Healey told Starmer in a letter that the government’s Defense Investment Plan falls “well short of what is required at this dangerous time.”

Publication of the plan has been delayed amid reports of disagreement between the Defense Ministry and the Treasury.

Starmer said in a letter to Healey that he was sorry to see him go, but insisted that the funding plan would provide the necessary military resources to keep the United Kingdom safe.

“The increases in spending that underpin this plan will be sustainable and fair,” Starmer said. “They will mean significant reallocations of funding from across government departments and the right choices to protect our nation.”

Critics say too little, too late

Starmer has pledged to boost U.K. defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027 and 3% by 2035. But many in the military say that isn't fast enough.

“You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” Healey wrote in his resignation letter.

He said that the spending plan put forward by the Treasury, and presented to him on Monday, would see defense spending rise to just 2.68% in 2030, after hitting 2.6% next year.

Healey said that isn't enough with growing demands on defense and British military commitments, citing the Iran war, Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine and threats from Moscow.

“I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation,” he said.

Gen. Richard Barrons, who helped lead a defense review that underpins the investment plan, said the government is “actively going backwards” by refusing to fund its own review.

“It diminishes the U.K.’s standing within NATO, weakens our credibility with allies, and increases our vulnerability to the realities of 21st-century conflict,” he said. “Allies and adversaries alike will be paying attention.”

The government said that it was delivering “the largest sustained boost to defense spending since the Cold War.”

“This country is safer because of the decisions Keir Starmer has made and we will continue to act in our national interest,” it said in a statement.

Healey is considered a safe pair of hands

Healey has been U.K. defense secretary since the Labour Party government was elected in July 2024, and he's regarded as a capable and serious minister.

He has played a key role in bolstering international support for Ukraine and assembling a multinational coalition to help guarantee security if a ceasefire is reached. Healey also has helped spearhead a maritime security force that would help keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping if the Iran war ends.

The United Kingdom and other NATO member nations have faced pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to increase military spending. Trump has long questioned the value of the military alliance and complained that the United States provides security to European countries that don’t pull their weight.

The U.K. military is also seeking to reverse years of decline in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia, which fully invaded its neighbor Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and increasingly tests the defenses of European nations with overt and covert activity.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, informed of Healey's resignation by The Associated Press during a news conference in Brussels, said that Healey is someone “I respect very much.”

“What we are seeing all over the alliance is countries increasing their defense investments, and of course it is not easy, because in the end there is always a trade-off with other expenses, which are also important,” Rutte said.

Healey’s resignation is likely to further stoke talk that Starmer’s days as prime minister are numbered. Already bruised by a series of missteps since Labour returned to power less than two years ago, Starmer has faced calls within his party’s ranks to stand down.

In a sign of his waning authority, Starmer appears to have been unable to bridge the gap between Healey’s department and Treasury chief Rachel Reeves over defense spending.

Olivia O’Sullivan, head of the U.K. in the World program at the Chatham House think tank, said the resignation “significantly undermines Starmer,” especially since the prime minister has had “a relatively assured track record on defense and foreign affairs.”

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is widely expected to challenge Starmer for the leadership, if he returns to Parliament in a June 18 special election.

Justin Crump, a former British tank commander who heads security consultancy Sibylline, said that Healey's resignation “should not have been allowed to occur in a well-run government.”

“It just further underlines a lack of control here, a lack of clarity, a lack of resolution, a gap between words and delivery,” he said.

___

Mark Carlson in Brussels, and Pan Pylas and Brian Melley in London, contributed to this report.

Trump had threatened major strikes on Iran and to seize control of its oil and gas industries as escalating attacks between the countries pushed the Middle East closer to full-scale war.

The threats to seize Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal came after the U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second straight day, pushing the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have rattled the Middle East.

Here's the latest:

Trump calls off threatened strikes against Iran after indicating progress in talks

Trump says he’s called off new military strikes on Iran hours after threatening to escalate the 3-month-old war.

The president said in a social media post Thursday that he made the move “based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.”

Trump also suggested that progress has been made in talks to extend the fragile ceasefire, writing that “discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail,” approved by United States, Israel, and other regional allies. He did not offer details.

Trump on multiple occasions over the last several weeks has claimed that the warring parties have been on a cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition.

Targeting Iran’s Kharg Island carries major risks

Kharg Island has emerged as a focus of the war launched by the United States and Israel. The Persian Gulf island is home to a terminal through which Iran exports most of its oil.

Strikes on oil infrastructure on Kharg — or a ground invasion — would severely curb Iran’s oil exports, a key source of revenue for the Islamic Republic.

An assault would also mark a major escalation that could provoke even heavier retaliatory attacks on Gulf infrastructure. That would further drive up oil prices that already threaten the world economy.

▶ Read more

A look at the scene on the White House South Lawn for Sunday’s UFC event

It looks from afar more UFO than UFC.

Maybe it’s the kind of contraption that has carried space aliens to the White House to force a meeting with America’s leader.

But come closer and you’ll see the contours of the eight-sided cage, 30 feet in diameter and shaped like the MMA league’s signature Octagon.

Overhead looms The Claw, a four-sided mass that arcs more than 90 feet into the air and features lights, speakers, thick snakes of wiring and four large screens so fans not seated right next to the Octagon can follow the fighting in the cage below.

And surrounding all that are risers filled with gray folding chairs forming a temporary arena expected to seat 4,000-plus for the seven UFC fights being staged on Sunday to celebrate the 80th birthday of President Donald Trump and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.

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Iran’s parliamentary speaker responds

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned in a social media post Thursday that “wrong strategies and impulsive decisions” would wreak havoc on energy markets and “create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years.”

Iran’s monthslong stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.

Hazardous materials units respond to the Pentagon

The Pentagon Force Protection Agency’s hazardous materials team was responding to an unknown issue and parts of the Pentagon were under a shelter-in-place order while officials investigate.

“The Pentagon has sophisticated systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants. Those systems have detected an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance,” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Thursday. “The Department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area.”

The Arlington County Fire Department also sent units, including its hazardous materials team, according to a posting on its X account. Questions to the media office were referred to the Pentagon.

Iranian student says hope dwindles as attacks escalate

A 25-year-old student in northern Iran says Iranians are fearing “chaos” amid the war with the U.S. and Israel and multiplying crises at home.

The student, who lives in the city of Babol, said many Iranians are struggling to afford groceries in the face of mass job losses and triple-digit food inflation. He spoke on the condition of anonymity out of security fears.

“Everything is going wrong and there is no hope among the people,” the student added.

The student first spoke to The Associated Press before the war when he participated in widespread anti-government protests. He now says his chief concern is that Iran “maintain territorial integrity and deterrence” in the face of attacks by the U.S. and Israel.

— Amir-Hussein Radjy

Tensions persist over Iran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post that the U.S. would extract funds from frozen Iranian accounts to offset the costs of damage to American allies as well as any tolls Iran imposes on ships seeking passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Beyond the deadlock over the strait, the two sides also remain at odds over Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran insists its nuclear efforts are peaceful. The U.S. and Israel fear Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium could be used to build an atomic weapon. That was a main reason they cited for going to war Feb. 28.

Trump doesn’t back down on Bill Pulte

After bipartisan pushback to Pulte’s temporary appointment as director of national intelligence, Trump said last week that he would not permanently nominate him to the position. But Democrats, and some Republicans, want his appointment pulled immediately and for Trump to nominate a replacement that can be confirmed by the Senate.

On Tuesday, though, Trump announced that Pulte would not only take over as acting director — he’d also start earlier than expected, on June 19.

One of several possible replacements could be Pete Hoekstra, Trump’s ambassador to Canada and a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The White House has reached out to Hoekstra about the job and conversations are ongoing, according to a person familiar with the outreach who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversations.

— Mary Clare Jalonick, Lisa Mascaro and Seung Min Kim

GOP leaders lobbied the White House, to no avail

Congressional Republicans have lobbied Trump all week to quickly nominate a permanent replacement for director of national intelligence. But he said he needs more time to do so.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republican leaders have “made our views known” to the White House.

Trump has said he’s interviewing five candidates for his pick to lead the agency permanently, after the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the president has made it very clear that Pulte will serve a “very short term — a sort of renovation role” to help the Office of the Director of National Intelligence be “renovated and downsized.”

But Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee led by Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said in a letter to the president that Pulte is a “uniquely poor choice” to serve even in the acting capacity.

House vote to extend FISA spy tool fails and it could lapse as Friday deadline looms

A rare lapse in a law that allows the United States to gather intelligence abroad appears likely after the House failed Thursday to temporarily extend the program, in a protest of President Trump ’s refusal to name a permanent head of the nation’s intelligence agencies.

Trump has doubled down on his temporary pick for director of national intelligence, federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte, even though Pulte has little experience for the job. Democrats say they won’t support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless the Republican president withdraws Pulte’s appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.

The House vote collapsed in bipartisan fashion, with some Republicans and nearly all Democrats rejecting the temporary measure. The Senate may try its own vote later Thursday, but hopes are dimming to prevent what could be an unprecedented lapse in the surveillance tool. The law expires Friday at midnight.

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Homeland security secretary defends decision on a World Cup referee from Somalia

Markwayne Mullin said he wouldn’t get into specifics on why the Somali referee was prevented from entering the U.S. to officiate at the World Cup. But Mullin said the government wasn’t going to admit people believed to have “criminal ties.”

“I’m not going to get into why we denied this individual, but there’s a reason why this person was denied,” Mullin said during a news conference.

Mullin said the department is also in close consultation with FIFA and explains their decisions in a case like this.

“We talk to FIFA and their directors constantly. Anybody that was denied, we made the case for and showed them why they were denied,” Mullin said.

“We did a phenomenal job on getting as many people cleared as we could, but some people just can’t clear,” he said.

Iran says US attacks have made the ceasefire `meaningless’

American strikes on Iran that lasted into Thursday morning appeared more intense and widespread than the day before.

Tehran released little information on the extent of the damage and said it fired back at Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, as it had the previous day.

It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have rattled the Middle East. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, which hit countries in the region that host American bases.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it.

Trump weighs trying to seize Iran’s main oil terminal

Kharg Island — located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — is the beating heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass. It’s important because Iran’s coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock.

It was unclear how serious Trump was about his threat to seize it.

“My preference has always been to take Kharg Island,” Trump said in an interview Thursday on Fox News. “I don’t know that America has the stomach for it to be honest.”

American troops would be vulnerable on Kharg Island because of its close proximity — about 33 kilometers (21 miles) — to the Iranian mainland, from which missiles, drones and artillery could be fired.

Trump indicated in the interview that he remains averse to sending U.S. forces into Iran. “We could walk in there tomorrow. We could take soldiers — I don’t want to have boots on the ground. But if I wanted to we could put a small group of soldiers and take over the place.”

Cuban official comments on Hegseth’s visit to the island nation

Cuba’s representative to the United Nations, Ernesto Soberón, reacted Thursday to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit the previous day to the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay in eastern Cuba.

“The future of #Cuba —a sovereign and independent country— belongs solely and exclusively to the Cuban people and government,” Soberón wrote in a social media post.

“Anyone who believes that Cuba’s future lies in other hands is completely and utterly mistaken,” added the diplomat, who accompanied his message with a photograph of Hegseth in front of his troops, officially released by the United States.

Hegseth’s visit to the eastern portion of the island, which is controlled by the United States, comes at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Havana.

Opening of Canada-US bridge in Detroit that Trump threatened to block is delayed

The opening of the Canadian-U.S. bridge across the Detroit River that President Trump previously threatened to block has been delayed due to “outstanding issues.”

In a statement released Thursday ahead of a Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority says “Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues.”

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US jobless aid filings rise to 229,000 last week, remain historically low despite Iran war headwinds

The number of Americans filing for unemployment aid for the week ending June 6 rose by 4,000 to 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most since early February, before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, but still considered a healthy level. It’s also more than the 216,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

The four-week moving average of jobless claims, which softens some of the weekly volatility, rose by 4,250 to 219,000.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending May 30 jumped by 24,000 to 1.8 million, slightly more than analysts predicted.

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Trump says US will hit Iran ‘very hard,’ threatens to take ‘total control’ of its oil industry

The president on Thursday said the U.S. would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT,” threatening in a social media post to “assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industries, including the key Kharg Island, in the “not too distant future.”

The post came after the U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second day, pushing the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. The American attack, which lasted into Thursday morning in Iran, appeared more intense and wider than the day before.

Iran released little information on the extent of the damage and said it fired back at Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, as it had a day before.

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Trump family-linked resort in Albania faces opposition

A massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Trump, is facing growing resistance from protesters in Albania.

Thousands of protesters are taking to the streets in nightly protests, blowing whistles and holding up cardboard cut-outs of flamingos — one of the protected migratory bird species that could see their habitats threatened by the proposed luxury resort.

The government says the development on the Adriatic coast would be transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership.

But the venture, spanning an abandoned island and a nearby stretch of seafront on Albania’s southern coast, has drawn opposition from environmental campaigners and critics of longtime Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.

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Judge rejects watchdog’s bid to block Trump administration’s $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a government watchdog’s request for a court order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from forging ahead with a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.

But the judge ended a hearing by issuing a “fair warning” to Trump’s administration: “Don’t play possum with this court,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon told a government attorney.

Leon ruled from the bench in favor of the administration, which argued that the watchdog’s lawsuit is moot because acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress earlier this month that the government is scrapping its plans for the fund. Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, said he accepts Blanche’s representation for now.

The judge’s refusal to issue a temporary restraining order isn’t the final word on the fate of the government’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” Leon said he will consider a separate request by the plaintiffs — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — for a preliminary injunction that would block payouts from the fund on a more permanent basis.

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FISA spy program at risk over Trump’s pick of Pulte for director of national intelligence

A rare lapse in a law that allows the U.S. to gather intelligence abroad is growing more likely after Trump resisted calls from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to immediately name a permanent head of the nation’s intelligence agencies.

Trump has doubled down on his temporary pick for director of national intelligence, Federal Housing Finance Regulator Bill Pulte, even though he has little experience for the job. Democrats say they won’t support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless the president withdraws Pulte’s appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.

The House will try early Thursday to approve a short-term FISA extension, but passage is unlikely. The Senate may follow suit, hoping to prevent what could be an unprecedented lapse in the surveillance tool.

The impasse could soon result in limitations on what intelligence the U.S. government can collect abroad just as World Cup games begin in cities around the country and ahead of celebrations for the nation’s 250th anniversary. The law expires on Friday at midnight.

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$60M and 7 federal agencies required to stage Trump’s UFC fight at White House

Trump’s planned UFC fight on the White House’s South Lawn has required a monumental effort from more than seven federal agencies, hundreds of staff working onsite daily and at least $60 million, according to a legal filing that offers a glimpse into the preparations.

The event is part of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, and is scheduled for the weekend with the main attraction — seven mixed martial arts matches — on Sunday.

That is, if a judge doesn’t halt the proceedings, which is sought by two Virginia residents in a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn.

The agency filed a rebuff of the request Tuesday in court, and, in it, laid out the operations for the event.

“Well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended,” the document read, adding that the money came from the UFC and groups affiliated with it.

▶ Read more

The president said in a social media post that he made the move “based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.”

Trump also suggested that progress has been made in talks to extend the fragile ceasefire, writing that “discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail,” approved by United States, Israel, and other regional allies. He did not offer details.

Trump on multiple occasions over the last several weeks has claimed that the warring parties have been on the cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition.

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

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump threatened to launch major strikes on Iran and seize control of its oil industry as escalating attacks between the countries pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war.

Trump said in a social media post that the U.S. would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and take “total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industries, including the vital Kharg Island oil terminal, in the “not too distant future.”

The American leader's latest threats came as efforts to negotiate an end to the war appeared stuck. Trump has voiced his frustration with the stalled negotiations, warning earlier in the week that Tehran would “pay the price” for taking too long to reach a deal.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned in a social media post Thursday that “wrong strategies and impulsive decisions” would wreak havoc on energy markets and “create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years.”

Iran’s monthslong stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.

The U.S. and Iran traded strikes for a second straight day Thursday after reaching a tenuous ceasefire more than a month ago. While the strikes have increased tensions in the region, they have been more limited compared to the early weeks of the war and negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are ongoing.

Trump’s threats on Thursday, while stark, represented his latest verbal escalation in the Iran war. In April, he warned Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if it didn’t agree to his terms, before extending a ceasefire.

Trump weighs trying to seize Iran's main oil terminal

Kharg Island — located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — is the beating heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass. It is important because Iran’s coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock.

It was unclear how serious Trump was about his threat to seize it.

“My preference has always been to take Kharg Island,” Trump said in an interview Thursday on Fox News. “I don’t know that America has the stomach for it to be honest.”

American troops would be vulnerable on Kharg Island because of its proximity — about 33 kilometers (21 miles) — to the Iranian mainland, from which missiles, drones and artillery could be fired.

Trump indicated in the interview that he remains averse to sending U.S. forces into Iran.

“I don’t want to have boots on the ground," Trump said. "But if I wanted to we could put a small group of soldiers and take over the place.”

Trump compared his threat to take over Iran's oil industry to how the U.S. assumed control of Venezuela’s oil sector after capturing then-president Nicolás Maduro in January.

Iran says US attacks have made ceasefire `meaningless'

Back-and-forth strikes rattled the Middle East for the third time this week. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, which targeted countries were U.S. troops are based.

The U.S. military's Central Command said airstrikes ending early Thursday targeted Iran's military surveillance, communications and air defense sites.

Explosions echoed around Iran’s capital, as well as the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said sites hit included a manufacturing complex, a military barracks and a local Guard base outside Tehran.

Tehran said it fired back at Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

Kuwait closed its airspace for several hours but did not report any damage. Jordan said it intercepted 20 Iranian missiles fired toward a base hosting U.S. troops, though no one was hurt.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said an 11-year-old girl was hurt and cars and homes were damaged by debris from intercepted Iranian strikes.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it.

Tensions persist over Iran's nuclear program, Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post that the U.S. would extract funds from frozen Iranian accounts to offset the costs of damage to American allies and any tolls Iran imposes for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

Beyond the deadlock over the strait, the two sides also remain at odds over Iran's nuclear program. Tehran insists its nuclear efforts are peaceful. The U.S. and Israel fear Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium could be used to build an atomic weapon.

Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting in Lebanon between its ally militia Hezbollah and Israel. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing his goal of destroying the militant group.

Iranian student says hope dwindles as attacks escalate

A 25-year-old student in northern Iran says Iranians are fearing “chaos” amid the war with the U.S. and Israel and multiplying crises at home.

The student, who lives in the city of Babol, said many Iranians are struggling to afford groceries in the face of mass job losses and triple-digit food inflation. He spoke on the condition of anonymity out of security fears.

“Everything is going wrong and there is no hope among the people,” the student added.

The student first spoke to The Associated Press before the war when he participated in widespread anti-government protests. He now says his chief concern is that Iran “maintain territorial integrity and deterrence” in the face of attacks by the U.S. and Israel.

US fires on another merchant ship to enforce blockade

The U.S. military's Central Command said Thursday that it struck a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker attempting to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports. It said the M/T Jalveer was transporting Iranian oil when it was disabled late Wednesday after its crew failed to obey U.S. orders.

It's the ninth merchant vessel the U.S. military says it disabled to enforce the blockade.

Three Indian sailors were killed when American forces struck the Palau-flagged M/T Settebello on Tuesday, India's minister overseeing ports and shipping said Thursday on X.

U.S. Central Command said American forces issued warnings before firing on the ship, which it accused of trying to evade the blockade.

The leader of the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, condemned the attack.

___

Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Will Weissert, Collin Binkley, Michelle L. Price and Konstantin Toropin in Washington; Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Victoria Eastwood and Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Italian prosecutors are investigating Montgomery, Alabama-based Caddell Construction, a major builder of U.S. diplomatic missions. Two of its managers in Italy were arrested this month on suspicion of labor exploitation, one while boarding a flight to leave the country and another planning to flee, prosecutors said.

The investigation is led by prosecutor Paolo Storari, who also has spearheaded probes into sweatshops supplying luxury brands. So far only Caddell has been named as a target, not any of its subcontractors.

The consulate probe was launched about six months ago and involves some 70 workers, mostly from India. Prosecutors allege Caddell illegally deducted room and board from wages and forced them to work 10-hour days, six days a week. Some were paid as little as 500 euros (less than $580) monthly after room and board were deducted, prosecutors said. Minimum wage for construction workers in Milan starts at 13.39 euros (over $15) an hour, according to the Cassa Edile benefits fund.

Caddell and the U.S. State Department said they are investigating the allegations and cooperating with Italian authorities.

The consulate project is part of a construction boom in Milan over the past two decades that has modernized the skyline and raised the international profile of Italy’s fashion and finance capital.

Workers describe unpaid wages and threats

The AP spoke to four workers from Kenya and one from India at a trade union center where officials were organizing assistance, including legal help and housing. The workers provided documentation and spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation and to protect the ongoing investigation.

The Kenyan workers said they had been hired by Caddell after working on a multi-million-dollar extension of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

Two showed employment letters on Caddell stationery signed by a company representative promising annual salaries topping 25,000 euros (nearly $29,000).

They said they were not paid anything close to that and were threatened by human resources personnel at the job site after they questioned management.

“When you go to the office to ask any question, you are being told, ‘Either you work or you will be returned to your country. That’s the amount you are supposed to be paid,’’’ one Kenyan electrician said. He added that he was paid just 800 euros ($925) a month after being promised 2,300 euros ($2,660).

Another Kenyan electrician said he was threatened with defamation after presenting an AI summary of Italian labor law and was told the 25,000 euros in the employment letter was “for visa purposes,” not a promise of payment.

US government and Caddell say they are investigating

The State Department said it is investigating the allegations made by prosecutors and that U.S. law enforcement is working with Italian authorities.

“The U.S. government does not tolerate labor exploitation,” the department said in a statement.

Caddell said it was “fully cooperating” with Italian authorities and conducting its own “comprehensive inquiry into this matter to ensure all our global subcontractors and consultancies are in compliance with all labor standards and legal requirements.”

“Caddell is committed (to) treating and paying workers fairly. We will continue to work with authorities in good faith to ensure the welfare of those who work on this important project,” the company said in a statement.

More than a decade ago, Caddell paid millions to the U.S. government to settle allegations it made false claims to gain access to government incentives. Caddell did not reply to a request for comment on that case.

Fired workers seek help

All five of the workers who spoke to the AP, ranging in age from their late 20s to early 50s, said they were fired without cause this year. One of them said he returned from visiting family in Kenya to find that he no longer had a job or place to stay.

Four of the workers were trained electricians, including the Indian worker whose resume showed he had more than a decade of experience working for other companies in Persian Gulf countries.

The Indian worker said he was promised a monthly salary of 2,500 euros (nearly $3,000). Instead, he had a pay slip showing his actual pay amounted to around 500 euros (less than $580) per month. It listed an hourly wage of 1.55 euros ($1.80).

The Kenyans said they reached out to authorities after learning of the investigation.

“I believe in justice,” one said. “Also the workers there should not be afraid. They should come and speak up.”

Two said they are currently sleeping in parks, while one is staying with a friend. One said he had been offered a job at a Caddell site in another country but declined after his treatment in Milan.

Caddell is a major diplomatic contractor

Caddell became a leader in building U.S. diplomatic missions when the State Department launched a major security upgrade after the 1998 bombings of U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya killed more than 250 people.

“Very few contractors can meet the strict requirements to even bid on secure work necessary for diplomatic facility projects,” Caddell said on its website marking its 40th anniversary in 2023. At that point, the firm counted 39 projects in its embassy portfolio valued at $7.4 billion. It has added four projects since then.

The Milan consulate campus is being built on a 10-acre (40,000-square meter) site at a former shooting range. The current U.S. Consulate is in a high-rise building designed by acclaimed Italian architect Gio Ponti.

Plans for the campus called for about 500 “locally employed workers,” according to the U.S. State Department. The project includes restoration of a century-old building, along with a five-story consulate building, restored gardens, a reflecting pool and a large outdoor gathering area.

Work is continuing under court supervision. Workers no longer have their room and board deducted. They are limited to 45 hours and guaranteed two days off a week.

Pay records appear to bolster allegations

The pay stubs presented by the workers listed apparent charges of 510 euros (around $590) a month for housing and more than 300 euros (around $350) monthly for food. But those deductions only account for a portion of the difference between the promised wages and actual pay.

Unions intend to seek damages for the workers to recover at least what they earned “through hard work and commitment,” said Laura Malguzzi, a labor representative at the Fillea Cgil union federation representing construction workers.

Malguzzi said she was surprised that the pay stubs presented by the workers appeared to document the alleged exploitation. Union experts are still studying the documents, which do not conform to Italian standards, and could not verify their origins.

“They probably had in their minds the absolute certainty that they were untouchable,’’ Malguzzi said.

The Kenyan workers said they begrudgingly accepted a $200 monthly salary in Nairobi, where unemployment is rampant. But they expected better from a U.S. company operating in Europe.

“They can just hire you, and you just go running,” one worker said of the company. “Because you are poor you have nothing. And you have nothing you can do.”

The anticipation builds as the public address announcer begins to reveal the second starter, a 6-foot-7 forward from Indiana. When he finally reaches the player's name, the fans scream it right along with him.

“O! ... G! ... AN-UN-OBY!!!!”

Early Thursday morning, fans again chanted Anunoby's name, this time in a bar outside the arena as they celebrated one of the most memorable moments in New York Knicks history.

Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining in Game 4 put the Knicks on the verge of a title and moved him into the discussion for NBA Finals MVP.

Anunoby is not the kind of player who usually wins awards, and he might be the least-known of the Knicks' starters. But his teammates understand Anunoby's value far exceeds his reputation.

“So regardless of what the outside world thinks of him, we know what we have in our locker room, and we have a superstar in that locker room,” guard Jalen Brunson said.

Anunoby is the only player on the Knicks' postseason roster who has won a ring, but he was injured and didn't play for Toronto in the 2019 NBA Finals. But there's no way New York would have a chance at its first championship since 1973 if he wasn't front and center now.

From scoring to stopping, Anunoby might to be asked to do more than any Knicks player. He not only finished with 33 points in Game 4 but also made the biggest defensive play of the game when he chased down De'Aaron Fox to block his shot with 11 seconds left and the Spurs leading 106-105.

Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said that's what he expects from a player who seems to save his best for the biggest moments.

“Every time I talk to him, I say, I already know what OG Anunoby is going to do in the fourth quarter, and he did exactly what I thought he would do,” Towns said. “He gave us a chance to win, and that’s all you could ask for from the best two-way player in the NBA.”

The Knicks couldn't believe Anunoby was only voted to the All-Defensive second team, certain there aren't five better defenders in the NBA. It was those defensive skills that made him most attractive when the Knicks acquired him from the Raptors in 2023, giving up two of their most promising players on a developing team in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

Anunoby was also known as a reliable 3-point shooter from the corners, and he made one as time expired to give the Raptors a victory over Boston in the 2020 playoffs. He hardly celebrated after the shot went through, just as he was one of the few people inside Madison Square Garden who appeared completely calm after his basket in Game 4.

“Just, the game wasn’t over,” Anunoby explained. “I looked up to see the time. If it would have been 0:00, I would have been more excited, but it was just 1.2 left. So just knowing, get a stop now, just stay with it, staying present, not getting too happy because the game is not over yet.”

Anunoby is averaging 23.8 points in the series, shooting 58% from the field and 55.6% from 3-point range. He finished 10 for 15 in Game 4, including 7 for 9 behind the arc.

When Anunoby limped off the court with a hamstring injury late in the Knicks' victory over Philadelphia in Game 2 of the second round, there was concern this run could be in jeopardy just as it was picking up steam. When Anunoby was hurt at the same time in the 2024 playoffs, the Knicks blew a 2-0 lead against Indiana and ultimately lost the series in Game 7, when Anunoby gamely tried to return after missing four games but it was clear he could hardly move and was yanked after five minutes.

This injury was not as bad. Helped by extended time off when the Knicks swept the 76ers, Anunoby was able to return in time for the start of the Eastern Conference finals.

Having him on the floor now — and soaring through the air in the final seconds of Game 4 — could be what it takes to end a 53-year title drought.

“OG, he’s been amazing since he’s got here,” fellow forward Josh Hart said. “This whole playoff run, he’s been amazing on both ends of the ball. He’s a winning player and he made a winning play.”

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This story has been corrected to show that Anunoby returned from injury at the start of the Eastern Conference finals, not semifinals.

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

A lawsuit brought by former Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez and other plaintiffs challenges the process used by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration to eliminate an income cap and copays for childcare assistance before the Legislature had a chance to weigh in or approve funding.

“This is executive overreach. The program was launched unlawfully,” said Rodriguez, who lost his party’s nomination in New Mexico’s recent primary.

The state’s childcare agency disputes that, arguing in court filings that lawmakers have since “expressly authorized” and funded the expansion, rendering the lawsuit moot. Lujan Grisham signed legislation in February enshrining the program into law, provided state finances remain healthy.

District Judge Elaine Lujan could issue a ruling Thursday on whether the lawsuit can proceed. A potential pause on the program would put thousands of New Mexican families back on the hook for daycare payments and create a headache for businesses.

Ilene Harding, who runs seven daycare centers in the Albuquerque area, said the expansion has boosted enrollment and streamlined billing.

“We’ve always been financially solvent, but it’s given us stability,” Harding said.

The challenge comes as New Mexico looks to cement its place as the first U.S. state to cover daycare bills for all families regardless of income, provided parents or legal guardians are working, in school or qualify for an exemption. The stakes extend nationwide as policymakers from New York to California look for models to reduce costs for families and expand public investment in childcare.

New Mexico’s program, which is financed in large part with revenue from oil and gas production in the state, was among the nation's most generous before November’s expansion, waiving costs for families making up to 400% of the federal poverty rate or roughly $132,000 per year for a family of four.

Legislative analysts already have raised questions about the sustainability of New Mexico's expanded program, noting earlier this year that the state’s Early Childhood Education and Care Department started overspending just weeks into the November launch.

This week, the state agency proposed new regulations aimed at shoring up the program’s sustainability. Potential guardrails include copayments for higher-income families in the event of a significant drop in oil prices or enrollment in free childcare surging beyond state projections.

A video shared online showed at least one egg tossed in the direction of the San Antonio Spurs superstar as he entered his hotel, flanked by security, following the team's game 4 loss to the Knicks.

It was not clear who threw the egg. The video showed taunting fans swarming the hotel, a few blocks south of Madison Square Garden.

A few seconds after the egg cracks on a street sign, Wembanyama turns around and confronts a person standing near the hotel's entrance, before continuing inside.

The Spurs did not immediately respond to a request seeking clarity on whether the object struck Wembanyama.

The confrontation followed a historic collapse by the Spurs, who now find themselves on the brink of elimination after blowing a 29-point lead to the Knicks. Wembanyama missed two key free throws in the game's final minutes.

The Knicks victory prompted scenes of bedlam and jubilation across New York City, as ecstatic fans packed the streets, set off fireworks, scaled lampposts and at times clashed with police.

According to the New York Police Department, 56 people were taken into custody for charges that ranged from assault to disorderly conduct.

“Once again, there were large crowds of people who engaged in incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior last night both during and after the game,” the police department said in a statement.

An NYPD spokesperson said they had nothing on file about the egg incident.

Experts said the El Nino, a natural warming cycle, should further heat a globe already warming from fossil fuel pollution and will likely turbocharge extreme weather across the planet. Meteorologists forecast it will rival — or exceed — a record El Nino that began in 1997 and helped trigger billions of dollars in damage from heat waves, floods, droughts, tornadoes and wildfires.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officially confirmed the existence of the El Nino, which is a warming of the Pacific near the equator that affects weather patterns across the globe. NOAA's announcement said there's a 63% chance that the El Nino will get so intense this late fall and early winter that it “would rank among the largest El Nino events in the historical record going back to 1950.”

The warm, deep waters of an El Nino affect weather patterns by bringing “a lot of extra heat to the surface, fueling a lot of extreme events for a lot of places around the world,” said Clark University climate scientist Abby Frazier.

She said, especially in the Pacific, “it can get dire very quickly.”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres described El Nino as an “urgent climate warning.”

“El Nino conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world,” Guterres said in a video message.

El Nino's impacts spawn winners and losers

The weather pattern's effects vary by region. El Nino often dampens — but doesn't eliminate — Atlantic hurricane season activity, but increases it in the Pacific. So while the U.S. East and Gulf coasts may get a break, Hawaii and other islands are more in danger, Frazier said.

The drought-stricken Middle East could benefit, climate scientists said. Other places are looking at more danger. Parts of western South America — where the first El Ninos were noticed decades ago — often get heavy rain and floods, along with an extra warm summer. India faces more intense heat waves, while drought, wildfires and heat threaten Australia.

Northeastern Africa is likely going to get weather whiplash from intense drought to dangerously heavy rains, said Columbia University climate scientist and El Nino expert Muhammad Azhar Ehsan.

In the U.S., El Ninos can cause more intense storms with heavier rainfall in the South, but they also tend to generally benefit the U.S. agriculture industry, said Jon Gottschalck, operational branch chief at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

Michael Ferrari, meteorologist and head of research at the investment research firm Moby, said conditions for grains and seed, especially soybeans, look favorable in 18 major growing states, but are more mixed when it comes to dairy and cattle.

The northern Rockies and Southwest — where there’s an “off the charts” snow drought — could get some strong summer rains, Gottschalck said. The biggest effect in the U.S. is often in the winter, when the south can get wetter and the Pacific Northwest warmer and drier.

But overall, temperatures raised by the weather pattern can dampen American economic growth, said Stanford climate economist Marshall Burke. Several climate scientists forecast that 2027 will be the hottest year on record because of lagging effects of this El Nino, which is expected to peak in the fall or winter.

“We have pretty clear evidence that the U.S. economy grows more slowly when temps are above normal,” Burke said.

Strong early signs

The weather extremes caused by an El Nino also depend on when it develops.

Usually El Ninos form in the summer, peak in the late fall or early winter, and peter out the next spring, scientists said.

However, Ehsan's team forecasts that this El Nino will peak a month or two earlier based on strong early signs from recent weeks. Princeton University climate scientist Gabriel Vecchi said large El Ninos like these also tend to last longer.

The early indications — including warmer water pushing toward the surface of the Pacific — have been so strong and noticeable that forecasters have all been predicting the same ultra strong El Nino, Vecchi said, adding that El Nino forecasts often are all over the place at this time of year.

Scientists predict stronger El Ninos as the world warms from the burning of coal, oil and gas, Frazier and others said. But she said it is too early to say if this El Nino is part of that.

Even before it officially formed, this El Nino has gotten nicknames ranging from “super” to “Godzilla.”

“Instead of scared, we can ask people to be prepared,” Columbia's Ehsan said

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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 suspect, Daniel Arnulfo Ceron, 22, is charged with murder for the death of Persia Amarra Conway, 33.

• FIRST REPORT: HPD homicide detectives investigating after body found in Brays Bayou

According to Houston police, people walking along 8950 Country Creek Drive, found Conway’s body in a stormwater catch basin adjacent to the bayou at 8:15 a.m. on May 25. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Further investigation identified Ceron as a suspect in this case.

• RELATED: Vigil planned for transgender woman whose body was found in Brays Bayou

On Wednesday, Ceron was arrested by the HPD Westside Division Gang Unit. He subsequently confessed to his role in Conway’s death.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has classified the manner of death as a homicide. The HPD homicide investigation remains ongoing.

Jeffery Lee, 49, is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Thursday. However, a federal judge on Tuesday ruled that nitrogen executions are unconstitutional and blocked the state from using the method to put Lee to death. The state filed an appeal Thursday asking the Supreme Court to set aside the ruling and allow the execution.

“If that ruling stands, it would be unprecedented in American history. Not only does it portend the first-ever permanent ban on a legislatively enacted method, but it would expand the concept of cruelty well beyond the bounds of the Eighth Amendment,” lawyers with the Alabama attorney general's office wrote. The Supreme Court has never ruled that a state's execution method violates the Constitution.

The case has put a spotlight on the nitrogen execution method and the sharp disagreements over its use.

The execution method involves strapping a respirator to the person’s face and replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death from a lack of oxygen. Nitrogen has been used in eight executions in the United States — seven in Alabama and one in Louisiana. Lee was scheduled to be the ninth person put the death by nitrogen.

U.S. District Judge Emily Marks ruled Tuesday, after an appeals court reversed her initial finding that the method was constitutional, that Lee had shown by a “preponderance of the evidence that the protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment.” The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision Wednesday night, rejected Alabama's request to stay the ruling. The court earlier said the three minutes that it could take for an inmate to lose awareness is an “intolerable” time frame, “given the suffering that would likely take place under Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia protocol.”

During the previous Alabama nitrogen executions, the inmates shook, pulled at the restraints and exhibited labored breathing. During the state’s last execution by nitrogen gas, 30 minutes elapsed between Anthony Boyd exhibiting signs of being impacted by the gas and state officials closing the curtain to the viewing room to signal the execution was complete.

The state has maintained that the method is constitutional and causes no more suffering than other execution methods.

Lee’s attorneys said Alabama is attempting to move forward with an execution method that courts have found unconstitutional. His supporters have urged Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to commute his sentence to life imprisonment, which is the sentence that jurors at his trial had recommended.

“Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall wants to execute Jeffery Lee under a death sentence the jury rejected using a nitrogen gas method that two federal courts have ruled unconstitutional. This execution is simply too flawed to move forward,” Lee’s lawyers said in a Wednesday statement.

“We remain hopeful that Governor Ivey will intervene,” they added.

A jury convicted Lee of two counts of capital murder for killing Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson while robbing a pawnshop on Dec. 12, 1998. Prosecutors said Lee entered Jimmy’s Pawnshop with a sawed-off shotgun and shot Ellis, the owner of the store, and Thompson, a store employee.

A jury voted 7-5 that Lee should receive a sentence of life imprisonment. However, a judge overrode that recommendation and sentenced Lee to death. Alabama in 2017 ended the practice of judicial override and no longer allows a judge to disregard a jury’s sentencing decision in death penalty cases.

Marks did not block the state from using its other authorized execution methods, lethal injection and the electric chair. However, it is unclear if the state could swiftly change the method.

Price, 44, appeared in court Thursday wearing an olive-green prison jumpsuit with front-facing handcuffs and shackles around his ankles. KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry was in the courtroom for the hearing.

Price pleaded guilty to Count One of the second superseding federal indictment, conspiracy to commit arson — a felony.

His remaining counts will be dismissed at the time of sentencing under the plea agreement, federal officials confirmed.

MORE INFO: Video shows 4 men dousing Houston bar with fluid before massive explosion that caused $750K in damage

As part of the plea hearing, Price admitted under oath that he directed a Turkey Leg Hut employee who is also charged in the case to assemble a crew to set fire to Bar 5015.

Price acknowledged that the crew transported gasoline to the nightclub and intentionally started the fire.

He also admitted receiving a phone call from co-defendant John Lee Price at approximately 4:47 a.m. on June 12, 2020, informing him that the arson had been carried out. Price told the court he handed the phone to his wife after receiving the call.

He's now facing 5-20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He's back in federal custody now with sentencing scheduled for September 25.

— KPRC 2 Bryce Newberry (@KPRC2Bryce) June 11, 2026

Judge Sim Lake questioned Price after he initially indicated he was surprised by the call despite having directed the arson plot.

“You said that you directed John Lee Price to put together a crew to set fire to Bar 5015. When John Lee Price called you at 4:47 a.m. to report that they’d set fire to Bar 5015, why were you surprised by his call?” Lake asked.

Price responded that he was surprised because the call came during the “wee hours” of the morning and that he had not yet been awake.

Price then confirmed it was a true statement that he directed John Lee Price to arrange the arson.

However, Price denied allegations that he paid John Lee Price for participating in the scheme.

“I didn’t pay him,” Price told the court.

The denial came despite prosecutors indicating that John Lee Price was expected to testify if the case had gone to trial. He reportedly would have said Lyndell Price paid him for his role in the arson.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Lake asked Price how he pleaded to the charge.

“Guilty, sir,” Price replied.

Chuck Egbuonu, Price’s attorney, said there had been various discussions with government officials regarding plea agreements for his client, with multiple terms negotiated throughout the process.

During the hearing, Price told the court he graduated from high school and completed two years of college while pursuing a business management degree. He said his most recent employment was as a chef at Turkey Leg Hut.

