeños out of an abundance of caution and “replaced them with product from different growers” in all locations where a previous common lot had been distributed.

Back 2 School

Back-to-school anxiety? Houston area experts share ways parents can help kids adjust to a new grade

As students prepare to head back to the classroom, parents are checking off school supply lists, buying new clothes and getting back into routines. But experts say preparing children emotionally for a new school year is just as important.

Whether your child is starting kindergarten, moving to middle school or simply entering a new grade, it’s normal for them to feel nervous about the transition.

Crosby ISD students head back to class as Houston-area school districts prepare to reopen

The first day of school has arrived for students in Crosby ISD, marking the beginning of the 2026-27 school year for one of the first districts in the Houston area to welcome students back to the classroom.

While many families across the Houston area are still enjoying the final days of summer break, more Houston-area school districts will begin classes over the next several weeks.

Back-to-School schemes are on the rise: What parents need to know before clicking

Back-to-school season means new backpacks, sneakers, school supplies — and a flood of emails, texts, and online messages from schools, teachers, and organizations.

But while parents are preparing their children for the classroom, cybercriminals are preparing their own back-to-school strategy: creating convincing scams designed to catch families off guard.

Things 2 Know 💡

Terry Black’s BBQ is finally coming to Houston, so you can skip the drive to Austin

Healthy eating on a budget: Dietitian shares grocery shopping tips as food prices rise

New study ranks the most and least safest big cities in the country; Where does Houston land on the list?

In case you missed it... 👀

• Check your fridge: Latest FDA food recalls impacting Texas
• Texas tax-free weekend 2026: Items that qualify for back-to-school savings
• Houston airport detention highlights rise in ICE arrests at airports

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A contempt finding could open the door to an investigation into whether Fauci had a valid constitutional right against self-incrimination when he refused to answer dozens of questions from lawmakers at a committee hearing last week focused on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Republican senators including Rand Paul of Kentucky, who subpoenaed Fauci and has called a contempt vote for Thursday, insist that a pardon the doctor received early last year from Democratic President Joe Biden left him ineligible for Fifth Amendment protections. A Senate resolution released Tuesday asserts that Paul found Fauci's privilege claims “unsupported.”

But some legal experts say Fauci had reasons to invoke the Fifth Amendment, given the threat of potential state prosecutions and questions from President Donald Trump's administration about the validity of Biden's pardons. Any testimony from Fauci could have also prompted false-statement investigations like the ones the current Justice Department has repeatedly initiated against the Republican president's perceived adversaries.

No matter what happens, the episode raises fresh and complicated questions about Congress' ability to compel testimony from previously pardoned witnesses — and the outcome could resonate beyond Fauci.

“This is an important case because I think a lot of people anticipate that President Trump is going to issue similar pardons to many people in his administration who will end up being called before Congress, and the precedent here is important,” said Mark Osler, a St. Thomas University law professor and pardon power expert.

Paul's committee is moving to transmit the contempt referral from his Republican-led committee directly to the Justice Department. Whether the Justice Department would act on the referral is unclear.

Fauci's pardon protects him for past, not future, acts

Fauci, a longtime National Institutes of Health scientist and the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, left the federal government in 2022 after more than five decades. He was among a group of perceived adversaries of Trump to be pardoned by Biden in one of the Democrat’s final acts in office. The clemency covered acts from 2014 to the date in January 2025 when the pardon was issued.

Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee say the pardon lifted the specter of criminal prosecution and left Fauci without a valid basis to invoke the Fifth Amendment — a bedrock constitutional protection found in the Bill of Rights but one typically available only to those who have a reasonable basis to believe they risk being charged over their testimony.

While a blanket pardon theoretically removes a threat of prosecution, Fauci made clear he thought he had a good-faith basis to fear criminal charges. He invoked his Fifth Amendment rights more than 100 times.

Before the hearing. Fauci said that Paul, the committee chairman, had an “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution." The purpose of his forced appearance “is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote,” Fauci said.

In the run-up to the hearing, Paul made dozens of Fauci-related posts on X, including ones teasing that he was going to confront the doctor for having earlier given false testimony — something Fauci has denied.

“I think his invoking the Fifth makes sense because he was invited into a situation where everyone in the country understood that Rand Paul was trying to set him up for a criminal prosecution,” said Michael Gerhardt, a University of North Carolina law professor. “In that circumstance, one of the smartest things to do would be to make yourself a very small target and say as little as possible, and that's obviously what he did.”

In announcing the contempt vote, Paul noted on X that “Fauci refused to answer a single question, even though he knew he couldn't be charged for crimes” during the decade covered by his pardon. Fauci's deflections encompassed even seemingly harmless questions, such as the color of the tie he was wearing — a reflection of an apparent belief that it was safer to refuse any testimony.

There are factors that could tilt in favor of Fauci's strategy, including the fact that his pardon would not protect him from potential state prosecutions or from a federal prosecution related to any testimony that investigators deemed false. That may not be an idle concern given the number of false-statement investigations prosecutors have opened against Trump's political opponents.

Trump's administration also has repeatedly called into question the validity of the Biden pardons, given Biden's frequent use of an autopen for official business. Legal experts say the pardons are valid.

“The question is do you have a reasonable fear of prosecution, and Fauci's argument would be — yes, I received a pardon, yes, I believe that pardon covers and prevents prosecution but there have been statements from lots of people including Trump and other administration officials ... raising questions about the validity of that pardon,” said Ross Garber, a lawyer and expert in political investigations who has represented multiple clients who have invoked the Fifth Amendment.

“That,” he added, “is potentially a very viable argument.”

Paul has discussed trying to fast-track a contempt referral

Paul said in an interview with Fox News Channel last week that he did not think “there's any rule" requiring that a contempt referral from a committee go through the entire Senate. His committee is instead working to send the referral straight to the Justice Department.

The contempt resolution states that the president of the Senate, Vice President JD Vance, “shall certify” the committee’s referral and the accompanying report to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

That fast-tracking of the process avoids the need for a vote in the full 100-member Senate, where Republicans likely lack the 60 votes required to move a contempt referral to passage.

Tensions are simmering between the world's two biggest economies ahead of an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. in September, despite signs of warming ties during his meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing in May.

The Commerce Ministry said the sanctions are in response to recent moves from the U.S., including a ban by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on imports of Chinese drones, and the Department of Homeland Security's decision to add 43 Chinese companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act entity list to prevent imports of goods made with forced labor.

The “measures seriously violate the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and severely damage China’s legitimate rights and interests. China has no choice but to take necessary countermeasures in response,” the ministry said in a statement.

It emphasized that China was acting with restraint and urged the U.S. to scrap its measures against Beijing and cease its “erroneous practices.” It also warned of further sanctions if the U.S. rolls out new restrictive measures against China.

Beijing is requiring reviews on a case-by-case basis of exports of unmanned aerial vehicles, their key components and related technologies that are on a list of export-controlled dual-use items that can serve both civilian and military purposes.

Six U.S. entities, including Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. and the non-governmental group Human Rights in China, were banned from engaging in trade or other activities with entities in China.

China also banned a company called Compliance Testing LLC from engaging in business in China because it had worked with the FCC in “harming China's sovereignty and security,” according to a separate statement from the Commerce Ministry.

The ministry also said it was investigating the possible impact on national security of imported printing software and office equipment, but it did not name affected companies.

The State Administration for Market Regulation announced that companies in the U.S. that conduct follow-up factory inspections on behalf of Chinese entities for CCC certification can no longer provide these certifications.

CCC certifications are meant to ensure electronic products meet a basic safety standard. The new rule will oblige U.S. makers of certified electronics to hire auditors based outside of the U.S. or to rely on other non-U. S. designated bodies for such certifications.

In December, the U.S. FCC banned the import of new Chinese drones, though it later revised that ban to allow for some models.

Last week, it also announced bans on imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters, citing national security risks, in a move that in effect targets China.

___

Leung reported from Hong Kong

The agencies have released the 2026 Access to Care Report and an interactive Low-Cost Clinic Finder Tool, designed to help Harris County residents locate affordable healthcare services and better navigate the region’s public health system.

• New details emerge after missing 2-year-old girl at center of AMBER Alert in San Antonio found dead

Officials say the resources are intended to address a common challenge for many families: knowing where to go for care, understanding eligibility requirements and finding providers that fit their needs.

“Too often, it’s too hard for community members to get the healthcare they need,” Harris County Public Health Executive Director Leah Barton said in a statement. “By understanding the barriers people face, making commitments to address those barriers, and releasing this practical, easy-to-use clinic finder, we’re putting essential health services within reach.”

The 2026 Access to Care Report examines why many Houston-area residents struggle to access healthcare and organizes its findings into three key areas:

• Affording care
• Finding care
• Receiving care

The report identifies challenges ranging from the cost of medical visits to transportation, language barriers, scheduling difficulties and navigating multiple healthcare systems.

• 2 teenage suspects shot by guard after attempted armored truck robbery in SW Houston

It also outlines commitments from Harris County Public Health, the Houston Health Department, Harris Health System and The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD to improve coordination between agencies and make it easier for residents to access medical and behavioral health services.

The new Clinic Finder Tool allows users to search for affordable healthcare services offered through:

• Harris County Public Health
• Houston Health Department
• Harris Health System
• The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD

Instead of visiting multiple websites or calling several agencies, residents can use the centralized tool to find clinics that meet their healthcare needs.

Officials say future updates will include additional community providers, including Federally Qualified Health Centers that serve uninsured and underinsured patients.

“Access to healthcare should never depend on someone’s ability to navigate a complicated system,” Houston Health Department Director and local health authority Dr. Theresa Tran said in a statement. “This report and the Low-Cost Clinic Finder Tool reflect what is possible when healthcare and public health organizations work together to remove barriers.”

Harris County Public Health provides a wide range of free and low-cost services, including:

• Childhood and adult vaccinations
• Dental care at select clinics
• Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition services
• Chronic disease prevention programs
• Community health outreach
• Environmental health services
• Mosquito control
• Care coordination through ACCESS Harris County

The department also helps connect eligible residents with mental health services, housing assistance and other community resources.

Public webinar scheduled

Officials will host a free public webinar from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, to introduce the report and demonstrate how to use the Low-Cost Clinic Finder Tool.

The webinar will include an overview of the report’s findings and a live walkthrough of the new search tool.

Health officials say the new resources are designed to make affordable healthcare easier to find for residents across Harris County, whether they need vaccinations, preventive care, dental services or mental health support.

The BBB is warning people about scams involving official-looking postcards that claim recipients can receive hundreds of dollars in free gas or grocery gift cards after paying a small “processing” or “shipping” fee.

While the offers may appear legitimate, scammers often use the mail to create a false sense of trust.

How the scam works

According to the Better Business Bureau, the postcards often include:

• Promises of free gas or grocery gift cards worth hundreds of dollars.
• Official-looking barcodes or tracking numbers.
• Phrases such as “Final Notice” or “Act Now.”
• A phone number to call or website to visit to claim the offer.

