Discussion

At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Fay was located near latitude 24.2 North, longitude 47.3 West. The depression is moving toward the southwest near 12 mph (19 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue the next couple of days.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast, and Fay is forecast to become a post-tropical cyclone on Wednesday.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1010 mb (29.83 inches).

Watches and Warnings

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Land Hazards

None.

Discussion

At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Hanna was located near latitude 34.6 North, longitude 45.5 West. Hanna is moving toward the southeast near 12 mph (19 km/h) and and this motion is forecast to continue over the next day or so followed by a turn to the east-northeast.

Recent satellite wind data indicates that maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is expected during the next couple of days, and Hanna is likely to become a post-tropical cyclone by the latter part of this week.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 mb (29.65 inches).

Watches and Warnings

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Land Hazards

None.

Giancarlo Stanton, out since April 24 because of strained calf muscles in both legs, was included. So was center fielder Trent Grisham.

Sidelined since Sept. 16 by a strained right calf, Judge took live batting practice on the field Monday, a day ahead of the series opener, in an effort to persuade manager Aaron Boone and the medical staff. He walked twice, hit a comebacker to the mound and took a called third strike against teammates Ryan Weathers and Elmer Rodríguez.

The three-time AL MVP had a platelet-poor plasma injection Sept. 21. The 34-year-old was sidelined by a fractured rib from May 31 to Sept. 8 and played in just seven games before the latest injury.

Judge was limited to 66 games this season. He hit .241 with 18 homers, 41 RBIs and an .871 OPS, including .174 with one homer and three RBIs in September.

Stanton started the season with a .256 batting average, three homers and 14 RBIs in 24 games. The 36-year-old, acquired after winning NL MVP in 2017, had 38 homers and 100 RBIs in his first season with New York but has missed 500 of 1,194 games since (41.9%).

Grisham had been sidelined since straining his right hamstring on Sept. 4. He was among New York’s 15 position players.

Boston Red Sox

Left-hander Garrett Crochet, who won last season’s WCS opener against the Yankees by allowing one run and four hits in 7 2/3 innings, will be available in the bullpen. The two-time All-Star has not pitched since April 25 because of left shoulder inflammation.

“He’s worked very hard to get everything back strong the way it needs to be, but we’re still going to be evaluating him daily to see where he’s at,” manager Chad Tracy said.

Philadelphia Phillies

Second baseman Luis Arraez, a three-time batting champion, is out for the series against Atlanta after spraining his left ankle last Thursday.

Left-hander Brooks Raley, like Arraez acquired ahead of the trade deadline, also was left off.

Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan and infielder Otto Kemp were included as the Phillies went with 14 position players.

Philadelphia did not include any players it acquired at the trade deadline.

Atlanta Braves

Infielders Rowdy Tellez and Luke Williams were included on the roster by Atlanta, which has 15 position players.

Chicago White Sox

Tommy Pham, a 38-year-old outfielder acquired from Philadelphia on Aug. 31, was among 14 position players picked by Chicago for its series at Houston in a rematch of the 2005 World Series — the Astros moved to the AL for the 2013 season.

Pham hit .429 for Arizona in the 2023 World Series against Texas.

Houston Astros

Right-hander Ethan Pecko, 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA in eight starts from mid-August through the end of the regular season, is injured and was not among the Astros’ 12 pitchers. Steven Okert (hamstring) also was left off.

Houston included Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who struggled to a 6-4 record and 4.93 ERA in 15 starts and eight relief appearances after coming to Major League Baseball with a $54 million, three-year contract.

Infielder Reynal Delgado, who played in just three games for the Astros after July 19, was included along with outfielder Joey Loperfido, chosen over LaMonte Wade Jr.

San Diego Padres

Joe Musgrove was among 11 pitchers on the Padres' roster against the Cubs, and the 33-year-old right-hander could make his first big league appearance since the 2024 wild card game.

He left that game against Atlanta after 3 2/3 innings because of elbow tightness and had Tommy John surgery that Oct. 11. He made four minor league appearances this past August but then experienced soreness. In 2021, he threw San Diego's first no-hitter.

Designated hitter Miguel Andujar was included. Right-hander Randy Vásquez and infielder Sung-Mun Song were left off.

Chicago Cubs

Right-hander Kevin Gausman was included despite a left shoulder that was sore after he made a sliding tag at third base on Sept. 23.

Left-hander Caleb Thielbar, who had a 4.86 ERA this year, was not among the Cubs’ 12 pitchers.

Right-handed-hitting Gabriel Arias was among the position players.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 36, of Orlando Florida, has pleaded not guilty to trying to murder the singing superstar, plus more than a dozen other felony charges stemming from the shooting in March. No one was injured, but bullets tore through an Airstream trailer that Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were in at the time. Shots also struck the wall of a nursery their small children were in.

At a brief hearing in Los Angeles County court, Judge Maria Cavalluzzi issued the competency ruling after psychiatric evaluations for Ortiz.

There was no direct discussion in court of the details of the mental evaluations, and the case documents that include such details have been sealed. Ortiz has been returned to the regular criminal court process, which had been suspended shortly after it began. She was ordered to report for a hearing on Wednesday.

Outside court after the hearing, attorneys for both sides declined comment.

Police and prosecutors allege that on March 8, Ortiz pulled up in a Tesla to the Beverly Hills-area property of the singing superstar and her rapper partner, pointed an AR-15 style rifle out the window and sprayed at least 20 bullets toward the property and a neighboring house.

Investigators found bullet holes in the trailer and on the exterior wall of the home’s second-floor nursery, where the three kids were with their nanny.

Investigators said that after her arrest later that day, Ortiz told them: “I wasn’t attempting murder.”

Ortiz is charged with 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, one for each of the people on the two properties. She’s also charged with three counts of shooting at an occupied vehicle or dwelling.

Ortiz had no prior police record, authorities said. Public records show she had been a licensed speech pathologist for more than a decade.

Authorities have not discussed a motive or described any connection between her and Rihanna.

A nine-time Grammy Award winner, Rihanna has 14 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “We Found Love,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and “Disturbia.”

Truong Quoc Duong, 55, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal. He will also serve five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $3,581,983.67 in restitution.

Duong pleaded guilty March 3 to conspiring to maliciously use explosive materials resulting in personal injury.

The case dates back to Nov. 21, 2022, when Duong drove Jason Rogers to a three-story medical center under construction along Interstate 45 North in Spring.

According to information presented in court, Duong dropped Rogers off near the building. Rogers entered carrying a full backpack and came back out several minutes later without it.

The two men later met at a nearby restaurant.

The fire broke out after they left the area. Firefighters battled the blaze for several hours, but the building was destroyed. The neighboring car wash was also damaged, and a firefighter suffered burn injuries.

The total damage exceeded $1 million, according to federal prosecutors. Investigators later determined the fire was intentionally set.

Duong was later arrested with several 2-liter Dr Pepper bottles filled with gasoline and equipped with an ignition system he had designed, according to court records.

Investigators determined the devices matched those used to set fire to the medical center.

At the time of his arrest, authorities also found five 2-liter bottles containing flammable liquid, five grenade hulls, 188 firearm magazines, 14 silencers, 351 rounds of ammunition and 87 firearms, including two short-barreled rifles.

The court questioned Duong’s explanation for possessing the items, describing it as “challenging,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Judge calls actions a “shocking disregard”

During sentencing, the court considered the injuries to the firefighter, damage to the fire truck and neighboring car wash, and the financial impact on the medical center’s owners and their employees.

Judge Rosenthal described Duong’s actions as a “shocking disregard” for the danger he created by setting fire to a building next to occupied structures and the firefighters who responded.

The judge also criticized Duong for using his education to plan the offense, calling it a “real waste.”

Dispute with medical center owners

According to information presented in court, Duong owned a pet store in a neighboring strip center and rented the space from the same landlords who owned the medical center.

Duong had stopped paying rent and abandoned the store before his lease expired, prosecutors said. The landlords later sued him.

The investigation found that the birds inside the pet store died following the eviction. The medical center fire happened several days later, according to information presented in court.

Duong will remain in federal custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.

Rogers, 41, of Houston, was also sentenced for his role in the arson.

María del Carmen Abascal has been hospitalized since she was carried out on a stretcher from the apartment where she had lived for seven decades on Wednesday. Her case has drawn tens of thousands of people to the streets in recent days and led the government to present measures to address the country’s housing crisis. It remains to be seen if they go far enough to appease protesters.

Abascal, who has become widely known as simply “Maricarmen,” accepted a deal with the company that owns her apartment in the upscale Retiro neighborhood to return home as soon as she is discharged, her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, told The Associated Press.

“She is very happy,” said Duro.

The agreement limits her rent to 30% of her income, meaning she would not pay more than the 500 euros ($570) per month she paid previously.

The coalition led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialists announced the new measures earlier Tuesday, after four days of intense protests centered around an encampment in Puerta del Sol, Madrid’s most iconic plaza.

New housing measure

s

The government's main decree extends protection against evictions for vulnerable Spaniards until 2030, regulates room rentals, imposes a new tax on seasonal rentals and bans “speculative real estate purchases by vulture funds” until 2028, Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez told reporters at the presidential palace. It remains unclear how such funds are classified or how large the tax will be, as the decree's full text has yet to be released.

It also offers tax breaks to landlords who rent to low-income tenants, offers interest-free loans to families buying their first home, and protects public housing and promotes its construction, Rodríguez added.

“This has been thanks to the citizen movement. To Maricarmen. To the thousands of people in the streets,” Spain's Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz wrote on social media.

Rising costs and a housing shortage are pricing many Spaniards out of the housing market, despite strong economic growth in Europe’s fourth-largest economy. The protesters have been demanding stronger protections for tenants, measures to combat fraud and a ban on evictions when alternative housing is unavailable.

Parliament has 30 days to ratify the measures, and the government wants to expedite the process, calling for an extraordinary plenary session on housing for Friday. The government's coalition holds 152 of the chamber’s 350 seats, so it needs the support of smaller parties across the political spectrum to pass bills. Lack of parliamentary support in late July prevented the approval of similar measures.

Activists see a historic standoff with the government

The Madrid Tenants’ Union, the organizer of the protest, said it would remain cautious until it could review “the fine print” of the decree.

“The streets, this encampment and all the others currently across the country are engaging in a historic standoff with the government to push it to advance the right to housing through measures that had not been considered. And this continues,” said Alicia del Río, the union’s spokesperson.

The activists, who have called for more protests for the weekend across the country, will decide “in due time” whether to dismantle the encampment, a spokesperson told AP in a text message. The regional government, led by the conservative People’s Party, has asked the government delegate to clear the square within 48 hours before taking the matter to court. The protesters have remained peaceful.

“There are years when nothing happens, and weeks when history is made. This could be one of them,” the union said in a statement. “A historic window of opportunity has opened to reverse decades of the commodification of housing, and the coming days will be crucial. That is why we need to ramp up the pressure.”

Smaller encampments have sprung up in other cities, from Seville and Málaga in the south to Santiago de Compostela in the north and Palma de Mallorca in the tourist-friendly Balearic Islands, drawing international attention to a long-running issue.

Asked about the situation on Monday, Pope Leo XIV said it underscored the need for political leaders to find solutions to the housing crisis affecting many communities.

“Maybe we have to insist that political leaders, authorities find a solution to this, because it’s obviously increasing and oftentimes we only react in the moment of an emergency,” he said, after admitting that he was not familiar with the case. “But we have to try to see what the systemic cause of the problem is and how to help.”

Spain has had a housing law in place since 2023 that regulates rents and protects tenants, as well as allowing rent caps in high-demand areas at the request of local governments.

Abascal's family rented the apartment since the 1950s

Spanish media reported that Abascal’s father first rented the property in 1956 and she continued as the tenant after her parents died, during which time there was a rent cap. The building changed ownership in 2018, and Abascal was offered the opportunity to buy the apartment but could not afford it, according to the union, which organized Saturday’s protest.

Urbagestión, an investment fund that later bought the unit, raised her monthly rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros. It subsequently lowered the rent to 1,650 euros, which Abascal still could not afford on her pension, the union said.

The company didn't respond to emailed and phone requests for comment from AP.

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Associated Press journalists Nicole Winfield in Rome and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona contributed.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he was surprised that the five young British men who were arrested Sunday on explosives and terrorism charges near the RAF Fairford base were allowed to be freed a day later.

“I wouldn’t have done that,” Trump said.

The base has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including this year’s war with Iran. Counterterror detectives have said they were investigating “multiple lines of inquiry,” including whether the suspects had a link to Iran. Iran has denied involvement.

The head of U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing, Laurence Taylor, stressed that the suspects — all British nationals in their 20s — face stringent conditions and “absolutely remain under investigation.” Taylor confirmed Tuesday that no explosives were found in three vans found near the base.

In an interview with Fox News, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the case "clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” but did not name a specific country or give more details.

“I know a lot of people are disturbed by the news that some of these people have been released on bail, as some of the people are being investigated,” he added.

Taylor, the counterterror chief, said the bailed suspects "must adhere to very strict conditions."

“Now I understand why this development was surprising to some, but I would like to reiterate that this is an investigative decision, and one which is grounded in experience and strategy," he said.

Police found no explosives in suspicious vehicles

A police cordon remained in place around three vans found close to the Fairford base on Tuesday, as armed police and counterterrorism officers continued to examine the scene.

A local farmer said she called police after seeing the vans blocking a road near the air base as she drove home in the early hours of Sunday. She said she came across a group of men, some with their faces covered, nearby, and that the men ran away when they saw her vehicle.

Earlier, army bomb-disposal experts used a robot to examine the vans. Taylor said “a quantity of petrol was recovered” from the vans, but no explosives.

Officials hint at possible Iran role

Taylor, the counterterror police chief, said lines of inquiry include whether the suspected offenses were committed by “proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.”

Investigators haven't concluded whether the incident was state-backed or what the motive was, but authorities have strongly hinted that Iran is possibly involved. They are also investigating a possible link to Russia or non-state militant groups. RAF Fairford has also been the focus of protests by anti-war campaigners.

Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said the U.K. “shouldn’t be cowed by saber rattling from Iran,” adding that “the Iranian regime is one that wishes harm to our country, our allies, and the freedom and democracy that we enjoy.”

The Iranian embassy denied the country's involvement in the suspected plot.

Iran and allied militant groups have been accused of plotting or carrying out attacks on U.S., British and Jewish targets in the past, allegedly acting through local proxies while denying responsibility.

The air base houses the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and is a forward operating location for the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command. Fairford was used during the 1990 Gulf War, the 2003 Iraq war and the U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran this year.

British officials have said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states, including Iran, increased by 50% in the six months to December 2025.

Questions about possible security or intelligence failures

It was unclear whether the arrested men had been on the security services' radars. Local residents described seeing heightened security around RAF Fairford in recent days, with heavy vehicles parked across entrance gates.

Trump said the suspects were detained following cooperation between the U.S. and Britain, and had been “under view” for some time. Police, however, said the arrests were triggered by a late-night call about the suspicious vehicles near the base.

The farmer who called the police, who didn't want to be named, alleged that her call to police may have foiled the suspected plot. She added that several hours passed between her call and when police “suddenly decided to evacuate people” in the area.

“But meanwhile, those vans were right in the middle of the village next to everyone’s houses and no one did anything,” she said.

Streeting, the defense secretary, said Monday that the farmer only had a “partial picture” of the operation.

Local lawmaker Roz Savage said there was “anger and anxiety” from residents, especially those who were evacuated from their homes and still haven’t been able to return.

“I have so many questions right now, more questions than answers," she said in a video message on X. “This should not have been allowed to happen.”

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Associated Press photographer Grant reported from Fairford, England.

The journalist is a prince who had long been employed as a broadcaster and editor with Uganda Broadcasting Corp. He picked the regnal name of Edward Rukidi Nyabongo. He performed rituals overnight, was ushered into the palace and was formally unveiled to his followers on Tuesday.

Traditional kingdoms were banned in the 1960s, after Uganda's independence from British colonial rule, by a republican president who said that he wanted to unify the country. They were restored in 1993.

Traditional leaders don't wield any formal authority in this East African country and are legally barred from engaging in partisan politics. But they wield immense authority among their people as guardians of traditional culture.

The coronation ceremony in Fort Portal, a remote town in western Uganda and not far from the Congo border, was watched by thousands in person and on televised broadcasts. Speaking at the event, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni urged traditional leaders to promote local languages.

In a brief speech at his coronation, Nyabongo pledged to be a unifying figure for all his people. Before his enthronement, the monarch told the local New Vision newspaper that “heritage must be matched by discipline and hard work. My family never let me treat royal descent as an entitlement; it was presented to me as a duty to prepare for.”

Nyabongo wasn't particularly high in the line of succession, but elders within the kingdom’s ruling clan, known as the Babiito, selected him from a pool of eligible princes after King Oyo Nyimba’s death from cancer at age 34 in August without a publicly known heir.

The queen mother, Best Kemigisa, disputed that decision and charged that the written will of King Oyo hadn't been followed in the selection of Nyabongo.

Kemigisa said that Oyo left behind a young son whose identity would be unveiled at the right time, casting doubt on the legitimacy of Nyabongo and the decision of the Babiito to choose him. Local media cited scenes of disagreement — including a brief squabble over custody of the king’s remains — at Oyo’s Sept. 12 funeral.

Although Oyo’s alleged son has yet to be revealed, purported photos of a “Baby Oyo” have flooded social media, giving hope to devotees of the deceased monarch. But critics say that the child, if he exists, should have been introduced to the kingdom's elders while his father was still alive.

“They have demonstrated that these are the norms of the kingdom,” Nicholas Sengoba, a prominent political analyst in Uganda, said of the Babiito's selection of Nyabongo. “Many of these positions may not be popular.”

Oyo was crowned in 1995, at the age of 3, after his father’s death. He was a curious child in colorful robes and an object of adoration for his hundreds of thousands of followers.

At his coronation, he went through a series of tribal rituals and was led into the royal cemetery to perform a coming-of-age ceremony: successfully tossing nine coffee beans into his father’s tomb.

Oyo once held the unofficial title of the world’s youngest king, a mesmerizing figure even for world leaders introduced to him at national events, including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was one of those who befriended the Tooro royal family as if they were part of his extended family. Gadhafi made multiple trips to Uganda and supported Oyo and Kemigisa for years before Gadhafi’s death in October 2011.

Oyo was guided by regents appointed by the kingdom until he became an adult at 18.

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AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

The ban amounts to barely a ripple in $880 billion worth of annual two-way trade between the two northern neighbors. But it marks another ratcheting up of President Donald Trump’s second-term trade war with America’s longtime ally and trading partner.

The import ban “certainly won't do anything to help the trade tensions between the United States and Canada,'' said trade attorney Patrick Childress, a partner at Holland & Knight and a former U.S. trade official.

The latest sparring began over the summer when Trump reached back to a Great Depression law to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, charging that Canada discriminates against U.S. dairy, auto and alcoholic beverage producers. Canada promptly counterpunched with tariffs of 15%, 25% or 50%, matching U.S. imports dollar for dollar.

To punish Canada for retaliating against his tariffs, Trump decided to ban a list of Canadian products, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday.

Economic impact likely to be modest

The economic impact is likely to be minimal. Childress noted that the products on the banned list were already facing Trump’s tariffs. ”For a lot of these goods, the 50% was already acting as a de facto ban by making importation from Canada into the United States uneconomical,″ he said.

Jacob Jensen, director of trade policy at the center-right American Action Forum think tank, calculates that the ban would cover $967 million worth of Canadian imports, based on 2025 numbers. Of that, 87% would be alcoholic beverages that the U.S. targeted because of some Canadian provinces responding to Trump’s provocations by banning U.S. booze from store shelves.

Also banned are some dairy products — including the milk byproduct whey. The two countries have long clashed over Canada’s attempts to protect its dairy industry from foreign competition by imposing hefty tariffs once dairy imports have exceeded a quota.

The ban also covers motorcycles. Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) in Quebec confirmed that its three-wheel Can-Am Spyder and Canyon motorcycles “will be excluded from importation into the U.S.’’ But BRP said the impact likely won’t be felt until next year because it has completed most production and shipments for the current season.

A distillery just across the Detroit River in Canada has stopped shipping whiskey to Michigan due to the ongoing tariff war and Trump’s ban on Canadian alcohol. “It’s really unfortunate,” said Danielle Moldovan, director of marketing at the Wolfhead Distillery in Amherstburg, Ontario. “We are a border town. The Americans are great friends of ours, and they visit our distillery on a daily basis.”

Moldovan is worried about the long-term impact on Wolfhead’s business. Buyers in Georgia were interested in importing the distillery’s Coffee Whisky. And its Michigan importer was was considering its Vanilla Almond Biscotti and Banana Caramel Vodka. But “those products are going to be put on hold right now until we have further clarification about what’s going to happen, how long this ban’s going to last,” Moldovan said.

“This marks yet another escalation in the trade war that may result in further retaliation on the Canadian side,” Jensen said. He expects Canadian exporters and U.S. importers “impacted by these bans will be highly motivated’’ to demand that trade officials on both sides find some way to reach a “resolution of this whole ordeal.’’

A threat to US goal of a powerful North American trade pact

The impasse imperils efforts to renew the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a North American trade pact Trump pressured America’s neighbors into accepting in his first term and which he once declared “the most modern, up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement in the history of our country.’’

The deal allowed most goods to cross North American borders duty free. But since returning to the White House last year, Trump has announced a series of tariffs that have clouded the future of trade in the region.

Longtime ally Canada moves rapidly to find new trading partners

Trump has directed most of his ire at Canada. He is openly seeking to pull Canadian manufacturing south. And he has inflamed public opinion in Canada by repeatedly suggesting that the country become America’s 51st state.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney came to power last year on a promise to stand up to Trump. In addition to retaliating against Trump tariffs — China is the only other country to do so, with very different results — Carney has sought to reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States, which last year accounted for more than 70% of Canadian exports.

“There is now a price to be paid for access to the United States market,” Carney said earlier this month. The Canadian prime minister wants to double Canada’s non-U.S. trade over the next decade.

Carney has embraced the prospect of Canada becoming the European Union’s first associate member.

And he said last week that trade negotiations with India are making “good progress” and that the two countries are aiming to conclude talks by the G20 summit in mid-December.

Carney also broke with the U.S. earlier this year, striking a deal with China to allow a limited number of Chinese electric vehicles into Canada at a sharply reduced tariff in exchange for China lowering tariffs on Canadian canola.

“We take note of the coming into force of the Administration’s previously announced trade measures," said Gabriel Brunet, a spokesman for Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc. "Our first priority remains on protecting and supporting Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses from these unjustified actions. Our core focus is on what we can control: building strength at home, diversifying our partnerships abroad, and building Canada strong for all Canadians.”

Trump expressed confidence that the Canadians would cave in.

“They’re gonna come in and they’re gonna say, ‘Sir, we are sorry,’” he told reporters Monday. “They’ve treated the United States very, very badly. I think a deal will be made but it’s gonna be fair.”

Trade attorney Childress said the standoff is likely to continue for months, not weeks. The import bans and the tariffs so far “probably won’t cause enough economic upheaval to force either party back to the negotiating table,’’ he said.

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Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto and Mike Householder, reporting from Amherstburg, Ontario, contributed to this story.

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan national, was shot by an ICE officer in Austin on Sept. 20. He was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center, where he was released and taken into ICE custody three hours later with the bullet remaining in his back. He has since remained at a detention center in Pearsall.

Federal prosecutors say that Garces Perez was first pulled over by ICE officers after they had observed him exiting a restaurant and identified him as having a final order of removal.

The officers identified themselves as immigration agents and Garces Perez handed them his Texas driver license, the court documents say. One officer was wearing a body worn camera that captured the incident. The other officer, the one that eventually shot Garces Perez, was not wearing a camera. 

According to Garces Perez’s statement to investigators, he knew that he would be detained, so he asked to park in a different location. The officers and Garces Perez give conflicting statements over when emergency lights were activated and if the officers struck Garces Perez’s vehicle.

Garces Perez disregarded the officers’ commands to exit the vehicle and he fled the scene. As he pulled away from the scene, his driver’s side mirror hit one of the officers in the torso, according to the criminal complaint. 

After a brief vehicle chase, one ICE officer claims that Garces Perez attempted to strike him with his car, which is when the officer, standing outside the vehicle, shot into the car and struck Garces Perez in the back. 

President Donald Trump won a second term in 2024 vowing to crack down on immigration. During his second administration, immigration agents, who often are masked, have shot at least two dozen people. At least six, including three U.S. citizens, have died. Many of the shootings involved agents firing at people in moving vehicles, which law enforcement experts said is typically prohibited or discouraged by local police. 

The court documents outlining the criminal case against Garces Perez do not name the two agents involved, but refer to them by the initials “L.G.” and “D.F.” 

The federal government has withheld the identification for most immigration agents involved in shootings since Trump returned to office. The growing tally of deaths at the hands of anonymous federal agents has ignited outcries by Democrats, the victims’ relatives and residents to identify them. On Monday, The Texas Tribune identified the federal immigration agent who witnesses say fired through an open van window and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston in July.

Since the Austin shooting, several members of Congress and advocacy groups have called for Garces Perez’s release from detention due to his medical needs, which they claim are not being adequately addressed by ICE. U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, visited Garces Perez last Wednesday and described him as in high spirits but in pain and in need of surgery.

“This person needs a doctor, not a deportation or a detention center,” Casar said in a news conference last week.

Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Garces Perez’s lead attorney, was not immediately available for comment Tuesday. She previously said he entered the U.S. legally in 2024 via the CBP One app and applied for asylum. Records show that he had received a removal order in August 2025, which Lincoln-Goldfinch says was sent to the wrong address. A motion to reconsider was denied in July 2026. The attorney added that his work permit expired in December 2025.

Garces Perez is set to appear in court on Wednesday in San Antonio after a judge temporarily halted his deportation last week. 

A detention hearing is set for Friday, Oct. 2 regarding the new criminal charges. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment beyond a press release announcing the charges.

“I will never stifle the growth of a technology that will be bigger than the industrial revolution,” Trump said at the unveiling of an AI chatbot, America.gov, intended to help Americans negotiate government services. “We can’t stifle it, and we’re leading by a lot.”

Top AI executives will have lunch with Trump at the White House Tuesday, including Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, Greg Brockman, president of OpenAI, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, and Elon Musk, whose X social media platform includes its own AI model, Grok.

Trump's confidence in AI is in sharp contrast to the alarms sounded by AI executives in recent days. Amodei earlier this month called for leading firms to slow down their development of the technology. On Friday, OpenAI said it would pause the training of its latest model as reports multiply of AI agents going rogue.

Also Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a television interview that the company is increasingly focused on safety.

“We are pacing our progress, which includes sometimes not training a model,” he said on CNBC. “We have to do these in a way where we can make very confident safety cases and claims, so that people don’t have a bunch of anxiety.”

I’m keeping this newsletter a little shorter today, but I wanted to give you a few quick updates on things I’ve been hearing from you.

🍕 Should I look into what’s happening on Lawrence St. behind Angie’s Pizza?

I’ve had at least two of you who live on Lawrence St. reach out with concerns, including ongoing noise from the restaurant’s HVAC system and parking problems during the dinner rush.

I am told there have been complaints made to the city and HPD.

But keep in mind, there are several sides to every story and I certainly want to hear from Angie’s, too.

But let’s talk about. If you live nearby and have dealt with noise, parking or other issues related to the restaurant, send me a message.

🌳 Lawrence Park reno has officially broken ground

If you’ve been following my Lawrence Park updates, construction is officially getting underway! 🛝

The Sept. 24 groundbreaking at Lawrence Park also marked the launch of Let’s Play Houston, a roughly $60 million public-private initiative to upgrade 25 neighborhood parks across Houston. The city and Houston Parks Board are calling it the largest investment in neighborhood parks in Houston’s history.

Lawrence Park is one of the first parks entering construction, with about $2 million in improvements planned.

For Lawrence Park, that means as early as next summer you could see two new playgrounds, improved paths and MKT Trail connections, fitness areas, paved plazas and other upgrades we’ve been talking about!

🚶‍♀️ An update on the Shepherd/Durham pedestrian signals

A few days ago, I mentioned that I’ve heard from many of you about some pedestrian warning signals along Shepherd and Durham that you say aren’t working.

I heard from the Memorial Heights Redevelopment Authority, which clarified that the signals installed as part of Phase 1 have been checked and are operational.

Phase 2, from 15th Street to the I-10 westbound frontage road, is still under active construction.

The Shepherd and Durham corridor is currently undergoing a major reconstruction project, with work including new sidewalks, drainage, utilities and roadway improvements. The city says the project remains on schedule for completion in fall 2028.

That said, because Phase 1 and Phase 2 are at different stages, specific locations can make a difference as you try to understand what’s happening near you.

I’ll keep an eye on it as the project moves forward.

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And as always, if there’s something happening in your neighborhood that you think I should know about, send it my way. That’s how all these stories start!

The strategy includes increased security funding for synagogues, an increased focus on folding Jewish history into public school education, and a pledge to highlight important Jewish cultural and religious sites in the mayor's day-to-day governance of the city.

Mamdani said the overarching goal of the initiative was to “confront the scourge of antisemitism now and in the future," noting that Jewish people make up only 12% of the city's population but are the victims of around half the city's reported hate crimes.

“This is not only unacceptable, it's something we all have an obligation to change. And City Hall will lead the way,” he said in a video.

Mamdani, a Democrat and the city's first Muslim mayor, has long been a vocal supporter of Palestinian civil rights and has accused the Israeli government of committing a genocide in Gaza. He has said his criticism of Israel does not amount to antisemitism, though his opponents have argued his heated rhetoric around the conflict has made Jewish people feel unsafe in the city.

The plan announced Tuesday amounts to the mayor's most forceful attempt to address concerns over antisemitism, with Mamdani promising to "build a city where Jewish New Yorkers are not only safe but celebrated.”

City Hall will increase grant funding to community organizations that focus on hate crime prevention and survivor support. It will also work with public schools to address complaints of discrimination and launch public awareness campaigns on the city's human rights law and how to report suspected discrimination.

Mamdani faced a barrage of criticism during his campaign last year after he declined to disavow the phrase “globalize the intifada,” a slogan some see as a call to violence against Jews, though he did not use the phrase and later said he would discourage others from saying it.

He has also faced questions over a decision in June to skip an annual parade honoring Israel, which has long been a must-attend event for politicians in the city.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dedicated a portion of an address at the United Nations last week to assailing Mamdani, accusing him of spreading lies about Israel and calling him “the antisemitic mayor of New York.”

Mamdani has repeatedly called for Netanyahu to be arrested under a warrant from the International Criminal Court alleging war crimes in Gaza.

Asking the site — which says it’s sourced via artificial intelligence from “official government sources” — questions about who won the 2020 election or about the name of the federal department that operates out of the Pentagon yields answers contrary to those Trump himself frequently proclaims.

As Trump was still speaking at Tuesday’s launch event, however, the site began modifying its answers. Asked again about the 2020 election, it replied that it couldn’t answer “political questions," a response it also gave to inquiries about whether Trump had been impeached or convicted of felony charges.

The Associated Press asked about:

The 2020 presidential election

“Official federal sources do not show that widespread fraud changed the 2020 presidential election outcome. Isolated election crimes did occur and have been prosecuted.”

Since Trump, a Republican, lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, he has repeatedly falsely claimed that victory was “stolen” from him and asserted that widespread fraud occurred. Repeated audits and recounts found no significant fraud in the presidential election, and Trump’s own administration said the election was clean.

Trump running for president in 2028

“The 22nd Amendment says that no person shall be elected President more than twice. Donald J. Trump has already been elected twice (2016 and 2024). I am not giving legal advice.”

Trump has frequently suggested he wants to seek a third term, posting about mounting another campaign, donning 2028 caps and discussing ways to make it happen — even as he’s acknowledged the Constitution prohibits it. He had only been back in the White House for a couple of months when he told NBC News, “There are methods which you could” use to seek a third term.

The Pentagon

“The Pentagon is the headquarters of the Department of Defense.”

Last year, Trump signed an executive order aimed at rebranding the Department of Defense as the Department of War, complaining that the Department of Defense’s name was “woke.”

Human action as cause of climate change

“Federal climate-science pages say recent warming is largely from human greenhouse-gas emissions, mainly burning fossil fuels. Earth’s climate has also changed for natural reasons over long periods.”

Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax,” previously issued an executive order that directed the Environmental Protection Agency to submit a report on “the legality and continuing applicability” of the endangerment finding. Conservatives and some congressional Republicans have long sought to undo what they consider overly restrictive and economically damaging rules to limit greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Presidential salaries

The chatbot said that “some presidents have declined to keep that pay,” mentioning Trump but listing George Washington, Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy as refusing their salaries before Trump.

During his remarks Tuesday, Trump, a real estate mogul who took in about $1.2 billion from various crypto holdings last year, said he was the first U.S. president to forgo a salary, something that he has said before.

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Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.

A federal complaint alleges Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28, tried to escape Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who pulled him over after a judge issued a final removal order, according to U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

The complaint accuses him of sideswiping an officer with his drivers side car mirror and later attempting to strike an officer with his car.

If convicted Garces-Perez faces up to 20 years in prison.

An attorney for Garces-Perez declined to immediately comment on Tuesday morning.

Garces-Perez allegedly provided his drivers license, but ignored agents' requests to step out of the car. He allegedly engaged in a Spanish conversation with one of the federal officers about moving the car and parking it, and the court documents state “the conversational tone was pleasant and not aggressive.”

The court documents further allege that about a minute later, Garces-Perez “abruptly” closed the window and drove off. One of the officers, L.G. was struck in his torso with the driver’s side view mirror.

Garces-Perez entered the U.S. in 2024 using CBP One, a program begun under President Joe Biden that allowed migrants to make appointments with U.S. authorities to be considered for asylum. President Donald Trump ended the program on his first day in office.

Garces-Perez was an asylum seeker and had a valid work permit, according to immigration lawyer Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch. She said a judge issued a deportation order after Garces-Perez missed an immigration court hearing because the notice was sent to a former address.

The hearing came as Republicans have pushed for Smith to himself be prosecuted and offered a forum for them to assail him for what they contend were politicized prosecutions that unfolded at the height of the 2024 presidential race. Democrats rallied to Smith's defense, eliciting testimony about the legal and factual basis for the criminal cases against the-then candidate and decrying the Trump administration's firing of prosecutors involved in the investigations.

Smith, for his part, defended his work in an hours-long Senate Judiciary Committee hearing — the latest congressional effort to revisit federal cases that accused Trump of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 race and of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both were abandoned after Trump's 2024 election win.

“Anybody who has worked with me or knows me during the course of my career knows that I would not let politics play a role. And I would just add that if you knew the people I worked with, they would not either," Smith said. He lamented what he called an unprecedented assault on the rule of law, and sweeping terminations of his team that he said had deprived the government of crucial expertise and made the country less safe.

“That has never happened in my career. I have never seen anything remotely like it in any Republican or Democratic administration,” he said.

The testimony did nothing to appease Smith's Republican critics, who during the hearing described him as a “villain" and a "dirtbag,” worse than former President Richard Nixon. They even accused him of perjuring himself about his attendance at an out-of-town basketball game that appeared to be a misunderstanding over a team name.

The hearing focused heavily on subpoenas for lawmakers' phone records

Smith was pressed anew by Republican senators about his team’s access to the phone records of GOP lawmakers as prosecutors investigated Trump’s efforts to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Prosecutors issued subpoenas for the phone records of numerous Republican members of Congress who were contacted by Trump or his aides on Jan. 6, 2021, the day supporters of the president rioted inside the U.S. Capitol. Smith has said that such subpoenas are common practice in investigations and were necessary in this instance to understand the “scope of the conspiracy” between Trump and his Republican allies.

The subpoenas, he said Tuesday, provided powerful “corroborating evidence” that Trump and his alleged co-conspirators sought to exploit the violence of the day by invoking it to try to further delay the congressional certification of Biden's win.

“They were taking the fact that law enforcement officers had been assaulted at this institution and using that to seek to delay the proceedings further in violation of the law,” Smith said.

The data at issue are known as “toll records,” which reveal the date, length and time of phone calls between two parties but not the content of the communications.

Nonetheless, the revelation that Smith’s team secretly obtained the records has animated Republican lawmakers, who consider it proof of overreach by the Biden administration Justice Department and the hard-charging prosecutor it picked to be special counsel.

Several Republicans said the tactic was a breach of the “speech and debate” constitutional protection shielding lawmakers from prosecutorial scrutiny for their legislative acts. Smith denied that was the case and said he had received approval from the Justice Department's elite Public Integrity Section.

In July, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, referred Smith to the Justice Department for potential prosecution on allegations he lied at a previous hearing about his collection of the records — something Smith’s attorneys have vigorously disputed.

“I stand by my testimony before the House of Representatives,” Smith said Tuesday. “I will not be silenced by the continued threats of prosecution from the president or others.”

Smith faced bitingly personal criticism from Republicans

Smith was appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead investigations into Trump's efforts to reverse his election loss and Trump's retention of classified documents. Smith abandoned the prosecutions after Trump's 2024 win, citing Justice Department opinions that sitting presidents cannot be federally indicted.

Smith has remained a top target of retribution for Trump and his administrations, and Republicans on the committee repeatedly confronted him in a hearing that frequently devolved into partisan sniping and name-calling. They sought to cast the prosecution as a political fishing expedition, accusing Smith of bending ordinary procedures in pursuit of Trump.

“The Smith election case ultimately wasn’t just about Trump,” said Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the committee. “It was about partisan agents and prosecutors mapping out the Republican apparatus.”

During one tense exchange, Republican Sen. John Kennedy grew exasperated as he pressed Smith on whether the Biden White House instructed the Justice Department to prosecute Trump. Smith said he had “no idea about that,” and that the decision to prosecute Trump was his own.

In an effort to show Smith was being evasive, Kennedy asked Smith whether he believed in the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny. Smith said no.

“You make me want to throw up in my mouth,” Kennedy told Smith as he concluded his line of questioning.

In another notable moment, Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt accused Smith of traveling to Atlanta and attending a game for the city’s NBA team — the Hawks — in February 2024 while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was facing scrutiny for her romantic relationship with a special prosecutor in the Georgia 2020 election case.

But it appeared the Missouri senator got his teams confused. After appearing perplexed by the question and denying any travel to Georgia, Smith revealed that the contest he had actually attended was an Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball game in Maryland.

Schmitt appeared unbowed.

“You may think you’re a hero in this story, but let me tell you something: you’re the villain,” he said. “You will go down as a total dirtbag.”

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, accused Republicans of spreading “baseless conspiracy theories” about Smith’s investigations in an effort to “whitewash” the history of Trump’s election loss and the subsequent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“President Trump demonstrated a wanton disdain for the laws of the United States, the will of the people and our national security,” Durbin said. “The aspersions cast on Mr. Smith, nonstop, are petty, personal and political. They are nothing but a smoke screen to distract from the president’s own clear, unlawful conduct.”

Caleb Flynn, 40, is charged with aggravated murder, assault and tampering with evidence in the February shooting of Ashley Flynn, 37, a schoolteacher and volleyball coach.

Flynn, who pleaded not guilty, said in a frantic 911 call that a burglar killed her. He faces up to life in prison if convicted on the most serious charges.