Price also told the court he has never been diagnosed with or treated for a mental health condition and has never suffered from an addiction to drugs or alcohol. He said he had not taken any medication within the previous 24 hours.

When questioned by the judge, Price confirmed he had discussed the case with his attorney more than five times and was satisfied with his legal representation.

The new plea marks a significant development in the long-running federal prosecution surrounding the June 2020 fire and explosion at Bar 5015, a popular Houston nightclub along Almeda Road near the Museum District.

Price had previously pleaded not guilty to all charges after being indicted on federal allegations that he orchestrated the arson attack.

Federal prosecutors accused him of recruiting and paying others to set fire to the bar, which was owned by a former Turkey Leg Hut business partner.

Following the guilty plea, Price is expected to remain in federal custody pending sentencing. He faces between five and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Price’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 25, 2026, at 2 p.m. before Judge Lake.

RELATED: Former Turkey Leg Hut co-owner asks for case to be dismissed, claims right to fair trial violated in arson case

Third defendant to plead guilty

Price is now the third defendant charged in the case to enter a guilty plea.

Court records show co-defendant Miziah Shepherd pleaded guilty on Nov. 18, 2025. More recently, Armani Williams entered a guilty plea on June 1, 2026.

READ MORE: Former Turkey Leg Hut co-owner Nakia Holmes cleared after grand jury declines charges

Two other defendants named in the federal indictment have not entered guilty pleas.

However, Javon Harris, another co-defendant, is scheduled to be re-arraigned next week, records show. Federal prosecutors confirmed he’s also expected to plead guilty.

Federal allegations

Federal prosecutors alleged that Price conspired with several men to carry out an arson attack against Bar 5015 during the early morning hours of June 12, 2020.

According to the indictment, Williams and another co-conspirator purchased gasoline, gas cans and face coverings before driving to the nightclub. Prosecutors said gasoline was poured throughout portions of the property and along an entrance ramp before the fire was ignited.

Investigators alleged Price financed the operation and received a phone call shortly after the arson was completed.

The indictment also accused Price and others of involvement in a separate scheme involving the burning of a stolen 1975 Chevrolet Nova weeks before the nightclub explosion.

• Federal prosecutors reject conflict of interest claim from Turkey Leg Hut co-owner in arson case

The fire quickly escalated into a massive explosion that damaged Bar 5015, destroyed a nearby food truck and sent debris flying across the surrounding neighborhood.

Houston firefighters responded shortly before 5 a.m. on June 12, 2020, finding multiple small fires and a widespread debris field.

Surveillance video later released by investigators appeared to show several individuals carrying containers of ignitable liquid into the business before the explosion occurred.

Authorities estimated the blast caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the bar and nearby properties.

Broader legal troubles

The guilty plea adds to a growing list of legal challenges for Price, whose restaurant empire became the subject of numerous lawsuits, investigations and criminal cases in recent years.

In addition to the arson case, Price has faced separate federal weapons and drug-related allegations.

• ‘The turkeys have come home to roost’: FBI says former Turkey Leg Hut owner sold drugs out of restaurant

Prosecutors previously charged him with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and multiple counts of being a felon in possession of firearms.

Thursday’s plea represents one of the most significant developments yet in the federal government’s case surrounding the Bar 5015 explosion, which remained unsolved for years before a sweeping indictment was unsealed in 2025.

The National Weather Service said it received more than a dozen reports of tornadoes Wednesday across northern Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Illinois. Trees and utility wires were reported down across the region.

In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park after being hit by a tree that “broke apart and fell during strong storms,” police said in a statement. The man was found critically injured Thursday morning and died at the scene, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from the storms.

Severe weather was expected to continue in the region on Thursday, while the Northeast and mid-Atlantic were bracing for high heat and humidity as well as a slight risk of strong storms through Friday, according to the weather service.

Storm damages animal shelter in Illinois

Residents of Springfield, Illinois, believe a tornado touched down in their area late Wednesday. Two buildings at the Animal Protective League animal shelter in Springfield were heavily damaged, but none of the nearly 150 cats and 28 dogs housed there were injured, said Deana Corbin, the group's executive director.

“It pretty much wiped out our shelter facility, took the roofs off both of our buildings,” Corbin said. “It’s a miracle. We were so blessed to not have any injuries of either people or animals.”

The community pitched in to take in all the cats and dogs temporarily, including a local animal control center, veterinarians and residents, she said.

Damage also was reported at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield.

Weather service meteorologist Frank Pereira said the frontal system that produced the storms, including high winds and hail, was moving eastward Thursday, fueled by cool air from Canada clashing with warm, humid air from the South.

“Going forward, we’re expecting another area of severe weather to develop across portions of the central Plains, Midwest, particularly from Iowa, northern Missouri, northeastward through the Great Lakes,” Pereira said. “Again, it’s all tied into a pretty well-defined frontal system.”

Tornado warnings were issued in Iowa north of Des Moines on Thursday morning as strong storms hit the area. The weather service also posted tornado watches for parts of northern Missouri, eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois.

Record high temperatures expected along East Coast

Potentially dangerous heat and high humidity also was forecast Thursday and Friday for a swath of the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, where daily high record temperatures could be broken in numerous places, the weather service said. Temperatures in the mid-90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) were expected, but with the humidity it could feel like 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or more, the service said.

Philadelphia declared a heat health emergency for Thursday and Friday, activating cooling centers, home visits by field teams, outreach to people experiencing homelessness and other services. New York City officials were also urging residents to take precautions, including drinking plenty of water and finding a cool place to stay if they do not have air conditioning.

Wednesday storms moved into the Chicago area in the afternoon, downing trees and damaging some buildings.

Severe weather wreaks havoc on air travel, power lines

The two major Chicago airports, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport, temporarily put all flights on hold Wednesday evening due to thunderstorms. A similar ground stop was issued at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York due to thunderstorms.

By Wednesday evening, more than 1,000 flights going into and out of Chicago had been delayed or canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.

Air traffic appeared to return to normal Thursday morning, with only 25 flight cancellations nationwide, although there were 300 delays, FlightAware reported. Delays jumped to more than 500 by early afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration said it expected thunderstorms to cause more flight delays Thursday.

Strong winds blew part of the roof off an apartment building in the Chicago area, forcing residents to leave, according to NBC 5 Chicago. Elsewhere, barns collapsed in Wisconsin and buildings were crushed in rural northern Missouri, photos and video online showed.

More than 250,000 customers had no electricity in the Midwest on Thursday afternoon, down from about 390,000 earlier in the morning. There were nearly 168,000 outages in Illinois, down from 226,000 earlier the morning. A large number of outages in Cook County, including Chicago, had been fixed. Another 56,000 homes and businesses were without power in Michigan, according to poweroutage.us.

Commonwealth Edison Company, which provides electric service across northern Illinois, said the storms had downed poles and wires.

“We know how difficult and frustrating it is to be without power, and we truly appreciate your patience,” the company said in a post on X early Thursday morning. “Right now, more than 100 crews are working around the clock to safely and efficiently restore service after this unique storm brought widespread damage and challenging conditions across our service area.”

The storms soaked Rate Field in Chicago before Wednesday night’s game between the White Sox and the Atlanta Braves.

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The story has been updated to correct the name of the White Sox stadium to Rate Field, from Guaranteed Rate Field.

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Associated Press reporters Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.52% from 6.48% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. Despite the increase, the average rate remains below 6.84%, where it was a year ago.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate climbed to 5.84% from 5.79% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.97%, Freddie Mac said.

When mortgage rates rise they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, reducing their purchasing power.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Rates have been mostly trending higher since the conflict between the U.S. and Iran began in late February, disrupting the flow of crude oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That’s sent oil prices sharply higher, helping drive up inflation.

Expectations of higher oil prices as the war drags on have kept long-term bond yields elevated, causing mortgage rates to mostly trend higher.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note was at 4.53% in midday trading Thursday on the bond market, up from 4.47% a week ago. It was just 3.97% in late February, before the war broke out.

As recently as late February, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage had slipped just under 6% for the first time since late 2022. It’s hasn’t fallen below that threshold since. Two weeks ago, it climbed to 6.53%, its highest level since August 28.

While average long-term mortgage rates remain lower than they were at this time last year, their mostly upward trajectory and uncertainty over how much higher they may go has kept many would-be homebuyers on the sideline.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes declined in the first three months of the year compared to a year earlier, extending a nationwide housing slump that dates back to 2022 when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales were essentially flat in April, but accelerated in May to their fastest pace since December.

Still, sales of existing U.S. homes continue to hovering close to a 4-million annual pace, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2-million.

The latest mortgage applications data suggest home shoppers who can afford to buy at current rates are not holding out for them to move lower.

After declining in recent weeks, mortgage applications, which include loans to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage, jumped 10.8% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for both home purchase and refinancing loans rebounded.

The increase in mortgage applications is an encouraging sign for the housing market heading into the second half of the year after a lackluster spring homebuying season.

“However, if inflation continues to outpace wage growth, eroding purchasing power alongside still-elevated mortgage rates, household budgets will come under increasing pressure, posing a meaningful drag on housing demand heading into the summer,” said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com.

Each one of the 49 people killed, now known as the 49 angels, on June 12, 2016, left behind a legacy.

To honor their memories, News 6 journalists compiled stories learning about every victim through interviews, news articles and social media. All 49 articles can be found at ClickOrlando.com/Pulse49.

[WATCH: News 6 special on Pulse]

Before they were victims, the 49 were mothers, fathers, recent graduates, veterans, breast cancer survivors, dreamers, artists and so much more.

Those stories include 33-year-old Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala’s who was known as “Rody” by friends. Ayala served as the platelet supervisor at OneBlood, the center that collected blood donations for many Pulse shooting survivors.

“He was the sweetest, most genuine person. (He) cared for everyone and would do anything for you, and he’ll be sorely missed here,” Kelly Gollert, the director of manufacturing for OneBlood, said after his death.

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49, was a mother to 11 children, beat cancer twice and often went dancing at the Pulse nightclub with her son. She was at the nightclub with her son, Isaiah Henderson, on June 12, 2016.

More than anything, Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19, dreamed of traveling the world after he finished a degree in accounting.

“He would just look at you and laugh,” his mother, Myrlande Bébé, said. “He loves to smile. He was just fun.”

Two days after the shooting Luis S. Vielma’s co-workers and friends at Universal Studios Orlando raised their wands near the Hogwarts castle in the 22-year-old’s honor. He was studying to be a physical therapy assistant at Seminole State College.

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35, was at home on stage. A video on YouTube viewed thousands of times shows Rosado gracefully gliding across the stage of Orlando’s Parliament House in a leather cape and top hat, to the delight of the audience.

In the five years since the shooting, the OnePulse Foundation was formed to honor the victims and assist the survivors, as well as their families through a variety or means.

The 49 Scholarship program works with the families and loved ones of those killed, to award scholarships to those who “embody love, hope, unity, courage and unconditional acceptance.”

The scholarships honor the victims’ legacies.

The healthcare scholarship was named in honor of Stanley Almodovar III, who was a devoted advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, and a nursing scholarship was named for Amanda Lizzette Alvear, who dreamed of becoming a nurse.

This week the U.S. Senate voted to make the former nightclub site a national memorial. The OnePulse Foundation has plans for a reflection area, memorial and museum in the SoDo area of Orlando.

To read about all 49 angels click here.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that its producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — jumped 6.5% from May 2025. It rose 1.1% from April, as it did the previous month. Wholesale gasoline prices surged by more than 23% from April to May, and nearly 70% from a year earlier.

Inflationary pressures, intensified by the energy shock caused by the Iran war, are frustrating Americans five months before midterm elections that will determine whether President Donald Trump's Republicans keep full control of Congress.

Gasoline prices have been falling in recent days, but the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline has been above $4 since March, according to motor club AAA. And the U.S. driving season, which pushes prices higher each year, has just begun.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale prices rose 0.4% from April and 4.9% from May 2025.

The wholesale inflation numbers came out a day after the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, most in three years. Gasoline prices were up nearly 41% from May 2025. Airfares were up almost 27%.

Inflation is running well ahead of the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The central bank is expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged as its meeting next week. But financial markets expect the Fed could raise rates by the end of the year in an effort to curb price increases.

Wholesale prices can offer an early look at where consumer inflation might be headed. Economists also watch it because some of its components, notably health care and financial services, flow into the Fed's preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, index.

Stephen Brown, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, wrote that the producer prices “that feed into the PCE price calculation rose by much more than we expected ... It supports our view that the Fed will hike interest rates toward the end of the year.’’

After the United States and Israel attacked Feb. 28, Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, causing the biggest disruption in oil supplies in history. Energy prices rocketed. S&P Global Energy warned Thursday that U.S. crude oil inventories are drying up as the summer driving season approaches.

“The bottom line is that U.S. inventory levels remain above estimated minimum operating thresholds,'' said S&P Global Energy's Aaron Brady. “However, with continued disruption to Middle East flows, draws are likely to extend into the third quarter, even in the event of a near-term diplomatic resolution.'' More big, sustained drops in inventories ”would likely signal entry into a ‘danger zone’ for the U.S. refining system.”

Media members were given a first look inside the venue this week, offering a glimpse of the transformation underway as Houston prepares to host seven World Cup matches over the next month. The stadium has undergone several changes to meet FIFA’s standards, including the installation of a natural grass playing surface, replacing the artificial turf typically used at the venue.

One of the most noticeable changes is the freshly laid grass pitch, which was brought in from a Colorado farm and installed specifically for the tournament. FIFA requires natural grass for World Cup matches, making the field one of the most important upgrades inside the stadium. Grow lights have also been installed to help maintain the playing surface throughout the tournament.

• FIFA World Cup 2026 in Houston: Complete guide to matches, parking, Fan Fest, transportation and more

NRG Stadium, known around the world for hosting major sporting events, concerts and entertainment spectacles, has been temporarily rebranded as “Houston Stadium” in accordance with FIFA’s naming guidelines for the tournament. The facility will serve as one of 16 host venues across North America for the largest FIFA World Cup in history.

Houston Stadium will host seven matches during the tournament, including five group-stage matches, a Round of 32 match and a Round of 16 match. Teams scheduled to play in Houston include Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde, DR Congo and Curaçao.

The first match in Houston is set for June 14, when Germany faces Curaçao. The city’s final match will take place on July 4 during the Round of 16.

• Will Houston’s power grid hold up during the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Located in the heart of Houston’s event district, the stadium is expected to be a focal point of the city’s World Cup celebrations. Organizers anticipate hundreds of thousands of visitors will travel to Houston during the tournament, generating a significant economic impact for local businesses, restaurants and hotels.

Houston leaders have spent years preparing for this moment, with transportation upgrades, security planning and fan experiences designed to showcase the city on a global stage.

• SEE THE FULL WORLD CUP MATCH SCHEDULE HERE

With the natural grass now in place and final preparations underway, Houston Stadium is ready for its biggest international spotlight yet as the world’s most-watched sporting event arrives in the Bayou City.

Building on her work helping foster children, Melania Trump said the new federal guidance will give child welfare agencies the ability to act as a guardian for children in foster care for the purposes of opening an account.

Melania Trump, speaking at a news conference at the Treasury Department, said the move “gives foster children the same chance at asset ownership and long-term wealth as every other child.”

The accounts will be open for contributions on July 4. To qualify for an account, a child must also be a U.S. citizen born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimates that a Trump Account balance for a baby born in 2026 will be $5,800 by age 18 and $18,100 by age 28 if no other contributions are made.

The first lady said 23 governors have pledged to allow state agencies to begin the process of enrolling children in the program. “I urge every governor and business leader to help fund these accounts," she said.

There are roughly 330,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, according to the National Council for Adoption. One in 5 of them is at risk of homelessness after aging out of foster care, and only half gain employment by the time they are 24, says the National Foster Youth Institute.

“Those outcomes are unsettling but we refuse to accept them as inevitable,” Bessent told the news conference. “We are affirming that the American dream belongs to every child.”

A provision of Trump’s tax and spending legislation that he signed into law last summer created Trump Accounts. Under them, the Treasury Department gives $1,000 to babies so long as their parents open an account. That money is then invested in the stock market by private firms, and the children can access the money when they turn 18.

Employers and billionaires across the country have pledged to make matching Trump Accounts contributions for employee benefits. Among them are Michael and Susan Dell, who announced a $6.25 billion donation, and hedge fund founder Ray Dalio and his wife, Barbara, who pledged $75 million for kids under 10 in Connecticut, where the Dalios live.

Some of them aren’t too enthusiastic.

“I think they’re all a waste of time,” said Shirley Prior on the choice of candidates in Makerfield, where a special election on June 18 has drawn interest from journalists around the world. That level of attention is all-but unheard of for a midterm by-election to fill one of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

If Andy Burnham from the center-left Labour Party wins, there’s a strong chance he will replace embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer as leader of both party and country. He's up against Reform UK, a hard-right party hoping to prove that this longtime Labour stronghold is fertile ground for its anti-immigration message, with potentially seismic consequences for British democracy.

This district has elected Labour lawmakers for 120 years, but Burnham is not a shoo-in. Reform, led by the veteran anti-immigration politician Nigel Farage, won 24 of the 25 council seats up for grabs in local elections in this area last month.

“I always voted Labour because my dad, my grandad, everybody voted Labour then,” Prior said. “I’ve never done that for a lot, a lot of years.”

Immigration is a top issue

The election is taking place amid heightened tensions over immigration. A stabbing in Belfast this week, for which a Sudanese man has been charged with attempted murder, triggered violent protests in Northern Ireland in which cars and houses torched.

In the constituency’s main town of Ashton-in-Makerfield, 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of London, some voters echo Reform claims that recent arrivals are straining housing and public services.

“Immigration’s too high, all the services are being put under pressure and Labour just keep inviting more and more people into the country and it’s the taxpayer who has to pay for them,” said retiree Phil Arrowsmith.

Annual net migration to the U.K. reached more than 900,000 in 2023, under the previous Conservative government, before falling to 171,000 last year.

That decline has done little to boost a Labour government that has floundered since winning election in July 2024.

Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

A dismal performance in local elections last month sparked a clamor from Labour lawmakers for Starmer’s resignation. He has refused, but Cabinet minister Wes Streeting quit so he can run in a leadership contest that could come soon.

Burnham, the popular mayor of Greater Manchester, also harbors leadership ambitions, but needs a seat in Parliament if he wants to challenge Starmer. An opening emerged when Josh Simons, the Labour lawmaker for Makerfield, stepped down to trigger a special election.

Burnham said he understands that voters are “fed up” and calls the large Reform UK vote “a cry for real change” that Labour must heed.

The ‘King of the North’ eyes power in London

The Makerfield constituency is a capsule of British history, a collection of former coal-mining communities turned commuter suburbs. The slag heaps and slum housing in the area described by George Orwell in his 1937 book “The Road to Wigan Pier” have been replaced by suburbs of tidy modern houses amid Victorian workers’ cottages, interspersed with farmers’ fields.

Though far from the city center, it is part of Greater Manchester, and Burnham gets honks and thumbs’ ups from passing drivers as he walks down the street in his smart-casual uniform of dark jeans with a navy blue shirt and jacket.

The 56-year-old has been mayor of the region of 3 million people since 2017, a period that has seen central Manchester boom, with skyscrapers blooming on postindustrial sites. Many residents praise him for championing the city, and for taking a piecemeal public transport system under municipal control as the Bee Network.

For a decade and a half before that he was a lawmaker in Parliament, and a minister in Labour governments. He doesn’t emphasize that part of his CV, preferring the outsider status that has seen him nicknamed the King of the North.

“What we’ve built in Greater Manchester needs to go national,” Burnham told reporters during a campaign event this week. “I know what it is to turn places around.”

Many predict a close contest

The campaign is an odd mix of the local and the international. Some voters cite immigration as a top concern. Others mention struggling main street shops, potholes and petty crime.

Burnham’s main rival is Reform UK candidate Rob Kenyon, a 41-year-old plumber and local councilor who came second to Labour here in the 2024 national election. He says he’s an unpolished regular bloke, though opponents have criticized him over crude, sexist and anti-vaccine comments on social media.

Reform voters are also being targeted by Restore, an even more hardline anti-immigration party.

Michael Poultney, a retired teacher and Labour supporter, thinks the unpopularity of Starmer’s government means Burnham faces a stiff challenge.

“Without his personal vote, I think we would struggle,” he said. “Keir Starmer has done reasonably well on the international stage, but the government are yet to be in control of the economy.”

Burnham insists he is running for the people of Makerfield, not his own ambition, and is not taking victory for granted.

“I am making no assumptions beyond the 18th of June,” Burnham said.

But he stressed that “this is a change byelection.”

“I will take the fight for the changes I want to see in politics as far as I can take it,” he said.

Trump has doubled down on his choice of Bill Pulte for acting director of national intelligence, even though the federal housing finance regulator has little experience for the job. Democrats say they will not support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless the Republican president withdraws Pulte's appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.

The House vote collapsed in bipartisan fashion, with some 20 Republicans and nearly all Democrats rejecting the temporary measure, 198-218. The Senate may try its own vote later Thursday, but hopes are dimming to prevent what could be rare lapse of spy powers. The law expires on Friday at midnight.

The impasse could soon result in limitations on what intelligence the U.S. government can collect abroad just as World Cup games begin in cities around the country and ahead of celebrations for the nation’s 250th anniversary. While the provision has expired briefly before, this would be the first lengthy lapse, at a time when the U.S. and Iran are engaged in missile strikes that are testing a fragile ceasefire in the war.

A lapse would not automatically deprive the government’s authority to conduct surveillance, but could open the door to court challenges of the program. That could lead to stale intelligence, lawmakers said, including the type of information included in the president’s daily briefing.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spoke with Trump within an hour of voting and was assured that Pulte would only serve temporarily and that president would “very soon” name a permanent nominee.

“We have done everything we possibly can,” said Johnson, R-La., who blamed Democrats for the breakdown and refusing to recall lawmakers back to Washington as they left for weeklong recess. “It is detestable, it is dangerous, it is going to jeopardize the security of this country.”

Democrats said Trump and the Republicans are the ones putting national security at risk by installing Pulte to the job. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Pulte has “weaponized” his position in the federal government to go after Trump's critics.

Jeffries said it was a window into the White House's thinking that Trump “could put Bill Pulte forward and the country wouldn’t react adversely to it.” He said the president must ”come to the table and demonstrate leadership so we can reopen good faith negotiations about how best to extend surveillance authority.”

Trump has stuck with Pulte as the acting head and said wants Pulte to begin downsizing intelligence agencies.

GOP leaders lobby the White House, to no avail

Congressional Republicans have lobbied Trump all week to quickly nominate a permanent replacement. But he said he needs more time to do so.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Republican leaders have “made our views known” to the White House, but on Thursday he blamed Democrats for the FISA impasse.

“Now this critical tool is set to go dark on Friday, and what the consequences of that will be, we cannot predict,” Thune said.

Trump has said that he won't let Democrats “extort us” and that he is interviewing five candidates for his pick to lead the agency permanently, after the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard.

The president wants Pulte to serve in a "sort of renovation role,” Johnson said, to help the Office of the Director of National Intelligence be “renovated and downsized.”

But Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee led by Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said in a letter to the president that Pulte is a “uniquely poor choice” to serve even in the acting capacity.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers skeptical of Pulte have pointed to his lack of intelligence experience and also his record at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In the position, he has been linked with criminal referrals over allegations of mortgage fraud by public officials Trump sought to punish, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Lisa Cook, a board member of the Federal Reserve.

“He has distinguished himself only as someone who will do or say anything to stay in your good graces,” Himes and the other lawmakers wrote, "qualities that are precisely the opposite of what our nation needs.”

FISA will lapse at midnight Friday

Section 702 of FISA allows agencies such as the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.

While members of both parties who cite privacy issues have long wanted to limit the authority, there was broad bipartisan support to renew it, especially after Republicans and Democrats recently worked out a compromise bill.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has worked with Republicans on the compromise legislation to renew the authority. But he called Pulte’s appointment to replace Gabbard “a live hand grenade” disrupting the process.

Warner said the only way he’ll support a short-term extension of the surveillance law is if the principal deputy director of national intelligence, Aaron Lukas, is the acting leader during the duration of that extension.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have warned the administration to prepare “for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection.”

Trump doesn't back down on Pulte

After bipartisan pushback to Pulte’s temporary appointment, Trump said last week that he would not permanently nominate him to the position.

On Tuesday, though, Trump announced that Pulte would not only take over as acting director but that he would start earlier than expected, on June 19.

One of several possible replacements could be Pete Hoekstra, Trump’s ambassador to Canada and a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The White House has reached out to Hoekstra about the job and conversations are ongoing, according to a person familiar with the outreach who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversations.

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Associated Press reporters Joey Cappelletti, Kevin Freking and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

Bruel, 67, denies the allegations.

He was brought Wednesday before four investigative judges at the court in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris, following a two-day police custody.

The Nanterre prosecutor’s office said the formal investigation concerns allegations of rape in 2008 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris, attempted rape in 2010 in Brussels, and sexual assault and sexual harassment in Perpignan, in southern France, and Ajaccio, Corsica, both in 2019.

The judicial investigation also continues into other allegations of rape, attempted rape and sexual harassment between 2010 and 2019 in three French cities and in Nyon, Switzerland, according to prosecutors.

Some allegations that had previously been dismissed without further action were reexamined and included in the case, the prosecutor’s office said.

Bruel was released under judicial supervision and barred from leaving France. He was ordered to surrender his passport, undergo psychological treatment and post bail of 500,000 euros ($576,760). He is also prohibited from contacting his accusers or members of their families and from entering massage parlors, where some of the alleged offenses are alleged to have occurred.

Bruel’s lawyers said in a statement the singer would cooperate fully with the investigation and remains available to the judicial authorities.

In recent weeks, a series of media reports, notably by French investigative website Mediapart, brought into public attention allegations by multiple women spanning several decades against Bruel, prompting additional complaints to be filed.

Prosecutors said accusations by other women that appear to be barred by the statute of limitations have nevertheless been attached to the case file so investigating judges can gain a broader understanding of the allegations. Complaints filed in other jurisdictions could later be added to the Nanterre investigation.

Bruel became one of the biggest stars in the French-speaking world in the late 1980s and 1990s. His popularity was so intense that French media coined the term “Bruelmania,” drawing comparisons with Beatlemania.

Hit songs from his 1989 second album have became part of French popular culture, addressing universal themes including love, heartbreak, nostalgia and childhood and bringing together generations of fans. Bruel later built a parallel acting career, appearing in dozens of film and television productions.

Last month he canceled all shows planned this summer in France, Canada, Switzerland and Belgium and at the end of the year in Canada.

— San Antonio wins and extends the series.

— New York wins and becomes NBA champions.

That's it. It's one or the other. After 1,321 games — 1,230 in the regular season, 84 in the playoffs, six more in the play-in tournament and one between the Spurs and Knicks that decided the NBA Cup — it really is that simple. If Wembanyama and the Spurs win in San Antonio, the season lives for at least one more game. If the Knicks win, all that'll be left in this season will be a parade.

The Spurs trail the series 3-1 and Wembanyama understands the reality. Of the previous 38 teams that trailed 3-1 in the NBA Finals, 37 wound up watching the other team celebrate the title. And if that bit of history didn't look daunting enough, the Spurs will try to climb out of this 3-1 hole after the biggest collapse in NBA Finals history — wasting a 29-point lead in a Game 4 loss at New York.

“I think it’s going to go one of two ways,” Wembanyama said shortly after Wednesday's 107-106 loss in Game 4, a game where the Spurs were outscored 55-25 in the final 21 1/2 minutes. “One of two ways. A bad one and a good one. The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.”

Thursday was an off day for the teams, at least in terms of formal practices. Both sides are scheduled to practice in San Antonio on Friday, and then Game 5 is there on Saturday night — with the Knicks one win away from what would be their first championship in 53 years.

New York won Games 1 and 2 of the finals in San Antonio — rallying from double-digit deficits in both games — to take command of the series. The Knicks, with a win Saturday, would become the first team since Houston in 1995 to go 3-0 on the Spurs' floor in a single postseason series.

“Our mentality has to be 0-0, the way it’s been,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said, repeating the mantra he's cited time and time again in this postseason run. “It has to be that way, and I feel like us moving forward with that mindset can really benefit us. There's nothing to celebrate. It’s not over yet, not even close.”

It's common sense for the team with a 3-1 lead to hold off on celebrating. But in this case, there's also some truth to what Brunson is saying.

Yes, the 3-1 deficit has been proven to be virtually insurmountable in NBA history; the only team that successfully escaped its grip in the finals was LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, when they rallied to beat the Golden State Warriors for that title.

This series, however, isn't exactly a statistical runaway.

The Knicks have outscored the Spurs by a total of eight points over the four games. Shooting is basically even; the Knicks are at 44%, the Spurs at 43%. The Knicks have made 52 3-pointers, the Spurs 49. Free-throw percentage, Knicks 79%, Spurs 78%. The Knicks have three more rebounds and both teams have exactly 90 assists through four games.

“Just take this one game at a time,” said Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox, who took heavy criticism for electing to try a layup — which was blocked — in the final seconds of Game 4 instead of taking time off the clock with a one-point lead. “It obviously looks like a steep hill, but this is something that’s happened before. Take this thing one game at a time. We’ve been in a position to win all these games. We’ve been up double digits. We have to figure out what we need to do to be able to put some of these games away.”

It has been a baffling problem for the Spurs.

They led Game 1 by one with 1:51 left, then lost after the Knicks finished on an 11-0 run.

They had the ball in a tie game with 11 seconds left in Game 2, then lost after Wembanyama threw a pass that Stephon Castle never saw and became a turnover that led to Brunson's game-winning free throw.

And now, this — a 29-point lead wasted in Game 4, and they still led by one until Anunoby's tip-in with 2.1 seconds left.

"We have to try to put this behind us," Fox said.

If they don't, the Knicks' 53-year wait for a title could end Saturday night.

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

Vance Boelter was charged with murdering Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and with shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman. Boelter came to their doors in the early hours of June 14, 2025, disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car. The Hortmans’ golden retriever was so gravely injured that it had to be euthanized.

John and Yvette Hoffman sat in the courtroom's gallery Thursday along with members of the Hortman family as the events of that night were described in great detail. Boelter repeatedly said a simple “yes” as his federal defense attorney questioned him about his actions, including whether he pressed a gun to Melissa Hortman’s head and fired.

At times, there were brief sobs coming from the gallery.

Boelter, wearing his orange jail sweatshirt and sweatpants, followed along as U.S. District Judge John Tunheim talked through each of the six charges and the potential sentences they carried. Tunheim did not set a date for sentencing. Boelter is facing an agreed-upon sentence of two life terms, plus 40 years.

Boelter, 58, was captured near his home in rural Green Isle the day after the shootings following what prosecutors have called the largest search for a suspect in Minnesota history. He also faces state charges, which have been on hold pending the resolution of his federal case.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis notified the court Wednesday that the Justice Department would not seek the death penalty against Boelter in accordance with a proposed plea agreement, and the court set the change-of-plea hearing for Thursday.

Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911 and has never had a federal death penalty case. Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, said the federal plea deal would not affect Boelter’s state charges, including two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder. Boelter also faces state charges of impersonating a police officer and animal cruelty.

While the Trump administration has pushed for greater use of capital punishment, there were questions about whether Boelter’s case would qualify for the death penalty under federal law.

Prosecutors have called the shootings political. When they announced the federal indictment in July, they released a rambling handwritten letter they say Boelter wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel in which he confessed to the attacks. However, the letter didn’t make clear why he targeted the Hortmans or the Hoffmans.

In some messages to media, Boelter referenced a vague and cryptic “investigation” he had been carrying out, sometimes suggesting it was about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Friends described Boelter as an evangelical Christian and occasional preacher and missionary, who held politically conservative views and had been struggling to find work.

John Hoffman said in a lawsuit filed against Boelter in April that his left arm and hand likely would never fully recover, and that he also had permanent injuries to his digestive and urinary systems.

Yvette Hoffman was left with permanent physical weakness, the lawsuit said, while their adult daughter, Hope Hoffman, who was there and called 911 but was not shot, suffered severe psychological trauma.

The FDA last month gave its first OK to fruit-flavored vapes — essentially endorsing them as a less-harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes. The decision came despite the agency’s longstanding position that such flavors appeal to children and must show extra health benefits to warrant approval for adults.

Health groups and Washington lawmakers quickly condemned the decision and have called for an explanation.

A six-page FDA memo released this week provides more details about the agency's rationale. In it, FDA regulators appear to sidestep previous statements about the risks of sweet vaping flavors while acknowledging shortcomings in the data submitted by vape manufacturer Glas Inc.

To meet federal standards, companies must show that their products benefit public health. In practice, that means demonstrating that their vapes help adult smokers switch or quit cigarettes, while not attracting underage use by teens.

Smokers who tried Glas vapes were much more likely to completely switch from cigarettes over the course of a three-month study, according to the memo.

But the data did not show “statistically significant differences” between adults using the company's mango and blueberry flavors and those using a tobacco-flavored e-cigarette.

That means the new vapes failed to meet the same bar as a handful of other flavored products previously sanctioned by the FDA, including menthol-flavored vapes from Juul and NJOY. Those companies showed that adults who used menthol were significantly more likely to cut down or quit cigarettes compared with those vaping tobacco flavors.

Elsewhere, FDA regulators explained that the Glas flavored vapes “did not have to demonstrate added adult benefit,” because young people were unlikely to use them. Glas requires users to unlock each e-cigarette with an age-verifying cellphone app.

The agency's authorization also runs counter to recent FDA guidelines advising companies that fruit and dessert flavors would have to meet “a high evidentiary burden" for adult use, given their risks to children. Tobacco-flavored products are not popular with teens and generally face lower regulatory hurdles at the FDA.

The FDA document is also unusual in its brevity.

Previous FDA memos on new vaping products typically run dozens of pages. For example, last year’s document authorizing Juul’s menthol e-cigarettes was more than 90 pages and included detailed scientific data from research involving 50,000 people.

The short memo on Glas does not include key details, such as how many smokers the firm studied.

Previously, the FDA almost always posted such memos immediately after announcing an authorization. The document on Glas appeared on the agency's website more than a month after regulators OK’d the products.

The agency has faced questions from members of Congress about the decision. Last month, 10 Democratic senators sent a letter to the agency requesting more information about the authorization, calling it a “shortsighted and reckless decision.”

The application from Glas, which also included menthol and tobacco-flavored vapes, followed a winding path to authorization. The small, Los Angeles-based company submitted a marketing request to the FDA in 2021.

In February, FDA scientists authorized several of the flavors. But that decision was blocked by a senior official reporting to then-FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, according to internal memos later released by the agency.

The mango- and blueberry-flavored products were finally OK’d during Makary’s last full week leading the agency. He resigned the post after months of criticisms from industry stakeholders, including tobacco companies that have lobbied President Donald Trump's Republican White House for looser regulations on vaping flavors.

A spokesperson for the company could not immediately provide comment when reached Thursday morning.

___

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

Frustration grew after the Corpus Christi City Council voted last week to again push back a decision on building an almost billion-dollar water treatment plant, even as projections show the coastal community facing mandatory water restrictions in early 2027.

After the vote, the governor’s office didn’t hold back.

“The moment for leadership arrived, but the Council met it with a whimper and a complaint,” said Robert Black, Abbott’s chief of staff.

Instead of taking “meaningful steps to meet the long-term water needs of their citizens,” council members “chose to bicker, blame, and hide behind excuses and ‘studies’ rather than take action,” Black said in a statement.

Black underscored the governor’s frustration with city leaders. In March, when water levels in two of the city’s main reservoirs fell to historic lows, Abbott said: “Corpus Christi is a victim not because of lack of water. They’re a victim because of a lack of ability to make a decision.”

Abbott threatened a state takeover if Corpus Christi, the state’s eighth-largest city, couldn’t get its act together. “We can only give them a little time more before the state of Texas has to take over and micromanage that city and run that city,” he said.

Hinojosa criticized Abbott’s rigid approach.

“Let’s be clear: this is not just a city issue, this is a crisis that requires a governor who shows up as a partner with local communities — bringing together state and federal resources to get this right — not someone who threatens to cut off funding unless a city does exactly what his insiders want,” Hinojosa said last week.

Asked what she would do differently, Hinojosa told The Texas Tribune she would seek to regulate industrial use.

“As Governor, I’d sign an executive order to ensure citizens of Corpus have the water they need by making industry cut back when water is at risk and pay to fund solutions so we never wind up here again,” she said.

Hinojosa, an Austin state representative, accused Abbott of prioritizing Corpus Christi’s industrial sector over residents. The city’s large-volume customers consume more than half of the city’s water supply, including Valero Energy Corp. and ExxonMobil (both have donated to Abbott’s campaign, $25,000 this year from Valero and $15,000 from Exxon in 2024).

“Industry guzzles two-thirds of the water and needs to pay its fair share,” Hinojosa said last week in a statement. “Instead, Abbott wanted the citizens to pay so his donors could keep getting water cheap.”

Over the past decade, the city promised a sufficient water supply as it courted large companies to build refineries, natural gas export terminals and other industrial facilities along Corpus Christi Bay.

The City Council in September halted efforts to build a $1.2 billion desalination plant — capable of treating around 30 million gallons of seawater a day beginning in 2029 — citing concerns about the cost and environmental impact from salty discharge into the bay.

But a historic drought and rising demand has placed the city on the path of reaching, by early 2027, a Level 1 emergency — the point when supply is six months from falling short of demand, triggering mandatory restrictions. The city water department recently asked the City Council to reconsider the Inner Harbor desalination project, now with a whittled-down $978.8 million price tag.

After a marathon 15-hour meeting last week, the council voted 7-2 to delay a decision until Sept. 1. Most of the more than 100 community members who spoke during the meeting opposed the project. Some doubted an environmental study that concluded the plant’s discharge wouldn’t affect the bay’s sea life.

But project supporters, saying the city’s livelihood is on the line, view a desalination plant as a drought-proof solution to future dry spells. The water department’s proposal is fully permitted and about 60% designed.

Corpus Christi received a $2.75 million loan from the state in 2017 for the project’s initial stages. In 2020, the state provided $222 million more in loans for the plant, and two years later, another $535 million, of which $10 million has been disbursed.

“Governor Abbott and the State of Texas have done their part,” his chief of staff Black said. “We have expedited funding and permits for new wells, paid for pipeline upgrades, fully permitted the Inner Harbor Plant, and provided more than $800 million in funding for water projects.”

Hinojosa said the governor has fallen short of addressing the expected shortage.

“For more than a decade, Abbott has traveled to Corpus Christi for photo ops and ribbon-cutting ceremonies while failing to solve the impending crisis,” she said. “The people of Corpus Christi deserve leadership, and as governor, I’ll deliver it.”

Council Member Gil Hernandez, who made the motion to delay consideration of the desalination plant until September, said there is no rush to make a final decision on a project that would take about three years to build.

“It does us no good in this water crisis that we’re in right now,” Hernandez said. “That desal plant is not an emergency decision.”

The city has taken other action to find short-term water sources, he said, including more than a dozen wells drilled in Nueces County as part of the Evangeline Groundwater Project. The city hopes to drill nearly a dozen additional wells in Sinton, about a 30-minute drive north of Corpus Christi. That project, however, has been delayed by objections by the city of Sinton and other water users who say the effort threatens their underground water supplies.

“We made the decisions to get us water quickly through those other projects, and that’s going to meet our needs,” Hernandez said. “Desal really is a long-term play for us.”

Mayor Paulette Guajardo said that the governor’s position supports her intent to move forward on the Inner Harbor project.

“The Governor’s Office has made it clear: Corpus Christi cannot afford endless delays when it comes to securing our water supply,” she wrote on Facebook. “That is why I voted against tabling the Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Project. … Leadership is not about finding excuses to postpone difficult decisions.”

City Manager Peter Zanoni said he appreciates the governor’s efforts to help Corpus Christi survive the drought, such as allowing the city to pull around 40 million gallons of water a day from Lake Texana even if levels fall below 50% — a situation that normally triggers an automatic 10% reduction in pumping. The city has not yet had to curtail pumping because recent rain brought the reservoir to nearly full capacity.

Zanoni added that the water department has been working with the governor’s office several times a week to discuss future water projects.

“He has been a leader in helping us bring on numerous water supply projects,” Zanoni said. “The governor is one who likes certainty and predictability, and likes to make decisions, and so I would leave it at that.”

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

The coach was identified as Nathan Scott Velez, 37, of Magnolia. Officials said he also works as a lineman for a technology company.

