The event is open to adults, teens and all genders. Attendees are encouraged to bring gently used clothing items to exchange for new-to-them pieces.

Live music, food, beverages and local vendors will also be on-site to round out the experience.

The Houston Clothing Swap is organized by the Conscious Consumer Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to sustainability and accessible fashion.

Tickets for Sunday are available at CCCSwaps.com, where attendees can also select a timeslot.

To save yourself time when you go to shop, early donation drop-offs are being accepted Saturday, May 23 from 12 to 4 p.m.

Online, the Conscious Consumer Collective states its mission is to “create a community that celebrates conscious consumerism and makes the basic need for clothing accessible for all. It is rooted in sustainability through clothing swaps that cycle clothes through the community rather than clothes ending up in landfills.”

For more information about the Houston Clothing Swap and the Conscious Consumer Collective, follow the organization on social media at @ConsciousConsumerCollective.

Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul on Wednesday to secure Emery a record-extending fifth title in this competition.

Celebrating wildly inside the Tupras Stadium was lifelong Villa fan Prince William, who traveled to watch his beloved team end a 30-year wait for a major trophy.

“Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club!” the Prince posted on X.

He had his phone out taking photos as captain John McGinn lifted the cup in the center of the field and in front of an explosion of confetti.

“He's a classy guy. He was in the dressing room before the game and he’s a massive Villa fan so he was never going to miss it,” McGinn told TNT Sports.

It was Villa’s first major piece of silverware since winning the English League Cup in 1996 and its first continental title since lifting the European Cup and then the Super Cup in 1982.

Was the outcome ever in doubt with the ultimate Europa League specialist Emery on the sideline?

The Spanish coach has enjoyed remarkable success in Europe's second-tier competition, winning it three years running with Sevilla from 2014-16 and again with Villarreal in 2021.

Now he has led a third team with ‘Villa’ in its name to the title.

“I am always very grateful for Europe, for every competition, Conference League, Champions League, Europa League, but especially Europa League,” Emery said. “We fought strongly in this competition and tried to give it our best. We played in a very serious way this year.”

Two brilliant first-half strikes from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia put Villa into a 2-0 lead at the break. Morgan Rogers added a third in the second half.

German team Freiburg, which was playing in the second division 10 years ago, was outclassed in its first European final.

Villa was in England's second tier even more recently, in 2019. And while it was the overwhelming favorite going into Wednesday's match, occasions like this looked a long way off when Emery was hired in 2022.

Back then, Villa was one place above the relegation zone and in danger of going down again.

The transformation he has overseen has been remarkable — leading the team into the Champions League last season and qualifying for European club soccer's top competition again next term.

“With this manager in charge, anything’s possible,” said McGinn, a Scotland international. “Tonight was just everything we have built, coming together, and the pride I felt at 3-0 with 10 minutes to go, thinking we’re European champions was something I can’t even describe.

“It’s the proudest moment and night of my career so far.”

Tielemans put Villa ahead with a controlled volley from Rogers’ cross in the 41st minute — driving his shot past Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu.

Three minutes into first-half stoppage time, Buendia doubled the lead with a curling left-footed shot from outside the box that arched into the top corner.

Rogers’ goal in the 58th came when he slid in at the near post to divert Buendia’s cross over the line.

“We had a great season and to top it off with this is amazing,” Tielemans said.

Victory was further personal redemption for Emery, who was fired by Arsenal in November 2019 despite having led the team to the Europa League final earlier that year, which it lost to Chelsea.

A serial winner, he has now won trophies with clubs from three different countries, having also lifted the French title with Paris Saint-Germain.

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

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

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The indictment accuses Castro of ordering the shootdown of two small planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro, who turns 95 next month, was Cuba's defense minister at the time. The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand jury in April, included murder and destruction of an airplane. Five Cuban military pilots were also charged.

“For nearly 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in Miami at a ceremony coinciding with Cuban independence day to honor those killed. “They were unarmed civilians and were flying humanitarian missions for the rescue and protection of people fleeing oppression across the Florida straits.”

Asked to what lengths American authorities would go to bring Castro to face charges in the U.S., Blanche said: “There was a warrant issued for his arrest. So we expect that he will show up here, by his own will or by another way.”

Asked what will happen next for Cuba, President Donald Trump said, “We’re going to see.” He added that the U.S. is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to a “failing nation.”

The charges pose a real threat, observers said, following the capture by U.S. forces in January of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to face drug charges in New York.

“He’s going to have to keep his head pretty low from now on,” said Peter Kornbluh, a specialist on the U.S.-Cuba relationship at the National Security Archive at George Washington University.

Cuban president condemns indictment

While it remains unclear whether Castro will ever step foot in a U.S. courtroom, the murder and conspiracy charges carry the potential for life in prison or the death penalty upon conviction.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment as a political stunt that sought only to “justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.” In a message on social media, he accused the U.S. of lying and manipulating events surrounding the shootdown, including ignoring repeated warnings by Cuban officials at the time that they would defend against “dangerous violations” of their airspace “by notorious terrorists.”

Among those attending Wednesday's ceremony in downtown Miami was Marlene Alejandre-Triana, whose father, Armando Alejandre Jr, was killed while she was away for her first year of college.

Over the years, she spoke to multiple federal investigators about charging Castro, referring to him as “one of the main architects of the crime.” But none until now had the courage to seek justice for her family and the other victims.

“It has been long overdue,” she said standing before a giant photo of her father.

Trump has threatened military action for months

Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since U.S. forces captured Maduro, the Cuban government’s longtime patron. After ousting the Venezuelan leader, the White House ordered a blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.

Since Maduro's capture, Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging earlier this year to conduct a “friendly takeover” of the country if its leadership did not open its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.

Trump’s first administration indicted Maduro on drug-trafficking charges and used that to justify removing him from power and whisking him to New York to face trial.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday urged the Cuban people to demand a free-market economy with new leadership that he said will chart a new course in relations with the U.S.

“In the U.S., we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people,” Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said in a Spanish-language video message. “Currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”

Raúl Castro believed to wield power behind the scenes

Castro took over as president from his ailing older brother Fidel Castro in 2006 before handing power to a trusted loyalist, Díaz-Canel, in 2018.

While he retired in 2021 as head of the Cuban Communist Party, he is widely believed to wield power behind the scenes, underscored by the prominence of his grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, who previously met secretly with Rubio.

Last week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana for meetings with Cuban officials, including Castro’s grandson. Two other senior State Department officials met with the grandson in April.

The investigation into Castro stretches back to the 1990s

In 1995, planes flown by members of Brothers to the Rescue buzzed over Havana dropping leaflets urging Cubans to rise up against the Castro government.

After Cuban protests, the Federal Aviation Administration also opened an investigation and met with the group’s leaders to urge them to ground the flights, according to declassified government records obtained by the National Security Archive.

But those calls went unheeded and on Feb. 24, 1996, missiles fired by Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets downed two unarmed civilian Cessna planes a short distance north of Havana just beyond Cuba’s airspace. All four men aboard were killed. A third plane, carrying the group's leader, narrowly escaped.

Raúl Castro faced earlier indictment

Guy Lewis, who was a federal prosecutor in Miami in the 1990s, first uncovered evidence linking senior Cuban military officials to cocaine trafficking by Colombia’s Medellin cartel. Following the shootdown, the investigation expanded, and prosecutors pursued charges against Raúl Castro for leading a vast racketeering conspiracy by Cuba’s armed forces.

In the end, only the head of the Cuban air force and two of the MiG pilots involved in the downing of the planes were indicted but have never been apprehended.

A fourth individual was convicted of leading a Miami-based spy ring called Operation Scorpion that collected intelligence about the flights. He was later swapped for a U.S. intelligence asset imprisoned in Cuba as part of President Barack Obama's outreach to Cuba.

The shootdown led the U.S. to harden its position against Cuba, even though the Cold War had ended and the Castros’ support for revolution across Latin America was a fading memory.

But Castro himself was spared as the Clinton administration raised concerns about such a high-profile indictment.

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Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters David Fischer in Miami; Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Meg Kinnard in Houston; Will Weissert in Washington; Michael Weissenstein in New York; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

A filing Wednesday shows Musk’s SpaceX lost $2.6 billion from operations last year on $18.7 billion in revenue, and the losses kept piling up at the start of this year, too.

The prospectus did not put a dollar figure on the amount Musk hopes to raise but various reports have put it at $75 billion or so. An offering of that size would easily surpass the current title holder, Saudi Aramco, the oil giant that went public seven years ago and raised $26 billion.

SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has said the money will help to finance projects to put men on the moon and maybe someday Mars in its quest to make humans an intergalactic species as they face existential threats that could wipe out civilization.

“We do not want humans to have the same fate as dinosaurs,” the filing stated.

The stock sale could also make Musk, a major owner who founded SpaceX in 2002, the world’s first trillionaire. Forbes currently puts Musk's net worth at $839 billion.

In addition to making reusable rockets to hurl astronauts into orbit, SpaceX has other businesses, some successful, some struggling — and with plenty of questions marks.

The document showed Starlink, the world’s largest satellite communications company, is a big cash generator for the company, generating $4.4 billion in operating income last year. The business uses 10,000 satellites in low orbit to provide internet service to 10 million people in 150 countries and territories.

Among the struggling business are two Musk units that were recently acquired by SpaceX — his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and his artificial intelligence business, xAI. Those purchases were blasted by some SpaceX investors as bailouts because the businesses are big money losers.

The prospectus said its AI business lost $6.4 billion in operations last year.

The original SpaceX business, making rockets and staging launches, has been helped by massive government contracts, which themselves raises questions that could come back to haunt the company. Given Musk’s close relation to the Trump administration, government ethics lawyers and watchdogs have asked if he has gotten special treatment to win taxpayer money and whether that good luck will run out once President Donald Trump is out office.

SpaceX has won contracts worth $6 billion from NASA and the Defense Department and other government agencies in the past five years, according to USAspending.gov. The company notes in its filing that a fifth of its revenue last year was attributable to the federal government.

Musk was the biggest donor to Trump’s presidential campaign and is still a big backer despite their sometimes rocky relationship after his stewardship of the government cost-cutting effort called DOGE early last year.

The document also shows Musk will be able to exert big control over the business.

It says Musk and certain other shareholders will receive shares in a special class of stock that gives them 10 votes for each share they hold. Those shareholders will be able, among other things, to elect a majority of the company’s board of directors.

“This will limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters and the election of our directors,” SpaceX said in a warning to prospective investors.

SpaceX will be able to pitch the offering to investors -- in what’s known in Wall Street parlance as a “road show” -- 15 days after making its prospectus public. In this case, that works out to June 4.

The 193-member world body approved a nonbinding resolution endorsing the landmark advisory opinion by the U.N.’s top court last July that called failure by countries to protect the planet from climate change a violation of international law.

“The world’s highest court has spoken. Today, the General Assembly has answered,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. “This is a powerful affirmation of international law, climate justice, science, and the responsibility of states to protect people from the escalating climate crisis.”

The vote was 141-8 with 28 abstentions. The U.S., Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia — some of the highest oil-producing nations and major greenhouse gas emitters — opposed the measure. Climate change is caused mainly by the burning of coal, oil and gas.

The text includes adopting a national climate action plan to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit); phasing out subsidies for fossil fuel exploration, production and exploitation; and urging those in violation to provide “full reparation” for damage.

The Paris climate agreement in 2015 set a goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, or the mid-1800s, giving rise to the mantra “1.5 to stay alive,” but now scientists say even their best-case scenario still shoots past that signature temperature mark.

The U.N. resolution had initially included stronger language from the International Court of Justice opinion that called for establishing an “International Register of Damage” to record evidence and claims, but it was removed after nearly a dozen consultations in order to receive more support.

The adoption came despite reporting by The Associated Press in February that the Trump administration had been urging other nations to press the small island country of Vanuatu — the draft's original sponsor — to withdraw it from consideration.

In guidance issued to all U.S. embassies and consulates, the State Department had said it “strongly objects” to the proposal and that its adoption “could pose a major threat to U.S. industry.”

On Wednesday, Tammy Bruce, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., blasted the measure once again, calling it “highly problematic” and maintaining that Washington has serious legal and policy concerns despite changes to the draft.

“The resolution includes inappropriate political demands relating to fossil fuels and on other climate topics,” Bruce told the assembly before the vote.

But representatives from Vanuatu and other island nations, who fear for their survival because of the impact of climate change, said it was important for the General Assembly to back the court opinion, which was hailed as a turning point in international climate law.

“We should be honest with one another about why this matters,” Odo Tevi, the Vanuatu ambassador to the U.N., said before the vote. “It matters because the harm is real and it is already here, along our islands and coastlines, for communities facing drought and failed harvests.”

He added, “The states and peoples bearing the heaviest burden are very often those who contributed least to the problem.”

The action by the world body follows decades of frustration for Pacific nations that are watching their homelands disappear.

In Tuvalu, where the average elevation is just 2 meters (6.6 feet) above sea level, more than a third of the population has applied for a climate migration visa to Australia, although only a limited number are accepted each year. By 2100, much of the country is projected to be underwater at high tide.

In Nauru, the government has begun selling passports to wealthy foreigners — offering visa-free access to dozens of countries — in a bid to generate revenue for possible relocation efforts.

Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement Wednesday that by endorsing the court ruling, the U.N. “reaffirmed the global commitment to protect human rights.” He noted that it came “despite efforts by the U.S. and other oil-producing states to stifle attempts to combat climate change.”

Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing on ways to modernize the TSA nearly 25 years after it was created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. But the morale of TSA officers who went without pay during three funding lapses since Oct. 1, and whom the administration wants to replace at small U.S. airports, overshadowed the talk about better machines and reliable funding.

“Between the 2025 and 2026 shutdowns, transportation security officers endured a total of 119 days impacted by shutdown conditions," Republican Andrew Garbarino of New York, the committee’s chairman, said in his opening remarks. "That means TSA officers spent roughly 40% of this fiscal year reporting to work without a paycheck while continuing to carry out one of the most important security missions in the federal government.”

Several other committee members noted that Congress has failed to pass any of the pending bills seeking to guarantee continued pay for TSA workers. Rep. Lou Correa, a California Democrat, said if TSA workers don't get paid during shutdowns, neither should lawmakers.

Correa also took aim at President Donald Trump's proposed budget, which in addition to spending $477.3 million to have private companies take over airport screening at about 250 smaller airports would cut more than 4,500 TSA positions to save $529.3 million in compensation and benefits. The TSA this week also authorized contractors in its airport staffing program to acquire and maintain screening equipment, which previously was strictly a government function.

“Technology alone can’t replace the experienced people who make the security checkpoints work as they have for the past 25 years,” Correa said. “It's about pushing an antigovernment privatization ideology.”

About 20 U.S. airports already staff their checkpoints through the Screening Partnership Program. Currently airports choose whether or not to opt in. Under Trump's proposed budget, smaller airports would be required to participate.

The TSA has proposed letting private screeners handle security at airports with scheduled flights of passenger planes with 10-30 seats and ones that accomodate charter flights and private planes without fixed schedules. Examples include Oxnard Airport in California, Ocala International Airport in Florida, Alabama's Tuscaloosa International Airport and Gary-Chicago International Airport in Indiana, according to a spreadsheet maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The witnesses at the hearing included Christopher Sununu, president and CEO of the airline trade group Airlines for America; Dallas Fort Worth International Airport CEO Chris McLaughlin; American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley, whose union represents TSA workers. All three said they thoughts airports should get to decide whether to employ private screeners.

“Ensuring SPP remains an option for airports and does not become a mandatory program is paramount to the U.S. aviation industry,” Sununu said.

Kelley took a strong stand against the plans in Trump's budget.

“I'm totally against the privatization of any airport,” he said. “You don't contract out the CIA, do you?”

After several more Democrats on the committee said they thought that handing off airport security to businesses would leave U.S. airspace more vulnerable, Garbarino interjected to point out that “the very conservative cities of San Francisco, Seattle and Atlanta” all use private screeners at their airports, “so yeah, maybe it's not a Republican thing.”

Garbarino and Rep. Tim Kennedy, a New York Democrat, championed legislation he and three other committee members introduced earlier this month that would double, from $250 million to $500 million, the amount of money the TSA administrator is required to set aside to reimburse airports for capital costs associated with security. The bill also would establish an annual TSA fund of $250 million for airport screening technology.

Revenue for both would come from a $5.60 fee that airline customers pay for each one-way trip they take on U.S. flights. The 9/11 Passenger Security Fee has existed since 2002, but Congress decided in 2013 that a certain amount had to be used each year to reduce the federal deficit. Since then, an estimated $15 billion went to the U.S. Treasury for that purpose, according to the bill's co-sponsors,.

“Americans and Congress expected this fee to directly fund our aviation security system, but that is not the case. Nearly half the fee's revenue goes to something else,” Garbarino said. “Congress must restore the passenger security fee to its original intent, to fund the next generation of screening technology that protects our people in the skies.”

Trump's fiscal 2027 budget proposal would end the practice of diverting passenger fees and fund the TSA partly with the $1.68 billion that was expected to go to deficit-reduction.

Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that it would limit the number of A grades awarded to undergraduates, adopting one of the most ambitious efforts by a major university to curb grade inflation. The decision was made by faculty vote earlier this month.

The move comes after top grades became so common that some Harvard faculty argued they no longer reliably distinguished exceptional work. More than 60% of all grades awarded to undergraduates in recent years were in the A range, according to university data cited by faculty members who supported the measure.

Harvard Psychology Professor Joshua Greene, who served on the faculty subcommittee that developed the proposal, said the reform is intended to reduce what he called “the tyranny of the perfect transcript.” If straight A's become less common, students may feel freer to take risks and focus on learning rather than preserving a perfect record.

“The Harvard faculty voted to make their grades mean what they say they mean,” members of the faculty subcommittee that proposed the changes said in a statement.

They said the reform would ensure that “a Harvard A grade will now tell students, as well as employers and graduate schools, something real about what a student has achieved.”

‘The tyranny of the perfect transcript’

Harvard is not the first elite university to confront grade inflation. Princeton University adopted a policy in 2004 to limit A-range grades to 35% of those awarded, though it abandoned the system a decade later after criticism that it disadvantaged students in competition for jobs and graduate school admission.

Harvard government professor Alisha Holland, co-chair of the faculty subcommittee that developed the proposal and a former Princeton student, said Harvard designed a narrower policy that limits only A's — not A-minuses — in hopes of avoiding a significant impact on students’ GPAs. Holland said faculty viewed the change as a “pro-student reform” intended to restore meaning to Harvard transcripts.

She said the decision carries significance beyond Harvard’s grading policies at a time when universities face growing scrutiny.

“This sends a powerful signal that, when people are questioning what universities do, universities are capable of governing and reforming themselves and evolving to match the challenges of our times,” Holland said.

The university plans to implement the policy in the academic year beginning in 2027.

GPAs at four-year public and nonprofit colleges rose more than 16% between 1990 and 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Amanda Claybaugh, Harvard’s dean of undergraduate education, called grade inflation a “complex and thorny issue” and a “problem that many people have recognized, but no one has solved” in a statement Wednesday.

Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist and Harvard psychology professor who has long criticized grade inflation, said in an email to The Associated Press that he was “delighted” by the result.

For too long, Pinker said, professors “who held the line with challenging material and high standards would see their enrollments plummet.” Failure to address the issue turned “universities into national laughingstocks.”

“Grade inflation forced a race to the bottom,” he said, adding that the problem could only be solved through a university-wide policy.

In an emailed statement Wednesday, Zach Berg and Daniel Zhao, the co-presidents of the Harvard Undergraduate Association, said they recognized concerns with the current grading system but were disappointed that student voices “have not been centered throughout the decision-making process.” In a February survey of students conducted by the association, nearly 85% of roughly 800 responding undergraduates opposed the proposal to limit the share of A-range grades awarded in Harvard courses.

A cultural shift

Beginning in fall 2027, instructors in letter-graded courses at Harvard College will be allowed to award A grades to no more than 20% of students in a class, plus four additional students.

Faculty also approved a proposal to use average percentile rank rather than GPA when comparing students for honors, prizes and awards.

A separate proposal which failed would have allowed courses to opt out of the A-grade cap by switching to a satisfactory/unsatisfactory system with a new SAT+ designation for exceptional performance.

The new policies will be reviewed after three years. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is Harvard’s largest school, comprising 40 academic departments. It is the home of Harvard College, Harvard’s undergraduate program, and all of Harvard’s Ph.D. programs.

Max Abrahms, a political science professor at nearby Northeastern University who studies terrorism and international security, was among those outside Harvard who applauded the decision.

“When everyone gets an A there is no signal,” he wrote on X, calling Harvard’s vote “a huge win for higher education.”

Stuart Rojstaczer, a former Duke University professor who has spent years tracking grade inflation at colleges in the U.S., said if the system spreads to other universities, he would welcome the change.

“For many years, Harvard faculty maintained that their students deserved all those A's. This is a real cultural shift,” Rojstaczer said. “Will this policy be adopted elsewhere? Will it stick long term? That’s hard to predict.”

Leroy Dean McGill, 63, was pronounced dead at 10:26 a.m. PDT following a lethal injection at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. McGill was convicted of murder in the death of Charles Perez, who was attacked with his girlfriend in a north Phoenix apartment on July 13, 2002.

It was the first lethal injection carried out this year in Arizona, and McGill didn’t appear to be resisting at any point during the procedure. After a lethal dose of pentobarbital began flowing, he began breathing heavily and made a snoring sound. And, about 21 minutes after the IV insertion process began, he was pronounced dead.

While the state was criticized for having difficulty in inserting IV lines during executions in 2022, it took just one attempt on each of McGill’s arms to successfully insert IVs.

“Today’s process went according to plan,” said John Barcello, deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. Barcello quoted McGill’s last words as: “I just want to thank everyone for being so accommodating and nice.”

Before the injection began, McGill looked at the witnesses, smiled and nodded. Media witness Josh Kelety from The Associated Press said he heard McGill at one point say: “I’m going home soon.”

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose office pressed for the execution to be carried out, said her thoughts were with the victims.

Media witness Sean Rice from Phoenix television station KPN said the execution was carried out smoothly.

"I didn’t see any issue at all finding a vein on either arm,” he said. Rice said he also observed a slight twitching on the right side of McGill’s head about four minutes before the inmate was pronounced dead.

Authorities said that in 2002 McGill threw gasoline at Perez and Perez’s girlfriend, Nova Banta, as they sat on a sofa in the apartment, setting them on fire. Perez and Banta had accused McGill of stealing a gun from the apartment before the attack. At the time, McGill was using methamphetamine and hadn’t slept in several days.

Banta survived, but Perez died.

Twelve people have been executed so far this year in the United States. Tennessee and Florida each are scheduled to carry out an execution Thursday.

At the Arizona trial, Banta testified that McGill had told her and Perez not to talk behind people's backs. Before they could respond, McGill lit them on fire, authorities said.

Perez and Banta ran out of the apartment. Another man who lived in the apartment used a blanket to put out the flames on Banta, who suffered third-degree burns over three-quarters of her body. Perez died later at a hospital in extreme pain, prosecutors said.

Banta identified McGill as the attacker at trial.

Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before convicting McGill of murder in Perez’s death in October 2004. He also was convicted of attempted murder for attacking Banta, arson and endangerment of people who escaped without injuries when the fire forced them to flee the apartment and a nearby unit where flames spread.

McGill’s lawyers had argued for leniency by presenting evidence about abuse he suffered as a child as well as mental impairment and psychological immaturity. The jury ultimately returned the death sentence.

This spring, McGill’s lawyers made a last-ditch bid to get him resentenced, but a lower-court judge rejected it. The Arizona Supreme Court also declined a request from McGill’s lawyers to postpone the execution.

McGill, who declined an interview request from The Associated Press, waived his right to seek clemency.

Arizona last applied the death penalty in 2025, executing Richard Kenneth Djerf for the 1993 killings of four members of a Phoenix family and Aaron Gunches for the 2002 fatal shooting of his girlfriend’s ex-husband.

The state carried out three executions in 2022 following a nearly eight-year hiatus brought on by difficulties obtaining execution drugs and by criticism that a 2014 execution was botched. In that 2014 execution, Joseph Wood was injected with 15 doses of a two-drug combination over two hours, leading him to snort repeatedly and gasp hundreds of times before he died.

The state’s current execution protocol calls for administering two syringes of pentobarbital, a powerful sedative.

With McGill’s death, Arizona now has 108 prisoners on death row. ___ Billeaud reported from Phoenix.

Long the scene of attacks by an array of armed groups, the region's volatility now further complicates efforts to handle the crisis. Local leaders said an attack by militants linked to the Islamic State group killed at least 17 people on Tuesday night in Alima village in Ituri, a province that has become the hotspot of the outbreak.

The World Health Organization, which noted a low risk globally, has said “patient zero” has not been found.

“It’s truly sad and painful because we’ve already been through a security crisis, and now Ebola is here too,” said Justin Ndasi, a Bunia resident,

Tons of health supplies have been airlifted to Bunia, where the first known death was announced last week, but residents said masks are harder to find and some disinfectants that previously sold for 2,500 Congolese francs (about $1) now cost four times more.

A mother watches her son 'bleeding and vomiting’

At a treatment center in Rwampara, families cried and watched as healthcare workers in protective gear silently disinfected the bodies of their loved ones — suspected Ebola victims — and placed them into coffins for secure burial sites.

The disease struck suddenly, they said, describing a rapid deterioration after symptoms were mistaken for illnesses such as malaria.

“He told me his heart was hurting,” said Botwine Swanze, who lost her son. “Then he started crying because of the pain. ... Then he started bleeding and vomiting a lot.”

The Ebola virus is highly contagious and spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding.

WHO chief says the 'scale of the epidemic is much larger’

WHO has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, worried over its “scale and speed." The WHO chief in Congo says it could last at least two months.

The rare type of Ebola, known as the Bundibugyo virus, spread undetected for weeks following the first known death while authorities tested for another, more common Ebola virus and came up negative.

Investigations continued into where and when the outbreak started, but “given the scale, we are thinking that it has started probably a couple of months ago," said Anaïs Legand, with WHO's emergencies program.

So far, 51 cases have been confirmed in Congo’s northern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, and two cases in Uganda, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday. There are 139 suspected deaths and almost 600 suspected cases.

But "the scale of the epidemic is much larger,” he said.

The London-based MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that cases have been substantially undercounted and that the actual number could already exceed 1,000. “The true magnitude remains uncertain,” it said.

This is Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, and the WHO has said the country's health ministry has experienced staff and capacity to respond. Most outbreaks, however, were of the more common Ebola type.

Any potential vaccine is months away

Dr. Vasee Moorthy, a special adviser at WHO, said a vaccine to address Bundibugyo would not be available for at least six to nine months.

Eastern Congo already faced “immense pressure from conflict, displacement and a collapsing health system,” said Dr. Lievin Bangali, senior health coordinator for the International Rescue Committee in Congo, adding that years of underfunding have weakened the response.

The outbreak highlights the effects of the Trump administration’s deep cuts in foreign aid. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the administration set a priority on funding 50 emergency clinics in affected areas. The U.S. pledged to contribute $23 million.

Anxiety grows with little protection in affected places

In Bunia, schools and churches remain open while some residents wear masks. Elsewhere in Ituri province, suspected Ebola patients share a ward with others injured or ill at Bambu General Hospital.

A Doctors Without Borders team identified suspected cases over the weekend at Bunia's Salama hospital but found no available isolation ward in the area, said Trish Newport, an emergency program manager.

“Every health facility they called said, ‘We’re full of suspect cases. We don’t have any space.’ This gives you a vision of how crazy it is right now," she said on social media.

In Mongbwalu, where the body of the first known death was taken, the nearby border with Uganda remains open and gold mining continues, said Chérubin Kuku Ndilawa, a civil society leader.

“There’s no panic. People continue with their normal lives, but they’re also starting to spread the word,” said Ndilawa, and noted a lack of public handwashing stations.

There were around 30 Ebola patients at Mongbwalu General Hospital, where a student from the local medical technology institute died on Wednesday, Dr. Didier Pay said.

“The patients are scattered here and there,” said Dr. Richard Lokudu, the hospital’s medical director. “We hope for the proper triage and isolation facilities to be installed today, and if that doesn’t happen, we will be completely overwhelmed.”

They are understaffed and not trained to handle suspected cases, Lokudu said, and added that if confirmed cases surge, “we have no protection.”

In the Ebola-affected city of Goma, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are in control, the “situation is complicated,” said Dr. Anne Ancia, WHO's representative in Congo.

An American with Ebola is in isolation in Germany

A U.S. national who tested positive in Congo arrived in Berlin on Wednesday and was in a special isolation ward where a “comprehensive examination” was underway, German Health Ministry spokesperson Martin Elsässer said.

Elsässer declined to comment on the condition of the patient, who has not been identified by German or U.S. authorities. The ministry later said, without elaborating, that it would take in the patient's wife and three children at the request of U.S. authorities.

A top health official in the Czech Republic said they are receiving an American doctor who was treating Ebola patients in Uganda and who is without symptoms. It was not clear whether any were infected.

Dr. Satish Pillai, incident manager for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Ebola response, told reporters Wednesday that the Americans were being transported in coordination with the U.S. State Department and other agencies. One patient, who is in stable condition, is now being treated in Germany, Pillai said.

Asked whether the White House played a role in the decision to move the Americans to Europe, Pillai said the decision was based on conditions on the ground and the need to mobilize rapidly.

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Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Jean Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo; Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal; Devi Shastri in Milwaukee, WI; Karel Janicek in Prague and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

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

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

Unfortunately for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it turned into Brunson versus James Harden in the fourth quarter of Game 1.

Brunson continuously attacked the matchup to spark one of the largest postseason comebacks on record, as the New York Knicks rallied from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 115-104 victory. A day later, the Cavaliers shrugged off concerns that one of the most accomplished offensive players in league history might be too poor of a defender to give them NBA Finals hopes.

“I know everybody’s putting it on James, but I’d say a lot of, it’s on the team, our team defense,” coach Kenny Atkinson said Wednesday after the Cavaliers practiced at Madison Square Garden. “And we were great for three quarters. Like, really, really great. So we can do it.”

The Cavs will try again Thursday, hoping to even the series before it shifts to their home court over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Atkinson took as much, if not more, heat than Harden for waiting too long to use a timeout to stop New York's momentum after Brunson kept driving right at Harden as the catalyst for an 18-1 run.

“Kenny’s a great coach and we know that they’re going to come out ready to play,” said the Knicks' Mike Brown, who worked with Atkinson when both were assistants to Steve Kerr in Golden State. “They came to New York to get one game and it’s still within reach.”

The Cavs know they should have it already. They controlled the middle two quarters against a Knicks team that showed plenty of rust in its first game since May 10. Looking nothing like the team that won by 19.4 points per game in the previous two rounds, the Knicks finally went to an offensive scheme that forced Harden to switch onto Brunson, and the All-Star guard had four straight New York baskets during the run.

Cleveland reserve guard Dennis Schroder credited Brunson more than blaming Harden.

“Jalen Brunson is one of the most clutch players in the NBA. Social media for that is just in a bad place,” Schroder said. “I think that we lost the game. Basketball is a team game. It’s everybody on the bench, coaches, the guys who were on the court. At the end of the day, he made some tough shots and good credit.”

The Cavaliers surged late in the season after acquiring Harden from the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden is ninth in NBA history with nearly 30,000 points and also 12th in assists. The 2018 NBA MVP was playing on an MSG court Tuesday where he shares the record with Kobe Bryant for points by an opponent with 61.

But he's had some sloppy performances in the postseason and Game 1 was another. Harden shot 5 for 16 overall and 1 for 8 from 3-point range, and had twice as many turnovers (6) as assists. He's bounced back before and Atkinson believes he will again.

“I said, ‘Without you, we’re knocked out in the first round.’ That’s my first (opinion). My personal opinion," Atkinson said. "So, let’s just stop that. We’re in a great position. ‘You’ve played great.’ You know, sometimes micro experiences get exaggerated. ‘So, you know, keep being yourself.’”

The Knicks, who have won eight straight games, understand how the Cavs must be feeling, after a loss that was every bit as gut-wrenching in Game 1 of the 2025 East finals.

New York led Indiana by 14 points with under three minutes remaining in regulation. The Pacers rallied to tie when Tyrese Haliburton's long jumper bounced high off the rim and fell through as time expired, then won 138-135 in overtime.

“Obviously they’re looking at it like that was our game that we gave away,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said of the Cavaliers. “And they’re looking at film of, ‘If we fix this here or fix this here, we would have won the game.’ And that’s what they’re going to try to do tomorrow.”

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AP freelance writer Adry Torres in New York contributed to this report.

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

Philadelphia shifted to remote learning for students at 57 schools, saying that while the district has made progress, a number of them continue to have inadequate air conditioning.

The heat sneaked up on some Philadelphia residents and had them concerned about electricity bills before summer has even set in, said Lauren Authur, who lives in the city.

“Today has been like a heatwave,” Authur said, “and when you have little children, you use more of your air conditioning than anything to try to prevent them from being sick.”

“It honestly got hot sooner than we expected it to be,” she said.

The National Weather Service said another day of record heat was expected from the mid-Atlantic to New England before a cold front brings rain later in the week. Daily high temperature records were broken Tuesday in Portland, Maine, at 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius), and in Boston at 96 (35.5 Celsius).

Temperatures were expected to plunge as low as 45 Fahrenheit (7 Celsius) in Portland and 50 (10 Celsius) in Boston as soon as Thursday.

In Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, officials at one high school set up fans, passed around bottled water and allowed students to wear shorts and T-shirts instead of their usual uniforms.

“The heat outside feels like it’s manageable because of the wind but inside it feels just tight and burdening because we also have to go through quizzes, exams, there is no excuse,” student Ariolainy Baez told CBS News.

A heat advisory was in effect for portions of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island through Wednesday evening.

In Maine, temperatures soared again Wednesday for Portland, and the small town of Fryeburg also sizzled a day after setting its own local heat record. Authorities advised people to use caution when outside.

“Our bodies are not adapted to the heat yet. On the first hot days of the year, it’s especially important to take breaks in the shade or A/C and drink plenty of water,” the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

Some people coped by flocking to beaches that were not yet besieged by summer tourists. Others turned front lawn sprinklers into makeshift water parks for their children and neighbors.

In New York City, officials opened cooling centers.

“Just as New Yorkers look out for one another through the coldest days of winter, we must do the same through the hottest days of the year,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.

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Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine. Associated Press writer Holly Ramer contributed from Concord, New Hampshire.

From cracked pavement to deep potholes capable of damaging tires, rims and suspensions, rough roads are a common frustration for drivers across the city.

“I mean, they’re awful,” Houston resident Arighno Das said. “They’re huge. They’re everywhere.”

Das, who moved to Houston from Chicago about a year ago, said some roads in Houston are worse than what he experienced in the Midwest.

“I’ve come to get used to it,” said Michael Crawford.

Houston Public Works says repairs happen fast

But Houston Public Works Director Randy Macchi says the city is fixing reported potholes faster than many residents realize.

“We resolve 99% of resident-reported pothole problems within the next business day,” Macchi said in a podcast hosted by the Houston Mayor’s office.

Macchi called Houston’s pothole program “the best in the country,” saying public works leaders from other major cities regularly ask how Houston repairs potholes so quickly.

“When we talk about what we’re doing in Houston, 99 and a half percent almost by the next business day, they look at me and say, ‘How do you do that?’” Macchi said.

According to Macchi, residents reporting potholes through Houston’s 311 system helps crews respond quickly.

“Without a doubt, where potholes are concerned, 311 is the best place to go,” Macchi said. “We have an expedited service, folks that are monitoring it continually.”

• Former Texas correctional officer pleads guilty in conspiracy case after orchestrating attack on inmate who spit on him

Macchi said crews immediately inspect reported issues to determine whether they are standard potholes or larger infrastructure problems.

“If it’s generally bigger than a pizza box, then it’s going to require a more extensive repair,” Macchi said.

He said larger roadway failures can involve sinkholes, collapsing sewer lines, subsidence or sinking manholes.

KPRC 2 tested the city’s pothole claims

KPRC 2 set out to test the city’s claim by reviewing potholes reported Monday through Houston’s 311 system and revisiting many of those locations Tuesday.

Locations across Houston were checked, including Bellaire Boulevard, West Bellfort Avenue, North Shepherd Drive and several streets in the Heights.

At most locations visited, the potholes had already been patched.

City records reviewed by KPRC 2 showed multiple potholes marked repaired by the following business day, including locations at 10804 Bellaire Blvd., 8201 W. Bellfort Ave., 241 W. 19th St., 303 W. 19th St., 2002 N. Shepherd Dr. and E. 7th 1/2 Street at Studewood Street.

Some residents initially doubted the city’s claim.

“Yeah, there’s no way 99% of the potholes not happening,” Houston Heights resident Garth Kemp said before hearing about KPRC 2’s findings.

But after seeing freshly repaired potholes in his neighborhood, Kemp reconsidered.

“Well, then I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt,” Kemp said. “These two right there, I wouldn’t have noticed unless you stopped me.”

Macchi said the city’s response times are part of a larger effort to rebuild trust in local government.

“We want folks to have confidence that when we say call 311 and we’ll take care of it, that it actually happens,” Macchi said.

Some roads need more than a quick patch

Not every problem could be solved with a simple pothole repair.

At 1500 Yale St., what appeared to be a pothole was actually a sinking manhole cover requiring more extensive work.

Another location along El Paseo Street near the Texas Medical Center remained heavily damaged Tuesday, with potholes stretching across much of the roadway despite signs of previous patchwork repairs.

KPRC 2 placed a camera inside one of the potholes while vehicles drove over it without touching the equipment because of the depth.

• ‘It’s scary’: California teen speaks out after photo is falsely shared online as San Diego mosque shooting suspect

Das questioned whether repeated patching is enough for roads in poor condition.

“I think sometimes you just have to fix it,” Das said. “Just putting Band-Aids over it is not the solution.”

Macchi acknowledged potholes are often signs of broader roadway problems.

“Potholes, as I like to remind people, are symptoms of larger problems,” Macchi said.

Houston’s street system is massive

According to Macchi, Houston maintains roughly 16,000 lane miles of roadway.

“That’s the distance of Houston to Tokyo and back,” he said.

Macchi said the city has increasingly focused on proactive repairs instead of waiting for residents to report potholes, which is outlined on the city’s Pothole Tracker.

“This year alone, we’ve already dealt with almost 25,000 potholes that we have proactively taken care of,” Macchi said. “You compare that to the ones that are reported through 311 and you’re only about 1,500.”

Macchi said Houston has also expanded pavement preservation efforts aimed at extending the life of city streets and reducing long-term deterioration.

“We’ve got a lot more that we can do,” Macchi said. “But we’re glad that you were able to prove it, that when we say we really do it, we really did it.”

Have a pothole on your street? Report it to 311 here.

The company said Wednesday it earned $58.32 billion, or $2.39 per share, in the February-April period, up from $18.78 billion, or 76 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Nvidia earned $1.76 per share.

Revenue jumped 85% to $81.62 billion from $44.01 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.75 per share and revenue of $78.91 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. Nvidia's results have exceeded the analyst projections that shape investors’ perceptions since Nvidia’s high-end chips emerged as AI’s best building blocks three years ago.

“The buildout of AI factories — the largest infrastructure expansion in human history — is accelerating at extraordinary speed,” said CEO Jensen Huang in a statement.

Along with higher profit and revenue, however, Nvidia's operating expenses increased by 49% to $7.75 billion.

For the current quarter, Nvidia forecast revenue of about $91 billion. Analysts are forecasting $87.29 billion.

Despite the solid results and outlook, many investors still evidently are worried about a comedown after a three-year boom that has seen Nvidia’s market value soar from $400 billion at the end of 2022 to $5.4 trillion as of Wednesday.

Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company dipped slightly after-hours to $222.12 after closing at $223.47 in the regular trading session.

“Time and time again, (Nvidia) obliterates expectations and consensus; it delivered exactly on what people wanted, especially regarding data centers,” said David Wagner, head of equity and portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. “But the market doesn’t always act as you would expect after a strong report like this one.”

The company also announced plans to return some money to shareholders. It authorized a plan to buy back $80 billion worth of stock and increased its quarterly cash dividend to 25 cents per share from 1 cent.

Carmen Lineberger, who worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and managed its Fort Pierce branch, faces charges including theft of government property and concealment of government records. She pleaded not guilty during a court appearance in West Palm Beach. Her attorney did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Prosecutors allege that while serving as a Justice Department prosecutor last December, Lineberger sent a copy of the report that special counsel Jack Smith and his team had prepared, recapping their investigation into Trump’s retention of top-secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, to her personal email account. At the time she did so, the indictment says, a judicial order barred Justice Department employees from sharing, transmitting or distributing copies of the report.

The indictment alleges that Lineberger sought to conceal her actions by altering the original file name of the report to “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” before saving the re-titled file on her government computer and emailing it to her personal email account with the subject line of “Bundt_Cake_Recipe,pdf.”

Several months earlier, according to the indictment, Lineberger created on her government computer a document consisting of portions of internal Justice Department messages, along with portions of an internal memorandum with header and footer markings that indicated it was for official use only.

She sent the material to her personal email address via an attached file titled “Chocolate_cake_recipe.pdf,” prosecutors say.