Flynn appeared on “American Idol” in 2013, telling TV viewers his wife had encouraged him to chase his dreams on the singing competition. He did not advance to the main competition in Hollywood.

Prosecutors told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday that Flynn tried to mislead investigators by staging a break-in at their home in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton. Flynn and the couple's two daughters were home when police arrived.

Flynn wanted out of the marriage, prosecutors said, but also didn't want to lose his daughters, his high-paying job at his wife’s family business or his position in the church.

“He wanted to keep his mistress and have his daughters all to himself,” said Matthew Joseph, an assistant Miami County prosecutor.

During the trial, a woman who said she was having an affair with Flynn testified that he said he hated his wife and had thoughts of killing her.

Flynn's attorney told the jury Tuesday that investigators never found a gun or evidence that Flynn fired a gun that day.

“His being unfaithful doesn’t equal murder,” said defense attorney Patrick Mulligan. “The issue here isn't, ‘Was he a good husband?’”

Text messages Flynn sent to his lover complaining about his wife were meant to make her feel good, Mulligan said.

Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. Botner read some of her text messages with Flynn.

About six months before the killing, Flynn wrote: “I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”

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Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed.

“This entire case is based on speculation,” attorney Kevin Reddington said during the first hearing since Clancy's trial ended Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury. They were split 11 to 1 in her favor.

During that trial, Reddington didn't dispute that Clancy killed the children at the family's home in 2023. Instead, the defense sought to persuade the jury that the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse was not criminally responsible because of mental disease, a rare condition called postpartum psychosis.

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

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Clancy's lawyer now says there is not enough evidence to prove she did it

But at Tuesday's hearing, Reddington sought to persuade Judge William Sullivan — the same judge who presided over the first trial — to acquit Clancy.

There is, Reddington contended, not enough evidence “that this woman killed those children.” He pointed to matters ranging from her condition when she was found, badly injured and bleeding in the yard outside her home, to her lack of memory of what happened when she woke up in a hospital. At the first trial, her now ex-husband and first responders testified that they arrived at the house and discovered she had tried to kill herself right after killing the children.

“Where is the admission? Where does she say that she did this?” Reddington asked, going on to recap his arguments that she also was psychotic and delusional at the time of the children's deaths. He didn’t offer any alternative theories or evidence about who might be responsible.

Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham called his argument “laughable,” pointing to various evidence raised during the trial. In court papers filed Monday, prosecutors recapped their arguments that there was enough evidence to convict Clancy.

The prosecution maintains that Clancy knew her actions were wrong when she used exercise bands to strangle 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy. They said she contrived to get her husband out of the house that evening by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family.

It's still unknown whether Clancy will face a second trial

The judge didn’t immediately decide, and no trial date was set.

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to retry Clancy, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said after the hearing. They could choose to retry her on first-degree murder charges or seek to try her only on lesser charges, including second-degree murder or manslaughter, or drop the case entirely.

“We are going to do what we can for the children,” Cruz told reporters outside the court. “That is what this case is about.”

Legal wrangling over the holdout juror is also unresolved

Clancy's attorneys have also asked the judge to dismiss the criminal case. Among other things, they have argued that the judge should have ousted the one juror who favored a murder conviction after the jury foreperson complained he was refusing to listen to the law on reasonable doubt.

The juror, Michael Desronvil, has said through his lawyer that he had no doubts about his stance. Desronvil told Fox News’ “Hannity” in a brief video statement on Monday that “the whole focus has been on me, but we want to reel everything back and put the focus on the three angels,” meaning the children.

Clancy's high-profile case is still capturing people's attention

The livestreamed trial generated intense public interest and drew attention to maternal mental health after childbirth. About a dozen Clancy supporters, most dressed in pink, stood outside court Tuesday waiting for her to arrive.

Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.

Clancy could have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted of murder. If acquitted, the judge could have ordered her confined to a mental health facility.

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Peltz reported from New York.

City, the most successful team in England for the past 15 years and the current Premier League leader, now faces severe sanctions that could include a huge points deduction or even expulsion from the world's most popular soccer league, causing huge reputational damage to its Abu Dhabi ownership.

The explosive verdict by an independent commission — which was reported by a number of British media outlets on Friday — “details how the club systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said in a case that was initiated by the competition more than three years ago and first arose in 2018 from leaked club emails and documents.

City said it was “disappointed and surprised” by the commission's verdict, that it was “innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League” and will be “relentless” as it pursues avenues to appeal.

City was accused of a raft of financial violations from 2009-18 — a period when the northwest club, long in the shadow of great rival Manchester United, was transforming itself into a record-breaking global superpower that has won multiple Premier League titles and the Champions League.

The violations included failing to provide accurate financial information and submitting inflated figures for sponsorship deals out of Abu Dhabi, hiding payments that supplemented salaries of managers and players, and breaching financial rules established by the Premier League and UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, aiming to keep clubs financially stable by not spending beyond their means.

On top of that, City faced many other charges of failing to cooperate with the investigation between 2018-23.

"An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period,” the league said, “and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the league’s investigation.”

Regarding the sponsorship deals, the league said: “Manchester City arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on ‘sham’ agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs.

“The club,” the league added, “filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators.”

The purpose of City's “schemes” was found to have been to “artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900 million ($1.19 billion) during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules,” the league said.

The finding suggests that City’s rise to the top of the English game, fueled by investments from Abu Dhabi that delivered by its expensively assembled, star-studded squads, was achieved at lest in part by evading the league’s financial regulations.

The Premier League said sanctions will be decided in a separate hearing held by the independent commission.

Any appeal by City would have to be made by Friday, the league said.

Tuesday's verdict is set to bring chaos to English soccer in general, triggering a slew of lawsuits from rival clubs calling for compensation for having been impacted by City’s actions.

There’s also the question of whether City’s top stars, like Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki, will stay at the club and what the future holds for Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family who bought City in 2008 and has gone on to own a group of worldwide teams — under the City Football Group banner — including New York City FC and Melbourne City.

City has always protested its innocence in the case, saying in 2023 when the charges were laid that there was a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.”

Even over the weekend, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said there remained a ”confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence.”

The appeal could end up in the High Court in London if City feels the process in the case was unfair and/or impartial.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index tumbled 6.7 points to 81.9 in September, down from 88.6 in August. That’s the lowest reading in the board's survey since April 2014 and below the lowest level reached during the pandemic.

Respondents’ views of their present situation fell by 7.9 points to 109.3. Their short-term outlook also slid, falling 5.9 points to 63.6.

Americans remain flustered by the economy after five years of elevated inflation, potentially posing a risk to President Donald Trump and Republicans in the midterm elections, which are a little more than a month away.

Write-in responses to the board’s survey, collected from September 1-23, were mostly pessimistic this month, with frequent references to the high cost of gas, goods and services.

“The Consumer Confidence Index deteriorated notably in September, following two prior months of softening,” said Dana Peterson, the Conference Board’s chief economist, adding that consumers’ views of current business conditions became negative for the first time since September 2024.

Trump has continued to blame high prices on his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, yet inflation has risen since Trump’s inauguration last year.

Earlier this month, the government reported that consumer inflation accelerated last month and gas prices spiked as fighting in the Middle East dragged on. The consumer price index rose 3.4% last month compared with a year ago, the Labor Department said Friday, just like July. But inflation quickened month to month as costs jumped 0.4% from July, quadrupling the 0.1% registered in the previous month.

The Federal Reserve two weeks ago raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2023 in an effort to quell stubbornly high inflation, and the central bank signaled another rate hike could occur later this year.

The quarter-point increase lifted the Fed’s key rate to about 3.9% and, over time, could result in higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.

Gasoline prices — which currently average $4.46 for a gallon of regular — are not all that is rising. Prices for appliances, car repairs, and wireless phone services also jumped in August.

The most recent measure of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures price index — was up 3.7% in June from a year earlier. That was down from May’s 4.1% year-over-year increase but up from 2.8% before the Iran war began on Feb. 28. It was 2.5% when Trump was inaugurated in January 2025.

The government issues its August PCE data Wednesday.

Consumers’ views of the current labor market also worsened in September, but remained in positive territory, the board said. Respondents broadly said they expected their household incomes to rise, but not as much as in previous months.

The U.S. labor market bounced back in August as employers added a surprising 162,000 jobs, ending a summer of lackluster hiring. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.1%, but some of that can be attributed to significant numbers of people giving up on their search for employment in previous months.

Inflation has dominated conversations this year in business and households, and meager pay raises have made rising prices more painful for many. Average hourly wages rose 3.1% last month from a year earlier, the weakest year-over-year increase since May 2021.

The government issues its September jobs report on Friday.

The sheriff's department and the FBI Guthrie Task Force were recently made aware of the possible ransom note as well as social media comments related to it, the statement from the sheriff's department said Monday. Investigators are working to determine its credibility.

Officials did not immediately release details on how they found the note or what was in it.

In July, authorities released two ransom notes initially sent to a Tucson television station days after the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie went missing on Feb. 1 from her home outside Tucson.

The first note, sent Feb. 2, said Nancy Guthrie was safe but scared and would be released unharmed once her captors received $4 million in cryptocurrency. The second note, sent Feb. 6, said Guthrie died shortly after she was kidnapped. Authorities have not said whether Guthrie is still alive.

No suspects have been arrested in her disappearance. The investigation is dogged by unanswered questions, such as how many people are believed to have taken part in her abduction and whether she was taken by someone who knew her.

The FBI had also released surveillance videos of a masked person who authorities said appeared to tamper with a camera on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch and block it with a plant.

Nancy Guthrie's family has shared their pleas for information in videos posted to social media.

Don’t assume your plan stayed the same

It may be tempting to simply click “same as last year” and move on, but that approach could come with unexpected costs and surprises.

“Insurance companies often change their rates, their network of doctors and covered drugs every year,” Spencer said.

That means a plan that worked well in 2026 may look very different in 2027 — even if the name on the card stays the same.

4 things to check before you re-enroll

Before re-enrolling, Spencer says consumers need to check four specific things:

1. Is your primary care doctor still in-network? If your doctor has left the plan’s network, you could end up paying significantly more for routine visits — or need to find a new physician altogether.

2. Are your specialist doctors still covered? Think urologists, cardiologists and other specialists you see regularly. Network changes can quietly push these providers out of coverage, leaving patients with surprise bills.

3. Is your nearby medical clinic or hospital in-network? Proximity matters in a medical emergency. Confirming that your closest hospital or urgent care clinic remains in-network could save thousands of dollars when it matters most.

4. Are your prescription drugs still on your plan’s drug list? Insurance plans update their formularies — the list of covered drugs — every year. If a medication you rely on gets dropped, your out-of-pocket costs could spike dramatically.

Levi Strauss is an employee health benefits advisor with PBMP in Houston, and he says the most important thing to remember is this.

“We want to make sure when we have a health plan, we can see the providers that we need to see, whether that’s our kids’ primary care doctor, our specialists, and making sure we can get to the hospitals that we need. So always look at your network. Networks are constantly changing. Insurance carriers and hospital systems tend to butt-heads sometimes, and you’ll see that a hospital system is falling out of a network. So make sure that your providers are in network”, Levi says.

Do the math on last year’s care

Beyond those four checks, add up how many times you visited your primary care doctor last year and what you paid out of pocket for that care.

That real-world spending history can help you better gauge what they’re likely to pay in the coming year — and whether your current plan is still the right fit.

Open enrollment starts Nov. 1

With open enrollment just around the corner, now is the time to review your current health insurance plan — before the clock starts ticking.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% after spending most of the morning wavering. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 295 points, or 0.6%, as of 11:43 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.

Major indexes shifted lower after a quiet morning as increased pressure from the bond market outweighed much of the heavy lifting being done by several technology behemoths. Nvidia rose 0.9% and Broadcom rose 2.6%.

Stocks remain under pressure as oil prices swing sharply as the U.S. war with Iran drags on, helping to push Treasury yields to their highest levels in 24 years.

The price of Brent crude oil in the most actively traded part of the oil market fell 0.9% to $96.95 a barrel. It briefly climbed above $100 on Monday before prices eased a bit, but they are still well above the roughly $72 it cost before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.

Mediators continued to work with the United States and Iran on reaching a deal to end the fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend rejected an offer from Tehran to reopen the key waterway.

Overall, rising oil prices have been fueling a jump in Treasury yields. Higher yields threaten to slow economic growth by making borrowing more expensive for individuals and businesses. They can also hurt prices for stocks, especially those seen as expensive, including many technology companies that have soared because of the frenzy around AI technology.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 5.28% from 5.24% late Monday, touching its highest level since 2002, according to Tradeweb, well before the financial crisis and Great Recession sent yields toward zero.

Shares of CarMax jumped 6.1% after the used car dealership chain reported soaring second-quarter revenue and delivered profits that easily beat Wall Street expectations. The company also announced changes to its executive leadership.

Oura, the maker of wearable digital health accessories and jewelry, said Tuesday that it was postponing its initial public offering, despite strong demand, due to uncertainty in the IPO market.

Markets in Europe were mixed and markets in Asia closed mostly lower.

Wall Street will see several big economic updates this week that could help investors and the Federal Reserve get a better sense of where inflation is headed and how households and businesses are dealing with high prices.

The latest update on the jobs market Tuesday showed that U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in August. The Labor Department's monthly report said they slid to 7.08 million openings, marking a drop from July and registering below what economists had forecast. It also showed that layoffs fell and fewer people are quitting their jobs.

The jobs market has been resilient even as stubbornly high inflation squeezes businesses and households. Wall Street will get a broader update on Friday, when the U.S. releases its monthly employment report for September.

Households have been facing higher prices on everything from gasoline to clothing as the U.S. war with Iran curtails oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The latest update on consumer confidence from business group The Conference Board shows a slump in September. Consumer confidence dipped to its lowest level in 12 years.

Stubbornly high inflation has been sapping consumer confidence and pressuring the Fed, which recently raised its benchmark interest rate in an effort to cool prices. The latest update of the central bank's preferred measure of inflation will be released on Wednesday. Economists expect the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE, to show that the rate of inflation rose 3.7% August, matching July's reading.

Inflation rates have remained stubbornly above 3% most of the year and that is well above the Fed's target rate of 2%. Wall Street expects the central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate again at its next meeting in October.

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Associated Press business writers Chan Ho-Him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

After hardline conservatives in the Legislature scored a laundry list of wins last session, state Rep. Mitch Little says conservatives won’t slow their roll if there’s a blue wave in the Texas House.

The rightmost flank of the lower chamber grew its ranks from single digits to two or three dozen members after the 2024 election, depending on how you slice it. They tasted victory last session after pushing the House into a far more conservative position, leading to the passage of many grassroots priorities that were left on the table in past sessions.

Now, with the midterms about a month out, Texas Republicans are locked in tight races atop the ballot that threaten to spill over into lesser-known legislative contests. The last time Democrats shocked the Republicans — when they flipped 12 seats in the House in 2018 — the Legislature responded in 2019 with the “kumbaya session,” largely avoiding culture war issues and infighting. At the Republican agenda panel at last week’s Texas Tribune Festival, Little suggested the conservative flank would refuse to go along with another session like that if the GOP majority narrows in November.

“I think it will be more demanding than ever of our Republican colleagues,” said Little, a leader in the House’s rightmost wing despite serving in his first term.

The Lewisville Republican added, “None of us are willing to go backwards and say, ‘Oh, well, we lost a few seats, so our policy agenda is going to change.’ You can count me out of that.”

Like others in the caucus, Little praised Speaker Dustin Burrows of Lubbock for overseeing passage of GOP priorities in 2025 and working hard to boost Republicans on the campaign trail. Rep. Daniel Alders, a freshman Republican from Tyler, said, “You’re going to see that train keep on rolling.”

The House currently stands at 86-62, with vacancies in two GOP-leaning districts. But Little acknowledged there could be roadblocks to another conservative session, and “things could change” on the unity front, if the split falls to something like 80-70. At that point, there’s the threat of moderate Republicans breaking ranks and teaming up with Democrats to reach the magic number of 76 votes to pick the speaker.

That’s exactly what happened in 2009, when the session began with a 76-74 split in favor of Republicans. The GOP has held more comfortable margins ever since, even after the 2018 wave narrowed their edge to 83-67.

“Right now, we’re at a place where we’re working together, unified,” Little said. “But if you have five or six Republicans who are really, really interested in power, might they do something obscene from the standpoint of unity? Yeah, they might.”

Levi Casildo Castro pleaded guilty to willfully failing to collect and pay over taxes and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.

According to court documents, Castro operated LC Home Remodeling and Maid Service and A&M Home Remodeling and Cleaning. Through those businesses, she withheld federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes from employees’ wages but failed to turn the money over to the U.S. Treasury.

Prosecutors said Castro also worked as a paid tax preparer without authorization.

She prepared tax returns for clients while falsely indicating that the clients had prepared the returns themselves.

The returns allegedly contained false information about wages, federal tax withholdings, and Social Security and Medicare taxes.

According to the DOJ, Castro inflated those amounts to increase the earned income tax credits her clients could receive.

Castro admitted that her actions resulted in approximately $400,000 in losses to the U.S. Treasury.

U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal accepted Castro’s guilty plea and scheduled her sentencing for Dec. 16.

Castro faces up to eight years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $110,000.

She was previously released on bond and will remain on bond pending sentencing.

The IRS investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Laurence Goldman is prosecuting the case.

In a Tuesday press release, Oura said it's delaying the IPO “despite strong demand.”

The IPO market had a solid start to the year but tailed off in the third quarter, according to research firm Renaissance Capital. Concerns about a possible slowdown in spending on artificial intelligence, the Federal Reserve’s resumption of rate hikes and a surge in bond yields — making borrowing more expensive — all played a factor, Renaissance said.

Oura customers use the ring to monitor their health, including sleep patterns and fitness activity. The company gets the bulk of its revenue from ring sales, with the rest coming from subscriptions.

The company approached the IPO with momentum: The introduction of the Oura Ring 5 helped boost the number of paid members to 5.7 million and the company expects revenue for the fiscal year ending Wednesday to have grown by 90%.

Oura planned to sell 50 million shares in the IPO between $40 and $44, with nearly three-quarters of them being sold by current shareholders. At the midpoint of the price range, Oura's IPO would have given it a market value of $13.5 billion.

Thirteen billboards carrying that message are going up across the county as part of a voter education campaign unveiled Monday by Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth. The billboards will appear in English and Spanish, with additional messages planned in other languages.

“Our goal is to make sure that every Harris County voter has clear, accurate, and accessible information about how to participate in the upcoming midterm elections,” Hudspeth said.

For voters, the most immediate step is checking their registration and making sure their address is current. The deadline to register for the Nov. 3 election is Monday, Oct. 5.

“We want to remind you, because we do know there’s a lot going on in the state of Texas, to check your voter registration, make sure that you have the information that you need, that you update it,” Hudspeth said. “Because the last day to register to vote is October 5th.”

Hudspeth also wants voters to preview their sample ballot before they get to a vote center.

“Harris County has one of the longest ballots in the nation, so any average voter when they go in to vote, whether it’s early voting or Election Day, will have anywhere from 100 plus contests and pages to go through,” she said. “So that’s part of the planning process. A lot of candidates to study.”

Voters can check their registration at HCTAX.NET. The clerk’s office has also launched a HarrisVotes mobile app where voters can find vote centers and view their sample ballots. Hudspeth said the app is available through Apple and Google app stores.

Another point of confusion, Hudspeth said, is whether voters must go to a specific precinct. Harris County voters can use any county vote center during early voting or on Election Day.

“And since 2019, Harris County voters have voted countywide so they don’t have to worry about if they’re in the right precinct,” she said. “They can vote anywhere on early voting and Election Day.”

The campaign includes traditional and digital billboards. Lee Vela of Clear Channel Outdoor, which partnered with the county, said digital signs allow the messages to rotate throughout the day. He estimated the billboards will generate nearly six million impressions per week.

“So if you move around Harris County you’re going to see these boards,” Vela said.

Hudspeth said the county is paying for the billboards as part of a broader voter education campaign that will also use radio, television, social media and multilingual materials.

“Why now? Because now people are paying attention,” Hudspeth said. “Candidates are running their platforms, and you always want to do it in a window of time right before in-person voting starts.”

Early voting runs Oct. 19-30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The latest decline came just 27 days after the rial hit its previous record low of 2.2 million to the dollar on Sept. 2. The currency has repeatedly reached new lows since the war began in February.

The Iranian economy has been under duress for years in the face of international sanctions. But a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian oil and new sanctions imposed since the start of the war have sent it into freefall.

Meanwhile, Iran’s top diplomat said indirect negotiations with the United States aimed at reopening the critical Strait of Hormuz have become “more serious,” while the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ chief spokesman Gen. Hossein Mohebbi on Tuesday called on Americans to take to the streets and protest the conflict.

Iran's top diplomat raises the prospect of new talks

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian media late on Monday that the “current focus is solely on the Strait of Hormuz,” the chokepoint of the war.

Araghchi made the comments shortly before departing New York — where he attended last week’s gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly — and after meeting with Pakistani and Qatari mediators.

Araghchi said that the Qatari intermediaries were expected to soon engage with the U.S. side.

“They are set to raise the matter with the American side once more, after which the final U.S. response will be conveyed to us,” Araghchi said. “If there is a response, the Qataris will convey it to us and a decision will be made in Tehran on that basis.”

Officials, including from the U.S., have confirmed to The Associated Press that mediators are working with Iran and the U.S. on trying to broker a deal to end the fighting and open the strait.

The mediation efforts continue even after U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week spurned an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait in seven days if the U.S. agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions.

Iran sends a provocative message to the US public

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday made an appeal to everyday Americans to push their government to end the U.S. war against Iran, a provocative message that comes just weeks before critical midterm elections in the United States.

Mohebbi, the Guard spokesman, read a letter during a news conference in Iran's capital, Tehran, appealing to Americans to pressure their government and claiming that the only way for the war to end is for Washington to admit defeat and leave the Mideast.

Mohebbi’s remarks come as Trump’s Republican party faces fierce headwinds as it looks to maintain control of Congress. But polling shows the war has darkened the American electorate’s mood ahead of the Nov. 3 election in which elevated gasoline prices, a byproduct of the conflict, loom large.

Mohebbi also accused the U.S. of using Iran’s nuclear program as a ruse to “plunder Iran’s wealth” and to turn the country “back into a colony.”

He added that the U.S. and others failed in their belief that military and economic action would get Tehran to submit and that Washington “has no choice but to acknowledge defeat and leave the region.”

“This is how the war will end,” he said.

Trump and his top aides are insistent that Iran’s economy cannot sustain a conflict much longer and have expressed confidence that Tehran will be forced to capitulate.

The U.S. president predicted soon after launching the war that the conflict would last a matter of weeks. More recently, he’s said that the war will likely end after the November elections in the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a Monday appearance on Fox News said Iran was heading toward an economic “cataclysm.” Administration officials say that a combination of new sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade aimed at preventing Iranian oil from going to market are having the intended effect.

“And so when you’re denying them money through oil sales and sanctions, you’re not just punishing them,” Rubio said. “You are preventing them from getting access to money that they will use to try and kill Americans and others around the world and their own people and build weapons and threaten the world and ultimately break out to a nuclear weapon program."

Major Saudi pipeline is once again operating

In a separate development, a crucial oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia that was shuttered by the kingdom earlier this month after coming under attack is once again operating, according to a Saudi government official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said operations are near pre-attack levels and that the pipeline should be running at its full capacity within a few weeks.

The kingdom relies on the East-West Pipeline, which runs the breadth of the country, to move its crude from oil processing facilities on the Gulf to ports on its western, Red Sea coast. From there it can be put on tankers for export.

Saudi Arabia blamed an Iran-backed militia in Iraq for the drone attack that forced the temporary shutdown of the 1,200-kilomeer (745-mile) pipeline.

Satellite imagery indicated tankers on Sunday loaded some 12.5 million barrels of oil at the Yanbu export terminal, which is supplied by the East-West Pipeline, and the nearby terminal at Al Muajjiz, the data and analytical firm Kpler said in a report.

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AP writer David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed reporting.

The Category 2 hurricane struck land just south of Las Barrancas, Mexico, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Cabo San Lazaro and about 70 miles (115 kilometers) south of Mulege with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) while moving northeast at 13 mph (20 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Mexican authorities reported Polo left no serious damage. About 700 people remained in shelters Tuesday but were expected to return to their homes, federal authorities said.

Baja California Sur Gov. Víctor Castro said during the president’s morning news briefing that the hurricane’s passage “has brought us rain, but no loss of life.”

By 8 a.m. local time, Polo was moving toward the northeast near 17 mph (28 kph), with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph (120 kph) as a Category 1 hurricane, the center said. Mexico's government discontinued several hurricane and tropical storm warnings along the coast.

The hurricane center said Polo was crossing the Gulf of California before moving inland and was expected to produce 6-12 inches (about 15 to 30 centimeters) of rain across parts of Baja California Sur.

Forecasters had predicted Polo would hit the Mexican mainland with life-threatening winds and flash floods expected. It could bring heavy rain and flooding to parts of the U.S. Southwest later in the week.

Meanwhile, the hurricane center reported Tropical Storm Rachel was moving parallel to Mexico's coast early Tuesday. The storm was about 265 miles (425 kilometers) southwest of Lazaro Cardenos and about 355 miles (570 kilometers) south of Cabo Corrientes with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph) while moving west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

Hurricane Nolo was still a Category 3 hurricane on Tuesday, but was edging away from Hawaii.

Baja California peninsula was preparing for Polo

The government of the northern Mexican state of Sonora on Monday night announced it would suspend all “nonessential” activities, including school, sports and nonessential work in the state capital and more than a dozen municipalities.

The Mexican navy said it had personnel ready across the northern Pacific coast and deployed three vessels that could ship aid to coastal communities isolated by Polo. Local authorities along the Baja California Peninsula said they had shelters ready, while travel will be suspended in the area and ports across the region will be closed.

Pacific storm activity greater than normal this season

Pacific storm activity has been above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season, according to National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec. He said that pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.

The impact was expected to stretch into the U.S. Southwest. After being plagued with drought and later flooding this year, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Texas could receive inches of rain. Arid canyons and rocky expanses with little vegetation are conducive to flash flooding and the tropical weather adds more risk, said Andrew Mangham, senior service hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Heavy rain was already drenching parts of the region Tuesday morning and causing flooding.

“We’re getting caught up here in a very, very short time,” Mangham said. “And that’s not really what we want. We want nice rains, you know, all summer long.”

Floods and mudslides remain a risk in Hawaii

Hurricane Nolo on Tuesday had moved west past the Hawaiian islands and was located about 270 miles (435 kilometers) south-southeast of French Frigate Shoals with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) moving north, or 360 degrees, at 9 mph (15 kph).

Nolo drenched communities in south and southeastern parts of Hawaii's Big Island over the weekend. Hawaii National Guard members rescued 19 people from flooding over the weekend, the U.S. National Guard said in a post on Facebook.

The hurricane was approaching Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a marine conservation area, according to the hurricane center, which said the storm could bring dangerous conditions to the area starting Tuesday.

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Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Eduardo Verdugo in Puerto San Carlos, Mexico, Julie Walker in New York, Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Eugene Garcia and Gregory Bull in Hilo, Hawaii, contributed to this report.

Moisture from Pacific Hurricane Polo gets pulled into Texas for the second half of the week, bringing scattered storms to the state and possible flooding, especially towards Central Texas.

Rain Chances:

Rain chances at the start of the week are low. Isolated showers and storms are possible Tuesday, but most of us will stay dry. Wednesday tracking spotty sea breeze showers but it is far from a wash out.

The rain chances ramp up at the end of the week as tropical moisture gets pulled in from Hurricane Polo. At the same time, we’ll see a front moving in from the west, which will help to enhance the chance of seeing rain.

Right now, the highest rainfall totals are expected to stay to the west of Houston, but isolated spots in Southeast TX could see heavy rain, which could lead to a few instances of street flooding. The forecast is highly dependent on how far west or east the front stalls. The farther west, lower rain totals for Houston, the farther east would amplify shower and storm chances.

Tracking the tropics:

All is quiet in the Gulf. In the Central Atlantic, Tropical Storm Hanna has formed. Hanna is expected to be a fish storm meandering through the Atlantic until dissipating midweek.

So far this hurricane season we’ve had eight tropical storms. We have not had a hurricane in the Atlantic basin. The latest first hurricane to form was Gustav and Humberto, which formed on September 11th. This means our 2026 hurricane season set a record for the latest hurricane to form.

Extended forecast:

Rain chances go up, and temperatures go down as extra rain and cloud cover keep us cooler.

The 31-year-old Bardella, who Le Pen says will be her prime minister if she wins the presidency in May, vigorously denied authorship of the comments about supposed Jewish banking monopolies and other antisemitic conspiracy theories that investigative website Mediapart attributed to him and published Monday.

It said they were written more than a decade ago. They included years when Bardella, now the National Rally president, was a teenage member of the party's predecessor, the National Front. It was founded by Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who repeatedly denied the Holocaust and was convicted multiple times of hate speech before his death in 2025.

Allegations of antisemitism touch a particular nerve at the National Rally because Le Pen has worked for years to distance herself from her father’s sulfurous legacy. To win the presidency, she must overcome obstacles that blocked his presidential ambitions. His associations with people who collaborated with France’s Nazi occupiers in World War II and his multiple convictions for antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence made him anathema to many voters.

Sitting side by side, Marine Le Pen, Bardella and their ally Eric Ciotti on Tuesday used a previously scheduled gathering of their lawmakers to demonstrate unity.

They described Mediapart's allegations as the opening salvo of a supposed effort to undermine the National Rally and Le Pen as she campaigns to succeed President Emmanuel Macron, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.

It's “the beginnings of an all-out war, of attempts to destabilize the presidential campaign, which — I’m telling you — will target us one after another,” Bardella said.

“We have both put on our Kevlar suits, because this is heavy stuff coming down on us,” Le Pen said. "This manipulation is about as subtle as a charcuterie convention.”

“We are not going to let them do this to us!” she added. To applause from their lawmakers, she expressed ”absolute confidence" in Bardella, who is particularly popular with young voters and has large followings on social media.

Mediapart said the comments it attributed to Bardella were drawn from private written exchanges but did not specify whether they were emails or another format. It said it independently authenticated the exchanges but did not detail how or say how it obtained them. Specializing in investigative journalism, Mediapart has become a leading news provider in France since its launch in 2008, claiming more than a quarter-million subscribers.

Bardella said he has launched a libel action against Mediapart's allegations, describing them as "a dirty-tricks operation.”

“These remarks are completely delusional. They are not mine,” he told broadcaster CNews.

At this early stage before the two-round election in April and May, Le Pen is widely regarded as a front-runner in the race to succeed Macron. Her campaign has been relatively free of major bumps since an appeals court in July cleared her path for a fourth run at the presidency, with a ruling that shortened a ban on seeking public office handed down to Le Pen for embezzling public funds.

Bardella, Le Pen's protégé, had been waiting in the wings to take her place as the party candidate if the original five-year ban had been upheld. On Tuesday, he described the antisemitism allegations as a plot that he alleged had been cooked up to thwart his chances had that scenario played out.

National Rally has courted Jewish voters by positioning itself as a bulwark against Islamic extremism in France and with Le Pen's sustained effort to dissociate herself from her father's legacy. In a process that researchers and critics of the party dubbed “de-demonization,” she expelled him in 2015 from the National Front and rebranded it in 2018.

Yonathan Arfi, who heads a French Jewish umbrella group, CRIF, said Bardella’s alleged comments, if substantiated, would represent “a stinging repudiation” of the sanitization strategy.

“How could a political figure who made such repugnant antisemitic remarks subsequently have risen to such positions of responsibility within a party that claims to have changed and to be fighting hatred of Jews?” Arfi posted on X.

Uncertified teachers are often cheaper to employ.

Houston Independent School District is among the most prominent examples. Last school year, approximately 2,500 HISD teachers lacked state certification — roughly a quarter of the district’s total teaching staff.

The issue has three distinct sides: students and parents, teachers, and the school districts responsible for managing them.

Teachers union, District at odds over training

The Houston Federation of Teachers says the influx of uncredentialed educators is a problem — and that HISD Superintendent Mike Miles is not doing enough to train them.

“Well, bottom line is this,” Corina Ortiz, Chief of Staff for the Houston Federation of Teachers, said. “If you don’t tell these uncertified people coming in how to get their certification, or show them, or help them, then how are they going to do it?”

RELATED: HISD cuts campus budgets and positions as enrollment falls

Miles pushed back firmly on that characterization.

“We do the best professional development, our teachers are effective on day one,” Miles said. “We do a lot of training, so the teachers union doesn’t know what the heck they’re talking about.”

Miles himself is not state-certified as a superintendent. He operates on a waiver — similar to the temporary state authorization thousands of his teachers use to work.

Miles has also signaled a broader philosophical shift on the issue.

“Maybe we need to shift our mindset on uncertified,” Miles said at a recent press conference.

When pressed by ENOUGH’s Joel Eisenbaum on whether HISD is bringing provisionally licensed teachers to full certification within the state’s required timeframe, Miles responded: “Yes, and I will answer that question in a second.”

Miles did return to the question a few moments later.

SEE ALSO: Houston ISD considers selling closed neighborhood schools. The list of people who are helping decide is confidential

“We have a rigorous pay for performance, so we actually know who our most effective teachers are. And those teachers are being retained at 89 percent if you’re exemplary, 82 or 83 percent if your proficient one, and for proficient two, it’s somewhere in between. So, those are high retention rates. And that’s the measure of success,” Miles said.

How to check your child’s teacher’s certification status

Parents can check a teacher’s certification status in just three steps directly from their phones:

Get the teacher’s first and last name.

Google “TEA Certificate Lookup.”

Enter the name and look at the result. A Standard certificate means the teacher is certified. Provisional or Probationary are indicators the teacher is not yet fully certified.

State timeline, waivers, a missed deadline question

Under Texas Education Agency guidelines, provisionally licensed teachers are expected to complete all certification requirements — including required training and testing — within a set timeframe.

The TEA states: “If you do not complete all requirements within one year, it is sometimes possible to extend the probationary certificate for up to two years.”

However, ENOUGH’s reporting found that HISD has been seeking waivers that extend beyond that two-year deadline, and the state has been allowing a third year in many cases.

A letter obtained by ENOUGH — sent to provisionally licensed teachers who missed state deadlines and subsequently lost their jobs — sheds light on the situation.

“When your employment with Houston ISD ended, it was because you had reached the certification timeline that was in place,” the letter read.

But the letter continued: “Since then, we’ve received additional certification waiver options that may allow certain teachers to continue teaching while completing their certification requirements.”

When Eisenbaum brought the letter to an interview with Elizabell Garcia, HISD’s senior executive of teacher pathways and certification, her response raised more questions.

“No, this is an HR letter,” Garcia said when asked about her knowledge of the correspondence.

“HR. Everything’s HR. Am I talking to the right person?” Eisenbaum replied.

A spokesperson present at the interview confirmed Garcia could speak to uncertified teachers earning certification and the training HISD provides.

Where uncertified teachers are placed — who decides?

Beyond the question of certification timelines, ENOUGH’s reporting also examined where uncertified teachers are being placed within the district.

The Houston Federation of Teachers says the pattern is clear.

“We saw the same thing,” Ortiz said. “Now the question is, why? Well, very simple. In those low socioeconomic neighborhoods, areas, you don’t have the parent involvement that you have in, let’s say, a West U or the River Oaks. And so he’s not going to get any pushback. So it’s OK if I just put this person over here. And if they struggle, well, it’s OK, we’ll make do. And as opposed to a West U where the parents are constantly going to be at the school, they’re going to keep up with their kids.”

When Eisenbaum asked Garcia directly how HISD decides where an uncertified teacher is placed, she deferred.

“That would be a question maybe for HR, I don’t have the answer to that question. I’m sorry,” Garcia said.

That answer sent Eisenbaum back to HISD headquarters for a press availability with Miles.

“I’m talking about where they’re placed within the district,” Eisenbaum told Miles. “It seems like they’re going to the most challenged schools instead of being spread evenly across the district.”

Miles did not dispute the pattern but challenged the framing.

“We don’t have a policy of spreading the uncertified teachers across the district,” Miles said. “That depends on every school and whether or not every school is able to hire certified versus uncertified. But I’m going to say again, so we’re not speaking past each other, that even in the cases where the schools have uncertified teachers, they’re gaining gains. And so that’s the important thing. It’s not where they’re placed.”

Sam Houston High among schools with most uncertified teachers

The data backs up concerns about placement. Sam Houston Math Science and Technology Center High School — still widely known as Sam Houston High — was the top HISD school for the most uncertified teachers during the 2024-25 school year. It ranked second the prior school year.

The school sits on Houston’s northeast side, just off the Hardy Toll Road, in a neighborhood that has seen its share of challenges. ENOUGH previously reported on Sam Houston High School in connection with truancy issues and a shootout involving students in front of the building.

A resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years told Eisenbaum the responsibility is clear: it’s up to the district where teachers are assigned.

Miles maintains that teachers — certified or not — go where they are needed. And he can point to measurable progress. Using the state’s school accountability ratings system, 205 HISD schools earned an A or B rating in 2026, compared to 93 when Miles arrived in 2023. The number of D and F-rated schools dropped from 120 in 2023 to 13 in 2026.

State law tightens rules on uncertified teachers

Many social media users who responded to ENOUGH’s coverage were supportive of uncertified teachers, arguing that certification does not equal classroom effectiveness. But regardless of public opinion, schools must comply with state law — and that law is getting stricter.

Lawmakers passed House Bill 2 during the last legislative session, setting limitations on which subjects uncertified teachers can teach — including core subjects like math and English — and establishing a timeline to reduce the reliance on uncertified teachers by 2030.

That is a significant challenge for HISD. The district employed nearly 2,200 uncertified teachers two years ago. That number dropped to just under 2,000 by the end of last school year. Over those two years, 683 previously uncertified HISD teachers completed their certifications.

An HISD spokesperson said that the school district fully intends to comply with state law.

MLB and the players' association have played a handful of regular-season games away from the 30 big league ballparks in recent years, including in the Iowa corn fields made famous by the movie “Field of Dreams.”

An MLB official familiar with the discussions confirmed Monday that the league approached the Trump administration about possibly hosting a game in a national park. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league hadn't authorized comment on the matter and said it was among several ideas MLB has explored.

A White House official said MLB asked the administration whether hosting a game at a national park would be possible but emphasized it was not a presidential directive and was not driven by the administration. The National Park Service has not granted any permits, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no authorization to speak on the record.

MLB's special event games have included games at Dyersville, Iowa, in 2021, 2022 and 2026, with another scheduled next August between Boston and Kansas City.

In addition, regular-season games were played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2024 and at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, in 2025, and games have been held since 2017 in conjunction with the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

MLB also has played international games in London; Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico; Seoul, South Korea; Sydney; and Tokyo; plus some in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Grand Teton includes a commercial airport — the busiest in Wyoming — and a vast expanse of Jackson Hole bottomlands with spectacular views of the Teton Range. There is no shortage of flat terrain where a temporary ballpark could be built.

The possibility of building a baseball field on national park land quickly raised a host of questions.

“It’s abhorrent,” Mike Gierau, a Democratic state senator and baseball lover who represents Jackson and nearby Grand Teton, wrote in a text message. “Baseball is the American game. The national parks are America’s greatest idea. But a national park is to be protected for its undeveloped and scenic values.”