Velez was arrested Thursday and faces two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted.

The investigation began in early April on an online chat platform and led to several conversations over the following weeks, according to court records.

“When do I get to see your body?” Velez asked, according to court records. “When do I get to see you in person?”

A man who coaches youth softball is charged w/ online solicitation of a minor for seeking sex with a detective who was posing as a 15 yr old girl. We will always do all we can to protect children. Know about Nathan Velez’s interactions w/ children? Call 713-222-4929 #hounews pic.twitter.com/3DQ5H0p3VA

— Office of Harris County Constable Pct 1 Alan Rosen (@Pct1Constable) June 11, 2026

Detectives allege Velez requested nude photos, discussed sex acts he wanted to perform with the undercover persona and made arrangements to meet her in person.

Rosen is asking anyone with information about Velez’s inappropriate interactions with children to contact Precinct 1’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit at 713-222-4929.

“We need everyone’s help to keep children safe,” Rosen said. “If you see something or know something, please give us a call.”

The unit is part of the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The S&P 500 added 0.3%, coming off a back-to-back drop that yanked it back to where it was in early May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 313 points, or 0.6%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.

AI stocks helped lead the market, as they have since last week then they went from roaring to records to suddenly turning lower. The big concern is whether such stocks shot too high, too fast because of AI mania, and they’ve been careening up and down, sometimes hour by hour.

Marvell Technology climbed 2.6%, for example. It’s coming off a manic stretch where it plunged 16.7%, soared 9.6% and then fell more than 5% for two straight days. Just before that, it had a one-day surge of 32.5% that was its best in history when Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang suggested it could be “the next trillion-dollar company.” It was worth a bit more than $190 billion at the time.

Companies involved in the making of chips jumped to some of the market's biggest gains. Lam Research rose 8.2%, and KLA climbed 8.4%.

That helped offset a drop of 11.6% for Oracle. It reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but it also said it expects to raise $40 billion in cash this fiscal year through borrowing and sales of its stock. That comes after it raised $48 billion last fiscal year to help pay for AI investments.

Other companies’ stocks have also been punished recently for announcing heavy spending on AI, as the question remains whether all the investment can produce the profits and productivity that AI proponents are promising.

Oil prices, meanwhile, drifted following the latest fighting in the war with Iran, which has hurt the flow of oil deliveries from the Persian Gulf. President Donald Trump threatened to launch major strikes on Iran and seize control of its oil industry.

The United States and Iran have launched attacks over the past several days after a more than monthlong tenuous ceasefire. While the strikes have escalated tensions in the region, they have been more limited compared to the early weeks of the war and talks aimed at extending the ceasefire are ongoing.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, added 0.3% to $93.30 per barrel. U.S. benchmark crude oil recovered an earlier decline and rose 1% to $90.96 per barrel.

High oil prices have sent inflation painfully upward, and a report on Thursday showed that prices at the U.S. wholesale level increased by more in May than economists expected. The effect is worldwide, and the European Central Bank on Thursday became the first major central bank to raise interest rates in response.

Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation. But they also simultaneously slow entire economies and undercut prices for all kinds of investments, including stocks and cryptocurrencies. They hit investments seen as the most expensive in particular, and some critics are calling AI a bubble where investment inflated too far.

The Federal Reserve will make its own decision on interest rates next week under its new chair, Kevin Warsh. He was appointed by Trump, who has been pushing for lower interest rates. But the widespread expectation is that the Fed will keep its main interest rate steady next week.

If anything, traders see the Fed as more likely to raise rates at least once by the end of the year, according to data from CME Group. Not only is inflation still above the Fed's target, the U.S. job market also looks to remain solid.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.52% from 4.55% late Wednesday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia.

London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7% for two of the world’s bigger moves.

___

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

FAN FEST: EaDo (East Downtown)

We kick off the ... kickoff to World Cup on Thursday at the official Fan Fest in EaDo. As you might expect, in early June, most fans will be hit with two of Houston’s best defenders: Heat and humidity.

Fans should be ready for the humidity to dominate as soon as you get into the gates.

The actual air temperature may only be in the low to mid 90s, but once you factor in Houston’s tropical humidity, it can feel much hotter. That “feels-like” temperature is known as the heat index, and it’s one of the best indicators of how stressful conditions can become on the human body.

Your body naturally cools itself by sweating. But when humidity levels are high, sweat doesn’t evaporate as efficiently. That means your body struggles to cool down, causing your internal temperature to rise faster.

First Match at Houston Stadium: Sunday

Once we head into the weekend, the humidity will remain but we’ll start to keep an eye to the sky for downpours to start drenching fans at times.

We have a large swath of heavy tropical moisture coming in from the southern Gulf as we head into the weekend.

The brighter the color, the more moisture that it can hold. Remember back to last Saturday and how heavy the downpours were? The picture above looks very similar to the conditions that we were under last weekend.

So, as we get closer to the weekend, expect to see more thunderstorm coverage earlier in the day and a possibility for heavy downpours in the afternoons. Especially on Sunday, when fans of Germany and Curacao will spill into NRG for the kick off match here in Houston.

We’ll keep a watch on the forecast but if you’re heading into town for the match Sunday or even Saturday, plan for some indoor time and/or getting chased out of the open sky quickly if storms develop.

Expect a mix of sunshine and cloud cover, with temperatures climbing into the upper 80s and lower 90s. Factor in the humidity, and we’ll feel closer to the triple digits.

There is a 20% chance of showers and storms in the afternoon. If you do see a downpour, it can bring a quick inch or so of rain and frequent lightning strikes.

Three-Day Forecast

We are back in a typical June pattern! We’re hot and humid with afternoon highs feeling like 100 degrees. Every day there will be a chance for a quick afternoon downpour, but we aren’t expecting anything widespread like last week.

Tracking The Tropics:

The National Hurricane Center has marked an area in the Bay of Campeche for a 10% chance of development over the next week or so. A broad area of low pressure could form. Still, conditions are not expected to be favorable for significant development as it’ll move inland over eastern Mexico late this weekend, totally squashing any chance of formation.

This means impacts on Texas will be indirect. Instead of a named storm, we’ll likely see increased tropical moisture, which could boost our rain chances starting Sunday and lasting into early next week.

This won’t lead to a washout, but it could mean periods of heavy downpours around the Houston area, including during some of the World Cup festivities this weekend.

There is a risk of flooding on Sunday, which is when Houston hosts its first World Cup game. This does not mean it will be a washout, but it does mean any shower or storm that we see before, during, or after the game can lead to street flooding. Stay weather aware on Sunday!

Your extended forecast:

We are back to a more typical weather pattern, but there is an increasing chance for rainfall into the end of the weekend and into next week. Some of the rain Monday and Tuesday will be heavy and could lead to some areas of minor street flooding.

“Did you realize that none of the characters look like our children?” he asked his wife, Arlene Gordon-Hollingsworth.

Instead of simply pointing out the problem, the couple set out to change it. That observation eventually led to “Gracie’s Corner,” the educational music series inspired by their daughter Graceyn Hollingsworth that has attracted more than 6.3 million YouTube subscribers and nearly 10 billion views.

Now, “Gracie’s Corner” is headed to Disney+.

Disney announced Thursday that it has acquired the global streaming rights to the popular preschool series and will develop new original content with the Hollingsworth family. The deal includes global linear and streaming rights to more than 120 shorts and 18 themed compilations from the existing series.

Graceyn, 13, said she was “really ecstatic” when she learned Disney would become part of the show’s next chapter.

“Disney, Disney. The one that makes all the princess movies and everything,” she recalled thinking. “It was really surprising.”

When will ‘Gracie’s Corner’ premiere on Disney+?

“Gracie’s Corner” will debut Monday on Disney+ in the United States and select international markets, with 68 shorts and seven compilations available at launch. Additional shorts and compilations will roll out globally through 2026.

The acquisition adds “Gracie’s Corner” to Disney Jr.’s preschool lineup, which includes “Bluey,” “Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends,” “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,” “SuperKitties” and the recently launched “Sofia the First: Royal Magic.”

“‘Gracie’s Corner’ has made a real connection with families by meeting kids where they are, while still delivering the kind of joyful, enriching experience parents are looking for,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. “It feels very at home alongside the Disney characters and stories families already love, bringing together music, learning and participation in a way that really resonates with today’s preschoolers.”

The inspiration for ‘Gracie’s Corner’

The journey began in 2020 when the Hollingsworths, both university professors, were juggling virtual work and parenting from home during the early days of COVID-19. Arlene Gordon-Hollingsworth, a licensed clinical psychologist, and her husband were teaching classes remotely while helping their children navigate online learning.

Like many parents, they relied on educational videos to keep their children entertained and engaged. But they quickly realized many of the characters their children watched did not reflect their own experiences.

At the time, Graceyn was in elementary school. The couple’s younger children were toddlers.

“We were like every other parent, putting them in front of what we could to entertain them,” Arlene Gordon-Hollingsworth said.

The conversation sparked an idea that would eventually become a family business.

Sing-along show blends hip-hop, R&B and learning

The Hollingsworths created “Gracie’s Corner,” an animated sing-along series that reimagines nursery rhymes while blending literacy, math, science and social-emotional lessons with music inspired by hip-hop, R&B and other contemporary sounds. It features animated versions of Graceyn and her family. The show is designed to provide educational content that children can enjoy while also giving parents something they won’t mind hearing repeatedly.

Success did not come overnight.

The family’s earliest videos attracted only a few hundred views, mostly from relatives and friends. But a phonics-focused song helped the channel gain traction, eventually transforming the project into one of YouTube’s most successful educational brands.

“It didn’t always look like it would be successful in the beginning,” Arlene Gordon-Hollingsworth said. “What we set out to do, we’re seeing it’s important for other families too.”

The channel’s growth eventually attracted attention from across the entertainment industry including Disney.

Javoris Hollingsworth recalled receiving a LinkedIn message several years ago from a Disney executive expressing interest in the series.

“I thought it was a prank,” he said. “There’s no way Disney is reaching out to us.”

The partnership marks another milestone for a family-built brand that has won four NAACP Image Awards, landed a book deal with HarperCollins and expanded into live entertainment through its sold-out national tour.

Why ‘Gracie’s Corner’ appealed to Disney

For Disney, the deal also reflects the growing influence of creator-led programming in children’s entertainment and the ways young audiences increasingly discover content outside traditional television channels.

“Disney has always created stories and characters that families trust, and kids genuinely connect with,” Davis said. “As the ways preschool audiences engage with content continue to evolve, we see an opportunity to work with creators who understand the kinds of music-driven, participatory experiences kids return to again and again, and bring those voices into the Disney ecosystem in a way that is thoughtful, curated and true to our brand.”

Unlike many traditional acquisitions, “Gracie’s Corner” will continue to live on YouTube while expanding to Disney’s platforms.

Javoris Hollingsworth said maintaining ownership of the brand and ensuring its accessibility were important considerations as discussions moved forward. The arrangement also includes a development agreement that will allow Disney and the Hollingsworth family to create new original content together.

“We always wanted to make sure that our content is accessible and available to those who may not have access to some of the things that others have,” he said. “Disney respected that.”

Saad Qureshi, a Houston resident and longtime soccer fan, says he purchased five FIFA hospitality packages through On Location — FIFA’s official hospitality provider — after months of discussions with a sales representative about seating options.

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton investigates FIFA over World Cup ticket seat complaints

Qureshi said he was thrilled when he learned World Cup matches would be played in Houston.

“I don’t know if you’ll ever get another opportunity,” Qureshi said.

The hospitality packages covered two Houston matches and cost a total of $22,000, according to purchase documents reviewed by KPRC 2.

FULL WORLD CUP GUIDE: FIFA World Cup 2026 in Houston: Complete guide to matches, parking, Fan Fest, transportation and more

Text messages showed specific seating sections

Qureshi provided KPRC 2 with text messages exchanged with an On Location sales representative identified as Eric.

In the messages, Qureshi repeatedly asked about seating locations, sightlines and hospitality options. He ultimately told the representative he wanted the “Champions Club” package.

The sales representative responded by sending stadium diagrams with specific seating areas highlighted in red and discussed pricing differences based on how close seats would be to the field, according to screenshots provided by Qureshi.

Qureshi said he understood from those conversations that his seats would be located in lower-level sections near the pitch.

“He told me this is the Champions section, this is where you’re sitting,” Qureshi said.

When ticket assignments were released this week, Qureshi said he discovered his seats had been assigned to Section 308 in the upper deck instead.

Qureshi said he compared the assigned seats to the diagrams he received during the sales process and immediately noticed the discrepancy.

“From my perspective it is worse off,” he said. “You expect to get what you paid for.”

In documentation submitted to FIFA and On Location, Qureshi described the difference as a “material seating-location discrepancy” and requested a relocation to the originally represented seating area.

FIFA hospitality provider called it an upgrade

After contacting On Location and FIFA hospitality representatives, Qureshi said he was told the reassignment constituted a complimentary upgrade because it included access to a higher level of hospitality service.

An email reviewed by KPRC 2 stated the new package would provide access to a “higher level of service.”

Qureshi disagrees with that assessment.

“From my perspective and my friends’ perspective, it’s not an upgrade, because we paid for actually watching the game,” he said.

While he says he appreciates the opportunity to attend the World Cup, he believes customers should receive what they were led to expect.

“I don’t dislike my seats,” Qureshi said. “I just feel like it’s unfair because I paid for something and then I’m getting something so different.”

KPRC 2 reviewed FIFA World Cup 2026 Hospitality Sales Regulations.

The regulations state that an order confirmation is only an indication of availability and “does not guarantee the customer shall receive such hospitality packages.”

The terms also specify that sales materials, illustrations and descriptions are intended to provide only an approximate idea of hospitality packages and do not form part of the sales agreement.

• FIFA’s Infantino defends World Cup ticket prices, says fans ‘should chill’ about ref denied US entry

The regulations further state that On Location sales agents do not have authority to make guarantees, commitments or warranties on behalf of the company.

Qureshi said no one verbally told him that the seating sections shown in the diagrams were not guaranteed.

Qureshi said he has filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s Office and hopes FIFA and On Location will reconsider his seating assignment or provide another resolution.

KPRC 2 reached out to On Location, FIFA’s official hospitality provider, for comment regarding Qureshi’s concerns and the communications he provided. As of yet, no response had been received.

The law firm Zimmerman & Reed may be looking into pursuing a class action lawsuit.

Not the polite laughter or quiet murmurs typical of live theatre. Genuine gasps.

More than three decades after Stephen King’s psychological thriller first captivated readers, Annie Wilkes remains one of fiction’s most terrifying villains—and Alley Theatre’s latest production proves she hasn’t lost her ability to shock.

Now through June 21, audiences can experience the suspense-filled story of bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon, who finds himself at the mercy of his self-proclaimed “number one fan” after a devastating car accident leaves him stranded during a snowstorm.

For many theatergoers, the story is already familiar. Stephen King’s 1987 novel became a cultural phenomenon and was later adapted into the Academy Award-winning film starring Kathy Bates. Yet Alley Theatre’s production manages to feel fresh, surprising and remarkably immersive, even for those who know the story well.

Part of that magic comes from the challenge of bringing such an iconic thriller to life on stage.

In an era when audiences are accustomed to CGI, visual effects and increasingly sophisticated AI-generated imagery, live theatre faces a unique challenge: making the impossible feel real. Alley Theatre rises to that challenge with remarkable practical effects that leave audiences visibly stunned.

One particularly infamous scene from King’s story continues to draw audible gasps night after night—a testament to the creativity, craftsmanship and theatrical illusion happening behind the scenes. Seeing such a shocking moment unfold live, just a few feet away, creates a level of tension that simply can’t be replicated on screen.

Adding another fascinating layer to the production is the relationship between its two lead actors.

Annie Wilkes is portrayed by Elizabeth Bunch, while her real-life husband, Chris Hutchison, plays captive novelist Paul Sheldon. Watching the pair share the stage adds an intriguing dynamic to a story built on obsession, control and survival. Their chemistry, trust and years of working together help bring depth and authenticity to one of literature’s most complicated relationships.

The production’s visual design is equally impressive.

Scenic designer Tim Mackabee has created a set that feels almost cinematic in its execution. Built around a revolving turntable stage, the production seamlessly shifts between multiple rooms in Annie Wilkes’ isolated home, including the bedroom where Paul is confined, the living area and kitchen, and the front porch.

The rotating set doesn’t simply move scenery—it becomes part of the storytelling.

Actor Christopher Salazar, who portrays Sheriff Buster, says one sequence in particular is not for the faint of heart, especially for anyone prone to motion sickness. During a carefully choreographed chase scene, the stage spins at a remarkable pace, creating a dizzying sense of urgency and disorientation that extends beyond the actors and into the audience itself.

And for those who think they already know how Misery ends, think again.

Without giving anything away, Alley Theatre has found ways to surprise audiences familiar with both the novel and the film adaptation. The production remains faithful to the spirit of Stephen King’s classic while putting its own creative stamp on the story’s conclusion.

In other words: don’t assume you know what’s coming.

Whether you’re a lifelong Stephen King fan or simply looking for a thrilling night at the theatre, Misery delivers suspense, surprises and plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments.

Misery runs through June 21 at Alley Theatre. For tickets and performance information, visit AlleyTheatre.org.

SpaceX is likely to become the biggest IPO ever, with proceeds of around $75 billion. SpaceX hopes to become the first company to send people to Mars. In fact, part of Musk’s future compensation depends on SpaceX eventually establishing a colony of at least 1 million people on the red planet.

Why SpaceX is going public now

In a video conference on Musk's social media platform X, he told JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon that people have suggested for the last 10 years that he take SpaceX public. He's doing it now because the company plans to put 100,000 next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit. Deploying AI data centers in space is a “massive new growth base and you need capital for that,” he said.

Going public provides access to the capital that SpaceX needs. But it also exposes it to more scrutiny from shareholders and more regulatory oversight. That includes filing quarterly financial reports, which critics say incentivizes short-term thinking over longer-term planning and creates unnecessary costs for a company. Securities regulators are currently soliciting public comment on a proposal to require public companies to file the financial reports only twice every year.

How the IPO impacts the company

Musk will hold the majority of a special class of shares, giving him control over decisions related to company strategy, finances and personnel. On the latter, because of his ownership of most of these Class B shares, the only person who can fire Musk as CEO ... is Musk.

The company credits Musk with being the “driving force” behind its growth, innovation and success. But what happens if Musk is no longer in the picture? SpaceX warns that the loss of Musk could disrupt its ability to execute its strategy as well as hurt its “reputation and relationships with customers, partners and other stakeholders.”

The company also warns that finding a replacement with the same skills and experience as Musk would be time-consuming, if not nearly impossible. As Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote Wednesday, “At the end of the day Musk is SpaceX and SpaceX is Musk.”

Some big investors are unhappy. Officials from pension funds for firefighters, teachers and other workers in California and New York sent a letter to SpaceX last month decrying some of the provisions in its IPO, including the “super voting shares,” mandatory arbitration of shareholder claims instead of the possibility of lawsuits and how much power Musk will hold over the company.

They said they could become owners of SpaceX stock because they hold index funds, which automatically buy stocks after they get included in certain indexes.

What could make or break SpaceX

Currently in the test phase, the gigantic reusable Starship rocket is key to SpaceX realizing Musk's ambitions. Much of the commercial space business hinges on SpaceX developing Starship’s capability to be fully reusable and hearty enough for a quick turnaround between flights. If that doesn't happen, SpaceX warns that putting data centers and satellites in space will take longer and cost more money, meaning it risks customers bailing on the company.

Analysts say that by pioneering reusable rockets, SpaceX has established a clear lead on competitors such as Blue Origin, led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The Starlink satellite business competes with, among others, AST SpaceMobile – which is relying on a SpaceX rocket to send its latest generation of satellites into orbit next week.

The prospectus filed last week says SpaceX’s biggest potential market is the sale of business-oriented artificial intelligence products designed to transform how people get work done. It’s an opportunity SpaceX predicts would be worth $22.7 trillion if it could somehow dominate rivals like Anthropic, OpenAI and Microsoft in a highly competitive industry. But the prospectus shows no clear path to profitability for the xAI business, which merged with SpaceX earlier this year.

Why Wall Street is paying attention

If the SpaceX IPO is as successful, the stock could quickly join the Nasdaq 100, a widely followed index that tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies in the composite. That's important because some popular funds, such as the $460 billion QQQ exchange-traded fund, mimic the index and will automatically buy whatever is listed in the index.

Nasdaq recently changed its rules to allow select companies to enter the Nasdaq 100 after just 15 trading days.

S&P Dow Jones Indices, on the other hand, is sticking to established and more traditional thresholds that will not allow SpaceX or other companies with gargantuan IPOs faster entry into its S&P 500 index. That means even high-profile companies will still need to wait for their stocks to trade a full 12 months before they can enter the index.

Companies want to be in the S&P 500 in particular because it's arguably the most important index on Wall Street, with trillions of dollars either mimicking it exactly or benchmarked against it. Vanguard's VOO fund that tracks the S&P 500 has roughly $950 billion invested in it, for example.

Leo issued an impassioned plea to recognize the dignity of migrants from the port of Arguineguín, in the Canary Islands. In 2020, the port was dubbed “dock of shame” because of the squalid conditions migrants were forced to live in for months during a spike in arrivals.

“Human dignity has no passport and does not lose its value when crossing a border,” Leo said, with rescue ships docked behind him and a simple wooden cross made from a shipwrecked migrant boat nearby.

Leo is spending the final two days of his weeklong trip to Spain in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula and a key point of entry for migrants who make the perilous Atlantic crossing from West Africa.

He is fulfilling a wish of Pope Francis to visit the islands to commemorate the thousands of lives lost at sea.

With two migrants standing by him, Leo threw a bouquet of flowers into the sea. The gesture recalled one Francis made in 2013, at the start of his pontificate, when he visited another migration flashpoint in Lampedusa, Sicily and denounced the “globalization of indifference” that the world showed migrants.

A visit to the ‘dock of shame’

The Canary Islands have long been a stepping stone for migrants trying to reach Europe from West Africa and Morocco. Some experts consider the Atlantic route they take to get here more deadly than the more well-known central Mediterranean smuggling route from Libya and Tunisia to Italy.

Migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands peaked in 2024 at nearly 47,000. Following pressure and deals between the European Union, Spain and the governments of several West African nations, arrivals have fallen dramatically, with just over 3,000 people landing there in the first five months of 2026.

Upon his arrival, Leo went straight to the port in Arguineguín, where in 2020 arrivals reached such numbers that migrants were forced to sleep on the dock in makeshift camps in the open air.

Many spent weeks just a blanket and no showers. Potential asylum seekers had no proper access to legal advice and some people were held for weeks, much longer than the three days that the law allowed. The ombudsman later forced the government to shutter the makeshift camp and relocate the migrants in hotels that had been emptied by COVID-19.

A challenge to uphold dignity

At the port on Thursday, Leo sat under a shaded platform while a fierce midday sun baked down on the migrants and aid workers. He heard testimonies from rescue workers, humanitarian workers and the personal story of a Nigerian victim of human trafficking. Nearby a banner, recalling the port's former nickname, rebaptized it “Dock of Hope.”

“Dear migrants, before saying anything else to you, I want to bow before your dignity,” Leo said to them, bowing his head slightly.

Addressing the Nigerian woman and other women who have been trafficked and forced into prostitution, Leo assured them: “If others have put a price on your body, know that God has never ceased to recognize your inestimable worth,” he said.

He urged countries of origin to create the security and economic conditions so people are not forced to flee, and for transit countries to protect migrants so they don’t fall prey to smugglers. And he appealed to the “conscience of Europe, which cannot claim to uphold human dignity while growing accustomed to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic becoming unmarked graves.”

In one of the most powerful speeches of his pontificate, dedicated entirely to migration, Leo listed the rights of migrants to flee or remain. But he didn't mention the right of nations to control their borders or limit asylum requests as he has done in the past. And significantly, he insisted that if one is Christian, one cannot ignore the plight of migrants.

“May history not accuse us of turning the pain of those who suffer into a common sight along our shores,” he said. “Today, here by the sea, every individual that arrives asks us what remains of our humanity. Sooner or later, it will be known whether we protected life or whether we yielded to indifference.”

Among the migrants waiting for Leo was Mame Amandou Neang, a 56-year-old who arrived in the Arguineguín port from Senegal earlier this year.

“This is a great honor,” said Neang. “We hope that if we see him, all our problems will stay behind us, we will forget our problems, because we have many things to forget for the moment.”

The International Organization of Migration’s Missing Migrants Project has recorded some 6,600 deaths on the Atlantic route from West Africa since it began keeping record in 2014. But it admits their estimate is a vast undercount due to the lack of information on the route and the phenomenon of “invisible shipwrecks.”

Since 2020, Spanish migrants rights group Walking Borders estimates more than 25,000 dead or missing trying to reach the Canary Islands.

Leo follows in Francis' footsteps in prioritizing migrants

Francis had made the plight of refugees a hallmark of his papacy, following the Gospel mandate to “welcome the stranger.”

Leo has followed suit, insisting especially on the dignity of migrants in his native United States amid the Trump administration’s crackdown and mass deportation program.

Next month, on July 4, the American pope will spend U.S. Independence Day on the island of Lampedusa, where Francis in 2013 first denounced the “globalization of indifference” the world shows migrants.

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Winfield reported from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. Brito contributed from Barcelona, Spain.

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

In a statement released before a scheduled Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said that “Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues.” It didn't elaborate on what those are.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, jointly owned by Canada and Michigan, was expected to open to traffic later this month. But the opening had been thrown into question after Trump in February demanded in a social media post that Canada turn over at least half of the bridge’s ownership to the U.S. federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of the Republican president's many salvos over cross-border trade issues.

Michigan officials and the White House had been in contact for months about the bridge after Trump's post, with the understanding that the opening would move forward Friday. Invitations for the bridge’s opening went out this week following a conversation between Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

But internal disagreements within the Trump administration threw those plans into question, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pushed back on the opening, according to two people with knowledge of the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private talks.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.

Michigan and Canadian officials stress the bridge will still open

Even with the delay, officials remained optimistic that the bridge — a roughly $4.4 billion project — is still expected to open.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hinted Wednesday that the opening could be delayed, while downplaying any concerns.

“There is no big drama. If it takes a little longer it will take a little bit longer, but this will benefit Canadians, Americans, business, tourists, residents for decades and decades to come,” Carney said on his way into Parliament.

Invitations for the bridge’s opening went out this week following a conversation between Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

“This project is a powerful example of bipartisan and international cooperation, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony when it happens,” a statement from Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy said.

The 1.5-mile-long (2.4-kilometer-long) bridge, which connects Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, would be a vital economic artery between Canada and the United States. It is named after the late Canadian hockey great, who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

The construction project was negotiated by Rick Snyder, the former Republican governor of Michigan, and paid for by Canada to help ease congestion at the existing Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.

Brandon, who lives in Rockwell, North Carolina, is worried that new Medicaid work requirements starting next year could jeopardize her health coverage. She had expected to qualify for a medical frailty exemption, but new guidance introduced by President Donald Trump's administration last week has thrown that into question.

The interim final rule released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services means being sick with extreme exhaustion and memory challenges related to her treatments may not be enough for Brandon to evade the new work requirements. She will have to attest and later prove that those symptoms “significantly impair” her ability to fulfill the mandates.

If the government doesn’t accept her case, she could lose her coverage and the twice-monthly maintenance chemotherapy that keeps her multiple myeloma in remission. Working is “outside of the realm of possibility for me,” she said in an interview.

“I was always a push-through-it person — you know, ‘Oh, you’re tired. Push through,’” Brandon said. “It’s hard to explain to people you can’t push through it.”

Health analysts have sounded the alarm about the Republican Trump administration’s newest guidance, which differs from what states had been expecting. Experts said it will put more Americans at risk of losing health insurance and force states to scramble in their already harried efforts to implement the changes on time.

“This will mean more paperwork for Medicaid patients — specifically for the sickest Medicaid patients,” said Adrianna McIntyre, a professor at Harvard University’s school of public health. That, she said, "is going to push in the direction of more people needlessly losing coverage.”

Medical frailty rules may mean paperwork nightmares for sick people

The new Medicaid restrictions, which Democrats have criticized, were part of Trump’s big tax and policy law in 2025. The change affects those covered through an expansion in most states that gave more lower-income people access to the government’s safety net healthcare program.

Expansion enrollees age 19 to 64 will have to show that they work or do community service at least 80 hours a month or are in school at least half the time. There are exceptions for those considered medically frail or in addiction treatment programs, among others.

Last week’s announcement from CMS caught states off guard with a new definition of medical frailty. The law had said medically frail people include those who have substance use disorders, disabilities or serious medical conditions. But the CMS rule went further, saying someone’s condition must “significantly impair” their ability to work, volunteer or attend school at the rates required in the law for them to be granted an exemption.

In 2027 and once in 2028, the patient can attest that they meet this definition. But when they try to renew coverage in 2028, they’ll need to prove it.

Advocates said it is unclear what kind of documentation could prove that point. They said doctor notes may be required — something some providers don’t feel comfortable writing. Medicaid enrollees fighting disease may carry the bureaucratic burden.

Brandon, who tried to prove she couldn’t work to access disability benefits during her active cancer treatment and failed, said she’s worried about the hoops she and other patients may need to jump through.

“It’s not that easy — you may have to go through four doctors,” Brandon said. “If you’re already battling an illness like this, you don’t have the physical or the mental or the emotional energy to do that all the time.”

States and advocates are confused by the government's approach

States have been planning to use Medicaid claims data and other data sources to automatically exempt eligible enrollees whenever possible.

On a call with reporters last week, the CMS administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, endorsed that approach, saying he hoped most people would be helped "without ever having to talk to anybody.”

Asked to clarify how the rule should be implemented, the agency told The Associated Press in an email that it “chose not to allow states to categorically exclude individuals from work requirements based solely on a diagnosis or condition type.” For renewal in 2028, it said, “verification through claims data or other documentation will generally be required.”

But state Medicaid officials and consultants said Medicaid claims data doesn’t prove someone is significantly impaired from working, and they don’t know of any existing data that does. That has left them confused about how to honor the government's rule.

“States are going to be asked to make a determination using information that doesn’t exist in their systems,” said Kinda Serafi, a partner at the legal and consulting firm Manatt Health who is working with states to make the changes.

One state, Nebraska, started the new Medicaid work requirements ahead of schedule. But it used diagnostic codes to identify people who are medically frail, and therefore will likely have to rework its system, said Sarah Maresh, healthcare access program director at the advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed.

Maresh said she was concerned doctors in the rural state who are already reluctant to take Medicaid patients may stop.

“They’re already drowning in paperwork, so to require them to do an additional step of certifying whether someone is able to work, I think is concerning,” she said.

Preparing for the Jan. 1 kickoff of the new policies is an immense and expensive task. A $200 million federal allotment is flowing to states to help, and CMS has partnered with technology companies to provide free and discounted services, but the tab for the additional technology requirements and more staff is likely to exceed $1 billion, according to an AP analysis. That extra cost will be borne by a mix of federal and state tax dollars.

Republicans say the rules will save Medicaid for those who need it most

Democrats have slammed the Medicaid work requirements as attacks on healthcare coverage for struggling Americans.

Republicans promoting the new rules, though, say they are commonsense measures to eliminate government freeloading and preserve benefits for people who need them most. Oz last week, citing a report by the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, said able-bodied people on Medicaid spend an average of 6.1 hours a day “watching TV or just hanging out.”

“This is a concern, not a criticism,” he said. “Work requirements are going to turn this around, we hope."

Current enrollees who don’t meet the work requirement threshold said that’s a misrepresentation of their experience.

Mids Meinberg, a 42-year-old freelance writer from New Jersey who lives with chronic depression and diabetes, said that even with his health issues, he’s proud to have found a meaningful career. But his conditions make him unable to work 80 hours a month. He said he thinks there are many people with disabilities who are “too disabled to work but not disabled enough for the state to think they can’t work.”

Brandon, in North Carolina, said she wants the government to understand that she’s “not just sitting around wasting time or being a drain on society.”

“I’m pouring into my grandchildren,” she said. “We’re valuable, and we can still contribute to our communities even if it’s not working.”

The billionaire owner of the Head sports goods business lost a 65-64 vote to Alexander Ospelt, a lawyer from Liechtenstein who got a four-year term to lead the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).

Eliasch also loses his membership of the International Olympic Committee, one of the most exclusive clubs in world sport. The 100-plus invited members include royal family members, former government leaders, industrialists, sports officials, athletes and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.

In his concession speech, Eliasch aimed an allegation at the Olympic body and urged FIS to protect its independence before congratulating Ospelt.

“The IOC tried to influence the outcome of today’s vote. Against this we must stay firm,” Eliasch said.

He also stood in the IOC presidential election won by Kirsty Coventry 15 months ago.

In a statement on Thursday, the IOC congratulated Ospelt on his win without directly addressing Eliasch's claim, adding: “We thank Mr. Johan Eliasch for his work as FIS president and IOC member.”

The FIS congress in the Serbian capital Belgrade started with shows of power by 75 member federations; the votes hinted at problems ahead for Eliasch.

The agenda was changed on an 88% vote to bring the presidential election forward as the first item of business. The weighted voting used by FIS gives two or three votes to established ski nations instead of a one-member-one-vote system by other federations such as soccer body FIFA.

Then there was a 60% vote to use paper ballots instead of electronic voting, which seemed to reflect some mistrust in the FIS administration.

The 64-year-old Eliasch served as FIS president for five years that were marked by constant sparring with ski nations including Austria and Switzerland over issues such as his management style and spending of the ski body's cash reserves.

A dual citizen of Sweden and Britain, Eliasch was not supported by either of those national federations to stand for re-election. He complied with FIS rules by getting a passport and nomination from the country of Georgia.

The new president

FIS rules mean Ospelt becomes president officially one day after the election, leaving Eliasch to oversee the rest of the congress business of what was now his last day in office.

“It’s been a great privilege to serve you,” said the outgoing president, who had said the election would be a win-win as he could “get my life back” if he lost. “Either way I am very happy.”

Ospelt, who has been a member of the Eliasch-chaired FIS council, said he would start his new job with “great joy and humility.”

“I will be the president for all of you. Let’s be united,” he said.

Ospelt does not immediately become an IOC member, though he would probably be invited to join as head of the sports body that oversees about half of the medal events at each Winter Olympics.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

By Thursday afternoon, the court had not yet released a decision, said Naji Abbas, director of prisoners and detainees at Physicians for Human Rights — Israel, a nonprofit group.

Hussam Abu Safiya, who served as director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, became of the face of health workers struggling to treat patients throughout the Israel-Hamas war. He led the facility through an 85-day siege by the Israeli military, releasing videos in which he pleaded for help. Fourteen doctors from Gaza are still being held in Israeli prisons, PHRI said.

In a screen grab from his brief appearance on Wednesday, Abu Safiya, 53, was shown handcuffed and sitting in white prison garb. His face was pale and gaunt and he had lash-like marks on both arms. Multiple clips circulating on social media from the court showed Israeli officials quickly turning the video off as people jostled to see the doctor.

His lawyer, Nasser Odeh, can be heard in the video telling Abu Safiya that onlookers cannot see him, saying guards turned off the monitor and they are waiting for the judge to enter and decide whether to allow his image back on screen.

“Many people are present to show solidarity and support. The media is also both inside and outside the court,” Odeh said in the video.

Journalists' footage of the brittle doctor spread on social media, prompting renewed calls for his release. The Israeli military has said Abu Safiya is being investigated on suspicion of cooperating with or working for Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza. Medical staff and international aid groups that have worked with Abu Safiya have denied those claims.

According to PHRI, he was recently placed in solitary confinement, a move his son, Elias Abu Safiya, said in a video posted on social media was made shortly after his appeal. Israel has yet to charge Abu Safiya with a crime.

“How can a person be punished for seeking to know why he was detained?” the younger Abu Safiya asked.

A son of the doctor was killed earlier in the war

Israel’s Justice Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. The Israeli Prison Service denied claims that the doctor, a trained pediatrician, was being mistreated. In a statement, it said all detainees receive professional medical care and any allegations of abuse or mistreatment made through official channels are examined.

After the hearing Wednesday, Odeh said he had a message from the doctor.

“I am a pediatrician who provides medical care to patients, the wounded, and the most vulnerable in the Strip,” Odeh said, relaying the doctor’s words. “I carried out my work in accordance with international law and humanitarian standards. My detention is unjust and arbitrary.”

In the weeks leading up to his imprisonment, Abu Safiya fought to maintain his composure as Israeli forces surrounded the hospital, releasing grainy video dispatches from the facility under siege. When a drone strike killed Abu Safiya’s son near the hospital, the doctor spoke with tears in his eyes.

“Everything we have built, they have burned,” he said, his voice cracking. They killed my son. ... I buried my son in the hospital yard.”

The war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023, after the Gaza-based militant group led an attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage. Since then, nearly 73,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry is staffed by medical professionals and the United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties.

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Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

The ECB’s rate-setting council raised its benchmark rate to 2.25% from 2%, where it had been for a year. The move comes ahead of rate-setting meetings next week at the Fed, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England.

Oil prices have risen sharply due to Iran choking off the flow of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the sea passage for a fifth of the world’s oil and fuel products during normal times. Raising rates aims to dampen the consumer price inflation fed by higher costs for products made from crude such as gasoline, diesel fuel, cooking gas and heating oil.

International benchmark Bent crude was trading at around $93 per barrel on Thursday, up from around $73 on the eve of the war. That has helped push inflation to 3.2% in May in the 21 countries that use the euro currency, above the ECB’s target of 2%.

But ECB policymakers must also consider the impact of higher borrowing costs on an economy showing only mediocre growth. That has led analysts to think Thursday’s hike will be a one and done affair, aimed mainly at signaling to financial markets that the bank is determined not to get behind the curve if inflation spirals higher.

The bank's future decisions depend to a great extent on how long energy prices remain elevated and how high they go, ECB President Christine Lagarde said at a post-decision news conference. She said the bank was “well positioned to navigate the uncertainty caused by the war” and would “closely monitor the situation and follow a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach.” She said the bank was “not pre-committing to a particular rate path.”

She said oil prices were expected to “lift inflation further over the summer” and that inflation was expected to remain “well above target” into the first half of next year. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed to most ship traffic for 103 days now.

Central banks in Australia and the Philippines have raises rates since the start of the war, and attention is focusing now on decisions in larger economies. For its part, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged when it meets next week with new chair Warsh, appointed earlier this year by President Donald Trump.

Warsh advocated for rate cuts last year and Trump repeatedly attacked Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, for not cutting borrowing costs deeply enough. Yet with inflation jumping to a three-year high as gas prices have spiked in the wake of the Iran war, even Trump and his officials have started to shift their focus more to a push to keep rates unchanged.

The Fed is likely to change the statement it issues after each meeting by removing language that had suggested that its next move would be a cut. That would open the door for a rate hike down the road. Many Fed officials have warned that if inflation doesn’t begin to cool soon, a rate hike may be necessary by the end of the year.

Raising benchmark rates influences what lenders charge throughout the economy, increasing the cost of borrowing money to buy things and thus dampening demand for goods. Higher central bank rates can send interest costs higher for home purchases, investment in new factories, and government borrowing.

The ECB may be able to get by with only one or two increases because the inflationary surge may be milder than feared, said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank.

That is because consumers burned by the post-pandemic spike in inflation are in no mood to pay higher prices, leaving businesses little choice but to swallow higher energy costs: “The pass-through of higher energy and input prices to final consumption will be limited due to a lack of ability and willingness of consumers to actually pay for these higher prices,” he wrote in an emailed comment.

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Rugaber reported from Washington.

Houston Police Officer Ashley Gonzalez was indefinitely suspended by Chief J. Noe Diaz Jr. on April 24 after an Internal Affairs investigation into videos she posted on social media.

According to disciplinary records, the investigation began after a Chicago Police Department officer contacted HPD’s Community Engagement Unit regarding videos Gonzalez posted to her Instagram story.

The officer, who served with Gonzalez in the U.S. Marine Corps, told investigators she and other members of their former platoon were offended by the videos and believed Gonzalez was “sharing her hate for people.”

• Fired Houston police officer appeals termination after viral racist video, HPOU president says

Records show she later spoke with an HPD sergeant and reported that Gonzalez had made disparaging comments about African Americans on social media.

