The young Spurs left no doubt they're already a serious NBA title contender.

Stephon Castle had 32 points and 11 rebounds to highlight another dominant performance from the backcourt, and Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs romped past the Timberwolves 139-109 on Friday night to finish in the second-round series in six games.

“I just tip my hat to them,” Edwards said. “They were just the better team.”

De'Aaron Fox added 21 points and nine assists and rookie Dylan Harper had 15 points off the bench for the Spurs, who set their franchise postseason record for 3-pointers made by going 18 for 38. They will face defending champion Oklahoma City in Game 1 on Monday night. The Thunder swept their first two series.

“Of course we’re confident, but we need to keep the right confidence level,” Wembanyama said. “Right now, I’m not even thinking about it. I’m just thinking about recovering.”

Wembanyama, who bounced back from his stunning Game 4 ejection with 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in the Game 5 blowout, was well-guarded by the Wolves in Game 6 and had a quiet 19 points in 27 minutes. But he still served as a constant defensive deterrent in the paint, and he dutifully joined the Spurs in transition whenever they had the opportunity to run — which was often.

The size, smarts and shooting touch of the Spurs guards were too much for the Wolves, who predictably had their hands full with the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama.

Castle made his first five 3-pointers and finished 11 for 16 from the floor. Fox was 3 for 3 from deep, and Julian Champagnie made four 3s among his 18 points for the Spurs, who outscored the Wolves by a whopping 97 points in the series and never once trailed by double digits. The Spurs breezed by Portland Trail in five games in the first round.

“It shows that we already gained a little bit of experience from our short playoff time," Wembanyama said. "I feel like we put ourselves in the best conditions, as simple as that.”

Anthony Edwards had 24 points on 9-for-26 shooting for the Wolves, who got another spark from reserves Terrence Shannon (21 points) and Naz Reid (18 points) but were again flustered by the Spurs and their relentless switch-heavy defense. Julius Randle had just three points on 1-for-8 shooting.

“It just felt like we kind of ran out of bullets as this series went on,” coach Chris Finch said.

This no-show in the elimination game might’ve felt familiar to Wolves fans, who’ve otherwise enjoyed an unprecedented run of success in the playoffs over the last three years.

Minnesota trailed by 33 points at halftime in a 30-point loss at Oklahoma City in the Game 5 ouster in the Western Conference finals last year and were down by 29 points at the break to Dallas in losing the Western Conference finals in 2024 in a 21-point loss in Game 5.

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Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg will be replaced as FDA's acting drug center director by Dr. Mike Davis, who has been serving as deputy director, according to an email sent to agency staff Friday that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Hoeg said in a social media post late Friday that she was “fired,” from the agency, adding: “I learned so much and leave with no regrets.”

Hoeg's departure is the latest in an ongoing shake-up at the powerful regulatory agency. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned earlier in the week, and Dr. Vinay Prasad, the agency's vaccine and biotech chief, stepped down last month following intense criticism from drugmakers, patients and investors.

The agency also announced Friday that Karim Mikhail would take over as acting director of the vaccines center. Mikhail, a longtime pharmaceutical executive, was hired by Makary last spring.

Makary's ouster from his role atop the FDA followed weeks of complaints from President Donald Trump's political allies, including anti-abortion groups and vaping lobbyists, who are frustrated with the direction of the agency.

Hoeg, who is closely aligned with Makary and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had been leading FDA's drug program since December, the latest official to briefly hold that position amid a revolving door of FDA leadership changes.

Hoeg's rapid rise through the agency was engineered by Makary, who quickly promoted her from serving as his special assistant to overseeing the agency's largest center, responsible for regulating most U.S. prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

FDA center directors are typically career agency scientists with decades of experience. Hoeg had no previous government or management experience.

Since arriving at the FDA last March, Hoeg led investigations into the safety of injectable RSV drugs for children, antidepressants and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Those inquiries reflected Hoeg’s longstanding interests and concerns from before joining government.

A sports medicine physician and public health scientist, Hoeg first gained attention during the pandemic as a critic of masking, school closures, vaccine mandates and other government measures. She co-wrote papers with other medical contrarians who would go on to join the Trump administration, including Makary and Prasad.

Like Makary and Prasad, Hoeg also frequently expressed her opinions in blog posts and podcasts, including one titled “Vaccine Curious.” The podcast discussed a number of discredited ideas, including that mRNA vaccines may contain harmful DNA contaminants.

A Danish American citizen, Hoeg was instrumental in the Trump administration’s recent effort to drop a number of federally recommended shots for children, including those for the flu and hepatitis B at birth. Those changes have been temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Boston, though the administration plans to appeal the decision.

At the FDA, Hoeg led an “initial analysis” of vaccine injuries that linked COVID-19 shots to 10 reported deaths in children — without providing the supporting evidence. The findings were discussed in an internal memo Prasad sent to staffers last November, though the FDA has not formally announced the findings or explained how they were developed.

Officials from the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have previously concluded that serious side effects from the vaccines are extremely rare.

More recently, Hoeg was involved in the agency’s review of a formal petition to add bold new warnings to antidepressant drugs about unproven pregnancy risks, including fetal abnormalities that could lead to autism and other disorders.

In March, she attempted to hire the author of the petition to serve as a senior adviser at the FDA, according to people familiar with the situation. The matter raised concerns among some agency staff because Hoeg had repeatedly referred to the person as a friend, according to the people who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential FDA matters.

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

Labor unions representing about half the system’s workers announced the walkout after negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority ended Friday without a new contract. The five unions, which represent about half the system’s 7,000 workers, including locomotive engineers, machinists and signalmen, are legally allowed to go on strike at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Kevin Sexton of the National Vice President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen said no new negotiations have been scheduled.

“We’re far apart at this point," Sexton said. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”

Janno Lieber, the MTA chairman, said the agency “gave the union everything they said they wanted in terms of pay” and that to him it was apparent the unions always intended to walk out.

The strike will force the roughly 250,000 people who ride the system each weekday to find alternative routes into New York City from its Long Island suburbs or to work from home. That means more cars on traffic-choked highways and longer work commutes.

“It’s gonna be such a nightmare trying to get in,” said Rob Udle, an electrician who takes the LIRR at least five days a week into Manhattan.

The strike will even make it challenging for some sports fans to get into Manhattan to watch the NBA’s New York Knicks playoff run or see the baseball rivals the New York Yankees battle the crosstown Mets this weekend.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has urged LIRR riders to work from during the walkout as the MTA plans to provide free but limited shuttle buses during the work day rush hours geared toward essential workers.

In a statement she blamed the strike on union leadership.

“Commuters are dealing with unnecessary dysfunction and thousands of union LIRR workers are being forced to go without a paycheck because of decisions made by a small group of union leaders," Hochul said. "I stand with LIRR riders and will fight to preserve the long term stability of the MTA.”

Dispute over wages

The union has demanded a total raise of 16% over four years, saying it is needed to help workers keep up with inflation and rising living costs. The MTA argued that the union’s initial demands would lead to fare increases. The authority has agreed to a pay raise of at least 9.5% over the next three years, plus what would effectively amount to a 4.5% raise in year four.

“The difference between those two positions is not unbridgeable,” Gary Dellaverson, the MTA’s chief negotiator, suggested during a news conference Wednesday.

“The key question is: Will MTA and Gov. Hochul create frustration and gridlock for commuters, spend millions on buses during a strike and lose millions in revenue over what amounts to roughly a one percent difference in wages?” Nick Peluso, national vice president for the Transportation Communications Union, said in a statement.

Commuters brace for the worst

Susanne Alberto, a personal trainer from Long Island, said she has already made plans with her Manhattan clients to hold virtual sessions in the event of a shutdown.

She said the union likely has the upper hand.

“The MTA is going to cave, and they know that,” Alberto said. “Why don’t they just do it now instead of waiting until virtually millions of people get inconvenienced?”

Udle, the electrician, said he will likely use his vacation days rather than navigate the “nightmare” of commuting into Manhattan if the rail service shuts down.

A union member, he sympathized with the unions’ affordability concerns, but he said he didn’t agree with their strong-arm tactics.

“I get it, the cost of living is going up and stuff like that,” Udle said while waiting at Penn Station for a train home. “But they shouldn’t hold everybody hostage to do it. There’s a better way. You’re affecting a lot of other people."

A strike was temporarily averted in September when President Donald Trump’s administration agreed to help with negotiations. Those efforts ended without a deal, giving both sides 60 days — ending 12:01 a.m. Saturday — to again try to resolve their differences before the union is legally allowed to go on strike or the agency could lock out workers.

LIRR workers last went on strike in 1994, for about two days.

Workers on the commuter rail system connecting Manhattan to New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, went on strike last year. It lasted three days.

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The first reference to the rail system has been updated to correct to Long Island Rail Road, from Long Island Railroad.

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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

“It’s a huge blow. He’s been one of our most consistent guys that we have in our rotation,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Perhaps the Mets' best pitcher this year, Holmes got nailed just above the right foot on a leadoff single in the fourth inning by New York Yankees rookie Spencer Jones during the Subway Series opener at Citi Field.

Holmes chased after the ball as it caromed past the first-base line into foul territory. Mendoza and an athletic trainer came out of the dugout to check on the right-hander, who threw two warmup pitches and remained in the game.

His next six pitches were balls, but Holmes then got consecutive strikeouts and retired Aaron Judge on a flyball with the bases loaded to finish a scoreless inning.

Holmes was lifted following a one-out walk in the fifth. He threw 95 pitches, including 26 while facing seven batters after getting hit by Jones' line drive.

“He said he was fine. That’s the crazy part. We went out, checked him out, threw a couple pitches, was able to finish the inning," Mendoza said. “Comes back in and he didn’t even give me a chance. He said, ‘I’m good to go back out,’ and he goes back out there. Sent him for X-rays and this is what we’re dealing with now.”

Mendoza said those X-rays showed a fractured right fibula that will sideline Holmes “for a long time.”

“That’s the hard part to understand. He was fine, we checked him, finished the inning, he goes back out because he feels good. And then the last pitch, something didn’t look right. He came out, I’m talking to him in the dugout, he’s like, yeah, something didn’t feel right,” Mendoza said.

A former Yankees reliever, Holmes has been a dependable member of the rotation since converting to a starting role after signing a $38 million, three-year contract with the Mets as a free agent before the 2025 season. He entered Friday third in the National League with a 1.86 ERA.

“We all know how tough he is. He’s not going to come out that easy,” Mets slugger Juan Soto said. “But whenever I saw him coming out of the game in the next inning is when I was thinking something is wrong.”

Holmes (4-4) was charged with four runs and seven hits over 4 1/3 innings in a 5-2 loss, raising his ERA to 2.39. He struck out eight and walked two.

Holmes had lasted at least five innings and permitted no more than two runs in each of his first eight starts this season. His contract includes a $12 million player option for 2027.

“It’s tough to hear,” said Jones, who called Holmes a friend and noted they work out together during the offseason in Nashville, Tennessee. “I hit the ball and then I saw it come back towards me. It sounded loud.

“He’s a tough guy. Workhorse. Competitor. Says a lot about who he is to go back out there again the next inning with a broken leg. It’s incredible.”

After opening the season with baseball's biggest payroll, the Mets dropped to 18-26. Four projected regulars are already on the injured list — shortstop Francisco Lindor, catcher Francisco Alvarez, first baseman Jorge Polanco and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. — along with ineffective starting pitcher Kodai Senga and backups Ronny Mauricio and Jared Young.

“It’s tough, man. Clay is a guy who shows up every day and is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in my career,” said Soto, who was also teammates with Holmes on the Yankees. “It’s part of the game. We’re going to support him, we’re going to be right there for him in any way that he needs us. But it just sucks.”

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AP freelance writer Jerry Beach contributed to this report.

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The curveball to Joc Pederson missed wide of the strike zone, but Arrighetti’s confidence in his best pitch soared.

“I was like, dang, that felt pretty good,” Arrighetti said. “Spinning good. I looked up and saw the shape, and I was like, oh, that’s better than it’s been, so I had a pretty good feeling about it.”

Arrighetti generated a swinging strike to get ahead 1-2 on Pederson before freezing him with a curveball that nicked the outside corner.

The 26-year-old took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of the Astros' 2-0 victory. The no-hit bid ended when Rangers rookie Justin Foscue hit a line-drive single to left field.

Arrighetti was pulled after Foscue’s base hit. He walked four while throwing 102 pitches — one shy of his career high — and 62 for strikes. The native of nearby Katy, Texas, received a rousing ovation from the announced crowd of 32,555 at Daikin Park.

“It was a strike and I needed it to be a strike because I was getting tired, and honestly, I thought it was a pretty good slider,” Arrighetti said of his final pitch. “It could’ve been better. He broke his bat on it. In another world, maybe it goes right at somebody.”

Foscue grounded out in each of his first two at-bats and entered the game batting .182 this season in 11 plate appearances.

Arrighetti (5-1) lowered his ERA to 1.50 in six starts after beginning the season with Triple-A Sugar Land. The longest start of his career was on Aug. 28, 2024, when he struck out 11 over 7 2/3 scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Astros went ahead 1-0 on Isaac Paredes’ third-inning solo homer, and Braden Shewmake added an eighth-inning RBI single.

Left-hander Bryan King replaced Arrighetti and kept the Rangers off the board in the eighth by getting Pederson to fly out to right field, and then Astros catcher Christian Walker picked off Foscue at first base. King retired the side in order in the ninth for his fourth save.

Astros left fielder Zach Dezenzo kept the no-hit bid alive when he made a diving catch on a line drive by Alejandro Osuna for the second out of the fifth inning.

“Dezenzo makes that catch, I’m like, there’s always one play when you look back at (no-hit) bids,” Arrighetti said.

First baseman Christian Walker took a tough hop on a ground ball off the bat of Brandon Nimmo to start an inning-ending double play in the sixth.

There have been 17 no-hitters in Astros history, with the last coming from Ronel Blanco on April 1, 2024.

The Rangers have been no-hit five times since moving to Texas in 1971, most recently by Corey Kluber of the New York Yankees on May 19, 2021.

Arrighetti, whose wife gave birth to twin boys last month, said Friday’s performance meant more than normal because his grandparents, who live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attended the game.

“I don’t really get to see them very often,” Arrighetti said. “I got a little emotional. I can’t hide it.”

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“It's a great question,” Schwarber said.

One the Philadelphia Phillies slugger isn't particularly interested in answering. All he knows is that he's found a little something. Even more importantly, so has his team.

So even on a night the Phillies designated hitter smashed a pair of two-run homers that boosted his season total to a major league-leading 20 and drew a bases-loaded walk during a ninth inning rally, Schwarber was quick to deflect attention to all that was happening around him during an 11-9, 10-inning victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

Schwarber reached 20 homers on the earliest date in MLB history, according to Stats Perform, bettering Arizona's Luis Gonzalez, who hit his 20th on May 17, 2001. The Phillies slugger also tied a club mark with 20 homers in the team's first 45 games, first set by Cy Williams in 1923.

Bryce Harper, batting behind him, had four hits, including a tying single after Pirates closer Gregory Soto walked Schwarber on four pitches to pull the Phillies within two. Backup catcher Rafael Marchan delivered a two-run single in the 10th. Orion Kerkering picked up his first save of the season and just the third of his career.

“There’s so much good that went on today that we were able to respond and fight back,” Schwarber said. “That’s a really positive thing for us.”

The win pushed Philadelphia's record to 13-4 since Don Mattingly replaced Rob Thomson as manager and pulled the Phillies to within a game of .500 (22-23). The fact that surge has come in lockstep with Schwarber going off is not a coincidence.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Mattingly said. “He’s a different cat from the standpoint of how he does it. ... He's dangerous all the time. Doesn’t matter really lefties or righties, either one.”

Schwarber went deep off both to fuel Philadelphia's rally from a six-run deficit. He took Pittsburgh right-handed starter Braxton Ashcraft over the fence in the fifth. The Pirates pulled Ashcraft in favor of left-hander Mason Montgomery with one on and two outs in the seventh. It didn't matter. Schwarber turned on a 96 mph fastball that caught too much of the plate and sent it into the seats in right-center field to draw the Phillies within three.

The two blasts gave Schwarber nine home runs in his last eight games. It's the second time in his career he's had that many homers in an eight-game span. Former slugger Albert Belle is the only other player in major league history to have that kind of prolific run twice.

“One of the cooler things I’ve seen in baseball,” Harper said. “Just the ways he puts the bat on the ball. Yeah, it been pretty fun to watch.”

For Schwarber, the fun part isn't watching the ball sail from the barrel of his bat to the farther reaches of the ballpark but what the scoreboard reads at the end of the night.

A 10-game slide in April cost the popular Thomson his job. Mattingly — who'll miss Saturday's game to attend his son's graduation at Purdue — has steadied things. It's helped that one of baseball's best (and most expensive) lineups is starting to produce.

Yet even as hot as Schwarber is at the moment, he's not getting ahead of himself. His most impressive at-bat Friday might have been the one where the bat never left his shoulder.

With the Phillies down three in the ninth, Schwarber let four consecutive sinkers from Soto go by rather than take a hack and try to make something happen. He trotted to first base and Harper followed with a long single off the top of the wall in right-center to pull Philadelphia even.

“Greg’s got great stuff and he’s got a really nasty sinker in the bigger slider, so it’s just kind of really keying in on what you want,” Schwarber said. “And once I get 3-0, I was happy with the take.”

He was even happier with what came next as the Phillies took another step toward looking like the team that has been a postseason fixture the last four years. While front-running Atlanta remains well ahead in the NL East, Philadelphia's early season funk has passed and momentum seems to be building, which Schwarber is far more concerned about than whatever home-run total is next to his name.

“Obviously we know it’s not anywhere near complete, right?” Schwarber said, later adding, “It's been really cool to see the guys go out there and getting their results and us as a team, to be able to kind of get the results that we want.”

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

Houston Police say 34-year-old Brittany Gamble was found dead inside an apartment in November. The family was told last month the case was closed and no crime was found. But just before 5 p.m. Thursday, HPD confirmed to KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel that the investigation is open and that detectives are reviewing information and evidence.

Corley spoke with Gamble’s sister, Rebekah Falke, who says disturbing videos allegedly documented by the man before and after Gamble’s death raise serious questions about what happened.

“It was just so disturbing and it’s a nightmare,” Falke said.

According to Falke, Gamble was admitted to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in downtown Houston on November 17 for altered mental status. She suffered from Type 1 diabetes and epilepsy. Falke says Gamble was released from the hospital without family members being notified.

• RELATED: Woman found dead at east Houston apartment had been reported missing a week before

The family reported Gamble missing. Roughly 10 days later, they learned the medical examiner already had her body.

“They suspected that she had possibly been dead for multiple days prior to the discovery of her body,” Falke said.

Desperate for answers, family members searched a Metro-related Facebook page and found what they believe is a critical clue, a Facebook Live video of a man filming Gamble at a Metro station after she left the hospital.

“It just so happened to be that when she ended up on the Facebook page, this man had Facebook Live’d Brittany at the Metro station,” Falke said.

In the video, Gamble can be heard saying, “Get home… need to get some water.”

Falke says that was the last video of her sister alive. Other videos on the man’s page, the family says, appear to show Gamble after her death.

“We watched like a four-hour video where he is literally laying beside her body on this air mattress, sleeping beside my sister’s deceased body,” Falke said.

The family also noticed a ball of Gamble’s hair placed near a Bible inside the apartment. They said her face was gray and lifeless. The man was heard making disturbing comments and even seen changing Gamble’s clothes, according to Falke. She said the man eventually called 911 and Gamble’s body was removed.

The autopsy results were listed as undetermined.

The man has not been arrested and has not been named as a suspect. The family was devastated when HPD told them last month the case was closed. Falke says she turned to social media to raise awareness and soon after, the case was reopened.

“I feel like getting her story out there and making sure that this never happens to other people, that’s our biggest goal,” Falke said.

Houston Police have not named the man or identified him publicly as a suspect at this time. KPRC 2 News will continue to follow this story.