The indictment does not explain why Lineberger may have wanted to send the report, which prosecutors say she had access to in her professional capacity as a prosecutor, to her own email account.

The volume detailing Smith's findings in a criminal investigation once seen as posing significant legal peril to Trump has never been seen by the public. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon sided with Trump’s lawyers, who argued that releasing the report would be unfairly prejudicial after Smith abandoned the case following Trump's 2024 election victory.

Lineberger worked in the same judicial district where Smith's case against Trump was filed. That case accused Trump of illegally retaining at the Mar-a-Lago property dozens of classified records from his first term and obstructing government efforts to get them back.

“This FBI will not hesitate to bring to account those who violated the trust of the American public in an investigation that should’ve never been brought to begin with,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement posted on X.

Four-year-old Max, affectionately known as “Gordo,” is full of joy, curiosity, and a love for monster trucks — especially Grave Digger, Megalodon, El Toro Loco, and T-Rex because, as he proudly says, “the trucks can fly!”

But the road to this moment hasn’t been easy.

Gordo’s mom, Cruz Lara, says what first seemed like a virus quickly spiraled into something much more serious, wreaking havoc on his immune system and leading to countless hospital visits, needles, blood transfusions, and uncertainty for the entire family. Doctors struggled to determine exactly what was wrong, and at one point Gordo even underwent chemotherapy treatment.

His mother says one of the hardest moments was watching him lose his beautiful long hair during treatment.

Now, seeing him healthy enough to experience the excitement of Monster Jam feels like a dream come true — not just for Gordo, but for the entire family.

That dream became even more special thanks to employees at Gexa Energy, who spent their weekend transforming the company’s downtown Houston headquarters into a monster truck-themed celebration space for Gordo’s big surprise reveal.

“It’s an incredible day for Gordo, but honestly it’s also an incredible day for all of us,” said Ryan McGeachie, President of Gexa Energy. “To come to work knowing you’re helping create joy for a child and a family who have been through so much — that’s a really meaningful feeling.”

Grit Farrell, Vice President of Revenue at Gexa Energy, said the event was a monster-sized feel-good moment for the team.

“To be able to bring some joy to a family that has gone through such hardship is incredibly special,” Farrell said. “Moments like this remind all of us what community is really about.”

The celebration was hosted alongside Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana, which has granted more than 11,900 wishes to local children since 1984.

Shelly Millwee, President & CEO of Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana, said wish-granting isn’t the only way to help a kiddo like Max, the organization relies on the support of volunteers, and anyone interested in being part of helping make a dream come true can visit their website at wish.org/texgulf.

And for one Houston little boy who dreams of monster trucks flying through the air, this wish is officially full throttle.

An arbitration panel upheld the English Football League's decision to remove Southampton from Saturday's final, meaning Middlesbrough will take its place and play Hull at Wembley Stadium for the chance to win promotion to the Premier League.

The decision is final.

Southampton was expelled on Tuesday after admitting to repeatedly spying on opponents.

It was charged earlier this month for the unauthorized filming of Middlesbrough’s practice sessions ahead of their semifinal. It went on to win the two-legged tie to go within one game of promotion to the top flight.

The southcoast club subsequently admitted further breaches this season concerning games against Oxford United and Ipswich. It was also deducted four points for next season.

In its appeal, it described its punishment as “manifestly disproportionate” to any previous sanction in English soccer history.

In a long club statement, Southampton chief executive Phil Parsons had accepted “what happened was wrong” and that the club deserved to be sanctioned.

“What we cannot accept,” he said, “is a sanction which bears no proportion to the offense.”

The playoff final is labeled the world’s richest one-off soccer match because a windfall of at least $270 million in future earnings is on offer for the winning team.

Promotion to the top flight of English soccer — the world’s wealthiest and most-watched league — brings with it access to its multibillion dollar global broadcast deals as well as sold out stadiums for games against the biggest teams in the world like Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Southampton was relegated from the Premier League after finishing bottom of the standings last season and was aiming to make an immediate return.

The league said the final would go ahead on Saturday, kicking off at 3.30 p.m. local time.

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

A trade license that came into effect Wednesday permits the import of Russian oil that has been refined into jet fuel and diesel in third countries such as India and Turkey. The U.K. announced in October that it would ban imports of those products.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil usually passes, has sent fuel prices soaring around the world and sparked concerns about a shortage of jet fuel.

Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused the British government of “choosing to buy dirty Russian oil.”

But Starmer said the government is phasing in the sanctions package announced in October and has issued a “targeted short-term” license for the refined products to protect British consumers in a volatile situation.

“So, these are new sanctions being phased in. This is not a question of lifting existing sanctions in any way whatsoever,” he said in the House of Commons.

The licenses have no end date, but the government said they would be reviewed regularly.

Britain has been one of Ukraine's strongest allies since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, and the government insists its sanctions against Russia remain among the toughest in the world.

Starmer spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday and “outlined how the U.K. was ramping up measures to crack down on Russia’s economy,” Starmer's office said.

It said Starmer “reaffirmed the U.K.’s steadfast support for Ukraine.”

After the call, Zelenskyy posted on X: “I am grateful for all the support the United Kingdom provides to Ukraine — our efforts to protect life."

But lawmaker Emily Thornberry, who chairs Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said Ukrainians would “feel very let down” by the easing of sanctions.

A senior Ukrainian official said the Kyiv government was “clarifying the details” with U.K. officials.

“There is currently very active communication between our diplomats, the office (of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy) and the British side,” the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to comment publicly.

The U.S. has also eased Russian sanctions. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent extended a 30-day sanctions waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil shipments already at sea.

On Tuesday, finance ministers from the U.S., Britain and the other Group of Seven wealthy nations issued a joint statement reaffirming “our unwavering commitment to continue to impose severe costs on Russia in response to its continued aggression against Ukraine.”

John Lough, an associate fellow in the Russia program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said that while the sanctions carve-outs were likely to be temporary, “it has a symbolic effect because it does look as though the sanctions regime is weakening.

“If you’re looking at this from Moscow, you would say, well, this is welcome news, because it shows that when push comes to shove, Western countries are really not that committed to a sanctions regime,” Lough said.

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Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Susie Blann in Kyiv contributed to this story.

Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol from an attack by a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters sued Wednesday to block anyone — including Jan. 6, 2021, rioters — from receiving payouts from a new nearly $1.8 billion settlement fund for people who claim to be victims of politically motivated prosecutions. The lawsuit’s filing comes a day after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, during his congressional testimony, wouldn’t rule out the possibility of fund payouts for rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6.

Also, Trumpscored another win Tuesday against a Republican rival, dislodging Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s primary and knocking out one of his most outspoken critics on Capitol Hill. Massie has been a particularly difficult thorn in Trump’s side, pushing for the release of the Epstein files, opposing the war with Iran and voting against Trump’s signature tax legislation last year.

The U.S. government will permanently drop tax claims against Trump, according to a settlement document made public Tuesday, in an extraordinary use of executive power that could effectively help shield the president from further examination of his finances and legal conduct. As part of the settlement deal, the U.S. is “forever barred and precluded” from examining or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump organization’s current tax examinations.

Here's the latest:

Ex-prosecutor charged with sending herself copy of Smith report on Trump classified files probe

A former federal prosecutor is facing federal charges over allegations that she sent a report detailing Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents to her personal email account, despite a judge’s order to keep it secret, according to an indictment made public on Wednesday.

Carmen Lineberger, who worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and managed its Fort Pierce branch, pleaded not guilty during a court appearance in West Palm Beach to charges of theft of government property. Her attorney did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

The indictment alleges that Lineberger sought to conceal her actions by altering the original file name of the report to “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” before saving the re-titled file on her government computer and emailing it to her personal account.

▶ Read more

Republicans mull dropping $1 billion security money request for the White House and Trump’s ballroom

Republican senators are considering dropping a proposal for $1 billion in security money for the White House complex and President Donald Trump’s ballroom after it has failed to win enough party support on Capitol Hill.

The White House has pressured Republicans to add the money to a roughly $70 billion bill intended to restore funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.

But some Republicans are questioning the security price tag and asking for more details about how the money would be used.

Sen. John Kennedy said Wednesday that the bill was “back to square one” without the security money because “the votes are not there.”

Sen. Thom Tillis said the effort to add the security package to the bill was a “bad idea” and he does not think there is enough backing to pass it, even if it were reduced.

▶ Read more

Trump says he will speak with Taiwan’s leader over arms sales

President Trump today suggested he may speak with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te about an arms sales package opposed by Beijing, the second time in a week he raised the possibility of speaking with the island’s leader.

“Well, I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody,” Trump said when asked if he had plans to call Lai.

On Friday, when returning from his summit in Beijing, Trump said: “I have to speak to the person that right now, as you know, you know who he is, that’s running Taiwan.”

Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan, opposes any official interaction between U.S. and Taiwanese officials, and no sitting U.S. president has spoken with a Taiwanese leader since the two governments severed diplomatic ties in 1979.

Trump, as president-elect in 2016, took a congratulatory phone call from the Taiwanese president.

Trump calls the indictment of Raúl Castro ‘a very big moment’

“I think this is a very big day, very important day,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac, after flying back from Connecticut.

Asked what will happen next for Cuba, he said “We’re gonna see” and that the U.S. is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to a “failing nation.”

Trump also said the CIA has a presence in Cuba, and Rubio has been involved in discussions with the island’s leadership.

But Trump added of applying more economic pressure to Cuba, “There won’t be escalation. I don’t think there needs to be.

Trump says he may release his tax returns

Trump has long cited ongoing IRS audits as his reason for not releasing his past tax returns. But that could change now that his legal team has forged a deal with the Justice Department this week that includes permanently dropping tax claims against the president, his family and associates.

“I may even release my current returns,” the president told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after a trip to Connecticut.

As part of the settlement deal meant to resolve Trump’s $10 billion l awsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, the U.S. is “forever barred and precluded” from examining or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump organization’s current tax examinations, according to a one-page document posted to the Justice Department’s website on Tuesday.

The settlement also includes the creation of a $1.776 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted.

Blanche says he expects Castro to appear in US on charges

Asked to what lengths the U.S. would go to bring Castro to face charges in this country, Blanche said the federal government indicts people outside the United States “all the time” and uses a variety of methods to bring them to justice.

“There was a warrant issued for his arrest,” Blanche said of Raúl Castro. “So we expect that he will show up here, by his own will or by another way.”

Blanche went on to say investigations like this one are “never over” when asked whether additional charges would be brought.

Castro should take the indictment as a real threat, observers said

That’s because former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was indicted on drug-related charges before he and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized by U.S. special forces in the Venezuelan capital in January

“He’s gonna have to keep his head pretty low from now on,” said Peter Kornbluh, a senior analyst and specialist on the U.S.-Cuba relationship at the National Security Archive.

“They’re going to have no choice but to take this threat extremely seriously.”

Top Communist Party leader praises Raúl Castro, says Cubans will defend his legacy ‘at any cost’

Roberto Morales Ojeda, a senior Communist Party leader, praised Army Gen. Raúl Castro on Wednesday, saying he “embodies the most genuine essence of the Cuban Revolution thanks to his ability to lead with modesty and personal example. His career has been an uninterrupted lesson in loyalty to Cuba and Fidel.”

He also said Raúl Castro has cultivated “an exceptional human sensitivity” and the ability to examine the “revolutionary endeavor,” rectify errors and open spaces for dialogue.

“For all these reasons, the Cuban people are absolutely certain that they will defend Raúl’s physical and ethical integrity and his legacy at any cost,” Morales Ojeda wrote on X. “Defending his legacy means embracing the continuity of the Revolution, updating the economic model without losing its socialist essence, training new generations, and the fundamental lesson: that one can be a revolutionary with firmness, constructive criticism, and unwavering loyalty to the people.”

In Miami, one Cuban American expresses approval of Castro’s indictment

Peter Hernandez, whose family owns Los Pinareños Fruteria in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, said it’s about time for the U.S. to do something about Castro.

“The piracy in that country, Cuba, it has been going on for a very long time,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez, whose parents moved from Cuba to South Florida before he was born, said he doesn’t have a problem with the U.S. sending its military to arrest Castro.

“He’s a criminal,” Hernandez said. ”I think we should do that with all criminals, especially if they’re hiding behind a country that consistently has been proven that they are on the wrong side of our national security efforts and ideology.”

Cuban president condemns Castro indictment

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment of Raúl Castro and accused the U.S. of lying and manipulating the events of 1996. He called it “a political action without any legal basis” that only seeks to “bolster the case they are fabricating to justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.”

Díaz-Canel wrote on X that Cuba acted in “legitimate self-defense within its territorial waters after repeated and dangerous violations of its airspace by notorious terrorists.”

He said U.S. officials at the time had been warned about the violations but allowed them to continue.

Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since U.S. forces captured the Cuban government’s longtime patron, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. After ousting Maduro, the White House ordered a blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.

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The US has also accused Cuban military pilots of downing the planes

Lt. Col. Lorenzo Alberto Pérez-Pérez of Las Tunas is among the Cuban military pilots accused of downing the civilian planes in 1996.

The others include José Fidel Gual Barzaga and Lt. Col. Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, whom the U.S. indicted in November 2025 on charges including fraud and misuse of visa and permits.

At the time, former U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said: “This man’s past as a longtime military pilot for the evil Castro regime — which has wrought untold suffering on the Cuban people — should have been front and center in his immigration file.”

González-Pardo Rodríguez was accused in part of falsely claiming he had never received any weapons or military training on an application to register for permanent residence or adjust status.

The others accused are Emilio José Palacio Blanco and Raul Simance Cárdenas.

The penalties in the indictment against Castro

The murder and conspiracy charges Castro is facing carry a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life in prison upon conviction. However, it is unclear whether Castro will ever step foot in a U.S. courtroom.

Castro is charged alongside five other defendants. One of them, Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez, is in U.S. custody awaiting sentencing later this month in a case alleging he made false statements in an immigration document, according to the Justice Department.

Sen. Moody applauds Trump administration’s ‘accountability’ in Castro charges

Speaking at Wednesday’s event, Sen. Ashley Moody decried what she described as previous administrations’ relaxed attitudes toward Cuba, including moves to “relax our banking restrictions” or “coddle them into freedom.”

But with actions like the Castro indictment, the Florida Republican said the Trump administration is taking “the bold step of actually bringing accountability.”

Trump tells Coast Guard graduates they will ‘be tested’ in their military careers

President Donald Trump has returned to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to give the commencement address at the Connecticut school.

He told cadets on Wednesday that they show “unbelievable heroism and exceptional selflessness” but will “be tested further” as they embark on their military careers.

Trump’s remarks to the class of 2026 were the first time he has given a commencement speech at one of the nation’s military academies after sending U.S. troops to fight the war with Iran. Trump also spoke at the academy’s graduation in 2017 during his first term.

During his address, Trump quickly touched on the war with Iran, now in its 12th week, as a sign of U.S. success from “the hottest country anywhere in the world.”

“The only question is, do we go ahead and finish it up or are they going to be signing a document? Let’s see what happens,” Trump said.

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Trump referenced ‘shores of Havana’ in remarks earlier Wednesday

He did not directly address Raúl Castro or any potential indictment, but Trump mentioned Cuba earlier Wednesday in a commencement address.

“From the Gulf of America to the frozen waters of the Arctic, from the shores of Havana to the banks of the Panama Canal, we will drive out the forces of lawlessness and crime and foreign encroachment, just like we’ve been doing,” Trump said to graduates at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.

Charges against Castro include murder

The indictment charges Castro with murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and destruction of aircraft.

A grand jury in Miami returned the indictment late last month, and it was unsealed on Wednesday, acting Attorney General Blanche said.

Blanche explains why Raúl Castro charges announced in Florida and not Washington

Many major Department of Justice cases are announced in Washington, but Blanche said Wednesday that it was important to discuss the Castro case in Florida instead.

“The community here, you all, understands the history of the Cuban regime better than anyone in America,” Blanche said. “Many families here know the cost of oppression.”

Crowd applauds as Raúl Castro indictment announced

Attendees rose to their feet, pulled out cell phones and broke into loud shouts as acting Blanche announced the charges against Castro.

The acting U.S. attorney general and other top Justice Department officials were in Miami on Wednesday for a ceremony to honor those killed in the 1996 shootdown of two civilian planes.

US indicts former Cuban President Raúl Castro over downing of planes in 1996

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged former Cuban President Raúl Castro with ordering the 1996 downing of civilian planes operated by Miami-based exiles, a major escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle seven decades of single-party rule in the Caribbean island.

Castro, now 94, was Cuba’s defense minister when the planes operated by a Miami-based exile group were shot down, killing four people.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been ratcheting up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging earlier this year to conduct a “friendly takeover” of the country if its leadership did not open up its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.

Cuban president dismisses Rubio remarks, blames hardships on US sanctions, energy blockade

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel pushed back on Wednesday following claims by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the suffering of the Cuban people is the fault of the socialist government.

“They lie again and again without any shame, with alarming audacity, without presenting a single shred of evidence to support their claims,” he wrote on the social platform X. “The blame lies with those who order the closure of all access to material and financial resources.”

He noted that the U.S. executive order penalizing any country that supplies Cuba with fuel remains in effect.

“Only the most twisted minds could deny before the world this collective punishment being inflicted upon an entire people, which is already becoming an act of genocide,” Díaz-Canel wrote.

Progressive youth group launches digital campaign highlighting absent congressman

Voters of Tomorrow, a group focused on mobilizing young voters, launched a website highlighting Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s absence from Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday said he expects the New Jersey Republican to return “soon” after dealing with a “personal medical issue.” Kean has been missing from Capitol Hill since early March. His family and staff say that he is battling an undisclosed illness.

Santiago Mayer, Voters of Tomorrow’s executive director, said that Kean had “ghosted” Congress, adding that the issue of congressional absences was especially salient to young voters.

The digital ads depict doctored “Missing” posters with an image of Kean and the text “Have U Seen This Man?” The campaign’s accompanying website includes a voter registration pledge.

Kean’s absence from House votes comes as Republicans face a razor-thin majority, complicating the party’s legislative agenda. Democrats have faced their own challenges in maintaining stable margins, as some members have died while in office.

Trump gives the Coast Guard commencement address in relentless heat

The president called graduates of the Coast Guard Academy “the living standard bearers of America’s first fleet” and suggested danger is “a statement you live by.”

Trump said graduating together would build lifelong camaraderie , saying “You’re always going to be friends with each other. Hopefully with me.”

As he spoke, many in the crowd faced scorching heat with little shade available against the 85-deegre heat and a UV index of 9.

At least one person required medical attention after passing out. Others pleaded with organizers that elderly attendants be allowed to sit under tents.

Chilled water bottles were distributed, but quickly became warm.

Officers’ lawsuit claims government’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ is an illegal slush fund

And the lawsuit says President Trump will use it to “finance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.”

It describes the fund’s creation as “the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century.”

One of the attorneys for the officers is Brendan Ballou, a former Justice Department prosecutor who handled Jan. 6 cases.

Officers who defended Capitol from rioters sue to block payouts from $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol from an attack by a mob of Trump supporters sued Wednesday to block anyone — including Jan. 6, 2021, rioters — from receiving payouts from a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for people who claim to be victims of politically motivated prosecutions.

The officers’ attorneys filed the federal lawsuit a day after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund’s creation during a congressional hearing. Blanche, a personal attorney for Trump before joining the Justice Department, wouldn’t rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 would be eligible for fund payouts.

More than 100 police officers were injured during the Capitol riot. Over 1,600 people were charged with Jan. 6-related crimes, but Trump used his pardon powers to erase all of those cases in a sweeping act of clemency last year.

The plaintiffs suing Trump over the fund are Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges and former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who’s running in Maryland for a seat in Congress.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson says Trump’s endorsement is ‘most powerful’

The Republican leader said he spoke with the president late after Tuesday’s primary elections and the defeat of Rep. Thomas Massie, a once popular GOP lawmaker.

“We talked about how his endorsement is the most powerful in the history of politics,” Johnson of Louisiana said at the Capitol.

The speaker insisted there’s room in the Republican Party for those who cross Trump.

“We don’t demand loyalty to the president,” he said.

“I never ask anybody to violate a core principle,” he said, but “you have to give up on some of your personal preferences sometimes.”

Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodríguez blasts US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

He called Rubio “the mouthpiece of corrupt and vindictive interests, concentrated in South Florida.”

Rodríguez wrote on X that Cuba hasn’t rejected $100 million in humanitarian aid the U.S. has offered, adding that the “cynicism is evident to anyone given the devastating effects of the economic blockade and the energy embargo.”

In late January, President Trump threatened tariffs on countries that supply or sell oil to Cuba, which recently announced that its oil reserves have run dry.

Rodríguez also criticized Rubio for releasing a video message Wednesday in which he calls on Cubans to reject their government and demand new leadership and a free-market economy.

“He takes advantage of the infamous date of May 20th,” Rodríguez wrote. The date marks Cuba’s independence, but the socialist government rejects that date, saying true freedom began with the 1959 Revolution.

Days after Trump visit, Putin and Xi hail their friendship and growing energy trade at meeting

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed their strategic ties and growing energy trade as they met in Beijing on Wednesday only days after a visit by President Trump to China.

Putin and Xi oversaw the signing of more than 40 cooperation agreements in areas such as trade, technology and media exchanges. They stressed their growing trade, particularly in oil and natural gas, and declared themselves aligned on international relations.

The countries’ ties have reached “the highest level in history,” Xi said after the signing ceremony, speaking to members of the delegations and journalists. The two sides also agreed to extend a friendship treaty first signed in 2001.

Putin told those in the room that “the driving force behind economic cooperation is Russian-Chinese collaboration in the energy sector.”

▶ Read more

The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% for its first rise in four days and pulled closer to its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 645 points, or 1.3%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5%.

Stocks got a lift from easing yields in the bond market, which offered relief following rapid climbs that had rattled stock markets worldwide recently. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.57% from 4.67% late Tuesday, which is a significant move for a market that measures things in hundredths of a percentage point.

The 10-year Treasury yield had been rising from less than 4% before the war with Iran began, along with other yields around the world, because of worries that the fighting will keep oil prices high, among other factors. The inflation concerns not only seemed to eliminate the chances for a cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve this year, they also heightened the risk that central banks may have to raise rates in 2026.

High yields slow economies and weigh on prices for stocks, cryptocurrencies and all kinds of other investments. Besides driving up rates for mortgages, they could also curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have been supporting the U.S. economy’s growth recently.

Yields eased Wednesday as oil prices pulled back some more. The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 5.6% to settle at $105.02, though it remains well above its roughly $70 level from before the war. Prices have been yo-yoing on rising and falling hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to allow oil deliveries to fully resume from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

A report showing less bad inflation in the United Kingdom than economists expected also helped calm yields worldwide.

With the easing of yields, technology stocks helped lead Wall Street higher.

Nvidia rose 1.3% ahead of its latest profit report, which arrived after trading ended for the day, and was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500. The chip company reported another quarter of bigger growth in profit and revenue than analysts expected, while it also gave a better-than-expected forecast for revenue in the current quarter.

Other tech stocks leading the market included Advanced Micro Devices, up 8.1%, and Intel, up 7.4%.

Smaller companies can feel even bigger relief from lower yields than their bigger rivals because many need to borrow to grow. The Russell 2000 index of the smallest U.S. stocks jumped 2.6%, more than double the gain of the S&P 500, which measures the biggest U.S. stocks.

Also helping to drive the market was the company behind TJ Maxx, Marshalls and other stores, which climbed 5.7% after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. TJX’s CEO, Ernie Herrman, said the current quarter is off to a good start, and the off-price retailer raised its forecasts for revenue and profit this year.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers jumped 18.2%, and Cava Group rose 3.1% following their own better-than-expected profit reports. Such results raise hopes that households can keep spending and supporting the economy, even though they’re contending with high gasoline prices and widespread discouragement about economic conditions.

Most big U.S. companies have likewise reported better profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected, which has helped stocks run to records. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term.

On the losing side of Wall Street was Target, which fell 3.9% even though the retailer reported better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. A new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, is trying to turn around the company and boost its revenue.

Expectations were high for the company’s performance after Target’s stock came into the day with a gain of more than 30% for the year so far, quadruple the S&P 500’s gain.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 79.36 points to 7,432.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Averae jumped 645.47 to 50,009.35, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 399.65 to 26,270.36.

In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed in Europe following weaker finishes across Asia.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% as the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond slipped but remained near its highest level since 1997.

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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

“This is it,” Rodgers said Wednesday when the four-time NFL MVP was asked if this would be his final year.

The 42-year-old did not expand on why he came to that conclusion. Maybe because there was no need.

Rodgers acknowledged that he thought his time in Pittsburgh — and perhaps the league — was over when Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stepped down the day after a blowout first-round playoff loss to Houston in January.

Things changed when Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy a few weeks later, a decision that Rodgers said he may have played a small role in when he encouraged Steelers general manager Omar Khan to talk to McCarthy. Rodgers and McCarthy spent 13 years together in Green Bay, winning a Super Bowl while becoming a playoff fixture.

McCarthy and Rodgers stayed in constant communication in recent months as Rodgers weighed whether to run it back one last time. While there was no one tipping point, the relative health of his 42-year-old body and the chance to have his career come “full circle" with a team that spent the offseason upgrading the offense in hopes of ending a lengthy playoff victory drought led to a reunion he called “surreal.”

“It is like a (bunch of) ‘pinch me’ moments that have happened in the last few days,” Rodgers said following the second day of Pittsburgh's voluntary organized team activities.

Perhaps because McCarthy hardly came back to his hometown alone.

The familiar faces from Rodgers' time in Green Bay are everywhere inside the Steelers' facility, from defensive coordinator Patrick Graham to offensive line coach James Campen. There are “getting the band back together” vibes everywhere Rodgers looks.

When Rodgers plopped into a chair for a meeting on Monday, in many ways it felt like it was 2006, when he was entering his second year in Green Bay as Brett Favre's backup and McCarthy was a first-year head coach still finding his way.

“Took me back to being a 22-year-old kid,” Rodgers said with a smile.

Only he's hardly that anymore. While the oldest player in the NFL turned back the clock enough last season to throw for 24 touchdowns against seven interceptions and guide the Steelers to the AFC North title, he also missed a game after breaking several bones in his left wrist and looked very much his age during the second half of what became a blowout loss to the Texans that ended both Pittsburgh's season and Tomlin's largely successful 19-year run as head coach.

Still, Rodgers believes he has enough left to attempt the rarest of exits for players of his stature: the ability to go out on his own terms.

McCarthy said Rodgers “can still throw it with anybody," though the time of year when Rodgers will be asked to really cut it loose is still months away. Perhaps Rodgers' most important job through OTAs, minicamp and training camp is helping the Steelers prepare for life without him.

While McCarthy and Rodgers stayed in constant communication as Rodgers hung out in Malibu, California, with his wife and weighed his options for 2026, the Steelers selected Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in the third round of the draft, and McCarthy has talked up 2025 sixth-round choice Will Howard at every turn since taking over.

Allar and Howard figure to be in the mix this time next year when the Steelers restart their quest to find a long-term solution at the game's most important position, a search that's been ongoing since Ben Roethlisberger's retirement in January 2022.

Rodgers' presence offers a cheat code of sorts. He knows all the answers to the test, particularly when the test is offered by McCarthy. Allar and Howard will get to spend the next seven or so months soaking up what they can from Rodgers about what McCarthy wants and perhaps more importantly, how he wants it.

McCarthy called Rodgers “a tremendous resource” who also happens to be a future Hall of Famer, giving him a certain cachet that might make him a better conduit for what McCarthy is trying to teach than the coach himself.

“It's like parenting,” McCarthy said. “I could sit there and tell my kids something, and then, like if he’d walk in and tell my son George something, he’d jump out the window and do it.”

While Rodgers took a friendly jab at Favre — whom he sat behind during the first three years of his career — by borrowing a phrase from Favre that mentoring is “not in my job description,” the reality is it's a role he relishes.

Just not as much as the chance to win. When Rodgers signed with the Steelers a year ago, he called the decision “best for my soul.” It's much the same this time around.

He likes what the team has done by trading for wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., signing running back Rico Dowdle and drafting wideout Germie Bernard. The offensive line could be better with Troy Fautanu moving over to left tackle. The defense still has a pair of franchise icons in defensive lineman Cam Heyward and outside linebacker TJ Watt.

And now it has a quarterback eager to soak up every last bit of the final chapter of a career that will end with a gold jacket and a bust in the Hall of Fame. Just not quite yet.

“I am excited about these guys," he said. “I’m excited about the team.”

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

Initially, district officials said they expected both schools to reopen Thursday, but that changed in a Wednesday afternoon update.

The closure does not set students back by much. The last day of school in Alvin ISD is Friday, May 22–which was already an early release day.

• Storms in Houston: From overnight storms to more rain and thunderstorms this morning

In a message posted to social media, the district said:

“Due to extensive storm-related water damage at Wilder and Marek Elementary Schools, both campuses will remain closed for the remainder of the school year.

“Additional end-of-year information will be shared by your campus administrator.

“We appreciate your patience, understanding, and cooperation as we work to address these issues and ensure our campuses are safe for students and staff.”

The closures come as Southeast Texas remains under an unsettled weather pattern this week.

A line of storms moved through the Houston area overnight, and additional rounds of heavy rain are expected through Memorial Day weekend.

Our meteorologists warn that some areas could see 3 to 5 inches of rainfall or more this week, increasing the risk of street flooding and hazardous road conditions.

• Box truck falls off freeway, multiple crashes reported across Houston during storms

Drivers across the Houston area have already experienced slick roads and weather-related slowdowns during the Wednesday morning commute as storms continue moving through the region.

The company's announcement Wednesday comes a day after the Toronto-based Sherritt said it is no longer pursuing a plan to dissolve its Cuban joint venture, reversing a decision it announced last week amid expanded U.S. sanctions on the country.

The preliminary private placement deal would see Gillon hold a warrant that would allow it to buy enough shares to give it a 55% stake in the company. If the deal goes ahead, Sherritt says it expects the price paid by Gillon will be at a discount to its closing share price on May 15.

Sherritt, which has a 32-year presence on the island, suspended direct participation in its Moa joint venture in Cuba earlier this month after the U.S. ramped up pressure on the Caribbean country.

Gillon is the family office for the Washburne family. Ray Washburne was appointed by Trump as head of the U.S. development bank known as Overseas Private Investment Corporation from 2017 to 2019. He later served as a member of the president’s intelligence advisory board. He was vice chairman of the Trump Victory Committee in 2016 and has been a major Republican fundraiser.

Gillon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In connection with the agreement, Sherritt says it has confirmed that the U.S. State and Treasury Departments do not object to Gillon’s talks with the company, but that any deal would require their approval.

“Sherritt has engaged constructively with the United States Department of State, which has confirmed that the Department of State and Department of Treasury do not object to Gillon Capital’s engagement in negotiations with the Corporation and, based on the information provided to date, do not consider such negotiations to be contrary to U.S. law,” Sherritt said in a statement.

In the hours following the attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego, authorities identified the suspected shooters as Caleb Vazquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17.

LATEST: Community grieves the 3 men killed while defending San Diego mosque

Livestreamed footage from the attack captured Clark fatally shooting Vazquez before turning the gun on himself.

As news of the shooting spread online, photos believed to show the suspects quickly circulated across social media platforms. One of those images incorrectly identified Jakub Vazquez, a San Diego student, as Caleb Vazquez.

Jakub is now speaking out to clear his name.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jakub Vazquez (@jakub_fam)

“First and foremost, my heart goes out to all the victims, loved ones and family members who were affected in yesterday’s shooting,” Jakub said at the start of a video posted online.

Jakub explained that he attended the same school as Clark and that the two were on the same wrestling team two years ago.

He believes he was misidentified because of that connection and because he shares the same last name as Caleb Vazquez.

However, Jakub said he had never met Caleb Vazquez and had no involvement in the attack.

“I am being falsely recognized as Caleb Vazquez, however, I have no idea who he is ... or what school he even attended,” Jakub said. “I am not involved in this matter — in what they were planning — in any way, shape or form.”

He described Clark as “just a teammate,” adding that they had not stayed in touch since their time on the wrestling team.

Jakub said the viral misinformation has left him fearful.

“I am personally scared, because this misinformation is being spread rapidly,” he said. “I’ve seen the comments — it’s scary.”

His image was reportedly shared in multiple posts by online news aggregators and social media users as people rushed to identify the suspects following the shooting.

It remains unclear whether any accredited news organizations published the image before the mistake was discovered.

In one example, a Los Angeles-based X account with more than 64,000 followers called “SafetySwipe” shared Jakub’s image in two separate posts while debating over the races and political affiliations of the suspects.

Correction: The photo on the left for Caleb Velasquez is incorrect/misidentified. New images have since been uncovered by researchers. pic.twitter.com/BUh8LqKqEP

— SafetySwipe (@SafetyNotorious) May 20, 2026

Although the account later posted corrections in the comments, the original posts featuring Jakub’s image remained online as of this writing.

As the investigation progressed, authorities definitively confirmed that Jakub was not involved in the attack. According to a new report from the Associated Press, Clark and Caleb Vazquez met online and did not attend the same school.

Investigators also uncovered writings linked to the shooters containing Nazi symbolism, extremist rhetoric and hate speech directed at Muslims and other groups, offering insight into a possible motive.

MORE FROM INVESTIGATORS: San Diego mosque shooters met online and left writings expressing hate, FBI says

The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.

The deal with Vox, widely seen as liberal-leaning, represents a major move toward his own media empire for the 53-year-old younger son of Rupert Murdoch, who himself owned New York Magazine from 1976 until 1991. And it comes less than a year after the Murdoch family reached a deal on control of the 95-year-old mogul’s media empire after his death, ensuring no change in direction at Fox News, the most popular network for conservatives, under Rupert's chosen heir, Lachlan Murdoch.

Under the new deal, expected to close within weeks, Lupa Systems, James Murdoch’s media company, acquires the three divisions — about half of Vox Media. Neither Vox Media nor Lupa was disclosing the sum. The New York Times cited people familiar with the matter saying it was more than $300 million. The acquired divisions will operate, according to a statement, as a subsidiary of Lupa — called Vox Media.

Lots included and some excluded

Not included in the deal are the Vox brands Eater, Popsugar, SB Nation, The Dodo, and The Verge. But the deal does include, along with New York magazine, its verticals The Cut, Vulture, Intelligencer, The Strategist, Curbed, and Grub Street.

It also includes the Vox Media Podcast Network. which features wildly popular shows like “Criminal” and “Pivot” with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway. The network “has been the fastest growing business within Vox Media and will immediately put Lupa at the top of the podcast field,” said the Vox statement.

James Murdoch, a former CEO of 21st Century Fox who resigned from the board of News Corporation in 2020 over differences about content and direction, is known to hold less conservative views than his father. In the deal reached last year, James and his two older sisters. Prudence MacLeod and Elisabeth Murdoch, gave up any claims to control of Fox in exchange for stock valued at the time at $3.3 billion.

That deal created a trust establishing control of the Fox Corp. for Lachlan Murdoch, along with his younger sisters, Grace and Chloe.

In his own remarks about the Vox deal, James Murdoch said the acquisition “aligns well with our existing holdings and investments and reflects both our interest in the forward edge of culture and our deep commitment to ambitious journalism and agenda-setting conversations.

It will allow us to apply new tools across the businesses we are building, adding substantial production, distribution, and editorial capability to our group," Murdoch said.

Continuity in leadership expected

Current Vox chairman and CEO Jim Bankoff will lead the new Vox Media, becoming CEO of the new company upon closing.

“We are incredibly proud to have built and scaled several of the leading media properties of this generation,” Bankoff said. “Together under Lupa’s stewardship we are primed to be the best home for talent and the most dynamic media company of this new era.”

David Haskell, New York magazine's editor-in-chief, noted in an email to subscribers that Lupa now becomes the magazine's sixth owner since 1968.

Haskell promised that the magazine would continue with “the fearless, independent journalism that you expect from us."

“We will continue to create news cycles, start conversations, contribute to the most important debates in politics and society, identify and explore what’s most interesting in contemporary culture, and always do our best to challenge our readers, surprise them, and help them make sense of the modern world,” Haskell said.

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Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals was both. The Knicks wouldn't have been able to charge all the way back without Cleveland collapsing.

The Cavaliers led 93-71 with under eight minutes to play before the Knicks outscored them 44-11 the rest of the way to win 115-104 in overtime. The only bigger fourth-quarter playoff comeback in the last 30 years was when the Clippers rallied from 24 down to beat Memphis in Game 1 of a Western Conference first-round series in 2012, and it matched the biggest in any NBA game this season.

“We should’ve won the game," Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell said. “We didn’t.”

A look at some of the reasons they didn't.

The turning point?

Impossible as it became to imagine a few minutes later, James Harden made a good defensive play on a then still-struggling Jalen Brunson with the Cavs leading by 20 with 7:04 to play. Harden blocked Brunson's shot on a drive, but Karl-Anthony Towns came up with the ball to extend the possession and kicked it out to Landry Shamet, who made a 3-pointer. After a Cavaliers turnover, New York took a timeout with 6:41 to play. The lead was still 93-76, but as players walked off the court with Shamet pumping his fist to urge on his teammates, the Knicks suddenly looked like they had life for the first time in a while.

“If you’re going to make a run, that’s when you’ve got to do it. So might as well throw your best punch at that point and try to do what you can,” Shamet said.

“You've got to leave it all out there especially at this time of the year and that’s what we did. We had a group that didn’t flinch at that deficit and made some effort.”

Hunting Harden

The Knicks' game plan over the next few minutes was basic basketball. Whoever Harden was guarding when Brunson brought the ball up the court — usually either Mikal Bridges or OG Anunoby — would come set a pick on Brunson's defender, so Harden would then have to switch onto Brunson. Brunson then attacked Harden off the dribble, creating angles for a series of floaters and bank shots that he has mastered to become an All-Star.

Brunson made four straight Knicks baskets that way, before eventually making a 3-pointer that cut it to 94-89 with 3 1/2 minutes to go.

Take a timeout?

Moments before Brunson lined up that 3-pointer, ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson noted that the Cavaliers might want a timeout if the Knicks scored.

But was it perhaps too late by then? Cleveland had multiple possessions to see the Knicks were running one thing at them and could have halted play before then to set up a defensive scheme that might've changed things.

The Cavaliers still had four timeouts they could have used at that point. Yet they never called one until after Brunson's shot.

“I like to hold my timeouts,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson explained afterward, when his answer became an internet meme. "I didn’t want to get one timeout at the end of the game, a one- or two-point game. I try to hold them.”

Bad bounces

The game perhaps never would've gotten to overtime if the Cavaliers had gotten a little luckier on a pair of 3-point attempts.

Mitchell had one with 3:47 to play that was inside the rim and then spun out. That would have extended Cleveland's lead to 11. Instead, Brunson hit his 3-pointer 17 seconds later that cut it to 94-89.

Then, not long after Shamet hit a tying 3-pointer that bounced off the rim first before falling in, the Cavaliers had the ball on the final possession of regulation and got it to Sam Merrill from straightaway. His shot looked so perfect that play-by-play man Mike Breen appeared to be beginning his signature “BANG!” exclamation with the ball inside the rim. But he got out only the “BA!” before having to switch to “In and out! That one halfway down!"

“We got a little unlucky," Atkinson said.

The numbers

Counting the last 12:49 of the game — the end of regulation and then all of overtime — Brunson outscored the Cavaliers himself, 17-11. Anunoby nearly did; he had 10 points in that span.

A look at some of the numbers:

— Field goals: New York .750 (15-20), Cleveland .222 (4-18).

— 3-pointers: New York .750 (6-8), Cleveland .182 (2-11).

— Free throws: New York .800 (8-10, all of that from Anunoby), Cleveland .250 (1-4).

— Rebounds: New York 13, Cleveland 2.

— Brunson shot 8 for 10 in those minutes, while Shamet and Bridges were a combined 5 for 5 (all on 3-pointers).

— Harden (1-5) and Mitchell (0-5) were a combined 1 for 10 in the collapse.

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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

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

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1 that burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up a week later. The Palisades Fire began Jan. 7, 2025, and burned through the hillside neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Malibu, eventually killing 12 people.

Rinderknecht’s trial is set to begin June 8. His lead attorney, Steve Haney, has said that Rinderknecht is being used as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s failure to fully extinguish the earlier blaze.

During Wednesday's hearing, Judge Anne Hwang ruled that depositions by members of the fire department and a state park ranger cannot be introduced at trial because she thinks the information is irrelevant to the charges against Rinderknecht and could confuse the jury.

The evidence that defense attorneys intended to use included testimony from a firefighter, fire captain and a state park ranger that the New Year’s Day 2025 blaze was visibly smoldering when first responders left the scene. That testimony was gathered as part of a lawsuit filed by fire victims against the city.

Hwang also barred prosecutors from introducing AI-generated images of a city burning that prosecutors said Rinderknecht created a few months before the fire.

Haney said the exclusion of the ChatGPT images was important to his client because they are “very, very prejudicial” and taken out of context.

Other fire department actions can be discussed, including its initial response to and investigation of the Jan. 1 fire that burned some brush. Haney said he plans to argue that the government does not have solid evidence linking Rinderknecht to that fire, and that first responders had heard fireworks in the vicinity of where the blaze started.