The suspension letter states investigators obtained three videos and photographs from Gonzalez’s Instagram account as part of the investigation. HPD alleges Gonzalez made repeated racial slurs throughout the videos and stated she was going to arrest someone based on their race while on duty. The department also cited a statement in which Gonzalez allegedly said that if an African American person appeared on one of her 911 calls the next day, they were “going to jail.”

According to the records, Gonzalez acknowledged during her Internal Affairs interview that the Instagram account belonged to her and admitted posting the videos.

The department concluded Gonzalez violated multiple policies, including standards governing professionalism, conduct, discrimination, social media use and Brady/Michael Morton Act disclosure requirements. HPD argued the comments damaged public trust, harmed the department’s reputation and raised concerns about Gonzalez’s ability to serve as an impartial law enforcement officer.

“These videos have been widely disseminated on several social media platforms, including both local and nationwide media platforms,” Diaz wrote in the suspension letter. The department noted one local social media platform reported the videos had been viewed more than 1.2 million times.

• ‘Abhorrent, disgusting, and entirely unacceptable’: Ashley Gonzalez fired from HPD following racist social media rant

Gonzalez appealed the discipline three days after her suspension. In her appeal, she argued the allegations were “not wholly true,” the charges were not legally sufficient and the punishment did not fit the alleged conduct. She is seeking reinstatement, back pay and benefits.

Records show Gonzalez elected to have her case heard by an independent hearing examiner rather than the Firefighters’ and Police Officers’ Civil Service Commission.

A hearing was originally scheduled for June 5, but KPRC 2 has learned it has since been postponed until August.

The Houston Police Officers’ Union president Doug Griffith said Gonzalez opted to have an attorney outside of the union to represent her.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment aid for the week ending June 6 rose by 4,000 to 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most since early February, before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, but still considered a healthy level. It's also more than the 216,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

Despite concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could further squeeze a flagging labor market, hiring has picked up in recent months following a miserable 2025 that saw fewer than 200,000 job gains. For comparison, about 1.5 million jobs were added in 2024.

U.S. employers delivered a surprising 172,000 new jobs in May and the economy is averaging 188,000 job gains in the three months since the Iran war began in late February. That’s the best three months of hiring since early 2024. The unemployment rate remains historically low at 4.3%.

Job openings also rose in April as employers posted 7.6 million vacancies, up from 6.9 million in March and the most since May 2024.

The government reported Wednesday that rising gas prices — triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s southern border — pushed U.S. consumer inflation in May to 4.2%, its highest level in three years. Despite recent declines, prices for oil and gas remain elevated, which can squeeze consumers’ budgets and make businesses think twice about hiring.

With inflation well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, most analysts expect officials at the U.S. central bank to stand pat on its benchmark interest rate when they meet next week. That meeting will be the first with new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who replaces Jerome Powell after his eight-year run as the U.S. central bank’s leader.

Lower interest rates can boost the economy and hiring, but also tend to stoke inflation, leading a number of Fed policymakers to say they are actually willing to consider an interest rate hike this year. That could potentially help bring inflation down, but higher borrowing costs generally make businesses more reluctant to hire.

Optimism over artificial intelligence has also injected a degree of uncertainty about the job market due to the investment required to develop it and because the powerful technology could alter or even replace some jobs.

Among the companies that have cut jobs recently are Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.

Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 4,250 to 219,000.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending May 30 jumped by 24,000 to 1.8 million, slightly more than analysts predicted.

But is time finally up for the BBC science fiction series that has entertained generations of fans?

The British broadcaster has canceled a Christmas special previously announced for later this year, and showrunner Russell T. Davies has confirmed his exit.

Davies had been due to write the Christmas episode, announced when the last season ended in May 2025.

The BBC said Wednesday that it, Davies and production company Bad Wolf “have collectively decided not to go ahead” with the Christmas episode. The broadcaster said it was determined “to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show.”

It said it would put out a tender for production companies to work on the series. A deal between the BBC and Disney+ to co-produce and distribute the show ended in 2025 after two seasons.

First broadcast in 1963, “Doctor Who” follows the adventures of a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels in the Tardis, a time-and-space machine that from the outside resembles a mid-20th century British police telephone box.

Its longevity is due in part to its premise: the central character can regenerate into a new body when the old one wears out, so the show can outlive any individual star. More than a dozen actors have played the role, most recently Ncuti Gatwa.

Davies, who revived the show in 2005 after a 16-year hiatus and returned as showrunner in 2022, said the Christmas episode had not been written and no actor had been approached to play the central role of the Doctor.

Davies, who has also written dramas including “Queer as Folk,” “It’s a Sin” and the recent “Tip Toe,” said the show’s future was “unpredictable” in an Instagram post.

“You’ll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who … but you’ll be waiting for MORE Doctor Who than a one-off. So it’s worth it!” Davies wrote. “It’s all up for grabs, which is so Doctor Who — exciting and unpredictable and new! Here comes the future.”

The 44-year-old Williams' doubles partner, 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, was forced to withdraw from the draw on Thursday because of a knee injury she sustained in a singles match against Karolina Pliskova in the last 16 on Wednesday.

In her first professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open, Williams teamed up with Mboko to beat third-seeded duo Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6 (2), 6-2 at the grass-court event on Tuesday. They were scheduled to face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals.

Williams is set to play doubles at the Berlin Open in Germany next week. Her partner has yet to be announced, though British newspaper The Times of London reported it was Karolina Muchova.

Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles — including seven at Wimbledon — before stepping away from the game, saying at the time she was “evolving” away from tennis rather than "retiring."

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This story has been corrected to say Mboko was injured in the last 16 of the singles, not the last 32

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

It means everything to Hunter to be able to play and be valued so highly by his hometown football team.

At Morton Ranch in Katy, Hunter emerged as a blue-chip LSU football recruit who doubled as an extremely fast 400-meter runner who also excelled in the high jump.

The Texans hammered out a one-year, $40.1 million contract extension for the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter that includes a $30.7 million signing bonus this spring.

Hunter has a $30.2 million base salary in 2027 that is fully guaranteed for skill, injury and salary cap and annual $500,000 per game active roster bonus totals.

Hunter previously signed a two-year, $55.1 million extension through the 2026 season with $54.1 million of that fully guaranteed. Now, Hunter is under contract through the 2027 season.

“It means a lot to be able to come back for another year, playing for the hometown, being able to play in front of people I love, people I grew up with in the city that I really care for,” Hunter said during the Texans’ minicamp. “It shows that this organization really values me as a person and as a player. It just leaves me to do my part, go out there and keep handling business.”

Hunter looks like he’s built out of granite. His chiseled muscles pop out of his uniform. His biceps are softball-sized. Hunter finished third in the NFL as he recorded 15 sacks last season at the primary measuring stick statistical category for defensive ends. He tends to be quiet and understated most of the time.

Hunter chooses his words carefully and is the opposite of a self-promoter. He doesn’t talk himself up at all and consistently deflects praise to his teammates and coaches and discusses team goals and accomplishments. He’s a Quiet Storm type. They call him Cyborg.

And Hunter works tirelessly to achieve a goal that’s been unreached by him when he was with the Minnesota Vikings and for a Texans franchise that has lost three consecutive AFC divisional round playoffs games: reaching and winning a Super Bowl.

“Each year I just start over,” Hunter said. “I start from the fundamentals and just work my way back up. The biggest thing in my career is that, I really want to go to the final game.

“That can only happen if I pass the knowledge that I have along to the team, my teammates, defensive line room and everybody else, so that we can all play together and have that confidence to make it to the final game.”

For that to happen, the Texans’ offense needs to approach the gold standard of the Texans’ absolutely loaded defense.

Hunter is seeing signs of progress, including quarterback C.J. Stroud.

“The few days I’ve been here, I’ve noticed a lot from the offensive line and the quarterback play, how they work together in sync,” Hunter said. “It’s definitely better across the offensive line and C.J. just having his pocket awareness, he’s able to step up and make plays.

“I just got finished talking to C.J., telling him he’s doing a good job of stepping up and having awareness of the edge rushers. He was complimenting us back and how we play together as a string, but definitely across the offensive line and C.J. just making his reads.”

Hunter’s skills leave teammates wowed.

With a low-key personality and a humble approach to football and life, Hunter doesn’t beat his chest with pride.

Hunter has run the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds with a 36 1/2 inch vertical leap, a 10-10 broad jump and has bench pressed 225 pounds 25 times. He has every physical trait an NFL team could cover in a pass rusher.

Whether it’s the Euro step, spin move, cross-chop, bull-rush, swim move or just a pure speed rush, Hunter, 30, is a dominant force whatever move he chooses to employ on any given snap or Sunday. He’s at the peak of his game and physical ability.

One of the smartest investments that Texans general manager Nick Caserio has made was signing Hunter and extending him.

Lots of pass rushers are long-armed, tall and fast like Hunter.

Few can match his imagination and intellect. His vision for creative moves and his passion for the game, relentlessly chasing down quarterbacks are rare traits.

Figuring out how to generate explosiveness off the football and time up the snap count without jumping offsides is another plus for Hunter.

“The biggest thing is I just go by getting off the ball,” Hunter said. “Me being a vet, I know how to dissect my guy. The biggest thing I do out there is dissect my guy.

Spoken like a true surgeon at his craft.

Does he have a favorite move? Not really. Whatever gets him into the backfield and reaching his destination, zeroing in to apply heat on the quarterback, at the top of his rush.

“Not really,” Hunter said. “My best thing is to just go. Find a way. Whatever your God gives you, adapt and find a way to the quarterback. Just doing what I can do to get better.”

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is simply glad that he doesn’t have to compete against Hunter.

And he marvels at how Hunter engulfs quarterbacks. He rarely draws holding calls, too. That reminds Stroud of how NBA superstar LeBron James doesn’t always get the calls in his favor.

“That dude is special, man,” Stroud said. “I think, honestly, like who he is at practice too helps us as a team. He don’t take no plays off. I think that is just iron sharpening iron, Proverbs 20:17 is one of DeMeco’s mottos: ‘Iron sharpens iron, and so does another man sharpening another.’ In the world. You can do it in football as well. Who he is on Sundays, is who he is during the week. No surprise, but I got to watch little more this week, which was amazing.

“I even feel like against a couple other teams, he is getting held a lot. There is no calls. His presence is felt. Now, I understand why LeBron got so many foul calls until he became a Laker. Now, I see why he gets so many fouls is that he is so dominant, and you have to hold him or you have to do something to stop a fast break. Same thing with Danielle. He is so dominant that you have to do something to chip him or do something to knock him off his game. I’m not saying he’s LeBron, but he’s up there though, for sure.”

Hunter has posted 14 or more sacks four times in his career, becoming the 13th player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.

The tandem with All-Pro defensive end Will Anderson Jr. is arguably the best in the league.

“Cyborg, man, he’s also physical and relentless, but a little bit more methodical, a little bit more unorthodox,” Texans defensive line coach Rod Wright told KPRC 2 last season. “Hard to guess what he’s going to do from play to play when it comes to rushing. Both are very disciplined when it comes to the run game. And both guys obviously present a challenge to any opposing lineman they’re going against.

“With D-Hunt, he’s been there, done that. Seen it all, doesn’t overreact to anything. Very calm demeanor, kind of the Yin and Yang type of deal. Both have a presence about them, but it’s very different. Don’t sleep on Danielle’s personality. Really funny guy, likes to have fun as well. Got to behind closed doors, though. If you don’t really know him, he’s kind of a more reserved type of guy.”

Hunter, profiled last season by KPRC 2 for his passion for fashion and wardrobe of custom suits designed by the Gentleman’s Playbook, is a sharp dressed man who chooses his game fits carefully with his personal stylist.

“He’s put together,” Wright said. “He had a leather jacket this past weekend, I told him: ‘Make sure I get one in my size.’ He doesn’t need it. He probably has about 10 of them.

Hunter, 31, has 114 1/2 sacks in the regular season.

Hunter earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week last season as he posted a career-high-tying 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and one forced fumble.

With a rare and incredible blend of speed, power and precision, Hunter displayed in one fluid motion why he’s one of the most dominant pass rushers in the game.

Hunter has emerged as the master of the Euro step pass rushing move and many other strategies that have befuddled opposing linemen and the quarterbacks they’re paid handsomely to protect.

Although he’s a defensive lineman who represents the prototype for an NFL pass rusher, Hunter has a smooth, loose way of getting after the quarterback. His body-fat percentage is lower than most cornerbacks and wide receivers.

With a super humble approach to football and life, Hunter doesn’t beat his chest with pride.

At 6-foot-5, 263 pounds, Hunter has run the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds with a 36 1/2 inch vertical leap, a 10-10 broad jump and has bench pressed 225 pounds 25 times. He has every physical trait an NFL team could cover in a pass rusher.

Whether it’s the Euro step, spin move, cross-chop, bull-rush, swim move or just a pure speed rush, Hunter is a dominant force whatever move he chooses to employ on any given snap. He’s at the peak of his game and physical ability.

“I feel like he’s a unique, unique athlete,” Wright said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a guy like him. He’s one of a kind. There’s nothing that man can not do.

“I love that a lot of people don’t talk about him. He doesn’t want the attention. He wants the respect and he wants to win. I love that about him. There’s a humbleness about him that speaks loudly to our group, to our team. So he’s exactly who he needs to be and who we need him to be.”

For the Texans to take the next step after going 0-7 all-time in the AFC divisional round will take a concerted team effort.

Hunter likes the vibe he’s seeing across the roster and throughout the building.

“We definitely have the team,” Hunter said. “We have a group of great men, we are able to have a great coach, a great front office, that’s able to lead us the right way and a lot of guys that are just young and just buying into the program. I feel like that’s the first step to going in the right direction.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

Both qualities have been on display for the rookie offensive lineman.

Not only has Rutledge lined up with the starters at center as he competes with Jake Andrews for the job, the former All-American selection has also cross-trained at offensive guard.

Rutledge lined up with the first-team offense at left guard Wednesday during a full-team minicamp one day after playing center and having a few rough snaps. The Texans are preparing Rutledge to line up as soon as possible and are confident in his transition to the NFL.

“Keylan has done a great job,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Keylan’s moved around from guard to center. He’s done a great job with both. Really great communicator as a young player, aggressive, intense, just like the tape you saw at Georgia Tech, so it’s looked great so far.

“I’m excited to see him as another guy, with all the rookies, I’m just excited to see the guys put the pads on in training camp and truly compete, get the opportunity to play in some preseason games.”

The Texans’ offensive line Wednesday included returning left offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery, Rutledge, reserve center Evan Brown, returning right guard Ed Ingram and former Pro Bowl selection Trent Brown at right tackle with projected starter Braden Smith working his way back from a neck injury from last season with the Indianapolis Colts. Wyatt Teller, a Pro Bowl selection with the Cleveland Browns previously, has been the first-team left guard for the majority of the offseason workouts.

Nicknamed ‘Big Red,’ Rutledge signed a four-year, $19.276 million fully guaranteed contract last week that includes a $10.479 million signing bonus.

Rutledge is known for his nasty streak.

He has already made a lasting first impression on hard-hitting Pro Bowl middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair

“The best offensive linemen I know are like gnats,” Al-Shaair said. “You blow them away, you get off the block, and then by the end of the play, you just feel somebody breathing on you like, ‘Man, get the hell away from me.’ That’s how it’s been for him specifically.

“There are times when I’m over there thinking about punching him, because he’s just right there, just on you and I love that. I think those are the best players at that position that I’ve played against just won’t stop. The mindset, the attitude, is stuff that is hard to coach. It’s hard to coach somebody to be physical. It’s just either you got it or you don’t.”

Why did the Texans draft Rutledge and have such a strong conviction about the third-team All-American and first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection? A hard-nosed mentality, and a pile of bodies he left on the ground with a series of punishing blocks.

“The things that stand out about him, toughness, violence, physicality, his playing style, his intelligence,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said. “Basically, the guy wants to step on your throat on every play, which I would say sort of embodies what our football team is about, the way we play.

“Intense, violent, physical. We’re going to run the football this year. It was an area that we felt like we wanted to and needed to improve on during the offseason. Hopefully, we’ve done that.”

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key called him the best offensive lineman he’s ever coached and the toughest player he’s worked with.

Key told KPRC 2 he believes that Rutledge can be an All-Pro center one day.

Rutledge tries to embody that serious approach to the game every snap he takes.

“It’s just who I want to be as a football player,” Rutledge said. “You want to be tough. You want to be relentless. You want to punch somebody in the face. You want to set the tone, and I think that’s what I do.

“That’s what I’m gonna bring every day. I control what I can control and that’s how hard I play, how I finish, how I strain, how detailed I am. I think that comes with toughness, how you push through things when you don’t feel right. That’s what I bring to Houston.”

Rutledge worked out privately in Georgia for Texans offensive line coach and run game coordinator Cole Popovich shortly before the draft, per a league source.

The Texans were intrigued by the physicality and serious approach of Rutledge throughout the draft process. The recent private workout conducted shortly before the draft reinforced their strong feelings about him as a player and person, per a league source.

“Him getting down here to Georgia Tech and just working me out, obviously you go out there and try to put your best foot forward,” Rutledge said. “Show him who you are. Obviously, he’s watched so much tape, so he already knows, right? But just put me through some movement stuff, seeing how I move.

“He’s just honestly coaching me up, man, you know, telling me like, ‘Hey, this is how, if you came to Houston, this is how we would do things, how we’re gonna throw punches. I’m just just soaking it up, trying to be a sponge, trying to learn from that guy. Man, obviously he knows what he’s doing, and I really had good feedback. I knew he liked me.”

A Middle Tennessee State transfer, Rutledge is 6-foot-4, 316 pounds and has run the 40-yard dash in 5.05 seconds. He tested consistently in training in 4.9 seconds.

He was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection at right guard two seasons ago and a third-team All-American last season and all-conference again.

He is known for his power, strength, technique and go-for-the-throat style.

Rutledge won the Atlantic Coast Conference Brian Piccolo Award as the conference’s most courageous player, in recognition of overcoming serious injuries sustained in a automobile accident in December 2023.

Rutledge nearly had to have his foot amputated, but overcame the injury and got back to playing football again at a high level.

“It’s just a blessing, obviously, going through that car wreck when it could have been a lot, lot worse,” Rutledge said. “God had his hand with me. What happened to the foot that wasn’t a good deal, and then obviously, getting infected. When you get a bone infection, it’s a chance that they’re gonna cut it off. And that’s not good. God was just with me the whole time.

“Obviously, I battled back and found a way to get out there, and once, I found a way out there, two years of film and now we’re here. Just so blessed to be able to have this opportunity, and God’s been so gracious to me. I’m ready to get after it.”

He started all 13 games at right guard and did not allow a sack and surrendered just six quarterback hurries in 872 snaps in 2025.

Where Rutledge winds up playing is still being determined, but Wyatt Teller, signed to a two-year, $23 million deal, and Ingram, signed to a three-year, $37.5 million deal are expected to start at left guard and right guard, respectively.

“I’m comfortable at all three,” Rutledge said. “Honestly, obviously you’re most comfortable at right guard, because that’s what I played, kind of as a freshman, started there and just stuck there through all the years, but right side to left side. Obviously, it’s an adjustment.

“At center, man, I’m so comfortable with it, because coach Key always told me: ‘Hey, you have to play all three at the next level. You never know where they’re gonna put you at. I was kind of the emergency guy senior year. Senior Bowl, taking snaps, 100% confident that I can do that point out the Mike, have everybody on the same page. I can play all three.”

Right guard is where Rutledge has played the most, though, at the collegiate level.

“We’ll see,” Caserio said. “He’ll probably play wherever he needs to play. I’d say all three inside guys, you’ve got some guys that are center only, some guys that are guard only, some guys that can play all three spots.

“We’ll see how it goes. Where is he going to play? We’ll see. Nobody knows. We’ll figure that out as we go.”

NOTES: Veteran defensive lineman Logan Hall, a former University of Houston standout and Tampa Bay Buccaneers starter signed to a two-year, $13.75 million deal that includes $9 million guaranteed, has been sidelined at minicamp.

Hall is attending the workouts, but not practicing. He is expected to recover from a groin injury and knee tendonitis and be ready for training camp, per a league source.

Rookie tight end Marlin Klein, a second-round draft pick from Michigan, is recovering from a strained hamstring, per a league source. Klein hasn’t been practicing, running on the side with trainers.

The Texans have limited Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins in drills.

Wide receiver Tank Dell, on a comeback path for training camp, has participated on a limited basis. He is recovering from a devastating knee injury suffered in December 2024 while catching a touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Dell has made significant progress after undergoing two surgeries to repair a dislocated knee along with torn anterior cruciate, medial collateral and lateral collateral ligaments. He is expected to increase his activity next month at training camp.

Several other players aren’t practicing, including safety M.J. Stewart as he continues to rehab from a torn quadriceps tendon last season, linebacker E.J. Speed, who sustained a season-ending torn quadriceps tendon and partially torn quadriceps muscle, per sources, while performing a single-legged squat in the weight room.

Nickel Jalen Pitre intercepted quarterback C.J. Stroud and returned the interception for a touchdown.

Al-Shaair delivered an acrobatic interception of a Stroud pass.

Stroud had some sharp throws, too, including passes to tight end Dalton Schultz and wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson. Backup quarterback Davis Mills threw a touchdown pass to Jaylin Noel, who has been the primary slot throughout the offseason after catching two touchdowns as a rookie last season. Mills’ timing and accuracy showed up on a slick, toe-tapping sideline catch from rookie wide receiver Lewis Bond.

“It’s that time of the year where you can show up and kind of just get by or you can actually try to push yourself to be better,” said Al-Shaair, who signed a three-year, $54 million extension this spring. “For me, coming into the NFL every single day, you have got to show up and work, and that’s all I know.

“That’s how I got to where I’m at in the first place, so I think that’s just the mentality of our team, and, obviously, as a leader, if you’re not doing it, you know, nobody else is going to really want to follow you.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

Executives at Walmart, Kroger and H-E-B say they are lowering prices on thousands of products as competition intensifies in the grocery industry.

• Nearly 40% of Houston families face food insecurity, new report finds

Walmart says it has already reduced prices on more than 7,000 items, representing a more than 20% improvement in pricing compared to last year.

Kroger has also announced plans to lower prices on select products while expanding its footprint by opening between 70 and 80 new stores.

The moves come as consumers continue searching for ways to stretch their grocery budgets amid higher costs for food and other household necessities.

Consumer experts say shoppers can maximize savings by paying close attention to sales, comparing prices between stores and taking advantage of loyalty programs and digital coupons.

• Houston inflation continues to climb, up since start of year, new data shows

Dominique Jones, a consumer science expert at the University of Houston, says shoppers should also consider purchasing store-brand products instead of name-brand items whenever possible.

Store-brand options for products such as soup, cheese, milk, lunch meats and ice cream are often significantly less expensive while offering similar quality, Jones said.

While inflation has eased in some areas of the economy, many families are still feeling the impact of elevated grocery prices. The latest efforts by major retailers could provide some relief for consumers looking to save money on everyday purchases.

RELATED: FIFA World Cup 2026 in Houston: Complete guide to matches, parking, Fan Fest, Transportation and more

A Global soccer celebration in Houston

The festival will transform several city blocks into a World Cup watch party featuring giant video screens, food vendors, interactive activities and entertainment designed to showcase Houston to visitors from around the globe.

“It’s something for everyone. It’s something for families to come down to,” said Patti Smith, the festival’s director. “We really tried to design this to show the world who we are as a city.”

Organizers expect thousands of fans to visit the festival each day, particularly during Team USA, Mexico and Houston-hosted matches. Admission is free, but entry will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. The festival can accommodate approximately 7,500 people at a time.

Be ready for the heat

With Houston’s summer heat expected to be a factor, organizers are encouraging attendees to plan ahead and stay hydrated.

“Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate,” Smith said. “That’s why we want you to bring your own water bottles.”

Fans are allowed to bring clear refillable water bottles and can use hydration stations located throughout the festival grounds. Organizers have also added misting stations, shaded viewing areas and multiple air-conditioned spaces where visitors can cool off.

Transportation and parking tips

Officials are also urging attendees to consider alternative transportation options. Parking closest to the festival site will be limited, and organizers recommend using METRO, rideshare services or bicycles whenever possible.

What to do in an emergency

Medical personnel, security officers and volunteers will be stationed throughout the venue to assist guests. Organizers say anyone experiencing signs of heat-related illness should seek help immediately.

“If you’re not feeling right, flag anybody down and say, ‘I’m not feeling right,’” Smith said. “We’ll take you right to the medical trailer and have them take care of you immediately.”

Organizers’ message to fans

As Houston prepares to welcome soccer fans from around the world, organizers say the goal is simple: come prepared, stay hydrated and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime World Cup experience in the heart of the city.

The statewide ad buy, first shared with The Texas Tribune, comes in at more than $800,000, according to Talarico’s campaign, a sizable spend nearly five months out from Election Day. It is a sign of the Austin Democrat’s cash-flush campaign coffers and his focus on bringing Latino voters back to the fold, following recent election cycles when their swing to the right powered landslide wins for Texas Republicans.

The ad is set to air on Telemundo during every U.S. and Mexico group stage match of the tournament. It will first go up Thursday during Mexico’s match against South Africa, and continue during five other games over the next two weeks: U.S. vs. Paraguay on Friday, Mexico vs. South Korea on June 18, U.S. vs. Australia on June 19, Mexico vs. Czechia on June 24 and U.S. vs. Turkey on June 25. The World Cup will be hosted in Houston, along with 15 other cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“Since the beginning of this campaign, I’ve pledged to be a senator that represents all 31 million Texans, including the nearly 8 million Texans who speak Spanish,” Talarico said in a statement to the Tribune. “Building a movement to take power back for working people requires uniting together on one team to take power back for ourselves and our communities.”

Talarico is facing Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee, in what will be a vastly expensive battle. Talarico’s ad buy, fueled by his record-breaking fundraising, is the first by either candidate in the general election.

In the 30-second ad, a narrator in Spanish emphasizes Talarico’s background as a teacher and public education advocate, his plans to defend Social Security and Medicare, and his push to raise taxes on billionaires.

“Talarico’s shown he has the grit and determination, but he’s still depending on your vote,” the narrator says in an English translation. “And just like that, we’ll all be yelling: ¡Talaricooooooooo!”

The spot is a continuation of Talarico’s efforts to shore up support from Latino voters, who helped power his Democratic primary win. Ahead of the March contest against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the Austin Democrat aired ads in Spanish, maintained a social media presence in Spanish and leaned on influential figures such as Carlos Eduardo Espina, a popular Latino content creator who promoted Talarico to his millions of TikTok followers.

Recent polling has shown Talarico and Paxton running essentially even. A public poll fielded by Texas A&M University, Siena Research Institute and ReconMR from June 1 to June 4 found Talarico winning Latino voters by 12 percentage points over Paxton. The Austin Democrat maintained a net positive 11-point favorability rating among Latinos, with a quarter unsure, while Paxton was 12 points underwater with 20 percent unsure.

Meanwhile, in surveys across the country, Latino voters have cooled on President Donald Trump over rising everyday costs and the administration’s high-octane deportation campaign. A scattering of special elections, including a Democratic upset in a North Texas state Senate district, also have measured a fizzling of Latino support for down-ballot GOP candidates.

Latino voters made up nearly one in four votes cast in Texas during the 2024 general election, according to estimates by VoteHub. Republicans, led by Trump at the top of the ticket, made significant gains with Latinos that cycle, especially in South Texas. Those voters are expected to play a significant swing role in this year’s midterm elections, when Democrats hope backlash to the Trump administration and broader political tailwinds can help power them to their first statewide victory in Texas since 1994.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University 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.

The kingdom slapped a ban on Lebanese fruits and vegetables in 2021, saying they were being used to smuggle drugs. In one notable case, Saudi Arabia announced it had seized over 5 million pills of the amphetamine drug Captagon hidden in a shipment of pomegranates coming from Lebanon.

Months later, the wealthy Gulf country extended the ban to all Lebanese products after Lebanon's information minister at the time, George Kordahi, publicly criticized Saudi Arabia's war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

At the root of the diplomatic crisis was Saudi Arabia's regional rivalry with Iran and its displeasure with the influence of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. The ban came at a time when Lebanon's economy was already reeling from a major financial crisis and the collapse of its currency.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that the reversal of the ban at the order of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came as a result of “positive steps taken by the Lebanese state.”

It did not specify what those steps were, but over the past year, the Lebanese government has announced plans to disarm all non-state groups, including Hezbollah. Before the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, the Lebanese army had made progress on implementing the plan in southern Lebanon.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in a statement thanked Prince Mohammed for the decision, which he said “will contribute tangibly to reviving the national economy and providing support to broad segments of Lebanese producers and exporters.”

The current government of Lebanon, which came to power last year with promises of reform, has sought to rebuild ties with the Gulf countries. Before the outbreak of the latest war, Lebanese officials were courting Gulf tourists to return to the country in hopes of reviving the economy, and some Gulf countries had lifted travel bans preventing their citizens from visiting Lebanon.

Soccer fans, good news! If you’re in town for the FIFA World Cup or if you just happen to live here, today will begin some of the many festivities that will be taking place in the city this month.

Yep, starting today, you can visit the FIFA Fan Fest in East Downtown. It’s a free gathering place for soccer fans to watch matches, grab food and enjoy live entertainment and games.

Thousands of fans are expected to visit the festival each day. Although entry is free, it will be on a first-come, first-served basis, accommodating 7,500 people at a time.

To read more, click here.

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YOUR MORNING FORECAST ☀️

TODAY:91° TONIGHT: 78°

KPRC 2 Meteorologist says:

“Expect a mix of sunshine and cloud cover, with temperatures climbing into the upper 80s and lower 90s. Factor in the humidity, and we’ll feel closer to the triple digits. There is a 20% chance of showers and storms in the afternoon. If you do see a downpour, it can bring a quick inch or so of rain and frequent lightning strikes.”

Get your forecast details here.

TOP STORIES

Will Houston’s power grid hold up during the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

With the FIFA World Cup 2026 set to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to Houston this summer, CenterPoint Energy says it has spent more than a year preparing the region’s electric and natural gas infrastructure for the global event.

Houston will host seven World Cup matches between June 14 and July 4, prompting concerns from some residents about whether the electric grid can handle the increased demand during one of the hottest times of the year.

Houston man says $22K FIFA ticket purchase didn’t match seats he was shown

As excitement builds ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Houston, one local soccer fan says the premium seats he believed he purchased for $22,000 ended up being different from what he was shown during the sales process.

Saad Qureshi, a Houston resident and longtime soccer fan, says he purchased five FIFA hospitality packages through FIFA’s official hospitality provider, On Location, after months of discussions with a sales representative about seating options.

FIFA World Cup 2026 in Houston: Complete guide to matches, parking, Fan Fest, transportation and more

For one month this summer, Houston will be among the cities hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026 with seven matches at Houston Stadium (also known as NRG Stadium) and welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the globe.

Whether you’re planning to attend a match, visit the FIFA Fan Festival, host out-of-town guests or simply navigate the city during the tournament, here’s what Houstonians need to know.

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

Get 2 know Bombón: The music collective behind the Houston remix for FIFA World Cup 2026™ 🎵🎵⚽

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A Black teenager was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison on Tuesday after being found guilty of stabbing a white teenager to death at a track meet near Dallas, Texas.

This verdict comes after a heavily watched trial, where race and other factors played a huge role in its heightened interest.

The jury rejected now 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony’s claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in stadium bleachers last year. Most of the people who testified were students who described a heated exchange on a rainy spring day over Anthony’s refusal to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf’s team.

Notoriety about the case spread, in part, because of a flood of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Lawyers on both sides, however, told jurors that the tragedy had nothing to do with race.

To read more, click here.

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

YOUR MORNING FORECAST ☀️

TODAY:90° TONIGHT: 82°

KPRC 2 Meteorologist says:

“Wednesday will be very similar to Monday and Tuesday! Expect a mix of sunshine and cloud cover, with temperatures climbing into the upper 80s and lower 90s. Factor in the humidity, and we’ll feel closer to the triple digits.”

Get your forecast details here.

TOP STORIES

Will Houston’s power grid hold up during the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

With the FIFA World Cup 2026 set to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to Houston this summer, CenterPoint Energy says it has spent more than a year preparing the region’s electric and natural gas infrastructure for the global event.

Houston will host seven World Cup matches between June 14 and July 4, prompting concerns from some residents about whether the electric grid can handle the increased demand during one of the hottest times of the year.

Contaminated Circle K fuel claims spread to Baytown as some customers begin seeing reimbursements

Reports of contaminated fuel damaging vehicles at Circle K gas stations in the Greater Houston area have now reached Baytown, while some affected customers are beginning to see reimbursements.

KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel has been following the story for the past week after first reporting on customers in Spring Branch and Bellaire who had their vehicles damaged by water-contaminated gas. A young mother in Baytown is the latest to come forward.

Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office fires deputy involved in fatal shooting of Texas State student in Lake Jackson

Kevin Tippit, the deputy involved in the fatal shooting of John Mendoza Jr. in Lake Jackson has been fired from the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office.

Brazoria County Sheriff Bo Stallman made the announcement in a video statement posted on YouTube Tuesday. “Based on the ongoing investigations and the information available to me at this time, I have determined that due to the policy violations related to the handling and discharge of his firearm, the employment of the deputy involved in the shooting on June 1st, Kevin Tippit, has been terminated effective today,” Stallman said in the video.

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

Get 2 know Bombón: The music collective behind the Houston remix for FIFA World Cup 2026™ 🎵🎵⚽

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METRO announced plans to increase service across its system from June 7 through July 11, 2026, to accommodate the influx of visitors expected for the international tournament while continuing to serve daily riders.

• Houston man says $22K FIFA ticket purchase didn’t match seats he was shown

“Our approach is not to build a system just for the event, but to strengthen the one Houston relies on every day and scale it to meet global demand without compromising service for our regular riders,” METRO said in a statement.

METRORail will operate extended hours until midnight throughout the tournament.

On the Red Line, trains will run every six minutes during peak travel periods and every 12 minutes late at night.

Green and Purple Line trains will operate every 12 minutes with extended service hours through midnight.

• FIFA World Cup 2026 in Houston: Complete guide to matches, parking, Fan Fest, transportation and more

METRO said local bus routes will see increased frequency and extended service hours along key corridors and activity centers.

Park & Ride service will also expand during the World Cup, operating seven days a week with extended hours and more frequent service.

Off-peak Park & Ride routes will run every 30 minutes until midnight.

Airport connections

Visitors arriving in Houston can use METRO’s 500 Downtown Direct service, which connects George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport with downtown Houston.

The route operates every 30 minutes and costs $4.50 for a one-way trip.

Additional security and rider assistance

METRO plans to stage additional vehicles at high-demand locations throughout the transit system to handle increased ridership.

The agency will also increase police presence in coordination with regional law enforcement partners. Officials said a unified command structure will allow for real-time communication and rapid response during the tournament.

• FIFA World Cup just days away; how to avoid headaches in the commute to Fan Fest in downtown

METRO Ambassadors will be stationed at key transit hubs and stations to assist riders and visitors.

Despite the service enhancements, METRO said fares will remain unchanged during the World Cup.

The transit agency has spent months coordinating with the City of Houston, regional partners, law enforcement agencies and event organizers to prepare transportation and traffic plans ahead of the tournament.

Officials said the improvements are intended to leave a lasting impact on Houston’s transit network beyond the World Cup, creating a safer, more reliable and more accessible system for residents in the years ahead.

The stabbing happened around 1 a.m. at an apartment complex in the 1700 block of Seaspray Court.

Investigators said the victim and a 20-year-old woman had attended a pool party earlier in the day along with several friends. After returning to the apartment complex, the two women began arguing over a boy.

• Funeral fraudster who targeted grieving families headed back to prison after probation revoked

According to police, the argument turned into a fistfight before the confrontation initially ended.

Authorities said the 20-year-old suspect then went inside her downstairs apartment. However, the victim followed her into the apartment, where the fight resumed.

During the second altercation, police said the victim was stabbed in the temple.

After being injured, the woman ran out of the apartment and into the parking lot before collapsing. Neighbors came to her aid and called for help.

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Houston Fire Department paramedics transported the victim to a nearby hospital, where she remains in critical condition and has been placed on life support, police said.

The 20-year-old suspect, who lives alone in the apartment where the stabbing occurred, is in custody and cooperating with investigators.

As of Thursday morning, no charges had been announced.

The crash happened around 11 p.m. Wednesday in the 600 block of Century Plaza near Woodham Drive.

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, a vehicle traveling eastbound on Century Plaza lost control, left the roadway, and crashed into the grassy median.

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Investigators said the vehicle’s 30-year-old male passenger was ejected during the crash. Deputies said he was not wearing a seat belt.

Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The female driver was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. During the investigation, deputies determined she was intoxicated and arrested her. She has since been charged with intoxication manslaughter.

Investigators also said speed appears to have been a factor in the crash. According to Deputy Laura Vasquez, the driver told deputies she was traveling about 60 mph in an area where the speed limit is 35 mph.

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Authorities said the driver and passenger had been in a common-law marriage and had been together for approximately six years.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash, and no other injuries were reported.

The exchange came shortly after the U.S. launched a second round of airstrikes overnight Thursday. Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

The new assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end the war appeared to have stalled, with Iran insisting it would maintain its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Talks have also faltered because of Israel's attacks against the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.

In a first exchange of missile fire from Iran and airstrikes by the U.S. on Wednesday, Iranian missiles were launched at missiles at Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. Those came in the wake of American strikes in reprisal for the shooting down of a U.S. helicopter in the strait.

The U.S. Central Command said it completed its latest round of airstrikes just before the sun rose Thursday in Iran. It said the strikes targeted military surveillance, communications and air defense sites and were carried out by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy. It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes.

Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as in the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the strait.

Here's the latest:

Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement Thursday saying the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it.

Iran's says US attacks have rendered ceasefire meaningless

Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement Thursday saying the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it.

Pakistan expresses concern over tensions

Pakistan on Thursday expressed deep concern over rising tensions between the United States and Iran and urged both sides to adhere to a ceasefire understanding, saying Islamabad would continue efforts to promote dialogue and diplomacy.

“Pakistan reaffirms its support for the peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told a news briefing in Islamabad.

India says 3 Indian mariners killed on tanker hit by US military

An Indian official says three Indian mariners were killed on board a tanker targeted by the U.S. military over allegedly violating America’s blockade on Iran.

Indian Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced the three mariners’ killing on X in the attack on the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello.

“Sadly, three Indian seafarers initially reported missing are now confirmed dead after two bodies were recovered,” he wrote. It wasn’t clear where the third body was.

The U.S. military’s Central Command had accused the Settebello of having “violated the ongoing blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran.” It fired into the ship’s engine room to stop it.

Kuwait closes its airspaces as it intercepts incoming fire

Kuwait says it has closed its airspace over ongoing Iranian attacks and said flights were being diverted to alternative airports, without elaborating.

Flights had been circling outside of Kuwait for some time before the announcement after it said its air defenses were firing.

Kuwait International Airport had taken a direct Iranian hit in recent days, which killed one person and wounded dozens.

Kuwaiti air defenses fire at incoming missiles, Bahrain sounds alerts

Kuwait's military said its air defenses were firing Thursday morning after Iran threatened retaliation for U.S. airstrikes overnight. Bahrain separately sounded its missile alert sirens in the island kingdom that hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters.

The restart of No. 6 reactor at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station earlier this year was meant to spur a movement to bring more nuclear reactors online. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is one of three plants whose cooling pools will be full in five years, according to the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan.

“Without solid (fuel management) plans, our power generation will stall sooner or later,” Kashiwazaki-Kariwa General Manager Takeyuki Inagaki said.

After decades of seeking permanent storage for highly radioactive spent fuel, the government is considering Minamitorishima, a remote Pacific island south of Tokyo. But the selection has faced skepticism and criticism stemming from Japan's arbitrary actions on spent fuel and radioactive waste management.

Only 15 of Japan’s 54 reactors have restarted since the March 2011 Fukushima disaster, when a 9.0 earthquake off Japan’s northeastern coast and a subsequent tsunami caused meltdowns at three reactors operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, or TEPCO. About 160,000 people fled from Fukushima and some areas remain unlivable.

Kashiazaki-Kariwa, also run by TEPCO, was shut down after the Fukushima disaster as part of a nationwide nuclear power stoppage.