The decisive game is Sunday in Detroit.

“It’s going to be a fun environment for us and we’re excited to get back to the crib,” Cunningham said.

The Pistons’ 21-point victory tied a 66-year-old NBA playoff record for the largest Game 6 road win by a team trailing 3-2 in a series. The St. Louis Hawks beat the Minneapolis Lakers 117-96 in a the 1960 West Division finals.

Jalen Duren had 15 points and 11 rebounds while Daniss Jenkins also scored 15 for the Pistons, who have won four games this postseason when facing elimination.

They were down 3-1 to Orlando before winning the last three to advance out of the first round.

“We did what needed to be done. When we’re at our best, it’s the defense and the physicality that’s going to carry us,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I was pleased that we were allowed to play our style of basketball tonight where we can be legally physical and handsy, and just make it difficult on people.”

Cunningham made five 3-pointers as the Pistons went 16 of 36 from beyond the arc, tied for their most this preseason. Duncan Robinson, who missed Wednesday's Game 5 with a lower back injury, had four 3-pointers and scored 14 points off the bench.

Paul Reed also had 17 points as Detroit’s reserves outscored Cleveland’s 48-19.

“It has been a collective effort. We needed every bit of it. Great team win,” Cunningham said.

James Harden scored 23 points for Cleveland, which suffered its first home loss of the postseason. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley scored 18 apiece.

“We never really kicked it to that second level. And we need to get to that third and fourth level. It was never just a consistent flow at either end of the floor, which is frustrating,” Harden said.

Detroit asserted its will on the offensive boards and took advantage of Cleveland turnovers. The Pistons converted 13 offensive rebounds into 20 points. The Cavaliers had 20 turnovers, which resulted in 28 Detroit points.

The Pistons were up 54-41 at halftime and started the second half with a 12-2 run. The Cavaliers rallied to get within 74-68 before the Pistons put it away with a 13-2 spurt.

Mobley missed a dunk and Marcus Sasser drove the length of the floor for a layup at the buzzer to give Detroit a 84-70 lead at the end of the third quarter.

“It starts with us in the starting lineup. We got hit in the mouth and we didn’t punch back,” Mitchell said.

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

The court’s order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition. It was kicked off last year by President Donald Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent Supreme Court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the GOP.

In recent days, the justices have sided with Republicans in Alabama and Louisiana who hope to redo their congressional maps to produce more GOP-leaning seats following the court’s voting rights decision.

But the Virginia situation was different, stemming from a 4-3 ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month.

The state court found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in Virginia’s general election last fall.

The Supreme Court typically doesn’t intervene in state court proceedings unless they present an issue of federal law. Virginia Democrats had hoped to persuade the justices that the Virginia court misread federal law and Supreme Court precedent that hold that, even if early voting is underway, an election does not happen until Election Day itself.

Virginia’s amendment had been intended as a response to Republican gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, and to blunt a new map in Florida that just became law. Once the Virginia amendment passed, it briefly turned the nationwide redistricting scramble into a draw between the two parties.

That was unraveled by the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision.

The state's attorney general, Democrat Jay Jones, slammed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, saying it was another example of what he described as a national attack on voting rights and the rule of law.

“Let’s be clear about what is happening. Donald Trump, Republican state legislatures, and conservative courts are systematically and unabashedly tilting power away from the people for Trump’s political gain,” Jones said in a statement issued late Friday night.

The state’s top Democrats had disagreed about whether it was even too late for help from the Supreme Court. “Time grows short, but it is not yet too late,” lawyers for the Democratic leaders of the legislature as well as the state told the justices in a brief filed Friday.

A day earlier, the office of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger already had confirmed that the state will hold this year’s elections under the current districts established in 2021. Last month, Virginia Commissioner of Elections Steve Koski said a court order was needed by this past Tuesday to set the district lines for primary elections on Aug. 4.

Spanberger reacted to Friday's decision by saying both courts had nullified the votes of the more than 3 million Virginians who cast ballots in the April 21 special election.

“These Virginians made their voices heard — casting their ballots in good faith to push back against a President who said he’s 'entitled' to more seats in Congress before voters go to the polls,” she posted on her X account.

The leader of the state Republican Party said the justices made the right call.

“Wisely, the Supreme Court of the United States has confirmed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Virginia,” state party chairman Jeff Ryer said. “This should once and for all put to rest the Democrats’ effort to disenfranchise half of Virginia.

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Associated Press writer Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.

The contract, awarded Monday, is designated “for border wall in Big Bend Texas” in its description. The $1.7 billion allocated in the contract is the single-highest amount awarded for a contract in Texas related to the border wall, according to listings on usaspending.gov, the U.S. government’s official public spending database.

A second contract for $4.5 million was awarded on Thursday for “resource monitoring support” of border wall construction in a separate area of the Big Bend region.

The new awards come a week after CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott told the Washington Examiner there would be no border wall built at Big Bend National Park because of pushback from local residents. Scott’s statements to the Examiner and a statement from CBP last week to The Texas Tribune indicated the agency would instead pave roads along the border in the national park and use digital surveillance equipment.

CBP did not respond to an immediate request for comment about the $1.7 billion award.

Opponents of wall construction in the region have seen their frustrations with the project mount as communication from the Trump administration about the project has been limited, and there have been few formal announcements about plans in the area.

“We obviously, at this point, don’t trust anything, but it’s like a roller coaster,” said Lico Miller, a business owner in Terlingua, a small, rural town a few miles west of Big Bend National Park.

An interactive “Smart Wall” map on the CBP website shows the agency planned to install roads and “virtual wall” technology that would alert Border Patrol agents when people cross the border in the “Big Bend 4” region. The $1.7 billion award is intended for a Big Bend “segment identified as BBT-4,” according to its description. CBP officials took down the Smart Wall map in late April, but later added it once more with changes in mid-May. The map currently states that no is wall planned around the national or state park despite the awarded contract.

“They have made it a mission to obfuscate and make this as confusing of a process as possible,” said Laiken Jordahl, National Public Lands Advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “From constantly changing the online smart wall map — I mean, they’ve made dozens and dozens of changes to that thing without announcing any of them — to taking it down entirely.”

Jordahl said that even paved roads along the border would likely be harmful to wildlife in the region and could make border crossings easier in areas where terrain would otherwise be difficult to traverse. He also said roads would inevitably make barrier installation easier in the future if CBP changed its mind later on.

On Thursday, the Trump administration waived environmental protections in the Big Bend region in preparation for construction, according to a federal notice first reported by Marfa Public Radio. The notice described Border Patrol’s 517-mile Big Bend sector as “an area of high illegal entry.” The sector is the least busy of the nine sectors, with agency apprehensions in the region accounting for 1.3% of more than 237,000 across the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2025. 

Residents point to the infrequency of border crossings in the area as only adding to the confusion and frustration. 

“We’re 1.3% of the problem. What is this billions of dollars stuff when we are not an issue?” another Terlingua business owner Cynta de Narvaez said. 

Thursday’s waivers follow similar action in February, when Trump administration officials waived over two dozen environmental laws to clear the way for a 150-mile-long border barrier through West Texas that initially included Big Bend National Park.

Advocacy groups in the region filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in mid-April arguing it had illegally waived those environmental laws and need Congress to sign off.

The starting forward missed the final two games of the Knicks' second-round sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers after straining his right hamstring late in Game 2. He took part in some of practice when the Knicks returned on Wednesday, but sat out the portions when they went full speed.

But coach Mike Brown said Anunoby did everything with the team on Friday.

Anunoby won't have to be ready to play until Tuesday, because the Detroit-Cleveland series is going to a Game 7 that will be played Sunday.

Anunoby is averaging 21.4 points per game in the postseason while shooting 61.9% from the field and 53.8% from 3-point range.

___

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

It happened in the 3700 block of Scott Street.

• Tomball restaurant manager gets 6 year prison sentence for fentanyl death of coworker

According to Lt. Larry Crowson, the 17-year-old suspect got into an argument with two 16-year-old’s inside the restaurant. Crowson said the three had been in an ongoing dispute for several weeks. The argument eventually spilled out into the parking lot where the shooting took place. Crowson said the 17-year-old pulled out a gun and shot the other two teenagers.

South Central officers are at a shooting scene 3700 Scott. Two 16 year old males transported in stable condition. Plain clothes officers in the area located the suspect and two guns. Assist by HISD PD, Metro PD, UH PD and Pct. 7 Constable. 202 pic.twitter.com/ugQJ6fhs91

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 15, 2026

The two 16-year-old’s were both shot in the leg. They were taken to a hospital and are expected to survive.

The suspect fled south on Scott Street and got on a METRO bus. Plain clothes officers in the area quickly responded to the scene and were able to get a description of the suspect. They also learned the suspect had hidden two guns in nearby brush, which officers recovered. The plain clothes officers called for marked units and the suspect was taken into custody after he got off the bus.

Crowson says it appears all three teenagers involved are students at nearby Yates High School.

What to expect the rest of the weekend? Pretty much anything.

“Anyone who makes the cut, they’ve got to feel they have a shot in the tournament,” said Rory McIlroy, who found himself only five shots behind with 29 players — including Scottie Scheffler and six other major champions — ahead of him.

Two long days at Aronimink produced the highest 36-hole score to par to lead the PGA Championship in 14 years. The 15 players separated by two shots made it the biggest logjam going into a weekend at a major since 2002.

There's more traffic at Aronimink than Philadelphia's Schuylkill Expressway at rush hour.

The difference between first and worst among 82 players who made the cut was only eight shots, unusually tight for any tournament, much less a major.

Smalley, in only his fifth major championship, overcame three straight bogeys after making the turn and closed with a birdie for a 1-under 69. McNealy, who has never been among the top 25 in any major through 36 holes, fell back with a pair of late bogeys in his round of 67.

They were at 4-under 136, the highest 36-hole score to par for co-leaders in the PGA since 2012 at Kiawah Island.

Chasing them? It's a long list.

Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, and world No. 10 Chris Gotterup were among those one shot behind. They were followed by Scheffler, two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas and Cameron Young, who has won The Players Championship and at Doral the last two months.

Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg. Patrick Reed and Patrick Cantlay. And on it goes.

“A bunched leaderboard like this, I think it’s a sign of not a great setup,” McIlroy said after a 67. “It's easy to make a ton of pars, hard to make birdies, and ... it feels like bogey is the worst score you’re going to shoot on any one hole.”

It was tough to hit shots close. And then it was tough to get long putts close.

“This is the hardest set of pin locations that I’ve seen since I’ve been on tour,” Scheffler said after salvaging a 71. “And that includes U.S. Opens. That includes Oakmont.”

McNealy became the only player to reach 6 under at any point this week. He holed a bunker shot for eagle on the par-5 16th and remarked to his brother and caddie, Scout, that he was amazed and how well he was playing. And then he added three birdies over his next five holes until some mistakes caught up with him, as they did just about everyone.

“This is unfamiliar territory for me,” McNealy said.

Gotterup and Matsuyama had the toughest time by playing in the morning, when the temperatures barely cracked 50 degrees (10 Celsius) and the wind was ripping. Gotterup, who played college golf at just up the New Jersey Turnpike at Rutgers, played had enough Jersey toughness to handle it just fine, and he poured it on at the end with three straight birdies for a 65, the low round of his championship.

“Today would definitely be one of those days where I would be on the couch and I would be like, ‘How did he hit it there?’ and ‘How did he do this?’ And then you’re out there, and it just feels like it’s impossible,” Gotterup said.

Scheffler had a share of the 18-hole lead for the first time in a major, and then looked like anything but someone with consummate control of his game. He didn't hit a fairway until his ninth hole (No. 18), and dropped three shots in four holes after driving into the thick grass.

He might have saved his round on the par-3 14th when he hit a beautiful lag putt from 80 feet for a two-putt par. That settled him, and he closed with an up-and-down birdie on the par-5 ninth.

Scheffler was joined by Thomas and Young at 2-under 138, and Aberg, the polished Swede who had four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the tougher back nine for a 66.

The cut was at 4-over 144. Among those headed home was Bryson DeChambeau who was 10 over at one point. He closed with three straight birdies, far too late for the two-time U.S. Open champion.

Garrick Higgo's two-shot penalty for being late to the first tee on Thursday cost him a share of the lead on Thursday, and it cost him the cut on Friday. He shot 76 and missed by one.

McIlroy and Jordan Spieth (73) were tied for 30th, both with the Grand Slam on their minds. Spieth needs the PGA for the career slam, McIlroy as the Masters champion is the only one with a shot at the calendar slam, which has never been done.

But they still had a chance. So many of the pin positions were hard to reach — from the fairway and at times from the putting surface — that no one was safe.

McIlroy, who opened with a 74, played bogey-free with one goal in mind — stay in the mix and see what the weekend presents. He feels the PGA of America already used up several of the toughest pin positions. With slightly calmer conditions, the race could just be starting.

“Yes, it's bunched,” he said. “But you get on a run with wedges on that front nine and you shoot 4, 5 under and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things.”

___

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

While Saturday and Sunday will be mostly cloudy and humid, widespread rain should arrive between Tuesday and Wednesday. I am monitoring the potential for excessive rainfall as this system moves through, with weekly rainfall totals currently estimated between 2 to 4 or more inches. There is still uncertainty regarding the exact timing and placement of the heaviest rain, as it depends on the movement of a frontal boundary and individual upper-level energy impulses. Residents should prepare for an unsettled period and stay informed as these rain chances persist through the end of next week.

What you need to know:

• The weekend will be muggy, with isolated, short lived, rain chances on Sunday.
• Rain and storm chances return next week with multiple waves of rain.

Weekend: More heat with humidity climbing:

The summer-like heat continues across southeast Texas from sunrise to sunset. You’ll want to stay hydrated! There is a small chance of an isolated, short lived shower Sunday.

Rain Returns Next Week:

A daily rain pattern kicks off next week as a series of storm systems move through. Timing and placement is difficult to predict but be prepared for rounds of heavy rain starting Tuesday. By the end of the week 2″-4″ of rain is expected to fall.

Your 10 Day Forecast:

Temperatures lower a touch starting Tuesday 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, it 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.

He had four bogeys, three birdies, two double bogeys and was in jeopardy of missing the cut after ending up in the thick rough 25 yards from the pin on his final hole.

Standing a few feet from the edge of a fairway bunker, Rose dug deep with his wedge, and his golf ball took three bounces on the green and tracked into the hole for an eagle 3.

The spectacular shot put the 45-year-old Englishman at 3-over par and propelled him into the weekend in his 24th appearance at the championship.

The last-hole theatrics weren't limited to Rose. Michael Kim holed out from 65 feet, just off the left side of the same par-5 ninth, securing a spot for the final rounds, one stroke under 4-over cut line.

A total of 82 players were among the top-70 and ties headed to the weekend.

Bryson DeChambeau is among those who won't be around for the final rounds. The two-time U.S. Open champ missed the cut for the third time in four majors with rounds of 76 and 71 for 7 over.

Former PGA champions Jimmy Walker (5 over), Keegan Bradley (6 over), Jason Dufner (8 over), Y.E. Yang (9 over) and Shaun Micheel (10 over) also missed the cut.

Cam Smith ended a streak of six missed at majors with an even-par 140 for the first two days. And, Luke Donald, who is headed into his third term as European Ryder Cup captain, had a two-round score of 4 over, which was good enough to make the cut for the 13th time in 18 PGA appearances.

Rose is a Philly favorite after winning the 2013 U.S. Open at nearby Merion Golf Club, and he has a good history at Aronimink, where he won his second PGA Tour title in the 2010 AT&T National. He lost to Bradley in a playoff in Newtown Square in the 2018 BMW Championship.

Rose's found Friday was in many ways fitting for a golfer whose career has been long been defined by many highs and lows and gritty, grind-it-out performances. He missed the first 20 cuts of his career, then became a major and Olympic champion and has enjoyed a mid-40s resurgence that has yielded multiple runner-up finishes in majors in recent years.

Rose got off to a rocky start Friday, driving into a bunker right of the difficult 10th hole and taking two shots to get out before eventually making a 6, the first of his two double-bogeys. Then, the rollercoaster round really took off.

His birdies on the 12th and 16th holes sandwiched a bogey, double-bogey, bogey, and he closed his front nine at 4-over 39.

The fun continued on the front nine, his back, when he followed three straight pars with a birdie before stumbling again. He posted bogeys at Nos. 6 and 8 and tumbled down the leaderboard.

Then, he hit the shot of his second round on the par-5 ninth hole. His 310-yard drive found the fairway, but his second shot traveled 267 yards and landed in the thick left rough before he converted his next shot for eagle.

Then, the waiting game began for Rose. When the round finished, his fabulous finish was enough to extend his stay.

___

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

The win also guaranteed Villa a place in next year’s Champions League.

The win just five days before Villa faces Freiburg in the Europa League decider means Unai Emery’s side ensured a top-five finish in the Premier League.

"It’s a great performance and a great way to end the season at Villa Park,” captain John McGinn told broadcaster Sky Sports “We’ve just made this club a Champions League club again, and it allows us to be excited and enjoy the game on Wednesday.

Liverpool was three points behind in fifth and still sweating whether it will make it into next year’s Champions League.

Liverpool had the better of the opening exchanges with Cody Gakpo seeing a goal ruled out for offside and Emiliano Martinez pushing away a swerving long-range effort from Dominik Szoboszlai.

However, Villa found its composure as the half went on and took the lead three minutes before halftime. Morgan Rogers placed a perfect right-foot shot beyond the reach of Giorgi Mamardashvili after a well-worked corner kick.

Virgil van Dijk’s header eight minutes into the second half brought Liverpool level but Villa started to dominate as the game opened up. Watkins had a goal chalked off for offside but made up for it just a few minutes later when he took advantage of a slip by Szoboszlai that set Villa free on the counterattack.

He added a third in the 73rd when he side-footed home from point-blank range after Mamardashvili made two excellent stops.

It was Watkins’ sixth goal in his last seven league games and he was a constant threat to a Liverpool rearguard that looked shaky every time Villa stormed forward.

“We’ve conceded far too many games, but we also haven’t scored enough goals," said Liverpool coach Arne Slot, who admitted his team lacked backbone after going behind in the second half.

"(After) the 2-1 we crumbled, we struggled. In the end made it 4-2, so they did not give up, but we struggled to control their pace, intensity and quality.”

___

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

Texas Children's Hospital, based in Houston, said in a statement that it had agreed to a legal settlement “to protect our resources from endless and costly litigation.” The hospital, which serves more than 1 million patients a year, stopped providing hormone treatments for transgender children and teens in 2022, a year before the state banned such care, but still faced a yearslong investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office.

Paxton and the Trump administration said the hospital would pay Texas $10 million and would be required to open what he called a "detransition clinic” to “reverse the damage” from gender-affirming care, which he's described as child abuse.

Most major medical groups say access to gender-affirming care as important for people with gender dysphoria. Transgender teens, parents and providers have described it as life-saving for kids who are depressed or suicidal because their gender identities do not match the sex assigned them at birth.

Gender-affirming care may include counseling, medications that block puberty, hormone therapy to produce physical changes or surgeries, although those are rare for minors.

Twenty-seven states have limited or banned gender-affirming care for minors, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2025 that they could do so under the U.S. Constitution. But in Kansas, state District Court Judge Carl Folsom III ruled Friday that the state's ban, passed last year, is likely to violate the state Constitution. Folsom's order blocking the ban is set to remain in place until a lawsuit filed by two transgender teenagers and their parents is over. The trial has not yet been scheduled.

President Donald Trump has aggressively sought to roll back transgender rights. During his second term, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has moved to use its regulatory power to block gender-affirming care for minors, and the DOJ has demanded access to providers’ private records, putting pressure on hospitals that often rely on federal funding to operate.

A Kansas judge protects gender-affirming care

Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach promised to appeal the decision Friday, calling it “a stark example of judicial activism" that “invented a new constitutional right."

