The attack with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones damaged buildings and civilian infrastructure across the city. Many residents took shelter at metro stations after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other authorities issued the first warnings of the attack.

The attack killed 13 people in Kyiv and injured 86 more, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Damage was recorded in 30 locations across the city, mainly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 20 residential buildings were damaged across the city. The Emergency Service says it deployed nearly 500 personnel and 100 units of specialized vehicles, including a helicopter, to deal with the aftermath of the attack.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Ukraine’s allies to strengthen the country’s air defenses following what he described as a “night of horror” in Kyiv, urging partners not to delay decisions on supplying air defense systems and missiles. Writing on X, Sybiha said the death toll after the attack may rise as the rescue teams continued their work.

Russia has intensified its attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, even as Ukraine’s own long-range drone campaign against Russian military sites and energy facilities has caused fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines inside Russia.

Sybiha rejected any attempts to justify Russian strikes as retaliation for Ukraine’s long-range attacks, saying Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter while Russia remained the aggressor.

Klitschko urged residents of the capital to remain in shelters due to the ongoing “furious enemy attack."

He said a paramedic in extremely critical condition was among the injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Ukraine's Emergency Service says a hotel and two five-story residential buildings were damaged in the area.

In the Desnianskyi district, people were trapped inside a damaged nine-story residential building and rescuers headed to the scene, Klitschko said.

In the Holosiivskyi district, a fire broke out on the roof of a 16-story building, according to the Emergency Service.

In the Sviatoshynskyi district, fire broke out in two private residencies, the Emergency Service said. Debris trapped people in one of them, according to the mayor. In the Darnytskyi district, six levels of a nine-story building collapsed after a Russian strike and another five-story residential building was damaged, Klitschko said. The Emergency Service said a 16-story building and private residencies were damaged in the area.

Tkachenko said the attack partially destroyed a residential building in the Desnianskyi district, sparked fires near residential buildings at two locations in the Pecherskyi district, and ignited a fire near an administrative building in the Solomianskyi district. He said authorities were also recording damage in the Obolonskyi and Podilskyi districts. The head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, said damage occurred in five regional districts. Three people sustained injuries in Bucha district, he said.

But UPS said in its own submission to the National Transportation Safety Board that the reason it never required those enhanced bearing inspections inside the pylons that hold the engines to the wings of its MD--11 freighters is because Boeing said incorrectly that the failure of those bearings wouldn't jeopardize the safety of flight. And the enhanced inspections were never required.

The plane crashed last fall while accelerating down the runway at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport, killing killed all three pilots and 12 people on the ground. Twenty-three more were injured.

The failures that kept mechanics from taking a close look at the key parts securing the engines to the wings were highlighted at two days of investigative hearings on the crash in May, but the documents released Wednesday provide additional details.

The NTSB might not publish its final report on the cause of the fiery crash that happened as the UPS plane was trying to take off in Louisville, Kentucky, last November until late this year or possibly early next year. But UPS said it's clear “once the pylon separated from the aircraft, the crash was inevitable.”

Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration officials acknowledged during the hearings that they misunderstood the risks related to the potential failure of a steel bearing and metal sheath in the engine mount before the crash, not realizing that it could lead to the lugs that secure engines to an MD-11’s wings breaking. The bearings are tucked deep inside near the pylons, so problems are hard to spot without removing each engine for detailed inspections.

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the actions of Boeing, UPS, FAA and the maintenance company STE San Antonio Aerospace all contributed to this crash.

“There’s just lots of subtleties and semantics that these four entities are using. But in the end, this got missed and to some degree, all four have some role to play in that,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the NTSB and FAA. “Safety is a shared responsibility, and I think the NTSB’s task now is to apportion that responsibility.”

Failure of key part securing the engine never identified

Chris Hentz, who is Vice President of STE San Antonio Aerospace, said UPS only required its mechanics to check for corrosion and not for signs of bearing failure. But Hentz and UPS both pointed out that even as Boeing said “changes to the inspection requirement of the spherical bearing were warranted” the planemaker said in the same letter that the existing inspection requirements were sufficient.

Hentz said in his letter that Boeing “stated that while the MD-11 inspection intervals and requirements for an inspection of the aft bulkhead were sufficient, changes to the inspection requirements of the spherical bearing were warranted to ensure that the migration of the outer race would be reliably detected and identified during inspection.”

UPS said that even though Boeing developed an enhanced inspection procedure that it added to the MD-11 maintenance manual, the planemaker never added that procedure to its federally approved maintenance schedule that would have required it.

“Relying on Boeing’s representations that the issue was not safety-of-flight and that existing MPD inspections were sufficient, UPS determined that no additional changes to its maintenance program were necessary beyond what was already being performed.” the package delivery giant said.

Past problems didn't trigger alarm

At one point, Boeing even successfully petitioned the FAA to extend the schedule for required inspections from once every 19,900 cycles of takeoffs and landings, to once every 29,260, so that airlines could complete more of the major maintenance tasks simultaneously, with less down time.

The planemaker sought the change even after receiving reports about seven of the flaws in the bearings well before the planes had reached their original inspection limits. In the years after the schedule was relaxed, three more instances were discovered before the crash.

The UPS plane that crashed after losing its engine had flown 21,043 cycles, so it should have been thoroughly inspected under the original schedule. There has been only one other crash, decades earlier, involving a similar plane model losing an engine, but that one was blamed on improper maintenance and not the same flaw.

FedEx and other operators of these MD-11s reported at least 10 other instances of failures of these bearings or the parts that hold them in place over the years before the UPS crash. But it's not clear what these other operators might have been doing differently in their maintenance.

FedEx resumed flying its MD-11s in May after the FAA approved Boeing’s plan to ensure their safety. The engine mounts were closely inspected following the November crash, and going forward the spherical bearings will be replaced regularly, after every 4,000 cycles of takeoffs and landings. UPS decided to retire all of its MD-11s early after this crash.

After Trump questioned Italy’s reliability as a wartime ally and claimed Giorgia Meloni had groveled for his attention, European leaders rallied to Meloni's side, thawing what had been a frosty relationship over her hard-right political roots.

It is the latest example of how the often divisive American president is helping to draw Europe closer together.

European leaders are finding more reasons to coordinate on defense, tariffs and foreign policy as they confront wars in Ukraine and Iran, a ballooning trade deficit with China, and threats from Russia. That leaves Trump, who has often preferred to negotiate with European countries individually, with less ability to do so, analysts say.

“Most of the mainstream leaders realize that Europe is getting squeezed between China and America, and so, if not now, then when?” said Sudha David-Wilp, vice president at the German Marshall Fund. “They need to act as a bloc in order to maintain Europe’s place in the world.”

This newfound European unity could be tested next week at a NATO summit in Turkey.

European leaders rally around Meloni

Meloni's spat with Trump has helped her strengthen ties with European leaders once wary of her party’s post-fascist roots.

A pivotal moment came in March when she wouldn't allow U.S. bombers headed to the Middle East to use a base in Sicily without parliamentary approval.

For years before then, France and Germany often kept Meloni outside the small-group talks that helped shape Europe’s response to major foreign policy crises. That persisted into 2026 amid disagreements over the Russian war on Ukraine, including Meloni’s rejection of a proposal by Britain and France to send European troops there following a possible ceasefire.

But Trump’s escalating attacks on Meloni — who called Trump's criticism of Pope Leo “unacceptable” — helped shift the dynamic, prompting European leaders to rally around her.

After all, they, too, have been on the receiving end of Trump's barbs.

Meloni was firmly in the fold at a late June meeting in Berlin with the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Poland. And she met the next day with French President Emmanuel Macron in southern France — the first bilateral summit since the pandemic.

Europe's nationalist parties are adjusting

Even nationalist parties across the continent once aligned with Trump are recalibrating their stances because his trade policies and war with Iran are proving unpopular with voters.

In France, far-right leader Jordan Bardella recently blasted U.S. actions as “foreign interference” and described Trump as “erratic” and “extremely unsteady.” Bardella had previously welcomed Trump's brand of nationalism as a “wind of freedom.”

In Germany, leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany party have criticized the U.S. military campaign against Iran. The co-leader of the party, Tino Chrupalla, said in March he was “extremely disappointed” with Trump, whom he had viewed as a politician who would avoid new conflicts.

The changing rhetoric comes as elections approach, putting more focus on domestic issues.

“This pushes everyone to consider a European horizon more than an international one," said Lorenzo Castellani, a political analyst and professor at Rome’s LUISS University,

Beyond Europe’s biggest powers

These dynamics are playing out beyond the European Union, from the Arctic Ocean to the Balkans.

When Trump threatened to take Greenland by force, protests erupted in its capital, Nuuk, and in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Leaders across the political spectrum bristled at the threatened infringement of European sovereignty and feared it could shatter the already stressed NATO military alliance.

In Albania, a luxury development being planned that is linked to Trump’s family business has become a major political issue, drawing protests in June.

The political risks of close alignment with Trump were perhaps most clearly illustrated in Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — long regarded as Trump’s closest ally in the European Union — was voted out of office in April despite support from the U.S. president and prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

An analysis by the consultancy Maplecroft suggested that negative perceptions of the Trump administration may have weighed on Orbán politically.

Meloni’s balancing act

Though Meloni remains closely aligned with Trump on issues like immigration and security, she has long diverged from him on Ukraine. Her steadfast support for Kyiv has strengthened Italy's ties with European allies and has become a key factor in their increasingly united front toward the U.S.

During their public spat last month, Meloni said her friendship with Trump came with a heavy political cost.

In her response to his accusation that she had “begged” to be photographed with him while at the recent G7 summit in France, she wrote on social media: “As for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you.”

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that Trump is deeply unpopular in Italy. According to the survey, the vast majority of Italians — 83% — have no confidence in Trump’s ability to do the right thing regarding foreign affairs. His handling of a range of issues -- including Iran, tariffs, and U.S. immigration policies -- received a low level of support.

With a national election due by 2027 — and possibly as early as next spring — Meloni faces mounting political pressures, including fallout from the unpopular Iran war and her former ties to Trump.

Voters across Europe could hold their own politicians accountable for the actions of an American president beyond their control, said Castellani, the political analyst.

“At a certain point, when voters see the price of gasoline rising because of a war perceived as distant, they ask Meloni for the bill, not Trump.”

___

McNeil reported from Brussels. AP writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin, and Justin Spike in Budapest, contributed to this report.

Tillman delivered the goal of his life, and one of the biggest ever by a U.S. man at the World Cup, sending this American soccer fairytale into the round of 16.

“I’ve been dreaming about this game," Tillman said after scoring the final goal in a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday night. “I’ve been dreaming about maybe taking a free kick and scoring a free kick. I’ve practiced this in training and I think today I showed what I can do.”

The round of 32 win set up a Monday matchup in Seattle against Belgium as the U.S. hopes to make a deep run on home soil. The Red Devils beat the Americans 2-1 in extra time at 2014's round of 16.

“It’s about to keep dreaming,” said U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, who belted out “Take Me Home, Country Roads” as it played over the public-address system after 10 minutes of stoppage time. “In football all is possible if you believe.”

Folarin Balogun put the Americans ahead in the 45th minute with his third goal of the World Cup, then was sent off in the 64th for a red card.

Star Christian Pulisic had a goal disallowed for offside in the 78th, and Tillman helped seal the win when he curled in a free kick that got over the wall and on target from just outside the box in the 82nd. The ball went off diving goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj’s right hand and in despite the pain in Tillman's bloody right foot from being stepped on.

Balogun dominated the first half and scored in the 45th minute. The Americans had to scramble after his foul for awkwardly stepping on Tarik Muharemovic and preserved the shutout despite playing short-handed for more than 30 minutes.

“It felt so comfortable, even down to 10 men,” captain Tim Ream said. “That’s the way you want to feel. You don’t want to have that panic set in. You want have that calm and focus and we had that.”

Pochettino became the first U.S. coach with three World Cup victories, and the Americans gained just their second World Cup knockout round win. They made it to the semifinals in the first tournament in 1930 by winning their group and won a round of 16 matchup against Mexico in 2002.

Balogun leads the U.S. with three goals, but will miss the Belgium match because of an automatic suspension for the red card, assessed by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus after a video review. Balogun stepped on an ankle of Tarik Muharemovic, apparently not intentionally.

“Obviously the ref made a decision that he made, but I think it’s questionable,” midfielder Weston McKennie said. “I think there’s been many other plays like that throughout the tournament on other players that a card wasn’t given at all. It’s disappointing.”

Balogun matched Landon Donovan in 2010 for the second-most goals by an American in a World Cup, behind only Bert Patenaude’s four in 1930.

“Of course he’s a great player," Tillman said. "We have great players who can replace him, and give the best they can, and hopefully score some nice goals as well.”

The win snapped a 10-game losing streak for the U.S. against European teams dating to a tie against England in the 2022 World Cup. The Americans had lost seven games and tied six against European nations in World Cup play since beating Portugal in their 2002 opener.

The U.S. had started fast in the group stage matches by scoring in the first 15 minutes of all three games but it was Bosnia that had the better chances early. Matt Freese needed to make two saves early to stop Ermedin Demirovic following a deceptive goal kick that caught the U.S. defense napping and then again on the ensuing corner kick that Kerim Alajbegovic almost scored on directly.

Balogun took over from there. He had an apparent 31st-minute goal called off for offside and was knocked down in the box on two other opportunities before finally delivering. Ream intercepted a Bosnia goal kick at midfield and passed to Tyler Adams, who flicked to Tillman. The ball, with the help of an errant Bosnian clearance attempt and a deflection, found Balogun in the box. Balogun slid the left-footed shot past Vasilj.

Balogun punctuated the goal with his version of the LeBron James Silencer celebration, drawing a positive reaction from King James himself.

Balogun nearly scored again in first-half stoppage time but his shot from in close deflected off the crossbar and out of play.

Bosnia’s second World Cup trip was a success with a draw against Canada in the opener and a win over Qatar that helped the team advance to the knockout round for the first time. But it ended in disappointment.

“We had our moments after the red card,” Vasilj said. “You could feel that there was something. The only thing that was missing was a goal. And then in the worst moment, out of nothing, I would say, a free kick and we conceded a second goal. After that it was really difficult.”

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted in Trump’s preferred color scheme: a navy-blue belly with red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features that the president believes a commander-in-chief’s entourage should have — plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.

Trump told reporters that he was proud of the luxurious plane. “You can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,” he said.

The retrofitted Qatari jet is intended to serve as a “bridge” between the aging Boeing jets that have served as Air Force One for the last 36 years and two new aircraft, which are years behind schedule and expected to be delivered in 2028 at the earliest. Trump toured the new jet just weeks after returning to the White House last year and directed that it be prepared for his use for the bulk of his remaining time in office.

The compressed timetable set by the president limited the modifications to the plane. Images of the jet captured since its unveiling and analyzed by the Associated Press show that it is not equipped with at least some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the outgoing Cold War-era jets.

The Air Force has said that it did little to change the cabin layout of the plane and that it spent less than $400 million on security upgrades.

Jeremiah Gertler, a senior analyst for Teal Group, an aviation and defense consulting firm, said that this absence, as well as a seemingly smaller number of communications antennas, suggested that the Qatari jet is better suited to only work as a domestic aircraft.

“If you’re going on a long trip, you take the big fancy car, but if you’re just buzzing around town, you’ll settle for something less. Right? And this looks like it’s a domestic-only model,” Gertler said, speaking of the new jet.

“If the idea was to do it as quickly and inexpensively as possible, it would seem to lead to the notion that there’s less content” in the jet’s modifications, Gertler said.

Trump has said he plans to use the new plane next week when he travels to attend the NATO summit in Turkey.

The Air Force argued that the rapid conversion of the jet was done “without accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications,” but added that “several highly complex engineering modifications required for the final (Air Force One aircraft) were intentionally excluded from the Bridge aircraft.” The service acknowledged that it did not widen the doors leading out of the aircraft or include multiple stairs built into the hull of the plane.

Reporters are generally not permitted to take photos inside the plane unless Trump is present. But on Wednesday, Trump administration staffers shared images of the plane's interior on social media.

White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a photo of aides gathered around a circular table that had off-white place mats and leather captain's chairs. Monica Crowley, the chief of U.S. protocol, posted a picture of herself perched on a leather couch between a pair of Air Force One throw pillows. Mounted on the wall behind her was a framed photo of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

The jet carried Trump to North Dakota to see the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, its first official visitor ahead of its opening on the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement for the older planes that had previously ferried him as president.

“This is a gift from a country that has treated us very well,” Trump said. Trump has said in the past that the Qatar plane would end up in a presidential library.

More than a year after first trying to buy Infowars, The Onion on Thursday will debut a send-up under its own website with plans to give some of the revenue to families of the victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The families have still received no money from Jones since courts ordered him to pay more than $1 billion for falsely calling the 2012 shooting a hoax.

The Onion will start by sending the families $100,000 from merchandise sales that combine the conspiracy empire’s brand with the The Onion’s logo in rainbow colors, according to CEO Ben Collins, whose company is still in court trying to take control of Infowars.

“Don’t give comedy writers a grudge for 18 months,” Collins said.

The parody will include a series of shows and other content under Infowars branding that spoof Jones’ aggressive mashup of conspiracies linking major news events, dubious scientific claims, attacks on people suffering in tragedies and sales of supplements and survival gear.

Jones' claims that the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut is a hoax have no truth, but Jones continued to amplify them. His followers started to harass victims' families, suggesting they were “crisis actors” and even making death threats.

Jones' Infowars empire had 10 million visitors a month and generated more than $50 million in annual revenues at its peak, according to the company. But the $1.4 billion judgements in defamation cases in Connecticut and Texas, where Jones is based, forced him into bankruptcy and broke Infowars apart.

“All he’s been left with is an iPhone and a fancy microphone," said Chris Mattei, an attorney for nine of the Sandy Hook families.

Jones has moved his show to a different website. An email sent to an address to request interviews went unanswered.

The families knew they could never stop Jones from getting his message out, and he has managed to avoid paying the judgement so far. But they could expose what he said and assure he can never profit again, Mattei said.

“Every dime Alex Jones makes from here until the end of eternity is going to be claimed by the families,” Mattei said.

The Onion stepped in when Collins saw Infowars' assets were going to be sold at auction.

Collins spoke to Sandy Hook families, who said they were briefly skeptical, but then saw how The Onion's staff could use the Infowars style and branding to take the moral high ground and make fun of the people who not only caused them so much pain but they felt also poisoned society.

Collins didn't want to give away too much of the new stuff before it goes live Thursday.

But the new Infowars will maintain The Onion's sharp satire sprinkled with shock value. Collins said there will be a section selling a penis flattening device, a fake “pro oxygen” supplement pill that the host claims can replace breathing, as well as an extended debate on how many Bozo the Clowns there are.

“It’s old-fashioned Infowars — using the tricks that they use to get people addicted to outrage and, I would say, addicted to anticipation, trying to find the thing that’s around the corner that’s going to save your life,” Collins said.

The Onion will keep chasing Jones' property. Collins thinks they will soon get control of the Austin, Texas, studio Infowars once used.

Some families can't wait for that day. Collins said that Robbie Parker, whose daughter died at Sandy Hook, plans to read his book about fighting Jones while dealing with so much grief in the place Jones once sat.

The families at first wanted Infowars shut down forever and Jones never heard from again. But they are now looking forward to seeing what The Onion has planned, attorney Mattei said.

“The idea that it could be turned to some social good. I think it’s even better,” Mattei said. “So, yeah, I think the families are both pleased and amused with what they’ve been able to achieve here.”

Democratic lawmakers and governors see it as a way to help pay for the joint federal and state insurance program that covers low-income residents as federal policy changes are expected to make the program more expensive for states and may lead to a reduction in the number of people with coverage.

Proponents also say it's about fairness because employers benefit from having some lower-income workers with taxpayer-funded health coverage.

Business groups object. So do some liberal policy organizations.

New Jersey is putting the fee in place

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a measure Tuesday night to charge employers that have at least 50 workers covered by Medicaid, and the state budget she approved earlier in the week counts on raising $145 million this year from the program.

Under the plan, companies will be billed for each employee and employees' dependent receiving Medicaid, the joint state-federal insurance program.

The fees per person would start at $325 a year for companies with 50 to 249 Medicaid beneficiaries and top out at $725 annually for employers with at least 500 recipients.

Federal Medicaid changes are prompting Democratic-led states to act

A bill passed this week in California doesn't impose a charge now, but it does direct the state administration to present lawmakers options for doing so next year.

Finishing the job would fall to the successor of Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is leaving office in January. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra has made an employer charge part of his election platform.

State Sen. John Laird, a Democrat who sponsored the California proposal, said the big tax and policy law President Donald Trump signed a year ago was a major factor in the need for action because it could prompt the state to spend more on Medicaid to plug holes left by federal changes.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office expects more than 10 million people will be uninsured because of the law by 2034. It requires some beneficiaries to work, be in school or volunteer — and requires even more to document whether they meet the requirements. Most employees at the bigger companies would not be at risk of losing Medicaid coverage as long as they're working at least 20 hours a week.

Laird also said there's an equity issue involved.

“If you're a small business person in California, you are quite likely paying for health insurance for your employees. And through your taxes, you're paying for health insurance for some of the biggest employers in California,” he said. “And that's not fair.”

Legislation with similar intents passed one legislative chamber in both Colorado and Oregon this year, but neither made it to law. A measure was also introduced in Washington.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat who is seeking a third term in November's election, has called for the same move there with the idea of making it a part of the state budget that would kick in two years from now.

Opposition comes from business and some liberal groups

It's no surprise that business organizations have criticized the approach, which would add to their expenses.

“The fact remains that many job-creators are still going to be penalized for something they have no control over,” Christopher Emigholz, the chief government affairs officer at the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, said in a statement. “If an employee declines an employer-provided health plan because they’d rather be on Medicaid, it is unfair to penalize the employer for that employee’s decision.”

Some left-leaning policy organizations also oppose the charges.

Gideon Lukens, who analyzes health policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said that while the idea may be well-intentioned, it could lead companies to employ fewer people from low-income household or single parents. He said companies could also consider the policy in decisions about whom to hire or lay off — and also on where to locate or how many workers to employ.

And, he said, it could make employees — or potential employees — less likely to enroll in Medicaid knowing it would make them less attractive to employers.

“Usually, when I see a tax on something it’s going to discourage whatever being taxed,” he said in an interview.

New Jersey's legislation tries to address some of the concerns. It would exempt temporary, seasonal and part-time employees. It would also bar employment decisions based on a workers’ Medicaid status.

The idea has come up before, though it's never stuck for long

Charging companies whose workers are covered by Medicaid isn't a new idea. At least two states have previously enacted it, and it's been proposed in Congress.

Massachusetts lawmakers in 2017 adopted a charge on employers up to $750 per non-disabled worker who was covered through Medicaid or a state-subsidized health exchange plan. The program began in 2018 was not renewed when it expired the next year.

An even earlier policy in Maryland, in 2006, immediately affected only Walmart. An industry group challenged it in court and won, stopping the fees. A federal judge found that it required the company to track and allocate employment benefits differently in Maryland than in other states in violation of a federal law that governs self-insured employee health plans.

The latest generation of proposals may avoid that legal pitfall by not referencing those health plans in the legislation.

Days after selecting play-making 18-year-old forward Gavin McKenna with the first pick in the NHL draft, Chayka added veteran depth — with Stanley Cup Final experience — in a series of moves highlighted by the signing of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to a three-year, $21 million contract as free agency opened on Wednesday.

At nearly 38, Bobrovsky is a two-time Cup champion and leaves Florida to fill what’s been a long-unaddressed need in Toronto.

“Sergei’s a real game-changer for us in terms of the stability, the consistency, the durability,” Chayka said. “We think he’s really motivated to come into the largest hockey market in the world, and it’s important to him that he finish his career strong.”

Among the other more active teams were the San Jose Sharks. They signed free agent defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Mason Marchment, while also acquiring defenseman Darnell Nurse in a trade with Edmonton.

Utah, coming off its first playoff appearance, signed former Islanders captain Anders Lee to a three-year, $16.2 million contract and acquired Vincent Trocheck from the Rangers as the Mammoth muscled up their front line.

Aside from Lee, and with veteran forward Patrick Kane and defenseman John Carlson still available, Bobrovsky was considered among the most prized free agents on the market.

“A sincere thank you to Sergei Bobrovsky for all he did for this organization,” said Panthers general manager Bill Zito, who this past week had traded for goalies Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid. “Things happen where decisions get made and people move on. It’s part of our game. We have nothing but appreciation for Sergei.”

Though nearly a decade removed from winning the Vezina Trophy for a second time as the NHL’s top goalie with Columbus in 2017, Bobrovsky represents an upgrade for a Leafs team that’s gone through a carousel of netminders, including five alone last season. Toronto is attempting to retool on the fly with a new coach after finishing last in the Atlantic Division standings to snap a nine-year playoff run.

The Leafs also signed center Teddy Blueger, who won a Cup in 2023 with Vegas, center Colton Sissons and center Jack Roslovic.

More than 11 hours into free agency, Tampa Bay signed defenseman John Carlson to a two-year, $17 million contract, according to a person with knowledge of the deal who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced. Carlson chose the Lightning over other interested suitors including Carolina and Washington.

Rangers whe

el and deal

The Rangers made four trades in a five-hour span, most notably sending Trocheck to Utah for defenseman Sean Durzi, prospect Cole Beaudoin and a third-round pick in the draft next year. They also acquired Marcus Pettersson from Vancouver for a conditional 2030 first-rounder, shipped fellow defenseman Will Borgon to Boston for picks and made an additional trade with the Bruins to get backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo.

New York also signed former Tampa Bay forward Oliver Bjorkstrand to a one-year, $4.5 million contract.

Sharks stock up

The fast-improving Sharks are suddenly a destination. They acquired Nurse in a deal that sent defensive prospects Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp to Edmonton. Trouba signed a four-year, $33 million deal and Marchment signed a five-year, $33.75 million contract.

After the Sharks enjoyed a 19-win jump in the standings and barely missed the playoffs, Trouba called being part of a team on the rise behind Macklin Celebrini one of the biggest reasons he signed in the Bay Area.

“You want a team that you feel like you can grow with and make an impact and help these young guys,” Trouba said. “It’s important to get into where everybody wants to be is on a contending team, and I think we have a good opportunity in San Jose to do that.”

Goalies on the move

The Oilers shuffled goalies by acquiring Buffalo’s minor league prospect Devon Levi in a trade and added veteran Frederik Andersen on a $2.8 million contract for next season. Andersen was Carolina's goaltender on the way to the Cup final before getting injured and exiting the series.

Winnipeg signed Stuart Skinner to a two-year, $7.5 million contract with Winnipeg. The Jets' goaltending depth could be in flux with the team listening to trade offers for three-time Vezina Trophy-winner Connor Hellebuyck. Minnesota signed Calvin Pickard, while Tampa Bay got Denis Hildeby from Toronto for forward Nick Paul.

Free agent signings

— Washington, still waiting on Alex Ovechkin’s decision about whether he'll return for a 22nd NHL season, signed Columbus forward Boone Jenner ($23 million) and San Jose defenseman Vincent Desharnais ($16.8 million) to four-year contracts.

— The Los Angeles Kings signed Nashville forward Erik Haula to a two-year, $7.2 million contract. And Mats Zuccarello left Minnesota to sign with L.A.

— Chicago got veteran defenseman Ian Cole (Utah) for next season at $4.75 million.

— Colorado signed former Seattle winger Jaden Schwartz to a three-year, $9.75 million contract.

— Detroit signed Swedish winger Viktor Arvidsson (Boston) to a two-year contract worth $10 million.

Staying put

In the meantime, teams were also busy retaining players.

— Vegas re-signed defenseman Rasmus Andersson to a seven-year, $59.5 million contract.

— Florida signed rugged defenseman Radko Gudas, who just turned 36, to a six-year deal worth $1.5 million annually for a total of $9 million. The 36-year-old Gudas played in Florida for three seasons from 2020-23 and acquired in a trade with Anaheim on Monday.

— New Jersey locked up captain Nico Hischier by signing the Swiss center to a five-year extension worth $58.5 million with an annual cap hit of $11.7 million from 2027 through 2032.

— Montreal re-signed Ivan Demidov to an eight-year, $73 million contract after the 20-year-old Russian forward led all NHL rookies with 62 points (19 goals, 43 assists) last season.

— Philadelphia got two extensions done, signing forward Tyson Foerster to an eight-year, $56.8 million contract and extending goalie Dan Vladar for five years at $27.5 million.

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AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Powell has agreed to a two-year deal that could be worth up to $45 million with the Chicago Bulls, a person with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. Powell also had received some interest from the Detroit Pistons, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract cannot be finalized until July 6 at the earliest.

ESPN and Chicago Sports Network were among those who first reported the agreement between Powell and the Bulls, who will hold a team option for 2027-28. Powell spent this past season in Miami, where he became an All-Star for the first time and averaged 21.7 points in 58 games with the Heat.

Miami will have a very different look this coming season, after the acquisition of Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade that sent Tyler Herro and others to Milwaukee. Powell will be joining his fifth team, after past stints with Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto and the Heat.

All-Stars on the move

Powell is among six — and there likely will be more — All-Star selections from 2026 alone to be on the move this offseason.

He joins Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee to Miami), Kawhi Leonard and Brandon Ingram (the headliners of a trade that brings Leonard back to Toronto and sends Ingram to the Los Angeles Clippers), LeBron James (who is leaving the Los Angeles Lakers for a yet-to-be-decided team), and Jaylen Brown (traded by Boston to Philadelphia for Paul George and draft picks).

Of the 62 players with at least one All-Star selection in the last five years, just over half — 33 of them — have changed teams at least once in that span.

Nikola Vucevic returns to Orlando

Nikola Vucevic has signed a deal to return to the Orlando Magic, agreeing on a one-year deal for just under $4 million, a person with knowledge of those talks confirmed.

Vucevic is second all-time on the Magic list in rebounds, third in points and fourth in games played. The 35-year-old center has been in the league for 15 seasons, nine of those with Orlando — and now joins a young core led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.

Orlando needed another post option after losing Moritz Wagner in free agency to Brooklyn — and Vucevic, who still has a home in central Florida, was the natural fit.

Moritz Wagner, the brother of Franz Wagner, is signing a two-year deal with the Nets.

Vucevic averaged 15.1 points this past season for Chicago and Boston.

Also Wednesday, the Magic re-signed forward Jonathan Isaac. He was waived last week in a procedural move, only to be brought back as expected for what will be his 10th season with the club (including two he missed with injury).

Mitchell Robinson, Mike Conley Jr. to Boston

Mitchell Robinson just won a title with New York, and now the center will chase another in Boston.

The Celtics agreed to a $47.4 million, three-year deal with Robinson, a person with knowledge of that agreement told the AP. And veteran guard Mike Conley Jr. also is headed to the Celtics on a one-year deal, a second person with knowledge of that agreement said.

Robinson's deal includes a third-year option. Conley is set to play a milestone 20th season in the NBA.

Marcus Smart to Houston

Marcus Smart, the NBA's defensive player of the year in 2022, is about to join his fourth team in a span of 17 months after agreeing with the Houston Rockets on a two-year deal worth about $12.7 million, a person with knowledge of those talks told the AP.

Smart was with Memphis as recently as February 2025, then was sent to Washington to complete that season and spent this past season with the Lakers.

He averaged 9.3 points and started 54 games for the Lakers in 2025-26.

Tobias Harris to San Antonio

The Western Conference champion Spurs got another veteran, adding Tobias Harris on a two-year deal worth about $15 million this coming season and about $16 million in 2027-28, a person with knowledge of the agreement told the AP.

Including playoff games, Harris has played in 466 victories over the last decade — the sixth most of any player in the league over that span. Harris, who turns 34 later this month, averaged 13.3 points this past season for Detroit.

John Collins to Detroit

Forward John Collins is changing teams again, after agreeing to a three-year contract with the Pistons, a person with knowledge of those negotiations told the AP.

ESPN reported the deal is worth $51 million.

The Pistons will be Collins' third team in as many seasons. He started his career in Atlanta, then spent two seasons in Utah (until 2024-25) and played for the Clippers last season.

Lakers reload

The Lakers are thoroughly retooling their roster following James’ decision and Smart’s departure. After agreeing to a major trade to acquire center Walker Kessler from Utah, they added forward Sandro Mamukelashvili and guards Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton in free agency, a person with knowledge of those talks told the AP.

Mamukelashvili, a bulky power forward with an outside shooting touch, played his way into a multiyear deal with the Lakers by scoring a career-high 11.2 points per game and hitting 38.9% of his 3-point attempts for Toronto last season and then opting out of his contract.

Grimes is a former Dallas teammate of Luka Doncic who provides strong on-ball defense and versatile offensive skills. Grimes posted a photo of himself as a child wearing Lakers gear on social media Wednesday.

Sexton has been a consistent scorer throughout his first eight NBA seasons with four teams. He averaged 15.4 points and 3.3 assists per game last season for Charlotte and Chicago.

Kelly Oubre Jr. to Indiana

The Indiana Pacers, who played in the NBA Finals in 2025 and expect to be a playoff contender again this coming season, have agreed to terms with Kelly Oubre Jr. on a two-year deal. ESPN and The Indianapolis Star reported it to be worth around $17 million.

Oubre averaged 14.1 points for Philadelphia this past season.

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AP Sports Writers Kyle Hightower in Boston and Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

___

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

The Society of St. Pius X, which opposes modernizing reforms in the Catholic Church, went ahead with the five-hour ceremony at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland, despite a last-ditch appeal by Leo to call it off. The American pope warned in a letter Tuesday that consecrating bishops without his approval amounted to a “sin of extreme gravity” that will actually harm their faithful.

Leo's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, went further and said the act “is a schismatic act” that incurs excommunications, although he said he didn't know how or when they would be confirmed by the Holy See.

The consecrations amounted to a crisis for Leo, who has prioritized church unity and healing tensions with traditionalists that worsened during the Pope Francis pontificate.

The SSPX, as the society is known, is a threat to the Holy See because it represents a parallel, ultra-Catholic faith. It now has six bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians training in five seminaries, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates and 250 religious sisters representing 50 nationalities, according to SSPX statistics.

Bells tolled through the misty Alpine mountain valley as hundreds of priests walked two-by-two to the altar under a tent to start the service and then again at the end. An estimated 16,500 faithful who prefer the traditional Latin Mass over modern liturgies attended, sitting in a field through a downpour alongside their children who were too numerous for organizers to count.

The Mass, rich in velvet and gold-trimmed vestments, chanting and incense, was livestreamed on the society's YouTube channel, with simultaneous explanations in several languages. The highly organized religious extravaganza underscored the society's international reach, despite its schismatic outsider status, and appeal to conservative, traditionalist Catholics wary of the modern, secular world.

At the start of the Mass, a priest read aloud a statement justifying the consecrations as a necessary “sacred duty” and dismissing the resulting penalties. “We consider every punishment and censure brought to bear against this step will have no validity,” he said.

In the consecration rite, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, who himself was excommunicated after being consecrated without papal consent in 1988, placed his hands on the head of each of the four new bishops. The ritual confers the Holy Spirit from one bishop to another and recalls Christ’s gesture to his apostles. After they received their miter hats, gloves and pastoral staffs, the four made a procession through the crowd, blessing the faithful as bishops.

According to church law, consecrating a bishop without a papal mandate incurs the harshest penalty in the Catholic Church: automatic excommunication for the four new bishops and the bishop administering the rite. It also amounts to a schismatic act, an intentional rupture of church unity.

The society was founded in opposition to Vatican II

French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the SSPX in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Among other things, the 1960s meetings known as Vatican II revolutionized the church’s relations with other Christians, Jews and people of other faiths, and allowed Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular rather than Latin.

In 1988, Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal consent. The Vatican promptly excommunicated Lefebvre and the four bishops and declared the consecrations a “schismatic act.” Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 lifted the excommunications, but the SSPX today has no legal standing in the church.

The SSPX has accused the church of being rife with heresies and errors, and that only it is upholding the true faith of Christ. It has justified the consecrations, citing a “state of necessity” to minister to its faithful.

It identified the new bishops as Pascal Schreiber of Switzerland, Michael Goldade of the United States, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry of France and Marc Hanappier, also of France.

The Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the SSPX superior, said in his homily that the consecrations were necessary for the salvation of souls, but he also insisted they served Leo and the church.

“We are accused of not respecting the pope," he said. "But it is precisely because we love the pope as the vicar of Christ, as the head of the church, that we don't want to see the pope humiliated anymore, on the side of false shepherds representing false religions.”

Catholic faithful don't incur penalties for attending SSPX services, but they also can attend Latin Masses celebrated by priests in communion with the Vatican.

The Vatican didn't immediately comment on the consecrations and it wasn't clear how or if it would declare the excommunications or any other penalties. The SSPX acknowledged in a statement late Wednesday that the consecrations did not have papal approval.

The ritual had a joyous air

And yet everything about Wednesday’s ceremony had the air of a joyous celebration. The SSPX website has had a countdown clock running for days ahead of the consecration. Participants received a baseball cap with the “Econe2026” seal on it.

And in perhaps the most obvious sign of a celebration, registered participants could buy a souvenir set of wine to commemorate the “historic” event for 75 Swiss francs ($92.50). The “Cuvee des Sacres” gift box featured pinot noir, syrah, Petit Arvine and Fendant, each bottle with a label depicting a bishop’s miter, his ring, a cross or crozier staff.

The field, located under giant power lines, was awash in smiling nuns, priests posing for photos, youths handing out bottled water, black-clad security guards with earpieces and orange-vested volunteers who occasionally cut short journalists' interviews with the faithful. During the downpour, priests administered Communion under yellow and white umbrellas, the colors of the Holy See.

Arlina Onglao, a 71-year-old travel agent from the Philippines, said she wanted to be on hand for the “historic event” and didn't care about the prospect of excommunications of the bishops. She said the Vatican had “lost credibility.”