An outline of prosecutors’ strategy — with details about the defendant’s alleged state of mind on the night before the first fire began — appeared in an April 29 pretrial memo filed by the U.S. attorney’s office. Prosecutors will claim he was upset that he didn't have plans for New Year's Eve and ranted about being angry at the world before the initial blaze was sparked.

The audition included former Miami Dolphins wide receiver River Cracraft, former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver D’Wayne Eskridge, former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Samori Toure, Jha’Quan Jackson and former Marshall wide receiver Demarcus Lacey.

Cracraft has 32 career catches for 374 yards and three touchdowns. He has played for the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, Dolphins and Washington Commanders.

Eskridge has 24 career receptions for 228 yards and one touchdown. He’s a former second-round draft pick from Western Michigan who played the Dolphins the past two seasons.

Toure has 14 career receptions for 163 yards and one touchdown in two seasons for the Packers.

Jackson played in 12 games last season for the Tennessee Titans in 2024, catching one pass for eight yards He returned 28 punts for a 7.7 average and 16 kickoff returns for a 25.8 average.

Lacey went undrafted this year. A Jacksonville State transfer, Lacey began his career at North Alabama. He has also played running back.

Lacey led the team with 65 catches for 769 yards and five touchdowns last season.

Lacey rushed for 162 yards last season and averaged 6.1 yards per Cary.

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

A personal journey behind the mission

The drive behind Fountain Life’s approach to medicine is deeply personal for its Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dawn Mussallem, who spent 25 years at Mayo Clinic before joining the organization.

“I had always prided myself in being really healthy,” she said. “In fact, at a young age, if you would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was, I wanna be the oldest woman in the world and I wanna be a doctor.”

That vision was tested when she was just 26 years old and a medical student. After feeling unwell and visiting multiple doctors, she collapsed, was rushed to emergency surgery, and then was told she had stage four cancer. Years later, her health crisis continued when she experienced heart failure and was saved by a heart transplant.

Rather than defining her life in tragedy, Dr. Mussallem said she came to see it differently.

“I feel like it was such a blessing, truly, the cancer diagnosis, because it was such a teacher of life,” she said. “The textbooks teach you what you need to know about the science, but it really doesn’t teach you the art of medicine, how to connect with people and how to really, truly understand the importance of healing.”

The case for early detection

That experience shaped everything about how Dr. Mussallem practices medicine today.

“This is why I’m so passionate about what we’re doing here at Fountain Life, early detection is so important,” she said. “We want to find the disease before the body’s screaming.”

She noted that the majority of diseases Fountain Life identifies in members are silent — showing no outward symptoms — and that many conditions begin developing 10 to 20 years before they appear on standard imaging.

The numbers coming out of Fountain Life’s screenings are striking. According to Dr. Mussallem, 14.4% of everyone who comes in for screening is found to have a life-threatening condition.

Inside the Houston location

The Houston facility features five private suites where members spend their full day of testing — and return to that same space when meeting with their doctor.

“You don’t feel like you’re in a clinic,” the CMO said. “You feel like you’re in a place where you can restore and heal.”

The location is equipped with a full-body MRI, a DEXA scanner, and a quantitative coronary CT scan. While many are familiar with DEXA scanning for bone density, Fountain Life uses it to measure fat mass and muscle mass — what the CMO calls “the strength that’s gonna carry you through your lifetime.”

The cardiac CT goes well beyond a standard calcium score, analyzing soft plaque buildup throughout the heart’s vessels.

Detect, optimize, restore

Fountain Life describes its model with three words: detect, optimize and restore. The approach is built on multimodal testing — combining laboratory studies, advanced imaging and functional testing — with an AI overlay that processes billions of data points.

“We have the smartest doctors out there — longevity experts, lifestyle medicine experts, functional medicine doctors — who are very wise and knowledgeable in this space,” said Dr. Mussallem. “But we use AI to put all those thoughts together in a comprehensive manner.”

Each member is paired not just with a physician, but with an entire care team: a nurse practitioner, medical assistant, care coordinator, nutritionist, health coach and exercise physiologists.

That team works together to provide highly individualized guidance — from nutrition recommendations based on gut microbiome testing to supplement plans designed to close nutrient gaps and restore energy and vitality.

Meet Zori, the AI health companion

Dr. Mussallem said one of her favorite parts of the Fountain Life experience is an app called Zori — an AI companion available to members around the clock.

Zori allows members to ask health questions and stay connected to their care team between visits, serving as a real-time extension of the Fountain Life experience.

“You can’t run from what may be hiding,” the CMO said. “It’s better just to go ahead and look and let’s get you on that journey of your own health optimization.”

Fountain Life has multiple longevity and healthspan membership options available for anyone from teens to seniors. You can find more information on FountainLife.com.

Pressured by the White House, Republicans have tried to add the money to a roughly $70 billion bill to restore funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. But the security proposal has met with backlash from some GOP lawmakers who are questioning the cost and the lack of detail from the White House and U.S. Secret Service about how the taxpayer dollars would be used.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Wednesday that the bill was “back to square one” without the security money because “the votes are not there.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the effort to add the security package to the bill was a “bad idea” and he does not think there is enough backing to pass it, even if it were reduced.

The text of the bill has not yet been released. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged “ongoing vote issues” as leaders try to measure Republican support, as well as “ongoing parliamentarian issues” as they try to figure out what will be allowed in the bill under the chamber's rules.

The wrangling comes as Democrats have criticized Republicans for trying to fund Trump’s ballroom when voters are concerned about basic affordability issues — and as some GOP lawmakers have grown increasingly frustrated with Trump. Several have spoken out against the administration’s $1.776 billion settlement fund designed to compensate Trump’s allies, and many were upset by the president’s endorsement Tuesday of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the party primary runoff next week against Sen. John Cornyn.

“There’s always a consequence with taking on United States senators,” Thune said. Trump “obviously has his favorites and people he wants to endorse and that’s his prerogative. But what we have to deal with up here is moving the agenda, and obviously that can become slightly more complicated.”

Republican opposition blocks Secret Service request

Under the Secret Service request, about $220 million would pay for security improvements related to the ballroom. The rest would go for a new screening center for visitors, training and other security measures.

Tillis said the bill should not have included the other security improvements “because it’s just giving everybody the ‘billion-dollar ballroom.'"

"They need to explain to me why we need this,” Tillis said, noting that Trump had originally said private money would cover the project.

Several other Republicans in the House and Senate have questioned the request, and senators left a briefing with the director of the Secret Service last week saying they needed a lot more information.

People “can’t afford groceries and gasoline and healthcare, and we’re going to do a billion dollars for a ballroom?” asked Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost reelection in the GOP primary on Saturday after Trump endorsed one of his opponents.

Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., said he is supportive of the security money and thinks it is necessary to protect the president. But he acknowledged that the optics are not very good for Republicans, and that they have not communicated about it well.

“We’ve got people out there who are worried about how in the world they’re going to have enough gas to get home,” Justice said.

Tensions rise between Senate and White House

As Republicans challenged parts of his agenda, Trump unloaded on the Senate in a social media post.

He urged Republicans to fire the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, who said over the weekend that parts of the $1 billion security proposal cannot remain in the ICE and Border Patrol bill. Trump renewed his long-standing calls for the Senate to pass the SAVE Act, a Republican bill that would require all voters to prove U.S. citizenship, and to end the Senate filibuster.

“Republicans play a very soft game compared to the Dumocrats,” he wrote. “It is their single biggest disadvantage in politics.”

Trump said Democrats would eliminate the filibuster “on the First Day” if they ever get full power in Washington again and that Republicans need to “get smart and tough” or “you’ll all be looking for a job much sooner than you thought possible!”

Republicans have been loyal to Trump on most issues, but they have resisted his repeated calls — even in his first term — to kill the filibuster, which triggers a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.

Hanging over the growing GOP rift is Trump’s surprise endorsement of Paxton. That intervention has Republican senators privately fuming that it could cost them their majority in November as they view the incumbent, Cornyn, as the better candidate in the November general election.

Democrats test Republicans on settlement fund

As Republicans move forward on the immigration enforcement legislation, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Democrats plan to force a vote on Trump’s proposed settlement fund.

Democrats have an opening because Republicans are trying to pass the immigration enforcement bill through a complicated budget process that requires a long series of amendment votes. Democrats are considering multiple amendments potentially to block that new fund outright or to ban any payments to Trump supporters who harmed law enforcement officers in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Those amendments, along with others, could pass as a growing number of Republicans speak out against the fund and other parts of Trump’s agenda.

Thune said he was “not a big fan” of the new fund, which the administration announced as a part of a settlement that resolves the president’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. Cassidy called it a “slush fund” and said “you can’t just make up things.”

Tillis said he thinks it is a “real risk” that some of the rioters charged — and later pardoned by Trump — in the Jan. 6 attack could get compensation through the fund. He said that would be “absurd.”

On Wednesday, two police officers who helped defend the Capitol in the 2021 assault sued to block the payouts. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, a personal attorney for Trump before joining the Department of Justice in Trump’s second term, would not rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 would be eligible for compensation when he testified in a Senate hearing this week.

Netanyahu said that although Israel has every right to stop “provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters,” the way National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dealt with the activists was “not in line with Israel's values and norms.”

Ben-Gvir released videos Wednesday showing him walking among some of the approximately 430 detainees. In one, activists with their hands tied behind their backs are kneeling, their heads touching the floor inside what appears to be a makeshift detention area and on the deck of a ship.

“Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords,” says Ben-Gvir, waving a large Israeli flag. One handcuffed activist shouts “Free Palestine” as Ben-Gvir walks by and is immediately pushed to the ground by security personnel.

In another video, Ben-Gvir says the activists “came here all full of pride like big heroes. Look at them now,” while appealing to Netanyahu to grant him permission to imprison them.

Israel's leader calls for quick deportation of activists

“I say to Prime Minister Netanyahu, give them to me for a long, long time, give them to us for the terrorist prisons,” Ben-Gvir said.

Netanyahu said he's given instructions that the activists be deported “as soon as possible.”

Ben-Gvir drew the ire of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who publicly chastised his fellow minister on X, saying “you knowingly caused harm to our State in this disgraceful display.”

“No, you are not the face of Israel,” Saar wrote.

Ben-Gvir shot back at Saar in the Israeli parliament, accusing him of “bowing to the terrorists” and that any Israeli apology to the activists would send a message of “weakness,” “submission” and “surrender.”

Israel accused of humiliating activists

An Israel-based legal advocacy group, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, or Adalah, accused Israeli authorities of “employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists.”

Adalah's statement said this followed similar patterns of ill-treatment by Israeli authorities against activists in previous flotilla missions “for which Israel faced zero accountability.”

Adalah lawyer Suhad Bishara told The Associated Press a group of 11 lawyers who visited the detainees is aware of at least two activists who were hospitalized after being shot with rubber bullets “for no reason, without any justification.” Bishara said the activists will be brought before a judge Thursday who will decide on when their deportation will begin.

Flotilla spokesperson Rania Batrice said Ben-Gvir posts such videos because the world hasn't held Israel to account.

“If they’re doing that to Europeans and Americans and people from South Africa and all over the world, imagine what they’re doing to the Palestinian people,” Batrice told the AP in an online interview.

Batrice urged governments to step up their response. “Strongly worded letters are not what we need right now. We need more action."

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the video “violates the most basic standards of respect and dignity" in how people should be treated and demanded an explanation from Israeli authorities.

Italy condemned the detained activists' treatment as a violation of human dignity and called Ben-Gvir's videos “unacceptable.” It also summoned Israel’s ambassador in Rome to protest the treatment of Italian detainees and demand their immediate release. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she’s directed her officials to summon the Israeli ambassador to Ottawa.

Both Turkey and Greece condemned Israel's treatment of the activists. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the behavior “openly demonstrated to the world the violent and barbaric mindset” of Israel's government. The Greek Foreign Ministry called Ben-Gvir's actions “unacceptable and entirely condemnable” and said it had lodged a formal protest.

Palestinian militant group Hamas called out Ben-Gvir for the “scenes of abuse and humiliation” of the activists, saying they show Israel's “moral decadence and sadism.”

Israel intercepts all remaining flotilla boats

Israeli forces on Tuesday boarded the last of the flotilla boats that tried to challenge the blockade — the latest effort to highlight the grim conditions for nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Flotilla organizers claimed Israeli soldiers fired on five boats during the interdictions, causing some damage. Israel's Foreign Ministry said no live ammunition was fired and that “nonlethal means” were aimed at the vessels as a warning, but without targeting or injuring protesters.

Israeli forces had begun stopping the flotilla, which had departed last week from Turkey, around 268 kilometers (167 miles) from the Gaza coastline, according to the flotilla’s website.

Israel has called the flotilla “a PR stunt at the service of Hamas” with no real intent to deliver aid to Gaza. The boats carry a symbolic amount of aid.

On Monday, the Israeli navy stopped 41 boats from the flotilla in international waters off Cyprus and detained those on board.

More than a dozen Irish nationals were aboard the flotilla, including Irish President Catherine Connolly's sister. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has called Israel’s interception of the boats in international waters “absolutely unacceptable.”

The U.S. Treasury, however, imposed sanctions against several European activists aboard the flotilla, which U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called “pro-terror.”

Gaza's coast blockaded for nearly two decades

Israel has maintained a sea blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007. Israeli authorities intensified it after the Hamas-led militant attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.

Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment. Israel says it's intended to prevent Hamas from arming itself. Egypt, which has the only border crossing with Gaza not controlled by Israel, has also greatly restricted movement in and out.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive following the Oct. 7 attacks that started the war has killed more than 72,700 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn't give a breakdown between civilians and combatants. It is staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

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Hadjicostis reported from Nicosia, Cyprus. Associated Press journalists Areej Hazboun, Isaac Scharf and Ibrahim Hazboun in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Giada Zampano in Rome; Andrew Wilks in Ankara, Turkey, and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.

But President Donald Trump is facing his own pressure at home for shipping to resume through the vital corridor off Iran's coast. Fellow Republicans in Congress are battling political headwinds ahead of November's midterm elections as gasoline prices skyrocket and global energy markets churn.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Tuesday advanced legislation seeking to force Trump to withdraw from the Iran war, with a growing number of Republicans defying the president in the 50-47 vote.

U.S. Central Command said on social media that the M/T Celestial Sea was searched and redirected after being suspected of trying to head to an Iranian port. It’s at least the fifth commercial vessel to be boarded since the Trump administration imposed the blockade on Iranian shipping in mid-April, several days into a ceasefire, to pressure Tehran into opening the strait and accepting a deal to end the war.

The military boarded the tanker after Trump said Monday he had called off renewed military strikes on Iran in an effort to make progress in negotiations to end the war. Trump said he had planned “a very major attack” for Tuesday but put it off, saying America’s allies in the Gulf asked him to wait for two to three days because they feel they are close to a deal.

Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.

Before the U.S. blockade, Tehran had allowed some ships perceived as friendly to pass while charging considerable fees, leading to accusations it is holding the global economy hostage.

The U.S. military recently said that 1,550 vessels, from 87 countries, are currently stranded in the Persian Gulf.

Nearly three months since the war began with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28, Iran maintains a chokehold on the strait, while the U.S. military has enforced its blockade on Iran's ports as well as Iranian-linked ships that are far away from the Middle East.

Last month, U.S. forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. A couple days later, the U.S. seized another tanker associated with smuggling Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

In early May, Trump said the U.S. military would begin to “guide” stranded ships from the Iran-gripped strait. The next day, he announced that the effort to protect ships was paused to see if an agreement could be reached.

Days later, U.S. forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military said the tankers were trying to breach the blockade. The day before, the military said it thwarted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships and struck Iranian military facilities in response.

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The Texans running back almost knocked down every pin during his first annual charity bowling tournament Sunday night at Lucky Strike as his charitable foundation raised money to benefit youth in Houston and Atlanta.

Toro was in the house and rolled a strike on his first try, drawing a lot of applause.

“It’s been a great event, just seeing everybody smile in the community,” Marks told KPRC 2. “Just being one year here, just seeing a lot of people come out and be happy. That’s what we do. That’s why we’re here.”

Marks was joined by his family, including his mother and brother, and his manager along with teammate David Montgomery, Montgomery and Marks are forming a new-look Texans backfield after Montgomery was acquired in an offseason trade from the Detroit Lions.

“Family is everything,” Marks said. “David, we hang out a lot. He’s been around this whole weekend.”

Running back Woody Marks @JoquaviousMarks on #Texans slate of games: 'It's a nice schedule. Big-time games. We're going to see where we get to. The thing is to get a bull on a ring, be the first team.' @KPRC2
@texanstor pic.twitter.com/PTeuYz53XI

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 18, 2026

Marks grew up going to the bowling alley in Georgia that his brother worked for.

He’s having a Texans customized bowling ball designed now. The custom ball will have his picture on it and his uniform.

“Got a lot of pin action,” he said."

A fourth-round draft pick last year from USC who led the Texans in rushing yards, Marks became inspired to pursue football while growing up in Atlanta when he met Falcons star linebacker Jesse Tuggle.

“I looked up to him, and it just made me want to go even more,” Marks said. “Jesse Tuggle was a great football player.”

The Texans have made the playoffs and reached the AFC divisional round each of the past three seasons. They’re 0-7 all-time at that stage of the postseason and haven’t shied away from high expectations entering this season. They’re talking Super Bowl.

“It’s a nice schedule, got a lot of primetime games, big-time games,” Marks said. “We’re just ready to kick it off. We’re going to see what we get to. The thing is to get a bull on the ring, be the first team. That’s what we’re going to do this year.”

#Texans running back Woody Marks @JoquaviousMarks first annual charity bowling tournament tonight Lucky Strike to benefit his charitable foundation. Marks was joined by David Montgomery @MontgomerDavid @TexansTORO1 @houstontexans his family and several fans@trillburgers… pic.twitter.com/85lMtJwt20

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 18, 2026

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

Ujiri also said he wasn't referring to the trade of Luka Doncic, or anyone connected to the February 2025 deal that ended up being a huge setback for the franchise.

“Honestly, that trade has played no part in how I have thought about anything,” Ujiri said at a news conference Wednesday. “I’m in no position to criticize or blame or even really investigate some of the things that happened then. We have to figure out a way to slowly move on from this, and I have to hold myself accountable for doing this.”

Ujiri said he spent plenty of time talking to Kidd since he was hired two weeks ago. He declined to share details of those conversations.

“Being transparent with everybody, I think a new slate was a good way to look at this,” Ujiri said. “I feel sometimes in this organization we needed clarity in where we’re going. We need to really work in one direction and how we build this team and how we create winning.”

Dallas made two deep playoff runs with Kidd and Doncic, reaching the NBA Finals in 2024, two years after a loss to Golden State in the Western Conference finals.

The Mavericks traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2024-25 season, getting Anthony Davis as their centerpiece in return. Dallas missed the playoffs that season and again in 2025-26, during which the oft-injured Davis was traded while sidelined with an injury.

Kidd, the Hall of Fame point guard who led the franchise to its only championship as a player in 2011, finished with a .500 regular-season coaching record (205-205) with the Mavs. In two of the three years Dallas missed the playoffs under Kidd, it was clear the club was focused on draft positioning as the seasons ended.

“What he’s done for this organization we truly respect, so this was a very, very tough decision,” Ujiri said. “I have to be accountable with a decision like this. I also have to be very active in how I look at the organization from top to bottom.”

Ujiri has already touted building around Cooper Flagg, the 19-year-old who won Rookie of the Year after being the top draft pick last summer following a standout one-and-done season at Duke.

Flagg still hasn't had a chance to play with fellow Duke alum Kyrie Irving, who thrived under Kidd before tearing the ACL in his left knee in March 2025 and missing all of the 2025-26 season.

When Irving arrived in Dallas, he was coming off tumultuous tenures in Boston and Brooklyn. He enjoyed a career renaissance while teaming with Doncic on the run that ended with a five-game loss to Boston in the 2024 NBA Finals.

Now the 34-year-old awaits word on Kidd's replacement.

“Kevin Durant once told me that there’s only one Kyrie walking around in the world,” Ujiri said. “I think we have to figure out a way, how Kyrie fits with our program. And I’ve had those conversations with Kyrie. And I think Kyrie will fit. As I said it before, there’s a huge curiosity in our minds to see how Kyrie fits playing with Cooper Flagg.”

Ujiri hired Mike Schmitz as general manager three days after he was introduced, and confirmed Wednesday that former co-interim general manager Matt Riccardi is leaving the organization.

Ujiri said discussions continue on a potential role for Michael Finley, the former Dallas player who was promoted alongside Riccardi in November when Nico Harrison, the engineer of the Doncic trade, was fired as general manager.

Moving on from Kidd was expensive for the Mavericks, who had signed him to multiyear extensions during the playoffs in 2024 and again last year after denying the New York Knicks permission to talk to him about their head coach opening.

“I am going to sit here and take responsibility for any of the decisions that we are going to make,” Ujiri said. “It’s not about being defensive. We’re just going to have a vision here that we are going to follow.”

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

Instead of hearing the warm, roaring cheers like other great IndyCar champions and popular personalities, Palou has started hearing a different chorus from the crowd, boos. No, it's not an overwhelming sentiment, yet, but the Spaniard got a first-hand glimpse of what could lie ahead during the parade lap of this month's Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Of course, the four-time series champion understands why it's happening — fans are weary of seeing him reach victory lane race after race — even though Palou isn't tired of winning.

“It was the first time I heard the boos like from multiple sections and I was like, 'All right,’” he said during practice for the sold-out Indianapolis 500. “I think till now, it's been very friendly and now it's getting like more toward boos. But I think it's good, you need to have that. We're getting booed for being successful and for doing the right thing.”

The quick transition from champion to villain is nothing new in sports.

Dynasty teams or even top athletes such as Tom Brady, LeBron James, Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson have all experienced — and embraced — the boos reserved for only the best of the best. Right now, Palou certainly fits the definition.

But in the relatively friendly confines of IndyCar racing, he's a rarity.

Palou has won three straight series titles and holds a 27-point lead in this year's standings thanks to three win in the season's first six races. He owns 11 wins in IndyCar's last 23 events, and just when it appeared Palou's success may finally be waning with an unlucky decision relegating him to fifth place in the Indianapolis GP, Palou's pole-winning qualifying run has made him the betting favorite to win the 500 again.

For Palou, it's a strange place to be. Here, in Indianapolis, he's a big hit on the defending winner's appearance circuit and many fans clamor for photos with the 2025 Indy champ. At the same time, many others want to see someone else win if only to add some intrigue to the championship chase.

Yet in many ways, it appears Palou can do no wrong.

Despite drawing a late spot in the qualifying line on a hot, windy Pole Day and nearly missing the 12-car pole shootout on his first four-lap attempt, Palou somehow surprised himself by delivering on the bold pre-qualifying prediction of Chip Ganassi Racing managing director Mike Hull by putting his car at the front of Indy's first row. Palou's teammates, six-time series champ Scott Dixon and 21-year-old Kyffin Simpson, couldn't pull that off.

Dixon, the 2008 Indy winner, is starting 10th. Simpson qualified seventh, the inside of Row 3 and now they, like everyone else are find themselves chasing Palou.

“It’s something I’m absolutely, like, ‘How is he doing that week in, week out?’” 2018 Indy champ Will Power said recently. "Well, it’s one, he’s qualifying well. Two is he executes in the race and three is the pit stops, you know, top notch, there’s no mistakes in there. And he’s fast. So that’s what it takes when you’re driving out there.”

Just how dominant has Palou been lately?

He has two top-five finishes to his three wins this year, bringing his three-year totals to 14 victories and an additional 17 top fives in 41 races. His remarkable run of success is even more surprising because he's doing it in a spec series that is supposed to be relatively even.

Palou didn't reach this place by happenstance.

“They (the three drivers' teams) work so well together,” Hull said. “They help each other. We’re able to map the racetrack pretty quickly as well as collectively. That’s been a big deal for us. That’s always what our culture has emphasized.”

Hull's comment may explain why Palou and Dixon have combined to win seven of the last 11 series crowns for Ganassi.

But it doesn't explain why Palou is so far ahead of teammates such as Dixon, who has spent 5 1/2 seasons pursuing a record-tying seventh series title only to watch Palou take the crown four times. Only A.J. Foyt has more all-time series championships than Dixon.

Palou has a difficult time explaining the secret of his success, too.

“I just try to prepare as much as I can before going out on the track,” he said. “Then you have a list of things you need to do as a driver, like hitting references or just following the workload the engineer and mechanic have and that keeps you focused.”

In Palou's case, it's all about being first in practice, qualifying or on race day.

He's less concerned with what fans think though he certainly reveled in the warm, post-qualifying celebration fans gave him after winning the pole with a four-lap average of 232.248 mph. Or whether he'll hear more cheers — or jeers — on Sunday if he becomes the seventh driver in race history to win back-to-back 500s.

“You need to win again. Obviously, that's what they pay us to do as drivers,” Palou said. “We all need to be fighting for wins and winning things. Getting the first (500 win) is probably the toughest or the thing you chase the most, so I feel a little bit of a relief there. But I still want to win more.”

___

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

That’s the idea behind a new flood warning system now online in parts of Galveston County.

The Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District has installed seven flood sensors in Friendswood and League City, part of a new system officials say could help residents track rising water levels in real time and better prepare for dangerous flooding conditions.

District leaders say six sensors are located in the Clear Creek watershed and one is in the Dickinson Bayou watershed.

“With no flood sensors at all in Galveston County, this was a very obvious step in the right direction,” said Jason Jones, secretary of the Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District board.

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The sensors are provided by Simplicity Integration and powered by Axonis Decision Intelligence, a technology company focused on water and flood intelligence.

According to the company, the system combines real-time sensor data with public information including rainfall totals, stream gauge readings, weather station data and soil saturation conditions.

The platform then uses artificial intelligence tools to analyze the information and help predict how flood conditions could develop.

“The tool is trained on data, and the more data it ingests that’s appropriate and needed to help understand the water behavior all over Texas,” said Alison Reese, chief operating officer and co-founder of Simplicity Integration.

Reese said the goal is to help communities prepare earlier and make better decisions before conditions become dangerous.

“If they can give that level of warning and that amount of lead time, then people can get themselves — and whatever people love that are in their houses — out of the way in plenty of time,” Reese said.

Reese said the AI system studies historical flooding patterns, current rainfall, upstream water conditions and soil saturation levels to generate predictive insights.

The technology can also analyze how conditions upstream could affect neighborhoods farther downstream.

Jones said the system could help residents make critical decisions during severe weather — including whether roads are still passable or whether it may be time to evacuate.

“For a person like me with a big truck, I’m worried about how can I get home,” Jones said. “But if you live in one of the lower areas, or if you’re in a car, you need to look to see your passable routes out of town. So that’s very crucial.”

The system also includes a public web portal where residents can monitor sensor locations in real time and sign up for alerts tied to specific creeks or monitoring points.

Officials say the map uses color-coded indicators to show flood conditions:

• Green indicates safe conditions
• Yellow indicates flooding possible
• Red indicates flooding likely

Jones said the technology is especially meaningful in neighborhoods that still remember devastating floods from storms like Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Allison.

“People come outside and look at the creek every day. It’s almost like PTSD from Harvey and other rain events,” Jones said. “Now from their phone, they can be in their home or they could be anywhere in the world and access this data in real time.”

• When to trim, when to remove: What Houston homeowners need to know about trees before hurricane season

Right now, the sensors are only online in Friendswood and League City, but officials say they hope to eventually expand the technology into other parts of Galveston County.

Residents can access the flood sensor portal through the Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District website and sign up for alerts based on specific monitoring locations.

“Look, you don't own me. I don't need to play tape of you to have a successful TV show,” he warned an image of Trump. “Someone on television should have a modicum of dignity and it could be me.”

Over the next 11 years, Colbert couldn't curb his appetite for making Trump barbs, often turning his show into a full-throated rebuke of MAGA policies. Trump would call him a “dead man walking.”

The on-air feud between the two men seemingly ends Thursday as Colbert's top-rated late-night TV program goes off the air for the final time, effectively silencing a high-profile White House critic.

“The legacy of this show needs to be that we remember it as the show that was canceled because a presidential administration wanted it off the air,” says Heather Hendershot, a professor of communication studies and journalism at Northwestern University. “We haven’t connected every single dot on that, but it’s very clear that this was a political decision. And I think 20, 30, 40 years later, that is going to be strongly remembered about this show — that this was a moment of authoritarian triumph.”

When comedy and politics collide

When CBS announced last summer that Colbert’s show would end in May, the network said it was for economic reasons but others — including Colbert — have expressed skepticism that Trump’s repeated criticism of the show had nothing to do with it.

The cancellation came after CBS parent company Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview, as Paramount's sale to Skydance Media awaited the Trump administration’s approval. Colbert had called the settlement a “big fat bribe.”

Trump rejoiced over the cancellation in a Truth Social post, writing “I absolutely love” that the host “got fired.” He followed it with: “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.” Just two months later, ABC, buckling to pressure from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chair and affiliate networks, temporarily suspended Kimmel — the host of its own late-night show — following his remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

TV experts said there are not many other examples of a hit show being shuttered due to political pressure. In 1969, CBS abruptly canceled “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” which had aired comedy bits in opposition of the Vietnam War and in support of civil rights.

Colbert, a “Daily Show” alum, spent nine years playing a buffoonish, conservative commentator on Comedy Central's “The Colbert Report.” He was not universally welcomed to “The Late Show” by those he had lampooned, with Rush Limbaugh saying “CBS has just declared war on the heartland of America.”

Through Democratic and Republican administrations, Colbert and other late-night comedians have offered their take on the day's events that offered something different from traditional news media.

“In given moments, like when something big happened, you really do want that perspective that says, ‘Here’s another way to look at it,’” says Dustin Kidd, a professor of sociology at Temple University. “Or when it feels really overwhelming, you want that reminder that there’s still some way to laugh at it. And so the more you lose those ways to laugh at it, the more we all decline.”

Colbert put his own spin on late night

“The Late Show” had celebrities, musical guests and jokes about Arby’s and Spirit Airlines, like other late-night shows. But Colbert put his own spin on things, like wearing his Catholic faith and his adoration of his wife and frequent guest, Evie McGee Colbert, on his sleeve.

After the monologue, he had oddball segments like “Meanwhile,” a look at global affairs in “What’s Going On Over There?,” technology with “Cyborgasm” and youth slang in “Stephen Colbert Presents: That’s Yeet. Dabbing on Fleek, Fam!”

“The Late Show,” which began in 1993 with host David Letterman, won two Emmys under Colbert, as well as a Peabody Award. Come Friday, the 11:35 p.m. time slot goes to “Comics Unleashed,” a talk show that host Byron Allen has vowed will eschew politics.

“There’s just going to be a huge void,” says Lisa Rogak, the author of the 2011 biography “And Nothing But the Truthiness: The Rise (and Further Rise) of Stephen Colbert.” “And I don’t think anybody’s going to really want to step up and fill it.”

Among those sorry to see Colbert go is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, a frequent guest. Johnny Carson used to book scientists, but Tyson notes wryly that not many TV hosts do these days. Colbert even had a segment highlighting new discoveries called “The Sound of Science.”

“Science doesn’t have many opportunities to access centerline pop culture,” says Tyson.

In a departure from the infighting of decades ago, other late-night hosts have rallied around Colbert. Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers — who hosted the “Strike Force Five” podcast with Colbert during the Hollywood strikes — visited “The Late Show” recently.

NBC's “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and ABC's “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” which typically air against “The Late Show,” will instead broadcast reruns on Thursday.

Catholics and Tolkien fans mourn, too

Catholics will also mourn the loss of a late-night host who could quote Psalms by heart and who brought up issues of faith with guests and even what happens when we die with “The Colbert Questionert.”

“We’re losing a very well-known Catholic and someone who shares his religious ideas freely and intellectually, too,” says Stephanie Brehm, author of “America’s Most Famous Catholic (According to Himself): Stephen Colbert and American Religion in the Twenty-First Century.”

She pointed to poignant moments like Colbert's chat with then-Vice President Joe Biden about the death of his son, his discussion of grief with Anderson Cooper and his exploration of the relationship between faith and comedy with Dua Lipa.

Brehm saw Colbert make himself into a sort of moral authority and lean into the social justice camp of progressive Catholics: “He is playing up that moral quality by standing up for American moral values like freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and he’s doing it with a Catholic jargon, with Catholic language.”

Then there are devotees of author J.R.R. Tolkien. Colbert is a superfan of “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” and championed Tolkien in skits, references and competitions, memorably smoking James Franco in a few throwdowns.

“I think if you step back and reflect on his career, everything he’s done is for the betterment of the community,” says Duane Cronkite, head of live programming for the Fellowship of Fans forum and news site.

Timothy Lenz, part of the leadership committee of The Mythopoeic Society, a group dedicated to the study and appreciation of Tolkien, says Colbert inspired new readers.

“Stephen Colbert is easily the most enthusiastic celebrity fan of Tolkien’s works,” he says. “That sort of public, unapologetic enthusiasm for stories that in Colbert’s youth would have been considered like nerdy and uncool, that really helps to encourage fans of all ages to let their geek flag fly.”

Tolkien, fittingly, offers a next step for Colbert after his show goes dark. He's co-writing a new “Lord of the Rings” movie.

“He’s living the fan dream right now,” says Lenz.

Fox has indicated it likes the 24-team idea, but embedded within that equation is the critical calculation of how much that network, or any broadcast partner, would pay for a new set of games involving second-tier teams that might not garner the same TV ratings as some of the biggest programs in the sport.

“The answer is ‘less,’ but not nothing,'" said Ed Desser, a former NBA executive and media rights expert who co-authored a paper about the value of college football on TV with former ESPN executive John Kosner. “There will be perceived value. It becomes a question of, on the margin, can you create good, meaningful games that enhance the value of the playoff? Or are you just kind of making people wait longer for the entree, for the game they really want?”

The CFP deal that starts this season with ESPN is worth $7.8 billion over six seasons. That network would have first dibs on the first two games added to any package. The rest are up for grabs.

“I want to see whoever is committed to making it work,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said this week when asked which TV partner he'd like to see jump in. “I think it's about whoever has the commitment to scheduling it right and who's going to bring the right resources.”

Figuring the size of the playoff is a puzzle that continues to confound the sport. On one side is the Southeastern Conference, which has held steady to the idea of not expanding past 16 teams though commissioner Greg Sankey teased that some might come around to 24 at meetings next week.

On the other is the Big Ten, which now also has backing from the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 conferences for a move to 24.

The SEC’s idea would more or less keep the overall schedule where it is, including preserving the conference championship games that Petitti estimated to be worth a combined $200 million to the four power conferences.

Sankey has said the league has contracts for its title game and it has to honor those contracts; Petitti didn't seem as tied to the title games, saying he thought the Big Ten could “undo our championship games” as soon as the 2027 season if needed.

A 24-team playoff would eliminate automatic qualifiers and render conference title games virtually meaningless. According to many in the Big Ten, they would give all programs what they crave — more access to the playoff, and a reason for fans and boosters to keep bankrolling all those player salaries.

“I think if we went to 24 teams, there might be 24 teams that could win the national championship,” said Illinois coach Bret Bielema, who is on the board of the American Football Coaches Association that also recently voiced support for the expanded field. “I don’t know if that was true 10 years ago.”

There is still the issue of paying for it.

While popular, college football only captures a fraction of the viewers as the NFL.

The 30.1 million who tuned into last season’s college final between Indiana and Miami would have ranked fifth on the NFL’s list of most-watched regular-season offerings. The Super Bowl drew more than 125 million viewers.

For the weeks when the CFP goes against NFL regular-season games – first-round contests the past two years have taken place opposite NFL games on Saturdays – the NFL games have drawn between 2.5 times and 5 times the viewers. Part of this is because the NFL games are over-the-air on Fox and the college games were on cable, TNT/TBS/TruTv.

There is also the issue of how much networks or streamers will have to spend.

The NFL's recent move into streaming and adding new broadcast windows — for example, Christmas Day and the days before and after Thanksgiving — has led to thoughts that the league will press for sooner renegotiations of its own deals that currently have an opt-out clause in 2029.

While the league controls all its games, college football's rights are spread out among the individual conferences and the CFP.

“We don’t feel that the current Balkanized state of college football lends itself to maximizing (revenue) across the board,” Kosner said. “Nor do I think that just doubling the CFP at this stage is going to be such a revenue motherlode that it's going to make a difference."

Pettiti views filling the gaps from the lost title-game revenue differently. He sees an influx of on-campus games, which generate $6 million or more in ticket sales and other receipts, as part of the equation.

The SEC, once seemingly in the majority in seeking a move to 16 teams, is now in the minority. Sankey said the league will have to do its own research to see how a bigger expansion would impact the college football calendar, the title games and, of course, the financial bottom line.

“I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on the commissioners to help make it happen," Kosner said. "I would kind of be surprised if, within two years, it hasn’t happened. But I’d also be surprised if it winds up being the sort of business boom that they might hope that it would be.”

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Court documents state Houston Jewelry Buyers owner Michael Crouch and store manager Victor Ortega are accused of “intentionally display, offers for sale, possess with intent to sell items.”

The records allege the items included “Rolex watches, Omega Watches, Richard Mille Watches, Audemars watch, Patek Philippe Watches, Louis Vuitton case and wallet, Rolex Clocks, Louis Vuitton Jewelry, Cartier bracelets and earrings” that “bore and are identified by a counterfeit mark.”

Both men have been charged with trademark counterfeiting and are currently out on bond.

KPRC 2 News reached out to Houston Jewelry Buyers by phone and through the company’s website but has not yet received a response.

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According to the company’s website, Houston Jewelry Buyers describes itself as “Houston’s premier pre-owned jewelry and watch seller and buyer” specializing in luxury brands including Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Breitling, Omega and Tag Heuer.

It is unclear from court records how investigators determined the items were counterfeit or how many items were allegedly involved in the case. But with the charge, records say the total cost is at least $150,000 but less than $300,000.

The investigation remains ongoing. The two’s next court dates are scheduled for Thursday, May 21.

The 2026 list, announced Wednesday, marks America's 250th anniversary with the foundational principle that everyone is created equal as the theme, said Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the nonprofit organization. The 11 sites offer examples of how, over time, Americans have fought against injustice and for equality, she said.

“We wanted to think about those ideas, especially this notion that all human beings are created equal and find places, sometimes unsung places ... that not all Americans routinely think about," Quillen told The Associated Press.

The sites are spread across the United States — from New York and California on the East and West Coasts, to Alabama and Texas in the South, to Michigan in the Midwest and the Four Corners of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah in the Rocky Mountain West.

At least three of the sites — Stonewall, the El Corazon church in Texas and President's House in Philadelphia — have been endangered by Trump administration actions.

“We want to save these places," Quillen said, “not just because the bricks and mortar is important but because the stories these places hold are important."

For the first time since the list debuted in 1988, each site on the 2026 list will receive a one-time $25,000 grant to help highlight their connections to the principle that all people are created equal and address the threats they face.

The 11 sites are:

Montgomery, Alabama: Ben Moore Hotel

The hotel was a refuge for Black people living under laws that enforced racial separation in the South. Prolonged vacancy has caused structural deterioration and the historic Centennial Hill neighborhood surrounding it faces pressure from development. The hotel housed key players from the Civil Rights Movement, including the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy. The Conservation Fund announced in November that it would help preserve the hotel.

Modoc County, California: Tule Lake Segregation Center

Initially known as the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, it was set up as a camp but later became a segregation center where Japanese Americans who were thought to be disloyal to the United States were imprisoned. The site is now a national monument managed by the National Park Service. Only 37 acres of the 1,100-acre site is protected. Most of it is at risk of permanent alteration from a proposed nearby construction project.

California: Angel Island Immigration Station

It was the largest immigration port on the West Coast between 1910 and 1940, particularly for immigrants from Asia and the Pacific. Hundreds of thousands were processed, detained and/or interrogated there because of their race. The station currently is threatened by physical, environmental, political and economic factors. Additional funding is needed for structural repairs and programming to increase awareness.

Somerset, Massachusetts: Swansea Friends Meeting House

Recognized as the oldest surviving Quaker meeting house in the state, it was built in 1701 to serve as a refuge by a congregation fleeing religious persecution and looking for a safe place to worship. The building has been closed for years and needs significant rehabilitation.

Michigan: Detroit Association of Women's Clubs

Founded in 1921, the association was one of the first Black organizations in Detroit to own their headquarters building, which was purchased in 1941. But the building has been closed since 2024, when water pipes burst and damaged the interior. Money is needed to help the association reopen the building.

New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah: Greater Chaco Cultural Landscape

The landscape is an ancestral homeland sustained for over a millennium by the Pueblo and Hopi people, but is threatened by changes to federal land policy that could open up significant portions to oil and gas development. Permanent protections and tribal consultation are needed to protect its cultural integrity.

Seneca Falls, New York: Women's Rights National Historical Park

The park tells the story of the first Women's Rights Convention, held in Seneca Falls, in July 1848. It faces a deferred maintenance backlog of over $10 million. Additional funding and support are needed to help preserve the park as a place to teach visitors about the history of women's rights.

New York: Stonewall National Monument

The first and only U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ history was the subject of administration actions that saw the rainbow Pride flag removed from its flagpole earlier this year before it was restored. The National Park Service had removed the flag in February, citing federal guidance that limited the agency to displaying only the American, Interior Department and POW/MIA flags. But the administration reversed course in April as it agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by advocacy and historic preservation groups that sought to block the flag's removal at the Manhattan site.