Environmental groups also came out against the idea, first reported by The Washington Post.

“Americans want to see protections for our national parks and public lands strengthened. Bulldozing these lands for a baseball stadium does the opposite, destroying the magnificent landscapes that millions of people come to experience,” Chris Kassar, the Sierra Club's Wyoming director, said in a statement.

A message left with Grand Teton officials seeking more information wasn't immediately returned.

But what if they also shared the same dad?

That’s the hilarious question at the center of “Brothers,” the new Apple TV comedy starring the longtime friends as fictionalized versions of themselves. The eight-episode series premiered September 23, with new episodes dropping Wednesdays through November 4.

The story begins when Woody’s daughter’s engagement falls apart and he packs up the family and heads to Austin for an extended stay at Matthew’s ranch.

Matthew’s mom, Ma Mac — played by Holland Taylor — accidentally drops a bombshell: Matthew and Woody might actually be brothers. Naturally, Woody becomes determined to get to the bottom of it, turning Matthew’s ranch into something of a family investigation headquarters. Meanwhile, Matthew has his own identity crisis to deal with as he considers a potential run for governor of Texas.

The idea was inspired by a real-life family story involving McConaughey’s mother and Harrelson’s father. The actors have joked about the possibility over the years, and now they’ve turned that bizarre bit of real-life history into an eight-episode comedy.

Whether they’re actually related or not, one thing is pretty clear: McConaughey and Harrelson have a chemistry that’s hard to fake.

“Brothers” is streaming now on Apple TV, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday.

Watch as Lauren Kelly catches up with the duo all about it.

“I saw that giant banner that said, ‘Congratulations, your 2026-2027 FAFSA application was approved,’” Melanie Marti recalled. “I was like, wait a second, that’s not me.”

Marti graduated from the University of Houston in 2022 and said she had no reason to apply for federal student aid this year.

Marti believes someone stole her identity and used it to pose as a college applicant — a type of fraud federal authorities have warned can involve so-called “ghost students.”

Locked out of her own StudentAid.gov account

Marti said she discovered the suspicious activity after receiving an email about changes to her student loan payments.

When she attempted to log into StudentAid.gov to review her options, she couldn’t access her account.

Marti said recovering it required her to submit her passport and complete a facial scan.

Once inside, she found the unexpected 2026-27 FAFSA.

“My account had been breached,” Marti said.

She said Federal Student Aid customer service told her the email address and phone number associated with her account had been changed.

Marti said she never received a notification alerting her to those changes.

“They knew my email to send me my upcoming change in my student loan payments, but nothing about me applying or anything,” she said.

Records reviewed by KPRC 2 show a 2026-27 FAFSA in Marti’s name was initially submitted Sept. 1. The records also show subsequent corrections, including one processed Sept. 21.

Marti said the person behind the activity also applied to another college she had never attended.

“The person had applied to a college in Pennsylvania — I’ve never been to Pennsylvania — and a college in Dallas,” she said.

Her college transcripts were also obtained

The situation extended beyond her federal student aid account.

Marti said the colleges alerted her that someone had obtained transcripts from schools she had actually attended, including the University of Houston, Blinn College and Houston Community College.

“They were able to get my U of H transcript, my Blinn transcript, and a singular class I took at HCC,” Marti said. “They were able to get that one that I even forgot about that I took.”

Marti said the transcripts were obtained through Parchment, an online service used to request academic records.

She said she already had her own Parchment account but found no suspicious orders in its history, leading her to believe someone created a separate account using her information.

What is a ‘ghost student’?

Federal authorities have been sounding the alarm about fraud schemes involving fake students and stolen identities.

A July alert from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, issued in consultation with the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General and FBI, warned that fraud rings are using stolen or fraudulent identities to enroll at colleges and unlawfully obtain federal student aid.

The alert defines “ghost students” as stolen identities used to enroll at educational institutions.

In some cases, authorities say fraudsters use a real person’s personally identifiable information to impersonate that victim, enroll in classes and attempt to obtain financial aid refunds. Fraudsters may also use artificial intelligence, synthetic identities, chatbots or accomplices to overcome identity checks or complete enough coursework to maintain the appearance of a legitimate student.

Federal aid is generally sent first to the school, which applies the money toward tuition and other eligible charges. If aid exceeds those costs, the remaining balance may be refunded to the student — creating an opportunity for fraudsters to try to divert that money.

Department of Education says it has stopped more than $1 billion in fraud

The scale of the problem extends far beyond Marti’s case.

The U.S. Department of Education said its nationwide anti-fraud effort prevented more than $1 billion in federal student aid fraud in 2025. Texas accounted for more than $76 million in prevented fraud, according to the department.

The department has since introduced additional safeguards.

Federal Student Aid implemented real-time identity fraud detection within the FAFSA process on April 26, 2026. According to FSA, every FAFSA is assessed for fraud risk as it is completed, and applicants deemed higher risk can be required to take additional steps to verify their identities.

FSA said in May that a review of previously submitted 2026-27 FAFSAs resulted in approximately 300,000 applications being selected for additional verification based on indicators associated with suspected fraud risk.

Federal guidance updated Sept. 21 says all students are evaluated for fraud when they initially submit a FAFSA. Beginning Sept. 20, some corrections or subsequent FAFSA forms can also trigger another fraud evaluation depending on fraud signals and how much time has passed since the previous evaluation.

Congress considers ‘No Aid for Ghost Students Act’

The issue has also drawn attention on Capitol Hill.

The U.S. House passed the No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026 on June 10 in a 249-172 vote. Thirty-six Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the legislation.

Under the House-passed legislation, the Department of Education would be required to use an identity fraud detection system to review every FAFSA submitted on or after Oct. 1, 2026.

If an application raises a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud, the department would notify the applicant and the colleges listed on the application. A college would then be prohibited from releasing federal student aid until the applicant’s identity is verified.

A Senate version, S. 4428, was scheduled for consideration by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Sept. 24. The committee postponed a final vote, with a new date still to be determined.

The legislation would build on fraud screening the Department of Education says it is already conducting.

What should you do if you suspect student aid identity theft?

Marti said she had no idea “ghost student” fraud was a widespread problem before discovering the activity associated with her identity.

“Had I known, I probably would have done things differently,” she said. “I put my student loan payments on AutoPay and never looked back.”

Federal authorities recommend people who believe their personal information was used to apply for federal student aid act quickly. The FinCEN alert advises victims to contact Federal Student Aid and their loan servicer, contact the major credit reporting agencies and freeze their credit, and report suspected education-related fraud to the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General.

Marti has another piece of advice for anyone who has a StudentAid.gov account — even if they graduated years ago.

“Just log in, make sure that you have your two-step authenticator on,” she said. “Don’t think you’re protected with just Experian and all of these websites that will check your credit.”

Marti said she has changed her passwords and reported the suspected identity theft as she works to determine how much of her personal information may have been compromised.

“I just, I feel like a fool, honestly,” Marti said.

But her experience has left her hoping other former students will check accounts they may not have thought about in years.

The contest has raised the possibility that the nation's second most populous city could follow New York's lead, where democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor, capping a stunning ascent for the far-left state lawmaker who promised to transform city government to restore power to the working class. Yet in LA, no celebrity swirl has gathered around Raman in her first run for citywide office.

The two Democrats are scheduled to appear at a forum co-hosted by the Jewish Federation Los Angeles at a time when the party has been deeply divided over the war in Gaza and aid to Israel.

Bass, the first Black woman to hold the post, is fighting to keep her job after a rough first term in which she suffered sustained fallout from the deadly Palisades Fire, the most destructive in Los Angeles history that ignited when she was out of the country. In June, a fire east of downtown in a massive frozen-food warehouse left neighbors to endure weeks of foul smells and frustration.

Raman, who endorsed Bass before reversing course and entering the race herself, is testing if voters in the heavily Democratic city want to move further to the political left to address long-running problems of homelessness, buckled streets and climbing rent and home prices. She's railed against “the broken status quo.”

The race earlier garnered national attention for the candidacy of Spencer Pratt, a Republican who starred on “The Hills” and had lost his home in the Palisades Fire. His campaign was lifted by videos that supporters generated with artificial intelligence, though he failed to qualify for the November election.

In a city known to shrug at local politics, the race to take charge at City Hall has been overshadowed by ongoing turmoil in Washington, the fight for Congress, two wars, anxiety over inflation and the Los Angeles Dodgers gearing up for another playoff run.

On the horizon are questions about how the financially challenged city will manage the 2028 Olympics.

After the fires, “There are a bunch of people who don’t want to vote for Karen (Bass) and they are wrestling with what to do,” said veteran Democratic strategist Bill Carrick. As a council member, Raman is not widely known and “the decibel level of this campaign is unbelievably low.”

With mail ballots scheduled to arrive at homes in early October, typical markers of election season — yard signs, TV ads, billboards and bumper stickers — are rarely seen. Data compiled by AdImpact shows the campaigns have spent or booked only a sprinkle of airtime and digital messaging so far through Election Day.

Bass took office in 2022 promising to contend with an out-of-control homeless crisis, but the problem remains in plain view in most neighborhoods. Figures released in July showed homelessness increased over the previous year, after taking a dip. Bass faulted the Trump administration for cuts and policies “that pushed more people onto the streets.”

During her time in office, the city has weathered federal immigration raids and witnessed a continuing exit of Hollywood jobs, while residents complain about dirty, crumbling streets and homeless encampments.

Raman, who could be the first South Asian woman in the job, says that while City Hall has favored powerful insiders, “working people pay the price in higher rents, depleted services and a city that has stopped working for them.”

Bass represents the Democratic establishment as the incumbent mayor, and she’s backed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with influential labor unions. She served in the state Legislature and Congress before becoming mayor in 2022.

Raman has promised to speed up housing construction, bring back entertainment industry jobs and improve services in a city known for filthy streets, gridlock and an unresponsive City Hall.

One of the unknowns in the race is where Pratt's supporters will go, if they vote at all. Pratt finished with about 25% of the vote, several points behind Raman. He's continued to criticize both candidates on social media.

“Truly the Dumb and Dumber election. So sad for LA. Dark times ahead, folks,” he recently posted on X.

Russia has used new jet-powered drones that fly too fast and too high for Ukrainian ground-based air defenses to shoot down.

Ukraine is scrambling to keep pace by developing faster interceptor drones in the latest example of how the war has driven military innovation, but making and deploying new weapons takes months.

Russia’s ballistic missiles have also penetrated Ukraine's defenses as the country is desperately short of U.S.-made Patriot air defense interceptor missiles needed to stop Moscow’s ballistic attacks.

Patriot stockpiles are low, largely because of the Iran war, and Ukraine has received only small numbers of them this year despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pleading. Ukraine said its air defenses shot down two ballistic missiles overnight, which suggested that Kyiv might have recently received more Patriots.

“Russia’s terror against Ukraine is intensifying by the day,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X. “This is Russia’s deliberate escalation instead of accepting Ukraine’s offers to cease fire, negotiate and end the war.”

Moscow says it wants a comprehensive peace settlement, including a Ukrainian surrender of land — a demand unacceptable to Kyiv — before agreeing to a ceasefire.

U.S. efforts to broker peace over the past year have made no significant progress. Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev was in Washington on Monday for talks with American officials about ending the war and possible U.S.-Russia energy initiatives once it's over, according to a U.S. official familiar with the visit who spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the official wasn't authorized to speak publicly. The official described the conversation as constructive.

Air defense needs are mounting with the approach of the bitter winter months, which in the years since Russia’s full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, have brought an escalation of strikes on Ukraine’s power grid. That strategy denies Ukrainian civilians heating and running water, among other things.

Ukraine is working to scale up production of domestic interceptor systems able to counter Russian jet-powered drones, with new systems already being tested and deployed with some combat units, Ihor Klymenko, head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said Tuesday.

The work is urgent, as Kyiv has been under almost constant attack with more than 235 air raid alerts since Aug. 27, lasting a combined 261 hours, Klymenko said.

F-16 jets have been able to shoot down the jet-propelled drones, although at a much greater expense. Ukraine is due to receive three of the fighter jets from Belgium by the end of the year, Zelenskyy announced Tuesday.

The unrelenting attacks have disrupted everyday life in Kyiv. The National University of Kyiv is switching to remote learning for the coming weeks because of fears for the safety of staff and students.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces hit data processing centers in Kyiv that Moscow says are used by the Ukrainian military, which is increasingly deploying artificial intelligence on the battlefield.

Other Russian targets included facilities in the Ukrainian capital and the Kyiv region where drones and cruise missiles were stored, as well as an electrical substation, a drone manufacturing facility, and port infrastructure facilities in the southern Odesa region, the ministry said.

Ukrainian authorities said the barrage hit apartment buildings, houses and public transportation in Kyiv, wounding one person.

Meanwhile, in the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy, teachers and students evacuated from their school just before four powerful glide bombs struck during classes, Zelenskyy said. The bombs also hit a residential area where two people were killed, he said.

In southern Odesa, the attack wounded eight people overnight and damaged residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a school, an animal shelter and port infrastructure, local officials said.

In the face of the Russian blitz, Ukraine's long-range drones have targeted Russian missile and drone manufacturing plants and launch sites. Ukraine also has hit Russian oil refineries, causing fuel shortages.

The two armies are largely deadlocked on the long front line in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Zelenskyy says Moscow intends to increase recruitment for another battlefield push.

He said late Monday that another 10,000 North Korean troops are heading to Russia, adding to the 8,000 he said are already there.

Russia and North Korea have made no secret of their military cooperation.

___

Barry Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Michelle L. Price contributed to this report from Washington.

___

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

The district says the adjustments are tied to lower-than-expected enrollment and changes in available funding.

But as the cuts begin to reach individual campuses, families are learning about the impact through letters and notices from their schools.

I reached out to HISD last week with questions about the districtwide cuts, including whether campuses were being given specific dollar-per-student reductions and whether school leaders were being directed to cut personnel rather than other expenses.

The district did not respond to those questions by my deadline and still haven’t responded.

As a result, I have been crowdsourcing information from the HISD community, with families and community members sharing school notices describing the changes happening at their campuses.

HISD describes the changes as part of its annual campus-leveling process, which compares projected enrollment with the number of students actually enrolled. HISD has also said some employees may be reassigned to schools with staffing needs.

The questions HISD did not answer

I sent HISD the following questions last week:

“I am reaching out hoping you can share some details about district wide cuts or at the least confirm what I am hearing from multiple people across the district.

1. Are non-NES schools told to cut $200 per student?

2. Are NES schools told to cut $100 per student?

3. When were school leaders notified of the dollar amount they would need to cut in budget?

4. Can you confirm if school leadership is told they have to get rid of personnel instead of things? I am told something to the effect of, “you can’t get rid of things, you have to get rid of personnel.”

5. Are NES schools still taking substitute teachers?

I did receive the statement from the district about low enrollment is reason for these cuts. I am hoping to get specific details on the above questions. My deadline for comment is today Thursday, September 24 at 4 p.m.”

HISD did not respond to my request for comment.

The district did send a notice out last week regarding ‘staffing and budget.’

“We have worked hard over the last three years to put HISD on stronger financial footing while putting more resources into classrooms and increasing teacher pay,” Superintendent Mike Miles said in a September 22 release. “But we also have to adjust when enrollment and revenues change.”

What schools are telling families

While HISD has described the cuts broadly, individual campus notices show what the changes look like inside schools.

The following information comes from notices shared with me by members of the HISD community.

The Rice School

At The Rice School, families have been notified about changes involving the Elementary STEM Lab and first-grade classrooms.

Principal Zachary Lyons wrote to families that beginning Monday, September 28, students would join new first-grade classrooms.

“Beginning Monday, September 28, 2026, your child will join a new 1st grade classroom as we make adjustments to best support our students and their continued success.”

Lyons said the school was working to communicate classroom assignments to families.

A separate notice to STEM Lab families says there will be a change involving the teacher assigned to the Elementary STEM Lab class.

“Beginning Monday, September 26, 2026, there will be a change in the teacher assigned to your child’s Elementary STEM Lab class.”

The notices provided to me do not explain the reason for either change.

Marshall Middle School

Marshall Middle School is ending its orchestra program, according to a letter sent to families.

Principal Celisa Borom said the decision was due to “staffing and enrollment leveling.”

Students currently enrolled in Orchestra will have the opportunity to select band, dance, P.E. or art as an elective instead.

The announcement generated questions from families about whether students could attend another middle school that still offers orchestra.

In a Facebook comment on my post, Dawn Elliott asked whether some students could apply to other middle schools with orchestra programs.

Lolita Contreras Murrah commented that “every other magnet school is having to make the same cuts.”

That social media comment has not been confirmed by HISD.

Hogg Middle School

Hogg Middle School has been told to make approximately $215,000 in cuts, according to a letter sent to families.

The letter says the reduction is part of districtwide budget adjustments related to enrollment and revenue projections.

“Last week, Hogg Middle School was notified of an immediate budget reduction of approximately $215,000 as part of districtwide budget adjustments related to enrollment and revenue projects.”

Two positions are identified as being affected: an ELA interventionist position and a Journalism position.

The school says journalism will continue under the leadership of a current Hogg teacher with extensive journalism experience.

Administrators also said students would continue to receive the academic support previously provided through the ELA interventionist position.

Lamar High School

Lamar High School is facing more than $500,000 in cuts, according to a letter from Principal Rita Graves.

Graves told families the cuts were prompted by lower-than-anticipated enrollment districtwide as well as fluctuations in property tax revenues.

The programs and services identified as being affected include:

• Choir

• Agriculture

• Debate

• IBCP PPS (International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme Professional and Personal Skills course)

• Student support services

Graves said she met with employees whose positions could no longer be supported by the Lamar budget.

According to the letter, all but one of the affected employees are contracted employees and are designated for reassignment when comparable positions become available at another campus.

The employees will continue reporting to Lamar for the time being, according to the notice. When another position becomes available, the position at Lamar will be closed and the employee transferred.

Families will be notified as programs or support services are reduced or phased out.

Carnegie Vanguard loses an English teaching position

At Carnegie Vanguard High School, families were notified that the school is losing one English teaching position because of decreased enrollment across the district.

The school said the loss of the teaching position requires changes to its master schedule.

“Unfortunately, absorbing the loss of a teaching position requires us to make changes to our master schedule.”

School administrators said they worked to find a solution that would disrupt the fewest students possible while continuing to meet students’ academic needs.

Kolter Elementary faces staffing changes

Kolter Elementary families were notified about changes involving two campus positions.

An administrator wrote that the school would close its Spanish teaching position and restructure its wraparound specialist position.

The letter described the school’s language program as an important part of the campus and said administrators had explored options to preserve Spanish in the magnet rotation.

Kolter’s foreign-language program exposes students to Chinese, French and Spanish.

The school’s program description says kindergarten students rotate through all three languages before selecting a primary language of focus.

DeAnda Elementary consolidates second-grade classrooms

At DeAnda Elementary, Principal Eileen Puente notified families of a change involving second-grade dual-language classes.

Beginning September 28, four homerooms will be consolidated into three.

The change will reduce the number of second-grade homerooms at the campus.

The cuts are happening before the October enrollment snapshot

One of the biggest questions surrounding the current cuts is the timing.

KPRC 2 reported that the district’s October enrollment snapshot is still ahead. HISD uses enrollment projections developed before the school year begins and then compares those projections with actual enrollment once students are in school.

KPRC 2 also reported that a teacher at a campus that was over its enrollment projection said the school was still being required to eliminate a position.

“We are over enrolled and we will be losing a position,” the teacher told KPRC 2. The teacher said students were being shifted among teachers and electives were being changed.

HISD has answered one rumor — but not the questions about the cuts

Although HISD did not respond to my specific questions about the budget reductions, the district did respond last week to rumors circulating online that Superintendent Mike Miles had resigned.

The district said:

“It is unfortunate when unsubstantiated claims on social media begin to drive legitimate news coverage. HISD has taken the position that we will not routinely respond to social media rumors or speculation. However, given the questions we have received regarding a claim posted by Context Corner, we want to be clear: There is no truth to the rumor that Superintendent Mike Miles is leaving HISD. We are addressing this as a one-time exception and do not intend to respond to unsubstantiated social media rumors going forward.”

The district’s response confirms that Miles was not leaving HISD in response to that rumor.

The questions about the campus cuts, however, remain unanswered.

At campuses including Hogg, Lamar, Carnegie Vanguard, Marshall Middle School, Kolter, DeAnda and The Rice School, those notices show that the district’s budget adjustments are translating into changes that students and families will see directly in their classrooms and schedules.

And with the October enrollment snapshot still ahead, the full scope of the cuts may not yet be known.

For families who have received notices or messages about budget, staffing, classroom or program changes at their HISD school, please share them with me at rbalogun@kprc.com.

It is the latest mishap involving Navy aircraft in the last couple of years, including two Navy jets that collided during an air show in Idaho in May as well as a fighter jet and a helicopter crashing into the South China Sea in October. Pentagon data released last year showed a spike in aviation mishaps across the U.S. military in 2024.

On Monday, the two aviators, who are assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3, successfully ejected after “a mishap occurred during aircraft recovery operations” and were rescued by search and rescue personnel, the Navy said in a short statement.

The two were returned to the ship and evaluated by medical personnel, the Navy said. Four others aboard the ship also were receiving medical care, including one who was transported to a hospital in the Norfolk, Virginia, area to be treated for injuries that were not life threatening.

The Navy did not say what type of two-seater plane was involved, what happened to the plane or what might have caused the mishap. However, the sea service has two types of two-seat carrier aircraft — the F/A-18F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft — assigned to its carrier air wings. The Navy also flies the two-seat T-45 Goshawk jet as a training aircraft.

In response to a request for more details, the Navy said more information could be available later Tuesday.

The nuclear-powered Nimitz-class USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was commissioned in 1977 and recently completed extensive maintenance, repairs and modernization work at a shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. It also had conducted sea trials in April following the overhaul, according to a Navy news release.

It has been taking part in checks following those repairs, with amateur ship spotters seeing the ship leaving Naval Station Norfolk on Monday afternoon.

The Eisenhower has not played a role in the U.S. war against Iran, which has lasted seven months. But concerns have been growing that some sailors have been stretched to the limit during the conflict.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea supporting the war, during which reports emerged of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as shortages of food and hygiene products. The Lincoln’s extended deployment drew the nation’s attention and increasing scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers.

As of Monday, the Lincoln was still on its way home to San Diego, according to a news release from Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs of California. She and other lawmakers visited the carrier and spoke to sailors and Marines, whom Jacobs said shared stories of “their struggles to wash clothes, get medicine and health care, and eat enough food.”

Jacobs said she blames President Donald Trump for the strike group's “mail delays, food and supply shortages, low morale, and mental health crises.”

___

Associated Press writer David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.

U.S. job openings slid to 7.08 million from a revised 7.34 million in July, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. Openings came in below the 7.2 million that forecasters had expected and were the lowest since they hit 6.9 million in March.

The department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed that layoffs fell and the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — retreated slightly in August. The JOLTS report's measure of gross hiring — before subtracting people who quit or lost their jobs — ticked up modestly in August but remains at low levels.

The U.S. job market is sturdy, though unspectacular, despite an energy shock from the Iran war. Hiring has rebounded from a miserable 2025. Employers — businesses, nonprofits and government agencies — have added an average 80,000 jobs a month so far this year. That is an improvement on the 9,700-a-month average last year when high interest rates and uncertainty about President Donald Trump's trade policies discouraged businesses from hiring.

Still, Americans’ confidence in the economy has sunk to the lowest level in more than a decade, according to the monthly index released Tuesday by the Conference Board.

When the Labor Department releases its next jobs report on Friday, it is expected to show that the United States added 95,000 net jobs in September, solid but down from a surprising 162,000 in August. The unemployment rate likely stayed a low 4.1% as most American workers enjoy an unusual degree of job security, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.

Employers may not be laying workers off, but they aren't hiring nearly as many as they did a few years ago. Hiring remains well below the 166,000 monthly jobs created, on average, in 2023 and 2024, and the 491,000 a month recorded during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns.

Cory Stahle, senior economist at the Indeed jobs website, said the labor market is "far less dynamic than it was a few years ago. It’s a comfortable place to be if you already have a job. It’s a frustrating one if you’re trying to find one, especially for new graduates and others entering the workforce.''

About this seat: The Court of Criminal Appeals is the state’s highest court for criminal cases. Besides appeals from lower courts, it also hears death penalty appeals directly from trial courts. In addition, it reviews habeas corpus petitions from anyone convicted of a state felony who wants to challenge the legality of their detention. The court includes one presiding judge and eight other judges, who are all elected statewide for six-year terms.

What’s at stake: The Court of Criminal Appeals gets most of its attention for decisions on high-profile death penalty cases, including blocking Robert Roberson’s execution and moving his case back to trial court. The court also has been in the spotlight in recent years over its rulings that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office can’t unilaterally prosecute election cases, which prompted Paxton to wage a successful campaign in 2024 to oust three Republican judges who disagreed with him. The court then decided early last year to rehear an election wrongdoing case that it had previously thrown out. Overall, the nine-person panel has long been dominated by Republicans and there are currently no Democratic judges. This year, three seats are up for grabs, including the Place 3 and Place 9 seats currently held by Judges Bert Richardson and Judge David Newell who decided not to run for re-electionOnly the Republican primaries for the open seats of Place 3 and Place 9 had more than one candidate.

Candidates at a glance:

Place 3

Campaign site

Thomas Smith

Republican

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $11,669
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $103,849

💰 Major donors this year:

• William Holmes, Midland investor – $9,791
• Kirt Linington, roofing professional – $9,599
• Kyle Robertson, sports cards and collectibles shop owner – $7,199
• Kelcy Warren, chair at Energy Transfer – $5,000
• Nathan Irving, pastor – $5,000

Experience:

• Assistant attorney general in the Texas Attorney General’s Office
• Former counsel for Ken Paxton when he was a state senator
• Former counsel in private practice

Political Ideology: Smith is a Republican who says he’s running to keep “women and children safe in an increasingly dangerous culture.” He has also strongly touted his work with Attorney General Ken Paxton and the state Legislature, including on issues such as human trafficking and sanctuary city ban.

Endorsements:

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
• State Sen. Angela Paxton and several other Republican state lawmakers
• Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas 
• Texas Values

How to contact:

https://smithfortexas.org

Campaign site

Okey Anyiam

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $0
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: No reports; has been self-funding expenses

💰 Major donors this year:

• None reported

Experience:

• Criminal defense attorney in private practice

Political Ideology: Anyiam is a Democrat who says he wants to “uphold the law without legislating from the bench, and apply the legislative intent unless it’s ambiguous.” He is married to Judge Chika Anyiam, who currently presides over Criminal District Court No. 7 in Dallas County and unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for a seat on the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2024.

Endorsements:

• Liberal Austin Democrats
• Austin Young Democrats
• State Tejano Democrats

How to contact:

Facebook page

Campaign site

Mark Ash

Libertarian

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $0
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $769

💰 Major donors this year:

• Libertarian Booster PAC – $394 in-kind donation of yard signs
• Mike Coogan – $150 in-kind donation of transportation
• Aron Ramos – $150 in-kind donation of transportation
• Missy Vasquez – $75 in-kind donation of meal and consultation

Experience:

• Criminal defense lawyer since 1992
• Graduate of South Texas College of Law in Houston and University of Texas-El Paso
• Unsuccessfully ran for the Court of Criminal Appeals’ Place 2 in 2016 and Place 8 in 2018
• Unsuccessfully ran to be the Texas Supreme Court’s Chief Justice in 2020 and the Texas Attorney General in 2022

Political Ideology: Describes himself as a “Pro Freedom, Pro Liberty Criminal Defense Lawyer” on his Facebook page. The Libertarian Party of Texas’ platform says it seeks “the maximum protection for the rights of all people against any violation” and that “… government must be kept to the minimum necessary to protect the rights of individuals.” The party also says the government should not interfere in personal matters such as free speech, religion, marriage, family and property rights. It also supports the right to bear arms.

How to contact:

markashlawyer@yahoo.com

Place 4

Campaign site

Kevin Yeary

Republican, incumbent

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $2,535
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30:  $3,305

💰 Major donors this cycle:

• Austin Republican Women PAC Fund – $1,500
• John Wittenberg, attorney at Jackson Walker LLP – $500
• David Gaultney, attorney – $250
• Dodie Scott, retired – $250
• Dennis Sullivan, attorney – $250
• Texans for Life Committee LIFE PAC (Spent money in support of the candidate. This may have been done without the candidate’s knowledge or consent.)
• Texas Alliance for Life PAC (Spent money in support of the candidate. This may have been done without the candidate’s knowledge or consent.)

Experience:

• Has served on the Court of Criminal Appeals for more than a decade, after being first elected in 2014. 
• Former appellate prosecutor for Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties
• Former defense attorney in private practice
• Former law clerk to a Texas Court of Criminal Appeal judge

Political Ideology: Yeary is a Republican who says judges should avoid policy-making from the bench. He was the only judge out of the nine-person panel to vote against the 2021 ruling that says the Texas attorney general’s office can’t unilaterally prosecute election cases. He was also one of three judges to disagree with the court’s decision to block Robert Roberson’s execution based on the exoneration in another shaken baby case.  

Endorsements:

• Gov. Greg Abbott
• The C Club of Houston
• Various members of the State Republican Executive Committee

In the news:

• How Texas’ criminal court judges ruled on Robert Roberson’s stay of execution, The Dallas Morning News (2025)
• Ken Paxton successfully ousts three Republican criminal appeal court judges, The Texas Tribune (2024)

How to contact:

• judgeyeary@judgeyeary.com

Campaign site

Audra Riley

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $553
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $400

💰 Major donors this cycle:

• David Howe – $400

Experience:

• Currently presides over Criminal District Court No. 3 in Dallas County, after first being elected to the judge role in 2020. 
• Former prosecutor in the Dallas County district attorney’s office
• Former criminal defense attorney in private practice

Political Ideology:

Riley is running as a Democrat. When she ran for reelection to the Criminal District Court No. 3’s judge role in 2024, she said she wanted to continue bringing “justice, integrity, and a strong work ethic to the bench.”

Endorsements:

• Liberal Austin Democrats
• Austin Young Democrats
• State Tejano Democrats

In the news:

• Dallas Man Exonerated, Released From Prison 25 Years After Wrongful Murder Conviction, NBC DFW (2025)
• ICE agents now entering Dallas County probation offices to make arrests, The Dallas Morning News (2025)

How to contact:

Facebook page

Place 9

Campaign site

John Messinger

Republican

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $1,169
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $20,812

💰 Major donors this year:

• Ashley Cas, investor at CX5 Partners, LLC – $5,000
• Brandon Hodges, entrepreneur at True Chemical Solutions– $4,164
• Ruth Chambers, retired – $1,562
• Carla Vallejo, homemaker – $1,500
• Steve Robinson, owner of a senior and long-term care services company – $1,041

Experience:

• Assistant state prosecuting attorney, representing the state in front of the Court of Criminal Appeals and immediate appellate courts
• Worked in the McLennan County District Attorney’s office, handling direct appeals, protective orders and other civil matters
• Ran for the Texas Third District Court of Appeals, Place 2 in 2024, but narrowly lost in the general election

Political Ideology:

• Messinger is a Republican who says improvement to the justice system “doesn’t come from judges doing whatever they think is right in their own eyes” but from “enforcing the laws as written to find out what works and what doesn’t.” He also criticizes the Court of Criminal Appeals for issuing rulings that “ignore or conflict” with its own decisions and/or applicable law, as well as the average length it takes for the panel to review a lower court’s decision. 

Endorsements:

• True Texas Project
• Young Conservatives of Texas
• Various members of the State Republican Executive Committee

How to contact or learn more:

messingerforjustice@gmail.com

Campaign site

Holly Taylor

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $24,625
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $33,634

💰 Major donors this cycle:

• Francis Adair, retired – $5,000
• Sharon Taylor, not employed – $2,500
• Volunteers Organized to Promote Equity – $2,500
• Democratic Women of Comal County – $2,000
• Cyrus Bharucha, patent attorney at ASML – $1,040

Experience:

• Criminal and civil appeals attorney in private practice
• Former director of the division of public integrity and complex crimes for the Travis County District Attorney’s office
• Former rules attorney for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
• Ran for the Court of Criminal Appeals’ presiding judge role in 2024, but lost in the general election   

Political Ideology: Taylor is a Democrat who says she will “bring an independent voice” to the Court of Criminal Appeals. She also says she’s “passionate about upholding the Constitution and the Rule of Law, and treating everyone with dignity and humanity.”

In the news:

• ‘Experts were wrong’: Carmen Mejia falsely convicted of infanticide, judge says, Austin American-Statesman (2025)
• Man incarcerated for over 20 years released on bond after Travis County DA’s office finds trial was unfair, KVUE (2024)
• After Roberson ruling, upcoming Court of Criminal Appeals election in the spotlight, The Texas Tribune (2024)
• Travis County DA wants to overturn Abbott’s pardon of convicted murderer, The Texas Tribune (2024)

Endorsements:

• Texas AFL-CIO 
• State Tejano Democrats
• Texas Progressive Caucus
• Congressmen Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar
• Liberal Austin Democrats and several other local or young Democrat groups

How to contact:

hollytforjudge@gmail.com

Disclosure: Energy Transfer has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune within the past five years. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.

Police said they arrested a 24-year-old man from Amsterdam on Sept. 15 who is “suspected of playing a role in the hacker group ShinyHunters. The man is also suspected of attempted solicitation of two murders.”

Police said the suspicion of trying to arrange two murders was linked to information found on the suspect’s laptop but “is not related to the investigation into ShinyHunters.”

ShinyHunters last week claimed to have breached the FBI’s jobs website. The hacker group said it had stolen “very sensitive data” belonging to thousands of agents and applicants and that it had compromised the bureau’s jobs website.

FBI Director Kash Patel took to X to highlight the arrest in the Netherlands.

“This morning @FBI and our partners the Dutch National Police are announcing the arrest of one of the alleged leaders of ShinyHunters - a global cybercrime and threat actor group linked to cyberattacks in the United States, the Netherlands, and around the world,” he said.

“In coordination with FBI investigators the Dutch High-Tech Crime Unit arrested the suspect under Dutch law,” he added. "As we speak FBI teams are actively working with partners to obtain and execute more leads in the ongoing investigation based on this arrest.”

The Dutch police statement announcing the arrest did not mention the FBI hack or coordination with American law enforcement.

Dutch detectives seized data storage devices during their probe and were investigating their contents and said they did not rule out more arrests.

“Arresting cybercrime suspects is a key intervention in our broad-based fight against this type of crime,” said Stan Duijf, the Dutch police official responsible for tackling cybercrime. “The ShinyHunters group is responsible for a large number of victims, both in the Netherlands and abroad. It is gratifying that we have been able to arrest a suspect in the investigation into this group.”

A court in Rotterdam on Tuesday ordered the suspect held for a further 90 days.

Last Wednesday, the FBI said it was “actively and aggressively investigating” a claimed hack of the FBIJobs.gov portal. A message that circulated online from ShinyHunters claimed responsibility.

“We have compromised the FBI. We hold very sensitive data on almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job,” said the ShinyHunters message, which was directed to Patel and Brett Leatherman, the assistant director in charge of the bureau’s cyber division. The claims could not immediately be verified.

In its message, ShinyHunters said it would give the bureau one week to correct or remove what it said were false allegations contained in an FBI public advisory from May that described the organization as a “cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion.”

“The White House’s words and actions leave little doubt that it will immediately reinstitute a complete ban of CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO if allowed the opportunity,” lawyers for CNN, MS NOW and Politico wrote in a filing late Monday.

”Because the ban is an unlawful assault on the most fundamental First Amendment freedoms and will inflict irreparable harm on Plaintiffs and the public if not restrained, this Court should preliminarily enjoin its enforcement pending the resolution of this case,” the filing said.

It was the latest development in the back-and-forth saga of the Trump administration and the news media during the second term of his presidency. It has been a contentious relationship that has raised multiple First Amendment questions, produced sanctions and restrictions on White House and Pentagon reporters and led to several lawsuits that are winding their ways through the federal court system.

A two-week temporary restraining order on Trump's ban of the three organizations, issued by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly last week, restored the outlets’ White House access, but expires Oct. 8. The preliminary injunction requested in Monday’s filing would extend the White House access until the case is finally resolved.

In a statement emailed to The Associated Press immediately after the filing, the lead attorney for the three news outlets called the ban “a blatant violation of the First Amendment and due process.”

“The president and his administration have continued to make clear that this ban has only one purpose: to punish reporting he doesn’t like,” said the lawyer, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr.

“That’s retaliation and viewpoint discrimination, pure and simple,” Boutrous said. “With the district court’s temporary restraining order expiring this week, it is critical to ensure that the White House continues to be prevented from implementing this unconstitutional ban on the free press.”

On Tuesday, the ACLU of the District of Columbia filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the news outlets and suggesting the president's residence is different from a private property.

“The White House is the people’s house, not the president’s private golf club,” wrote Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel for the ACLU of D.C.

The White House still says access is a privilege, not a right

The filing came a day after the Trump administration made clear it was not backing down from its contention that the sudden ban, which began Sept. 19, was justified.

“When it comes to the White House, it is the people’s house,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said on ABC on Sunday, invoking an argument the administration has made since the beginning. “It is a privilege, and not a right, to be there.”

Monday's 42-page filing reiterated many of the arguments that the news outlets made in their original lawsuit against Trump and the White House, filed two days after the reporters were banned.

It also added mention of the White House broadcast pool rotation, which has become a battleground in the last few days in the standoff between Trump and the media.

The White House, it said, “has persisted in unpredictably and inconsistently implementing its ban, including by barring CNN from fulfilling its role as designated television network pooler on Sept. 26 — to the detriment of CNN, its fellow pool members and, ultimately, the American public.”

When the ban was implemented, CNN was removed from its duties as part of the broadcast pool, which consists of the five main networks: CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News. In solidarity, the other networks decided to suspend the pool until CNN was allowed back in.

On Friday, CNN was allowed to cover the president with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the National Archives. But in a new setback Saturday, the White House banned the network from Air Force One, preventing it from covering Trump’s trip to a college football game in Tennessee. The rest of the pool declined to provide a replacement, in solidarity with CNN.

Blanche defended that decision, too. “The president has every right to decide who gets to fly on his plane,” he said in the Sunday interview. He added that Trump was “sick and tired of certain media outlets just refusing to report accurate news.” He added that news coverage he described as “misinformation” amounted to a national security issue.

“That is what is a national security problem, when you have complete misinformation coming out of the White House,” he said.

Kelly threw cold water on that argument in his ruling last week granting the temporary restraining order against the White House ban. “The court is skeptical … that defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation” for removal of access, Kelly wrote.

His ruling did not directly address the TV pool rotation. In the new filing, the plaintiffs describe the important function the pool provides and makes the case that it's an important part of the regular access to the president, and his activities, that the media has traditionally had — and must be restored.

It singles out the Air Force One case. “CNN received no official communication from the White House explaining its exclusion,” the filing says. “Because CNN was excluded and no replacement designated, no primary television network pooler accompanied the President on the trip.”

Pool access issue has presented networks with tough choices

For now, networks in the pool have decided to address the ongoing standoff on a case-by-case basis, according to a person familiar with the pool’s operation, speaking on condition of anonymity to give details of ongoing discussions.