“I don’t think it’s going to scare any of us. Me, I’m not scared,” she said. “I feel like I’m on a safer road to heaven.”

Medical researcher Wulfran Lindzondzo, 42, a native of Gabon who lives in France, said he wanted to “rediscover tradition” through the society, noting its presence in the African country.

“The Holy Father doesn’t really agree with it, but I hand over –- I will pray to the Good Lord that the authorities in Rome can one day accept coming back to the church’s traditions,” he said before the Mass.

Eduardo Limón of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, lamented that Leo had asked the SSPX to halt the consecrations at the last minute. He prayed that "God illuminate him so he sees that the fraternity is an institution that has defended the faith,” he said.

“I’m both sad and content at the same time," he added. "Sad because again Rome closes itself in accepting that the tradition is the only hope for faith. And happy because the father superior (Pagliarani) has said courageously we are going to go ahead with the consecrations.”

But many Catholics not in Econe, including conservative and traditional ones, opposed the consecrations as an act of severe disobedience that hurts the church.

“You can’t serve tradition while disobeying the church and her authority,” said the Rev. Robert Gahl, an ethics expert at the Catholic University of America.

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Winfield contributed from Rome.

___

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.

Senegal held a 2-0 lead with just 5 minutes of regulation time remaining but late goals by Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans pushed the round of 32 match into extra time.

Tielemans completed Belgium’s comeback by converting a penalty in the 125th minute of the game – the latest goal in World Cup history.

“Being part of this comeback is a proud moment because I scored the last two goals to give the team the win today. I’m very proud of that to be able to help the team to score goals and bring us over the line,” Tielemans said.

He was fouled with only seconds to go and with a penalty shootout looming, and the referee awarded the spot kick after a video review, ignoring protests from the Senegal team.

“I do not want to interpret the decision. We all have different interpretations when it comes to awarding a penalty,” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said. “I’d rather not comment, not interpreting the referee’s decision.”

The win for Belgium marked the second time in the last 11 World Cups that a team trailed by two or more goals in the knockout round and advanced. Belgium also did so in a 3-2 victory over Japan in the round of 16 at the 2018 tournament.

“Senegal deserved to win," Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said. "But, I am happy it was us.”

Many of the key players from the Belgium team that finished in third place in Russia in 2018 were instrumental to Wednesday’s victory. Lukaku, who leads his nation in goals scored, came off the bench to get Belgium back into the match by scoring in the 86th minute, setting the scene for Tielemans to force extra time.

“It is a cruel loss, as we were good in the game," Thiaw said. "We had the advantage. We were leading 2-0. However a football match is not an 85-minute one. Belgium came back, and we were not able to deal with that ... We must congratulate Belgium as they progress.”

Belgium is back in the round of 16 for the third time in four tournaments. The team reached the quarterfinals in 2014 and the semifinals in 2018 but failed to get out of the group stage four years ago in Qatar.

The Belgians will next face the United States on Monday in Seattle.

Senegal long appeared to be heading toward the round of 16. Habib Diarra scored in the first half and Ismaïla Sarr made it 2-0 at the start of the second. It was his fourth goal of the World Cup, and one of the most beautiful of the tournament. Sarr made a perfect first touch off his chest on a long ball from Moussa Niakhaté and then sent his shot past Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Courtois, who was playing in his fourth World Cup, then made three key saves to keep Senegal from increasing its lead.

Senegal defender Krépin Diatta said Belgium should not have been allowed to get back into the game.

“It shouldn’t have happened. You have to defend your box and you have to be the boss of your box," he said. "We suffered, but we have to go on. It’s a pity.”

Lukaku said Belgium showed character with its late comeback.

“This Senegal side is one of the best teams in the tournament,” he said. “Technically, physically and tactically, it was really tough. But when we stepped up the intensity of our pressing, when we were there for the second ball, our team spirit shone through and we won the match.”

Senegal headed to the World Cup as the second-highest ranking team in Africa, behind Morocco. It won a chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final on Jan. 18 against Morocco, but the result was overturned by the governing body of African soccer because Thiaw had temporarily pulled his players off the pitch.

Senegal advanced to the World Cup knockout phase as one of the best third-place finishers after losing to France and Norway and beating Iraq.

“It’s the best African nation. It’s as simple as that," Garcia said. "They showed that even against France, they dominated in the first half. They came out of a difficult group. I would have preferred not to play against them.”

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The team advanced on Wednesday, defeating Bosnia-Herzegovina to set up a round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday.

“Hershey to me is everything -- it’s where my family is from, it’s where I grew up,” Pulisic recently said on his Instagram account as he promoted limited-edition Pulisic’s Milk Chocolate Bars by the Hershey Company that feature custom wrappers with his signature. “It’s where I learned how to play. It’s just home.”

Pulisic grew up in this south-central Pennsylvania community surrounded by farms and rolling countryside, where even the streetlights along Chocolate Avenue are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses. The community was founded in 1903 by Milton S. Hershey, the American businessman and philanthropist who also built homes for workers, a hotel and a theme park that Pulisic often visited with family.

More than 120 years later, the Hershey Company is still the economic engine of Chocolatetown, USA. But the “Man Behind the Chocolate Bar” now shares the hometown hero honor with the soccer player nicknamed “Captain America.”

Pulisic inspires young soccer players in Hershey

Pulisic’s hometown roots run deep, and during the World Cup, his community has rallied around him as the U.S. plays some of its most exciting soccer ever.

“It’s pretty amazing that he came from Hershey and played for my club,” said Hershey High School rising freshman Cecelia Stefanelli who, on a recent afternoon, kicked a ball to score a goal on her father at a field where Pulisic played.

The Americans won their first World Cup elimination game in 24 years on Wednesday evening, defeating Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in the round of 32 despite playing a man down for more than 35 minutes. They had a healthy Pulisic in action after the star missed the second group-stage game with a calf injury and played only 33 minutes as a sub in the final group match against Turkey.

“I’d love if USA won the World Cup; it’d make me happy,” said Stefanelli, a center back who also plays for the Pennsylvania Classics soccer club. Pulisic often credits the structure and coaches at PA Classics, where he played for eight years, with helping develop his skills. In 2021, he returned to the club for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new fields that he financed and helped design. It's now known as the Pulisic Stomping Grounds.

The club is located in Lancaster County, surrounded by chicken and dairy farms that give off a pungent odor of fermenting feed and manure.

On a recent day, Liam Gustafson and Moussa Oumarou juggled a soccer ball and passed it back and forth as they warmed up for training in front of a huge collage of photos of Pulisic that trace from his childhood training to starring for the U.S. at the World Cup.

“It’s really special to see someone from around here, where we live, playing in the World Cup,” said Gustafson, a 17-year-old forward who dreams of playing pro soccer and calls Pulisic his role model. “It’s really inspiring to see someone who paved the way, so that we can do that someday.”

Pulisic's path to USMNT stardom ran through Hershey

The road to soccer was paved early as Pulisic followed in the footsteps of his parents. He was born in Hershey on Sept. 18, 1998, to Kelley and Mark Pulisic, both former collegiate soccer players at George Mason University. His father went on to play pro indoor soccer for the Harrisburg Heat. The family moved to England for a year while Pulisic’s mother completed a Fulbright Program teacher exchange and their 7-year-old rising star played for the Brackley Town youth team.

“Mark and Kelley could write a playbook on how to raise a humble, smart, kind superstar, while maintaining family relationships,” said Tara Seymour, a family friend and retired health and physical education teacher at Hershey Middle School. She met the family at a soccer camp and became close friends with Pulisic’s mother.

“She just quietly said to me one time, ‘We have never seen anything like this.’ This is a kid who could juggle the soccer ball hundreds of times when he was in elementary school,” Seymour said. Pulisic, she said, would practice in his backyard for hours, trying to emulate the moves of pros he saw on TV.

“He has an intensity that couldn’t be taught,” she recalled. “I think he had the opportunity to go pro earlier or go to Europe earlier and they held back just to make sure emotionally and maturity-wise he was ready.”

When the family returned to Hershey, Pulisic joined PA Classics at the age of 10. The club's president and co-founder Doug Harris said Pulisic's talent allowed him to play with older age groups, and he was often the smallest player on the field.

“I think if you were to pull kids in the world who want to achieve the level of Christian Pulisic, you’d have millions that would step up, raise their hand. They’re all gifted; they all can play,” Harris said. “But there’s something fundamental about what Christian has been able to do and I’d credit Mark and Kelley Pulisic with a lot of that.”

Looking forward to the future of American soccer

The Americans' only World Cup knockout win came on June 17, 2002, when they defeated Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16 in South Korea. Pulisic has said the team's approach won't change in this round and the mood remains light despite the high stakes.

“It’s just special to be here,” he said. “You just don’t want it to end.”

Ahead of the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, PA Classics coaches Brittney Jakobson and Nick Jakobson took their children, Declan and Camden, to kick a ball at Pulisic’s former club. The Americans, they said, have a shot at winning the tournament. But their legacy goes beyond the trophy.

“Their goal is to inspire a generation and it’s really fun to see that happening in real time … to hear people going out and watching the games, to see people buying the jerseys,” Brittney Jakobson said.

“Pulisic, obviously, in the short term is a great kind of figure to follow,” said Nick Jakobson. “But he does very much encourage that it’s not just about him. It’s not about just these four years. It’s about the next eight, 12, 16. It’s forward-thinking, and they’re laying a good foundation for what we can build on.”

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Mendoza Jr., a Texas State University student, was shot and killed in front of his family home on June 1.

• Texas Rangers brief Mendoza family attorney on former Brazoria County deputy shooting investigation

According to a search warrant affidavit filed by Texas Ranger Aaron Arizmendi on June 22, investigators sought a forensic examination of Tippit’s Glock 19X handgun as part of the criminal investigation.

The affidavit states investigators had probable cause to investigate possible offenses including:

• Manslaughter
• Criminally negligent homicide
• Aggravated assault by a public servant

The affidavit does not mean Tippit has been charged. As of Wednesday, no criminal charges have been filed.

Body camera details

According to the affidavit, Tippit initially attempted to stop a red Dodge Challenger for a traffic violation near Oyster Creek Drive and FM 2004.

Investigators say Mendoza Jr. fled, reaching speeds of about 120 mph and running six red lights before pulling into the garage of a home on Indian Warrior Trail.

• RELATED: Brazoria County ‘fighting transparency’ as bodycam video withheld in John Mendoze Jr. shooting, lawyer says

The Texas Ranger wrote that after reviewing Tippit’s body camera, investigators observed Tippit enter the garage, approach the driver’s side door, draw his handgun and fire a shot through the driver’s side window into the passenger compartment.

After opening the driver’s door, investigators say Tippit realized the driver, later identified as Mendoza, had been struck.

The affidavit says Tippit then radioed dispatch that he had experienced an “accidental discharge” and reported that one man was bleeding. The Ranger wrote that, based on his training and experience, he understood Tippit to be referring to his firearm unintentionally discharging.

Investigators say Tippit immediately began providing lifesaving aid until emergency responders arrived.

A custodial death report submitted by the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office says Mendoza died from a gunshot wound to his left upper extremity that entered his torso.

• RELATED: Brazoria County deputy involved in fatal shooting of John Mendoza Jr gets fired

The report classifies the manner of death as homicide, identifies law enforcement personnel as the cause of death and lists the weapon as a handgun.

Norman Giles, the outside attorney representing Brazoria County and the district attorney’s office, told KPRC 2 the language used in the custodial death report came from preset drop-down menu options and was not intended to paint a particular narrative.

According to the search warrant affidavit, investigators recovered a spent 9mm casing inside the garage and seized Tippit’s Glock handgun.

The warrant sought a forensic examination to determine whether the firearm functioned properly, whether it fired the casing and bullet recovered during the investigation and whether any mechanical issues contributed to the shooting.

• RELATED: Hundreds gather at Lake Jackson vigil for John Mendoze Jr.

Charles Adams, who represents Mendoza’s father and his son’s estate, criticized both documents and said he believes the evidence supports a murder charge rather than the offenses listed in the affidavit.

“If any other citizen in the great state of Texas ran up on camera and shot someone without any legal justification, they would long be charged with murder,” Adams told KPRC 2.

Adams also disputed several statements in the custodial death report, including that Mendoza resisted arrest or barricaded himself and that it was unknown whether he possessed a weapon.

“It has been affirmed to me by the Rangers and by officers at the scene that morning that there were no weapons found in the car and that John Jr. was unarmed,” Adams said.

Sheriff Bo Stallman announced Tippit was fired due to policy violations last month via social media.

The Texas Rangers and the Brazoria County District Attorney’s Office continue to investigate whether criminal charges are warranted.

As the need for help continues to grow, several Houston-area groups are stepping up to collect and ship supplies to those affected.

Among them is a small restaurant in the Greenway/Upper Kirby area, where the owners say they’re doing whatever they can to help their home country.

RELATED: Places in Houston that are taking donations for Venezuela

Gusto Gourmet may be a small spot, but don’t let that fool you. The Venezuelan fusion restaurant is a direct reflection of its owners, Sandra Sarshalom and her husband, Yosi — and what they’re really serving up these days is heart.

“We were born in Venezuela. Venezuela is our country. We were raised and born in Caracas,” Sandra Sarshalom said. “It is our place, and it’s devastating to see the second time that something has happened to La Guaira. It’s really sad.”

The Sarshaloms have been closely following every image, video, and update out of Venezuela — the rubble, the rescues, the heartbreak. They say it hit too close to home not to act.

“The principal thing that we’re doing is receiving donations,” Sarshalom said. “The main donation is money. We’re going to put on our website all the organizations that receive the money because it goes directly to Venezuela. They need the money there because they have a way to get the supplies in Venezuela.”

In addition to monetary donations, the restaurant is also collecting medical and baby supplies to send back to Venezuela.

“Medical or baby supplies — no food, no clothes,” Sarshalom said. “Only the basic things that are needed in Venezuela now. We’re going to send them to the Global Empowerment Movement, and they’re going to send everything to Venezuela.”

The plan is simple — collect as much as possible and get it back to Venezuela as quickly as possible. The Sarshaloms are working through groups like Metabox Cargo in Katy, which has already turned into a full-scale relief hub with dozens of pallets of supplies stacked and ready to ship.

As for what’s happening on the ground in Venezuela, Sarshalom says the situation is entering a painful new phase.

“People are dying. They still have found people alive — that is amazing. It’s a miracle,” she said. “We are really thankful, and I think people have to keep looking, keep searching. But now is the second phase, and I think it’s going to be harder than the first one, because now you’re going to find the people that didn’t make it, and you have to rebuild the cities.”

For those who want to help, diners at Gusto Gourmet can contribute simply by eating there — a portion of every tab will be donated to relief efforts. Monetary donations can also be made through organizations like the Red Cross and WeLove Foundation.

Links to those organizations can be found here.

The Houston Astros are also joining the effort. The Astros Foundation is holding a supply drive Thursday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Union Station.

Accepted items include non-perishable food, new temporary household goods, baby diapers, wipes, bottles, and hygiene products. Fans attending Friday’s game can also drop off supplies at that time.

A federal criminal information filed Tuesday alleges Williams stole nearly $1 million in tax payments to the school district.

She has been summoned to appear in federal court on July 13.

According to court records, Williams held the tax manager position from January 2018 to November 2023 and her alleged fraud scheme ran from September 2018 through June 2023.

KPRC 2 News has reached out to Tomball ISD for additional information.

• FBI Houston: Teen visiting for World Cup safely reunited after online enticement case

Williams allegedly ran the district’s tax office that collected local property taxes, court records show. When a taxpayer paid in cash, an employee would put the money in an envelope and record the payment using the district’s tax collection software as part of a group of payments.

Once the payments in the group reached $15,000, federal authorities said the group of payments would be closed out in the software and Williams was supposed to deposit the cash into the school district’s bank accounts.

Instead, Williams allegedly stole $996,174 of cash from the tax office, prosecutors allege, which she disguised using the software to “reverse” cash payments recorded in certain groups, record them in new groups, and keep the new groups open for long periods, according to records.

KPRC 2 News has reached out to Williams’ listed defense attorney for a response to the allegations and this story will be updated if a response is received.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not commented on the federal charge against Williams.

Wednesday, Tomball ISD released the following letter to district families and staff:

Dear Tomball ISD Families and Staff,

Today, we want to share information regarding a federal criminal case involving a former Tomball ISD Tax Office employee, Kristi Williams.

Federal authorities have charged the former employee with wire fraud after alleging the theft of $996,174 from the District’s Tax Office over a period of time.

When Tomball ISD identified suspicious financial activity in 2023, District leadership acted immediately to investigate, resulting in the immediate termination of the employee and the investigation being turned over to federal law enforcement. The District has cooperated with law enforcement but due to the federal investigation, the District was and remains unable to disclose details.

Since discovering the allegations, Tomball ISD has worked diligently to strengthen internal controls and financial oversight to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Tomball ISD is pursuing every available avenue to seek restitution of the funds, including a claim against our surety bond that is required to be held for events of this nature. We want to assure our taxpayers that this incident has no impact on taxpayer accounts.

While this allegation represents the actions of one former employee, it does not reflect the integrity, professionalism, and dedication demonstrated every day by the thousands of employees who serve our students and community.

We know our community may have questions. Because this is an active federal case, we are unable to comment further on the ongoing legal proceedings at this time.

We understand that this news is disappointing and concerning. We remain committed to responsible stewardship of public funds and to earning and maintaining the confidence our community places in Tomball ISD.

Sincerely,

Tomball ISD Administration

After 2 Helps You first reported on so-called “ghost ticketing,” others have shared nearly identical stories.

One such story came from Lisa Coulter, a Toronto school teacher who said her tickets were canceled just days before she traveled to Houston.

After 2 Helps You contacted StubHub, she received replacement seats within hours.

“You are the only one that responded to my story,” Coulter said after arriving in Houston.

Now, more fans are sharing similar experiences.

PREVIOUS: StubHub canceled her World Cup tickets days before the match, 2 Helps You Mario Diaz: ‘Cancel Culture, Heck No!’

Tampa couple says their tickets disappeared

Esteban Vidal and his wife, Yesenia Arteaga, contacted 2 Helps You less than 24 hours after we first reported Coulter’s situation.

Vidal and Arteaga emailed KPRC 2’s Mario Diaz, sharing how StubHub canceled their tickets and offered a refund instead.

“We don’t have your tickets. Here is your money back,” Arteaga recalled.

Vidal believes the issue is bigger than a single transaction.

“This is a pattern. These guys need to be held accountable,” he said.

He also says StubHub did not respond until after 2 Helps You became involved.

“I don’t think we could have gotten our tickets back if it weren’t for you,” Vidal said.

The family has since received replacement tickets and plans to attend the quarterfinals in Miami.

Cypress woman files complaint with Texas Attorney General’s Office

Marilyn Gonzales of Cypress says her family’s experience was even more frustrating.

She says StubHub canceled her family’s tickets on their way to the stadium just prior to the match between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 17.

“They knew on June 12 there was a problem — five days before the event,” Gonzales said in a call with 2 Helps You.

Gonzales has since filed a consumer complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, saying she wants StubHub to be held accountable.

“I want StubHub to understand that others and I trusted them. We paid for tickets, and our tickets were not delivered,” she said.

Gonzalez also making it clear she is considering going beyond the state’s AG’s office.

“I also have been reading up on class-action lawsuits,” she added.

In a statement emailed 2 Helps You, a StubHub spokesperson wrote that the company is “heartbroken” over Gonzales’ experience.

The company wrote that Gonzales received both a refund and an “additional credit” and added that StubHub’s priority is “finding comparable replacement tickets for customers whenever possible.”

2 Helps You asked StubHub for comment on the complaint filed with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, but the company declined to comment.

On StubHub’s website, the company boasts, “You will get your tickets in time for the event.” It didn’t happen for Gonzales, who also added that she was not contacted by StubHub officials for days after the match.

She said the refund wasn’t enough, because what she purchased was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — tickets for her family to attend a World Cup match.

“We can’t get that Portugal game back, so at least make it right,” she said.

A Potential Solution?

Canada and Morocco are scheduled to play at Houston Stadium on Saturday, and StubHub’s own website shows plenty of tickets listed for sale at the time of our reporting.

2 Helps You contacted StubHub regarding tickets possibly being provided to Gonzales for that match as a replacement for the match she missed. The company has not responded as of this writing.

As more fans continue to contact 2 Helps You with similar stories, we will continue follow the issue, holding companies accountable when consumers say they aren’t getting what they paid for.

Contact at our 2 Helps You Help Desk if you need have an issue.

One resident of the home was treated for minor burns and lacerations caused by broken glass.

When crews arrived at the property, the home and all three vehicles were heavily damaged. The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office was able to contain the fire to the single home, preventing it from spreading further.

According to the residents, fireworks were discharged to celebrate Mexico’s World Cup victory. After the celebration, the used fireworks were gathered and placed in the bed of a truck parked in front of the home because the residents believed the fireworks had been completely extinguished.

Investigators said the debris later reignited, sparking a fire that spread from the truck to two other nearby vehicles before reaching the home.

The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office says improperly discarded fireworks are a leading cause of home fires following celebrations.

The office provided the following steps for properly disposing of fireworks:

“First off, you’ll want to make sure your pyrotechnics are waterlogged. Soak your spent fireworks and any duds in a bucket of water for at least 15 minutes and thoroughly wet any large fireworks display boxes.

The best advice is to leave the debris overnight, but once you’re satisfied that they are completely soaked, drain any excess water and place your fireworks into a sealable plastic bag to maintain moisture. For an extra measure, consider double-bagging. The key is to not let the debris dry out and re-ignite.

Place any bags of debris as far away as possible from your home or anything that could catch fire and threaten structures or other property."

“It’s almost like dirt,” resident Helen Coward told KPRC 2’s Re’Chelle Turner.

While residents say the problem has persisted for months—and in some cases years—the utility district maintains the water is safe to drink and meets all Texas drinking water standards.

• Affidavit: Texas Rangers found probable cause to investigate former Brazoria County deputy for possible manslaughter

Katelyn Crouch says she first noticed the black sediment after moving into The Highlands in 2023.

She shared videos and pictures with KPRC 2 showing dark particles collecting inside her bathtub.

“It does make us uncomfortable with our kids bathing in it, us trying to drink it,” Crouch said.

Crouch says she and her family recently purchased a whole-home filtration system in hopes of reducing the buildup, but says they have not noticed a significant improvement.

“We live here. We pay a lot of money and we just want to have really safe water for our kids and family,” she said.

• Doctors warn swimmers about risk of flesh-eating bacteria in Houston-area beaches, lakes and ponds

Helen Coward says she’s been dealing with the issue for about a year. While visiting her home on Wednesday, she removed a faucet attachment to show what had accumulated inside.

“See, it’s almost like dirt. It just disintegrates,” she said.

She showed Turner the filter attached to her faucet, explaining that she’s constantly replacing filters because of the black buildup.

“It’s annoying. I mean, we have the filter in the fridge or we drink bottled water, but I’m concerned with that going on your skin in the showers,” Coward said. “I’m no longer giving them the tap water, the dog and the cat, because of those bits.”

Coward says she still isn’t convinced by the explanation she’s received.

“Would they want to drink this?” she asked.

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Utility: Water meets state standards

In a statement to KPRC 2, Montgomery County Municipal Utility District No. 140 said it is aware of residents’ concerns.

“Montgomery County MUD No. 140 is aware of reports regarding black sediment observed in some water. The district’s public drinking water is regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and is routinely tested in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements. Based on all water quality analyses, including the most recent testing, the water meets applicable TCEQ drinking water standards.”

Turner requested additional information, the district’s operator, Municipal Operations & Consulting, Inc., said the black sediment is caused by naturally occurring deposits of manganese in the groundwater.

The district maintains that routine testing shows the water continues to meet all Texas drinking water standards.

What is manganese?

Manganese is a naturally occurring mineral that can be found in soil and groundwater.

According to the utility district, the black sediment residents are seeing is the result of naturally occurring manganese deposits in the groundwater supplying the system.

Residents, however, say they still want to understand why they’re seeing so much buildup inside their homes and whether anything can be done to reduce it.

KPRC2 has also reached out to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for additional information, including whether the agency has received complaints involving black sediment in Montgomery County MUD No. 140 and what guidance it offers homeowners experiencing similar issues.

For now, homeowners say they’re hoping for more than reassurance—they want a clearer explanation for why the black sediment continues to appear in their homes.

The Russian climbers, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, were the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary “ Skywalkers: A Love Story ” about their “rooftopping” exploits and budding romance.

Dressed in black and wearing masks but not tethers, the two balanced on a narrow ledge and appeared to kiss atop the New York skyscraper's antenna, news helicopter video showed. The banner, reading “when the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” waved from the structure, which rises 1,454 feet (443 meters) above midtown Manhattan.

After lingering for a time, the two collected the banner and began to climb down, picking their way along the latticework of metal to a wider ledge, where one seemed to set up a piece of photography equipment and got down on one knee. After the two kissed again and hugged, the other person took selfies with an outstretched left hand, as if examining a ring.

Police Emergency Services Unit officers started ascending a ladder in the spindly structure to intercept them. Police body camera video showed an officer calling out a greeting and explaining, “Well, you can't be up here.”

An off-camera voice replied with what sounded like, “We are engaged.”

A few seconds later, officers reached a landing within the antenna and met the couple, who were coming down a ladder and calmly spoke with police, the video showed.

Nikolau posted images of the escapade on her social media accounts, including a photo that modeled an engagement-style ring above a bird’s-eye view of Manhattan.

The two climbers — whom police identified by their formal names, Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov — were arrested on burglary, reckless endangerment and other charges. It wasn't immediately clear whether they had attorneys who could speak to the allegations. Messages seeking comment were sent to the couple.

“Skywalkers: A Love Story” follows Beerkus and Nikolau as they make often unauthorized ascents of tall structures, sometimes posing as construction workers to sneak in.

It wasn’t clear how the pair gained access to the Empire State Building's antenna, which rises well above public areas of the 102-story building. Building management said in a statement that the episode was “unauthorized” and didn’t endanger anyone in the skyscraper.

The management didn’t answer questions about how the two reached the antenna and what interactions, if any, they had with security workers. Empire State Building visitors are screened and told not to bring large packages, sports equipment, costumes or masks, among other items.

Tourist Julie Morris told local TV stations that she was on one of the building's observation decks when she saw two people pass through some mesh gates into an off-limits area. She said she assumed the pair, who weren't masked, worked there.

As the stunt unfolded, onlookers gaped from the sidewalks near the Art Deco office tower.

“It's crazy — it's like being in the movies,” said Jonathan Roman, a tourist visiting from the Scottish city of Glasgow. He and his 15-year-old son had observation platform tickets but arrived to find the building blocked off because of the antenna activity.

Still, the spectacle was “probably more exciting than going up to the viewing platform for the second time,” Roman reasoned.

Daredevils have previously climbed the antenna and other parts of the Empire State Building. Those ascents have largely been unauthorized, but actor and musician Jared Leto was allowed to climb up to the base of the antenna from the 86th floor in 2023 to promote a tour.

___ This story has been corrected to show that the incident happened Wednesday, not Tuesday.

The shooting happened in the 15600 block of Morning Dove Drive.

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to the scene at approximately 1:37 p.m.

During a news conference, HCSO Assistant Chief John Nanny said the caller reported that she had been assaulted by her 47-year-old son. When deputies arrived, the man’s mother came out of the house with apparent injuries.

“She had a knot on her forehead and a laceration on her face,” Nanny said.

The man locked himself inside the home and refused deputies’ commands to come outside. A short time later, deputies noticed smoke coming from the house and believed a fire had been started inside. They then made plans to enter the home.

Nanny said the man came out of the garage armed with two knives, and one deputy shot him once in the upper torso. Deputies rendered first aid before the man was taken to a hospital. His condition has not been released.

No deputies were injured during the incident, Gonzalez said.

Fire marshals are investigating the fire, while the officer-involved shooting is also under investigation.

The man’s mental state has not been released, but Nanny said law enforcement has responded to the home on previous occasions.

The deputy who fired his weapon is 31 years old and has been with the sheriff’s office for seven years, according to Nanny.

Deputies’ body-worn camera footage is being reviewed to determine whether protocols were followed and to establish exactly what led to the shooting.

@HCSOTexas deputies responded to a disturbance in the 15600 block of Morning Dove Drive.

Preliminary: a deputy discharged their weapon and reportedly struck an adult man. The injured man is being transported to a hospital, unknown condition. No reported injuries to any… pic.twitter.com/aZJHDvIjOq

— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) July 1, 2026

Thousands of displaced Venezuelans are sleeping in crowded shelters or outside without access to clean water amid dismal sanitary conditions following the June 24 earthquakes which officials say killed at least 2,295 and left more than 11,000 injured.

Aid workers said the aftermath of the quakes has become a major medical crisis that, unless quickly controlled, would take more lives in the days and weeks ahead. The emergency has laid bare Venezuela's chronic shortage of doctors, the result of years of economic crisis, underfunding and emigration.

“The issue we foresee just around the corner is the infections that patients who have been exposed to the disaster for the longest time might bring,” said Eugenio Cova, the head of the trauma unit at Hospital del Oeste Dr. José Gregorio Hernández in Caracas, the capital. “We’ve already gone through a period of complex trauma — which will continue to occur — but now it’s complicated by infections."

Aid workers also warn that the extensive damage to infrastructure could fuel outbreaks of diseases in the hardest-hit communities.

“It’s very hot and there’s a lot of concern about potential vector-borne diseases,” said Veronique Durroux, the U.N. humanitarian agency spokesperson for Latin America and the Caribbean. “Waste management is an issue. Debris management, when you see the scale of devastation, it’s very concerning.”

US military deploys 900 personnel to aid Venezuela

The United States had 900 military personnel currently on the ground to support relief and rescue operations as of Wednesday, Steven McLoud, a U.S. Southern Command spokesperson, told The Associated Press.

The military has repaired an earthquake-damaged runway at the country's main international airport that serves Caracas to allow for the arrival of humanitarian assistance and stationed naval assets off the coast to receive airlifted survivors. An additional 100 people from the U.S. State Department have been sent to aid those efforts, McLoud said.

So far, the Trump administration has offered Venezuela $300 million in assistance channeled through aid groups and the United Nations. But that's just a fraction of the post-earthquake aid the country needs: Material damage from the quakes is estimated at over $6.7 billion, according to satellite analysis by the U.N. Development Program.

Fifty other international teams have arrived in recent days to help with search-and-rescue operations, including from countries like Ecuador and Israel that don't have diplomatic relations with Venezuela. Against the odds, rescuers are continuing to find a small number of survivors, including on Tuesday, a toddler who had been trapped for six days.

Crisis-stricken hospitals dealt another blow

Long before the earthquakes, Venezuela's public hospitals were strained by shortages of water, energy, critical medical equipment and highly trained staff.

More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2013, when Nicolás Maduro took office and the economy came undone as a result of mismanagement, corruption and a drop in oil prices.

Among those who took flight were many specialized doctors and nurses.

Venezuela’s medical association has estimated that about a third of its 60,000 registered physicians have left the country since the economic crisis began. Dr. Huníades Urbina, a member of the board of the pediatrics association of Venezuela, said the number left is roughly half of the 84,000 that the country needs based on World Health Organization standards.

Urbina added that a 2025 national survey of public hospitals revealed shortages of more than 30% of emergency supplies and more than 70% of supplies in operating rooms. Laboratories are “all practically closed or do the basic things only," he said.

The earthquakes "once again highlight the Venezuelan government’s inability to provide an adequate health care system that meets the needs of the Venezuelan people,” he said.

Underequipped hospitals face a surge

Those who remain now confront the overwhelming prospect of treating thousands of grievous injuries from crushed and caved-in concrete structures.

Hospital del Oeste Dr. José Gregorio Hernández in Caracas lacks screws and plates needed for orthopedic surgery and medicated gauze to prevent infections, said Cova, who conducts surgery on crushed limbs in makeshift operating rooms because possible earthquake damage has made parts of the building inaccessible. Doctors have even started posting what medical supplies they need on social media, asking for donations.

According to the government, the earthquakes damaged or otherwise compromised 38 hospitals nationwide.

There's also a nationwide shortage of ambulances that forces many injured Venezuelans to arrive at hospitals in the backs of pickup trucks, said Jaime Lorenzo, director of United Doctors of Venezuela, a nonprofit network of medical professionals. That's just one of the ways that ordinary citizens, feeling abandoned by the government, say they've been forced to shoulder much of the rescue effort.

When the chaos and trauma of the quakes starts to subside, Lorenzo said he fears a new wave of patients will hit hospitals: Venezuelans, who, rendered suddenly homeless after the earthquakes, have gone all week without medication for chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Questions over government response

The government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez — who served as deputy to Maduro until he was ousted by the United States in January and who became interim leader with the backing of the Trump administration — has faced growing criticism over its handling of the disaster.

Videos circulating on social media in recent days appear to show security officers picking through the rubble of fallen buildings and making off with U.S. dollars, appliances and other personal belongings and sparking widespread anger among Venezuelans. The videos couldn't be verified by the AP.

In response to the videos, the the Interior Ministry on Wednesday said it dismissed and detained four police officials for “deviating from their duties and taking advantage of the rescue and humanitarian aid efforts."

Many thousands remain missing, adding ambiguity to the complete toll and leaving families in an agonizing limbo as they wait days by collapsed buildings, hoping for the bodies of their loved ones to surface. One non-governmental digital database where families can register missing loved ones showed over 40,600 people still unaccounted for as of Wednesday.

On Wednesday, U.S. officials pushed back against accusations that Rodríguez was politicizing response efforts and brushed off widespread criticisms of failures by Venezuela's government to respond to the crisis. Gen. Francis Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command, turned blame on decades of neglect in Venezuela which he said “made this even more challenging for the current government.”

“It is a big problem for any leader to deal with a challenge of this magnitude,” Donovan said.

___

This story has been corrected to show the U.S. Southern Command spokesperson's name is Steven McLoud, not Steven McCloud, and the hospital name is Hospital del Oeste Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, not Hospital del Oeste Dr. José Gregor Hernández.

___

Janetsky reported from Mexico City and DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press journalist Ben Finley contributed to this report from Washington D.C.

The species' population has jumped from around 2,000 to around 35,000 in approximately 40 years, close to their population before whaling, said Enrico Marcovaldi, co-founder of the Humpback Whale Project. That means they are increasingly being spotted in Rio’s postcard Guanabara Bay.

“It’s wonderful. It shows that the whales are making a recovery, are healthy and thriving, and hopefully they’ll continue to do so,” said Marcovaldi.

In 1982, the International Whaling Commission decided that there should be a pause in commercial whaling on all whale species and populations from the 1985/1986 season onward.

Louise Raulais, who runs the Rio Ocean Club with her partner Theo Andrade, is among those who see the tourism opportunities in the whales' resurgence.

This year, the company began offering sailboat trips for between five and 10 people to observe the whales. Raulais said they always have a biologist onboard to share information, which can stimulate a desire to protect the whales and the ocean.

“These animals are so iconic and charismatic that they have the power to transform people, to change the way they see the world,” said Raulais.

Humpback whales are known for roaming long distances across major oceans in predictable patterns, typically following migration routes learned from their mothers. They feed on krill and small fish in the warmer months and breed in tropical waters over winter.

Between June and November, thousands of humpback whales migrate through Brazilian waters, traveling roughly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from their feeding grounds in the Southern Ocean to breeding and calving grounds off northeastern Brazil.

Most gather around the Abrolhos Bank, a coral reef region spanning the coasts of Bahia and Espirito Santo that is one of the South Atlantic’s most biodiverse marine environments.

The Humpback Whale Project set up a scientific expedition, scheduled to run from June 26 to July 9, to study the humpback whales’ behavior, size and health, as well as identify their travel route, key gathering areas, and to measure how far offshore the whales pass.

“They’re exploring this area," said Pedro Fróes, a biologist for the Humpback Whale Project who is part of the expedition. "They want to find out whether, in the future, it could become a place for them to rest, to mate, or to give birth to a calf,” Fróes said.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

The Resolute Desk is one of the most recognizable pieces of furniture in the White House — and probably in the entire nation. As the president’s desk, it’s been at the center of American history for nearly 150 years.

That famous front panel has its own story. Many accounts claim it was added during FDR’s presidency to conceal his wheelchair and leg braces, but some historians dispute that. They argue Roosevelt used the desk in his private study, away from the public eye, and that the panel itself was not installed until after his death.

The desk’s origins extend far beyond the Oval Office. In fact, it's not American; it’s British.

The desk is crafted of timbers from the HMS Resolute, a British naval vessel that set off for the Arctic in the early 1850s in search of Sir John Franklin, who disappeared while seeking the Northwest Passage. During that mission, the Resolute became trapped in ice and was abandoned by its crew. Years later, it was discovered drifting through Arctic waters by an American whaling vessel.

The United States repaired it and returned it to Queen Victoria. The vessel resumed service for many years before eventually being retired.

Once decommissioned, Queen Victoria expressed her gratitude to the United States by ordering the timbers of Resolute to be transformed into several pieces of furniture. One of them was a large desk that she presented to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.

The desk spent much of its early White House history out of public view until 1961, when first lady Jacqueline Kennedy moved it into the Oval Office.

Every president since Jimmy Carter has used the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, with the exception of President George H.W. Bush, who instead placed it in the Treaty Room. The desk has also become the place where recent presidents leave a letter for their successor on Inauguration Day.

The Resolute Desk stands not only as a symbol of the American presidency, but also as a reminder of the enduring friendship between the United States and Britain.

___

Part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more American objects, click here. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.

Temperatures in the high 90s Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) were forecast for the Northeast; Philadelphia and Boston could top 100 by Thursday. Throw in humidity, and the real-feel heat index will be even higher at times, the National Weather Service said.