Once someone responds, they’re typically asked to pay a small processing or shipping fee using a credit or debit card. In some cases, scammers may also request personal information, such as a name, address or financial account details.

Instead of receiving the promised gift cards, victims may end up facing unauthorized charges, recurring subscriptions or identity theft.

Red flags to watch for

The BBB says consumers should be cautious if an offer:

• Claims you’ll receive something valuable for free after paying a fee.
• Creates a sense of urgency with phrases like “Final Notice.”
• Asks for payment or financial information upfront.
• Comes from a company you’ve never heard of.
• Makes offers that seem too good to be true.

How to verify a company

Before calling the number or visiting the website listed on a postcard, the BBB recommends:

• Researching the company online.
• Checking the company’s reputation through the Better Business Bureau.
• Looking for customer reviews and complaints.
• Visiting the company’s official website instead of using the contact information provided on the mailer.

If you can’t verify the business or the offer seems suspicious, don’t respond.

If you’ve already called the number, paid a fee or shared personal or financial information, experts recommend taking action immediately:

• Contact your bank or credit card company to report the transaction.
• Monitor your financial accounts for unauthorized charges.
• Change passwords if you’ve shared login information.
• Watch your credit reports for signs of identity theft.
• Report the scam to the Better Business Bureau and the appropriate consumer protection agencies.

The BBB reminds consumers that legitimate companies typically do not require customers to pay a fee to receive a “free” gift card. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

While many families across the Houston area are still enjoying the final days of summer break, more Houston-area school districts will begin classes over the next several weeks.

• Back-to-School schemes are on the rise: What parents need to know before clicking

As students return, officials are reminding drivers that school-year traffic patterns are back in effect.

School buses will once again travel their regular routes, school zones will be active, and more children will be walking, biking, and riding e-bikes and scooters to and from campus.

Drivers should also expect heavier traffic around schools during the morning and afternoon commute as campuses reopen.

• Back-to-school tip: Experts say limiting screen time before bed can help kids sleep better

Whether your local district starts classes today, next week or later this month, safety officials say it’s important to begin practicing safe driving habits now.

Back to school reminders:

• Slow down in school zones.
• Put your phone away and avoid distracted driving.
• Stop for school buses when required by law.
• Watch for students walking, biking or riding scooters near schools.

The days of lighter summer commutes are coming to an end as students return to classrooms across the Houston area. Drivers are encouraged to stay alert, allow extra travel time and be prepared to share the road with school buses and children throughout the school year.

WACO — Laneisha Latimer has heard about the strict way Third Future Schools plans to run South Waco Elementary School, where her son started the fourth grade.

School began Tuesday at South Waco and Dean Highland elementary schools under the control of the charter school operator Waco Independent School District chose to turn them around.

Latimer learned in May how tightly scheduled her son’s day will be. He will have to walk in silence in between one-minute transitions. Several times per class period he will have to demonstrate through writing or peer discussions that he understands the lesson.

And he and his classmates will have 10 more instructional days than their Waco ISD peers, who start next week.

So far, so good, Latimer said.

Latimer believes the additional rules and structure will work for her son, Landon, who has struggled with behavior and academics.

“It would take away a lot of distraction,” Latimer said. ”First of all, when the kids are loud, when they don’t have any structure like it’s been from my point of view. … Then the kids tend to get out of control when they’re able to talk in the hallway, then that causes arguments.”

Waco ISD is among the latest Texas districts to choose Third Future Schools to take control of campuses with a record of failing under the state’s accountability system. South Waco Elementary had four years of failing grades under the A-F system and Dean Highland had three. The next round of accountability rates are expected next week, reflecting the 2025-26 academic year.

A fifth consecutive failing grade at any single school could trigger a state takeover of the whole district. But under state law, the third-party agreement protects Waco ISD from intervention for two years.

Waco ISD’s board approved the $11.7 million deal in March, which resulted in additional state funding for the schools. The charter school began hiring immediately, bringing on new principals: Kimberly McKnight at South Waco and Daniel Speer at Dean Highland.

“This is very much a neighborhood school,” McKnight said. “So respecting where the community is coming from, but hoping that they trust us, that we have absolutely the best interests of their students at heart. We’re here to make sure that their students are able to compete on an equal footing, on an equal basis with students across the country and across the world.”

Teacher assignments slow

Waco ISD and Third Future Schools have conducted multiple town halls for families since spring about the transition. But parents have had a lot of questions leading up to the first day of school.

During Friday’s South Waco open house, families got to meet teachers for their students grades second through fifth. But younger students had not yet been assigned their teachers.

McKnight acknowledged delays in getting those assignments due to calendar and technology access during the transition.

Teachers were expected to be assigned by the time students arrived Tuesday. In the meantime, school officials are working on assigning duties for afterschool activities. Students will continue to participate in music and physical education classes and recess during the school day.

Afterschool programs will start on the first day of school, and the school building will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to meet the needs of students and parents. But parents are responsible for transportation outside of normal bus times.

Looking for structure

Latimer, the South Waco parent, spent nearly every day of the last school year on campus due to her son’s behavioral issues. She considered taking him out of the campus but decided against it due to the proximity of the school.

As a third grader, Latimer’s son failed reading and math on the state standardized tests, but she hopes the constant check-ins will help improve his academics.

“He gets distracted really quick,” Latimer said.

“I know that was the problem. It’s just too much going on for him. He needs to be where he’s more focused by himself, one on one.”

Latimer has no current plans to participate in the afterschool program. However, she appreciates the flexibility it allows for parents who work late.

She is looking forward to the new transition despite all the changes. Most of the 24 classroom teachers came from the Waco and Killeen area. She trusts the new principal because McKnight was her former teacher at Cesar Chavez Middle School.

“I’m kind of excited about this year, kind of nervous still, because again, I know my kid,” Latimer said.

Texas state Rep. James Talarico voted in five elections using his parents’ address after purchasing a home for himself nearby, a practice that may have violated state voting laws, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found.

This comes weeks after Talarico accused Attorney General Ken Paxton, his opponent in the race for U.S. Senate, of voter fraud for similar actions. The news organizations reported in July that Paxton voted using an address where his estranged wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, said he hasn’t lived for two years.

Paxton has made eradicating voter fraud a cornerstone of his time in office by advocating strict enforcement of the law, including in cases against voters who allegedly used false addresses when casting ballots. Paxton’s campaign has said he is a “lawful, registered Texas voter” but has repeatedly declined to answer detailed questions about his residency and voting history.

Piecing together Talarico’s voting history is more difficult than it is for Paxton. Talarico, unlike the attorney general, redacts his address on the Travis County voter rolls under a state law that allows some public officials to shield personal information for safety reasons. But unredacted records Talarico’s campaign provided the newsrooms show that he listed his parents’ address on his voter registration in November 2021.

He purchased a home in June 2022 but did not change his voter registration address until September 2024, the news organizations’ review of Travis County records shows. The new address is redacted, but Talarico’s campaign previously told the newsrooms that he currently lives and is registered to vote at the north Austin home he owns.

Talarico’s campaign declined to answer questions about his residency and voting history, including when he began living at the home he owns. Campaign spokesperson JT Ennis said “right-wing actors” had made “credible threats” about trying to locate Talarico and his family.

Texas law requires that residents register to vote where they live. This ensures they are voting for those who actually represent them. The provisions of the law, however, are “broad and vague,” said Andrew Cates, a Texas ethics attorney.

Courts have previously ruled that there is no single way to determine a voter’s residence, and prosecuting such cases requires proof that a voter “knowingly” or “intentionally” broke the law.

Given this, Cates said he doubts that either Talarico or Paxton committed voter fraud, but he said Paxton should be held to a higher standard. As the state’s top lawyer, Paxton is responsible for enforcing election laws and has aggressively pursued alleged violators.

“When the top officials go looking for people to skewer for it, and then do it themselves, it really smacks of hypocrisy,” Cates said.

In 2024, Paxton helped oust judges on Texas’ highest criminal court who prevented him from unilaterally prosecuting election crimes. And, two weeks before this year’s primary election, Paxton announced the creation of an election fraud tip line. His office warned Texans that “it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records or to establish a residence for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election.”

Paxton’s unyielding stance on election crimes fueled charges from Talarico and other critics that he considers himself above the law.

“Our Republican secretary of state here in Texas has already said that our elections are safe and secure,” Talarico said at a Houston campaign event last month. “But as our state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton has gone on a voter fraud witch hunt. Turns out, he was committing voter fraud the whole time.”

Last week, Paxton hit back.

In a news release and on social media, Paxton said Talarico broke state law, citing reports from conservative news outlets suggesting the Democrat had not lived in the district for at least a year when he was elected to the Texas House in 2022. Talarico, Paxton said, “blatantly committed election fraud showing a complete disregard for Texas residency requirements.”

Records provided by Talarico’s campaign appear to show that he did comply with residency requirements during the period scrutinized by the conservative outlets.

In October 2021, Talarico announced he would move to the area where he grew up after Republicans redrew his Texas House district to favor their party.

Talarico updated his address to his parents’ home in the new House district on his voter registration, on his driver’s license and with the U.S. Postal Service on Nov. 5, 2021, according to records his campaign provided. Those include a photo of his voter registration application and screenshots of receipts from the Texas Department of Public Safety and USPS. Talarico also rented a 10-foot U-Haul moving truck for six hours that day, according to a screenshot of a receipt.

The changes happened three days before the one-year cutoff, making him eligible to run for that seat.

The records also contradict a claim by one of the conservative outlets that there was no evidence Talarico moved to his parents’ house when he registered to vote there. Paxton seized on that report to accuse Talarico of voter fraud during the 2022 election.

The newsrooms’ findings about Talarico are different because they analyzed the period after the lawmaker purchased a home and found that he continued to vote using his parents’ address. Talarico’s house is in the same county as his parents’ home, which is about 6 miles away. It is in the state House district he represents but in different jurisdictions for some local elections.

Asked about the apparent discrepancy in Talarico’s voter registration and residency, his campaign shifted blame onto the attorney general.

“This is a lame attempt by Ken Paxton to deflect from his own hypocrisy and career of corruption,” Ennis said in a statement, nodding to Paxton’s legal troubles.

Paxton was impeached by the Texas House in 2023 and investigated by the Department of Justice over corruption charges. The state Senate acquitted him, and the federal government dropped its case. Paxton also spent nearly nine years under indictment for felony securities fraud charges that were dropped in 2024.

For his part, Paxton and his campaign on Monday again did not answer questions about the news organizations’ finding that he voted six times over a two-year period while registered at a Collin County home where he appeared to no longer live. It is unclear where Paxton lived during that time, but the publications’ reporting has linked him, and a woman believed to be his girlfriend, to a home in neighboring Denton County since February. As the home is in a different county, voters there select an entirely different slate of local officials than in Collin County.

Paxton spokesperson Madison Cercy doubled down on accusations that Talarico was ineligible to be elected to his seat and also committed voter fraud.

“The only person who has committed voter fraud in the Texas Senate race is James Talarico,” she said. She did not provide evidence of Talarico’s alleged lawbreaking beyond the reports from the conservative outlets.

Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, argued Paxton’s and Talarico’s cases highlight how easy it can be to “run afoul of the letter of the law,” even as Republican lawmakers push for more stringent enforcement of voting restrictions.

“I think it could be reasonably used as a charge of hypocrisy against either of them because both of them have condemned the other for an action quite similar to what they themselves appear to have done,” Wilson said.

Disclosure: ProPublica and Southern Methodist University 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 Texas Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Both addressed supporters, saying the vote count could continue well into the day.

“We knew that this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got,” Stevens said. “I am feeling fired up, and you should be too.”

The bitter and expensive campaign attracted national attention not just because the general election for the seat will help decide which party controls the Senate. It also became the most notable proxy battle between the Democratic Party's establishment and progressive wings.

Candidates from the left-flank — including democratic socialists — have found surprising success in the party’s U.S. House primaries, including in New York and Denver. Those races, however, were in deep-blue cities.

Michigan has a purple hue. A progressive victory here would be a more significant notch.

El-Sayed maintained a lead as initial results rolled in Tuesday night, though Stevens made up ground as Wayne County, the state’s most populous and home to Detroit, reported more votes into the night.

Wayne has historically released results later than other counties, and its voters have tended toward establishment candidates over progressives. That meant Stevens could see a boost as the counting dragged on, though that did not guarantee victory.

The crowds' energy at each watch party was a measure of the race's competitiveness: Early in the evening, El-Sayed's supporters in Detroit’s Majestic Theatre cheered at the first batches of votes, before mellowing. Hours later, Stevens' previously subdued partygoers roared as she narrowed the margin.

“Whatever happens tonight,” El-Sayed told a thinned but still energetic crowd, “we have a responsibility to ensure that we unite, unite to make sure that Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the U.S. Senate.”

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is the Republican nominee.

El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, campaigned on “Medicare for All,” campaign finance reform and ending military aid to Israel. Stevens, a four-term congresswoman, focused on manufacturing and the economy. She stressed her past victories in tough races, saying she would be best positioned to beat Rogers.

Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including the largest investment in a race ever from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports pro-Israel candidates.

Voters also chose nominees in competitive House races and for governor. In the GOP gubernatorial primary, U.S. Rep. John James, who was backed by President Donald Trump, beat businessperson Perry Johnson. In the Democratic gubernatorial primary, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson defeated Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

Michigan is a must-win Senate race for Democrats

The race will help decide which party controls the chamber in the last two years of President Donald Trump's term. Those stakes have added heat to the rivalry, with moderates arguing that El-Sayed would have a harder time than Stevens against a Republican in the general election.

That divide was laid bare by the two candidates' heavy-hitting backers: Sen. Bernie Sanders supported El-Sayed, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was behind Stevens.

Stevens won election to Congress in 2018 after serving as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, which helped oversee the federal rescue of General Motors and Chrysler. Her campaign and allied groups have repeatedly highlighted that experience.

El-Sayed, who lost the 2018 gubernatorial primary to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, cast himself as the anti-establishment candidate and argued that Democrats need to reject corporate influence and embrace a more progressive agenda.

While the candidate has said he is not a democratic socialist, he found support from some of the group's members. That included Melat Kiros, who recently beat a longtime incumbent in a Democratic primary for a Denver-based House seat and was at El-Sayed's watch party. Also there was Hasan Piker, a progressive and controversial influencer online.

The candidates' differences were clear to some voters.

Kenneth Woodside, 87, of West Bloomfield, said he voted for El-Sayed over Stevens because “the nation is ready for someone who wants to take some more action rather than on the road we are now, which is on the road to an oligarchy and authoritarianism.”

Nessa Fuller, 51, of Birmingham, said she voted for Stevens because she will “fight to get the right things done, and she’ll work with other people, which is really important to me.”

Outside influences spent millions on the Senate race

National groups poured unprecedented sums into the race, making it one of the country’s biggest tests of outside spending.

Groups backing Stevens spent more than $50 million, led by more than $30 million from AIPAC and its affiliates.

The spending thrust Israel policy into the center of the race even though the ads never mentioned it. While El-Sayed called for ending military aid to Israel, Stevens maintained strong support for the relationship.

Israel became a contentious issue within the Democratic Party amid a war in Gaza that killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in its retaliatory offensive after about 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken in attacks by the militant group Hamas.

Voters also decided on governor and US House matchups

Trump traveled to Michigan on July 27 and gave a speech at a General Motors plant, at one point calling the gubernatorial hopeful James and several other Republican politicians, including Rogers, onstage.

Before his primary win, James, a second-term congressman, ran twice unsuccessfully for Senate. The primary turned uglier than Republicans hoped, with Johnson spending big sums of money on ads targeting James.

There are several competitive House races this year that will help decide whether Republicans hold their slim majority or Democrats reclaim the chamber.

In the 4th District, which stretches along Lake Michigan, Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann beat election newcomer Diop Harris II to become the nominee. He will face GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga, who again won his party's nomination.

In the 7th District, community organizer William Lawrence defeated former U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink and former Navy Seal Matt Maasdam to win the Democratic nomination. Lawrence will challenge Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in the seat representing the Lansing area.

The 10th District, which opened up due to James' run for governor, includes a portion of Oakland County and stretches across conservative communities in Macomb County.

In the GOP primary there, Trump-endorsed Michael Bouchard beat Steffan Demetropoulos and Justin Kirk. For the Democrats, former prosecutor Christina Hines defeated state House Rep. Tim Greimel and former Commerce Department attorney Eric Chung.

And in a heavily Democratic district representing Detroit, the 13th, Rep. Shri Thanedar looked to fend off a primary challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who argued that the city should once again have a Black representative in Congress. After Thanedar won election in 2022, Detroit had no Black representation in Congress for the first time since the early 1950s.

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Associated Press writers Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and Robert Yoon in Washington contributed.

The move came after passengers and airline staff named “having bags weighed at the gate and struggling to find room in overhead lockers as the more stressful parts of the airport experience,” the carrier said in a statement on Wednesday. It makes Jetstar the latest low-cost carrier to introduce a payment system for carry-on bags, with budget airlines in the United States and Europe commonly charging passengers to use the compartments.

Passengers could stow a purse, laptop bag or small backpack that fitted within specified measurements under the seat in front of them for no charge, Jetstar said. The cost of using the overhead compartments in the cabin would start from 25 Australian dollars ($18) one way, with the price depending on the route.

Bags stowed in the lockers can weigh up to 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and will no longer be weighed by airline staff as passengers line up to board, Jetstar said. The existing weight limit of 7 kilograms (15 pounds) will be scrapped for the small item placed under travelers’ seats.

Like many carriers worldwide, Australian and New Zealand airlines have already introduced charges for checked luggage, seat selection, and some dining and in-flight entertainment options. An industry analyst said, however, that Jetstar was the first to charge for use of the overhead lockers.

“It will ruffle feathers because Australian travelers have got such high expectations,” said Sharon Petersen, CEO of AirlineRatings.com. “For such a long time they lived in a bubble of full-service options only.”

Jetstar said the change would reduce frustrations at boarding gates.

“By giving customers an underseat bag with the option to add Priority Carry-on, we can make better use of overhead locker space, streamline boarding and help more flights depart on time,” Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully said in a statement.

She added that the move would ensure customers only paid for what they needed. Petersen, however, said Jetstar’s base fares remained higher than those of low-budget carriers in Europe that had brought in similar policies.

“Jetstar’s starting price is generally well above what Ryanair or Wizz Air can offer, largely because Australia lacks that level of competition and because wages, taxes and operating costs sit much higher here,” she said.

“We must act now to stem the rise in child deaths, which this crisis is provoking,” John Aylieff, WFP’s country director in Afghanistan, said in a statement, adding that “it is already too late for too many.”

Afghanistan continues to recover from decades of conflict and upheaval, including the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces in 2021 as the Taliban took power.

Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian office in Afghanistan, said nutrition specialists report that “wasting among children has worsened this year in over three-quarters of the country.” Children suffering from a condition known as wasting are acutely malnourished, become very thin for their height, and need immediate therapeutic feeding.

But “too many children arrive at health facilities severely malnourished” while others never make it, Cherevko told reporters at U.N. headquarters by video from Afghanistan, where she has traveled across the country in recent months and weeks.

WFP said 142 health centers closed in 2025 because of aid reductions and more than 13,000 children lost access to nutrition treatment. It did not mention any specific donor, such as the United States, where the Trump administration has made sweeping cuts in foreign aid.

Nearly 3.7 million Afghan children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year, along with 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women, according to WFP.

The agency said 12 Afghan provinces have reached critical levels of acute child malnutrition, a record number. It cited a combination of conflict, unemployment, rising food prices, disease outbreaks, poor water and sanitation and reduced humanitarian funding.

Deliveries delayed by the Iran war and other fighting

WFP said supply shortages linked to conflict in the Middle East and the nine-month closure of Pakistan’s border because of fighting between the neighbors have disrupted deliveries of nutrition products, leaving nearly one million malnourished women and children without essential nutrition services for five months.

From August through October, WFP said food distributions aimed at preventing famine in the worst-hit areas are being suspended due to lack of funding, even though the annual peak season for malnutrition is between July and October.

It said it urgently needs $540 million over the next six months.

WFP previously described cuts as ‘devastating’

Humanitarian groups in Afghanistan are grappling with steep funding cuts. In February, Aylieff told The Associated Press that cuts had been “devastating” and were forcing the agency to turn away three out of four acutely malnourished children.

Funding for food assistance has dropped sharply — by about 59% since 2022 — even as needs have surged, according to a recent WFP report.

In June, the U.S. pledged $800 million to WFP, which said it will help more than 38 million people in at least 37 countries.

Cherevko of the U.N. humanitarian office said the larger $1.71 billion humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan is just over 26% funded, which is “alarming,” especially since malnutrition and other indicators are worsening.

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Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Jeanine John Taele, 38, took photos and video and had a 16-round magazine with ammunition in his pocket. A search of his pickup truck in the golf course parking lot turned up a loaded 9mm pistol, binoculars and a badge that read “security protection agent.” according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

Law enforcement searched his home in the nearby city of Downey on Monday and found a rifle and other firearms, magazines and ammunition, body armor and notebooks with “concerning statements," federal authorities said. No details about the statements were released.

The sheriff’s department announced the arrest as Trump was preparing to arrive for the Republican National Committee dinner Tuesday at the Trump National Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes just south of Los Angeles.

“Mr. Taele’s troubling behavior at the President’s public golf course merely days before the President was expected to arrive raised serious red flags for law enforcement,” Patrick Grandy, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said in a statement. “There is no room for error, particularly in light of previous attempts on President Trump’s life.”

Last year a jury found a man guilty of trying to assassinate Trump at the president’s Florida country club. And while a candidate in 2024, Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by a shooter on a roof at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Ahead of Tuesday’s event, federal agents conducted a security assessment last Friday at the Trump course near Los Angeles. A person later identified as Taele was seen walking throughout the course, wore an earpiece and took photographs and videos of federal agents’ activities, authorities said.