The spent fuel in a cooling pool at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa No. 6 reactor, which is 88% filled, can be seen from a top-floor observation area. TEPCO has installed filtered venting systems and devices to prevent hydrogen explosions among additional safety measures based on lessons from Fukushima.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is pushing to bring more nuclear plants online, resulting in more spent fuel. Without a viable permanent storage plan, there are worries that reactors will have to close when storage space runs out.

Fuel recycling plan has stalled

There are two options for dealing with spent nuclear fuel: direct disposal as waste or recycling to extract plutonium and uranium for reuse.

Japan insists on recycling, saying it will help the resource-poor nation's energy needs while reducing the toxicity and volume of radioactive waste. But a reactor designed for plutonium reuse, a key part of the recycling, has failed. Reprocessing also won’t be able to handle all the spent fuel, adding to a plutonium stockpile that already is large enough to arm thousands of atomic bombs.

Experts say Japan should also consider the direct disposal option.

As of December 2025, cooling pools at 17 Japanese nuclear power plants held more than 17,000 tons (15,422 metric tons) of spent fuel, using nearly 80% of total storage capacity, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Beyond the large amount of radioactive waste from normal reactors, Japan also “has to deal with massive and largely unknown high-level nuclear waste from the Fukushima disaster,” said Lila Okamura, a Senshu University professor and expert on environmental politics and nuclear waste management.

Choosing a final disposal site for spent fuel and building a facility would require 100 years and tens of thousands of years to monitor the storage deep underground. For a generations-long project, Japan should plan carefully and not rush the current plan that is full of uncertainties, Okamura said.

A remote island is a possibility

Weeks after Kashiwazaki-Kariwa's No. 6 reactor came back online for the first time in 14 years since the Fukushima disaster, Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa approached Ogasawara village to request a feasibility study for a high-level radioactive waste site on Minamitorishima, an island administered by Ogasawara, which is part of Tokyo.

“With a lot of spent fuel accumulating at nuclear power plants across the country, a final disposal of radioactive waste is a crucial challenge that must be resolved,” Akazawa said in a letter to Ogasawara Mayor Masaaki Shibuya.

The government-owned Minamitorishima, about 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) south of Tokyo, has no permanent residents. The Japanese army is constructing a firing range for long-range, surface-to-ship missiles as a deterrent to China. The island also has deep sea deposits rich with rare earth minerals.

“The move seems political,” said Satoshi Takano, a member of a government panel looking at final disposal of spent fuel. “There will be little opposition from a government-owned remote island.”

Some experts say the island, which sits on a geologically stable tectonic plate, could be suitable. Many residents on Ogasawara and two nearby islands raised concerns about safety and tourism.

“I was baffled when I heard about the plan,” Ogasawara assembly member Yusuke Hirano told an assembly meeting. “I think nuclear waste is incompatible with islands that are a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site.”

Struggling to find a final disposal site

Finding a community willing to host a highly radioactive dump site has been difficult, even with a raft of financial enticements. Minamitorishima is the fourth location to have a feasibility study since the government started looking in the early 2000s.

The whole review process will take about two decades. Municipalities participating in the first stage can receive up to 2 billion yen ($12.8 million) in government subsidies. The next stage would bring up to 7 billion yen ($44.7 million). Funding details for a final study haven't been disclosed.

The world’s first final disposal site for spent nuclear fuel is set to open in Finland later this year. Britain, Germany and the United States have abandoned reprocessing largely because of high costs and technical challenges, while several other countries are discussing plans for direct disposal sites.

Inagaki, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa general manager, said TEPCO is transferring spent fuel from No. 6 reactor to other reactors at the plant with more space, but the utility hopes to resume shipments to a dry cask storage in northern Japan as a near-term solution. Other utilities with nearly full pools have announced plans to build dry-cask storage at their plants.

Many residents worry about Japan's growing stockpile because high-density storage of spent fuel could also increase overheating risks.

Mie Kuwabara, a civil activist in Niigata, wondered “where will it go next?”

“It's irresponsible to accelerate restarts and produce more spent fuel without deciding its final destination,” said Kuwabara, who also is skeptical about using Minamitorishima.

“It's like saying that it's OK to put a facility there because nobody is around to complain if there is a problem,” Kuwabara said. “It's scary.”

After years of a strained relationship between Greg Abbott and the Texas GOP, the governor has emerged as a key sponsor of the event. Dustin Burrows, after presiding over a wave of conservative wins in his first term leading the House, will be the first sitting speaker to address the convention. And party leaders are lining up behind Abraham George in his reelection bid to continue chairing the party.

It’s a stark change from the Texas GOP of years past. In just the last five years, one party chair resigned to primary Abbott, another endorsed against then-House Speaker Dade Phelan, convention attendees booed U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and as recently as last year, George entertained censuring GOP lawmakers who voted for Burrows.

With Attorney General Ken Paxton’s defeat of Cornyn in the primary runoff two weeks ago, party leaders hope to have allies in the governor’s mansion, atop the speaker’s dais and in Cornyn’s Senate seat next year, passing a new batch of conservative priorities approved by convention delegates this week.

That’s if Republicans can hold the line against Democrats in November. Paxton, Abbott, Burrows and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are scheduled to address the convention Friday. The subtext of their united front, spelled out in warnings from Patrick and others in recent months, is that Republicans need to shelve lingering grudges and support the entire ticket.

One of the biggest lingering intraparty feuds dissolved last week when Secretary of State Jane Nelson, an Abbott appointee who opposed the Texas GOP goal of closing its primaries, leading the party to sue her in federal court, announced she is resigning her post in five weeks.

In a statement to The Texas Tribune, George noted that the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker — the “Big Three” of state government — and many other elected officials and candidates are partnering with the conservative grassroots to put on the convention.

“Since becoming Chairman, one of my top priorities has been uniting every corner of the Republican Party of Texas to fight and win the 2026 midterms,” George said. “This convention has been a major step toward that goal.”

Yet, the undercurrents that brought the Texas GOP civil war to a boiling point in 2024 have carried through, albeit more quietly, among some of the party’s rank-and-file activists. The party rules, platform and legislative priorities adopted at the convention will set the tone for next year’s legislative session, helping determine whether the party will partner with GOP lawmakers on policy goals or reprise its heckler role on the fringes of Texas politics.

The Abbott and Burrows redemption arcs

The shift in the Texas GOP’s messaging comes after Abbott and the Burrows-led Texas House pried loose longtime party priorities that had gotten stuck in the lower chamber, sometimes for years on end after sailing session after session through the Patrick-led Senate.

For Abbott, it was the culmination of a multiyear arc dating back to his pandemic lockdown measures, which led to a fraying of his relations with the Texas GOP and his reputation among the hardcore activists who form the state party’s backbone. But after weathering attacks from the right in his 2022 primary, Abbott became a leading foil to President Joe Biden on immigration, revving up his Operation Lone Star border crackdown as the GOP base was fuming over a record spike in illegal immigration.

The governor also took ownership of a longtime conservative goal, private school vouchers, then launched a campaign to oust the House Republicans who thwarted it in 2023. By the end of the runoffs the following year, Abbott helped flip enough seats to secure the bill, which passed with all but two GOP members voting in favor.

The governor’s primary warpath won him extra goodwill among the grassroots by ushering in an insurgent freshman class that, beyond supporting vouchers, had run on shaking up the Capitol and steering the House rightward, setting the stage for stalled priorities — like restrictions on foreign land purchases — to reach Abbott’s desk.

Burrows’ relations with the state party started from an even deeper pit than Abbott’s. The Lubbock Republican won the speakership in January 2025 by banding with Democrats to defeat the House GOP caucus’ pick, carrying on a practice of courting the minority party dating back to former Speaker Joe Straus’ election in 2009. The GOP grassroots, after years of frustration with the San Antonio moderate and his lieutenants for stonewalling certain right-wing bills, feared more of the same from Burrows.

The abrupt path to redemption for Burrows and the House began when the chamber passed the voucher bill in late April 2025. Then the avalanche of GOP priorities followed.

Burrows’ rapprochement with the Texas GOP started coming into focus over the summer, while House Democrats camped out across the country to stall Republican-drawn congressional maps. In the meantime, the Texas GOP’s governing board met in the state Capitol to draft a report intended to outline Republican members’ transgressions against the party and its legislative priorities.

The morning of that meeting, Abbott brought the party leaders together with Burrows at the Governor’s Mansion, marking the two sides’ first meeting since Burrows took over the gavel. There, mere weeks after he had dismissed George as “not worth responding to,” the speaker discussed the conservative bills passed in the first half of the year and the state’s efforts to corral the absconding members.

“We have an open line with the speaker,” George told the Tribune after the meeting. “You don’t have to agree all the time. We probably are still going to have some disagreements. That’s part of the process.”

When the Democrats finally returned to Austin, the Legislature passed the congressional maps and capped off the year with a final batch of GOP wins: a bill to crack down on the manufacturing and distribution of abortion pills and legislation — once allegedly opposed by Abbott — restricting which restrooms transgender people can use in government buildings and schools.

The “bathroom bill,” as it was known, began its journey through the Legislature 10 years prior, once forming a major fissure between Texas Republican leaders before ending up as one of last year’s marquee wins for conservatives.

Despite this year’s unity push, some grassroots activists maintain it was the party’s threats to ban House Republicans from the 2026 primary ballot, should they run afoul of party principles, that pressured Burrows and the chamber into action.

Former Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi, who oversaw the introduction of that mechanism, said it “definitely helped” move the needle. So, too, did the party structure that allows the grassroots to set the legislative priorities that lawmakers can be censured for defying.

“If the Republican Party is just a cheerleading society for elected officials in general elections, they’re not an institution of power, and that’s the case in virtually every other state,” Rinaldi said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. “But here in Texas, it is a center of power, and they have a seat at the table.”

Corporate dollars start to flow again

The Republican Party of Texas is the state’s affiliate of the national party, organized to elect Republican officials and enact conservative policies — the latter increasingly coming to the fore in the last 10 years. But some Republican lawmakers view the state party as a band of far-right activists who use the party label and institution to browbeat Republicans who don’t tout the party’s brand of conservatism.

When the last GOP convention rolled around in 2024, the party’s finances were in their worst shape since 2017, with party leaders having alienated traditional corporate donors through their activism, including then-Chair Rinaldi’s attacks on House leadership and his dismissal of calls for the party to distance itself from an influential GOP group, Defend Texas Liberty PAC, with ties to white supremacists. In those donors’ places, the party increasingly relied on contributions from Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, the West Texas oil barons who funded Defend Texas Liberty and used it as their latest means of financing political opposition to more moderate House Republicans. Dunn-associated groups continue to be some of the party’s top donors, the Texas GOP’s latest campaign finance filings show.

With the 2026 convention coming to Houston, event finances threatened to again become a headache for the party.

Christin Bentley, a retiring member of the State Republican Executive Committee, emailed fellow members of the party governing board earlier this week alleging that the party was taking a $651,000 loss to run the convention. In a response on Wednesday morning, George said the deficit was currently closer to $100,000.

“When you factor in the registrations that will be paid over the next couple of days, that budget shortfall will not only be covered but we will turn a profit,” he wrote.

The George R. Brown Convention Center, the site of this week’s gathering, is one of the most expensive venues available to the party, located in the heart of downtown in a city that’s more than 600 miles away for some attendees. Adding to the potential costs for attendees is the convention’s timing, coming as global soccer fans arrive for the World Cup, with games beginning in Houston the day after the convention wraps.

Helping allay the financial burden on the party and attendees, Abbott’s campaign gave $150,000 to the state GOP in March, according to campaign finance reports, one of the party’s largest ever convention sponsorships by an elected official. In addition, Burrows gave $50,000, while Patrick gave $75,000. Other sponsoring electeds have kicked in as much as $50,000 each.

The Abbott campaign is also subsidizing tickets and lodging for some senior and young adult attendees, organizing cross-state buses and establishing an incentive program for county parties to fill their allotted delegate seats.

Abbott’s campaign declined to put a number on his overall contribution, but George told the conservative site Texas Scorecard in February that the governor was pitching in $2 million to fund or subsidize various convention programs. Abbott’s contributions, George told the party executive committee that same month, could help bring back corporate donors that hadn’t supported the convention in 10 to 12 years.

“Some of the major corporate sponsors are now thinking they can come back when they hear the governor is the top sponsor,” George said. “They like to be nice to the governor and I guess they want to be part of that.”

As of Wednesday, George said the party had raised $1.3 million through the convention, nearly offsetting the cost of running it and more than the $900,000 brought in at the last convention.

Campaign finance reports later this year will reveal the complete sponsorship picture, but current backers include the Associated Builders and Contractors, and American Energy Works, an advocacy group linked to energy executive and former state Rep. Jason Isaac.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a perennial convention presence and one-time GOP kingmaker, has stepped up as a top sponsor this year, its first time since at least 2018. The group’s rival, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and a new organization, Republicans Against Texans for Lawsuit Reform, are also sponsoring the event.

However, the party’s old top-dollar corporate sponsors don’t appear to be making a comeback, with none of the companies who dropped their support named on the convention’s public list of backers.

Sponsors at the 2018 convention, the last held in person before Rinaldi took over as chair, included Verizon, Anheuser-Busch, the United States Postal Service, Saulsbury and CenterPoint Energy. The Houston utility provider was one of the few corporate sponsors to remain through Rinaldi’s tenure and is among the sponsors again this year.

Rinaldi said the decline of corporate sponsors began at the 2020 convention, a trend he attributed to companies’ broader retreat from political activity during President Donald Trump’s first term. Notably, sponsors for that year’s event, before it moved online, included Comcast, Fenoglio Boot Co., Anheuser-Busch, Charter Communications, the Texas Medical Association, Chevron and other energy companies.

George told the Tribune that, for the first time in years, the party has sold out its convention exhibit hall, where sponsors, conservative media and activists pitch their missions to attendees.

Abbott’s convention sponsorship helps bolster his relationship with the party, but the programs to maximize attendance are also an opportunity to convert attendees into committed party organizers — future blockwalkers, phone bankers and campaign volunteers supporting the Republican ticket in November and beyond.

Additionally, the convention dovetails with Abbott’s pledge to spend millions bringing Harris County back under Republican control this fall.

In bolstering the party, Abbott is raising it up as a partner to combat the political headwinds of the 2026 election, when Democrats hope their Senate nominee, Austin state Rep. James Talarico, can harness the favorable climate to defeat Paxton. Even a close loss at the top of the ticket could help Democrats narrow Republicans’ margin in the state House and limit GOP redistricting gains in Texas — an outcome that could decide the balance of power in Congress.

Abbott campaign spokesperson Eduardo Leal said in a statement that the governor was “proud to support this year’s convention and looks forward to joining Texas Republicans as we work together to defeat the radical left from gaining a foothold.”

“Unity drives victory, and Republicans across Texas are united on delivering results for Texans and keeping Texas the strongest conservative state in America,” Leal said. “Party activists play a critical role in turning out voters, and their grassroots efforts will be essential to success this fall.”

Setting the tone

Mere weeks ago, Texas Republicans were locked in a bitter primary battle between Cornyn and Paxton, with Paxton calling the incumbent a Republican-in-name-only career politician and Cornyn labeling his challenger corrupt and a threat to the party’s success.

Since Paxton’s landslide win, party leaders from Abbott on down have eagerly moved to put the bad blood behind them. Patrick has nominally endorsed the GOP railroad commissioner nominee, Bo French, who the lieutenant governor once called on to resign as Tarrant County GOP chair. And Abbott has broken bread with comptroller nominee Don Huffines, who tried to primary the governor in 2022.

Two years ago, the Republican Party was more focused on beating each other.

The 2024 convention took place the week of early voting in the primary runoffs, days before party activists hoped to oust Phelan from the speakership. In his address to the gathering, Paxton celebrated his political survival after his impeachment by the Phelan-led House and proclaimed the son of Beaumont would “lose not only the speakership but also his House seat.”

Although Phelan would survive his runoff by 389 votes, six of his allies lost their runoffs, and by December, Phelan scrapped his bid to retain the House gavel.

During the convention, delegates approved an overhaul of the party’s censure process, creating the means to ban incumbents from the next primary ballot if they ran afoul of party principles. Last year, the Texas GOP’s governing board censured five House Republicans using the new rule, but, in a tacit reflection of the chamber’s rightward turn, stopped short of trying to bar them from the ballot.

With Burrows at the helm, the lower chamber passed more than 40 bills from the state party’s list of legislative priorities, more than the Legislature had passed in any of the years since it began compiling the running shortlist.

George, as chair of the party, has warmed up to Burrows, guiding the party through the transformative period. Their relationship began with the party running ads in Burrows’ district opposing his election as speaker. But by last October, the first-term GOP chair was trying to balance the relationship between the House, the White House and members of the State Republican Executive Committee.

During deliberations leading up to the censure votes, George warned the governing board that the Trump administration was watching their livestream and that White House officials had “strongly expressed” their opinion on censuring and potentially blocking candidates from the primary ballot. Near the end of the meeting, George briefly cleared the room for Trump political director Matt Brasseaux to speak privately with the executive committee, where he told them the administration did not support gatekeeping ballot access, according to sources in the room.

Since the end of the session, George has been laudatory of Burrows for passing conservative priorities but acknowledged that tension remains. The announcement that Burrows would speak in Houston and sponsor Friday’s “Lonestar Liberty Grassroots Club Breakfast” drew mixed reactions, with activists still faulting him for partnering with Democrats to win the gavel.

George, who hopes to be reelected for a second term during the convention, faces a challenge from his current vice chair and former running mate, D’rinda Randall. And it is George’s cordial relations with elected leaders that, in part, are animating Randall’s supporters, who charge that the incumbent chair has been too welcoming to establishment Republicans.

Randall’s running mate is David Covey — the candidate who nearly defeated Phelan in the former speaker’s 2024 primary runoff.

Despite his mixed reputation among the party rank and file, Burrows, a former convention delegate and precinct chair, has publicly conveyed his respect for the role played by the state GOP and its local chapters. In a statement to the Tribune, Burrows campaign spokesperson Kim Carmichael said the speaker “will deliver a message of working together to help all Republicans win in the November election.”

“These conventions are where it all starts: grassroots conservatives coming together to shape our platform and chart the path forward,” Burrows posted on social media after speaking at the Lubbock County GOP Convention in March. “If we want to keep Texas red, we can’t take anything for granted. Now more than ever, we must stay united, focused, and ready to fight for the values that make our families, our economy, and our state strong.”

But even as Abbott and Burrows make overtures to the party through the convention, some delegates are intent on ensuring elected Republicans continue to toe the party line.

On Monday, convention delegates submitted numerous proposals to expand the ballot banning process, including extending the scope of “censurable offenses” beyond two years and turning the two-year ban into one that would apply for life. Despite lingering discontent from those who unsuccessfully tried to bar members from the 2026 ballot, one by one, the panel tasked with reviewing the party rules batted down nearly every tweak to the measure, including efforts to beef up the punishments.

In testimony the morning after the panel rejected those proposals, outgoing SREC member Paul Hale remained set on holding Republicans accountable for ceding power to Democrats early in the 2025 legislative session.

“Some people need to answer for it. There needs to be accountability,” Hale said. “What would these people have to do — how far would they have to go to rouse you enough to want to hold them accountable?”

Disclosure: Anheuser-Busch, CenterPoint Energy, Comcast, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, Texas Medical Association and Texas Trial Lawyers Association have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

After hearing the horrendous way it affects livestock, many were left asking: What about my fur baby?

The parasitic fly targets animals with wounds and lays its eggs in any openings, leaving the eggs to hatch into maggots and burrow into the animal to feed on living flesh. It is notorious for devastating the cattle and livestock industry and, so far, cases have been caught in young calves and a goat in South Texas. However, a dog from New Mexico that visited Andrews County in West Texas also has a confirmed case of the screwworm.

“It’s not a time to panic,” said Guy Loneragan, dean and professor for the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine. “We have been preparing for this for almost 18 months or longer in many cases, and there is a plan to address it.”

Local, state and federal officials are working to track screwworm cases and containment efforts, including the release of sterile flies to mate with the screwworm so she will lay unfertilized eggs. Experts, including U.S. Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins, say the screwworm outbreak may continue for a few months at least.

Since the New World screwworm targets any warm-blooded mammal, including humans, pets are at risk of screwworm infestation.

Here are some things pet owners need to be aware of:

Can screwworms affect my cat or dog?

Short answer: yes. The screwworm can affect all warm-blooded animals and in different ways. For example, the screwworm tends to infect any open wound on an animal. For pet owners, this could be any regular, everyday wound, such as tick bites, small scrapes and cuts from being outside, or if their cat or dog gets into a fight with another animal.

It can also invade any openings on the body — the mouth, eyes, nose, even the reproductive areas. The screwworm will lay eggs on the edge of the wound or opening, which hatch quickly and become maggots. One female can lay 200-300 eggs at a time, and may lay up to 3,000 eggs during her 10- to 30-day lifespan.

“There are lots of areas that can become infested,” said Loneragan.

According to Texas A&M AgriLife, the maggots have sharp mouth hooks that can tear at the tissue of the animal it’s in. The wound becomes larger and deeper as more eggs hatch and larvae continue to feed on the animal. The infestation could be fatal for dogs and cats, depending on the location of the infestation and the severity, along with the timing of the diagnosis.

Loneragan said birds can also become infested, but it’s not very common.

“That’s beneficial to us because it means that migrating birds aren’t moving this around to the best of our knowledge,” Loneragan said.

What symptoms should I look for?

If an animal becomes infected, owners will know based on how the animal acts. The maggots feeding into their flesh causes discomfort and intense pain in some cases. There may be some discharge coming from the infected area that can help pet owners identify the infection.

“The animals will demonstrate they are uncomfortable or a wound is causing a lot of pain,” Loneragan said. “Discharge coming from the area is described as having a foul, putrid smell.”

Other signs include seeing animals bite or lick at their wounds, and unusual restlessness. In some cases, according to A&M AgriLife, the animal may become aggressive or lethargic from irritability.

When should I take my pet to see a veterinarian?

Pet owners who suspect a case in their cats or dogs should contact their local veterinarian and the Texas Animal Health Commission right away.

Loneragan said the Food and Drug Administration has made certain medicines available, including antiparasitic chewable tablets or topical solutions, to veterinarians to treat both dogs and cats. In the rare case that either a wild bird or a pet bird does get infected by the screwworm, there are FDA-approved antiseptic products to treat them too.

Is screwworm treatable?

Yes, as long as the infection is caught and treated early. Loneragan said that pet owners need to report any suspicions or concerns they have to their veterinarian. The veterinarian can come up with a treatment plan that best fits the animal, the type of wound they have, and where it is.

“Treatment generally will involve removing the larvae, then using a product that would kill any remaining larvae that is too small to see or can’t be seen,” Loneragan said.

Larvicides and insecticides are two products that help veterinarians treat the infections after the maggots are removed. Screwworm may seem scary, especially given its prominence in the media, but Loneragan said the parasite is treatable. Moreover, veterinarians have tools available to treat a wide variety of animals, he said.

“Ultimately, the sooner you can get to the veterinarian, there are excellent treatment options they can prescribe and implement,” Loneragan said.

How can I keep my pets safe?

The most vital thing pet owners can do during this screwworm outbreak is to be extra vigilant and check their animals every day. Owners should inspect their pets for any wounds or openings that could be vulnerable to the screwworm. Keep pets clean and make sure there aren’t any insects, flies or maggots laying on them.

Loneragan said this is also an important time to establish a good relationship with your local veterinarian, if you don’t have one already. Veterinarians will help diagnose and report cases, which will also help officials track where the screwworm is. Many of the treatments also have to be prescribed by a veterinarian.

Texas A&M AgriLife recommends that if a pet is near the U.S.-Mexico border, or traveling to or from Latin America, then that pet should be monitored more regularly. It’s also recommended to use flea, tick and mite medications as needed for parasite management.

There are some scenarios, such as the screwworm flying inside a home, that can only be avoided through fly control techniques.

“They’re a fly. They’re going to move around and can fly between spaces or in spaces,” Loneragan said. “Implement the usual fly control in the house you would normally do, whether it’s a fly swatter or whatever. At that stage, you would be going after all flies.”

Is it contagious?

The infection from a New World screwworm is not contagious like the common cold. Loneragan said just because one pet has it does not necessarily mean another in the house might get it.

However, owners should be extra vigilant if they have multiple pets. For example, a household with more than one dog might have a situation where the dogs fight and scratch each other.

“Now you’ve got two dogs that you really ought to pay close attention to while those wounds are healing,” Loneragan said.

What about stray animals and wildlife?

Stray animals are more susceptible to open wounds and are vulnerable because they live outside, so it’s important that caretakers of stray cats or dogs are also checking for signs of an infection. Similar to inside pets, stray animals will show pain or may have discharge around the wound. If any symptoms are found, Loneragan says to call the local animal control to report it.

“Those things ought to be brought to the attention of animal control very quickly,” Loneragan said. “They can work with the veterinarians they usually do to address it and can implement the same sort of treatment plans if appropriate.”

If you suspect a case of the screwworm in wildlife, don’t approach the animal any closer than 25 yards and report the sighting to the local Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or to the Texas Animal Health Commission. According to A&M AgriLife, commonly infested areas of wildlife include the head and neck, along with the umbilical region for newborn animals. Deer are also susceptible to infestation where their antlers shed from their skull or if their antlers are damaged while they grow.

Birthing season for wildlife can also put female animals and their young at risk for infection, causing high mortality for both. Screwworm also has the potential to severely reduce the population of large mammals, such as the white-tailed deer, mule deer and bighorn sheep.

A heat wave may be the most obvious health threat. But infectious diseases can spread in a crowd, and experts are set to scrutinize wastewater, hospital visits, even social media for any signs that an outbreak might be brewing.

Measles, one of the most contagious diseases, is among the top concerns, sparking a warning this week from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO. With a nearly six-week stretch of packed stadiums, bars and tourist sites in 16 cities, officials are on the lookout for a long list of infections, from the stomach bug norovirus to mosquito-borne dengue fever.

“This is truly a marathon,” said Palak Raval-Nelson, Philadelphia's health commissioner.

The mass gatherings come at a tense moment for budget-strapped health agencies in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hit hard by Trump administration staffing cuts, already was grappling with a growing Ebola outbreak in central Africa and a cruise ship hantavirus outbreak. While CDC officials have advised state and local health departments behind the scenes, its expected World Cup disease surveillance dashboard still was “in final development” days before games began, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Our public health professionals are pretty stretched,” said global health specialist Rebecca Katz of Georgetown University, who is leading an unusual new hub to help.

At the Health Security Operations Center, a joint effort between Georgetown and MedStar Health, workers are analyzing data from around the country so they can alert health authorities, even emergency rooms, to any early signs of trouble. The center is issuing daily “situation reports” about disease trends around World Cup host cities and team base camps to several hundred local and federal public health groups, emergency management and hospital officials and others who’ve signed up.

“It's important that we don't become alarmist,” said MedStar emergency medicine specialist Dr. Shane Kappler. “We're trying to be the insurance policy.”

Measles is a top concern for potential World Cup spread

Already more than 2,000 people in the U.S. have come down with measles this year, nearly as many as during all of last year, according to the CDC. Patients can spread measles before the rash appears and they realize they're sick. Not too long ago, the U.S. seldom saw measles except from international travel by unvaccinated people.

Now with frequent U.S. outbreaks, "actually a lot of our international partners are worried about measles being exported to them after the games,” said Georgetown’s Katz.

Measles is spreading in Canada, too, and has exceeded 11,000 cases in Mexico, according to PAHO. It’s urging soccer fans to be sure they’re vaccinated, with a health campaign saying a single measles patient can spread the virus to up to 18 unprotected people.

Is Ebola a concern at the World Cup?

Brown University’s Dr. Craig Spencer, who survived Ebola while working in the West Africa outbreak over a decade ago, said he’s repeatedly asked about the risk of Ebola during the World Cup — but “for me, Ebola is not the No. 1 or No. 2 or even No. 3 threat.”

“I am concerned about importation of measles, I am much more concerned about the importation of other infectious threats that may not seem as scary to us as Ebola,” Spencer said.

Many health experts agree that the risk of Ebola spreading in the U.S. is very low. That’s partly because of government travel screenings and restrictions on people recently in outbreak-affected areas. Moreover, Ebola spreads by contact with bodily fluids from someone showing symptoms, not through the air like measles or respiratory viruses.

“One fortunate thing about this virus is you’re most contagious when you’re really quite ill. It’s not like COVID, where you could be sitting next to someone who doesn’t even know they’re infected and perhaps contract the virus,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of Brown’s Pandemic Center.

How to spot brewing diseases

There’s precedent for germs invading major sporting events. Canadian scientists linked a community measles outbreak to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and clusters of norovirus had to be contained during the Olympics this year in Milan and in 2018 in South Korea.

One way to detect signs of trouble: People with certain viral or bacterial infections shed genetic material that sophisticated testing of wastewater can spot. For example, measles can appear in wastewater days before an emergency room sees its first patients.

This week's surveillance reports from Katz's center note that wastewater testing recently found diarrhea-causing rotavirus, hepatitis A and norovirus in some parts of the U.S., something to watch as soccer crowds arrive.

In Dallas, officials ramped up wastewater screening including at the international airport, casting a wide net rather than looking for specific illnesses, said Dr. Phil Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services.

His team also is enhancing the usual mosquito testing, checking not just for West Nile virus that regularly spreads in the U.S. but for viruses more common in other countries like dengue and chikungunya.

Public health officials have been preparing for months, said Philadelphia’s Raval-Nelson, including with mock emergency drills and communications with counterparts around the country.

“I don’t want to send a message that there’s one key thing," she said. “We have the frameworks in place to carry out what we need to.”

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

Mexicans milling through the busy Hidalgo metro station pointed and laughed, occasionally snapping pictures of the face-lift that has become the subject of a cascade of internet memes.

The cosmetic makeover that authorities have attempted to give the capital as visitors arrive from around the globe also has become a symbol of criticisms that the government is prioritizing its superficial appearance for World Cup fans over fixing critical structural issues that have long plagued the city.

“People make fun of it because it's a failed aesthetic, it doesn't make a lot of sense,” said Silvia Escamilla, 28, who was hustling to work among a crowd of Mexican commuters. “All these renovations are like putting makeup on the city, because the infrastructure they could actually invest in just isn’t there.”

Decorations cover the problems

For weeks, Mexico City workers have plastered walls and metro cars with cartoon axolotls, the mole salamander that has become a city mascot. They also have painted bridges purple and planted Mexican marigold flowers typical of Day of the Dead celebrations in November.

The 22 million residents of the sprawling capital, known as Chilangos, have jokingly referred to the renovations as the city's “axolotlization.” They have posted videos of flooded underpasses next to freshly painted murals of axolotls and crumbling stairs and potholes painted bright purple.

Hidalgo station, in the heart of the downtown, has perhaps become the subject of more memes than anywhere else in the city.

When city workers installed the chandelier near the metro entrance and rows of Victorian wall lamps in May, social media users were quick to joke that authorities were trying to make the gritty metro system look like it was in a European city.

Social media creators mock the changes

Residents began to show up at the station in elegant dresses in videos layered over Mozart music. One social media influencer descended the marble stairs dressed as the Beast from the classic Disney cartoon “Beauty and the Beast.” Another arrived as Napoleon Bonaparte in a white wig and French military uniform.

“May you have an elegant metro connection,” one social media influencer said as he strolled through throngs of commuters dressed in a tuxedo and top hat. Another filmed herself selling pink dresses aboard one of the metro trains, yelling to passengers that the items matched the “etiquette” of Metro Hidalgo.

Many more posed next to marble floors and walls torn up by construction ahead of the soccer tournament being hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada.

The humor highlights larger issues

The crush of jokes amused Mexicans for weeks, but also cut to the core of a deeper problem in the city, said Aldo Solano Rojas, an art historian in Mexico City who has criticized the remodel.

Failures to prioritize issues like the metro's crumbling infrastructure and holes in the major municipal roadways show the government “doesn't understand the real needs of the city,” he said.

“State presence, at its best, is reflected in well-maintained sidewalks and adequate transportation infrastructure that doesn't collapse every day,” Solano Rojas said. “It's not reflected in frivolous, superficial axolotl murals while the streets are flooding.”

The criticisms come in the midst of wider social unrest in Mexico City as the country's teachers union, families of Mexico's 130,000 missing people and a range of other social movements use the proximity to the event to pressure authorities.

The government also has faced accusations of displacing sex workers and street vendors in an effort to clean up the streets. Despite the tensions, city workers on Wednesday were still racing to complete construction ahead of the opening ceremony and first match.

Mirna Baranco looked fondly on the renovations, but the 46-year-old laughed at the chandelier over Hidalgo construction workers. She nudged her boyfriend and pointed.

“I've already seen it all over the place on Facebook, but not in real life,” she said.

Baranco understood the criticisms, but said she didn't think it was necessarily a bad thing that authorities were making changes to be more attractive to international visitors. The World Cup has helped push local governments to make needed renovations, even if some look a little out of place, she said.

The changes show that “Mexico isn't just how others stereotype us, as a country with narcos,” Baranco said. “Mexico has a lot to give the world.”

The 7.8 magnitude offshore quake, one of the strongest to hit the Philippine archipelago in a half century, struck Monday off the southern province of Sarangani and has left at least 47 people dead and injured 688 with 31 still missing.

More than 45,000 people remained displaced, about half in emergency shelters, after the quake damaged more than 12,600 houses in farming towns and cities. Many were still too traumatized to return home due to aftershocks, provincial officials said.

Sarangani reported 20 dead from the quake, the highest toll from the affected provinces, mostly due to a landslide that buried houses in the coastal town of Glan, according to the government's Office of Civil Defense, which deals with major disasters.

Glan Mayor Victor James Yap said power has not been restored to his province and 10 of 31 villages in his town of more than 100,000 people remained inaccessible mostly due to landslides. He asked the government to immediately deploy air force helicopters to deliver food and other aid to the stricken areas.

“We need food and water but it’s difficult to transport them to some of our villages which remain isolated,” Yap told DZMM radio network. “Choppers are needed to transport food because people there are already very hungry.”

A key access road to the town has been reopened and will allow the delivery of fuel as early as Thursday, but the town remained without power and cellphone services were still spotty, according to Yap.

The Office of Civil Defense said more than 26 million pesos ($426,000) worth of food packs, cash and other aid have been provided so far and 180 government and military planes, helicopters, ships and trucks have been deployed to respond to the disaster.

About 3,400 government and military personnel were involved in search efforts for the missing, debris-clearing in roads, damage assessment and other disaster-mitigation work, it said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday visited the hard-hit city of General Santos city, where he inspected damaged hospitals and schools and discussed recovery efforts. He ordered the release of 100 million pesos ($1.6 million) for the repair of the partly collapsed city hall and 50,000 pesos ($820) for the families of each of the victims who died in the quake.

Most of the deaths from the quake were caused by falling debris from collapsed buildings and landslides in Sarangani, the coastal city of General Santos, and the outlying provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental.

Two swimmers drowned and one remained missing off General Santos after being swept out to sea shortly after the quake hit. Waves of up to 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) above tide level were measured in the country’s south and smaller waves washed ashore in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

The earthquake was one of the strongest to hit the country since an 8.1 magnitude quake and tsunami on Aug. 17, 1976, that killed about 8,000 people.

The Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

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Associated Press journalist Jim Gomez contributed to this report from Manila, Philippines.

Demonstrators wearing masks tore bricks from the walls outside homes and smashed sidewalks with sledgehammers to toss at riot police. In one place, the unruly crowd used sections of a dismantled picket fence to take cover on the street.

The clashes with police came several hours after a 30-year-old man from Sudan appeared in a Belfast court charged with attempted murder in a stabbing attack that left a man seriously injured and triggered anti-immigrant violence.

Hadi Alodid, 30, was ordered held in jail after appearing by video in Belfast Magistrates’ Court, where a detective said he blinded Stephen Ogilvie in the left eye during the knife attack. He was also charged with possessing a knife and threatening to kill a radiographer while being treated for a hand injury after the assault.

When police arrived at the crime scene, they found Alodid on the man, armed with a kitchen knife, the detective said. Alodid later told hospital staff: “I’ve killed someone, I don’t know if they are dead,” and said, “I will kill you."

He refused legal representation through an Arabic interpreter and did not enter a plea.

Police were prepared for more violence after masked men on Tuesday set fire to several homes they believed to house immigrants, burned trash bins, torched a Belfast bus and pelted police with objects.

Firefighters rescued several people from burning houses and more than two dozen people were left homeless.

Anselme Shima, a Belfast resident originally from Congo, said he saw smoke from burning vehicles near his home.

“I’ve lived on my street for almost 10 years, I have a good relationship with my neighbors, but last night was a horrific one,” he said. “We don’t know what to do. I’m scared. Seeing this, I’m wondering if I’m next.”

Families, one with a baby, were rescued and taken to police stations for safety, Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said.

“These weren’t just families from ethnic minority communities, these were families from across communities that were caught up in this vile behavior last night," Boutcher told the BBC. “There is absolutely no excuse for it.”

Boutcher said 200 more officers would be on the streets Wednesday and the PSNI was calling in support from other forces. Bus and train operators in Belfast said they would stop services early because of expected protests.

Ogilvie’s family appealed for an end to the violence and said migrants “make a deeply valuable contribution to our country.”

“We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility,” the family said in a statement.

Politicians from both parts of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government condemned the violence. First Minister Michelle O’Neill of Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein said it was “thuggery.”

“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” she said.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, said that “taking frustration at the evil actions of a person out on those who had no part in it is utterly wrong.”

The attack was caught on video

Monday’s attack, caught in video footage that quickly spread on social media, was seized on by anti-immigration activists. Ogilvie, a man in his 40s, was hospitalized with deep cuts to his head, face and back.

Police said Alodid entered Northern Ireland from the neighboring Republic of Ireland in 2023, applied for asylum and was given a five-year permit to remain.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said there is no information to suggest the attack was terrorism-related.

Protests were encouraged online by far-right activists, and the street violence erupted despite politicians' calls for calm.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the stabbing attack as “sickening,” but said violence against people based on their background would not be tolerated.

“The scenes in Belfast last night were shocking and completely unacceptable," Starmer said on X. “There is no justification for the violence and disorder that we saw threatening our communities, nor for those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere.”

Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long said social media agitators who “yesterday would have struggled to find Belfast on a map” were “weaponizing” the fears of local people.

“If you’re driving people from their homes based on nothing but the color of their skin, you can’t dress that up any other way, it’s racism, and those bad faith actors need to take a step back,” she told the BBC.

Some raise questions about the Irish border

Some politicians said the stabbing should spark a review of the open border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland.

The border is a highly sensitive issue. Allowing the free flow of people is a major pillar of the peace process that largely ended decades of violence known as “The Troubles.” The conflict involving Irish Republican and British Loyalist militants and U.K. security forces left almost 3,600 people dead before a 1998 peace accord.

Much of Tuesday’s violence took place in working-class areas where former paramilitary groups still hold considerable sway over the streets.

Last week a separate case of a university student who was stabbed to death in Southampton, England, in December was seized on by activists and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who blamed immigration for the violence, an idea rejected by Starmer and other British politicians.

Henry Nowak, who was white, was killed by Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh who falsely claimed to police that he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded Nowak as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.

Digwa was convicted of murder and sentenced last week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term. A protest over Nowak’s death turned violent, with some attacking police with chairs and rocks. Several people were charged with violent disorder.

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Lawless reported from London. Brian Melley contributed to this story.

Leo called Gaudí’s unfinished temple, one of the world’s most visited monuments, a “sign of unity and harmony for all of Spain,” an ongoing building project like the lifelong journey all Christians make to find God.

“We are all the living stones of this edifice,” Leo said from the altar of the basilica, with Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia sitting to his side and a hundreds-strong choir filling the basilica with song.

The service was the highlight of Leo’s weeklong visit to Spain, the first by a pope in 15 years to the once-staunchly Catholic European country that, like many others, has experienced secularizing trends.

The trip, though, has underscored how the country of 50 million people, which experienced a religious crisis after its 20th century dictatorship ended, still has plenty of faithful Catholics who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope.

An estimated 120,000 people lined the streets around Sagrada Familia for the event, with streets closed to traffic and a heavy police presence, given the attendance of the royal couple and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The crowds remained after Mass to watch as Leo inaugurated the basilica's final Tower of Jesus Christ that has made it the world's tallest church.

Speaking in Catalan and Spanish, Leo blessed the tower and its illuminated ceramic cross from outside the basilica, surrounded by bishops craning their mitre-capped heads to look up. An angelic boy's choir sang as a spectacular light show lit up the basilica's stained glass windows from the inside and fireworks shot off its facade.