A heat dome — high-pressure systems above a region that trap heat and humidity — has been smothering parts of the U.S., from the Midwest to the East Coast. It will add much discomfort amid 250th anniversary parades, ship flotillas, outdoor concerts and, in Boston, a popular public reading of the Declaration of Independence from a historic balcony Saturday.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani advised residents to stay cool inside and avoid “extraordinary temperatures.”

“To be breaking into triple digits over the course of these many next days — it is of immense concern given that too often the heat is something that is underestimated,” Mamdani said.

In Hamptonburgh, New York, air conditioning failed on a bus carrying Junior ROTC cadets, resulting in multiple heat-related illnesses, Orange County authorities said. Some cadets were taken to hospitals as a precaution.

Concrete and steel aggravate hot weather

Humidity is not uncommon in the Northeast. But Dr. Alexander Azan of NYU Langone Health in New York said high air temperatures and humidity are a dangerous combination.

“Their body doesn’t have that level of acclimatization to respond appropriately to the heat, and so heat stress in the form of what we call heat exhaustion, and in more severe cases, heat stroke, can occur at much lower temperatures than we see in people who live in the South,” Azan said.

Experts say cities in particular are at greater risk.

“The concentration of concrete, asphalt, steel, all of those materials help to retain heat,” said Vijay Limaye, a climate scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The number on your phone may actually not reflect the true temperature profile that you’re going out into.”

New York City said more than 200 teams of government workers and volunteers will check on homeless people and encourage them to get inside. There will be hundreds of cooling centers, from the Javits Center convention hall to vans to outdoor spots with misting fans.

Cashing in on the weather

The phone seemed like it wouldn't stop ringing at Acme Ice Co. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which delivers ice to bars and restaurants in the Boston area. The owner, Marc Savenor, said this week's stretch of hot weather is an “ice man's dream.”

“What could an ice man ask for? ... I’ve hired a couple extra drivers. I’ve put on an extra couple trucks. I put ice in different freezers so I don’t run out,” Savenor said. “After my ice is depleted here, we go pick up another load, bring it back, and we deliver it everywhere.”

The American Kennel Club’s Museum of the Dog in New York is allowing visitors to bring their dogs to cool off, through Sunday. Executive Director Christopher Bromson said he got the idea from seeing his own Newfoundland sprawled on the museum’s cool floor.

“I thought every dog should have access to this,” he said.

In Washington, D.C., where the high temperature was 95 F (35 C), thirsty children reached for cold water from U.S. Park Police as they waited in line for the Ferris wheel on the National Mall.

In the Midwest, meanwhile, heat risks remained. Taylor Harnist, whose Cincinnati business installs and repairs air conditioners, said he was trying to keep his employees comfortable with breaks, water and electrolyte drinks.

“You get an attic job when it’s this hot, we do them but it’s strenuous,” Harnist said. “It’s so hot the attics will reach temperatures of 145 degrees.”

Jeff Schlegelmilch, associate professor at Columbia University Climate School, said heat is one of the easiest things to attribute to climate change.

“We have seen a continued increase in longer summers, hotter temperatures, hotter temperatures earlier on, more evaporation of moisture, higher humidity — effects like that,” he said.

___

Associated Press reporters Jennifer Peltz in New York, Rodrique Ngowi in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.

After completing your purchase and receiving your order confirmation, you’ll need to accept the ticket transfer from the seller.

Here’s how:

Create a World Cup Account

Go to the FIFA World Cup ticketing website using the link provided in your ticket confirmation email. You can either sign in using the temporary email link sent to you or create a FIFA account using the same email address you used to purchase your tickets.

Verify Your Account

After logging in, you’ll receive a PIN via email to verify your FIFA World Cup account. Enter the PIN to complete the verification process.

Complete Your Profile

Once you’re logged in, go to Account Settings and select Profile to fill out your personal information. This step is required before you can receive your tickets.

After completing your profile, you should be redirected to the ticket transfer page. If you’re not redirected automatically, visit fifa.com/tickets .

Accept the Ticket Transfer

Accept the ticket transfer from your homepage, then download the FIFA World Cup app, where your tickets will appear for the match.

Keep in mind that tickets may not appear in the app until a few hours before kickoff.

If you’re having trouble locating your FIFA World Cup tickets, visit the official website of the ticket vendor you purchased them from for additional instructions on accessing your tickets.

During a tour of the 96,000-square-foot library and in a speech afterward, Trump spoke admiringly of Roosevelt and compared himself favorably to the former president, who he described as the embodiment of the American spirit, praising his toughness as a leader and outdoorsman.

“He had a freakin’ wild life,” Trump told an audience at a Western-themed amphitheater. “He didn’t want to be quiet. He wanted to be great.”

The official opening of the library on Saturday coincides with July 4th celebrations honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Trump made the trip to see the $450 million project aboard his new Air Force One, a Boeing 747 given to the United States by Qatar. The visit was a boost for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, while also bringing the nation's birthday festivities to a region synonymous with its westward expansion.

In his speech after the tour, Trump weaved between his own administration's work while returning to lessons drawn from Roosevelt's life, recounting stories of bravery during Roosevelt's time in the West and as president.

“He was something special," Trump said. “He was a really great man. He was a man the likes of which you may never see again.”

During the visit, Trump announced that his administration was giving $750,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support the library’s first year.

Roosevelt was a New York native with a strong North Dakota connection

Roosevelt visited Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison. On Valentine’s Day the next year, his mother and wife died hours apart in the same house in New York.

Devastated, Roosevelt came to Dakota where he ranched cattle and hunted big game in the West during visits mostly from 1884 to 1887.

He underwent deep personal growth from his experiences, including chasing boat thieves down a river, standing up to a bully in a bar and working alongside cowboys who ridiculed him for wearing eyeglasses.

Roosevelt, who served as president from 1901 to 1909, later said he never would have been president were it not for his experiences in North Dakota.

Near the library is Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Visitors can hike trails and drive a scenic route through the colorful, rugged Badlands where bison and wild horses roam.

Trump has often described an affinity with Roosevelt

Trump began his second term last year by trumpeting the construction of the Panama Canal during the Roosevelt administration.

Trump even said the U.S. might seek to take back the waterway from Panama to curb influence from China. That goal has been overshadowed by his suggestions that Washington might seize control of Greenland or that Canada could become America's 51st state.

Given a chance to talk with an artificial-intelligence version of Roosevelt at the library, Trump asked if the 26th president considered the Panama Canal his greatest achievement. A digital Roosevelt said he took pride in it while also listing achievements involving parks, medicine and his Square Deal.

In the run-up to staging a UFC fight on the White House lawn for his 80th birthday, Trump said he was aware of Roosevelt holding far lower-key boxing matches in the White House. Trump made no mention of Roosevelt having detached the retina of his left eye during one such sparring session.

The trip also underscores the president's esteem for Burgum, who has become a key face of and cheerleader for the president’s expansive renovation projects around Washington.

In 2019, Burgum championed the library to North Dakota's Republican-led legislature when he was governor, touting its tourism potential. The legislature approved a $50 million operations endowment, requiring library planners to raise $100 million in private donations, a goal met in 2020. Donations total about $354 million as of early 2026.

Donors include oil executive Harold Hamm, the Waltons of Walmart fame, Kenneth Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, a hedge fund, and Burgum himself.

The library will showcase Roosevelt's ideas and artifacts

Trump was the library’s first official visitor, according to the library’s executive director, Robbie Lauf.

All living presidents were invited to the grand opening of the library, which joins more than a dozen others across the country that examine the lives and legacies of U.S. presidents, from Ronald Reagan in California to Franklin D. Roosevelt in New York and Herbert Hoover in Iowa. The Obama Presidential Center recently opened in Chicago, bringing together four former presidents for the occasion.

Visitors will learn about Roosevelt's conservation ideas and his Rough Riders regiment of the Spanish-American War, but also his “horrific comments” about Native Americans and other issues “that have obviously aged poorly,” Lauf said.

Artifacts, many of them out of public view for decades, will tell Roosevelt's story. Visitors will see his Rough Riders uniform; the 1884 diary grieving his terrible loss; and the eyeglasses case, speech and shirt from the 1912 assassination attempt against him.

Organizers hope the library draws families and thousands of school children from the region, as well as some of the millions of motorists who travel to Yellowstone National Park and the Black Hills.

“It's a feature, not a bug, that we are in a county of 1,000 people and a town of 120,” Lauf said. “TR came here for that purpose.”

The Dakota Resource Council on Tuesday hosted several conservation leaders who criticized Burgum and Trump for policies they say contradict Roosevelt's conservation principles, such as cutting staff and budgets and prioritizing energy development on public lands.

Last year, Burgum signed an order prioritizing the openness and accessibility of parks to the public amid the workforce cuts. He has compared America's public lands and natural resources to “assets” that should be responsibly developed to exert “energy dominance.”

On Friday, Trump plans to visit South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore for Independence Day fireworks, as he did in 2020.

___

Binkley reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

Some of the children discovered Tuesday were unable to speak and one — an 18-year-old who was developmentally disabled — could not even write her name, investigators said.

“Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,” said Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain. “Just a disgusting scene.”

The children's parents and two grandparents were charged with felony child endangerment, a prosecutor said.

Authorities found the children while carrying out a search warrant in an unrelated investigation, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said Wednesday at a news conference.

Officials said it seemed as if no one outside the family knew about the children, who weren't enrolled in school.

“We didn’t know there were going to be 16 kids there,” said Wilson, who was nearly at a loss for words in describing what officials found in the tiny village of Hamden that sits in one of Ohio's poorest counties.

“It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing here in America,” he said.

Rescued children looked like ‘feral animals’

The sheriff said it appears the children spent most of their time in a room that was roughly 12 feet by 12 feet (3.5 meters by 3.5 meters). He didn’t disclose how the kids were kept inside the home, but said authorities didn’t find any cages in the house.

The children ranged in age from 1 1/2 years to 18 years old and included both boys and girls, officials said. Seven were transported to hospitals in Columbus and two were flown by helicopter. One was in critical condition on Tuesday while some of the others were admitted for care, Wilson said.

“They looked like almost feral animals,” Wilson said. “It was terrible.”

The children were in temporary custody of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.

Vinton County prosecuting attorney William Archer said the four adults were charged with second-degree felony child endangering because it involves “serious physical harm.”

Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders appeared in court Wednesday where a judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf and set bond at $300,000 for each. They have not yet been assigned lawyers.

Steve Irwin, a spokesperson for the attorney general's office, would not say whether all of the children are siblings or how they were related.

Neighbor saw ‘no kids at all’

The house where the children were found sits on a road tucked away alongside a steep railroad embankment, where tracks carry rumbling trains through Hamden. The closest neighbors are separated by trees and thick brush, but the house is easily visible from the road.

An open door revealed bits of trash inside while a wooden deck and the backyard were filled with discarded tires, a high chair and other debris.

Investigators said members of the family had moved around southern Ohio over the past two decades and that it looks like they avoided setting up medical and government records.

“These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids,” Wilson said.

Investigators were reviewing whether the family was reported to any children’s services agencies in the past.

Neighbor Joseph Stewart, 60, said he saw “no kids at all” since the family moved in three houses down and that he could clearly see the house and yard when passing by.

“It’s a sad situation,” he said. Stewart has lived on the street for six years and called it “a quiet neighborhood.”

On Wednesday, the home's doors and windows stood open to the sweltering heat. A tangle of discarded children’s items -- two busted bicycles, a plastic play table, a beach pail and two infant carriers -- stood in a pile in the yard.

Hamden has a population of less than 1,000 people and is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of Columbus.

The discovery of the children is reminiscent of past horrific cases of family abuse.

In 2019, David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty to torture and years of abuse that included shackling some of their 13 children at their home in California, starving them and providing only a minimal education.

They were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. The couple were arrested in 2018 after their 17-year-old daughter escaped from the home and called 911.

___

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Julie Watson in San Diego contributed.

The festivities will kick off with a smaller rehearsal dinner planned for Thursday night, the official said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the events.

Speculation about the superstar singer and football player’s nuptials has built to a frenzy in recent days, following weeks of unconfirmed reports that it would take place over July Fourth weekend at one of New York’s iconic landmarks.

In recent days, crews have been unloading equipment from trucks outside the Manhattan arena. A large carpet was briefly unveiled outside one entrance and then promptly removed.

Still, nothing has been publicly confirmed by the couple, despite multiple requests from the AP to Swift’s representative for comment, including on Wednesday.

While city officials have made coy references to an upcoming wedding at Madison Square Garden, they have offered few details about the plan, including potential impacts to nearby businesses or local transit.

“We are fully prepared,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference on Wednesday. “There isn’t anything to share beyond that.”

In a separate social media post, he offered New Yorkers tips for staying cool during the heat wave, “especially if you’re (hypothetically) having your wedding at MSG this weekend.”

Swift and Kelce first announced their engagement on Instagram last August, fueling widespread speculation among the Swiftie fan base about possible venue locations.

Following initial reports last month that the event would be held at Madison Square Garden, some theorized that the choice could be an elaborate smoke screen to divert attention from the couple’s real wedding plans.

The arena, which seats up to 19,500 people, is located above Penn Station, the busiest rail hub in the U.S., in the heart of Midtown, Manhattan.

It has on occasion hosted weddings in the past, including funk singer Sly Stone’s marriage to actor Kathy Silva in 1974 and a mass ceremony officiated by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in 1982.

The arena has guarded entrances, a secure garage and a lack of windows, allowing Kelce, Swift and celebrity guests to stay out of sight of photographers or camera-equipped drones.

On Wednesday, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch outlined a slew of challenges facing the city this weekend, including huge Independence Day celebrations, a World Cup match and a searing heat wave.

“I would be remiss not to mention an event that we are tracking at Madison Square Garden on Friday night,” Tisch added. “The NYPD will, of course, have a detail in place, but I am not going to go into more specifics on that at this time.”

The decision handed several victories to the League of Women Voters of Arkansas and other plaintiffs, which sued last year amid efforts in various states to make it harder for regular citizens to make laws or amend their states’ constitution through ballot initiatives.

One such measure required someone signing a petition to show photo ID. That and other additional ballot-initiative restrictions were imposed by Arkansas’ GOP-controlled state government after election officials cited a legal technicality to reject petitions submitted by abortion rights supporters in a 2024 effort to legalize abortion in the conservative state.

One of the plaintiffs, Protect AR Rights, called the decision an “important victory for the people of Arkansas and their constitutional right to direct democracy."

The decision, issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks, also rejected some challenges by the league and its fellow plaintiffs, while Brooks sent three other disputes to trial.

The defendant, Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester, a Republican who had defended the laws in court, said in a statement that his office plans to appeal Brooks' decision and “will fight tirelessly for common sense safeguards like voter ID.”

Among the laws Brooks struck down are 2025 measures requiring canvassers to verify a petition signers' identity through a photo ID and to read the ballot question aloud or require a petition signer to read the entire ballot question before signing it. The ballot questions are often hundreds of words long.

Requiring a petition signer to possess and present a photo ID “before engaging in core political speech” plainly violates free speech laws, Brooks wrote, and noted that the Arkansas secretary of state's office reviews every signature to confirm that the petition signer is a registered voter.

The ID requirement regulates what a registered voter “must do before signing a petition and what a canvasser must do before allowing them to,” Brooks wrote. “This impedes supporters of a measure from expressing their views by signing a petition.”

State officials had contended that requiring a reading of the ballot question before anyone can sign a petition was necessary to prevent a canvasser from misrepresenting the ballot question.

But Brooks wrote that the state had refused to prosecute reported cases of such canvasser misconduct, and that it should enforce its existing laws before it chose a more restrictive alternative of “imposing burdensome speech codes on good and bad actors alike.”

Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., allow citizen-initiated ballot measures, according to the nonprofit Ballot Initiative Strategy Center.

In March, the center reported that it had found a “sharp escalation” by lawmakers in both the number and severity of anti-democratic attacks on the ballot measure process over the past several election cycles.

Sponsors of such efforts, it wrote, framed them as steps to improve election integrity, administrative efficiency or voter protection.

One of the most common methods is making it harder for initiatives to qualify for the ballot by placing restrictions on where, when and how signatures are collected, it wrote.

It singled out efforts in Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma.

Another common method of restricting ballot initiatives, it said, is requiring a larger majority of voters, rather than a simple majority, to approve a referendum, thus making it harder to pass. It cited efforts in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio.

___

Follow Marc Levy at http://twitter.com/timelywriter

Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Florida, sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Russell Vought urging the bureau to investigate rent now, pay later companies and hold them accountable for potential violations of federal consumer financial protection laws. In the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Frost also asked the bureau to explain what it is doing to protect renters and whether landlords are steering tenants toward rent-financing products.

“Rent now, pay later” companies allow renters to split their monthly rent into smaller payments over the course of a month. A renter with a $1,000 monthly rent bill might pay in four weekly payments of $250 or two payments of $500.

First elected to Congress in 2022 at the age of 25, Frost said he frequently used buy now, pay later services to furnish his first apartment in Washington, which put him heavily into debt. In an interview, Frost said it was only because he made a healthy salary as a member of Congress that he was recently able to pay those debts off. He said he believes his experience is likely the same as other young Americans.

“Americans should know they have rights when using these buy now, pay later products,” Frost said. “This is why the CFPB was created in the first place.”

Frost looked into using his credit card to pay rent, but “thank God that didn't happen,” he added.

Companies such as Flex and Livble say breaking rent into multiple payments can help renters manage cash flow. Some payment plans can come with fees and finance charges. In February, the AP reported on how users of these services were paying as much as $50 a month to split their rent.

Other companies, such as Affirm, are running limited experiments with splitting rent into multiple payments. Affirm's offering through a partner splits rent into bimonthly payments.

These RNPL companies differ from companies like Bilt, which allows some renters to pay rent through its credit card and rewards platform. Bilt says it has more than 5 million members, and its customers have historically used its service to earn rewards points on rent payments. RNPL companies are more focused on allowing customers to finance large rent payments across multiple payments.

Frost says there should be more disclosure to consumers around the products as they become more popular.

“While many of these companies market their loans as ‘innovative’ products that can help struggling cash-strapped renters, including by allegedly boosting their credit scores, many of these products more closely resemble repackaged payday loans,” Frost said in his letter.

A February report by Protect Borrowers and Toward Justice argued that some RNPL companies should comply with Truth in Lending Act requirements based on how they structure their products. The industry strongly disagreed with the groups’ findings at the time.

“In addition to structural reforms to drive down the cost of housing, lawmakers, policymakers, and law enforcement at every level of government need to wake up to the reality that a broad array of companies are cashing in, at working people’s expense, on the massive burden of rent in Americans’ lives,” the groups said in the report.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sharply curtailed its work under the second Trump administration. Under Vought, the bureau has rolled back regulations and guidance, dropped enforcement actions and moved to rescind previous agency activity. Other calls by members of Congress for bureau investigations have largely gone unanswered. The bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Frost’s letter.

Vought’s tenure at the CFPB will end this summer. President Trump has nominated Brian Johnson, an executive formerly with Capital One, to be the next permanent director of the bureau. Johnson previously held a high-ranking position at the bureau during Trump’s first term in office.

Frost said that if the bureau does not act on buy now, pay later and rent now, pay later companies, he hopes to use information gathered from this letter and other resources to propose legislation next year if Democrats take control of Congress.

“I’m not holding my breath for the Trump administration to do the right thing, but this is the first step of many we can take to make sure these products are used correctly and Americans are protected,” he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Tuesday afternoon officially designating May 17 as Bruce Lee Day, according to the office of state Assemblymember Matt Haney, who represents San Francisco.

An 18-year-old Lee returned to San Francisco on May 17, 1959, after spending his childhood in Hong Kong.

Lee's daughter, Shannon, who is CEO of the Bruce Lee Foundation, said the honor is a testament to her father's enduring legacy as a bridge between cultures.

“From young people who found confidence and possibility in his philosophy, to families who finally saw themselves represented on screen, to athletes who still draw on his teachings of discipline and inner strength, his reach is profound," Shannon Lee said in a statement.

Haney called Lee the epitome of the best of California.

“At a time when Asian Americans were too often absent from or stereotyped on screen, Bruce Lee helped generations see themselves represented with strength and dignity,” he said in a statement.

The foundation and various Asian American organizations hope Lee will be celebrated every year with voluntary commemorative activities around the state such as cultural exhibits, public events and classroom lessons.

Born in 1940 to Chinese parents who were touring with an opera, Lee was allowed to have birthright citizenship. A few months later, the family returned to Hong Kong where Lee became a child actor and began learning Chinese kung fu. He moved back to the U.S. in 1959 and enrolled in the University of Washington in Seattle two years later. He dropped out and threw himself into practicing and teaching martial arts.

In the ‘60s, Lee found work in Hollywood, most notably as Kato in the TV series “The Green Hornet,” but studios wanted him to play racist stereotypes and paid him less than his white counterparts.

He pivoted back to Hong Kong and soon became a megastar of martial arts flicks, including “The Big Boss” and “Fist of Fury.” Lee died in 1973 at 32 after an allergic reaction to pain medication.

Lee's name and likeness remain popular. Fans gather on his birthday. A treatment for a proposed TV action series he wrote inspired the HBO Max show “Warrior.”

A preliminary autopsy requested by the family of Kohen Wiley suggested the baby was shot from the side of the car, not the front, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said, disputing officers' claims that the car was heading toward them. Kohen's mother, who was holding her baby in the passenger seat, says her friend was driving away from the officers.

Kohen and his mother are Black, and the June 14 shooting has sparked protests and outrage in the small town of Senatobia. Residents point to a string of troubling encounters with police in recent years. Crump said the child was killed after police were called to a Walmart parking lot about diapers that may have been shoplifted.

“We’re going to try to continue to demand transparency,” Crump said. He spoke from the pulpit of Senatobia Church of Christ, surrounded by more than a dozen people including the baby's grandparents, some of them holding “Justice for Baby Kohen” signs.

However, Crump repeatedly emphasized that the pathologist did not have access to complete information. He said the family won't rest until authorities release the police body camera and dashcam video, as well as Walmart surveillance video.

A spokesperson for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is in charge of the ongoing inquiry, declined to comment Wednesday. Tate County Coroner Ernie Lentz said in an email the official autopsy report is not complete. An email was sent to Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford seeking comment.

An email was also sent to a Walmart spokesperson seeking comment.

On display at the church were photos and diagrams of Kohen’s body and a photo of the car. The passenger window was shattered and an apparent bullet hole pierced the windshield on the passenger side. The other woman in the car was badly wounded, authorities said.

The broken passenger-side window indicates a bullet was fired into that side the car, Crump said.

The preliminary findings, Crump said, show the bullet entered the baby’s torso on his right side and exited on his left. Crump said that assessment is supported by the clusters of cuts on the right side of his chest and abdomen that would have been caused by the broken tempered glass.

“That’s very important as we try to solve a puzzle,” he explained, adding: “The reason that we’re having to try to solve the puzzle is because they won’t release the video.”

In an initial account of the shooting, state investigators said: “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene.”

Investigators will try to figure out the vehicle’s position, how everyone was sitting inside, and where the officers were standing, said policing expert Ian Adams, who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina. They will need to look at damage to the car as well as bullet wounds, because people can move around.

“We need to know a lot more before drawing firm conclusions based on bullet wounds alone,” Adams said.

The killing has drawn comparisons to other instances where Black people lost their life over accusations of petty criminal offenses, such as the murder of George Floyd. Kohen’s mom says she thought her friend had paid for the diapers.

Crump, who rose to prominence representing the families of Floyd and other Black people killed by police, emphasized that the officers' own report says they saw two women and a child get into the car. He questioned why the officer would shoot, knowing there was a kid inside.

“They want us to believe that it was a life-or-death situation,” he added. “They told us that, but they have not showed us that.”

The lawsuit says the records would shed light on the motivations of government officials who are investigating Brennan and would form the basis of defense efforts to dismiss any eventual indictment on grounds that the case constitutes a vindictive prosecution.

Such an argument, his lawyers said, would be supported by the more than 100 verbal or written statements that President Donald Trump has made since 2017 lambasting Brennan and by the Republican president's directives to his Justice Department to initiate investigations of Brennan “without regard to factual or legal justification.”

“To fully consider those motions, the reviewing judge would need to scrutinize the motivations of the Justice Department officials who directed, oversaw, or undertook those actions to determine whether they violated Director Brennan’s rights, and specifically whether they were motivated by a desire to vindictively prosecute him as an act of retribution,” Brennan's lawyers wrote in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington.

Without an order, the lawsuit contends, the records are at risk of being lost or intentionally deleted.

The lawsuit amounts to a preemptive strike of sorts on months-long investigations into Brennan and other perceived adversaries of the president, and represents another effort by Brennan's legal team to sound the alarm on inquiries they believe are part of a pattern of politically motivated probes driven by the White House. It asserts that Brennan is being targeted in a vindictive and selective manner arising from Trump's "obsession with punishing him for his lawful conduct as CIA Director and for his constitutionally protected criticism of the President and the President’s policies.

“That is the reason he is being singled out for investigation of concocted theories of criminal activity, and that will be the dominant reason for any criminal charges resulting from that investigation. That is also why Director Brennan will have an extremely strong basis to challenge those charges as the product of vindictive and selective prosecution,” the lawsuit says.

Investigators based in Florida are examining whether Brennan made a false statement to Congress in 2023 related to an assessment by intelligence agencies documenting Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, when Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. The other investigation aims to determine whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine Trump, including during the course of the Russian interference investigation.

Brennan has denied any wrongdoing.

The complaint seeks a court order requiring the preservation of all government records relevant to the investigations, including emails, calendar entries and communications — whether public or private — from Trump or other White House officials about the inquiries and efforts to advance them.

“Given these strong indicia of vindictiveness, Director Brennan expects that he will forcefully challenge any eventual indictment as the product of an unconstitutionally vindictive and selective prosecution,” the lawsuit says, adding that the judge presiding over any criminal case would look to those records for a glimpse of the government's motives.

The lawsuit says there's a “very real risk” that the requested communications will not be available by the time any indictment is brought, either because of technology changes that make deletion of records more routine or automatic or because of a Trump administration habit of “failing to observe their legal obligation to maintain such records.”

“Given the government’s questionable recent history with respect to its record preservation and other legal obligations, however, Director Brennan has a well-founded concern that those records and communications will not be preserved until such time as the court can review them for evidence of unconstitutional vindictiveness,” Brennan's lawyers wrote.

The lawsuit names as defendants Trump and other top officials from his administration, including acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Other defendants include Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Joe diGenova, a Reagan administration prosecutor who returned to the Justice Department in April to serve as a special counselor to the attorney general and help oversee the investigations.

Brennan's lawyer, Ken Wainstein, wrote in December to the chief judge of the federal court in Florida asking that the Justice Department be prevented from steering investigations related to Brennan to a “favored” Trump administration judge, Aileen Cannon, who in 2024 dismissed the classified documents prosecution against Trump.

Asked about Brennan's lawsuit, Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Covington said in a statement, “While we cannot comment on the existence, or lack thereof, of an investigation, it is certainly rich that John Brennan is accusing anyone of a ‘retribution campaign.’”

____

Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.

“Today’s an exciting day for all kidkind as we officially open Universal Kids Resort,” Page Thompson, president of New Ventures for Universal Destinations & Experiences, said in a press release. “Every aspect of this park was designed with kids in mind, and it’s amazing to see the smiles on their faces as they enjoy all that Universal Kids Resort has to offer.”

The Universal Kids Resort, located in Frisco, is Universal Destinations & Experiences’ first regional theme park. It features seven themed areas that highlight popular characters and stories.

These areas are:

• DreamWorks’ Shrek’s Swamp
• Jurassic World Adventure Camp
• Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants Bikini Bottom
• Illumination’s Minions vs. Minions: Bello Bay Club
• DreamWorks’ TrollsFest
• DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots Del Mar
• Isle of Curiosity, featuring DreamWorks’ Gabby’s Dollhouse

A 300-room hotel is at the entrance of the park, and rooms can fit up to six guests. An array of family-friendly amenities are available and dining options can please even the pickiest eaters.

Multiple ticket and experience options are available for guests.

Ticket options include:

• 1-Day General Admission, $54.99
• 2-Day General Admission, $73.99
• 1-Day General Admission + Coca-Cola Freestyle Souvenir Cup: $69.99
• 2-Day General Admission + Coca-Cola Freestyle Souvenir Cup: $101.99

The Troll-ify Me! Experience transforms guests into their favorite characters from the Trolls movies, including Branch, Poppy and Guy Diamond. The experience is $25 per person.

For the ultimate Universal Kids Resort experience, guests can book the Private VIP Experience, a 4-hour guided tour of the park that gives guests priority access to attractions and entertainment, as well as exclusive benefits. The experience is $999.99 per person.

“Universal Kids Resort offers a completely unique experience to what we have at our other destinations - introducing a younger generation to Universal fun crafted just for them,” Molly Murphy, president of Universal Creative, said in a press release. “We set out to develop a park that invites kids to splash, play, dance and laugh with some of their favorite characters. We’re excited for kids to create lasting memories here with their families as they embark on the ultimate playdate.”

For more information about the theme park, check out UniversalKidsResort.com.

Hancock’s departure notice, first reported by Texas Bullpen and confirmed by Abbott, comes one year to the day after he took over the agency. He was chosen by the governor after the previous comptroller, Glenn Hegar, stepped down to become the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.

Hancock oversaw the beginning of the state’s $1 billion program to offer parents vouchers to send their kids to private schools, one of the agency’s biggest and newest responsibilities. 

“Kelly led the Comptroller’s office during a pivotal chapter for Texas,” Abbott wrote on social media. “His leadership and experience, from the local school board to the Texas Legislature, helped make possible the launch of the largest school choice program in our nation’s history, expanding educational opportunity for Texas families.”

In his resignation letter, Hancock touted the rollout of the voucher program, known as Texas Education Freedom Accounts, that is already sending funds to parents as of Wednesday, he said. Noting that the law creating the initiative took effect last September — less than a year ago — Hancock said the implementation reflected the approach he applied across the office to streamline procedures and move “at the speed of business rather than the speed of bureaucracy.”

Hancock, a Republican from North Richland Hills, ran to serve a full term as comptroller but lost his primary to Don Huffines, a former Senate colleague and ultraconservative businessman from Dallas. Hancock said he was confident the agency “will continue serving Texans effectively and maintain continuity for the work already underway,” and that Huffines “will build on the work.” 

Huffines will face Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin in the general election.

The resignation will mark a departure from public office for Hancock, who began his political career as a school board member and served nearly two decades in the Legislature, first in the state House and later as senator representing a North Texas district covering parts of Tarrant County.  

Hancock’s exit from the Texas Senate created a vacancy that led to a special election won by a Democrat to represent his ruby red district, which President Donald Trump had won by more than 17 points. The stunning upset generated national buzz, as Democrats saw it as early evidence that voters who supported the president in 2024 would swing back to them in this fall’s midterm elections. 

Among the contests in November will be the one to replace Hancock as comptroller, a role responsible for managing the state’s money, collecting taxes and estimating state revenue — a crucial figure that guides that Legislature’s budget drafting every two years. 

The state of Texas operates a $337 billion budget and earns more than a quarter trillion dollars of revenue.

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

Tonight’s Forecast:

Tonight will stay partly cloudy, warm and humid with temperatures only falling into the upper 70s by early Thursday morning. A few neighborhoods could stay near 80 degrees, especially closer to the coast and inside the city.

Most of the night should be quiet, but it will feel sticky outside with light southeast winds and plenty of Gulf moisture in place.

Thursday’s forecast:

Thursday will be another very warm day with afternoon highs in the low-to-mid 90s across Southeast Texas. Houston should climb to around 94 degrees, but with humidity factored in, it will feel hotter than that.

A few scattered showers and storms will be possible Thursday afternoon, especially along and south of I-10. Futuretrack shows some of the better rain chances near Sugar Land, Pearland, Angleton and coastal communities, though a few downpours could develop closer to Houston as well.

These storms will be hit-or-miss, so some neighborhoods may get a quick soaking while others stay completely dry. Any storm that develops could briefly produce heavy rain, lightning and gusty winds before fading.

Fourth of July weekend:

Friday looks hot and humid with highs in the mid-90s. Houston is forecast to reach around 96 degrees, with only a slight chance for an isolated shower or storm. Most of the day should be dry, but it will feel very summer-like with plenty of heat and humidity.

Saturday, the Fourth of July, looks hot and humid with highs in the mid-90s. Houston is forecast to reach around 96 degrees, with a low-end rain chance around 20%.

That means most outdoor plans should be fine, but an isolated afternoon shower or storm cannot be ruled out. If you are heading to parades, cookouts or fireworks, plan for lots of water, sunscreen and breaks in the shade.

By fireworks time, temperatures will likely still be in the 80s, with humidity staying high.

Watching the Tropics:

The tropics are quiet right now, and there is no tropical development expected over the next seven days. That’s good news heading into the Fourth of July weekend.

That said, this is the time of year when we start watching the tropics a little more closely. July is not the peak of hurricane season, but storms can and do form this month. Houston knows that well. Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas on July 8, 2024, bringing damaging wind, heavy rain and widespread power outages to Southeast Texas.

So while there is no tropical threat in the forecast right now, it is a good reminder to stay weather-aware and make sure your hurricane kit is ready before the season gets busier. Tropical activity typically ramps up more in August and September, but July is when we start paying closer attention to any disturbances moving through the Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf.

10 Day Forecast:

Looking ahead, Houston’s forecast stays very consistent. Highs remain in the mid-90s most days, with lows in the upper 70s to around 80 degrees.

Rain chances sit around 20% to 30% through early next week, then trend a little lower by the middle and end of next week. The main story continues to be the heat and humidity. Even when the forecast high is “only” 94 to 96 degrees, it will feel hotter during the afternoon. Heat safety will stay important, especially for anyone spending a lot of time outside over the holiday weekend.

That means Houston will continue to see a very typical July setup: hot afternoons, muggy mornings and isolated showers mainly driven by daytime heating.

Mere startups when he took the oath of office, the new ventures have now eclipsed in revenue much of his vast property portfolio that took him decades to accumulate.

Also, the House leadership on Tuesday abruptly canceled votes and sent lawmakers home early for the holiday recess, Speaker Mike Johnson ’s majority once again ground to a standstill by a Republican revolt over their own party’s agenda. In this case, it’s a standoff blocking the annual defense bill as Republicans push to include Trump’s own priority, the SAVE America Act, a strict voter ID bill.

Here's the latest:

New Federal Reserve chair emphasizes political independence, signals focus on inflation

Kevin Warsh said the central bank would remain independent and seek to bring down inflation, likely foreclosing the rate cuts President Donald Trump has sought.

In remarks at a central bank conference in Sintra, Portugal, Warsh said that if businesses or households thought the Fed would accept inflation above 2%, “I guess they’d be disappointed. We’re going to deliver price stability.”

The Fed typically combats inflation by raising borrowing costs. When asked about Trump’s oft-repeated desire for lower rates, Warsh underscored the Fed’s independence from day-to-day politics.

“We’ve been an independent central bank for a very long time,” he said. “We’re going to be an independent central bank at this moment and you’re going to see no changes to that.”

Such comments suggest that Warsh has shifted his views since replacing Jerome Powell as chair May 22. He called for lower rates last year as he essentially campaigned for the job. Since becoming chair, however, Warsh has appeared to move away from that stance and instead has signaled a focus on getting inflation down.

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The US, Canada and Mexico begin bumpy negotiations to renew North American trade pact

Tourists from Chattanooga check into beach resorts in Cancun. Canadian auto parts feed factories in the American Midwest — and vice versa. Happy hour revelers raise glasses of Mexican tequila and mezcal at bars in Seattle.

It adds up. The United States trades $1.9 trillion a year — $5 billion a day — worth of goods and services with its neighbors. They have supplanted China to become America’s top two trading partners.

So the stakes are high when it comes to fiddling with the rules that govern trade between the three countries. And after a year of President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policies, many U.S., Canadian and Mexican businesses would welcome the return of stability across North America.

They are not likely to get it.

The regional trade pact — the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA — that Trump negotiated and boasted about came up for renewal Wednesday, starting a process that is likely to last months, maybe longer.

And the path forward is lined with landmines.

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US hits Ecuadorian gang with sanctions for political assassinations

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on a subgroup of an Ecuadorian gang that it accuses of involvement in political assassinations and narco-trafficking in the South American country.

Rubio announced Tuesday that he had designated the “Chone Killers” as a foreign terrorist organization.

The Chone Killers are an offshoot of Los Chineros, a gang the United States previously designated as an FTO in 2020.

The designation freezes any assets the group or its members may have in U.S. jurisdictions.

Chinese foreign minister speaks with Rubio about Taiwan

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the U.S. side to handle the Taiwan issue with “utmost caution” in a phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Chinese foreign ministry said Wednesday.

The Tuesday call took place as the Trump administration is reviewing a $14 billion weapons sale proposal to Taiwan under a domestic law that obligates the U.S. to provide the self-governed island with sufficient hardware for self-defense. Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of Chinese territory, opposes it, suggesting the arms sale could negatively impact President Xi Jinping’s plans to visit the U.S. this fall.

“The Taiwan issue can implicate the entire China-U.S. relations, and we hope the U.S. side will handle Taiwan-related matters with utmost caution,” Wang said, according to the Chinese statement.

The U.S. State Department has yet to confirm the phone call.

Crypto, real estate, watches: How Trump made over $1 billion last year

The latest disclosure report listing Trump’s financial holdings shows he took in about $1.2 billion last year from crypto holdings, overshadowing a real estate business that first brought him fame.

It’s a stunning development, sped along by his own friendly policies toward the industry and help from billionaires and others with business before the presidency.

The report, which is over 900 pages, also shows Trump took in tens of millions from new properties in countries beholden to the U.S. for military support or seeking tariff relief. He got tens of millions more suing media companies.