After Trump returned to office, he ended diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and many references to transgender people were excised from the Stonewall monument’s website and materials. The Republican administration similarly has put national parks, museums and landmarks under a messaging microscope, aiming to remove or alter materials that it says are “divisive or partisan” or “inappropriately disparage Americans.”

Philadelphia: The President's House Site

The administration abruptly removed exhibits on the lives of nine people enslaved at the site in the 1790s under George Washington, the first U.S. president, who lived there when Philadelphia served as the nation's capital. The exhibits were taken down as part of a broad effort by the administration to remove from federal properties information it deems “disparaging” to Americans. The issue is currently the subject of litigation between the city and federal government.

Heath Springs, South Carolina: Hanging Rock Revolutionary War Battlefield

The Battle of Hanging Rock was a key battle in the Southern Campaigns of the Revolutionary War and is considered a Patriot victory that helped boost morale and ultimately weaken British control in South Carolina. Only portions of the core battlefield are protected and open to the public, with the area anticipating population growth and increasing development pressures.

Ruidosa, Texas: El Corazon Sagrado de la Iglesia de Jesus

The more than century-old adobe church served as a refuge and place of worship for Mexican and Mexican American farming communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border along the Rio Grande River. Vacant since the 1950s, the structure has benefited from continued restoration provided by the nonprofit Friends of the Ruidosa Church but remains threatened by proposed construction of a U.S. border wall that could come within a few hundred yards of the property.

Frank died late Tuesday, according to Jim Segel, Frank’s former campaign manager and close friend.

After representing broad swaths of Boston's suburbs in Congress for 32 years, Frank and his husband moved to Ogunquit, Maine. He entered hospice there in April with congestive heart failure and is survived by his husband, Jim Ready, and sisters, the longtime Democratic strategist Ann Lewis and Doris Breay, along with brother David Frank.

A self-described “left-handed gay Jew,” Frank was known for his acerbic wit, combative style and focus on marginalized communities. He represented the party's left wing while keeping close with Democratic leaders who sometimes frustrated progressives.

He is best known as a pioneer for LGBT rights. After decades of grappling with his sexuality, he publicly came out as gay in 1987, the first member of Congress to do so voluntarily. With his 2012 marriage to Ready, he became the first incumbent lawmaker on Capitol Hill to marry someone of the same sex.

But in an April interview as he entered hospice, Frank said he hoped he would be remembered for advocating a brand of politics that embraced progressive ideals without forcing them on voters prematurely. It is an approach he feared was being rejected as Democrats prepare for what could be a rollicking primary as they hope to retake the White House in 2028 and move past the Trump era.

“I hope I made the point that the best way to accomplish the improvements in our society that we need, particularly in making it less unfair economically and socially, is by conventional political methods,” Frank said. “The main obstacle to our defeating populism and going further in the right direction is that mainstream Democrats have to make it clear that we oppose that part of the agenda of our friends on the left that is politically unacceptable. They're right about a lot of things but you have to have some discretion.”

“You should not take the most unpopular parts of your agenda and make them litmus tests," he added. “And that's what my friends on the left have been doing.”

Frank's path to public life

Born in 1940 in Bayonne, New Jersey, Frank wrote in his 2015 memoir that he was drawn to public life after Emmett Till, a Black 14-year-old from Chicago, was lynched by white men in Mississippi. Frank would volunteer in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964, though he acknowledged the fast-talking style was a challenge in the Deep South.

“My direct organizing of Mississippi voters was limited by the fact that my accent (to this day more New Jersey than New England), my poor diction, and my rapid speech, especially when I got excited, rendered me largely incomprehensible to rural Mississippians of both races,” he wrote.

He entered politics in 1968 as an aide to Boston Mayor Kevin White before winning a seat in the Massachusetts House in 1972. Frank was elected to Congress in 1980, an otherwise dismal year for Democrats as the party lost dozens of seats in the U.S. House and Republican Ronald Reagan won the White House.

Frank's pragmatic style surfaced early in his congressional career. He joined the liberal Democratic Study Group to help push then-Speaker Tip O'Neill, D-Mass., to respond more aggressively to the Reagan administration. But Frank said he found himself more often agreeing with O'Neill's less confrontational approach.

Years later, as Congress prepared to pass a massive tax overhaul package, Frank intended to vote “no,” opposed to the bill's lowering of top tax rates. He changed his mind, however, when he worked out a deal boosting affordable housing tax credits.

“I was happy to sacrifice my ideological purity to improve legislation that was going to become law with or without me,” he wrote.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat and former House speaker, called Frank an “idealist to the nth degree.”

“The goals, the vision, the promise of it all,” she recalled in an interview. “Nobody could ever surpass what he brought to the table in that regard.”

Making history in Congress

Through his early years in Washington, Frank led something of a double life.

Privately, he socialized in the city's gay circles and had relationships but did not publicly acknowledge his sexuality. The media at the time rarely reported that someone was gay unless that person was involved in a scandal. When Frank in 1987 invited a reporter to his office to formally ask whether the congressman was gay, Frank responded, “yeah, so what?”

Other elected leaders, perhaps most notably San Francisco's Harvey Milk, had come out years before. Members of Congress, including Rep. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., were previously outed through scandal.

Frank's approach made him the most prominent gay leader in national politics for much of the 1980s and 1990s. He helped secure AIDS funding and pressed the Democratic Clinton administration, unsuccessfully, to lift a ban on gays serving in the military.

But there were low points, too, most notably an overwhelming 1987 House vote to reprimand him for poor judgment involving a male prostitute he hired in 1985. Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia, the Republican whip at the time, pressed for the more severe punishment of censure, which was rejected by a large margin.

Frank became something of a punch line among conservative Republicans, with House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, calling him “Barney Fag” in 1995. Armey said he misspoke and later apologized from the House floor.

Along the way, Frank became known as one of the most quotable lawmakers in Congress.

Regarding abortion, he said Republicans believed “life begins at conception and ends at birth,” criticizing the party's push to curb social programs. After Ken Starr released a report describing President Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky in sometimes intimate detail, Frank said it required “too much reading about heterosexual sex.”

Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., entered Congress the same year as Frank and he recalled his former colleague: “You may get a blow, but it was softened by the humor that came with it."

To Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, Frank's "one-liners were wicked and wickedly funny. Barney delivered for working people, and the world is a poorer place without him.”

Presiding over a financial overhaul

By 2007, Frank was the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, where he would leave his lasting policy mark as the U.S. economy careened toward collapse. He worked with the Republican Bush administration to pass a rescue package, providing vital support to financial institutions but spurring a populist revolt that still courses through American politics.

Once the initial crisis eased, Frank helped develop the most significant reform legislation since the New Deal. Working with then-Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Dodd-Frank Act would enhance consumer protections, impose new capital requirements for banks and boost the ability of regulators to monitor risk.

“Barney and I shared a fantastic relationship," Dodd said. "I had many good moments in those 36 years in Congress, but none more significant, joyful, or productive than those almost two years working with Barney on our banking bill.”

During President Donald Trump's second term, his Republican administration has worked to roll back many of the legislation's provisions, arguing they were too onerous.

Frank faced his toughest reelection campaign in years in 2010 as the tea party wave swept over American politics. He opted against running again in 2012, though remained engaged in politics long after leaving Congress, including spending time as a contributor to the conservative Newsmax network.

He remained a fierce critic of Trump. Asked for his prediction on who might succeed the president, Frank said “unfortunately I won't get to vote for it.”

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  • Sponsored content
  • Creator-style storytelling
  • Integrated brand partnerships
• Own campaign performance end-to-end:
• • Define success metrics
  • Track results
  • Optimize to improve performance and revenue outcomes
• Build repeatable, scalable solutions that can be sold across multiple clients and categories
• Generate client-facing strategies and presentations that clearly connect content, audience, and business outcomes
• Identify and develop revenue-generating branded content opportunities that extend Houston Life talent and station personalities beyond broadcast into social, digital, and platform-native campaigns

30% Hands-On Creative Leadership & Execution

• Actively shape content execution by writing scripts, hooks, and messaging that improve performance
• Guide producers and editors on format, pacing, and platform-specific storytelling
• Stay embedded in key campaigns to ensure quality, clarity, and effectiveness
• Develop prototypes and “gold standard” content to set creative benchmarks
• Provide real-time creative feedback during production to improve outcomes

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, marketing, media studies, or related field — or equivalent experience
• Proven ability to develop and execute marketing strategies that drive measurable business results and revenue
• Experience in branded content, digital marketing, audience growth, or content strategy
• Strong understanding of platform-native storytelling and how content performs across social and digital ecosystems
• Ability to translate audience insights into clear, actionable strategies and content that drives performance
• Strong creative instincts, including the ability to write and shape content for impact and engagement
• Experience with paid social, analytics, and campaign optimization preferred
• Ability to present, sell, and defend ideas to clients and internal stakeholders
• Comfortable operating as a player-coach, balancing strategic thinking with hands-on creative involvement
• Strong ownership mindset — accountable for outcomes (performance and revenue), not just output

Location: KPRC2

8181 Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77074

Application Requirements

Please include your resume and portfolio or relevant work samples

In addition, include one example of a campaign or project that demonstrates your ability to drive strategy, creative execution, and measurable results. We’re less interested in volume and more interested in clarity — show us how you think and how your work performs.

Send materials and completed application to Wes Rodda, Marketing Director at wrodda@kprc.com

Click HERE to download and complete employment application.

Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verifications and reference checks. You must hold a valid driver’s license and be insurable under Texas Law.

No Phone Calls Please

KPRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In addition to complying with the requirements of federal law, KPRC will comply with applicable state and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

This is a high impact, leadership role responsible for turning creative capabilities into business results — developing revenue-generating branded content, marketing solutions, and multiplatform campaigns that connect with audiences and create value for clients.

You will lead a team that delivers commercial production, promotional campaigns, and sponsored content, while evolving the group from a production resource into a strategic, revenue-generating partner across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and lead the Creative Marketing Solutions function, evolving it into a strategic partner across the organization
• Define and grow how the station monetizes its creative capabilities across platforms, partnerships, and clients
• Drive the development of branded content, campaigns, and marketing solutions that deliver measurable audience and business results
• Partner with sales to create and grow revenue opportunities, including client campaigns, sponsorships, and integrated marketing solutions
• Develop and package creative offerings that can be scaled across clients, platforms, and partnerships
• Lead the team in executing high-impact creative work across commercial production, station marketing, and sponsored content
• Establish and refine workflows, standards, and processes that improve speed, quality, and scalability
• Collaborate with audience growth, newsroom, and content teams to align creative strategy with audience behavior and platform needs
• Push innovation in format, storytelling, and distribution to better connect with modern audiences
• Coach and develop team members, elevating both creative quality and strategic thinking

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, marketing, media studies, or related field or equivalent job experience.
• Proven ability to lead and scale creative, marketing, or branded content initiatives that drive measurable results
• Experience developing revenue-generating campaigns, partnerships, or marketing solutions
• Strong understanding of how content performs across broadcast, digital, social, and streaming platforms
• Ability to connect creative strategy to business outcomes, including audience growth and revenue impact
• Experience building workflows, processes, or systems that improve efficiency and scalability
• Comfortable working across sales, editorial, and marketing teams to align creative work with broader organizational goals
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to coach and elevate creative teams
• Highly collaborative with the ability to influence stakeholders and drive alignment across departments
• Experience in fast-paced media, content, or agency environments preferred

Location: KPRC2

8181 Southwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77074

Application Requirements: Please submit a resume along with a brief note highlighting 3-5 examples of creative campaigns, branded content, or marketing initiatives you’ve led or played a key role in developing that delivered meaningful results. Portfolio or work samples are required. Please include links or attachments showcasing your work.

For each example, include:

• Your specific role in the project
• The strategy behind the idea (not just execution)
• The platforms used (broadcast, digital, social, streaming)
• How you collaborated across teams (sales, editorial, clients, or partners)
• The outcome or impact (audience growth, engagement, revenue, or brand lift)

Send materials and completed application to Wes Rodda, Marketing Director at wrodda@kprc.com

Click HERE to download and complete employment application.

Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verifications and reference checks. You must hold a valid driver’s license and be insurable under Texas Law.

No Phone Calls Please

KPRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In addition to complying with the requirements of federal law, KPRC will comply with applicable state and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

It hasn't always been easy. For instance, there were challenging economic times through the 1980s and various degrees of drought affecting his yield through the years. But this season feels different.

“All in all, it’s not going to be a good year,” said Williams, 76.

Record-setting drought and hotter-than-average temperatures mixed with sharp drops have impacted much of the U.S. early this year, including the Plains region. Drought conditions have worsened the spread of the wheat streak mosaic virus and barley yellow dwarf virus, which impact the potential of the crop. Combined with climbing input costs related to fertilizer, diesel fuel and tariffs, longtime wheat farmers say they are feeling a lot of pain.

“It’s kind of a double whammy,” Williams added.

Crop estimates underscore just how bad the situation is. Growers will see their smallest wheat crop in terms of production since 1972, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; 1.56 billion bushels this year, down 21% from 2025. That’s especially harmful to Kansas, one of the top overall producers of wheat in the U.S.

Only in five of the past 40 years has Kansas' wheat crop been in such a bad state, an analysis of USDA data shows, with 58% of the crop rated as “poor” or “very poor” as of May 17. The last time the fields were in as bad a condition was during a severe drought in 2023.

“It’s very tough conditions that growers are faced with right now,” said Kansas State agronomist Romulo Lollato. And he said that affects consumers, “whether it is through going to a bakery and having higher bread prices, or whether it’s through losing some of the international market out there for the U.S.”

With this year so bad, many wheat growers have been forced to file for crop insurance or consider whether they can lean on other crops to withstand the uncertainties.

Williams saw close to 100 bushels of wheat per acre irrigated last year, but this year might only have 30 to 40. He splits his wheat crop between irrigated and dryland — for which farmers depend on rainfall and soil moisture — and there, he might only see 10 to 15 bushels per acre.

Williams and other farmers said they know they'll lose money this year. “I guess my attitude is: Stay the course. Don’t make any new purchases,” he added. “And forget your wants and just do your needs.”

The weather is unpredictable, and farmers' costs are adding up.

Climate change, caused by the burning of gas, oil and coal, has made farming a number of crops increasingly challenging over the years, experts say, and wheat is no exception. Several wheat farmers described worsening extremes this year, including the winter's intense and unseasonable heat, late freezes and an ongoing shortage of rain.

The U.S., meanwhile, has lost ground in the global wheat market to Russia and the European Union; national wheat acreage has dropped over the past several years for a variety of reasons, said Brad Rippey, USDA meteorologist.

“There’s certainly a downward trend for wheat in the Great Plains and elsewhere in the U.S. based on a number of factors, and certainly the weather challenges over the last couple of decades have been a big part of that,” Rippey said.

Still, wheat is the nation’s third field crop as planted acreage, production and gross farm receipts after corn and soybeans, according to the USDA. The U.S. is one of the world’s largest producers by volume of wheat each year, and it’s a major exporter of the crop.

Thousands of U.S. farmers rely on wheat as an important livelihood, and factors outside of their control have made their work more difficult.

The dry conditions sped up how fast the crop grew, USDA data show, not a positive sign for the quality of the harvest.

By the end of the first full week of May, 86% of wheat crops in Kansas had produced a seed head, while 61% was typical in the previous 10 years at the same point in the season. The plant is “genetically programmed” to produce a head before dying, Rippey said, but if they do so too early, the result will often be poor quality.

Only 32.4 million acres (13.1 million hectares) of wheat were planted this year to begin with, and harvested acreage hit just 22 million, marking abandonment, which is when farmers stop tending to a crop before harvesting, at slightly above 32% of this year's wheat crop, according to USDA estimates.

Except for the 2022-2023 cycle, there have only been a handful of other years in history where U.S. winter wheat abandonment has been higher, Rippey noted.

In Kansas, about 17% of the crop is being abandoned this year.

“Rain makes grain,” said Mike Nickelson, a wheat and corn farmer in western Kansas. “That's the whole key. We can do the very best we can do and then if we don't get the rain, then it makes it pretty tough.”

Forecasters are predicting a substantial El Nino, a cyclical and natural process in which patches of the equatorial Pacific warm and alter the world’s weather patterns, including rainfall. Because in the U.S., that is expected to mean warmer-than-normal temperatures this summer, it could be months before there is any drought relief.

“It seems like we’re the ones out trying to feed the world and we’re the ones suffering the most,” Nickelson, 60, added. “My son is here farming with me, and I’d really like to transition him to help take over the farm. I’m like, really, do I want him to have to do this? I mean, it’s a great life, but man, right now it’s just tough.”

The war in Iran, meanwhile, has sent fuel prices soaring. Williams, the Montezuma farmer, said he drives 150 to 200 miles (240 to 320 kilometers) a day, and diesel is up nearly $2 per gallon from one year ago.

The cost of seed, fertilizer and more is rapidly adding up, too. Some growers bought fertilizer ahead of time for this season, but they worry about the year ahead. Farmers already have been navigating the consequences of the Trump administration’s rocky trade policy.

Nickelson said urea, a type of fertilizer for agriculture, previously cost $400 a ton. He is now paying between $600 and $700 a ton. “You hope to break even, but I’m not sure we’re gonna do that,” he said.

There aren't many options for farmers to make up for losses.

For Ben Palen, a fifth-generation farmer and farming consultant, solutions are tough, and relief feels minimal.

Crop insurance to account for the losses only go so far. The Trump administration has offered one-time bridge payments for qualifying farmers of a variety of crops to aid their increasing costs amid trade disruptions and inflation, but those funds are also limited.

Allowing the wheat to fallow — essentially leaving it unused to prep land for the next crop — or planting something unplanned aren't viable options, either. It's not just a matter of adding more water to the land to try to get wheat to stick, and it's difficult for farmers to change course to another crop at this point in the year.

“It’s a little late now to try to plant something on say, a wheat crop that’s failed on a particular farm,” Palen, 70, said, “because we just don’t have soil moisture to get another crop started.

“This is probably about as challenging of a time to be a farmer that I can recollect,” he added. “It’s a pretty serious situation.”

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This story has been updated to correct that wheat production is forecast to be down 21% from 2025, not down to 1.05 billion bushels that year. This story also corrects the spelling of the Kansas State agronomist's surname; his name is Romulo Lollato, not Romulo Lolloto.

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St. John reported from Detroit. Associated Press journalists Alyssa Goodman in New York and M.K. Wildeman in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

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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 lawsuit challenges the state's practice of assigning students to schools based solely on where they live, which can lead to patterns of housing segregation being replicated in school systems.

The case is the latest example of efforts to address segregation and funding inequities through state-level litigation. Even before the Trump administration began taking steps to release districts in the Deep South from court-ordered desegregation efforts, integration efforts had fallen far from their peak decades ago when the federal government intervened in school systems around the U.S.

The plaintiffs include nine students and four community organizations from segregated school districts across Massachusetts, including Springfield, Holyoke, Boston, Lawrence, Brockton, Lynn, and Worcester. The districts border more affluent, predominantly white districts where the plaintiffs are unable to enroll.

In response to the lawsuit, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said it does not have the authority to change school district boundaries, nor the power to compel schools to allow students from other districts to enroll. It said in a written statement the state has invested in efforts to reduce gaps in graduation rates, and sought additional investments for high-poverty districts.

“Massachusetts leads the nation in student achievement, and we are committed to building on this progress to strengthen our education system for every student in our state,” spokesperson Jacqueline Reis said.

Plaintiffs argue the state is failing Black and Latino students

A 2024 state advisory council report found that 63% of all schools in Massachusetts are segregated or intensely segregated, and that the state education department had fallen short in its oversight duties. Schools that have higher concentrations of students of color saw worse outcomes on metrics like graduation and college matriculation.

While the state constitution guarantees students a right to an adequate education and equal protection under the law, it has failed to do so in practice for Black and Latino students, said Jillian Lenson, senior attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights, which filed the suit with Brown's Promise.

“It's not student potential, it's the conditions of their schools that drive these disparate outcomes, conditions that the state has maintained and perpetuated for decades,” Lenson said.

The lawsuit filed in Massachusetts state court in Suffolk County asks to compel the state to address the disparities that emerge from rules assigning students to schools in areas where they live.

GeDá Jones Herbert, chief legal counsel at Brown's Promise, said the lawsuit is not seeking mandatory integration, but rather an investment in evidence-backed practices that benefit all students.

Those include expanding regional magnet programs and investing more in under-resourced schools. The state has regional vocational schools and voluntary inter-district transfers, but a complex system of opt-outs and the small size of most programs prevent equal access, the plaintiffs said.

“Black and Latino students are blocked out of access to those opportunities, and that's unconstitutional,” Jones Herbet said.

Advocates are seeking segregation remedies at the state level

Other recent examples of state-level litigation also have focused on addressing residential segregation.

In 2018, the Latino Action Network and the New Jersey chapter of the NAACP, among other plaintiffs, filed a suit arguing that the state’s system of assigning students based on their residence has created racially segregated schools. And in Minnesota, a 2015 lawsuit asserted that the segregation of schools in Saint Paul and Minneapolis led to inadequate and unequal educations for students of color.

Both cases have been winding their way through state courts, with no decisive resolution.

The state cases come amid shifts in federal enforcement of desegregation in schools. By the early 2000s, a series of Supreme Court cases had significantly limited the tools available to districts to meaningfully integrate schools on the basis of race.

State constitutions, which often have clauses enshrining equality and education, can serve as a pathway for challenges to segregation that results from economics and housing patterns, said Robert Williams, a professor of law emeritus at Rutgers University.

“The government knows about it, but it’s not the government that did it directly,” Williams said. “These cases argue that having so many different school districts that align with housing patterns and having laws that say that you have to go to school where you live, all of those things sort of amount to government segregation.”

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The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Sixteen known moons circle Neptune, our solar system’s eighth and most distant planet. Neptune’s biggest moon, Triton, barged in from the solar system’s frigid outskirts billions of years ago, scattering the planet’s original moons and putting them on destructive collision courses.

A team led by the California Institute of Technology used NASA’s Webb Space Telescope to study Nereid. Their observations suggest that Nereid is no party crasher like Triton and likely survived by escaping into its extreme, elliptical orbit around Neptune.

“What we know about Nereid is very limited. For its size, Nereid is extremely understudied,” said study author Matthew Belyakov, of Caltech.

Neptune has only been visited by one spacecraft, NASA’s Voyager 2 in 1989. Nereid was discovered 40 years earlier by Dutch astronomer Gerard Kuiper, who named the moon after the sea nymphs in Greek mythology.

Roughly 220 miles (350 kilometers) across, Nereid has an extremely eccentric orbit for a moon. It takes practically an entire Earth year for Nereid to orbit Neptune, with the moon passing less than 1 million miles (1.4 million kilometers) from the giant icy planet at one end of its egg-shaped loop and as far as 6 million miles (9.6 million kilometers) at the other end.

Like so many other moons in the outer solar system, Nereid was long suspected of migrating to Neptune's neighborhood from the frigid outlying expanse known as the Kuiper Belt. But using the Webb telescope, scientists determined that Nereid’s composition was inconsistent with Kuiper Belt objects — it had too much ice. That suggests it was part of Neptune's system all along.

“We don’t have all that much evidence left around Neptune — the system doesn’t have very many moons left,” Belyakov said in an email. But the latest observations “strongly rule out” that Nereid wandered by like so many others and got ensnared by planetary gravity.

The findings appear in the journal Science Advances.

This is “an exciting result," said Carnegie Science planetary astronomer Scott Sheppard, who was not part of the study.

The observations show for the first time that Nereid’s peculiar orbit matches “the history we might expect from a moon that originally formed close to Neptune and was later pushed outward from the capture of Triton,” Sheppard said in an email.

Neptune's innermost moons likely formed out of the shattered remains of the originals that were Triton's casualties, according to Belyakov and his team.

All three of the solar system’s other giant planets have more moons, with Saturn topping the charts at 292.

A visiting spacecraft could clinch the Neptunian system's origin story, according to scientists, although none are currently planned.

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

Castro was charged for his alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro was defense minister at the time.

President Donald Trump has been escalating talk on regime change in Cuba after the military action in Venezuela early this year resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. In addition, a White House-ordered economic blockade has led to blackouts, food shortages and a collapse in economic activity across Cuba.

The indictment comes amid rising tensions between Trump's administration and Cuba’s government. Meanwhile, the U.S. is in the midst of an uneasy ceasefire in the U.S. war against Iran.

Here’s a closer look at developments over the year between Cuba and the U.S.

Jan. 4

A day after the operation in Venezuela that captured Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Cuba's government was “in a lot of trouble," as the president renewed calls for an American takeover of the Danish territory of Greenland.

Jan. 11

Trump fired off a warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braced for potential unrest after Maduro was deposed. Trump called for the Cuban government “to make a deal BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."

Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, responded, “Those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in any way, absolutely in any way.”

Jan. 30

Trump signed an executive order to impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that could further cripple the island.

Feb. 27

A day before the war in Iran began, Trumpsaid the U.S. was in talks with Havana and raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba,” though he didn't offer any details.

Trump said Rubio was in discussions with Cuban leaders “at a very high level.”

Trump didn’t clarify his comments but seemed to indicate that the situation with Cuba, among Washington’s bitterest adversaries for decades, was coming to a critical point.

Sometime in February

Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of Castro known as "Raúlito," secretly met with Rubio on the sidelines of a Caribbean Community summit in St. Kitts in February.

March 13

Díaz-Canelsaid Cuba and the U.S. held talks, marking the first time the Caribbean country confirmed widespread speculation about discussions with the Trump administration amid an energy crisis.

He said the talks “were aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors facilitated these exchanges.”

March 31

A sanctioned Russian oil tanker arrived in Cuba, the first time in three months fuel reached the island.

April 9

Diaz-Canel said he would not resign.

April 10

Two senior State Department officials — Jeremy Lewin, who is in charge of all U.S. foreign assistance, and Michael Kozak, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America — led a delegation to Havana and met with Rodríguez Castro, according to one U.S. official familiar with the meetings.

April 12

Díaz-Canel said in an interview he would not step down and that the U.S. has no valid reason to carry out a military attack against the island or to attempt to depose him.

Speaking in the interview on NBC's “Meet the Press,” the president said an invasion of Cuba would be costly and affect regional security.

April 16

Díaz-Canel spoke during a rally that drew hundreds of people to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the declaration of the Cuban Revolution’s socialist essence.

“The moment is extremely challenging and calls upon us once again, as on April 16, 1961, to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression. We do not want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it becomes inevitable, to defeat it,” Díaz-Canel said.

April 17

News emerged that an American delegation recently met with Cuban government officials, marking a renewed diplomatic push. This was at least the third meeting with Rodríguez Castro.

A senior State Department official met with Rodríguez Castro earlier in the month, according to a department official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

The official did not say who from the U.S. met with Rodríguez Castro, whose grandfather is believed to play an influential role in the Cuban government despite not holding an official post. A second U.S. official said Rubio was not part of the delegation that visited Havana.

April 23

A Cuban diplomat speaking at the United Nations said Havana will not abide by any American “ultimatums” to release political prisoners as part of new talks.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Cuban Ambassador to the U.N. Ernesto Soberón Guzmán said internal issues regarding detainees “are not on the negotiating table.” The release of political prisoners was a key U.S. demand as the longtime adversaries held discussions in Cuba for the first time in a decade.

April 28

Senate Republicans rejected legislation from Democrats that would have required Trump to end the U.S. energy blockade on Cuba unless he receives approval from Congress.

The vote on the war powers resolution showed how Republicans continue to stand behind Trump as he acts unilaterally to exert American force in a range of global conflicts, including Venezuela, Iran and Cuba — one of the U.S.’s closest neighbors.

May 7

U.S. officials said the United States was not looking at imminent military action against Havana despite Trump’s repeated threats that “Cuba is next” and that American warships deployed in the Middle East for the Iran conflict could return by way of the island.

The officials involved in preliminary discussions with Cuban authorities also told the AP that they are not optimistic the communist government will accept an offer for tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid, two years of free Starlink internet access for all Cubans, agricultural assistance and infrastructure support.

But they said Cuba had not yet outright refused the offer, which came with conditions that the government has long resisted, even after the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Havana.

May 14

U.S. and Cuban officials said CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials including Raúl Castro’s grandson during a high-level visit to the island.

Ratcliffe met with Rodríguez Castro, Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence services, and discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security issues. A CIA official confirmed the meetings to the AP.

May 15

The Justice Department was preparing to seek an indictment against Castro, three people familiar with the matter told the AP.

One of the people said the potential indictment was connected to Castro’s alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro was defense minister at the time.

All three people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. The Cuban government did not respond to a request for comment on the potential indictment, which was reported earlier by CBS.

May 18

The State Department imposed a new layer of sanctions on several Cuban government agencies, including the Interior Ministry and National Police and Intelligence Directorate, as the Trump administration continued to ratchet up pressure against the island.

May 20

Federal prosecutors announced a grand jury indictment against Castro in connection with the shootdown of the two Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that two planes, not four, were shot down in 1996.

You’ll work across platforms, with digital and social as your primary output, contributing to linear broadcasts as scheduled.

What You’ll Do:

• Produce weather content daily for KPRC2.com, the app, and social platforms — forecasts, graphics, short-form video, and real-time updates
• Deliver clear, useful guidance on everyday weather disruptions: flooding risk, fog, oppressive heat, dense humidity — the conditions that affect how Houstonians move through their day
• Escalate appropriately and urgently when conditions warrant — severe thunderstorms, tropical threats, flash flood emergencies — with a presence that commands attention and drives action
• Collaborate with the weather team on storm coverage, filling in on-air as needed
• Build and maintain a digital audience through consistent, trustworthy, platform-native content
• Monitor conditions outside scheduled shifts and communicate proactively when the situation demands it

What We’re Looking For:

• AMS or NWA certification, or in progress
• Broadcast meteorology experience — TV, digital, or both
• Strong command of forecast tools and graphics systems (Baron experience a plus)
• Fluency on social — you understand how weather content performs across platforms and you adapt accordingly
• A communication style that adjusts to the moment: calm and practical for routine weather, direct and urgent when it counts
• Willingness to flex availability — this role includes nights, weekends, and on-call expectations during active weather

Why KPRC 2

Houston’s weather is serious. Flooding, heat, tropical systems, severe storms — this market demands meteorologists who respect what the atmosphere can do. We cover all of it, and we cover it aggressively. This is a role for someone who wants to do real weather work, not just fill a slot.

KPRC 2 is Houston’s NBC affiliate and a Graham Media Group station.

Location: KPRC 2

8181 Southwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77074

To apply: Send materials and completed application to Ana Lastra, News Director at alastra@kprc.com.

Click HERE to download and complete employment application.

Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verifications and reference checks. You must hold a valid driver’s license and be insurable under Texas Law.

No Phone Calls Please

KPRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In addition to complying with the requirements of federal law, KPRC will comply with applicable state and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

Giovanni Galizia has been the cover shot for the so-called sexy priest calendar for many of the last 23 editions. In the same photo used year after year, Galizia wears a clerical collar and flashes an enigmatic smile worthy of the Mona Lisa against the granite wall of a church in his native Palermo.

“It was the smile of an embarrassed kid, because I saw all my friends in front of me laughing out loud because I was dressed like I was a priest,” Galizia told The Associated Press during an interview Wednesday in his Verona living room.

For Galizia, the shoot was a lark that left no mark on his life, until a story in the Rome daily La Repubblica this week revealed that the “sexy priest calendar” could be more accurately called “the fake priest calendar,” drawing nationwide attention.

The calendar is not affiliated with the Vatican, which declined to comment.

A popular souvenir with 12 black-and-white portraits

Now a 39-year-old flight attendant for a Spanish airline, Galizia was just 17 years old when mutual friends put him in touch with photographer Piero Pazzi, who has also created a calendar featuring Venetian gondoliers and has founded museums in Budapest and Montenegro on the history of cats.

Officially named Calendario Romano, each edition features 12 black-and-white portraits of men mostly in clerical attire — many of which are recycled year after year. Galizia only knew one of the other subjects, a French man who also was not a priest.

Pazzi told the AP that at least one-third of those pictured in the already released 2027 calendar are actually priests but provided no details.

Galizia said he has never been stopped on the street, though his cousins once gave the calendar to their grandmother as a gift, “and they all died laughing.”

The calendar was intended as art, not deception

Galizia sees the photographs depicting priests as part of an artistic tradition, noting that no one watching a TV drama involving priests believes they are actually played by clergy.

“Of course, it winks a bit at the dynamic between the sacred and the profane, because it is clear that seeing a world that is distant and in some ways so lofty as the ecclesiastical world, with such a fresh-faced young man, creates a kind of dissonance,” he said.

But he also said he doesn't understand why the black-and-white close-ups have been interpreted as sexy. Pazzi also said that was not the point.

“There’s a tendency to confuse what is beautiful with what is sensual, because nowadays, especially in today’s world, which is quite sexualized, beauty is expressed only through sensuality,” Galizia said.

“That said, I appreciate the observation and take it as a compliment — because managing to be sexy in a priest’s collar is no small feat.”

It has the blessing of at least one real priest

Pazzi won’t say how many of the Roman calendars have been sold — but estimates several thousand a year. While Pazzi says he receives royalties, Galizia, who signed a release form when the photo was taken, said he has never sought payment.

The calendar sells for around 8 euros (around $9.30) in shops that surround the Vatican and crowd Rome’s historic center. One shop clerk, Hassam Mohammad, said he sells a handful of them every day.

Pazzi includes a page of information about the Vatican in the calendar, but its production is independent and unrelated to the Holy See.

A priest from South Korea walking near the Vatican this week said that the calendar is well known in his home country, especially among young people who view the calendar with humor.

“They often think priests are stiff and distant,” said the priest, who identified himself informally as Father Domenico. “But looking at this calendar, they think priests are more familiar, and priests can be funny. I think in Korea this calendar is very famous, and it is OK.”

____

Barry reported from Verona, Italy. Giada Zampano in Rome and Nicole Winfield in Vatican City contributed.

The officers' attorneys filed the federal lawsuit a day after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund's creation during a congressional hearing. Blanche, a personal attorney for Trump before joining the Justice Department, wouldn't rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 would be eligible for fund payouts.

The lawsuit claims the government's “Anti-Weaponization Fund" is an illegal slush fund that Trump will use to “finance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.” It describes the fund's creation as "the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century" and calls for dissolving it.

“No statute authorizes its creation, the settlement on which it is premised is a corrupt sham, and its design violates the Constitution and federal law,” the suit says.

The fund stems from a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. It’s designed to compensate those who believe they were mistreated by prior administrations’ Justice Department. Decisions on payouts will be made by a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general.

More than 100 police officers were injured during the Capitol riot. Nearly 1,600 people were charged with Jan. 6-related crimes, but Trump used his pardon powers to erase all of those cases in a sweeping act of clemency last year.

The plaintiffs suing Trump over the fund are Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges and former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who is running in Maryland for a seat in Congress. Hodges and Dunn both testified before Congress about their harrowing experiences on Jan. 6. Videos captured a rioter ripping a mask off Hodges as he was pinned against a door during a fight for control of a tunnel entrance.

The officers claim the fund “encourages those who enacted violence in the President’s name to continue to do so.”

“Dunn and Hodges already face credible threats of death and violence on regular basis; the Fund substantially increases the danger,” the suit alleges.

On Tuesday, members of Congress peppered Blanche with questions about the fund. He described it as “unusual” but not unprecedented. Blanche failed to acknowledge that Trump’s Justice Department has investigated and prosecuted some of the Republican president’s political enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also are named as defendants in the officers’ lawsuit. Spokespeople for the Justice and Treasury departments didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the suit.

One of the attorneys for the officers is Brendan Ballou, a former Justice Department prosecutor who handled Jan. 6 cases.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that nearly 1,600 people, not over 1,600, were charged with Jan. 6-related crimes.

Preparations will take place elsewhere after an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola known as Bundibugyo, which is thought to have killed more than 130 people and caused nearly 600 suspected cases.

The World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern.

Congo is scheduled to play World Cup-warmup games against Denmark in Liege, Belgium on June 3 and Chile in southern Spain on June 9. Both matches are going ahead as planned, team spokesman Jerry Kalemo told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

“There were three stages of preparation: in Kinshasa to say goodbye to the public, Belgium and Spain with two friendly matches against Denmark in Liege and Chile in Spain, and the third stage from June 11 in Houston, United States. Only one stage was canceled – the one in Kinshasa,” Kalemo said.

All of the Congo players and the team’s French coach, Sébastien Desabre, are based outside of the central African country with most of them playing in France.

Some team staff who are based in Congo “are leaving in the next hours,” Kalemo said.

Soccer's governing body FIFA issued a statement that “it is aware of and monitoring the situation regarding an Ebola outbreak and is in close communication with the Congo DR Football Association to ensure that the team are made aware of all medical and security guidance.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that the U.S. would ban entry of all foreign nationals who had been in Congo, Uganda and South Sudan within the past three weeks. The ban lasts for 30 days.

A U.S. official said the Congolese World Cup team would not be affected by the CDC entry ban because it had been training in Europe for the past several weeks. That means team members, coaches and other officials who have not returned to Congo in the past three weeks would not be subject to the entry ban, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy has not been publicly announced.

Those members of the Congolese World Cup delegation who did return to Congo during the 21-day period will be subject to the same quarantine requirements as U.S. citizens seeking to return from affected countries, according to the official. That exception will not apply to Congolese fans who want to attend the World Cup, the official said.

The White House World Cup task force, housed under the Department of Homeland Security, stressed that it is “coordinating closely” with various agencies on health and security matters and that the government is “closely monitoring” the outbreak.

Congo, which qualified for the World Cup after winning a playoff tournament in Mexico, has been drawn in Group K. It faces Portugal for its opening game in Houston on June 17.

The Leopards then face Colombia in Guadalajara on June 23 before playing Uzbekistan in Atlanta for their final group game on June 27.

Congo's first World Cup qualification since 1974, when it was called Zaire, sparked scenes of jubilation across the nation, which has been battered by decades of conflict.

___ Associated Press writers Matt Lee and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.

___

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

The system, called WhaleSpotter, scans the bay around the clock for whale blows and heat signatures up to 2 nautical miles away, alerting mariners to slow down or reroute when whales are nearby.

“They'll be able to make adjustments way before they get anywhere close,” said Thomas Hall, director of operations for San Francisco Bay Ferry. “It will also allow us to track data over time and see where the whales are camping out so we can adjust our routes during whale season to avoid those areas completely.”

The effort comes amid an alarming rise in gray whale deaths in the bay. Last year, 21 dead gray whales were found in the wider Bay Area — the highest number in 25 years, according to The Marine Mammal Center — with at least 40% killed by ship strikes. At least 10 more have died in the Bay Area so far this year.

Scientists say those figures likely underestimate the true toll as many whale carcasses sink or are swept back out to sea before they are ever found or reported.

Gray whales have long migrated along the California coast on their roughly 12,000-mile (19,300-kilometer) journey between breeding lagoons in Mexico and feeding grounds in the Arctic.

But instead of simply passing offshore, increasing numbers are now diverting into San Francisco Bay and lingering for days or even weeks inside the crowded estuary — a shift scientists increasingly link to climate change. Warming temperatures and shifts in sea ice in the Arctic are disrupting the food web gray whales rely on during summer feeding months, according to a 2023 study in Science, leaving many malnourished during migration.

Many whales now concentrate in a high traffic corridor between Angel Island, Alcatraz and Treasure Island, directly overlapping with ferry routes and shipping lanes.

“It’s the worst place possible in terms of all the ship traffic,” said Rachel Rhodes, a project scientist at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory who led the initiative. There have been so many collisions that “the teams responding to strandings said they ran out of places to even land dead whales.”

The eastern North Pacific gray whale population was once hailed as a conservation success story after rebounding from commercial whaling and being removed from the Endangered Species Act in 1994. But numbers have since plummeted, decreasing by half over the last 10 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Just 13,000 remain.

“They may not be getting the quality or quantity of food they’re used to in the Arctic,” Rhodes said. “That means they’re starting this incredibly long migration at a disadvantage.”

The thermal camera system provides real time alerts to mariners

Artificial intelligence automatically flags potential whale sightings, which are then verified by trained marine mammal observers before alerts are sent via radio to ferry operators, vessel traffic controllers and posted publicly on the Whale Safe website.

WhaleSpotter systems are already used on vessels and fixed installations such as lighthouses and coastal towers in the United States, Canada and Australia. But researchers say the San Francisco Bay network is the first to directly integrate land-based and vessel-mounted detections with official mariner alerts, allowing whale sightings to be relayed in near-real time to ships navigating the bay.

The first hours of testing produced an immediate flood of detections.

“Suddenly to have a full sense of how much whale activity is in this space honestly put me a little bit on edge,” said Douglas McCauley, director of the Benioff lab. “But we're going to use that data and we're going to be smart about how we use that space and share it with the whales.”

Researchers say the system’s biggest advantage is constant monitoring. Unlike human observers, thermal cameras can operate through the night and in many foggy conditions common in the bay.

One camera was installed on Angel Island and a second will soon be fixed aboard a ferry traveling between downtown San Francisco and Vallejo to create what Rhodes described as a “moving data collection platform.” Scientists hope additional cameras on the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz could eventually expand coverage across the bay.