“Even though the Kansas Constitution says nothing about it, the judge created a new right of parents to obtain otherwise-illegal treatments for their children,” Kobach said in a statement.

The judge said the law interferes with parents' right to make medical decisions for their children. In a lengthy opinion, he described gender-affirming care as “the treatment with the most evidence of being helpful to treat gender dysphoria.”

“The Kansas Constitution protects personal autonomy,” Folsom wrote, citing the state's Bill of Rights. “This personal autonomy includes the fundamental right of parents to the care, custody and control of their minor children.”

Kansas courts have previously declared that the state Constitution offers more protection for individual rights than the U.S. Constitution. In 2019, the state Supreme Court declared that Kansas protects a person's bodily autonomy, which guarantees access to abortion.

Kobach, like other opponents of gender-affirming care for minors, portrayed it as “experimental” and harmful, but Folsom disagreed.

His order said the teenagers who sued, identified as Lily Loe and Ryan Roe, had to go to Minnesota and Colorado for treatment, both costing them more for out-of-state care and causing anxiety.

“It is harmful to withhold medical treatment or withdraw medical treatment in progress that is safe, effective and medically indicated,” Folsom wrote.

A children's hospital in Texas buckles under AG pressure

In Texas, Paxton, a Republican, hailed the settlement with Texas Children's Hospital as “historic" and said it's a "fundamental shift away from radical ‘gender’ ideology.”

Paxton is running for the U.S. Senate, and he announced the settlement less than two weeks before a May 26 runoff in a tight race to unseat GOP incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Trump has not publicly endorsed a candidate in the race.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Friday that the DOJ would “use every weapon at its disposal” to stop gender-affirming care for children.

The leader of the LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Texas said the settlement "ignores the actual science and years of data about the overwhelming benefits of gender-affirming care.”

"Paxton is blackmailing a hospital system into creating a resource that no one is asking for,” CEO Brad Pritchett said in a statement.

The hospital said it fully cooperated with Paxton's office and the DOJ, produced more than 5 million documents and did its own internal investigations. All of them showed that it never violated the law, the hospital said.

Its statement said the settlement will allow it to redirect “precious resources” to "life-saving care and groundbreaking discoveries of our exceptional clinicians and scientists.”

Paxton said the agreement also requires Texas Children's to fire — “and never again hire” — five doctors who provided gender-affirming care, and to automatically strip privileges from any doctor violating the state ban.

The $10 million payment will go to the state's Medicaid program. Paxton had accused the hospital of submitting false billings, an allegation it rejected.

The incident started around 10:45 a.m. and happened at a complex off 11th Street.

Santa Fe police say there was a dispute between a girlfriend and boyfriend who live together. She was reportedly packing up her things to leave when the man fired a gun at her.

• Klein ISD student killed in mini-bike crash near Spring Cypress

Police say the man missed and the woman was able to escape uninjured. She then called 911.

A little after 7 p.m., a KPRC 2 photographer captured images as the suspect was led down the stairs of the apartment in handcuffs. An EMS crew was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, but it is unclear if the suspect was injured or what kind of injuries he may have had.

The pin was tucked all the way back and to the right of the 215-yard hole, behind a bunker. A cold wind was in his face and the hole was atop a ridge at the highest point of the green.

Three bogeys in four holes caused enough stress. And now this.

“That was one of the craziest pins that I've seen,” Scheffler said.

His tee shot found the middle of the green, well below the ridge, just under 80 feet away. He lagged that to 3 feet for a par. Given his start, it was as important a par as he made all day. “Extremely good,” Scheffler said.

He was unequivocal in his assessment of how he rated the difficulty of the pins: “This is the hardest set of pin locations that I’ve seen since I’ve been on tour, and that includes U.S. Opens.”

The PGA Championship hasn't seen leading scores this high at the midway point since Kiawah Island in 2012. Players were three-putting roughly 6% of the holes on Friday.

The wind is difficult, sure. A relatively dry week makes it firm and fast and harder to control shots. But it's the greens, undulating with knobs and valleys, and the locations of the pins that have been a real monster.

“There were some pins that didn't even look like they were on the green,” Chris Gotterup said after his 65, the low round of the championship.

The 11th hole was a popular reference. The green already had everyone's attention at the start of the week because of the severe false front that sent golf balls some 40 yards down the fairway.

On Friday, the hole was on a small shelf front and to the right. Players hit a nothing more than a wedge. If anyone was closer than 8 feet — usually a stock shot with a wedge for the world's best — consider it a happy accident.

“Impossible to get close,” Gotterup said.

Justin Thomas tried to lay back off the tee for a full sand wedge from 124 yards. That didn't work out for him. He tried to be so exacting, but it came up short and in a bunker. The next one didn't get on the green. He had to scramble for bogey.

“It's not hard to hit it to 20 feet past the hole, but it’s really, really hard to hit it close,” Thomas said.

“So it just kind of speaks volumes to how this course can be throughout the entire day.”

It's been that way for two days. It doesn't take much for the PGA of America to set tough pins that will affect the scoring. Not all of them are brutal. The opening two holes Thursday were accessible. The pin on the par-5 ninth was on the easier side.

The par-3 eighth hole was tucked behind a bunker, but the tee was moved up 72 yards to play at only 173 yards on Friday. Gotterup hit a 5-wood on Thursday and made bogey. He 7-iron to 4 feet on Friday for birdie.

Scheffler had 140 yards on the second hole to a back right pin. He hit it to 30 feet and was pleased. He had the same yardage two holes later to a more accessible pin and went after it, the shot settling 5 feet below the hole for birdie.

It's about picking the right shot for the right pin. And it changes by the day.

“I love hard tests of golf, but it’s also the hardest game in the world and we’re trying to make it harder, and there’s different ways you can do that,” Scheffler said. “You can do that on a golf course like this. I mean, I truly believe they could have the winning score be whatever they want it to be. It could be over par if they want it to be, just based purely upon pin locations.”

___

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

“Paul McCartney and Wings,” which opened Friday in Cleveland, explores the musician's reinvention after leaving the iconic British rock band through displays of instruments, handwritten songwriting notes and photographs taken by his wife, Linda McCartney, who was keyboardist and harmony vocalist for Wings during its decade-long run from 1971 to 1981, when the band produced hits including “Band on the Run,” “Silly Love Songs” and “Live and Let Die.”

After the breakup of The Beatles, Paul McCartney was no longer just the musician who had been known around the world since his teenage years, but a husband and father of a young family. What he built with Wings reflected that new stage of life, said Andy Leach, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s senior director of museum and archival collections.

Leach said the band’s embrace of domestic life — bringing children on tour, having a married couple perform together and writing songs inspired by his wife, who was also a member of the group — was “remarkable and unusual” for the era, when rock music remained overwhelmingly male-dominated and family life was rarely incorporated so visibly into a band’s public identity.

“What’s interesting about Wings is that they were formed around the idea of reinvention, renewal, risk-taking, experimentation, but collaboration,” Leach said. “And family was at the center of it, too.”

Leach traveled to London to work with McCartney and his team to prepare and transport guitars along with clothing worn during performances to Cleveland. The vast majority of the artifacts are from McCartney’s personal collection.

Leach said Wings helped pioneer the large-scale production that came to define 1970s arena rock, using increasingly elaborate lighting and stage design on tours such as Wings Over the World and Wings Over America.

Leach said it was amazing to see and handle guitars that “I’ve heard on record my whole life.”

Visitors will also be able to step into a recreation of the farmhouse that McCartney still owns in Scotland, where Paul and Linda retreated after The Beatles' breakup in 1970 and set up a recording studio.

In the home, photos of Paul and Linda McCartney and their children line the walls. Linda’s camera sits inside a case on the makeshift kitchen table.

The photographs taken by Linda, an acclaimed artist in her own right and the first female photographer to have a photo featured on the cover of Rolling Stone, in 1968, showcase her role “at the center of the family, and in some ways, at the center of the band," Leach said.

Linda McCartney was married for three decades to Paul, who taught her to play the keyboard after The Beatles' breakup. She died in 1998 of breast cancer.

Another of Leach's favorite artifacts is the handwritten scores by famed Beatles producer George Martin for the songs “Uncle Albert” and the James Bond theme “Live and Let Die,” which became one of Wings' most enduring songs.

Other items were lent by longtime Wings roadie John Hamill, former band members and the widow of Denny Laine, the co-founder of Wings and The Moody Blues, who played guitar, bass and keyboards and contributed both lead and backing vocals.

The Hall of Fame said the exhibit will be open for at least a year with the hope of keeping it open through the summer of 2027.

Leach said the exhibit is “perfect timing” because of what he described as “a nice kind of renaissance or at least a new appreciation for them among fans and a new understanding about how remarkable and important” Wings’ musicians were.

He pointed to the release of the Amazon Prime documentary Man on the Run, a new box set and the 2025 book Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run, co-written by Paul McCartney and historian Ted Widmer.

__ Willingham reported from Boston.

Every weekend there are hundreds of teams consisting of thousands of kids playing tournaments.

When the Texas Monarchs take the field it’s a bit different. The squad of 13-year-olds play not only to win but also with meaning written across their chest, “A statement about history,” said Blake Overstreet.

The name on their jerseys is a throwback to Negro Leagues Baseball and the legendary Kansas City Monarchs squad.

When asked if baseball is a game or if it’s an education because of their name, Ryan Oliver did not hesitate, “Education because I’m playing for this team too, but I’m still learning about the Monarchs too.”

The team was founded by Brian Overstreet who wanted to use baseball for a different purpose in life, “Baseball is just a vehicle that we are using to help and build in the community,” said Overstreet.

• Pasadena ISD considering school closures amid declining enrollment, budget pressures

Coach Michael Jonkins wanted to lead the squad from its beginnings for the purpose of teaching history while salvaging it as youth baseball has seen a massive decline in the black community, “It’s huge, because what is going on, is everything is spreading out towards the suburbs towards the outside parts of the city. So what I did years ago was I came back into the inner city and uplift through free camps and dedicated to keep the baseball game going,” said Jonkins.

When asked how many of his players would not be playing baseball if it wasn’t for the Monarchs? “Right now we have a team of 13, so you probably would have three kids that would keep playing. Maybe you’d be missing out on ten kids who wouldn’t be playing.“

That’s right 76% of the team would not be playing.

The team has tournament baseball this weekend in our area before heading off to Kansas City for Memorial Day weekend and a big regional tournament.

• Tomball restaurant manager gets 6 year prison sentence for fentanyl death of coworker

The highlight won’t be on the field for all instead it will be visits to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum as well the Brown vs. Board of Education Museum in nearby Topeka, “I want them to tap into who they are. So hopefully that can help them aspire to move forward in the future, my goal is to always teach them so they can keep the game going. If I help you, you’ll help 1000, to help 1000,” said Jonkins.

I have to admit that I have had front row seats with this team for a handful of weekends as they invited my son to pitch for them.

In the end, this journalist and junior stumbled on one of the best baseball stories the Houston area has to offer. 2 Helps You needs your help for more Friday stories like these where the community is helping the community.

Simply contact us through the 2 Helps You help desk or send an email directly to MDiaz@kprc.com.

Trump has championed the case of Peters, a 70-year-old former county clerk who was sentenced to nine years behind bars after being convicted in a scheme to make a copy of her county’s election computer system. She gets released June 1.

In April, a Colorado appeals court upheld her conviction but ordered Peters to be resentenced because it said the judge who sent her to prison wrongly punished her for speaking out about election fraud, a decision that Polis praised.

In a letter to Peters, Polis wrote that Peters was convicted of serious crimes and deserved to spend time in prison. “However, this is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed nonviolent crimes,” the governor wrote.

He added Peters' application “demonstrates taking responsibility for your crimes, and a commitment to follow the law going forward.”

President Donald Trump posted around the time of the announcement on his Truth Social platform: “FREE TINA!”

‘Affront to the rule of law’

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said “it was a dark day for democracy” and ”selling out our state’s justice system for Trump is an affront to the rule of law.”

“A clear message is being sent to those willing to break the law and attack democracy for the president — they will likely not face consequences for their actions,” Griswold said at a news conference.

Peters has been serving her sentence at a prison in Pueblo after being convicted in 2024 by jurors in Mesa County, a Republican stronghold that supported Trump.

Peters snuck in an outside computer expert, an associate of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, to make a copy of her county’s Dominion Voting Systems election computer server as state officials updated it in 2021. After Peters joined Lindell onstage at a “cybersymposium” that promised to reveal proof of election rigging, video and photos of the upgrade, including passwords, were posted online.

After the commutation, Peters issued a statement through her attorney thanking Polis and apologizing.

“Five years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment. That was wrong,” Peters said. “I have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make sure that my actions always follow the law, and I will avoid the mistakes of the past.”

She also condemned threats and violence against voters, county clerks and election workers.

Gubernatorial candidates weigh in

Sen Michael Bennet, a Democrat who is running for Colorado governor, said he vehemently disagreed with the commutation and that Peters knowingly broke the law, undermined elections and was convicted by a jury.

“Lawlessness only breeds more lawlessness,” Bennet said. "With President Trump continuing to attack Colorado, we must do everything we can to stand strong for our institutions and the rule of law.”

A Republican candidate for governor, state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, said she would have preferred that the trial judge revisit Peters' sentence as ordered by the appeals court before the governor considered any commutation.

“A commutation or pardon by a governor should be reserved for truly extraordinary circumstances," Kirkmeyer wrote in a statement. “The governor has a responsibility to apply justice fairly, consistently, and without bias.”

Trump championed her cause

Peters was convicted of state, not federal, crimes, which put her beyond the reach of Trump’s pardon power that he used to free those convicted of crimes for the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. But the president still championed her cause.

Trump has lambasted both Polis, calling him a “Scumbag Governor,” and the Republican district attorney who prosecuted her, Daniel Rubinstein, for keeping Peters in prison. He has referred to Peters, as “elderly” and “sick.” Earlier this year, Trump uninvited Polis from a White House meeting with governors over the case.

The president said Colorado was “suffering a big price” for refusing to release her. His administration has been choking off funds, ending federal programs and denying disaster aid. It also announced the dismantling of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado and relocated the U.S. Space Command to Alabama.

Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said the commutation “signals that it is open season on our election and election officials.”

“Gov. Polis is bending the knee to the same political voices and conspiracy theories that are undermining belief in our democratic institutions,” Crane said. “This is now Gov. Polis’ legacy. He will not be able to run from it.”

Tina Peters' declining health in prison

Peters’ lawyers have said her health has declined in prison. Peters, who had part of her right lung removed in 2017, started coughing frequently after the prison’s heating system was turned on for the winter and has had trouble sleeping on her mattress because of chronic pain from fibromyalgia, her lawyers said.

In January, Peters was involved in a scuffle with another inmate but was found not guilty of assault following a prison disciplinary hearing, Colorado Department of Corrections spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia said. Peters was found guilty of being in a location without authorization.

The federal Bureau of Prisons tried but failed to get Peters moved to a federal prison. But in January, Polis said he was considering granting clemency for Peters, calling her sentence “unusual and harsh“ for a first-time, nonviolent offender. In March he repeated those arguments in a lengthy post on the social media platform X.

Polis defended his decision on Friday in a social media post.

“I’ll always stand for free speech and to make sure that we live in a country that no matter what your viewpoints are, you are not incarcerated longer because of them," Polis said.

In contrast to some other Democratic governors, Polis, who prides himself on being a political iconoclast, has taken a sometimes accommodating stance toward Trump. While he criticized Trump’s stance on tariffs and immigration, Polis praised earlier moves by the president such as the Department of Government Efficiency, run by billionaire Elon Musk, and the nomination of vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Service.

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Associated Press writers Ali Swenson in New York, Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

The trial centered on whether Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor, in 2013 during a relationship between the then-married Weinstein and the decades-younger Mann. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the encounter was consensual, while Mann described a hotel-room encounter when he forced himself upon her.

The current jury heard nearly three weeks of testimony, including from Mann. Weinstein decided not to testify.

Here’s what you need to know about the case:

Why has the case gone to trial three times?

Weinstein was initially convicted in 2020, but an appeals court overturned that verdict after the court ruled the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren’t part of the case.

Jurors at a retrial last year convicted Weinstein of one count of criminal sex act and acquitted him of another. But they stopped deliberating on Mann's rape charge when the foreperson refused to participate further, leaving the case unresolved and leading to the retrial that ended as a mistrial Friday.

Why did this case ended in a mistrial?

On the third day of deliberations, the jury told the judge they were stuck, but he told them to keep trying. Ultimately, they sent another note saying: “We feel that no one is going to change where they stand.”

When a jury in criminal court cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge typically declares a mistrial.

Some jurors on the majority-male Manhattan jury questioned the credibility of Mann’s testimony and said outside court that nine out of 12 wanted to acquit Weinstein.

A juror, Josh Hadar, said Mann had an “incredible memory” when she testified for the prosecution but “forgot a lot of things” when questioned by defense attorneys.

Mann underwent five days of fraught, often tearful testimony that included hours of questioning at a time.

Will there be a fourth trial?

District Attorney Alvin Bragg said his staff will consult Mann about another trial and also take into account what happens to Weinstein when he is sentenced for his conviction from the last trial.

A hearing was set for June 24 for prosecutors to decide if they will go to a fourth trial.

Is Weinstein still in prison?

Weinstein had been in a New York prison serving a 23-year sentence after his initial conviction in 2020. After that was overturned, he remained behind bars because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of rape and sexual assault and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He is currently being held at the Rikers Island jail while awaiting further legal proceedings.

What crimes has Weinstein already been convicted of?

During a retrial last June, Weinstein was convicted of one count of criminal sex act, when a jury found he forcibly performed oral sex on a TV and movie producer and production assistant, Miriam Haley, nearly two decades ago.

She had worked on the Weinstein-produced show “Project Runway" and testified that he assaulted her in July 2006 after inviting her to stop by his SoHo apartment before a flight. Weinstein is appealing the conviction.

In Los Angeles, he was convicted during a December 2022 trial of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault against an Italian actor and model. The woman said he arrived uninvited at her hotel room during a 2013 film festival in the run-up to the Oscars, talking his way in and assaulting her.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to make their names public, as Mann and Haley have done.

But with the tournament now just weeks away, many hotel operators say the massive surge in bookings they expected simply hasn’t materialized.

The World Cup was once described by city leaders as “104 Super Bowls.” Seventy-eight of those matches are in the U.S., with seven taking place in Houston. But hotel operators say occupancy levels are nowhere near what seven Super Bowls would actually look like.

• METRO Police unveil real-time translation tool ahead of FIFA World Cup in Houston

“We did expect to have more on the books going into it,” said Margaret Smart of Wyndham’s The District at Hogg Palace in Downtown Houston.

According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, about 70 percent of Houston hotels say bookings are coming in slower than expected. Houston First reports bookings in the city are still up, roughly 17 percent in June and 14 percent in July, but hotel operators say that means one of the world’s biggest sporting events is currently driving a stronger-than-normal summer.

Hotels across the city have had to pivot, lowering rates, removing minimum-stay requirements and relaxing cancellation policies in a bid to attract guests.

At The Sam Houston Hotel, staff say they’re not even hitting rodeo-level occupancy, a significant benchmark in a city that treats the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo as a near-sellout event every year.

• Waymo expands Houston robotaxi service area ahead of FIFA World Cup events

“Almost every week we’re discussing, and it’s the same conversation,” said Morgan Hollingshead of The Sam Houston Hotel. “What are we doing for FIFA? What are we changing? How are we going to change our rate here?”

Hollingshead said the gap between expectations and reality has been stark.

“We were expecting entirety of FIFA, almost like rodeo numbers, where we’re pretty much 98 to 100% sold out. But currently… we’re sitting at an 80% occupancy,” Hollingshead said.

Hotel operators point to several possible culprits. FIFA partners and travel agencies released large blocks of unused rooms back into the market, triggering a scramble for hotels to rebook them. High ticket prices, international travel costs and global uncertainty are also being cited as contributing factors.