Taele drove away but then returned to the course Sunday. He approached federal agents and said he was employed by the State Department and was there for a security detail. Taele said he had a loaded weapon in his vehicle and was arrested after it was searched, according to federal officials.

Taele was charged with several felonies including second-degree robbery, receiving a large-capacity magazine and possession of a short-barreled rifle or shotgun. He was also charged with carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, a misdemeanor.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges Monday and was ordered to stay away from the golf course and not possess weapons. His bail was set at $250,000.

It wasn’t clear if Taele had an attorney, and family members could not immediately be reached for comment.

In the fifth inning, Lombard drove an 0-2 sweeper from starter Hunter Dobbins (2-2) into the left-field seats for his first career hit. As he completed his first home run trot in the majors, Lombard’s parents hugged in the stands.

Lombard’s 392-foot shot gave New York a 2-0 lead and made him the first Yankees shortstop to homer in his major league debut. It was the first homer by any Yankees player in his big league debut since Jasson Domínguez went deep in his initial plate appearance against Justin Verlander in Houston on Sept. 1, 2023.

At 21 years, 63 days old, Lombard became the sixth-youngest Yankees player since 1985 to make his debut and the second-youngest shortstop in that span. Derek Jeter debuted May 29, 1995, in Seattle at 20 years, 337 days.

Lombard also helped Ryan Weathers (5-7) pitch six strong innings by starting inning-ending double plays in the second and fifth.

In the second, Lombard ranged to his right to field Blaze Jordan’s grounder and made an off-balance throw to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. In the fifth, Lombard ranged to his left, fielded Nathan Church’s grounder behind second base, stepped on the bag and made a clean throw to first baseman Ben Rice.

Chisholm also homered in the second as the Yankees won for the 10th time in 16 games.

Weathers allowed four hits in his second straight scoreless start. The lefty struck out six, walked none and stranded two in the sixth when Yankees newcomer Heliot Ramos charged in to catch Jose Fermin’s flyball to left field.

David Bednar got four outs for his 25th save in 27 chances to complete New York’s AL-best 12th shutout.

Dobbins allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings.

The Cardinals were blanked for the sixth time. They scratched All-Star outfielder Jordan Walker shortly before first pitch due to right knee inflammation.

Up next

St. Louis RHP Andre Pallante (11-6, 3.72 ERA) opposes New York RHP Will Warren (11-6, 4.14) in Wednesday night’s series finale.

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This story has been corrected to show that Lombard started a double play in the second inning, not the third.

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

A few hours later, Lombard was exchanging memorabilia with the fans who caught the first home run ball of his career.

After being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier in the day, Lombard gave the Yankees a two-run lead in Tuesday night’s 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals by hitting a 392-foot solo shot off Hunter Dobbins in the fifth inning.

Lombard rounded the bases as his parents cheered and hugged in the stands. His father, George Lombard Sr., is the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers and a former major league player himself.

“It was really cool,” the younger Lombard said. “Being a close game, it was a big run. So it was probably a moment, a swing, a day I won’t forget.”

The 21-year-old Lombard became the first Yankees shortstop to homer in his major league debut. After the game, the touted prospect met in the hallway outside the clubhouse with the fans who caught the ball. He signed hats and traded a bat for the souvenir ball while posing for pictures.

Lombard was the 14th player in franchise history to hit a home run in his big league debut and first since Jasson Domínguez went deep in his initial plate appearance against Justin Verlander in Houston on Sept. 1, 2023. The group also includes injured captain Aaron Judge (2016) and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra (1946).

At 21 years, 63 days old, Lombard became the sixth-youngest Yankees player since 1985 to make his debut and the second-youngest shortstop in that span. Derek Jeter debuted May 29, 1995, in Seattle at 20 years, 337 days.

Lombard also started inning-ending double plays in the second and fifth.

“Obviously, a great first night for him,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The home run was great. The defense was tremendous.”

In the second, Lombard ranged to his right to field Blaze Jordan’s grounder and made an off-balance throw to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. In the fifth, Lombard ranged to his left, fielded Nathan Church’s grounder behind second base, stepped on the bag and made a clean throw to first baseman Ben Rice.

“It’s one of those plays that you practice,” Lombard said. “I’ve made that play countless times in practice. Just getting to the game and it’s your body kind of takes over.”

Lombard wasn't the only player to make his Yankees debut Tuesday night. Newly acquired outfielder Heliot Ramos went 0 for 4 but made a nice catch in left field with two runners aboard in the sixth. Ramos was obtained from the San Francisco Giants before Monday’s trade deadline.

To make room for Lombard and Ramos, shortstop Anthony Volpe and Domínguez were optioned to Triple-A, where Volpe is expected to see time at second base.

On Monday, general manager Brian Cashman implied the Tigers and Orioles asked for Lombard in potential deals for Tarik Skubal and Adley Rutschman, who were acquired by the Dodgers and Red Sox, respectively.

Lombard, a first-round draft pick by New York in 2023, began this season by hitting .312 in 20 games with Double-A Somerset. After getting promoted to Triple-A, he batted .268 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 56 games.

Lombard’s time in Triple-A was interrupted by a left finger injury that sidelined him for nearly a month. He batted .377 in 14 games after returning and went 4 for 5 with three RBIs in a 13-3 win over Iowa on Sunday.

Ramos joined the Yankees after hitting .264 with nine homers and 34 RBIs in 74 games for the Giants.

“When I first found out about the news I started shaking a little bit because obviously I didn’t know anything else,” Ramos said Tuesday afternoon. “But then I realized, I’m like, man, I’m going to be a New York Yankee. Like, that’s crazy.”

Ramos is expected to get the bulk of his playing time in left field, where he started 64 games for the Giants this season. He did not make any errors in 111 chances after leading National League left fielders with nine errors last year.

Besides adding Lombard and Ramos to the roster, the Yankees promoted Yerry de los Santos from the minors to replace Angel Chivilli in the bullpen.

Chivilli was optioned to Triple-A after allowing three homers in the eighth inning Monday, including Alec Burleson’s third of the game. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 15 appearances for the Yankees, who acquired him from Colorado in January.

In five appearances for the Yankees, de los Santos has a 1.04 ERA.

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This story has been corrected to show that Lombard started a double play in the second inning, not the third.

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

El-Sayed is a progressive who’s run against much of the Democratic machine. Stevens has establishment support, and she’s backed by roughly $30 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Democrats will likely need to defend the open Senate seat against Republican Mike Rogers in order to take control of the Senate next year.

Meanwhile, Rep. Wesley Bell won Tuesday's Democratic primary in Missouri's 1st Congressional District against former Rep. Cori Bush, settling a rematch that provided a test of America's evolving viewpoints on Israel.

Bell was backed by a political group affiliated with AIPAC. The pro-Israeli group also financed his ouster of Bush in the 2024 primary after Bush criticized Israel’s response to Hamas’ attack on the country in 2023.

In Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling primaries in a host of races. Also in play is whether Democrats, who tried to redraw districts in Virginia to their advantage but were rebuffed by the state supreme court, can pick candidates who can defeat Republicans in the fall.

Here is a look at the Latest:

El-Sayed says ‘tomorrow we begin to mend fences’ after bruising primary

With votes still being counted, Abdul El-Sayed called for Democratic unity headed into the general election, saying the primary slog “pales in comparison to the lies that Mike Rogers and Donald Trump are going to tell.”

“There is so much more that unites us than divides us,” he said. “Whatever happens tonight, we have a responsibility to ensure that we unite, unite to make sure that Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the U.S. Senate.”

Abdul El-Sayed does not declare victory, but says he vastly overperformed expectations

El-Sayed said it was too early for him to declare victory but still praised his supporters and the movement behind his campaign.

“I wish I could tell you I was declaring victory right about now,” he said.

The crowd, which had grown quieter in recent hours, grew loud as his speech went on.

“We are not a purple state. We are a state in need of a movement,” he said.

Abdul El-Sayed takes the stage in Detroit

The crowd chanted “Abdul! Abdul! Abdul!” as the progressive candidate took the stage at Detroit’s Majestic Theatre. An election night digital display was lifted to reveal a Michigan state flag.

Stevens urges supporters to ‘get some sleep or get some coffee’ and await results

“Then we got to be ready to go,” U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens told a crowd in Detroit, focusing on the road to a general election against Republican nominee Mike Rogers.

“We got to wake up and be ready to go, because if we are going to win this thing, which we are, we are going to have to get ready and show Mike Rogers what a little stick it to ’em looks like.”

Haley Stevens tells watch party results may come in the early morning

Stevens entered the room to chants of “Haley.”

“We knew this was going to be a close race,” Stevens said. She said the primary results may not be finalized until early morning.

“Friends, I am feeling good,” Stevens said.

Michigan Democratic officials show up at Stevens’ watch party

Former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, former Gov. Jim Blanchard and U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten appeared at Stevens’ watch party to back a candidate who has leaned heavily on endorsements from top party officials.

“She’s really a terrific legislator, and at the same time, I know she can beat Mike Rogers,” Stabenow told The Associated Press.

Stabenow, who was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Michigan, said it was essential for voters to rally behind whoever wins. She said she hopes the other candidate endorses the winner.

“I know Haley will,” Stabenow said.

Stevens campaigned earlier this week with Stabenow and Scholten at events in Muskegon Heights and Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has also been endorsed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, whose seat Stevens hopes to win.

William Lawrence will take on incumbent Tom Barrett for critical seat this fall

“This is a great night, but I want to make one thing clear - the JOB IS NOT FINISHED,” Lawrence posted on X following his primary victory.

The 7th District, which includes the state capital of Lansing, is one of the most competitive in Michigan. In 2024, the district flipped red when Tom Barrett won with 50.3% of the vote, though Barrett previously lost to a Democrat in 2022.

Lawrence is more progressive than his competitors, which some worry may jeopardize the seat for Democrats.

The Democratic candidate cofounded the Sunrise Movement, an environmental advocacy group. In his victory speech, he focused on opposing data centers and billionaires in politics.

“Everybody here in the 7th District, regardless of your political persuasion, we share so much more in common than that which separates us,” Lawrence said. “We share so much more in common than these billionaires in Silicon Valley, and Wall Street, and these insiders in D.C. We’re gonna find that common ground.”

US Rep. John James calls on Michigan’s ‘politically homeless’ to join him after GOP gubernatorial nomination win

James said Tuesday that his victory marked a beginning to “Michigan’s comeback.”

Warning against a “socialist agenda” he said was backed by Democratic nominee Jocelyn Benson, James added that “we should never underestimate how pain and desperation make false promises sound like hope.”

In remarks to supporters, James also thanked Trump, who backed him in his effort to defeat Perry Johnson. The businessman had lent his campaign more than $30 million, according to state campaign finance records.

If elected in November, James would become Michigan’s first Black governor.

Former prosecutor Christina Hines wins Michigan’s 10th District Democratic primary

Hines beat former state House Rep. Tim Greimel and former Commerce Department attorney Eric Chung.