The White House says the president has no financial conflicts with his government role and only acts in the public interest.

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Americans step out for their nation’s 250th in a proud moment sown with division and doubt

America has come to a landmark moment of pride and patriotism — and a time of division and doubt.

As the country turns 250 on Saturday, Americans are stepping out for celebrations in a big way. Thousands of events are unfolding from every corner of the country.

But tears in the national fabric are seen everywhere, too.

And belief in American exceptionalism has declined.

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows more people in the U.S. think there are better countries than those who think the United States is the best.

Still, the party’s on.

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Trump talks Panama Canal with AI Teddy Roosevelt

Given a chance to talk with an artificial intelligence version of Roosevelt, Trump asked a pointed question: “Do you consider the Panama Canal your greatest achievement?”

A digital rendering of Roosevelt said the canal’s construction was one of his proudest feats, but he added that greatness is measured by lives improved. He rattled off other achievements involving parks, medicine and his Square Deal.

But with the canal, AI Roosevelt said he believed he had “left a mark that would last.”

“OK,” Trump said. “You did. Thank you.”

The exchange was shared in a video posted online by The White House as Trump toured the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Trump has previously suggested the U.S. might seek to take back the waterway from Panama to curb China’s influence.

As the Pentagon stays quiet, AP reconstructs a US strike that killed over 100 Iranian children

The Feb. 28 attack on a primary school in southeastern Iran was the deadliest reported strike in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Most of the victims were children.

In almost any other conflict, these haunting truths would be seared into national memory. Yet more than 120 days since at least one U.S. missile struck the school in Minab, there remains no final accounting of what happened.

The rapid pace of U.S. bombing and chaotic death tolls have left families without resolution. President Donald Trump has denied U.S. involvement, while Iran blames the U.S. The Pentagon’s investigation remains incomplete.

The Associated Press has reconstructed the story of the attack, beginning in the schoolyard on the morning of Feb. 28, drawing from open-source information, video footage, human rights reports and interviews with researchers and civilians inside and outside Iran to reveal previously unreported details about the bombing in Minab, including the diversity of children killed.

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Navy helicopter makes emergency landing in Arabian Sea

A U.S. Navy helicopter made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea, leaving one sailor missing, the Navy’s 5th Fleet said in a statement Wednesday.

According to the Navy, an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to USS George H.W. Bush went into the water at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, but the statement noted that “there is no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.”

The statement went on to say that three of the helicopter’s four crew members were recovered, but one aircrewman was still missing.

The USS George H.W. Bush is one of two aircraft carriers deployed in the waters off Iran.

Ex-CIA Director John Brennan seeks court order requiring records from investigations be preserved

Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, demanding a court order that would require officials to preserve records from investigations that are targeting him.

Brennan said in the lawsuit that the records would be essential for him to defend himself against any eventual indictment and make the case that it was a vindictive prosecution by the Republican administration.

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Vance says Doha talks are focused on Strait of Hormuz, not yet on nuclear issues

The vice president told reporters as he was leaving Virginia Beach on Wednesday that it was still “pretty early” in talks that U.S. negotiators were having with Iranian and Qatari officials.

Vance said they were discussing details related to commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and “really just ensuring that we continue to make the progress on that, and that’s what they’re focused on.”

“Obviously, we’re worried about the nuclear issue. We’re going to start talking about that,” he said.

Trump highlights chipmaker Micron for plans to invest $250 million in ‘Trump Accounts’

The president has promoted his eponymous investment accounts for children, highlighting a planned $250 million contribution from Micron, a computer memory chip maker.

“This incredible gesture, made by Micron’s fantastic CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, will make many children extremely happy some day in the not-too-distant future,” Trump posted on social media.

The accounts created by Trump’s 2025 tax cut extension include government seed stock index accounts for newborn children and allow private contributions to accounts for other children.

Micron will provide a $1,000-per-child matching benefit for employees and a one-time $250 deposit into accounts for children in the states where it operates: Idaho, New York, Virginia, California, Colorado, Minnesota and Texas

Micron estimates its commitments will benefit up to 1 million children.

Vance uses speech celebrating 250 years of ‘military excellence’ to slam Iran critics

The vice president visited Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia and began his speech joking that he reminded himself while taking the stage, “Don’t fall and bust your ass.”

The vice president noted former President Joe Biden having infamously tripped in the past, adding, “If I did it one time, it would be a major, major story.”

Vance also slammed critics who he said want the U.S. military “to just keep going and keep going” in Iran and “attack the president of the United States for using the leverage that you gave him to engage in negotiations.”

Vance said unnamed people had similarly suggested the U.S. do more during past wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Such critics, he said, “Encouraged us to just go a little bit further and just drop a few more bombs.”

Trump gives condolences after death of musician who co-wrote ‘Y.M.C.A.’

Victor Willis, who co-founded the Village People and helped write the disco group’s classic hits, has died at age 74.

The song “Y.M.C.A.” is a favorite of Trump’s and is often played at his events.

“We will think of Victor every time ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week,” Trump wrote on social media Wednesday. “My condolences to his wonderful family and group, Victor Willis will be sorely missed.”

Nealy 1,000 US military personnel are helping with Venezuela earthquake relief

The U.S. military now has about 900 military personnel supporting relief efforts in Venezuela following a pair of powerful back-to-back earthquakes that struck the country June 24, Steven McCloud, a U.S. Southern Command spokesperson said.

The statement comes as U.S. Southern Command continues to utilize a host of military aircraft and ships to move supplies and equipment into the country and U.S. Marines have joined search and rescue teams. The Marine Corps has also brought military transport trucks, highly mobile off-road vehicles and military ambulances to “further accelerate the movement of critical supplies and equipment,” a Southern Command statement said Wednesday.

McCloud added that there are also about 100 people from the State Department supporting aid and relief work.

The Venezuelan government has reported more than 1,400 deaths from the quakes over the weekend as well as thousands more that have been reported missing.

Trump administration moves to deport Cubans legally living in the US for alleged espionage

It comes accusations they were working as spies for Cuba’s socialist government.

The State Department said Tuesday that it had revoked the legal status of Carlos Antonio Lloga Dominguez, his wife and son, all of whom are now in federal custody awaiting deportation. The department said Lloga Dominguez had worked for more than a decade in the U.S. as an agent of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People, which it said was an “influence and intelligence front group” for Cuba.

“Under the Trump Administration, America will never become home for Cuban Communist regime thugs who peddle propaganda, run foreign influence operations, or seek to wage revolution against American civilization,” the department said in a statement.

Trump visits Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota

The president is visiting North Dakota on Wednesday to see the newly built Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, a massive facility exploring the life of America’s 26th president. The 96,000-square-foot library is in the rugged, lonely landscape where the young Easterner built his conservation values while ranching and hunting in the 1880s.

Saturday’s official opening coincides with July Fourth celebrations honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Trump is coming early to see the $450 million project, a boost for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, while also bringing the nation’s birthday festivities to a region synonymous with its westward expansion.

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Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump’s trip to North Dakota

President Trump is taking his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One — a retrofitted Boeing 747 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency.

Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted to Trump’s preferred color scheme of a navy belly and red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features the president believes a commander-in-chief’s entourage should have — plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.

Trump told reporters he was proud of the luxurious plane. “You can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,” he said.

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Trump says Pulte can declassify what he wants as acting director of national intelligence

The president said federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte, who Trump named as the acting director of national intelligence, “can declassify whatever” he wants.

Pulte’s elevation to the position has been a source of tension because of his lack of national security credentials. But he’s been given free reign to force job cuts at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

“Bill is there just for a fairly short period of time, but while he’s there, I said, ‘You can declassify whatever you want,’” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One.

The president estimated that Pulte could hold the job for one or two months. There’s been a push inside Trump’s movement to release documents to back up Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, despite electoral results that show a clear loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump has nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be the permanent DNI.

The president said Clayton will have a Senate hearing on his nomination in two weeks, after having canceled Clayton’s initial hearing.

Trump claims stock market gains are behind his rising fortune

Financial disclosures show Trump made roughly $1.2 billion off his crypto currency ventures last year, but the president claimed he’s not directing his investments.

“We have funds that run my money,” Trump said. “I made a lot of money before I became president, and they invest my money, and I don’t talk to them. I never, I don’t even speak to them.”

Trump claimed his financial gains largely came from a rising stock market and that those profits help the country as a whole.

“We’re all profiting,” Trump said. “I’m profiting because I have a lot of money and a lot of cash.”

But not all Americans have access to the stock market.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that 38% of Americans don’t have exposure to the stock market.

Trump boards new Air Force One, saying Boeing’s answers to questions led him to approach Qatar

Trump beamed with pride about the new Air Force One before its initial voyage, telling reporters pictures of the Boeing 747 given to him by Qatar would win the Pulitzer Prize.

The plane was given to the U.S. by Qatar and Trump relayed how the exchange happened. He said he asked Boeing — which is set to deliver new planes for the presidential jet in 2028 — if there were any counties that had potential substitutes in the interim.

“I said, ‘Who has the best one?’ They said, ‘Qatar. There’s no, there’s never been a plane like it.’ Frankly, we couldn’t build a plane like this because we wouldn’t be willing to spend the kind of money necessary. They spent top dollar,” Trump said.

The president said he went to Qatar and asked to use its plane for a period of time and the emir said he would instead give the plane to Trump. The president described the plane as “a gift from a country that has treated us very well.”

“You’re going to get a kick out of it,” Trump said to reporters about the plane. “There’s just nothing like it.”

How the Supreme Court became a pivotal force in Trump’s immigration agenda

President Trump’s administration looked to the Supreme Court to greenlight its sweeping hard-line immigration agenda and, by and large, it got the backing it was looking for with one key exception — birthright citizenship.

After lower courts repeatedly ruled against the Trump administration, the nation’s top court allowed it to terminate temporary protections for people fleeing war or strife. It gave immigration officers greater leeway in dealing with green card holders returning from abroad, and it allowed the government to limit the number of people who can apply for asylum.

In being asked to serve as an enabler of the Republican president’s contentious immigration crackdown, the Supreme Court showed deference to constitutional guardrails in the key case of birthright citizenship that would have redefined who can be an American. In ruling against the administration, the court upheld the idea that people who are born in the United States, regardless of their parents’ immigration status, are Americans.

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Trump’s actions signal a move toward institutionalizing people with disabilities, advocates warn

For decades, disabled people have fought for their rights to go to school and live alongside peers without disabilities — rights that some fear could be losing ground under the Trump administration.

Last month, the Education Department announced it would offload oversight of special education to the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose comments on the limits of disabilities such as autism have drawn sharp rebukes from advocates and lawmakers.

Meanwhile, following a White House push to police homelessness, the Department of Justice released guidance that lowered the barrier to institutionalizing any person with a disability.

Taken together, the actions signal a worrying return to a reality where people with disabilities are pushed to the margins of society, advocates said.

“It’s a direct, frontal assault on the rights of people with disabilities to live their lives the way that people who are nondisabled live their lives,” said Selene Almazan, legal director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. “I can’t imagine that as a country, that would be something that we would agree we should go back to.”

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Writer E. Jean Carroll calls for Trump to pay $5.8M after high court appeal fails

Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll asked a judge Tuesday to require President Donald Trump to pay her $5 million from a jury verdict that concluded Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s and defamed her after she publicly described the attack in 2019.

Lawyers for Carroll filed papers in Manhattan federal court to say Trump is unjustly trying to further delay release of the money after the Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal of the 2023 civil jury verdict.

The amount has grown to nearly $5.8 million with interest and should be required by the court to be disbursed, the lawyers wrote, saying Trump has resumed his defamatory attacks against Carroll as his lawyers considered asking the high court to reconsider its decision.

The jury reached its verdict in a trial that Trump did not attend after Carroll testified that she was sexually abused by Trump in spring 1996 in the dressing room of a midtown Manhattan luxury department store after a flirtatious and friendly chance encounter between them turned violent.

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The next meeting will be scheduled “at the earliest possible time” after the funeral of Iran’s previous supreme leader, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said on X. The funeral is set to start Saturday in Tehran.

U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were in Qatar for talks seeking a permanent end to the war, along with Iran’s top negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi.

Negotiators aim to nail down specifics to pave the way for top leaders to seal an agreement, though differences over the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon loom large.

A ship ran aground in the strait while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details.

The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. A fifth of all oil and natural gas passed through it in peacetime.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28, Iran has used its ability to choke off the waterway as a key source of leverage, disrupting global markets for energy and other critical goods.

The Strait of Hormuz is a key sticking point in talks

Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway.

The U.S. and many Gulf Arab states say they won't agree to the charges. An effort by Oman and a U.N. agency to launch a new route near Oman's shore sparked attacks across the Mideast last weekend, highlighting the tensions.

Iranian state TV on Wednesday said the ship “ran aground with its cargo because of shallow waters along the route it had chosen and was unable to continue sailing.” It said shippers needed to follow the instructions of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the strait.

The Guard’s navy has repeatedly warned that “any entry or exit through routes other than the ‘Route of Authority’ in the Persian Gulf could lead to irreparable incidents.”

The report did not mention the two ships Iran attacked in recent days for daring to head out through the strait without Tehran's permission, including one carrying crude oil from Qatar.

Qatar meets with both sides

Witkoff and Kushner met Wednesday with Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to a statement by the Qatari government.

Discussions included details related to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters in the United States.

“Obviously, we’re worried about the nuclear issue,” Vance said. “We’re going to start talking about that.”

Sheikh Mohammed also met with Gharibabadi and other Iranian officials, with Pakistani mediators also on hand. Gharibabadi said the Iranian delegation had no direct talks with the American side, and its talks with mediators dealt with Lebanon and plans to return some of Iran’s frozen assets, Iranian state media reported.

Lebanon remains a thorny issue in the negotiations. Iran has insisted that all fighting end between the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah and Israeli military forces there.

Iran also has called for Israel to give up the land it now occupies in southern Lebanon. Israel insists it must hold the territory and have a free hand to attack Hezbollah, which has been launching attacks into northern Israel.

More ships get out of Strait of Hormuz

While ship traffic in the strait dropped after the weekend attacks, more countries say their vessels have gotten out.

The Thai Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that 10 out of 11 Thai-flagged vessels or vessels chartered by Thai operators have departed the strait safely. South Korean officials say all but two of the country’s 26 vessels that were stranded have left safely.

US Navy searches for helicopter crew member in the Arabian Sea

In other developments Wednesday, a U.S. Navy helicopter made an emergency water landing into the Arabian Sea, leaving one crew member missing, the Navy’s 5th fleet said in a statement.

The Navy said there was "no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” It said the MH-60S Sea Hawk went into the water at 3:30 a.m.

Three of the helicopter’s four crew members were rescued, the statement said. The Navy was searching for the missing crew member.

The Navy statement did not say whether the aircraft sank or was recovered. The helicopter was assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush, one of two aircraft carriers deployed in the waters off Iran.

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Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Konstantin Toropin in Washington; Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Samy Magdy and Fatma Khaled in Cairo; Najib Jobain in Doha, Qatar; Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

“I’m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived,” Cavalli said before the Nationals beat the Red Sox 10-2. “Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that.”

Cavalli shouted at Contreras after striking him out looking with a full-count pitch in the fourth inning of the Nationals’ 8-1 victory over the Red Sox.

The term “boy” has a racist history in the United States. Contreras, who is Venezuelan, demurred when asked after the game if he felt there was a racial component to Cavalli’s word choice.

“My teammates know me, my family knows me, this organization knows me,” Cavalli said. “I couldn’t sleep because of it. It hurt my heart, knowing that, if there’s a 13-year-old Black kid in D.C. that sees that — that looked up to me and thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasn’t intended the way that it came out, and then he’s not looking up to me anymore — that hurts my heart.”

When asked, he said he understands the meaning behind the word used.

“There’s a history behind that word, and that’s just something that as a competitor, like in football or basketball, playing wiffle ball with my brother, you don’t understand it,” Cavalli said. “And then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention, and then you learn from that. It’ll never happen again.”

The 27-year-old right-hander said he didn’t realize the public outcry on social media until he got back to his hotel room.

“I looked at my phone, and I saw what people were saying about me. Saw how torn up my wife was. It hurt my heart,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. I really couldn’t. Because I know that people know me, and they know my character, and that’s not me. So, it was hard. I truly didn’t sleep last night.”

Contreras was walking back to the dugout after striking out and yelled back at Cavalli: “Are you talking to me?” A few words were exchanged, and he charged the mound. He was stopped before he got to the pitcher. He tried to throw his helmet over a group of players at the righty.

Things settled down quickly after that, though the brief dustup ended with Contreras, Boston interim manager Chad Tracy, Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton and Washington pitcher Miles Mikolas being ejected.

Cavalli said he hadn’t apologized to Contreras yet, but he hopes he hears his explanation.

“I have not reached out to him. I know that we’re both competitors, I hope that he hears this and he understands that was not what was intended at all,” Cavalli said. “I think he knows that. But if I see him, I want to make sure that he knows that.”

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

Andrew Boutros, the U.S attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said the massive review will include all pending grand jury proceedings in his district as well as other presentations by prosecutors going back almost 20 years. It was sparked by revelations of grand jury misconduct that forced prosecutors to abandon a closely watched case against four activists who protested outside a federal building during last year’s immigration crackdown in the city.

“It’s going to be a massive review, a comprehensive review and it is underway,” said Boutros, who was in Washington for an unrelated news conference. Boutros said the process is meant to ensure that his prosecutors have “acted ethically” and to provide “assurances and confidence" that other pending cases have not been tainted by similar issues.

The Justice Department dropped charges against the activists in May after a judge scrutinized allegations of misconduct, which included a prosecutor meeting with a grand juror outside proceedings and other jurors who disagreed with the case being dismissed from participating.

When the case was dismissed, Boutros told a judge that the conduct was upsetting, adding that: “No one acted with the intent to mislead, your honor.”

The judge overseeing the case took the extraordinary step last month of releasing the transcripts of the presentation made by prosecutors, who were seeking to secure an indictment against the activists in the most high-profile cases to come out of the crackdown that rippled across the nation’s third-largest city and its suburbs last year.

The transcripts showed that one of the grand jurors called the case a “crock of (expletive)." The grand juror was subsequently excused from the proceedings.

Alibaba operates some of the world's largest e-commerce platforms, including Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com.

The U.S. alleges that Alibaba’s U.S.-based payment processor, AUS Merchant Services, violated federal law by failing to prevent merchants from selling and importing illegal products into the U.S. through Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com.

Alibaba acknowledges in an agreement with the Justice Department that between January 2016 and December 2024, it failed to stop roughly 80,000 product sales involving unlawful imports that violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other federal laws.

A news release on the settlement resolution says that Alibaba employees raised concerns that the company’s compliance controls were inadequate and failed to prevent the sale of illegal products — and, in some instances, merchants used Alibaba’s messaging service to direct buyers to third-party messaging platforms to facilitate illegal sales.

In a statement, Alibaba said the firm and the U.S. government reached a mutually satisfactory resolution to bring stricter compliance to the sale of products in the U.S. by third-party merchants on its e-commerce platforms.

Law enforcement officers across the FDA, FDIC, IRS-CI, and other agencies conducted more than 40 undercover purchases of pharmaceuticals and equipment that were illegal to import into the U.S., according to the news release. A non-prosecution agreement was crafted between Alibaba and the Justice Department.

IRS Criminal Investigations' Chief Jarod Koopman said the resolution "underscores IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to following the money and ensuring that companies operating in the United States comply fully with federal law.”

It adds up. The United States trades $1.9 trillion a year — $5 billion a day — worth of goods and services with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico. They have supplanted China to become America's top two trading partners.

So the stakes are high when it comes to fiddling with the rules that govern trade between the three countries. And after a year of President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policies, many U.S., Canadian and Mexican businesses would welcome the return of stability across North America.

They are not likely to get it.

The regional trade pact — the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA — that Trump negotiated and boasted about came up for renewal Wednesday, starting a process that is likely to last months, maybe longer.

And the path forward is lined with landmines.

"There’s going to be a lot of drama this summer," Diego Marroquín Bitar, a fellow in the America’s program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said last week at a USMCA forum sponsored by the Cato Institute.

A bumpy road ahead for North American trade

The U.S. is making demands that could effectively force Canada and Mexico to surrender some automaking production to the United States. That might bring more auto factory jobs to the United States. But it would also upend established supply chains and would push up U.S. prices for new cars that now average nearly $50,000 at a time when American consumers are already frustrated about the high cost of living.

Trump, characteristically, has added to the tension by threatening to pull out of his own agreement altogether.

In 2020, the USMCA replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, which tore down most trade barriers between the three North American countries.

Trump and other critics had called NAFTA a job killer because it encouraged U.S. companies to move factories south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican labor, then ship goods back to the United States duty free.

His USMCA ended up being similar to NAFTA — though it pressured factories to pay higher wages and make sure that more of what they made originated in North America in an effort to prevent Chinese products from slipping across regional borders duty free.

To renew or not to renew?

The USMCA included a novel provision requiring the pact to be renewed every six years. That deadline was Wednesday.

The three countries met virtually Wednesday, but U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the United States was not ready to renew the pact as it is for another 16 years — which would have been until 2042. The U.S. wants changes to the agreement to reduce its trade deficits with Canada and Mexico and to resolve specific disputes over issues such as Canada's protection of its dairy industry.

The USMCA remains in effect while the three countries continue to work on ways to resolve their differences; they have until the current term ends in 2036 to reach an agreement. Otherwise, the pact expires.

Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said in a video posted on his social media accounts that he was confident the review of the treaty could be concluded “within a reasonable time frame.”

“We’re in no rush, but we also don’t want there to be any uncertainty, which is why we need to try to reach an agreement on many issues,” he said. “Our goal is for that review to have fewer outstanding issues each year.”

Meantime, any USMCA country can pull out of the pact provided it gives its two partners six months’ notice — a red buzzer that Canada and Mexico, dependent on trade with the United States, fear Trump just might push.

Trump, after all, said in June that he was “not looking to renew’’ the trade pact with Canada and Mexico. "We don’t need anything that they have,” he said.

Canada is out in the cold — so far

The United States and Mexico have held talks on renewing the trade agreement. But Canada has so far been stuck on the sidelines.

Patrick Childress, a partner at the Holland & Knight law firm and a former U.S. trade negotiator, said: "The danger for Canada is this: that the U.S. government and the Mexican government reach agreement on changes to core provisions of the treaty and then show up in Ottawa and say: ‘Here’s what we’ve agreed to. You can take it or leave it.’’’

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the three trading partners plan to meet virtually on Wednesday, adding: “I’m not looking for my pen.”

Carney later said in French his priority is to update the USMCA and that it is impossible for the U.S. to have a new agreement without the approval of Congress.

Pushing production to the United States

The U.S. wants a refreshed trade pact to do more to make sure that Chinese goods don’t get in through the back door. But the most contentious issue is a U.S. push to require that more products are made in North America — and specifically the United States.

The USMCA included a requirement that automotive products must be 75% made in North America — up from 62.5% under NAFTA — to qualify for duty-free treatment.

The U.S. wants to push the 75% threshold even higher but it won’t be easy. Automakers already "have been fine-tuning their supply chains for years to be able to hit that 75% mark," Childress said. They would need time to meet the higher standard.

The U.S. is also seeking a brand-new requirement: that 50% of cars be made in the United States, Carney confirmed in early June. Currently, none of the USMCA countries gets a guaranteed share of production. "It’s a red line for both Mexico and Canada, and it goes against the spirit and the letter of regional integration," said Oscar Ocampo, director of economic development at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness.

Marcos Carias, an economist at the credit insurer Coface, said only 1 in 5 Mexican and Canadian cars imported into the United States would currently meet the 50% standard.

Vehicle models likely to be hit with higher costs under the plan, he said, include Ford’s Maverick compact pickup truck, Chevrolet’s mid-size Equinox SUV and some Nissan sedans — all made in Mexico. Carias’ "back of the envelope" calculations suggest that prices could increase 5% to 7% on the most-affected models.

Businesses want stability

A lot of companies just want relief from Trump’s ever-changing tariffs. “My interest in this USMCA renewal is just consistency, right?" said Shawn Miller, co-founder of PKGD Group, which imports agave spirits (tequila, mezcal and raicilla) from family producers in Mexico. “If the rules change, the rules change. But we’d really like to know (what they're going to be) and we’d like them to stay that way for a while."

Business is booming for PKGD. Sales at the Holland, Michigan-based firm are up 62% so far this year after surging 100% in 2025 and 300% in 2024.

But last year was chaotic.

Trump hit Mexican and Canadian goods with a 25% import tax in February only to turn around a month later and exempt products that were eligible for preferential USMCA treatment. The USMCA allows the Mexican spirits into the United States duty free.

Amid the tumult, three truckloads of Mexican spirits imported by PKGD crossed the border into the United States and got hit with the 25% tariff. The cost came to $105,000. "For us, it was one unfortunate day!'' Miller said.

Not knowing what tariffs Trump might conjure up next, PKGD huddled with its Mexican producers to figure out how to respond. “What can we absorb? What can they absorb?" Miller said. “How can we mitigate this?"

Miller said he and his Mexican suppliers “are not large multinational corporations with dedicated trade departments, teams of lawyers, or lobbyists focused on trade policy."

Kerry Mellin can sympathize.

In 2014, the veteran Hollywood costume designer started a business in Ventura County, California, selling silicone grips that enable people with disabilities (such as cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s) to hold things — spoons, cups, pens, toothbrushes.

But sales floundered when she introduced her EazyHold grips in Canada, where she has dual citizenship. She thinks it’s because the silicone she imports from Asia kept her grips from having enough North American content to qualify for USMCA’s duty-free treatment when they crossed the border from the United States.

Mellin suspects EazyHold could meet the USMCA standards, “but the rules are complex and unpredictable enough that I genuinely can’t be sure without hiring a trade attorney."

Mellin believes the USMCA’s rules of origin should be loosened, not tightened, to help small businesses that can’t afford costlier raw materials from North America.

“I do understand why the rule exists -- to stop companies from routing Chinese goods through Mexico," she said. “I just wish it could tell the difference between that and a small family business in California making grip aids for people who can’t hold a fork. I’m not the problem they were trying to solve."

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AP Writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Rob Gilles in Toronto contributed to this story.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% for its eighth loss in 11 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 13 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%.

General Mills helped lead the market and climbed 8.5% after the company behind the Cheerios and Progresso brands reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also announced a plan to cut $3 billion in costs over four years.

Three out of every five stocks within the S&P 500 likewise climbed, and the index trimmed an early drop of 0.7% after a report said U.S. manufacturing grew last month at a slightly slower speed than economists expected. The survey from the Institute for Supply Management also said prices were increasing at a slower pace.

The data could take some upward pressure off inflation, which in turn could make the Federal Reserve less likely to raise interest rates multiple times this year. Following the report, the yield on the 10-year Treasury pulled back from a peak near 4.50% in the morning and fell to 4.47%.

That offered some relief because higher yields make it more expensive for businesses and households to borrow money and in turn can slow the economy. Higher yields also tend to undercut prices for stocks and other investments. Yields have been on the rise since the war with Iran began because of worries about high inflation caused by expensive oil.

The heaviest weights on the market were stocks that had soared earlier in the euphoria around artificial-intelligence technology, including drops of 10.6% for Micron Technology, 6.9% for for Advanced Micro Devices and 1.3% for Nvidia.

Such stocks have been zigzagging in recent weeks because of worries that they had become too expensive. They also have big influence on the S&P 500 and other indexes because they’ve grown so huge in size.

Kroger swung from an early loss to a gain of 1.3% after the grocer said it agreed to buy Giant Eagle for $1.25 billion in cash. It will also take on $400 million in liabilities to buy the food and pharmacy retailer with stores stretching from Indiana to Maryland.

Nike also flipped an initial loss and rose 4.9% after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The athletic-gear giant is in the midst of a turnaround attempt by CEO Elliott Hill, and he said it’s still facing headwinds dragging on its revenue.

All told, the S&P 500 slipped 16.13 points to 7,483.23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 13.96 to 52,305.24, and the Nasdaq composite fell 173.69 to 26,040.03.

Gold’s price recovered from an early to rise. It briefly sank below $3,980 per ounce overnight, down from more than $5,300 per ounce early this year. When Treasurys pay more in interest, investors become less willing to pay high prices for investments. That includes gold, which pays its holders nothing.

But the weaker-than-expected manufacturing report and ensuing easing of Treasury yields sent gold back up 1.1% to settle at $4,082.40 per ounce.

In the oil market, prices sank as hope remains that the United States and Iran may ultimately end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers delivering crude. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.9% to $71.57.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 2% for one of the world’s biggest moves. It’s been one of the world’s brightest stars thanks to euphoria around SK Hynix and other AI stocks, and the index is still up 97% for the year so far.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% after the Japanese yen fell to a 40-year low against the U.S. dollar.

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AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report.

Carter is healthy enough to return this season after undergoing and rehabbing from successful arthroscopic knee surgery, per a league source.

The cleanup procedure for the North Shore graduate should allow him to rehab the knee and get back on the field.

He is currently on the Texans’ injured reserve list after being waived-injured. He can be removed from injured reserve with an injury settlement and then sign with the Texans or another team after an undetermined amount of weeks.

Carter joined the Texans last season and was primarily on the practice squad. He played in two regular-season games.

Carter is a former University of Houston and North Shore player who went undrafted and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played 20 snaps on special teams against Tennessee for 74 percent participation.

A Utah State transfer, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound former all-district wide receiver tied for third on the Coogs last year with three pass breakups and allowed one or no catches in six games. He played 453 snaps, 360 on defense and 92 on special teams.

At Utah State, he intercepted four passes overall.

He had 33 catches for 495 yards and seven touchdowns in high school on a state championship squad, beating Duncanville as part of a 16-0 season. He also played baseball and ran track.

Thomas is a former Cardinals fifth-round draft pick from Clemson.

He played in 14 games as a rookie last year and had 10 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, one forced fumble and one pass defensed. with two tackles for losses.

Thomas (6-foot-2, 250 pounds) won a national championship in college and was a two-time third-team all-conference selection. He recorded 18 career sacks and 33 tackles for losses.

He has run the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds and bench pressed 225 pounds 26 times.

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

Krejcikova earned her biggest victory on Centre Court since winning the 2024 Wimbledon title by knocking out French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round Wednesday.

It didn't come easy, though.

Andreeva faced six match points when Krejcikova served for the match at 5-3 and saved them all before finally converting her fourth break point in a marathon game.

The fifth-seeded Russian teenager handed her opponent a seventh match point when she sliced a backhand wide in the next game, and this time Krejcikova converted with a bit of luck. Her shot hit the net cord and bounced in and Andreeva could only return it long.

Andreeva, coming off her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, threw her racket in disgust and later smashed it into her bag before leaving Centre Court.

“What a match,” Krejcikova said, trying to sum it all up. “What a match.”

Earlier, No. 1 ranked Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner both advanced in straight sets, with Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka also reaching the third round. Novak Djokovic finished off Day 3 by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Centre Court to continue his quest for a 25th major title.

Krejcikova is a two-time Grand Slam winner, also taking the 2021 French Open title, but has struggled with back and knee injuries and has fallen to No. 38 in the rankings.

Andreeva had shown signs of frustration throughout the third set — including when her bead bracelet broke during a point at 1-1 and she had to spend a few moments picking beads out of the grass along the baseline and throwing them toward the back of the court.

Two ball kids and the chair umpire joined her in cleaning up before play resumed.

There was also some loud cheers during the third set that had nothing to do with tennis. Some in the Centre Court crowd had half an eye on England's World Cup match against Congo and celebrated both of Harry Kane's goals and the final whistle.

Gauff came from a break down in the third set and then won the last six points of the tiebreaker to beat Solana Sierra 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7).

Gauff was two points away from losing the match when Sierra served at 5-4 in the third set but won three straight points to break back.

“When she had to serve for the match I just reminded myself that I’m a great returner as well,” Gauff said. “I was just trying to be positive and I think that showed.”

Gauff had her breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2019 when she reached the fourth round as a 15-year-old, beating Venus Williams in the first round. As it happens, that win over Williams also came on July 1 on No. 1 Court.

“It was kind of my breakout moment, and playing against one of my idols was insane,” Gauff said. “Every time I walk down this hallway I get deja vu and I just remind myself, like, if I could do that (seven) years ago, I'm definitely a better player since then. So I definitely can do it now.”

Osaka showed off a new look again before winning her second-round match.

Osaka, whose fashion reveals have become an event of their own at Grand Slam tournaments, wore a less elaborate outfit for her walk-on than the “Kill Bill” inspired kimono she sported for her opening-round match on Monday.

It still drew plenty of attention as she made the walk from the locker room to No. 2 Court, trailed by photographers and fans wanting to take their own photos.

This all-white outfit featured a wide belt and a long train that trailed behind her, which the four-time major winner took off as she began warming up for her match against qualifier Anastasia Gasanova.

She went on to quickly dispatch Gasanova 6-3, 6-2.

“I'm just trying to mix it up a little bit,” Osaka said about her outfit, adding she had been worried that a loss might have ruined her daughter Shai's third birthday on Thursday.

“I just wanted to be here for longer, I didn't want to make her get on a plane on her birthday,” Osaka said.

Sabalenka soon followed her into the third round, beating McCartney Kessler 6-1, 7-6 (9) on No. 1 Court.

Sinner, the defending champion who came from a set down twice to win in five sets in the first round, had a more comfortable victory Wednesday. Sinner beat Nuno Borges 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the first match on Centre Court.

It wasn't entirely straightforward for the Italian, though, as he had to break back for 5-5 when Borges served for the second set, before winning in just over 2 1/2 hours.

“Second set was very, very tough,” Sinner said.

Other winners included French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, No. 17 Frances Tiafoe and No. 21 Tommy Paul.

On Tuesday, Serena Williams returned to Centre Court but lost in three sets to Maya Joint in her first singles match in nearly four years. Williams, who tweaked her knee in the match, still hopes to play doubles with sister Venus later in the week.

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

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday that there are no known specific or credible threats to this year’s celebrations, which will include parades of sailing ships and naval vessels on the Hudson and East rivers, jet flyovers and a massive fireworks show — all happening during a heat wave that could also tax emergency medical personnel.

Plus, police will be dealing with another event that will bring a lot of attention to the city — the wedding of pop star Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce.

“In a briefing about major events happening this weekend in New York City, I would be remiss not to mention an event that we are tracking at Madison Square Garden on Friday night," Tisch said in a winking reference to the nuptials. "The NYPD will, of course, have a detail in place, but I am not going to go into more specifics on that at this time."

A law enforcement official briefed on security plans told The Associated Press that the celebrity wedding will be held Friday, with a smaller rehearsal dinner Thursday night. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the events publicly.

Uniformed officers, K-9 units and heavy weapons teams will be out in force along the city's waterfronts for the Sail 250 festivities, which will bring around 100 vessels and about 27,000 sailors, crew members and dignitaries to the city for events Friday, Saturday and beyond.

Attendees will be required to go through security checkpoints as they head to waterfront viewing areas Saturday, officials said.

In the evening, the Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show will draw thousands of eyes upward as 85,000 shells are launched from six barges and a laser show beams up from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Also in the sky: the police department's aviation unit and drone teams, which will be monitoring the city and looking out for illegal drones hovering in the restricted flight area around the show.

“The message is clear: If there is any illegal drone activity that violates our temporary flight restrictions, your drone will be seized," Tisch said.

The department will also deploy counterterrorism resources, explosive detection K-9s, bomb squad personnel and heavy weapons teams, along with plain clothes officers and a harbor unit for the waterways.

Meanwhile, the city will again have special security restrictions in place at its busiest rail hub, Penn Station, on Sunday to accommodate thousands of fans headed across the Hudson to see Brazil take on Norway in the World Cup. Only people with a ticket to the match will be allowed into some parts of the station.

Police have already been setting up crowd-control barriers and hanging “no parking” signs near Madison Square Garden, which sits atop Penn Station, in anticipation of crowds of Swift fans and other gawkers hoping to catch a glimpse of wedding-related events.

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Associated Press reporter Jake Offenhartz contributed to this story.

Avi Loeb, a cosmologist who studied black holes and served as head of Harvard’s astronomy department until 2020, was recently appointed to helm a new scientific advisory council tasked with investigating the origins of mysterious orbs and other objects reported by military personnel in recent years.

Loeb’s team will report to a new panel focused on UFOs, now often referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP. The panel was established by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It’s part of the push announced by President Donald Trump in February to declassify more information about the issue.

“It’s like a detective story,” Loeb said in an interview. “It’s a lot of fun, as long as you don’t pay too much attention to the critics.”

For the last decade, Loeb has been scanning the skies and seas for evidence of intelligent alien life. He began the quest in 2017 as scientists puzzled over an interstellar object soaring by Earth. While others proposed it was a comet or ice chunk, Loeb said it could be a thin “light sail” detached from an alien spacecraft.

His theories have won praise in UFO circles but often put him in conflict with academic peers. Other astronomers accuse him of making exotic claims with little evidence. Some chafe at his habit of skipping the peer review process and bringing claims directly to the public.

Steve Desch, an Arizona State University astrophysicist who has challenged some of Loeb’s theories, said Loeb uses flawed methods to reach wild conclusions about alien life — all while shunning a more established branch of science searching for life beyond Earth.

Loeb’s role on the administration’s new panel casts doubt on the entire endeavor, Desch said.

“I don’t know what’s going to come of this, but we’re not going to get any closer to answering these questions with him in charge,” Desch said.

The team includes scientists, UFO activists and a billionaire

Loeb brushes his critics aside, saying they lack the imagination to consider new ideas. He’s promising a grounded approach to his work for the Trump administration. As he analyzes UAP, he’s starting with the assumption that they’re the work of humans, he said, approaching it from a national security perspective.