Warming oceans are also threatening humpbacks

A severe marine heat wave lingering off the California coast is shrinking the band of cold, nutrient-rich water where krill, anchovies and sardines thrive. As offshore waters warm, humpback whales are increasingly following that prey closer to shore, where California’s Dungeness crab fishery operates.

The fishery uses tens of thousands of vertical lines that connect traps on the seafloor to surface buoys, creating entanglement hazards for whales migrating and feeding along the coast.

This spring, regulators again closed parts of the fishery off central California to conventional gear, a measure that has become increasingly common in recent years as warming waters increase whale overlap with crab fishing seasons.

While grey whales are also at risk, humpbacks are most vulnerable.

“Humpbacks are curious and they’ll scratch their backs on the gear,” said Kathi George, director of cetacean conservation biology at The Marine Mammal Center. “If they get a line caught on their body, they’ll breach and they’ll roll and end up entangling themselves.”

Whales can drag heavy gear for months, unable to dive or feed properly, leading to starvation, infection and drowning.

Thirty-six whales were confirmed entangled off the West Coast in 2024 — the highest number since 2018, according to NOAA — though scientists caution most cases go undocumented.

California approved commercial use of ropeless pop-up crab fishing gear for the first time this spring, which will allow fishermen to continue harvesting through the end of the season.

Instead of floating surface buoys tethered to traps, the system stores ropes and buoys on the seafloor until fishermen return and trigger an acoustic release that brings the gear to the surface.

Supporters say the technology allows fishermen to continue harvesting crab while dramatically reducing the risk to whales.

As climate change reshapes ocean conditions and whale migration patterns, scientists expect the overlap between whales, ships and fishing gear to persist.

“We will have to continue to be adaptive and science driven in terms of our management to reduce wildlife risk and keep fishermen on the water,” said Caitlynn Birch, Oceana’s Pacific campaign manager and a marine scientist. “California has been a national leader in developing whale-safe fishing technologies and we hope that model can help guide other fisheries on the West Coast and nationally.”

___

Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram: @ahammergram.

___

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Samuel Thomas, a former officer at a TDCJ facility in Rusk, pleaded guilty to one count of violating a federal law that prohibits conspiracies to deprive someone of their civil rights.

Federal officials said the attack was meant to be retaliation towards an inmate who reportedly spit on him.

The incident happened on Feb. 25, 2025, while Thomas was working as a correctional officer, according to court documents and Thomas’ plea agreement.

Prosecutors say Thomas opened the cell door of an inmate and allowed other individuals involved in the conspiracy to enter and assault the inmate.

Investigators said the attack was carried out after the inmate allegedly spit on Thomas two days earlier. The inmate suffered bodily injuries during the assault, officials said.

U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs said the guilty plea shows that law enforcement officials who abuse their authority will be held accountable.

“Correctional officers hold positions of tremendous responsibility and authority, and when that trust is abused, it undermines the integrity of our justice system and jeopardizes the safety of inmates and staff,” Combs said.

Thomas entered his guilty plea Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

“This former corrections officer engaged in a conspiracy to beat and injure a man in his care and custody,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement. “Today’s conviction reinforces the Justice Department’s commitment to protect victims from state officials who abuse their power.”

Under the plea agreement, Thomas faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Trump's remarks to the class of 2026 were the first time he has given a commencement address at one of the nation’s military academies after sending U.S. troops to fight a new war.

He told the cadets that they will be America's “first defenders” and “first responders.”

“You’ve all been tested. You’ll be tested further and probably at higher levels as your career goes on,” Trump said.

During his address, Trump quickly touched on the war with Iran, now in its 12th week, as a sign of U.S. success from “the hottest country anywhere in the world.”

“The only question is, do we go ahead and finish it up or are they going to be signing a document? Let’s see what happens,” Trump said.

The Republican president had threatened to launch renewed strikes on Iran this week as talks with Tehran seemed to have stalled and a fragile ceasefire appeared to be teetering. But Trump on Monday said he was giving Iran a few more days because “serious negotiations” were underway.

He has not offered details and has in the past backed away from following through on threats to Iran, citing breakthroughs in talks that have not publicly materialized.

Earlier Wednesday, he told reporters that he's “in no hurry” to strike a deal to wrap up the war because of political concerns and the November midterm elections.

The commencement was held on a day with scorching heat and there was little shade available as the crowd waited for the ceremony to begin.

At least one person required medical attention after passing out. Others pleaded with organizers for elderly attendants to sit in the shade under tents. Chilled water bottles were distributed freely but quickly became warm.

Trump, who spoke at the academy’s graduation in 2017 during his first term, said he was proud to be the first president to give two commencement addresses at the school.

“We’re going to have to try it maybe a third time, too, to keep that record intact,” Trump said Wednesday.

Trump told the cadets that they were graduating at “an incredible, exciting time for our nation,” a time he described as resurgence of national strength, morale and confidence.

As he declared “America is back,” the president departed from what is traditionally a nonpolitical speech by the commander in chief to military graduates and shifted to critiques of his predecessors, saying the country had been “run by foolish politicians.”

He promoted his tariff policies and immigration crackdown and said that "under this administration, we don’t apologize for American power or wealth.”

“What we do really is we want to maximize it. We take advantage of it,” he said. “We unleash it, and we wield it to pursue our country’s glorious destiny and our beautiful American Dream.”

The president and vice president traditionally speak at one of the military service academies every year. Vice President JD Vance is set to give the commencement address on May 28 at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Before he flew to Connecticut, Trump told reporters that his message to the cadets would be, “Just enjoy your life.”

“You know, you don’t really realize how important Coast Guard is until you have a hurricane,” Trump said as he praised the maritime service.

___

Price reported from Washington.

Unfortunately for them, Botswana's government said a notice announcing they could have the day off Wednesday in celebration was fake news.

The government posted the so-called official statement on X with the words "FAKE" in red across it. The government posted: “No, there is no holiday for Arsenal fans.”

The fake statement circulating online — complete with a Republic of Botswana coat of arms and a stamp from the office of the president — said President Duma Boko had rewarded Arsenal fans for their “passion, loyalty and unwavering support.”

Eagle-eyed fans, however, might have noticed that the fake statement was dated May 17: Sunday. Arsenal's triumph was only confirmed on Tuesday after nearest rival Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth.

One X user speculated jokingly that the fake statement was issued by a Manchester United fan.

An emergency announcement from the military urged people in the region of Vilnius, the country's capital, to “immediately head to a shelter or a safe place.”

The alert, which lasted for about an hour, also led to the closure of the airspace over Vilnius Airport. President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene were taken to shelters, and there was also an evacuation order at Lithuania's parliament, the Seimas, the BNS news agency reported.

It was the first major alert that sent residents and political leaders in a European Union and NATO capital rushing to shelters since Russia’s invasion of neighbor Ukraine in February 2022.

It came hours after a NATO jet shot down a Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia. Ukraine apologized for that “unintended incident,” without specifying what had happened.

In another sign of heightened tensions, Britain’s military said Wednesday that two Russian jets “repeatedly and dangerously” intercepted a Royal Air Force spy plane over the Black Sea last month. The Ministry of Defense said one Su-35 aircraft flew close enough to trigger emergency systems on the unarmed RAF Rivet Joint plane and disable its autopilot.

The ministry said the British plane was in international airspace as part of operations to secure NATO's eastern flank.

NATO chief praises response to drone incursions

Lithuania borders Russia-allied Belarus to the east and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave to the west. Wednesday’s alert came after the military said it detected drone activity in Belarus, but no drones were sighted over Lithuania.

“Based on the parameters we saw, it’s most likely either a combat drone or a drone designed to deceive systems and lure targets,” Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center, said in a news briefing. It wasn't possible to ascertain whether the drone had a warhead, he said.

Belarus reported the potential drone to Lithuania and neighboring Latvia, according to Brig. Gen. Nerijus Stankevicius, commander of the Lithuanian Army’s Land Forces.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte commended the alliance’s reaction to several drone incidents in recent days, saying Wednesday in Brussels that they had been met with “a calm, decisive and proportionate response.”

Vilnius residents sought shelter

Vilnius resident Maryia Malevich said she was terrified when the alert sounded.

“I and my colleagues, we went downstairs and waited probably for 30 minutes" before the all-clear notification came, she said. “We were unprepared and we didn’t know what we should do. And even now, we don’t know what really happened.”

Another Vilnius resident, Iuliia Dudkina, said she wasn't scared because her friends live in Israel and frequently have to head to shelters. She said her husband had a different reaction.

“He was actually very worried and asked me to take our dog and go downstairs to the underground garage. So I did it," Dudkina said. “There were no people except me. So I guess no one really got very scared.”

Drones crossing borders heighten tensions

In recent months, Ukrainian drones aimed at Russia have crossed or come down in NATO territory on numerous occasions. Western officials have blamed what they say is likely Russian electronic jamming of the drones. Russia, meanwhile, has renewed threats that it would retaliate if Ukrainian drones are launched from Baltic countries or if those countries are complicit in their use against Russia.

“Russia is deliberately redirecting Ukrainian drones into Baltic airspace while waging smear campaigns” against Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said late Tuesday. “It’s a transparent act of desperation — an attempt to sow chaos and distract from a simple reality: (Ukraine) is hitting the Russian military machine hard.”

Last week, Latvia’s government collapsed following a dispute over the handling of multiple incidents involving stray drones suspected to be from Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine hammer each other with drones

In a recent escalation of aerial attacks, Russia and Ukraine have sometimes fired hundreds of drones a day at each other.

Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that it shot down 131 out of 154 drones that Russia launched overnight. The ones that got past air defenses killed three civilians and wounded 18 others, including two children, officials said.

Ukraine, meanwhile, continued its aerial campaign against Russia’s vital oil industry, with the General Staff reporting its drones struck a major Russian oil refinery and a pipeline pumping station overnight.

Russian media reports also indicated that a chemical plant in the southern Stavropol region was hit and caught fire, although local officials didn’t confirm any direct hit.

Russia gets some relief from oil sanctions

The U.K. government, a strong supporter of Ukraine's war effort, loosened sanctions Wednesday on Russian oil refined into diesel and jet fuel in third countries as prices rise and fears grow about supplies due to the Iran war.

That step comes two days after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that Washington was granting a 30-day extension for countries to import Russian oil that is already in tankers at sea.

The move, designed to reduce the oil supply shortages, marked a continued policy reversal by the Trump administration, which had previously said the sanctions on Russian oil would resume. Originally announced in early March, the temporary waiver on the sanctions was first renewed in April.

___

Associated Press journalists Siarhei Satsiuk in Vilnius, Lithuania; Geir Moulson in Berlin; Lorne Cook in Brussels; Jill Lawless in London; Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine; Kostya Manenkov in Tallinn, Estonia, and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal contributed to this report.

___

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

Wednesday, May 20

• Schlotzsky’s Deli
• The Houston Clothing Shop
• Gexa Energy
• Fountain Life Houston Clinic
• Kathryn Emery

Tuesday, May 19

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

Monday, May 18

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

Friday, May 15

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

Thursday, May 14

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

Wednesday, May 13

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

Tuesday, May 12

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

Monday, May 11

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

Friday, May 8

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

Thursday, May 7

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

Wednesday, May 6

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

Tuesday, May 5

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

Monday, May 4

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

Friday, May 1

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

Thursday, April 30

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

Wednesday, April 29

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

Tuesday, April 28

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

Monday, April 27

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

Friday, April 24

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

Thursday, April 23

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

Wednesday, April 22

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

Tuesday, April 21

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

Monday, April 20

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

Friday, April 17

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

Thursday, April 16

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

Wednesday, April 15

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

Tuesday, April 14

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

Monday, April 13

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

Friday, April 10

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

Thursday, April 9

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

Wednesday, April 8

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

Tuesday, April 7

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

Monday, April 6

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

Friday, April 3

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

Thursday, April 2

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

Wednesday, April 1

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

Tuesday, March 31

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

Monday, March 30

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

Friday, March 27

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

Wednesday, March 25

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

Tuesday, March 24

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

Monday, March 23

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

Thursday, March 19

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

Wednesday, March 18

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

Tuesday, March 17

• Houston’s Mezclada Dance Company blends hip hop, Latin and contemporary dance forms into high-energy performances
• • Performing Arts Houston New/Now featuring Mezclada Dance Company
• METRO rolls out systemwide changes: A first look at the new technology to help streamline your ride
• • Metro Houston
• Houston Life Deals: Fun & savings for the entire family
• • HoustonLifeDeals.com
• Frontier Utilities teams with Kids’ Meals Houston to pack thousands of meals
• • Frontier Utilities

Monday, March 16

• Affordable rodeo-ready outfits you can find at Target this season
• • Target.com
• Houston’s growing need for linemen: Why the trade pays and how to start
• • IBEW Local 66
• ET hosts Nischelle Turner and Kevin Frazier share highlights from the 98th Academy Awards
• • Entertainment Tonight Oscars Coverage
• Houston Ballet principal dancer Karina González brings Frida Kahlo to life in Broken Wings
• • “Broken Wings” at Houston Ballet Tickets
• The Largest Indoor Waterpark in the U.S.? It’s Just a Road Trip from Houston
• • Kalahari Resorts and Conventions

Friday, March 13

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• Houston Life Deals: Fun & savings for the entire family
• Outriding the Devil: Angela Ganter’s incredible rodeo comeback
• • Outriding the Devil premieres at River Oaks Theatre
• ‘Aliens’ 40th anniversary cast reunion and more at Pop Culture Con 2026
• • Pop Culture Con
• Alley Theatre brings Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” to Houston with a fresh twist
• • “The Importance of Being Earnest” at Alley Theatre Tickets
• Bounce your way to better fitness: trampoline workouts in West U
• • Motiv Fitness at West University
• Moon 2 Mars Festival returns to Space Center Houston with out-of-this-world fun and concerts this spring break
• • Space Center Houston

Thursday, March 12

• KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for your chance to see Tim McGraw at RODEOHOUSTON
• The Birthday Joy Program helps kids in foster care, shelters and group homes celebrate their special day
• • the Birthday Joy Program Website
• Inside “The Feminine Universe” Houston’s new all-women immersive art experience
• • The Feminine Universe Art Show Tickets
• Bring the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo home with these sips and bites
• • Entertaining Expert Paul Zahn
• Spring is in full swing at CITYCENTRE Houston
• • CITYCENTRE
• Kalahari Resorts and Conventions

Tuesday, March 10

• Enjoy Spring Break at the Houston Museum of Natural Science
• • Houston Museum of Natural Science
• Honoring the fallen & recognizing community heroes
• • Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
  • BP America
• Houston author Margie Seaman proves it is never too late to chase a dream
• • Margie Seaman
  • “Someday Is Our Horizon” by Margie Seaman on Amazon

Monday, March 9

• NestFest beach cleanup invites volunteers to protect nesting sea turtles on the Galveston Coast
• From bumper boats to STEAM activities, enjoy a FUNonmenal spring break at Discovery Green
• • FUNomenal Spring Break at Discovery Green
• This veteran-owned business is helping Houstonians keep the heat the out and the savings in with new windows
• • The Window Source
• You’ve been diagnosed with cancer, now what? Non-profit CanCare pairs you with survivors who can help
• • CanCare
• Spring Break Staycation: Why The Travel Mom says Houston families love Great Wolf Lodge
• • The Travel Mom
  • Great Wolf Lodge

Friday, March 6

• Houston Life Deals
• Pickle vs. anime: Largest pickle festival in Texas comes to Rosenberg with anime-inspired food
• • In A Pickle Festival
• Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks: Best days to book, when to fly and top savings
• • Expedia Air Hacks Report
• The Parking Spot making airport parking a breeze
• • The Parking Spot
• A rustic dream venue just outside Houston
• • Country Oaks Venue
• Rare Texas artifacts step out ‘From the Vault’ at The Bryan Museum
• • The Bryan Museum
• Rhythm Energy Question of the Week

Thursday, March 5

• Gold Buckle Foodie Awards at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Houston Life Deals
• Avoiding vacation headaches: New Vrbo survey on group travel reveals common pet peeves
• • Vrbo
• Houston wellness trend: A local body sculpting technique focused on lymphatic health
• • The Tox
• Catching up with Russell Dickerson ahead of debut RODEOHOUSTON performance
• • RODEOHOUSTON

Wednesday, March 4

• Houston Life Deals
• Moon 2 Mars Festival returns to Space Center Houston with out-of-this-world fun and concerts this spring break
• • Space Center Houston
• What to Wear to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo: Your Ultimate Style Guide 
• • Boot Barn
• Destin-Fort Walton Beach, more than beaches: reefs, fishing, little adventures
• • Visit Destin-Fort Walton Beach
• Baz Luhrmann’s ‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’ gives fans a front-row seat to The King
• • “EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert” Film

Tuesday, March 3

• Diana Ross coming to Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
• Learn about the untold history of Black baseball
• • Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy
• Houston Life Deals
• Modern dental implants give Houston patients natural, comfortable smiles
• • Texas Dental Implant Center
• Houston native Kyrie McAlpin Talks ‘The Burbs’, Keke Palmer & a very Seth MacFarlane Christmas party

Monday, March 2

• Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• • Houston Life kicks off opening day at 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Suits & Boot Injury Lawyers

Friday, February 27

• Gabriel Basso takes us behind the scenes of Netflix’s ‘The Night Agent’
• • Netflix’s “The Night Agent”
• Mudbug Mania: Tanji Patton celebrates crawfish season in Houston
• • Goodtaste with Tanji Patton
  • Crawfish Shack
  • Crawfish Hideaway
• Theatre Under The Stars reveals 2026-27 season with Broadway tours & local shows
• • Theatre Under the Stars
• Boot Barn
• What to see and do in Malta — beaches, history and booking tips from The Travel Mom
• • The Travel Mom

Thursday, February 26

• Diana Ross at The Sugar Land Smart Financial Center
• KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for a chance to see Creed perform at RodeoHouston
• Get a peek inside RodeoHouston’s World Championship BBQ Cookoff
• • Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Soulful river cruises that connect Black travelers to heritage and culture
• • AmaWaterways Soulful Experience River Cruise
• Houston Life Deals
• Allied Outdoor Solutions
• HCC Southeast College

Wednesday, February 25

• Behind the scenes of TUTS’ ‘Million Dollar Quartet’
• • Tickets to ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ at Theatre Under the Stars
• Houston influencers share their best thrifting tips for Rodeo
• • Find your nearest Goodwill store
• Plan the ultimate spring break getaway for everyone at Moody Gardens
• • Moody Gardens
• Ride along: METRO Police Chief explains new safety measures for Houston transit
• • Metro Houston

Tuesday, February 24

• Spring Break, but make it San Antonio
• • Visit San Antonio
• Alley Theatre’s ‘English’ explores identity, belonging, and the weight of learning a new language
• • Tickets to ‘English’ at Alley Theatre
• Looking for a Career Change? Here’s How You Could Be Job-Ready in 10 Months
• • Learn more about programs at United Education Institute Houston

Monday, February 23 (WE ARE BACK!!!)

• Indian Film Festival of Houston celebrates France with film, food and culture
• • Indian Film Festival of Houston Website
• KPRC 2 INSIDERS: Enter for a chance to see Riley Green perform at RodeoHouston
• • Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
• Chris Hemsworth will keep you on the edge of your seat in ‘Crime 101’
• • “Crime 101” Movie Times
• Modern dental implants give Houston patients natural, comfortable smiles
• • Texas Dental Implant Center

February 6 - 20

• Houston is off air due to the Winter Olympics, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop entertaining you. Be sure to follow us on social media to see all the HL fun. We’ll be back Feb. 23.
• • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Thursday, February 5

• Papa Johns Pizza
• The Cody Stephens Foundation saves lives with free heart screenings for young athletes
• • Cody Stephens Foundation
• Get ready for the return of the one and only Monster Jam in Houston
• • Tickets to Monster Jam at NRG Stadium
• Getting your best night’s sleep: How the latest materials and technology can help you sleep better
• • Texas Mattress Makers
• What is an “Orphan Generator”? And why it could put Houston homes at risk during an outage
• • GenPro.com
• Follow Mersha the Mini Panther on Instagram (Use MERSHA20 to get a discount at PrettyLitter)

Wednesday, February 4

• Simon & Garfunkel Story at The Sugar Land Smart Financial Center
• Behind the scenes of ‘Real Women Have Curves’ on stage at Alley Theatre
• • Tickets to ‘Real Women Have Curves’ at Alley Theatre
• Decoding body language: How to spot liars, read subtle signals, and communicate with confidence
• • Jan Hargrave
• In the Kitchen with Kroger: Why they are your one stop shop for the Big Game and Valentine’s Day
• • Kroger

Tuesday, February 3

• MFAH’s new exhibit explores Frida Kahlo’s lasting legacy
• • ‘Frida: The Making of an Icon’ at MFAH
• United Way of Greater Houston’s 211: Help is one call away
• • United Way of Greater Houston’s 211 Helpline
• After the freeze - now what? How to care for perennials and shrubs in Houston
• • Gardening with Skip
  • Houston Home and Garden Show
• Go back in time at Popfancy Dessert Bar’s new retro 80’s sci-fi arcade cafe
• • Popfancy Fan Cafe

Monday, February 2

• Kenny G at The Sugar Land Smart Financial Center
• The relationship advice that helps couples feel closer — even during hard conversations
• • Connection Expert Jenn Pinkerton
  • Connectin Cards Couples Edition on Amazon
• Paris Hilton’s “Infinite Icon”
• Arandas Bakery
• Texas Dental Implant Center

Friday, January 30

• Monster Energy Supercross heads into Houston featuring the world’s fastest racers
• • Monster Energy Supercross at NRG Stadium This Weekend
• From Trinidad and Tobago to Top Chef: Tristen Epps’ journey is rooted in culture
• • Chef Tristen Epps
  • A Classically Black Dinner - Vibrant + Modern + African
• Few physicians leave a legacy like this: Houston honors cancer pioneer Dr. Philip Salem
• • Salem Oncology Center
• The Travel Mom: Family-Friendly Wave-Season Deals from Princess
• • The Travel Mom
  • Princess Cruises

Thursday, January 29

• The Simon & Garfunkel Story at The Sugar Land Smart Financial Center
• Former KPRC 2 reporter shares ‘With Love From Harlem’: The story behind America’s First Black power couple
• • ReShonda Tate’s new book ‘With Love from Harlem’
• American Home Buyer
• How personalized aesthetics - Botox, fillers & lasers - can help you age better
• • Anti Age Institute
• The cast of ‘Bridgerton’ takes us behind-the-scenes of the ton for season 4
• • Netflix’s Bridgerton Season 4

Wednesday, January 28

• KPRC 2’s new evening anchor Stephania Jimenez makes her Houston debut with passion and purpose
• • Follow Stephania on her KPRC 2 Instagram Account
• Cars, boats and more: What to know about this year’s Houston AutoBoative Show 2026
• • Houston Autoboative Show (Save $20 with Family Four Pack Option)
• Get a taste of Old Town Katy with Tanji Patton of Goodtaste TV
• • Goodtaste with Tanji Patton
  • Peanut Butter Pie from Southern Dough
  • Southern Dough Baking Co.
  • Humble Grounds Coffeehouse
  • Harvest Kitchen & Bakery
• A Family Business Built on Trust: Luke’s Plumbing & Air Conditioning Serves Houston for Over 30 Years
• • Luke’s Plumbing & Air Conditioning

Tuesday, January 27

• Remembering the iconic artist David Adickes on his 99th birthday and his lasting legacy in Houston
• • David Adickes Art Website
  • Follow ‘Adickes Art’ on Instagram
• Plan a Vacation Day: Experts share 2026 travel trends and how to protect your trip
• • The Travel Mom
  • Follow The Travel Mom Emily Kaufman on Instagram
  • Travel Guard Insurance
• Texans Serving Texans: Gexa Energy gives back
• • Gexa Energy
• Bill Skarsgård steps beyond horror roots in new film, ‘Dead Man’s Wire’

Monday, January 26

• Houston relationship and intimacy expert dishes on the small relationship habits that make love last
• • Houston Relationship Therapy
  • VIVID Relationships app
• Crawfish & Noodles gearing up for a busy crawfish season
• • Crawfish & Noodles
• Traveling smarter in 2026: What travel experts say to book now
• • Travel Expert Jeanenne Tornatore
  • Follow the Outside Insider on Instagram

Friday, January 23

• Discover why Sam Houston Race Park is a top spot for family outings with “Houston Life”
• • Sam Houston Race Park
  • Corgi Races
  • Shannon Jewelers Presents Diamond Dig
  • Wiener Dog Races

Thursday, January 22

• WEIGH IN: What are your must have products during a freeze?
• Cars, boats and more: What to know about this year’s Houston AutoBoative Show 2026
• • Houston Autoboative Show (Save $20 with Family Four Pack Option)
• Honoring Dr. Philip A. Salem for innovations in cancer care and research
• • Salem Oncology Center
• Bert Kreischer talks fatherhood, fame, and his new scripted comedy series, “Free Bert”
• • Netflix’s “Free Bert”
• Last chance to enjoy the Green Mountain Energy Ice at Discovery Green
• • Ice at Discovery Green

Wednesday, January 21

• Seth Rogen, Ike Barinholtz & Chase Sui Wonders chat comedy series ‘The Studio’
• • Apple Tv+’s ‘The Studio’
• Allied Outdoor Solutions
• Living Designs Furniture
• The Women’s Resource empowers women and girls through free financial and career coaching services
• • The Women’s Resource
• Houston woman helps bring Black cowboy history to PBS
• • Alma’s Way on PBS Kids
  • Black Cowboy Coalition

Friday, January 16

• School Makes You Super: KPRC-TV reporter and mom Haley Hernandez debuts first children’s book to ease school anxiety
• • Buy ‘School Makes You Super" here
• Children’s Museum Houston celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• • MLK Day Celebration at Children’s Museum Houston
• Two experts explain why Key Largo, Florida should be on your 2026 travel list
• • The Travel Mom
• The man known as “the human lie detector” works to keep serial killers behind bars
• • Killer Confessions

Thursday, January 15

• Young voices, lasting legacy: Houston students honor Dr. King in 30th Annual Oratory Competition
• • Foley MLK Jr. Oratory Competition
• Breaking through the plateau with Dr. Ian Smith’s ‘The Last 15′
• • Follow Dr. Ian Smith on Instagram
  • Purchase “The Last 15″ on Amazon
• Mindful eating tips and a pesto vinaigrette recipe to kickstart a healthier new year
• • Leaf & Grain
• Stay powered and protected with GenPro.com, Houston’s premier generator specialists
• • Call or log on to book an estimate and receive a functional mini generator worth $50 for FREE

Wednesday, January 14

• Check out the fun, food and giveaways for Houston Rockets fans this week
• • Houston Rockets Game Day Tickets
• A Kroger pharmacist’s guide to everyday wellness in 2026
• • Enter for a chance to win a Kroger gift card
  • Kroger
• Mix-MATCH Festival returns with over 20 performances celebrating Houston’s creative spirit
• • Tickets to 3rd Annual Mix-MATCH Festival
  • Daisies & Pancakes

Tuesday, January 13

• Kick off the new year with magic: Magician Curt Miller returns with his show “The Conjurer”
• • Curt Miller
  • Tickets to The Conjurer: An Intimate Magical Experience with Curt Miller
• Brad Meltzer Book Signing
• • Follow Brad Meltzer on Instagram
• Innovative Lasers of Houston

Monday, January 12

• Turn to tea this year to slow down, reset, and satisfy without regrets
• • Tea Please
• The Travel Mom: Family fun at Knott’s Berry Farm - a California getaway everyone will love
• • The Travel Mom
  • Visit Buena Park
  • Knott’s Berry Farm
• Pet adoption events for the new year at Fort Bend County Animal Services
• • Fort Bend County Animal Services
• New Year, New Smile: AI-driven smile design at Texas Dental Implant Center
• • Texas Dental Implant Center

Friday, January 9

• Shop The Sale Houston with proceeds benefitting childhood cancer research
• • The Sale Houston
• A new chapter begins: Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones chat about their new pairing
• • TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle
• Former radio personality, Sarah Pepper returns to Texas to emcee 2026 Chevron Houston Marathon
• • Follow Sarah Pepper on Instagram

Thursday, January 8

• Belle comes to Houston - Kyra Belle Johnson stars in Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ now at the Hobby Center
• • Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” Tickets at Hobby Center
• Mathew Knowles launches new Destiny’s Child nationwide tribute tour; Houston is first stop
• • Destiny’s Child: Iconic Reimagined Tribute Tickets
• Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Wednesday, January 7

• The story behind Luke’s Plumbing and Air Conditioning serving Houstonians since 1991
• • Luke’s Plumbing & Air Conditioning
• Where karaoke meets claw machines: Welcome to Klaw‑Oke Kingdom in Pearland
• • Klaw-Oke Kingdom
• Brace yourself, the 1993 Oilers vs. Bills game is featured in new docuseries ‘Don’t Call it a Comeback’
• • VICE TV’s “Don’t Call It A Comeback”
• New Year, Strong Start: EōS Fitness Experts Share Tips to Crush 2026 Goals
• • EōS Fitness

Tuesday, January 6

• Houston bagel pros talk schmear, slices and specials ahead of National Bagel Day
• • Bagel Shop Bakery
• Comedian Chinedu Ogu takes H-Town-rooted comedy on a national tour
• • Chinedu at Punch Line Houston
• Start your new year weight loss journey at Health Solutions and Weightloss
• • Health Solutions and Weightloss
• Enroll Now: Key deadlines and tips for 2026 Marketplace coverage
• • Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

Monday, January 5

• Rosca de Reyes Season is here - and this Houston bakery is busy
• • Arandas Bakery
• Damp or Dry January? These non-alcoholic wines actually taste like wine
• • Daniela Garrido | Wine and Travel Expert
• New Year, New Smile: AI-driven smile design at Texas Dental Implant Center
• • Texas Dental Implant Center
• Freeze Miser

Friday, January 2

• Tough but fair: NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas visits Houston Life
• • NBC Nightly News
  • Tom Llamas
• Tarot Card Reader Amber Ambrose
• Opening weekend kicks off at Sam Houston Race Park TODAY!
• • Sam Houston Race Park

Thursday, January 1

• New Year’s fitness made simple: Tips and a low-impact workout for beginners
• • Hoodfit
• Chantell Preston
• HiFi at The Finn

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State data shows that in April, there were nearly 500,000 fewer eligible Texans participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, than in April 2025. Enrollment has slipped since October after Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which introduced multiple restrictions on SNAP. At the end of April, Texas reported 3.1 million eligible SNAP individuals.

The greatest declines occurred in the Gulf Coast, North and South Texas regions. SNAP participation dropped between 10% and 20% in more than two-thirds of all Texas counties.

Nationally, participation dropped 10% — about 4 million fewer people — between July 2025 and February 2026, the latest data available at that level, and participation in the program fell in every state.

“We are seeing that Texas is experiencing a meaningful decline in SNAP enrollment,” said Celia Cole, chief executive officer of Feeding Texas, the state association of food banks, which has seen an increase in demand in recent months.

Pinning down the exact causes of the decline has been tricky. The state Health and Human Services Commission, the agency that distributes SNAP benefits and publishes data ahead of the federal government, does not attribute the decline to any particular factors.

“Current SNAP caseloads are part of normal fluctuations,” HHSC spokesperson Jennifer Ruffcorn told The Texas Tribune by email earlier this month.

Since the pandemic, the monthly count of Texas SNAP participants has fluctuated between 3 million and 4 million. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the SNAP program, shows that besides the partial government shutdown in 2019, Texas monthly SNAP counts have not dropped below 3 million since 2009, at the official end of the Great Recession.

A stronger economy could correspond to a SNAP drop, but federal labor statistics showed no declines in monthly state unemployment rates since January 2025.

Cole and others point to two different things, perhaps acting in concert, as the likely causes for the most recent dip.

First, there’s new stricter work requirements to qualify for SNAP. While there have always been work requirements for certain SNAP applicants, there were critical changes made last year under the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Previously, those caring for a child under 18 were exempt from work requirements. But, since December, Texas parents and household members of a dependent child age 14 or older now must work 30 hours a week or prove they are exempt. Veterans, people 24 and younger who recently aged out of foster care, and unhoused people also must now meet those work requirements.

Also, able-bodied individuals ages 18 through 65 without dependents must now work or attend a work program for at least 80 hours per month to receive benefits.

“The (new) work requirements now cut people off SNAP after three months if they can’t find consistent work,” Cole said. “And we’re seeing similar trends in other states across the country, so that just reinforces our concerns that this is about access, limited access, rather than need going down.”

Ruffcorn said the new work requirements wouldn’t explain any decline that happened before March. Because of the 3-month window for SNAP recipients to find work after the new requirement went into effect in December, HHSC wouldn’t have started kicking people off SNAP until March.

Then, there’s the increase in immigration enforcement since Trump took office. Although undocumented immigrants cannot receive benefits, their children or household members who are citizens can qualify for SNAP. Cole said some undocumented parents whose citizen children might qualify are forgoing assistance altogether because they fear giving up their information to sign up for SNAP will result in deportation.

At least 27 states, including Texas, have forwarded SNAP information to the federal Department of Homeland Security.

“We believe this decline is driven in part, at least by immigration-related fears, and confusion in mixed status families which is leading eligible citizen children to lose access even when they qualify,” Cole said.

Also, the OBBB further restricts SNAP benefits to certain lawful permanent residents and U.S citizens. No longer are those who are granted conditional entry under U.S. asylum and refugee laws able to participate in SNAP.

Together those developments — stricter work requirements and immigration fears — point to the major reason for the SNAP decline in Texas, according to Lynn Cowles, director of Health and Food Justice for Every Texan, a left-leaning public policy group.

“All of sudden we’ve seen this sharp decline that occurred across the board,” Cowles said. “And it doesn’t seem to be explained by anything else.”

Even before the new restrictions, Texas’ SNAP program has a reputation for its tougher enrollment process.

Texas is one of nine states that forces those SNAP applicants without a job or who cannot claim an exemption from work rules to attend mandatory employment and training, also known as “E&T” programs operated by the Texas Workforce Commission for HHSC.

Advocates for low income Texans say E&T is a paperwork tactic to remove whole families from the program. Most who enroll in the program do not complete it and that allows the state to penalize them by removing them from SNAP rolls. In fiscal year 2024, 245,703 SNAP eligible Texans who enrolled in the state’s E&T program did not complete it and the state removed them from SNAP.

In its own self-evaluation before the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, HHSC acknowledged that the E&T program’s “participation levels are not at acceptable levels, and sanction levels are much higher than desired.”

Also, there is another change in SNAP that could be a factor. In 2027, Texas could face paying $700 million to the federal government to participate in SNAP if it does not reduce its current error rate of 9% to 7%.

A SNAP error rate does not reflect people fraudulently obtaining benefits. Instead it’s based on unintentional mistakes by the agency or SNAP client that results in an underpayment or overpayment.

HHSC would not comment on whether more time spent scrutinizing each application to help bring down that error rate has slowed the number of applications they’re processing — a factor that could result in fewer SNAP participants.

HHSC’s rates for approving applications and renewals for SNAP in a timely manner have dropped each month this year. Those monthly rates had climbed in 2025 after being at or below 75% most months from 2022 through 2024.

“HHSC is working as quickly as possible to issue benefits to eligible Texans,” said Tiffany Young, another HHSC spokesperson. “We are currently analyzing data and determining strategies to reduce applications in the queue.”

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

In August 1972, William Greaves assembled as many artists, writers, poets, musicians and organizers from the Harlem Renaissance as he could. They came for a cocktail party at Duke Ellington’s Harlem townhouse. There, they talked about the seminal 1920s cultural movement: what they remembered, who not to forget, what it all meant.

“My father would say, ‘Capture the life that’s happening,’” David recalls.

It took more than half a century for the result to see the light of day. But 54 years after that gathering, “Once Upon a Time Harlem” screened this week at the Cannes Film Festival.

No movie in Cannes had a longer road to get here. William Greaves died in 2014 having never finished what he felt would be his most enduring work. With David ultimately stepping in as director, his family saw it through.

“It’s not the film he was thinking of in his mind,” David Greaves said in an interview by the beach in Cannes. “But it’s definitely the film he would have wanted.”

It was fitting that “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” got its moment in Cannes. William Greaves’ 1968 opus, “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One,” was rejected at the time by the festival. The experimental documentary would nevertheless grow to become revered by filmmakers, and in 2015 it was added to the National Film Registry.

Given that history, it was hard for David Greaves to summarize what it felt like to be at the festival, bringing his father’s work finally to cinema's global stage.

“It feels magical,” he said, his eyes welling up. “Even surreal.”

Now, “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” might be the nonfiction movie event of the year. Following its premiere earlier this year, Neon acquired it and is planning an awards campaign. It will play at top fall festivals. After seeing an unfinished cut of the film last year, The New Yorker’s Richard Brody called it “a film for the ages.”

Gathered that day in Harlem was a spectrum of Harlem Renaissance luminaries including the poet and novelist Arna Bontemps; the artist Romare Bearden; the actor Leigh Whipper, then 96; Ida Mae Cullen, the widow of the poet Countee Cullen; the musician Eubie Blake, the poet and painter Richard Bruce Nugent; the scholar John Henrik Clarke.

Together, they take turns reminiscing about the flourishing in Harlem — laughing, arguing over and celebrating their place in Black history. In the 1970s, it wasn’t as widely recognized. Now, the film arrives at a time when African American history is increasingly under siege in America.

For David Greaves, the definition of the Harlem Renaissance is simple: “It’s the wellspring.”

“People say: How can there be a renaissance? People without history arriving here?” he says. “I first wanted to open the film with a history stretching back to Africa. Everyone was like, ‘OK, OK, where’s the party?”

Instead, the documentary opens with a poem that Greaves felt expressed it all: Langston Hughes’ “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”

William Greaves’ original purpose with the footage was to use it for the 1974 film “From These Roots.” But he instead opted to use archival photographs. Over the years, he would return to the 1972 footage in Harlem but never shaped it into a film.

After he died in 2014 at the age of 87, his widow, Louise Archambault Greave, took up the project. She died in 2023 but not before securing funding for the restoration.

“Louise was a lock protecting the footage. She told the Smithsonian, who asked for a copy, ‘No!’” David Greaves says, laughing.

Though he was raised assisting on his father’s films, David Greaves didn’t remain in moviemaking. He co-founded and ran the progressive Brooklyn community newspaper Our Time Press. It was years before he stepped forward to direct. His daughter, Liani, is a producer.

“Louis was talking about directors. ‘Who could we get?’ I just sat there and said, ‘I don’t know,’” David Greaves says. “Then it came to a point in the editing room after she had passed, (adviser) Marcia Smith said, ‘Who’s going to direct this? Are you going to direct it?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ I couldn’t imagine anyone else directing this film. I just couldn’t do it.

David Greaves barely remembers what he shot in 1972. He's seen fleetingly in a mirror at times. But it was too long ago to really remember — longer than the time span from the Harlem Renaissance to that townhouse meeting. “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” is a luminous artifact of the past, twice over.

“Usually after seeing a movie, people say ‘Congratulations,’” says Greaves. “Here they say, ‘Thank you.’”

Greaves can hardly get the words out before the tears come streaming again. He wipes them away, lifts his head and smiles.

The renegade Republican who rose to prominence as an idiosyncratic yet consistent outlier in his party, popular in the Kentucky district that repeatedly sent him to the House, lost his primary bid for reelection Tuesday after a vicious and costly attack by President Donald Trump.

The stunning outcome caps a career like few others and shows the extent of the president’s ability to badger, badmouth and eventually boot out his political adversaries — and that no lawmaker is apparently safe. Massie's defeat comes after the Trump-led ouster of Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana over the weekend and the president's endorsement Tuesday of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his challenge to Sen. John Cornyn, which sent chills and anger through the Senate.

Trump had reserved his fiercest attacks for Massie, a quirky conservative who had become among the most powerful rank-and-file Republicans in the House because of his willingness to vote as he pleased, rather than as the party demanded. And now he's been toppled like so many other Republicans who crossed the president.

Massie was undaunted after losing to Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL handpicked by Trump.

“If the legislative branch always votes with the president, we do have a king,” Massie told cheering supporters Tuesday night. But if lawmakers follow the Constitution, he said, “we have a republic.”

Massie also teased that his political career may not be over quite yet during the closing moments of his concession speech, as a raucous crowd broke into chants of “2028!” and “President!”

“You’ve made a compelling argument,” he replied. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Trump said of Massie’s defeat: “He deserves to lose.”

Massie's rise from backbench to prominence to defeat

Massie rose from the House Republican backbench, charting his own path and showing again and again he was willing to buck his party and the president.

He voted against Trump’s big tax cuts bill last year, worried the several trillion-dollar costs would add to the nation’s deficits.

He rejected Trump’s military forays against Iran and Venezuela, opposed to U.S. intervention overseas, and he routinely voted against U.S. foreign aid, including to Israel, drawing millions of dollars against him from pro-Israel interest groups.

And perhaps most remarkably, Massie, in partnership with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, persisted in a long-shot effort to force the Justice Department’s release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

It was his work on the Epstein files, perhaps more than any of his repeated votes against spending bills and other party priorities, that elevated Massie's profile.

Khanna said on X that Massie “lost because he had the guts to stand up to the Epstein class and against the war.”