Democrats have targeted the 10th Congressional District as they try to win a majority in the U.S. House. The district includes a portion of Oakland County and stretches across very red communities in Macomb County.

It’s currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. John James, who is running for Michigan governor.

El-Sayed campaign says he will speak within the hour

The campaign announced at El-Sayed’s primary night event in Detroit that he would speak no later than 1 a.m. ET even if a race call has not happened. Attendees were remaining upbeat, although the crowd in the Majestic Theatre had thinned substantially.

El-Sayed had projected confidence going into the final day of the campaign, already looking ahead toward facing Republican Mike Rogers. But after midnight, the race remained too early to call.

Democrats’ US Senate nominee in Kansas can raise money, but winning remains tough

The Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of the nation’s largest United Methodist congregation, emerged from an 11-person Democratic field in Tuesday’s primary after fundraising at a far faster clip than incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.

But Marshall’s status as an incumbent — and his lack of serious opposition to the GOP nomination — allowed him to start the fall campaign with far more cash on hand. History gives him another advantage in Republican-leaning Kansas: No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race in the state since 1932.

Hamilton, founder of the 22,000-member Church of the Resurrection, raised nearly $4.4 million after entering the race in February, his campaign finance reports show. Marshall has raised about $1.6 million this year, but he didn’t start from zero.

Marshall emerged from the primary with about $5.5 million in cash on hand, spending less than $327,000 as of mid-July. Hamilton spent about $2.4 million on his primary campaign and is starting the fall race with about $2 million in cash.

Michigan state Sen. Sean McCann defeats Diop Harris II in 4th District Democratic primary

McCann is trying to flip a Republican-held district that runs along Lake Michigan in the western part of the state.

A Kalamazoo native and former state representative, McCann was elected in 2022 to the Michigan Senate. He also served as a Kalamazoo city commissioner.

Harris, a political newcomer, worked as a staff assistant and legislative correspondent for Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Trump weighs in on Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary

President Donald Trump said he expected that Michigan Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman, would fare better in the Senate race if Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic nominee.

“Based on the polls, he’ll do much better against Abdul than he’s going to do against the congresswoman (Democrat Haley Stevens),” Trump said in a pre-taped interview with the show “Fox News @ Night.”

The president said that Democrats who identify as socialist would destroy the nation’s cities if elected.

“They’re always filthy, disgusting, dirty, and that’s what you’ll get,” said Trump, who added that he is a “clean person.”

Stevens supporter says people are ready for change but questions if El-Sayed can deliver

Derryl Reed said he was so confident Stevens is going to win that he brought a bouquet of flowers to give to her.

“I want to come out and support her and congratulate her on her victory,” Reed, 79, said.

Reed, who is on the Oakland County Democratic Party’s leadership team, said he understands Abdul El-Sayed’s appeal as an outsider candidate, but it’s that same lack of political experience that would hurt his chances in the general election.

El-Sayed is “able to come out and promise things,” Reed said. “The question is, can he deliver on the things he’s promised?”

Reed said no matter who wins the primary, Stevens and El-Sayed have to meet within the week to present a united front Democratic voters can rally behind.

“Democrats need to get their acts together. Trump and the Republicans have given them so much material to work with, it shouldn’t even be close,” Reed said. “It should be a landslide in November.”

William Lawrence defeats 2 other Democrats in Michigan’s 7th District primary

Lawrence, a community organizer, will face Republican incumbent Tom Barrett, who flipped the competitive district red in 2024. Barret’s win helped Republicans keep a slim majority in the U.S. House.

Lawrence supports government funding of universal healthcare and quality housing, according to his campaign website.

On Tuesday, he defeated Bridget Brink, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam. Barrett ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

El-Sayed holds narrow lead with decisive Wayne County votes still to come

Abdul El-Sayed maintained a lead over Haley Stevens as initial results were released. He was propelled by strong performances in Kent County, home to Grand Rapids, and heavily Democratic Washtenaw County.

Stevens narrowed El-Sayed’s lead as Wayne County, the state’s most populous, released more results. Home to Detroit, Wayne has the state’s highest share of Black residents and is a Democratic stronghold in general elections. Stevens targeted a big showing there, including bringing in South Carolina U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn to stump on her behalf.

In recent establishment-vs.-progressive matchups, Wayne has delivered for the establishment candidate, although that doesn’t guarantee a statewide victory. Hillary Clinton won about 60% in Wayne in Michigan’s 2016 presidential primary but still lost the state narrowly to Bernie Sanders.

Wayne County historically releases results later than most of the state, which could result in a boost for Stevens as the night wears on.

Republican John Braun advances in battleground Washington district

State Sen. John Braun will advance to the general election in the 3rd Congressional District, challenging Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in one of the GOP’s top pickup opportunities.

Gluesenkamp Perez has won twice in the Republican-leaning district, both times defeating Joe Kent, who faced scrutiny about his ties to white nationalists.

Compared with Kent, Braun has a more conventional Republican background. He’s the president of a family business that makes ambulances and other emergency response vehicles, and he has served more than a decade in the state Legislature, rising to be the Senate Republican leader.

The district in Southwest Washington includes the northern suburbs of Portland, Oregon, as well as rural communities reliant on ports, timber, agriculture and fishing.

US Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez fends off progressive challenger in battleground Washington district

The moderate Democrat will advance to the general election despite a longshot challenge from the left in the 3rd Congressional District.

Gluesenkamp Perez, who has won twice in a battleground district that voted for Trump, is one of a dwindling number of Democrats representing a rural, working class district.

She’s been vocal in warning her fellow Democrats that their party is losing touch with blue-collar voters like those she represents.

Challenger Brent Hennrich made a progressive case against her, highlighting her votes for the Laken Riley immigration bill and a version of the SAVE Act, a voting bill favored by Trump.

But he struggled to raise money or secure support from progressive politicians and interest groups that have helped insurgent challengers topple Democratic incumbents this year in Colorado and New York.

Bush says ‘I am not down, sad’ after loss to Bell

With her supporters cheering and clapping, Bush said she remains “that same fighter that stood up for you before.”

“I don’t have to have a title to fight for my people, St. Louis,” she said.

Saying Bell had ties to Republican candidates in the past, Bush also implied that GOP forces had targeted the district for possible redrawing “because if they make this a Republican district, they already got somebody ready.”

Bell, a former St. Louis County prosecutor, was backed by a political group affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The pro-Israeli group also financed his ouster of Bush in the 2024 primary after Bush criticized Israel’s response in Gaza to Hamas’ attack on the country in 2023.

“This ain’t over, y’all,” she said. “Let them all reap what they sow.”

Bell thanks voters for putting their faith in him a second time

“There’s going to be times we disagree on issues, but that should never stop us from doing the work for regular folks,” Bell said. He went on to say that is “because progressives are supposed to make progress.”

Bell said he saw “cruelty, chaos and corruption” from the Trump administration, which the crowd chanted “yes” in response to. He said November is a chance for voters to have a voice.

“To everyone who trusted me to represent you, thank you, and when we talk about the progress we need to make, I think the folks know, and St. Louis knows, that I’m always going to wake up working for you,” Bell said.

Cori Bush, in losing rematch, says Wesley Bell ‘ran a whole campaign on smears’

The former U.S. House member was greeted with chants of “we love you, Cori” as she took the stage at an events center in Dellwood, more than an hour after U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell was declared victor of the Democratic primary rematch.

Bush, who had been part of the progressive group of House members known as the “Squad,” also says Republican billionaires “want to control this district,” referencing GOP efforts to possibly redistrict the area more favorably to their party.

Polls have closed in Washington state

In-person voting centers in Washington closed at 8 p.m. PT, which is 11 p.m. ET. The state votes almost entirely by mail. Comparable past elections can offer clues about when to expect the first vote results and how long the vote count might take.

In the 2024 state primary, the AP first reported results at 11:06 p.m. ET, or six minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 11:43 p.m. ET, with about 51% of total votes counted. The vote count surpassed the 75% mark on the Thursday following the election at 7:56 p.m. ET and reached about 95% of the total vote six days after the election at 7:24 p.m. ET.

▶ Follow tonight’s results in Washington

Stevens’ watch party buoyed by Wayne County votes

Stevens’ supporters moved into an adjoining room with a large American flag overlooking the crowd to the tune of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.”

Buoyed by incoming votes from Wayne County, people chatted, occasionally breaking out into chants of “Haley.” Some held up signs above the crowd reading “Haley Stevens for US Senate” and “Michigan Made.”

Michigan has seen big increases in early voting and voting by mail

The number of people who voted in person early at Michigan polling places ahead of Tuesday’s primary was nearly double the number for the 2024 primary, Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie said.

Edevbie also said that the number of people voting by mail also increased by more than 20% compared to the 2022 primary.

He said during a brief news conference that 1.3 million people had cast mail ballots as of Tuesday, up 226,000 from the 2022 primary. Another 139,000 people voted early in person — compared to fewer than 74,000 in 2024.

Edevbie also told reporters that 28,000 people registered to vote Tuesday and then cast their ballots.

Chris Stigall wins Missouri Republican primary to replace longtime US Rep. Sam Graves

The conservative talk radio host’s victory in the five-person primary gives him an edge in the November election for the sprawling 6th Congressional District that includes rural northern Missouri and part of Kansas City.

Graves has represented the district for a quarter century and currently is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Stigall once worked for Graves and was endorsed by the congressman shortly after Graves announced in late March that he was not seeking reelection.

US Rep. Wesley Bell says in victory speech that he will work for the people in St. Louis

“When we think about all of the division that we hear, I think it is important that we focus on what this place can be,” Bell said.

Bell’s speech focused on the work he plans to do for the city, which was met with applause. He described St. Louis as a “sleeping giant” and encouraged applause for campaign volunteers around the room.

“I have a tremendous group of folks, and we just got to work,” Bell said.

Stevens watch party cheers for Wayne County votes

The crowd at Stevens’ watch party erupted into cheers, applause and chants of “Haley” as votes from Wayne County, Michigan’s most populous, began to roll in.

The campaign over a failed ballot measure showed Kansas what judicial races might have looked like

Spending on broadcast and digital advertising reached nearly $13 million during the campaign over an unsuccessful proposal to amend the Kansas Constitution to elect state Supreme Court justices, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Voters rejected the measure in Tuesday’s primary.

Opponents of the Kansas ballot measure spent almost $9 million on broadcast and digital ads. That was more than twice as much as the $4 million spent by supporters.

The governor now appoints the justices from among three finalists selected by a nominating commission, with no role for the Republican-controlled Legislature. The measure’s backers had hoped that if they were successful, they could start electing conservative justices in 2028.

Twenty-two states elect their justices, and some have multi-million dollar races. In Wisconsin, spending in a race last year topped $100 million.

Authorities released the names Tuesday of the people who died when the 24-year-old gunman opened fire at the Twin Falls restaurant. Police have said they are confident he acted alone but were still trying to determine a motive.