Nonetheless, he envisions an outcome where his work could lead to something bigger. If the government invests in better data collection on UAPs, Loeb said, it could settle the alien debate once and for all.

His hand-picked team includes more than a dozen scientists and UFO activists. Among them is Timothy Gallaudet, a retired rear admiral who has warned about UAP controlled by “nonhuman intelligence,” claiming the United States has recovered crashed aircraft. Also on the team is Ben Lamm, a billionaire working to revive extinct species.

After its first meeting last month, the team sent a request to the Pentagon asking for more than 50 videos, images and other documents related to known UAP incidents. Loeb’s group meets behind closed doors, but he has vowed to brief the public and create a website to share findings.

“At a time when science is not so much celebrated, this is an opportunity to actually do good for all sides involved,” Loeb said.

New UAP board created in response to Trump’s order for transparency

Earlier this year, Trump directed his administration to provide more transparency on questions of UFOs and alien life. So far, the Pentagon has released three batches of files ranging from decades-old FBI reports to more recent military videos showing orbs darting or soaring through the sky.

Trump’s directive led to the creation of a UAP Governance Board overseen by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The board met for the first time in June, and is supported by Loeb’s team and several other advisory groups, the office said.

It comes as a bipartisan group in Congress pushes the White House to go further, with some Republicans amplifying claims the U.S. is hiding evidence of alien encounters. The White House has encouraged anyone with information to come forward. A Pentagon office that investigates UAP says it has seen no evidence of alien life.

Loeb said he doesn’t buy into cover-up theories. “My impression is the government is baffled by not being able to infer the nature of some of these objects,” he said.

Before looking for aliens, Loeb studied black holes and galaxies

Before he became known for his alien theories, Loeb was a respected cosmologist who authored hundreds of papers, specializing in black holes and the birth of galaxies. He served as chair of Harvard’s astronomy department for nearly a decade.

Loeb’s career took a turn with his “light sail” theory in 2017, which he presented in a paper and later a book. He went on to found the Galileo Project at Harvard, with a stated mission to search for artifacts from alien civilizations.

His team drew attention in 2023 when they used magnets to retrieve hundreds of small spheres from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, near the possible site of a 2014 meteor crash. After analyzing the metallic “spherules,” Loeb suggested they came from a distant planet or, alternately, from alien technology.

Other scholars challenged the claim, saying it was probably volcanic rock or coal ash.

Sean Kirkpatrick, a physicist who previously investigated UAP at the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, said Loeb is “not viewed favorably” in the scientific community and lacks national security experience. He said the makeup of Loeb’s team suggests the Trump administration is more interested in fringe theories than hard science.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the criticism.

Loeb, meanwhile, said he aims to follow the science without distraction. “Let’s keep our eyes on the orbs,” he said, “not the social media.”

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This story was first published June 30, 2026. It was updated July 1, 2026, to correct that the panel was established by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in response to President Donald Trump’s February directive on the issue, not by the White House itself.

Harry Kane ensured England avoided an early exit from the inaugural 48-team World Cup by scoring two second-half goals in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Congo in the round of 32 on Wednesday.

The late victory, England's second ever at the World Cup after conceding the first goal, earned the 1966 champions a spot in the round of 16 and a match against co-host Mexico.

“It was just about pounding the rock, keep pounding the rock and our moment would come,” Kane said after scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament. “We spoke about people having hero moments. It can be anyone in the team … Whoever it is, we have hero moments, and for me it was the day.”

That team's next match will be played at the Azteca Stadium, the site of Argentina great Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal that eliminated England from the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals.

Getting there didn’t come easy against a Congo team that nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.

England's only other World Cup victory after trailing 1-0 came in the 1966 final against West Germany at Wembley Stadium.

“That’s a good sign. It just shows you the level of determination and the level of belief and also the level of focus," England coach Thomas Tuchel said. “I didn’t feel the weight on their shoulders and I found that we played it with the exactly right attitude and we trusted our spirit.

“The goalkeeper kept on saving incredible saves ... but this team today did not accept a defeat as an outcome.”

Kane made sure the early deficit wasn't a problem Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium by extending his record as his country’s leading scorer in tournament history to 13. He has a record 84 goals for the national team in total.

His first goal came in the 75th minute. Substitute Anthony Gordon lifted a cross from the left and despite Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi getting a hand to Kane’s header, he didn't stop it from nestling into the bottom corner.

Eleven minutes later, Kane sent his shot into the top corner to put the thoughts of an upset to rest.

“When you get to the knockouts, the pressure and the risks are so much higher. But from an attacking point of view, that was easily our best game of the tournament,” Kane said. “Sometimes you just have to grind wins out and we did exactly that today. I told the boys to enjoy it. We’re through, and we go again in four days.”

Brian Cipenga had put Congo in the lead in the seventh minute after collecting a cross on the left of the box and shooting low past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at the near post.

Mpasi did his best to keep that 1-0 lead alive. He denied Jude Bellingham on three occasions — blocking two close-range headers before halftime and then clawing away another deflected effort after the break.

Kane nearly made a breakthrough late in the first half, but Mpasi blocked a powerful shot at the near post. And the keeper was also caught up in a collision with Kane in the box. England thought it should have been awarded a penalty, but referee Adham Makhadmeh waved away appeals.

Congo had a chance to double its lead when Yoane Wissa hit the post in the first half.

“We’re disappointed because we really believed we could do it,” Congo coach Sébastien Desabre said. “We played well. Towards the end of the match, we conceded two chances and one of the world’s best players scored two goals against us. It’s a shame.”

England’s only major soccer title came in that 1966 tournament at home. But the team has been getting closer to another in recent years, reaching back-to-back European Championship finals and the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Tuchel has been hired to end that winless run. As a German, his appointment was a controversial choice given England’s long-standing rivalry with his country. So anything other than a deep run in this year's tournament would likely reignite questions over the wisdom of that decision.

Despite winning Group L with two wins and a draw at this year's World Cup, there has been a mixed response to England’s performances.

And in a tournament that has seen traditional powers like Germany and the Netherlands eliminated early, the fear was that England could follow that trend against a Congo team that already held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in the group stage.

The 46th-ranked Congo team had already made history with its first goal, point and win at a World Cup, 52 years after its only previous appearance when competing as Zaire at the 1974 tournament in West Germany.

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

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Two women and one man were found unconscious on streets near the iconic Angel of Independence monument, where thousands had gathered Tuesday night to celebrate, Mexico City's Health Secretariat said on the social platform X. The victims, who authorities said died of asphyxiation, were 48, 44 and 19 years old. Authorities did not provide additional details about the circumstances of the deaths.

Later Wednesday, Mexico City Health Secretary Nadine Gasman, told a news conference that another man, about 30, was treated by emergency personnel after suffering an epileptic seizure, convulsions, and gastrointestinal bleeding. He died shortly afterward at a hospital of cardiorespiratory arrest.

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said on social media that emergency crews responded immediately after receiving reports of the three unconscious people, but they had already died.

Brugada also urged the public to celebrate “responsibly, carefully and with empathy.”

Fireworks lit up the sky around the Independence Monument — popularly known as “El Ángel” — on Tuesday night as thousands of Mexicans celebrated along the 5-kilometer (3-mile) Paseo de la Reforma, which links the capital’s main square, the Zócalo, with Chapultepec Park.

In a video posted Tuesday on social media, Brugada said about 1.4 million people were celebrating in the streets and urged the public to stop heading to the city center to ease overcrowding. Instead, she encouraged people to attend a concert by a popular cumbia band in the eastern part of the city.

All of Mexico City seemed overwhelmed Tuesday night. Improvised bands sprang up on street corners, while carts loaded with rockets known as “toritos” inched through streets so packed that people could barely move.

Bottles of alcohol were passed from hand to hand among young revelers as hundreds more tried to push closer to the city center, some succeeding, many others turned back by the crush of the crowd.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Bending Spoons priced 58 million shares at $29 apiece. The company is getting $1 billion in proceeds, while the rest is going to shareholders. The stock surged 39.7% in its first day of trading under the symbol “BSP” on the Nasdaq, giving it a market value of $25.2 billion.

Among the company's well-known holdings are the event creation and ticketing company Eventbrite, and the video hosting service Vimeo. AOL, formerly America Online, is a more recent acquisition for the company. The email and search engine service dates back to the dawn of the internet age.

AOL itself went public in 1992 and was a vanguard of technology and communication. It reached a market value of $164 billion in 2000 shortly before merging with Time Warner. It then crashed along with the rest of the industry following the bursting of the dot-com bubble. It has been bought and sold several times over the last two decades.

Bending Spoons' key focus is acquiring troubled tech companies and overhauling them. The company takes its name from the fictional concept of bending spoons with the mind, as portrayed in the dystopian AI-focused “The Matrix” films. The company's founders say the name is meant to evoke focus and dedication, as well as some humor.

“We were about to attempt to create a world-class company with $40,000, a team of five, and a track record that read 0 for 1," the company wrote in its prospectus. “A touch of irony seemed appropriate.”

The Italy-based company was founded by three friends in 2013 following the failure of their first attempt at building a technology startup. It has since grown by buying more than 50 companies.

The acquired companies are reorganized, and AI technology is often a key tool in the redesign. The focus remains on subscription-based revenue from the portfolio of businesses.

The company said it had net income of $27.5 million on revenue of $601 million during the first three months of 2026. It had more than 500 million monthly active users and 9 million monthly paying customers as of March.

The company has debt of just under $4.4 billion. It plans to use proceeds from the offering to invest in new acquisitions.

The Bending Spoons offering comes amid a resurgence in the IPO market this year, highlighted by the record-setting market debut of SpaceX last month.

All but one of those sentenced in Fort Worth on Wednesday had pleaded guilty to charges related to the July 4 shooting outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas. The sentences ranged from nearly two to 15 years in prison.

Eight others who were convicted at trial last week were handed lengthy sentences, including a former Marine reservist who received a 100-year prison term.

Prosecutors said the group’s actions — including bringing firearms, first aid kits and wearing body armor — signaled nefarious intent, and U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman — one of two justices presiding over the sentencings — noted Wednesday that the center is located in a residential neighborhood.

“This could have been an absolute slaughter,” Pittman said.

The U.S. Justice Department alleges the shooting was carried out by members of antifa — a claim attorneys for the defendants have denied. Antifa is an umbrella term for far-left militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

The protesters’ attorneys insisted their clients did not plan an ambush and that those who took firearms to the demonstration did so for their own protection. They argued the gathering was planned as a late-night demonstration with fireworks to show support for immigrants detained inside the facility.

Benjamin Song, the former U.S. Marine reservist who was convicted of attempted murder and other charges in the shooting, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, and seven others received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years. Some of them, including Song, have filed notices of appeal.

Those convicted at trial had faced various charges, with all but one charged with providing material support to terrorists.

The six defendants sentenced Wednesday who did not stand trial had pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists. Some of them were at the protest that night while others were accused of helping Song avoid arrest after the shooting.

Nathan Baumann was sentenced to almost two years in prison Wednesday after apologizing in court for vandalizing vehicles at Prairieland.

“There is no justification for what I did,” Baumann said.

John Thomas, who was sentenced to nine years in prison, was not at the July 4 protest but was among those accused of helping Song evade arrest by moving him from location to location and providing him with clothes, according to a court document.

“I am so very sorry I ever got involved,” Thomas told the judge

Another person who was convicted at trial was among those sentenced Wednesday. Ines Soto was sentenced to 50 years in prison for providing material support to terrorists, riot and explosives charges.

The case has been closely watched by critics who say the prosecution could have serious implications for protesters nationwide and First Amendment free-speech rights.

One remaining person who pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists is set to be sentenced on Monday. According to a court document, she was among those who helped Song evade arrest.

Serena Williams won plenty of praise about her game from her fellow players at Wimbledon a day after her first singles match in nearly four years.

The 44-year-old Williams was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 by 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia in the first round on Tuesday but showed she could be competitive after being away for so long.

Coco Gauff ended her dinner early to find somewhere to watch Williams.

“I think Serena’s level was insane," Gauff said Wednesday. "It proves even more how she’s the GOAT despite age and all that. I don’t know how she can play that level not playing for four years. I was already nervous not playing two weeks before this tournament. I couldn’t imagine four years.

“I just love her. I love her fight. And the serve is unbelievable,” Gauff added after her second-round win. “You just look at her and you think, ’This is like 10 years ago.' It’s really insane. I think it was cool for the sport.”

The 87th-ranked Joint was in the top 30 earlier this year.

“Maya played top-10, top-5 tennis. Obviously she’s a great player,” Gauff said. “She seems like an even, chill girl. I do think if anyone was ready for the moment, it would be her.”

Williams announced on Wednesday that she tweaked her right knee toward the end of the first set but said she still hopes to play doubles with sister Venus later in the week.

Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion who won seven of her titles at Wimbledon, did not ask for medical treatment during the match and did not meet with media afterward.

“Serena tweaked her right knee at the end of the first set and was therefore excused from her media obligations by the Wimbledon and WTA medical teams,” said Jill Smoller, Williams’ agent. “She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match later this week.”

Williams confirmed the injury on Instagram and added, “It felt so good to be back on the grass (at) Wimbledon. I’m incredibly thankful for the wild card — and even more grateful my daughters got to see that it’s never too late to chase something you love.

“Congratulations to Maya Joint on a great match, and thank you to everyone who showed up and showed me so much love. That feeling will never get old,” Williams added.

Serena received wild card invitations from Wimbledon organizers to play both singles and doubles with Venus.

Serena has said that having her two daughters off from school inspired her comeback and it marked the first time that her youngest daughter, Adira, who is almost 3, saw her play singles. Adira sat next to her 8-year-old sister, Olympia in the front row of Serena’s players’ box.

Alexis Ohanian, Williams' husband, wrote on social media: “Our little family is so proud of you (at)serenawilliams — even though it wasn’t the outcome you wanted, you’re an inspiration. We love you” He added that the kids “are also happy they got to stay up a bit past their bedtime.”

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka also paid tribute on social media: “I really wonder if Serena and Venus know how much they mean to us,” Osaka posted.

Then after winning her second-round match, Osaka discussed watching Serena play.

“The montages that they had before the match started made me really emotional because I feel like I’ve watched her growing up,” Osaka said. “Now I feel like I’m grown up and I get the privilege of watching her again. So it was really cool.”

Fellow American Tommy Paul watched, too.

“It’s pretty impressive at her age,” Paul said. “She was striking the ball pretty well, returning pretty well. I thought she was going to go after it a little bit more. ... I think it would have helped her a lot to have maybe a match of singles before coming out to Wimbledon. But she’s Serena. She can do whatever she wants.”

___

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

Kausen, a chef and cooking teacher in Irvine, California, is more discerning and often uses her sense of smell before deciding what to do with the milk.

“I’ll put some thought into it, and if we’re talking about meat and poultry, I’m very cautious about that and for sure will do the smell test and the touch test,” she said.

The debate playing out in Kausen’s kitchen is repeated in homes across California and the country, where varying phrases on food packaging have long left shoppers unsure whether food is simply past its peak quality or unsafe to eat. The state is aiming to cut down on confusion — and the food waste it creates when people throw away food early — with a new food labeling law starting Wednesday.

It bans the use of “sell by” labels on food packaging, which experts say act as a guide for retailers on how long to display products on the shelves but are not an indicator of whether they are still safe to consume. Now, manufacturers selling food in California must use two standardized labels — a “Best if Used By” label for peak quality and “Use By” label for product safety.

Food manufacturers can choose to use either label or both, said Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, the author of the bill.

California became the first state in the U.S. to standardize food labels when it approved the law in 2024 that seeks to reduce food waste and the state’s climate-warming emissions. New York state lawmakers recently approved a similar law that is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.

Legislation addressing food labeling also has been proposed in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and South Carolina, though it has not passed in those states.

Nick Lapis, director of advocacy at Californians Against Waste, which co-sponsored the bill, said food labels are the leading cause of household food waste. The “sell by” date labels have also been a problem for food banks in California because people consider those dates as meaning the food has expired, he said.

“We don’t need to build some kind of huge infrastructure and invest tons of money to solve this. We just need companies to use the same words across brands,” he said.

There are more than 50 different date labels on packaged food sold in stores, according to a 2022 report on food waste published by the University of Maryland. The information in the labels is largely unregulated and often does not relate to food safety.

“Consumers get confused and they just default to assuming that whatever date is on the package means ‘don’t eat it and throw it away’,” said Kumar Chandran, policy director at ReFED, a nonprofit focused on reducing food waste.

Chandran said California and New York’s approval of food-labeling laws has added momentum to the push for a national standard. A bipartisan bill that would establish uniform food labels is pending in Congress. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommended a decade ago that food sellers should switch to “Best if Used By” labeling.

Currently, the only product that is regulated federally with date labels is infant formula.

With no federal regulations dictating what information labels should include, the stamps have led to consumer confusion — and nearly 20% of the nation’s food waste, according to the Food and Drug Administration. In California, that’s about 6 million tons of unexpired food that’s tossed in the trash each year.

Nate Rose, a spokesperson for the California Grocers Association, said some grocers have had to overhaul their labeling systems, but as a whole, the association has been supportive of the change.

The new labels will result in “a win-win where we can reduce food waste and consumers will find these decisions a little bit simpler,” he said, adding that shoppers will still find old labels in stores for months to come as grocers sell through the products that already have them.

President Donald Trump's latest financial disclosure report showed he took in about $1.2 billion last year from various crypto holdings, overshadowing a real estate business that brought him fame and helped propel him to the nation's top office.

Whereas it took decades for Trump to amass his various properties, the rise of crypto in his portfolio was done in just over a year, a stunning development sped along by his own friendly policies toward the industry and help from billionaires and other actors with important business before the presidency.

Running over 900 pages, the mandatory annual report showed Trump struck several other new veins of wealth last year, raising questions about whether he is profiting from his high office.

He took in tens of millions from new property holdings in foreign countries eager to please a man with power over where to deploy the U.S. military and how much to charge in tariffs. And he got tens of million more suing media companies worried they could lose their broadcast licenses or not get deals approved by his regulators.

Ever the salesman, Trump even made big money off the smallest of things, pulling in millions by slapping his name on Bibles, guitars and watches — the latter alone bringing in $4.7 million.

Hail the new crypto king

Trump got more than $500 million from his World Liberty Financial business selling “governance tokens" and “stablecoins” and other crypto assets. Another crypto business, CIC Digital LLC, took in more than $600 million from sales of souvenir-type “meme” coins stamped with his face.

Both the tokens and the meme coins have plunged in value since his sales, partly because they are so difficult to value. Governance tokens, for instance, confer to holders only the power to vote on certain management policies at a company, not equity stakes, and so typical valuation measures don't apply.

Buyers pounced on Trump crypto anyway, including a Chinese billionaire who spent $75 million on the tokens and $200 million on the souvenir coins. In February 2025, a federal lawsuit charging the billionaire, Justin Sun, with duping investors was paused before being settled for a $10 million fine.

Sun has denied his spending on Trump businesses had anything to do with his federal case, while World Liberty has dismissed the notion of a conflict of interest.

Separately, a company linked to the United Arab Emirates government bought a stake in World Liberty for $500 million shortly before Trump's inauguration. The disclosure says nothing about the deal explicitly, but notes Trump received his share of a “capital contribution” amounting to nearly $200 million.

Subsequently, the UAE got access to advanced U.S. chips that it had been previously banned from importing because of national security concerns.

The White House has repeatedly said that Trump has acted only in the public interest, never gets involved in a family business run by his two oldest sons and has zero conflicts of interest.

His real estate business is booming, too

Trump took in tens of millions in fees from a flurry of new hotel, resort and condo deals overseas, amounting to the biggest property expansion ever in the century since the family business was founded.

Many of those countries were negotiating with the U.S. over tariffs, military aid and other important matters while the family business was striking the deals.

A property in the UAE generated $10.4 million for the Trump business last year. One in Saudi Arabia being built by a real estate developer close to the ruling family sent the president’s company $9 million. And one in Bucharest, Romania, and another in Qatar sent him $5 million each.

Trump's Winter White House is hot

A big winner last year was Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, generating $77 million as heads of state and business people flocked to what Trump has dubbed his Winter White House. That's up 50% from a year earlier when Trump was just another citizen.

His golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, also is doing well from the glow of the presidency. Trump got $38 million from his so-called Summer White House, up nearly 20%.

In total his 16 golf courses and clubs around the world brought in more than $470 million in fees and licensing income.

The president's MAGA book sold more than the Bible

Trump took in millions last year from selling Trump books and various other Trump-branded goods in another unprecedented move for the presidency.

Trump Bibles made $208,486, but the word of God didn't sell as well as a trio of other literary offerings. His “Save America” book took in $1,893,965, “Letters to Trump” generated $590,730, and “A MAGA Journey,” $552,685.

His brand of guitars generated $35,920. Trump sneakers and fragrances took in $67,634.

Trump sued a lot, and made a lot of money

It's anyone's guess why exactly various media companies decided to settle Trump lawsuits alleging fraud and defamation, but settle they did — and paid up.

Lawsuits against ABC, CBS, Meta, and others took in more than $80 million, much of which went to Trump's planned Miami library.

Where Trump hasn't prevailed so far is with E. Jean Carroll, the advice columnist who won millions accusing Trump of sexual abuse and defamation. The disclosure says Trump owes her $50 million, pending appeal.

The states and federal government accused Cal-Maine Foods, Versova and Hickman’s Egg Ranch of a behind-the-scenes arrangement to “artificially inflate the daily price quotations for eggs" between June 2022 and March 2025. In particular, their investigation found that the companies coordinated on what bids they would submit to Urner Barry Publications, a company that runs an index key to determining how much grocery stores, restaurants and others pay for billions of eggs each year.

In turn, that meant “higher prices for eggs sold to consumers,” alleged the complaint, which was filed in Iowa on Monday, the day the settlement terms were announced.

“When powerful corporations collude behind the scenes to raise prices, working families suffer the costs,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, who helped lead the investigation, said in a statement. “These egg producers manipulated the market to squeeze even more profit out of consumers and businesses."

None of the companies admitted wrongdoing under the settlements. But to settle the states' claims, Cal-Maine, Versova and Hickman's will collectively be on the hook for $3.3 million and 53 million eggs, James and others said. Those eggs would be donated by the companies and make their ways to food banks and nonprofits. The money will be distributed to the states.

The Justice Department and the states also outlined actions the companies will need to take, including adopting antitrust compliance programs and banning communicating with competitors on pricing and bidding strategies.

The settlements would still need court approval. The Justice Department's Omeed A. Assefi said Tuesday that the proposed settlements “resolve years of conduct that dragged on Americans’ finances and their everyday lives.”

Average U.S. egg prices soared to a record high of about $6.23 per dozen in March 2025, amid a bird flu epidemic that forced farmers to slaughter millions of egg-laying chickens. Egg producers blamed price spike on the outbreak, but critics accused big companies of taking advantage of their market dominance and the government began its investigation.

Monday’s complaint notes that price quotations “dropped significantly” after Cal-Maine, Versova and Hickman’s learned of the Justice Department’s investigation and were instructed to preserve documents in March 2025. Consumer egg prices also later tumbled — to under $2.20 per dozen as of May 2026 — as replenished flocks caught up despite the ongoing outbreak.

Cal-Maine maintained Monday that allegations of price manipulation were “baseless” and that it believes its conduct has been legal. It also noted that while it was part of a cooperative with the other egg producers, it left the group in May 2024.

Still, Cal-Maine CEO Sherman Miller said the company's settlement agreement “enables us to move forward so we can devote our full attention to what matters most: delivering affordable, high-quality eggs and egg-based prepared foods to consumers nationwide.”

Miller added the period the Justice Department reviewed “was a particularly challenging time” — noting that, beyond avian flu, the COVID-19 pandemic, weather and other market conditions have contributed to temporary supply shocks and high prices in recent years. He said Cal-Maine “took numerous steps to protect and grow its hen flock” in that time.

Versova echoed a similar sentiment, particularly pointing to the toll the bird flu has had on its farmers, who it noted “don’t set the wholesale price of eggs.” Instead, Versova said the price of most of its eggs depends on cost fluctuations of grain used in hen feeds.

Meanwhile, Hickman's owner Mantiqueira USA, which acquired the egg producer in November, said the “conduct referenced in the complaint predates our acquisition," noting that it is committed to complying with the law.

Some advocacy groups say the proposed settlements aren't enough.

“Consumers paid record prices while dominant egg producers reported extraordinary profits, yet the result is another settlement that corporations can treat as the cost of doing business rather than meaningful accountability,” said Angela Huffman, president of Farm Action.

Cal-Maine — the only of the three companies that is public and reports quarterly financials — reported a profit of $1.22 billion for the 2025 fiscal year. Under its settlement agreement with the states, the company would pay $1.5 million and donate 30 million eggs.

Meanwhile, per court documents, Versova would provide 20 million eggs and $800,000, and Hickman's would be on the hook for 3.25 million eggs and $1 million.

In addition to New York, these states were party to the settlement agreements: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

Homes are being rebuilt. Businesses are reopening. Communities are finding ways to move forward.

But for many who lived through the disaster, the memories remain as vivid as ever.

On July 1, KPRC 2 premieres After the Storm: The flood that changed the Hill Country, a documentary exploring the flood, the rescue efforts, the recovery, and the people whose lives were forever changed.

Over the past year, KPRC 2 traveled across Kerr County, interviewing first responders, survivors, business owners, meteorologists, and community leaders to better understand not only what happened, but what has happened since.

Among those voices are John and Vikki Dunn, owners of the iconic Hunt Store.

The heart of a community

For nearly 80 years, the Hunt Store has served as far more than a convenience store.

“It’s really the only year-round, consistent food, fuel and community gathering space,” John Dunn said.

The store has long functioned as the social center of Hunt — a place for family reunions, community meetings, birthday parties, Bible studies, and generations of campers returning summer after summer.

“The store became the anchor of the Hunt community,” Dunn said.

When floodwaters tore through Hunt, the store suffered catastrophic damage. Walls were ripped away. Parts of the structure were destroyed.

Yet somehow, some of its most recognizable features survived.

“The two main doors that everybody associates with the Hunt Store have been here forever,” Vikki Dunn said. “They survived.”

The iconic fireplace survived, along with several of the historic cypress tables.

Even portions of the distinctive stone walls remain standing.

“Those walls are what identify the Hunt Store,” Vikki said. “The Hunt Store is what is most identifiable to Hunt.”

More than a business

The Dunns say the flood reinforced what the Hunt Store has always meant to the community.

When recovery efforts began, the property became a gathering place for volunteers, fuel deliveries, emergency equipment, and disaster response operations.

“This was really the command center for flood recovery,” John Dunn said.

The recovery effort also inspired a phrase that has become synonymous with the community’s resilience:

“Hunt Strong.”

Community members salvaged letters from the damaged Hunt Store sign and rearranged them into a message that reflected their determination to rebuild.

“We adopted ‘Hunt Strong’ because we knew we would come back,” Vikki Dunn said.

The slogan remains a symbol of recovery throughout the community today.

Stories of survival and recovery

The documentary also includes firsthand accounts from a first responder who arrived as floodwaters surged through the region.

Sgt. Tyler Cottonware, one of the first law enforcement officers on scene, recalls realizing the magnitude of the disaster.

“There was nobody out here,” he said. “It was me.”

His account details rooftop rescues, survivors clinging to safety, and the challenges first responders faced during the chaotic first hours of the flood.

The documentary also explores the weather conditions that created the disaster, the questions that emerged afterward, and the long road to recovery that continues today.

Looking ahead

While rebuilding remains ongoing, both John and Vikki Dunn believe the future of Hunt remains strong.

“We will rebuild,” Vikki said. “There’s no question. This is the heart and soul of Hunt.”

For John Dunn, the recovery of the community and the recovery of the Hunt Store are deeply connected.

“Hunt will not get back to normal until the Hunt Store is back,” he said.

One year later, the scars remain visible across the Hill Country.

So does the resilience.

Through powerful interviews, personal stories, and months of reporting, After the Storm: The flood that changed the Hill Country examines the disaster that changed a community — and the people working every day to ensure it is never defined by tragedy alone.

Watch After the Storm: The flood that changed the Hill Country on July 1 on KPRC 2’s YouTube.

Arrest warrants say Nateal Campbell’s throat was cut and Ciarre Campbell was found with a knife. Officers found her unresponsive when they arrived at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to a police statement.

Ciarre Campbell, 41, was booked into the Fulton County Jail, where he was being held without bond, and waived his initial court hearing Wednesday on charges including aggravated assault and murder. A lawyer listed for him in online court records did not immediately return an email and voicemail seeking comment on the charges.

In a 911 call released by police, an unidentified man can be heard asking for a wellness check. He tells the dispatcher that he is trying to get inside his mother's house with his brother and sister-in-law. He says they can see another brother, who is “mentally ill” and lives with their mom, inside the home. The caller says the brother inside had said their mother left, but a neighbor's camera footage shows she didn't.

Police records show that before Tuesday, officers had received at least nine calls for service to that address since September for a variety of reasons, including a fight in progress, a suspicious person and an earlier welfare check.

According to a police incident report, a sister of Ciarre Campbell called police on April 24 and said her brother was inside the home and had “started a fire to rid the house of the demons.” The sister told an officer that her mother lived there but had not been at the house for a week because Ciarre Campbell “has overtaken the home.”

Neighbors called the police on multiple occasions to report disturbances, and Nateal Campbell told an officer in mid-April that her son had not been taking medication prescribed to treat schizophrenia, reports show.

The Campbell family issued a statement asking for privacy while they deal with “overwhelming grief.”

“We are devastated to share that the Campbell Family has lost its matriarch, Mrs. Nateal Campbell,” the family statement said. “While the details of her passing are still being investigated, we take comfort in knowing she is reunited with our father, her beloved Chuck, and in the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

A defensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, Calais Campbell is entering his 19th NFL season after signing a one-year, $5.5 million contract in April. He is the oldest active defensive player in the NFL going into the 2026 season. He will be 40 on Sept. 1.

The 2017 first-team AP All-Pro selection has been voted to the Pro Bowl six times in a career that started as a second-round pick in 2008 with the Arizona Cardinals.

The former Miami Hurricane spent 10 seasons with the Cardinals and also played in Jacksonville, Atlanta and Miami.

Campbell has 117 career sacks in 278 games, including 259 starts.

First, go inside Houston Christian University’s remarkable full-scale replica of Independence Hall, where visitors can experience the room where the Declaration of Independence was debated and signed.

Meet the rescued bald eagles at the Houston Zoo and learn the surprising history behind one of America’s most recognizable symbols.

Plus, discover the inspiring story of Bernardo de Gálvez, the Spanish military leader whose contributions to the American Revolution helped change the course of history.

The celebration continues with a preview of Baytown’s Fourth of July festivities, an interview with actor Alfonso Ribeiro ahead of PBS’s annual A Capitol Fourth celebration, and a sweet stop with Blue Bell Creameries as the iconic Texas brand marks America’s 250th birthday with the return of a patriotic fan-favorite flavor.

It’s a celebration of history, community, and American pride you won’t want to miss ahead of the holiday weekend.

Gracie, who is about 3 years old, has been missing for nearly two weeks after escaping her enclosure at Cedar Hollow Ranch in the Texas Hill Country, said Vick Jones, who owns the remote property about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of San Antonio. He said Wednesday that Gracie had wandered into a part of the privately owned preserve that other giraffes previously avoided.

Jones said he has sent up helicopters to look for Gracie, a few sightings have trickled in, and a $5,000 reward is on the table.

But the giraffe, which stands roughly the height of a tree, hasn't turned up.

“She wound up going up and feeding in an area on the hillside and the rocky ledges that none of the other giraffes had ever gone on before,” Jones said. “And when she came down off of there, she came down on the wrong side of the gate.”

The ranch is in rural Real County, where its roughly 2,700 residents were put on alert to be on the lookout for a missing giraffe. Jones said the search area is extremely remote, and the likelihood of Gracie encountering any humans is low.

“People are not in danger of her because she’s not around people,” Jones said. 'She’s out in very, very rough, heavily wooded lands.”

The Texas Hill Country has one of the largest concentrations of exotic captive animals in the country. Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson said the mild climate and rugged terrain seems to serve as a good stand-in for most of the animals' native African environments.

He rattled off a list of animals that have gone missing over the years, especially after floods, but said this was his first giraffe.

“I’ve had wildebeests, I've had water buffalo, I've had monkeys, I’ve had zebras, all go missing,” Johnson said. “Sometimes we recover them, and sometimes we don’t.”

While the middle of Texas is not a giraffe's native environment, Jones said Gracie should be able to find plenty of leaves and other vegetation to eat. He said other animals were not likely to bother her.

Jones said he initially had helicopters searching an area of about 7,500 acres (3,000 hectares) with no luck. A few days later, there was a report that Gracie was spotted to the south.

But by the time they could search the area, Jones said, she was already gone.

“We're always two three days late for where the information is coming from, so that makes it tough,” Jones said.

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This story corrects the spelling of the first name of the giraffe’s owner. His name is Vick Jones, not Vic Jones.

It adds up. The United States trades $1.9 trillion a year — $5 billion a day — worth of goods and services with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico. They have supplanted China as America's top two trading partners.

So the stakes are high when it comes to fiddling with the rules that govern trade between the three countries. And after a year of President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policies, many U.S., Canadian and Mexican businesses would welcome the return of stability across North America.

They are not likely to get it.

The regional trade pact — the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA — that Trump negotiated and boasted about in his first term came up for renewal Wednesday, starting a process that is likely to last months, maybe longer.

And the path forward is lined with landmines.

“There’s going to be a lot of drama this summer," Diego Marroquín Bitar, a fellow in the America’s program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said last week at a USMCA forum sponsored by the Cato Institute.

A bumpy road ahead for North American trade

The U.S. is making demands that could effectively force Canada and Mexico to surrender some automaking production to the United States. That might bring more auto factory jobs to the United States. But it would also upend established supply chains and would push up U.S. prices for new cars that now average nearly $50,000 at a time when American consumers are already furious about the high cost of living.

Trump, characteristically, has added to the tension by threatening to pull out of his own agreement altogether.

In 2020, the USMCA replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, which tore down most trade barriers between the three North American countries.

Trump and other critics had called NAFTA a job killer because it encouraged U.S. companies to move factories south of the border to take advantage of low-wage Mexican labor, then ship goods back to the United States duty free.

His USMCA ended up being similar to NAFTA — though it pressured factories to pay higher wages and make sure that more of what they made originated in North America in an effort to prevent Chinese products from slipping across regional borders duty free.

North America trade deal is up for renewal

The USMCA included a novel provision requiring the pact to be renewed every six years. That deadline was Wednesday, and the three countries met virtually. But U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the United States was not ready to renew the pact as it is for another 16 years — which would have been until 2042. The United States wants changes to the agreement to reduce its trade deficits with Canada and Mexico and to resolve specific disputes over issues such as Canada’s protection of its dairy industry.

The USMCA remains in effect while the three countries continue to work on ways to resolve their differences; they have until the current term ends in 2036 to reach an agreement. Otherwise, the pact expires.

Meantime, any USMCA country can pull out of the pact provided it gives its two partners six months’ notice — a red buzzer that Canada and Mexico, dependent on trade with the United States, fear Trump just might push.

Trump, after all, said in June that he was “not looking to renew" the trade pact with Canada and Mexico. "We don’t need anything that they have,” he said.

Canada is out in the cold

The United States and Mexico have held talks on renewing the trade agreement. But Canada has so far been stuck on the sidelines.

Patrick Childress, a partner at the Holland & Knight law firm and a former U.S. trade negotiator, said: “The danger for Canada is this: that the U.S. government and the Mexican government reach agreement on changes to core provisions of the treaty and then show up in Ottawa and say: ‘Here’s what we’ve agreed to. You can take it or leave it."’

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the three trading partners plan to meet virtually on Wednesday, adding: “I’m not looking for my pen.”

Carney later said in French his priority is to update the USMCA.

Pushing production to the United States

The U.S. wants a refreshed trade pact to do more to make sure that Chinese goods don’t get in through the back door.

But the most contentious issue is that the U.S. is also seeking a brand-new requirement: that 50% of cars be made in the United States, Carney confirmed in early June. Currently, none of the USMCA countries gets a guaranteed share of production. “It’s a red line for both Mexico and Canada, and it goes against the spirit and the letter of regional integration,” Ocampo said.

Marcos Carias, economist at the credit insurer Coface, said only 1 in 5 Mexican and Canadian cars imported into the United States would currently meet the 50% standard.

Vehicle models likely to be hit with higher costs under the plan, he said, include Ford’s Maverick compact pickup truck, Chevrolet’s mid-size Equinox SUV and some Nissan sedans — all made in Mexico. Carias’ “back of the envelope" calculations suggest that prices could increase 5% to 7% on the most-affected models.

____

AP Writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Rob Gilles in Toronto contributed to this story.

In remarks at a central bank conference in Sintra, Portugal, Warsh said that if businesses or households thought the Fed would accept inflation above 2%, “I guess they'd be disappointed. We're going to deliver price stability.”

The Fed typically combats inflation by raising borrowing costs. When asked about Trump's oft-repeated desire for lower rates, Warsh underscored the Fed's independence from day-to-day politics.

“We’ve been an independent central bank for a very long time," he said. "We’re going to be an independent central bank at this moment and you’re going to see no changes to that.”

Such comments suggest that Warsh has shifted his views since replacing Jerome Powell as chair May 22. He called for lower rates last year as he essentially campaigned for the job. Since becoming chair, however, Warsh has appeared to move away from that stance and instead has signaled a focus on getting inflation down.

But on Wednesday he declined to say what steps the Fed would take to achieve that goal, consistent with his opposition to so-called “forward guidance,” in which central bank leaders foreshadow their next policy moves.

“I'm not going to make a judgment now," he said during the panel discussion with other central bankers. "The tactics, the strategy, and the rest, that's still to come,” he later added.