Trump lashed out at the “lowlife” Massie as the congressman pushed the issue last year, prolonging a political concern for the White House — a phrase the president repeated Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters as he prepared to travel to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to deliver a commencement address, Trump celebrated the “great number of victories."

“Not just Massie. Massie’s a low life,” Trump said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he wasn't surprised that Massie lost, noting the power of the president's endorsements.

“We don't demand loyalty to the president,” said Johnson, R-La. But he said the GOP needs people “who are not, you know, trying to carve out their own lane.”

Off the grid and into Congress

First elected in 2012, at the tail end of the GOP tea party wave before Trump’s Make America Great Again movement burst onto the scene, Massie stood out from the start.

An engineer by training, Massie designed several patents — some on display in his office — as well as a debt calculator that blinks in flashing red numerals as the nation’s deficits pile up. He often wears a miniature version of the debt calculator as a lapel pin.

He married his high school sweetheart, Rhonda, and joined her at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They raised their four children living largely off the grid in a solar-power home he designed himself, making him something of a legend among a generation of do-it-yourselfers. He raised cattle, drove an early Tesla and drank raw milk.

Inspired by fellow Kentuckian Rand Paul after having put up lawn signs for the senator’s election, the libertarian-leaning Massie ran for office himself.

Once he won his own House seat, Massie declined to join the newly forming Freedom Caucus, his own far-right views not fully aligning with the conservative coalition. He voted against Johnson, at the start of this session, for House speaker.

Trump attacked Massie early and often

Trump set his sights on Massie in 2020 during his first presidential term, when the congressman dared to object to a $2.2 trillion aid package to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

At the time, Massie refused to allow the COVID-19 package to be approved without a formal roll call, forcing hundreds of lawmakers back to the Capitol. Trump called him a “third rate Grandstander.”

Trump did not let up his criticisms, even after Massie's wife died in 2024. Massie announced in 2025 that he had remarried, after proposing to Carolyn Grace Moffa, a former Paul staffer, on the steps of the Library of Congress. He said they planned to live on the farm.

The president suggested that Massie got remarried too quickly, writing on social media that “his wife will soon find out that she’s stuck with a LOSER!”

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Associated Press reporters Michelle L. Price in Washington and Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa contributed to this report.

While many people across the U.S. lost their jobs over social media comments about Kirk’s death, Larry Bushart’s case stood out as a rare instance in which such online speech led to criminal prosecution. The 61-year-old retired police officer spent 37 days behind bars before authorities dropped the felony charge against him in October.

During his time in jail, Bushart lost his postretirement job and missed his wedding anniversary and the birth of his granddaughter, according to a federal lawsuit Bushart filed in December against Perry County, its sheriff and the investigator who obtained the arrest warrant.

“I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated,” Bushart said in a statement announcing the settlement Wednesday. “The people’s freedom to participate in civil discourse is crucial to a healthy democracy. I am looking forward to moving on and spending time with my family.”

Perry County Mayor John Carroll did not immediately respond to a Wednesday message left with his office seeking an interview.

Bushart was arrested in September after he refused to take down Facebook memes that joked about Kirk’s killing, which had prompted an outpouring of grief among conservatives, including in Perry County, which is near Bushart's home and which held a candlelight vigil.

The meme Bushart posted that prompted his arrest read: “This seems relevant today...” and featured President Donald Trump and the words, “We have to get over it.” That quote, the meme explained, was said by Trump in 2024 after a school shooting at Iowa’s Perry High School.

Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems told news outlets that most of Bushart’s “hate memes” were lawful free speech, but residents were alarmed by the school shooting post, fearing Bushart was threatening a local school, also called Perry County High School, even though Weems said he knew the meme referred to a school in Iowa.

“Investigators believe Bushart was fully aware of the fear his post would cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria within the community,” Weems said in a statement to The Tennessean last year.

Bushart's bail was set at $2 million before he was released as the case drew national attention.

“It’s in times of turmoil and heightened tensions that our national commitment to free speech is tested the most,” said Cary Davis, an attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which helped represent Bushart. “When government officials fail that test, the Constitution exists to hold them accountable. Our hope is that Larry’s settlement sends a message to law enforcement across the country: Respect the First Amendment today, or be prepared to pay the price tomorrow.”

Wednesday morning brought widespread heavy rain across the region, with many communities picking up 2 to 4 inches of rainfall. The heaviest totals were focused across Brazoria and Matagorda counties, where some locations saw 6 to 9 inches of rain in less than 12 hours.

That rainfall is becoming increasingly important because soils across the region are starting to saturate.

When the ground becomes soaked, it loses the ability to efficiently absorb additional rainfall. That lowers the threshold for flooding, meaning it will not take as much rain to create issues on roads, in neighborhoods, and near bayous and creeks.

Unfortunately, this pattern is far from over.

Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected through the holiday weekend, and many areas could receive an additional 4 to 5 inches of rain on top of what has already fallen.

While not every community will see flooding, conditions are becoming more favorable for flash flooding and rising water issues, especially in low-lying and flood-prone locations.

Drivers should remain especially cautious over the next several days. Flooding remains one of the deadliest weather hazards in Texas, and many flood-related deaths happen in vehicles after drivers attempt to cross water-covered roads.

It only takes about 12 inches of moving water to carry away a vehicle.

The biggest takeaway heading into the weekend is to allow extra travel time, stay weather aware, and never drive through flooded roadways. If you encounter water covering a road, turn around and find another route.

Stay with KPRC 2 for the latest forecast updates throughout the Memorial Day weekend.

Our forecast indicates widespread amounts of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated areas north of I-10 potentially receiving over 7 inches. Because we expect multiple rounds of rain, the ground will become saturated quickly, increasing the risk for runoff and street flooding.

In addition to the heavy rain, some storms Thursday and Friday morning could be strong to severe, capable of producing hail and strong wind gusts. Please stay weather aware this week and ensure you have multiple ways to receive weather alerts. Our weather app is a great place to start.

Round #2 Thursday:

This is where the timing gets tough. Because we are tracking small areas of low pressure, called short waves, they usually don’t show up on our micro cast models until 24 hours out.

So, for now the general timing is Thursday morning into lunchtime. The important thing to keep in mind is we have another street flooding threat. This is because we have seen so much rain in some spots over the past 2 days, the ground has become saturated and cannot take much more rain before having some flooding issues.

Round #3 Friday:

Similar to Thursday the timing and placement of the storms is unknown. But with the pattern we have, another flood threat is with us. If we had to give you a time I’d say late morning to early afternoon. Please check back for updates to the timing.

Saturday through Memorial Day Monday:

There is a chance of storms and heavy rain every day through Memorial Day. In fact, we’ve had to move our rain chances up to between 60-70% so indoor plans are a safe bet for your weekend plans.

After Memorial Day we may be looking at rain totals for the entire 7-days ranging from 3″-7″!

Customers spent money across all of Target’s main merchandising categories and helped deliver better-than-expected sales. Comparable sales — those coming from stores and digital channels operating for at least 12 months, rose 5.6% in the three-month period ended May 2. It was the biggest gain since early 2022, and the first positive read after three consecutive quarters of negative comparable sales.

Target raised its annual revenue outlook, saying it expected momentum to continue the rest of the year. Yet the upgraded sales expectations were still below the pace of the first quarter and investors reacted negatively.

Shares fell 5% Wednesday.

CEO Michael Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran who took over in February, said he remained guardedly optimistic given where the company is in its operational overhaul.

“We’re encouraged to see a strong guest response so far,” Fiddelke said, adding: “We’re maintaining a cautious outlook given the work we know we have in front of us and ongoing uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment.”

In March, Fiddelke unveiled a $6 billion plan to reverse three straight years of sales declines. Target said it would remodel stores as part of an attempt to reclaim its reputation for stylish clothing on a budget, while it improved staffing and worker training.

New collaborations with labels like Roller Rabbit, an apparel and home goods brand known for its whimsical, block-print designs, resonated with shoppers, according to Target.

Target is one of the first big retailers to report financial results and industry analysts are watching closely to determine whether surging gasoline prices due to the Iran war have altered consumer behavior.

The chain was struggling long before the U.S. and Iran attacked Iran in February, however. Customers complained of disheveled stores that lacked the fashionable yet affordable niche that had earned Target the nickname “Tarzhay.”

Fiddelke reshuffled the leadership team at Target and on Tuesday, Target named a former Walmart executive as its new head of supply chain, another problematic area.

Some of Target's problems were self-inflicted. Its decision to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives led to protests and boycotts. And this winter, Target stores became another flashpoint with a federal immigration crackdown in its own hometown of Minneapolis.

Fiddelke acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press in early March that boycotts had taken a toll, but said this week that increased store traffic in the first quarter was broad-based. He noted that more shoppers are picking Target more often, and “that’s a positive sign.”

Analysts, however, say Target's first-quarter performance offers a positive sign for the company.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, wrote that the results “represent an early win for Michael Fiddelke and his team.”

Saunders believes Target's lackluster sales had more to do with failing on execution than being caught up in cultural crosshairs like DEI.

“As important as that matter is, and as much as it does have some impact, it has never been the main issue,” Saunders wrote.

Target posted first-quarter earnings of $781 million, or $1.71 per share, for the three-month period ended May 2. That easily topped the $1.47 per share that analysts had expected, according to FactSet, but it was down from $1.04 billion during the same time last year.

Net sales rose 6.7% to $25.44 billion, also topping expectations.

For the full year, Target said it expected earnings per share near the high end of $7.50 to $8.50, the guidance it offered in March. Analysts are expecting $8.12 per share for the year, according to FactSet.

Target said it now expects net sales growth to be up 4% for the year, up from the previous forecast of 2%. That would bring sales to $108.97 billion.

The San Antonio Spurs — and this season's unanimous Defensive Player of the Year pick in Wembanyama — are headed to Europe next season for a pair of regular-season games. They'll play the New Orleans Pelicans, first in Paris on Jan. 14 and then in Manchester, England, on Jan. 17.

Wembanyama and the Spurs played a pair of games in Paris in January 2025, with tickets for those matchups against the Indiana Pacers getting snapped up quickly.

“Always looking forward to expanding the game and being part of the cool process of being able to play outside the country," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said this week when asked about his team returning to France next season.

Wednesday's announcement comes with the NBA and FIBA, the sport's global governing body, deep into plans for a new league that could start play in Europe as early as the fall of 2027. Paris and Manchester are on the list of cities expected to have teams in that league.

The Spurs, tapping into the massive global appeal that follows Wembanyama, have maintained a near-constant presence in France since landing the 7-foot-4 center with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft.

Earlier this season, the team debuted "Spurs Week Paris” to bring elements of its business and fan experience from San Antonio directly to French fans, with a retail pop-up shop, a court renovation, free youth clinics, a professional development program for French women working in sports and a watch party.

This trip for the Spurs and Pelicans will include similar elements, with plans for those days in Europe already scheduled to include youth basketball clinics, coach and referee development programming and interactive fan events.

And it will be the second visit for a New Orleans team to Paris in a three-month span. The NFL's Saints will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Paris on Oct. 25, that league's first regular-season game in France.

“Together with the Saints playing in Paris next season, the opportunity for the Pelicans to play internationally in Paris and Manchester represents another significant step in strengthening our organization’s cultural and economic ties in these regions," said Pelicans governor Gayle Benson, who also owns the Saints.

The NBA revealed last year that it planned to play at least six regular-season games in Europe over three seasons. That started with a pair of games between the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic this past January, in Berlin and London. The games in the 2027-28 season will take place in Berlin and Paris, with teams to be announced.

Jamahl Mosley coached Orlando in those Grizzlies-Magic games; he'll return to Europe next season, this time as the coach of the Pelicans.

“Playing games in Paris and Manchester reflects the strong momentum we’re seeing for basketball and the NBA in France, the U.K. and across Europe,” George Aivazoglou, the NBA’s managing director for Europe and the Middle East, said in a statement.

“As interest in the game continues to grow across the continent, we look forward to working with the Pelicans, the Spurs and our partners to deliver unique experiences for fans, aspiring players and the local communities.”

The NBA will be playing a regular-season game in Paris for the sixth time and playing in France for the 16th time since 1991. The league is going to Manchester for the second time — the first for a regular season game — and to England for the 20th time since 1993.

___

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

We’re tracking a flash flood warning for parts of Brazoria until 12:30pm as we track more rain and thunderstorms this morning before getting a break this afternoon.

You can track radar before you leave your house here to plan your commute today:

What you need to know:

• Isolated strong to severe storms are possible through your morning commute
• Thunderstorms, downpours and gusty winds still possible this morning
• Southeast Texas could pick up 1-3 inches of rain Tuesday into Wednesday, with even more rain to follow all week.

Wednesday Morning:

After a good soaking from anywhere from 2″-9″ along the Brazoria coastline, we’ll slowly see rain taper off this afternoon but roads will stay wet through early afternoon.

And don’t put up your umbrella because we have more rain headed our way overnight tonight into next week.

Into Memorial Day Weekend:

With daily rain chances over the next 7 days, some areas north of Harris County see more than 5-7 inches of rain! Watch for street flooding, especially in low-lying areas with poor drainage. In addition, some areas that see multiple waves of rain may become saturated and can’t take on more water, thus posing a flood threat.

Rain chances are still on the board for Memorial Day Weekend. We will have an updated timeline to help you better plan your outdoor events throughout this week so check back in often.

Your 10 Day Forecast:

Temperatures will be a touch lower starting Wednesday as rain chances rise. With several rounds of storms in the works, keep your eye on Storm Tracker 2 radar and check Click2Houston for the latest updates. Hopefully, you have our app, which will tell you when rain is headed toward you.

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

They accounted for 35% of all homebuyers in their generation, while single Gen Z men represented 18%, according to survey data from the National Association of Realtors.

NAR surveyed people who bought a home between July 2024 and June 2025. The survey included homebuyers from several generations, from Gen Z, ages 18-26, to the Silent Generation, ages 80 to 100. No other generation had a bigger share of single women homebuyers than Gen Z.

Overall Gen Zers, which the survey defines as those born between 1999 and 2011, still only made up 4% of all homebuyers during the survey period. And at the time of the survey, the share of U.S. homes bought by first-time buyers of all ages sank to the lowest level on record going back to 1981.

First-time buyers often don’t have equity from a previous home to put toward a down payment. That was the situation for Bri LaFluer. After years of socking away half her pay, working two jobs and aided by a slowing housing market, she bought her own home in 2023 at the age of 24.

“I’ve always been a really independent person and I just wanted my own place to have peace and quiet by myself,” said LaFluer, now 27.

Her home search began in 2021, but historically low mortgage rates made the market ultra competitive, which turbocharged prices. Two years later she finally landed a house in Baldwinsville, N.Y., about 15 miles from Syracuse, that was built in 1900 and has three bedrooms and 1.5-baths and a big yard. She got it for $175,000.

“I feel like it was meant to be and this just ended up being the perfect house for me and my dogs,” she said.

A content creator for a video game company, LaFluer lived with her mom and paid a modest rent, which helped her save up faster for the $20,000 down payment.

The NAR survey data are the latest sign that single women overall are becoming homeowners at greater rates than single men. Gen Z homebuyers are much more likely than homebuyers in all other generations to be unmarried. But single women across the generations made up a quarter of all homebuyers in the July 2024-June 2025 period, according to NAR. Single men, meanwhile, accounted for 11% of all home purchases.

This has been a longstanding trend going back at least to 1981. In 2006, at the height of the mid-2000s housing boom, the share of homes bought by single women peaked at 22%, according to NAR. For single men, their share of homeownership peaked at 12% in 2010.

Experts say there is no one-size-fits-all answer to why across the generations single women outnumber single men as homeowners.

Women now are outpacing men in college attendance, which can lead to higher incomes, said Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist.

They tend to have a strong desire for homeownership as a way to secure their independence, something they historically could not easily do alone.

“It wasn’t until the 1970s where women were legally protected to have a mortgage on their own,” Lautz said. “And they have embraced this and been very strongly embracing this.”

Aspiring Gen Z homeowners face a number of challenges to affording a home: They’re typically just getting started in their careers, with their best income-earning years ahead. They are unlikely to be married and may have student loans to pay off.

Their median annual income of $76,000, as of 2024, also was the lowest compared to homebuyers from all other generations, according to NAR.

Years of soaring home prices have further stretched the limits of affordability. While home price growth has slowed and prices have fallen in many metro areas, prices are mostly still rising. The median U.S. home sales price stood at $417,700 last month, up 0.9% from a year earlier, according to NAR.

Still, Gen Z homebuyers are also more likely to receive financial help from family, and many are savvy about looking into community grants or other payment assistance programs for first-time homebuyers. And 1 in 10 tapped their 401(k) retirement savings plan to put toward their down payment, according to NAR.

Other home shoppers have no recourse but to save up on their own.

That's what Mariah Berry focused on when many of her fellow college grads were going out and living it up.

“I did not go out and was driving an old beat-up car,” said Berry, a social media content creator. “It was not fun.”

The penny-pinching paid off in 2023, when Berry bought her two-bedroom, one-bath home in Charleston, Tennessee, a small town about 45 miles outside of Chattanooga. She was just 23.

Berry had always wanted to be a homeowner, but the goal took on more urgency after a period when she and her boyfriend were bouncing between living in short-term rentals or couch surfing with friends.

Berry got her home, one of two units in a ranch-style duplex, for $218,000. She financed the balance after making a $7,000 down payment with a 30-year mortgage at 6% interest.

“I do think it’s pretty frickin’ awesome that I’m a homeowner and that I became a homeowner at 23,” she said. “I will say that after I put in the offer, I wanted to puke. I was like, ’Oh my God, did I do the right thing?'”

Berry's now looking at the possibility of buying the other half of the duplex some day.

“That could be a good opportunity for us to have and like rent out half of it," she said.

Putin and Xi oversaw the signing of more than 40 cooperation agreements in areas such as trade, technology and media exchanges. They stressed their growing trade, particularly in oil and natural gas, and declared themselves aligned on international relations.

The countries’ ties have reached “the highest level in history,” Xi said after the signing ceremony, speaking to members of the delegations and journalists. The two sides also agreed to extend a friendship treaty first signed in 2001.

Putin told those in the room that "the driving force behind economic cooperation is Russian-Chinese collaboration in the energy sector.”

“Amid the crisis in the Middle East, Russia continues to maintain its role as a reliable supplier of resources, while China remains a responsible consumer of these resources," Putin added, an apparent reference to the U.S. war in Iran.

Xi stressed the need for a “complete cessation of hostilities” in the Middle East, according to Chinese state media.

“An early end to the conflict will help reduce disruptions to energy supply stability, the smooth flow of industrial and supply chains, and international trade order,” Xi said.

In the evening, Xi and Putin had a conversation over tea in the Great Hall of the People, where the Chinese leader expressed confidence in continuing to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, according to state media. Putin later left for the airport and departed on his official plane.

A growing trade relationship

China became Russia’s top trading partner after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Beijing has said it is neutral in the conflict while maintaining trade ties with the Kremlin despite economic and financial sanctions by the U.S. and Europe.

China is also the top customer for Russian oil and gas supplies, and Moscow expects the war in Iran to increase the demand. There was no visible progress, however, on the prospective Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline that Russia has pushed to boost exports to China.

A Russian presidential aide said earlier that Russia’s oil exports to China grew by 35% in the first quarter of 2026 and that Russia is one of the biggest exporters of natural gas to China.

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached around $228 billion in 2025, according to Xinhua news agency.

Xi said trade in areas like energy served as "stabilizing pillars” of the relationship and pledged to accelerate cooperation in other areas, like artificial intelligence, the digital economy and technological innovation.

Xi and Putin show a united front on international affairs

The trip comes just days after Trump’s own visit to Beijing -– in a sequence that is meant to cement China’s image as an influential superpower, experts say.

“The message is clearly one that China maintains friendship and strategic partnership with whichever power it likes, and the USA is just one of them,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.

Putin also described China and Russia’s cooperation in foreign policy as “one of the key stabilizing factors on the international stage.”

“In the current tense situation on the international stage, our close cooperation is particularly in demand,” he said.

Xi also repeated criticisms of “unilateralism and hegemonism,” in what appeared to be a veiled reference to U.S. actions. He said “the world faces the danger of reverting to the law of the jungle.”

In February 2022, just weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China and Russia announced a “no limits” partnership during a trip by Putin to Beijing.

Beijing says it is neutral in the conflict, though in practice it supports Moscow through frequent state visits, growing trade and joint military drills. China has also ignored demands from the West to stop providing high-tech components for Russia’s weapons industries.

Putin invited Xi to visit Russia in 2027 and said he would take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November in southern China.

Xi and Putin praise each other as ‘friends’

Both Putin and Xi continued to praise their close personal ties.

“My dear friend,” Putin said as he greeted Xi. “We are truly delighted to see you. We keep in constant touch, both personally and through our aides in the government.”

Xi also addressed Putin as “my longtime friend” at the start of their talks and said it was important to build upon “the foundation of mutual trust” between the countries. The two leaders have praised each other profusely in the past, with Xi at one point describing Putin as his “best and most intimate friend.”

Putin and Xi both need to use their close ties in order to prop up their images at home, said Willy Lam, a senior China fellow at the Jamestown Foundation.

Putin “needs to tell his countrymen and the world that Russia has China’s support in terms of buying its oil and gas and other tangible and intangible financial support,” Lam said.

Meanwhile, for Xi, having both Trump and Putin visit in such close succession is a major source of credit with the country’s top Communist leadership.

___

Mistreanu reported from Bangkok.

The announcement was made after a last-minute government-mediated negotiation with management over how much bonus payouts must be provided to employees to reflect soaring profits fueled by the global boom in artificial intelligence.

Union leader Choi Seung-ho told a televised briefing that the union agreed not to go ahead with an 18-day strike that he earlier said would start from Thursday. He said union members will vote on the tentative agreement from May 22-27.

“We would like to express our apologies to the people for causing concerns due to our internal conflicts,” Choi said. “The agreement is the result of our all-out struggle spanning about six months.”

Choi’s negotiating partner and senior Samsung official, Yeo Myounggoo, told the briefing that the company hopes that the agreement will be a starting point for more stable relations with the union.

“The company will faithfully implement the terms of this agreement and will make its utmost efforts to promote labor–management cooperation,” he said.

Government officials earlier had threatened to invoke rarely used emergency powers to force a settlement at Samsung, as its union’s strike was feared to rattle global semiconductor supplies and the country’s trade-dependent economy. The union represents more than 70,000 workers.

Earlier Wednesday, the union and the management held each other responsible for a failure to reach a deal, after their previous round of negotiation ended without a breakthrough. Choi accused management of refusing to accept a government-mediated proposal whose details he refused to disclose. The management accused the union of calling for excessive compensation packages for workers at loss-making units.

Samsung and its cross-town rival, SK Hynix, together produce about two-thirds of the world’s memory chips, which are seeing surging demand driven by AI. Samsung said last month its operating profit for the January-March quarter jumped eightfold to a record 57.2 trillion won ($38 billion).

Union leaders have demanded a compensation structure in which Samsung would commit to spend 15% of its annual operating profit on employee bonuses and scrap bonus caps, which are currently set at 50% of annual salaries. The company says the demands are excessive, citing the highly cyclical nature of the semiconductor business.

Samsung and union leaders did not immediately confirm the details of their tentative agreement. Yeo suggested that the company had agreed to union demands to extend bonuses beyond its lucrative memory division to less profitable units.

“For example, we need to invest in the future of both our memory and foundry businesses. These engineers all work in semiconductor production, and we discussed ways to better motivate them,” he said.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, the government’s No. 2 official after President Lee Jae Myung, said in a televised statement Sunday that the strike could cause up to 100 trillion won ($66 billion) in economic damage by disrupting Samsung’s highly complex semiconductor manufacturing processes.

The planned strike could potentially have had a major global impact.

Given that supply in the global memory semiconductor market is struggling to keep up with demand, the Samsung strike would have been expected to further drive up prices and push back AI infrastructure investments in other countries, said Lee Jun, an expert at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade.

The strike could have hurt operations of Samsung’s production of smartphones and other consumer electronics as well, observers say.

A local court on Monday partially granted the company’s request for an injunction against the planned strike, ruling that the union must maintain certain staffing levels to prevent damage to facilities and materials and ensure safe operations. The Suwon District Court also barred unionists from occupying key facilities and offices.

A group have already targeted the upcoming clay-court tournament for reducing players’ share of revenue to an alleged 14.3% — compared to 22% at other ATP and WTA events.

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and No.4 Coco Gauff were among leading players who threatened a boycott of the Slams earlier this month if they don’t start receiving more compensation.

L'Equipe newspaper reported Wednesday that many players competing at Roland Garros, which begins Sunday, are planning to limit their conversations with reporters to 15 minutes during Friday's traditional pre-tournament media day.

The French tennis federation (FFT), which organizes the French Open, said in a statement to The Associated Press that it regrets the players' initiative “which penalizes all stakeholders involved in the tournament: the media, broadcasters, federation staff and the entire tennis community that enthusiastically follows each edition of Roland Garros.”

Sabalenka and fellow No. 1 Jannik Sinner were among leading players — most of them ranked in the top 10 — who earlier this month issued a statement expressing “deep disappointment” over French Open prize money.

The players are also seeking better representation, health options and pensions from the four Grand Slam tournaments: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

Roland Garros organizers announced last month they were increasing overall prize money by about 10% for an overall pot of 61.7 million euros ($72.1 million), with the total amount up 5.3 million euros from last year. But the players said “the underlying figures tell a very different story,” claiming they will receive a smaller share of tournament revenues.

The FFT said it will continue to maintain an open dialogue, adding that it proposed a meeting expected to take place Friday with the players and their representatives.

“The FFT is ready for direct and constructive discussions on governance issues, with the aim of giving players a greater role in decision-making, contributing to players’ social protection, and evolving the distribution of value, and it put forward several proposals in this direction during the meeting,” it said.

The players claim their share of Roland Garros revenue has declined from 15.5% in 2024 to 14.9% projected in 2026. They say the event generated 395 million euros in 2025, a 14% year-on-year increase, yet prize money rose by just 5.4%, reducing players’ share of revenue to 14.3%.

“With estimated revenues of over 400 million euros for this year’s tournament, prize money as a percentage of revenue will likely still be less than 15%, far short of the 22% that players have requested to bring the Grand Slams into line with the ATP and WTA Combined 1000 events,” the players said.

The Australian Open this year increased the players’ compensation by 16%, and the U.S. Open prize money last year went up by 20%.

The singles champions at Roland Garros will each receive 2.8 million euros, an increase of 250,000 euros compared with 2025.

“Beyond the prize money, a Grand Slam tournament like Roland Garros offers players exceptional exposure, generating indirect income through sponsorships, partnerships, exhibitions and appearance fees,” the FFT said.

“This year the French Tennis Federation also chose to direct a significant portion of these increases toward players eliminated in the early rounds of the main draw and qualifying rounds, with increases of more than 11%, in order to better support those who depend most on tournament earnings to finance their season.”

___

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

The win locked Naegohyang into another match in South Korea, a final Saturday against Tokyo Verdy Beleza, which defeated Melbourne City 3-1 in the other semifinal of the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League.

“I trusted our team’s strength. If all of us stay united firmly as one, neither the semifinals nor the final would be a problem for us,” said Naegohyang goal-scorer Choi Kum Ok.

While athletes from North and South Korea have previously competed on combined teams and marched together in Olympic ceremonies during periods of warmer ties, such exchanges have largely disappeared in recent years as relations between the rivals deteriorated over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

Naegohyang has drawn intense media attention since its 39 players and staff arrived in South Korea on Sunday on a flight from China.

North Korea last sent athletes to the South in December 2018 for a table tennis event, part of a brief period of diplomatic engagement that included the participation of North Korean athletes and a high-level delegation at that year’s Winter Olympics in the South.

The brief period of inter-Korean detente collapsed after U.S.-led negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear program broke down in 2019 amid disputes over international sanctions.

Since then, North Korea has conducted a flurry of weapons tests aimed at expanding its nuclear arsenal and rejected South Korean and U.S. efforts to revive diplomacy.

Hundreds show up in rain-soaked match

The liberal government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, which has pushed for improved ties with North Korea, said it would financially support civic groups that had planned to organize a 3,000-member squad to cheer both sides at Wednesday’s match.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether that many people showed up for the rain-soaked match, although at least hundreds filled the stands in raincoats, pounding balloon sticks and loudly chanting “Naegohyang” to drumbeats, appearing especially enthusiastic about the North Korean team.

Some held signs reading “We welcome the Naegohyang Women’s FC team” and other similar messages.

Ri Yu Il, Naegohyang’s coach, brushed aside questions about South Korean supporters cheering for his team, saying at a Tuesday news conference that he and his players were focused “solely on tomorrow’s match and the match after that.”

North Korea is a powerhouse in women’s soccer and the defending Under-17 and Under-20 World Cup champion. While Ri’s team defeated Suwon 3-0 in the group stage in Myanmar in November, Wednesday’s match was much more closely contested and forced his team to stage a comeback.

North Koreans rally

Naegohyang played aggressively out of the gate, pressing Suwon’s defense early with long passes and runs on the flanks, but struggled to finish and had an offside goal disallowed in the fourth minute.

Suwon responded with counterattacks as the North Koreans struggled to clear crosses into the box, with a header from home forward Haruhi Suzuki bouncing off a post in the 21st.

Teammate Milena Barreto de Oliveira squandered another chance in the 30th when her close-range attempt also struck the post.

Suzuki gave Suwon the lead in the 49th, pouncing on a deflected ball in the box and chipping it past Naegohyang goalkeeper Pak Ju Gyong.

Naegohyang equalized five minutes later when Choe Kum Ok headed in from a set piece, then grabbed the lead in the 67th after Kim Kyong Yong collected a high-arching clearance from a Suwon defender to nod home.

Suwon had an opportunity to tie the match in the 79th but Ji So-Yun's penalty went wide.

Naegohyang will return to the Suwon Sports Complex on Saturday for the final.

— Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea. AP writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed from Seoul.

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

In Harris County, you can go to any one of the 48 different voting centers.

Remember, if you voted in the Democratic or Republican primary in March, you have to vote in that same primary in the runoff election.

• Early voting begins today for Texas primary runoff election

The Harris County Clerk, Teneshia Hudspeth, says this is another very important election you do not want to miss.

“We have everything from the top of the ticket here in the state of Texas to the very bottom, some races have the senate race on there, attorney general race, and as you get down further in the ballot, you have your congressional members, Congressional 18 has been a long, long race, there’s also your district clerk who handles jury duty, ” says Hudspeth.

And Hudspeth adds, do not be discouraged by voter fatigue.

Harris County has held eight elections in the last eight months, which means there’s been an election every month since last October.

In May, there have been three alone.

“This has been a marathon, and voters are confused, they’re tired, they are wondering what we are voting for now? So stay the course because this is really the last opportunity to make your voice heard to determine who’s going to be on the ballot in November,” says Hudspeth.

And know before you go! Print out a sample ballot to take with you: What’s on my Ballot?

Make sure to bring your identification and know your voting location.

Go to www.harrisvotes.com for more information.

Remember, Election Day is Tuesday, May 26.

In a Republican-led Congress defined by deference to President Donald Trump, there's a small but steadily growing cohort who have found themselves more willing to break with the White House. Although the president maintains a firm grip on Republican voters, the expanding club could hinder his agenda on everything from the Iran war to immigration funding at a moment when his party holds a tenuous majority on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is the newest member of the club. Just days after losing his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, Cassidy on Tuesday reversed himself on legislation involving the war in Iran and voted with Democrats to rein in U.S. military action.

“The way our Constitution is set up, Congress should hold the executive branch accountable,” he told reporters the day before.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas could be next after Trump endorsed Ken Paxton, Cornyn's rival for the Republican nomination in next week's runoff.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is perhaps a founding member of the YOLO caucus — slang for “you only live once,” used to punctuate unbothered or even foolhardy behavior. He frustrated Trump since the president's first term, and his status was solidified after losing his primary on Tuesday to a Trump-backed challenger. Massie has enraged Trump by voting against his signature tax and spending bill and by pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

He hinted there's more to come before he leaves office.

“I got seven months left in Congress,” Massie said with a grin during his concession speech as the crowd erupted.

More Republicans feel free to shrug off Trump

Other similarly situated Republicans include Sen. Thom Tillis, who was a fierce critic of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has more recently turned his attention to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. There’s also Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who joined Democrats last week in a bid to curb Trump’s war powers in Iran. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have voted against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks. And in the House, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska has pushed to reclaim congressional power over tariffs.

“If the legislative branch always votes with the president, we do have a king,” Massie said in his concession speech Tuesday.

This hardly amounts to a revival of the Never Trump movement that some Republicans unsuccessfully hoped would curb the president's excesses during his first term or block him from returning to office. Many in the party, including Trump's occasional detractors, have either stood by or been unable to block the president as he launched the war in Iran and presided over an aggressive immigration enforcement operation and the dismantling of the federal workforce.

Today's unencumbered Republicans don't fit into an ideological box. But they are united by a sense of emboldening that can only be attained in a few ways in Trump's Washington.

Many, like Tillis, McConnell and Bacon, have decided to retire and can cast votes knowing they'll never again have to face Republican primary voters. Others like Collins and Murkowski have more leeway because they represent states that tend to reward political independence. And some like Massie banked on the idea that voters could support both Trump and someone who occasionally crossed him.

It's a paradox for Trump. As he demands total loyalty and pushes out Republican dissenters, he's left with a growing cohort who, for one reason or another, owe Trump nothing.

Democrats look to capitalize

That could be a problem for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who are already governing with threadbare majorities. Shifting loyalties of even a few Republican lawmakers could dramatically complicate the ability for either chamber to pass substantial legislation ahead of the November midterm elections.

Thune called Cornyn a “principled conservative” and “very effective senator” on Tuesday.

“None of us control what the president does,” he said.

The next tests could come later this week as Thune pushes a funding package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection designed to pass on a party line basis.

Democrats are eager to pounce.

Speaking at an event in Washington on Tuesday sponsored by the Center for American Progress, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he would aim to drive a wedge between Republicans by using a so-called discharge petition to bring issues directly to the floor for a vote.

That tactic has been successful in securing House passage on issues ranging from the Epstein files to temporary protection of Haitian immigrants.

“When we're disciplined and when we're focused and when we put pressure in particular on the so-called swing seat Republicans, they have been breaking with us,” Jeffries said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters on Tuesday that Trump's endorsement of Cornyn's rival was a sign that his political power lies within the Republican base — not the American public at large.

“He’s showed the only influence he has, and that’s an outsize influence within the base of the party,” the potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender said. “Otherwise he’s shown little to no influence with the American people.”

Counting the votes

That leaves Republicans gaming out how they might cobble together the votes needed to pass legislation.

Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota called Cassidy a “good friend” and said the loss was “tough for him.” He said Cassidy “will always vote in line with what he thinks is best” but doubted he will become a less reliable Republican vote.

His fellow Louisianan, Sen. John Kennedy, said Cassidy deploys power “rationally and maturely” and “will continue to do the same thing.”

Cassidy repeatedly rejected the notion that he will spend his final months in Washington as a troublemaker for Trump, saying he's going to do “what's good for my country and my state.”

Yet the independent streak that ended his political career quickly resurfaced. A week after Trump visited China, Cassidy spoke of a western alliance that's “totally falling apart” and will be unable to “push back on the threat China represents.” He seemed stunned that the administration would create a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who they believe have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted.

“I just came off the campaign trail,” he said. “People are concerned about making their own ends meet, not about putting a slush fund together without a legal precedent.”

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Associated Press writer Stephen Groves in Washington contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that the fund intended to compensate Trump allies is valued at nearly $1.8 billion, not nearly $1.8 trillion. It's also been corrected to reflect the proper name of Customs and Border Protection.

About 6 in 10 Republicans approve of how Trump is handling the economy, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That's down from about 8 in 10 in February, before the war began.

The poll comes as the war with Iran fuels higher gasoline prices, while the U.S. and Iran struggle to move toward a permanent ceasefire. Trump’s hold on the GOP remains strong, as he demonstrated on Tuesday when his handpicked candidate defeated Rep. Thomas Massie, a Trump critic, in a primary election challenge. The findings highlight Trump's continued strength within the Republican Party, even as economic frustration grows.

Ariel Gutierrez, a 55-year-old Republican in Wisconsin, usually requires his teenage children to pay for their own gas. But with spiking gas costs, he’s helping out his 15-year-old, who’s just learning how to drive.

“The whole Iran issue has just exacerbated it,” he said. “Maybe we were seeing it in groceries before, but now — with this push on gas and travel and all that — that is how people want to live the leisure part of their lives ... and it is directly impacting us there now. And yes, that is, I believe from Trump’s policies, not from his predecessors.”

Trump remains unpopular outside his base. Most Americans continue to disapprove of Trump’s approach to both Iran and foreign policy. His overall approval rating in the new poll stands at 37%, up slightly from 33% in April. Nearly all Democrats disapprove of his performance as president, as do about 7 in 10 independents.

The economy remains a struggle

About one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy. That’s in line with an AP-NORC poll conducted in late April, but down slightly from the start of his second term, when 40% of U.S. adults approved.

The economy was a strength for Trump in his first term, but he's struggled with skepticism about his handling of the issue ever since he reentered the White House last year, after repeatedly promising to bring prices down. His second-term economic approval has fallen among Republicans, in particular. While a majority, 63%, still approve, that’s down from 79% in February, a few weeks before the war with Iran began.

Richard Baumgartner, a 77-year-old Republican from Las Vegas, believes higher costs are a necessary side effect of the war, which he supports.

“Unfortunately, because of the war, the economy is a little bit off kilter,” Baumgartner said. “I think it’ll fall back into place after things resolve over there. Temporary price increases — it’s unfortunate, but it’s something that has to be confronted in a situation like this where you have a very serious problem.”

Trump regains some strength on immigration

While economic promises were pivotal to Trump’s reelection, so were his goals of stricter immigration enforcement — and this issue may be reemerging as an asset.

Immigration emerged as one of Trump’s strengths early in his second term, with about half of U.S. adults saying they liked his approach, but approval of his handling of the issue dipped to 38% in January and February, after months of aggressive immigration enforcement that led to the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

Now, just under half of U.S. adults, 45%, approve of how he is handling that issue.

Brenda Theiss, an independent from Cullman, Alabama, doesn't like everything Trump is doing. But she gives him credit for being willing to disrupt the status quo to reduce the flow of immigrants who are in the country illegally compared to Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

“I liked Obama; I voted for Obama — but Trump was the only one that did something. All of the other presidents sat back and went, ‘Well there’s nothing we can do,'” the 73-year-old said. “He's closing the border. He did it. Biden didn't do it. For that, I give him one hundred.”

Over the past few months, the Trump administration has appeared to recalibrate its approach on immigration, moving in many ways away from aggressive, public-facing tactics toward a quieter approach to enforcement.

Immigration remains one of Trump’s stronger issues among Republicans. About 8 in 10 approve of his handling of the issue, which is roughly 10 points higher than the share that say he’s doing a good job as president.

Few approve of Trump on Iran or issues abroad

Trump's handling of the war with Iran remains unpopular.

Only about one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling Iran. Roughly two-thirds of Republicans approve, though an AP-NORC poll conducted last month found that younger Republicans are more likely to disapprove of Trump's performance on the issue than older ones.

Similarly, about one-third of Americans approve of Trump’s approach to foreign policy. Though Trump has zeroed in on a more aggressive international approach this year — including capturing the leader of Venezuela and threatening Cuba — Americans’ views of his overall handling of foreign policy have not shifted significantly in recent months.

Amanda Wylie, a 22-year-old who lives in Athens, Georgia, says Iran is one of the few issues where Trump doesn't have her support.

“I feel like we’re wasting resources over there at this point and not for the benefit of the American people,” said Wylie, who identifies as a Republican-leaning independent. “Especially if everyone is worried about gas prices and the ultimate goal of this is to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Yes, that’s important, but at what cost?”

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The AP-NORC poll of 1,117 adults was conducted May 14-18 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

While officials have not linked the crashes directly to the weather, drivers are urged to stay alert and use caution on slick roads.

All eastbound main lanes of the 610 North Loop at McCarty Street are shut down following a crash involving multiple 18-wheelers. The crash was reported around 3 a.m., and crews are working to clear the scene.

Meanwhile, the ramp connecting to I-10 and Travis Street is also closed after officials said a box truck fell off the freeway.

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The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Jon Rueben Demeter was indicted Thursday on an abortion charge and injury to a child. The abortion charge is a first-degree felony carrying a punishment of five years to life in prison.

KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel obtained a search warrant revealing new details about how Demeter allegedly administered the drug without the woman’s knowledge or consent.

View this post on Instagram

According to the warrant, the woman told detectives she was at Demeter’s home when he gave her a bottle containing a white milky substance. He told her it was an electrolyte drink and claimed it had helped the mother of his other children during pregnancy.

• RELATED: Woman loses unborn baby after father allegedly secretly gave her abortion medication in Montgomery County

Later that night, the woman began feeling ill. Once at the hospital, she gave birth at 14 weeks. Her baby girl did not survive. The woman told detectives she did not want to end her pregnancy, but Demeter did.

The warrant shows Demeter had previously told the woman he could obtain abortion medication online and offered to pay her $1,000 to terminate the pregnancy. She refused.