Police identified those killed as Ashley Garibay, 23, from Stockton, California; Dale Schultz, 66, of Salt Lake City; and Christopher Claunch, 59, of Hagerman, Idaho, about 28 miles (45 kilometers) northwest of Twin Falls.

Hundreds of community members, many holding candles or roses, gathered at a park in Twin Falls Tuesday night for a vigil to honor the victims. Some wrote notes to those who had been killed on large blue hearts arranged on a trio of crosses while others stood arm-in-arm and prayed.

Teresa Yocham, who lives in Twin Falls, said the shooting sickened her and she wanted to come out to show support.

“We are strong as a community and we come together in hard times and that's what this was about,” she said.

Victims of the shooting remembered

Garibay worked for the burger chain on a team that trained new employees away from her home in Stockton. Her family said she loved her work and called her an “amazing, beautiful soul who loved living life.”

“She was adventurous, outgoing, smart and driven, never letting obstacles get in her way," her family said in a statement. “She lit up a room with her bright smile and a laugh that was contagious.”

The In-N-Out location opened in late July as part of the California chain’s Idaho expansion. Garibay got her first job at one of the restaurants, and she dreamed of one day managing one of the stores, her family said.

One of Claunch’s friends, Garren Taylor, said Claunch completed a rehab program for alcohol abuse in Idaho a couple of years ago and was immediately hired at the center. Taylor said Claunch, known to those close to him as “Toph,” dedicated his life to helping others get sober.

“He helped hundreds of people,” Taylor said Monday. “He was just a gift to anyone he came in contact with. It wasn’t about the paycheck. His attitude was: ‘I get to help someone today.’ ”

Gregory Glenn, pastoral administrator for the Madeleine Choir School in Salt Lake City, described Schultz as a “beloved alumni parent" and "gifted artist” in a post on social media. He said Schultz 's wife was injured in the shooting.

“While we mourn the loss of Dale, we continue to pray for Reinette, who remains hospitalized as she recovers from her injuries,” he wrote Monday.

Police have opened a center where those who were affected by the shooting can get support and request or collect personal items left at the scene. Flags in the city will be at half-staff until next week.

Chaos at In-N-Out Burger

The attack Saturday at the In-N-Out Burger ended when the gunman, identified by police as Chad Williams, shot and killed himself.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene in and around the Idaho restaurant as shots were fired. One customer told The Associated Press that she and her daughters were waiting inside when she heard shots from the kitchen and an employee told her to get down. Another woman and her mother were waiting in the drive-thru line when they saw people running across the road and workers bolting out of the restaurant as a man directing traffic told them there was a shooter.

A man who was at a stoplight near the restaurant described seeing a person with an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru and a man with a pistol start firing toward the suspect.

During the attack, an off-duty state trooper and a civilian fired on Williams, diverting him from the restaurant, police have said.

Steven Pixley was among those injured. He was riding his motorcycle near the In-N-Out when he heard a pop and his left hand dropped, his cousin Shane Klaas said Tuesday.

A bullet went into his arm above his elbow and exited right below it, Klaas said. The shooting left Pixley without use of three of his fingers, and doctors are waiting for the swelling to go down so they can do surgery, Klaas said.

“His attitude is wonderful, which is a big part of getting through this,” Klaas said. “He’s laughing, he’s joking.”

Klaas said Pixley recently moved to Twin Falls, found a job and was trying to get his life together.

“He had everything in front of him,” Klaas said. “And then this just, I mean, this is just senseless.”

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Associated Press writers Jamie Stengle and Hallie Golden contributed to this report.

Weigman, one of the best signal callers in the Big 12 and nation, accounted for 36 total touchdowns in his first season at Houston – 25 passing and 11 rushing – which led the Big 12 and was seventh-most nationally. Weigman’s 3,405 yards of offense were the most since 2021 and 12th most since 1996 – his 700 rushing yards were the second most by a Houston QB since 1996.

Among returning Big 12 quarterbacks, Weigman’s 25 passing touchdowns is second in the league, his 11 rushing touchdowns are tied for the most in the conference, his 2,705 passing yards are third in the Big 12 and his 700 rushing yards leads the league, his 65.2 completion percentage leads returning Big 12 QBs and his 147.1 QB rating ranks second.

The three-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honoree in 2025 was a Davey Obrien QB Class of 2025 watch list selection and was one of four FBS quarterbacks in 2025 with 25+ passing touchdowns and 10+ rushing touchdowns. His 36 total touchdowns were ninth most in a single season in Cougar history.

In his start against Arizona, in 2025, Weigman became the first Houston quarterback with three passing TD, a rushing TD, and a 95+ rushing yard game without an interception since Kevin Kolb in 2003 and led Houston to five game winning drives or come-from-behind victories (Oregon State, Ari-zona, Arizona State, UCF, Baylor).

Weigman is one of 15 Big 12 Conference selections to the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List and one of 10 returning Big 12 student-athletes (non-transfers) to be selected to the Watch List.

The Cougars are coming off a 10-win season in 2025 which concluded with a Texas Bowl win over LSU.

Houston returns its starting quarterback, Conner Weigman, and his favorite wide receiver threat, Preseason All-Big America selection Amare Thomas, who will look to continue to build on their connection again this season. On defense, three starting defensive backs return with Jordan Allen, Will James and Kentrell Webb primed to hold down the secondary.

Thirteen different Cougars have earned preseason accolades with Weigman being named to the Maxwell Award Watch List, Thomas being named a Preseason All-American, and Allen and James earning preseason all-conference accolades.

The Cougars are one of four Big 12 Conference teams that earned a preseason ranking by the FBS coaches. TCU, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Arizona State and Kansas State also earned votes.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner actually enjoyed the chilly reception.

Skubal pitched six effective innings in his first start with Los Angeles, but the Dodgers managed just four hits in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The ace left-hander was serenaded with boos when he was introduced with the starting lineups and once again when he went out to the mound for his first career appearance at Wrigley Field.

“Whether they’re rooting against you or for you, I love the fans," Skubal said. “This game is about the fans as much as it’s about the players. But the fans create the environment. It's a ton of fun to play in front of crowds like that, even if they’re booing me or whatever it is.”

The 29-year-old Skubal was acquired in a trade with Detroit on Saturday night. The Dodgers are hoping he can play a key role in its third consecutive World Series championship. He went 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA in his last six starts for the Tigers, striking out 50 in 37 innings.

Skubal, who is eligible for free agency after this season, surrendered two runs and four hits in his first start with LA. He struck out six and walked two while throwing 85 pitches, 51 for strikes.

“Tarik's stuff was good. It was good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that this was the first time I saw him live, but even when it’s not perfect, it’s still pretty dang good.”

Skubal’s arrival cemented the Dodgers’ status as the majors’ most imposing franchise and public enemy No. 1 for fans of other teams. A plane flew over Wrigley hours before his first start with a banner that read “THE DODGERS RUINED BASEBALL,” but the message appeared to be upside down.

“I’m sure that’s not going to be the only, you know, rowdy atmosphere on the road,” Skubal said. “I plan on pitching in front of those atmospheres for the rest of the season. And then obviously when it comes postseason time, I’ll be ready to go.”

Skubal struck out three while retiring his first six batters. He surrendered a leadoff homer to Dansby Swanson on his first pitch of the third, and Chicago put two runners on with two down. But Skubal retired Alex Bregman on a flyball to center fielder Andy Pages, ending the inning.

Skubal allowed a second run on Nico Hoerner's infield chopper with two down in the sixth, giving the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

“I’m glad he’s on our side,” shortstop Mookie Betts said of Skubal. “He did an amazing job tonight.”

The NL West-leading Dodgers backed Skubal with a couple of stellar defensive plays. Pages robbed Seiya Suzuki and Pedro Ramírez with two terrific catches, and Kyle Tucker made a lunging grab on Hoerner’s sinking liner to right in the second.

“I mean Pages in center, he covered a ton of ground on all those kind of soft flyballs, and Tuck made some good plays, too,” Skubal said.

Skubal threw to Ben Rortvedt, who was behind the plate a day after he was acquired in a trade with the New York Mets. The Dodgers also activated catcher Hunter Fedducia, who came over in a deal with Tampa Bay on Monday. Eliezer Alfonzo was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and fellow catcher Chuckie Robinson was designated for assignment.

Catching depth is an issue for Los Angeles at the moment. Will Smith is working his way back from a neck issue, and Dalton Rushing was placed on the 10-day injured list on Monday with right elbow inflammation.

MRI results revealed a slight UCL tear for Rushing, who won't be able to throw for a few weeks. It's unclear if he'll be able to catch again this season.

Skubal praised Rortvedt's work in the tough spot.

“He’s great back there,” he said. “Called a great game, you know, on the same page all night. What he was trying to do feeds right into what I’m trying to do on the mound."

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

About 1,700 people remained in shelters with the evacuations to stay in place until conditions improve, according to the country’s disaster agency CONRED.

Officials raised the alert level to red in Sacatepéquez, Escuintla and Chimaltenango, where about 29,000 people are affected by ashfall and schools remain closed. Authorities warned the next 72 hours were critical on Tuesday, as mudflows up to 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) long continue descending from the volcano, with incoming rain expected to increase the risk of additional volcanic mudflows.

Mudflows have not reached villages and no structures reported damaged or at risk. Claudinne Ogaldes, executive secretary of CONRED, recommended residents in the three municipalities cover their water deposits and use face masks as protection from ash.

The eruption started Monday morning, with clouds of gas and ash rising above the volcano as lava and pyroclastic flows rolled down the slopes. More mud and ash were emitted Tuesday.

Among those evacuated were around 250 people from El Porvenir and the hamlet of Las Lajitas. CONRED also warned of ash spreading to nearby towns.

A major highway that passes close to the volcano, National Route 14, was closed. The Education Ministry suspended classes in nearby towns.

During a previous eruption of Fuego, or the Volcano of Fire, in June 2018, hundreds of people were killed and a whole village was destroyed. Another eruption last year spurred preventive evacuations.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Friday moved to dismiss the indictment against David Hearn, saying in a 20-page filing that newly produced evidence from the Interior Department showed the former Olympic canoeist was not responsible for damage to the pool's lining.

Pirro’s office attributed the damage instead to a botched installation by a contractor as well as “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration” in the weeks surrounding July 4, as directed by President Donald Trump.

Lawyers for Hearn on Tuesday urged a judge to permanently dismiss the case and foreclose the possibility that the Trump administration could revive it. They took issue with Pirro's assertion that prosecutors only recently learned about the pre-existing defects at the pool, saying the government had “disregarded readily available evidence” that the liner was already failing because of installation flaws.

“From the outset, the evidence showed that the pool liner was already failing and that Mr. Hearn did not cause the damage alleged in the indictment,'' Hearn's legal team argued in a 28-page motion filed Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court.

The poor condition of the pool was “plainly visible” for weeks and was publicly documented through photographs, video and news reports, the lawyers wrote.

“Defying both decency and common sense, the government proceeded to indict Mr. Hearn before it had obtained or evaluated the information necessary to establish a good-faith basis for the charge,” the defense attorneys wrote.