Honoring Catalonia's Christian traditions

Earlier Wednesday, Leo celebrated a more ancient sacred monument, traveling to Montserrat, a mountain complex outside the city that is dear to many Catalans. The complex, which includes an 11th-century Benedictine abbey and a 16th-century basilica, is revered for its Black Madonna statue and is home to a boy's choir that has existed since the 13th century and is Europe's oldest.

Thousands of faithful arrived early at the monastery, with groups of nuns and schoolchildren singing and waving signs and photographs of the pope outside the basilica. Bells rang out over the spire-like rock formations that top Montserrat and the valley below as Leo arrived in a golf cart.

In recent years, the Montserrat abbey has faced numerous accusations from survivors of clergy sexual abuse and was included in the Spanish ombudsman’s 800-page report on the crisis in 2023. The report found 15 victims and three alleged perpetrators linked to the abbey.

“It’s very painful because there are members of the church who committed errors,” said the Rev. Cesario Escarda, a Toledo priest, as he waited for Leo at the abbey. “What the pope wants to do is shine a light on the truth and ask forgiveness and bring in the victims and listen to them and accompany them.”

The Bible carved in stone

The highlight of Leo’s visit, though, was his Mass at Sagrada Familia to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of its famed Catalan designer, Gaudí, who died at age 73, three days after he was hit by a tram.

A century after construction began during the pontificate of Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, the basilica has become one of the world’s most visited but unfinished monuments, annually drawing upward of 5 million visitors a year.

Commemorating Gaudí's death, Leo said he wanted to give thanks to all the supporters, artists and workers who “cooperated in the construction of an architectural masterpiece, which is also an eloquent catechesis made of stones, colors and light.”

Gaudí, who is on the path to possible sainthood, spent four decades designing and building the temple as the summary of the Christian faith carved in stone. The most important stories of Jesus’ life, the Nativity and Passion, are etched into the basilica’s east and west facades. A third facade facing south, the Glory, will serve as the basilica’s main entrance when finished.

The temple is an architectural and geometrical masterpiece inside and out, an art nouveau celebration in form and symbol of Christianity and God’s creation through stone and light.

“Much more than a monument, the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia remains a work in progress today, reminding us that the Christian life is always a journey, because it is a project that God is carrying out,” Leo said in his homily.

A total of 18 sandcastle spires rise up from the top and pierce Barcelona’s skyline: 12 to symbolize Christ’s 12 apostles, four for each of the four Evangelists who recorded Christ’s life in the Gospels, one topped with a star over the apse honoring the Virgin Mary and, tallest among them, the Tower of Jesus Christ.

When the final Christ tower was finished at a height of 172½ meters (564 feet) last year, it made Sagrada Familia the world’s tallest church. Construction is expected to be fully complete within a decade.

“The entire structure of the Sagrada Familia is striking,” said Laura Rincón, who was on hand outside along with two friends for the Mass, after she finished work in a nearby shop. She said that she was sure the pope would be impressed by the church she marvels at every time she passes by.

“If you look at it just for its architecture, it is amazing,” she said. “Inside, its columns make you feel like you are inside a forest.”

An interior that looks like a forest

The cross-shaped interior, with the altar at the apse, is an homage to light and nature. Treelike columns soar to the sky, colored by constantly changing light filtered through stained glass windows like the sun poking through leaves in a forest.

“Nature is my teacher,” Gaudí once said. “Everything comes from the great book of nature, always open that we must read.”

The colors of the window glass have meaning: The blues and greens of the eastern portal windows, where the facade depicts Christ’s birth, look more joyful and are most brilliant when the sun rises and light passes through. The coarser shades of red and orange, illuminated by the setting sun on the western portals, color the side of the basilica that depicts Christ’s Passion. Behind the altar and above the cross are yellows and gold that glimmer in the noonday sun.

Historian Mònica Santín, who leads tours of the basilica, said that in designing Sagrada Familia, Gaudí was guided by two books: the Gospels and nature.

“The way he lets in the natural light is also an invitation to the Christian mystery,” she said, citing the three facades depicting Christ’s birth, death and glory.

“And when you enter inside, it is all light,” Santín said. “What is that the symbol of? We can’t see God, but we perceive his light all around us. I think that is how you can read this message, and it is fascinating.”

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

The long road back to the top of the NBA is almost complete for the New York Knicks, and the step they took Wednesday night was unforgettable.

The Knicks came from 29 points down and moved to the brink of their first championship since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 of the finals on OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining.

“That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.

It's certainly high on the list — as high as Anunoby leaped when Jalen Brunson's long 3-point shot bounced off the front of the rim, with his right hand stretching high to softly flick it in.

“Right hand from God,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said.

The Knicks, who have just two titles in their 80-year history and hadn't even been to the NBA Finals since 1999, have a 3-1 lead and three chances to win the best-of-seven series — starting with Game 5 on Saturday night in San Antonio.

It looked impossible early, when the Spurs rolled to a 27-point halftime lead. But Brunson helped bring the Knicks back with 36 points and Anunoby finished with 33.

The Knicks weathered a playoff storm

No team had come from more than 24 points down in a finals game, when Boston did it against the Lakers in 2008, since the NBA began keeping detailed play-by-play for all four quarters in 1997. The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter.

“We’re a resilient group. We’ve been through a lot,” Anunoby said. “We’ve come back plenty of times when we’re behind. Just staying with it, weathering the storm, not being too down or angry or frustrated.”

The only bigger comeback on record in any playoff game was 31 points by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State in Game 2 of a first-round series in 2019.

“You look at it when you’re down 29 of, ‘OK, let’s get it to 20.’ There’s three minutes left in the third quarter, we’re down 18, you’re thinking, 'Let’s get it to 10,” forward Josh Hart said.

“In the fourth quarter, you’re like, this is winning time. Anything can happen.”

And it did.

The Spurs started out awesome but then were awful

The Knicks had their 13-game winning streak snapped in Game 3 and seemed headed for a second straight defeat throughout the first half, when Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs opened the biggest halftime lead by a visiting team in the finals.

But the young Spurs, who made 11 of their first 16 3-pointers, went cold in the second half, going 3 for 17 behind the arc as the Knicks outscored them 58-30.

“We got on our heels — we missed some shots,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s disappointing, to say the least.”

Delirious fans inside Madison Square Garden sang along to Journey's “Don’t Stop Believin’” a few minutes after watching something that seemed almost impossible.

Wembanyama had 24 points and 13 rebounds but shot just 9 for 25 from the field.

Road teams had won the first three games, only the second time that had happened in the finals. San Antonio was well on its way to making it 4 for 4.

Knicks scrap watch party and fans have nothing to cheer early

President Donald Trump wasn’t at this game — Taylor Swift was — but the same restrictions remained around Madison Square Garden as when he attended Game 3. That angered the Knicks, who decided not to go forward with plans to hold an outdoor watch party outside the arena.

Inside the building in the first half, there wasn’t much for the hosts to be happy about, either.

But the Knicks gave themselves a chance by limiting the Spurs to 14 points on 4-for-20 shooting in the third quarter, using a 13-0 run to get back in it and cutting it to 90-75 heading to the fourth.

These Knicks, who erased a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, just don’t quit. Even when the comeback seemed for naught when Stephon Castle was fouled after the Knicks had taken the lead and made two free throws to put San Antonio back ahead with 30 seconds left, the Knicks had one more rally in them.

Dylan Harper scored 21 points and De'Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell each had 18 for the Spurs, who will try to regroup and send the series back to New York for Game 6 next Tuesday. Only one team — Cleveland in 2016 — has recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the finals.

“I think it began before (the fourth quarter),” Wembanyama said of the Spurs' collapse. “I can’t really explain it right now. I don’t know. ... We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half.”

Fans booed Wembanyama when he came on to the floor to warm up about an hour before the game and the Knicks tried to get rough with him, with Mitchell Robinson called for a flagrant foul for hitting him above the shoulders and Jose Alvarado reviewed for one after going below the belt.

Wembanyama — who was also called for a flagrant — stood up OK against the Knicks but will regret the two free throws he missed with 1:47 left and San Antonio leading 104-103.

The Spurs broke to a 12-2 lead, giving them a double-digit advantage in the first quarter of all four games. They kept pouring it on and led 41-22 after one, then extended it to 57-32 when Julian Champagnie’s 3-pointer made them 11 for 16 behind the arc.

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And make no mistake: Those 4 1/2 seconds will never be forgotten by the Knicks. Or by the San Antonio Spurs.

The situation: Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Knicks down by one in a game where they trailed by as many as 29 points. They call timeout with 5.7 seconds left, just as Jose Alvarado nearly committed a backcourt violation that would have cost the Knicks the basketball.

Here's how it happened.

5.7 seconds left ... the play begins

The timeout comes and New York's Josh Hart is distraught. He blamed himself for missing an assignment at the other end, which allowed San Antonio’s Stephon Castle to hit two free throws that put his team up 106-105.

“I’m sitting there just hoping my guys make a play,” Hart said.

OG Anunoby inbounds the ball for the Knicks. The Spurs elect to not have a defender impede his vision, using all five of their players to guard the four who were moving about for New York. Jalen Brunson shakes free of a couple of defenders, including the Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, the league's Defensive Player of the Year, and catches the inbounds pass near midcourt.

4.3 seconds left ... Brunson shoots

Brunson takes one dribble and lets a shot fly from about 31 feet, over Wembanyama's outstretched left arm. The shot, in the air for about 1.2 seconds, misses and hits the rim. It's short, and the ball bounces off the iron into the air.

Anunoby — with nobody in his path — sprints from the out-of-bounds spot into the lane, just in case.

“I just went and crashed,” Anunoby said. “Tried to get a tip-dunk or something. The ball went over my head, so I couldn’t really dunk it. So, I tried to tip it in softly.”

With 2.5 seconds left, Anunoby leaps. The Spurs have a few Knicks boxed out, including Karl-Anthony Towns. But Anunoby is unnoticed and gets in front of the Spurs' Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell.

“I was contesting the first shot,” Wembanyama said. “Turned around and saw him up there. That’s all I saw.”

2.0 seconds left ... Anunoby tips the ball

Anunoby throws his right arm into the air as he leaps, just out of the reach of the airborne Vassell. He gets his thumb and a couple of fingers on the ball, hoping to knock it back toward the rim — which he does.

“Right hand from God,” Towns called it.

Anunoby falls to the floor. The ball gets over the front of the rim. Brunson's fist goes into the air. The Garden waits.

1.2 seconds left ... ‘Bedlam here at The Garden!’

Announcer Mike Breen thought Brunson's 3-point shot would be good. In the end, Breen yelled “Bedlam here at the Garden! They can't believe it!” as Anunoby's shot went through the net.

Hart — who also missed a go-ahead layup in the final moments — will never be able to thank him enough.

“I’ve got a special shoutout for OG, man,” Hart said. “He saved me, at least for this game, a lifetime of regret.”

Had the rebound of Brunson's miss bounced in a different direction, Anunoby wouldn't have gotten there.

“Bounced off the rim the right way,” Harper said. “He tipped it in the right way. It went in. I could play, ‘Wish I could have did this, wish I could have did that.’ But at the end of the day, he tipped the ball, and it went in.”

The one-point lead matched the Knicks' biggest all night.

It was all they needed.

“That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “I’m not you guys. You guys know better than me. But it was just unbelievable.”

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Reynolds reported from Miami.

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

Swift wore a blue T-shirt with “Stevie Knicks” printed in orange lettering and was seated courtside on Wednesday night next to Ben Stiller. She attended along with singers Este and Alana Haim, who also had Knicks-related references on their shirts: “Knickole Kidman” and “Knickleback.”

They were joined midway through by third Haim sister Daniella, and the quartet witnessed the biggest comeback in finals history as the Knicks rallied from a 29-point deficit to win 107-106 on OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds left.

Swift jumped around in celebration, waving a rally towel after leaving the court for the bowels of the Garden. She may be back soon.

Less than a year after their August engagement announcement, reports of Swift and Kelce’s impending nuptials have reached a crescendo. TMZ and the New York Post’s Page Six recently started insisting Swift and Kelce will marry at the Garden in early July, despite their close connections to everywhere from Kansas City, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee, to Cleveland and Rhode Island.

Swift and the Haim sisters were among several celebrities in the house, including Tate McRae and Hailey Bieber, and regulars like Timothée Chalamet and Spike Lee. Swift and Kelce attended Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Knicks and Cavaliers, not far from where the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is from in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

This is the latest sporting event for Swift, who along with Kelce also attended a game during the NHL's Stanley Cup Final a year ago in Sunrise, Florida.

The Madison Square Garden wedding reports remain unconfirmed, and a spokesperson for Swift has not responded to The Associated Press’ requests for comment about the wedding plans. The arena’s calendar of upcoming events lists nothing from June 29-July 6.

Swift first performed at Madison Square Garden in 2009, during her “Fearless” tour, and she celebrated her 30th birthday at the arena 10 years later as part of iHeartRadio’s “Jingle Ball.” She has since graduated to larger venues when she swings through the New York area; her Eras tour shows were just across the river at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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AP Entertainment Editor Mallika Sen contributed to this report.

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

Mexico jointly hosts the soccer tournament with the U.S. and Canada and kicks off festivities Thursday with a star-studded event, even as some critics say the government has spent too much time and money catering to international visitors at residents' expense.

The games begin as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum walks a political tightrope, navigating a deteriorating relationship with the U.S. ahead of July trade negotiations, along with political scandals and security concerns following a burst of violence in a World Cup host city in February.

Pressure has mounted as guests flood into Mexico City. Residents say authorities have prioritized the competition over pressing social needs.

On Wednesday night, more than 1,000 relatives of Mexico's missing people marched toward the stadium where the opening match was set to be played Thursday carrying candles and photographs of their missing loved ones.

Earlier in the day, Sheinbaum also said it was unclear whether Mexico City could host its free fan festival on opening night because a teachers' union protest camp has blocked access to the plaza.

“Mexico wants to project an image to the world that doesn’t exactly square with reality,” said Carlos Pérez Ricart, a political analyst at the Mexican Center for Research and Economic Education. “The World Cup is putting the president in a vulnerable situation … The government is under extreme pressure.”

World Cup is a showcase for the country

FIFA's logo, orange Mexican marigold flowers, giant soccer balls and other decorations line streets across Mexico’s capital and the two other host cities, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Fans buzzed with excitement as they strolled through Mexico City's streets.

The competition is expected to bring in $3 billion for hotels, restaurants and sports venues, according to the Mexican Soccer Federation.

Thursday's fan festival and opening match, where Mexico will face off against South Africa, are expected to draw more viewers than much of the competition, with Colombian superstar Shakira and others scheduled to perform.

If all goes off without a hitch, it will be a feather in Sheinbaum's cap, said Pérez Ricart, showing the world that Mexico is “modern and capable of organizing high impact events.”

‘Everything is under control’

Mexican authorities have fortified security following violence that paralyzed host city Guadalajara in February. More than 100,000 soldiers, sailors, National Guard members and police officers are expected to be deployed across the three host cities, yet social tensions have posed the greatest obstacle, particularly in Mexico City.

For more than a week, the country’s teachers' union has toppled World Cup statues and blocked roads in an annual push for better working conditions. The night before the inauguration, more than a thousand family members of Mexico’s more missing people also marched through the streets of Mexico City in protest of a crisis fueled by years of cartel violence and impunity.

As they walked toward the Aztec Stadium, where the opening match is slated to be held, some families shouted while others walked in silence, making few demands. A number government officials arrived to the protest and told the families they could only advance until “the last mile” before the stadium.

“We just want to be seen,” said Adriana Lozano, 56, from Los Cabos, who has been searching for her son for nine years. "What we are looking for is peace. We want this to end because so many young people are disappearing.”

Sheinbaum had denied there was any social unrest ahead of the tournament, but on Wednesday she acknowledged that “if for some reason the Zócalo cannot be used for the opening, there are 18 venues where people can watch it free of charge.”

“Everything is under control,” she added.

‘The prices are sky-high’

Airports across the Americas were filled with fans. Panama City's airport — one of the main gateways between North and South America — was a sea of multicolored jerseys from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Germany and elsewhere.

“This year we’re defending the title, and we’ll follow Argentina to the ends of the earth,” shouted Emilio Sosa, a 29-year-old from Buenos Aires on his way to Los Angeles.

David Botero, a 43-year-old Colombian, was traveling to Mexico City with his family to watch Colombia’s opening match on June 17 against Uzbekistan.

“What matters is that we’ll get to see our team up close," Botero said.

Others, like 66-year-old Dr. Jose Luis Muñoz, struck a more skeptical tone as he read and smoked a cigarette next to a park in downtown Mexico City that once teemed with street vendors. It has since been cleared out by authorities in an effort to clean up the streets. Muñoz said some of his fondest memories were taking his children to games during Mexico’s 1986 World Cup and celebrating their home team's winning streak.

“I was so excited, and that joy I passed on to my children,” he said.

This year, though, he was priced out from attending games. Tickets cost hundreds of dollars.

“The prices are sky-high. Many people aren’t going to be able to go unless they’re foreigners with a lot of money,” Muñoz said. “It feels very discriminatory."

Still, he added, he will root for Mexico's team from home with his children and grandchildren.

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Associated Press journalists Nayara Batschke contributed to this report from Mexico City.

After clanking his shot off the rim at the buzzer on what would have been the Game 2 winner, Wembanyama did the same on two key free throws late in Game 4 on Wednesday night. With the chance to put his team up by three with 1:47 left, he instead went 0 for 2, and the New York Knicks took the lead and went on to win 107-106 on OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds left.

“It's just a shot,” Wembanyama said. “You might work on your form hours and hours. At the end of the day it's just a shot, so you need to shoot it the normal way.”

Wembanyama and the Spurs are now on the brink of elimination, down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. It mattered little that the 7-foot-4 big man from France scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds.

It mattered more that the Knicks held Wembanyama to eight points in the second half on the way to rallying from 29 points down, the largest comeback in finals history. Game 5 is Saturday night San Antonio.

“It’s going to go one of two ways,” Wembanyama said. “One of two ways, a bad one and a good one. The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.”

Wembanyama enters Game 5 on the edge of possible discipline after being called for a flagrant foul early in the second half for a right elbow to Karl-Anthony Towns' chin. Because of the NBA's flagrant foul point system, he now has three and is one more away from an automatic one-game suspension.

“Of course I'm going to be a little more careful, but it’s not going to change much,” Wembanyama said.

An officiating decision in the aftermath of Game 3 going the other way would have put him in danger of already staring down a suspension. The NBA acknowledged officials missed Wembanyama striking Knicks guard Jalen Brunson in the head but did not retroactively make it a flagrant.

“The league’s going to do what they’re going to do,” New York coach Mike Brown said before Game 4. “They aren’t going to listen to me. They aren’t going to listen to nobody else.”

Wembanyama early in Game 4 looked to be getting under the skin of his opponents. After scoring on Mitchell Robinson and letting him hear about it while going back down the court late in the first quarter, he took a forearm to the face and appeared to say, “I'm in your head, bro,” while pointing to his right temple.

A similar play happened early in the second, when 6-foot guard Jose Alvarado jostled with Wembanyama before ultimately pushing the 7-4 big man's right leg to get him to the ground.

Things changed after halftime. San Antonio had its biggest lead of the night at 81-52 when Wembanyama elbowed Towns, and the Knicks outscored the Spurs 55-25 the rest of the way.

Wembanyama played all but three minutes of the first half, which coach Mitch Johnson called normal. Johnson said Wembanyama, who ended up playing nearly 44 minutes, got a little more playing time to try to close it out.

“With two days after this, what was at stake, we wanted to win the game and try to put it away,” Johnson said.

Asked if that caused him to wear down as the game went on, Wembanyama responded: “Substitution patterns, I don’t know. It’s not really my expertise. But, yeah, I guess I did.”

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

The new U.S. assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end the war again appeared stuck, with Iran insisting it would maintain its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies and sent oil prices higher.

It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have tested a two-month shaky ceasefire.

Trump has urged Iran to sign a deal to end the war and suggested earlier this week that an agreement could be reached in days.

But Iran has proved resilient despite weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.

Iran’s United Nations envoy said the U.S. should refrain from threats of force if it wants a deal.

Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing goals that make compromise harder: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.

US strikes Iran and Iran fires back at Gulf States

The U.S. Central Command said it had “completed” its latest round of airstrikes just before sunrise in Iran. The military command said the strikes came “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression” and targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.” It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes, which it said were carried out by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy.

Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded by launching strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, and Kuwait closed its airspace as its air defenses fought off the attack. Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said flights were being diverted to other airports, without elaborating.

“This measure comes in light of the state of Kuwait being subjected to sinful Iranian aggressions and the potential risks that may result from this on civil aviation traffic in the region,” Kuwait said.

Kuwait International Airport took a direct Iranian hit in recent days, killing one person and wounding dozens. On Wednesday, Iran responded to U.S. strikes with attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, all of which host U.S. troops.

Israel early Thursday also warned residents in the north to seek shelter after the detection of suspected incoming fire from Lebanon, while the U.S. Embassy in Jordan issued a warning that “reports indicate missiles, drones or rockets are in Jordanian airspace.”

There was no immediate acknowledgment from Jordanian state media about the reports of missile fire, but Iran said it again targeted Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base on Thursday.

Trump says US is sneaking oil past the Strait of Hormuz

Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with Feb. 28 attacks on Iran, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices worldwide, and made food and other basics more expensive.

The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.

Trump said the U.S. military has since last month undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak oil shipments past Iran’s forces in the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping through at night, aided by the destruction of Iranian radar equipment.

Trump said as a result more than 100 million barrels of oil have evaded Iran’s chokehold on the strait. There was no immediate confirmation of that figure, which roughly equals five days of oil shipments through the waterway before the war began.

The military’s role was not immediately clear. Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesman, said U.S. forces “communicate and coordinate” with commercial ships in the area, but gave no details on military support being offered.

The U.S. Central Command on Wednesday refuted Iran’s claims that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, saying commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out.

US and Iranian strikes shake the Mideast

Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. military said an American aircraft fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged vessel M/T Settebello as it attempted to breach the naval blockade with a shipment of Iranian oil. It was the eighth merchant vessel disabled by U.S. forces in waters off Iran.

India’s foreign ministry said three Indian sailors were missing after the Settebello was struck, while 21 others were rescued. Its statement did not mention the U.S. military or the blockade.

Hawkins of the U.S. Central Command said American forces warned the crew before firing on the ship.

The U.S. military said strikes earlier Wednesday targeted “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites."

Iran said U.S. strikes hit two water reservoirs in the southern city of Sirik, temporarily cutting off water to thousands of people. U.S. Central Command had no immediate comment. Tehran later claimed attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the American attacks as a violation of Iranian sovereignty.

Still, efforts to mediate a deal continued. Following consultations with the U.S., a delegation from Qatar arrived in Tehran for talks earlier Wednesday, according to an official with knowledge of the visit who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

The exchanges of fire came a day after a U.S. Army attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz. The helicopter collided with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional.

A drone boat rescued the helicopter’s two crew. Trump said they were uninjured.

Big disagreements stand in the way of a quick peace deal

Wary of high gas prices in the run-up to congressional elections in November, Trump seems to be looking for a quick win. But he is also making demands that will be tough for Iran to swallow.

The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, that uranium is a short technical step from weapons-grade levels.

Iran is refusing to give up the uranium and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something Trump rejected.

Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel. Israel has instead intensified its military campaign against the Lebanon-based militant group.

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Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin and Will Weissert in Washington; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel; David Rising in Bangkok; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price in New York; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.

Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen says Javian Major’s probation was revoked after repeated violations. Major was originally arrested on a forgery charge in 2024 after scheming grieving families out of funeral services. Last week, he was sentenced to two years in prison after being found to have an illegal drug and for providing funeral services not approved by the court.

KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel spoke with one of the families Major allegedly targeted and has been following Major’s activities for more than a year.

• RELATED: ‘His body was bloated’: Man posed as funeral director, mortician, allegedly stole life insurance money of dead people

Shauntayvia Banks learned her father passed away in a Beaumont prison on Thanksgiving Day 2025. Shortly after posting about his death on Instagram, she says Major sent her a direct message portraying himself as a funeral home director.

“He presented me funeral home packages that he could provide. He also made it seem as though he was incarcerated with my father — that he knew my father,” Banks said.

Banks says her concerns grew quickly. Her family was repeatedly denied requests to view her father’s body, which she suspected was improperly embalmed. Jewelry went missing. Payments and cremation arrangements were unclear. Ultimately, Banks says she paid about $5,600.

Today, she is not even sure the ashes she received belong to her father.

• RELATED: ‘I wanted to bring my dad home’: Daughter says man who posed as funeral director tried to scam her back in 2022

“It’s very hard to even know if it is, in fact, my dad’s ashes — just based upon how everything went,” Banks said.

Court records show Major was not supposed to be involved in any type of funeral work following his 2024 forgery arrest. Despite that restriction, investigators say he continued targeting families.

Banks is hoping her story serves as a warning to others and encourages anyone who dealt with Major to speak up.

“If anyone else has experienced something with him, that they do come forward and feel safe coming forward,” Banks said.

Banks says she does not feel two years in prison is long enough.

Experts recommend several steps to protect yourself from funeral fraud. Consumers can verify whether a funeral home is licensed through the Texas Funeral Service Commission website. Additional precautions include searching for complaints online, asking for a detailed General Price List upfront and being cautious of businesses that refuse to provide licensing information, lack a physical address or request large payments without documentation.

Constable Alan Rosen’s office is asking anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Major to contact them at (713) 755-5200

Montgomery capped a 2-for-5 night with a game-ending, two-run homer in the 10th inning to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 6-5 win over Atlanta Braves. He became the fifth player in MLB history to hit a walk-off homer in his debut, joining Billy Parker (1971), Josh Bard (2002), Miguel Cabrera (2015) and Carlos Pérez (2023).

Montgomery was still buzzing hours after his 343-foot, opposite-field shot cleared the fence in left field.

“I don't know if I would be considered calmed down at this point,” Montgomery said. “Just been enjoying it, sharing it with my family.”

White Sox manager Will Venable said he isn't worried about the 23-year-old getting ahead of himself after one game.

“We haven't had anybody with a debut like that, but I think he's as grounded as they come,” Venable said. “This is a guy that has really high expectations of himself. I'm sure he envisioned himself doing this, what he did last night. To be honest, his idea of what he can do in this league is as high as anybody else's. It was exactly what he expected.”

Montgomery didn't slow down Wednesday night, hitting two doubles and scoring the first run in a 2-1 win over the Braves.

“He just goes up there with extreme confidence, putting really good swings on pitches,” Venable said. “I think his swing decisions have been great. He's a very talented hitter and for him to come up and be so comfortable and be locked in and show what he's able to do early has been awesome.”

Montgomery spent the start of his second day of his big league career responding to the text messages he continues to receive — “The number shrinks and grows as I answer them, but more come in,” Montgomery said — and spending time with his parents and family, who were sitting behind home plate Wednesday night.

His mother, Gretchen Montgomery Willock, posted a video of the family celebration in the stands that went viral on social media. On Wednesday, she posted, “Let me tell you about a dream I had last night.”

“It's not really something you can imagine,” Montgomery said. “You just kind of go into it with your expectations and do whatever the game brings.”

One of the top prospects in the White Sox organization, acquired from the Red Sox in the December 2024 trade that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston, Montgomery was hitting .315 for Triple-A Charlotte. He became the 12th White Sox rookie to debut this season, the second-highest total before the All-Star break since the 1944 Cincinnati Reds had 13, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The influx of youth has helped the White Sox go 29-18 since April 17, second only to the New York Yankees (30-17), despite injuries to Munetaka Murakami and Everson Pereira. among others. The White Sox are 5-4 since Murakami, a rookie from Japan who leads the team with 20 homers, injured his right hamstring on May 29.

Colson Montgomery joined that list Tuesday. He is day to day with a sore back and was not in the lineup Wednesday. The second-year shortstop, a relative veteran of 135 MLB games, said his younger teammates are feeding off each other to pick up the slack.

“You get up here, and it's like, these are my boys, my teammates, this is nothing new,” Colson Montgomery said. “That's why a lot of our young rookie guys are coming up here and they're thriving because they're just being themselves and they know they can be themselves. ... We have a lot of guys in the minor leagues who are coming up and they’re ready to show their impact.”

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

The accusation came in a new, 149-page report alleging that the forced displacement of West Bank Palestinians resulted from a concerted state policy, and not just the actions of violent settlers. While much of the displacement is driven by settlers who build outposts on Palestinian land, the report asserts that the process could not occur without the support of the government.

The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal. Israel, meanwhile, views the West Bank as disputed territory and says its final status is subject to negotiations.

U.N. data says that over 100 West Bank villages have been fully or partially emptied out between January 2023 and April 2026. At the same time, the United Nations has tracked more than 7,280 instances of individual Palestinian displacement because of demolition of homes and structures by Israeli forces, a figure that includes people who were displaced more than once.

Israel has in the past denounced such accusations — including allegations of “ethnic cleansing,” a term referring to forced expulsions of population by violence — as reflecting longtime unfair bias. It did not immediately respond to the report.

Amnesty says settler violence is sanctioned by the state

“These abuses are not the result of a few ‘bad apples.’ Settler violence is a core component of a state-sanctioned campaign of ethnic cleansing," said Agnès Callamard, the head of Amnesty. “What we are witnessing is deliberate, state-led annexation, in complete violation of international law unfolding before the eyes of the entire world.”

Israeli leaders have condemned particularly grave violence by Jewish settlers but tend to denounce them as exceptions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government is dominated by settler leaders and supporters, and key Cabinet ministers are pushing for a formal annexation of the territory.

The government has come under heavy criticism from Palestinians and rights groups for accelerating settlement expansion, which they say is aimed at preventing the establishment of a future Palestinian state there. Over 700,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and claimed by the Palestinians as parts of a future state.

Amnesty says it has identified dozens of bills in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, to extend Israeli civil law and jurisdiction over settlement blocs, as well as over courts that try Palestinians. Recently, the parliament approved a measure making the death penalty the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis.

Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. The U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group that aimed to stop the war in Gaza also acknowledged Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

Villages in remote areas are most vulnerable, rights groups say

Amnesty says the large-scale displacement of Palestinian Bedouin communities in the territory is caused by settler violence, advancement of new settlements and the Israeli takeover of large swaths of unregistered land. Rights groups have raised the alarm about this form of displacement before 2023, but say it dramatically intensified after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that year that triggered the war.

Rights groups say Bedouin herding communities in remote areas of the West Bank are most vulnerable to displacement. Unlike Palestinians in cities and towns across the West Bank, the villagers are less able to withstand the pressure from often-armed settlers as they establish new outposts around Palestinian villages.

The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now says that 212 of at least 363 existing outposts in the West Bank were created since 2023. The outposts are built without permission from Israeli authorities, who sometimes dismantle them but often turn a blind eye or even legalize them retroactively.

Amnesty said its report looked into 27 hamlets and villages in the West Bank where Palestinians were displaced between 2023 and 2025. Researchers interviewed dozens of Palestinians and lawyers, spoke with witnesses of settler violence, watched over 420 videos and analyzed government statements and other reports.

The group also said the international community has failed to act to stop the displacement.

Dror Etkes, who runs the settlement watchdog group Kerem Navot, said that since the October 2023 attack, settlers have taken about 12.5% of West Bank territory — land that Palestinians can no longer access or cross safely.

These graveyards form when whale carcasses fall to the sea floor, becoming a sustaining snack for nearby critters. This one, located up to 23,000 feet (7 kilometers) below the surface of the southeastern Indian Ocean, spans the largest area and is so far the deepest and oldest found.

A whale's sheer size and the unique chemistry of its bones are the keys to forming these unique underwater neighborhoods, said Xikun Song, a biologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering.

“At the same time, the very nature of the deep ocean makes these sites exceptionally difficult for scientists to locate,” Song, who was involved with the latest find, wrote in an email.

Researchers explored the remains during multiple deep-sea submersible trips in 2023, collecting samples and mapping the extent of the necropolis. They found five carcass sites and fossils, including skulls belonging to beaked and baleen whales. The oldest bones date back 5.3 million years.

Feeding and living on the carcasses were myriad creatures, large and small, including sea cucumbers, squat lobsters and saltwater clams. Many of them are likely species that have never been documented, according to findings published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

“The potential number of specimens is just astounding,” said paleontologist Stephen Godfrey with the Calvert Marine Museum in Maryland, who wasn't involved in the research.

Many factors likely conspired to preserve the bones for millions of years, according to the study authors. They’re dense enough to outlast attacks from bone-eating worms, and located deep enough in the ocean to avoid getting buried by dust and loose particles. The bones also were coated with a light layer of minerals from the surrounding seawater, which may have prevented them from degrading.

Why did so many whales die here? Maybe they were already living in the area and died of natural causes. A few could have perished from exhaustion or illness caused by deep-sea diving. The area's shape, akin to the letter V, could also have funneled the remains to their resting spot, the authors wrote.

Such discoveries are important because they clue scientists into the vibrant communities that find a way even in remote, hard-to-reach environments.

Studying the whale graveyards “is important for understanding how life can adapt to such extreme conditions, not only due to the lack of light and oxygen but also to the incredibly high pressure,” said study co-author and paleontologist Giovanni Bianucci with the University of Pisa in Italy in an email.

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

The 13 websites purported to be affiliated with consulting companies that advertised job openings for current and former holders of security clearances. But the companies were all fakes and the job postings were a sham, officials said.

The internet domain seizure is part of a broader effort by Western law enforcement and intelligence agencies to sound the alarm about alleged Chinese government plots to recruit workers who can be duped into disclosing sensitive information.

Last week, for instance, the English-speaking Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S. — issued a bulletin warning that China is targeting personnel from those countries on job websites to get access to classified or sensitive information.

The bulletin said spies for Chinese military intelligence have been posing as workers acting on behalf of private businesses or think tanks, advertising for bogus jobs such as foreign policy or defense analysts and pressuring candidates to provide “non-public” information.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the website seizure, the fake websites relied on fraudulent or stolen identities and AI-generated photographs to give them the appearance of legitimacy, and advertised generic “consulting” jobs geared toward current or former U.S. government employees.

“These websites are often linked or referenced within the entities’ job postings on LinkedIn and other hiring platforms,” the affidavit said.

Applicants and recruits were offered money for reports related to their work and for sensitive information, the Justice Department said. The operators of the plot, who officials allege to be tied to Chinese intelligence services, used cryptocurrency and online payment systems to hide their real identities, officials said.

Law enforcement officials identified the websites through information from targets who came forward to report what they believed to be suspicious interactions.

“A lot of this information came from doing interviews, interviews with people who came forward that something didn’t seem right,” Dan Wierzbicki, the special agent in charge of the counterintelligence and cyber division of the FBI’s Washington field office, said in an interview.

“They provided information and said, ‘Hey, this is kind of weird, we’re kind of getting paid by a cryptocurrency or an online payment system that’s not typical,'” he added.

He said the FBI believes there are other websites serving a similar purpose and is seeking the public's help in identifying them.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington called allegations of Chinese espionage “entirely fabricated” and “malicious slander.”

___

Associated Press writer Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

Omar Artan, who was named as Africa's best male referee in 2025., said he plans to be at the next World Cup and urged Somali youth to be proud of their country.

Artan was set to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament.

He was denied entry to the U.S. at Miami International Airport on Saturday over unspecified “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement, without giving details of the concerns. FIFA subsequently cut him from the tournament's referee list.

Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya, which processed it. The U.S. is co-hosting the tournament with Mexico and Canada, and Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.

Arriving in the capital, Mogadishu, he thanked the Somali government and public as well as FIFA for their support.

“I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he said as hundreds of supporters at the airport waved Somali flags. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”

Later on Wednesday, thousands of soccer fans packed the stadium in Mogadishu for a welcome ceremony for Artan, with patriotic songs echoing through the arena as supporters waved the nation's flag and cheered him on.

Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre also hosted Artan, writing in a post on X that the referee had “already won the hearts of millions and secured his place in history.”

“He devoted himself to ensuring that football was decided by merit, yet fate denied him the stage he so richly deserved,” Barre said.

The U.S.'s highly unusual move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country drew outrage across the world and raised questions among some fans about America's capacity to host the competition.

Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subject to new travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

On Wednesday, the United Nations’ top human rights official called for a “massive rethink” of immigration policies especially in the United States around the World Cup.

Hundreds of supporters, government officials and members of Somalia’s football community gathered hours before Artan arrived at Aden Adde International Airport.

As he disembarked, supporters waving Somali flags crowded around him before draping him in the flag.

He was then escorted by police officers to the airport’s VIP terminal, where he was welcomed by Somalia’s sports minister and other dignitaries, and spoke to journalists.

“It is up to all of us to defend the Somali name,” Artan said. “Somalia belongs to us, whether it is in a bad state or a good state. That flag belongs to us, and that passport belongs to us.”

In a country where decades of war and the rise of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group have limited the potential of many in Somalia, Artan's denial brought disappointment but reminded people what is possible if they chase their dreams.

Artan's expected milestone at this year's World Cup “stands no matter what,” the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus — from neighboring Ethiopia — wrote Tuesday on X. “You reached the summit of your profession and inspired a generation back home just by getting there, and being kept off the pitch you earned doesn’t change that.”

The defendant, Vance Boelter, was scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing Thursday morning in federal court in Minneapolis.

“The Attorney General has authorized and directed the government not to seek the death penalty against Defendant Vance Luther Boelter in accordance with the terms delineated in a proposed plea agreement,” assistant U.S. attorneys Bradley M. Endicott and Matthew D. Forbes wrote in a letter to the court Wednesday.

The Justice Department had said earlier in the week that it decided not to pursue the death penalty. While the Trump administration has pushed for greater use of capital punishment, there were questions about whether Boelter’s case would qualify for it.

Boelter’s attorneys did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The court filing did not detail the terms of the plea agreement.

Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were shot by a man who came to their doors in the early hours of June 14, 2025, disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car. The Hortmans' golden retriever was so gravely injured that he had to be euthanized.

Boelter, 58, was captured near his home in rural Green Isle late the next day after what prosecutors have called the largest search for a suspect in Minnesota history. He faces federal and state murder, attempted murder and other charges. His state case has been on hold pending the resolution of his federal charges.

Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911 and has never had a federal death penalty case.

Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, said the federal plea deal would not affect Boelter's state charges.

Under federal law, to obtain the death penalty against Boelter, prosecutors would have to show he committed the killings during another “crime of violence.” Boelter's underlying charge was that he stalked the victims.

A federal judge in New York earlier this year barred prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, ruling that stalking doesn’t count as a violent crime.

Prosecutors have called the attacks on the Minnesota politicians political. When they announced the federal indictment in July, they released a rambling handwritten letter they say Boelter wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel in which he confessed to the shootings. However, the letter didn’t make clear why he targeted the Hortmans or the Hoffmans.

In some messages to media, Boelter referenced a vague and cryptic “investigation” he had been carrying out, sometimes suggesting it was about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Friends described Boelter as an evangelical Christian and occasional preacher and missionary, who held politically conservative views and had been struggling to find work.

When Minnesota's legislative session convened in February, Hoffman got a warm welcome as he walked up the stairs into the Senate chamber. He said in a lawsuit filed against Boelter in April that his left arm and hand likely would never fully recover, and that he also had permanent injuries to his digestive and urinary systems.

Yvette Hoffman was left with permanent physical weakness, the lawsuit said, while their adult daughter, Hope Hoffman, who was there and called 911 but was not shot, suffered severe psychological trauma.

___

Johnson reported from Seattle. Former AP reporter Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed.

Attorneys presented opening statements in the trial of Jonathan Rinderknecht, who has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Whether prosecutors can prove to jurors that Rinderknecht, 29, started a fire in Los Angeles on Jan. 1, 2025, and that it then turned into the Palisades Fire will be at the center of the trial.

Prosecutors say the Jan. 1 fire burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up on Jan. 7. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt O'Brien told jurors that security camera footage shows where and when the fire ignited atop a hill, and investigators were able to place Rinderknecht nearby because he called 911 for help 16 times in quick succession on the evening of Jan. 1.

O'Brien said that Rinderknecht was the only person there that evening. He said that after firefighters arrived, Rinderknecht followed them up the hill to take videos of them putting out the blaze. Investigators later seized a barbecue lighter from his car that he admitted to having with him on the trail.