On Sunday, Fox covered a pool event; on Monday, NBC was covering the president in the Oval Office. CNN is not in the rotation until Thursday. If the network is again barred from a pool event, the networks will decide together, presumably based on the newsworthiness of the situation, whether to provide a replacement or to refrain from coverage as they did previously.

The issues at stake are difficult. On the one hand, the networks want to take a stand on behalf of press freedom and against efforts to intimidate coverage. On the other, media outlets have an obvious purpose of providing news to their audiences.

“There are not a lot of good options,” said David A. Schulz, director of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School.

Should the White House continue to bar CNN, Schulz said, networks may choose “to exert their market power and say, ‘We’re not going to play ball with you.’”

The question, Schulz added, is: “Who’s going to back down first?”

The networks “may well feel like they’re between a rock and a hard place,” noted RonNell Andersen Jones, a law professor at the University of Utah.

“Capitulation might be perceived as abandonment of core components of press freedom,” Andersen Jones said. “But the practicalities of lengthy White House news blackouts are also complicated, and refusing to cover major news at the highest levels of government might itself feel like a failure to serve the goals of democracy.”

___

Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

The minister's remarks come as concerns mount that President Donald Trump could halt arms sales to Taiwan. China has pressed Washington to halt the arms sales, most prominently during a May summit in Beijing between Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping. The United States paused the $14 billion arms deal after that meeting.

“As for arms sales, we are in continuous discussions with the Americans on this,” Taiwan's Defense Minister Wellington Koo told reporters in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. “We haven’t received any notice of any changes to sales or our cooperation.”

Koo said he received assurances from the U.S. side that its policy toward the island remained unchanged.

Koo also said that 66 advanced F16-V fighter jets have reached a production stage where they’re ready to be delivered. The jets for Taiwan were supposed to be delivered in 2024, according to local media, but the project has been delayed by the pandemic and production line issues.

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are a major source of tension between Beijing and Washington because China claims the island as its territory. While the U.S. does not formally recognize Taiwan as a country, it is the island's largest informal ally and bound by law to ensure that Taiwan can defend itself.

Taiwan says it purchases arms so that it can defend itself in case of an invasion by China. China’s People’s Liberation Army sends fighter jets and ships toward the island almost daily.

Analysts said they expect U.S. arms sales to continue, though there may be a pause in the short term.

“There are two more summits between the U.S. and China scheduled within this year, so I think neither side really wants to break things off, and the Taiwan issue will be put aside temporarily,” Tamkang University professor Ma Chun-wei said. However, he said, Taiwan remains key from a security perspective, and "arms sales to Taiwan will still be inevitable going forward.”

___

AP videojournalist Taijing Wu contributed to this report from Taipei, Taiwan.

A Utah judge ordered Douglas Stewart Carter let out on bail late Monday over objections from the victim’s family. Carter is required to wear a GPS monitor while he awaits a new trial in the 1985 killing of Eva Olesen.

The state Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year, citing misconduct by investigators. Carter has maintained his innocence and says a signed confession was coerced.

No physical evidence linked him to the crime scene. But the jury convicted Carter, a Black man, based on the confession and the testimony of two witnesses who said he bragged about killing Olesen, who was white. Those witnesses later recanted.

A DNA analysis received Sept. 22 excluded Carter as a possible match to blood found on a doorknob and genetic material recovered from the handle of a knife used to stab Olesen, who was also shot.

Judge Derek Pullan said those results further undermined the case against Carter, but a reasonable jury still could conclude that he killed Olesen.

Prosecutors are reconsidering the case

Carter walked out of jail late Monday, wearing a white shirt and grey sweatpants, with his eyeglasses hanging from around his neck. His son pushed a cart with pillows, blankets and Carter’s personal belongings beside him.

Carter smiled at times while also trying to shield his face behind papers. He didn’t speak to a handful of journalists outside the jail, and got into a vehicle with his son and defense attorney. A judge ordered him not to have any contact with Olesen’s family.

“This is going to be a lot for him,” Carter’s son, Tyler Anger, said as he waited for his father.

Carter will be placed in an extended stay hotel near Anger, who was adopted by another family as an infant and didn’t learn about the conviction until years later, said Carter’s attorney Neal Hamilton. Carter also will need therapy to deal with his extended incarceration, Hamilton said.

“If the state of Utah had their way, he would have been executed 15, 20 years ago before we discovered the misconduct,” Hamilton said. He urged prosecutors to seek dismissal of an aggravated murder charge still pending against Carter.

A two-month retrial was planned next year, but last week county prosecutors withdrew a notice that they intended to seek the death penalty.

Utah County prosecutor Erwin Petilos told the judge Monday that reassessing Carter’s bail was “necessary and fair” as the state continues to look at the remaining evidence in the case.

Carter, a Chicago native, was living with his mother in Utah when Olesen was killed on Feb. 27, 1985. Court documents indicate the investigation eventually focused on Carter, who was suspected of killing Olesen during a robbery.

By that April, Carter had fled Utah believing he was a suspect in an unrelated assault case, according to court documents. He was apprehended that June in Nashville, Tennessee, where he signed a confession while under interrogation by a Provo detective.

Carter said later that he falsely confessed after police repeatedly threatened him. He was convicted and sentenced to death after a trial in which the defense called no witnesses. He was again sentenced to death after a 1992 retrial, and courts in Utah rejected numerous appeals from Carter in subsequent years.

Key witnesses say police gave them cash and gifts

A turning point came in 2011, when the two witnesses from Carter’s original trial were tracked down in Mexico. They said they had been told to lie in court and had received cash and gifts from police, who told them not to disclose the payments. They also said police and prosecutors threatened them and their son with deportation if they did not implicate Carter.

More than a decade of legal wrangling followed before the Utah Supreme Court last year ordered a new trial, citing “multiple instances of intentional misconduct” by police and a prosecutor. A DNA analysis of the evidence was conducted in response to that order, and prosecutors said the results arrived last week. They declined Monday to say whether they’re using the DNA evidence to search for other suspects with matching DNA.

Victim’s husband was potential suspect

Carter’s defense attorneys have said witnesses saw a white man fleeing the crime scene and an investigator suppressed evidence pointing to other suspects, including the victim’s husband, Orla Olesen.

They allege that prosecutors were close to filing charges against the husband, but a Provo police lieutenant asked them not to so he could continue investigating. Carter was identified as a suspect soon after, according to court documents.

Orla Olesen, a painting contractor who died in 2009, told police he found his wife dead in their home, partially undressed and with her hands tied behind her back.

Theresa Olesen, a daughter-in-law of Eva Olesen, said during Monday’s bond hearing that her family had “serious concerns” about Carter’s release.

“By golly we were hoping for a concrete match,” Olesen said of the DNA analysis. “It doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.”

“We just want justice for Eva. And if he had any part of it we want that to be known,” she added. ___ Associated Press photographer George Frey in Spanish Fork, Utah, contributed to this report.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, settlers rioted, throwing rocks, blocking roads and setting Palestinian property on fire to prevent a Palestinian man escorted by the Israeli military from returning to his home in the village of Jalud.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Tuesday. Full coverage is available here.

An Iranian spokesman advises Americans to reconsider their leaders

Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for the Revolutionary Guard, held a news conference in Tehran, Iran's capital, on Tuesday and read from what he said was a “letter to the American people.”

Reading from the prepared text, he said that the only way for the war to end is for Washington to admit defeat and leave. The message was apparently meant for the U.S. public just weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections for the U.S. Senate and Congress — a vote in which Trump’s Republican Party faces fierce headwinds as it looks to maintain control of Congress.

Later, in remarks to The Associated Press, Mohebbi urged Americans to take to the streets and protest Trump's policies to denounce what he called the U.S. government’s war-mongering policies.

Mohebbi also said Americans should “revise their decision” about their leaders.

He accused the United States of using Iran’s nuclear program as a ruse to “plunder Iran’s wealth” and to turn the country “back into a colony.” The U.S. military action and economic sanctions would not get Tehran to submit.

Meanwhile, Iran’s currency fell to a new record low Tuesday, with traders in Tehran exchanging more than 2.5 million rials to the U.S. dollar, a sign of how the conflict has further eroded Iran's economy.

The decline came after the rial hit its previous record low of 2.2 million to the dollar on Sept. 2. The currency has repeatedly reached new lows since the war began in February.

Settlers block a Palestinian man from returning to his West Bank home

Over a hundred Israeli settlers scuffled with Israeli soldiers who were trying to escort a Palestinian man to his home in the West Bank village of Jalud.

The homeowner, Mahmoud Tubasi, told the AP that the soldiers initially brought him to his home but that rioting settlers forced him to leave with his family in a military vehicle. He said he still can't access the house, which settlers have besieged for two months.

Israel’s military acknowledged that the overnight mission to return the family “was not completed” and that three officers were injured by settlers who threw rocks, blocked roads and set Palestinian property on fire.

Israeli police said they arrested three settlers suspected of participating in the riot, which was condemned by Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gidon Saar and President Isaac Herzog.

The Israeli military has struggled to quell the latest wave of settler violence. Rights groups have accused the military of colluding with the settlers.

Israel says strike kills Hamas commander

An Israeli strike on an apartment west of Gaza City killed two people, including a Hamas commander who the Israeli military said was involved in plotting attacks and recruiting new members for the militant group.

Al-Shifa Hospital officials said Tuesday the strike also wounded five others.

Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the overnight strike targeted Izz al-Din Bik, a commander in the Hamas militant group’s northern Gaza brigade.

Hamas confirmed the death of al-Bik, claiming in a statement he was one of the main overseers of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel, which killed over 1,200 and prompted the war in Gaza.

More than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire took effect nearly a year ago, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, while over 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The ministry maintains detailed records that are generally seen as reliable. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants, but says women and children make up around half of the fatalities.

Gaza refugee camp mourners hold mass funeral for dozens killed in war

A mass funeral was held Tuesday in Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp for nearly 50 people killed during the war.

The remains, wrapped in white bags and draped with Palestinian flags, were recovered last week from the rubble of buildings destroyed almost three years ago.

Mass funerals have become more common in Gaza, where Israel has not allowed the heavy machinery needed to clear the rubble of destroyed buildings and recover the dead.

Earlier this month, the United Nations estimated that more than 8,000 bodies remain buried under the debris.

For some, partial remains were all they had to bury.

Areej Farajallah said two of her husband’s bones were found last week. She is also mourning her child, who was among those buried Tuesday.

Abdel-Nasser al-Tawil said his home was hit Oct. 15, 2023, in the early days of the war. He said he recovered 13 bodies Tuesday with the help of the Red Cross and Palestinian Civil Defense workers ahead of the funeral.

___

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Mostly because the American gymnastics icon is still kind of wondering about it herself. So much so that there will be times when the question wakes the 29-year-old two-time Olympic all-around champion up in the middle of the night.

“I’m like 'Oh my gosh, I don’t know what the decision (is) I should make, but I don’t necessarily have to make it just yet,” Biles told The Associated Press. “But I feel like it’s kind of in the works which way I’m leaning towards.”

After trips to Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Paris, the lure of the opportunity to perform on the world stage at home in Los Angeles in the summer of 2028 is real. Olympic teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey are already pointing toward LA. So is Katelyn Ohashi, a former college star at UCLA who returned to elite competition in July following a staggering 13-year break from the sport's top level.

“I know (athletes) are going a lot longer, and I’m just like, what the hell? It’s going to be like a big reunion if I did,” Biles said. “It would be so much fun. But I still have to weigh the options.”

And the risks. Biles will be 31 by the time the flame is lit at the opening ceremony in the LA Coliseum and Sofi Stadium in July 2028. The sacrifices of trying to make a fourth Olympic team would be far different than what she faced in Brazil a decade ago.

Biles and her husband, Indianapolis Colts safety Jonathan Owens, would like to have a family at some point. The potential impact of training on her reproductive health is a factor. So is the likelihood that returning to competition would mean she and Owens could be separated for significant stretches.

“I am getting to the age of 30 where we start to talk about, 'What does your reproduction cycle ... what’s going on in there? What does that look like? How healthy is it? And so I think these are major things that are on the table at my age that I have to take in consideration and weigh those options and what that looks like and when we want to start a family."

Still, the FOMO (fear of missing out) when it comes to LA is only too real.

“Like a home Olympic Games, like, how could you not?” she said. “It’s absolutely incredible.”

Biles has spent the last two years since her history-making performance in Paris — when she became the third woman ever to win multiple all-around golds — taking a break and leaning into the trappings that come with being one of the most recognizable faces of the U.S. Olympic movement.

The athlete who brought the topic of mental health kicking and screaming into the white-hot Olympic spotlight when she removed herself from several competitions at the Tokyo Games in 2021 while dealing with a mental block dubbed “the twisties” also remains passionate about various causes, including foster care and ADHD.

Among the latest is participating in the “Skin to Believe In” campaign, aimed at getting the roughly 36 million Americans living with inflammatory skin conditions to talk with their health care provider about long-term, steroid-free, topical treatment options for their chronic skin diseases.

Biles was diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis on her face and scalp and eczema on her arms. The issue with her scalp became so problematic that she would scratch until she bled. She spent a long time trying to identify the cause. A relentless traveler, she wondered if it was triggered by certain environments or something internal like stress.

She now uses a steroid-free foam and cream, which not only has helped immensely but also allows her to keep her options open if she ultimately decides to give it one more shot.

There's a part of her that thinks it's doable. Biles found herself in the gym with her sister Adria recently and decided to try a double layout. You know, for fun.

“I’m like, ‘If I get lost, like, it’s over,’” Biles said. “And then I did it. And of course I was like, what the hell? That wasn’t that bad. Like, I wasn’t as scared as I thought I was going to be. And that scared me more with the decision.”

Biles joked there is one segment of the population that would be just fine if her sabbatical turned into an official retirement: others in the mix to make a potentially loaded U.S. team that will be heavy gold-medal favorites when they take the floor at the Staples Center in July 2028.

She was texting with former World Champions Centre and world championship teammate Joscelyn Roberson — now competing at Georgia after reuniting with Cecile and Laurent Landi, who served as Biles' coaches from 2017-24 — when Roberson made a suggestion.

“She’s trying to remind me, like, ‘Hey babes, you’re good. Remember, you don’t have to come back. Stay at your house and stay with your husband,'" Biles said with a laugh, later adding, “I know some of the girls would be like, ‘Oh no, Simone’s coming back.'”

And Biles very well just might, though she's well aware of the difficulty of the task she would face, physically, mentally and emotionally. She's talked to skier Lindsey Vonn — who made her own Olympic comeback this year at 41 — about the unique push/pull of the Games. Biles insists she's at peace if she never pulls on a leotard and salutes the judges again.

“I’ve experienced so much and I’d done so much, so it’s like, I also have to be doing it for the right reasons,” she said. “I feel really, really comfortable with what I've done in the sport. So I just have to sit down and be like ‘Why? Why am I doing it?’ Because there has to be a good reason.”

___

See AP’s full sports coverage here

The incident happened around 12:45 a.m. in the 22300 block of Northcrest Drive. Authorities say the woman was driving to work when she missed a curve and drove into the water.

• Houston police fatally shoot man wanted on child sex crime warrant after he pulled gun during arrest attempt

Harris County Precinct 4 officers, firefighters and a wrecker operator worked together to secure the vehicle and pull it from the pond — with the woman still inside. She was unharmed.

Investigators have not determined whether speed or distraction contributed to the crash.

Haskins' death was confirmed early Tuesday by his agent. Additional details were not immediately available.

“It’s a tragic loss,” his agent, Jay Schachter, said in a statement. “Everyone loved Mr. Belding and those of us who got to know Dennis, loved him even more. He was a great person, and he loved, I mean absolutely LOVED his fans. He always had time for them, no matter what. He was my client and dear friend for over 20 years, and I will miss him terribly. I’m heartbroken.”

“Saved by the Bell,” which ran from 1989 to 1993, centered on the antics of a group of students at the fictitious Bayside High in Southern California. Taking a page from the comedy movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the school often appeared to be run more by the teens than their hapless principal. The show was both ridiculed and embraced for its zany plots.

Lark Voorhies, who played Lisa Turtle on the show, paid tribute to Haskins in an Instagram post, saying she was heartbroken.

“Knowing Dennis Haskins for almost 40 years has been one of the truest blessings of my life, which makes losing him hurt so deeply,” she wrote. “We shared so much history together from our earliest days, and through it all, he remained a fabulous person, a loyal friend, and someone with such a kind, gentle heart.”

Haskins was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. According to a biography posted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he was active in the school's drama club and helped found a community theater group.

Before his television career, he was a music manager, agent and concert promoter, and his clients included Tom Jones and Gregg Allman, according to his biography on IMDb.

Haskins later went on to have guest roles in “The Twilight Zone” and “Magnum, P.I.” in the 1980s.

Republicans haven't abandoned the Southern battlegrounds, which Donald Trump carried narrowly in the 2024 presidential race, though they are shifting greater resources to states they see as more competitive. The party now is spending heavily to defend reliably Republican Texas, and Trump is planning to campaign for the Republican incumbent in Ohio, both places Trump won easily in 2024.

Some Republicans also have become more vocal in their complaining that Trump has squandered an opportunity to more comfortably hold off Democrats this fall. Among their grievances, they say the president failed to bring the unpopular war in Iran to a close, has dismissed the pinch of high fuel prices and engaged late in the midterm campaigns.

And though Democrats must still win several seats Republicans hold to win back the majority, the GOP is looking more at protecting seats they already hold than picking up Georgia, and they are signaling serious problems in North Carolina.

“There is a Republican turnout problem due to the administration's failure to address the economic concerns of voters,” North Carolina Republican strategist Paul Shoemaker said of the state's U.S. Senate race.

GOP Senate leaders look beyond Georgia

Republican Senate campaign leaders are looking past Georgia businessman Mike Collins' challenge of first-term Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff to states they viewed as more competitive to focus future spending, according to two Republican Senate campaign officials familiar with Senate leadership's thinking. The campaign officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.

Ossoff has swamped the successful trucking company executive in fundraising. Collins has also struggled to broaden his support beyond Georgia's Republican base.

Despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune's two-day campaign and fundraising trip to Georgia this month, some local party leaders were publicly pessimistic.

"He just doesn’t have what it takes to beat Ossoff,” said Tim Waters, Peach County Republican Party chair. “It’s hard enough trying to beat an incumbent, and you have the president of the same party in a tough midterm, right? I don’t think he’s got much of a shot.”

Republicans had viewed Georgia early in the 2026 campaign as a potential firewall, should Democrats win in a critical number of states where Republican seats are on the ballot. Democrats must win a net of four seats to win back the majority.

But Ossoff has already spent $57 million in advertising and had $13 million reserved through the election, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. And while outside groups aligned with Collins had spent more than $52 million, AdImpact shows, Collins' campaign confirmed it had no advertising time immediately reserved.

Tillis is among the NC Republicans warning about Senate race

Retiring Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis stopped short of suggesting GOP candidate Michael Whatley's chances of holding the seat for the party had vanished, but implied it was time to take a hard look at how long to continue spending heavily against Democratic former two-term Gov. Roy Cooper.

“We've got to place our bets on the candidates that are the best run, either ahead or within striking distance,” Tillis told reporters Monday in the Capitol. “You've got to change your posture going into the last — we've got 36 days.”

Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman, has been a darling of Trump, who campaigned for him this month. But enthusiasm for Trump seems to have fallen even with a number of Republicans who voted for him, said Shoemaker, a Tillis adviser. Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2024.

“The blue-collar, working-class voters that Donald Trump brought to the Republican Party is the one that's being most impacted by higher energy prices, and it's dampened their enthusiasm to turn out and vote,” Shoemaker said.

Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate GOP's leadership super PAC, had $19.5 million in advertising booked in North Carolina, having spent $30.4 million to date.

“Do I think Roy Cooper is going to win the race? I absolutely do,” said Michele Woodhouse, former Republican chair for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District and a devout Trump supporter.

“Roy Cooper, for Republicans, is the worst Democrat candidate who could be running for this seat," Woodhouse said. “He’s never lost in a statewide race. He’s very popular.”

Senate GOP PAC spends heavily in Texas as Trump heads for Ohio

In Texas, where Democrats have not won a Senate election since 1988, Republicans' Senate Leadership Fund is spending more than it is in any of the states it set out to defend early in the year. The group this month pumped more than $100 million into advertising in Texas to back up state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who faces Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in a race viewed as very competitive.

Trump endorsed Paxton over four-term incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP primary. GOP campaign leaders considered Paxton a potential drain on Republican resources because he has for years faced legal, ethical and personal questions. They include a felony indictment, impeachment charges and extramarital affairs, though Paxton was never convicted.

Senate GOP leaders had suggested Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., would carry a good portion of the advertising load after Paxton beat Cornyn in the May GOP Senate runoff. Neither the National Republican Senatorial Committee nor SLF had included spending on Texas in its midterm budget.

As of Monday, MAGA Inc. has committed more than $20 million to ads supporting Paxton so far this month, compared with the $124 million from SLF.

Should Democrats win North Carolina and Texas, they would only need to win two of the remaining competitive Republican-held seats — in Alaska, Iowa, Maine and Ohio — as well as hold competitive Democratic-held seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire to capture the majority.

Trump plans to visit Ohio on Saturday to support Sen. Jon Husted as the Republican tries to fend off a competitive challenge from Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown. The president plans to campaign with Husted in Vandalia, near Dayton in southwest Ohio.

Senate Republican campaign leaders have complained that spiking gas prices, a result of the seven-month-long war with Iran, are among the issues weighing against candidates that Trump has exacerbated.

Campaigning with Whatley last week, Trump called higher fuel prices “a very inexpensive price to pay” for preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Though gas prices are near historic highs, they are still below the nationwide record set in 2022.

It's prompted some candidates, such as Iowa's GOP Senate nominee, Rep. Ashley Hinson, to speak out.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn't have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” she said last week.

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds dismissed that the Republican majority was slipping away, but suggested senators needed to act on fuel prices.

“We have to stay focused on the fact that we know that gas prices are too high, and diesel is way too high," the Republican said.

___

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa, and Sloan from Washington. AP reporter Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.

In Puerto San Carlos, a fishing town of about 5,700 people, high tides and pounding waves from Polo were breaching sea barriers as residents worried for their homes in the mostly empty town. Hundreds of people in the region evacuated, hunkering down in nearby shelters in schools and other facilities.

“Civil Protection told those of us here in San Carlos to evacuate because this is a high-risk area. With the current tides, the expected waves and the wind, the earthen barriers they built (to prevent flooding) could give way,” Rocío Sánchez, a fisherwoman, said.

Polo barreling toward Baja California peninsula

Polo was a Category 1 storm with top sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) Tuesday but is expected to weaken later on Tuesday as it moves inland, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It’s expected to produce 6-12 inches (about 15 to 30 centimeters) of rain across parts of Baja California Sur.

Forecasters said it would hit the Mexican mainland after lashing Baja California Sur, and that life-threatening winds and flash floods were expected. It could bring heavy rain and flooding to parts of the U.S. Southwest later in the week.

The government of the northern Mexican state of Sonora on Monday night announced it would suspend all “nonessential” activities, including school, sports and nonessential work, in the state capital and more than a dozen municipalities due to the incoming hurricane.

Residents in Baja California Sur were anxiously bracing themselves. Margarita Bobadilla and her family were sheltered in a local school, saying it was safer than weathering the storm in her wooden house.

“Material things can be replaced, but family can’t. My children and I decided to come here last night, and now we’re waiting to see what happens.”

Others lingered in their mostly emptied town of Puerto San Carlos, crossing their fingers the light flooding and powerful winds would be the worst of Polo.

Laura Velázquez, national coordinator of Mexico’s Civil Protection Agency, reported that Polo would make landfall later in the afternoon. With Polo approaching Mexico, the Mexican navy said it had personnel ready across the northern Pacific coast and deployed three vessels that could ship aid to coastal communities isolated by the storm. Local authorities along the Baja California Peninsula said they had shelters at the ready.

At a Monday morning news briefing, Velázquez urged residents to stay off the streets and seek shelter if their homes are at risk. She said travel will be suspended in the area where the hurricane was expected to make landfall and that ports across the region would be closed.

At the same time, Tropical Storm Rachel was brewing over Mexico’s southwest coast. The hurricane center said Tuesday that Rachel had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (96.6 kph) and was located about 265 miles (425 kilometers) southwest of Lazaro Cardenas. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect, but the center said Rachel is forecast to become a hurricane during the next day or so.

It’s been a busy season for Pacific storms

Storm activity in the Pacific has been above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season, according to National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec. He said that pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.

While Polo is slated to weaken over northern Mexico, tropical weather was also supposed to deal a one-two punch to the U.S. Southwest.

The region has already been saturated by heavy rain over the past months, and regions like New Mexico and Grand Canyon were hit by devastating floods earlier this month. Now, the remnants of Polo are forecast to track east across the region, expected to douse Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Texas with inches of rain.

That’s a good chunk of the 8-12 inches (about 20-30 centimeters) the arid area of canyons and rocky expanses with little vegetation usually gets in a year. Such terrain is already conducive to flash flooding, sudden torrents that can sweep down canyons and other low-lying areas with little warning. The new tropical weather adds more risk, said Andrew Mangham, senior service hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

“We’re getting caught up here in a very, very short time,” Mangham said. “And that’s not really what we want. We want nice rains, you know, all summer long.”

In Hawaii, floods and mudslides are still a risk

Nolo, meanwhile, was well southwest of Hawaii and moving away from the Big Island as the weekend drew to a close. The Category 3 storm drenched communities in south and southeastern parts of the Big Island over the weekend, prompting some highway closures on Saturday evening and Sunday as rushing water and boulders blocked roadways.

Maximum sustained winds were near 115 mph (185 km/h), with higher gusts, the hurricane center said Tuesday, but the storm is forecast to weaken over the next couple of days.

Hawaii National Guard members rescued 19 people from flooding over the weekend, the U.S. National Guard said in a post on Facebook.

Damage assessments are still underway as Nolo moves northwest. While it’s keeping its distance from the main Hawaiian Islands, it’s approaching Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a marine conservation area northwest of the islands, according to the National Hurricane Center. It could bring dangerous conditions to the area starting Tuesday, the center reported.

Thousands of households and businesses on Maui lost power for a time, but by Monday afternoon, service had been restored to nearly all of them, according to poweroutage.us. The majority of the outages were related to storm damage, according to statements from Hawaiian Electric.

Hawaii residents were still recovering from several other natural events this year, including spring Kona low storms, a May earthquake, Hurricane Lala in August and Hurricane Lowell in September. Those events affected more than 1,290 homes, according to the state, and caused nearly $700 million in damage and recovery costs.

___

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Photojournalist Eduardo Verdugo contributed from Puerto San Carlos, Mexico, reporter Julie Walker reported from New York, reporter Mead Gruver reported from Fort Collins, Colorado. Videojournalist Eugene Garcia and photographer Gregory Bull contributed from Hilo, Hawaii.

Curtis Wilkie Beasley was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder, robbery and grand theft auto in a 1995 attack on Carolyn Monfort. The Florida Supreme Court last week rejected appeals that executing a man his age who is suffering from cognitive decline would amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

Beasley, who would become Florida's seventh prisoner over the age of 70 to be executed this year, is set to receive a three-drug injection at the state prison starting at 6 p.m.

It was one of two executions scheduled this week in the U.S. Tennessee plans to execute a woman for the first time in 200 years on Wednesday by administering a lethal injection to Christa Pike, 50, who was convicted of killing a classmate in a jealous rage when they were both teens.

Arrested while working under a fake name

According to court records, Beasley had been staying at Monfort’s Dundee home, south of Orlando, in August 1995 while he was pressure washing and painting nearby apartments owned by her son-in-law. Monfort's daughter went to her home after being unable to reach her for two days and found her body in a blood-splattered laundry room.

Monfort suffered multiple blunt-force trauma injuries to the head, and a bloody hammer head was found wrapped in a towel nearby, according to investigators.

Authorities began searching for Beasley after a witness reported seeing him driving what turned out to be Monfort's car. Investigators determined Beasley had traveled to Miami and later relocated to Alabama, where he was arrested while working under a fake name for an electrical company, officials said.

Beasley was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1998.

A final appeal remains pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Florida has carried out more than half of the nation's executions this year

Beasley would be the nation’s 29th execution this year, most of which have taken place in Florida.

The state is getting closer to last year's 19 executions, which was a record in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first state in nearly a decade to do so.

Two more are scheduled for this year, but Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has temporarily paused the next one.

William Lee Thompson, 74, is scheduled to be executed Oct. 13 for raping and fatally beating a woman at a Florida motel in 1976. After a doctor this month determined Thompson might be suffering from dementia, DeSantis ordered a panel of three psychiatrists to examine him Thursday to determine if he is competent to be executed.

DeSantis, who leaves office in January, issued similar stays in 2023 and 2025 but both executions proceeded following evaluations.

William Reaves, 77, has an Oct. 20 execution date. He was convicted of fatally shooting a deputy outside a convenience store in 1986.

All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

According to reports, the man was shot after he pointed a weapon at officers while they were attempting to take him into custody.

The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. at a facility in the 9600 block of Yuppondale Drive.

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According to police, the department’s Crime Suppression Team had been surveilling a suspect earlier in the day who was wanted on a charge of indecency with a child with sexual contact.

Police said officers located the suspect at his workplace using a drone. Officers then went to the location and spoke with a manager, who told them the suspect was in the back of the property.

Police said the suspect attempted to evade officers by jumping a back fence. He remained on the property, in a rear area of a facility where pets are cared for.

Two HPD units, including a K-9 handler and Crime Suppression Team officers, entered the area and attempted to negotiate with the suspect.

According to police, the suspect eventually went into a room and turned off the light.

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When officers made entry into the room, police said the suspect produced a weapon. Officers ordered him to put the weapon down.

A police K-9 was then released, and investigators said the suspect made a motion that officers believed was an attempt to injure the dog.

Officers opened fire, striking the suspect two to three times in the body, according to police.

Officers immediately provided CPR to the suspect. Houston Fire Department personnel responded and pronounced the suspect dead at the scene.

The investigation into the officer-involved shooting remains ongoing.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that “such actions are absolutely unacceptable” and that Russia's charge d'affaires in Tallinn was being summoned to his ministry.

A fire broke out overnight on Aug. 15 at a building in the Estonian capital used by Milrem Robotics, but was quickly brought under control, the BNS news agency reported. On Aug. 17, two Latvian suspects were detained in neighboring Latvia, and a third followed the next day. The suspects were handed over to Estonia.

Milrem has supplied THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine.

The Estonian Internal Security Service said that it has concluded that the arson attack “was a deliberate and pre-planned act commissioned by Russian security services.”

It said in a statement that “the modus operandi of the Milrem attack is consistent with other acts of sabotage carried out in Europe on behalf of Russia,” adding that it “assesses that the attack is directly attributable to the Russian Federation.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “such statements are unfounded, ill-considered, absolutely not reflecting the reality, not containing any substantiation whatsoever.”

“We cannot take such statements seriously, and we won’t,” Peskov said.

Moscow has been widely accused by Western officials of running a campaign of sabotage and disruption with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.

The Associated Press has tracked around 200 incidents of sabotage and malign activity across Europe blamed on Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

That includes organizing plots to set fire to warehouses, launching drones and trying to kill enemies abroad as well as stealing defense technology and carrying out cyberattacks on critical European infrastructure.

In a recent case that pointed to an escalation of such activity, Germany blamed Russia for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August using a drone laden with explosives.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal wrote on X that “we will not be intimidated.”

Persse suffered a severe spinal injury while swimming at a beach in California on Saturday, according to reports. He was hospitalized after the incident but later died Monday.

Persse spent more than three decades serving the City of Houston and was a longtime leader in emergency medical services and public health. He served as Houston’s EMS director beginning in 1996 and was appointed the city’s Public Health Authority in 2004. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he became the city’s chief medical officer.

• Houston mayor, city officials to discuss hospitalizations, number of COVID-19 cases

Throughout his career, Persse played a key role in Houston’s response to major emergencies and public health crises, including hurricanes and other natural disasters, the H1N1 outbreak, Ebola and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also served as a tactical physician with the Houston Police Department’s SWAT team and was a professor at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

The Houston Fire Department mourned Persse’s death, describing him as a pioneer, mentor and friend.

City leaders and colleagues have also remembered Persse for his decades of service, leadership and commitment to emergency medicine and public health.

My thoughts and prayers are with Dr. David Persse’s family, friends, and colleagues as we mourn his passing. His compassion, steady leadership, and dedication to the health and safety of Houstonians will always be remembered. pic.twitter.com/sjIU9IXcC3

— Houston Mayor's Office (@houmayor) September 28, 2026

A pioneer. A mentor. A friend.
The Houston Fire Department mourns the loss of Dr. David Persse, retired HFD EMS Physician Director and longtime MD-1, who passed away Monday, Sept. 28, surrounded by his family. Read More @ https://t.co/d5yETkE7Q9 pic.twitter.com/qxkNZXWTyj

— Houston Fire Dept (@HoustonFire) September 29, 2026

Persse retired from his city position in April 2026 after a career spanning more than 30 years.

The 1,476 people being sent back are among 5,000 Myanmar nationals who will be repatriated in stages from Malaysia, where 10,388 Myanmar nationals were being held at immigration detention depots nationwide as of Aug. 15, according to Malaysia’s Home Ministry.

Buses believed to be carrying Myanmar returnees arrived at a stadium in Manjung town in Malaysia’s central Perak state early Tuesday, amid tight security. Ships believed to be from Myanmar were docked at the nearby Lumut naval base.

Home Ministry official Makhzan Mahyuddin was quoted by national Bernama news agency as saying the returnees comprised 1,370 men, 79 women, 20 boys and seven girls, aged between eight and 60.

The ministry said they would be sent back safely on two Myanmar navy warships and a hospital ship. It is unclear if any of the returnees were minority Muslim Rohingya, who are rejected by the Myanmar government. The ministry didn't provide further details of their identities and circumstances, but stressed their return was voluntary.

“This move also sends a clear signal that the government is serious about addressing irregular migration and the issue of undocumented foreign nationals through law enforcement, repatriation and more systematic management and data collection,” the ministry said in a statement.

Many refugees in Malaysia come from Myanmar's Rohingya minority

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and rights groups slammed the repatriation, saying the security and humanitarian situation in parts of Myanmar remains volatile and returnees could face serious risks such as persecution and forced military conscription in an active war zone.

Myanmar is involved in an armed conflict and political instability following the military’s seizure of power in 2021.

Malaysia is home to about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, including about 126,000 Rohingya who make up one of Southeast Asia’s largest refugee communities. Despite hosting them, Malaysia is not a party to the U.N. Refugee Convention and treats refugees as undocumented migrants.

The government recently launched a system to register refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia and to build a biometric database, as it seeks to manage and regulate the population independently from the UNHCR.

Rohingya have faced growing public hostility in Malaysia due to their growing numbers, fueled by concerns over jobs, public services and security.

Malaysia says Myanmar must accept the refugees' return

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has defended the repatriation policy as a diplomatic effort to find a long-term solution, saying Malaysia cannot host refugees indefinitely and Myanmar must take responsibility for its citizens.

Anwar said he plans to invite Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing to Malaysia to discuss the long-running refugee and undocumented migrant issue that has dragged on for decades.

“I am inviting him to say that we can be friends and trade, we can accept Myanmar, but Myanmar must accept them back,” he said in a podcast posted online Sept. 16. “To me, that’s better diplomacy than just shouting angrily at Myanmar.”

Myanmar Foreign Ministry official Han Win Aung has said the plan follows repatriation operations in 2021 and 2022, when Myanmar received more than 1,100 of its nationals stranded in Malaysia.

He said the repatriation involves genuine citizens and is not about bringing back the Rohingya people, who are not recognized as an ethnic group in Myanmar and denied citizenship.

Malaysia's Home Ministry said in the statement that subsequent repatriations would proceed once identity verification, documentation, logistics and operational coordination between the two countries are finalized.

Two advocacy groups, Amnesty International and Asylum Access, in a joint statement urged the government to halt repatriations, saying the government's new system must not be used to fast-track unlawful deportations. Rights groups have also urged the government to restore the UNHCR’s access to detention centers to screen vulnerable refugees.

Here’s a quick look at the latest news, developments and updates from across the Houston area, with the information you need to start your day.

As always, follow us for the latest on Click2Houston.com and watch us live on KPRC 2+.

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

Weather ⛅

HIGH: 89° LOW: 79°

The KPRC 2 Weather Team says:

“Rain chances at the beginning of this week start low. Isolated showers and storms will be possible Tuesday, but most of us will stay dry. The rain chances ramp up at the end of the week as tropical moisture gets pulled in from Hurricane Polo. At the same time, we’ll see a front moving in from the west, which will help to enhance the chance of seeing rain.”

➡️ More weather headlines? Check them out here

Get your forecast details here.

Houston’s Top Headlines 📰

3 ways to save money on healthcare in Houston: Community clinics, low-cost labs and other options

Healthcare costs continue to be a source of frustration for many families. Even with health insurance, costs add up. Between doctor visits, prescriptions, insurance premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses, many people are looking for ways to lower the financial burden.

Healthcare aide killed, 90-year-old man critically wounded in southeast Houston shooting

A healthcare aide was killed and a 90-year-old man was critically wounded in a shooting at a southeast Houston home Monday afternoon, according to Houston police. Officers were called around 1 p.m. to the 11500 block of Panay Drive. Authorities initially believed the incident was a murder-suicide.

Tennessee is set to execute a woman for the first time in 200 years

Christa Pike was 18 when she killed a classmate in a jealous rage and became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row. Now 50, she is scheduled to be put to death Wednesday in what would be Tennessee’s first execution of a woman in 200 years. Pike and her boyfriend were convicted in the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, their classmate at Knoxville Job Corps. Prosecutors said Pike feared Slemmer was a romantic rival and lured her to a secluded area where she and her boyfriend tortured and killed Slemmer. The case got widespread attention because of the brutality of the killing, the ages of the people involved and because a satanic symbol was carved into the victim’s body.

ICE agent who shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston identified

The federal immigration agent who witnesses say fired through an open van window and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston nearly three months ago has been identified to The Texas Tribune as Gregory Feathers by an official familiar with the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly. His role in the shooting is also corroborated by records, some of which were publicly released.

HISD cuts campus budgets and positions as enrollment falls

HISD is cutting campus budgets and adjusting staffing just weeks into the school year, citing lower-than-expected enrollment and changing funding levels. Programs including choir, debate, agriculture, IB career-related options and student support services could be affected, with the district’s official October enrollment count still ahead.

ICE body camera deadline approaches amid questions over compliance, training

ICE says all field agents are expected to have body cameras by the end of September, but recent shootings are raising questions about whether agents are wearing and activating them. In Houston, the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo—who was killed by ICE agents in July—continues to call for the preservation and release of evidence as the agency’s deadline approaches.

KPRC 2’s new show ENOUGH at 10 p.m.