In addition, they say, the government's key eyewitness was never presented to the grand jury, and a key prosecution witness on the question of damages “stated that the repairs at issue would have been necessary regardless of Mr. Hearn's alleged conduct and could not identify any additional cost caused by Mr. Hearn.”

The contractor, Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, “publicly acknowledged, before Mr. Hearn was indicted, that portions of the project required repair,” the lawyers said. The firm was awarded a $14.7 million no-bid contract to repaint and waterproof the pool's concrete floor.

A spokesperson for Pirro’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Trump continued to insist on Tuesday night that the pool had been vandalized and defended the contractors.

“They did a beautiful job," Trump said. "There were a couple of little things, but that was not a big deal. And everybody saw the vandalism. All you have to do is look at the tape.”

The president said that Pirro was “totally wrong.” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has backed Trump's claims that vandals damaged the pool.

The dismissal of charges against Hearn was an embarrassing setback for the Justice Department and marked a rare moment during Trump’s second term of an aide or political appointee openly defying him.

Hearn has said he was on a bike ride June 19 when he reached in to examine the pool’s newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool. But he said he obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.

Felony charges, including a possible 10-year prison sentence, were brought “without a meaningful investigation into the central and obvious question in this case: whether Mr. Hearn caused, or even could have caused, any damage to the Reflecting Pool,'' Hearn's lawyers said.

Davis, 63, is accused of orchestrating the drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip that also wounded rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight. Davis' jury trial will begin Aug. 10, nearly three years after he was arrested in 2023. He pleaded not guilty.

On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in the passenger seat of a black BMW that Knight was driving when a white Cadillac pulled up on their right side and gunfire erupted. Knight was wounded but survived. Shakur died a week later at the age of 25.

Police and prosecutors say the shooting stemmed from a fierce competition for dominance in a musical genre that pitted East Coast members of a Bloods gang sect against West Coast members of a Crips sect that Davis has said he led in Compton, California.

That night, three others were with Davis in the Cadillac, but none of them faced charges in Shakur’s killing before they died.

Here’s what we know about who was in both vehicles from authorities, court records, grand jury testimony, interviews and Davis’ 2019 tell-all memoir, “Compton Street Legend.”

Tupac Shakur

Shakur is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. He had five No. 1 albums, was nominated for six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. He received a posthumous star in 2023 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and he will appear in the upcoming video game " Stranger than Heaven."

His death came as his fourth solo album, “All Eyez on Me,” remained on the charts, with some 5 million copies sold. He also used the stage names 2Pac and Makaveli. As an actor, he starred in several films.

Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks in New York in 1971, and his name was changed a year later. His late mother Afeni Shakur, and late stepfather Mutulu Shakur, were active in the Black Panther Party in New York. Tupac Shakur was not close with his biological father, William “Billy” Garland.

Two of the rapper’s siblings, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur and Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, have criticized authorities for inaction and slowness in charging anyone with their brother’s death.

Marion “Suge” Knight

Knight founded Death Row Records, a Los Angeles-based music label that represented Shakur at the time of his death. Knight’s moniker was shortened from “Sugar Bear,” his nickname growing up in Compton.

Knight and Shakur were headed to a nightclub when their car was shot at near the Las Vegas Strip. Knight was grazed by a bullet or shrapnel.

Now 61, Knight is serving a 28-year prison sentence in California for running over and killing a Compton businessman outside a burger stand in January 2015. The case capped the former rap music mogul’s downfall from his heyday as one of the biggest — and most feared — names in the music industry.

Davis said he and Knight knew each other growing up and even played on the same youth football team in Compton. Knight went on to play college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Briefly, during the 1987 NFL players’ strike, he was a replacement player for the Los Angeles Rams.

In his memoir, Davis describes Knight and himself as the “only living eyewitnesses to what truly happened.”

“Like two rams locking horns, Suge and I looked each other dead in the eye," he writes when describing the moments right before the shooting.

Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson

Law enforcement authorities long suspected that Anderson was the gunman. He was 22 at the time. Though Davis was his uncle and 12 years older, he described their relationship as that of brothers, friends and even father-son.

Shortly before the drive-by shooting, Anderson was beaten in a brawl at the MGM Grand casino involving Shakur and his associates, including Knight. Authorities, authors and Davis himself say the shooting was an act of retaliation for beating up Anderson.

“Them jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something,” Davis writes in the book.

Davis said he obtained a handgun from an associate and tossed it into the back seat of the Cadillac but did not say who fired the fatal shots. Anderson was sitting in the backseat of the car, behind his uncle.

Neither the Cadillac nor the gun used in the shooting were recovered, according to retired Las Vegas police Detective Clifford Mogg, who was assigned to the investigation in early 2018.

“We were never able to identify the person who rented the car, where it was rented from, and then when it comes to the gun, we have never recovered as of this date, the weapon that was used in the murder,” Mogg said in testimony to the grand jury.

Anderson, who denied involvement in Shakur’s killing, died two years later in what police said was an unrelated shooting at a Compton car wash.

Deandrae “Freaky” Smith

Also known as “Big Dre,” Smith was in the back seat of the car that night, sitting next to Anderson.

Although authorities have said they believe Anderson pulled the trigger, the grand jury testimony challenged that theory.

Denvonta Lee, a former associate of Davis, told the grand jury that it was Smith who shot Shakur and Knight. He said Anderson tried reaching over Smith but didn’t have a “clear shot” out the left-rear passenger window.

The former associate, who wasn’t in the car but recounted a conversation he had with Smith days after the shooting, said Smith took the gun from Anderson, opened fire and let Anderson take credit for Shakur’s death.

Smith was 30 when he died in 2004 of natural causes, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Terry “Bubble Up” Brown

Brown was driving the Cadillac from which the shots were fired.

Davis said in his memoir that they were driving toward Las Vegas Boulevard that night but spotted Shakur “hanging out of the window” of the BMW and waving to fans. Davis told Brown to make a U-turn, and they drove slowly past the rapper’s convoy until Davis said they “found who we were seeking.”

Brown died in a 2015 shooting at a medical marijuana dispensary in Compton.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office said his full name was Terry Tyrone Brown, although Brown has been referred to as both “Terrence” and “Terrance” in investigative records.

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Associated Press writer Jessica Hill and former Associated Press writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, faces a single count of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur's death. He's been jailed since late 2023 and has pleaded not guilty.

For decades, Shakur's unsolved killing has gripped hip-hop fans. He's considered one of the most influential rappers of all time with songs that speak to the human experience of love, heartache and familial relationships. When Shakur died, he was in the midst of a fierce battle for dominance in a music scene increasingly shaped by rival gangs.

The trial, which is expected to last about a month, likely won't reveal who pulled the trigger. Instead, prosecutors hope to prove that Davis was the shot caller and provided the weapon. Gunfire came from the Cadillac that Davis was in, and he's one of the only people there that night who is still alive. Prosecutors say if Davis hadn't written explicitly about the killing, or talked about it in interviews, it's likely no one would have been charged.

Cold case is revived on Tupac Shakur's killing

On Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in the passenger seat of a black BMW and Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight was driving. They had just watched Mike Tyson knock out Bruce Seldon and were headed to a nightclub where Shakur was scheduled to perform. But at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip, a white Cadillac pulled up beside them, and gunfire erupted.

Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later, while Knight survived with minor injuries. Knight is serving a 28-year prison sentence for a fatal hit-and-run.

The case went cold until Davis began making public statements about his involvement as a leader of the South Side Compton Crips. In 2019, he published a tell-all memoir. The book, along with interviews Davis gave, revived the police investigation.

Davis' defense attorneys argue there is no evidence he directed the shooting and the state relies on witnesses who weren't there. The defense said Davis left the narcotics trade in 2009 and worked a steady job before illness forced him to retire in 2014.

For Shakur's family, the last 30 years have been exhausting and stressful, his stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur said. Sitting through the trial will be retraumatizing, Shakur said, but he's “cautiously optimistic” justice will come.

“I hope that the trial is fair, and we find out the truth,” he said.

Shakur's death a result of longstanding gang feud, witnesses say

Hundreds of pages of grand jury transcripts portray Tupac Shakur's shooting as a culmination of a longstanding feud between rival record labels — Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records — and rival gang sects Mob Piru and South Side Compton Crips.

Witnesses said South Side Compton Crips hung out with and provided protection to Bad Boy Records, which was founded by Sean “Diddy” Combs and included rappers like The Notorious B.I.G., or Christopher Wallace. Mob Piru, part of the larger Bloods gang, was associated with Death Row Records, which featured rappers like Shakur, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

The rival gangs fought and retaliated against each other both before and after Shakur's death.

Prosecutors allege Davis orchestrated the shooting to get revenge after Shakur and his entourage beat up Davis' nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand hours before Shakur was killed.

Davis' book will be front and center at the trial

The prosecutors' case relies on “Compton Street Legend,” the book Davis co-authored about the shooting and his time in the Crips, as well as police and media interviews he participated in.

Davis' attorneys unsuccessfully fought to block the use of the book and a recording of a 2008 police interview in the trial. They argued the book was fictionalized and had a co-author, making it impossible to know which parts Davis wrote. They also argued Davis' interview with a federal task force investigating the deaths of Wallace and Shakur was supposed to be confidential and not used against him.

The memoir says that Shakur and his entourage “crossed the line” when they beat up Anderson.

“We couldn’t let no record company studio gangsters do us like that,” the book says.

Davis was in the passenger seat of the Cadillac and passed a gun to the back seat earlier that night, according to the book. When they encountered Shakur and Knight, Davis claimed to see Shakur reach for a weapon and wrote that “one of my guys from the back seat grabbed the Glock and started bustin’ back.”

No weapon was found in Knight and Shakur’s car, according to retired Las Vegas police Detective Clifford Mogg, who was assigned to the investigation in early 2018.

The trial could bring closure — or more questions

Mopreme Shakur said nothing would bring back his stepbrother.

“That would be justice for me,” he said. “But we all know that is unattainable.”

Mopreme Shakur said he wants allegations that Combs was involved to be explored further. In his book, Davis claims that Combs wanted Knight and Shakur killed. Combs has denied having any involvement in Shakur's death.

He's serving roughly four years in prison after being convicted of prostitution-related charges. Combs' attorney did not return emailed requests from The Associated Press for comment.

Shakur's influence in the music industry endures

Shakur sold over 75 million records worldwide with hits like “California Love,” “Changes” and “Dear Mama.” His songs spanned from party anthems to deep social commentary. The issues he discussed still resonate with people 30 years later, history professor Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar said.

“I can’t think of anyone else in the history of hip-hop who’s had a greater impact in such a short period of time,” said Ogbar, who is the founding director of the Center for the Study of Popular Music at the University of Connecticut.

Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank announced the birth of the 6-pound, 9-ounce (3 kilograms), girl delivered Monday in Lisbon, Portugal.

The girl was not named yet. The couple has two sons August, 5, and Ernest, 3.