At his first news conference last month, Warsh also emphasized his goal of getting inflation back down to target. Wall Street investors expect the Fed could hike its key interest rate as soon as in September, from its current level of about 3.6% to roughly 3.9%.

When the Fed last met June 16-17, nearly half of the 19 policymakers signaled that they supported higher rates this year, while eight supported no change and one penciled in a cut. Warsh did not submit a forecast because of his opposition to providing guidance.

The economy has shifted since Trump first nominated Warsh in January, with inflation rising to a three-year high of 4.2% in May, pushed higher by the Iran war's impact on gas prices. Yet as a peace agreement has been reached, gas prices have declined, suggesting inflation may have peaked. Fed officials may very well wait to see where inflation settles if oil and gas prices continue to fall back to prewar levels.

On Wednesday, Warsh also said there are signs that the threat of persistent inflation has moderated. He specifically cited inflation expectations, or where the public and financial markets think inflation will head next, as measured by surveys and bond prices. Both have showed declining expectations in the past month.

Yet a key question facing Warsh is whether he will have to raise rates in the next few meetings to underscore his commitment to fighting inflation. If gas prices keep falling and inflation declines, he may be try to avoid doing so.

At the same time, hiring has picked up in recent months and economists forecast the government will issue a solid jobs report on Thursday that will likely show the unemployment rate remains a low 4.3%. Such a report would reduce pressure on the Fed to lower borrowing costs.

Warsh also reiterated his view that over time, artificial intelligence will expand the economy's ability to produce goods and services and reduce inflationary pressures. Yet many economists think it could take an extended period of time for those trends to take hold.

In the short term, economists say, the breakneck investment in AI infrastructure is pushing up prices for semiconductor and computing equipment, fueling inflation.

Warsh declined to comment specifically on whether AI spending is inflationary, and often noted that he has set up five task forces at the Fed to study a range of issues, including AI and its impact on productivity.

“This is as exciting a time and also as consequential a time to be a central banker that I can think of at any point, maybe outside of a crisis, in my adult lifetime,” he said.

Authorities say a heavy truck lost its load around 1:39 p.m., prompting an emergency response as crews work to clear the roadway and secure the area.

All mainlanes are closed as crews work to clear debris.

No injuries have been reported.

Motorists should expect significant delays and use alternate routes while cleanup continues.

At least 74 natural gas-fired power plants that each would generate at least 100 megawatts of electricity are planned across the nation to supply electricity directly to data centers, with 32 of those projects located in Texas. That’s more than any other state, according to a new analysis from the Environmental Integrity Project.

The power plants are planned for Comal, Anderson, Bexar, Pecos, Caldwell and many other Texas counties.

Those proposed Texas facilities could emit more than 287 million tons of greenhouse gases annually — equivalent to 61 million gasoline-powered cars driving for a year — according to Clean Air Act construction permit applications, draft permits and final permits for the data center power plants that EIP reviewed.

In addition to greenhouse gases that can trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere, contributing to climate change, those 32 plants could emit more than 14,000 tons of fine particulate matter, 20,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 8,000 tons of volatile organic compounds if they all operate at maximum capacity, the report says. These pollutants are linked to respiratory illnesses, heart disease and other serious health problems.

The report comes as Texas finds itself at the center of the nation’s AI boom, with at least 248 projects planned statewide, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. The state has become one of the top destinations because of its cheap land, available power, and business-friendly policies.

Community advocates fighting to stop data centers are concerned that the projects will overtax the state’s power grid or make it less reliable, and cause residential electricity bills to rise.

An increasing number of developers are proposing to build on-site natural gas plants to power their data centers rather than relying solely on the state grid.

Griffin Bird, the lead author of the report and a research analyst at EIP, said the report represents a snapshot in time. Researchers only looked at projects that were in the planning process, seeking permits, already permitted or under construction through April, Bird said, adding that at least 11 more data centers have been proposed nationally since then and it’s unclear how many will actually get built.

“We thought it was important to look at what the impact was, identify where they were located, and make sure that the public and decision makers are aware of this trend,” said Jen Duggan, executive director of EIP. “It will have a really significant impact on local communities that will live near these facilities, they’ll have to breathe in unhealthy air concentrations.”

Many data centers and accompanying power plants have been proposed for lower-income communities that already experience poor health outcomes, according to the report. Almost 90% of the proposed plants are planned or under construction in counties where the life expectancy is already below the U.S. average of 77 years.

“Adding more particulate matter and smog-forming air pollutants from these plants could worsen these existing health disparities,” Duggan said.

While data centers have existed for decades, demand has accelerated rapidly with the rise of artificial intelligence, which requires enormous computing power and lots of electricity.

EIP found that of the 74 planned power plants, 71 would be newly-built while three would be expansions. They would collectively generate about 143 gigawatts of electricity — enough to power California nearly three times over, the report said.

Nationally, the proposed plants could emit nearly 662 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, an amount EIP says would have roughly the same climate impact as more than 140 million cars and trucks operating for one year, or the annual greenhouse gas emissions of Australia.

“The biggest impact will depend on where they are located,” said Neil Carman, an air quality expert with decades of Texas knowledge. “It’s a very hot button issue, because there’s already so many air quality problems in Texas.”

The biggest concentration of proposed power plants is in West Texas, where there is little air quality monitoring. Several Texas projects would be built in or near communities that already fail to meet federal ground-level ozone standards, including a proposed plant in San Antonio and north of El Paso.

Another proposed project, the Pacifico Ft. Spunky Power Plant located in Hood County, would be located within 10 miles of areas already experiencing unhealthy ozone pollution.

Data centers have the potential to further exceed or push other areas past those pollution limits, said Carman, a former investigator for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and former clean air director for the Lonestar chapter of the environmental group Sierra Club.

Among the largest proposed data centers nationwide is a huge campus outside Amarillo called Project Matador by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s company, Fermi America. It could need up to 11,200 megawatts of power — enough to power 2.75 million homes, which is more than the number of households in Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio combined — and its on-site power plants would emit more than 40 million tons of greenhouse gases annually if operating at its maximum permitted level.

For comparison, New York City’s power facilities, transportation system and waste sector generated roughly 48 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2024.

Fermi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The proposals arrive as Texas electric planners face unprecedented demand forecasts. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state grid, reported that, as of May, developers had submitted requests representing approximately 439 gigawatts of future electricity demand — equal to roughly one-third of all power generation nationally and about five times Texas’ current record peak electricity demand.

According to ERCOT, roughly 89% of those requests come from data centers, although energy experts caution that some proposed projects may never be built.

Concerns over rapid growth have also fueled debate over who should pay for the infrastructure needed to support the industry.

In March, President Donald Trump encouraged data center developers to build dedicated power plants for their own facilities as part of his “Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” arguing that electricity costs should not be shifted onto existing utility customers.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken a similar approach. In June, Abbott directed state utilities to ensure that infrastructure costs associated with serving new data centers are shouldered by the developers rather than existing customers. He also announced that regulating the rapidly expanding AI industry will be a priority during the 2027 legislative session and said he plans to propose requirements for new facilities to add power generation to support the state’s electric grid.

At the same time, some Texas counties have attempted temporary pauses on new data center construction in order to assess energy demands and water needs, although several efforts have been scrapped after legal threats from the industry and other challenges. At least one city, San Marcos, recently passed a ban on data centers, testing a novel approach that other Texas cities could emulate.

Giant Eagle, which is privately held, has 197 supermarkets and 11 standalone pharmacies across northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. They would continue to operate under the Giant Eagle name under the terms of the deal.

Kroger, which is the largest U.S. supermarket chain, has 2,685 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Its stores operate under various brand names, including Ralphs, King Soopers, Smith’s and Fred Meyer.

The transaction includes $1.25 billion in cash and the assumption of approximately $400 million in outstanding liabilities, the companies said Wednesday.

“Giant Eagle is a well-run, high-quality regional grocer with a strong reputation for fresh products, pharmacy, private label and customer loyalty,” Kroger CEO Greg Foran said in a statement. “We evaluated the opportunity carefully and the strategic fit is clear."

Foran, a former Walmart executive, was named Kroger's CEO in February.

Kroger and other traditional grocers have been squeezed in recent years as consumers do more of their food shopping at big retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon and discount chains like Aldi.

In 2022, Kroger announced a plan to merge with rival Albertsons, arguing that a larger chain would be better able to compete against rivals. But the Federal Trade Commission and two states — Washington and Colorado — sued to block the merger in 2024, saying it would raise prices and lower workers’ wages by eliminating competition. The proposed merger was scrapped in late 2024 after judges overseeing two separate cases both halted the deal.

Burt Flickinger, a longtime grocery industry analyst and managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a market research company, called Kroger's acquisition of Giant Eagle “a master stroke” that gives Kroger a gateway to the mid-Atlantic, the Northeast and New England.

“There should be no antitrust concerns because Kroger consistently lowers prices when it makes acquisitions," Flickinger said.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close next year. Kroger and Giant Eagle said they anticipate having to divest a limited number of Giant Eagle stores in order to receive the necessary regulatory clearance.

Kroger's shares were flat in afternoon trading Wednesday.

London Hogan, 37, appeared before Judge Te’iva Bell on Tuesday for an 11D hearing in the 339th District Court.

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

An 11D hearing allows a judge to determine whether a defendant charged with certain serious offenses should be released on bond or remain in custody while the case proceeds. During the hearing, the judge considers factors including the severity of the charges, the defendant’s criminal history, whether the defendant poses a danger to the public and the risk of fleeing.

After hearing the evidence, Bell denied Hogan bond, meaning he will remain in the Harris County Jail.

Case background

Hogan is charged with the murder of 56-year-old Louis Erebia, who authorities say was shot and killed while trying to recover his son’s stolen truck.

According to investigators, Erebia and his son tracked the stolen vehicle to an apartment complex after using its GPS location. When they confronted the suspects, authorities said Hogan shot Erebia before fleeing the scene.

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

Erebia died from his injuries.

In addition to the murder charge, Hogan also faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

The case remains under investigation.

So have other Venezuelan earthquake survivors.

They, like others across the northern state of La Guaira, have the same question: Who is in charge? Venezuela's self-described socialist government, which long prided itself on being protector and provider, has been neither when it mattered most, many said.

The powerful back-to-back earthquakes on June 24 have brought to the forefront t he inability of the party that has ruled the country for 27 years — now with acting President Delcy Rodríguez at the helm — to carry out basic governmental functions.

“We’ve been abandoned,” Mundrain said, sitting in a chair on the street Tuesday in front of what remained of the 11-story building she once called home. “We feel helpless. What we have seen is a lack of organization, a lack of empathy, a lack of everything.”

In the critical 72 hours after residential buildings, food joints, pharmacies, hotels and convenience stores imploded in La Guaira state, Caracas and surrounding regions, the on-the-ground response was primarily focused on directing traffic, with police officers, intelligence agents and members of the armed forces manning intersections.

Residents take on rescue and recovery amid government failure

Civilians, mostly alone and some with the help of foreign rescuers, searched for loved ones among piles of rubble. Ambulances were stuck in miles-long (kilometers-long) traffic jams. Hospitals were undersupplied and understaffed. Emergency personnel responded with little to no equipment.

A week later, many residents in coastal communities of La Guaira were attributing most rescues and recoveries to fellow Venezuelans and foreign teams with know-how and equipment like thermal cameras and sound detectors as well as trained dogs. They also pointed out that while civilians and foreign rescuers worked, men and women in Venezuelan uniforms stood watching and state workers took selfies.

Tulane University professor David Smilde, who has studied Venezuela for three decades, said the tragedy has made clear that the stunning Jan. 3 capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces was not a one-off “in which the Venezuelan state was not able to defend itself at all.”

“It also can’t do anything like get started with digging people out," he said, adding that it should be a worrying concern for Rodríguez, who was sworn in after Maduro was deposed and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

Smilde said the dismal response is linked to the huge numbers of people who have left the public sector because of extremely low pay as well as corruption, such as the many people who are included in the government’s payroll but who have not worked in months or years. In a functioning government, he added, people have specific duties to design protocols spelling out procedures in case of emergencies, including earthquakes.

“It’s like trying to have a baseball team with three people on the field. You’re not sure who’s going to be the pitcher, who’s going to be catching, and who’s going to be outfielder,” he said of the government's lack of organization.

Wealth and government connections mean some get help

Wealth and government connections also influenced the government’s response, with some sites given preferential treatment.

When one collapsed building was teeming with police and military school students, people accurately guessed that officials or politically connected individuals must have lived there. The police officers from a neighboring state were indeed searching for a captain, while the students and a few members of the national guard were hoping to locate a major general.

A telescopic crane, like the one Mundrain needs for the recovery of her family, was parked for several hours in what was that building’s entrance. The relatives of the well-off families who lived in the building were able to rent it. Mundrain cannot.

“I think that if there were someone in a position of authority in each of these apartments, there would be a well-oiled machine working like they have in other residences,” Mundrain said pointing to her building.

People's anger over the response has also led to altercations between residents and machine operators. In one instance, when a government-provided excavator tried to leave the site of a flattened public housing building, people blocked traffic to keep it in place and even pulled the operator from the cab.

The government reported Wednesday that 2,295 died and more than 11,200 were injured in the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck June 24. Thousands more have been reported missing.

“We continue to support the affected families and directly oversee the care and recovery efforts in La Guaira,” Rodríguez posted on X Wednesday. “I know that many Venezuelans feel pain and frustration; I deeply share those feelings.”

Rescuers on Tuesday continued to free some survivors from mountains of debris, offering anguished families a sliver of hope even as the likelihood of finding people alive diminished with each passing hour. The desperation led two women to fight late at night, one dragging the other to the mud right next to a flattened building after one of them refused to be quiet while rescuers tried to listen for signs of life among the rubble.

The first 48 to 72 hours after a natural disaster are crucial to rescue efforts, though survival can be extended if people have access to food and water.

Electrician Daniel Castillo was able to pull his mother and son alive from their second-floor apartment in a collapsed public housing building in La Guaira just hours after the earthquake struck. The body of his brother remained inside for another day until he could reach him.

On Tuesday, he decried the government’s response while he waited in line to get a free bag of hygiene products, including toilet paper and soap, from a tent staffed by the Venezuelan armed forces.

“You see the guards, and their uniforms are spotless, not dirty at all,” Castillo said, contrasting members of Venezuela's National Guard with dust-covered civilians and foreign rescuers who have dug through rubble for days. “The government did nothing.”

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Whether you’re after a small-town street fest, a waterfront view, or a big-city blowout, this county-by-county guide makes it easy to find something close to home.

• Before you go: Times and details can change for all kinds of reasons — including weather — so click each event name to confirm the latest info from the official listing. And if you see a "🎆" in the event title, that means fireworks are part of the celebration.

Houston

Harris County

Austin County

Brazoria County

Chambers County

Fort Bend County

Galveston County

Liberty County

Montgomery County

San Jacinto County

Walker County

Waller County

Wharton County

“Our patriotism is medieval, outworn, obsolete,” Twain wrote in 1905. “The modern patriotism, the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism, is loyalty to the Nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.”

In these rabidly partisan times, those who think President Donald Trump deserves their support and those who don’t are joining in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Whether all the partying to come gives the nation a breather from disunity or aggravates it is an open question.

It's a proud and loud moment, sown with division and doubt.

Love of country comes in different flavors, of course. Some love it as is. Some love what it could become and press on with their activism and protest in pursuit of history's call for a “more perfect union." Some love what it used to be and might be once more — the underpinning of MAGA.

But overall, belief in American exceptionalism has waned. More people in the U.S. think there are better countries in the world than those who think the United States is the best. That’s according to an April poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that found 44% endorsing the United States as just one of the best.

This is not the America of, say, Teddy Roosevelt, whose presidential library Trump is visiting in North Dakota on Wednesday. Roosevelt mirrored the brashness and ambition of a country surging in innovation, industry, influence, military muscle and spirit.

In its place is a country where the president is his own brand of brash, but millions of the people he leads wonder if it's all coming apart.

Who’s in charge here?

For the 250th, the division starts at the top, with two organizations claiming to be the one leading the commemoration and all but ignoring the other.

A decade ago, Congress created the bipartisan America250 group and charged it by law with planning the country’s local, national and international events for the 250th. Trump stepped on that with an executive order making his Freedom 250 group “the” national organization in charge.

Marquee events like the Fourth of July fireworks at the National Mall, the parade of tall ships in New York and the Great American State Fair along the National Mall are the province of Trump's Freedom 250. Musical stars who had been lined up for the splashy opener of the fair last week withdrew, concerned Trump, a Republican, would make the festivities political and very much about him.

He stepped forward to fill the void, declaring himself the “No. 1 attraction," and he delivered a speech there June 24 on American glory and his achievements. He'll headline the official July Fourth events in the capital as well, for what he called “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all."

Poems, art and a message in a bottle go underground for 250 years

America250, meantime, put together America's Block Party — a series scheduled simultaneously around the country anchored by a Fourth of July benefit concert in Los Angeles hosted by Queen Latifah, with Chris Stapleton and the Smashing Pumpkins among the acts.

By congressional mandate, America250 is also sinking a 900-pound (400-kilogram) time capsule in Philadelphia with items from all states and branches of government, to be pried open in 250 years.

The people of 2276 will then see a major league baseball lineup from 2026, poems from Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky and more, postcards from Colorado and Maine, beaded artwork from Montana, an Oklahoma belt buckle, a message in a vintage Coca-Cola bottle, a pocket Constitution signed by the U.S. justices, a George Washington Lord’s Prayer gold medal from Utah given out at the Wedding of the Rails event celebrating completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, and more.

In Philadelphia, where the founders signed the declaration and birthed the nation, 250 people will form the contours of the Liberty Bell in a parade with 50 marching bands and Miss America delegates, formerly called contestants, representing every state.

Ain't that America: Celebrations sprout from the grassroots, too

Though there are official events galore, it's not as if Americans, of all people, need the government to show them a good time.

In one of thousands of gatherings under the national radar, Evans, Pennsylvania, will hear the Circle of Friends Choir perform patriotic songs a cappella in an event also featuring a patriotic trivia contest and a barbershop quartet.

In Pocatello, Idaho, drag queens organized a reading of patriotic picture books for young people, including the story of Katharine Lee Bates. Bates returned from the Colorado Rockies, where the spacious skies, purple mountain majesties and fruited plains inspired her to write the poem that became “America the Beautiful.”

Twain, the scold and satirist of American government and of imperialism, shared Bates' love of his country's natural beauty. He loved the nature of its people, too — sometimes. “We glorious Americans will occasionally astonish the God that created us,” he wrote.

But a century before Make America Great Again grabbed the political zeitgeist by the lapels, he was speaking of good old days lost.

“We are called the nation of inventors," he said. “And we are. We could still claim that title and wear its loftiest honors if we had stopped with the first thing we ever invented, which was human liberty.” ___

This story has been corrected to show the benefit concert host’s name is Latifah, not Latifa.

The commission said the six-month agreement, which began July 1, is meant to buy time for a final round of evaluation to determine whether the historic airport terminal-turned-museum could eventually be folded into the state’s system of historic sites.

• Who’s the most influential Texan of all time? Chron unveils its Texas 250 list

The museum, located in the former Houston Municipal Airport terminal built in 1940, has struggled financially and shut down in May. With the closure came a deadline to move out by the end of June, raising concerns among supporters that collections and displays could be dismantled or sold off.

Instead, the lease pauses that process while state officials take a closer look at what it would cost to keep the property running. That review will include the building’s maintenance backlog, what upgrades would be required to meet safety and accessibility standards, and whether operating the museum can be sustained economically.

“While there is no guarantee for the 1940 Air Terminal Museum to be reopened as a state historic site, we enter this final phase of assessment with optimism,” said Joseph Bell, Executive Director of the Texas Historical Commission. “We will make every consideration possible to move forward in that direction.”

• Gov. Greg Abbott calls for ban on data center development in rural Texas neighborhoods

The Texas Historical Commission is the state’s preservation agency and manages dozens of historic sites and programs across Texas.

Records filed Tuesday show prosecutors could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and the case got dismissed before being presented to a grand jury.

“I want to personally thank the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office for doing the right thing and dismissing this case. Gabe Kabak lost his career due to these false allegations. He was defamed by Panorama PD. He has been through hell. In declining to present this case to a grand jury and dismissing it, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office has sent a clear message - Gabe is innocent,” defense attorney Shelby Burns told KPRC 2 News.

At the time of his arrest, the Panorama Village Police Department posted a detailed press release on Facebook, which indicated officers got called to a child’s birthday party for a disturbance between Kabak and his girlfriend, in which he was allegedly intoxicated, pushing people, and arguing with her over concerns about him driving drunk. The statement said Kabak then allegedly pushed her, pinned her against the side of a home and grabbed her by the throat.

• ORIGINAL STORY: Ex-Harris County prosecutor flashed badge during arrest for allegedly choking girlfriend, cops say

Within 24 hours of his arrest in February, his employer at the time issued a brief statement: “Gabriel Kabak is no longer an employee at the Harris County DA’s Office.”

As a prosecutor, Kabak handled cases involving sex crimes and domestic violence, Burns said.

“Following a thorough review of all available evidence in the case involving Mr. Kabak, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office determined that the State could not prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt, the burden of proof required in every criminal prosecution. A significant factor in that determination was the inability to obtain the cooperation necessary to move the case forward, which affected the admissible evidence available to prosecutors. Accordingly, the charge was dismissed prior to presentation to the grand jury,” a spokesperson for the Montgomery County DA’s office wrote in a statement to KPRC 2 News. “Prosecutors have an ethical obligation to pursue charges only when the evidence is sufficient to meet that burden. Every case is evaluated on its own facts, the applicable law, and the available admissible evidence, and that standard is applied consistently in every case.”

KPRC 2 News has reached out to Panorama Village Police Chief Chris Holcomb to ask about any potential investigative shortfalls in the case, as well as to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to inquire about his termination prior to the outcome of the case being determined. This story will be updated if any responses are received.

Carroll's lawyers said in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that Trump is unjustly trying to delay releasing the money from an escrow fund after the Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal of the 2023 civil verdict.

The amount has grown to nearly $5.8 million with interest and should be required by the court to be disbursed, the lawyers wrote, saying Trump has resumed his defamatory attacks against Carroll as his lawyers consider asking the high court to reconsider its decision.

On Wednesday, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan agreed to let Carroll's request for the payout to be addressed on an expedited basis, with a response from Trump's lawyers due by July 7.

The jury reached its verdict in a trial that Trump did not attend after Carroll testified that she was sexually abused by Trump in spring 1996 in the dressing room of a midtown Manhattan luxury department store after a flirtatious and friendly chance encounter between them turned violent.

Carroll, 82, first talked about the attack publicly in 2019 in a memoir while Trump was president. He repeatedly insisted that he never knew Carroll. He also accused her of trying to sell books at his expense and having political motives.

Trump promised on social media Monday to keep fighting what he called a “Weaponization and Lawfare Case” after the Supreme Court's rejection became known.

Carroll's court filing said lawyers for Trump contacted her attorneys minutes after Trump published a response to the high court's action, asking that the payout be delayed while the Supreme Court is asked to reconsider its decision.

But Carroll's lawyers — Roberta Kaplan, D. Brandon Trice and Maximilian T. Crema — said in their court filing that there was no reason to delay the payment, especially since the Supreme Court expressed no disagreement in deciding not to hear the case.

“To date, Carroll has agreed to each of Defendant’s many requests to delay the payment he owes her. Given the extraordinary lengths he has taken to avoid such payments and that each of those efforts has been denied in full, that cooperation ends today. It is time for him to pay Carroll,” they wrote.

Lawyers for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump is also appealing $83 million in defamation compensation granted to Carroll by a separate Manhattan jury after a January 2024 trial at which Trump briefly testified.

At that trial, Judge Kaplan, who is unrelated to Carroll's attorney, required that jury to accept the findings of the previous jury and only determine how much money, if any, Trump owed Carroll for comments he made about her as president.

The Houston native and Madison graduate left an indelible mark in college football history with a final season capped by his epic scramble for the game-winning touchdown on fourth down in the final seconds of the Rose Bowl as he piled up 467 yards of total offense.

Retired from football since 2017, the Houston native, former Tennessee Titans first-round draft pick and Madison graduate

Watching current Texas star quarterback Arch Manning grow throughout last season after a rough start while managing sky-high expectations, Young is extremely impressed with his improvement and potential.

“I think Arch is a really good kid, has a lot of energy, good leader, not only just a good athlete,” Young told KPRC 2 following an appearance at U.S. Coins and Jewelry through Tristar Productions. “I love what he does off the field with his teammates, what he does giving back to the community. I have had the opportunity to talk to him a lot.

“He’s trying to build chemistry, just trying to get his teammates on the same page. His motivation is to win it all. He has guys like myself, Colt McCo in his corner. I’m really excited for him, and I’m very proud of how he finished the season on a hot note when the whole world was against him.

The arrow is definitely pointing upward for Manning.

Manning displayed toughness as a new starter last season for the Longhorns, getting past hasty bust narratives and showing he’s a passer with major upside.

Although Manning completed 61.4 percent of his throws for 3,163 yards and 26 touchdowns with seven interceptions and rushed for 399 yards and 10 touchdowns in a more than respectable overall performance in leading the Longhorns to a 10-3 record, he still faced plenty of criticism.

Inside the Longhorns’ program, though, they have witnessed serious progress from Manning. The New Orleans native and nephew of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player quarterback Eli Manning and the grandson of Hall of Fame quarterback Archie Manning has been fine-tuning his game throughout the offseason.

“The biggest thing that I’ve seen from Arch, fundamentally, he’s so much cleaner right now,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said during a Touchdown Club of Houston luncheon emceed by KPRC 2 Sports Director Randy McIlvoy. “He has really worked hard and that’s going to really help him from an accuracy standpoint, especially in the short to intermediate game, where that completion percentage can go up.”

He played through a painful right foot injury, affecting his plant foot while throwing that happened against Texas A&M and put off surgery.

The offensive line struggled at times. He was pressured a Southeastern Conference high 165 times. He was sacked 26 times, and avoided several potential sacks with fast footwork. He also dealt with receivers dropping 8.1 percent of his throws and a historically unproductive running game.

“The thing I think he learned about himself, he had some real adversity last year, and this guy found out about himself,” Sarkisian said. “And I think he found out about how physically tough he is, and I think his teammates did, too, and they credit him for that. All of your players that go to the draft, they always ask, ‘Who’s the toughest player on the team?’

“Every one of them said Arch Manning. Think about that for a second. The quarterback’s the toughest guy on the team, but that’s not only physical toughness, that’s mental toughness. And so I think you gotta have that grit at the quarterback position. He was a work in progress his entire time here. He’ll be a continued work in progress as we grow, but I wouldn’t trade him for the world, man. We’re fortunate to have him on our team this year. I think he’s poised for a big-time season.”

Overall, the program appears to be on the upswing.

Young sees the vision in Austin.

“We’re going in the right direction,” Young said. “We’ve got the right players. Not only are they just really great athletes, they’ve got really great character. I really feel like they’re gonna have a good team. They gotta fix their penalties and fix their red zone. If they do these things, they will be on the next level and have an opportunity to finish the way they want to finish if they clean up.”

Young pays close attention to the local NFL team in his hometown: the Houston Texans.

He believes that Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, a former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year who had an uncharacteristically rough performance in the playoffs, will bounce back this season. Stroud had five interceptions and five fumbles in two playoff games and missed three games with a concussion. In the playoff loss to the New England Patriots, an eventual Super Bowl runner-up, Stroud was under heavy duress and playing without injured wide receiver Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz. He forced his throws and finished with a career-high four interceptions in an AFC divisional round loss.

“C.J. is one of those guys that he does everything right,” Young said. “I think overall what he went through is something that’s going to make him a tougher player. When the odds are up against you, when you go through that now, when you have that situation happen again, you know you need to do with the ball and take care of the ball.

“He was going against a good team, had a lot of injuries, he had a lot of stuff going on. He knows what to do when he has the opportunity to do it again this year. So, I’m proud of him and I have a lot of respect for him. You just got to work, don’t worry about what people say, just worry about what you guys say in that locker room.”

The Texans have made three consecutive playoff appearances under the tenure of coach DeMeco Ryans. They have won a playoff game each year before losing in the AFC divisional round.

“I’m a DeMeco fan,” Young said. “We came in together in the NFL, and I’m very happy for him. He’s put in the work. He was with Kyle Shanahan, my guy, my brother, in San Francisco. For him to get the job here in Houston, he has a good fan base here. He played here and he’s just and overall good coach, and he’s bringing in some really good players that can get Houston over that hump.”

Young is a loyal fan of the Titans, the team he played for as an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl addition.

He sees a bright future for quarterback Cam Ward, a former top overall pick.

“Cam is one of those guy who just has a tremendous confidence in himself,” Young said. “I’m just happy that they got some guys around him that can help him get some offensive alignment in there as well, because I really feel like he had the same situation that Caleb Williams had in Chicago when he was first drafted.

“If you give him some time in the pocket, Cam can throw. He’s going to deliver. I really feel like they did a good job of bringing in guys that can help. I’m hearing that they are doing some great things to work and get better as a team. I know it was a tough year for them last year, but we all go through that as rookies.”

Young stays busy with his podcast with former coach Mack Brown along with real estate development and emphasizing school safety as a cause.

Young said he thoroughly enjoyed his appearance at U.S. Coins and Jewelry, meeting fans.

“They did a really good job, really good store here,” Young said. “Really feel like it’s pretty cool what they’re doing with the coins and with the players and the fans.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

In almost any other conflict, these haunting truths would be seared into national memory. Yet more than 120 days since at least one U.S. missile struck an Iranian primary school, there remains no final accounting of what happened.

The Trump administration has yet to directly accept the blame or formally release findings of a Pentagon investigation into the bombing, even though the military possessed evidence almost immediately that the site of the school had been struck, a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss an ongoing investigation, told The Associated Press.

The AP has reconstructed the story of the attack, beginning in the schoolyard on the morning of Feb. 28, drawing from open-source information, video footage, human rights reports and interviews with researchers and civilians inside and outside Iran to reveal previously unreported details about the bombing in Minab, including the diversity of children killed.

Still, many details about the blast remain elusive, as a lack of information from the Pentagon and politicization of the attack by Iran’s theocracy have complicated independent reporting efforts. That has created an accountability vacuum, leaving the families of the victims without resolution. Among the mysteries remaining are the number of munitions that hit the school and a complete list of the dead.

When asked last week about the incident, President Donald Trump said he hadn't read the Pentagon's report and had seen nothing to make him believe the U.S. had carried out the attack.

“I don’t know that they’re ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it, because there were missiles flying all over the place,” he said. “I don’t think it was us."

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment from the AP.

Video evidence, interviews and other sources yield a fuller picture

The reconstruction draws from interviews with U.S. officials, Iranian human rights workers, a resident of Minab, an international representative of the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Union and researchers from major international rights groups.

Several people who spoke to the AP were in direct contact with the families of victims and rescuers who rushed to the scene. Most requested anonymity for fear of retribution against them and those with whom they spoke.

Teachers called parents to pick up their kids. Then the bomb fell

Skies over the city of Minab, located in southeastern Iran about 16 miles (25 km) from the Strait of Hormuz, were clear and bright on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 28, a school day in Iran. It was Ramadan.

Students of the Shajareh Tayyebeh school, Farsi for “Good Tree,” jostled past the colorful murals lining the schoolyard and into the building. Boys and girls filtered into separate spaces with brightly painted desks.

The school they entered was one of over 30 with the same name established to serve children from families closely tied to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard or other state institutions, said Shiva Amelirad, the international union representative who also worked as a teacher in Iran for 18 years and has been in contact with people in Minab.

Though most schools in Iran operate within guidelines proscribed by the Islamic Republic, the Shejareh Tayyebeh schools were more explicitly oriented toward reproducing and reinforcing the Guard’s worldview, she said, adding that children are civilians regardless of their family backgrounds, and "any attack targeting a school is unequivocally condemnable."

The school lay within the same walled compound as a Guard base, according to an AP assessment of satellite imagery and open-source mapping. It was once part of that neighboring base, before it was fenced off and converted over a decade ago.

Though some of its pupils were the children of Guard officers working on the nearby base, others were local children from Minab, which is populated predominantly by people of the majority-Sunni Baluch ethnic minority who often face repression from the Iranian government, said the Balochistan Human Rights Group.

Hundreds of students are believed to have been inside the building by the time teachers and administrators received the news that bombs had begun falling on Tehran around 9:40 a.m.

Teachers and administrators thought it prudent to send the children home. They called parents on landline phones, summoning them for an early pickup, two people told the AP. A recently released report by Airwars, a London-based independent group that tracks recent conflicts, also found that parents were called to pick up their children.

At 10:15 a.m., Iran’s state media sent out an advisory, closing schools across the country.

One father, who lived a short distance away, went immediately to pick up his 10-year-old son, said a resident of Minab, who relayed the stories of several families to the AP. The AP verified details of the residents’ stories against available lists of the dead and rights groups' chronologies of the day’s events.

The father noticed his 6- and 7-year-old relatives among the students waiting for their parents, said the resident. He asked them if they’d like a ride home and they said no, that their own father was on the way.

He left with his child and headed to the supermarket. Ten minutes later, he heard the explosions.

Multiple munitions pummeled the compound, striking at least five buildings, according to an AP analysis of satellite imagery. Hundreds of pounds of explosives collapsed the school.

A tiny arm, suspended in the rubble

The father raced back to a scene of chaos, where onlookers gathered, screaming, as men pawed through smoking rubble to dig out bodies, according to video of the aftermath circulated by Iranian state media.

Eventually, the father made out two burned figures he believes were those of his relatives, but he couldn’t be sure.

People kept coming. One man from a nearby Sunni village arrived to search for his nephew after receiving a panicked call from the boy's mother. In the rubble, he found her dead son.

Rescuers found small backpacks and children’s drawings, colored pencils and worksheets. Gently suspended, a tiny arm lay in the wreckage.

Men carried disfigured limbs and torsos to the local hospital, said the Balochistan Human Rights Group, whose staff spoke with two families of those killed. The AP has not been able to verify how many munitions specifically hit the school, but the attack had left flesh so mutilated that many body parts were unrecognizable.

By the end of the day, doctors at the hospital estimated they had at least 108 bodies, but cautioned that it was likely an undercount, said the resident of Minab.

By the next day, state media was saying around 150 had been killed. Soon, it was reporting a death toll of 168.

‘They called the kids martyrs’

Three days after the bombing, state TV showed thousands of Iranians packing a Minab roundabout, where the crowds faced a podium and a large portrait of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic.

The gathering might have been mistaken for a demonstration, if it were not a funeral. All the parents of victims, regardless of ethnicity or religion, had to participate, said the Minab resident. Most women in the crowd donned the black chador garment customary to the Islamic Republic, even though it’s not typically worn by Baluch people at funerals.

Parents were told they'd be permitted to take their children’s bodies back to their villages and conduct their own observances, said the resident. In the end, though, many decided to bury their children together.

In footage captured by drone cameras and circulated by state media, workers broke ground on an earthen lot, creating a grid of tiny, identical, unmarked graves.

“The state media advocated a narrative based on IRGC interest,” said Amelirad. “You can tell because they called the kids martyrs.”

The story grows harder to tell

Strikes continued to ravage Iran, targeting more sites in its opening days than the start of recent U.S. or Israeli military campaigns, including in Gaza, an Airwars analysis found.

Racing to document the ongoing bombardment, journalists and rights groups struggled to verify details from Minab. They had no access to the target site. Government restrictions in Iran prevented most foreign journalists from entering the country. The opening day of the war, Iran shut down the internet, making it nearly impossible to hear from ordinary civilians.

As the war progressed and the Strait of Hormuz became a major battlefield, the situation in the province grew more tense, said the resident. All branches of the military were deployed heavily in the area. Families of the victims feared retribution for speaking out. People were reportedly being detained for trying to communicate with foreign media.

That left Iran's government in control of the messaging around the strike.

Iran’s soccer team wore golden “#168” pins on their jackets upon their arrival at the FIFA World Cup.

The Iranian team negotiating for a pause to the war with the U.S. named itself “Minab 168.”

The children were depicted as animated Lego figures in viral videos made by pro-Iran groups trolling the U.S.

“In the aftermath of the attack, Iranian authorities ... exploited the suffering of victims’ families and surviving children for propaganda purposes,” wrote Amnesty International in a March report investigating the deaths.

Through it all, there remained no public list of the names of the dead.

The Pentagon finds clues in archive

Locked out of Iran, researchers focused on the question of responsibility.

Iran blamed the U.S. Trump cast doubt on American culpability and pointed the finger at Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said only that the Pentagon was investigating.

Internally, the U.S. military knew more than it initially let on. The clues were buried in their archives.

When the news first surfaced, the U.S. military knew they had conducted strikes in the vicinity — though it took the military time to verify the Iranian claims that a school was struck and begin a formal investigation, said a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing inquiry.

It appears that while the building housing the school was identified as such by one analyst as early as seven years ago, that discovery was not sufficiently made known across different intelligence and military staffs and agencies, the U.S. official said.

Ultimately, the building was not known among target developers as a school, revealing potential systematic shortfalls in the target analysis and review process, they said.

One former Pentagon official, similarly speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bombing came as a natural result of changes made by the Trump administration to reduce staff to mitigate civilian harm and Hegseth’s emphasis on lethality.

When Hegseth took charge, he slashed the size of an office called the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, created at the direction of Congress in late 2022. That stopped the office’s work on updating “no-strike lists,” which are lists of protected sites such as hospitals, schools, churches and mosques, that the Pentagon keeps, said Wes Bryant, who began working at the office in 2024 as the Branch Chief of Civil Harm Assessments.

When he was working at the Pentagon, it was well known that the list was out-of-date, he said.