“Ticket prices are extremely high, plus airfare, plus hotels,” said Emre Ozsut of The Lancaster Hotel.

Despite the slower-than-expected pace, hoteliers say they’re still holding out hope for a last-minute booking surge.

“We are hoping for the last-minute booking to pick up, as everyone is expecting, but then again, we don’t have a lot of expectations,” Ozsut said.

Houston First, meanwhile, says it still expects the World Cup to deliver a major economic boost for the city, and that the global spotlight could pay dividends for Houston’s tourism industry long after the final whistle blows.

“It will be good to have Houston on the map,” Ozsut said.

The deal represents a breakthrough in the U.S. aerospace company's efforts to reenter a market once central to its long-term growth.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from Beijing, Trump said China also reserved the right to buy as many as 750 Boeing aircraft as part of the deal. Boeing confirmed the 200-plane order later Friday but did not specify the types of planes or provide any other details.

“We had a very successful trip to China and accomplished our major goal of reopening the China market to orders for Boeing aircraft," the company said in a statement, adding that looked forward to "continually addressing China’s aircraft demand.”

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg was among a large group of American CEOs who joined Trump during the president's trip to Beijing, seeking to sell products and services to China.

Trump said the potential aircraft deal also would benefit General Electric, which he said would supply 400 to 450 engines to China. GE Aerospace Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp also joined the president on his trip. The company did not immediately comment on the agreement.

Last month, Ortberg expressed confidence that any broad U.S.-China trade agreement to emerge when Trump and Xi met would be a “meaningful opportunity” for Boeing.

“President Trump has been very focused on supporting us in international campaigns, and he’s been very successful in doing that,” Ortberg told investors.

Since Trump began serving his second term, his administration has made Boeing a focus of its plans to revive U.S. manufacturing.

A visit to the Middle East a year ago culminated in major aircraft agreements, including a Qatar Airways order for up to 210 Boeing jets in what the planemaker described at the time as its largest-ever widebody aircraft order. Saudi Arabia also placed commercial jetliner orders during the trip.

Other major Boeing agreements have followed meetings between Trump and foreign leaders. In August, Korean Air formalized a roughly $50 billion deal to buy more than 100 Boeing aircraft, spare engines and long-term maintenance services during South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to Washington.

The following month, a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Trump in Washington, Turkish Airlines said it planned to add 225 Boeing aircraft to its fleet.

In another win for Boeing, the biennial Dubai Air Show opened in November with hometown airline Emirates ordering 65 of Boeing’s upcoming 777-9 aircraft. Days later, FlyDubai, the lower-cost sister carrier of Emirates, announced it had ordered 75 additional Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly a third of the narrowbody airliners Boeing delivered went to China. But the company's business there plummeted as U.S.-China relations soured.

China also was the first country to ground the 737 Max in 2019 after two of the then-new models crashed less than five months apart in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing 346 people. Chinese airlines did not resume Max flights until January 2023, much later than carriers in many other countries.

Ortberg took over as Boeing's CEO in 2024, a calamitous year for the company. In January of that year, a panel known as a door plug blew off a 737 Max shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. Boeing faced mounting financial pressure as it came under intensifying scrutiny over alleged production and quality failures.

While there were some hopes this week's U.S.-China summit would result in concrete trade deal announcements, the president's trip ended with a lot of uncertainty about what the two sides agreed on, said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund.

Glaser told a media briefing Friday that there had been little concrete information about trade agreements from the summit, including on Chinese purchases of U.S. exports such as soybeans, liquefied natural gas and beef.

“All that we have is really what the president has told the world that China has agreed to,” Glaser said.

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Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this story.

Attorneys representing voters asked a state judge to block the new districts from being used in the midterm elections and instead reinstate districts used for previous elections. Such a move would create a significant wrinkle in President Donald Trump's attempt to hold on to a narrow House majority by redrawing voting districts to the GOP's advantage. The judge gave no timetable for when he will rule.

Florida's new House map is part of a national redistricting battle that gained steam last year when Trump urged Texas Republicans to redraw the state's congressional districts. On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court refused to declare that Democratic lawmakers had vacated their offices when they briefly fled the state to block a redistricting vote.

The Florida Legislature approved a new House map on April 29 — the same day the U.S. Supreme Court weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities while striking down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana. Since then, several Southern states have taken steps to try to eliminate minority districts that have elected Democrats.

On Friday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced that he is ending his reelection bid. His decision came a week after Tennessee Republicans enacted a new U.S. House map that carves up Cohen’s majority-Black district in Memphis. The new map gives Republicans a shot at winning all nine of Tennessee's U.S. House seats.

Republicans already hold 20 of Florida’s 28 U.S. House seats. New voting districts signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after a swift two-day special legislative session could improve the GOP’s chances to win four additional seats in the November elections.

Congressional districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census, to rebalance populations. But since Trump urged mid-decade redistricting last year, Republicans think they could gain as many as 15 seats from new House maps in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain six seats from new maps in California and Utah.

Democrats had counted on winning up to four additional seats in Virginia. But the Virginia Supreme Court last week struck down a Democratic redistricting plan approved by voters, ruling the legislature violated procedural requirements when placing it on the ballot. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request to restore the map favoring Democrats.

Florida bans partisan map-making

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that it has no authority to decide whether partisan gerrymandering goes too far. But it said partisan gerrymandering claims could continue to be decided in state courts under their own constitutions and laws.

Florida voters approved a state constitutional amendment in 2010 that prohibits U.S. House districts from being drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent. The amendment bars districts from diminishing the ability of racial or language minorities to elect the representatives of their choice. It also requires districts to be compact and, where feasible, use existing political and geographic boundaries.

Lawsuits filed on behalf of voters seek a temporary injunction against the new House map for violating that amendment. Their arguments focus heavily on political favoritism.

Under the new House map, 82% of voters in districts represented by Republicans remain in the same districts as under the previous map, said attorney Chris Shenton, who represented Common Cause and other groups challenging it. Just 41% of voters in districts represented by Democrats are kept in their same districts, he said.

“It shows that Democratic districts are being targeted for reconfiguration. And why? To favor Republicans and disfavor Democrats. That is unconstitutional,” Shenton said.

Fair Districts Amendment called into question

Attorneys representing Florida's state lawmakers and executive officials argued that partisan intent had not been proven and that a temporary injunction against the new districts is not appropriate in advance of a fully developed trial.

Though DeSantis called lawmakers into session before the Supreme Court's ruling in the Louisiana case, he anticipated an eventual outcome weakening Voting Rights Act protections for minority districts. Among other changes, Florida's new map reshapes a southeastern district that DeSantis’ office said was created to help elect a Black representative in an attempt to comply with federal law.

DeSantis' office said no racial data was used to prepare the new map he presented to the Legislature. In a memo to lawmakers, DeSantis’ General Counsel David Axelman asserted that Florida's constitutional provision about racial redistricting violates the U.S. Constitution. If one element is invalid, Axelman wrote, then the entire 2010 amendment is void.

Attorney Mohammad Jazil, representing Florida's executive officials, emphasized a similar argument in court. He said the provision against partisan gerrymandering in Florida's Fair Districts Amendment cannot stand if the section protecting racial minorities is now invalid.

“It is intertwined, it is interlocked, it is interwoven,” Jazil said.

South Carolina meets in special session for redistricting

The South Carolina House began debate Friday on a bill that would reshape U.S. House districts to try to help Republicans to gain a seat and sweep all seven of the state's congressional districts. The proposal, pushed by Trump, would pull the congressional primaries out of the June 9 statewide primary and move them to August. Debate is expected to continue into next week.

Several Democrats gave speeches against the bill Friday, including state Rep. Justin Bamberg, who denounced Trump's influence in the matter.

“How did we get here? One man made the call. He didn’t call every state in this country. He didn’t make calls across the North,” Bamberg said, later adding: “Where’d he go? The place that since the beginning of this country, you go to take this country backwards. He went to the South.”

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who called lawmakers into a special session for redistricting, said it's important for South Carolina to send as many Republicans to Washington as possible to try to prevent Democrats from taking control of the House and attempting to impeach Trump.

“We have to have a functioning Congress,” McMaster said.

___

Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri, and Collins from Columbia, South Carolina.

Taiwan remained the most important issue for China in the talks. Xi privately warned Trump that differences over the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its own territory, could bring the U.S. and China into clashes or conflict.

Trump told reporters that he had not yet made a determination on whether a major U.S. sale of arms to Taiwan can move forward.

On Iran, Trump said Xi told him that China wants to help negotiate an end to the war and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has previously expressed hope that China would use its leverage as Iran’s biggest trading partner to prod Tehran into a deal on U.S. terms. Trump also said Xi assured him that China wouldn’t provide Iran with military equipment.

Here's the latest:

US suspends enforcement of sanctions against independent UN investigator

The Treasury Department says it has suspended the implementation and enforcement of sanctions the Trump administration had imposed on the U.N. rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza following a court order this week.

Two days after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued a preliminary injunction barring the administration from imposing sanctions on Francesca Albanese, Treasury said Friday that her designation “is not being implemented or enforced while this order is in effect.”

In his ruling, which came in response to a lawsuit filed by Albanese’s family earlier this year, Leon said the sanctions could be a violation of Albanese and her family members’ First Amendment rights.

The sanctions were imposed after the State Department said Albanese, who has been highly critical of Israel’s operations in Gaza, had engaged in a “campaign of political and economic warfare” against the U.S. and Israel by urging other countries to sanction Israel over alleged war crimes in Gaza and several U.S. companies for being “complicit” in those actions.

Trump says the US needs to retrieve Iran’s highly enriched uranium for ‘public relations’

The president said in an interview with Fox News Channel that Iran told him it does not have the capability to get to its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under the rubble of a facility bombed in strikes Trump ordered last year.

Trump said that was “good enough” for trying to stop Iran from using it to make a nuclear weapon and said that the U.S. is able to closely monitor if someone tried to access the site.

But, he said he still wants to go retrieve the material from Iran because, “It’s not good enough, public relations-wise. It’s important.” He also suggested there have been media reports speculating that Iran could retrieve the material.

Trump says he won’t let midterms influence what he does in Iran

The president seemed to acknowledge that the war could hurt his Republican Party in November, saying he warned “my people” that he may “screw up your numbers for a little while.”

Trump made the comment in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier that was taped before leaving China but aired Friday evening.

He said it was necessary to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“I’m not going to let the election determine what’s going to happen with respect to Iran because they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Trump says ‘everybody agrees’ higher gas prices are worth stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon

Trump defended the statement he made before leaving for China that economic considerations would not go into any peace settlement with Iran, saying the sole goal was to prevent the country from getting a nuclear weapon.

“When people hear me say it, everybody agrees,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, saying that higher gasoline prices were just “short-term pain.”

Trump had responded to a reporter’s question on Tuesday outside the White House by saying, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

He told Baier that the question that prompted the earlier response was “fake.”

Supreme Court rejects Virginia’s bid to restore congressional map favoring Democrats

The map would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided U.S. House of Representatives.

The court’s order is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition. It was kicked off last year by Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent Supreme Court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the GOP.

In recent days, the justices have sided with Republicans in Alabama and Louisiana who hope to redo their congressional maps to produce more GOP-leaning seats following the court’s voting rights decision.

But the Virginia situation was different, stemming from a 4-3 ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that struck down a constitutional amendment voters narrowly passed last month.

The state court found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in Virginia’s general election last fall.

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Air Force One lands outside Washington

Trump is back in Washington after his whirlwind trip to China.

Air Force One touched down at Joint Base Andrews a little before 6:30 p.m. EDT, nearly 16 hours after departing from Beijing. The journey included a fuel stop in Anchorage, Alaska.

Trump says China doesn’t want Taiwan to ‘go independent’

The president in an interview that aired Friday evening on Fox News Channel appeared to downplay the threat that China may use force to reunite Taiwan, a self-governing island, with the mainland.

“It’s not a takeover. They just don’t want to see this place — we’ll call it a place because nobody knows how to define it — but they don’t want to see it go independent,” Trump said.

He said that he didn’t think China would do anything if things remained status quo. But he said if the country did, “they probably would do something pretty harsh, and then they would be met harshly and bad things will happen.”

Trump also suggested Xi would hold off on making any aggressive moves on Taiwan while he remains in the White House. That echoes comments he has made about the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and Russia’s war with Ukraine, declaring neither would have happened if he was in office at the time.

“I don’t think they’ll do anything when I’m here. When I’m not here. I think they might, to be honest with you,” Trump said.

Colorado governor commutes sentence of former elections clerk

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis has commuted the sentence of election conspiracy theorist Tina Peters following pressure from Trump, the latest instance of the president using his powers to reward those who echoed his baseless claims of mass fraud as the cause of his 2020 loss.

Trump has championed the case of Peters, a 70-year-old former county clerk who was sentenced to nine years behind bars after being convicted in a scheme to make a copy of her county’s election computer system. She gets released June 1.

In April, a Colorado appeals court ordered Peters to be resentenced because it said the judge who sent her to prison wrongly punished her for speaking out about election fraud, a decision praised by Polis. The court upheld her convictions, though.

Peters has been serving her sentence at a prison in Pueblo after being convicted in 2024 by jurors in Mesa County, a Republican stronghold that supported Trump.

Hegseth will attend USS Gerald R. Ford homecoming

The defense secretary will meet the world’s largest aircraft carrier as it returns from an 11-month deployment on Saturday, the Pentagon said.

The Ford’s 326 days at sea will make its deployment the longest for an aircraft carrier in the last 50 years and third longest since the Vietnam War, according to data compiled by USNI News, a news outlet run by the U.S. Naval Institute, a nonprofit organization.

The only longer ones were the 1973 deployment of USS Midway at 332 days and the 1965 deployment of USS Coral Sea at 329 days.

The Ford took part in the military operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Then it saw more battle, heading toward the Middle East as tensions with Iran escalated. While in the Red Sea it also experienced a fire that sidelined it for weeks in the Mediterranean Sea.

Washington activists question escalating surge

Free DC, one of the primary organizations that has opposed the surge of federal law enforcement and military personnel into Washington, said plans to expand the surge are wrongheaded.

“The people of D.C. don’t want anything from this corrupt and lawless regime. We want them to stay the hell away from our children, stay out of our communities, and quit their jobs,” the activist group said in a statement.

The organization’s stance came in response to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s press conference Friday announcing the additional surge of more law enforcement officers. That announcement said there would be more prosecutions, including holding some parents responsible for the juvenile curfew violations of their children.

U.S. Marshals Director Gadyaces Serralta said the number of military troops in the city would increase to 5,000 from 3,500. There were about 2,500 National Guard members in the city a month ago.

US says Israel and Lebanon agree to 45-day extension of ceasefire

It comes after two “productive” days of talks in Washington and will be followed by more negotiations June 2-3, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

A shaky truce between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon had been due to end on Sunday.

“We hope these discussions will advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared border,” Pigott said on social media.

U.S. eyes indictment against Raul Castro amid pressure by Trump administration, sources tell AP

The Justice Department is preparing to seek an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, three people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press.

The indictment would require approval by a grand jury. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. One of the people said the potential indictment is connected to Castro’s alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of planes operated by the Miami exile group.

Prosecutors in Miami have been building cases against senior Cuban officials amid renewed pressure from south Florida Republicans and a pledge earlier this year by President Donald Trump to orchestrate a “friendly takeover” of the communist-run island.

Second day of Israel-Lebanon talks underway in Washington as ceasefire end looms

The State Department says the second and final of two days of talks between Israel and Lebanon are underway in Washington ahead of the weekend expiration of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

US halts Army deployment to Poland as part of troop reduction in Europe, AP sources say

The Pentagon is drawing down thousands of troops in Europe by stopping units from deploying to Poland and Germany as opposed to yanking those already stationed there.

Several U.S. officials confirmed that 4,000 troops from an Army brigade are no longer en route to Poland this week. The Trump administration had previously said it was cutting U.S. forces only in Germany.

The canceled deployment came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo directing a brigade combat team to be moved out of Europe, according to two U.S. officials who like the others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

One of them said the choice of which unit was left to military leaders. The memo also led to the cancellation of an upcoming deployment to Germany of a battalion trained in firing long-range rockets and missiles, the two officials said.

Some congressional Republicans watch with worry Trump’s deliberations on Taiwan arms sale

Lawmakers who have supported Taiwan’s efforts to build up its military defenses say that the decision to follow through with the sale of $11 billion in arms for the island should be an easy one for the president.

“We have to support Taiwan, just like we have to support Ukraine,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican. “These are the fortresses of democracy and they’re on the front lines and we have to protect and defend them.”

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas said he was not surprised that Chinese President Xi Jinping had come out with an aggressive posture on Taiwan.

“We’ve got to arm Taiwan so they can defend themselves for deterrence,” McCaul said.

Vance honors fallen officers during police week

The vice president was speaking at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol.

During his remarks, Vance praised the sacrifices of police officers who were killed in the line of duty, along with their families and loved ones.

“We love you, we’re thankful for you,” Vance said. “We’re sorry for what you sacrificed but we will never forget what your officer laid down.”

Vance underscored the law-and-order policies of the Trump administration and said society’s attitude toward law enforcement has now changed.

“We shifted attitudes across our society when it comes to dealing with and most importantly, honoring our law enforcement community,” he said. “We stopped handcuffing the police and started handcuffing more violent criminals.”

The vice president spoke while Trump was returning to Washington from Beijing.

Federal officials announce summertime ’law enforcement surge in Washington, DC

The Justice Department has announced a surge of law enforcement in the nation’s capital this summer timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

Officials made the announcement at a news conference at the Justice Department headquarters on Friday, saying there would be extra personnel on city streets and additional resources such as drones.

Congressman says Poland was ‘blindsided’ by cancelled troop deployment

“It’s an embarrassment to our country what we just did to Poland,” Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said during Friday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing.

“They called me yesterday. They did not know. They were blindsided. These are some of our best allies, and they had no idea,” Bacon said. “They still don’t know what the plan is.”

Bacon said the committee needs to hold Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accountable for the decision.

“It’s wrong,” Bacon said.

Congressman criticizes abruptness of decision to cancel troop deployment to Poland

Speaking Friday during the House Armed Services Committee hearing, Republican Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia noted how advanced elements of an Army brigade were already overseas and equipment was in transit.

Scott pressed Army leaders on when the cancellation was made. Army Secretery Dan Driscoll and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s chief of staff, said discussions occurred over the last two weeks while the decision was made in the last couple days.

Scott questioned the truth behind a Pentagon statement that it was not a last-minute, unexpected decision. Driscoll said the decision was not unusual because discussions over troop deployments are happening throughout the year.

“These are major decisions that appear to many of the members of this committee to be last-minute decisions,” Scott said.

Justice Department to seek death penalty for man charged with killing 2 Israeli Embassy staffers

Elias Rodriguez faces federal hate crime and murder charges in the killings of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left an event at a Jewish museum last May, prosecutors said in a court filing Friday.

Rodriguez shouted “Free Palestine” during the shooting and later told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”

The charges against Rodriguez include a hate crime resulting in death. His indictment also includes notice of special findings, which allows prosecutors to pursue the death penalty.

The hate crimes charges mean prosecutors will have to prove that Rodriguez was motivated by antisemitism when he opened fire on Lischinsky and Milgrim, a young couple who were about to become engaged. Milgrim was a U.S. citizen. Lischinsky was an Israeli citizen working in the U.S.

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen ending reelection campaign after redraw of his Memphis district

His career was upended by the redistricting battles that are sweeping the country after last month’s Supreme Court decision.

Earlier this month, Republicans in Tennessee enacted a new U.S. House map that carves up a Cohen’s majority-Black district, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as part of President Trump’s strategy to hold on to a slim majority in the November midterm elections.

“I don’t want to quit. I’m not a quitter. But these districts were drawn to beat me,” Cohen told reporters in his Washington, D.C. office.

Cohen is challenging the state’s redistricting effort in court and said he would reenter the race if that lawsuit succeeded in restoring his old congressional district.