Eugenie, the younger daughter of the former Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, is the niece of King Charles III.

“Their majesties the King and Queen and other members of the royal family were delighted to be informed of the news,” the palace said.

Several fires that burned through mountain communities and coastal areas west of Athens were brought under control overnight. Planes and helicopters dumped water inside the contained perimeters through the morning, dousing hot spots while the winds stayed calm.

“There is a huge fire load in the area and the risk goes up as the day progresses,” said Costas Tsingas, head of the Greek Firefighters Association. “The goal is for the day to end better than it started.”

Fires started through negligence prompt wave of arrests

Burning for a fifth day, the blaze outside Athens prompted the evacuation of more than 1,000 people and was blamed on a faulty power line from a wind farm.

Restrictions and park closures are imposed locally according to fire‑risk levels. Authorities say 33 people were arrested between June 29 and Aug. 2 for starting fires, including 30 through negligence and three on suspicion of arson. Most of the negligence cases involved farm work carried out despite local bans, including welding.

On Tuesday, crews were working against the clock: Winds typically pick up in the afternoon, a coastal phenomenon common across the Mediterranean in summer as land heats faster than the sea and draws in stronger breezes.

The army deployed tracked earth movers to carve fire breaks across the scorched hillsides, while specialist units pushed into forest areas on foot to extinguish smoldering embers before they could reignite.

The evacuations from around the seaside resort of Porto Germeno and other areas west of the capital included more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches.

Wildfires in France expose ammunition

Prolonged heat waves across Europe this summer have left France tinder-dry, fueling blazes that this week exposed long-buried ammunition in a forested area.

The massive wildfire outside the southwestern city of Bordeaux, which has scorched about 420 square kilometers (162 square miles), uncovered what is believed to be World War II-era ammunition.

Demining experts have found more than 400 shells and other munitions at Le Porge, the hardest-hit town, where 183 homes were destroyed. Residents described hearing explosions believed to be blasts from the old shells, authorities said.

The fire remained contained and thousands of evacuees were allowed to return Monday. More than 224,000 people fled in France’s largest civilian evacuation outside wartime.

In the southern Netherlands, firefighters and military helicopters battled a forest blaze for the second day Tuesday amid high temperatures and shifting winds. The fire has destroyed 100 hectares of trees and was burning out of control but was not immediately threatening homes. Nobody has been injured in the blaze. The cause is not known.

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Corbet reported from Paris.

Shannon Taylor, the elected top prosecutor in a suburban Richmond county, will take on longtime GOP incumbent Rob Wittman in the 1st Congressional District. The coastal 2nd Congressional District, a true swing district with a heavy military presence, will see a rematch between two veterans — former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria and Jen Kiggans, who ousted her in 2022.

Taylor and Luria were backed by the House Democrats’ campaign arm and a wide array of Democratic leaders, including Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

Democratic primaries elsewhere in the U.S. this year have highlighted a divide between progressive challengers and more moderate, establishment-backed rivals, and in some races, outsiders have notched surprising upset wins. But in Virginia, Democratic primary voters have a history of rewarding moderate candidates, a trend that continued with the wins by Luria and Taylor on Tuesday. Taylor won in a crowded, seven-way primary that included a progressive candidate who won about a fifth of the vote, while Luria defeated three opponents.

Virginia Democrats hope they can flip at least two seats after their aggressive, voter-approved redistricting plan was overturned by the state Supreme Court earlier this year.

More bullish observers, including the governor, argue as many as four districts could flip, including the 5th District, where former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello won the Democratic primary and will face incumbent Rep. John McGuire in November.

“Virginia Democrats are going on offense. We will compete everywhere, defend our ground, flip Republican-held seats, and hold Donald Trump and his allies accountable for higher costs, attacks on our freedoms, and corruption that puts personal interests ahead of the people they serve,” state Sen. Lamont Bagby, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement.

Jeff Ryer, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said voters would look critically at Spanberger’s leadership and instead “elect common-sense conservative leaders who will fight for lower taxes, more freedom, and greater opportunity.”

The primary sets up a rematch in the 2nd District

Virginia is currently represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans, all of whom will be seeking reelection this year.

The coastal 2nd District, with its population center in Virginia Beach, is a must-win for Democrats aiming to retake the House. Luria's primary victory sets up what will be a closely watched general election rematch with Kiggans.

Luria, a retired Navy commander, flipped the district in 2018 and served for two terms before Kiggans defeated her in 2022. Luria was a member of the Jan. 6 committee, which investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In a victory speech to supporters, Luria argued that Kiggans had campaigned on a pledge to be bipartisan but had not meaningfully distinguished herself from President Donald Trump. She also acknowledged that the district has routinely swung back and forth between electing Democrats and Republicans, saying, “We have a long road and a long fight ahead."

Kiggans, a former Navy helicopter pilot, on Tuesday defended her record as a “proven leader who brings people together and gets results for our military and families.” She said in a statement that she would be campaigning in the coming months with a focus on “lowering costs, putting more money back in your pocket, standing up for our families, and working across the aisle to deliver real results.”

Democrats are hoping momentum will help them flip the GOP-leaning 1st District

The 1st District, with a population center in the Richmond suburbs, has generally tilted Republican. Taylor won a crowded primary contest, even as many Democratic voters backed a more progressive candidate, Salaam Bhatti.

After her victory, Taylor drew a line from her experience as a prosecutor to the way she said she would govern if elected.

“I’ve spent the last 14 years prosecuting violent criminals, fraudsters and anybody who abuses our trust. If they took advantage of our community, I held them accountable. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do when I’m in Congress,” she told a crowd of cheering supporters gathered at an Irish pub in the district.

In the primary, Taylor emphasized her record on public safety and promoted an agenda she said would help fight corruption in Washington, including a ban on stock trading and a lifetime federal lobbying ban for members of Congress.

She will go on to face Wittman in the general election.

Wittman said in a statement that he had a proven record of delivering for the district and argued that Taylor had advocated for progressive criminal justice reforms.

Only two House incumbents faced primary challengers

Elsewhere, two incumbents, Democratic Rep. Don Beyer and McGuire, defeated their primary opponents.

In central Virginia’s 5th District, Trump-endorsed McGuire, a former Navy SEAL and state lawmaker, beat veteran Melanie Lucero.

He will go on to face Perriello, a former congressman who is seeking the chance at a comeback and won a three-way race for the Democratic nomination. Perriello formerly represented the district for one term beginning in 2009. Some Democrats are hopeful about the party’s chances of flipping the 5th District, though it leans solidly Republican.

Beyer won in northern Virginia’s overwhelmingly blue 8th District surrounding Washington and is expected to cruise to reelection in November.

Republicans will decide on a long-shot challenger for US Senate

Voters also settled a three-way statewide contest to pick the Republican nominee to challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, a well-known former governor who was first elected to the Senate in 2008 and currently serves as the ranking Democrat on the chamber’s Intelligence Committee.

Defeating Warner, who did not have a primary challenger, is expected to be a difficult task. The race is not among those seen as a battleground that will determine control of the Senate.

Bert Mizusawa, a decorated retired Army major general, emerged as the GOP primary winner.

In suburban Richmond, Republican voter Chris Weymouth, 85, voted for Mizusawa because she believed he would put America first, support the Constitution and protect America’s freedoms. She said Democrats have moved so far left she would “never” consider voting for one.

The increased enforcement has already reached Houston.

Last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained 18-year-old Bellaire High School student Alim Garipov at William P. Hobby Airport as he prepared to board a domestic flight with relatives to visit colleges.

• RELATED: Bellaire High School student detained by ICE at Houston airport released from detention

ICE said Garipov entered the United States legally in 2022 but remained after his authorized stay expired. Garipov had a pending asylum application, but ICE said that application did not provide him with legal immigration status.

Garipov was released after three days in custody.

His case is among a growing number of airport encounters involving immigrants attempting to travel between U.S. cities.

A Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News that ICE is now making between 20 and 40 arrests per day at airports nationwide. That official said the agency was making fewer than 10 airport arrests per day in May 2025.

The increase comes as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement nationwide, reporting approximately 51,000 ICE arrests in July.

Video captures attempted ICE arrest at Las Vegas airport

Video recorded July 13 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas shows two plainclothes ICE agents attempting to detain a man inside Terminal 3.

Bystanders confronted the agents as they tried to place the man in handcuffs. The agents eventually walked away, leaving him on the ground with a handcuff attached to one wrist.

Las Vegas police said officers removed the handcuff after they arrived and could not find an outstanding warrant for the man. ICE arrested him the following day at Los Angeles International Airport.

Attorneys call domestic airport enforcement a “new front”

Houston immigration attorney Ruby Powers said airport arrests historically involved Customs and Border Protection questioning people entering the United States, including travelers suspected of violating the terms of a visa or permanent residents with criminal cases.

“What we’re seeing now with attempting to travel domestically—this is a whole new front that we hadn’t seen before until just recently,” Powers said.

Powers believes airports provide ICE access to large numbers of travelers in one place as the agency works to increase its arrest totals.

“When you go to a location like a federal building or a location where it’s heavily trafficked with individuals coming through, it seems like the right place for them to find people,” Powers said. “It must be a new tactic for them to capture more arrests to meet their goals.”

Immigration attorney Leslie Kirby said the enforcement appears to be expanding beyond people with final deportation orders.

“Now they’re targeting people who entered on visas and overstayed, or people who may have a pending application for a green card, or spouses of U.S. citizens,” Kirby said.

A family relationship, work permit or pending immigration application does not necessarily provide lawful immigration status or prevent ICE from making an arrest. However, attorneys argue that people with pending cases should be allowed to pursue those applications without being detained.

How does ICE know who is traveling?

The attorneys believe increased information-sharing among federal agencies allows ICE to identify travelers and determine their potential immigration status.

“With just a name check, they’re able to check some registers to find out what their status might be in the country,” Powers said.

An April Reuters investigation found that the Transportation Security Administration provided ICE with information on more than 31,000 travelers from the beginning of President Trump’s second term through February 2026. Those referrals led to more than 800 ICE arrests.

• Federal judge denies government’s request to suspend release of witness in deadly Houston ICE shooting

The information came through TSA’s Secure Flight program, which collects identifying information from airline passengers and was created to screen travelers against government watchlists as a counterterrorism measure.

Reuters could not determine how many of the resulting arrests physically occurred inside airports. TSA information would, however, help ICE determine when and where someone planned to travel.

Attorneys advise immigrants to make a plan before traveling

Powers said she is advising clients with pending asylum or green-card applications to exercise increased caution and consider limiting unnecessary travel.

She also recommends that immigrants speak with a trusted attorney, organize their immigration documents and create a plan with relatives in case they are detained.

“If someone gets detained without an attorney or without a plan, it just makes everything infinitely more difficult and more expensive,” Powers said. “You need to have an immigration plan, and the family needs to be on board.”

KPRC 2 asked ICE how many people have been arrested at Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports, whether the agency has increased its presence at those airports and how agents identify travelers for enforcement.

This story will be updated when ICE responds.