The search for more answers from Minab

In the last weeks, researchers have made some progress. Airwars, the conflict research group, spent months combing through open-source information to verify the identity of victims. The group determined the names and identities of 157 of the dead, including 123 children, all 13 or younger, and 34 adults. Among the adults are 26 school staff members (one of whom was pregnant) and five parents — each of whom lost at least one child.

The group puts the death toll between 157 and 168 and says between 95 and 111 people were injured.

It’s unclear when the formal results of the military’s Minab investigation will be published. Much of the investigative work has been completed, but the U.S. military’s Central Command, which commissioned the investigation, is currently reviewing the findings.

Hegseth said last week the report would be divulged “when the appropriate time is right.”

Findings from similar past investigations have been more timely. When a Hellfire missile killed 10 civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 29, 2021, the Defense Department claimed responsibility and gave details on its operations in less than a month.

Some members of Congress still push for transparency.

In a recent interview, Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota and a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence committees, said Congress has not gotten enough information on the bombing and expected a full report.

The issue “has not gone away,” he said.

___

Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin, Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in Washington, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Amir Hussein Rajdy in Cairo and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

The federal agency said it mobilized specialized investigative teams and technology to help local law enforcement track down the teen and reunite her safely with her family.

• Doctors warn swimmers about risk of flesh-eating bacteria in Houston-area beaches, lakes, and ponds

The case remains under investigation.

“This is what FBI Houston does every day,” the agency said in a statement. “We rescue the vulnerable, we protect victims, and we bring families back together.”

“It is not often in the law that so few have so quickly changed so much,” Breyer said, dissenting in a school integration case.

The moment was instructive to me as a new reporter on the Supreme Court beat. It encapsulated a term in which a new conservative majority had prevailed in one 5-4 case after another. But more than that, it was a very human reaction from a frustrated justice whose black robe was meant to convey a certain dull sobriety.

I would be on the lookout for such departures for the rest of my 20 years at the court.

___

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mark Sherman has covered the Supreme Court for The Associated Press for 20 years during some of the most momentous decisions in history. He retired on Tuesday, the last day of the court term, and reflects on his experience. He has witnessed how by both happenstance and design the court has moved to the ideological right.

___

In that time, almost by happenstance more than design, the court has marched to the ideological right. Unexpected vacancies, brute force political maneuvers and the rise of Donald Trump all combined to give the court a conservative supermajority, and with that change the direction of the country.

The Supreme Court has marched to the right

When I started covering the Supreme Court in 2006, the center of gravity had just shifted slightly to the right, from Sandra Day O’Connor to Anthony Kennedy.

Together they had helped preserve abortion rights in 1992, then been part of a five-justice majority to insure George W. Bush’s election in 2000 in Bush v. Gore.

Kennedy is lionized in some quarters for his opinions in favor of gay rights, including the landmark decision that declared same-sex marriage a constitutional right. In different settings, it’s his majority opinion in Citizens United that comes in for high praise, which enabled a flood of independent spending in political campaigns.

Scalia’s unexpected death presented Democrats with an opportunity. Republicans blocked them

But a larger change was afoot. It started when Antonin Scalia died suddenly of a heart attack, in February 2016.

Liberals salivated at the prospect of a court that might pivot left, rolling back gun rights and reimposing campaign finance limits that had recently been overturned.

Certainly abortion and affirmative action would be safe, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg assured me when we spoke that summer.

Sitting across from me in her court office filled with modern art and mementos, Ginsburg seemed confident that the next occupant of the White House would be a woman, Democrat Hillary Clinton. The next president, “whoever she may be,” Ginsburg said, might get to fill three vacancies, not just Scalia’s seat. At least two other justices in their 80s or nearing that milestone might retire, herself included.

I broke the spell. What if Clinton were to lose, I asked. “I don’t want to think about that possibility, but if it should be, then everything is up for grabs,” she said.

Ginsburg was more right than wrong. She was incorrect about the outcome. Clinton lost the election, in part because of conservative voters’ worries about the future of the Supreme Court.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Majority Leader at the time, had maneuvered to keep Scalia’s seat open until after the election, even after Obama nominated the well-respected federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland, who had previously won broad bipartisan support.

But she nailed just about everything else. The next president, Donald Trump, did appoint three justices. And everything was on the table, including abortion and affirmative action.

Instead of writing about a new liberal court majority, one on which more moderate justices like Breyer and Elena Kagan would play decisive roles, I have reported on the triumph of the conservative legal project, decades in the making, and to the great satisfaction of Republicans who wanted to reverse liberal rulings from previous decades.

Lifetime tenure gives justices a say in who succeeds them

It has become commonplace for justices to time their retirements so that they can be replaced by someone with the same judicial philosophy.

Ginsburg, having decided to remain on the court, died less than two months before the 2020 election and her deathbed wish that her seat not be filled before then was ignored.

The last two justices who retired, Anthony Kennedy, appointed by Ronald Reagan and Stephen Breyer, appointed by Bill Clinton, were replaced by people who once served as their law clerks.

It’s not a criticism of Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson, each with a sterling legal resume. Instead, it’s telling that the effort to coax a justice into retirement might be more likely to succeed if a former clerk is in the running for the seat.

The country accepts that the direction of the court turns not just on who the president is, but the late-in-life decisions of the justices themselves.

Justices object to being described as political

There are no Trump judges or Obama judges, only an independent judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts told me several years ago after I asked whether he’d have any comment on President Donald Trump’s criticism of an “Obama judge.”

Roberts was right in one respect. Judges, justices included, don’t vote robotically in favor of the president who appointed them. In just one example, two Trump-appointed justices voted against the president’s unilateral, global tariffs, for which Trump criticized them in harsh, personal terms.

But Trump clearly was right, too. In this era, presidents nominate justices because their records show they can be counted on.

Since 2010, the conservative justices all have been appointed by Republican presidents. The liberals, by Democrats. The consistent message from both sides is that too much is at stake to risk a selection mistake.

Would you mind snapping a photo, a tourist in front of the Supreme Court once asked Justice Anthony Kennedy?

One of the advantages of zealously keeping cameras from the courtroom is how little known most justices are. Some of that has changed as seven of the nine justices have written or are writing books which they then go on tour to promote. They have collectively earned millions of dollars.

It’s remarkable how unobtrusively justices used to move around town. It was not uncommon to run into Ginsburg and her family at a movie or a play, see Thomas making his way to and from Mass most mornings, bump into Kagan at a supermarket or get in line behind Sotomayor at a weekend farmer’s market on Capitol Hill.

The justices drove themselves to work most days. Scalia once got a traffic ticket for a minor fender-bender on his way into work.

Early in my time in Washington, I recall walking past the court and seeing a Volkswagen with New Hampshire plates parked on Maryland Avenue. The dry cleaning lying in the back erased any doubt about whose car it was. “Souter,” the label said, as in Justice David Souter of New Hampshire.

Security concerns have grown exponentially over the years. By the time Kavanaugh joined the court, security was much tighter. Federal agents were stationed outside Kavanaugh's house in suburban Maryland when a would-be attacker armed with a pistol, knife and zip ties showed up there late one night in 2022 and eventually pleaded guilty to trying to assassinate the justice.

Covering the court has changed dramatically

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt strongly that the world, as it were, was waiting for my assessment of what had happened in the courtroom on any given morning. I was among a handful of reporters who hurried downstairs after arguments ended to bat out a first take on where the court appeared to be headed in its biggest cases.

News organizations regularly asked for live access to big arguments and the response was always, No. Then the pandemic shut down the world and institutions scrambled to figure out how to cope. For the court, that meant remote argument sessions, with no choice but to allow the public to listen in, live.

That experiment produced the occasional embarrassing moment, including an audible and unexplained toilet flush. But mostly it worked, and Americans could hear the court in action. Even when the justices returned to the courtroom in 2021, the livestream remained.

Selfishly, my coverage feels less vital because anyone who cares can listen and assess what is being said. Decisions post quickly to the court's website. No one is hanging on my words.

The growth of emergency appeals also has changed covering the court, and not for the better. In years past, I could know from a glance at the calendar when I’d be very busy. But emergency appeals can pop up any time (and did with alarming frequency during Trump’s second term) and decisions on those appeals also could come at any time, during the regular workday or even after midnight.

Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced that nearly 73,000 Texas Education Freedom Accounts, known as TEFA, will receive initial funding on July 1.

“As we launch the nation’s largest year-one school choice program, our office is committed to helping families find the education that best fits their child while delivering a first-class experience and protecting taxpayer dollars,” Hancock said in a statement.

Who gets paid first?

The first round of funding includes:

Private school families who opted into the program and whose selected school confirmed the student’s enrollment.

Homeschool and other eligible nonpublic school families who opted in before the deadline.

Homeschool and other eligible nonpublic students will receive their full $2,000 annual award on July 1.

Private school students will receive funding in three installments:

• 25% on July 1.
• 25% on Oct. 1.
• 50% on Feb. 1, 2027, provided the student remains enrolled in a participating private school.

Deadlines families should know

Families awarded funding before June 22 have until July 15 to select a participating school.

Schools then have until July 31 to confirm the student’s enrollment through the TEFA portal.

Families selected from the waitlist at a later date will have four weeks from receiving their award to complete the enrollment process. The state said additional funding batches will continue before the school year begins in August.

TEFA Marketplace also opens July 1

The state is also launching the TEFA Marketplace on July 1, allowing participating families to use their Education Freedom Account funds to purchase approved educational products and services.

Eligible expenses include:

• Private school tuition
• Textbooks
• Instructional materials
• Tutoring

Other approved education-related expenses

At launch, the marketplace will include more than 54,000 approved educational products and services from nearly 2,400 vendors, including textbooks, technology products and assistive devices for students with disabilities.

State officials said additional products and services will continue to be added.

Safeguards built into the program

The comptroller’s office said several measures are in place to help ensure taxpayer dollars are spent appropriately.

Those include:

• Families must purchase approved products and services through the secure TEFA Marketplace. Purchases made outside the marketplace will not be reimbursed.
• Schools, vendors and families will not pay fees to participate in the marketplace.
• The program will undergo audits by the Texas Comptroller’s Office, an independent auditing firm and the State Auditor’s Office to monitor spending and compliance.

Some were mixed in with washed up kelp. Others were under rocks.

Each month, scientists and volunteers conduct surveys of dead seabirds and find what Russell describes as a grim assessment of the impact of a massive marine heat wave that has lingered for months off parts of the California coast.

The surveys that have been carried out by various organizations for decades help build a baseline of information on beached sea life to detect threats and their impact.

Many seabirds, including California brown pelicans, loons and grebes, starved to death in recent months as record-setting ocean temperatures decreased the band of cold, nutrient-rich surface water where krill, anchovies and sardines thrive near the shore, said Russell, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

“We’ve been seeing cormorants walk to shore and then just die within the hour. I mean one time it happened within 15 minutes, and I’ve never seen that before,” Russell said. “That has been heartbreaking for me and we’re seeing this happening across the whole coast.”

Scientists fear the die-off could worsen with the recently formed El Nino, the natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide and spikes global temperatures.

Die-offs of seabirds is happening more with warming oceans

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in June confirmed an El Nino formed and it is expected to grow to historic strength.

Die-offs of seabirds occur periodically, and not all the seabird deaths off California this year are tied to the marine heat wave, scientists and wildlife officials say.

But such die-offs are becoming more frequent as the planet warms and oceans heat up.

‘We don't know how bad this is going to get'

Already a marine heat wave has persisted off parts of the West Coast for the past year, marking only the third time on record that such a large section of coastal waters stayed warm for so long, according to NOAA.

Scripps measures daily ocean temperatures at 10 coastal stations along the California coast, where their records stretch back over a century. This year, saw three stations break records for 40 days or more, said the director Melissa Carter, who runs the program. The samples are taken in a variety of ways, including off piers by dropping an insulated bucket, or by lifeguards in the early morning surf or researchers off rocky shorelines.

Robotic underwater gliders with sensors operating out at sea also recorded high temperatures offshore and at depth during the spring. Dan Rudnick, who runs the Scripps glider program, said the warm temperature anomaly off Southern California this spring was comparable to that during the last El Nino in 2023.

And that was before the formation of this year's El Nino, which could stretch into 2027.

As cold-water species move deeper and farther north, the marine heat wave coupled with El Nino could further disrupt food webs for sea life from gray whales to seabirds. A similar pattern happened a decade ago.

“We don’t know how bad this is going to get,” said Russell, who has written about five species of Booby that are now common off California because of warming ocean temperatures.

Seabirds are seeking food in unusual places

Wildlife rehabilitation facilities treated hundreds of emaciated birds this spring when the marine heat wave intensified.

“It’s not abnormal to see dead birds on the beach, but the quantity of dead birds is unusual,” J.D. Bergeron, the CEO of ⁠International Bird Rescue, a global wildlife conservation organization that runs two aquatic bird rehabilitation centers in California, said in an interview in May.

Brown pelicans are turning up in inland lakes, Bergeron said.

“When birds starve, especially the pelicans, they start to look in unusual places for food,” he said. “They will chase fishing boats, they will go to piers and you end up with birds with fishing line and fish hook injuries.”

Many dead or debilitated seabirds examined this year have been young and emaciated, and most have tested negative for avian flu, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Some had opportunistic infections linked to malnourishment.

Krysta Rogers, a senior state environmental scientist, said there may be factors besides warm ocean temperatures. High mortality rates among young Brandt’s cormorants and common murres began after a robust 2025 breeding season, peaking post-winter, and appeared to coincide with the marine heat wave. Those deaths may be mostly due to chicks simply not surviving on their own, she said.

But she does not discount the marine heat wave affecting some seabirds, considering an increase this spring in reported deaths from other species and not just young ones.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which collects data from the dead seabird surveys and others, said they do not have a comprehensive report ready yet.

Only a fraction of birds that die at sea wash ashore

In 2013, a warm water mass nicknamed “the blob” developed off Alaska and stretched south, lingering for years as it wreaked havoc on marine ecosystems all the way to Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. One of the strongest El Ninos on record overlapped with it in 2015.

Carcasses of emaciated common murres showed up on beaches in what biologists say was the largest seabird die-off recorded in the world’s oceans.

Common murres look like thin penguins. They can fly miles in search of schools of finger-length fish and can dive and swim nearly 600 feet (183 meters) deep to capture them. However, the birds’ high metabolism means they have to eat a lot. If they don’t eat prey matching 10% to 30% of their body mass daily, they can use up fat reserves and drop to a critical threshold for starvation within three days.

Studies show that only a fraction of birds that die at sea wash ashore. It took years for scientists to confirm that more than half of Alaska’s population of common murres, an estimated 4 million birds, died during “the blob,” according to a 2024 study in the journal Science.

The species is still struggling to recover.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The four-time Emmy Award nominee, who turns 80 on July 22, told “Today” and People magazine that he was diagnosed with the progressive, memory-destroying disease three years ago.

“I’m still not accepting in my mind all parts of it,” he told People magazine. “There are the moments that you keep remembering that validate the fact that you can remember stuff. And there are moments I’ll never forget.”

More than 6 million people in the United States and millions more around the world have Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.

Glover earned four Emmy Award nominations and an honorary Oscar in 2022. Other awards came from the NAACP and Black Entertainment Television, and he received nominations from the Screen Actors Guild.

Glover also served as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program from 1998 to 2004. It focuses on poverty, disease and economic development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Places to donate products:

Houston Astros (Daikin Park)

When: Thursday from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. and during their Friday game against the Tampa Bay Rays

Where: Daikin Park (501 Crawford Street, Houston)

What to donate: Canned protein, sleeping bags, medical supplies and hygiene products

• Click here for a full list of what they need

Sharky’s Waterfront Grill / Chimichurri’s South American Grill

When: Everyday till July 4 from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Where: 1600 West Lake Houston Parkway, Houston

What to donate: Medical supplies, new or gently used clothing, baby essentials, personal hygiene products, etc.

• Click here for a full list of what they need

10th Planet Houston (EADO)

When: Friday (5 p.m. - 9 p.m.) and Saturday (8 a.m. - 2 p.m.)

Where: 10 Planet Houston (3420 Rusk Street, Houston)

What to donate: Any items are accepted and sent directly to the collection center

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Last month, the Department of Education announced it would shift oversight of special education to the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose comments on the limits of disabilities such as autism have drawn sharp rebukes from advocates and lawmakers.

Meanwhile, after a White House push to police homelessness, the Department of Justice released guidance that lowered the barrier to institutionalizing any person with a disability.

Taken together, the actions signal a worrying return to a reality where people with disabilities are pushed to the margins of society, advocates said.

“It’s a direct, frontal assault on the rights of people with disabilities to live their lives the way that people who are nondisabled live their lives,” said Selene Almazan, legal director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. “I can't imagine that as a country, that would be something that we would agree we should go back to.”

The move away from confining people with disabilities

Since the 1960s, legislation and court decisions have expanded supports and protections for people with disabilities to go to school with nondisabled peers and to live and work in their communities. Before that, people with mental illnesses or developmental and intellectual disabilities were largely confined to institutions.

Advocates have pushed back on what is known as the “medical model,” where an individual's disability is viewed as a defect to be cured. Instead, under a “social model” of disability, differences can be accommodated and supported, as people with and without disabilities learn and work alongside each other.

Families and advocates have warned that moving special education to a health department marks a return to the medical model. They also have been angered by Kennedy's attempts to link vaccines to autism, going against decades of research that show no such link, and his framing of autism as a debilitating disease.

Kennedy's comments last year, where he said children with autism would never write a poem, pay taxes or hold a job, raised questions about how he would oversee an agency meant to help students develop those skills. Kennedy later said he was referring to people with " severe autism ″ or those who are nonverbal.

“Many of the things he said autistic people will never do, (special education) is in charge of making sure students with disabilities have the opportunity to do,” said Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “Will he execute that faithfully, or does he consider disabled students a lost cause until we find some medical cure?”

The Supreme Court weighs in on disabilities

In 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that segregating disabled people who are otherwise able to live in their community with proper supports was a form of discrimination. The Olmstead v. L.C. decision led to requirements that government agencies provide disability services in the most integrated setting possible — in mainstream schools, homes and workplaces.

But in a memo issued in June, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel upended that guidance. It argued that neither the Americans with Disabilities Act nor Section 504, two major disability rights laws, requires states to provide services in the most mainstream setting. While the memo does not change the law, it signals how federal agencies may interpret and enforce civil rights issues related to the topic. It could embolden states or school districts to decline to support people with disabilities in mainstream environments.

The White House has already acted on a similar philosophy. Last year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on homelessness that endorsed civil commitment, where a court orders individuals into involuntary hospitalization or treatment programs. Trump directed HHS to reduce barriers to institutionalizing people with mental illnesses.

In its memo, the Justice Department acknowledged its interpretation of the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision is “out of step" with the common understanding. If a state starts to provide services in institutional settings, legal challenges likely would follow, the department said.

The Republican administration's steps fit a worldview in which the government has no obligation to support people with disabilities, said Claudia Center, legal director at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

“It's dark, and it's awful,” Center said. “And I think it's contrary to the majority view in our country. ... It's out of touch with where our society is."

Families say their kids thrive in mainstream classes

The moves have created a deep sense of uncertainty for students with disabilities.

Lindsey Althaus says home and community-based services in northwest Ohio have been instrumental to her family. Her 12-year-old son, Whitman, has autism and a neurological disorder called apraxia, in which the brain struggles to tell muscles how to move to form words or perform other motor skills. For some of his school career, with proper support services, Whitman was able to spend much of his school day in a classroom that included kids without disabilities.

Through a Medicaid waiver program, Althaus pays her mother to care for Whitman in her absence. That allows him to spend time out in the community with his grandmother while Althaus and her husband are working or away with their daughter.

Under the Justice Department's new interpretation of Olmsted, states would have fewer obligations to fund and support those programs. Kennedy, in testimony to lawmakers on Capitol Hill earlier this year, criticized similar programs as subject to fraud.

“We want to be able to have him in the community,” said Althaus, who works as a disability rights advocate. “It's just starting to feel like Whitman's not going to be welcome anymore. We're going back to this: You're either perfect, or you're not in the light.”

For many students with disabilities, schools are where they receive the majority of support services and where they are integrated among their peers. Before Magda Nakassis's 8-year-old son, who is autistic and nonverbal, started public school in Maryland, his preschool experience had largely been defined by being kicked out of things, she said.

In school, Nakassis said, she found teachers and staff members who understood her son's needs and told her to stop apologizing for them. A program at his school called Fantastic Friends teaches mainstream fifth graders about autism and they spend recesses with children in the autism program. Every year, Nakassis said, there is a waitlist to be a Fantastic Friend.

Nakassis said that it has been difficult to see the ways autism in particular has become politicized. Every child is entitled to a public education in this country, Nakassis said, and special education is a response to the fact that some children have differences that require additional support.

Regardless of his diagnosis, his right to an education is not a medical issue, she said, but rather a question of equity and access in a society that often pushes disabled people to the margins.

“There are lots of kids like him out there, and I sometimes wonder, ‘what did we use to do?’” Nakassis said. “I can't believe it was better.”

___

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

“We are profoundly sad to announce the death of Victor Willis, lead singer of Village People," the group posted on its official Facebook page. The cause was identified as “a short but aggressive illness.”

Willis was a musician-actor who, among other things, had appeared on Broadway in “The Wiz” when he decided to cash in on the disco craze in 1977 by joining a group made up of beefy, macho-looking guys dressed as a biker, a construction worker, a cop, a cowboy and a Native American chief.

With producer Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo, Morali’s business partner, Willis founded the six-member Village People. The idea came to them while partying at an after-hours gay nightclub in the West Village of Manhattan. The group’s self-titled debut album was released in 1977.

In 1978, the group released two albums, “Macho Man” and “Cruisin’” — which featured the international hit “Y.M.C.A.,” a song that peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard chart. A year later, Village People released the album “Go West,” which included “In the Navy,” a song that peaked at No. 3 on the chart. “Macho Man” peaked at No. 25 in 1978.

In 2020, Congress described “Y.M.C.A.” — with its infectious chorus of “It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.” and an accompanying dance spelling out the letters — as “an American phenomenon” and added the song to the National Recording Registry. In 2021, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Willis also starred in the 1980 movie “Can’t Stop the Music,” a widely ridiculed comedy starring the Village People and Steve Guttenberg and directed by Nancy Walker. Critic Rex Reed called it "one of the silliest movies ever made."

Village People music is the backbone of pool parties, high school dances, weddings, proms, bar mitzvahs, games and whenever an uplifting mood is needed. The songs also played at gay marches and the White House.

“We will think of Victor every time ‘Y.M.C.A.’ is played, like today, and all throughout this July Fourth Birthday week,” President Donald Trump wrote on social media Wednesday. “My condolences to his wonderful family and group, Victor Willis will be sorely missed.”

While musicians like Neil Young, John Fogerty, Phil Collins, Panic! At The Disco and the estates of Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty and Prince sent cease-and-desist letters to stop Trump from using their music, Willis said he didn't feel he was endorsing Trump when the song played.

Willis was born in Texas and grew up in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. When he moved to New York, he went to a YMCA on West 63rd Street in Manhattan, which inspired the hit song.

The ownership of Village People's songs came into doubt decades after the hits, and in 2015, a federal jury ruled that Willis was entitled to 50% copyright ownership in the United States of 13 of the group’s songs, including “Y.M.C.A.”

After a series of arrests on drug-related charges that resulted in a rehab stint, Willis told The Associated Press in 2012 that his life had turned around. “Life is fine. I went through whatever I went through, but everything is going great now,” he said.

In May, Willis and the Village People — he was the only original member — sang “Happy Birthday” and “Y.M.C.A.” for Secretary of State Marco Rubio during an event in India.

Starting Wednesday, the federal government is offering a selection of the brand name medications to certain Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries for $50 a month through a new trial called Medicare GLP-1 Bridge.

The temporary program, which runs until the end of 2027, is the first opportunity for most older adults to get GLP-1s, short for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, covered by insurance when used strictly for weight loss. But there are weight and health requirements, and those who already get GLP-1s covered for diseases like diabetes and sleep apnea won’t qualify.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said he hopes the program can help his agency collect data to potentially work toward longer-term coverage, while providing immediate relief to cash-strapped older Americans.

“The sheer cost of these medications is a huge barrier to access,” he said in a call with reporters. “That ends today.”

Eligibility is based on BMI and other conditions

Of the more than 70 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, at least 10 million are overweight or obese, said Juliette Cubanski, vice president and director of the program on Medicare policy at the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. But, she said, a narrower slice of that group will have access to this program.

There's no good data on how many people it can benefit — and Oz declined to speculate on the number with reporters. He said data from the program will reveal how many eligible beneficiaries choose to take the drugs, a number his team is keen to learn.

To qualify, besides having Medicare drug coverage, you must have a body mass index of 35 or higher, or a BMI of 27 or higher alongside another health condition, such as a past heart attack or stroke, prediabetes or another from a list on the CMS website. BMI measurements are counted at the start of GLP-1 therapy — so even people who fall below the threshold now can qualify if they can show they had a high enough BMI when they began taking the drugs.

Medicare beneficiaries who have sleep apnea, diabetes or fatty liver disease can’t access the program, but their Medicare Part D insurance might cover their GLP-1s separately based on those diagnoses.

If you think you might qualify, the first step is to contact your health care provider, CMS says on its website. The provider must send a prescription for one of the covered GLP-1 drugs to a pharmacy and fill out a prior authorization form.

Only some GLP-1s are included

The covered medications include drugmaker Eli Lilly’s Foundayo tablets and Zepbound KwikPens and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy injections and tablets. Those GLP-1s have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss, Cubanski said.

For those in the program, the cost is $50 per month, regardless of dosage. But those payments won’t contribute to their insurance deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums. That’s because Medicare, rather than the Part D insurer, is subsidizing the prescription.

Longer-term coverage of GLP-1s remains uncertain

The program is scheduled to sunset after Dec. 31, 2027. And since Congress hasn’t authorized Medicare to cover weight loss drugs permanently, the federal government is limited in its options to keep the access flowing.

Congress could pass a law to allow the drugs to be covered. CMS also could move forward with a different, voluntary pilot program for covering the drugs called BALANCE, which the agency indefinitely delayed earlier this year when many Part D insurers were reluctant to sign up.

Oz told reporters that CMS plans to “carefully track participation and outcomes” to see whether an extension of the Bridge program or another solution is the best way to move forward. He told The Associated Press a federal law permanently allowing the coverage is “not essential right now” but something “for Congress to debate amongst themselves.”

“We can’t decide what’s going to happen long term with Bridge until we see some of the data,” he said, noting that other negotiations with drug companies to lower costs are ongoing.

Program is life-changing for some, frustrating for others

GLP-1s have soared in popularity in recent years, and they've spurred dramatic weight loss in many patients. But their cost — sometimes hundreds of dollars a month for higher doses — has been a barrier.

For 78-year-old California resident Gloria Dralla, who told the AP she’s lost some 40 pounds after buying lower-cost Wegovy in Europe, the Bridge program means being able to continue a treatment that has improved her life.

“This drug should be made available at a reasonable price for everybody who’s got weight loss problems,” she said.

But not everyone will have access to the drugs at an affordable price. Katie Smith, 71, in Virginia isn’t so sure she will be eligible for the program. She has a BMI of 33 but doesn't know yet if she has another health condition that would allow her to meet the requirements.

Smith, whose mobility and ability to exercise were severely limited by a spinal cord injury in her 20s, said she has looked into getting the medications but was quoted $700 a month, a price she can't afford.

“I cannot tell you how frustrated I am,” she said. “I have the drive and I have the willingness and I have the motivation, but I have not been able to lose weight in all the conventional ways.”

Officials are actively enforcing that rule change.

The latest incident came on Tuesday night when Ecuador defender Piero Hincapié was sent off in second-half stoppage time of his team's 2-0 loss to Mexico in the round of 32. The red card didn't impact the outcome of the match, which ended moments later.

Hincapié's red card came after an exchange with Mexico forward Santi Giménez.

Why did FIFA establish the new rule?

FIFA established the new rule to prevent players from hiding abusive, discriminatory or offensive language while on the field.

Nicknamed the “Prestianni Law,” rules for red cards to players at the World Cup were added because of a controversy in international soccer this year.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino pushed for changes after Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni tried to hide verbal insults toward Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior in a Champions League match. Soccer’s rule-making panel, the International Football Association Board, agreed that players can be penalized with a red card if they cover their mouths when verbally confronting another player.

The rule is not mandatory within the Laws of the Game but gives tournament organizers like FIFA the option to use it at their discretion.

The rule change was unanimously approved by IFAB, which includes officials from FIFA and the four British soccer federations, at a special meeting ahead of the FIFA Congress. FIFA’s proposal followed Vinícius, backed by Real Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappé, accusing Prestianni of making a racially charged insult while raising his jersey to cover his mouth during the game in February.

Is Piero Hincapié the only player who has received a red card at the World Cup?

No. Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almirón was the first player to be punished under the new rule when he was sent off in a group match against Turkey for covering his mouth during a confrontation with defender Mert Mulder.

Paraguay won 1-0, but Almiron missed Paraguay’s final group game against Australia. FIFA said that decision was not subject to appeal.

What does it mean when a player receives a red card at the World Cup?

If a player is shown a red card by an official, he is ejected from the match and must serve a one-game suspension in the following match.

The team is forced to play the remainder of the match with 10 players — putting them at a huge disadvantage — but is allowed to start the following match at full strength with 11 players, just not the suspended player. ___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

That's not what's happening in the volatile Mideast, where ongoing fighting still resembles a war long after ceasefire agreements were announced and President Donald Trump declared victory.

Israel is lately carrying out daily attacks on Gaza. The deal in Lebanon is a ceasefire in name only. As for Iran, low-level talks are continuing in Qatar this week under a 60-day deadline — a long way from a peace deal. People on the ground in the region, as well as some analysts and journalists, are increasingly objecting to anyone describing the state of the conflict as a “ceasefire.”

The shooting and periodic closures of the Strait of Hormuz, they point out, have never stopped for long.

“There is no ceasefire between the United States and Iran," said Fawaz A. Gerges, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, “Iran has zero trust in the Trump administration, so they are making the U.S. fulfill its obligations step by step. This tells me we are living in a new era where the ceasefire no longer really means what it used to.”

Ceasefires don't necessarily mean the shooting stops

Ceasefires are almost as old as conflict, an ancient way of formally calling a halt to hostilities. Also known as a truce, such an agreement is commonly understood to be a period between war and peace, in which the combatants agree to pause fighting while negotiations take place.

Beyond that, a truce means whatever the negotiators will tolerate as long as none backs out of talks. Breaches are common and have been used strategically to set a standard, tit-for-tat style, of acceptable lower-level hostilities during the sensitive period. The idea is to allow for accidents, miscommunications or misunderstandings that the participants agree should not scuttle talks.

Some ceasefires end up operating as long-term peace deals that can withstand violations in the absence of a formal treaty. Exhibit A: the Korean Armistice Agreement, which halted the fighting of the Korean War on July 27, 1953.

No formal treaty was ever signed, so the peninsula technically remains at war. Nonetheless, the deal halted hostilities and established the DMZ, a 4,000-meter (2.5-mile) buffer zone between North and South Korea. Breaches over the years have been commonplace.

In contrast, negotiators in the Mideast are still getting started, with the midterm U.S. elections looming and Trump eager to end the unpopular war.

Two U.S. envoys arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for talks with mediators about the an initial deal to end the war in Iran. The visit by Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special Mideast envoy, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, comes after a weekend of crossfire in the Persian Gulf over efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic.

Defining a ceasefire in 2026 is complex

The terms of ceasefires can be vague or highly specific. They can cover troop withdrawals, cessation of hostilities, limits on where fighting can happen, humanitarian aid, buffer zones and timing. Violence levels have a good chance of dropping during a declared ceasefire.

Technically, ceasefires of varying durability exist between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and between the United States and Iran. But that has not meant an end to fighting.

Trump said it's all relative. “It’s a different part of the world, you know," he told reporters last month. "I’d say in that part, a ceasefire is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”

Instead of halting fighting, the agreements have “paved the way for a new conflict in which the various parties are fighting over the postwar strategic reality and the acceptable rules of the game,” according to analyst Daniel Sobelman of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

In the Mideast, “so-called 'rules' emerge through a process of violent bargaining over what is acceptable and what is a violation," said Sobelman, director of the graduate program in international security and diplomacy. Thus, the dissonance between the calm many people expect from a ceasefire and near-daily reports of ongoing fighting.

Does it work? Consider, Sobelman said in an email, that the U.S. and Iran have exchanged fire several times since the ceasefire went into effect, “and nonetheless the war has not erupted again because these upticks in violence are limited in time and scope.”

Institutions, from the United Nations to the U.S. Department of Defense and many news outlets like The Associated Press have broadly defined ceasefires as political instruments designed to take the pressure off the conflict as long as the sides consent to talking.

On the U.S.-Iran conflict, the AP advised its writers June 10 to include details about what’s happening on the ground, consider qualifying the deal with such terms as “tenuous” and referring to a "‘ceasefire deal,’ which speaks to the political process and not just the military/security dynamic.”

Over the weekend as fighting in the region flared again, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., tried more colorful imagery. Asked on NBC's “Meet the Press” whether the war is really over, he described the ceasefire talks as “almost just a mop-up operation." Then he described some of the terms. “We have to press them if they strike us. We have to strike them back by 10.”

He added: “This is a ceasefire, and yeah, they broke the ceasefire.”

‘Ceasefires are changing character’

On the ground in the region it can feel like a war, and there's a rising resistance in some quarters to calling this period anything else.

“It is not a ceasefire when it applies only to Hezbollah, Hamas or Iran, but not to Israel and the United States,” Kathy Gannon, who reported from Pakistan and Afghanistan for the AP for 35 years before retiring, wrote on Substack June 7.

Much of the objection to using the term comes from Israel's ongoing attacks in Lebanon and Gaza despite ceasefires. Israeli leaders make references to deals and agreements. But they stress the country’s freedom to operate against what they say are violations and existential threats.

“Continued Israeli strikes are treated as compatible with the truce; comparable actions by others are treated as its collapse,” said H.A. Hellyer, senior associate fellow of Middle Eastern studies and geopolitics at the Royal United Services Institute and the Center for American Progress. “A word that once implied mutual restraint now serves to legitimize profoundly unequal restraint."

Israel continues to occupy large swaths of Lebanon's south while battling Hezbollah fighters, causing civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure. More than 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since March, when Hezbollah fired at Israel two days after the Iran war began. Thirty-eight soldiers and three civilians have died on the Israeli side.

Here's what a ceasefire looks like in Gaza, where Israeli strikes have never really ended after the ceasefire agreement with Hamas in October. On Monday, Israeli strikes in southern and central Gaza killed at least eight people, including two children, and wounded at least 20 others, according to health officials and emergency services.

More than 1,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in October, Palestinian authorities say.

For the first time in the program’s history, Medicare will provide coverage for weight loss drugs through a temporary initiative aimed at making the medications more affordable for eligible seniors.

The pilot program follows an agreement announced by President Donald Trump and his administration with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to reduce the cost of GLP-1 medications.

Without insurance, many of these medications can cost hundreds of dollars each month. Under the new program, qualifying Medicare recipients could pay as little as $50 per month.

Who qualifies?

Not all Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for the new coverage.

To qualify, participants must:

• Be enrolled in Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage.
• Meet certain health requirements related to obesity and chronic medical conditions.

Eligible individuals include:

• Those with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher, or
• Those with a BMI of 30 or higher who also have at least one qualifying medical condition, including:
• High blood pressure
• Prediabetes
• A previous heart attack or stroke
• Blocked arteries
• Chronic kidney disease
• Heart failure

The pilot marks the first time Medicare has covered medications prescribed specifically for weight loss.

Supporters say the move could save eligible seniors hundreds of dollars each month and thousands of dollars annually while expanding access to medications that have become increasingly popular for treating obesity.

Officials say the temporary program begins Wednesday. Seniors interested in participating should check with their Medicare Part D plan and healthcare provider to determine whether they meet the eligibility requirements.

Mere startups when he took the oath of office, the new ventures have now eclipsed in revenue much of his vast property portfolio that took him decades to accumulate. Fueling their rise were billionaire investors and Trump’s own move to quash a federal crackdown on the industry.

Trump got more than $500 million from his World Liberty Financial business selling new crypto products, including “governance tokens,” according to the required annual disclosure report with the Office of Government Ethics. It also showed another crypto business, CIC Digital LLC, took in more than $600 million from sales of souvenir-type “meme” coins stamped with his face.

Both the tokens and the coins have plunged in value since the sales.

Trump also took in millions last year from selling Trump-branded Bibles, sneakers and other small items in another unprecedented move for the presidency. The sale of Trump-branded watches alone brought in $4.7 million.

The 927-page disclosure form paints a stark, if incomplete picture of the massive growth of the president’s wealth since taking office last January through a web of business interests — many of which have benefited from the policy moves of Trump’s own government. Trump has insisted that his sons direct his finances but the arrangement rejects the conflict of interest protections that his recent predecessors in office had instituted.

Forbes estimates Trump's net worth at $6 billion, up from $2.3 billion in 2024.

The Trump business is growing abroad

The rise of crypto relative to Trump’s property is especially noteworthy because he first rode to office boasting of his property wins. It's also remarkable because that mainstay business also boomed last year. Trump took in tens of millions in fees from a flurry of new hotel, resort and condo deals overseas that amounts to the biggest property expansion ever in the century since the family business was founded.

Many of those countries were negotiating with the U.S. over tariffs, military aid and other important matters while the family business was striking the deals.

A property in the United Arab Emirates generated $10.4 million for the Trump business last year. One in Saudi Arabia being built by a real estate developer close to the ruling family sent the president’s company $9 million. And one in Bucharest, Romania, and another in Qatar sent him $5 million each.