KPRC 2’s new show, ENOUGH, airs Sunday through Thursday at 10 p.m. ENOUGH is a new commitment to accountability journalism — digging deeper into the issues affecting Houstonians and pushing for answers about what’s working, what isn’t, and what happens next. Here’s what you missed if you did not catch the latest episodes:

• Harris County Sheriff’s Office quotes ENOUGH $121,000 for Flock records as Hidalgo plans Oct. 15 meeting

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How Texans can save money on prescription medications without insurance

Houston-area haunted houses: When 2026 Halloween attractions open

Former ‘American Idol’ singer Caleb Flynn is on trial in wife’s killing. He says a burglar did it

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• AG Paxton launches investigation of Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Pasadena WWII Navy veteran Robert Lyons celebrates 100th birthday surrounded by family
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Here’s a quick look at the latest news, developments and updates from across the Houston area, with the information you need to start your day.

As always, follow us for the latest on Click2Houston.com and watch us live on KPRC 2+.

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

Weather ⛅

HIGH: 89° LOW: 79°

The KPRC 2 Weather Team says:

“Rain chances at the beginning of this week start low. Isolated showers and storms will be possible Tuesday, but most of us will stay dry. The rain chances ramp up at the end of the week as tropical moisture gets pulled in from Hurricane Polo. At the same time, we’ll see a front moving in from the west, which will help to enhance the chance of seeing rain.”

➡️ More weather headlines? Check them out here

Get your forecast details here.

Houston’s Top Headlines 📰

3 ways to save money on healthcare in Houston: Community clinics, low-cost labs and other options

Healthcare costs continue to be a source of frustration for many families. Even with health insurance, costs add up. Between doctor visits, prescriptions, insurance premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses, many people are looking for ways to lower the financial burden.

Healthcare aide killed, 90-year-old man critically wounded in southeast Houston shooting

A healthcare aide was killed and a 90-year-old man was critically wounded in a shooting at a southeast Houston home Monday afternoon, according to Houston police. Officers were called around 1 p.m. to the 11500 block of Panay Drive. Authorities initially believed the incident was a murder-suicide.

Tennessee is set to execute a woman for the first time in 200 years

Christa Pike was 18 when she killed a classmate in a jealous rage and became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row. Now 50, she is scheduled to be put to death Wednesday in what would be Tennessee’s first execution of a woman in 200 years. Pike and her boyfriend were convicted in the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, their classmate at Knoxville Job Corps. Prosecutors said Pike feared Slemmer was a romantic rival and lured her to a secluded area where she and her boyfriend tortured and killed Slemmer. The case got widespread attention because of the brutality of the killing, the ages of the people involved and because a satanic symbol was carved into the victim’s body.

ICE agent who shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston identified

The federal immigration agent who witnesses say fired through an open van window and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston nearly three months ago has been identified to The Texas Tribune as Gregory Feathers by an official familiar with the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly. His role in the shooting is also corroborated by records, some of which were publicly released.

HISD cuts campus budgets and positions as enrollment falls

HISD is cutting campus budgets and adjusting staffing just weeks into the school year, citing lower-than-expected enrollment and changing funding levels. Programs including choir, debate, agriculture, IB career-related options and student support services could be affected, with the district’s official October enrollment count still ahead.

ICE body camera deadline approaches amid questions over compliance, training

ICE says all field agents are expected to have body cameras by the end of September, but recent shootings are raising questions about whether agents are wearing and activating them. In Houston, the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo—who was killed by ICE agents in July—continues to call for the preservation and release of evidence as the agency’s deadline approaches.

KPRC 2’s new show ENOUGH at 10 p.m.

KPRC 2’s new show, ENOUGH, airs Sunday through Thursday at 10 p.m. ENOUGH is a new commitment to accountability journalism — digging deeper into the issues affecting Houstonians and pushing for answers about what’s working, what isn’t, and what happens next. Here’s what you missed if you did not catch the latest episodes:

• Harris County Sheriff’s Office quotes ENOUGH $121,000 for Flock records as Hidalgo plans Oct. 15 meeting

Things 2 Know 💡

How Texans can save money on prescription medications without insurance

Houston-area haunted houses: When 2026 Halloween attractions open

Former ‘American Idol’ singer Caleb Flynn is on trial in wife’s killing. He says a burglar did it

In case you missed it... 👀

• AG Paxton launches investigation of Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Pasadena WWII Navy veteran Robert Lyons celebrates 100th birthday surrounded by family
• Driver accused of ramming SUV through Rosenberg grocery store, upset because he needed to use the bathroom

Bronny is still with the Los Angeles Lakers after his 41-year-old father's departure for the Philadelphia 76ers. The younger James enters his third NBA season this week still working to win a rotation role with the team that drafted him in 2024 in the family's adopted hometown.

Bronny and LeBron spent the past two seasons as the NBA's first father-son teammates, an achievement LeBron said was comparable to any of his championship rings. But the top scorer in league history decided his hunger for another title was greater than his desire to stay by Bronny's side.

In his first extensive public comments on this unusual situation Monday, Bronny confirmed he isn't the least bit angry or disappointed by his dad's departure.

He's already well aware that when your father is LeBron James, many things are bigger than you.

“Happy for him, and excited for where their season goes,” Bronny said. “I’m excited to see him on Christmas, excited to play against him on Christmas. It’s going to be good.”

The 76ers visit the Lakers on Dec. 25.

While LeBron’s enthusiasm for being an engaged father to his three children is well-documented, Bronny said he didn't have extensive discussions with his father about the move.

“We’re men of very little words when it comes to talking about business and what we’re going to do and how we feel about each other,” Bronny said with a smile. “It wasn’t really much, to be honest with you. He’s got his own path and I’ve got my own, so he knows that I want to make a name for myself and want to continue my career and keep growing as a player, and he knows I’ll want to focus on that, so he decided to (move).”

And while LeBron meets his new teammates and settles into Philadelphia this week, his son is getting back to work with the Lakers. LeBron won't be a constant presence in the locker room and on the road to dispense guidance and leadership to his son — and he won't be around for Bronny's 22nd birthday next week, either.

That's all fine for Bronny, who wasn't fazed while he went through his first Lakers media day without his father's massive presence and booming voice nearby.

“Feels like he’s not here,” Bronny said at the Lakers' training complex. “I don’t really have an opinion on that. That’s my dad. I’ve spent almost 22 years with him, so just another experience that I’m going to be a part of, and I’m excited how it’s going to feel during the season. So I’m looking forward to it.”

LeBron said this week that he left the Lakers to chase his fifth championship ring. The unspoken part of that declaration is James’ apparent belief he’s closer to a title in Philadelphia than in Los Angeles, where his Lakers won just one playoff round in the past three seasons.

But Bronny is optimistic about the Lakers' chances to build an exciting — and pointedly younger — core around NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic and prolific guard Austin Reaves. New center Walker Kessler should be a sharp upgrade under the opponents' basket and on lob finishes, and he's just one of nine new players hoping to win roles with Los Angeles.

“Everyone is young, so there’s a lot of energy flowing around, and I think we feed off each other,” Bronny said. “I don’t know yet, because we haven’t played a game, but because we’re young and we’re finding a way to get close to each other, I think we can feed off each other’s energy. There’s going to be a lot of guys that can go out and give full effort, turn up the game, and we can probably play fast because of how young we are. … We have a good chance of making it far.”

LeBron ended this family partnership right when Bronny appeared to be on the verge of breaking through to a regular role. Bronny played regularly down the stretch last season and into the playoffs while Doncic and Reaves were sidelined by injury, teaming up with his father for significant minutes in the Lakers' first-round upset of the Houston Rockets.

Bronny wants to continue his growth as a secondary ballhandler and a point-of-attack defender, two roles in which he excelled for long stretches last spring. His father won't be around for tips and critiques, but Bronny is ready to figure out some things on his own — and with ample help from his teammates and coaches, of course.

“I think I did play my role pretty well in the Houston series, and that’s something I can grow off of,” Bronny said. “Showing up every day and playing my game and being relentless both sides of the floor and making sure I’m getting my teammates involved and disrupting on the defensive end of the floor.”

___

See AP’s full NBA coverage here

About this elected seat: The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is the state’s chief financial officer. Among the office’s main responsibilities is collecting sales taxes from local government, managing hundreds of state contracts on behalf of other agencies and estimating the state’s revenue and economy, which instructs the Legislature’s budget drafting every two years. The office is also in charge of implementing a new $1 billion program that will offer families taxpayer-funded vouchers to send their kids to private schools and pay for educational expenses.

What’s at stake: The future of the office and the state, in some ways. For years Texas has benefited from a budget surplus — a financial fortune added to the state’s general revenue fund that’s afforded the state opportunities to trim property taxes, boost teacher pay and strengthen the state’s crumbling water infrastructure. This estimate comes from the comptroller. The office has typically remained mostly apolitical, but in recent years when the office waded into more social issues — like investigations that scrutinized drag shows.

This is an open seat. The previously elected comptroller Glenn Hegar left to be chancellor of Texas A&M in 2025. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed state Sen. Kelly Hancock to fill the post as acting comptroller, but he stepped down earlier this year after losing the primary. Abbott subsequently appointed Don Huffines to fill the post until the election.

Candidates at a glance:

Campaign site

Don Huffines

Republican, incumbent

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $1 million
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $6.2 million

💰 Major donors this year:

• Huffines gave $3.2 million to his campaign
• Protect Freedom PAC, a group affiliated with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky — $500,000
• George B. Ryan, chairman/CEO of tax services firm Ryan LLC – $500,000
• Ryan (LLC) PAC – $250,000
• Farjo Holdings, which has ties to billionaire Farris Wilks – $150,000
• Mackenzie Price, co-founder of Alpha School – $100,000

Experience:

• He and his brother Phillip founded one of the largest real estate development companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Huffines Communities.
• State senator from 2015 to 2019
• Huffines challenged Gov. Greg Abbott in the 2022 GOP gubernatorial challenge.

Political ideology: Huffines is a MAGA Republican with libertarian and Christian roots. He has vowed to not take a state salary if he’s elected comptroller, root out government waste and ensure no public money is used to benefit any undocumented immigrants.

Policy stances:

• End government regulations that he says get in the way of job creation by burdening businesses
• “DOGE-ing,” or seeking out waste in Texas, by auditing government spending and reimbursing taxpayers through property tax relief
• Studying the cost of undocumented immigration on the state
• Implement the state’s new school vouchers program with transparency
• Fix traffic on Texas roads by auditing highway construction contracts
• Has criticized federal plans to build a border barrier through Big Bend National Park

In the news:

• Cornered by Big Bend backlash, Texas Republicans tread carefully around Trump, The Texas Tribune
• Which families are using ESAs? Here’s what we know about Texas’ first school vouchers, The Texas Tribune
• Don Huffines sworn in as Texas comptroller ahead of November elections, The Texas Tribune
• Why lawmakers are concerned about where billions in broadband funding is going, The Texas Tribune
• Meet Don Huffines, the self-funding tea party activist who won the GOP Texas comptroller primary, The Texas Tribune
• Texas Republicans have huge cash edge in statewide elections, The Texas Tribune
• Texas comptroller GOP primary attracts big money from donors with business before the agency, The Texas Tribune
• Christi Craddick, Don Huffines announce bids for Texas comptroller after Hegar tapped for A&M chancellor, The Texas Tribune

Endorsements:

• U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz
• Five sitting U.S. Representatives from Texas: Chip Roy, Wesley Hunt, Ronny Jackson, Keith Self, and Brandon Gill
• Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, owner of Gallery Furniture who has lent his backing to GOP candidates in recent years and is known for his hospitality during natural disasters
• Kenny Webster, a popular young conservative radio host
• Texas Gun Rights

How to contact:

(214) 884-7025

don@donhuffines.com

6125 Luther Ln #294

Dallas, Texas, 75225

Campaign site

Sarah Eckhardt

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $240,002
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $394,531

💰 Major donors this year:

• Nelson Jones, Houston lawyer — $20,000
• Dale Linebarger, Austin lawyer — $10,000
• Donald Henley, professional musician – $8,500
• Joseph Bruegger, Dallas lawyer – $5,500
• Texas Sands PAC, prominent group funded by casino giant Las Vegas Sands and billionaire Miriam Adelson — $5,000

Experience:

• Served in the Texas Senate, representing Travis County, since 2020.
• Before serving in the Legislature’s upper chamber, she was Travis County Judge for five years.
• Former prosecutor.

Political ideology: Eckhardt has consistently ranked among the most liberal Democratic members in the Texas Senate based on her voting record. Perhaps as frequently, she’s been at odds with the chamber’s presiding officer, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who she recently accused of treating his role “as his church, as his pulpit.” Last summer she clashed with Patrick once again, calling him a bully when Patrick used a rare procedural move to kill a planned filibuster from Democrats who opposed a congressional redistricting map gerrymandered to max GOP representation in the U.S. House.

Policy stances:

• Wants the office to focus on ensuring Texans are safe, not on polarizing social issues
• Vows to root out government corruption and stop no-bid contracts to wealthy donors
• Wants to audit school vouchers and expose how much it costs when the state refuses Medicaid expansion
• Aims to restore trust in government by running an independent office with integrity
• Backed a moratorium on data center development
• Spoken out against a change requiring proof of legal immigration status to get professional licenses

In the news:

• Texas will require proof of legal immigration status to get professional licenses, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• Which families are using ESAs? Here’s what we know about Texas’ first school vouchers, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• Gov. Abbott appoints Don Huffines to be Texas comptroller, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, Democratic nominee for comptroller, promises to be government watchdog, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• James Talarico calls for tighter regulations on data center development, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• Ken Paxton and James Talarico are neck and neck in U.S. Senate race, new poll finds, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• Texas Republicans have huge cash edge in statewide elections, The Texas Tribune (2026)
• State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt announces run for comptroller, dropping congressional bid, The Texas Tribune (2025)

Endorsements:

• Texas AFL-CIO, the largest labor union federation in the state
• The Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus, the oldest civil rights organization in the south dedicated to LGBTQ issues

How to contact:

campaign@saraheckhardt.com

Sarah Eckhardt Campaign

P.O. Box 301586

Austin, TX 78703

No campaign site found

V. Alonzo Echavarria-Garza

Libertarian

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $0
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $394

💰 Major donors this year:

• Libertarian Booster PAC – $394 in in-kind donations

Experience:

• Ran for Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in 2022 also as a Libertarian and lost
• Listed occupation as CFO in state filings
• Hearne’s city manager since 2022, according to his LinkedIn
• Served as the City of Hearne’s chief financial officer from 2017-2022

Political ideology: The Libertarian Party of Texas’ platform says it seeks “the maximum protection for the rights of all people against any violation” and that “… government must be kept to the minimum necessary to protect the rights of individuals.” The party also says the government should not interfere in personal matters such as free speech, religion, marriage, family and property rights. It also supports the right to bear arms.

In the news:

• Democrat Talarico leads Republican Paxton in new U.S. Senate race polling, The Center Square (2026)
• Downtown Hearne sees major progress in year-long revitalization effort, bringing new life to community, ABC25 (2025)

How to contact:

alonzoeg@live.com

Campaign site

Shehla Faizi

Green party

💰 Campaign finance:

• Cash on hand as of June 30: $3,433
• Raised between Jan. 1-June 30: $4,250

💰 Major donors this year:

• Adeel Raza – $1,000
• Sana Haq – $422
• Noor Omar – $317

Experience:

• Has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Karachi University and master’s degrees in journalism and strategic communications from Wayne State University and the University of Iowa
• Volunteered for the Green Party’s 2024 Jill Stein and Butch Ware presidential campaign
• Listed her occupation as podcaster in state filings

Political ideology: The Green Party’s key values include valuing all nature, direct civic participation, rejecting violence and restoring power to local communities under a “framework of ecologically sound and socially just values and lifestyles”. The party also says it seeks “new economics” that meet the basic needs of people and the planet within the natural limits of the earth and that it respects diversity among the earth and people.

Policy stances:

• More tax spending transparency
• No tax breaks for data centers; says she would instead prioritize funding disaster relief and public schools
• Would seek legal and political support to have the comptroller’s office divest from all foreign bonds and to end practices under Texas laws that target major companies seeking contracts with the state for boycotting Israel, fossil fuels or firearms manufacturers
• Would administer students’ school voucher money to private schools without bias to Islamic schools
• Would challenge the legality of a law that offers Texas Sheriff’s offices state grant money as an incentive to cooperate with federal ICE operations

In the news:

• ‘Weaponizing ignorance’: Muslims bear brunt as Texas Republicans make hate mainstream, The Guardian (2026)
• Anti-Muslim hostility moves from Republican campaign rhetoric into everyday life in Texas, Muslim Network TV (2026)
• Meet the candidates for the Texas Comptroller race, The Daily Texan (2026)

How to contact:

faizifortexas@gmail.com

Disclosure: Dale and Libby Linebarger and Las Vegas Sands Corporation have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune within the past five years. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.

The most notable thing about Melissa’s son’s 6th birthday should have been the vacation the family took. Instead, it was the letter waiting for them when they returned home.

Her child was assigned to the disciplinary campus in their school district in McKinney, Texas, for 30 days, the April 2024 letter told them, over allegations that the kindergartner had assaulted a teacher about a week prior. Melissa, whose last name is being withheld to protect her son’s privacy, said the incident occurred when the boy had struggled against a restraint, kicking a teacher.

State law requires school districts in Texas to have a disciplinary alternative education program, or DAEP, to send misbehaving students. Students 5 and younger are not allowed to be placed in these programs.

The letter was dated the day Melissa’s son turned 6.

“They waited until his birthday,” she said. “They already had this planned.”

Melissa’s son is one of thousands of elementary school students in Texas sent to these programs each year. In 2022-23, the most recent year for which data were available, nearly 4,000 such placements were made.

Lawmakers created Texas’ system of DAEPs as a punishment for the most serious infractions, including bringing drugs to school or harassing school employees. But school districts have wide latitude to send students for weeks or months at a time for a whole host of reasons, including minor misbehavior such as swearing or violating dress codes. Last year, legislators made it even easier for districts to send disruptive students to DAEPs. The programs themselves are often extremely strict and, critics say, offer lackluster education, typically on computers.

DAEP placements can be especially complicated when it comes to young students, who may be acting out as a result of a disability that has yet to be diagnosed or might lack the knowledge to understand why their behavior violates the rules. Meanwhile, experts say that removing young children from their classroom for any length of time can cause cascading social and academic effects for the rest of their time in school — without addressing any underlying issues.

“It’s not going to be a positive experience coming back,” said Shantel Meek, executive director of the Children’s Equity Project, a research and policy group at Arizona State University, noting that students will likely be behind on their work, feel stigmatized by their peers and be uncomfortable with their teacher. “Whatever behavior that prompted the suspension is now one little piece of a much bigger problem that probably snowballs over time.”

Texas law places no limits on DAEP placements for any child age 6 or above. Districts are only required to keep young students separate from middle and high schoolers in these alternative programs. The state does not regularly publish DAEP placement data by grade.

Texas Education Agency spokesperson Ricky Garcia said in an email that DAEP placements for young students are based on local district policies but that the agency “does promote alternative practices for students, such as Restorative Practices, especially for the younger students.”

He noted that discipline conferences over DAEP placements must be held within three days of administrators learning of a student’s misconduct — not a week later as Melissa says was the case with her son.

Officials with the McKinney school district did not respond to requests for comment.

Even before the DAEP placement, Melissa’s son struggled in kindergarten. She suspected he had a disability that was leading to behavior problems in school. But she said she was told he was too young to be diagnosed and, therefore, wasn’t able to secure additional supports or accommodations.

By December 2023, she said, she would receive regular reports from the school that he was having a hard time sitting still and would scream and climb furniture. Meanwhile, the reports from her son were just as troubling.

He would tell her, “Mommy, my teacher screams, my teacher yells,” she said. School administrators repeatedly restrained and suspended him, she added.

Melissa kept trying to have him evaluated for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder so he would qualify for special education services. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children in special education are afforded certain protections related to school discipline. Texas school officials are required to consider disability status when determining DAEP placements.

Then came the DAEP placement for assault on a teacher. Melissa says she was never shown any evidence that her son injured the staffer whom he kicked. “He was 5. Come on,” she said. “I think they just didn’t want to deal with him anymore.”

Experts say it’s common for young students to exhibit some degree of challenging behavior in school. Absent support from the school, including school psychologists and aides, the experts say it’s understandable when teachers turn to kicking students out of the classroom. Large class sizes, where one adult is left to deal with more than 20 children, can also be a factor.

“When a kid crosses a line, whatever that may be, you’re already overwhelmed and not able to respond in the way that you need to,” said Tunette Powell, director of parent and family partnerships at the Children’s Equity Project.

Yet the consequences of doing so, particularly in elementary school, can be significant.

In the younger grades, friendships change quickly. A student sent away for a month can return to a new social dynamic in which they are alienated and feel ostracized. They can miss out on lessons crucial to foundational skills, such as decoding words or working with fractions, that will hinder them in school long term.

A review of DAEP handbooks from 75 Texas districts showed the programs typically mandate that students remain silent as they work through lessons. “That’s not how kids learn, especially little kids,” Meek said. They “learn through engagement and interaction with other people.”

During a 2025 legislative hearing, Texas Sen. José Menéndez, a Democrat, said he wondered if young students remained eligible for DAEP placements under a bill aimed at toughening the state’s school discipline.

Yes, answered bill sponsor Sen. Charles Perry, but he wasn’t expecting many 6-year-olds to be punished in this way.

“I can’t think of a single teacher nor district that would automatically remove that 6-year-old to a DAEP-type setting, unless it was so egregious and so habitual that it demanded that just for the safety of the area,” he said, speaking of the districts he represents.

District records show that elementary school students have been sent to DAEPs for a variety of reasons in recent years, not all of which appear to be related to school safety. Some were sent for attendance violations or defiance; many were under the vague category of “violation of local code of conduct.”

A first grader in Lamar Consolidated Independent School District was assigned to a DAEP for 15 days after putting feces in a water fountain, according to district records, while a second grader was given 20 days for “inappropriate language to staff.” Lamar officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Perry, a Republican, explained in the hearing that districts have limited ways to punish young children. “We don’t have a criminal or other process for under 10 years old, so, yes, 10-year-olds and under can go to DAEP,” he said. “It’s not required, but they can.”

And while some DAEP placements are mandatory, including for offenses that may also violate the law, experts say that there are good reasons to treat young children differently.

“The idea that an alternative school is filling a gap in our criminal legal system makes absolutely no sense,” said Kate Zinsser, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. “They do not have the cognitive capacity to learn on their own to change their behavior.”

Unlike in the criminal justice system, school administrators assigning students to DAEPs do not need to allow an appeal under the vast majority of circumstances. Nor do they need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that students were acting out.

Joseph and Vera Southwell were told as much when they met with an area superintendent from Round Rock Independent School District to discuss their then-10-year-old daughter’s DAEP assignment. The fifth grader and some classmates were given a 20-day placement after they were discovered to have been smelling — or sniffing, according to the school district — Expo markers and Sharpies.

Their daughter had come to her parents saying a new friend had introduced her to the activity, but she’d grown concerned about the peer’s behavior. The Southwells brought the issue to the attention of school administration and soon after, all of the kids involved were punished for an “abusable volatile chemical offense,” a mandatory DAEP placement.

Round Rock ISD spokesperson Anastasia Drabicky said she could not comment on specific cases but noted “mandatory placements are dictated by the state.”

Joseph Southwell says the markers his daughter was smelling did not contain abusable volatile chemicals. Beyond that, though, he questions why she was punished for coming forward about worrisome behavior.

“Honestly, I’m proud of her,” he said. “Then we did what we’re supposed to do and the administration at the school acted like all the children were criminals.”

When they brought their concerns to Round Rock Area Superintendent Zac Oldham, he acknowledged that the district had a lower burden of proof than the justice system. “In a school, it’s a reasonable belief that something did occur,” he told the pair, according to a recording of the conversation shared with The Hechinger Report. “If there are multiple people saying the same story … that’s usually considered enough evidence.”

The law requires districts to consider some mitigating factors when assigning students to a DAEP, even for a mandatory placement. Among them is a student’s intent. In this case, school officials maintained that the students intended to get high and that several students told them as much. Southwell said his daughter didn’t know what the word meant.

“There need to be tight guardrails in proving intent in a 10-year-old,” he said.

In the meeting with Oldham, the administrator conceded “intent is tough.” He noted that he’d done his dissertation on the negative effects that DAEPs can have and that the district was working hard to reduce placements. He suggested that the district could do more teacher training on “exactly what intent looks like. At what age do you — are you able to — have intent and things like that. I think that’s great feedback.”

The Southwells were ultimately able to get the punishment overturned following a grievance process in which the district acknowledged there was no proof the markers contained abusable volatile chemicals. The ordeal left its mark on the family, though. Vera was inspired to run for the local school board.

Meanwhile, their daughter had lost trust in her school; the family unenrolled her and began homeschooling her.

Melissa made the same decision for her son back in 2024.

“Looking back, I feel bad not pulling him earlier,” she said. “I feel like he’s too young to go through all of that. It’s been really hard on him. He doesn’t trust teachers anymore.”

This story about DAEPs was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

The Wild Card Series begins Tuesday, featuring four best-of-three matchups that include the Boston Red Sox traveling to face their longtime nemesis, the New York Yankees. Also in the American League, the Chicago White Sox are at the Houston Astros, who qualified for the postseason despite an 81-81 record.

Over in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies are at the Atlanta Braves while the Chicago Cubs travel to face the San Diego Padres.

Four teams earned a bye straight to the Division Series, including the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays in the AL, along with the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers in the NL. They’ll get nearly a week to rest and regroup following the sport’s long 162-game regular season.

Here’s more of what to know about the wild-card matchups this week:

The Red Sox go to the Bronx. Will Aaron Judge play for the Yankees?

It’s the second year in a row the AL East rivals will meet in the Wild Card Series. The Yankees prevailed in last season’s matchup, winning 2 games to 1 after a dominant Game 3 performance by young ace Cam Schlittler.

Schlittler has emerged as one of the game’s best pitchers this season — he’s likely to win the AL Cy Young award — and he’ll start Game 1 after a 1.95 ERA in the regular season.

It remains to be seen whether three-time MVP Aaron Judge will be in the lineup against Boston — he’s dealing with a right calf strain that knocked him out of the last week of the regular season. That came shortly after he missed more than three months with a broken rib.

The Red Sox had a massive in-season turnaround after they were 32-46 and 15 1/2 games back in the AL East race on June 24. Boston fired manager Alex Cora in April, and his replacement, Chad Tracy, recently had his interim tag removed.

Game 1: Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock

Game 2: Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock

Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday on NBC/Peacock/NBCSN

The White Sox try to continue remarkable turnaround

The White Sox became the first team to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons by reaching the playoffs. Chicago’s powerful lineup includes Miguel Vargas, Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery, though the latter two have struggled at the plate of late.

The Astros were at one point 11 games under .500, fired their general manager in August and failed to finish with a winning record. Even so, the .500 club was good enough to win the AL West for the fifth time in six years. Houston’s roster has some holes, but it also has star slugger Yordan Alvarez, who is the frontrunner to win AL MVP.

Game 1: Tuesday, 5 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBCSN

Game 2: Wednesday, 5 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBCSN

Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday on NBC/Peacock/NBCSN

The Phillies barely sneaked into the postseason, and now face their NL East rivals

The Braves are regulars in the playoffs and have another strong roster that includes ace lefty Chris Sale and a lineup that features Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuna Jr., Drake Baldwin and Ozzie Albies.

The veteran Phillies stumbled down the stretch and squeezed into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season. With a lineup that includes Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, and one of the best starting rotations in the game, it wouldn’t be shocking for them to make a run in October.

Game 1: Tuesday, 2 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock

Game 2: Wednesday, 2 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock

Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday on NBC/Peacock/NBCSN

PCA and the Cubs head to San Diego

The Cubs are led by NL MVP frontrunner Pete Crow-Armstrong, who finished the season with 45 homers and a .943 OPS. They also have veteran third baseman Alex Bregman, who is back in the lineup despite taking a ball to the face while standing in the on-deck circle last week.

The Padres are back in the postseason for a third straight season, surging down the stretch thanks to big contributions from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill. They’ve got solid starting pitching and one of the best bullpens in the game, led by closer Mason Miller.

Game 1: Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBCSN

Game 2: Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBCSN

Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday on NBC/Peacock/NBCSN

What is the MLB playoff format?

There are 12 teams that qualify for MLB’s postseason, including six teams from both the AL and NL. The three division winners in each league get seeds No. 1 through No. 3, ranked by win-loss record. Then the three wild-card teams get seeds No. 4 through No. 6, also ranked by win-loss record.

The top two teams with the best record in both the AL and NL automatically advance to the Division Series. The other eight teams play in the Wild Card Series, which is a best-of-three format beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 29. In both the AL and NL, the No. 6 seed will travel to face the No. 3 seed while the No. 5 seed goes to No. 4. The higher seed hosts all three games.

The winners then advance to the best-of-five Division Series, followed by the best-of-seven League Championship Series and a best-of-seven World Series between the winners of the AL and NL.

What is the MLB postseason schedule?

Wild Card Series: Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (NBC/Peacock)

Division Series: Oct. 3-10 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

Championship Series: Oct. 11-20 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

World Series: Oct. 23-31 (FOX)

Who are the favorites to win the World Series?

The Dodgers (+210) are the favorites to capture a third straight World Series title while the Brewers (+550), Rays (+800) and Yankees (+800) are viewed as the top contenders.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Leo traveled to the eastern city of Metz, near the border with Luxembourg and Germany, to honor Robert Schuman, a French Catholic statesman regarded as one of the founding fathers of European unity after World War II.

Leo decided to end his four-day visit to France in Metz, at a conference center named for Schuman, to drive home his appeal. The American pope wants Europe to draw from its Christian foundations and traditions to respond to wars and other conflicts, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the challenges of migration.

“Over the past 80 years, Europe has amply demonstrated that it is possible to articulate divergent opinions, claims and interests through encounter rather than conflict,” he said.

“We need to commit ourselves to patient dialogue, to show courage in negotiation and to be willing to give up some positions for the greater good of peace,” he said, without naming specific conflicts or positions.

Élysée Palace, the French presidential office, had invited all European Union heads of state and the heads of European institutions to attend the conference. But only a handful, from smaller states such as Monaco, Andorra and Luxembourg, joined President Emmanuel Macron.

Huge crowds and a military escort

Leo’s visit to the once staunchly Catholic and officially secular France has been marked by his appeal for Europe to remember its Christian heritage and apply it to today’s ethical and geopolitical challenges.

It has also been marked by huge crowds at nearly every turn — 800,000 attended Leo’s Mass on Paris’ iconic Place de la Concorde — surprising even organizers and suggesting that the Catholic Church still has a place in an overwhelmingly secular public square.

On Monday morning, Leo's Air France charter received a military escort of two French fighter jets for the flight from Lourdes to Metz in a sign of respect. Macron tweeted a photo of Leo's plane taken by one of the jets while in flight, writing “Welcome to Metz, Most Holy Father.”

Macron joined Leo on stage at the Schuman event, vowing “unfailing” European support for Ukraine and noting that the country is among those aspiring to join the EU and a “space of peace, security, democracy and prosperity.”

“War has come back to our continent and our Europe is rocked by the return of empires,” Macron said. “To guarantee real sovereignty, we must therefore act, act firstly to preserve our security and our values.”

In his final event in France, Leo celebrated Mass in the cathedral of St. Stephen in Metz, a city with a long history of conflict that was part of Nazi Germany during the war.

The cathedral, finished in 1522, is one of the greatest examples of French Gothic style, with its soaring vaults and stained-glass windows, some of which were later designed by Marc Chagall, a 20th-century Jewish artist.

In his homily, Leo said that Metz and its surroundings experienced evil, but now “bear witness to the whole world that reconciliation is only possible when one has the courage to break the chains of resentment.”

The cathedral’s stained-glass windows, designed by a Jew, are “an extraordinary symbol of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue,” where God’s light unites “different histories and cultures into a single marvelous mosaic of peace.”

“As we contemplate these stained-glass windows, we learn that Europe’s future does not lie in uniformity, but in the harmony of differences, where the wounds of the past become openings through which light shines,” he said.

The colored glass has given the cathedral the nickname the “Lanterne du Bon Dieu,” or “The Good Lord’s Lantern.”

As they did in Paris during Saturday's Mass along the Champs-Élysées, priests in Metz set up makeshift confession stands on the streets to accommodate the faithful who packed the squares around the cathedral.

The Vatican estimated that 35,000 people had turned out. Macron changed his schedule at the last minute to attend and sat in the front row.

A statesman who promoted dialogue among rivals

Schuman is best known for the Schuman Declaration of 1950, five years after World War II ended. It proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community to pool production between historic rivals France and Germany.

The idea, as Europe was emerging from the ruins of the war, was guided by the belief that intertwined economic interests would make another conflict between them “not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible.”

The coal and steel organization was the first among European institutions that were precursors to what eventually became the European Union.

Schuman, a resistance fighter imprisoned by the Nazis, was declared “venerable” in 2021, a step in the Catholic Church's process toward possible sainthood.

Leo praised especially Schuman's respect for international law in pursuing his idea of peaceful integration. It was an indirect reference to how Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as U.S. military incursions in Venezuela and the Iran war, have taken place outside the international legal order.

Leo said international law and multilateralism “constitute the best antidote to the desire for domination, which lies at the root of every conflict.”

He lamented that in its place, relations today between states are becoming “increasingly uncivilized.”

“The value of keeping one’s word is dismissed; instead, people boast of lies and deceit,” he said.

Asked if Leo had crossed a line and entered into the European political debate, the Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, said that the pope was just preaching Catholic morals.

“He spoke about morality, ethics and the principles of the Church’s moral teaching. If anyone wants to draw political conclusions, they are free to do so,” Gallagher said.

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John Leicester contributed to this report from Paris.

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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.

For residents, the steel barriers have become an unmistakable warning of what may follow: blocked streets, snarled traffic and long detours across Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi.

The latest deployment came ahead of a march by supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan demanding his release. Cranes have lifted red, blue and green containers from trucks and lowered them into place along roads.

Originally scheduled for Sept. 27, the march was postponed until Oct. 4, but many of the containers remain in place. Since last week, police have positioned them along key routes leading to the Red Zone, home to Parliament, government offices and foreign embassies.

Khan, a former cricket star turned politician and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s main political rival, has been imprisoned since 2023. He is serving multiple prison sentences following convictions on corruption and other charges. Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party say the cases are politically motivated.

Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022. Sharif returned to office after lawmakers elected him prime minister following the Feb. 8, 2024, parliamentary election. Khan’s party says its mandate was stolen in that vote, an allegation the government denies.

The containers are hard to miss in the city

Now against Islamabad’s green hills and tree-lined avenues, the rows of brightly colored containers are hard to miss. Some sit beside busy roads, ready to be moved. Others are stacked two high or positioned across traffic lanes, turning broad avenues into narrow, controlled passages.

“It looks like a city of containers,” Islamabad housewife Sahiba Bibi said.

She said this time the disruption began before demonstrators had even set out for Islamabad from across the country, particularly from northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Khan’s party governs.

PTI's top leadership said it delayed the march because authorities had blocked key approaches to the capital, including Attock Bridge, a major crossing for convoys traveling from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Containers and spiked metal sheets had been placed along the route that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and his supporters were expected to take, party organizers said.

Even where roads remained open, the preparations narrowed traffic lanes and created long lines of vehicles. Commuters searched for alternate routes, while shopkeepers along potential protest paths weighed whether to close their businesses, fearing damage if unrest or clashes broke out.

Authorities say they pay rent to owners of container trucks for the use of the containers. But some drivers say police stop them on highways, seize their vehicles and take their keys.

Rehmat Gul, a container-truck driver, said police stopped him and took his keys before impounding his truck. The container was later placed on a road near Rawalpindi, he said.

When the containers arrive, people know their lives will be disrupted

“Fuel prices have almost doubled because of the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran,” said Abdul Hafeez, a government employee who commutes from Rawalpindi to Islamabad for work and also drives his children to school. “At a time when we are already struggling to keep our kitchens running, roadblocks force us to travel farther.”

“If the government does not block the roads, we have no problem with these protests,” he said.

For many residents, the containers are no longer merely a security measure. Their arrival signals that another political confrontation is approaching and that ordinary life may be disrupted.

The government, however, says the precautions are necessary.

“PTI has a track record of disruption and vandalism during protests, and its supporters would not be allowed to enter the capital,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters in Peshawar last week.

Afridi rejected the government’s characterization, saying PTI’s sole purpose was to hold a peaceful rally demanding Khan’s release.

Authorities used similar measures in November 2024, sealing roads into Islamabad as Khan’s supporters attempted to reach the capital despite a ban on rallies. Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters.

That experience has taught residents not to wait for a formal road-closure announcement.

Once cranes begin lowering containers into place, many start changing their routes, and some begin stocking up on food.

It turns out the third-string quarterback for the Chicago Bears is pretty good, too.

Keenum passed for two touchdowns in his first start in almost three years, and the Bears shut down Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles for a 27-7 victory on Monday night.

Stepping in for Caleb Williams, Keenum was 24 for 34 for 247 yards. He also scored his first rushing touchdown since 2019 on a 1-yard plunge with 7:19 left, capping a 13-play drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock.

“He knows where everyone is supposed to be on every single play and so he is really quick to recognize coverage,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said. “He knows why we’re calling the play and what we’re looking for and if we’re not getting that he’s accelerating through it really quickly. That’s what you get when you’re 15-plus years playing that position in this league.”

It was Keenum’s first action since he started for Houston in a 36-22 loss to Cleveland on Dec. 24, 2023. Williams was sidelined by a right hamstring injury, and Tyson Bagent backed up Keenum after he cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol on Sunday.

“To get a shot again like this? Yeah, you dream of it,” Keenum said. “That’s why I'm still here doing this when I get knocked down. I got knocked down my whole career. I just keep getting up, coming to work, just keep bouncing back.”

Kalif Raymond had six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown as Chicago (2-1) rebounded from an ugly 9-3 loss to Minnesota.

Philadelphia (2-1) turned the ball over three times and failed to record a takeaway for the third consecutive game to begin the season. Hurts was 16 for 25 for 153 yards, and Saquon Barkley rushed for 82 yards on 15 carries.

“I think we all have to own that loss right there,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “I don’t think anybody coached well. I don’t think anyone played well. It was a true team loss. And when it’s a true team loss, you know I have to look at myself first.”

Down 20-7, the Eagles lined up to go for it on fourth-and-1 at their own 49 with about four minutes left in the third quarter. But Hurts was unable to draw a flag for offside, and the Eagles took a delay-of-game penalty before punting it away.

Hurts was picked off by T.J. Edwards on a fourth-and-5 play from the Chicago 46 in the final minute of the third. Edwards dropped a potential interception on third down on Philadelphia’s first drive of the second half.

“I liked the decision to go for it on fourth-and-5,” Sirianni said. “Hindsight, I feel like I should have went for it on that fourth-and-1 1/2.”

Keenum capped Chicago's first drive with a shovel pass to Luther Burden for an 8-yard touchdown, and he connected with a wide-open Raymond on a 41-yard TD in the second half.

On the drive that ended with his seventh career rushing touchdown, making it 27-7 with 7:19 remaining, Keenum drew an offside penalty on Moro Ojomo on a fourth-and-2 play from the Eagles 39.

“Poised, calm and honestly a guy who was having a lot of fun,” Raymond said of Keenum. “The whole week he was like, you guys having fun, because I am. That's the way he was. He loves the game.”