Defense attorney Steve Haney said Rinderknecht was on the hilltop near the fire's ignition that night, but only to watch the fireworks after dropping off Uber passengers nearby. Haney said multiple witnesses as well as first responders will testify that they heard fireworks in the area around the time the fire ignited.

“When all the evidence is in, there will be one thing missing: proof that Jonathan Rinderknecht started that fire on Jan. 1,” Haney told jurors.

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

O'Brien, in his opening, painted a picture for the jury of a troubled young man who was lonely and angry at the world after a recent breakup.

“He wanted revenge — revenge against society because he blamed society for all his troubles,” he said.

O'Brien also showed jurors a prompt that Rinderknecht had entered into ChatGPT six months earlier. “So on the far left, we're going to have a burning forest and then you have a bunch of people running away from that,” the prompt began.

Haney reminded jurors it didn't matter if they liked his client or “approve of the way Jonathan uses his computer.” He said Rinderknecht’s behavior after the fire, from calling 911 to cooperating with investigators, demonstrated his innocence.

Haney played an audio recording of Rinderknecht’s conversation with a 911 operator during which he reported a fire in the Pacific Palisades.

When federal investigators knocked on Rinderknecht's door, he didn’t hide or refuse to answer, Haney said. Rinderknecht even agreed to drive back to the Palisades to help investigators pinpoint the start of the fire.

“It’s the voice and actions of a man who was trying to stop the fire,” Haney said.

Leading up to the trial, Haney has argued that Rinderknecht is being made as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s failure to fully extinguish the Jan. 1 blaze.

Judge Anne Hwang has ruled that the defense can’t introduce evidence or arguments about alleged negligence by the Fire Department, saying it was irrelevant and could confuse the jury. Defense attorneys had planned to include testimony from a firefighter that the fire was visibly smoldering when first responders left before it reignited days later.

Prosecutors began presenting their case by calling witnesses with California State Parks and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to establish that the fire affected areas with federal jurisdiction.

They also called Special Agent Michael Montevidoni with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, one of the lead investigators in the case.

Montevidoni spent hours on the stand explaining to jurors how investigators gathered evidence and interviewed more than 100 of Rinderknecht's friends, family and acquaintances.

Prosecutors also introduced a multitude of digital records into evidence obtained from his phone, email, Uber, OpenAI and various social media accounts.

Montevidoni said he reviewed thousands of conversations between Rinderknecht and ChatGPT, during which Rinderknecht lamented wealth disparity and climate change in the world and his inability to do anything about it.

These conversations led up to early hours of Dec. 31, 2024, during which Rinderknecht sent angry messages to a woman that he had a prior romantic relationship with. At the same time, he vented to ChatGPT, Montevidoni said.

“It was consistently showing anger and frustration,” Montevidoni said.

The crash occurred near Muzaffarabad, the regional capital, during an ongoing protest and strike called by the Joint Awami Action Committee, a recently banned alliance of various groups.

The military didn't suggest any link between the protest and the crash.

Witnesses said that the helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff from a helipad. Ambulances arrived at the scene and transported the victims to a nearby hospital.

“Rescue and recovery teams immediately reached the crash site,” the military said, adding that a board of inquiry had been ordered to determine the exact cause of the crash.

Residents in Muzaffarabad said that the helicopter was carrying an unspecified number of paramilitary Rangers deployed by the government for security duties in the region, where tensions have been high since the weekend, when members of an outlawed group attacked police and security forces, killing four personnel.

Witnesses said they saw smoke billowing from the crash site, and several ambulances were seen transporting the victims.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the crash, paying tribute to those killed. In separate statements, they conveyed sympathies to the victims' families.

Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, also expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life and extended condolences to the families of those killed, according to the statement.

Such crashes aren't uncommon in Pakistan. In September, an army helicopter on a routine flight crashed in northern Pakistan, killing two pilots and three technicians on board.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson must also pay $1.17 million in punitive damages.

That is in addition to the $176 million in damages for wrongful death and emotional distress that jurors ordered Grossman and Erickson to pay parents Nancy and Karim Iskander last week, after finding them negligent in the deaths of Mark, 11, and Jacob, 8.

“This verdict sends a clear message that everyone must be held accountable when their selfish actions put innocent lives at risk,” Brian Panish, the Iskander family's attorney, said in a statement Wednesday.

Erickson's attorney, Jeff Braun, said they respected the verdict.

“In the coming days, we will review the verdict with our client and discuss the appropriate path forward,” Braun said in a statement. “Today, however, our focus is on acknowledging the extraordinary loss the Iskander family has endured. We extend our sincere condolences to them and continue to keep them in our thoughts.”

Grossman's attorney, Esther Holm, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Grossman was sentenced in 2024 to serve 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run driving in a separate criminal trial. She is a co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation and the wife of a prominent burn doctor.

The boys’ parents also filed lawsuits in civil court against both Grossman and Erickson, who was driving ahead of her when the Iskander brothers were killed. That trial began in April.

The deadly crash occurred on the evening of Sept. 29, 2020, in Westlake Village, a city on the western edge of Los Angeles County.

Panish, the Iskander family’s attorney, argued that Grossman and Erickson were both driving recklessly after drinking margaritas together. The two were dating at a time when Grossman and her husband were separated.

Panish said Grossman was driving 73 mph (117 kph) when her car struck the boys in a crosswalk on a road where the posted speed limit was 45 mph (72 kph).

He said Grossman was following Erickson, who was also speeding and narrowly missed the family.

Holm, Grossman's attorney, denied that her client was intoxicated. She said Grossman was distracted when she saw the boys’ mother dive out of the way of Erickson’s vehicle.

Braun, Erickson's attorney, called the boys’ deaths a tragedy but emphasized that the vehicle he was driving “made no contact with the children.”

In an opening statement provided to The Associated Press, Gates said he “should never have met with Epstein in the first place,” but that he “never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct.”

The tech billionaire became the latest powerful figure linked to Epstein to testify before the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door deposition. The committee chairman, Republican Rep. James Comer, formally requested that Gates testify after he appeared multiple times in a trove of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein probe.

As Gates arrived at the Capitol, he noted that his appearance was voluntary and said he hoped his testimony would help lawmakers “find justice for the victims.” Gates did not take questions from reporters at the conclusion of the interview late Wednesday afternoon.

Gates, who chairs the Gates Foundation, has not been accused in connection with Epstein's crimes and has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of girls. He has said the two met only to discuss philanthropy and previously described the relationship as “a huge mistake.”

Most Democratic members who participated in Wednesday's questioning described Gates as cooperative. They said some of the most useful information he provided involved other influential people in Epstein’s orbit. Lawmakers also said they pressed Gates on why he continued interacting with Epstein after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Gates was aware that Epstein had been convicted of “a horrific crime and continued to interact with him to seek money for his foundation,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, the top-ranking Democrat on the committee, who described Gates' actions as “a horrific judgment call.”

Before the interview began, Comer told reporters that the committee's effort was “about trying to figure out how the government failed.”

Lawmakers scrutinize Gates’ relationship with Epstein

Gates said he was introduced to Epstein through people involved in his professional and philanthropic work and was drawn in by Epstein’s claims that he could help raise billions of dollars for global health initiatives.

Their relationship began in 2011, three years after Epstein’s guilty plea in Florida, according to the Justice Department files. Gates said he cut ties in 2014 after concluding Epstein could not deliver on those promises.

Included in the files are calendar entries for meetings between Gates and Epstein, email correspondence between the two about philanthropic projects and photos of Gates at events that Epstein also attended.

Gates added that he never went to Epstein's island or his other infamous properties.

“I have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated,” Gates said.

Lawmakers offered differing accounts of the interview as they exited the room throughout the day.

GOP Rep. Tim Burchett described the questioning as “intense,” while Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said Gates was “combative” and “not terribly forthcoming or candid.” Garcia, by contrast, said that while Gates pushed back on some inquiries, “he’s answering the questions.”

Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury said Gates acknowledged maintaining contact with Epstein because he believed the “narrow relationship” was “an acceptable means to access wealthy donors.”

The Gates Foundation said in February that a small number of employees had met with Epstein based on his “claims that he could mobilize significant philanthropic resources" for global health. They never created a charitable fund together, and the foundation made no payments to Epstein.

Both Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, have said his association with Epstein created tension in their marriage.

Broader Epstein investigation continues

Epstein was federally indicted in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. The Justice Department alleged that Epstein formed a vast network of girls, some as young as 14, for him to sexually abuse between 2002 and 2005. He died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.

The files released by the Justice Department read like a who’s who of powerful men across tech, finance, politics and other industries. All have denied involvement in Epstein’s crimes, but some maintained or formed friendships with him even after his history of sexual abuse came to light.

At another closed-door deposition in February, former President Bill Clinton faced more than six hours of questioning from lawmakers about his association with Epstein more than two decades ago. Epstein visited the White House several times during Clinton’s presidency, and Clinton flew occasionally on Epstein's private jet.

The former Democratic president said he saw no signs of Epstein’s sexual abuse and stopped associating with him long before Epstein's 2008 guilty plea. Clinton has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Democrats on the House committee have pushed for testimony from President Donald Trump, a Republican who had his own relationship with Epstein. Republicans have said they have not come across any evidence that Trump did anything wrong during his well-documented friendship with Epstein.

Comer said Wednesday that he's planning to ask attorney Alan Dershowitz to appear and that he's been in communication with the Justice Department about acting Attorney General Todd Blanche coming in for questioning as well.

___

Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City.

The event is part of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, and is scheduled for the weekend with the main attraction — seven mixed martial arts matches — on Sunday.

That is, if a judge doesn't halt the proceedings, which is sought by two Virginia residents in a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn.

The agency filed a rebuff of the request Tuesday in court, and, in it, laid out the operations for the event.

“Well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended,” the document read, adding that the money came from the UFC and groups affiliated with it.

The Octagon

It's the eight-sided cage that surrounds the sometimes bloodied combatants and sits at the center of the constructed arena on the South Lawn.

The arena is expected to hold 4,000 spectators, with another 120,000 visitors — who swung tickets from an online lottery — anticipated to watch from the nearby Ellipse.

The installation began May 20, and the Secret Service worked with the UFC to screen between 20 and 30 trucks of equipment — as well as between “700 and 900” staff — that came in daily for the installation.

The document did not specify the extent of government resources spent on the project, but said seven agencies, including Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration, have “allocated significant resources and manpower."

The schedule

It’ll kick off Saturday with a ceremonial weigh-in at the Ellipse, followed by a concert by country musicians The Zac Brown Band.

A UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest will be ongoing through the weekend, with “interactive experiences,” live shows, celebrity appearances, “exclusive on-stage moments,” meet and greets, live music and interviews with the athletes.

Sunday night is when the seven bouts kick off. At the close, Trump is scheduled to fly to France for the G7 summit.

Disassembly of the installations will begin the next day, and they are expected to be entirely removed by June 23.

The athletes' Epsom salt baths

There are 14 athletes competing, and their training is rigorous.

Preparations start months in advance, working toward more intense weight cutting and diet alteration in the final week that can include fasting, extreme sauna use and hot Epsom salt baths.

They could be shaving as many as 20 pounds before weigh-ins, which are designed to keep the competition fair between similarly weighted combatants.

Lawsuit calls it ‘corrupt’

It was filed Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of the two Virginia residents and argues that Trump’s authorization of the event violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands.

One of the attorneys, Brendan Ballou, characterized it as a “corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain."

The National Park Service pushed back on that claim, but also detailed the event's preparations to make a point.

“All these hopes could be dashed at the very last moment," it read, "by the whim of two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else.”

A crash involving multiple vehicles has caused all eastbound lanes of the Westpark Tollway to be shut down.

The crash happened near SH-6 in the Mission Bend area of Harris County.

Houston Transtar cameras show emergency vehicles blocking the eastbound lanes.

Seek an alternate route and prepare for delays if you are in the area.

Briscoe died Sunday at an assisted living facility in Kapolei, Hawaii, said his wife, Leonor Briscoe. He was diagnosed in April with amyloidosis, a disorder in which protein buildup can lead to organ damage.

In a career spanning decades and continents, Briscoe brought a reporter’s curiosity to his native Utah, to Washington and to Hawaii. But it was his perch in Manila that put him at the center of his biggest story.

Taking the helm as bureau chief in 1980, Briscoe charted the waning years of Ferdinand Marcos’ authoritarian regime and the turmoil unleashed by the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. He and his staff fanned out across the country in chartered planes, rented jeeps and, at least once, a horse-drawn cart. They covered a relentless stretch of investigations, hearings and a presidential campaign so improbable it seemed scripted, with a reluctant widow thrust by tragedy to the forefront of a democratic movement.

That thrilling conclusion, with Corazon Aquino ascending to the presidency and Marcos dramatically driven into exile, would stay with Briscoe forever. He recalled searing images “of nuns kneeling in front of military tanks” and “soldiers and civilians crying in each other’s arms.”

“I expect to witness or cover no greater event in my life,” he wrote in AP World, an in-house magazine, in 1986, recounting his coverage of the upheaval.

A love affair with the Philippines

David Chesley Briscoe was born July 30, 1943, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to a union steward father and a homemaker mother who raised her two sons in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He grew interested in journalism at the University of Utah, writing for the student paper and eventually getting hired at the Deseret News, where editors handed him obituary assignments and pieces on standout local students.

After two years there, Briscoe signed up for the Peace Corps and was assigned to Paracale, and then Naga City, in the Philippines, where he taught English. For a young man who had scarcely left Utah in his youth, every corner seemed to be a revelation, of water buffalo shimmering from mud baths and children running down dirt roads.

He was smitten with his new home. When his Peace Corps tour ended, Briscoe bristled at the idea of leaving. He found work at a local newspaper, and while staffing an event in which Marcos was to speak, he met the former Leonor Aureus, editor of a rival paper. The two were soon walking down an aisle they lined with copies of The Naga Times and the Bicol Mail.

A dramatic revolution unfolds

Briscoe was hired by the AP in Manila in 1970, covering a deadly earthquake that rocked the capital, an assassination attempt on Pope Paul VI and the hijacking of a plane. By the next year, though, AP said he’d have to spend some time working in the U.S. He returned to Salt Lake, hoping fate might someday bring him back to the Philippines.

In his hometown, he found ties with his faith were fraying. His wife says he was disciplined by the church after discussing its exclusion of Black men from its priesthood in a class he taught. Briscoe opposed the ban. The church later lifted the restriction.

He also found himself at odds with the church over a three-part series he wrote with a colleague, Bill Beecham, examining its intricate web of business interests and tithing by its members that the reporters estimated brought in more than $1 billion a year. No Utah newspaper dared to run the stories, the pair said.

Briscoe spent nine years in Salt Lake before his bosses dangled a chance to return to Manila as bureau chief. He rushed to phone his wife with the news.

“Noree, are you sitting down?” she remembered him asking.

From Washington back to the Pacific

After his six-year stint running the AP’s office in the Philippines, Briscoe moved in 1986 to Washington, where he focused on international affairs. He was bureau chief in Honolulu from 2001 until retiring in 2009.

There, dressed in aloha shirts and bathed in a tropical sun, Briscoe could again call a Pacific island home. He spoke of being “halfway back.”

To his final days, he cherished his time in the Philippines. As the end neared, his family gathered around him and prayed. He grabbed his wife's hand, told her he loved her, and asked her to let him go.

The family plans to hire a boat and scatter Briscoe’s ashes in the waters of the Pacific, hoping the currents take his remains back to his adopted home.

“The land that David learned to love,” his wife said, “and where he met the love of his life.”

___

Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ap.org and https://x.com/sedensky

Tuesday afternoon's act sent shock waves through a city where more than one in four people are Black. Some people drove or walked by, staring, and a video of the cross-burning gained traction online.

The video, taken by a motorist, shows the wooden cross engulfed in bright orange flames as it leans against a tree in Grant Park, located in the core of the city's downtown and near Lake Michigan.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was “deeply disturbed” by the images.

“Hate has no place in our city. Every Chicagoan deserves to feel safe, protected, and respected while going about their day or enjoying our public spaces,” Johnson, who is Black, said on a post on X Wednesday. “We will continue working across city government to uphold that standard and ensure Chicago remains a welcoming, inclusive, and safe place for all.”

Chicago police urged the public to come forward with any information. A community alert issued by police included an image of a person walking away from the area.

Police said the person was seen “fleeing from the scene” where an object was constructed and burned in the park. The alert provided no update on the arson investigation.

The Chicago Fire Department confirmed the flaming object was a cross and said officials put out the fire.

Officials with a local Catholic church, The Faith Community of Saint Sabina, posted on social media a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who was involved. The Rev. Michael Pfleger, senior pastor, called the cross burning an act of hate.

“It cannot be tolerated,” Pfleger told TV station FOX 32. “I really believe it should be treated as a hate crime just like a swastika is.”

Cross burnings have historically been symbols of hate

Keinika Carlton, 43, was driving home from running errands with her daughter and mother-in-law when they saw the cross on fire. She said she felt a combination of shock, sadness and disgust, as well as curiosity.

“Is this a racial thing? Is this a religious thing?” she said. “As Black women, of course, our first thought is racial, because burning crosses are known to be used as a tactic, an act of violence toward Black Americans in the South.”

Carlton estimated the cross was at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall. As they slowed down to shoot a video of the flames, she saw other cars also slowing down and people walking nearby, staring at the cross burning.

While the motive behind the burning cross was not immediately clear, cross burnings in the U.S. have historically been seen as “symbols of hate” that are “inextricably intertwined with the history of the Ku Klux Klan,” according to a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision written by the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The justices ruled that the First Amendment allows bans on cross burnings only when they are intended to intimidate because the action “is a particularly virulent form of intimidation.”

Alyna Carlton, 22, said she never thought she would see something like that in her lifetime.

“It kind of really opened my eyes, had me realize that I’m not that far removed from the past.”

Some attribute the act to divisive political times

Gina Miranda Samuels, faculty director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago, said the burning of crosses may no longer create the degree of fear it did decades ago — but there's sadness at the reminder of the level of hate that still exists.

“The burning a cross in Grant Park, personally, does not instill terror,” she said. “If it was on my personal lawn, that would concern me. This doesn’t cause me to want to flee Chicago.”

Miranda Samuels laid some of the blame on the current political climate.

“I do think we’re living in a time when we have a president that stokes this kind of thing and invites this type of stuff,” she said. "People feel emboldened and are invited to see how far they can go.”

Frank Chapman, executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and a Chicago resident, agreed. He pointed to how people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were ultimately not punished. President Donald Trump pardoned, commuted prison sentences or ordered the dismissal of cases for all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in the attack.

“The same kind of people got the same white supremacist mentality as a cross-burning,” Chapman said. "So, they figured like they got a license now ... with people pardoned and more or less shaking hands with the devil.”

Next week, Obama will be joined by other former presidents and dignitaries to dedicate his presidential library, named the Obama Center, on a sprawling complex less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Grant Park. The center opens to the public on Juneteenth, the federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the U.S.

___ Associated Press writers Terry Tang in Phoenix and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.

Trump would not say if he planned to follow through on threats he made earlier in the war to attack bridges and utility plants. He urged Iran to sign a deal with the U.S.

Also Wednesday, the president signed a $70 billion immigration enforcement bill that aims to ensure uninterrupted funding for the administration’s deportation agenda through the end of his term.

The Latest:

$60M and 7 federal agencies required to stage Trump’s UFC fight at White House

The president’s planned UFC fight on the South Lawn has required a monumental effort from more than seven federal agencies, hundreds of staff working on-site daily and at least $60 million, according to a legal filing that offers a glimpse into the preparations.

The event is part of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, and it is scheduled for the weekend with the main attraction — seven mixed martial arts matches — on Sunday.

That is, if a judge doesn’t halt the proceedings, something sought by two Virginia residents in a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn.

The agency filed a rebuff of the request Tuesday in court and in it laid out the operations for the event.

“Well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended,” the document reads, adding that the money came from the UFC and affiliated groups.

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OB-GYN group makes vaccine recommendations for the first time

A prominent OB-GYN group announced vaccine recommendations Wednesday that differ from what the U.S. government advises.

The schedule is specifically for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women. It aligns with prior recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, before changes were made under the Trump administration and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists withdrew this year from a CDC advisory committee on vaccines because of those changes, which have spawned legal challenges.

“So now for the first time, ACOG has made the decision to formally release its own immunization schedule to provide and communicate clear evidence-based guidance and to address the growing vaccine misinformation that is circulating,” said Dr. Christopher Zahn, the group’s chief of clinical practice.

The schedule has been endorsed by 13 other professional and medical societies. Some other groups, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, have also put out schedules this year that differ from the CDC’s.

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Florida high court allows use of new US House districts drawn by Republicans for midterms

The Florida Supreme Court declined a request to issue a temporary injunction against the map, which is backed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Attorneys representing voters had argued that the new districts violate a state constitutional ban on political gerrymandering.

Republicans currently hold 20 of the state’s 28 U.S. House seats, and the new voting districts could improve the GOP’s chances to win four additional seats this year.

Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier, who defended the new districts in court, declared “complete and total victory” in a social media post.

Opponents expressed outrage while vowing to continue the court fight, even though it may stretch into the 2028 election cycle.

Trump has urged Republican-led states to redraw voting districts to try to hold on to a slim House majority in November.

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Administration plans intensive, year-round construction schedule for Trump’s triumphal arch

Construction of the 250-foot-high triumphal arch that the president wants built near the Lincoln Memorial could occur 20 hours per day, year-round, as officials push to complete the project within three years, according to a preliminary assessment by the National Park Service.

Tower cranes up to 320 feet tall, forklifts, concrete pump systems and other equipment would be needed to build the arch, which would be more than twice as high as the Lincoln Memorial. Work would occur year-round in two 10-hour shifts per day, the Park Service report said.

The 24-page assessment by NPS staff was released last week as a part of a fast-tracked historic preservation review that began Friday. The park service oversees the land where the administration wants to build the arch.

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Judge rejects watchdog bid to block administration’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

A federal judge has rejected a government watchdog’s request for a court order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from forging ahead with a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.

But the judge ended a hearing Wednesday by warning President Donald Trump’s administration not to “play possum” with the court.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled from the bench in favor of the administration, which argued that the watchdog’s lawsuit is moot because acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress last month that the government is scrapping its plans for the fund.

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US military says it is striking ‘multiple targets’ in Iran in latest escalation of tensions

U.S. Central Command said in a social media post that the military is striking “multiple targets in Iran” and it is happening “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”

The strikes come just a day after the U.S. hit Iran following the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that Trump blamed on Tehran.

US Embassy in Baghdad issues new warning to citizens

In a statement it advised U.S. citizens in Iraq “to maintain heightened readiness and stay alert to local news sources” as “travel disruptions and airspace closures could occur on short notice.”

Washington previously issued a warning for U.S. citizens not to travel to Iraq and advised those there to leave. The statement reiterated that warning.

The advisory comes amid rising tensions and renewed exchanges of strikes between the U.S. and Iran. After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, sparking the war in the Middle East, Iran-backed Iraqi militias launched regular attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities in Iraq.

Hegseth says US has ‘options’ when asked about possible operation in Cuba

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the military has various options for the president if he greenlights military intervention there.

Asked about the possibility of a capture-or-kill operation, the defense secretary said: “All I would say is options, options, options. Our job is to present options at different scales depending on where the commander in chief and president the United States wants to go.”

Trump has warned that Cuba is next following a U.S. military raid in January that captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has also ordered a punishing oil embargo on the island nation, while former Cuban president Raúl Castro, 95, faces federal murder charges if ever brought to the U.S.

Hegseth says US will strike Iran tonight

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military will strike Iran “hard” Wednesday night following threats for more strikes from Trump earlier in the day.

While Trump said the strikes are further retaliation for what he said is Iran’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter, Hegseth said they are happening “not because we want to restart anything” but because the Pentagon “is prepared to set the terms to ensure that we get the kind of deal President Trump expects.”

“Those strikes that will happen tonight will be strong; they will be clear,” Hegseth said. “If they have to happen tomorrow night, they will be strong and they will be clear.”

Iran’s UN envoy says Trump should refrain from threats of force if he wants a deal

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani stressed to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that “no sustainable deal can be reached through terrorists, intimidation, or the use of force.”

“Iran has never negotiated under threats and pressure and will never submit to pressure or question,” he said.

Iravani said the United States has repeatedly pursued this policy and should have learned by now “that threats and military intimidation are counterproductive.”

“If Washington is genuinely interested in a diplomatic solution, it must abandon the language of terrorism and engage with Iran on the basis of mutual respect, sovereign equality, and full adherence to international law,” the Iranian ambassador said.

Israeli defense minister says Israel is prepared to strike Iran ‘with great force’

Speaking at a ceremony in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, Israel Katz said the campaign against Iran was “far from over” and warned that if Iran attacks Israel again, “it will suffer a severe blow.”

The comments came shortly after Trump said the United States would be striking Iran again on Wednesday, after a day of escalating attacks in the region.

Israel and Iran traded fire earlier this week for the first time in two months.

Trump says he ordered US military mission to help oil tankers navigate Strait of Hormuz

The president said on social media that he ordered the U.S. military last month to execute “a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships” through the strait. He claimed the effort helped get more than 100 million barrels of oil through the strait, though there was no immediate confirmation of that figure.

It was not immediately clear what role the military played. When asked about the secret mission, Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said, “U.S. forces continue to communicate and coordinate with commercial vessels seeking to freely and safely transit.” He did not offer details on the specific military support being offered to vessels.

Hegseth warns Cuba over buying certain weapons, saying it will invite confrontation

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued his tough talk against Cuba’s government while visiting the U.S. base on the island, warning Cuba against the purchase of weapons that could strike the Guantanamo Bay Navy base or the U.S. mainland 90 miles (145 kilometers) away.

“They would be inviting the kind of confrontation, not only do they not want, but they could not stand,” Hegseth said, adding that the U.S. military “will give the commander in chief every single option he needs inside that contingency.”

Trump has been threatening Cuba with military intervention as he tries to pressure its government’s leadership into stepping down.

Rubio to attend World Cup opening ceremony and US-Paraguay match in LA

The State Department says the secretary of state will travel to Los Angeles for Friday’s U.S. opening ceremony of the World Cup 2026 soccer tournament and Team USA’s first match against Paraguay that night.

The department said in a statement that Rubio would lead the U.S. delegation to the opening and be accompanied by Secretaries of Transportation and Homeland Security Sean Duffy and Markwayne Mullin.

In addition to attending the World Cup events, Rubio will also meet with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña in Los Angeles.

US says it has boosted Ebola response funding by another $20 million

The State Department says that the Trump administration has contributed another $20 million toward efforts to counter the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, bringing the total U.S. contribution to more than $220 million since the outbreak began last month.

The department said the new funds would go to assist the most affected countries — Congo and Uganda — as well as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan, to help them prepare for an outbreak and prevent its spread. That will cover support for national emergency operations centers, surveillance, testing and border screening, and infection prevention and control, as well as assistance in managing potential victims of the virus.

The announcement came a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Europe needed to step up its response to Ebola.

Hegseth tells US troops in Cuba: ‘We are taking back our hemisphere’

Speaking to American troops in Cuba on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is “defending the homeland. And we are taking back our hemisphere.”

Hegseth cited the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, which is often invoked to justify U.S. intervention in the Western Hemisphere. He also mentioned the “Donroe Doctrine” to reference Trump’s aggressive focus on Latin America and drug cartels.

Trump has been trying to bring about regime change in Cuba with a punishing oil blockade on the island nation and federal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro. Trump has also threatened military intervention while pointing to the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.

UN chief warns escalating attacks and rhetoric risk ‘full war’ in Iran and Gulf region

Secretary-General António Guterres told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that the ceasefire in the Gulf region “is more like a lesser fire,” as the world has witnessed in the last 48 hours, with the downing of a U.S. helicopter, U.S. retaliatory attacks on Iranian targets, and the Iranians firing at U.S. bases and facilities in the Gulf.

“The world needs to see a complete ceasefire, with navigational rights and freedoms restored … and serious negotiations on the nuclear issues — ensuring that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful,” he said.

Guterres also called for full implementation of the ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza and an end to settler violence in the West Bank, now averaging six attacks a day.

He said, “It’s time to get serious about the only credible way forward” — moving toward a two-state solution where Israel and Palestine live side by side in peace.

GCC condemns Iranian strikes on Gulf states and Jordan

The Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, condemned Iranian air attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan on Wednesday, saying the “new heinous Iranian aggression” doesn’t create stability or build relations.

“The Council affirms that these hostile acts do not serve any understanding or rapprochement, but rather distance people from one another, undermine the foundations of trust, sow discord, and close the doors of dialogue to which the GCC states have always called,” the GCC said in a statement on the sidelines of a meeting it held in Bahrain’s capital of Manama.

The GCC blamed Iran for destabilizing the region and impacting international navigation and energy supplies through these “hostile acts.”

The ministerial council said GCC states remain committed to diplomacy and good-neighborly relations, but questioned how future ties could be built while the attacks continue.

Treasury sanctions Chinese and Hong Kong-based people and companies for supporting Iran

The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on nine people and firms allegedly associated with supporting Iran’s weapons procurement program.

Among those hit with sanctions is Hong Kong‑based firm Mustad and its leadership, who are accused of acting as an intermediary to facilitate transactions that would help Iran procure weapons.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that his agency is “disrupting the foreign procurement networks that support the Iranian military’s efforts to acquire weapons.”

Speaker Mike Johnson says Pulte is coming ‘short term’ to renovate and downsize intelligence office

The Republican leader spent another morning with Trump at the White House and said the president is “working very hard” to name a more permanent pick to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence – perhaps even by the time Pulte takes over June 19.

Johnson called it a “good faith gesture” from Trump that Democrats should accept as part of an agreement for a short-term extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA. The spy tool expires on Friday if Congress fails to act, but lawmakers object to Pulte in the role, saying he is unqualified.

Trump made it very clear, Johnson said, that Pulte will serve a “very short term – a sort of renovation role” to help the Office of the Director of National Intelligence be “renovated and downsized.”

US military disables merchant vessel trying to transport oil from Iran

The U.S. military disabled an eighth merchant vessel in the waters off Iran on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command announced in a social media post on Wednesday.

According to U.S. Central Command, U.S. forces disabled Palau-flagged M/T Settebello, which they say was trying to transport oil from Iran, after their crew failed to comply with their directions. “A U.S. aircraft fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room,” the statement said.

In a black-and-white video accompanying the statement, a small object can be seen slamming into the back of the ship before a large explosion erupts. Afterward, the video zooms out, and the ship is seen floating, but with smoke billowing from the back.

Trump seems to suggest the US is ferrying oil out of the Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. president seemed to say that “millions of barrels of oil” have been secreted past Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz, helping to ease energy price pressures.

“Do you know, we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil?” Trump said. “Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran. Until right now. We took out the other night, 22 ships late at night with no lights, because they don’t have any radar, because we blasted the crap out of it.”

The president said that U.S. forces have been removing millions of barrels of oil on a nightly basis, and he had previously “wanted to say it so badly.”

Inflation just climbed to 4.2% annually, and Trump calls those numbers ‘great’

As affordability concerns hurt his popularity, the U.S. president declared that he loves the figures in the latest consumer price index report, which showed inflation hitting 4.2%, the highest level since April 2023.

“I love it,” Trump said without irony. “The numbers were great.”

The president said that he thought the numbers were good because he believes that they’ve been driven by higher energy costs tied to the Iran war, suggesting that inflation would ease “as soon as this war is over.”

Inflation has worsened under Trump’s watch, initially because of last year’s tariffs and now because of a conflict that has blocked oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump piles on about Platner, saying ‘he’s just an outright pig’

The president continued his sharp criticism of Platner in subsequent comments, saying, “He’s like a pig.”

“I watched him a couple of times,” the president said. “He’s like a pig. That’s what he reminds me of.”

Trump added, “You know, I come up with good names for people. I don’t want to stick him with that one, although I think pigs would be very upset,” drawing laughter from Republican lawmakers in the Oval Office with him.

Trump has used “pig” or variations of it as insults before against reporters and political opponents.

Trump signs $70 billion immigration enforcement bill

Trump has signed a bill into law that gives his immigration and deportation agenda a nearly $70 billion boost for the rest of his time in the White House.

The bill provides $38 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $26 billion for the Border Patrol. An additional $5 billion would cover unforeseen costs, according to the White House.

Trump signed the legislation in the Oval Office on Wednesday, a day after House Republicans pushed the measure through by a 214-212 vote over the objections of Democrats. His signature ended a nearly six-month fight over Department of Homeland Security funding that began with the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in January during federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

Trump says he does not want to renew trade pact with Canada and Mexico

The U.S. president told reporters that he’s “not looking to renew” the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal that, without a commitment by July 1, would face annual reviews of its status and possibly expire in 2036.

“I’m not looking to renew it,” Trump said, even though he originally negotiated the pact to replace an earlier trade deal for North America.

Trump said that the earlier agreement was worse than the USMCA. Still, he was displeased with the results.

“You know, with Mexico and Canada, we have trade deficits,” Trump said. “We should have surpluses with them. We don’t need their cars. We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need anything that they have.”

Trump says Maine’s Collins is ‘not my best friend’ but he’s backing her

Trump said that Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has his backing in her reelection campaign this year, even though she voted in 2021 to convict him of impeachment for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

After repeatedly insulting Collins’ Democratic opponent, Graham Platner, Trump said he was backing Collins “because she’s a sane woman.”

“She’s not my best friend at all,” the president added.

Trump said that Collins has “maybe a little different ideology than me,” but she’s “a respected person” and a better choice than Platner.

Iran says the US bombed 2 of its water reservoirs

Water supply to thousands of residents was cut off on Wednesday after two reservoirs in the city of Sirik were damaged by a U.S. strike, according to Hashem Amini, the head of the state-owned National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, and the head of the local water company.

Iran’s state media published a video of what it said was a damaged water reservoir in southern Iran. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the footage or the claims.

U.S. Central Command had no immediate comment. Central Command said earlier Wednesday that it had “struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.” Sirik is at the eastern end of the strait.

Trump announces more strikes against Iran

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the U.S. would be striking Iran again on Wednesday after a helicopter collision with an Iranian drone.

“We’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump said. He wouldn’t say if he planned to follow through on threats he made earlier in the war to attack bridges and utility plants in Iran.

He urged Iran to sign a deal with the U.S., saying “we were really close to a deal but they keep tapping us along.”

For residents of the Heights, walking to school, a park, or a nearby business is part of daily life. But for years, many of those trips have come with safety concerns for pedestrians navigating busy streets.

According to Texas Department of Transportation crash data, 119 pedestrians were reportedly killed on Houston roadways in 2024 — roughly one pedestrian death every three days. The city also recorded 345 overall traffic fatalities, making 2024 the deadliest year ever documented on Houston streets.

• Houston City Council passes $7.5 billion budget amid debate over fees and financial stability

Those sobering numbers have fueled calls for safer infrastructure from transportation advocates, including Link Houston, a nonprofit focused on improving mobility and street safety across the region.

In response, Houston City Council recently approved more than $130,000 for several pedestrian safety projects in the Heights.

The upgrades include new and enhanced crosswalks, sidewalk improvements, fresh roadway striping, and the installation of rectangular rapid flashing beacons — high-intensity pedestrian-activated warning lights designed to increase driver awareness at crossings.

The largest concentration of improvements will be along West 11th Street, including intersections at Ella Boulevard, T.C. Jester Boulevard, Bays Oaks Road, and several other locations.

One of the most noticeable changes will be at the intersection of White Oak Drive and Greenleaf Street, where rectangular rapid flashing beacons will be installed. Pedestrians activate the lights before entering the crosswalk, alerting drivers and encouraging them to slow down and yield.

• Houston ICE detainee escaped federal facility using yoga mat to scale wall, unsealed documents reveal

Transportation safety advocates say infrastructure improvements are important, but education remains a critical part of keeping pedestrians safe.

“One of the most important things parents can do is walk with their kids, bike with their kids,” said one safety expert. “These are not skills you can tell somebody, ‘Hey, go be a safe person.’ You have to show them what that means,” said Robin Holzer, Executive Director of LINK Houston.

The expert added that even marked crossings require awareness and judgment from pedestrians.

“A painted crosswalk or a push button at a signalized intersection are not magic devices that tell everybody what to do,” the advocate said. “Kids need to understand how to make eye contact with drivers, look down the road, and gauge the speed of approaching vehicles. They can do that, but they need practice,” Holzer said.

Link Houston says effective street design must account for everyone who uses the roadway, not just motorists. Better pavement markings, more visible crossings, and pedestrian-activated warning systems help create clearer expectations for both drivers and people on foot.

While the upgrades may seem simple, advocates say they can have a meaningful impact.

For a child walking to school or a family heading to a neighborhood park, a flashing beacon and a safer crosswalk could make all the difference.

Isabel Tristan wanted answers from Brookshire City Hall after paying $75 for a commemorative brick to honor her grandfather.

The brick was never installed.

Tristan purchased the brick through a city program, expecting it to be placed near the downtown amphitheater. When nothing was installed, she contacted the city on multiple occasions to ask about the status of her brick.

After receiving no concrete resolution, she contacted 2 Helps You.

“I think it’s the principle,” Tristan said. “You sold this brick for $75. It’s never been laid. I don’t know if it even exists.”

In situations like this, Tristan did everything right. She sent registered letters and made phone calls. Then, last month, she emailed us. We showed up a few days later.

Following KPRC 2’s initial report, the mayor of Brookshire reached out directly to Tristan with a resolution.

“I got a call from the mayor,” Tristan said. “He said he was returning my $75 and was giving me a complimentary brick.”

On Tuesday, we accompanied Tristan to Brookshire City Hall, where she received her refund check in person.

A few minutes later, she walked out smiling, never expecting the day would come.

“I feel good. I am pleased that the mayor and the City of Brookshire did the right thing,” Tristan said. “This is my hometown. These are my people, and I’m just thankful that he did the right thing.”

When asked what the outcome says about 2 Helps You, Tristan didn’t hesitate.

“Y’all are awesome. Y’all are awesome. Thank you so much.”

This story originated from an email sent to 2 Helps You. We are always listening. If you’ve done your part and still can’t get action, we don’t mind lending a hand.

In a letter to state regulators, Abbott outlined a series of proposals designed to ensure data centers shoulder the costs of their growth rather than Texas ratepayers.

Among his legislative priorities:

• requiring new facilities to add power generation to the state’s power grid
• requiring data centers pay for their own grid interconnection and infrastructure costs
• mandating the use of “closed-loop” water systems, which draw a large amount of water at the start but reuse it over some period of years
• require annual reporting by all data centers on electricity and water use
• establishing best-practice standards to address community concerns like noise
• repealing data center sales tax exemptions and “other outdated or unnecessary incentives for data centers”

The Texas Tribune reported earlier this year that the state is poised to lose $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years because of a sales tax exemption.

“The rapid scale of data center development requires oversight to ensure everyday Texans are not burdened with the costs of infrastructure driven by data center expansion, and to ensure that as data centers interconnect to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid, residential electric bills are not negatively affected,” Abbott wrote in the letter first obtained by the Texas Bullpen.

It’s a striking call for industry regulation by the Republican governor in a state that has long prided itself on being a favorable environment for business. In recent months, Abbott has toed the line of championing the industry, declaring Texas the “epicenter” of AI development, and issuing statements about how his office was sensitive to the concerns about strain on resources and quality of life.

The Data Center Coalition welcomed the governor’s proposals saying the industry already follows many of the recommended practices and is committed to working with agencies to support “responsible infrastructure growth.” 

“It’s important to recognize that data centers are a diverse industry serving a wide range of needs, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to facility design, cooling technology, or regulation. The right approach in one community may not be the right approach in another, which is why siting and operational decisions are made in close coordination with local utilities, water providers, and management districts,” said Dan Diorio, the organization’s vice president of state policy.

At the Texas GOP convention in Houston, early reactions to the governor’s recommendations from a handful of members from his own party were that it was a good start — but more is required.

Rep. Cody Vasut of Angleton agreed with repealing the sales tax exemptions, and floated the idea of expanding counties’ authorities to address some of the concerns.

Speaking at the same panel focused on data centers, Hood County GOP Chair Greg Harrell said he wanted Abbott to call a special session to tackle the issues immediately. There are eight proposed data centers for the north central Texas county

“Now’s the time,” he said.

In the immediate, the governor directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas to “initiate action to reduce residential transmission costs” by July 31 and start requiring data centers to pay for all of their costs associated with building power infrastructure for their operations, to ensure residential ratepayers bear none of it.