While searching Demeter’s home, investigators found a glass bowl containing white powder residue and evidence of a crushed white pill.

According to the warrant, Demeter admitted he ordered abortion medication online and gave the woman the drink, but denied the bottle contained the abortion pills, telling investigators he had given the pills away.

Demeter was initially arrested on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. The grand jury’s indictment replaces that charge with the more specific abortion and injury to a child charges, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said.

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office is holding a news conference Wednesday afternoon, where detectives will share additional details about the case.

Splashed beneath his portrait is the slogan, “Happy Birthday America!”

About 100 auto-rickshaws carrying large images of Trump and the Statue of Liberty have appeared across the Indian capital in recent weeks. In a city where the backs of thousands of three-wheelers are routinely covered with ads for little-known fertility clinics, English-speaking courses and herbal remedies, the American branding stands out.

The unusual advertising campaign was unveiled last month by Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador to India. It is part of a broader push by the U.S to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, with celebrations, cultural events and public outreach campaigns planned in several countries.

Announcing the initiative on social media last month, the U.S. Embassy posted, “Freedom is on the move … literally!”

And it urged people in the capital to flag down the auto-rickshaws, saying, “Catch them if you can — they’ll be popping up all over Delhi soon.”

Washington is seeking to stabilize relations with India after ties soured over Trump’s tariff policies, which raised duties on several Indian exports. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also expected to visit New Delhi this weekend.

For many auto-rickshaw drivers, though, the campaign carries little meaning.

Driver Ganesh Kumar, whose vehicle carried one of the Trump posters, said he initially refused when organizers approached him.

“I told them I didn’t want it,” Kumar said. But he relented after organizers offered him a valuable inducement.

“They said, ‘Please let us put (the poster). We’ll give you a packet of tea,’” he said.

Another driver, Pradeep Kumar, said he agreed to carry the poster mostly because the canopy of his auto-rickshaw was torn and needed covering.

Asked if he knew what the advertisement said, Kumar replied: “I know he is Trump. Don’t know much other than that.”

At ballparks across the country, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that's loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head.

Soccer-like chants or singing usually follows — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that occasionally is chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium.

After getting its start in St. Louis last Friday, it has spread across the league to places like Detroit, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Seattle and Anaheim.

Chad Bitzer, who has been coming to Mariners games for about 13 years, was among the shirtless fans in Seattle. His reasoning was simple: “Cause everyone else was taking it off. Why not?”

“It’s fresh. It’s a beautiful night. Take it off," Bitzer said. "Great Northwest night. We live for the summers. We live for the good weather.”

Ground zero for the shirtless outbreak was in St. Louis last Friday, when a club baseball team affiliated with Stephen F. Austin State University was in Alton, Illinois, for the National Club Baseball Division II World Series. The Cardinals offered tickets to the team, and 17 players attended.

That group started the fun, dozens of others joined and suddenly there were a couple hundred fans creating a ruckus in right field that helped propel the Cardinals to a 5-4 victory in 11 innings over the Kansas City Royals. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol loved the energy so much that he bought tickets for the shirtless revelers for Saturday's game and they returned.

“It’s hard not to have fun when the fans are like that,” Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn said Friday. “We’ve got the best fans in the world, but it seems like the younger generation makes it more like a college atmosphere.”

Even Cardinals mascot Fredbird joined in on the fun.

Now it might be the start of a tradition — more shirtless fans cheered for the Cardinals in Tuesday's game against the Pirates. It certainly seems to be a boost for the club's home-field advantage: Ivan Herrera hit a three-run homer to lift the Cardinals to a 9-6 win in 10 innings.

A similar outbreak of shirtless fans broke out at a Tampa Bay Rays game Monday and again Tuesday. Another small group celebrated in Philadelphia as the Reds and Phillies played in the rain. Angels fans celebrated with a mix of joy and irritation, chanting for owner Arte Moreno to sell the team.

MLB certainly won't complain about the attention. Attendance is up at big league stadiums so far this season, averaging roughly 1,000 more fans per game than a year ago through Monday's contests.

If the trend continues, baseball could average 30,000 fans per game for the first time since 2016.

More and more, they might just be shirtless.

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AP Sports Writer Andrew Destin in Seattle and AP freelance writer Warren Mayes in St. Louis contributed to this report.

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

Or at least, it's nearby. World Cup games will be hosted in the small town of Foxborough — about 30 miles south of “Beantown” — for the first time since 1994, when the now-demolished Foxboro Stadium hosted eventual runner-up Italy’s 2-1 win over Spain in the quarterfinals.

Boston/Foxborough also hosted Women’s World Cup matches in 1999 and 2003, the latter at the current Gillette Stadium, which opened in 2002 and is home to the NFL’s New England Patriots.

Gillette Stadium (renamed Boston Stadium for the World Cup in accordance with FIFA regulations) also is no stranger to some of soccer’s biggest stars. Lionel Messi played here during the 2016 Copa America Centenario and in MLS matches for Inter Miami in 2024 and 2025. Other notable stars include Luis Suárez and Sergio Busquets.

Landmarks/Places to See

Massachusetts was one of the original 13 colonies for what would become the United States. So, Boston is rich in American history. Top tourist spots include American Revolution-themed sites like the Boston Tea Party ships, as well as the Old North Church and Paul Revere’s house. Sports venues like Fenway Park and TD Garden are also popular.

Food Scene in Boston

There’s a little bit of everything in Boston. It starts with the North End for all things Italian. Seafood is also huge, where lobster rolls and clam chowder are staples, particularly downtown near the wharf and Boston Harbor. There are also several Michelin Star restaurants in Boston, Cambridge and surrounding cities.

Fan Zones

Official FIFA Fan Festival events will take place June 12–27 at Boston City Hall Plaza, in the heart of downtown.

High Street Place will become Boston’s House of Soccer and feature a giant outdoor screen for fans to watch World Cup action between June 11-July 19.

The city of Revere is also hosting free watch parties beginning June 12 for the USA vs. Paraguay match and continuing on June 13, 19, 24, 27 and July 14, 15 and 19.

Transportation Options

The Metro Boston Transit Authority, known locally as the “T”, has set train prices at $80 round trip from Boston to Foxborough for tournament games. There also is an express bus option that will depart from various Boston-area locations, which will cost $95 round trip.

Stadium Tips

Tailgating will be allowed prior to matches, but space will be severely reduced from what is normally available for NFL games. There are about 20,000 parking spots available for Patriots games, but there will be only around 5,000 for public use during the World Cup.

___

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

Their matchup is against Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, a team that’s only lost one game this season, but the Tigers are focused on the task at hand and not letting the chance for a state championship run distract them from this weekend.

The middle of their lineup, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th hitters, are nicknamed “Death Valley” because their ability to get runs on the board is inevitable.

“You can try to walk, EK Smith (Ella Kate Smith) but then you have to pitch to Maddie Smith, you can try to walk Maddie but then you have to pitch to Evie (Willemssen), and then if not Evie, Navaeh (Phillips), so it’s like we’ve got this core middle of this lineup that can change the game with one swing,” said Katy Head Coach Meghan VanEtta.

The first game of the Tigers’ three-game series with PJSA is on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Corpus Christi at the Cabaniss Athletic Complex.

Uthmeier sent the subpoena to the NFL on May 13 as his office investigates whether the league has committed potential civil rights violations related to the Rooney Rule and the league’s other employment practices, policies and programs.

“I think we have been very clear about our programs, and we obviously evaluate them all the time, not just for how they get better, but also to make sure that they’re consistent with the law,” Goodell said Tuesday during league meetings in Orlando, Florida. "We’re engaging with the Florida attorney general and will continue to. We’ll share everything we’re doing with them. We think it’s certainly within the law, but also something very positive.”

Uthmeier threatened possible enforcement actions against the league in March if it didn’t suspend the 23-year-old Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for head coach, general manager and coordinator positions. At least one minority candidate must be interviewed for the quarterbacks coach position.

Uthmeier said in a letter to Goodell that the Rooney Rule amounts to “blatant race and sex discrimination.”

The subpoena orders the league to appear at the attorney general’s office in Tallahassee, Florida, on June 12. It asks the league to produce extensive documents, including “all diversity reports, coaching census data, or demographic surveys that reflect the race and sex of coaching staffs of the teams from 2017 to the present."

Among the programs being reviewed by Uthmeier's office is the accelerator program, which the league created in 2022 as an extension of the Rooney Rule to increase diversity among coaches and front office executives.

The accelerator program gives participants an opportunity to connect with owners and team executives, and attend informative sessions designed to equip them for future interviews.

The NFL held its revamped accelerator program on Monday and Tuesday in Orlando after pausing it last May. It now includes nonminority participants and nearly half of this year’s group were white men.

“There are a lot of candidates up there that are diverse, that are getting the opportunity to improve themselves and to get exposure, to get an opportunity,” Goodell said. “So, the people that are up there are the best of the best and they are a very diverse group, but they are the best of the best. And what we’re trying to do here is to make them even better and to give them opportunities. And that’s what I heard is that one, they appreciate the opportunity; two, it was helpful in that.”

___

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

The NCAA Committee on Access, Opportunity and Impact voted Tuesday to recommend that Divisions I, II and III add a national collegiate flag football championship as soon as the spring of 2028.

Although not official yet, it's a giant step toward NCAA championship inclusion for women's flag football. In order to be recommended, 40 schools need to sponsor it at the varsity level. More than 100 schools have been planning to compete during the next academic year, according to the NCAA.

“Today is a landmark day for collegiate athletics, as women’s flag football officially becomes an NCAA championship sport,” said Marion Terenzio, chair of the Committee on Access, Opportunity and Impact Emerging Sport Subcommittee and president at SUNY Cobleskill. “This step recognizes a sport whose growth, competitiveness and national momentum have been impossible to ignore. Elevating flag football to championship status affirms that progress and opens new doors for women to compete at the highest level."

The next steps for adding an NCAA flag football title game include each division reviewing the recommendation and sponsoring a proposal by July 1. Should that occur, the divisions will vote in January 2027, with all three divisions required to approve for a championship to be held. There would also be the formation of a committee to oversee NCAA women's flag football.

Women's flag football is looking to join a list of sports that have gained NCAA championship status through the Emerging Sports for Women program. That includes rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003), beach volleyball (2015), wrestling (2025), acrobatics and tumbling (2026) and stunt (2026).

“The momentum behind the game reflects the passion of athletes, coaches, administrators and partners across the country who have embraced flag football and invested in creating more opportunities for female athletes,” said Izell Reese, founder and CEO of RCX Sports, the official operator of NFL FLAG. "We’re excited to continue working alongside the NCAA, NFL and school leaders to help accelerate that growth and build sustainable pathways for the next generation.”

Jacqie McWilliams Parker, chair of the Committee on Access, Opportunity, added: “Girls want to play. Whenever you give access and opportunity to an easier way to play, the better the success and numbers in participation you see.”

The International Olympic Committee voted in 2023 to include flag football, along with cricket, baseball-softball, lacrosse and squash, on the Olympic program for Los Angeles.

The participation in flag football on the female side is skyrocketing. More than 20 states have now sanctioned it as a girls' high school varsity sport and NFL clubs voted in December 2025 to support the launch of a professional flag football league.

It's filtering down to all ages, too. The number of girls ages 6 to 12 playing flag football has increased by 283% from 2015 to 2024, according to USA Football research.

"This is great news for flag football,” USA Football CEO Scott Hallenbeck said. “Growing the game is central to our mission, and the potential for women’s flag football to have a fully recognized NCAA championship does exactly that.”

___

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

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“They’re just so angry,” Gosling once sighed.

And yet, marking its upcoming 10th anniversary this month, “The Nice Guys” has established itself as one of the most beloved comedies of the last decade — a decade in which Hollywood studios largely left the genre for dead. A 1970s-set comic noir directed and co-written by Shane Black, “The Nice Guys” paired Gosling and Russell Crowe as private eyes in a Los Angeles crime caper that, a decade later, keeps getting better.

“There’s a lot of interest in ‘The Nice Guys’ today that wasn’t there when it opened. And the box office will attest to that,” Black deadpanned in a recent interview. “But people find these things. I think there’s kind of a joy of finding a movie on streaming or rental and then suddenly kind of realizing: How did I miss this? And ‘The Nice Guys’ was easy to miss.”

Now, “The Nice Guys” is almost always on, in reruns on cable or streaming services. Whenever it’s on Netflix, it ranks among the most viewed on the platform. As more have become familiar with the comic talents of Gosling, in “Barbie” or “Project Hail Mary,” fans inevitably ask: “But have you seen ‘The Nice Guys?’”

Black has known box-office smashes; he originated the “Lethal Weapon” movies. But he’s come to view films of his that didn’t make money as his favorites. In 2005, he made another cult favorite in “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” which helped revive Robert Downey Jr.’s career. (Downey makes a cameo as a corpse in “The Nice Guys.”)

“There’s something to being the king of the midnight movie,” says Black. “It’s not the most lucrative thing in the world.”

Comedies go dark

Earlier in the 2000s, comedy was a moviegoing staple. The films of Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow and Melissa McCarthy were some of Hollywood’s most lucrative. Movies like “The Hangover,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Bridesmaids” helped define the era.

But as the franchise film grew, and international ticket sales took on greater importance, the big-screen comedy began falling out of favor right around the time Warner Bros.’ “The Nice Guys” (with a $50 million budget) reached theaters, earning about $71 million worldwide at the time. Tastes were also changing. Horror took comedy’s place as the genre of the day.

There are signs that trends may be shifting. This year, “Project Hail Mary” and the just-launched “The Devil Wears Prada 2” have put comedies in front at the multiplex. But over the last decade, funny movies have largely migrated to streaming (Netflix’s pact with Adam Sandler was an early coup) or turned into the stuff of easy-to-miss cult.

Black's initial germ for the film, writing with Anthony Bagarozzi, was inspired by detective stories like those of William Campbell Gault and Brett Halliday. He’s read so many of them, he says, that “it’s almost a superpower.”

“I thought: There’s so much joy here,” Black says. “There’s so much fun in plot and twists and capers. You light a fuse and these guys go on this wild caper, and in the end, it’s just these two guys that are important. You can’t really remember the caper but it was there to service the idea, the shape of: These guys are at it again.”

If “Chinatown” is a detective tale about a Los Angeles private eye without a car, “The Nice Guys” is about a gumshoe who can’t smell. Gosling’s Holland March reluctantly joins with Crowe’s Jackson Healy, an enforcer, on a missing girl case. The movie is bright and colorful but set against a seedy LA and the adult film industry. With Holland also is his young but wise daughter, Holly (a preternaturally good Angourie Rice).

An heir to ‘Midnight Run’

“The Nice Guys” had an expansive cast, including Kim Basinger, Keith David and, in one of her first big roles, Margaret Qualley. But the heart of the movie is Gosling and Crowe. Neither was especially known for their comic skills at that point. Crowe was coming off the not-exactly-hysterical biblical epic “Noah.” But Black, a believer in the Lowell Ganz-Babaloo Mandel school of comedy (“Splash,” “Parenthood”), had an instinct they’d work well together.

“The thing is, Ryan is just a good actor,” says Black. “He’s funny in everything he does. But he didn’t do a lot of outright comedies. For this, the character was not like a ‘Talladega Nights’ or ‘Step Brothers.’ It’s not that kind of comedy where everything is pushed. It was a story that an actor could do and basically play a real character.”

They key for Black is centering the comedy on grounded characters, like the classic buddy movie “Midnight Run,” which paired Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. That approach may have gone missing in a decade where most of the few studio comedies that got made went for high-concept laughs. (See “Tag,” a 2018 comedy about adult friends playing tag.)

But “The Nice Guys,” sleazy and silly, gave Gosling a jumping-off point for some of the most sublime pratfalls in recent memory. Gosling had shown a knack for comedy before, but “The Nice Guys” is his coming-out party. No one has ever had his arm broken, or reached the same high-pitched squeal of pain, like Gosling does in the film. In another scene, on a toilet, he tries to balance a pointed gun and a lit cigarette while lifting his pants and repeatedly kicking the stall door open. It's a ballet worthy of Buster Keaton.

“My favorite that he walked in with one day was where he said, ‘I saw this movie last night with Abbott and Costello where they meet Frankenstein,’” Black recalls. “He said, ‘I’d like to maybe give that type of energy a try.’ When he said that, what he really meant was: I’m going to do a pitch-perfect Lou Costello impression sitting next to a tree for 60 seconds.”

What about a sequel?

Black is most proud of how much Gosling and Crowe were anxious to do anything that made them look cowardly or stupid or inept. “They wanted to be antiheroes,” says Black. Crowe has spoken fondly of his experience on the film, crediting Gosling as his only co-star to ever regularly get him to break character.

Thus the inevitable question: So why not a sequel?

“It’s one of the most common questions I get,” says Black. “The answer, unfortunately, is nebulous.”

“You’re saying to a studio: Hey, we want to get these two big stars. It’s going to cost even more this time. You’re going to spend maybe twice the money on a sequel to a movie that didn’t get you what you wanted back,” says Black. “It’s a tough sell to take a movie that bombed and make a sequel.”

But would he do it, if he could?

“Of course,” replies Black. “This was designed for that. Like I said, it’s a caper. There’s these two and they get in a bunch of trouble and here they go again. You want to see them do it again. There’s a whole bunch of mystery capers you could throw at these guys. You could make a grounded, potentially very interesting, touching movie set not in the ’70s but perhaps in the ’80s.”

In 2016, Gosling called the London premiere of “The Nice Guys” a momentous occasion.

“I wasn't at the premiere of ‘The Godfather’ or ‘Apocalypse Now,’ but I got a feeling it felt pretty much the same as it does today,” Gosling said. “You're looking down the barrel of cinematic history.”

Gosling, of course, was kidding. But cinematic history? Maybe.

___

This story has been updated to correct the release year of “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” It released in 2005.

Weapons are now regularly brandished in Tehran, an increasing show of defiance as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens he could restart the war with Iran should negotiations break down and the Islamic Republic refuses to release its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

The weapons displays reflect the genuine threat Iran faces: Trump has suggested American forces could seize Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium by force and previously said that he sent arms to Kurdish fighters to pass onto anti-government protesters.

But they also offer reassurance and motivation to hard-liners and provide rare entertainment at a time of great uncertainty, when Iranians are facing mass layoffs, business closures and spiraling prices for food, medicine and other goods. Suggesting more hard-liners will be armed could also help suppress any new demonstrations against Iran's theocracy, which violently put down nationwide protests in January in a crackdown that activists say killed over 7,000 people and saw tens of thousands detained.

“This is necessary for all our people to get trained because we are in a war situation these days," said Ali Mofidi, a 47-year-old Tehran resident at a weapons training Tuesday night. "If necessary, everyone should be available and know how to use a gun.”

Iran has repeatedly sought to project strength during the war

For months, state television and government-sponsored text messages have bombarded the public with calls to join the “Janfada,” or the “ones who sacrifice their lives.” At one point, hard-liners encouraged families with boys as young as 12 to send them to the Revolutionary Guard to work checkpoints — which Amnesty International denounced as a war crime.

Government officials say more than 30 million people in Iran — home to a population of some 90 million — have volunteered via an online form or at public gatherings to lay down their lives for Iran's theocracy. There is no way to confirm that figure and there's been no sign of a mass mobilization yet, like the one that Ukraine underwent in the days before Russia’s full-scale 2022 invasion, in which officials handed out rifles and people banded together to make gasoline bombs.

But there have been several public announcements and presenters have appeared armed during live programs on state TV, as part of efforts to feed the fervor.

“Looking back at the moment I registered my name, I realize I wasn’t truly contemplating the dangers of fighting on the front lines. In that moment, like everyone else, my thoughts were solely on Iran,” wrote journalist Soheila Zarfam in a column for the state-owned Tehran Times newspaper. “My life might end, but Iran would endure, and that was all that truly mattered.”

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has criticized the public weapons demonstrations, particularly footage of young boys handling assault rifles, saying: “Scenes like these are reminiscent of child hostage-taking and arming by groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, and militias in Sudan and Congo.”

Weapons training, once unusual, becomes a norm

A recent government-organized demonstration by nomads in Iran saw them carrying everything from bolt-action Lee–Enfield rifles of the British Empire to a blunderbuss, a predecessor of the shotgun more familiar to the age of pirates on the high seas.

But during weeks of an unsteady ceasefire, most of the weapon demonstrations appear focused on Tehran, not the rural areas where there is a tradition of keeping rifles and shotguns at home.

At a demonstration Tuesday night in Tehran, male and female participants divided into separate classes. Hadi Khoosheh, a member of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force and trainer, demonstrated how to handle a folding-stock Kalashnikov-style assault rifle.

“At the end of the training those who completed the course will receive a card titled 'Janfada,' proving they have received basic and preliminary training for this type of gun and they are able to use it if, God forbid, something happens to our country," Khoosheh said.

However, the weapons training was rudimentary at best for the young boys and older men gathered. One struggled to insert the rifle's magazine and inadvertently pointed the barrel of the unloaded weapon at others — a major safety breach that people are taught to avoid in basic firearms training.

“Definitely we will stand against (the Americans) and won’t give up even an inch of our soil," said Mofidi, the man at the training. "No matter if they come from the sea or land, we will stand by our flag.”

___

Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Mehdi Fattahi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

Let’s jump straight into the news of the morning.

If you’re headed out this morning, grab your umbrella and rain boots; it’s going to be a stormy morning with more rain expected throughout the day.

And unfortunately, storms will not be heading out anytime soon. For the next few days, the Houston area will see rain, which could cause some street flooding.

To read more, click here.

➡️ Love our morning newsletter? Share it with your family and friends!

YOUR MORNING FORECAST ☀️

TODAY: 85° TONIGHT: 73°

KPRC 2 Meteorologist says:

“We’re tracking an aerial flood advisory for parts of Brazoria until 7:45 as we track more rain and thunderstorms this morning before getting a break this afternoon. As of 5 this morning -more than 16,000 customers are without power and a portion of 610 near McCarty is shut down for a jackknifed tractor-trailer.”

Get your forecast details here.

TOP STORIES

TIMELINE: Stormy weather, heavy rains expected in Houston through Memorial Day weekend

We are tracking a multi-day period of heavy rain that started overnight and continues through Friday, and possibly through Memorial Day Monday. A series of storm systems will move across Southeast Texas, bringing the potential for significant rainfall totals. The forecast indicates widespread amounts of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated areas north of I-10 potentially receiving over 7 inches. Because we expect multiple rounds of rain, the ground will become saturated quickly, increasing the risk for runoff and street flooding.

End-of-year school parties this week? How to plan for the rain and thunderstorms Memorial Day weekend

Rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds are here as many families wonder how to end-of-the-year plan for the year school parties for their children this week. We’re tracking a front bringing us rain, thunderstorms, damaging winds and the potential for hail - estimated rain totals 3-5+” or more in some spots as we track a long week of rain in the forecast.

Memorial Day in Houston and the weather. Here’s what we can honestly tell you right now

We’re just days away from Memorial Day, which is Monday, May 25, 2026. Now that we’re within a week, we have a little better idea of what we’ll see for the holiday weekend. The first run for this week is showing that we’ll likely see some impact from storms as we’re going into a fairly wet pattern for most of this week and into the holiday weekend. Not a washout by any means, but, it would be a good idea to come up with some indoor alternatives.

ARE YOU A KPRC 2 INSIDER? HERE’S SOME EXCLUSIVES

KPRC 2 Insiders, here’s your chance to win a $250 Kroger gift card!

CLICK2PINS: SHOW US WHAT YA GOT 📷

See a news story in your neighborhood? Capture a great weather moment? Just want to share a photo of your pet? Send your photos and videos to Click2Pins, and you may see them on air and online!

Let’s jump straight into the news of the morning.

If you’re headed out this morning, grab your umbrella and rain boots; it’s going to be a stormy morning with more rain expected throughout the day.

And unfortunately, storms will not be heading out anytime soon. For the next few days, the Houston area will see rain, which could cause some street flooding.

To read more, click here.

➡️ Love our morning newsletter? Share it with your family and friends!

YOUR MORNING FORECAST ☀️

TODAY: 85° TONIGHT: 73°

KPRC 2 Meteorologist says:

“We’re tracking an aerial flood advisory for parts of Brazoria until 7:45 as we track more rain and thunderstorms this morning before getting a break this afternoon. As of 5 this morning -more than 16,000 customers are without power and a portion of 610 near McCarty is shut down for a jackknifed tractor-trailer.”

Get your forecast details here.

TOP STORIES

TIMELINE: Stormy weather, heavy rains expected in Houston through Memorial Day weekend

We are tracking a multi-day period of heavy rain that started overnight and continues through Friday, and possibly through Memorial Day Monday. A series of storm systems will move across Southeast Texas, bringing the potential for significant rainfall totals. The forecast indicates widespread amounts of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated areas north of I-10 potentially receiving over 7 inches. Because we expect multiple rounds of rain, the ground will become saturated quickly, increasing the risk for runoff and street flooding.

End-of-year school parties this week? How to plan for the rain and thunderstorms Memorial Day weekend

Rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds are here as many families wonder how to end-of-the-year plan for the year school parties for their children this week. We’re tracking a front bringing us rain, thunderstorms, damaging winds and the potential for hail - estimated rain totals 3-5+” or more in some spots as we track a long week of rain in the forecast.

Memorial Day in Houston and the weather. Here’s what we can honestly tell you right now

We’re just days away from Memorial Day, which is Monday, May 25, 2026. Now that we’re within a week, we have a little better idea of what we’ll see for the holiday weekend. The first run for this week is showing that we’ll likely see some impact from storms as we’re going into a fairly wet pattern for most of this week and into the holiday weekend. Not a washout by any means, but, it would be a good idea to come up with some indoor alternatives.

ARE YOU A KPRC 2 INSIDER? HERE’S SOME EXCLUSIVES

KPRC 2 Insiders, here’s your chance to win a $250 Kroger gift card!

CLICK2PINS: SHOW US WHAT YA GOT 📷

See a news story in your neighborhood? Capture a great weather moment? Just want to share a photo of your pet? Send your photos and videos to Click2Pins, and you may see them on air and online!

Children’s Hospital Colorado suspended medical treatments for transgender patients under 18 in January after it said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opened an investigation into its treatments following a series of clashes between President Donald Trump's administration and advocates over transgender health care for children.

The hospital said in a statement that it is reviewing Monday's court ruling and considering its next steps. It previously said it would continue to provide mental health treatment for minors and also medical treatment for patients aged 18 to 21.

Four transgender girls, ranging from age 10 to 17, sued the hospital, through their parents, alleging that the hospital was violating the state’s antidiscrimination law by refusing to provide them treatment both because of their gender identity and their disability, gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is the distress caused when someone’s gender expression doesn’t match their sex assigned at birth.

The girls said they feared not being able to get medication and monitoring to prevent them from undergoing puberty and developing male traits. And they cited mental health fallout, including depression and suicidal ideation.

The court sided with the girls in a 5-2 ruling, finding that the decision to shutter the services for minors violated a state antidiscrimination law. In the majority opinion, Justice William Wood III said, “We conclude that the actual immediate and irreparable harm to petitioners outweighs the speculative harm CHC may face if the federal government further acts against it.”

In a dissent, Justice Brian Boatright said the hospital didn't make its decision to stop the case because of the gender identity of the patients. Rather, he wrote, “It was a decision driven by the direct threat to the viability of the entire hospital.”

A Kansas judge also sided with transgender minors in a ruling last week.

The Colorado hospital’s TRUE Center, which focuses on gender-affirming care, is one of the largest programs in the country and the only comprehensive care center in the Rocky Mountain region, according to the lawsuit.

Children’s Hospital Colorado said the HHS opened the investigation of the hospital after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a declaration that called treatments like puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries unsafe and ineffective for children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria, or the distress when someone’s gender expression doesn’t match their sex assigned at birth.

An Oregon-based federal judge ruled in March for Colorado and 20 other states that Kennedy's declaration went too far.

___

Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.

Lai is marking two years in office, the halfway point of his term, under growing pressure from China, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province to be retaken by force if necessary. Trump's recent narrative on Taiwan also raised concerns about the United States' longstanding support for the island democracy.

Lai said if he could talk to Trump, he would emphasize that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was crucial for global security, alleging China was the “destroyer” of the strait's peace.

Lai said he also would tell Trump that Taiwan's increasing defense budget was a response to threats, and purchases of U.S. arms would be an essential means to safeguard the strait's stability. Lai said he believes “only strength can bring peace.”

“No country has the right to annex Taiwan,” Lai said he would tell Trump. “Democracy and freedom should also not be seen as provocation.”

Lai added he looks forward to more cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. and other democratic countries in promoting peace in the strait.

Lai says Taiwan's future can't be determined by outsiders

In his speech, Lai said democracy “is not a gift from the sky.”

“Taiwan’s future cannot be decided by external forces, nor can it be held hostage by fear, division, or short-term interests,” he said, without specifying who the external forces are.

He added that Taiwan was willing to engage in healthy and orderly exchanges with China under the principles of equality and dignity, but firmly rejects tactics that “package unification as peace.”

Xi warned the US over Taiwan

Chinese President Xi Jinping last week issued a strong warning to the U.S., telling Trump during their Beijing summit that the “Taiwan question” is the most important issue in ties between China and the U.S., and that the two nations will “have clashes and even conflicts” without proper handling.

Trump in December approved a record-breaking, $11-billion arms package to Taiwan. In an interview aired Friday on Fox News as the U.S. president wrapped up his visit to China, Trump said his approval of a new $14 billion arms package to Taiwan depended on China, describing the deal as “a very good negotiating chip.”

Trump later told reporters he needed to talk to the person who is running Taiwan, without naming Lai, who Beijing deemed a separatist.

The United States has formal diplomatic ties with China, not Taiwan. Trump and Lai holding talks likely would anger China, which typically responds strongly to Taiwan visits by U.S. politicians.

Beijing slams Lai

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters that China’s opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is clear, urging the U.S. to abide by the “One China” principle and take concrete actions to safeguard the China-U.S. relationship and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

“Attempts to seek independence by soliciting foreign support or through military means are ultimately nothing but wishful thinking," he said.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said that Lai's remarks were filled with lies, deception, hostility and confrontation, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.

Chen accused Lai of stubbornly insisting on Taiwan independence, calling him a “destroyer of cross-strait peace” and saying Lai was pretending to be sincere when he vowed to promote cross-strait dialogue in an attempt to deceive the Taiwanese and fool international public opinion, the report said.

No matter who was elected and how the election was held in Taiwan, “it cannot break the unchangeable rule that Taiwan’s future can only be decided jointly by all Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots,” Chen said, according to Xinhua.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949 when the Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, which later transitioned from martial law to multiparty democracy.

The U.S. and Taiwan had formal diplomatic relations until 1979, when President Jimmy Carter’s administration recognized and established relations with Beijing. Still, the U.S. is required by law to ensure Taiwan can defend itself.

In his speech on Wednesday, Lai also said he would roll out a $3.1 billion plan to accelerate the upgrading and transformation of small and medium-sized businesses and traditional industries and to have the tech industries drive traditional sectors.

Taiwan is a major manufacturer of artificial-intelligence servers, computer chips and precision instruments. The AI boom has propelled Taiwan’s leading technology companies to record profits and revenues. But observers worry the island’s heavy reliance on computer chipmakers and other technology companies carries risk if the AI craze becomes a bubble.

___

Leung reported from Hong Kong.

Above him was John Cornyn, making his first bid for U.S. Senate. Further down was Ken Paxton, a then first-time candidate running for the state House in Collin County.

All three won those initial races in a landmark year for the Texas GOP, when the party established the trifecta control of Austin it’s maintained ever since. Twenty-four years later, Cornyn and Paxton are on a collision course, battling in an ugly runoff to be the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat Cornyn has occupied for over two decades.

Burgess, a Lewisville Republican and affable policy wonk, retired at the end of 2024. Having observed both for decades, he’s backing Cornyn.

“Who’s a better person to help [the Trump administration] — someone who’s seen as a steady hand and has been there and understands how things work and how things don’t work?” Burgess said in an interview last week. “Or someone who’s going to come in and [say] let’s blow it all up and then see what we can deal with at the end? There is a need for disruptors in our system, and we have disruptors in our system. But we can’t all be disruptors. Some of us have to be builders.”

Trump himself disagrees. The president endorsed Paxton Tuesday, expressly citing the attorney general’s willingness to disrupt convention.

Paxton, Trump said, “is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER”. He is a “Fighter, and knows how to WIN” and, critically, “someone who has always been extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT.”

The May 26 runoff will be the most consequential trial yet for the values championed by the older GOP set — statesmanship, Washington knowhow, dealmaking, personal character — set against the brash, battle-centric, maximum warfare approach, marked by a willingness to cull their own ranks and demand absolutely loyalty, favored by Trump and supporters of Paxton.

Burgess is part of the GOP’s establishment old guard that has gone to bat for Cornyn, in defiance of much of the MAGA base, emphasizing the elements of the senator’s character that make him well-regarded among his colleagues in Washington — staid, even-keeled, focused on the legislative process, someone who understands the importance of finding common ground.

Those values, they say, are what makes Cornyn an effective senator — and why he deserves to keep the job.

But they’re also why Paxton and his supporters, many of whom are aligned with the newer, more MAGA-ified GOP, see Cornyn as a pariah in the modern day GOP. Paxton has built his political brand around fighting the old guard that Cornyn represents, at least in the eyes of Paxton’s supporters.

“Cornyn is weak, ineffective and very bad for the Republican Party,” the narrator says in one recent Paxton TV ad. “It’s time for change in Washington. Ken Paxton is a conservative fighter who sued Biden over 100 times, fought for border security and will take a sledgehammer to the establishment.”

Trump’s evaluation process hinges on different axes than the Texas GOP old guard — namely, a fighter’s mentality and personal loyalty. Cornyn, who expressed doubts about Trump’s electability in 2023, evidently didn’t meet the standard.

Paxton routinely dings Cornyn on the length of his political career, painting him as an establishment creature who lacks the fight the base is looking for. The runoff between the two is a war between the party’s wings, pitting the senior senator against a rival who has fought and beat the GOP establishment Cornyn helped build and who wears their dismay like a badge of honor.

Cornyn has plenty of endorsements from current elected officials and political players — the National Border Patrol Council, the Texas Alliance for Life, a bevy of local agricultural groups and seven current Republican House representatives from Texas, from longtime Reps. Michael McCaul and Roger Williams to newer members like Craig Goldman and Nathaniel Moran.

But he’s dominating Paxton among the retired GOP politicians who ran Austin and Washington in the 1990s and 2000s, when Republican control of Texas was newer and shakier. Cornyn’s old guard backers are more likely to remember the era of Democratic dominance in the Lone Star State, and more concerned about the potential to lose the general election.

The former congressmen who have endorsed Cornyn, out of office and free to speak their minds, expressed concerns about the state of the party — and how primaries have changed toward the ends of their careers or in the years since they’ve left. They’re worried about a Republican electorate that relishes fighting one another more than winning general elections or engaging in the legislative process. Their belief in Cornyn and concerns about the state of the electorate have now led them to the opposite side of Trump in this fight.

The runoff is a test of whether voters are still listening.

Ted Poe, a Republican from Humble, represented the 2nd Congressional District from 2005 to 2019. He’s backing Cornyn because the senator was a reliable partner in the upper chamber and because Texas benefits from the seniority Cornyn has accrued, Poe said in an interview earlier this month.

He sees the anti-incumbent streak playing out in Texas as a trend in primaries across the country — and he’s worried about where it leads.

“[To] be an incumbent, even if you are a conservative … that ain’t good enough for a lot of people,” Poe said. “They just [say], ‘Well, we need to get rid of them, we need to clean house.’ What you do then is you self-destruct. You self-destruct your power.”

Paxton, of course, now has the most relevant endorsement of them all — Trump’s backing. And the 2026 Republican electorate is a different animal than when Cornyn rose to statewide prominence some three decades ago. Accustomed to decades of being in power, today’s GOP voters are used to — and sometimes revel in — their biggest fights being intra-party.

“My goodness, the biggest battles that we’ve had in the last couple of cycles have been in primaries,” said Henry Bonilla, a Cornyn-supporting San Antonio Republican who flipped a congressional seat in 1992 and served until he was defeated by a Democrat in 2006. “That is a huge change from what we saw [previously] …There’s just a lot of anger in the country right now, and I think it stimulates that kind of political activity.”

Cornyn sees Paxton as a threat to the era of Republican Party dominance that he and many of his seasoned endorsers worked to build.

“I think there’s a small minority of people who think we should be about the politics of exclusion and subtraction,” Cornyn said in an interview Monday, before the Trump endorsement. “But both parties, historically, have been coalitions. And we have a big enough tent that we can have some diversity of thought within the Republican Party. Because if all you do is want to exclude people who don’t think exactly the way you do, you risk being a minority and not having any voice at all.”

Vitriol in Republican primaries has “always been a feature,” Burgess said, but feels more “prominent” these days than in the past. The bloodsport nature of GOP contests contributed to his decision to retire at the end of 2024.

“It does get tiresome to see the intra-party [fighting],” Burgess said. “Come on. What do we believe? What are we for? … And if it’s just to try to tear each other down, I don’t know that that’s necessarily useful for the country.”

The Republican primary, in which Cornyn finished 1.5 percentage points ahead of Paxton, proved there are significant constituencies in the Texas GOP for both men’s approaches.

But runoff elections, in which turnout is lower, tend to favor the more hardline candidate. In that climate, not everyone is sure there’s a willing majority for Cornyn’s brand of experience and legislative productivity.

“I don’t know,” Poe said. “They’re sure quiet. … It seems like it’s the trend to be the other way.”

The builders vs. the disruptors

Former elected officials have been among the loudest and proudest defenders of Cornyn. Rick Perry, who occupied the Governor’s Mansion from 2000 to 2015, chairs the Lone Star Freedom Project, a group that spent $17.4 million boosting the senator during the first round of the primary. Former Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, a flamethrower who primaried Paxton for attorney general and lost, made a video with Cornyn and has been banging the anti-Paxton drum throughout the runoff. And Cornyn last month rolled out an endorsement from Newt Gingrich, who was House speaker from 1995 to 1999, praising Cornyn’s record of “tangible victories” over “mere rhetoric”.

Former Texas Republican Sens. Phil Gramm — Cornyn’s predecessor — and Kay Bailey Hutchison, who served alongside Cornyn until 2013, wrote an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle last fall laying out their rationale for supporting their colleague. Like Gingrich, they praised Cornyn’s record of action over talk.

“We know something about getting things done in Washington to make life better for people in Texas and America,” the pair wrote. “We also know Sen. John Cornyn and have worked with him and followed his leadership in the Senate. He is a workhorse and not a show horse. He knows he is in the Senate to lead and not to protest.”

Perry and Gramm campaigned for Cornyn in San Antonio Monday, the first day of early voting.

But an increasingly vocal segment of the GOP is looking for a protester — someone to channel their anger and lean into the fight, whether it’s with Democrats or fellow Republicans they’ve branded as RINOs. Among this cohort, a politician’s talent for navigating Washington is seen more as a blemish.

Paxton has seized on this sentiment from the get-go. One of his common lines on the stump is to ask voters what Cornyn has achieved in 22 years, and compare it to any two-week period of his tenure as attorney general, throughout which he’s frequently launched lawsuits against Democratic presidents and left-leaning groups. Texas, he often says, can do better.

“We can have another senator that’s more like Ted Cruz than Joe Biden,” Paxton said at an April campaign event in Grapevine.

Cornyn says his long Senate career has taught him how to advocate on behalf of Texas, including by securing federal reimbursement for everything from Biden-era border operations to Hurricane Harvey.

“You don’t get that done if you don’t know how the system operates,” Cornyn said.

But Trump — and Paxton — want to blow up the Senate conventions Cornyn has spent decades mastering, most notably through eliminating the filibuster. Cornyn dropped his longstanding opposition to the idea after the primary in March, saying he was open to filibuster reform in order to pass the GOP’s signature voting restrictions bill. Trump picked the candidate who has said he outright wants to get rid of the filibuster, which would fundamentally change the upper chamber.

Plus, it can be hard to message on the everyday, behind-the-scenes work of influencing bills.

“He’s my go-to guy in the Senate,” said retiring Rep. Michael McCaul, who has represented Austin since 2005. “There are a lot of things that don’t translate back home [that] you do up here. He’s been very effective.”

The cost of the purity test

The ranks of former congressmen who support Cornyn routinely brought up two words — “effective” and “compromise” — even as they acknowledged that voters don’t always like to hear the latter one.

“Compromising shouldn’t be a dirty word,” said former Rep. Mike Conaway, a Republican who represented West Texas from 2005 to 2021. “Because you’re not going to get anything done. If you’re going to insist on all legislation being 100% the way you want it, then you’re going to be a party of one person. And that is ineffective. That’s not going to get anything solved.”

Cornyn had a similar assessment.

“If you look at President Trump himself, he’s all about the art of the deal,” Cornyn said. “You don’t make a deal without two sides at least feeling like they got something from the deal. I think that is what voters want.”

Cornyn’s endorsers who have worked in Washington see a disconnect between the purity tests some primary voters impose and the level of compromise it takes to pass legislation, where senators are one of 100. Poe said too many Republican primary voters “think it’s Burger King — I wanna have it my way.”