Trailing 7-0, Hurts drove Philadelphia deep into Chicago territory in the second quarter before he absorbed a late hit by linebacker D'Marco Jackson along the sideline. Hurts was pulled off the field to be checked for a concussion, and backup Andy Dalton was intercepted by rookie Dillon Thieneman in the back of the end zone with 6:14 left.

Hurts said he was waiting for clearance to go back in when Dalton turned it over.

“I was just waiting for the thumbs-up,” Hurts said. “I felt fine, we already checked it. I don’t know the extent of the process. Obviously wish we could have expedited things. I know I felt fine.”

Hurts scored on a quarterback sneak as time expired in the first half, but Chicago controlled the final two periods. Philadelphia gained just 62 of its 248 yards in the second half.

Chicago finished with 24 first downs and 128 yards rushing. The Bears had 28 first downs and 281 yards on the ground in a 24-15 win at Philadelphia last season.

He is back

Zach Ertz had one reception for 9 yards for Philadelphia in his first game of the season. The veteran tight end rejoined the Eagles when he was signed to the team's practice squad last week.

The 35-year-old Ertz spent his first eight-plus seasons with the Eagles, earning three Pro Bowl appearances.

Injuries

Bears: LT Braxton Jones departed with 10:22 left in the third because of a knee injury. ... Raymond was shaken up on a punt return with 3:12 remaining in the third, but he returned to the game. ... DB Cam Lewis had a hip injury.

Up next

Eagles: Host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Bears: Host the New York Jets on Sunday.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

One day after the New York Mets finished last in the NL East for the first time in 23 years, the team's embattled president of baseball operations was asked a pointed question.

Knowing what he knows now, would he have taken a full swing at re-signing Pete Alonso?

“I think that's a very fair question. The truth is in this job, I don't get mulligans,” Stearns said Monday. "I also recognize Pete had a tremendous year. And the totality of our production at first base wasn’t good enough.”

When the Mets didn't attempt to retain Alonso in free agency last fall, their homegrown franchise home run leader bolted for a $155 million, five-year contract with Baltimore as Stearns focused on improving the pitching and defense instead.

“I think I’ll retire the phrase `run prevention,’” Stearns said with a grin. “I don’t know that that one worked particularly well.”

Alonso topped the American League with 43 homers and 113 RBIs, playing in every game for the third consecutive season as the 31-year-old slugger became the first player in major league history to win an RBI crown in both leagues.

New York, meanwhile, never recovered from a 12-game losing streak in April. Despite a record $358 million opening-day payroll, the Mets struggled badly at the plate, were mediocre on the mound and finished 74-88 for their worst mark since 2017.

“This past weekend that we just experienced in Washington, where you are literally playing out the string, it’s miserable. That is a miserable experience for players, for coaches, for executives,” Stearns said during a 33-minute news conference at Citi Field to wrap up the season.

“I think we have an extraordinarily motivated organization, from ownership on down, to ensure that never happens again.”

The absence of Alonso at first base was magnified when lineup mainstays Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor were both sidelined for long stretches because of calf injuries.

Soto finished with a .908 OPS, the second-lowest of his career, while Lindor set full-season career lows with 49 RBIs, three stolen bases, a .225 batting average and a .733 OPS.

Mets first basemen had 18 homers, 77 RBIs and a .667 OPS — the third-lowest OPS at the position, ahead of only Seattle and Arizona.

Alonso received standing ovations from Mets fans before every at-bat during the Orioles’ three-game sweep at Citi Field this month. He took a rare curtain call on the road Sept. 15, when his 300th career homer tied the score for Baltimore in the ninth inning and chants of “Fire Stearns!” rang out from the crowd of 28,097.

Last week, the Mets added former Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey to the front office when he was hired as senior adviser for baseball operations. Falvey will report directly to Stearns.

New York played better late in the season, going 27-22 after the Aug. 3 trade deadline despite a massive selloff and 40-41 overall under Andy Green, who took over as interim manager when Carlos Mendoza was fired June 26.

Green was given the full-time gig and a three-year contract last week.

Part of the improvement was fueled by rookie outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, who combined for 31 homers and 47 stolen bases while playing strong defense. Rookie pitcher Nolan McLean went 12-10 with a 3.16 ERA in 31 starts.

But going into a critical offseason for Stearns, the Mets have major question marks at first base, second base, in the bullpen and the rotation.

“Over the second half of the season, last few months of the season, we saw some really encouraging signs and we saw some elements of our team take shape that gives us all great optimism for both the near- and long-term future,” Stearns said.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Much of Reed's first three decades of life had been shaped by abuse and neglect: first, she says, at the hands of her biological mother, then in foster care and, when she became an adult, in a series of romantic relationships. She had lost custody of three older children a decade earlier, in part because she lacked stable housing. By March 2022, when she had finally landed an apartment in a transitional housing program, she had lost all faith in herself.

None of that was apparent this September, when she traveled to the nation's capital to tell members of Congress how her life changed when she enrolled her children in Head Start.

Reed says Head Start helped her heal from three decades of trauma and abuse. Staff connected her to job training, taught her how to be a better mother, helped her advocate for her son’s disability accommodations at his elementary school, and urged her to join the council that oversees Head Start across Spokane County, Washington. She was elected the council's president last year.

Head Start was, Reed says, “a warm blanket in a time where I constantly felt cold.”

That could be changing.

Last month, President Donald Trump’s administration proposed gutting Head Start regulations that spell out how programs must support families with financial, education or housing concerns. Many of the services now mandated would become optional.

Head Start was founded to help both kids and parents

Reed’s transformation was no fluke: Head Start’s services for low-income parents have been central to its model for decades.

“Being told that somebody believes in you and thinks you’re a good parent after so much loss — it didn’t feel real at first,” Reed said. “It took probably a year or two for me to be like, ‘OK, maybe I am. Maybe I just went through something that was really hard, but I was doing the best that I could.’”

Head Start, a six-decade-old preschool program, works to lift children and their families out of poverty. Its two-generation approach is rooted in the idea that improving caregivers' lives is as essential to a child's success as what happens in the classroom. Parents can also serve on committees that help set the direction of their kids' preschool.

“It’s always had that family connection,” said Loukisha Smart-Pennix of the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, which oversees several Head Start centers. “That’s been part and parcel of what Head Start was built on.”

Smart-Pennix said she's proof the approach works. When she was in the program as a preschooler in the 1970s, Head Start connected her mother with a factory job. Two decades later, when Smart-Pennix enrolled her son, the center employed her and pushed her to go to college. By the time her daughter was old enough to enroll, she earned too much to qualify. (Generally, families qualify for Head Start if their income is at or below the federal poverty line, currently $33,000 for a family of four.)

Under current regulations, Head Start asks parents to set goals — to return to school, to buy a home — and then helps them stay on track to achieve them. Parents have described how Head Start has helped them stay sober, finish school, pay off debt or simply keep the lights on. Operators are required to give hiring preferences to current and former Head Start parents, so many end up working for the program. Some eventually run their own preschools.

The Trump administration proposal would water down many of the family support regulations. Goal-setting with families would be optional, as would hiring preferences for Head Start parents. It would also scrap requirements for an open-door policy that gives parents liberal access to their child's classroom and cancel a mandate that staff visit homes and hold parent-teacher conferences at least twice per year. Programs would no longer be required to help parents navigate Medicaid, even as the government-funded health insurance program's rules are becoming more complex.

Head Start preschools would also have the option of eliminating parent committees, formal groups that weigh in on curriculum and programming. And policy councils, which have parent members, would see their authority weakened under the proposal.

Alex Adams, who leads the Department of Health and Human Services office overseeing Head Start, said the goal of the changes is to empower local leaders and to increase efficiency, enabling programs to serve up to 236,000 more children without additional funding.

“A one-size-fits-all mandate from Washington cannot fully account for the realities facing these 1,600 grantees” that operate Head Start preschools, Adams told reporters in August. “Federal mandates can certainly hinder local decision-making, drive up costs and limit the program’s reach.”

The Department of Health and Human Services said the proposal still recognizes the importance of parents in a child's learning, “but substantially reduces hyper-specificity for how to fulfill requirements, specifically around how programs must engage parents and families in education and child development services.”

“The proposal gives programs room to make thoughtful adjustments when local circumstances call for them,” the department said in a statement.

A push to enroll more children in larger classes

Head Start backers see the proposal not as a chance for flexibility but as another effort by the Trump administration to undermine the longstanding program. Days after Trump, a Republican, took office in early 2025, some Head Start programs temporarily closed their doors due to problems accessing their federal money. Later, a White House budget draft proposed eliminating funding for Head Start. The funding was restored after widespread backlash.

Adams emphasized programs wouldn't have to use the flexibility in the proposal if they want to continue operating as they have.

“It’s not a mandate," Adams told reporters. "The opportunity for these programs to make a different decision does not necessarily mean they must make a different decision.”

But advocates are skeptical. The administration's proposal eliminates requirements for small class sizes and scraps caseload limits for family support specialists. Centers instead would abide by their state's early learning regulations, which are often more lenient.

With more kids, fewer teachers, rising costs and no material increase in funding, advocates worry programs would be forced to dilute some of Head Start’s signature offerings. The Trump administration's own projections show that to add 236,000 slots for kids, Head Start centers would have to eliminate about 25,000 teacher jobs, increase class sizes and cut three-quarters of the staff who provide in-home education for new parents.

Reed says she worries the changes could mean fewer success stories like hers.

That's how she ended up in Washington, D.C. When Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., took a seat next to her, Reed grew nervous.

“Is it OK if I just read something from my phone?” she asked, shaking. Murray nodded.

She told the senator, a former preschool teacher, about the day she moved from a domestic violence shelter into transitional housing.

“At the bottom of our stairs was a Head Start center,” she said. “I had no idea how much it would change our lives.”

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The indirect talks come as the conflict, which is entering its eighth month, has caused global economic damage and badly battered Iran. Multiple efforts to allow safe shipping on one of the world’s most crucial waterways have failed.

The officials divulged that the behind-the-scenes efforts continue even after U.S. President Donald Trump initially said he spurned an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait in a week if the U.S. agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — who stayed in New York after last week’s gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly — will meet with Qatari mediators Monday about the latest discussions, Iranian state media reported Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as saying.

Despite Trump’s often bellicose rhetoric, he is open to pursuing a non-military resolution to the conflict if one can be achieved, a senior U.S. official said.

But the Trump administration will not reach a deal with Tehran until nuclear issues are addressed, another U.S. official said. Trump is willing to grant sanctions relief to Iran, along with the release of some frozen funds, for concrete progress on nuclear issues, and while Iran has indicated it is flexible on nuclear issues, the sides are far apart on timing and which side makes the first moves, the official said.

All the officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity about the behind-the-scenes diplomatic negotiations.

The deal would first reopen the strait and lift the US blockade

Two of the regional officials speaking to the AP confirmed that mediators are working with both sides on a proposal that would include reopening the strait and lifting the U.S. blockade, and then removing sanctions.

According to the draft text being discussed, the strait would reopen in accordance with a separate deal that Iran has been discussing with Oman, on the other side of the strait, and it would include no tolls — something Tehran has pursued. That deal seeks to temporarily manage shipping traffic on what was seen as an international waterway before the war.

One regional official said the U.S. is seeking Iranian concessions on nuclear issues that include allowing inspectors to enter the country. Under the memorandum of understanding the two sides signed in June that collapsed within days, Iran’s nuclear program was meant to be discussed over a 60-day period.

The U.S. officials say the United States is skeptical about whether Iran can be persuaded to ultimately reach Trump’s conditions for a deal and would be serious about any promises it makes, especially after it broke the interim deal by firing on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. officials feel their position is getting stronger as Tehran feels the impact of sanctions.

Iran's latest proposal seeks faster action

While Iran’s latest proposal echoes the June deal, a key difference is speed.

Araghchi told a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week that Tehran had pitched the deal as benefiting Trump in the midterm elections. Araghchi later told journalists that “the seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan.”

Meanwhile, Araghchi met Monday with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, whose office said he welcomed diplomatic efforts in the last week to end the conflict and urged the parties to keep talking.

Both the U.S. and Iran have been hurting economically — the U.S. from high oil prices as Iran attacks ships on the strait, and Tehran from the naval blockade and a growing number of U.S. sanctions that bottle up its oil sales. Brent crude, the international standard, is above $108.

For months, the two sides have been trying to outlast the other, while regional countries endure missile and drone attacks as Tehran claims to target U.S. military assets in the region.

Reflecting Iran's impatience, a rare statement on Monday attributed to the theocracy's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei noted the “painful blows” that enemy forces have received near the strait. “Before long, the Arabian Sea, too, will be rid of them,” the statement added.

Tehran's latest proposal again sought to end the fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon. But a new front has emerged in recent weeks as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are now perched on another crucial waterway, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. That has further pressured global energy markets.

Iran argues that the Houthis have their own demands, and that their conflict with neighboring Saudi Arabia is separate from the U.S.-Iran war, but Iranian officials said they are willing to help in finding a settlement between the Houthis and the Saudis, one of the officials said.

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Price and Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Collin Binkley in Washington and AP Middle East editor Victoria Eastwood contributed to this report.

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AP STANDARDS: The AP only uses anonymous sources when the information is vital to the news report and not opinion or speculation. The information must be unavailable except under the conditions of anonymity imposed by the source. The source must be reliable, in a position to have accurate information and approved by news managers.

Klitschko, a Ukrainian former world champion boxer, has had full custody of the girl, Kaya, for most of her life, and she has lived with him in Ukraine. Kaya is Panettiere's sole heir. The filing in a Los Angeles County court cites items seized in a federal investigation of the actor’s death, unnamed and unauthorized people accessing her residence in Los Angeles, and valuables that are missing.

The petition says it is “urgent and essential” that Klitschko be granted the legal status of temporary guardian of his daughter's estate.

“Without an immediate appointment for these purposes, there is a high probability that property belonging to Hayden’s Estate may be lost, damaged or dissipated before a duly appointed personal representative can be in place to protect it,” the filing says.

Klitschko's lawyers filed the petition on Thursday, but it did not become publicly known until Monday, when it was reported by TMZ. The filing emphasizes that his intention is solely to protect his daughter's future assets until a permanent administrator can be put in place.

Panettiere, the former star of the TV series “Heroes” and “Nashville,” died Aug. 16 at age 36. A coroner's report obtained by The Associated Press said her death was from an accidental overdose of several drugs, including fentanyl, and she had been in rehab just weeks before. She was found unresponsive in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina.

The petition says that federal agents have taken Panettiere’s property in an investigation, and there is no authorized person to deal with them and assure it is returned.

The filing says that before her death, Panettiere and Klitschko hired security to protect her home because an unnamed person had gained unauthorized access. The petition says it's expected the same person will continue to try to “misappropriate” property belonging to her estate.

A hearing on the issue is scheduled for Oct. 8.

In her memoir released earlier this year, Panettiere acknowledged being addicted to alcohol and having postpartum depression after her daughter's birth in 2014. Kaya went to live with Klitschko full-time when she was 2. Panettiere's father told investigators that when she died she had plans to visit her daughter in Ukraine days later.

Klitschko, 50, an Olympic gold medalist, held several heavyweight titles between 2000 and 2015. He and Panettiere began dating in 2009 and got engaged in 2013.

His older brother Vitali, also a former champion boxer, is mayor of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. The two brothers, sons of a Soviet major general, have worked to protect their country during its war with Russia.

Sponsored by Cruz, the Senate Commerce Committee chair, and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, the Protect College Sports Act had remained stalled since it advanced through the committee in June. After hours of discussion Monday on amendments that saw minor changes to the bill, it finally passed in the upper chamber 77-22. The bill must still clear the U.S. House, which is in recess until after the November elections, before reaching the desk of President Donald Trump. 

Cruz’s bill would install a slew of regulations to rectify what he frequently has called the “chaos” that’s emerged since the NCAA’s 2021 decision to allow college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness, or NIL, and after a subsequent settlement a few years later, House v. NCAA, forced the association and its athletic conferences to share revenue with athletes. College athletics continue to operate under varying state laws, court rulings and NCAA regulations that govern everything from athlete compensation to conference realignment. 

On the Senate floor Monday, Cruz said the bill “protects our student-athletes.”

“It protects NIL opportunities, because student-athletes deserve the opportunity to benefit from their talent without being taken advantage of by unscrupulous agents and backdoor deals,” Cruz said. “It creates clear, enforceable rules for eligibility and transfers. It protects our traditions and rivalries. It prevents the most powerful and wealthy conferences from breaking away to form a super league.”

The bill garnered fresh momentum at the start of August, when Cruz, other lawmakers and White House officials won the support of Big Ten and Southeastern Conference leaders, who got on board after Cruz and Cantwell revised the bill’s revenue sharing framework. Soon after, the White House formally voiced its support for the bill, with Trump calling on lawmakers to move quickly to pass it. Cruz has recently pressed the House to return to Capitol Hill to pass the legislation. 

“What I would like to see is the speaker call the House back to pass this bill and put it on the president’s desk,” he said on his podcast last week, adding that he has “urged the president to sign it on the set of College Gameday, do it on a big game and do it going into the election.”

Among other provisions, the bill would enshrine some recent legal victories for athletes while also establishing stricter regulations on their activity. Schools and athletic organizations could no longer restrict athletes from entering NIL agreements, while athletes would have to report their revenue above $600 to their institutions. It would also limit athletes to one transfer throughout their college careers and establish permanent ceilings on their revenue, with annual adjustments for inflation. 

The legislation also aims to protect athletic programs that don’t return huge profits. Division I conferences would be prohibited from reducing their schools’ required number of varsity or Olympic sports teams. Schools that make $80 million or more in annual athletics revenue would have to at least maintain 2024-25 levels of scholarships and roster spots for sports that don’t generate a profit. 

For Ruben Rojas Betanzos, a Syracuse University student-athlete, president of Syracuse’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and vice chair of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s committee, the rapidly changing landscape has made it increasingly difficult for athletes to know what rules apply to them. 

“Rules are changing so quickly that it’s almost impossible for someone to keep up,” Betanzos told The Texas Tribune. “A student-athlete in one state could be having a completely different experience from an athlete in another state.”

Betanzos, who is in his fifth year at Syracuse and completing a masters in business administration after studying bioengineering as an undergraduate, said he supports the bill’s provisions addressing healthcare, Olympic and women’s sports, and capping agent endorsement fees at 5%. 

Other notable college sports figures have voiced their support for the legislation, like former University of Alabama football head coach Nick Saban and Deion Sanders, current head coach of the University of Colorado Boulder football team. 

But the bill has drawn significant opposition from labor and civil rights organizations, as well as some lawmakers who argue that it would give the NCAA and athletic conferences too much control over athletes.

In an August letter to Senate leadership, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson urged lawmakers to reject the legislation. 

“Congress should not grant new federal benefits, legal protections, or economic advantages to public institutions and athletic conferences that profit from the talent and labor of Black college athletes while remaining silent as their states dilute Black voting power,” he wrote. “That arrangement is a modern version of Jim Crow.” 

Black athletes make up about 20 percent of Division I athletes and more than 40 percent of Division I men’s basketball and football players, according to NCAA figures. 

The AFL-CIO, a major federation of U.S. labor unions, also urged senators to oppose the bill in a letter signed by Jody Calemine, director of government affairs. The letter took aim at the legislation’s antitrust exemption for universities and conferences, and argued that the bill halts the progress that athletes have made in combating their exploitation through collusion. 

“The bill only gained its current momentum not when athletes’ interests were satisfied but when the richest intercollegiate conferences in the country voted to endorse the bill,” the letter read. “That should tell you everything you need to know about who this bill protects.”

Gabby Birenbaum contributed to this report.

The overwhelming 77-22 vote to pass the legislation is the strongest effort yet by Congress to set national regulations governing payments to college athletes for their name, image and likeness and how often they can transfer. It would give the NCAA new authority over those rules and limited antitrust protections to enforce them.

The bill is the product of years of Senate negotiations that intensified after a 2025 lawsuit settlement uprooted the college sports landscape by allowing colleges to pay their players. The legislation, which would still have to pass the House, would codify the settlement into law but also establish new guardrails around the system in an attempt to rein in the runaway costs for colleges.

“It would be nice if college sports could somehow magically fix itself, but this is a matter of law, federal law, and only Congress can fix it,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who negotiated the bill with the top Democrat on the panel, Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell.

President Donald Trump praised the bill in a social media post after the late night passage. “This is a really big deal,” he said. “It will not only save college sports, it will save the colleges themselves.”

The bill's backers — more than 70 senators from both parties — say it aims to curtail constant litigation and uncertainty across college sports for athletes, schools and fans. It would also give hundreds of thousands of athletes new health and labor protections.

But critics say the bill doesn't do enough to protect athletes or curtail the enormous sums of money flowing to coaches, colleges and conferences.

“This is a bill that essentially ensconces a system of exploitation, and it doesn’t fix the broader problems,” said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat who has worked with labor and civil rights groups to rally opposition to the bill.

The bill’s future is still unclear. It could face an uphill battle in the House, which failed repeatedly over the last year to get a different version to the floor and is in recess until after the November elections.

Lawmakers will have to start over in the next Congress if the bill doesn't pass both chambers by the end of the year.

Bill addresses skyrocketing spending, unlimited transfers

College sports have been reeling in the wake of the 2025 court settlement allowing colleges to directly pay players for their name, image and likeness. The fallout has reshaped the industry and led to football roster payrolls that can exceed $40 million.

The bill would codify the court settlement, including a revenue cap that allows schools to share up to $21.5 million in revenue with their players. The legislation would more than double that amount for some schools, allowing up to an additional $27.5 million in payments through a retention fund — a change that helped win the support of the two largest conferences, the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference.

To help schools raise more revenue, the bill would give schools and conferences the option of pooling their TV media rights.

The legislation also aims to stabilize the NCAA transfer portal that has led to players constantly switching teams. It would restrict player transfers to one “free” move over five years without sitting out a year, with some exceptions, and also would restrict players to five years of total eligibility.

The proposed eligibility limit comes amid backlash to schools that have increasingly pushed boundaries, including LSU's now-canceled plans to place players on the roster who had participated in NFL training camps.

“That was probably like a big lamp for some people who saw it and said, ‘Oh my God, this is so out of control,’” Cantwell said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

The bill also would restrict coaches from leaving their schools during the season, force schools that want to switch conferences to spend three years as an independent and prevent conferences from growing larger than 20 programs — an effort to prevent so-called “superleagues” from taking over sports. A last-minute amendment proposed by Florida Sen. Ashley Moody raised that cap from 19 in the original legislation.

The vote was delayed several hours on Monday as senators negotiated Moody’s amendment and others that were eventually adopted, including a provision to make it easier for athletes to sue over sexual assault and a requirement to disclose foreign financing.

The Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., that would have put limits on ticket prices for fans and two by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., that would have capped coaches’ salaries at $5 million a year and increased compensation for athletes who have catastrophic injuries.

Critics say it wouldn’t do enough to help athletes

The legislation includes new protections for athletes, including caps on agent fees and guarantees for health insurance and scholarships. It would also require schools to maintain a minimum number of sports and roster spots — an effort to ensure that women's and Olympic sports are not cut in favor of football, basketball and other sports that generate more revenue.

Still, some Democrats say it wouldn't do enough to limit the big money in college sports.

The legislation “places a cap on the students’ cut of the revenues, but there are no caps on coaches’ salaries or on the size of donations to athletic programs,” Murphy said last week.

Groups like the NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus and AFL-CIO have also opposed the bill, in part, because it leaves unresolved whether athletes should be considered employees with the ability to collectively bargain.

All four Black Democrats in the Senate — Booker, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland — have opposed the bill.

Booker, who played football at Stanford in the late 1980s on a scholarship, noted the “outsized role” that Black athletes play in college sports. He said it wasn't until college athletes were able to begin to win cases in court that the power started to shift, “and now the NCAA is coming here to the United States Senate, asking for sweeping powers" to exempt antitrust laws.

“We know who this bill is protecting,” Booker said.

House passage is uncertain

Despite strong bipartisan support in the Senate, the bill faces a murky path in the House.

House lawmakers won't return to Washington until mid-November, after the elections. And it's unclear what will be on Republican leaders' agenda in the chaotic last few weeks of the session.

Pressure from Trump could help push the bill to passage. But some House Republicans have insisted on language explicitly stating that athletes are not employees, which the Senate bill does not have — a key concession to Cantwell to win enough Democratic support.

After the bill's passage, Cruz said it is his hope “that we see in the House the same thing we saw in the Senate: a big bipartisan vote.”

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Pells reported from Denver. Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

The World War II Navy veteran was surrounded by family and friends for a milestone celebration that felt entirely fitting for a man his family calls one of the greats.

Lyons smiled through the whole thing, taking in every song, every candle and every moment.

The Pasadena mayor’s office even sent a representative with something special.

“The mayor sent me with something very special for you, and that is a proclamation,” the representative said.

Lyons served in the U.S. Navy as a Fireman First Class V6 from April 1944 until August 1951, spending time aboard the USS Gregory and the USS DeHaven. When asked about his time in the war, he was gracious, but told us he didn’t talk about it much.

“I was just a sailor,” Lyons said. “We were always on those huge warships. I worked down below in the ship. I was no great person, I was just a guy.”

His family says they don’t have many photos from his Navy days or his younger years. His daughter Holly isn’t sure where her late mother stored those memories. But they’re making new ones every chance they get.

“He’s a cut-up! He has so much fun playing with the great-grandkids,” Holly Lyons said.

Holly says the birthday celebration was about more than cake and candles.

“I just thought we should honor him for still being alive, being such a good family man and living here in Pasadena since 1958,” Holly said.

Robert Lyons has called Pasadena home for more than 66 years. He is part of a generation that gave everything — and asked for very little in return. His family says they plan to keep honoring him today, tomorrow and for as long as they’re lucky enough to do so.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday that his office will present evidence to a grand jury as he faces questions from the public about why there were no criminal prosecutions in the case.

The woman, identified only by a pseudonym in the lawsuit, filed the complaint Sept. 16, saying she was sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house on the Ivy League campus in October 2024 after being pressured into snorting ketamine, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. She became completely incapacitated while frat members were sexually assaulting her, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit, the reopening of the investigation and Cornell’s response have sparked a flood of commentary on social media. Many people have criticized the school and the district attorney’s office in their posts, while some have expressed doubt about the lawsuit’s allegations. Some posted photos of the seven fraternity members.

The accuser is suing the men, the Chi Phi fraternity, the university, an Ithaca bar and others, seeking undisclosed damages. Her attorney did not immediately respond Monday to messages seeking comment on the prosecutor’s decision.

The woman went to campus police at the time, but Van Houten said the accuser did not make any claims of being gang-raped or drugged in her initial sworn statement to authorities. The prosecutor also said he was never contacted by the woman's attorney about her statement or about reconsidering the decision not to prosecute, but he reached out to the attorney recently.

“Seeking justice sometimes requires us to reconsider or reopen cases when we are provided with additional evidence,” Van Houten said in a statement. “I have been asked by the community to revisit the decision whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members. I have already begun that process, starting with our conversation with Jane Doe and her attorneys.”

Cornell responds to criticism about its handling of the allegations

The university said in a statement that it supports the decision to reopen the investigation. The school said it conducted its own investigation and issued sanctions, including expelling some students and suspending others. It also said the on-campus Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.

School officials on Monday declined to release more information on the sanctions, including how many students were expelled and suspended. Cornell said last week that federal privacy law barred it from disclosing specific information on individual students.

“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” the university said. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”

The national chapter of Chi Phi did not return phone and email messages Monday.

The school said it conducted an internal disciplinary investigation in 2024. It said a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days, and both the woman and the people accused had the opportunity to testify and present evidence.

Lawsuit alleges student was sexually assaulted during a night of celebrating

The woman's complaint accuses the university of not preventing the alleged assaults and failing to properly address sexual violence on campus. It includes a photo that it says shows a group chat between frat members discussing the night's events.

The woman, who was a 20-year-old Cornell student at the time and a sorority member, went to campus police about three weeks later, according to the lawsuit. The fraternity and seven of its members were placed on temporary suspension that same day, the lawsuit said.

The complaint said the seven were given “the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell."

Cornell said “none of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement," noting the expulsions and suspensions.

Over the weekend, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned what she called a “culture of rape” that is protected at elite institutions.

“When I read what happened at Cornell, those men posted in a group chat. That means it was normal to them. That means it was acceptable to them. This is a culture,” she said Sunday at a forum packed with young people near Cornell’s campus.

“And what we must do is understand that we cannot protect those spaces any more.”

School says it has taken additional action to address sexual violence

Cornell said a school task force on campus sexual assault, formed in 2025, made recommendations earlier this year, several of which have been implemented while others are in development.

The task force report said a 2025 school survey showed 35% of undergraduate women and 8% of undergraduate men reported experiencing sexual assault during their time at Cornell.

Since the lawsuit was filed, the prosecutor said, his office has been flooded with phone calls, voicemails and emails about the case from people seeking answers and others making insults and threats.

“The community outrage stemming from the incomplete news and social media coverage requires that I provide an answer to why the investigation resulted in a lack of criminal charges,” Van Houten said in a statement.

Eeshaan Chaudhuri, a Cornell senior and president of the student government, said there needs to be a fresh look at the university’s initial investigation and why the district attorney's office did not do more.

There also needs to be an examination of the culture at the fraternity, he said.

“This issue poses more of a broader question, not just at Cornell,” he said. “Obviously, these things can’t be fixed overnight.”

Flock cameras use automated license plate recognition technology to capture license plates and help investigators identify vehicles that may be connected to criminal investigations.

Andy Kahan, director of victim services and advocacy for Crime Stoppers of Houston, says the technology has become an important investigative tool — particularly in cases where investigators may have few witnesses or other leads.

“It’s the best witness you can get. It’s undisputable evidence that you were in the vicinity when the crime took place,” Kahan said.

Kahan also acknowledges concerns about how the technology is used, particularly when officers access information for reasons unrelated to legitimate law enforcement purposes.

“If you misuse information from Flock cameras for personal use, we’re gonna come down hard,” he said. “There’s a good likelihood you’re gonna end up in prison, and is that what you really want?”

Flock cameras provide leads in violent crime cases

Kahan points to the September 19 shooting death of five-year-old Zah’Layah Walton as an example of how Flock data can help investigators.

Walton was shot and killed while riding in a car with her mother. Kahan says Flock camera data gave investigators a critical lead, helping authorities identify and arrest a suspect in less than 24 hours.

The suspect was later charged with capital murder.

Kahan says the circumstances of the shooting demonstrate why having an additional source of information can be important to investigators.

“If you’re in a pitch dark of night, it’s really not much you can go on. I mean, the chances of someone witnessing that are slim, slim to none.”

Kahan also points to another recent case.

“We had another case two weeks ago of a man that was riding a bicycle. He was struck, killed by a hit-and-run driver. They were able to use the Flock cameras and track down the car via the plates.”

Crime Stoppers of Houston maintains a list of unsolved cases, including murders and hit-and-runs. Kahan says he sometimes thinks about whether additional investigative leads could have changed the course of some cases if license plate readers had been available when those crimes occurred.

“I know for all the families I’ve dealt with, they would’ve liked some substantial lead to go on.”

Some Texas lawmakers want the technology banned

While Kahan emphasizes the investigative benefits of Flock cameras, some elected officials have raised concerns about the amount of information the technology can collect about people’s movements.

State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst has called for Texas to “Get the Flock out of Texas,” citing privacy concerns.

In an op-ed posted on Facebook, Kolkhorst argued that the widespread use of automated license plate readers raises Fourth Amendment concerns. She also said members of the Texas Senate are discussing an outright ban on ALPRs when the Texas Legislature convenes in January.

Kolkhorst has raised concerns about the potential for license plate data to be combined with other information, arguing that advances in technology and artificial intelligence could create broader surveillance capabilities.

Her position contrasts with Kahan’s argument that Flock cameras can provide critical leads for investigators and victims’ families.

The debate is now centered on how Texas should balance the investigative uses of automated license plate readers with concerns over privacy and the potential misuse of the information they collect.

The issue is expected to receive additional attention when lawmakers return to Austin for the legislative session in January.

Trooper Hayden Phillips, 30, was shot when he pulled over a vehicle on Interstate 65 in Warren County, Col. Phillip Burnett Jr., commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, said during a news conference.

The vehicle left the scene, and after a brief search, law enforcement found it and the suspect about 94 miles (151 kilometers) northeast in Jefferson County, he said. Police in Louisville caught the suspect, a 51-year-old man from Portland, Tennessee.

Kyle Bumgarner, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, described it as a “routine traffic stop" and said officials responded within minutes of the shooting.

The suspect will be transported back to Warren County and face state murder charges, he said.

“This is among, if not among, it is the most heinous crime that can be committed in our commonwealth,” Bumgarner said. "One of our own was gunned down and murdered on the side of the road.”

Officials didn’t say why the trooper pulled the man over, how the shooting unfolded and whether the suspect has a criminal record.

Phillips had been at the agency for three years and was based out of Bowling Green in south-central Kentucky. He was a husband and father of three.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Phillips “a hero who dedicated himself to protecting our commonwealth.”

The meeting between Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan took place on Sunday, two people who were briefed on the Israeli leader's trip confirmed on Monday.

Meanwhile, the European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the bloc is applying for observer status in a Saudi-led maritime defense coalition formed to protect the kingdom's energy exports. The EU already has six vessels deployed to the Red Sea to protect shipping.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Monday. Full coverage is available here.

Netanyahu made a secret visit to the UAE

The Israeli prime minister held an hourlong meeting with the UAE’s president on Sunday, according to two people briefed on Netanyahu's trip, which was first reported by Israel’s Channel 12 TV station.

One of them said the talks focused on a report published by the Israeli daily Haaretz earlier this month that said the Emirati leader warned Netanyahu about a looming attack by Hamas just ahead of Oct. 7, 2023.

Netanyahu asked Sheikh Mohamed to deny the report, according to a person said to have firsthand information about the meeting. Netanyahu’s office had previously denied the Haaretz report. The person, along with a regional official briefed on the meeting, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the secret trip.

There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.

The Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, filed a complaint with Israel’s chief military censor against Channel 12 over what it called a serious censorship violation. It said the timing of the report endangered the prime minister and the operation and forces on the ground and exposed Shin Bet operational methods.

The PMO said Channel 12 reported the flight at 9:38 p.m. while the plane was still outside Israel and about an hour before it landed.

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on reports about the meeting but stressed it maintains “open and direct lines of communication” with Israel and shares “all relevant intelligence.”

The UAE’s state-run WAM news agency later confirmed the visit, saying the two leaders on Sunday discussed “bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel, as well as ways to strengthen and develop them.”

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By Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Samy Magdy in Cairo

EU applies for observer status in a Saudi mission in the Red Sea

The European Union is applying for “observer status” in a new multinational maritime defense coalition led by Saudi Arabia formed to protect the kingdom’s energy exports.

The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas made the announcement on Monday, ahead of a Brussels meeting. The energy-hungry EU is facing record energy prices due to the war in Iran.

Kallas said she will ask for an expansion of the bloc’s own small naval force in the Red Sea dubbed ASPIDES to help escort cargo vessels through the key strategic chokepoint of the Bab el-Mandeb strait and protect them from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Kallas said the “need is bigger than it’s ever been” for more ships. It’s unclear what observer status in the Saudi-led coalition would mean operationally for either the EU or ASPIDES.

Supreme leader says Iranian troops defended the Strait of Hormuz from the enemy

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has praised his country’s fighters for allegedly preventing “enemy forces” from “roaming freely” in the Strait of Hormuz.

Khamenei said in a message carried by the state broadcaster on Monday that Iran’s enemies now “do not come” closer to the strait than the Arabian Sea, which is part of the Indian Ocean.

Soon, “the Arabian Sea too, will be rid of them,” said the message, issued to mark the two-year anniversary of the killing of the militant Hezbollah group's longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.

Khamenei hasn't been seen or heard publicly since the opening attacks of the war on Feb. 28 that killed his father and previous supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Houthi-run health ministry says 4 civilians killed in strike on a home in southwestern Yemen

The Houthi-run health ministry said a strike by Saudi-backed forces on a residence in southwestern Yemen’s Taiz province killed three women and an elderly man.

The statement Monday said three others were injured in the strike in Kadhah, in western Taiz. It was not immediately clear if the strike occurred Monday.

The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the claims.

Al-Masirah TV, a Houthi-controlled satellite news channel, aired footage it said to be showing a partially destroyed bloc of rural one-floor residences.

WHO says more people have been killed or wounded in Yemen

The World Health Organization said Sunday it has documented 164 deaths and 645 injuries from the war in Yemen between Sept. 19 and Sept. 26.

This brings the overall casualties since Aug. 6 to 4,481, with 838 fatalities. The latest intense fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Yemeni government forces has displaced more than 180,000 people.

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 1 person, wound others

A woman was killed and her husband wounded when an Israeli strike hit a Gaza City rooftop on Monday, Shifa Hospital officials said. Another person was also wounded and in critical condition.

The Israeli military later said it was aware of this strike and was looking into its results.

Later Monday, a second Israeli strike, on a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, left one person critically injured, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza.

The Israeli military said it targeted a “military operative,” but did not immediately provide further details or identify the individual.

More than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza ceasefire took effect nearly a year ago. Around half that number are women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which maintains detailed records that international organizations consider reliable.

Iranian and Emirati officials argue about ownership of Gulf islands

In the waning hours of the U.N. General Assembly, Iran and the United Arab Emirates used their final moments to jab at each other over the islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb, which are once again in the crosshairs of regional escalations.

The three small islands — which were seized in 1971 by Iran from what would later become the UAE — sit at the confluence of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, the minister of state for the United Arab Emirates, used part of his speech earlier in the day to criticize Iran for its “occupation” of the islands.

Hours later, Nasser Asadi, a member of Iran’s U.N. mission, responded by saying that Tehran “illustrates its full sovereignty” over the islands.

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Leo, who dedicated his first encyclical to AI and protecting humanity in its wake, was asked during a press conference about what the United States and China especially should be doing to prevent AI from posing catastrophic risks to humanity. U.S. President Donald Trump has called concerns about AI going rogue a “hoax.”

“This is a problem that, I think, we need to sit down and talk about,” the American pope told reporters returning home from France. “We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen.”

Trump has been a champion of AI, often warning that the United States must remain ahead of China in the technological arms race. He has said efforts to limit the technology were part of a “conspiracy” by his political opponents.

Several AI giants, including Anthropic, have called for a slowdown in development to give safety measures time to catch up to the fast-moving technology. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, for example, has warned that within six to 12 months, AI could be capable of leading a swarm of agents that could take over the entire internet.

Trump had a late-night dinner with Amodei on Sunday, during which they discussed Americans' concerns about the technology and how to keep America dominant, the White House said.

“If someone were to ask me ‘Am I in panic mode?’ No I’m not. I sleep at night,” Leo said. “I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI should be taken seriously.”

“I don’t think that that is ‘fake news’ as some have said to try and cause whether financial or other some other kind of benefit,” Leo said.

The pope says AI is one of the biggest challenges to humanity

The pope, who called for robust regulation of AI and a slowdown of the technology in his encyclical “Magnificent Humanity,” is up to speed on developments in the field.

Despite being at the end of a grueling four-day trip to France, Leo noted a news report Monday afternoon about Nvidia introducing guardrails into AI. He also noted that the company has previously resisted outside regulation of AI development.