One of his prominent domestic properties, Mar-a-Lago in Florida, notched big growth last year, too.

Trump took in $77 million from the property, a 50% jump from the year earlier when he was just another citizen, as heads of state and business people flocked to it in his new term.

The disclosure report doesn't give profit figures, just revenue, so it's impossible to know how much he is earning.

Trump is now the billion-dollar crypto man

Trump said Wednesday that most of his gains last year came from the stock market and he's just riding along with everyone else.

“We’re all profiting,” he said. “I’m profiting because I have a lot of money and a lot of cash.”

But crypto was clearly the big revenue generator last year in part due his own moves since taking office — pushing policies friendly to the industry and reversing a Biden administration regulatory crackdown.

The regulators are still worried. Before Trump's World Liberty began selling “governance tokens,” they issued warnings about this new kind of crypto asset, saying that unlike stocks, the tokens offer no ownership stake in the issuing company, just voting power on certain corporate policies, and are difficult to value.

Buyers pounced anyway, including a Chinese billionaire who spent $75 million on the tokens and $200 million on the souvenir coins. In February last year, a federal lawsuit charging him with duping investors was paused before being settled for a $10 million fine.

The billionaire, Justin Sun, has repeatedly denied his spending on Trump businesses had anything to do with his federal case, while World Liberty has dismissed the notion of a conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, investors have seen the value of their Trump-tied holdings drop significantly.

The price of World Liberty tokens has fallen 80% since they started trading in September. And the Trump souvenir coins that spiked to more than $74 in the days after launching in January 2025 now sell for $1.68.

The White House says Trump only acts in the public interest

The White House has repeatedly said Trump put his business in a trust managed by his sons and is not involved in its decisions and that there are no ethics issues to discuss.

“Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged — or will ever engage — in conflicts of interest,” spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. “All actions by President Trump and his administration are taken in the best interest of the American people.”

The Trump umbrella company, the Trump Organization, has said its deals overseas were with private companies, not with governments.

Still, it is difficult to know what is truly private in countries ruled by authoritarians, royal families and one-party governments.

For a new Trump resort in Vietnam, the report shows Trump took in $5 million last year after the ruling Communist Party sent its deputy prime minister to sign off on the deal and, according to The New York Times, pushed farmers off the land to make way for the construction.

Whether the deals played any role in changing U.S. policies in ways these countries sought is nearly impossible to know, but the countries did get what they wanted.

Vietnam got tariff relief. Qatar got access to advanced U.S. technology previously off limits, and Saudi Arabia got U.S. fighter jets it had coveted for years.

___

AP White House reporter Josh Boak contributed from Washington.

Shortly after noon on Monday, FBI Houston released the following statement:

“FBI Houston is aware of a threat to Houston stadium circulating online. We are working with our local, state, and federal public safety partners to investigate who is behind the communication. At this time, there is no credibility to the threat. We continue to analyze and assess the situation. We urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity or individuals to law enforcement immediately.”

ALSO READ: FBI officials taking steps to prevent ‘lone offender’ threats ahead of FIFA World Cup matches in Houston

FBI Houston was made aware of the threats Thursday morning, authorities confirmed to KPRC 2.

The statement was released as Houston hosts its sixth of seven World Cup matches, with Brazil taking on Japan in the Round of 32.

KPRC 2 is working to learn more about the nature of the alleged threat and the circumstances surrounding it.

That’s the question Chron set out to answer with its new Texas 250: Who Shaped Texas? project, a first-of-its-kind ranking of the 250 people the publication says had the greatest impact on the Lone Star State since 1776.

The rankings feature politicians, musicians, athletes, entrepreneurs, military leaders and cultural icons whose legacies helped shape Texas.

The list’s top 10 includes household names such as Beyoncé, Lyndon B. Johnson, Sam Houston and Willie Nelson, with the No. 1 spot revealed when the project launches.

The rankings were compiled after months of research and debate by Chron journalists, who narrowed more than 400 candidates to 250. The staff evaluated each person based on influence, historical importance, name recognition, connection to Texas identity and impact within their field.

Readers also participated in the process through four rounds of voting focused on music, politics, sports and the overall list.

“We wanted to look at Texas,” Chron Executive Editor Wes Wilson said. “In 1776, Texas was a sparsely populated frontier territory in the Spanish Empire. Today, it is home to four of America’s 10 largest cities and has as much cultural cachet as any state in the country.”

Wilson said the project aims to examine who helped transform Texas into what it is today.

Chron Deputy Managing Editor for Texas Lifestyle Timothy Malcolm, who led the project, said one of the biggest challenges was comparing people whose influence came in vastly different fields.

“Unlike some states, the hardest part was not finding 250 Texans who mattered, it was deciding how to compare people who changed the state in completely different ways,” Malcolm said.

The project is designed to spark conversation across Texas, encouraging readers to debate who ranked too high, who ranked too low and who may have been left off the list entirely.

Timothy Malcolm joins KPRC 2

Malcolm will join KPRC 2 live Wednesday morning to discuss how the rankings were created, some of the biggest surprises on the list and why certain Texans rose to the top.

The full Texas 250: Who Shaped Texas?

Cavalli struck out Contreras looking on a full-count pitch in the top of the fourth of what eventually became an 8-1 victory by the Nationals. The 27-year-old right-hander then shouted at Contreras as Contreras made his way back to the Boston dugout.

Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said he heard Cavalli yell “Sit down, boy” after fanning Contreras.

Asked what his specific words to Contreras were, Cavalli told reporters, “I don’t know. I just lose my head in it. I’m competitive. I just told him to sit down.”

The term “boy” has a racist history in the U.S. Contreras, who is Venezuelan, demurred when asked if he felt there was a racial component to Cavalli's word choice.

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Contreras said, later adding he plans to "let MLB handle that.”

Contreras, who hit a three-run homer off Washington's Miles Mikolas on Monday and celebrated with a massive bat flip that he later apologized fo r, then approached Cavalli on the mound. The two jawed at each other as both dugouts emptied.

“He struck me on a good pitch, I was walking back to the dugout, and then he did what did, and the rest was history,” Contreras told reporters afterward, later adding, "He was like, instigating, and I snapped.”

Boston catcher Carlos Narvaez tried to hold Contreras back, but Contreras broke loose long enough to leap and throw his batting helmet in Cavalli's direction.

Things settled down quickly after that, though the brief dustup ended with Contreras, Boston interim manager Chad Tracy, Boston outfielder Nate Eaton and Mikolas being ejected.

Cavalli pointed to an incident at the end of the top of the first when Contreras nearly ran into the pitcher as both exited the field as the spark that set things in motion.

“He's just been doing stuff," Cavalli said of Contreras. “In the first inning, he just runs past me and brushes me. It's just something you don't do in baseball. I think he knows that. I didn't say anything. I just looked at him. And a few words were said after the strikeout. It's part of the game. And he's going to let everybody run out there and try and do whatever he does, throw a helmet and get himself tossed.”

Cavalli stayed in the game and allowed one run on one hit with 13 strikeouts over seven innings in what became an 8-1 romp.

“After everything that happened, the people that they chose that were going to leave the game, I just felt like the other pitcher should have been one of them too,” Tracy said. "That was my biggest complaint.”

The early exit was the second in as many nights for Contreras, the first time that's happened to a Red Sox player in the club's 126-year history. The 34-year-old Venezuela native — who acknowledged he is having a difficult time while his native country tries to recover from a pair of devastating earthquakes last week — was ejected in the second inning on Monday for mimicking an appeal call after striking out on a checked swing.

“I feel like everything is against me right now,” Contreras said. "I got ejected last night from nothing. I got ejected today even though I was walking back to the dugout.”

___

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

Almost daily long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and heaped political pressure on the Kremlin as its all-out invasion of Ukraine stretches into its fifth year.

The Ufa refinery is one of Russia’s largest producers of lubricants and is located more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on social media.

Ukraine also struck a plant producing missile components in Russia’s Penza region southeast of Moscow, some 500 kilometers (300 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.

Russian officials did not confirm the strikes, which could not be independently verified. The Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting 179 Ukrainian drones over 16 Russian regions, the annexed Crimea and waters of the Azov and the Black Sea.

Penza regional Gov. Oleg Melnichenko said that Ukrainian drones struck two industrial plants in the city of Penza, injuring two people at one of them. He didn’t name the plants or describe the damage.

The explosions shattered windows in two apartment buildings in Penza, Melnichenko said, while downed drone debris damaged a power line and fell on a building under construction.

Ukraine says drone strikes slow Russian advance

Ukraine’s domestically developed and manufactured drones and missiles have been hammering Russian oil facilities, including refineries, terminals, storage depots and pipeline pumping stations, for months.

Many regions of Russia, one of the world’s biggest energy producers, have introduced fuel rationing.

Ukraine has developed new weaponry and in recent months has gained an edge, according to Western officials. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front line have robbed the Russian army of momentum on the battlefield, officials and analysts say.

“Russians now have great problems with delivering infantry to the front line and supplying it,” Ukrainian Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov said Wednesday.

Ukraine sees growing interest in its military technology

Ukraine has become a provider of military technology sought by countries around the world, especially drones.

With European countries fearing what Moscow’s territorial ambitions might lie beyond Ukraine, leaders have described Kyiv as a bulwark against Russian advances.

Ukraine is “becoming a security provider for the whole of Europe,” Swedish Minister of Defense Paul Jonsson said in Kyiv, where he held talks with Fedorov.

Ukraine signed an agreement on Tuesday for Sweden to provide Kyiv with Gripen fighter jets. They will help Ukraine stop Russian aircraft carrying powerful glide bombs, Fedorov said.

Jonsson said European countries want Ukraine to be integrated into Euro-Atlantic defenses, although Ukraine’s NATO membership has been a contentious issue and likely will be discussed at an alliance summit in Turkey next week.

“The sooner it happens, the better it is for you, the better it is for our security and prosperity as well,” Jonsson told a press conference.

Ukraine also wants to join the European Union, though the process could take years. Zelenskyy arrived Wednesday in Ireland, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

“Ukraine proves every day that it deserves to be an equal partner of our common European home. And we hope that during Ireland’s presidency of the EU Council, we will be able to achieve tangible progress on the path to membership and open all negotiations clusters,” Zelenskyy said.

Russian attacks kill five Ukrainian civilians, injure 35

Russian long-range attacks on Ukraine continued, with at least five civilians reported killed Wednesday.

A Russian drone struck a bus in the southern Kherson region, killing two people and injuring six others, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Glide bombs hit the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest, killing two people, including a 15-year-old boy, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. At least 26 people were wounded, including a 1-year-old, he added.

A 43-year-old woman was killed and three were injured, including a 35-year-old pregnant woman, when Russia attacked five gas stations in the central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, according to regional authorities.

Russian forces have increasingly targeted Ukrainian gas stations.

___

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

Anthropic said Tuesday night that its AI model called Claude Fable 5 is now widely available. It's also restoring access to its most powerful model, Mythos 5, but only to a select group of U.S.-based organizations approved by the federal government.

The Commerce Department blocked foreign nationals from using both AI models on June 12, a move that San Francisco-based Anthropic said forced the company to immediately take the products down for all users just days after it unveiled them.

Anthropic said in a blog post this week that the government's concerns were sparked by a report from cybersecurity researchers at Amazon, Anthropic's primary cloud computing provider. The company “had found a method of bypassing Fable 5’s safeguards” that enabled it to discover and potentially exploit software vulnerabilities, Anthropic said.

Officials have grown increasingly concerned since Anthropic warned earlier this year that its Mythos model was adept at finding software flaws in a way that could be weaponized by malicious hackers and threaten critical computer networks around the world.

Anthropic's chief rival, ChatGPT maker OpenAI, also said Friday it is restricting the release of its new artificial intelligence model at the request of President Donald Trump’s administration.

OpenAI said its new AI product, called GPT-5.6 Sol, would be accessible only to a select group of government-approved customers for a temporary period.

Trump last month signed an executive order on AI oversight that established a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to 30 days before their public release. The order described participation by AI developers as voluntary, but the framework has not yet been fully developed.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington said that policy violated the First Amendment. He issued a preliminary ruling Tuesday barring the requirement while the Times continues its protracted legal battle against the department's restrictions.

While the order's language suggested the judge's decision was directed only at the Times, the escort policy itself applies to all journalists.

The newspaper in May sued the Defense Department for the second time in five months. The lawsuits have played into an escalating tension between the U.S. media and the Republican administration, both in the public arena and the courts.

The Times hailed Friedman’s ruling.

“Today’s well-reasoned decision reaffirms the First Amendment rights of the press to cover the Pentagon without restrictions designed to prevent the public from knowing what the military is doing,” said Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson. “The court recognized that the Pentagon’s hastily implemented new policy was a clear violation of the Constitution.”

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell posted on X late Tuesday that the department “strongly disagrees” with Friedman's decision. "This ruling strips away reasonable security measures and will make it easier for sensitive and classified information to reach our adversaries.”

Parnell argued further that “unescorted access to the Pentagon allowed journalists to observe activity patterns and develop relationships that contributed to repeated unauthorized disclosures of operational plans and intelligence. The court’s order effectively restores that risky environment at a time when protecting our military’s secrets is more critical than ever.”

The Times first sued in December over rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking to limit media access.

The escort policy was implemented in March after a ruling by Friedman that had struck down earlier restrictions. He said they violated the rights of Times reporter Julian E. Barnes and the paper.

The following month, the judge ruled that the interim policy violated his March order. But the escort policy remained in place when an appeals court stayed part of Friedman’s ruling while the government appealed. The appeals process is ongoing.

The Times and other outlets walked out of the Pentagon in October rather than agree to Hegseth's restrictions. They continue to cover the U.S. military from outside the building. A new press corps approved by the department currently occupies the Pentagon space.

The crash happened around 5 a.m. on the eastbound lanes of I-10 Katy Freeway near State Highway 6.

• Construction halted after workers discover evidence of possible historic cemetery in Tomball

Houston firefighters responded to the scene and confirmed that two people died in the crash.

Preliminary information indicates the 18-wheeler overturned and landed on top of a car, which then caught fire.

• Pearland police identify suspect in aggravated robbery of 79-year-old man outside Walgreens

The circumstances leading up to the crash have not been released.

The incident shut down multiple eastbound lanes of the Katy Freeway. As of 5:40 a.m., the right shoulder, right lane and three center lanes remained blocked while emergency crews worked at the scene.

Authorities have not released the identities of the victims.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

A small fly has the potential to impart a big impact on Texas’ beef and agricultural industry.

On June 3, the New World screwworm was detected in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since then, the agency reported more screwworm infestations in Texas.

The fly poses a multibillion-dollar crisis for the state’s cattle industry, which generates $41 billion a year. It could also increase already record-high beef prices nationwide.

It’s unclear how many cases could hit Texas. Nearly 28,000 cases have been detected in Mexico since November 2024, according to Mexican officials.

State and federal officials are working together to stop the northern migration, which they have tracked since 2023. In response to the cases, USDA and the Texas Animal Health Commission have ramped up animal surveillance of animals near the confirmed detections by setting up zones around each infestation. Animals are not allowed to leave infested areas without being properly inspected.

Officials are also increasing fly traps, surveillance of wildlife and releasing sterile flies, which are used to break the reproduction cycle of the parasitic screwworm fly.

What is New World Screwworm?

New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly that is attracted to living tissue, burrowing their larvae into open wounds. After they hatch, the maggots then feed off that living flesh, causing damage to the animal. If untreated, the damage can even cause the animal to die.

Screwworm can also burrow through openings in the skin, such as the corner of an eye or through the nose.

From a biological standpoint, all mammals are vulnerable to screwworm, including pets and humans. However, livestock and wildlife tend to be the most susceptible because they spend their entire lives outdoors.

Dogs and cats are vulnerable through small wounds or scratches that break the skin. Health officials recommend pets be medicated for fleas and ticks year-round, said Casey Locklear, veterinarian and parasiticides lead for Elanco Animal Health.

“As a pet owner, if you were to notice that your dog or cat had a wound, especially if it’s foul smelling, it’s enlarging, you may actually see the maggots,” Locklear said. “If you see a wound, get treatment early. Whether that’s for yourself or your pet, early treatment is key.”

Read more about the screwworm here.

Fuel rationing has been introduced in many regions, with hourslong queues of cars snaking beside roads. Social media videos show drivers aghast at the lines or swearing at empty gas pumps and rising prices. The mayor of the Siberian city of Irkutsk even ordered portable toilets brought in to accommodate those in line.

The fuel crisis — unprecedented for a nation that is one of the world's biggest energy producers — has brought Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine home to ordinary Russians like few other events in the war, now in its fifth year.

It drew a rare admission from President Vladimir Putin, who acknowledged “problems persist for both motorists and businesses,” and “there are still queues at petrol stations, and finding the right grade of petrol isn’t always easy.”

He insisted the shortages are “not critical” and “temporary.”

But that appeared to do little to reassure at least one motorist in Moscow, the wealthy capital typically better-insulated from economic shocks than the rest of the country.

“I think the situation is not very good,” the motorist waiting in line told The Associated Press on Monday, the day after Putin's televised remarks.

“They say one thing on television, and in reality it’s another. ... People are queueing everywhere,” he added, declining to give his full name out of safety concerns.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday echoed that sentiment, writing on Telegram that “Putin can go on and on, claiming on TV that he supposedly has everything under control," but Russians can see that the war "has reached the point where even an oil state -- a gas station, as Russia used to be called -- is now facing gas shortages.”

Ukraine hits energy targets multiple times

An AP count shows over 50 reported attacks by Ukraine on oil refineries, depots, terminals and other energy infrastructure in Russia and the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula since March. Often, the same facility was hit more than once -– such as the refinery in the Black Sea town of Tuapse that was struck four times.

The amount of crude oil Russia processed into fuel in June was down 25% from a year ago, to 3.95 million barrels per day — the lowest level in over two decades, said Gary Peach, oil markets analyst at Energy Intelligence.

“The outages are extraordinary,” he said.

Gasoline production has fallen 17% to 850,000 barrels a day, from 1.03 million a day a year ago — far short of what the domestic market needs. Russia exports relatively little gasoline.

About a third of Russia's oil refining capacity is offline, said Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory Ltd. Consultancy, noting that because refineries don't publicly confirm the extent of the damage, his estimate comes from anecdotal evidence and oil industry sources.

“It comes at a very critical time for the Russian economy, in that the agriculture season, particularly the harvest season, is now starting to ratchet up,” increasing demand, Weafer said.

Ukrainian officials describe the strikes as a campaign to pressure Moscow to end the war by undermining military logistics and supply lines and weakening its ability to mount front-line assaults.

In particular, Kyiv has sought to isolate Crimea, which was seized from Ukraine in 2014 in a move most nations don't recognize. Attacks this year forced the Moscow-installed authorities to enact fuel rationing on the peninsula in May and halt sales to civilians there altogether. Limited sales later resumed in the city of Sevastopol.

Attacks — and fuel shortages — spread

Ukraine carried out major drone strikes on Russia’s two largest cities, embarrassing the Kremlin with images of black plumes of smoke that circulated widely online, despite regulations restricting their publication.

A June 3 attack on a St. Petersburg oil terminal darkened the sky as Putin prepared to host his annual economic forum to attract foreign investment. On June 18, a similar cloud rose from the Moscow Oil Refinery on capital's outskirts, with greasy black droplets raining down.

By late June, some form of rationing was reported in over half of Russia's regions. Some slapped strict limits on all gas stations; in others, gas station chains limited how much fuel could be bought.

Officials blamed hoarding and panic-buying, urging motorists to fill their tanks only when needed.

Exports of gasoline and aviation fuel have been restricted, and authorities weighed banning diesel fuel exports, too.

Importing fuel was being considered. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said contacts with some countries were “underway,” calling the move “another step toward stabilizing the market and aimed at reducing panic-buying.”

Shortages in Siberia

The shortages have reached distant regions where no refineries were attacked by Ukraine.

Viktor Shkurenko, who owns retail stores and other businesses in the Omsk region, called announced limits on gasoline sales there to 40 liters (10.5 gallons) per vehicle “unexpected.”

“Nothing was bombed here. We have the biggest oil refinery in Siberia right here, and it gave us confidence that this fuel crisis won’t come to us,” he said, expressing worry about how limits could affect his businesses. As of Saturday, however, he said his company has not had any problems refueling its vehicles.

In the Siberian region of Zabayakalye, east of Lake Baikal, media reports said a garbage hauler suspended pickups and some bus services were curtailed.

In addition to ordering portable toilets outside gas stations, the city of Irkutsk raised public transport fares as of Wednesday, citing higher fuel costs.

Pavel Kharitonenko, acting head of Irkutsk's branch of the opposition Yabloko party, told AP he finds it easier to walk or use public transportation.

“I don't have the fuel, and I don't want to queue at gas stations,” he said. The Irkutsk region, home to a Rosneft oil refinery, has experienced acute shortages for several days, with lines growing, Kharitonenko said.

Repairs will take time

Putin said Russia's gasoline stockpiles are only 4% lower than what it had the same time last year. Weafer, the analyst, says that "reportedly, there are good supplies of fuel around the country. The problem is it’s in the wrong place."

Supplies need to be reallocated to regions experiencing shortages, and in a big country like Russia, “it's not something that can be done overnight," Weafer said.

“There should be enough, but it will take several weeks to get it from where it is to where it’s needed,” he says. “It’s just a huge logistics operation to do that.”

Fixing the war-damaged refineries is complicated. Ukraine's attacks damaged specialized equipment that is often imported, making repairs time-consuming and expensive as workarounds or replacements are sought by evading sanctions.

“They manage to get these things up and running, not necessarily at full capacity,” Peach said. “But the extent of the damage this time is so extensive that they won’t get back to winter levels of refining this summer.”

Some refineries aren't worth repairing until a ceasefire or armistice, he said, because they will just "get knocked down again.”

Repairing the Moscow refinery that supplied 40% of the fuel for the capital and the surrounding region is expected to take at least three months, Weafer said.

If there's no further damage to Russia's oil infrastructure, he estimated the shortages will last “probably throughout the summer" because demand from agriculture will likely remain high into September.

———

Associated Press writers David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.

The blaze was caused by a technical failure on the ground floor of the building, where more than 200 people live in 80 apartments, in the city’s Linkeroever neighborhood, sending vast plumes of smoke into the air, Antwerp police said in a statement.

The top floors of the 10-story block appeared worst hit. The building was evacuated and nearby residents were warned to keep their windows and doors closed and, if needed, to turn off any ventilators due to the amount of smoke in the air. Those evacuated were taken to a local shelter.

Firefighters battled the blaze in difficult conditions due to its size and intensity, police said. Several teams of first responders and police were dispatched to the site, including a specialized drone unit.

Television images from the scene showed one man on an upper floor enveloped in smoke and hanging over a balcony in an effort to get fresh air, before making his way to a nearby window.

A medical emergency plan was activated to keep the victims from saturating nearby hospitals.

An Associated Press photographer at the scene said that the smoke died down by early afternoon, but that many first responders were still there.

Belgium 's Prime Minister Bart De Wever, a former mayor of Antwerp, said his “thoughts are with the victims and the evacuated residents of the terrible fire on Linkeroever.”

“My deep appreciation goes out to the emergency services who are striving to help the many affected people as quickly and safely as possible, and who are working hard to bring the fire under control,” he said in a post on social media.

Linkeroever, which is located on the eastern edge of Antwerp, is a large residential area dotted by high-rise apartment buildings and bordering a major park where outdoor music concerts are held.

___

Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

Cleveland's left fielder lost track of the number of outs in the seventh inning and threw the ball into the stands, allowing the Texas Rangers to score the go-ahead run in a 4-2 victory over the Guardians on Tuesday night.

“Obviously, I feel terrible,” Ingle said, his face flushed red on a warm, humid night. "It’s a pretty embarrassing feeling.”

With a runner at second base and one out in the seventh, the 24-year-old Ingle, making just his second major league start as an outfielder, caught a routine fly ball hit by Rangers left fielder Alejandro Osuna off Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee for the second out.

Thinking it was out No. 3, Ingle briefly glanced at the ball in his glove before throwing it over the protective netting to fans as a souvenir.

The umpires immediately ruled the ball was dead and Osuna was awarded home plate.

It wasn't until then that Ingle realized his mistake and he walked back to his position in shocked disbelief. He was charged with an error.

“Yeah, honestly when I threw the ball out, I heard a bunch of yelling,” Ingle said. “Happens sometimes, but just got to learn from it and not make the same mistake."

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who has had to plug rookies into his starting lineup all season, offered his unwavering support to Ingle.

“These things happen,” Vogt said. “Rookie. Nonrookie. It’s happened to Hall of Famers. They’ve done it. We’re going to keep learning. We’re going to keep getting better.”

Vogt was proud of the way Ingle's teammates quickly rallied around him following the bone-headed play.

“It’s a mistake. Lost track of the outs. Pretty big spot,” he said. “We’ll learn from it and can’t control it once it happens. That’s why I was like, flush it. And I just want to give a credit to the dugout. Every one of his teammates, when he came back in, same messaging.”

One of the first to talk to Ingle was Guardians catcher Austin Hedges, who told him to keep his chin up.

“I’ve made so many mistakes,” Hedges said. “I can’t even remember half of them. I’ve embarrassed myself a billion times on the field. I mean, just check my offensive numbers for my career. It’s not super easy to go through that, but that’s the big leagues.”

After his mistake, Ingle said he immediately apologized to Bibee (2-9), who went toe to toe Jacob deGrom for seven innings. Bibee's response to his teammates was to try and make things right.

“I just told him to go tie the game right back up,” Bibee said. “Obviously, we all make mistakes. Everyone in this locker room has made multiple mistakes in the big leagues, whether you’re (rookie) Khalil (Waston) or me or Hedgie. It’s tough.”

Ingle was brought up from Triple-A Columbus last week. He made his big league debut on June 26 and got his first major league hit the next day, a two-run single against Seattle.

After his fielding foible, Ingle came up in the bottom of the seventh and grounded out. He got another chance in the ninth to avenge his gaffe but struck out looking for the game's final out.

What's most important now is that he move forward.

“Obviously learn from it and think about it,” he said. “It’s not something that makes you feel great, but things like that happen for a reason and learning from those things and moving on and getting better from them, it’s pretty much the only thing you can do.”

Vogt said the mistake doesn't affect his belief in Ingle.

“We’re going to help him through it. That’s what we’re here for,” he said. "You’re playing in your second game in the outfield in the big leagues and a mistake like that. Let’s learn. So what? It’s over. Flush it. We’re not going to be mad at him.

“We’re not going to hold it against him. He’s going to be right back out there the next time it’s his turn to play outfield. This was a mistake. This isn’t a judgment or anything like that, but we know how good of a player Coop is and we’re going to stick with him and we’re going to keep helping him.”

___

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

“He just started walking,” laughed his mother, 27-year-old Kyra Cornell. She's already plotting her son’s soccer career during a World Cup-themed event for toddlers at a suburban Kansas City library, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the stadium where six matches are being played.

Across the country, experts are watching to see whether the World Cup will give a boost to youth soccer — and mint fans for decades to come.

Soccer already ranks among the most popular youth sports in the country. Among 6- to 12-year-olds, 7.5% played youth soccer in 2024, a slight drop from a decade earlier, but only baseball and basketball recorded higher stats, according to a report from the Aspen Institute.

Youth soccer already has a track record of converting players into fans

Look at Haley Garbowski, a midfielder who has been to more professional women's soccer matches than she can count.

Just days after her private Kansas City, Missouri, high school won the state championship match, the 18-year-old was helping out at a summer camp on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area, leading a gaggle of grade-school girls around a circuit of sports that includes rugby, tennis and, of course, her own beloved soccer.

“We were killing it,” gushed Garbowski, as she recalled the title game victory in the small school division. In the fall, she is headed to San Diego State University as a business major and considering a career in sports marketing.

Are her grandparents soccer fans? She laughs at the thought. Her mother has become a fan but didn’t start out that way, unaware her high school had a soccer team until Garbowski went snooping in an old yearbook.

None of this comes as a surprise to Michael Lewis, an Emory University professor who focuses on the intersection of sports analytics and sports marketing.

“Soccer is a generational story that’s building generation after generation, but it takes a long, long time,” Lewis said.

America’s sports landscape shifts

Overall, soccer doesn’t have the draw of the big three of baseball, basketball and the American brand of tackle-heavy football. Ipsos Sports research shows that only about 1 in 10 Americans consider themselves fans of U.S. soccer or international soccer.

Boomers in particular grew up playing the big three and that influences what they watch now, Lewis said. Ipsos data shows that those 65 and older are especially likely to call themselves fans of the popular trio.

But market researchers see promise with millennials — and Gen Z, those between the ages of 14 and 29.

America’s sports landscape began to change in the 1970s, when the now-defunct North American Soccer League signed greats like Pelé, the winner of three World Cups with Brazil.

By the 1980s, U.S. kids were playing, too, including girls thanks to Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education.

But the gym teachers and parents who coached this first batch had little experience to draw from. Some learned the rules from books. And those in football-dominated towns sometimes resisted soccer, fearful it would pull talent away from the gridiron. Players faced taunts and slurs, and were even accused of being communists.

“I cannot repeat the things I got called,” said Darin White, 58, who played and then coached at the college level before becoming the executive director of the Center for Sports Analytics at Samford University in Alabama.

But kids kept playing. The U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994. Major League Soccer played its inaugural season two years later. Today's parents frequently have played themselves. There are highly competitive travel teams. MLS has joined the player development effort with its MLS Next program. Its players have gotten better, and viewership is up.

When American sports fans are asked why they became a fan of sports generally, about half say it was because of their family’s connection to the sport, or that they grew up as a fan of a particular team, Ipsos data shows.

The women's game has fueled soccer's rise, too, said Nicholas Watanabe, a professor at the University of South Carolina, whose book “The Beautiful Game?” is about the future of soccer. Girls that play as kids become fans. Their enrollment helps keep youth leagues large and more financially viable, Watanabe said.

“Without the success and long-standing growth, I don’t think you get this side-by-side effect that also I think has helped the men’s team, too,” Watanabe said.

Consider the Kansas City Current, the NWSL team that touts its stadium as the first built for a women’s soccer team. Its owners include Brittany Mahomes, a former college soccer player and the wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Current, which is playing host to the Netherlands' team during the World Cup, sent staff to help at the camp where Garbowski was working.

Where soccer goes from here in the US

Make no mistake. Experts are quick to add soccer isn't the NFL, the juggernaut in a saturated U.S. sports market.

“The question isn’t, ‘Why aren’t we as big as football?’ Well, we’re not, but we are way closer than the last time we hosted the World Cup,” said White, who is studying how Americans get hooked on the sport.

There are challenges: Most of the best players still compete in the more storied European leagues. Hardcore American fans frequently follow those European teams, rather than MLS ones, which means less money to grow the sport in the U.S., White said. But on the plus side, American players are increasingly breaking into these top European leagues, White said. And he noted the sport's youthful fan base in the U.S. is one marketers are eager to woo.

“I am more hopeful right now than I’ve ever been in my life,” said White, adding, “And I’ve been a soccer missionary, if you will.”

Back at the Lenexa, Kansas, library, one mother held her 1-year-old daughter's hands as she toddled toward a ball, kicking it with a chubby bare foot.

“Messi,” another toddler practiced saying, repeating the last name of the star of the Argentine team whose tournament home base is nearby.

Jude, meanwhile, was shifting from tossing cones to tugging at his ears, afflicted with the same malady that had landed several of the toddlers on the room’s version of the injury list. Teething.

“Do you want to play soccer?” his mother asked the 17-month-old, noting some programs in town take kids as young as 2. He didn't respond.

“You don’t know,” she said. “Maybe like next spring or summer we start trying.”

____

AP journalist Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The Americans will look to change that narrative on Wednesday as they attempt to win their first World Cup elimination game in 24 years when they face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, California.

The Americans' last, and only, knockout win came on June 17, 2002, when they defeated Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16 in South Korea.

The good news for the Americans is they should have a healthy Christian Pulisic after the star missed the second game with a calf injury and played only 33 minutes as a sub in the final group match against Turkey.

“I feel good and ready to go for tomorrow,” Pulisic said.

The U.S. will once again play a knockout round match at a home World Cup in the San Francisco Bay area. The 1994 team made it out of group stage and faced Brazil at Stanford Stadium — less than 15 miles away from the site of this year’s game in Santa Clara — only to lose 1-0 to the eventual champions.

Since that round of 16 win over Mexico in 2002, the U.S. is 0-3 at that stage but are favored to advance against Bosnia, according to oddsmakers.

“We understand what it means, you win or you go home. There definitely needs to be a lot of focus and attention detail this week,” Pulisic said. “But I think the vibe feels good. We’ve still kept it light and we still are going to be ready to battle once the whistle blows.”

The U.S. has one win in 21 games against European teams with seven draws and 13 losses since making it back to the World Cup in 1990 for the first time in 40 years.

England will face Congo and Belgium will play Senegal in the other elimination games on Wednesday.

The round of 32 continues on Thursday with Spain playing Austria, Portugal taking on Croatia and Switzerland facing Algeria, and then concludes on Friday with Australia up against Egypt, Cape Verde playing Argentina and Colombia facing Ghana.

The eound of 16 begins on Saturday.

What to watch on July 1

— England vs. Congo, noon EDT in Atlanta (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Belgium vs. Senegal, 4 p.m. EDT in Seattle (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— United States vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 8 p.m. EDT in Santa Clara, California (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

England battling mounting injuries entering round of 32

Injuries are mounting for England, which is missing its first- and second-choice right backs for the round of 32 game against Congo.

Reece James is out with a hamstring injury and backup Jarrell Quansah twisted his ankle in England’s 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday.

It could see Djed Spence move over from the left to cover, but coach Thomas Tuchel is confident James and Quansah will both soon return — so long as England can advance beyond Congo.

“They’re getting closer and closer,” Tuchel said. “The race was close even to make it into my squad this time. So we need to make sure that we have more matches. That is the main focus, and then that will be very soon.”

Congo is playing in the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time. It already held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in the group stage and beat Uzbekistan to advance.

“It is true we are looking at a difficult match, but in no way insurmountable. We have proven this against teams that were supposed to be superior to us, that we could actually put in a good performance,” Congo coach Sébastien Desabre said. “So we are focusing on our strengths, we are walking our path and once you get to this point in the competition, it’s difficult for everyone.”

Bukayo Saka, who came into the tournament carrying an injury, is fit to start, Tuchel said.

US coach Pochettino apologizes for curt tone to media after loss

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino opened his news conference on Tuesday by asking the media to forgive him for his curt tone following the U.S. team’s 3-2 loss to Turkey.

The loss came after the U.S. had clinched the top spot in the group.

“I want to apologize to the guys that were in my last press conference,” Pochettino said. “I was so frustrated. I was disappointed. I thank you and am sorry. It was my problem, not your problem. I was upset after the defeat.”

Pochettino called out the media in the post-match news conference last week for not praising him and his team for having already won the group before the loss to Turkey.

“For you not say congratulations that we won the group, that is a little bit sad,” Pochettino told reporters after the game.

Belgium looks to return to 2018 glory when it faces Senegal

By advancing to the knockout round atop Group G, Belgium has already improved upon its woeful performance at the World Cup four years ago.

After a historic third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Belgium did not advance past the group stage in Qatar. With its 5-1 victory over New Zealand on Friday night, Belgium has already achieved what coach Rudi Garcia expected at the bare minimum from his team.

Ahead of Wednesday’s knockout round match against Senegal, Garcia expressed satisfaction, as well as desire for more. Belgium won one game and played to two draws in group play.

“We wanted to finish first in the group stage and we succeeded,” Garcia said in French. “Of course we wanted to win more — we know the story of our World Cup so far. Now it is time for the knockout phase. Senegal is a big team. But, you have to beat them, too, if you want to go far in a World Cup.”

More World Cup news

— France forward Kylian Mbappé scores his 17th and 18th World Cup goals, one back of Lionel Messi

— Haaland scores deciding goal as Norway wins its 1st World Cup knockout game, beating Ivory Coast 2-1

— Netherlands coach Koeman resigns after penalty shootout loss marked team’s quickest World Cup exit

— Iran heads home after a heartbreaking World Cup knockout, but fans say players should be proud

— False hope and schadenfreude: Familiar feelings for Germany after another World Cup flop

— World Cup in photos, Day 20

Stat of the day

— Prior to Monday's loss to Paraguay on penalty kicks, Germany had been 17 for 18 in World Cup shootouts and had converted 15 in a row. In the 1982 semifinals, Uli Stielike was blocked by France goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettore with Germany’s third shot. But Germany made its next three and won 5-4. Germany was 4-for-4 in the 1986 quarterfinals against Mexico, 4-for-4 in the 1990 semifinals against England, and 4-for-4 in the 2006 quarterfinals against Argentina — winning all of those contests.

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AP Sports Writers Josh Dubow, James Dobson and Andrew Destin contributed to this report. ___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The Raptors are sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks and pick swap to the Clippers for Leonard, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not received the required league approval.

Leonard spent one season in Toronto, and that was the year the Raptors won their lone title. He turned 35 on Monday but is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career, averaging 27.9 points for the Clippers in 65 games.

Leonard is a seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, a two-time NBA champion (also winning in 2014 with San Antonio) and is generally considered one of the game's top defensive players.

The trade is the latest in what's becoming a long line of huge deals getting made between clubs already this summer, one that has seen Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded by Milwaukee to Miami, Ja Morant getting moved to Portland by Memphis and now this — one where the Raptors will hope that Leonard can weave his title magic one more time.

Toronto agreeing to make this deal suggests that it isn't worried about the ongoing probe into an endorsement deal that Leonard had with a California-based sustainability services company.

The NBA opened an investigation back in September into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC — a company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year — broke league rules, following a report by journalist Pablo Torre. The primary issue for the NBA to decide is if the deal allowed the Clippers to circumvent league salary cap rules.

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