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Texas high court rejects removal of Democratic lawmakers who led quorum break over redistricting

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday refused to declare that Democratic lawmakers who briefly fled the state in 2025 to block a vote on new congressional voting maps pushed by President Trump had vacated their office.

The all-Republican court dealt a blow to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and state Republicans in their efforts to severely punish the more than 50 Democrats who bolted for New York, Illinois and Massachusetts in a bid to stop a vote on the maps during a special session. State Republicans had sought their arrest and threatened fines to bring them back to the state Capitol.

Abbott had argued in a lawsuit filed directly to the state’s highest civil court that state Rep. Gene Wu, the leader of the House Democratic caucus, and others had effectively abandoned their office.

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China says two sides to set up trade and investment boards to address ag goods trade and tariffs

The two countries agreed to establish boards on trade and on investments to address each other’s concerns on agricultural goods’ market access and to promote expanded trade under a framework of reciprocal tariff reductions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

The two sides have yet to announce any concrete trade deals, but the boards are expected to serve as a channel of communications to address economic and trade issues.

Wang said the economic and trade teams from the two sides have reached results that are “overall balanced and positive.”

l mulling US arms sale to Taiwan

President Donald Trump says he’s not yet made a determination on whether a major U.S. sale of arms to Taiwan can move forward, following his three-day visit to China.

Speaking to reporters as he flew back on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said he’d not decided on the sale, but added, “I will make a determination.”

The Trump administration has authorized the sale but it has yet to move forward. China opposes the deal and has suggested that Washington’s relationship with the self-governing island is the key factor in China-U.S. relations.

Eric Sembera, 28, pled guilty to a lesser charge of delivery of a controlled substance causing death, a second-degree felony, after initially being charged with first-degree fentanyl murder.

After an all day hearing Friday, Harris County Criminal District Court Judge Ana Martinez sentenced Sembera to six years in Texas Department of Criminal Justice custody.

Sembera, whose been free on bond since his arrest in November 2024, was taken into custody after the sentence was handed down.

The victim, Erica Russell, worked at the Tomball restaurant Sembera managed. After work one night in 2024, he gave her a fatal bump of fentanyl, took her to the hospital, they left against medical advice, and she was found dead in her apartment the next day, according to records.

It was the Tomball Police Department’s first fentanyl murder investigation.

“Losing my daughter, losing my Erica, there’s no comparison. I’m in pain every single day of my life,” Russell’s mother Denise said at the time of Sembera’s arrest. “It is a death sentence. If you mess around with fentanyl, there’s a huge chance you’re going to die.”

Russell’s family expressed satisfaction with the judge’s sentence on Friday, telling KPRC 2 News they believe it was fair and they hope Sembera gets the help he needs, but nothing will bring their daughter back.

Sembera faced up to 20 years in prison on the lesser charge, but the judge decided on the sentence after hearing testimony from both families on Friday.

According to Texas Department of State Health Services data, fentanyl overdose deaths have slowly decreased in recent years, from 2,307 in 2023, to 1,670 in 2024, and 1,202 reported last year.

Sembera’s defense attorney has not yet responded to KPRC 2’s request for comment.

But water safety experts warn that drowning can happen in seconds, often silently and without warning.

According to safety experts, drowning remains the leading cause of death for children between 1 and 4 years old. In Texas alone, more than 100 children drowned last year, and many of those deaths could have been prevented with simple precautions.

At the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston, swim instructors and safety advocates are teaching families how to reduce risks around the water. James Browning says water safety conversations should begin early and focus on helping children feel comfortable while also understanding the dangers.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that someone in trouble will yell or splash for help,” James Browning, Director of Aquatics at Evelyn Rubenstein JCC said. “In reality, drowning is often quick, quiet, and easy to miss.”

Experts say constant supervision is critical, especially for young children. Parents are encouraged to watch for signs of panic or distress and remain fully attentive whenever children are in or near the water.

Browning also recommends choosing life-guarded swimming areas whenever possible and having children swim with a friend or sibling. He says introducing children to water safety at a young age can help build confidence and awareness.

The Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center offers swim lessons for children as young as six months old, helping kids learn basic survival skills and become more comfortable in the water.

Safety experts also stress that floaties and pool toys should never replace active adult supervision or a properly fitted life jacket.

Officials say the goal is not to make families afraid of the water, but to help them stay prepared. Having a designated “water watcher,” learning CPR, and keeping full attention on children can help prevent tragedies this summer.

For more information about swim lessons at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, click the link below.

www.erjcchouston.org/

According to Attorney General Ken Paxton, the multidisciplinary clinic would offer medical care to patients “who were subjected to ‘gender-transition’ procedures.” The care would be free to patients for the first five years of the clinic’s operation. The move follows an investigation that began in 2023 by the attorney general’s office into Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. That same year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 14 that bars transgender children from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapies.

Gender-affirming care is an umbrella term for the treatment of gender dysphoria, or the discomfort that comes when someone’s gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender-affirming care ranges from “socially transitioning” — using different pronouns or dressing differently — to puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical interventions.

“Today is a monumental day in the fight to stop the radical transgender movement,” Paxton said in a statement issued Friday. “I applaud Texas Children’s Hospital for changing course and committing to being a part of the solution by agreeing to form a first-of-its kind Detransition Clinic that will help provide free care to those who have been victimized by twisted, morally bankrupt transgender ideology.”

Texas Children’s will fund all services provided through the “detransition clinic” for the first five years. 

The settlement also requires the hospital to pay $10 million for billing Texas Medicaid after the state accused the hospital of illegal ‘gender-transition’ interventions, including by using false diagnosis codes. It also required Texas Children’s to terminate and revoke the medical privileges of five physicians. Paxton and the hospital have not released the name of the physicians or a copy of the settlement. 

Texas Children’s, the nation’s largest pediatric hospital, said in a statement that it made the “difficult decision” to settle with the attorney general’s office to close a legal chapter that has been, “wrought with falsehoods and distractions.” 

The hospital said it spent three three years producing more than 5 million documents to both the state and the U.S. Department of Justice. 

“All reviews and investigations continue to support the facts – we have been compliant with all laws,” the hospital statement said. “To be clear – we are settling to protect our resources from endless and costly litigation … We stand proud knowing we will always put our purpose over politics and that we have and will continue to follow the law.”

The Texas Medical Association and Texas Hospital Association declined to answer questions for the story.

Unclear what services clinic will provide

Texas Children’s, one of the world’s leading pediatric hospitals based in the heart of Houston’s medical center, did not say how it will roll out its clinic or what services it will provide, though the hospital said in the statement that the clinic will include “supportive, multidisciplinary services we already deliver to all patients who need our care.” 

Detransitioning is the stopping or reversal of transitioning care by social, medical or legal means, and it is rare for people to regret transitioning after taking hormone therapy and surgical interventions. 

On the clinical side, detransitioning could mean stopping hormone treatment or procedures to reverse previous surgeries. Similar to transitioning, detransitioning requires intensive mental health assessments to root out other factors that might be creating the desire to stop transitioning, according to research. Common reasons for destransitioning include lack of family support, financial barriers and social pressure. 

When someone chooses to detransition, “it is not normally because of healthcare complications,” said Andrea Segovia, senior field and policy director for the Transgender Education Network of Texas. 

Segovia is concerned that access to mental healthcare will not be woven into the clinic’s services. In March, Paxton released an opinion saying that mental health providers licensed by the state cannot provide gender-transitioning care to minors under state law. It’s not clear if Paxton believes state law bars detransitioning mental healthcare as well.

For those who do want to detransition, the resources already exist, said Kellan Baker, senior advisor for the Movement Advancement Project, a national think tank that focuses on LGBTQ policies. 

Detransitioning services, although they are rarely needed, can and have been offered properly when accompanied with mental health resources. But Baker said he’s not confident that this clinic, born out of a heated conflict between a hospital and the attorney general, has the best intentions for the transgender community. 

“Texas Children’s is not creating this clinic — the Texas attorney general is creating it,” Baker said. “A clinic created by a politician via legal intimidation is not in the best interests of any patient. Doctors should be the ones making decisions about how to provide medical care, not politicians.”

‘Resource that no one is asking for’

Brad Pritchett, CEO of Equality Texas, a nonprofit that advocates for the LGBTQ community, said in a statement that the attorney general is “blackmailing a hospital system into creating a resource that no one is asking for.” 

Pritchett said Texas’ politically-motivated detransition clinic “ignores the actual science and years of data about the overwhelming benefits of gender-affirming care.” 

Several medical associations including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and American Psychiatric Association, have supported evidence-based gender-transitioning care as appropriate and medically necessary for children.

Pritchett added that it is “embarrassing that a hospital once revered for its care has lost its integrity and put politics over patients.”

Dallas state Rep. Jessica González who chairs the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus said in a statement that the settlement is “shameful, and is the furthering of an agenda to eradicate transgender people from the eyes of society.” 

Transgender people make up about 1% of the population, which is why, Segovia said, it is “infuriating” that the state is creating the detransition clinic as access to other healthcare services are struggling — such as rural hospitals and reproductive care. 

Texas Children’s has to fully fund the clinic for five years, which will take away attention and limited resources from the hospital’s other departments such as care for children with cancer and infants with heart conditions, González said. 

“Using a settlement to compel a hospital to build an ideologically framed clinic opens the door to more state interference in medical practice, more dangerous stigmatization that truly harms

young Texans, and, sadly, more lives lost in our nation’s suicide epidemic,” said González, one of the few only queer representatives in Texas. 

Houston state Sen. Molly Cook, who is also openly queer, said Paxton is manufacturing a political spectacle because providers know how to help someone detransition and the state doesn’t need a clinic to train them on it. 

“This is an asinine waste of money that is typical of Texas’s out-of-touch statewide leadership,” Cook said in a statement. “Texas Children’s already provides care for patients who choose to change a course of treatment.”

The need for such a clinic in Texas is made even smaller by the fact that the state’s ban on gender-transitioning care for minors has resulted in very few Texas children receiving such care statewide. 

The five doctors that Paxton said Texas Children’s will need to fire adds to the four doctors he’s already sued to stop providing gender-affirming care. He’s also sued Children’s Health System of Texas, headquartered in Dallas, accusing them of violating SB 14. Some parts of Texas already suffer from a pediatric endocrinologist shortage in the wake of SB 14. 

Segovia with the Transgender Education Network of Texas said she’s worried that other states will follow Texas’ lead in forcing more of these clinics to open. 

“It’s terrifying what other states will take from this.”

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

Despite the backlash, HISD leaders said the changes are necessary to improve instruction and better support students with the highest needs.

• TEA investigating complaints tied to HISD special education changes

“These changes can be difficult for families, and we heard them tonight. We listened,” HISD Deputy Superintendent Kristen Hole said during Thursday’s meeting. “The feelings are real because they care deeply about their children.”

Why HISD says changes are needed

District leaders said the upcoming changes are focused on three major goals:

• Improving academic outcomes for special education students
• Improving the quality of classroom instruction
• Ensuring students receive high-quality Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs

“The first thing is we want to improve the academic outcomes for our special education students because we know they can achieve,” Hole said. “The second thing is we really need to focus on improving the quality of instruction in every single classroom where a special education student is sitting.”

• RELATED: ‘I wasn’t part of the decision’: HISD parents react to proposed special education changes

According to the district, approximately 16,000 students in the “least restrictive environment” meaning students who learn alongside general education students will not see major campus or service changes.

For those students, HISD says the district plans to expand co-teaching models, where a general education teacher and special education teacher work together in the same classroom. The district also plans to introduce “pre-teach” courses that expose students to reading and math concepts before their regular classroom instruction.

“For these students, it’s really important to note that no services are changing and no campuses are changing,” Hole said.

Changes for self-contained classrooms

The largest changes will impact roughly 5,000 students in self-contained classrooms.

District leaders said they found many classrooms included students across wide age and grade ranges. In some elementary classrooms, HISD said kindergartners and fifth graders were learning together in the same room.

• RELATED: U.S. Department of Education opens disability discrimination investigation into HISD special education proposal

“We saw that there was a large age range in many of our classrooms,” Hole said. “Teachers every day [were] having to support students across many grades in the same classroom.”

According to HISD, more than 65% of self-contained classrooms currently serve students from three or more grade levels at once.

Under the new model, the district says that number will drop dramatically.

“95% or more of teachers will serve one to two grades of students in one classroom,” Hole said.

The district plans to restructure classrooms by grouping students closer in age and grade level. Some campuses could have separate classrooms designated for grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-5.

District leaders also announced:

• Self-contained classrooms will be capped at 15 students
• Adult-to-student ratios will be capped at five-to-one
• Transportation services in student IEPs will continue
• Siblings of transferred students may request transfers to the same campus

“This is not about efficiency,” Hole said. “This is about better supporting our students in the classroom.”

HISD denies rumors about separate schools, IEP changes

District leaders repeatedly pushed back against concerns circulating among parents.

“There’s been a lot of misinformation,” Superintendent Mike Miles said during the meeting.

Miles stressed that no student IEPs are being changed under the plan unless a new Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) meeting takes place.

• RELATED: ‘Don’t move kids’: HISD parents push back against proposed special education overhaul

“No IEP has been changed and cannot be changed except through a new ARD,” Miles said.

District officials also denied claims that HISD plans to create standalone special education campuses.

“There are no standalone schools of just special education students,” Hole said.

Miles added the district believes students will ultimately receive stronger support because teachers will no longer have to manage classrooms with students across four or five grade levels simultaneously.

HISD officials said additional training will take place before the upcoming school year for principals, assistant principals, and teachers working in special education programs.

• ‘Our kids are not second-class citizens’: Parents erupt over HISD special education overhaul at board meeting

District leaders said the training will focus specifically on classroom programming and implementation of student services.

Throughout Thursday’s lengthy board meeting, district leaders did not address ongoing federal or state investigations involving special education services.

The TEA said it is too soon to determine whether the complaints they’re reviewing could prevent the district from implementing its changes.

One of the people told the AP that the potential indictment is connected to Castro's alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of four 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.

Any criminal charge against Castro, which would need to be approved by a grand jury, would dramatically escalate tensions with Havana and ramp up expectations of U.S. military action in Cuba like the one carried out in January in Venezuela to bring President Nicolàs Maduro to New York on drug trafficking charges.

Following Maduro’s ouster, the Trump administration quickly turned its attention to his ally Cuba and ordered an economic blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba, leading to severe blackouts, food shortages and a collapse in economic activity across the island.

Iran war gave Cuba a breather

The U.S. war in Iran appeared to have given Cuban leaders something of a reprieve from U.S. talk of regime change.

As Trump seeks to wind down that conflict, speculation has been growing that he may soon turn his attention back to Cuba after pledging earlier this year a “friendly takeover” of the country if its leadership didn’t open up its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.

Richard Feinberg, a professor emeritus specializing in Latin America at the University of California-San Diego, said that any indictment of Castro will play well with voters in south Florida but is unlikely to persuade career war planners in the Pentagon to pursue a second war of choice — this time just 90 miles from Florida.

“There’s no easy Venezuela copy,” said Feinberg. “There's no clear line of succession and it's hard to imagine regime change without U.S. boots on the ground.”

The AP reported in March that the U.S. Attorney in Miami had created a special working group of prosecutors and federal law enforcement to build cases against top Cuban officials amid calls by several south Florida Republicans to reopen its investigation into Castro’s alleged role in the 1996 shootdown.

Trump calls Cuba ‘a declining country’

Trump declined to discuss a potential indictment on Friday, deferring to the Justice Department.

“But they need help, as you know, and you talk about a declining country — they are really a nation or a country in decline, so we’re going to see,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We have a lot to talk about on Cuba, but not maybe for today.”

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials, including Castro’s grandson, during a high-level visit to the island on Thursday.

Castro, 94, took over as president from his ailing brother, Fidel Castro, in 2011, and then handed power to a handpicked loyalist, Miguel Díaz-Canel, in 2019.

While he largely has avoided the spotlight since retiring in 2021 as head of the Cuban Communist Party, he is widely believed to wield power behind the scenes, a fact underscored by the prominence of his grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, who previously met secretly with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Florida straits shootdown a watershed moment in Cuba-U.S. relations

Cuba's shootdown in 1996 of two Cessna aircraft operated by the Brothers to the Rescue was a watershed moment in decades of hostilities between the two countries.

At the time, President Bill Clinton had been cautiously exploring ways to reduce tensions with a Cold War adversary but faced stiff opposition from exiles who organized publicity-seeking flyovers of Havana, dropping anti-Castro leaflets, and aiding Cuban rafters fleeing economic deprivation and single-party rule.

The Cubans had warned the U.S. government for months that it was prepared to defend against what it considered deliberate provocations. But those calls went unheeded and on Feb. 26, 1996, missiles fired by Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets downed two unarmed civilian Cessna planes just beyond Cuba's airspace, according to an investigation conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization. A third plane, carrying the organization’s leader, narrowly escaped.

“With hindsight, it appears the Castros' motive was to slow down the Clinton outreach because they needed the U.S. as an external enemy to justify their national security posture,” said Richard Fienberg, who worked on Cuban issues at the National Security Council at the time.

They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, said Feinberg.

Shortly after the shootdown, Congress passed what became known as the Helms-Burton Act, which codified a U.S. trade embargo enacted in 1962 and made it far more complicated for successive U.S. presidents to engage with Cuba.

To date, the U.S. has convicted only a single person of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown. Gerardo Hernández, the leader of a Cuban espionage ring dismantled by the FBI in the 1990s, was sentenced to life in prison but was released by President Barack Obama during a prisoner swap in 2014 as part of an attempt to normalize relations with Cuba.

Two fighter jet pilots and their commanding officer have also been indicted but are outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement while living in Cuba.

Castro previously investigated for drug trafficking

Castro has been under U.S. criminal investigation before. In 1993, federal prosecutors in Miami considered charging him and several other senior Cuban military officials with cocaine trafficking based on testimony from Colombian traffickers that emerged in the drug trial of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, the AP reported in 2006.

But an indictment never followed amid concerns about the witness’ credibility as well as fears that it could risk U.S. intelligence operations and derail Clinton’s tentative outreach.

___

Tucker and Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Collin Binkley contributed.

“This is part of the restructuring we announced last month to align our operations with what our top customers need from us today,” an AP spokesman, Patrick Maks, said in an email.

“It’s never easy to part ways with valued colleagues — we are appreciative of their contributions to the AP and wish them all the best,” wrote Maks, the news outlet’s director of media relations and corporate communications.

AP declined to give numbers, but the News Media Guild, the union that represents AP journalists, said 20 guild-covered staffers had been laid off. The layoffs had been completed by the end of the business day Friday.

The layoffs, which had been expected, come about a month after AP, one of the world’s oldest and most influential news organizations, offered buyouts to more than 120 journalists based in the United States. About 40 subsequently volunteered and were accepted, according to the guild.

Tony Winton, the guild’s administrator, said the union had received an email just before 10 a.m. Friday from an AP human resources official saying the company was planning to implement layoffs, and the last day of work was Friday. He said no other information was provided.

“Today’s cuts show just how directionless AP’s leadership has become," said a statement from Kimberlee Kruesi, an AP reporter and the guild's acting president. “The company touts that it is prioritizing visual journalism, yet among the 20 employees sacked today are experienced photographers."

Julie Pace, executive editor and senior vice president of the AP, said in an interview last month that AP’s goal was to reduce its global staff by less than 5%. The company does not say how many journalists it employs.

Pace said at the time that the AP “is not in trouble.”

“We’re making these changes from a position of strength, but we’re doing so now to recognize our changing customer base,” she said.

Over the past four years, the AP’s revenue from newspapers has declined by 25%. Gannett and McClatchy, two of the largest traditional newspaper publishers, dropped AP in 2024.

AP customers now are dominated by broadcast, digital and technology companies. Kristin Heitmann, senior vice president and chief revenue officer, said last month that the company had seen a 200% growth in revenue from technology companies over the same period.

___

Former AP media writer David Bauder contributed to this report.