Leo had identified AI as one of the biggest challenges to humanity within days of his election and took the unusual step of personally launching his own encyclical alongside Anthropic's co-founder Christopher Olah at a Vatican event in May. The initiative was part of the Vatican's effort to engage Silicon Valley about the human costs of AI.

“We need to continue to invite political leaders, leaders of AI, social organizations, associations to come together and look at what is happening already and what could be down the road,” he said Monday.

“To simply say ‘Oh it’s not going to happen’ and close our eyes to it I think is probably not the most responsible way to go about that,” he added.

It's not the first time the pope and Trump have disagreed

With his comments Monday about the legitimacy of safety concerns and AI development, Leo has confirmed another area of disagreement with Trump. The two had a back-and-forth in April over Leo’s opposition to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and Leo has also criticized the Trump administration’s migration crackdown.

Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week in Washington and while Xi said that it was important to ensure AI is “always under human control,” Trump focused more on trying to rebrand it as “superintelligence” and dismissed calls for regulation. However, the two leaders agreed to explore a new “notification mechanism” for AI incidents affecting national security.

AI has become a major election-year issue in the U.S. as some of the country’s largest companies rush to build a national network of data centers while Americans from both parties increasingly raise alarms about the impact on farmland, water supplies and electricity bills.

The pope says he's optimistic about solutions

Worries about AI are continuing to grow inside and outside the industry and reports continue to emerge about increasingly powerful systems that solve problems beyond human capacity but could also go rogue and carry out other, more harmful tasks.

The worries have grown so loud that the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said in an interview with Fortune that his company would wait until next year to start selling its stock to investors on Wall Street as it focuses on safety.

Leo noted that ever since he published his encyclical in May, the Vatican has received comments from people interested in being part of a broader conversation about AI. A Vatican commission is working to promote dialogue, study and investigation “to find ways to make sure that AI does not get to a point of destroying humanity or removing humanity from the conversation,” he said.

Leo said he was “relatively optimistic” that solutions could be found.

“I think there are enough people seriously interested in that and willing to look at that outside of the questions once again of power, who gets there first,” he said.

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AP writers Roberta Rampton and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed.

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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 men were detained early Sunday after three vans were spotted in the countryside near RAF Fairford, a U.K.-owned base that has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including this year's war with Iran.

Investigators haven't concluded whether the incident was state-backed. They are investigating a possible link to Iran, Russia or non-state militant groups. RAF Fairford has also been the focus of protests by anti-war campaigners.

The five suspects, who haven't been named, were initially held over suspected explosives offenses and later also arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism. Police said the men are all British nationals from London and in their 20s.

Britain's national news agency, PA, reported without citing sources that police had not found viable explosives. Announcing that the suspects had been bailed, the head of U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing, Laurence Taylor, said that the suspects face stringent conditions and “absolutely remain under investigation."

Taylor said lines of inquiry include that the suspected offenses were committed by "proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.

Iran denied involvement. The Iranian Embassy in London said that it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” about the incident.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview late Monday with Fox News host Sean Hannity that it “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor” but did not name a specific country.

Residents were evacuated from 85 homes in the village of Whelford near the base on Sunday, and army bomb-disposal experts used a robot to examine three white vans. The villagers were allowed to return home late Monday afternoon, though a cordon remained around the three vehicles, police said.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee on Monday “to make sure we have the full picture" of the incident, he said.

The arrests came after reports of suspicious vehicles

It was unclear whether the arrested men had been on security services' radar. Local residents described seeing heightened security around RAF Fairford in recent days, with heavy vehicles parked across entrance gates.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the suspects had been detained following cooperation between the U.S. and Britain, and had been “under view” for some time. Police, however, said the arrests were triggered by a late-night call about “suspicious vehicles” near the base.

A local farmer said she called police after seeing three oddly parked vans as she drove home late Saturday night, and that nearby she came across “a large group of men,” some with their faces covered. She said they scattered when they saw her vehicle.

She declined to be identified to protect her identity because she was describing what she saw as potential security lapses.

British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said the farmer “did exactly the right thing” by calling police but only had “a partial view” of the operation.

The arrests came at a time of heightened tensions around the threat from hostile states, with British intelligence services saying Russia and Iran have both used proxies to commit crimes on U.K. soil. In March, officials said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states, including Iran, increased by 50% in the six months to December 2025.

Iran has been linked to a series of attacks in Europe

Britain didn't join the U.S. and Israel in the Iran war, which began on Feb. 28, and initially denied Trump’s request to use bases in the U.K. to strike Iran. But then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed in March to let the U.S. use bases in Britain for what he called “defensive” operations against Iran’s missiles and their launch sites following Iranian attacks on U.K. interests and Britain’s allies in the Gulf.

American B-1 and B-52 bombers have taken off from Fairford, 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of London, for operations during the Iran conflict.

Iran has said that it considers any base used to attack its territory a legitimate target.

British security officials say proxies linked to Iran have been behind a string of arsons and other attacks in the U.K. and other countries, many of them targeting the Jewish community and intended to sow fear. They have previously warned that Tehran could expand its targets in the U.K. if conflicts in the Middle East continue.

Several people also have been charged with plotting to commit arson in the U.K. on behalf of Russia-linked groups.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Monday that the incident is a “reminder of the threats our country faces.”

Miliband met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the United Nations in New York last week and told him that “Britain will not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on U.K. soil,” according to a U.K. readout of the conversation.

US Air Force says personnel remain vigilant

The U.S. Air Force said that its personnel on the base “remain vigilant,” but “for operational security reasons we will not discuss specific force protection measures.”

Rubio thanked the British authorities for their cooperation and help in breaking up the alleged plot, which he called a “very serious situation.” He said the British had been “very cooperative” but declined to comment in more detail, particularly about the fact that the suspects had been released on bail.

“I would argue that they’ve been very cooperative and very helpful on something that’s a very serious incident,” Rubio said in the Fox News interview, adding that the British response had been “appropriate.”

The U.S. Embassy in London has warned Americans in Britain to be cautious and mindful of their personal security.

Trump said that authorities had the suspects “under view for a long time and we got them.”

“It was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort. And working with the British worked out great,” he told reporters in Chicago on Sunday.

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Lawless reported from Liverpool, England. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Ben Finley in Washington contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: In recent shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the federal government has withheld the names of the officers involved. This is a departure from the practice of many law enforcement agencies — including Texas’ biggest police departments — and contradicts advice the federal government has reportedly given local agencies in the past.

Today, we are publishing the name of the officer who allegedly shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston this summer. In recent weeks, local law enforcement and members of Congress have said their questions about the shooting have not been answered. We are publishing because we believe transparency in the case is of vital public interest as investigators, lawmakers and the public seek to understand what happened and how ICE operates more broadly in this state.

The federal immigration agent who witnesses say fired through an open van window and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston nearly three months ago has been identified to The Texas Tribune as Gregory Feathers by an official familiar with the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly. His role in the shooting is also corroborated by records, some of which were publicly released.

Feathers was rehired within the past two years after previously retiring, according to two people with knowledge of his employment history, overlapping with the second Trump administration’s aggressive recruitment of former Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to help meet its ambitious deportation goals. Feathers’ name was included in a Form I-213, which is akin to a police report and details ICE agents’ description of the chase and shooting incident. The form, which is not typically public, was mistakenly released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office last month. Other records obtained by the Tribune identify Feathers as calling paramedics and name him as one of two arresting agents involved in the deadly pursuit. The front seat passenger in Salgado Araujo’s van identified the shooter to the Tribune from a photograph which was separately confirmed to be Feathers by the official familiar with the investigation.

Feathers has not been charged with a crime and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has defended the shooting as an act of self-defense. But the local district attorney appears to be currently empaneling a grand jury that could result in criminal charges for Feathers, who through his attorney declined to comment. The lawyer, Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube, said that DHS policy prevents her client from speaking during a pending investigation. She also declined to comment.

The district attorney’s investigation is being assisted by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and DHS are separately probing the incident.

The federal government has withheld the shooter’s identification from the public and even members of Congress, as it has done for most immigration agents involved in shootings since Trump returned to office. Texas lawmakers said their questions about those agents’ names and experience have remained unanswered, even as members of Congress are usually entitled to more information about federal investigations than the public.

Major state and local law enforcement agencies across the country typically identify officers involved in shootings on the job soon after the incident, according to policing experts.

Spokespeople for DHS, which oversees ICE, did not respond to detailed questions about Feathers.

“Doxxing our officers put their lives and their families in serious danger,” an unnamed DHS spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Our law enforcement officers are on the frontlines arresting terrorists, gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and rapists. Now, thanks to the malicious rhetoric of sanctuary politicians, they are under constant threat from violent agitators.”

ICE agents, the spokesperson said, are experiencing “coordinated campaigns of violence against them,” which includes a sniper firing at an ICE detention center in Dallas a year ago. The shooter, who killed himself, intended to harm ICE agents, according to officials. Instead he killed two detainees and seriously wounded another.

The spokesperson said there has been more than a 1,600% increase in assaults, a 3,300% increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats against ICE agents since Trump returned to office.

Other immigration agents who killed people in the line of duty in recent months have been identified by news organizations, including ProPublica and the New York Times. There has been no public indication that any of them were subjected to violence afterward.

During Trump’s second administration, immigration agents, who often are masked, have shot at least two dozen people in the past two years — at least six, including three U.S. citizens, have died. Many of the shootings involved agents firing at people in moving vehicles, which law enforcement experts said is typically prohibited or discouraged by local police. The growing tally of deaths at the hands of anonymous federal agents has ignited outcries by Democrats, the victims’ relatives and residents to identify them.

Three of those killed were in Texas: An American citizen in South Padre Island and a Mexican immigrant who crossed the Rio Grande into Starr County, in addition to Salgado Araujo. Earlier this month, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man with a deportation order was shot in the back in Austin by a masked ICE agent, who also has not been identified. He is still alive but seriously injured and remains detained, according to his attorney. Federal officials claimed those shootings were in self-defense, as they have also maintained in the other cases.

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat who represents the mostly Latino district where Salgado Araujo was killed, called for ICE to identify his shooter as well as others involved in such incidents.

“Lorenzo Salgado Araujo had a name. His family had to bury him,” Garcia said to the Tribune. “The federal government should not be allowed to hide the identity of the officer who took his life.”

She is one of a growing number of federal and state lawmakers who have joined Salgado Araujo’s family and other relatives of people whom ICE have killed in demanding that the government release the names of immigration agents who slay or wound people on the job.

“For more than two months, our mom has cried every night wondering who killed her husband, lifelong partner, and our father,” Salgado Araujo’s two sons said in a joint statement to the Tribune. “When a government agent shoots someone, the least they can do is take responsibility for that fatal decision.”

They added that the family has “been in public begging for justice, putting our lives at risk while ICE has hidden the killer and tried to drag our father’s good name through the mud.”

Salgado Araujo’s brother, Victor, who was in the front passenger seat of the van on the day of the deadly pursuit, identified the shooter in a photo to the Tribune. He told his lawyer, in a transcript she provided to the Tribune with his permission, that the agent fired through his window while on foot, striking his brother in the stomach. He and the two other passengers have said in previous interviews that they had no idea that it was immigration agents pursuing them because the officers were in unmarked black SUVs. The brother did not know the shooter’s name.

“The bullet passed right in front of me,” he said in his first public comments since being released from ICE detention last month. It caused his ears to ring for hours after agents threw him on the ground, injuring his knee, he said, while he heard his brother scream, “they have already killed me.”

“It would have been better if they had killed me,” Victor Salgado Araujo said. “That way I wouldn’t be suffering like this. It completely changed my life. They destroyed our whole family.”

His attorney, Ruby L. Powers, said the family and their community deserve answers.

“When a government agent uses deadly force, the public has a right to know what happened, who was involved, and what the evidence shows,” Powers said. “Identifying the shooting agent is not an accusation of guilt — it’s part of the basic transparency and accountability the public should expect any time deadly force is used.”

Police Protocol

The secrecy surrounding the identities of ICE agents in officer-involved shootings stands in contrast to common practice for most local and state police, according to law enforcement experts.

The four largest police departments in Texas – Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas – all have written policies or regular protocols that they generally release the names of any officers accused of shootings on the job within three days, although it can take up to two weeks in certain cases, according to spokespeople for the agencies. Typically, they release related body camera footage in about a month, if not sooner, the spokespeople said.

A 2023 survey of 148 police departments across the country by the Police Executive Research Forum, a national organization seeking to improve law enforcement policy, found that more than a third identify officers involved in shootings that result in deaths or serious injuries. Of those, more than 90% reported no harm as a result to the officers they named and none suffered physical violence.

That identification often occurs before officers are cleared from internal investigations or criminally charged.

In 2019, for example, Baytown police officer Juan Delacruz, shot and killed a 44-year-old woman who had outstanding warrants and suffered from schizophrenia, according to her family. During the struggle with the officer, she used his Taser on him. He fired, killing her in self defense, according to his attorney. The small suburban police department released his name within days. A grand jury later indicted the officer of a felony charge of aggravated assault by a public servant. A jury in 2022 found him not guilty. 

In 2023, the San Antonio Police Department quickly identified three officers accused in the fatal shooting of a mother of four who was experiencing a mental health crisis, her family said, when she lunged at officers with a hammer. The department named Sgt. Alfred Flores and officers Nathaniel Villalobos and Eleazar Alejandro and released body camera footage within days, firing all three. Two officers were charged with murder and one with aggravated assault. They have maintained that it was in self defense and in 2025, a jury acquitted all three of the charges.

Last month, Austin police identified Officer Stephen Abbott, a 12-year veteran of the department, two days after he shot at a man suspected of pistol-whipping a victim who fired first at the officer. The suspect, who did not die, was later arrested after barricading himself in an apartment.

In its release of the officer’s name, Austin Police Department wrote that it “understands the importance of building trust within our community and will continue working diligently to develop a strong and trusting relationship.”

Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, an advocacy group that works with civil rights attorneys in police abuse cases across the country, said that most law enforcement agencies have written policies or procedures that they identify officers involved in shootings within days and release body camera footage shortly after.

“That is the general position of law enforcement these days: ‘We are going to release these names and we’re going to release the footage because that transparency gives us more credibility in this process,’” she said.

There are exceptions, however, such as undercover agents conducting drug or national security-related investigations where safety and sources could be at risk if they are identified — although their names would often be known to local and state government officials as well as members of Congress if requested.

Garcia, the Houston congresswoman, said that DHS has not responded to her detailed written questions seeking more information about the shooting, including whether Feathers was the agent who fired the shot and details about his training and history. She said DHS also did not respond to her about Feathers’ salary, whether he is collecting his government pension at the same time as drawing a salary since he previously retired, and if he obtained the $50,000 signing bonus that the administration reportedly offered applicants who joined the deportation mission under Trump’s return. His attorney also declined to answer those questions to the Tribune.

As in the Houston and Austin cases, deportation agents — who enforce civil not criminal laws — are increasingly engaging in the kind of police work that resembles local law enforcement, Bonds said. Prior to this administration, ICE agents did not typically engage in traffic stops for deportation attempts.

“Whether that’s pulling over vehicles in this manner, whether that’s the pit maneuvers and the car slamming, whether using firearms to detain people, using chokeholds,” she said. “This is mostly what local police, not ICE, have the training and experience to properly do.”

Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former senior ICE official during the last three administrations, additionally urged more transparency, explaining that a “short embargo,” such as several days, provides the federal agency ample time for an initial investigation and for the officers to speak with their family before their names are released.

“But ultimately the agency and the officer have to take responsibility for their actions. I take doxing concerns seriously, but without sunlight there’s no way back to public trust,” she said. “Accountability and restoring trust have to come first.”

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee which conducts oversight of DHS, said in a statement to the Tribune that Republicans gave the agency $200 billion “to build Trump’s paramilitary immigration enforcement machine while stripping away all meaningful oversight and accountability.”

“When federal agents use deadly force,” Raskin added, “the American people have a right to know what happened and who was responsible. Federal agents paid with American taxpayer dollars must be accountable to the people who hire them and pay their salaries.”

David Donatti, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, which is representing Salgado Araujo’s family, noted that within hours of his death, his “name, face, and history were public, and his character was open to scrutiny.”

That included the highly unusual release of an FBI search warrant claiming that drugs had been found in Salgado Araujo’s van, which DPS later confirmed was not methamphetamine, but crystallized salt used to make cheap hydration drinks that are common for construction workers in Houston’s heat.

“Naming agents is not a verdict,” Donatti said. “It is a precondition for an independent investigation. It lets witnesses come forward, lets the public see whether there’s a history, and ensures that facts are tested before any account hardens into the only story.”

State Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso, who was the lone Democrat to serve on a House committee investigating the botched response of more than 370 local, state and federal officers to the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, said he observed vastly different standards for federal officers compared to state and local police. Several local law enforcement officers were quickly publicly identified and scrutinized, including by state lawmakers and the DPS chief. But unlike local and state police, federal officers did not provide direct interviews to the state House committee overseeing the investigation.

Moody joined the chorus of lawmakers demanding that the names of ICE agents involved in shootings be made public.

“The secrecy here is totally out of step with how things are done in officer-involved shootings,” he said.

He said the federal government should not decide what taxpayers are entitled to know in deadly use of force incidents.

“We must know now,” he said. “Anything less is either a coverup or incompetence that looks like one.”

‘Wait in the dark for basic answers’

Feather’s name was first made public by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas in a record attached as part of its petition to prevent witnesses to the shooting from being released from detention. It does not name Feathers as the shooter but identifies him and another ICE agent as being two arresting officers in the incident. Four were involved in the pursuit, law enforcement officials said.

A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz, a former top assistant to Texas Attorney Ken Paxton who took office days before Salgado Araujo was killed, did not respond to detailed questions. Reitz has said that his office is investigating why ICE’s incident report, which is usually not public, was “inadvertendly” released. He said it contained personal information about law enforcement officers and witnesses that could be used by “anti-law enforcement agitators.”

It has since been sealed.

To investigate the shooting, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare’s office is convening a grand jury, a proceeding which is generally considered secret under the law. Teare has repeatedly maintained that “protecting the integrity of our independent investigation is essential, so that the Salgado family, law enforcement officials, and our community can have confidence in the outcome, whatever it may be,” said Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesperson for the office.

“While it appears evidence in this case may have already been made public by federal officials, it would be inappropriate for us to discuss the investigation further given its active, ongoing nature,” he added.

Victor Salgado Araujo described the shooter as heavy-set, bearded, closely-cropped hair in a military style and with tattoos on both forearms, matching only one officer in photographs and video taken by bystanders during and immediately after the incident. The other two passengers gave similar descriptions to their attorneys, law enforcement officials and Garcia, the Houston congresswoman. None of the four ICE agents involved were wearing body cameras or had dash cameras in their vehicles, according to government officials. 

Feathers is also listed on 911 call logs requesting medical help from the Houston Fire Department early on July 7 immediately after the shooting, according to a government document obtained by the Tribune.

The Tribune has found little public information about Feathers, who has a fairly common name, and does not appear to have public social media accounts. At least two other people with the same name and who are active on social media in the Houston area are not the ICE agent.

The original tip that led to Salgado Araujo’s chase was unrelated to him or his passengers and came from a local law enforcement agency in Montgomery County, according to three officials briefed on the matter.

ICE agents wrote that they later received information from DPS, identifying three Guatemalan men. A DPS spokesperson denied that the agency provided information that resulted in Salgado Araujo’s pursuit.

While conducting surveillance on the Guatemalan men, ICE agents wrote in their report that they could make out only the first two license plate letters of the van they were seeking. They matched those of Salgado Araujo’s van, which the officers spotted in the same area. After running his license plate, they determined that Salgado Araujo – who is from Mexico and had no criminal record – was here illegally. They began their pursuit of his vehicle, even though neither him nor his passengers being the original target.

The county’s district attorney said that he expects to conclude a grand jury soon but the prosecuting of a federal agent faces major hurdles as it’s much more difficult for states to charge such officers – especially if the government is uncooperative. In Houston, the district attorney has said that the federal government has not directly provided his office with any information about Salgado Araujo’s shooting. And nine months after immigration agents killed two American citizens in Minnesota, local prosecutors investigating the case have yet to bring criminal charges. The federal government took months to turn over key evidence.

Even when prosecutors do bring such charges to a grand jury, it often declines to indict federal agents. That was the case in the death of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez whom an ICE officer killed in South Padre Island last year.

His mother did not know that it was an ICE agent who shot her son until it was revealed in an unrelated public records lawsuit a year later. She only learned his name after a Cameron County grand jury this spring declined to indict the officer in her son’s death.

Rachel Reyes believes the grand jury’s decision was wrong and urged the administration to quickly release the names of all ICE agents accused in shootings.

“That is the standard we expect from state and local police, and federal immigration agents should be held to it as well,” Reyes told the Tribune last week. “Families should not have to wait in the dark for basic answers.”

Disclosure: The New York Times has been a major financial supporter of The Texas Tribune. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.

“We've got to do a better job of celebrating with one another,” Sarkisian said. “The moment you start to demean the opponent, the flags come out.”

Simmons, who set a school record with 5 1/2 sacks, was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after he mimicked urinating on the field. Sarkisian briefly removed the preseason All-American from the game, and video clips of the moment were viral by halftime.

Simmons apologized during Texas' postgame news conference. Simmons was initially credited with five sacks, but on Monday was given an extra half-sack in the box score after Texas and Tennessee officials reviewed the game.

Brown's celebration after a fourth-quarter touchdown included him wiping his hand across his crotch before falling down as if he had passed out. Brown's celebration was not penalized.

Sarkisian said he talked with both players. He suggested they would face discipline but did not say what it would be.

“That behavior is unacceptable ... We take a lot of pride in the way we play the game,” Sarkisian said.

“I don’t think any of those actions are indicative of the character of the young men, and I think we’ll see that as the season unfolds of who these guys really are,” Sarkisian said. “We can’t let the emotions of the game get the betterment of us because we’re going to be in other hostile environments as the season goes on.”

Texas is off this week before meeting rival Oklahoma on Oct. 10 in Dallas.

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Moisture from Pacific Hurricane Polo gets pulled into Texas for the second half of the week bringing scattered storms to the state and possible flooding especially towards Central Texas.

Rain Chances:

Rain chances at the beginning of this week start off low. Isolated showers and storms will be possible Monday and Tuesday but most of us will stay dry.

The rain chances ramp up at the end of the week as tropical moisture gets pulled in from Hurricane Polo. At the same time, we’ll see a front moving in from the west which will help to enhance the chance of seeing rain.

Right now, the highest rainfall totals are expected to stay to the west of Houston, but isolated spots in Southeast TX could see heavy rain which could lead to a few instances of street flooding.

Tracking the tropics:

All is quiet in the Gulf. In the Central Atlantic, Tropical Storm Hanna has formed. Hanna is expected to be a fish storm meandering through the Atlantic until dissipating midweek.

So far this hurricane season we’ve had eight tropical storms. We have not had a hurricane in the Atlantic basin. The latest first hurricane to form was Gustav and Humberto, which formed on September 11th. This means our 2026 hurricane season set a record for the latest hurricane to form.

Extended forecast:

Rain chances go up and temperatures go down as extra rain and cloud cover keeps us cooler.

Courts have largely rejected the administration’s previous efforts, which reflect untrue claims about widespread voting fraud and come ahead of November’s midterm elections where Democrats seek to take control of one or both chambers of Congress and check Trump’s power.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in Washington, D.C., wrote in a 24-page opinion that federal agencies didn't have the authority from Congress to add such conditions to the grants, and that the conditions didn't meet legal thresholds requiring them to relate to the underlying grant purpose.

Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor its subagency handling the grants, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, immediately responded to a request for comment. The grant conditions were the latest in a line of actions by Trump’s administration to shape how elections are run, a task that has long been the job of states.

The plaintiffs that sued were Columbus, Ohio; Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee; and El Paso and Harris counties in Texas, joined by two other Texas counties, Dallas and Travis.

They declared victory and said what the Trump administration had sought was a gross abuse of power.

“The end result is exactly what we wanted,” said Tyler Chance Yarbro, the director of law for Nashville and Davidson County.

A Harris County commissioner, Lesley Briones, accused the Trump administration of using the safety and security of communities as a "bargaining chip for partisan politics."

Twenty-five state attorneys general or governors filed a similar lawsuit.

Over the summer, a FEMA antiterrorism grant announcement included a list of election-related requirements, saying that 20% of grants for states and urban areas would be withheld until they comply.

The program includes more than $1 billion for states and local and tribal governments for a variety of programs aimed at preventing terror at crowded places, online, with border security — and around elections. FEMA expects to award 56 grants.

The list of items for states includes verifying the citizenship of all registered voters and election workers.

Places that use electronic voting systems that use barcodes or QR codes to count votes would have to submit plans to switch to hand-marked paper ballots. Every jurisdiction would have to show it audits results.

In the lawsuit, the cities and counties said FEMA had no authority to impose those conditions, “not under its governing statute and not under the Constitution.”

Congress authorized FEMA to help jurisdictions protect critical infrastructure from terrorism and cyberattacks, not to decide who can vote, how ballots must be counted or how states maintain voter rolls, the cities and counties wrote.

“Never before has FEMA purported to regulate how states and counties run elections,” they said in the lawsuit.

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

Officers were called around 1 p.m. to the 11500 block of Panay Drive. Authorities initially believed the incident was a murder-suicide.

Investigators now say four people were inside the home when the shootings happened. Police said the 90-year-old man fatally shot the healthcare aide before going to the garage, where he was shot in the head. The man is not expected to survive.

It remains unclear whether the 90-year-old man shot himself or whether he was shot by the healthcare aide’s friend, who was also inside the home. That person is being questioned at police headquarters.

Police said the man was friends with the 87-year-old woman who lives at the home.

The investigation remains ongoing.

This is a developing story, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

The officials and their families come from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru — all nations with right-leaning leaders friendly with President Donald Trump. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Colombia, Ecuador and Peru this month, pledging U.S. support for their efforts to combat drug and human trafficking.

Those leaders have complained that many of those targeted by the visa revocations were hindering their efforts to fight crime.

The State Department announced the revocations Monday, saying they were being done “to fulfill the commitments to defend democratic governance across our hemisphere against corruption and narco-trafficking.”

“Undermining a democratically-elected government is a threat to security and rule of law in the Americas and will not be tolerated,” it said in a statement.

The Trump administration is billing the revocations as part of its broader efforts to clamp down on corruption, particularly related to the narcotics trade and illegal migration, by members of the U.S.-led “Shield of the Americas” bloc in the Western Hemipshere that Trump created this year.

The State Department has been denying permission to travel to the United States as a way to crack down on immigration or as a pressure tool against some governments, ranging from bans on South African officials accused of discrimination against white people to refusing to issue visas to the Palestinian delegation to attend an annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations.

The 27 targeted include Bolivian Attorney General Roger Mariaca and more than 20 other Bolivian prosecutors and judges, 12 of whom were named as current visa holders and nine who will be denied visas should they apply. Two Colombians, a business mogul and a lawmaker, along with two Ecuadorians and one Peruvian judge are also affected.

Mariaca is accused of abusing his public position by soliciting and accepting bribes to facilitate narcotrafficking and is also accused of helping violent criminals evade justice, according to the documents.

“His actions endanger President Trump's efforts to combat narcoterrorism while undermining the very democratic institutions Bolivia, as a Shield participant, is working to strengthen,” the statement said.

Mariaca condemned the Trump administration’s visa restrictions against him, portraying them as political pressure on his office. He vowed to pursue investigations, including a sensitive case involving Fernando Cerimedo, an Argentine political strategist with ties to Trump’s circle who advised President Rodrigo Paz’s campaign.

“The work we have been doing has not pleased certain political sectors, both inside and outside our country,” Mariaca said at a news conference in the Bolivian city of Sucre. “No political pressure, national or international, can stand in the way of establishing the facts, which must be investigated.”

Mariaca, who was elected to a six-year term by lawmakers in 2024 under Bolivia’s previous left-wing government, has faced criticism over his office’s handling of drug-trafficking cases.

He led prosecutors in the eastern region of Santa Cruz when alleged Uruguayan drug kingpin Sebastián Marset, now in U.S. custody, escaped a police operation in 2023. He has since clashed with Paz, who has aligned Bolivia with Washington after nearly two decades of socialist rule.

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Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.

Prosecutors said Word of Faith Fellowship leader Brooke Covington led a group of church members in 2013 who choked and beat a young man for two hours while they prayed to expel “homosexual demons.”

Covington, 68, pleaded to two misdemeanor charges of false imprisonment and simple assault Monday by entering an Alford plea, according to court records. It's technically a guilty plea in which defendants maintain they are innocent while acknowledging prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them at trial.

The judge sentenced Covington to 45 days in jail on the false imprisonment charge and 30 days for simple assault, but suspended them so she won't have to serve the time if she completes her probation. Covington also was ordered to complete 30 hours of community service benefiting children or young adults.

Covington's original case ended in a mistrial after the jury foreman brought his own research into deliberations.

Since then, the COVID-19 outbreak, a move to remove the original prosecutor that ended with the suspension of the law license of the attorney making the request, deaths or retirements of lawyers on both sides and handing the case to a new prosecutor in a new jurisdiction all delayed a new trial.

Both the new prosecutor and Covington's lawyer didn't respond to messages seeking details about Monday's hearing.

Teen says church leaders held him down and beat him

Matthew Fenner joined Word of Faith as a teenager in 2010 with his mother. He was at a service on the church’s compound in Spindale, North Carolina, when members including Covington started what the church called a “blasting” session on him, according to Fenner.

Covington said the session was no different than others, and she had witnesses prepared to testify they didn't see an assault against Fenner.

Word of Faith is a nondenominational Protestant church that was founded in 1979 by Sam and Jane Whaley in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains between Charlotte and Asheville. Members consider Jane Whaley a prophet.

In 2017, The Associated Press published a series of stories about Word of Faith that detailed former church members’ allegations of abuse. The AP spoke to dozens of former congregants around the world, listened to hours of secretly recorded conversations with church leaders, and reviewed hundreds of pages of law enforcement, court and child welfare documents.

Church denies abuse and says it is targeted by former members

Whaley has denied that she or other church leaders ever abused Word of Faith members, and said that any discipline would be protected by the Constitution’s freedom of religion tenet.

The church said the allegations made to the AP were false and made by “certain former members” out to target the church and that it does not condone abuse.

Allegations against prosecutor lead to suspension of law license

The case was turned over to a special prosecutor after Fenner’s lawyer Andrew LaBreche accused District Attorney Ted Bell of siding with Word of Faith in his handling of the case.

LaBreche said Bell didn’t investigate new evidence or witnesses and made a deal to drop the felony kidnapping charge against Covington.

Bell provided text messages and other evidence he refused to talk to Word of Faith members when they tried to steer conversations toward the assault cases to a special investigator who reported to Superior Court Judge William Stetzer.

The judge not only denied LaBreche’s request to remove the prosecutor, but in his order said LaBreche’s “repeated acts of dishonesty and the significant harm to the legal profession” led the judge to suspend his law license for three years. He also awarded Bell legal fees.

LaBreche is appealing the ruling, and his suspension has been delayed until his case can be heard.

Associated Press covered Word of Faith extensively

Word of Faith had about 700 members in North Carolina a decade ago, but a sworn statement from a former church leader said membership had now dwindled to about 300 to 400 people.

The AP reported that the church controlled almost every aspect of their members’ lives, including who they married, what subjects they studied in school and whether they could go to college. Members were regularly slapped, choked and thrown to the floor during high-decibel group prayer.

The AP investigation also found that the church and its hundreds of followers controlled local law enforcement and social services, preventing fair investigations.

Caleb Flynn, 40, has pleaded not guilty to murder, assault and tampering with evidence charges in the February shooting of Ashley Flynn, 37, a schoolteacher and volleyball coach, at their Tipp City home, north of Dayton. Flynn and their two daughters were home when police arrived.

Flynn’s trial, which heads to closing arguments on Tuesday, has featured testimony from a woman who said she and Flynn had been having an affair at the time of his wife’s killing. Jurors also heard AI-generated love songs that prosecutors say he made for his paramour and some of the more than 100,000 text messages that authorities say they exchanged.

Prosecutors say Flynn staged a home invasion to mislead investigators and claimed in a frantic 911 call that a burglar had shot his wife. Flynn's alleged paramour, 24-year-old Alleigha Botner, testified that he had remarked that he hated his wife and harbored thoughts of killing her.

Here’s what you need to know about Flynn’s trial:

The woman in the affair testified against him

Botner's bombshell affair testimony has been the highlight so far. On the witness stand for two days, Botner described how she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and carried on an affair with him that spanned more than a year.

She detailed the secret life she says they shared, including candid conversations in which he mused about leaving his wife and wanting her dead.

“He told me that he hates her,” Botner testified. “He told me the only reason that he’s still with her is because of the girls.”

Botner sobbed as she read some of her text messages with Flynn, saying she regretted telling him: “I want to kill her, Caleb.”

Rather than dissuade her from that dark thought, Flynn replied: “That makes two of us.”

In August 2025, about six months before the killing, Flynn texted Botner: “I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail."

In another text message read in court, Botner said she wasn't serious, telling Flynn: “I'm not asking that you take her life obviously, because that's not what you should do, and I know you actually wouldn't. But to make the divorce happen, it would change everything.”

When a prosecutor asked how she felt about Flynn now, Botner said: “I hate him.” Asked why, she said: “Because I believe that he murdered his wife.”

Jurors heard love songs he made with AI

Prosecutors played some of Flynn’s AI-generated love songs, which included lyrics such as: “Age never mattered, when it was you and me," and “we danced on the edge of a life we could choose, so close to forever, so much left to lose.”

They also played audio of Flynn's 911 call, in which he said someone had broken into his home and killed his wife. He told a dispatcher that she was shot multiple times in the head and didn't know whether the intruder was still there.

When police arrived, the garage door, a side door and the center console of Flynn’s pickup truck were all open. Flynn told officers he kept a gun in the console, but no weapon was found there, according to a police report. Police say they never found the gun used in the killing.

Jurors also saw videos of Flynn’s police interviews. Crying and wearing a sweatshirt that said, “God-Sized Vision,” he said he was sleeping on the couch when he was awoken by a pair of gunshots. Flynn told investigators that a man had come to the door a day before the killing and handed his wife an American flag while making a “weird sales pitch for America.”

In another police interview, Flynn told investigators: “We are a normal married couple who love each other and disagree. I’ve never laid hands on her.”

Defense rests without calling any witnesses

Flynn didn't testify on his own behalf. Nor did anybody else.

After eight days of testimony from 40 prosecution witnesses, including detectives and forensics experts, Flynn's lawyers decided not to call any witnesses.

The prosecution and defense both rested their cases on Monday. That leaves Tuesday for closing arguments, followed by the start of jury deliberations.

In an opening statement, defense lawyer Emily Smith acknowledged Flynn's affair. But, she told jurors: “Caleb is not on trial for being a bad husband. He’s not on trial for cheating. You’re not here to deliberate on whether or not you like Caleb.”

Prosecutors opted not to call Flynn’s daughters, ages 10 and 12, as witnesses.

Caleb Flynn auditioned on ‘American Idol’ years ago

Flynn appeared in season 12 in 2013. He sang in televised auditions in Chicago before judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj but did not advance to the main competition in Hollywood, where Candice Glover took the crown.

“Music is all I know,” Flynn said on the show. “It’s what I live to do, and I love to sing.”

Flynn said God inspired him to be a performer. He credited his wife with encouraging him to try out for “American Idol” again after he missed the cut a few seasons earlier.

“I love my wife more than anything,” he said. “She’s very, very pretty. Oof, I love her.”

Ashley Flynn was an educator, coach and church volunteer

Ashley Flynn coached middle school volleyball and was a substitute teacher, Tipp City Schools said on its Facebook page. In her obituary, she was described as “a devoted and loving wife, and a caring and dedicated mother.”

“She was known for her beautiful smile, warmth, kindness, and the positive impact she had on so many — both in and out of the classroom and on the court,” the school district said.

According to her online obituary, the Tipp City High School and Lee University graduate also volunteered at her church, Christian Life Center, and was part of a program that teaches the Bible to public school students.

“Ashley was known as a shining light of joy to all who crossed her path, effortlessly encouraging others along the way,” the obituary said. “Her genuine care for people reflected the selfless love we all strive to share.

The bees had built a colony underneath the window of his master bedroom in the 5600 block of Malmedy Road.

Lewis, a retiree from the City of Houston, had been living with the unwanted guests for months.

The challenge was one he could not address on his own which is why he reached out to 2 Helps You.

Enter Bee’n Green, a Houston-area company owned by Travis Feiner, a specialist in removing bees and transplanting them into a new box environment.

It took the bees months to build their home.

Travis and his son, Justin, dismantled it in no time

As the work continued, the team uncovered the extent of the hive inside the wall. The honeycomb providing clues as to how long the bees had been there. The lighter-colored comb was newer, while the darker comb indicated older sections of the hive. Feiner estimated the bees had been living there for at least six months.

The work was finished when the honeycomb had been removed from inside the wall and the bee colony was gone.

For Lewis, the difference was immediate, “Man, I can sleep tonight. It’s wonderful,” Lewis said, then quickly adding, “Mr. Mario, you came through.”

Lewis, a former City of Houston employee, said he was grateful that Bee’n Green was willing to step in and help, “I thank him so much,” Lewis said as he looked at Travis, “It’s a beautiful thing, man.”

After months of dealing with the bees, Lewis finally had his bedroom back.

If you have a problem that you’ve tried relentlessly to solve, and can’t, let us know about it through the KPRC 2 Help Desk.

The work shows that major wildfires, which are worsening with the planet’s warming, could have lasting effects beyond immediate exposure.

Post-wildfire air quality needs to be monitored longer term, the research suggests, and recovery efforts need to consider what might remain in contaminated soot, residue and dirt well after burning stops.

The wildfires, caused by wind spreading a brushfire spurred by downed power lines, burned on the Hawaiian island of Maui in August 2023, destroyed the town of Lahaina and killed more than 100 people. They were among the deadliest in U.S. history.

New research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday found higher metal levels, associated with respiratory harm, in nearby residents up to a year and a half after the fires.

University of Hawaii researchers studied the urine of 1,400 adults and found substantially elevated concentrations of metals such as arsenic, cadmium, copper and antimony.

Burned buildings, cars and electronics can release harmful chemicals

These metals could be the result of burned buildings, vehicles, electronics and other materials lost in the wildfires, the researchers say. They can cause a different human impact than simply the burned vegetation that is typically studied after fires of this magnitude.

“What we’re dealing with, especially in the aftermath of what we experienced in Lahaina, is a much more complicated mixture of these chemical exposures,” said Alika Maunakea, the study’s co-author and an anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology professor at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

The researchers found antimony nearly 40 times higher in the Maui participants than U.S. biomonitoring data. They found manganese 3.8 times higher, barium 2.3 times and arsenic 2.2 times.

Having more metals in the body was more likely to result in abnormal lung function, such as having less breathing capacity and difficulty moving air in and out of one’s lungs, during standard breathing tests, the study found.

Those lung effects aligned with the geographic distribution of smoke and ash; those nearest to Lahaina, and Wailuku and Kahului, experienced a different impact than in those near Kula.