Rep. Pete Olson, who was Cornyn’s first chief of staff and represented the 22nd Congressional District from 2009 to 2021, said political purity tests mean that anyone who comes to Washington to govern gets “torn apart by the extreme right.”

“It’s just hard to get out there and fight when every time you stick your head out of the foxhole, somebody’s just shooting at you from behind,” Olson said.

But in a sign of how the party has changed, some of the former House members who have endorsed Cornyn were replaced by Paxton supporters. Burgess was succeeded by Rep. Brandon Gill, who endorsed Paxton after the primary. Olson’s congressional replacement was Rep. Troy Nehls, who endorsed Paxton early and brought the attorney general as his guest to the State of the Union.

In the primary, two Texas Republican incumbents were taken down by insurgent challengers. The new nominees — state Rep. Steve Toth in the 2nd Congressional District and gun rights YouTuber Brandon Herrera in the 23rd Congressional District — are supporting Paxton.

Paxton’s supporters see the chilly reception Paxton gets from the political establishment as proof of concept for his politics.

“Ken stood up to the Bush folks and they have been after him ever since,” said state Rep. Wes Virdell, R-Brady. “They despise that Ken defied them and they despise an independent person who doesn’t take a knee to their kind. The swamp would love to see Ken lose.”

Many of Cornyn’s backers are incredulous that their fellow Republicans would cast out a party stalwart in favor of someone whom they believe would put the seat at risk — and who some see as ethically compromised.

Burgess said he wouldn’t vote for a Democrat in the general election. But he said Paxton had burned too much trust with him, and that he could not go to his grave knowing he voted for “someone like that.”

“There’s no way in the world that I’m casting a vote for General Paxton — ever, for anything,” Burgess said. “I’m hopeful that my friends and neighbors will do the right thing. Senator Cornyn deserves the nomination, and he should get it.”

“Excruciating pain,” the employee at the El Paso immigrant detention facility reported.

Emergency responders rushed Andrea Pedro Francisco to the hospital from Camp East Montana on Feb. 7 — just four days before she had been scheduled to receive surgery to remove an ovarian cyst about the size of a lime that had caused her months of intense abdominal pain.

Physicians discharged Pedro Francisco back to the Camp East Montana detention facility with written warnings that if she experienced certain symptoms, including pain in her back, hip, stomach or while urinating, that she should urgently obtain critical care.

Yet in the four months that followed, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials repeatedly denied Pedro Francisco surgery — or even outside medical opinion to confirm that she does not need it. Pedro Francisco has continued to suffer from excruciating pain, but has primarily been treated with over-the-counter medication such as Ibuprofen to manage her pain.

By contrast, eight OB-GYNs and an emergency physician who specializes in detainee care reviewed 200 pages of Pedro Fancisco’s medical records shared with The Texas Tribune and agreed that she is at “high risk” for a medical emergency and urgently requires surgery. The experts said that her treatment in ICE detention amounts to medical malpractice because it fails to provide the industry’s standard of care and contradicts what external doctors recommended.

If Pedro Francisco does not have that operation, experts warn that she could lose the ability to have children or suffer from other serious health complications. The doctors also said the cyst needs to be screened for cancer. Ovarian cancer, dubbed the “silent killer” because its symptoms can be hard to diagnose, is the fifth-leading cause of cancer among women, spurring more than 15,000 deaths annually.

“It is my medical opinion that Ms. Pedro Francisco will suffer irreparable harm if this treatment is not provided promptly,” wrote Dr. Louis Monnig, a Louisiana OB-GYN at Ochsner Health, a nonprofit health system, in a legal petition demanding her release.

Leticia Zamarripa, a spokesperson for ICE, said in a statement that medical staff determined Pedro Francisco’s condition “does not make her a candidate for surgical intervention,” although they recommended a “periodic” ultrasound.

“ICE maintains longstanding practices to provide comprehensive medical care, including access to vaccines, medical, dental, and mental health services, as well as medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care,” wrote Zamarripa, who declined to answer detailed questions. “This is the best healthcare that many individuals have received in their lives.”

As President Donald Trump has ramped up deportation efforts, Pedro Francisco is one of more than 60,000 people in ICE detention as the administration continues to pursue mass ICE warehouses in its push for expanded removals. Like her, the majority were arrested in the interior of the country and have no criminal convictions. At least 18 people have died in ICE custody this year, nearly a third of them in Texas. That record-breaking number is on pace to surpass the nearly three dozen deaths in 2025, which were the most ICE fatalities in more than two decades.

Experts say this is the result of the administration’s push to detain a far greater number of immigrants than some ICE facilities have capacity for while contracting with companies that either have problematic records or little experience in detention management. At the same time, many medical providers which work with ICE have been unpaid since the fall in a bureaucratic change made by the administration as it switched billing methods.

“Illness and death are the predictable consequences of keeping people in this system that has expanded so rapidly, using unproven contractors, without paying bills and firing staff tasked to oversee violations” at the Department of Homeland Security, said Scott Shuchart, an ICE official under former President Joe Biden and senior adviser during Trump’s first term to the department’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which investigates abuses.

Efforts to obtain Pedro Francisco’s release or treatment outside of ICE have so far failed. A federal judge denied emergency petitions. ICE rejected her humanitarian parole, although another claim is pending. And unlike in Trump’s first term and previous administrations, when detained immigrants could be released on bond, this administration has fought that avenue in the courts. A ruling this spring by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which oversees Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, ended that option for most immigrants.

Pedro Francisco’s cause has captured international attention with human rights groups such as Amnesty International calling for her release. Minnesota and Texas congressional representatives who have visited with her also appealed to ICE. Her next immigration court hearing is May 20. Her lawyers fear that the judge could order her deported without a full hearing using a procedural tool known as “pretermission,” which allows judges to deny asylum claims without hearing testimony.

Asra Syed, one of Pedro Francisco’s lawyers, said the administration is denying Pedro Francisco legal recourse while “every day Andrea and a chorus of people that are advocating on her behalf are screaming for basic medical care and it’s still being ignored.”

Gaslit

A few weeks before she was detained, Pedro Francisco went to the hospital in January where she told doctors that she had a history of an ovarian cyst. She described chronic pain “for a year or more” that had recently worsened, according to her medical records.

Physicians prescribed her strong painkillers such as morphine and oxycodone. Her surgery was scheduled for the following month, which would be thwarted by her ICE detention.

In multiple grainy video interviews with the Tribune from two ICE facilities over the past two months, Pedro Francisco appeared in standard-issued grey prison garb as she described her deteriorating condition.

When she tries to walk, she said, she struggles because the pain from her stomach shoots into her legs and back. It hurts when she urinates.

About a month after her emergency room visit, Pedro Francisco requested from ICE a bottom bunk bed due to her pain. According to her medical records, ICE officials denied the request.

Instead of ICE providing Pedro Francisco with surgery, available documentation appears to show that the agency may be treating her “for a condition she doesn’t have,” according to Dr. William Weber, who practices emergency medicine in Minnesota and leads a nonprofit focused on care in detention facilities.

Weber and four other experts who reviewed Pedro Francisco’s records said that they suggest that ICE medical staff may have incorrectly diagnosed her with Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, a common condition for women of reproductive age, that can lead to cysts that are not typically painful or dangerous.

Except her previous medical records don’t support that, Weber and other experts said. He added that it appeared that a male nurse practitioner in ICE provided that assessment without giving Pedro Francisco an ultrasound or the extensive examination a diagnosis for that condition requires.

“Either the nurse practitioner just doesn’t know the difference, because they have much less training than a physician, so maybe they just didn’t know,” Weber said. “Based on her records, ICE never documented any rationale for diagnosing her with that, nor did they do any testing.”

Part of the treatment for PMOS was over-the-counter pain relievers, which Pedro Francisco said did nothing for her discomfort.

Dr. Lauren Thaxton, a Colorado gynecologist, said the treatment she is receiving in detention is “inconsistent” with what her gynecologist recommended. Thaxton added that her condition “should be surgically explored.” That Pedro Francisco’s pain has persisted over months necessitates an operation, Thaxton said.

Seven doctors reviewing Pedro Francisco’s medical records warned her ovaries are at risk of damage, which could affect her ability to have a baby.

Not operating soon means that Pedro Francisco’s ovary could become “nonfunctional within her body due to the lack of blood supply,” said Thaxton, echoing other experts. “This is not a reversible outcome.”

Dr. Kristyn Brandi, a New Jersey gynecologist, worries that her cyst could be cancerous.

“Removing it early would be important to stop the spread of disease,” Brandi said.

“It is inhumane for a patient having so much pain that she was scheduled for surgery to be held without treatment,” she added.

Monnig, the Louisiana doctor, wrote in Pedro Francisco’s humanitarian parole petition that if her cyst continues to remain untreated, it could rupture, killing one of her ovaries and causing complications such as sepsis and infertility, requiring greater surgical interventions that could result in “larger incisions, and pain, brain damage or death.”

Pedro Francisco said that it’s distressing to hear from attorneys and experts that the lack of medical care could imperil her ability to have children, whom she desperately wants.

“I love children, they are beautiful,” she said. “But I guess right now I first need to see what is going to happen to me.”

Ruby L. Powers, another of Pedro Francisco’s attorneys, said Pedro Francisco is being “gaslit” by ICE medical staff.

“What the ICE medical team is telling her simply doesn’t match up with what doctors in the outside world say,” Powers said. “This is barbaric treatment at best and deadly at worst.”

“Getting worse every day”

Pedro Francisco was born in the Guatemalan Western Highlands, the site of the Central American country’s worst civil war massacres. She and her mother said in interviews that as indigenous people, they suffered discrimination and poverty. Her mother was sexually assaulted. And Pedro Francisco’s relative was killed in what the family believes was a targeted gang-related attack. That spurred the mother to bring her then 16-year-old daughter to the U.S. in 2019, where they requested asylum at the border.

Trump’s first administration released them while their asylum cases proceeded in the backlogged civil immigration courts. They continued to Minnesota, where they had family and joined an evangelical church, found jobs, and set down roots. Pedro Francisco’s mother had two U.S. citizen children.

Pedro Francisco worked cleaning jobs with her mother and doted on her siblings. She played bass and sang for her church’s musical group.

Zoila Carrion Caceres, who knew Pedro Francisco from high school and played music with her in the church group, said she has “a way of making people laugh and feel comfortable.”

Carrion Caceres wrote in a declaration for Pedro Francisco’s humanitarian parole that she “not only brought leadership but also joy and a sense of unity.”

Another of Pedro Francisco’s friends, Laura Carrion, said that she served as a leader for the deacons, helping new members “in understanding the Bible.” To obtain that position, Carrion said, Pedro Francisco underwent “strict interviews and character evaluations with our Pastor.”

Pedro Francisco had been suffering severe stomach pain for years, she and her family said, that escalated in recent months and prevented her from working. She said that she didn’t want to seek medical care because she worried about the cost. So her family and friends were relieved when she was scheduled for surgery, urged by Fairview Hospital staff in Minnesota, according to her records.

Then, this February, Pedro Francisco was driving with her mother and siblings when federal agents stopped them as part of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, an unprecedented immigration operation in that state that resulted in two U.S. citizen deaths and helped lead to the ouster of at least two top Homeland Security officials.

Neither Pedro Francisco nor her mother had a deportation order, according to her lawyers, since they had been released into the U.S. under Trump’s first administration. Later, the Biden administration dismissed their immigration cases in a judicial move known as prosecutorial discretion.

But the agents detained Pedro Francisco, allowing her mother, who holds the same immigration status, to leave with the U.S. citizen children, presumably because the kids, aged 1 and 5, have no other caretakers, attorneys said.

Along with about 3,400 immigrants from Minnesota, ICE flew Pedro Francisco to Texas and imprisoned her at El Paso’s Camp East Montana, a troubled detention facility where at least three immigrants died in the weeks before she landed.

Pedro Francisco’s lawyer, Syed, filed a legal claim known as a habeas petition for her in February. Data shows that such filings, which argue that people are wrongfully detained, have surged under Trump’s second administration. The largest number of filings are coming from the Western District of Texas which has jurisdiction over Camp East Montana and the South Texas Family Residential Center, known as Dilley, that is the only facility in the U.S. to currently hold parents with their children.

Syed’s petition landed in front of U.S. District Court Judge Leon Schydlower, a Biden appointee. But as with many of such appeals before him, Schydlower waited months to issue a ruling and when he finally did, the denial appeared to be a “copy and paste,” according to more than half a dozen other Texas lawyers who voiced the same complaint for similar petitions that have appeared before him. Schydlower did not respond to requests for comment.

“Andrea’s case is why habeas was made,” said Powers, her attorney.

“Andrea’s case is why habeas corpus exists,” said Powers, her attorney. “ICE arrested her five days before that surgery. The Constitution doesn’t have an asterisk for immigrants. When the government takes someone’s freedom, it takes responsibility for their life. Right now, it’s failing.”

Syed filed a temporary restraining order. Schydlower denied that, too.

Camp East Montana has been under blistering criticism, not only for the three deaths there over a span of six weeks but internal inspection reports citing dozens of violations. In March, the administration suddenly changed contractors. Pedro Francisco was abruptly moved to the El Paso Processing Center, a separate ICE facility. But the transfer did nothing to ease her pain.

“I feel like I’m getting worse every day,” Pedro Francisco said in an interview last week. “At night I don’t sleep well and in the day I don’t feel like the same person.”

For now, she holds out hope, although it is waning.

So does her mother, who said that the family relies on Pedro Francisco, financially and emotionally. Her daughter has no one in Guatemala and her removal, the mother said, would leave her American siblings “ruined.”

This article is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica’s Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.

In October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued pharmaceutical companies tied to Tylenol in state court, repeating claims made a month earlier by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the pain relief drug was linked to autism and ADHD in children.

Paxton, a close ally of the Trump administration who had already announced a U.S. Senate bid, accused drugmakers of marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers without disclosing its dangers. “The reckoning has arrived,” the state’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue Brands and Kenvue Inc.

“By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again,” Paxton proclaimed in a news release that echoed Kennedy’s slogan.

Paxton hired the Chicago law firm Keller Postman to argue the case in state court. The firm had served as lead counsel in a similar case about Tylenol’s safety that was dismissed a year earlier by a New York federal judge who found the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses unreliable.

But the court the attorneys chose to bring the suit in wasn’t in Austin or any of the state’s large counties that have extensive experience and multiple judges handling large, complex litigation. It was in Panola County, a community of 23,000 residents on the Louisiana border that Trump carried by 67 points two years ago and whose sole state district court judge is a Republican.

At a hearing that month in the three-story brick courthouse in the county seat of Carthage, Kim Bueno, the lawyer representing the drugmakers, accused Paxton’s office of pushing a baseless lawsuit through forum shopping — seeking out judges and juries that plaintiffs believe will be most favorable to them, rather than filing suit in the courts that most commonly handle similar cases.

“These claims have been rejected over and over and over again in courts of law by the same plaintiff’s counsel,” said Bueno, who declined an interview request. “And now they’re trying, once again, to suggest that Tylenol is harmful for women when pregnant. And it’s been soundly rejected.”

The case was not the first that Paxton’s office had filed in a county with little connection to the allegations of wrongdoing made by his office. ProPublica and The Texas Tribune have identified at least 30 cases filed by the attorney general over the past nine years that have a tenuous connection to the counties in which they were filed.

The filings mark a striking departure from Paxton’s previous opposition to the practice. In a 2017 legal brief that Paxton wrote on behalf of 17 states, he urged the U.S. Supreme Court to crack down on forum shopping in federal courts. The practice, he wrote, “has the pernicious effect of reducing confidence in the fairness and neutrality of our Nation’s justice system.”

Paxton’s approach also subverts what the Legislature intended when it passed a law in the 1990s that required plaintiffs to file lawsuits in counties where a “substantial” part of the alleged violation took place, according to three legal experts. That was done at the behest of conservatives who felt trial lawyers were flocking to venues favorable to them to win big damage verdicts against businesses.

“It looks like the attorney general’s office is interested in engaging in litigation games that it would otherwise decry if the shoe were on the other foot,” said Michael Ariens, a professor at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, who has studied laws regulating where lawsuits can be filed.

Neither of Paxton’s Republican predecessors, Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, appears to have employed this strategy. ProPublica and the Tribune reviewed hundreds of cases filed outside of the state’s five large urban counties during their tenures. Each had a clear connection to the venue Abbott or Cornyn chose.

Neither Abbott nor Cornyn, who Paxton is trying to unseat, responded to requests for comment. Trump on Tuesday endorsed Paxton in the race.

Texas’ major consumer protection law gives the attorney general some flexibility with those cases despite the state’s broader restriction on forum shopping. The office does not have to prove that a substantial part of the events in a consumer protection case happened in the place where it files suit but can instead file in counties where a defendant has done business.

But Paxton has stretched the boundaries of that law, too, according to legal experts and to former staffers of the attorney general’s office who argued against him in court. Last year, for example, the attorney general filed a lawsuit against the gaming platform Roblox in King County, a ranching community of about 200 people east of Lubbock. Its key justification for selecting the tiny county was that residents there had internet access.

Paxton, who did not respond to requests for comment or to written questions, has not spoken publicly about his office’s decisions to file lawsuits in courts with little connection to the cases.

At the November hearing in Panola County, Judge LeAnn Rafferty, a Republican first elected in 2016, did not question the attorney general’s office on its venue choice but asked, “Do you disagree with the defendants’ assertion that Tylenol is the safest choice for pregnant women who have a fever?”

“It depends on — oh, you said for having a fever? That probably is true,” replied J.J. Snidow, a partner at Keller Postman. “There are not alternatives in the pain relief space to Tylenol that don’t also have risks.”

Tylenol makers, Rafferty said, already tell pregnant women to consult with a doctor before taking the drug. Rafferty declined to comment about the case. Snidow said Keller Postman had no comment. Paxton has repeatedly turned to the firm as he has grown increasingly reliant on private attorneys to litigate major cases for his office.

Kenvue directed ProPublica and the Tribune to a statement on its website that said there is “no proven link” between acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and autism. A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson said the company has had nothing to do with making or selling the drug since splitting with Kenvue in 2023.

Rafferty threw out five of the six claims in the attorney general’s lawsuit. She dismissed one for insufficient evidence. In the other four, Rafferty ruled that the state did not have jurisdiction over Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue Inc. because they do not manufacture or sell Tylenol in Texas.

She allowed one claim to proceed that alleged Kenvue Brands had violated the state’s consumer protection act by making false claims about Tylenol’s safety.

With most of the claims thrown out, the attorney general’s office doubled down on its strategy.

Two weeks later, it filed a new case against the pharmaceutical companies.

This time, it chose Bailey County, a community of 7,000 residents on the New Mexico border.

Paxton’s pivot

For decades, plaintiffs’ attorneys from across the U.S. swarmed courts in small Texas counties that had reputations for sympathetic judges and generous juries. The practice became so ubiquitous that The Wall Street Journal branded the Texas judicial system a “Wild West embarrassment.”

In 1995, Robert Duncan, then a Republican state representative from Lubbock, resolved to crack down on the practice. He authored a bill that required a “substantial part” of a lawsuit’s claims be connected to the county of filing.

An attorney himself, Duncan recalls traveling hundreds of miles from his home in the Texas High Plains to the Rio Grande Valley for cases that had no connection to the border region. Forum shopping, Duncan told ProPublica and the Tribune, had led to too many attorneys choosing courts where there was “no reason to be there other than the bias or prejudice of whatever the plaintiff’s lawyer is trying to establish that would favor the case, as opposed to giving the defendant a fair opportunity.”

Duncan declined to comment on Paxton’s practice of filing lawsuits in counties with little connection to the allegations of wrongdoing.

Paxton was not in the Legislature when Duncan’s bill passed but, as a freshman representative in 2003, he supported legislation that gave judges more power to dismiss lawsuits they concluded belonged in another state.

He also railed against “rampant forum shopping,” asserting that the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017 should restrict the practice after plaintiffs in patent infringement lawsuits began flocking to courts that most often ruled in their favor. The Eastern District of Texas had become the most popular venue for the lawsuits, even though few of the cases had clear connections to the area. Most cases landed on the docket of a judge based in rural Harrison County, 140 miles east of Dallas, where plaintiffs won 78% of the time, according to legal researchers.

That waned after justices ruled that federal courts must strictly enforce a decades-old law requiring corporations in patent disputes to be sued only in their home states.

Since then, Paxton has repeatedly engaged in forum shopping in state courts, legal experts said. In fact, his office, or attorneys on behalf of his office, have filed 11 cases in Harrison, the same county where he argued that federal courts should limit plaintiffs from filing.

“It’s hypocritical for the AG to criticize patent litigants for forum shopping but then to forum shop himself,” said Paul Gugliuzza, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. “Forum shopping, judge shopping — it’s usually not unlawful, but it is highly opportunistic, and, in many circumstances, probably shouldn’t be lawful.”

Paxton notched one of the biggest wins of his tenure in Harrison County. He secured a $1.4 billion settlement from Meta after alleging that the Facebook parent company captured Texans’ biometric data without their consent. Paxton’s office contended in court filings that Harrison was a proper venue for the 2022 lawsuit because the company had done business in the county and a substantial part of the alleged lawbreaking occurred there. The office did not provide specifics.

Meta has an office in Travis County, not in Harrison, where only about 0.2% of Texans live, but the company did not challenge the venue. The company didn’t admit to wrongdoing in the settlement and did not respond to questions about the case. It’s unclear why its lawyers did not seek a different venue, but the judge in the case, Republican Brad Morin, denied a transfer in at least one other lawsuit involving Paxton during the Meta litigation.

Paxton has not limited his efforts to find more favorable courts solely to small counties. The attorney general has repeatedly filed cases, particularly political ones, in Tarrant, the state’s largest Republican county and home to Fort Worth.

In August, Paxton’s office chose the county as the venue to sue former Democratic U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke and his political organization, Powered By People, after the group helped pay expenses for Democratic members of the Texas Legislature who left the state to block the passage of new congressional maps. The maps, drawn at Trump’s behest, favored the GOP.

The attorney general’s office stated in court documents that the case had a “substantial” connection to Tarrant County because the group planned a rally in Fort Worth. When O’Rourke sought to move the case to El Paso County — where he lives and where the group is headquartered — Paxton accused him of forum shopping. O’Rourke did not respond to an interview request.

Paxton secured a court order in Tarrant that prohibited Powered by People from fundraising while the case was pending. But within weeks, the 15th Court of Appeals overturned the decision. It noted that Paxton was a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, which created an incentive to blunt Democrats’ ability to campaign. The judges said the order infringed on the organization’s free speech rights before a court had determined guilt.

Legal experts say such forum shopping erodes trust in the court system. It is especially problematic when it comes from the attorney general, who is supposed to defend state laws and preserve public trust in the justice system, they said.

“It’s hard to respect the system if you think it’s being employed in a way you fundamentally think is unfair,” said Paul Grimm, a former U.S. district judge in Maryland and an advocate of restricting forum shopping.

“Not the law”

In at least two recent cases, Paxton has tested a novel interpretation of state law governing where lawsuits can be filed. His office has argued that if a company does business over the internet, it can be sued in any Texas county.

One such case was a 2022 lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Two law firms filed the case against the company under a law that allows private attorneys to sue on behalf of the attorney general. The lawsuit accused AstraZeneca of defrauding Medicaid by giving kickbacks to healthcare workers in exchange for prescribing the company’s products. The company, which did not respond to a request for comment, said in legal filings that the lawsuit sought to punish its innocuous outreach to doctors and did not identify a single patient harmed or taxpayer dollar wasted.

Paxton’s office formally joined the case in July. Attorneys working on behalf of his office argued that Harrison County was the proper venue because the firm’s website could be accessed from there, company salespeople had visited the county and a local clinic had a brochure for one of the company’s drugs.

When AstraZeneca asked Morin, the lone Harrison County judge, to transfer the case to Travis County, he refused without explanation. The company appealed and, in November, the 15th Court of Appeals overruled Morin’s decision. The court concluded that he abused his discretion in declining to move the case. Morin did not respond to a request for comment.

The court also found that Paxton’s office failed to provide proof that any of the alleged lawbreaking occurred in Harrison County. It ordered the case transferred to Travis County, where it is ongoing.

That month, the attorney general’s office argued that Roblox could be sued in King County, an expanse of rolling plains with no incorporated communities, because third-party retailers there sold gift cards to access the online gaming company.

Then the office made another bold claim: that companies with websites can be sued anywhere, no matter how small the county.

“This is a case about ubiquity, about being online and accessible to all children throughout the state,” Mark Pinkert, a Florida lawyer whom Paxton’s office had hired as outside counsel, argued at a hearing to discuss a request from Roblox that the case be moved to Travis County. “They are advertising broadly.”

Pinkert did not respond to a request for comment.

Roblox’s attorney Ed Burbach was stunned by the argument. He’d previously led the civil litigation division at the attorney general’s office under Abbott. The office’s longstanding practice, Burbach told the judge, was to file statewide consumer protection cases in Travis County.

This new argument by the attorney general’s office would obliterate the Legislature’s attempts to limit forum shopping by allowing any company to be sued in any county, Burbach said.

“That is simply not the law,” Burbach said, adding that most Texans, including lawmakers, would “be shocked to hear that outside counsel of the AG’s office would be arguing that.”

The judge transferred the case to Travis County, where it is ongoing.

Burbach declined to comment, but Paul Rogers, a law professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, warned of the dangers if Paxton succeeds at getting courts to side with his expansive interpretation. The attorney general, he said, would have “a lot of power to file any lawsuit, in any county, for any reason, whether the underlying lawsuit has merit or not.”

Doubling down

In Washington, Trump and Kennedy’s public rebukes of Tylenol have tapered off. Paxton, however, continues to vigorously pursue his lawsuit against the drugmakers in state court.

After the setback in Panola County, the attorney general’s office filed an urgent request in Bailey County, arguing that Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue should be barred from selling any products in Texas until they filed paperwork and paid a $750 fee to register with the secretary of state. (Such registration would allow Paxton’s office to strengthen its case in Panola County.)

Though Paxton’s office was already involved in a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical companies in Panola County, the attorney general’s office stated in court filings that it did not know the companies’ attorneys, so it could not notify them of the suit.

Without hearing from the drugmakers’ lawyers, Judge Gordon Green ordered the companies to register. He said they could be barred from doing business in Texas if they didn’t. Paxton proclaimed the ruling a “major win” over Big Pharma.

The victory was short-lived. A week later, the drugmakers’ lawyer Aaron Nielson, who had previously served under Paxton as the state’s solicitor general, attended a hearing in Green’s court. He accused Paxton’s office of sleight of hand by trying to relitigate claims that had already failed to persuade the Panola County judge.

“This is blatant forum shopping and taking another bite at the apple,” said Nielson, who did not respond to a request for comment. “They decided to bring Your Honor into this, rather than let the Court that they chose continue with its own proceedings, which we think is highly improper.”

At the end of the hearing, Green withdrew the order requiring the companies to register. He did not respond to a request for comment.

The Panola and Bailey county cases are awaiting a ruling from the 15th Court of Appeals.

In the meantime, the attorney general’s office tried yet another gambit in Panola, where the judge had allowed one of its original claims to move forward.

Paxton’s lawyers amended their original lawsuit in the county. They noted that Green had ordered the drugmakers to register to do business in Texas, which meant Texas now had jurisdiction to pursue the claims that had been dismissed.

They omitted the fact that Green voided that order.

By referencing the order as if it were still in effect, the attorney general’s office risks losing credibility with the Panola County judge, Gugliuzza said.

“If you knowingly are presenting false information to the court, that is textbook sanctionable conduct,” Gugliuzza said.

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

The Italian divers had been exploring the cave in Vaavu Atoll on Thursday when they disappeared. The body of their Italian diving instructor was recovered outside the cave and the Finnish recovery divers brought the bodies of two of the divers to the surface Tuesday.

Presidential spokesperson Mohameed Hussain Shareef said the last two bodies were recovered by three Finnish divers supported by the Maldives coastguard and police.

The bodies were taken to a morgue and identified as Muriel Oddenino and Giorgia Sommacal. On Tuesday Monica Montefalcone and Federico Gualtieri were brought out, government spokesperson Ahmed Shaam said. The instructor, Gianluca Benedetti, was found near the mouth of the cave on the day the divers disappeared.

Montefalcone and Sommacal were mother and daughter.

“After that we will coordinate with the Italian government and start the procedure to repatriate the bodies,” Shareef said. He thanked the Finnish divers, praising them for their professionalism and leadership.

The four bodies were located Monday at a depth of around 60 meters (200 feet), twice the legal depth for recreational diving in the island nation. The search had been temporarily suspended after a local military diver died during a perilous retrieval attempt.

The Maldives government said the recovery divers spotted the bodies in the cave’s innermost area. Shaam said the four bodies were found “pretty much together.”

The cave has been explored in the past by local experts and foreign divers, presidential spokesperson Shareef told The Associated Press earlier.

While the Italian divers had a permit, authorities didn’t know from their proposal the exact location of the cave they were exploring, and at least two of the dead were not on the list of researchers that had been submitted, “so we didn’t know they were part of the expedition,” Shareef said.

He described the conditions deep in the cave as “challenging” with difficult terrain, strong currents and poor visibility.

An alert had also been issued due to bad weather and investigators must determine whether the divers took adequate precautions, Shareef said.

The Divers’ Alert Network Europe, which deployed the Finnish divers, described them as technical and cave divers with experience in search and recovery missions, including operations in “deep overhead environments, confined spaces and high-risk scenarios.”

The rescue team used closed-circuit rebreathers, a system that recycles exhaled breathing gas and removes carbon dioxide through a chemical scrubber, allowing for “significantly longer dives,” the organization said.

The cause of death of the Maldivian military diver was still under investigation, but colleagues have suggested he may have died from nitrogen narcosis or decompression at depth.

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Francis reported from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The wind-driven Sandy Fire was reported Monday in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.

By Tuesday morning, it had consumed more than two square miles (five square kilometers) of dry brush and destroyed at least one home, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.

The flames were initially pushed by gusts that topped 30 mph (48 kph), but firefighters were aided by calmer winds overnight, said department spokesperson Andrew Dowd.

“We've made a lot of progress against this fire with those improved weather conditions,” Dowd said. Crews hoped to make further progress before winds increased again, he said.

The fire was 5% contained. The cause is under investigation.

Evacuation orders and warnings were still in place for several neighborhoods in Simi Valley, a city of more than 125,000 people that was shrouded in smoke as aircraft made water drops.

Meanwhile, firefighters were battling a 23-square-mile (59-square-kilometer) blaze on Santa Rosa Island, off the Southern California coast. The fire destroyed a cabin and an equipment shed and forced the evacuation of 11 National Park Service employees.

There was no containment as of Tuesday morning.

Santa Rosa, a popular destination for camping and hiking, is home to island foxes, spotted skunks and elephant seals.

Unfortunately, the wet weather isn’t going away anytime soon. Rain chances are expected to stick around through Memorial Day weekend and into next week.

Track it all on our live radar:

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After a record-setting run through the first two rounds, the Knicks were going nowhere for 40 minutes against the Cavs, trailing 93-71 with 7:52 to play. But Brunson relentlessly attacked James Harden to spark an 18-1 run that made it a ballgame, and he tied it at 101-all on a basket with 19 seconds remaining in regulation.

Before that, Brunson said the message for the Knicks was just to finish strong so they would have momentum for Game 2, even if they lost the opener.

“Just keep fighting,” he said. “Keep chipping away. We’re not going to get it back in one possession.”

The Knicks then opened overtime with a 9-0 run as a delirious crowd in Madison Square Garden danced and screamed in the aisles. The Knicks moved within three wins of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.

Mikal Bridges added 18 points and three Knicks scored 13, including OG Anunoby, who came on late after struggling most of the way in his return after missing two games with a strained right hamstring.

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points for the Cavaliers, who seemed well on their way to a third straight road win before their late collapse. The Knicks outscored them 44-11 after their 93-71 lead.

“We played great basketball tonight for three quarters. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter — they dominated us in the fourth quarter,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said.

The Knicks won their eighth straight game and will host Game 2 on Thursday.

The Knicks had outscored Atlanta and Philadelphia by a combined 194 points, the largest margin ever through a team’s first 10 postseason games. But after not playing since May 10, when they finished their second-round sweep of the 76ers, the Knicks misfired most of the night, looking like the rust hurt more than the rest helped.

They were 4 for 23 on 3-pointers through three quarters and then had a horrible start to the fourth. But a year after coughing up a 14-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and losing to Indiana in OT in Game 1 of the conference finals on their home court, the Knicks found their offense just in time.

“But it was our defense that has always been special in these playoffs and that has carried us in this playoffs, that showed up in the fourth quarter and in overtime,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It allowed us to be sitting here with a win against a really great team.”

The only bigger fourth-quarter playoff comeback in the last 30 years was when the Clippers rallied from 24 down to beat Memphis in Game 1 in 2012.

“That can’t happen. But it did," Mitchell said. "We play in two days. We can’t sit here and let it kill our momentum, kill what we’ve been doing. It’s not a good loss.”

The Knicks came from 20 points behind three times last year in the postseason. Those were their largest comebacks on record since 1969-70, when they won their first of two NBA titles.

Evan Mobley had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs. Harden also scored 15 points, but was just 1 for 8 on 3-pointers and had more turnovers (six) than field goals (five).

___

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

State broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday five deaths and 11 people missing in Shimen County of Hunan province in central China after rain battered the region. A rescue operation is underway. By Tuesday evening, more than 19,000 had been relocated, Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported.

Xinhua said the county recorded a cumulative rainfall of 339 millimeters (about 13 inches) within a 24-hour period ending at 7 a.m. on Monday. One of its towns once received a rainfall of 240 millimeters (about 9 inches) within just a few hours, breaking historical records, it said.

In nearby Hubei province, some streets were turned into rivers and rescuers had to deploy inflatable boats to help stranded residents. Some houses were flooded or collapsed, Xinhua reported. Three people were killed and four others were missing as of Tuesday morning, it said.

CCTV on Tuesday also reported that heavy rain and floods have caused four deaths and left five others missing in Guizhou Province in southwestern China. In some areas, houses flooded, roads were damaged, and communications were disrupted, it said. One area had to relocate more than 3,700 people, Xinhua added.

Flood-induced casualties are common in China. Last July, rains and flooding killed dozens of people in Beijing.

Separately, 10 people were killed after a pickup truck fell off a bridge in the southern region of Guangxi on Saturday, Xinhua reported.

Democrats had raised the state gas tax by 6 cents a gallon and increased a series of fees to help pay for road improvements and plug a hole in the state’s transportation budget. Republicans responded by launching a successful referendum campaign to refer the tax and fee increases to voters.

Republican state Sen. Bruce Starr, who helped lead the referendum campaign, said he was “not surprised at all that Oregonians have rejected a completely unpopular tax increase.”

“Oregon voters will not be ignored. Oregon taxpayers will not be ignored,” he told The Associated Press Tuesday night.

Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley easily won their primaries Tuesday, while state Sen. Christine Drazan won the GOP gubernatorial primary to face Kotek. But much of the Election Day drama centered less on candidate races and more on the referendum to repeal the bill passed last fall by the Democratic-controlled Legislature to raise the state gas tax and a range of fees.

The failure of the gas tax was no surprise to Democrats, who acknowledged the timing of the vote was against them. The tax increase also ran counter to national Democrats’ strategy of focusing on affordability concerns in the hopes of winning back control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections.

Republicans sought to counter Democrats’ affordability messaging by portraying the tax and fee increases as further fueling the high cost of living. Democrats, meanwhile, said the root cause of the spike in gas prices was President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran.

The legislation was Democrats' answer to help Oregon's transportation budget as the state projects a decline in gas tax revenue from the shift to more fuel-efficient, electric and hybrid vehicles. The gas tax is the largest funding source for fixing roads and upgrading highways.

The referendum, known as Measure 120, landed on the ballot as the cost of gas is spiking nationwide.

Gas tax increase backfired on Democrats' affordability messaging

Republicans began circulating a petition to repeal the tax and fee increases soon after Kotek signed the legislation. It didn’t take them long to gather more than three times the number of signatures required to place the measure on the ballot.

With the referendum going before voters at a time when gas prices are skyrocketing, Republicans turned the tables on national Democrats’ messaging about affordability and lowering the cost of living during this year’s midterm elections.

Trump, for his part, recently said he will move to suspend the federal gas tax of 18 cents a gallon, which would need to be approved by Congress.

Portland voters divided on tax increase

Late Tuesday afternoon, a steady stream of voters arrived at a Portland library serving as a ballot drop site. Even in the progressive hub, Democratic voters were divided on the measure.

“I feel like the roads need to be repaired as a bicyclist, so I voted yes,” said Gail Watnick, a 56-year-old who arrived by bike wearing a bright yellow helmet.

David Trujillo, 25, said he voted for Kotek in the primary but voted against the gas tax increase.

“I think at the moment, with the gas prices being up and with the war that is occurring, it’s very difficult for folks to get around,” he said. “If the gas prices were to rise, I think that would be a huge barrier for more of our community members.”

A Jan. 6 defendant and an ex-NBA player were among Republicans running for governor

Republicans had a crowded primary field of 14 candidates vying to run against Kotek in November.

Drazan lost to Kotek in the 2022 general election and faces an uphill battle to win the governor's office. Democrats appear energized around the country this year, and Oregon hasn’t elected a Republican governor in over 40 years.

The Republican primary also included Chris Dudley, a former NBA player whose career included time with the Portland Trail Blazers and who narrowly lost a previous bid for governor in 2010, and David Medina, a conservative influencer who was among those charged after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and pardoned by President Donald Trump last year. Medina faced charges that included obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, and several misdemeanors that included destruction of government property and disorderly and disruptive conduct.

Few competitive seats for US House and Senate

Voters also cast ballots in primaries for U.S. Senate and the state's six U.S. House seats, five of which are held by Democrats.

In Oregon's 5th Congressional District, considered its most competitive, incumbent U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum won the Democratic primary and will face Republican Patti Adair, a county commissioner.

The district was flipped by Republicans for the first time in decades in 2022 but reclaimed by Democrats in 2024. The district stretches from southern Portland across the Cascade Range to Bend.

The other U.S. House seats are considered largely safe for the current incumbents.

Seven Republicans were running in the primary to challenge Merkley in the fall. That was too early to call with three candidates — state Sen. David Brock Smith, Jo Rae Perkins and Brent Barker — locked in a tight race.

The report by the Board of Peace, an international body set up by U.S. President Donald Trump and tasked with overseeing the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, is expected to be discussed by the Security Council on Thursday when it meets on the situation in the Middle East.

“At this stage, the principal obstacle to full implementation (of the ceasefire) remains Hamas’ refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza,” the report said.

Hamas in a statement rejected the report and said it contains “fallacies.”

A diplomat familiar with the report confirmed its authenticity, speaking on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public.

Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan calls on Hamas to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave after more than two years of war.

Board of Peace head has said the ceasefire has stalled

Last week, the head of the Board of Peace, former U.N. Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov, acknowledged that the truce had stalled since taking effect in October, saying the deadlock over disarming Hamas had paralyzed progress.

“Reconstruction cannot commence where weapons have not been laid down,” the board’s report to the Security Council says. “The critical variable — the single factor that unlocks every other element of the plan — is the conclusion of an agreement on the Roadmap for the full implementation of the plan that includes full decommissioning by Hamas and all armed groups in Gaza.”

The Palestinian militant group, which led the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, has accused Israel of failing to meet its obligations under the first phase of the ceasefire and has sought to link any demilitarization to Israeli troop pullbacks. Israel’s military has expanded its control of Gaza since the truce took effect and now controls some 60% of the territory.

The new report calls on the Security Council to “reiterate publicly, clearly and consistently that the decommissioning of weapons in Gaza is not merely a requirement (of the UN’s resolution to end the war) but critical for reconstruction to begin, for a timebound Israeli forces withdrawal, and for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood to be pursued.”

The Security Council endorsed the Board of Peace in a resolution in November.

Hamas says the report tries to derail the ceasefire

Hamas said the report “contains a number of fallacies that absolve the occupying government of its responsibilities for the daily violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.”

The group said the report ignored Israel’s “failure to uphold the majority of its commitments” in the ceasefire deal, including the continued restrictions on crossings into the Palestinian territory and preventing the entry of material and equipment needed to repair basic infrastructure and shelter for the largely displaced population.

“The report’s adoption of the occupation’s conditions regarding disarmament is a dubious attempt to muddy the waters and derail the ceasefire agreement,” Hamas said in a statement.

It called on the Security Council and Mladenov to compel Israel to fulfill its commitments under the ceasefire' deal's first phase, "foremost among them the cessation of the daily aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza.”

The ceasefire has seen numerous violations

The report noted near-daily ceasefire violations, “some of which are serious, and their human consequences — civilians killed, families living in fear, and continued impediments to humanitarian access — cannot be minimized.”

Israel’s military still carries out airstrikes in Gaza despite the ceasefire and has pushed deeper into the territory, where it now controls more than it was granted under the ceasefire agreement. Living conditions are dire, with most of the territory’s 2 million people living in tent camps lacking basic services.

Mladenov last week said his office is addressing violations by both sides on a daily basis. But he repeatedly cited the disarmament issue as a central sticking point, saying Hamas’ obligation to give up its arsenal is “not negotiable" and that progress on all other issues was being held up.

___

Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece. Joseph Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.