According to a complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Manhattan, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi sought to attack a New York City synagogue last month and provided an undercover law enforcement officer with photos and maps of Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona, that he planned to target.

Al-Saadi is also accused of involvement in two recent attacks in Canada: an attack on a synagogue and a shooting at the U.S. consulate in Toronto in March. U.S. prosecutors said he directed and urged other people to attack U.S. and Israeli interests, including by killing Americans and Jews.

Al-Saadi posted about the attacks on Snapchat and Telegram and spoke about them in phone calls recorded by an FBI informant whose help he solicited in planning attacks in the U.S., the complaint said. Al-Saadi told the informant he was willing to kill people in any such attacks, the complaint said.

Al-Saadi, 32, is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Kata’ib Hizballah, an Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militant group, and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, both of which have been designated by the U.S. government as foreign terrorist organizations. U.S. prosecutors said Al-Saadi was a Kata’ib Hizballah commander.

He is also charged with conspiring and providing material support for acts of terrorism and conspiring to bomb a place of public use. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

FBI Director Kash Patel described Al-Saadi as a "high-value target responsible for mass global terrorism" and said his arrest was the product of "a righteous mission executed brilliantly” by the agency's agents and law enforcement partners.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whose officers investigated Al-Saadi as part of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, said the case “puts into stark relief the global threats posed by the Iranian regime and its proxies like Kata’ib Hizballah.”

Al-Saadi smiled throughout his initial court appearance but did not speak.

Through his lawyer, he called himself a political prisoner and a prisoner of war and said the U.S. is persecuting him for his relationship with Qasem Soleimani, the Revolutionary Guard leader who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2020.

Al-Saadi was not required to enter a plea. He will remain jailed but could request bail.

His lawyer, Andrew Dalack, said Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey and turned over to U.S. authorities. In his statement, Patel thanked U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, calling him "instrumental in bringing this successful mission home to the United States.”

Al-Saadi has been kept in solitary confinement since he arrived at a federal jail in Brooklyn on Thursday night, Dalack said, adding that such treatment was “unusual given the nature of charges in the complaint."

According to the complaint, Al-Saadi and unnamed associates planned, coordinated, and claimed responsibility for a barrage of attacks in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, a component of Kata’ib Hizballah, since the war started on Feb. 28.

They include the bombing of a Bank of New York Mellon building in Amsterdam in mid-March and a thwarted bomb attack on a Bank of America office in Paris on March 28, the complaint said. Teenage suspects were previously arrested in both cases.

The Amsterdam attack caused a fire and significant damage to the building, but no injuries, according to local media reports. It followed an explosion outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam, which Al-Saadi celebrated on Snapchat with an Ashab al-Yamin-branded video showing the blast and the assailants fleeing on a motorcycle, the criminal complaint said.

In Paris, police found a homemade bomb consisting of a gasoline-filled container taped to a powerful firework. Forensic experts said the device contained 650 grams (about 23 ounces) of explosives and that it could have produced a large fireball and ignited a significant blaze.

Last month, Al-Saadi set his sights on bombing Jewish sites in the U.S. and offered the undercover law enforcement officer $10,000 in cryptocurrency for what he envisioned as simultaneous attacks on the New York synagogue and the Jewish centers in Arizona and California, the criminal complaint said.

After paying the officer an initial installment of $3,000 for the synagogue attack, Al-Saadi encouraged him to strike as soon as possible, telling him in an April 6 text message: “I wanna see good news tonight . . . not tomorrow bro,” the complaint said.

The TORO District will be in the Bridgeland community on the far Northwest side. It is expected to open with restaurants, shopping, and homes in 2029.

RELATED: Houston Texans’ new Toro District project raises big questions about public money and traffic

One interesting issue the 83 acre TORO District has is split school zoning. Part of it is in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and part of it is in Waller ISD.

We saw some of you talking about it on NextDoor.

So, 2 Investigates reached out to both districts to see what they know.

“We have not been involved in any planning for Toro District; however, Waller ISD is a fast-growth district, and we take a very strategic and proactive approach to long-range planning. This ensures our facilities, academics, and extracurricular offerings meet the needs of the community we serve, and we are including the projected impact of Toro District into our planning,“ said Waller ISD Chief Communications Officer Sarah Marcus. ”We currently have a demographic study underway, with results expected by August 2026. The results of our demographic studies help drive our long-range planning process.”

RELATED: Texans schedule: kicks off vs. Bills at home, four primetime games, a London trip, 26th toughest ranking

“Although CFISD is thrilled to welcome the Houston Texans to the Bridgeland community, no further discussions have taken place between CFISD and the Texans regarding the scope of the Toro District,” Cy-Fair ISD Assistant Superintendent for Communication and Community Relations Joel Weckerly tells us.

What happens next for students in both districts remains an open question as the TORO District moves towards its 2029 opening.

Pat Concannon and his friends — two who made the trip from Europe just to watch the golf major — positioned their ladder and the bed of their Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck just a short putt away from the temporary fence that lined the first hole at Aronimink Golf Club.

“This is the best seat in the house,” Concannon said. “Everyone can watch it from over there. Not everyone can watch it from over here.”

The friends were getting thirsty early Friday and time for a beer run was getting tight before the world's No. 1 golfer was about to traipse through their backyard.

“Make it quick,” one reveler yelled, “because I think Scottie Scheffler is coming next.”

Cold beers were delivered and Concannon and his friends toasted the day and the unobstructed — and absolutely free — view as they peered like Wilson from “Home Improvement” over the fence to watch the second round where the best golfers in the world touched down a short walk from his uncle's garage.

No old man cries here of, get off my lawn!

Enterprising home owners in the tony neighborhood that lined Aronimink set up ladders, rented platforms and turned their streets into the sites of the block party of the weekend — just respect the quiet please sign — just off the cart-worn path of the 130-year-old course.

The volume could get cranked to 11 later in the night.

Once play was concluded, a Bruce Springsteen cover band — the E Street Shuffle Band — was set to take the stage. Or is it a lawn?

The home owners decided to think outside the tee box when it came to affordable golf, though some of them are Aronimink members and had purchased tickets that stretched well over $1,000 each, depending on the day.

Jim Hageney moved into his home outside the first hole two years ago and is in the midst of renovations that essentially gutted the inside. Up near the chimney, construction workers paused on their lunch break for a birds-eye view some 50 feet above the chip shots and booming drives below.

Hageney and his guests mingled about 10 feet up on one of three platforms — for about $2,000 total — rented by his family and two neighbors.

They are about the most popular people at Aronimink not named Rory or Rickie or Scottie. Golf fans shout — well, it's golf, so mildly raise their voice — at Hageney and friends asking how they can snag a spot outside the course and inside the fence at the property.

If they could find the opening along the fence near the fourth hole and turn left, they might have some luck at getting close to the neighborhood.

Or, they can empty their pockets and buy a house where one on the market advertised it was at Aronimink's fourth tee.

Party crashers have been kept in check.

Roads were mostly closed — no parking by temporary police order signs dotted the street — and the Hageney family put up a “Private By Invite Only” sign in their driveway.

Hageney said nine trees were removed around their property line ahead of the PGA.

“It’s great for me,” Hageney said. “Great view. Unobstructed view.”

And no long line at the concession stand!

The Hageneys had their platform delivered last week and there were no issues with the viewing risers or other towering platforms like it — one without railings went up near the 14th green — and the occasional golfer even politely waved back to their well wishes.

“We had checked with the PGA, and the people were very, very polite,” the 63-year-old Hageney said. “They said be respectful.”

One local family hired a company to build a raised platform dubbed the “sky deck" and invited their new best friends for drinks and nibbles and hanging out in genteel surroundings.

The Bellew family even created a website where fans could RSVP for an American Evening on the Fairway.

“Experience golf, atmosphere, and an unforgettable weekend,” the website read. “In celebration of the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, join us at our home for a memorable weekend of gathering, championship viewing, and celebration.”

Headed into the weekend, there were no reports of inebriated patrons falling over the fence or course marshals trying to keep the noise down — just the ladders up.

“It's pretty safe, right," Concannon asked.

___

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

The S&P 500 fell 1.2% from its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 537 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.5% from its own record.

Technology stocks tumbled in a sharp turnaround from their meteoric rises for much of the year, which had carried markets worldwide to records but also raised criticism that they had gone too far.

Nvidia, the stock that quickly became the face of the AI revolution, dropped 4.4% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. It had come into the day with a gain of more than 26% for the year so far.

Micron Technology was another one of the heaviest weights on the market after falling 6.6%. It’s nevertheless still up nearly 154% for the year so far.

“To us, it looks like markets have pushed into overbought territory,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management. He said the strong corporate profits and durable U.S. economy that launched U.S. stocks to records remain intact, but “the path is unlikely to be smooth. Periods like this call for discipline more than hope.”

In the meantime, rising oil prices are raising the pressure after already worsening inflation by more than economists had feared. The war with Iran is continuing, and the Strait of Hormuz remains shut to oil tankers, which is preventing them from delivering crude to customers worldwide and driving up oil’s price.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 3.3% to settle at $109.26 and is well above its level of roughly $70 from before the war.

Many big U.S. companies have been saying their customers have been able to keep spending on their products and services despite having to pay higher prices for gasoline. But U.S. households have also been telling surveys they’re feeling discouraged about the economy and the pressures building on them because of the war and tariffs.

The worries were most clear Friday in the bond market, where Treasury yields climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.59% from 4.47% late Thursday. That’s a notable move for the bond market, and it’s well above its 3.97% level from before the war.

The yield on the 30-year Treasury reached 5.13% and is back to where it was in 2007, before the financial crisis sent yields crashing toward zero in the ensuing year.

Higher yields can make mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses more expensive, which slows the economy. They also tend to push downward on prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

Stocks of smaller companies had some of Friday’s sharpest drops. Many of them need to borrow cash to grow, which means higher borrowing costs can hurt them more than their big rivals. The Russell 2000 index of the smallest U.S. stocks fell 2.4%, double the S&P 500’s loss.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 92.74 points to 7,408.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 537.29 to 49,526.17, and the Nasdaq composite sank 410.08 to 26,225.14.

Yields have been climbing since the war on worries about higher inflation and how it may tie the Federal Reserve’s hands when it comes to short-term interest rates. Not only have traders abandoned virtually all expectations that the Fed will resume its cuts to interest rates this year, they’ve been building some bets that it may even hike rates in 2026, according to data from CME Group.

A couple of reports on the U.S. economy that came in better than expected also helped to lift yields. One said U.S. industrial production improved by more last month than economists expected, while another said manufacturing in New York state is expanding at a faster rate.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell by more than 1.5% across much of Europe and Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi dropped 6.1% for one of the biggest moves. It’s set records this year because of the influence of AI beneficiaries like SK Hynix. But it quickly reversed momentum Friday after briefly topping the 8,000 level for the first time.

Some on Wall Street have been warning about a possible break in momentum for tech stocks in general and AI winners in particular.

“If nothing else this should be a ‘shot across the bow’ for how volatility works both ways,” according to Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG.

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AP Business Writer Chan Ho-him contributed.

Now, as Powell steps down from the post after eight tumultuous years, the U.S. economy is transformed: Inflation soared after the pandemic and has remained above the Fed's 2% target for more than five years, angering voters and making rents, cars, and groceries harder to afford. The Fed's key short-term rate rose to a two-decade high in 2023, even as unemployment fell to a half-century low.

Along the way, Powell shrugged off relentless personal attacks from President Donald Trump that began just months after his appointment. But in January, he pushed back against an unprecedented legal investigation by the Justice Department, becoming one of the few top officials in Washington to stand up to the Trump White House.

Powell, who was named chair pro tempore on Friday until his successor Kevin Warsh is sworn in, said he will continue serving on the governing board until he is confident the Fed’s independence is truly restored. His success at protecting the central bank from day-to-day politics will be a key part of his legacy.

“It is not an unblemished record, but in an extremely challenging context, he’s performed exceedingly well," said David Wilcox, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and director of research at Bloomberg Economics. “And my overall assessment is that the country has been lucky indeed to have him as chair.”

Unlike many of his predecessors, Powell, 73, is not a trained economist, but a lawyer who also worked in finance before joining the Fed's board of governors in 2012. Unassuming in public and private, Powell often introduces himself as “Jay” and would display his guitar-playing skills, honed as a student busking through Europe, at the Fed's holiday parties.

‘Transitory’ inflation proved persistent

An inescapable part of Powell's legacy will be the post-pandemic inflation surge, when consumer prices rose by a four-decade high of 9.1% in June 2022.

Overall prices are now 27% higher than just before the pandemic six years ago, a staggering change for a country that had experienced little inflation for generations. Prices rose just 10% in the six years before the pandemic. Groceries are 30% more expensive than six years ago, after they rose just 3.6% in the six years preceding COVID.

Powell and other Fed officials — and indeed most economists — initially said the inflationary surge was “transitory,” a result of supply chain snarls brought about by the pandemic, as COVID shut down factories and slowed ports around the world.

Their immediate priority was supporting the economy in a crisis.

In two moves in March 2020, they slashed their benchmark interest rate by 1.5 percentage points to near zero. The Fed also bought large amounts of Treasury debt and government-backed mortgage securities to reduce longer-term interest rates and took other steps to pour money into the financial system to keep credit markets functioning during pandemic chaos.

In April 2020, Powell said that the Fed would "continue to use these powers forcefully, proactively, and aggressively until we are confident that we are solidly on the road to recovery.''

Even as inflation zoomed past the Fed's 2% target in 2021, the central bank kept its key interest rate near zero until March 2022, when inflation hit 6.9%, according to the Fed's preferred measure.

The Fed's delay in raising rates was largely informed by a traditional economic view that inflation, stemming from a supply shock, would be temporary and if a central bank cranked up borrowing costs to fight it, the higher rates would just harm the economy and lift unemployment even as the supply crunch faded.

Misreading tea leaves

Meanwhile, the Trump and Biden administrations pumped about $5 trillion in government spending into the economy, in the form of multiple stimulus checks, support for small businesses, and other aid. The flow of dollars fueled a spending spike just as supply chains were unable to deliver on the demand.

By keeping its key rate near zero for so long, Powell's critics charge, the Fed contributed to that excess spending and worsened inflation.

“Even though there was all the evidence there in the data that aggregate demand was going through the roof, they still said it was a transitory supply shock,” said Mickey Levy, a former top economist at Bank of America and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. “The Fed contributed to that inflation and completely misread the tea leaves.”

As inflation began to spread into items such as apartment rents and surveys showed Americans increasingly worried it would last, Powell pivoted and oversaw the sharpest increase in interest rates since the early 1980s to combat the price spike.

Still, many leading economists, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, worried that defeating inflation would require a recession and a sharp increase in unemployment. Instead, inflation dropped to 2.3% by September 2024, according to the Fed's preferred measure, nearly reaching its 2% target.

By reducing inflation without a sharp economic downturn, Powell largely achieved an elusive “soft landing." Inflation then moved higher after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs last April.

Focusing on unemployment

Fighting inflation was a sharp shift for a Fed chair that began his term more focused on the Fed's mandate to pursue maximum employment. Before the pandemic, Powell often lauded the benefits of a strong job market for disadvantaged workers, winning plaudits from many progressive economists.

Yet some economists argue the Fed's focus on employment contributed to its delayed response to post-COVID inflation. In an August 2021 speech, Powell said the then-elevated unemployment rate of 5.4% was a reason to avoid hiking rates too early.

Still, many analysts defend Powell's support for the maximum employment mandate. Julia Coronado, president of MacroPolicy Perspectives and a former Fed economist, said Powell was right to keep rates low before the pandemic, even as unemployment steadily declined, because there were no signs inflation was worsening.

“If you can actually push a little harder for a little longer with no consequences for inflation, then you should damn well do it,” she said. “He was absolutely right about that. He’s still right about that.”

For his part, Powell said in late April that “overweighting the employment market” had nothing to do with the inflation spike.

“It was a global shock that happened essentially very, very similarly all over the world,” he said.

Fighting for Fed independence

Last July, in an image that will likely prove the most enduring of his time as Fed chair, Powell and Trump stood before cameras in hard hats at the site of the Fed's extensive $2.5 billion building renovation, which Trump had criticized as excessive.

Trump claimed the project would cost even more -- $3.1 billion — and showed Powell a paper listing the costs. Powell took out his reading glasses and corrected the president, on camera, by noting that he had included a third building that had already been renovated.

It was emblematic of Powell's willingness to push back against Trump's unprecedented attacks. Economists have long supported an independent Fed because it allows the central bank to take difficult steps — such as sharply raising interest rates to combat inflation — that politicians often oppose because they can be painful.

Powell benefited from strong relationship-building with Congress. Research by University of Maryland economist Thomas Drechsel has found that Powell met with senators more than twice as often as his two predecessors, with the meetings evenly split between both parties.

During one visit, Powell even endeared himself to North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis' dog, a move that paid huge dividends. Tillis essentially blocked Senate approval of Kevin Warsh, Trump's pick to replace Powell, until the investigation of the building project was dropped. The Justice Department eventually gave up on its probe.

Even those who fault Powell on some policy decisions credit him for defending the Fed.

“The big plus is the way he has protected central bank independence,” said Don Kohn, a former vice chair of the Fed. “That is the most important thing for the future of the Federal Reserve and for protecting the public interest in having an independent central bank.”

Powell hasn't said when he may leave the Fed, though he could remain on the governing board until January 2028.

“You want people to ... set interest rates to benefit the general public," Powell said at his last news conference, "and focus only on that and ignore political considerations. This isn’t bipartisan, this is nonpartisan.”

____

AP Economics Writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this story.

While the former Hollywood mogul has been convicted of other sex crimes on two U.S. coasts and remains behind bars, the mistrial leaves the New York rape charge in limbo. Prosecutors were pondering whether to try the case a fourth time, after some jurors said outside court that nine out of 12 wanted to acquit Weinstein.

Weinstein, 74, showed little reaction as he was ushered from court, but his attorneys said later that he was pleased with the outcome.

“Maybe it’s not the win that he wanted, but it’s a win, and we’re going to keep fighting,” attorney Marc Agnifilo said, adding that the defense believed it has "outstanding” prospects if the case is retried.

The majority-male Manhattan jury weighed whether Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the encounter was consensual. It happened in 2013 during a fraught relationship between the then-married Weinstein and the decades-younger Mann.

Deliberations began Wednesday. On Friday, after the jury sent two notes in 90 minutes saying it was stuck, Judge Curtis Farber declared a mistrial.

What stood out to jurors

Some jurors said they were struck by gaps in what Mann recalled, particularly when defense lawyers were questioning her.

“The prevailing thought was that the witness had a lot of inconsistencies in her story,” said juror Josh Hadar, 57. He favored acquittal: “I don't come to that easily, but it just seemed that there was enough reasonable doubt.”

Another juror, Sarae Perez, 25, noted that she studied feminism and is well versed in #MeToo, but she also couldn't overcome uncertainties about Mann's account.

“There were places where we couldn’t trust her word for it,” she said.

Accuser's reaction: 'I deserve justice'

Mann said in a statement that the mistrial “doesn’t in any way detract from the truth I told.”

“I deserve justice, which is why I stand up and face unbearable public scrutiny in the name of a greater good,” she said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg hailed Mann's “perseverance and bravery” and said in a statement that prosecutors will consult her about next steps. They're due to say next month whether they will retry the case.

How the case returned for a third trial

As an Oscar-winning movie producer and studio boss, Weinstein was one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures and a significant Democratic donor before the long-suppressed sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations against him cascaded into public view in 2017. The revelations galvanized the #MeToo movement ’s demands for accountability for sexual misconduct, made Weinstein a pariah, bankrupted the studio and ultimately led to criminal charges against him in New York and Los Angeles.

He was convicted of some and acquitted of others. Yet Mann’s allegation lingered. Weinstein was convicted of the charge in 2020. Then an appeals court overturned that verdict, and jury deliberations broke down at a 2025 retrial. That paved the way for this year’s retrial.