“It’s really important to identify potential sources of these exposures and to mitigate and reduce potential risks for re-exposures that might be contributing to these effects,” Maunakea said. “What happens to the land and environment can shape what people breathe, take into their bodies, and develop over time. The consequences of that can unfold over many years.”

Warming planet can worsen wildfires

Wildfires are getting larger, more intense, faster-moving and more frequent in certain parts of the globe, experts say, in part due to the warming and drier weather associated with climate change. Human-caused climate change has upped the likelihood of many major fires around the world in recent years and led to fires in regions that typically do not see them as often.

The researchers did note a limitation of the study in that it cannot assess exactly how much of the impact came directly from the wildfires versus chronic or other exposures — such as Hawaii’s geology, diet, historic agricultural and industrial activity and environmental sources — given there is no comparable data from before August 2023.

However, previous studies have also found significant long-term human impacts from wildfires and other environmental crises. The impacts have included lung issues and mental health issues such as depression.

“This is bigger than wildfires. These climate-related disasters can change the environment in ways that continue after the immediate emergency is over,” said Ruben Juarez, study co-author and professor of health economics at the university. “Floods, hurricanes, fires, and other disasters definitely can disturb soil, debris, buildings, and legacy contaminants that we have in Hawaii, creating these pathways for exposure. … Disaster response should not stop when visible danger is gone.”

Dr. Kekoa Taparra, a physician and assistant professor who studies chronic diseases at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the research expands our understanding of the health burden of the fires, particularly over an extended period.

“This type of work echoes that climate-related disasters affect human health well beyond the immediate injuries and deaths we see during the event itself,” said Taparra, who was not involved in the study released Monday but has studied the health impacts of disasters. “Historic wildfires in Lahaina and even Los Angeles have highlighted how these disasters can produce longer-lasting consequences through displacement, disruption of healthcare and social networks, environmental exposures, and potentially increased mortality.

“As these events become more frequent and severe, understanding and measuring their full health impact will be essential to building more resilient communities and health systems.”

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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

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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 video posted on Sunday shows Dawkins' pregame walkout as he chants “The time has come,” followed by a series of big hits. The DHS post includes the caption “Our time has come.”

“The league has requested the DHS take down the video,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Monday.

Dawkins was a nine-time Pro Bowler and five time All-Pro safety during 16 NFL seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos before retiring in 2011.

DHS released a statement saying the United States Border Patrol “is actively tracking" a group of migrants coming from Honduras and used football jargon to add the department "is playing lockdown defense" at the border.

The statement did not address the NFL's request to take down the video, which had not been deleted as of Monday evening.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Pike and her boyfriend were convicted in the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, their classmate at Knoxville Job Corps. Prosecutors said Pike feared Slemmer was a romantic rival and lured her to a secluded area where she and her boyfriend tortured and killed Slemmer. The case got widespread attention because of the brutality of the killing, the ages of the people involved and because a satanic symbol was carved into the victim’s body.

Pike does not deny her guilt, but her attorneys and supporters argue a death sentence is not appropriate for a crime committed at that age by a teen with untreated mental illness after a childhood of brutal sexual abuse and neglect. Slemmer’s mother wants the lethal injection to go forward, saying she has waited decades to see Pike’s sentence carried out.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday that he would not grant clemency. Pike’s attorneys have asked the Supreme Court to stay the execution.

The request for clemency points to Pike's traumatic past

Pike's attorneys said she experienced an exceptionally traumatic and abusive childhood.

Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell said Pike was sexually abused starting from when she was a toddler and that she was raped at ages 11 and 17. He said Pike's lawyers at the penalty phase of her trial did not present the jury with what he said was critical information about her past or argue that her age should be a consideration.

Pike was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Pike told police she initially only wanted to fight Slemmer but ended up killing her in a frenzied attack. In her clemency petition, Pike’s attorneys said her untreated mental illness and background made her unable to “put the brakes on.”

“I was a mentally ill 18-year-old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I’d done. Even more to accept how many lives I affected. I took the life of someone’s child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think I had the ability to commit such a crime,” Pike said in a statement included in her clemency petition.

Ferrell said more today is known about adolescent brain development and that Pike's death sentence is an outlier. He noted that Pike's boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole because of his age. He was denied parole last year. A third teen admitted to being an accessory and received probation.

In the modern death penalty era, Ferrell said, other 18-year-olds who were sentenced to death in Tennessee have since had their sentences reduced.

The Death Penalty Information Center said 275 people nationwide have been executed for crimes they committed at age 18, 19 or 20 in the modern death penalty era, but that death sentences for those in that age group have become increasingly rare.

“If Christa Pike was tried today, I do not believe a jury that knew about the documented sexual abuse and neglect she experienced as a child would sentence her to death,” Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said.

The victim’s mother wants the execution to go forward

Speaking by telephone from Florida, Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, also pointed to her daughter's age and said Slemmer never got a chance to grow up.

“Every time I think about it, I think about Colleen feeling that pain and trying to get up and run,” Martinez said.

Martinez said her daughter volunteered with the Special Olympics, loved roller skating and wanted to pursue a career in computers.

“She was easygoing. She was a computer geek to begin with. She and my husband would build and tear apart the computers constantly,” Martinez said. “She trusted everybody, and that was her downfall.”

She said her daughter called her from Job Corps on the night of the murder, but the call was dropping because of bad reception. When Martinez called back, her daughter had already gone out.

“Not a day goes by, or a minute goes by that I do not think about Colleen. Holidays are the worst. Colleen’s birthday was last week. She would have been 51,” Martinez said.

The killing rocked the city of Knoxville. Prosecutors said Pike cut Slemmer with a box cutter and beat her with a large chunk of asphalt. Elements of the crime stoked fears of Satan worship during the “satanic panic” of the 1980s and 1990s. Shipp, Pike's boyfriend, has admitted that he was the one who carved a pentagram, a star-shaped symbol associated with Satanism, into her body.

Executions of female inmates are rare in Tennessee and nationwide

If Pike’s execution proceeds as scheduled, it would be Tennessee’s first execution of a woman since 1820, Maher said.

Executions of female inmates are also rare in the U.S. Since 1976, 18 women have been executed in the country, representing about 1% of all executions, according to the center.

Most recently, Missouri in 2023 executed Amber McLaughlin, a transgender woman, for a 2003 killing, in what is believed to be the first execution of a transgender woman in the U.S. In 2021, the federal government executed Lisa Montgomery, marking the first time in nearly seven decades that the U.S. government has put a female inmate to death. Georgia executed a woman in 2015.

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Chandler reported from Montgomery, Alabama.

The commanders of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, were found guilty of recruiting boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 17. Prosecutors said that some of the girls were sexually abused.

Sentences handed to the rebel leaders ranged from 11 years to 20 years in prison. Some of them recently participated in peace talks with Colombia’s government.

The trial was conducted in absentia because the commanders haven't been captured by Colombia’s government.

One of the leaders who was convicted, Israel Ramírez Pineda, also known by the alias Pablo Beltrán, now lives in Cuba and recently led a delegation that held peace talks with Colombia’s government.

The government canceled peace talks with the ELN last year after the group staged a string of attacks in the northeastern Catatumbo region in which at least 80 people were killed.

Human rights groups have pointed out that the recruitment of children by rebel groups and gangs in Colombia continues to be a problem, with these organizations now using social media to lure youth into their ranks.

In 2016, almost 14,000 fighters laid down their weapons following a peace deal between Colombia’s government and the nation’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

But violence has resurfaced in some rural areas where there is little state presence and where groups like the ELN are fighting for control of drug trafficking routes, extortion rackets and illegal mines abandoned by FARC.

According to Colombia’s Human Rights Defenders’ Office, at least 1,500 children have been recruited by armed groups since 2021, with 625 cases reported in 2024. Recruits are given a wide range of tasks that include serving as messengers, gathering intelligence, cooking or engaging with the enemy — while girls are sometimes forced into sexual acts with commanders.

The United Nations has called on social media platforms to share evidence with Colombian prosecutors and take actions aimed at blocking rebel groups from using social media to recruit children. Its human rights office in Colombia welcomed the sentence against the ELN leaders, noting that recruiting children into armed groups is prohibited by international law.

“This is a very important development in the fight against the recruitment of girls and boys,” said Scott Campbell, the representative in Colombia for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. “We have urged the Colombian justice system to investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible for the recruitment of girls and boys, and welcome this step forward.”

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

Sidelined since Sept. 16 by a strained right calf, the Yankees captain took live batting practice on the field Monday, a day ahead of the series opener. He walked twice, hit a comebacker to the mound and took a called third strike against teammates Ryan Weathers and Elmer Rodríguez.

“I’ve been doing a lot of convincing, I feel like, so I’m going to keep doing that,” Judge said. “The most important thing is just making sure I’m healthy and ready to go for this long stretch. We've got another month of baseball to play.”

A three-time AL MVP, the 34-year-old slugger had a platelet-poor plasma injection Sept. 21. He was sidelined by a fractured rib from May 31 to Sept. 8 and played in just seven games before the latest injury.

“He’s making progress. We’ll continue to see where he’s at,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Speaking in front of his locker, a diamond-and-garnet pendant of a judge’s gavel hanging from his neck, the outfielder said he hasn't run the bases since the injury but had been working on an AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill.

“I’ve been hitting for a while, so it feels great, which is definitely a big step forward because you kind of produce a lot of weight on that back leg,” he said.

Judge was limited to 66 games this season. He hit .241 with 18 homers, 41 RBIs and an .871 OPS, including .174 with one homer and three RBIs in September.

He hopes not to be limited to designated hitter — teammate Ben Rice was the DH in 96 games.

"I’m trying to come back as an outfielder because I think it helps our team the most, but however they see I fit in the best, I am going to try to do that," Judge said.

Judge didn't express concern about trying for a quick return from an injury to his soleus muscle, which is part of the Achilles tendon.

“Guys take risks every single day. I know a lot of guys in here are banged up and dealing with stuff,” he said. "So, yeah, I understand the risks."

In his 11th big league season and still without a World Series title, Judge is sensing the passage of time as motivation for pushing to get back on the field.

“The biggest thing is just understanding how short I get. The time I get to be a Yankee and play this game of baseball is a very short window,” he said. “Ten years have gone by since I debuted out here. Time flies and I just think about that more than thinking about age. I feel like I’ll still be a good baseball player at 45. So, yeah, it’s more just, your window to play this game is short so you don’t want to miss an opportunity."

Stanton, Grisham and Weathers

Giancarlo Stanton, out since April 24 because of strained calf muscles in both legs, also is a roster possibility along with center fielder Trent Grisham, sidelined since straining his right hamstring on Sept. 4, and Weathers, who hasn't pitched since Aug. 22 because of a left forearm flexor strain. Weathers appeared unlikely since he threw BP to Judge, Stanton and Grisham.

“There’s a few roster decisions still that we keep kind of bouncing back and forth, thinking about lineup construction," Boone said. "So those are still things that I’m wrestling with to some degree. Ultimately, we’ve got to settle on it tomorrow and go let it rip.”

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Trump on Monday acted confused when a reporter asked him about Ambassador David Perdue's remarks over the weekend, suggesting the diplomat was confusing China with Taiwan. But then Trump said “maybe it’s a good idea” to make such an offer to China.

The whiplash over the prospect of arms sales from the U.S. to its ascendant geopolitical rival underlines the Trump administration's often uncoordinated and contradictory approach to China, including Xi's pomp-filled state visit to Washington last week during which Trump appeared to get little in return on key issues.

Perdue, speaking to Shannon Bream on Fox News Channel's “Fox News Sunday” days after the summit, didn’t specify when the offer was made. But such a proposal, if realized, would upend generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan and expose U.S. technology to a potential foe.

Trump administration disavows ambassador's comments

The State Department on Monday looked to distance the Trump administration from Perdue's comments, saying that “U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.”

Hours later, Trump seemed to be doing the same.

“To China? You mean to Taiwan?” he said when a reporter asked him about Perdue's account.

“I never heard of that one. I’m going to have to ask him," Trump said.

He then mused that China would probably like to buy U.S. equipment, which he said was superior, and added: “So maybe it’s a good idea. But we didn’t discuss it. He may have been talking about Taiwan. I think he was probably talking about Taiwan.”

Perdue said Sunday that the Republican president was downplaying longstanding U.S. arms sales to Taiwan — which have drawn protest from Beijing for years — by couching it as just one of many sales Washington makes around the world, and even asking Xi if he’d be in the market for U.S. weaponry.

Bream had cited concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers over delayed aid packages and weapons orders to Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that seeks to defend itself from China’s threat to invade the island. Bream asked if the U.S. is denying arms to Taiwan to appease the Chinese president.

Perdue pushed back on the suggestion, stating that Trump “is as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody” and has sold it plenty of weapons. Perdue also said Trump and Xi continue to talk about future U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.

“But President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,’” Perdue said. “He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some, at one point.”

Experts point to Trump's transactional approach

If so, that offer “speaks to (Trump's) treatment of China in almost exclusively commercial terms, even at the potential expense of the U.S. military position in Asia,” said Evan Sankey, an analyst focused on U.S. policy toward China at the libertarian Cato Institute.

He said the U.S. last sold arms to Beijing in the 1980s and resuming those sales would be “a shocking policy change.”

Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the hawkish think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the anecdote that Perdue told offers “a revealing window into Trump's transactional worldview.”

“He tends to see weapons, tariffs and market access as instruments of leverage, even across the traditional dividing line between allies and adversaries,” Singleton said.

Such an offer to Xi also would clash with U.S. obligations under a domestic law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and deter an invasion from Beijing, which has vowed to seize the island by force if necessary. While not recognizing Taiwan as a country, the U.S. is the island’s strongest informal backer and primary arms provider. But multiple U.S. leaders have left ambiguous whether they would commit military force to defend the island should China invade.

China has pressed Washington to halt the arms sales, most prominently during a previous summit in May between Trump and Xi in Beijing. After that meeting, the United States paused the sale of a record-breaking $14 billion package — and Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China.

In their private talks at the White House last week, Xi pressed Trump to oppose Taiwan independence, according to Chinese state media.

In Beijing, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun did not confirm Perdue's remarks when asked about the matter on Monday. But he told reporters that China has always strengthened its national defense capabilities based on its needs and is committed to maintaining world peace and stability.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the estimate was driven by the breadth of ENOUGH’s original request, which officials said generated a search of more than 400,000 emails and attachments.

The request is part of a broader effort to examine how law enforcement agencies across the Houston area use Flock Safety automated license plate readers, or ALPRs.

The cameras scan license plates and collect vehicle data that law enforcement agencies can use during investigations. Supporters of the technology say it can help investigators locate vehicles connected to crimes. Critics have raised concerns about privacy, data access and the possibility of the system being misused to track people.

RELATED: Flock cameras across Houston: Who has access and what happens when they’re misused?

ENOUGH has received thousands of pages of records from smaller agencies without a similar cost estimate. The $121,602 estimate came from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Why the records request was so expensive

According to the Sheriff’s Office, our original request was extremely broad.

The office also said the estimate was not intended to suggest that records were being withheld because of the subject matter.

I narrowed our records request and am now waiting for the department to provide a new estimate and response.

The distinction is important: the $121,602 figure was an estimate based on the scope of the original request, not a fee ENOUGH ultimately agreed to pay for the records.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is subject to the Texas Public Information Act, which generally provides public access to government records while allowing certain information to be withheld under statutory exceptions.

Hidalgo says the $121,000 estimate surprised her

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the size of the estimate surprised her when I asked about it.

“It’s surprising because I know Sheriff Gonzalez is really involved in wanting to find a good balance between oversight and the law enforcement benefit,” Hidalgo said.

READ MORE: At least 900 Flock cameras have been unplugged in Texas since state funding was cut

Hidalgo said the request also made her wonder what information is available from the county’s constable offices.

“It makes me wonder what we’re getting from the constable’s offices,” she said.

Hidalgo said she wants residents to continue asking questions of the elected officials and agencies involved.

The county judge has previously said she supports the use of ALPR technology to help solve crimes and save lives, while also arguing that stronger privacy protections and oversight are needed.

Hidalgo said commissioners court’s October 15th meeting will dedicate some time to Flock.

Hidalgo said during a September meeting, she had asked the county purchasing agent, county administrator and county attorney for information about the county’s Flock contract.

She said the review raised a question about who is authorized to access information collected by the cameras.

“When I asked, ‘Who can access the data?’ I thought I would hear something like, you know, members of the sheriff’s department or, you know, police officers, but that’s not what’s in the contract,” Hidalgo said. “The contract just says Harris County.”

She said she hopes the county can determine who has accessed Flock information, how often it has been accessed, where cameras are located and who administers the system.

Hidalgo has said she wants the discussion to include information about the county’s Flock contracts, the agencies that can access the data, camera locations and the safeguards governing the technology.

Does your child’s school have a nurse?

ENOUGH’s Amy Davis asked parents and school nurses to tell us what they are seeing at their schools. The responses raised questions about school nurse staffing, student health and how schools are handling medical needs when a licensed nurse isn’t on campus.

60 HISD campuses have no school nurse

ENOUGH filed a public information request with Houston Independent School District to find out how many campuses did not have a school nurse this school year.

HISD provided data showing that 60 of about 273 campuses do not currently have a school nurse.

Davis said some of those campuses are working to hire a nurse. In some cases, another staff member may be on campus helping students, but that person is not a licensed nurse.

That distinction matters to parents whose children have medical conditions that may require specialized care during the school day.

The issue first came to ENOUGH after a mother contacted Davis at the start of the school year. Her daughter has diabetes, and the mother regularly communicates with the school nurse about how to care for her daughter.

But this school year, she discovered her daughter’s school did not have a nurse.

The school still does not have one.

Parents respond to ENOUGH’s question about school nurses

After hearing from the parent, Davis went to Facebook to ask parents and school nurses about their experiences.

Parents responded.

Katie Pearson said two of her middle school children attend a school on HISD’s list of campuses without a nurse.

“Yes, I care. The school nurse is an important adult for kids to rely on when they are not well,” Pearson wrote.

Andrea Lynne questioned how schools can operate without a full-time school nurse.

“Literally insane to me that any school would take on the liability these days to not have a full-time school nurse staffed,” she wrote.

School nurses say their jobs go far beyond first aid

ENOUGH also heard from school nurses who say school nurses do much more than treat minor injuries.

Renee Montgomery, a school nurse, said nurses promote student health, safety and academic achievement through advocacy, education, research and community connections.

She also said early recognition of illness and disease has allowed her to change or save lives.

Constance Kilroy, another school nurse, said staffing and school nurse-to-student ratios are major concerns.

Kilroy said some nurses are responsible for more than 1,000 students and that many districts have cut school nurse positions because of budget concerns.

She also said school nurses are leaving because of low pay and high workloads.

“Kids today have many medical issues that the average person is not trained to handle,” Kilroy wrote.

Why school nurse staffing matters

The responses to ENOUGH’s Facebook question point to a larger issue: What happens when a school does not have a licensed school nurse on campus?

For parents of children with diabetes and other medical needs, having access to a school nurse can be particularly important.

School nurses who responded to ENOUGH said their responsibilities extend beyond treating bumps, cuts and minor illnesses.

Related: TEA school nurse guidelines

The staffing question also raises concerns about how many students one nurse may be responsible for when nurses are available only at certain campuses or are responsible for large numbers of students.

Does your child’s school have a nurse?

ENOUGH wants to hear from parents, students and school nurses.

Below is the full list of HISD campuses identified as NOT having a school nurse.

• Alcott ES
• Barrick ES
• Bellaire HS
• Bellfort ECC
• Briscoe ES
• Burrus ES
• Chavez HS
• Community Services-SEC
• Coop ES
• DAEP EL
• DeZavala ES
• Durham ES
• Energized ECC
• Energized ES
• Energized MS
• E-STEM Central HS
• E-STEM West MS
• Field ES
• Fleming MS
• Forest Brook MS
• Franklin ES
• Halpin ECC
• Harper DAEP
• Henderson NQ ES
• High School Ahead Acad MS
• Hilliard ES
• Hogg MS
• Holland MS
• Houston MSTC HS
• JJAEP
• Jones Futures Academy HS
• Lamar HS
• Lantrip ES
• Las Americas MS
• Lawson MS
• Leland YMCPA
• Love ES
• MacGregor ES
• Martinez R ES
• McGowen ES
• Middle College HS - Fraga
• Middle College HS - Gulfton
• Milby HS
• Mitchell ES
• Ortiz MS
• Osborne ES
• Peck ES
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This is ENOUGH: You asked. We listened. And we’re asking questions.

According to KFF, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focusing on national health policy, workers with employer-sponsored family insurance plans contributed an average of $6,296 toward their annual premiums in recent years — up from $4,823 a decade earlier. That figure does not include other costs like deductibles, copays and coinsurance.

For people trying to keep up, community health centers, the Access2Health smart pods in Aldine and direct access lab testing may be options worth exploring. The right choice depends on your health needs, your insurance coverage and your financial situation.

Community health centers can help lower the cost of care

For people who are uninsured, underinsured or worried about medical bills, community health centers are a viable option.

Community health centers provide primary care and other services to patients regardless of whether they have insurance. Many offer programs or sliding fee scales, where the amount a patient pays may depend on income and family size.

Legacy Community Health, which serves more than 200,000 patients each year and operates 65 clinic locations across Houston and Beaumont, said patients can work with eligibility specialists to explore payment options, including sliding fee programs and assistance programs for those who qualify.

Services include:

• Primary care

• Women’s health

• Pediatric care

• Behavioral health services

• Specialty care

• Pharmacy services

Its goal is to help patients get care while also connecting them with resources that may reduce costs.

Health “smart pods” make healthcare more accessible in Aldine

For some patients, the challenge is not just cost — it is access.

Mobile health clinics are designed to bring healthcare services into communities, reducing barriers like transportation, long wait times or having to take time away from work.

RELATED: How Texans can save money on prescription medications without insurance

In Harris County, people can access two Access2Health smart pods. Both are in Aldine. They provide services such as primary care, routine lab work and mental health services, with some services available at reduced cost or at no cost for eligible patients.

Although the pods are owned by precinct 2, they’re available for all Harris County residents. TRS Health provides the medical services. To make an appointment, visit: https://trshealth.org/

Direct-access lab testing offers another way to get certain tests

Some consumers are also exploring direct-access lab testing, which allows people to order certain lab tests and pay directly instead of going through the traditional insurance process.

For some people — especially those who are uninsured or have high-deductible health plans — paying a set cash price for certain tests may cost less than paying out of pocket through their insurance. However, prices vary depending on the test, the provider and the person’s insurance coverage.

Any Lab Test Now is a national chain that offers direct-access testing. The company says customers can see pricing upfront and pay for testing directly rather than billing insurance.

Experts recommend understanding what a test can and cannot tell you. A lab result is information — not a diagnosis. If a result is abnormal or raises concerns, following-up with a healthcare provider is still important.

SEE MORE: New Harris County tool helps residents find low-cost healthcare clinics across Houston area

Before you pay for healthcare, ask questions

There is no single solution to rising healthcare costs. But knowing what options exist can help consumers make more informed decisions.

Before scheduling care, consider asking:

• Does this provider offer financial assistance?

• Are there lower-cost alternatives?

• What will I pay before the service is done?

• Is this test or service covered by my insurance?

• Who can help me understand my results?

Healthcare costs can feel overwhelming, but asking questions and comparing options can help you find care that fits both your health needs and your budget.

Reeve's record fifth WNBA Coach of the Year trophy, she said, would not have materialized without Miles and her performance at point guard this season that made her an unanimous selection for Rookie of the Year.

“What I was reminded of with Liv is the importance of letting greatness be great,” Reeve said, “and not getting in the way.”

Miles received all 74 votes for the award from a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters covering the league, after she set the WNBA rookie scoring record. The second pick in the draft out of TCU played in 40 of 44 games and averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 49.2% from the field, 38.8% from 3-point range and 87% from the free-throw line.

Reeve, who is in her 17th season as head coach of the Lynx and fourth as president of basketball operations, was sold on Miles and her curiosity and humility during the pre-draft interview process and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly she became comfortable on the court. The coach and the player realized they see the game through a similar lens, thanks to Reeve's degree from La Salle in computer science and the mindset Miles shares with her father, Yakubu, a software engineer.

“It was important for me to have someone who was humble,” said Reeve, who guided the Lynx to WNBA titles in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. “I think a lot of players come in feeling like they know and they don’t need to be told or have others around them to guide them.”

Miles became the sixth winner of the award in Lynx history, following Betty Lennox (2000), Seimone Augustus (2006), Maya Moore (2011), Napheesa Collier (2019) and Crystal Dangerfield (2020).

Just like Reeve became a better coach with her on the floor, Miles found the ideal place to land in the league with a core of welcoming veterans on and off the court in Collier, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams and an accomplished coach in Reeve with such high standards.

“I truly think that her method to her madness, what she refers to it as, will lead to success if we trust in it,” Miles said. “I knew it was going to be hard. I didn’t know it was going to be this hard. I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity I’d have right away, so I kind of just took that and ran with it. She’s given me a lot of grace as well.”

Reeve, who received 40 of 74 votes from media panel, previously won the award in 2011, 2016, 2020 and 2024. She became the WNBA’s all-time leader in regular-season coaching wins this year. Golden State’s Natalie Nakase, who won the award last year, finished second with 20 votes. Washington’s Sydney Johnson was third with 14 votes.

Miles, a native of New Jersey who started her college career at Notre Dame, led all rookies in points, points per game, field goals made, defensive rebounds, assists, assists per game and efficiency rating.

The WNBA announced the awards on Monday, before the Lynx traveled to New York for an elimination game in their best-of-three first-round playoff series on Tuesday. The top-seeded Lynx lost the opener at home 91-75 to the 2024 champion Liberty on Sunday, when Miles had just 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting with four turnovers and four fouls in her postseason debut.

Even for one of the most precocious rookies to join the league lately, the playoffs are another level of competition.

“I think she’s feeling it right now, but it’s what we expected and it’s not easy,” Reeve said. “She’s a smart player, and she’ll figure it out.”

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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

“We’ve been talking about it ever since, I think, Jaxson got hurt, that we would need to add a quarterback — quarterbacks,” Giants coach John Harbaugh said. “We’ve been turning over every stone. This was an opportunity that kind of came up and able to finish the deal off.”

McCarthy, the 10th pick in the 2024 draft, gets a change of scenery after losing the starting job in Minnesota to Kyler Murray and falling behind Carson Wentz on the depth chart. McCarthy started 10 games last season, completing 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

“Nothing about this changes the way I feel about J.J. or the hopes I have for him," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who had what he called an emotional 1-on-1 meeting with McCarthy about the trade. "I think it’s a good opportunity in New York and, as I told him, I’ll be pulling for him like crazy to see him go and do well and apply a lot of the things that we talked about in his period of time here.”

McCarthy missed what would have been his rookie season after injuring his right knee. He was picked a year ahead of Dart, but each was born in 2003, with McCarthy being just four months older.

Long term, that sets up a fascinating situation for New York, with Dart, Jameis Winston and McCarthy all under contract for next season. For now, McCarthy joins in a reserve role to learn the offense, while Harbaugh reiterated that Winston will start again Sunday against Arizona after beating Tennessee despite not scoring a touchdown and having just 238 yards of offense.

By making this aggressive move, Harbaugh, general manager Joe Schoen and the Giants are doubling down on trying to contend now, even after losing Dart and linebacker Brian Burns to season-ending knee injuries.

“You need another quarterback, in our situation, and you want to go get the very best quarterback you could get, which is what we did,” Harbaugh said. “Very talented player and is going to make us a stronger football team.”

There is familial familiarity with McCarthy, who won the national title at Michigan in his final college season playing for John's younger brother Jim Harbaugh.

“He always had good things to say about J.J.,” John Harbaugh said. “When Jim was there, that was a team I watched closely, so I’ve watched J.J. play a lot.”

It is still possible the Giants bring in another quarterback, though they did not hold tryouts Monday, according to the league's transactions report. Jake Haener backed up Winston during the Titans game and figures to stick around on the practice squad, with either he or McCarthy serving in that role this weekend.

“You never know,” Harbaugh said. “I would say all options are on the table.”

For the Vikings, the trade served as yet another reminder of the quarterback carousel the franchise has continually found itself on. Murray and Wentz are set to be free agents next spring, so the organization will yet again be forced to make multiple decisions and evaluations about who to build around for next season and beyond. Murray became the ninth different starting quarterback since Kirk Cousins took the field at Green Bay on Oct. 29, 2023, and tore his Achilles tendon.

“A lot of the decisions that we make and that we’re forced to make in football we have to make in a moment in time as opposed to hypotheticals in the future," GM Nolan Teasley said. "And so that’s really reflective of this decision, that we think it’s in the best interests of the Minnesota Vikings right now.”

McCarthy was the fifth quarterback taken among the record six selected in the first 12 picks in the 2024 draft, when Caleb Williams went to Chicago, Jayden Daniels to Washington and Drake Maye to New England with the first three spots. Michael Penix was picked eighth by Atlanta, followed by McCarthy at No. 10 and Bo Nix to Denver at No. 12.

McCarthy lost only three games as the starter through high school and college, including a 27-1 record at Michigan on the way to the championship, but he came to the Vikings with minimal experience as a pro-style passer after being in Jim Harbaugh's run-heavy offense. The energy and toughness that helped McCarthy become a winner and a leader at the lower levels worked against him at times last season, with a tendency for recklessness and a pattern of inaccuracy that contributed to his disappointing debut.

“Sometimes things don’t work out how you envisioned or how you planned or how you hoped, and that doesn’t change the intent," O'Connell said. “That doesn’t change the work that got put into it by J.J. himself and what he’s meant within this building since the time we first got him. So, I believe in the collective work that was put in, and I believe in J.J. and the intent and the work that he put in. This is just where we are.”

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

“I talked about this a lot during budget season, we’re now taking $200 million dollars a year out of the water fund and using it to pay for trash and using it to pay for police and firefighters, and so that money is going to ultimately result in you getting a higher water bill because the water rates are going to have to be increased to continue to invest in the water system that you pay for now,” he said.

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Hollins said residents should not assume every increase is caused by higher rates or new fees. Instead, he encouraged customers to review their bills each month and act quickly if their water usage appears unusually high.

“The main thing you want to look for is if that leak is happening,” Hollins said. “Because if that’s the case, you want to get that fixed as soon as possible.”

The advice comes as Houston residents adjust to a new $5 monthly solid waste fee and other changes to how city services are funded.

Hollins said the new garbage fee is part of the city’s recently approved budget and represents a shift from the way residents historically paid for services such as trash collection.

“Up until this year, your property tax bill, when you paid it, or, you know, if you’re a renter, the property tax bill that your landlord paid, it covered all city services that you’re used to getting,” Hollins said.

“That’s now changed in the budget that passed back in June. The mayor instituted a garbage fee for the first time in Houston’s history. Right now, it’s $5 a month, which of course you know is $60 a year, but it’s going to go up and up and up.”

FIRST, DETERMINE WHY YOUR BILL WENT UP:

If a water bill suddenly increases, Hollins said residents should compare their current usage with previous months before assuming there is a billing error.

A water bill shows how many gallons were used during the current billing period as well as previous usage. A significant jump can be an early warning sign of a leak.

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Residents should also look at the rates and fees listed on the bill.

“You want to kind of figure out: Is this just because my water rate went up and the garbage fee got added on, or do I have a leak? Am I being charged for increased usage?” Hollins said.

The distinction matters. A higher rate or new fee is different from being charged for hundreds of dollars in water that a household did not actually use.

HOW TO CHECK FOR A POSSIBLE LEAK:

Hollins offered a simple first step for homeowners who see unusually high usage: Turn off all the water inside the house. That means making sure faucets are off and appliances such as dishwashers are not running.

Then, check the home’s water meter.

“If that water meter is still spinning, even though the water is off, that means it’s registering some kind of leak somewhere,” Hollins said.

Residents can then walk around the property looking for visible signs of water, including pooling water or unexplained puddles.

Hollins said residents should also check near the curb. Standing water on a dry, sunny day could be a sign that water is escaping somewhere it should not.

WHAT TO DOCUMENT BEFORE CALLING THE CITY:

If the problem is not obvious, residents should document what they are seeing before contacting the city.

Take photos or videos of:

• The water meter and its reading.
• Any visible pooling water or suspected leak.
• The area around the property and curb if unexplained water is present.
• The current water bill.
• Previous bills showing normal usage.
• Any unusual jump in gallons used or charges.

That information can help establish what has changed and give the city more information when investigating the problem.

If there is no visible leak but the meter appears to be registering water when everything is turned off, Hollins said residents should contact 311.

“You want to call 311 and say, hey, there seems to be something wrong with the meter itself,” Hollins said. “It seems like it’s not reading the water usage accurately, or something’s wrong with it. So, can someone come out and test this for us?”

Residents can also ask whether the city can conduct another meter reading or check whether the meter is functioning properly.

DON’T IGNORE THE BILL WHILE A DISPUTE IS PENDING:

One of the most important pieces of advice from Hollins is not to simply stop paying the bill while a billing dispute is being investigated.

Instead, he recommended continuing to pay the amount a household normally pays while working with the city to resolve the disputed portion.

“When you’re in the middle of a dispute, right? If you’re waiting on them to come and check these water meters or get this situation figured out, pay your normal water bill,” Hollins said.

“If you normally pay $30 or $50, make sure you send that in, and then wait for the dispute to play itself out, and then figure out what you’re on the hook for, if anything, at the end of that.”

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The goal, he said, is to avoid allowing an unresolved dispute to become a much larger balance.

“You don’t want to sit there and pay nothing for six months, and now even if they resolve it in your favor, you still owe much more money than you’re used to paying, and you find yourself, in a tough spot,” Hollins said.

CAN’T AFFORD THE BILL? ASK ABOUT A PAYMENT PLAN:

For households struggling to pay their water bill, Hollins said the answer is to contact the city rather than allow unpaid bills to accumulate.

“Reach out to the city and ask to be put on a payment plan,” Hollins said.

He encouraged residents to explain their circumstances and make clear that they want to resolve the balance.

“Don’t just disappear and have those bills pile up,” Hollins said. “Reach out to 311. Say, look, I want to pay my bill. I want to make sure that I’m in good standing.”

Residents facing financial hardship should ask what payment arrangements or other options may be available for their account.

DON’T LET AUTOPAY REPLACE CHECKING YOUR BILL:

Autopay can help prevent a missed payment, but Hollins said residents should still review every bill.

“Auto pay is good because it makes sure that your bill gets paid,” he said. “But sometimes, if you have that set up and you’re not looking at it, you’ll realize three, four, five months later that you got charged some enormous amount.”

His recommendation: Make checking the bill part of the monthly routine.

Look for three things:

1. Water usage: Is your current usage dramatically higher than previous months?
2. Rates and fees: Are you seeing new or increased charges?
3. Unexpected changes: Does anything on the bill look inconsistent with your household’s normal usage?

A monthly review can make it easier to catch a leak or billing issue before it turns into a much larger balance.

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A SIMPLE CHECKLIST FOR HOUSTON HOUSEHOLDS:

If your water bill suddenly rises, Hollins’ advice can be boiled down to a few steps:

• Check the bill. Compare current gallons used with previous months and review the charges.
• Check the meter. Turn off all water in the house and see whether the meter continues registering usage.
• Check the property. Look for unexplained puddles, pooling water or water near the curb.
• Document the problem. Take photos, save bills and record unusual meter readings.
• Contact 311. Ask about a possible leak, inaccurate meter reading or other billing issue.
• Keep paying what you normally can. Don’t allow the entire balance to accumulate while a dispute is pending.
• Ask about payment options. If you cannot afford the bill, contact the city and ask whether a payment plan or adjustment is available.
• Keep checking your bills. Even with autopay, review each statement so an unusual charge does not go unnoticed for months.

For Houston residents dealing with rising household expenses, Hollins said understanding the bill is one of the simplest ways to avoid being caught off guard.

“Check that bill when it comes, and you’ll be able to see: Is it charging me for usage that’s triple last month, even though you know I’ve been using the water like normal?” Hollins said.

“And if so, that gives you the opportunity to make that phone call to 311 and get the situation resolved.”

Italy stormed to a dominant 4-1 win at Turkey in the Nations League on Monday with the Azzurri’s best performance for a long time, in Mancini’s second match in charge.

It was a far cry from Friday’s 2-0 loss at home to Belgium when Italy looked to still be struggling, six months on from failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.

Italy will no doubt face a much tougher test in its next match, however, when it plays France away on Friday.

France also has a new coach in Zinedine Zidane, and he saw his team — without the injured Kylian Mbappé — snatch a 1-0 win at Belgium.

“These boys deserved the win, especially what so many have been saying over the past three days,” Mancini said. “They didn’t deserve that kind of talk. We are on a long journey. ... Besides the victory itself, the boys did some really good things.”

Dream debut for Kayode

Brentford defender Michael Kayode scored one goal and set up another in an impressive Italy debut for the 22-year-old.

Italy took the lead with less than nine minutes on the clock when Zeki Çelik scuffed an attempted clearance on a corner and the ball fell to Alessandro Bastoni, who swept it into the roof of the net.

It was a sort of redemption for Bastoni, who was sent off in the first half of Italy’s World Cup qualifying playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina — which the Azzurri went on to lose on penalties.

Davide Frattesi doubled Italy’s lead in the 22nd minute, tapping in the rebound after Kayode’s shot had been parried by Turkey goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, following a well-worked team move by Italy.

Kayode got on the scoresheet five minutes later, following a similar move, with Pio Esposito sending him clear to fire into the bottom right corner.

It was the first time in five years that Italy scored three goals in the opening half-hour of a competitive match.

Barış Alper Yılmaz caught Italy napping to pull one back for Turkey right at the start of the second half but Esposito restored the visitors’ three-goal advantage three minutes later, nodding in a rebound after Sandro Tonali’s curled effort had come off the post.

Esposito had been joined in the starting lineup by his older brother Sebastiano, who was making his debut, marking the first time since 1915 that two brothers had started a match for Italy.

Epic Zidane celebration after late Olise stunner

France dominated and hit the woodwork twice but needed a stunning, late goal from substitute Michael Olise to finally break the deadlock.

France was without Mbappé, who has already returned to Real Madrid, after limping off with an injury to his left knee moments after scoring a record-extending 67th goal for his country in Friday’s 1-0 victory against Turkey.

It took something special to break the Belgians down and that happened two minutes from time, when Olise — who had only come on in the 75th minute — received the ball inside his own half and sprinted down the right before cutting in and driving into the bottom left corner.

Zidane celebrated by running down the touchline screaming, before fiercely kicking a ball that was in his path.

“I went along with the play — I wanted to be part of it," Zidane said with a smile. “I saw him go on a dribbling run and thought to myself: ‘He’s going to score!’ I was fully behind him, anyway.”

Zidane had made nine changes to his starting lineup, including handing debuts to Jérémy Jacquet, Andy Diouf and Lucas Da Cunha.

Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens made a number of important saves, while Désiré Doué hit the crossbar in the 12th minute and Da Cunha saw a fierce effort from 25 yards come off the post.

Sweden stays perfect

In League B, Sweden made it two wins out of two with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Poland, while Bosnia-Herzegovina won 4-2 at Romania.

Both games in Group B2 ended in goalless draws. Northern Ireland drew 0-0 against Hungary, while Ukraine’s match at Georgia ended in the same scoreline.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here