He’s also asked the PUC and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s main grid operator, to submit a joint memorandum by July 17 summarizing what they’ve done to prevent that data center development have caused risks and added costs onto Texans.

The move comes as opposition to large-scale data center projects grows across Texas. Community groups have organized against proposed developments over concerns about water use, noise, land impacts, and strain on local infrastructure. A March Quinnipiac poll found that 65% of Americans oppose the building of an AI data center in their community.

A Texas Tribune analysis found that nearly 60% of data centers that are planned or under construction would be in red state House districts that voted for President Donald Trump.

As of May, ERCOT reported that large projects requesting to connect to the grid totaled 439 gigawatts of power capacity — five times larger than the all-time peak demand on the state’s grid. Of those projects, about 89% are data centers, though energy experts say it’s unlikely that all of them will be built.

ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas previously described the influx of requests as “an unprecedented change in the pace of growth.”

A Tribune analysis found the state has 335 existing data centers, with more than 248 in the works. Only Texas and Virginia, which has been the top state for data centers for the past few years, had more than 100 active projects under way as of March, according to Aterio, a company that tracks industrial development.

Notably absent from Abbott’s priorities was any proposal to expand local control over data center development. That omission comes as counties across Texas argue they lack the authority to regulate projects increasingly locating in rural, unincorporated areas where zoning restrictions do not exist. Some state officials have expressed interest in expanding counties’ regulatory authority over data centers.

Last week, the Tribune reported that in rural Hood County, eight projects have been proposed over 10 months and local officials had no authority to reject them. Efforts by lawmakers to slow development have been met with threats from state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, and from lawsuits from data center developers.

Abbott’s recommendations follow interim charges in both chambers. Lawmakers have been charged with studying the development of data centers and examining the total water usage of data centers in the state.

General Manager Whitney Grant said they first tried motion sensors and cameras. “But didn’t last very long, which is why now we have the actual security, which is really what’s been effective for us. It’s the security plus the parking,” said Grant.

Grant said the number of reported car break-ins to them has gone down. Houston police crime statistics reported 5,540 of cases of theft from vehicles from January through April 2026.

Mike Morrison is a regular customer at Axelrad and said he doesn’t mind paying for parking. “You go to any place in Houston, any venue at all, valet and your car is safer. You park and pay, It’s better than leaving it on the street and having something happen to it,” said Morrison.

The lot at Alabama street and Almeda street have a scan to pay option, like similar lots around the city. There are also similar signs on the lot shared by Axelrad Beer Garden and two nearby businesses — Luigi’s and Retrospect.

“We are really happy with the results that we are seeing with less break-ins,” said Grant. “It is definitely effective. I think that most of the feedback we got from that post is that people feel better having their stuff be secure in their cars,” said Grant after receiving feedback on this new policy online.

Grant said paid parking revenue helps cover the cost of patrols that now run daily. Managers say the moves are intended to protect customers’ belongings while venue crowds increase for events such as FIFA watch parties and Pride celebrations.

Axelrad is also offering a 5% to those choosing an alternative transportation method like bike, on foot or by ride‑share. All they have to do is tell the bartender before they close to get that 5% off their tab.

The budget, which takes effect July 1, includes a new $5 monthly solid waste administrative fee and a right-of-way charge on Houston Water and Wastewater operations. Supporters say the measures help close budget gaps and maintain city services, while opponents contend the plan lacks transparency and fails to address deeper financial concerns.

Among the most vocal critics was Controller Chris Hollins, who sharply condemned both the budget and the council’s decision to approve it.

“I’m genuinely disappointed in both what’s in this budget, the lack of transparency, the lack of honesty, and city council’s willingness to take the city further down this path of financial mismanagement,” Hollins said to KPRC 2 News.

Hollins argued the budget relies on accounting maneuvers rather than sustainable financial reforms.

“There’s so many gimmicks in here, so many hidden costs, and so much dishonesty about the burden that’s going to be placed on regular Houstonians,” he said.

The controller gave the spending plan a failing grade.

“If I were grading this budget, this budget would get an F. On transparency, on accountability, and on the financial ground that it’s putting the city on, but we move forward,” Hollins said.

A major point of contention remains the new trash fee, which city leaders say is necessary as solid waste operations transition toward a utility model. Hollins argued the charge unfairly impacts lower-income residents.

“But this $5 fee, which doesn’t even start to pay for the actual cost of trash, this $5 fee is going to be paid by poor people while we’re subsidizing rich people,” Hollins said. “This $5 is going cost the average Houstonian three times more than a basic property tax increase that would have raised the same amount of money.”

While several council members ultimately voted in favor of the budget, some expressed reservations, particularly regarding the new solid waste fee.

Council member Amy Peck supported the budget but made clear she has concerns about the city’s handling of trash collection services.

“I remain convinced that the city should seriously consider getting out of the trash business because for too long we have demonstrated an inability to consistently provide the level of service our residents deserve,” Peck said.

Still, Peck said she was willing to support the administration’s approach for now.

“I am willing to give the mayor’s new approach an opportunity because the status quo isn’t working, and I trust that the mayor will get this right,” she said. “But let me be clear about this. If residents are asked to pay more, they deserve better service in return.”

Peck also issued a warning that her support could be short-lived if services don’t improve.

“If I do not see a measurable, meaningful improvement in the performance of the new solid waste division, I will personally author a Prop A ordinance to repeal this fee,” she said.

Council Member Edward Pollard voted against the budget, arguing the city continues to spend more without delivering better results for residents.

“There’s no denying that we have a spending problem in the city of Houston,” Pollard said. “Over the last two fiscal years, our city has faced the largest budget deficits in the city’s history.”

Pollard questioned whether increased spending has translated into improved city services.

“Are we getting better streets? Are we more affordable housing? Are we less homelessness? Are we better trash collection? Stronger infrastructure? The answer is no,” he said.

Like Hollins, Pollard criticized the proposed trash fee, saying residents have not been given enough information about how the money will be used.

“Now this budget proposes to impact the solid waste department by adding a $5 admin fee. But at the moment, there are no real specifics on what that admin fee is actually going to do,” Pollard said. “What are we actually getting for the $5? Will we get on-time trash pickup? Because if we are going to get that, then I think people would be in favor of it. But that $5 is a patchwork job.”

Other council members voiced concerns but ultimately backed the budget. Council Member Alejandra Salinas expressed reservations about drawing funds from Houston Water but said she was willing to trust the administration’s assurances. Council Member Joe Panzarella emphasized that his support should not be viewed as unconditional.

“My yes vote is not a blanket support of this fund,” Panzarella said, adding that his vote came with expectations for accountability and results.

Council Member Sallie Alcorn defended the budget, describing it as a practical step toward improving city services.

“I see this budget as a positive step towards better service,” Alcorn said. “This budget is smart. It does provide a new revenue, in terms of a fee.”

The approved budget represents the culmination of weeks of hearings and debate over how Houston should address mounting fiscal pressures while maintaining public services. While city leaders say the plan puts Houston on firmer financial footing, critics warn the debate over fees, spending priorities, and long-term sustainability is far from over.

Speaking Wednesday at the Houston Touchdown Club’s annual Red Raider luncheon near the Galleria, McGuire addressed the situation publicly for the first time since the ruling.

Rather than focusing on the legal battle, McGuire emphasized Sorsby’s ongoing recovery from a gambling addiction.

“Brendan Sorsby is recovering from an addiction. He’s recovering,” McGuire told attendees. “I’m sitting down with this young man multiple times. The things that he is going through and what he’s been through are serious.”

OUR FIRST REPORT: Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby granted injunction in gambling case, cleared to play in 2026

McGuire added that even expectations of Sorsby returning to the field by Week 3 of the season may be premature.

“Us even saying to the point, before we get to the legal part, that he could be ready Week 3 against Houston is still a stretch, because guess what? He’s still recovering,” McGuire said.

The controversy has quickly become one of the biggest stories in college football after Ken Curry, a Lubbock County judge, granted Sorsby a temporary injunction Monday, allowing him to play during the 2026 season while his legal challenge against the NCAA moves forward.

In granting the temporary injunction, Curry wrote that Sorsby faced “probable, imminent, and irreparable injury” if he were prevented from participating during the 2026 season.

The ruling drew criticism from across the collegiate sports world, including within the Big 12 Conference, where athletic directors have reportedly expressed frustration with the decision and Texas Tech’s handling of the situation.

Gambling violations led to NCAA suspension

Sorsby, one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the transfer portal before transferring from Cincinnati to Texas Tech, was ruled ineligible earlier this year after an NCAA investigation into his gambling activity.

According to court documents, Sorsby wagered nearly $100,000 over a four-year period and placed bets involving the Indiana Hoosiers while he was a member of Indiana’s football program in 2022.

The quarterback later sought treatment for gambling addiction, spending more than a month at rehabilitation facilities, including a treatment center in Arizona.

The judge’s ruling allows Sorsby to participate in the 2026 season but requires him to sit out Texas Tech’s first two games against Abilene Christian and Oregon State.

Under the current order, Sorsby would become eligible to make his Texas Tech debut in the Red Raiders’ Big 12 opener against Houston on Sept. 18 in Lubbock.

NCAA plans to appeal

The NCAA has indicated it intends to appeal the ruling, though that process could take months to resolve.

The case has sparked a national debate over athlete eligibility, gambling-related discipline and the role courts should play in NCAA enforcement decisions.

For now, Sorsby remains eligible to play later this season, though McGuire made it clear the quarterback’s recovery remains the program’s top priority.

San Francisco trailed 9-1 before rallying for five runs in the eighth and five more in the ninth to stun the Nationals and avert a three-game sweep.

Big league teams trailing by at least eight runs in the eighth inning or later had lost 4,291 consecutive games since Cleveland stormed back from 10-2 down to beat Tampa Bay 11-10 on May 29, 2009, per Sportradar.

Matt Chapman had four hits, including two home runs — his second coming as part of back-to-back homers with Rafael Devers in the eighth to set up the comeback.

Jung Hoo Lee singled to extend his hitting streak to 18 games for the Giants, the longest active stretch in the majors.

Luis Arraez and Chapman hit consecutive doubles to begin the ninth. Devers walked and Lee singled to load the bases before Eldridge, who grew up a Nationals fan in Northern Virginia, drove a 2-0 slider from Mitchell Parker (2-3) into the right-field arcade for the rookie's fourth home run.

Lee raised his arms in celebration before the ball went over the wall.

James Wood hit his 18th home run for Washington. Daylen Lile added four hits, and Curtis Mead also homered on a day when every Nationals starter had a hit while seven players drove in at least one run.

Washington, which had already clinched its fifth consecutive road series win, was on the verge of finishing a 5-1 trip before collapsing in the ninth.

Reiver Sanmartin (1-0) retired six batters to earn the win. He gave up Mead's leadoff homer in the ninth that made it 10-6, but that insurance run wasn't enough for Washington.

Wood got the Nationals going in the third when he crushed a high 3-1 fastball from starter Robbie Ray and sent it over the center-field fence.

Washington scored three runs in the sixth and added three more in the seventh before the Giants rallied.

Ray allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Up next

Nationals: RHP Zack Littell (6-4, 4.76 ERA) faces the Seattle Mariners on Friday.

Giants: Had not announced a scheduled starter for Friday’s home game against the Chicago Cubs.

___

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

Ladislav Petro, 51, escaped from the Houston Contract Detention Facility on March 15, prompting about a 24-hour manhunt.

After his escape, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson would not provide specifics on how Petro got out of the facility.

In April, a federal grand jury indicted Petro on charges including willfully preventing or hampering departure after a final order of removal and escape, records show.

Petro had multiple criminal arrests and an Interpol Red Notice for production and distribution of child pornography, according to an ICE spokesperson.

MORE ON ICE: Largest ICE detention facility wasted millions and put detainees at risk, report finds

How the escape happened

According to the newly unsealed federal criminal complaint, ICE learned about the escape from the facility on Export Plaza Drive on Sunday, March 15, around 4:22 p.m.

Detention officers from Core Civic, the contractor responsible for the detention of ICE detainees, allegedly told ICE staff the escape happened sometime between 9:20 a.m. and 2 p.m.

It was not discovered until around 4 p.m. during a facility headcount, according to records.

Surveillance video showed Petro on the recreation yard, and when investigators searched the yard, they found a yoga mat, according to records.

“Further investigation revealed the defendant used that yoga mat to scale the recreation yard wall to the roof of the building and then subsequently jumped from the roof to an area outside of the facility,” and ICE officer wrote in the complaint.

Petro had been ordered removed from the U.S. in May of 2024, according to records, and his case was pending with the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The escape prompted a multi-agency manhunt.

“Following the escape, detention staff immediately notified local, state, and federal authorities, and a coordinated, multi-agency search was immediately launched to quickly locate Petro. Thanks to the efforts of all agencies involved, Petro was safely apprehended in just over 24 hours not far from the Houston Contract Detention Facility,” an ICE spokesperson told KPRC 2 News three days after the escape.

Obtaining the documents

The criminal complaint detailing exactly how Petro escaped was filed under seal on March 15.

Even though Petro was arrested and in custody, the document remained sealed.

In late April, KPRC 2 News asked the U.S. Department of Justice why the document remained sealed, and without any reasoning but within hours, federal prosecutors filed a motion to unseal the criminal complaint.

Records show U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena Palermo signed an order to finally unseal the records last week.

Petro remains in federal custody with a trial date scheduled in June.

KPRC 2 News has reached out to ICE to find out if any procedures have changed, and if any tools like yoga mats have been removed or restricted for use or access by detainees.

An ICE spokesperson provided KPRC 2 with the following statement:

Immediately following an escape at an ICE detention facility, a Corrective Action Team is deployed to conduct an exhaustive review of the circumstances that led to the escape to identify any deficiencies or vulnerabilities and to make recommendations regarding potential enhancements to current policies, procedures, and training to prevent future escapes. In the event human error is discovered to have contributed to the escape, ICE leadership counsels the individual(s) at fault and takes further corrective or disciplinary action, if warranted.

For operational security reasons, ICE is unable to comment on any potential deficiencies or vulnerabilities that were identified, or any remedial actions that were implemented, following the escape at the Houston Contract Detention Facility.

But the judge ended a hearing by issuing a “fair warning” to President Donald Trump's administration: “Don’t play possum with this court,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon told a government attorney.

Leon ruled from the bench in favor of the administration, which argued that the watchdog's lawsuit is moot because acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress earlier this month that the government is scrapping its plans for the fund. Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, said he accepts Blanche's representation for now.

The judge's refusal to issue a temporary restraining order isn't the final word on the fate of the government’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund." Leon said he will consider a separate request by the plaintiffs — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — for a preliminary injunction that would block payouts from the fund on a more permanent basis.

A different federal judge, sitting in Alexandria, Virginia, already has temporarily blocked the fund's operations. However, that order by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema is due to expire Friday unless she extends it after a hearing on the same day.

The administration created the fund last month to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The Justice Department hasn’t formed the five-member commission that will decide on payout criteria, so there has been no money paid out nor claims accepted.

The fund has generated a fierce bipartisan backlash. Even many of the Republican president's allies are opposed to compensating rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. During a May 19 congressional hearing, Blanche wouldn’t rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police at the Capitol could be eligible for fund payouts.

Later, during a House hearing on June 2, Blanche said, “We are not moving forward with the fund, period."

“Not moving forward ever?” asked Rep. Grace Meng, a New York Democrat.

“Correct,” Blanche answered.

Leon asked Justice Department attorney Andrew Block why Blanche doesn't formally rescind his May 18 order establishing the fund.

“I don't know the reason for that,” Block said.

Block said Blanche's statements to Congress are sufficient to moot the watchdog's claims. He also argued that the group doesn't have the legal standing to bring them.

Plaintiffs' attorney Nikhel Sus noted that Trump himself contradicted Blanche's testimony. During an interview on June 3, a day after Blanche's House testimony, Trump expressed support for continuing with the fund despite the Virginia judge's ruling against it.

“On paper, the fund is still a legally operating entity," Sus said. “Nothing has changed.”

A federal judge in Florida overseeing Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS ordered Trump’s attorneys to respond to “grievous allegations” by settlement critics that the president abandoned his claims to avoid the court’s scrutiny of an illegal deal. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams gave them until Friday to respond in writing to allegations of collusion and whether the case should be reopened because the court was the “victim of a fraud.”

In Virginia, attorneys from the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward are seeking a court order halting the fund’s implementation and preventing the Trump administration from disbursing any payouts from it. The plaintiffs in the Virginia case include a fired prosecutor and a college professor acquitted of assaulting federal agents at a protest.

Michael Rollert shared his experience in a video posted to Facebook on Monday, describing what he called one of the most realistic scams he has ever encountered.

According to Rollert, the ordeal began around 3:15 a.m. when his phone rang unexpectedly. The incident occurred while he was out of town attending a bachelor party in Port Aransas, separated from his wife and family.

The caller ID displayed his mother’s name and phone number.

“I’ve been called by spammers all the time, right, but not at 3 a.m. from an actual cell phone contact on your phone,” Rollert told KPRC 2’s Michael Horton. “Being her name and all that stuff and the timing of night, that makes it very realistic.”

When he answered, he heard what sounded like a distressed woman struggling to speak.

“My first thought was maybe she’d been in a wreck,” Rollert said. “Maybe somebody was calling from her phone to tell me she needed help.”

Moments later, a man took over the call.

“‘Hey, look, bro, I got your mom with me,’” the caller allegedly said before demanding money.

Rollert said the man claimed he did not want to hurt his mother but needed cash because he was “in a bind.”

Unlike many scam calls that contain obvious red flags, Rollert said this one felt authentic.

“No part of this was robotic or copied or an AI voice,” he said. “It was a real person speaking.”

As the conversation continued, Rollert tried to buy time while evaluating whether the threat was real. The caller directed him to send money through Cash App and eventually demanded $3,000.

“It’s a lot of money, but it’s not like he was asking for $50,000 or some crazy amount,” Rollert said. “It was believable.”

The scammer also appeared to know personal information about Rollert’s family.

At one point, Rollert asked the caller what town he was in.

According to Rollert, the man correctly identified the East Texas town where his parents had recently moved and then provided details about their home.

“He named the town they had just moved to and then gave me some descriptions of the house,” Rollert said. “At that point, in my mind, I’m thinking this is real.”

Rollert said they included information most people would not expect a stranger to know.

“They can tell you the size of your house, descriptions, colors, driveways — things that only you would think matter in that moment,” he said.

Convinced there was a chance the threat was genuine, Rollert prepared to send the money.

“I really didn’t want to do it, but I didn’t want to not do it and regret it later,” he said.

Then the call suddenly disconnected.

“After that happens, he calls back. I call my mom immediately,” Rollert said.

His mother answered and was safe at home.

“I was immediately relieved that it was actually her on the phone.”

As he spoke with his parents, the scammer continued calling. Rollert eventually answered one of the calls and merged his parents into the conversation so they could hear the caller themselves.

Law enforcement was contacted and no money was ever sent.

A Scam Designed to Create Panic

Although the scam failed, Rollert said the experience changed his perspective on how convincing modern scams have become.

A self-described skeptical person, he said he previously believed he would never fall victim to something like this.

“I know a lot of people would say, ‘I wouldn’t fall for that,’” Rollert said. “But if your daughter is four hours away at college and calls you at 2 a.m. and she’s in trouble, you can’t tell me that you wouldn’t believe it for at least a little bit.”

He said scammers are intentionally targeting people during moments of panic, when emotions override logic.

During the response, Rollert said an East Texas sheriff’s deputy told his family about a similar scam that had recently victimized someone else.

In that case, the deputy said scammers allegedly spoofed the name and phone number of a real law enforcement officer and referenced an actual case involving a legitimate citation. The victim reportedly paid the money because the call appeared legitimate.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize they can get your contact information to show up as your actual contact,” Rollert said. “Or imitate somebody’s voice.”

Family emergency scams are not new, but experts say advances in technology are making them increasingly difficult to identify.

Criminals routinely use caller ID spoofing to make calls appear as though they are coming from trusted friends, relatives or government agencies. They may also gather personal information through social media accounts, public records and online searches to make their stories more believable.

In recent years, concerns have also grown about AI-generated voice cloning technology, which can create realistic imitations of a person’s voice using audio clips posted online.

While Rollert does not know exactly how the scammers obtained their information, he believes the combination of personal details and apparent access to his mother’s phone number made the scam especially convincing.

“These guys can get way more information than you think,” he said.

The experience prompted him to publicly share his story in hopes of preventing others from falling victim.

“If this helps one person or one family avoid going through this, then it’s worth sharing.”

How to Protect Yourself from Family Emergency Scams

As scams become more sophisticated, experts recommend several steps families can take to protect themselves:

Never Trust Caller ID Alone

Phone numbers can be spoofed. A call appearing to come from a family member’s phone is not proof that the caller is legitimate.

Verify Through Another Contact Method

Hang up and call the person back directly. If they do not answer, contact another family member, friend or spouse who may be able to verify their whereabouts.

Be Skeptical of Urgent Payment Demands

Scammers often create panic and insist that money be sent immediately through Cash App, Venmo, wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency.

Establish a Family Safe Word

Rollert said every family should create a secret word or phrase known only to close relatives.

“If there’s anything people take away from this, get together with your family, put your phones away, and come up with one safe word nobody could ever guess.”

Limit Personal Information Online

Review privacy settings on social media accounts and avoid publicly sharing sensitive details such as travel plans, addresses or information about family members.

Prepare Children and Older Relatives

Scammers frequently target both younger and older victims. Make sure family members understand how these schemes work and know how to verify emergencies.

Contact Law Enforcement

As artificial intelligence and other technologies continue to evolve, cybersecurity experts warn that impersonation scams are likely to become more common.

If you receive a call claiming a loved one has been kidnapped or harmed, notify local law enforcement immediately and document any phone numbers, payment accounts or identifying information provided by the caller.

The Chiefs and the two-time MVP agreed to a restructured contract Wednesday that adds two years to his deal and pushes the total compensation past a half-billion dollars, a person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Chiefs do not disclose financial terms of their contracts.

The Chiefs later posted a photo of Mahomes signing his extension on social media.

Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million contract in 2020 that set a benchmark not only for the quarterback position but for any football player. The latest extension ties the two-time MVP to the Chiefs through the 2033 season, when Mahomes will be 38, and it comes in at $504.75 million, with incentives and escalators that could push the value $522.25 million.

“Over the last decade, Patrick has become one of the most iconic, beloved sports figures of all time,” Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said. "He has helped lead our franchise to five Super Bowl appearances and three championships, he has been instrumental in shaping the Chiefs brand and putting Kansas City on the world stage, and on top of it all he has been an outstanding role model.

“Patrick is a generational talent and an elite human being and I'm so excited he will continue to lead our team into the future.”

The Chiefs and Mahomes regularly rework his contract in the offseason, giving the team the financial flexibility to surround him with enough talent to compete for championships. The latest deal, though, includes a massive pay increase after recent deals done for other quarterbacks — among them Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, Joe Burrow and Josh Allen — had reset the QB market.

Prescott's four-year deal included a league-leading average of $60 million per year. Mahomes will now average $63.1 million.

“The magic continues,” his agency, Equity Sports, and its chief executive Chris Cabott wrote on social media Wednesday.

Mahomes underwent season-ending surgery last December after tearing ligaments in his left knee in the waning minutes of a loss to the Chargers. He has spent the entire offseason rehabbing the injury in Kansas City, and he has been on the field for the entirety of the Chiefs' offseason program, which concludes Thursday with the final day of their mandatory three-day minicamp.

“I like what I've seen. He's working hard,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said earlier in offseason workouts. “This is good for him, I mean getting out there and throwing. It’s good rehab as he continues to rehab, so he keeps the feel with the wide receivers. Or he’s doing partial practice and — but it’s important that he keeps his timing up. He’s busting his tail to put himself in this position.”

Mahomes has insisted ever since his injury that his goal was to be ready for Week 1 of the coming season.

The Chiefs play their preseason opener against the Rams on Aug. 15, but their regular-season opener is not until Sept. 14, when they face defending AFC West champion Denver in a marquee Monday night matchup at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I want to be out there with my guys,” Mahomes said recently, "but I know that’s still a long ways away, and so all I can do is execute the day and do whatever I can do to be better that day. We’ve done that up until now, and we’ve set these checkpoints and these goals of where I want to be at, and I’ve gotten to those. So now I just have to continue to do that at the right pace.”

Mahomes has been shattering records ever since the Chiefs made him their starter for the 2018 season. He has thrown for nearly 36,000 yards, earned six Pro Bowl nods and won three Super Bowl titles in five trips to the championship game.

The Chiefs had been to three straight Super Bowls before finishing a disappointing 6-11 last season. Mahomes was on injured reserve for the final three games, all of them losses, while the Chiefs turned their attention toward the coming season.

“As a competitor and as a football player, I want to be there,” Mahomes said. “I can’t predict the future. All I can do is be great today and then continue to be great tomorrow, but I’ve gotten to where I’ve gotten to because of that mindset and the goal at the end — the very far end — is to be ready and to be able to go out there and play with the guys Week 1.”

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

“Oh yes, totally,” said Giovanna Figueroa, worker at Elotes Bravos, FIFA Fan Fest vendor. “Just to be there with all the crowd, to me that is the best.”

Ride METRO said the goal is for a smooth commute for everyone during these FIFA festivities. METRO is offering increased transit frequencies, extended weekend operations and Park & Ride services with direct access to downtown. Plus, this includes its METRO Rail. If you are leaving a match at the Houston Stadium, METRO said the best way to get to Fan Fest is catching the rail. First, catch the red line and then follow the green and purple lines to make it downtown. Anna Carpenter with Ride METRO said it can all be done on your phone.

“All of your planning can be done through our Ride METRO app, which is free, or through RideMETRO.org,” Carpenter said. “We do have a Plan Your Trip tool, which gives you the options on how to get there.” Another transportation option available to residents and visitors is the Community Connector, a free electric shuttle service operating in five designated zones across Houston.

The shuttle can be booked through the METRO On Demand app when space is available. Riders can use the service to travel within specific areas, including routes connecting Emancipation Boulevard and Bagby Street.

As Houston enters the final stretch before the World Cup begins, officials are encouraging residents and visitors to plan ahead, allow extra travel time and take advantage of public transportation options to avoid delays around Fan Fest activities and match venues. As for construction still going on in the city, FIFA Houston told us everything is set to be on-time for FIFA Fan Fest.

Jakorian Mouton, 19, has been charged with capital murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the Dec. 14, 2024, shooting.

Officials confirmed that Mouton is being held in the Jefferson County Jail following his arrest Tuesday by officers with the Beaumont Police Department and members of the Southeast Texas Violent Crime Task Force.

OUR FIRST REPORT: 2 teens dead, 4 others hurt in mass shooting at ‘pop-up’ party in North Houston

The shooting happened at The Curfew Club, a makeshift party venue operating inside a commercial building at 10126 Jensen Drive at the time, according to the Houston Police Department.

Shots rang out at around 11:20 p.m. during an event advertised on social media as a teen club. When officers arrived, they found hundreds of juveniles and young adults fleeing the venue.

Six people were struck by gunfire.

16-year-old Randle King was pronounced dead at the scene. Fourteen-year-old A’Ziria Bankhead was transported to Texas Children’s Hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

Four additional female victims were hospitalized with gunshot wounds. One of the injured victims was reported to be just 13 years old.

According to investigators, multiple witnesses reported seeing a tall, thin male dressed in all black clothing, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and face mask, firing a handgun into the crowd before fleeing.

Detectives later identified Mouton as the suspected gunman. The investigation remains ongoing.

Investigation into ‘Teen Club’

At the time of the shooting, Houston police described The Curfew Club as a “pop-up club” operating out of a vacant commercial building on Houston’s north side.

The case drew widespread attention after city officials revealed the venue was operating without a valid certificate of occupancy.

According to Houston Public Works, inspectors visited the building days after the shooting and determined the club was operating illegally.

City records showed the last application for a certificate of occupancy was filed in October 2023. An inspection conducted in February 2024 identified deficiencies that needed to be corrected, but the project became inactive after the issues were not addressed.

MORE INFO: Unlicensed Houston teen club should never have opened, city officials say after deadly shooting

Officials posted a notice on the building shortly after the shooting and gave operators seven days to respond.

Witnesses told KPRC 2 that attendees were charged a cover fee to enter the event and an additional fee for guests who brought their own alcohol. Because the venue did not sell alcohol, it was not required to have a permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Investigators said the event had been organized through social media, making the investigation more challenging.

“Since they’re not under any regulations, which is what causes the problems with these types of events with no regulations, there’s nothing guarding it,” HPD Assistant Chief Luis Menendez said in the days following the shooting.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire also responded to the scene and called the shooting a preventable tragedy.

“It’s a tragedy. I feel for the families. We ought to keep them in our prayers. We lost some young people tonight that was very preventable, if they didn’t come to locations such as this,” Whitmire said.

Victims’ Family Speak Out

The shooting devastated the families of the victims.

King’s mother previously told KPRC 2 that her son, an aspiring singer and rap artist, had attended the event to perform live.

“He just always loved music, so he decided to make that his career,” she said.

According to his mother, King never got the opportunity to take the stage before gunfire erupted.

“Nothing that I add or say is going to bring my son back. He is my only son. My baby,” she said.

READ MORE: ‘He was my only son’: Mother of 16-year-old artist killed during teen club shooting before taking stage

But as the team hosts its first NBA Finals games in 27 years, the city is restricting spontaneous gatherings outside the famed arena.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his police department have cited a range of reasons for the ban, including President Donald Trump’s attendance at Monday’s game.

Ahead of Game 4 on Wednesday, the NYPD announced it would again prevent fans from gathering around MSG, unless they were going to the game or had “business specific to that area.”

Instead, the city said it had approved a permit to allow 1,000 fans access to a watch party outside the Garden — a scaled-down version of previous viewing parties, which the NYPD had sought to have canceled for rowdiness, before later reversing course.

Otherwise, fans need an “authorized reason” to be inside a security perimeter that stretches for several blocks around the arena. While bars and restaurants will stay open, they were subject to “strict capacity limits,” police said.

Hours before the game on Wednesday, Knicks owner James Dolan indicated the watch party wouldn’t go forward, saying that he had never agreed to the city’s restrictions.

A statement released by the Madison Square Garden Co. also accused Mamdani of transforming the streets around the arena into a “police state” in order to “freeze out fans from celebrating.”

The measures have also enraged nearby restaurants and bars, as well as civil liberties groups.

“It’s ruining my business,” said Angela Reilly, the owner of Molly Wee, an Irish pub near the arena. “I haven’t seen anything like this level of security in 46 years.”

Molly Biklen, the legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, agreed the tactics seemed heavy-handed. “Crowd control for major events is reasonable, but historic moments are not carte blanche for overpolicing or excessive NYPD responses,” Biklen said.

The conflict has also focused attention once again on the shaky alliance between the mayor and his police commissioner, Jessica Tisch. To some, the security restrictions appeared at odds with Mamdani's broader agenda, which included improving access to public spaces and limiting how the NYPD polices major events.

“The NYPD is historically extremely risk-averse to disorderly behavior by crowds, whether they be celebratory or protesting,” said Jeffrey Fagan, a law professor at Columbia University who studies policing. “The mayor now faces a difficult calculus between the strong emotions of Knicks fans and the political risks if crowd control isn’t airtight.”

In recent days, members of Mamdani’s administration have pressed Tisch to allow some version of the watch parties to go forward outside Madison Square Garden, according to two people familiar with the meetings, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the meetings.

Tisch, meanwhile, has advocated for the security perimeter, citing the need to control against crowds that have at times become violent and unruly. Some recent fan gatherings in Manhattan have led to dozens of arrests and several injuries to police officers.

Following the Knicks′ loss Monday, at least 21 people were taken into custody. The NYPD also said it is currently searching for members of a group that ripped a San Antonio Spurs jersey off a man while punching and kicking him.

Shaun Geddes, a Knicks fan who runs a popular podcast about the team, said he had celebrated multiple series-clinching victories outside the arena and found the vast majority of fans were respectful.

“Then there’s a small group of people out there cosplaying as Knicks fans and doing performative things to go viral on TikTok,” Geddes added. “But being passionate as a Knicks fan doesn’t mean assaulting anyone.”

In response to criticism about the closure, city officials have noted there isn’t a recent precedent for the position in which they now find themselves. The Knicks have not been to an NBA Finals since 1999. Most of the city’s other major sports teams play in the less-crowded outer boroughs or in New Jersey.

But when the New York Rangers — who also play in the Garden— last won the Stanley Cup, in 1994, the NYPD took another approach to managing elated fans.

Ahead of the game, police announced they would clear the area around the arena of potential projectiles, like metal trash cans or debris, but would allow fans to move freely.

“We expect the fans to be extremely vocal,” Allen Hoehl, an NYPD chief at the time, said at a 1994 news conference. “If they want to go from here to there, we’ll escort them in any direction.”

Attorneys for voters who sued had argued that the new congressional districts violate a state constitutional prohibition on partisan gerrymandering, and that the court should order the state to continue using the same districts as in the previous election. The Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision, denied their request for a temporary injunction without ruling on the merits of the case. The judges said they lacked jurisdiction to intervene while the lawsuit gradually plays out in the lower courts.

Republicans already hold 20 of Florida’s 28 U.S. House seats. The new voting districts signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after a swift two-day special legislative session could improve the GOP’s chances to win four additional seats this year.

The court's decision provides some certainty for prospective congressional candidates, who face a Friday deadline to qualify for the state's Aug. 18 primaries.

Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier, who defended the new districts in court, declared “complete and total victory” in a social media post.

Opponents expressed outrage while vowing to continue the court fight, even though it may stretch into the 2028 election cycle.

“The Florida Supreme Court's failure to stop this brazen partisan power grab is not only an assault on democracy, but an abdication of its duty to the people of Florida,” said Genesis Robinson, executive director of Equal Ground, a community organizing group that sued.

The new districts are “a pretty clear partisan gerrymander,” said Amy Keith, executive director of Common Cause Florida. “We’re going to do everything we can to prevent this map from impacting further, future elections.”

Florida's map is part of a national GOP effort

Voting districts typically are redrawn after a census near the beginning of each decade. Florida is one of several Republican-led states that have undertaken mid-decade redistricting as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to try to hold on to a slim House majority in November by reshaping district boundaries to the GOP’s advantage.

Florida’s legislature approved the new House map on April 29 — the same day the U.S. Supreme Court weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities while striking down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana. Since then, several Southern states have taken steps to try to eliminate minority districts that have elected Democrats.

DeSantis had called lawmakers into a special session before the high court’s ruling, but he had anticipated the eventual outcome. DeSantis’ office asserted that no racial data was used for the map he presented to the Legislature. The new map, among other things, redraws a southeastern Florida district that DeSantis’ office said was created to help elect a Black representative in an attempt to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act.

In addition to barring partisan gerrymandering, a constitutional amendment approved by Florida voters in 2010 also prohibits districts from being drawn to deny or diminish the ability of racial or language minorities to elect the representatives of their choice. It further requires districts to be compact and, where feasible, use existing political and geographic boundaries.

Republicans assert that redistricting restrictions are invalid

In a memo to lawmakers, DeSantis’ General Counsel David Axelman asserted that the racial redistricting provision of Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment violates the U.S. Constitution. If one element is invalid, Axelman wrote, then the entire 2010 amendment is void, including provisions barring partisan gerrymandering.

Attorneys representing state officials made similar arguments to the Florida Supreme Court, after a lower court judge last month declined to issue a preliminary injunction against the new map. They also argued it was too late in the election season to revert to the previous maps.

In a filing with the Florida Supreme Court, attorneys representing state officials said the new map was “cause for celebration” during America’s 250th anniversary. “Perhaps for the first time in Florida’s history, the State has a truly colorblind map; a map that refuses to assault the dignity of men and women by color-coding them,” their court filing said.

Attorneys who sued on behalf of voters argued the new districts were crafted with political favoritism. They argued in documents filed with the state Supreme Court that the new congressional districts are “among the most extreme partisan gerrymanders enacted in any state over the past half-century.”

Under the new House map, 82% of voters in districts represented by Republicans remain in the same districts as under the previous map, said attorney Chris Shenton, who represented Common Cause and other groups challenging the map. Just 41% of voters in districts represented by Democrats are kept in their same districts, he said.

Justices differed on urgency of Florida case

The Supreme Court's majority issued only a brief written opinion, but two of its members elaborated about the importance of the case. In a concurring opinion, Justice Adam Tanenbaum said the judicial system follows a deliberative process, and “there is no need for special treatment in this case.”

In a dissent, Justice Jorge Labarga expressed frustration that an appellate court hadn't sent the case straight to the Supreme Court. He said the state constitution “anticipates that some matters may be so urgent as to require an expedited path to this Court.”

“Surely, the upcoming 2026 congressional elections affecting the representation of millions of Floridians meet that threshold,” Labarga wrote.

It means AI agents can not only recommend products but complete the purchase on the user’s behalf at potentially any merchant that accepts Visa. The payment network's previous attempts at this technological leap were confined to a single retailer or a small set of enrolled merchants.

It is not OpenAI’s first attempt at e-commerce. The company late last year announced Instant Checkout, which allowed ChatGPT to scour the internet for a specific item like a digital personal shopper. But the process was prone to errors and was not widely adopted by merchants due to the fee that OpenAI was charging merchants. The company retired Instant Checkout in March.

Visa’s collaboration is different from OpenAI’s previous attempts, as it will allow users to link their Visa cards to ChatGPT to shop and make it easier for merchants to accept transactions initiated by agents.

OpenAI will provide the technology to allow agents to interact, make decisions and initiate purchases through ChatGPT. Visa, the world’s largest payment network outside of China, will provide the payment authorization and fraud monitoring needed to do this at scale.

“As AI agents become active participants in the economy, Visa’s focus is to ensure transactions are trusted, secure and seamless,” said Jack Forestell, chief product and strategy officer at Visa.

ChatGPT as a personal shopper

Speaking at a company event Wednesday in San Francisco, Forestell gave an example of a customer telling ChatGPT they're looking for a pair of wireless headphones under $150. The chatbot would find a pair for sale under those parameters and buy it on behalf of the customer.

“I think we're generally at a place where most people are very comfortable with the shopping aspects of it and have discovered this as a superior discovery experience,” Forestell said in an interview. But, he added, making the leap from having AI agents recommend what to buy to doing the purchasing “just requires a whole different level of trust.”

“But that all comes from the underlying infrastructure, the process, the security that we build into it and the rules,” he said.

Visa and OpenAI did not disclose the financial terms of the collaboration and did not give details on the fees merchants or customers would have to pay.

Instant Checkout charged merchants 4% of the transaction's value, which merchants saw as being too expensive.

Guardrails include spending limits, approvals

Allowing AI agents to buy products on behalf of a consumer raises concerns for both banks and retailers. A customer could overspend, or the agent buys the wrong item, or the customer claims they did not authorize that transaction. Banks have been concerned about potential fraud claims that could occur when an agent uses a bank customer’s credit or debit card.

Visa says the feature will have guardrails like spending limits, required approval steps and approved merchants for shopping in order to protect consumers and minimize fraud.

Forestell said Visa will handle disputes with the same essential rules it uses for any other transaction: Did the consumer really intend to make the purchase and did the merchant process it the correct way? Where it might change, he added, is if both the consumer intent and the merchant processing were done the right way, but “something happened in the middle that caused a problem.”

“And that’s why we’re modifying our whole token framework and data capture process with Visa Intelligent Commerce to make sure that problem doesn’t happen,” Forestell said.

Retailers have introduced shopping assistants powered by AI that can recommend products and personalize the customer's shopping experience, with the earliest iterations of those experiments being Amazon’s Alexa. But Alexa could only shop on Amazon, and OpenAI's Instant Checkout feature was limited to select merchants.

Visa’s biggest competitor, Mastercard, has also been introducing its own AI-shopping features to its payment network on a smaller scale.

Mastercard announced that AI agents will have the capability to procure services on behalf of a business. For example, a coffee shop wants to start an advertising campaign as part of a launch, so it gives an AI agent the authorization to purchase services from web and ad providers in order for the coffee shop to build out its campaign.

It will take time for people to fully trust AI agents to do their shopping, Forestell acknowledged. At first, Visa expects the majority of transactions to still loop in humans, with AI agents sending a notification for consumers to approve the actual purchase.

“Now, imagine you do that a thousand times over the course of some period of time,” he said. “And then your agent says, ‘Do you want me to just not check?’”

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Sweet reported from New York.