Weinstein has said he was unfaithful to his then-wife and “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

The accuser's account

Mann, now 40, met Weinstein at a Los Angeles party in early 2013, when she hoped to build a handful of acting credits into a big career. She said his pushy intimate overtures discomfited her at first, but she acceded to them and decided to develop a relationship with him.

However, she said she made it clear she didn’t want sex on March 18, 2013, when he unexpectedly got a room at a Manhattan hotel where she was staying with a friend.

“I said ‘no,’ over and over, and I tried to leave,” she told jurors during five days of intense testimony. She said Weinstein slammed the door, grabbed her arms and ordered her to undress. Scared, she gave up protesting, she said and alleged that he ultimately raped her.

Weinstein’s lawyers highlighted an introspective, private note that Mann wrote herself two days later. While saying nothing about the alleged rape, the note discussed her conflicted feelings about becoming “emotionally attached” in a nonexclusive relationship with a man she didn’t name. She testified that she hadn't needed to write down the alleged rape.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to make their names public, as Mann has done.

Weinstein's defense

Weinstein didn’t testify. In his lawyers’ telling, Mann was a willing partner in a close, supportive relationship with a show-business insider who opened doors for her, but she turned on him once he became an outcast.

In the months and years after the New York encounter, Mann kept seeing and communicating with Weinstein, emails and testimony showed. At times, she pulled away to pursue another relationship; at others, she turned back to Weinstein, who validated her acting dreams and comforted her when her father was terminally ill.

“I love u. Anything u need,” Weinstein wrote.

He helped Mann land a movie audition — it went nowhere — and a hairstyling job. She asked him for help with such things as a car problem, though she declined cash that he tried to send when she couldn’t make rent.

In one of her last emails to Weinstein, in February 2017, she wrote: “I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call.” When he responded by suggesting she was “joking” and should stop using his company email, she said it was a joke and apologized.

Eight months later, news reports about other women's allegations prompted her to go to the police.

Mann never sued Weinstein, but after his 2020 conviction, she filed for and got about $500,000 from a sexual misconduct settlement fund set up during his company’s bankruptcy. His lawyers didn't mention the payout at this trial.

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Associated Press journalists Ed White in Detroit and Joseph B. Frederick in New York contributed.

The Gulfstream long-range business jet carrying them from the Netherlands landed at RAAF Base Pearce outside the Western Australia state capital, Perth. The passengers, crew and a doctor who accompanied them were taken by bus to the nearby Bullsbrook quarantine facility.

Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said the government would implement one of world's strongest quarantine responses to the outbreak.

He said passengers of the cruise ship MV Hondius who returned to the United States and most European countries would spend a few days in a quarantine center before they were sent home.

"We have taken the decision to take a stronger approach to quarantine arrangements than that because we are determined to ensure there is no risk at all of any transmission of this virus into the Australian community,” Butler told reporters in his hometown of Adelaide.

The five Australians and one New Zealand citizen will spend the three-week quarantine period in the facility that had remained largely unused since it was built in 2022 is response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A decision had yet to be made on what precautions should be taken for the remainder of the 42-day period of potential incubation that the World Health Organization had identified, Butler said.

The six passengers all tested negative for the virus before they left the Netherlands, had been assessed by a doctor during the flight and would undergo more detailed health assessments at Bullsbrook, Butler said.

In America, health officials transferred the two passengers who were originally sent to Atlanta to the National Quarantine Center in Omaha on Thursday. Nebraska Medicine spokeswoman Kayla Thomas said those two were medically cleared to move to the facility here at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, but she wouldn't say whether they tested negative.

Thomas said that health officials were comfortable bringing all the passengers here to Omaha now that no one is being treated in the hospital’s biocontainment unit. Initially one of the passengers had been placed there after he tested positive on the ship, but he has since tested negative for hantavirus.

The MV Hondius ship was on a cruise from Argentina to the Antarctic and then to several isolated islands in the South Atlantic Ocean when the hantavirus outbreak was identified. Three people among the 11 cases from the ship have died.

With the evacuation of all passengers and many crew members completed, the MV Hondius is now sailing back to the Netherlands, where it will be cleaned and disinfected.

In a statement to KPRC 2 News the district’s chief of staff said school officials are reviewing staffing ratios and evaluating how facilities are being used in response to shrinking enrollment and rising operational expenses.

• Ganado ISD closes schools Friday after more than 90 students reported ill

“Pasadena ISD is committed to responsible stewardship of our resources and ensuring every student has access to a high-quality education,” the statement said.

District officials said any staffing reductions would be handled through attrition, meaning vacant positions may not be refilled rather than implementing layoffs.

The district also acknowledged it is considering the consolidation or closure of some campuses, calling the process “extremely difficult” while emphasizing the need to maintain strong academic programs.

“Declining enrollment requires us to examine how we use our facilities to operate efficiently while maintaining strong academic programs,” the statement said.

• HISD parents demand answers over proposed special education changes

Pasadena ISD joins a growing number of districts across the Houston region confronting similar financial realities. This year alone, HISD, Spring Branch ISD, and Fort Bend ISD have all discussed or implemented school consolidations and closures tied to enrollment declines and budget concerns.

In Texas, state funding follows the student. Districts receive a base level of funding per student in average daily attendance, meaning when enrollment declines, revenue declines as well. When students transfer to charter schools, private schools or homeschooling, the associated state funding leaves the district with them.

A recent analysis by the Baker Institute for Public Policy noted that maintaining under-utilized campuses can create significant financial strain, particularly as districts continue paying operational and maintenance costs for aging buildings that no longer serve as many students as they once did.

Pasadena ISD officials said the district will continue updating the community as discussions move forward.

Pasadena ISD full statement

“Pasadena ISD is committed to responsible stewardship of our resources and ensuring every student has access to a high-quality education.

Like many Texas school districts, Pasadena ISD is experiencing financial pressures driven by rising operational costs and declining enrollment. In response, the district is reviewing staffing ratios to better align resources with student needs. Any staffing adjustments will be managed through attrition, meaning vacated positions may not be filled.

District leadership is also evaluating the consolidation or closure of certain school facilities. These are extremely difficult considerations, and we recognize the impact they have on our students, staff, and community. However, declining enrollment requires us to examine how we use our facilities to operate efficiently while maintaining strong academic programs.

Pasadena ISD remains focused on academic excellence while operating responsibly within today’s financial realities. We will continue to keep our community informed as this process moves forward.”

The Texas Legislature last year passed a law requiring sheriffs who run a jail or contract out jail operations to take part in the federal 287(g) program, which gives local law enforcement certain immigration enforcement authority. Since the law took effect Jan. 1, Paxton said sheriffs in El Paso, Bexar and Harris counties have started negotiating or finalized an agreement with ICE — but that has not been the case for Dallas County. 

He also criticized a comment that Sheriff Marian Brown made in October about putting “no additional efforts” into entering the 287(g) program. 

“The decision of whether to seek such an agreement is not yours to make,” Paxton said in a Wednesday letter to the sheriff. 

Brown said Paxton jumped the gun, noting in a statement that the law gives her until Dec. 1 to comply.  

Responding to the criticism of her “no additional efforts” statement, the sheriff said her office already cooperates with federal immigration authorities similar to what would be required under the 287(g) agreement’s jail enforcement model.

“My comments reflected my position that Dallas County already engages in cooperation with federal authorities and does not view duplicative administrative measures as necessary to achieve the same public safety objectives,” Brown said in her statement.

Fourteen Democratic state lawmakers from the Dallas area signed a letter Friday calling on Paxton to “immediately desist from this clear political use of [his] office and the partisan harassment of a duly elected sheriff who has violated no law.” The attorney general’s office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request.

The jail enforcement model — one of two types of jail-related partnerships under the 287(g) program — allows local law enforcement to identify people for immigration enforcement when they are already in custody with pending or active criminal charges. The warrant service model lets officers “serve and execute administrative warrants” on people in their jails and hold them for ICE.

But even without a partnership, the Dallas County Jail was among the nation’s top 10 jails for ICE detainers, which are requests from immigration agents to hold a person for deportation. The North Texas lockup accounted for more than 4,000 detainers between September 2023 and late July 2025 — surpassing Bexar County during the same period — according to figures from the Deportation Data Project. Meanwhile, Harris County Jail led the country with more than 9,500 detainers. 

A 2017 state law also requires sheriff’s offices, which operate county jails, to honor these detainer requests. 

The Bexar County sheriff entered into a 287(g) warrant service agreement in October, according to ICE data last updated on May 12.

Information for El Paso and Harris counties was not yet available, though the El Paso agency told the Tribune that it intends to also pursue the same model.

ICE data show Texas sheriffs have signed more than 270 agreements under the cooperative program as of May 12, including some counties registering for multiple models.

The 287(g) program also has the task force model that allows local law enforcement agencies to question individuals about their immigration status during routine policing work.

Republicans in Tennessee this month enacted a new U.S. House map that carves up a Cohen's majority-Black district, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to hold on to a slim majority in the November midterm elections.

“I don’t want to quit. I’m not a quitter. But these districts were drawn to beat me,” Cohen told reporters in his Washington, D.C., office.

Cohen is challenging the state’s redistricting effort in court and said he would reenter the race if that lawsuit succeeded in restoring his old congressional district.

He lamented that Tennessee would likely shift to an entirely Republican congressional delegation after the next election, warning that it could also leave the state out of the loop once Democrats are able to regain the White House.

Redistricting targeted Cohen's district

Tennessee was the first state to pass new congressional districts after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that significantly weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities. But more Southern states could follow. Republicans in Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina also have taken steps toward redistricting.

Cohen has represented his Memphis-based district for about two decades, among the last of the white Democrats representing the South. He has been a longtime member of the House Judiciary Committee and has focused on strengthening voting access and civil rights.

“It’s unique in America that an African-American majority district has elected a white guy, and that we’ve got a great relationship, great amount of support,” said Cohen, who is also the first Jewish person to represent Tennessee in Congress.

He was facing a primary challenge from state lawmaker Justin Pearson, a Black progressive who represents much of Memphis in the state's General Assembly.

"The status quo is failing us,” Pearson told The Associated Press Friday. “It’s time for new energy, new voices, and new ideas to meet this present moment, and that’s why I started to run in the first place.”

Pearson said he still intends to run in Tennessee’s redrawn 9th Congressional District, which now includes multiple rural counties that backed Trump by double-digit margins.

“We’re going to win. It’s going to be harder, but as an ancestor once said, if the mountain was smooth, you couldn’t climb it,” said Pearson. He said his message would not change, but argued his agenda had some appeal to rural, working-class, white conservatives.

But Cohen predicted it would be nearly impossible for Tennessee Democrats to win a seat in Congress with the new districts. He added there was a chance the redistricting effort could “backfire on the Republicans” but that would require an “unbelievable registration effort among Democrats” and a massive vote turnout.

Cohen vows to oppose Trump

Sitting in his congressional office with staff looking on, Cohen pointed to photos of Memphis and local projects that he had championed during his career and expressed worry that Memphis voters would no longer have a voice in Washington. He also recounted how he had worked with the state's Republican leaders to win funding during the Biden administration for a larger bridge to cross the Mississippi River into Memphis.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that Cohen was “a powerful champion for civil rights” and that “the City of Memphis, the Congress and the nation are better because of Steve’s commitment to making a difference.”

Cohen said the Republican's redistricting effort was being done “for Donald Trump to get one more vote, he thinks, to stop him from being impeached.”

Still, he vowed to use his remaining time in Congress to try to mount opposition to Trump, calling the president “the greatest threat to democracy and to decorum and grace that we’ve ever seen.”

Like many lawmakers, Cohen has often attracted attention with colorful outbursts during congressional debates and hearings. During Trump’s first term, in 2019, Cohen brought a bucket of fried chicken to a House Judiciary Committee hearing at which then-Attorney General William P. Barr was a no-show.

“The message is Attorney General Bill Barr is not brave enough to answer questions from a staff attorney and members of the Judiciary Committee,” he said in a statement at the time.

While Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress tried to certify the results of the presidential election, Cohen screamed angrily at his Republican colleagues to “Call Trump. Call your friend. Tell him to do something.”

Cohen was among the first Democrats to join impeachment efforts for Trump in his first term, and he has signed on to articles of impeachment against Trump this year as well.

Memphis activists respond to new map

Meanwhile, Memphis activists grappled with the new political realities after the Republican-led legislature’s decision to divide the city’s longtime congressional district into three neighboring districts.

Advocates said they believed they could work with — and pressure — any lawmaker who will represent the city.

“Things are going to change. We’re aware of that,” said Tierney Macon, an activist with The Equity Alliance, a local civil rights group.

Macon, who protested at the Tennessee statehouse for days following the unveiling of the redrawn maps, said activists aimed to hold the city’s new representatives in Congress accountable no matter their party.

“We just have to be engaged,” Macon said.

Demonstrations in the statehouse included chants accusing lawmakers of resurrecting Jim Crow, a system of state and local laws that for decades enforced racial segregation and disenfranchisement across the South.

___

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

Several U.S. officials confirmed that 4,000 troops from the Army's 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division were no longer en route to Poland this week. The Trump administration had previously said it was cutting U.S. forces only in Germany, and the decision spurred questions and criticism in both Warsaw and Washington.

Two officials told The Associated Press the Poland deployment was canceled after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo directing the Joint Chiefs of Staff to move a brigade combat team out of Europe. One of them said the choice of which unit was left to military leaders.

Besides the Army combat team based in Fort Hood, Texas, the memo also led to the cancellation of an upcoming deployment to Germany of a battalion trained in firing long-range rockets and missiles, according to the two officials, who like the others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

Three U.S. officials said the canceled deployments were part of an effort to comply with a presidential order issued at the beginning of May to reduce the number of troops in Europe by about 5,000. The reasoning does not appear to have been well communicated because others based in Europe said they did not know if the halted deployment to Poland was part of the previously announced reduction in troops.

Trump and the Pentagon have said in recent weeks that they were drawing down at least 5,000 troops in Germany after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in the war.

The drawdown reflects a growing rift between the administration and traditional European allies, with the U.S. leader repeatedly criticizing fellow NATO members for a lack of support for the Iran conflict.

Polish officials on Friday insisted that the canceled U.S. deployment to Poland, which was reported earlier by The Military Times and other outlets, was not targeted directly at their country but was a consequence of Trump’s decision to reduce the number of troops in Germany.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he “received assurances” that the decision was of a logistical nature and said it does not directly impact deterrence capabilities and Poland’s security.

Military says the decision to cancel a unit heading to Poland was made recently

Joel Valdez, a Pentagon spokesman, said “the decision to withdraw troops follows a comprehensive, multilayered process” and he argued that it was “not an unexpected, last-minute decision.”

Speaking to Congress in a hearing Friday, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s chief of staff, said discussions around the halted deployment to Poland occurred over the past two weeks but that the decision itself was made in the past couple days.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said he spoke with Polish officials Thursday and they were “blindsided.”

The move also left some U.S. military personnel in Europe in the dark about how the Trump administration was reducing forces. A U.S. official based in Europe said a meeting was called with 20 minutes' notice on Monday to discuss the cancellation of the deployment to Poland.

At that time, troops had already been sent to Poland and some still in the U.S. were told shortly before departure not to travel to the airport, that official said. Another official said most of the Army unit’s equipment had already made it to Europe and was sitting in ports.

The change to troop deployment to Poland draws bipartisan criticism

Democratic and Republican lawmakers criticized the reductions as sending the wrong signal both to allies and Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces this week have launched one of the deadliest attacks on the Ukrainian capital in the 4-year-old war.

At the House Armed Services Committee hearing Friday, LaNeve said he worked with U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander in Europe of both American and NATO forces, after Grynkewich received the instructions for the force reduction.

“I’ve worked with him in close consultation of what that force unit would be, and it made the most sense for that brigade to not do its deployment in theater,” LaNeve said.

Bacon called the decision “reprehensible” and said it was “an embarrassment to our country what we just did to Poland.”

Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, who chairs the committee, said the military is required to consult with lawmakers and that did not happen.

“So we don’t know what’s going on here,” Rogers said. "But I can just tell you we’re not happy with what’s being talked about.”

A State Department official said Friday at a security conference in Tallinn, Estonia, that the U.S. reductions in Europe were “right there in black and white” but also noted that “the U.S. isn’t going anywhere.”

“We’ll continue to work with the Pentagon and work with our partners to make sure we get the right fit and right mix of what’s happening here on the ground,” said Thomas G. DiNanno, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.

NATO says the change in Poland won't affect defense

With the halted deployments, the U.S. military presence in Europe will now be at pre-2022 levels, before Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, one U.S. official said.

Europe has been bracing for a reduction since Trump returned to the White House, with the administration warning that Europe would have to look after its own security, including Ukraine's, in the future.

A NATO official said the U.S. decision to cancel its rotational deployment to Poland would not impact NATO's deterrence and defense plans. Canada and Germany have increased their presence on the alliance's eastern flank, which contributes to NATO's overall strength, the official said, insisting on anonymity in line with NATO regulations.

Ben Hodges, former commanding general of U.S. Army Europe, said the move “reinforces the perception that the United States just does things without consultation with allies,” which ultimately “damages cohesion inside the alliance.” The decision would in the long run harm the U.S. defense industry as it reduces the trust of partners, he said.

Around 10,000 U.S. troops are typically stationed in Poland, the majority of them present in the country on a rotational basis. Only about 300 troops are permanently stationed in the country, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.

Polish officials had hoped they would be spared from any cuts as Poland spends the most in NATO on defense as a proportion of its economy — around 4.7% in 2025. Hegseth has called it a “model ally” in NATO for spending so much on defense.

When Poland’s conservative president, Karol Nawrocki, visited the White House in September, Trump said he didn't intend to pull U.S. troops out of Poland. “We’ll put more there if they want,” Trump said at the time.

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Burrows reported from Tallinn, Estonia, and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland.

Researchers in China used satellites and artificial intelligence to track and analyze oxygen levels in more than 21,000 rivers across the globe since 1985. They found oxygen levels have dropped an average of 2.1% since 1985, according to a study published Friday in Science Advances. That doesn't seem like much but it adds up and if it continues or accelerates, rivers in the Eastern United States, India and across the tropics could lose enough oxygen by the end of the century to suffocate some fish and create dead zones, the study said.

Basic chemistry and physics dictate that warmer water holds less oxygen, scientists said. Warmer water, which happens with human-caused climate change, releases more oxygen into the atmosphere.

If the oxygen loss rate continues at the current pace, the world's rivers on average will lose an additional 4% of their oxygen by the end of the century, and in some cases close to 5%, the study found. That's when oxygen loss — called deoxygenation — becomes problematic for fish and people who rely on rivers, according to the study's lead author Qi Guan, an environmental scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing.

More dead zones appear

Scientists worry that oxygen levels in rivers could fall so low that dead zones appear, as they have in the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie. Those are areas where fish struggle to breathe and die.

“Deoxygenation is a very slow process. If we have a long period, the negative impact will attack the river ecosystems,” Guan said. “The low level of oxygen can cause a series of ecological crises such as biodiversity decline, water quality degradation and maybe some fish will die.”

University of Arizona geoscientist Karl Flessa, who wasn't part of the study, said in an email that losing oxygen in rivers means “a future of more stinky dead zones (hypoxia), especially during heat waves.”

Some rivers are in such bad shape that “a small change can tip them into the danger zone,” Flessa said. “if your favorite fishing hole gets too warm, oxygen levels will go down and there won't be any fish to catch.”

India, Eastern US and the Amazon are hot spots

Earlier this century, India's heavily polluted Ganges River was losing oxygen more than 20 times faster than the global average, the study said. Even with moderate-to-high increases in global carbon dioxide emission rates — not the implausible worst-case scenario — rivers in the Eastern United States, the Arctic, India and much of South America are projected to lose about 10% of their oxygen by the end of the century, the analysis showed.

Guan said he worries about tropical rivers especially, such as the Amazon in Brazil. Since 1980, the number of days with dead zone spots in the Amazon rose by nearly 16 days per decade, a study last year found.

Hydrology professor Marc Bierkens of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, said a study he and colleagues did last year showed oxygen stress in the world's rivers increased by 13 days every decade and dead zone occurrences increased by nearly three days a decade since 1980. As the world continues to warm, those numbers should jump even higher, said Bierkens, who didn't participate in the Chinese study.

Guan's study found several reasons for oxygen loss in the world's rivers, including nutrient pollution from fertilizer and urban runoff, along with dam construction, flow and wind issues. But nearly 63% of the problem is from warmer water, the study found.

Duke University ecologist and biogeochemist Emily Bernhardt, who wasn't part of the study, said “as rivers warm it becomes easier and easier for the same pollution problems as before to cause more severe, more long lasting or more widespread hypoxia and anoxia.” Anoxia is the total loss of oxygen.

“Water pollution reduction is more important than ever and will be harder as rivers warm,” she said.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The National Transportation Safety Board was leading the review in Akron, alongside the Federal Aviation Administration and Ohio State Highway Patrol, officials said.

The white and blue Piper PA-28-180, commonly known as the Cherokee, took off from Akron Fulton Airport for a training flight at around 2 p.m. on Thursday, according to Aaron McCarter, an NTSB aviation accident investigator.

The two people on board — a certified flight instructor and the aircraft's pilot-owner — completed a number of standard training maneuvers in the area before making what appeared to be two different attempts to land at the airport. On the second approach, McCarter said, “something upset the aircraft” and it spiraled out of the sky from about 1,000 feet (305 meters), striking a road and then crashing into the house and catching fire.

Dark black smoke could be seen towering into the air near the crash, which was first reported by witnesses at the nearby Firestone Country Club, according to 911 calls provided by Akron police.

McCarter said that witness testimony and doorbell camera footage of the descent and crash will be used as evidence as investigators try to determine what happened. Thursday's high winds also will be considered. He said that Piper Aircraft is assisting with the review.

Three people were in the house at the time of impact — a father and two children, he said, and all managed to escape unharmed.

“It is incredible," McCarter said. "And they are blessed to have made it out of that house, considering the catastrophic nature of the accident.”

That family's home is still not habitable, as the aircraft was being removed from the site Friday to be taken back to the airport for evaluation. A second house also had to be evacuated due to the fire, according to the Akron Fire Department.

The Summit County Medical Examiner’s office said Friday that authorities had yet to identify the bodies of the two people who were killed or to notify their families.

The nearby American Winds College of Aeronautics alerted staff, students and families on Facebook late Wednesday that all of its airplanes were safe. Denise Hobart, of the North East Ohio Pilots Association, said on behalf of the school that they were praying for the pilot, anyone on board and their families.

They are ridiculous. They are addictively great. Comic books, of the superhero variety, are 100% American.

Compare the thin comic book to Europe’s graphic novels, and they come off looking flimsy, infantile. Compare the American comic to Japanese Manga and they appear innocent in their fixation with heroism; they hark back to a departed American age.

Once a nickel, a dime, a quarter, now the price of a latte, they are objects of American consumer capitalism. The comic is literature in junk-food version. Candy for the eyes, candy for the mind.

Yet what truly makes them American objects is what plays out in their 32 pages month after month, decade upon decade.

When the Fantastic Four took their fateful space journey in 1961 and “cosmic rays” transformed the quartet into unwilling superheroes, comics entered a weird realm where the all-powerful were also the unwilling, decidedly modern victims of science and circumstance.

Spider-Man, the Hulk, Wolverine (the list goes on) were given supernatural abilities that made them outcasts, obliging them to be flawed messiahs.

They were, by some quirk of the American character, bound to Peter Parker’s moral imperative: “With great power comes great responsibility." They are versions of an American Sisyphus, bound to saving us over and over again.

What could be more American — that might, when lashed to a sense of justice, eventually, makes right? So honorable, so naïve.

To this day, though the tone is darker, Marvel and DC, the two mammoths of comics, continue to reimagine the American character.

Once side attractions in a world of leading white men, Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey and Susan Storm have in recent years emerged as leaders to reinvigorate the Spider-Man, X-Men and Fantastic Four sagas. Absolute Wonder Woman has broken ground with beautiful art. Miles Morales is Spidey for a new generation.

Yet the central fissures remain.

Bruce Wayne can't connect with anyone other than his butler; he is the lonely individual in an atomized America. Steve Rogers bears the burden of representing the “Greatest Generation” from World War II. He is a Captain America forever out of place, even in his own land.

And could there be a more iconic tech magnate toying with humanity's fate than Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor and his delusions of grandeur? If only our world had a bespectacled Clark Kent keeping an eye on things. Just in case.

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

HCSO deputies responded to a home located in the 16200 block of Coleburn Drive. Authorities say it started around 9 a.m.

Officials said they were serving a felony warrant when the wanted man barricaded himself inside the residence.

“At some point, they tried to make contact with the suspect. He then turned and ran and barricaded himself inside the residence. At that point, the suspect did not open the door, did not comply with the deputies that was on scene. They heard some sort of noise, what was believed to be either a gun racking or something that caused concern to the deputies. So that they backed off and surrounded the house and called activated SWAT,” said Maj. Cedrick Collier with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

The warrant was reportedly related to a call where the husband allegedly assaulted his wife. Negotiations with the suspect fell through and SWAT deployed gas. Around 1:45 p.m., the suspect surrendered.

No one else was inside the house at the time. Collier said they learned there were children that lived at the home, so they waited until the kids were in school but serving the warrant.

Collier says the warrant for the suspect was for a charge of continuous family violence.

More than a century after a U.S. Army chaplain pushed for “dog tags” to become standard issue for troops, they remain one of the most powerful links for grieving military families to their lost loved ones.

“What they’re searching for is connection,” said Air Force Chaplain and Maj. Benjamin Quintanilla Jr. at Dover Air Force Base, where U.S. casualties from the wars in Afghanistan and now Iran have been repatriated. “So these dog tags become just a sacred symbol.”

From the World Wars to Vietnam and conflicts in the Middle East, military identification tags have also been a symbol of Americans’ sacrifice in global conflicts.

It’s unclear why the small metal rounded rectangles — hanging on ball chains and listing name, rank, company and other information, depending on the era — are called dog tags, according to the Pentagon.

The need to identify those fallen in battle had been spotlighted by the American Civil War, when staggering numbers of soldiers were buried as “unknown” — such as 75% of the 17,000 Union troops at Vicksburg National Cemetery, according to the National Park Service.

At the end of the Spanish-American War, the 1898 conflict that propelled the United States into global power, Chaplain Charles C. Pierce, then in charge of the morgue in the Philippines, first requested that Army soldiers be issued tags.

By the U.S. entry into World War I, all combat soldiers were required to wear them. They were an official part of the uniform by World War II.

Today, advances in forensics make tags less crucial for identification. But the religious affiliation on them is still useful for chaplains in the battlefield to provide appropriate prayers to dying or fallen troops, Quintanilla said.

And it’s the symbolism of connection that makes them irreplaceable. Surviving families treasure the dog tags their loved ones wore — and the new ones placed in honor on the casket at dignified transfer ceremonies — so much that some keep wearing them or even have them tattooed.

For troops, they’re the simplest sign of belonging.

“I can trust somebody who is wearing the same identification as me,” said Quintanilla, who first joined the Air Force as a dental technician. “It means that I was a part of something greater than myself.”

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

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

Freedom to go where you want, when you want

One of the biggest draws of RV life is freedom. Instead of racing to make hotel check‑ins or rushing from one attraction to the next, RVers set their own pace. Drive a few hours, wake up to a new view and stay as long as you like. That flexibility makes RV travel especially appealing for families, multi‑generational trips and couples looking to slow down and explore at their own speed.

Comfort, convenience and cost control

Modern RVs come with many comforts — kitchens, bathrooms and sleeping areas — so you can enjoy homey conveniences while seeing new places. Costs can be easier to manage too: fuel and campground fees replace pricey hotel stays and restaurant tabs. Packing smart and planning hookups in advance keeps trips smooth. Emily recommends a short checklist for first timers: plan your route, confirm campsite hookups, pack layered clothing and bring basic maintenance tools.

A contest worth checking out

Go RVing currently has a contest running that could make your next RV trip even more exciting. Details on the prizes and entry rules were shared by Emily; please visit www.GoRVing.com for official entry requirements and deadlines for RV-2-50.

Whether you’re a seasoned RVer or curious about your first trip, the site is a good place to start.

RV life is about more than transportation — it’s a way to build memories on the move.

Learn more: www.GoRVing.com or www.TheTravelMom.com.

Neighboring Uganda later confirmed one death in an Ebola case it said was imported from Congo.

The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control ​and Prevention said in a statement. The agency said 65 deaths have been attributed to the outbreak and that four of those have so far been confirmed in a laboratory.

Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.

Scientists were trying to determine exactly what virus was driving the current outbreak in Congo. The Ebola virus — also known as the Ebola Zaire strain — has been prominent in Congo’s past outbreaks. Results so far suggest some variant other than the Ebola Zaire strain, with sequencing continuing to give more clarity, the Africa CDC said.

The World Health Organization says the Ebola disease is caused by a group of viruses, and that three of them are known to cause large outbreaks: Ebola virus, Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus.

Uganda on Friday reported one Ebola case involving a Congolese man admitted to a hospital in Kampala three days before he died. Officials said the case was “imported” from Congo, and that Uganda has not yet confirmed any local cases.

Uganda’s Health Ministry said the patient was tested posthumously on Friday after neighboring Congo confirmed its Ebola outbreak. All contacts linked to the man have been quarantined, the agency said. The deceased’s body has been taken back to Congo.

The ministry said the person was infected with the Bundibugyo virus, a variant of the illness that has been endemic in Uganda.

The WHO said last year that Congo has a stockpile of treatments and some 2,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine. The Ervedo vaccine is effective against the Ebola Zaire strain — considered the most severe one — but not against the Sudan virus or Bundibugyo virus, according to health authorities.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization director-general, told reporters Friday that the WHO last week sent a team to help Congo investigate the outbreak and collect samples. While initial results did not confirm Ebola, a new analysis on Thursday did, he said.

Congo has “a strong track record in Ebola response and control,” Tedros said, adding that the WHO is releasing $500,000 to aid Congo’s response.

Affected areas are close to Uganda, South Sudan borders

The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo’s last Ebola outbreak was declared over after 43 deaths.

Ituri is in a remote eastern part of Congo characterized by poor road networks, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.

Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing and control challenges.

The proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan also raises concerns, it said.

The agency said it was convening an urgent coordination meeting Friday with health authorities from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, together with key partners including U.N. agencies and other countries.

The acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jay Bhattacharya, said Friday that U.S. health officials are in contact with officials in Congo and Uganda and are “going to provide whatever they need and that we are capable of providing them.”

Congo has seen more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks

This is the 17th outbreak in Congo since the disease first emerged in the country in 1976. An Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people. The WHO said that outbreak was characterized by the main Ebola Zaire strain.

An earlier outbreak that swept across West Africa from 2014 to 2016 also killed more than 11,000 people.

The new outbreak creates more worry for the Central African country, which has been battling various armed groups in the east. The second-largest African country in land mass, Congo also faces logistical challenges. During last year's outbreak, which lasted three months, the WHO initially faced significant challenges in delivering vaccines due to limited access.

Dr. Gabriel Nsakala, a professor of public health who has been involved in past Ebola outbreak responses in Congo, said the country and health workers on the ground have a high level of experience, in addition to existing infrastructure such as laboratories.

“In terms of training, people already know what they can do. Now, the expertise and equipment need to be delivered quickly,” Nsakala added.

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Associated Press writers Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria; Saleh Mwanamilongo in Bonn, Germany; Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal; Mike Stobbe in New York City and Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya contributed.

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

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 the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

That’s part of the intrigue behind Dear Alien, the new world premiere now playing at Houston’s Alley Theatre from acclaimed playwright Liz Duffy Adams. Equal parts existential comedy, emotional fever dream, and intimate character study, the production follows an advice columnist teetering on the edge of collapse while attempting to answer a series of unusual letters from readers searching for guidance, connection, and meaning.

The title may suggest sci-fi, but Dear Alien is far more interested in the alienation of modern life than little green men. The result is a play that feels witty, melancholic, deeply human — and surprisingly timely.

And for theater insiders, there’s another reason to pay attention: Adams’ last world premiere at the Alley Theatre, Born With Teeth, went on to become a breakout success, eventually transferring to London’s West End following its Houston debut. (Alley Theatre)

Houston audiences may already recognize actor Brandon Hearnsberger, who returns to the Alley stage for his 27th production with the theater company. In the show, Hearnsberger takes on multiple letter writers and personalities, shifting between voices, emotions, and perspectives throughout the performance.

“It really becomes a portrait of people trying to understand each other,” Hearnsberger shared during a visit to Houston Life. “There’s humor in it, but there’s also vulnerability.”

That balance appears to be part of the production’s magic. One moment audiences are laughing at the absurdity of human behavior; the next, they’re confronted with questions about loneliness, identity, financial anxiety, and the universal desire to feel seen.

And perhaps that’s why Dear Alien feels especially resonant right now. In a culture dominated by scrolling, swiping, algorithms, and curated personas, the play leans into something refreshingly analog: people writing letters in search of answers.

The Alley Theatre itself provides the ideal backdrop for the production — intimate enough for emotional nuance, yet ambitious enough to support the play’s layered theatricality. It’s the kind of smart, conversation-starting night out that feels equally at home in downtown Houston as it would in Brooklyn, Chicago, or a tucked-away black box theater in Silver Lake.

For longtime theatergoers, Dear Alien offers the excitement of discovering a new work before the rest of the country catches up. For newcomers, it’s an accessible entry point into contemporary theater that’s thoughtful without feeling heavy-handed.

In other words: come for the mystery of the title, stay for the humanity underneath it.

Dear Alien opened May 8 and runs through May 31 at the Alley Theatre. For tickets and showtimes, visit AlleyTheatre.org/Alien.

The great horned owl somehow made his way into the truck-mounted mixer in late October and was discovered by workers pouring concrete at a resort construction site. Lucky for him, a series of people gave a hoot about his predicament.

Workers hosed the bird down before it was wrapped in a towel. It took days for employees at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab to pick the concrete from the bird's face, chest and right wing, using forceps to carefully crack the dried debris and cleaning the feathers with toothbrushes and dish soap.

The owl started its long recovery at an aviary run by the organization, and employees anxiously waited for it to grow new feathers. But the bird didn't molt as predicted. In early May, he underwent a procedure called imping, which uses adhesive to graft donor feathers onto existing shafts.

“The first few feathers were extremely nerve-wracking, but as we got into the groove, the imping became more comfortable, and everything went smoothly,” said Bart Richwalski, a supervisor at the sanctuary.

Great horned owls typically have tufting on the edges of some of their feathers that allows them to fly quietly as they hunt. But the concrete frayed the rescued owl’s feathers and caused it to make a whooshing sound while flying.

To prepare for the imping procedure, sanctuary staff examined the owl's feather patterns every few weeks and snipped damaged shafts in advance. The owl was anesthetized and the donor feathers from a similarly sized owl that had died were laid out nearby to replicate each wing. The staff then cut the feathers to the necessary length, lined them up and adhered them to the bird.

By the end of the 90-minute procedure, the owl had 10 new primary feathers and a secondary feather on his right wing. But then came the real test: could he fly silently?

The bird was placed in a large aviary to recover from the anesthesia and quickly took flight after awakening. Richwalski used a decibel meter to measure the sound of the owl's wingbeat and determined its flight was quiet enough for it to safely be released. The owl hovered for a moment while the aviary roof was retracted, gained speed and then flew out into the wild.

“It feels so, so good. I think my heart finally started beating again. The nervousness was starting to overtake the excitement, but once I saw him fly out that opening in the roof, it just was, it was a sight to see. It was so fun,” said Richwalski, who has cared for the owl since picking him up at the construction site.

Karla Bloem, executive director of the Minnesota-based International Owl Center, said imping has been practiced by falconers “for eons” and is a very effective treatment.

“I've never heard of it not lasting, because you use some pretty good stuff when you're doing imping,” said Bloem, who has studied great horned owls for nearly three decades.

She added that it would be OK if a couple of the grafted feathers fell out. The bulk of them just need to stay put until the owl can grow new ones in the coming summer months.

“And now it just needs to figure out, ‘whoa, I’m back in the big world again, hunting,’" she said. “Find a territory ... you know, find one of the opposite sex and settle down and have kids.”

Civil rights groups brought a lawsuit earlier this month to stop four key sections of Senate Bill 4: the creation of a crime for re-entering the country without authorization, even if a person has since gained legal status; the establishment of magistrates’ authority to order a person’s deportation; the creation of a crime for not complying with a magistrate’s order; and the requirement that magistrates continue a prosecution even if a person has an asylum claim or other pending immigration cases. 

The groups argued that the sections involving the state’s judicial system are unconstitutional because they encroach on the federal government’s sole authority over immigration laws. It also challenged the re-entry provision, saying that the law provides no defense for people who had federal permission to enter the country or those who might have pending immigration status.   

U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra granted the preliminary injunction against these sections of the law on Thursday. The Reagan appointee had signaled during a Wednesday hearing that he considered them unconstitutional.

“Indeed, it is implausible to imagine each of the fifty United States having their own state immigration policy superseding the powers inherent in the United States as a Nation,” Ezra reiterated in his written ruling. 

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project said his decision reaffirmed that immigration laws are not up to the states, while adding that SB 4 would cause widespread racial profiling. 

“Texas cannot override the U.S. Constitution and should stop wasting time attempting to do so,” the groups said in a joint statement to The Texas Tribune. 

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request. 

This lawsuit came after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed a previous legal challenge against SB 4, which was brought by immigrants and organizations that work with migrants. But instead of ruling on the constitutionality of the law, the appeals court dismissed that case last month after finding that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue. 

Texas leaders, which cheered the appeals court’s dismissal as a win for public safety, have insisted that SB 4 is valid because it mirrors federal immigration law. 

In addition, they have argued that Texas has a sovereign right to defend its borders. In 2023 when the law was being proposed, there were record-high illegal border crossings, which officials said amounted to an invasion. Those figures have since dropped drastically. 

During the Wednesday hearing, David Bryant with the attorney general’s office didn’t say the state was abandoning the invasion argument despite acknowledging the slower pace of illegal border crossings. Bryant did argue that the case should be dismissed because SB 4 had not taken effect and that Department of Public Safety Director Freeman Martin, the only named defendant in the lawsuit, had not decided how state police would enforce the law. 

In the meantime, DPS and many law enforcement agencies across Texas have already partnered with federal immigration agents through the 287(g) program, including under the task force model that allows officers to question individuals about their immigration status during routine policing work.

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

The Canadian Olympian goaltender, and first woman to appear in an exhibition game of any of North America’s four major sports, has spent the past four years working in the NHL's Los Angeles Kings hockey operations department. And Rheaume’s hiring represents a homecoming for the 54-year-old, who spent 11 years in a developmental role for the Detroit-based Little Caesars youth hockey girls’ program.

“She brings an unmatched resume, a championship mindset and a lifelong commitment to growing the women’s game,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations, who oversees the hiring process.

“Her experience at every level of hockey, combined with her leadership and vision, makes her the perfect person to lead PWHL Detroit into its inaugural season,” Hefford added.

In a separate announcement, the PWHL also hired women's player agent, Dominique DiDia, as GM of the league's expansion franchise in Las Vegas.

Rheaume’s hiring comes a little more than a week after the league announced Detroit as an expansion team. The PWHL has since added two more franchises in Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ontario, and is planning make one more addition in growing to a 12-team league for next season.

Of the PWHL’s 10 GMs now in place, eight are women.

“I’m incredibly honored to join the PWHL and help build something special in Detroit,” Rheaume said. “The city has such a deep hockey tradition, and the passion for hockey here is truly special.”

Among her first duties is preparing for an expansion free-agent signing process tentatively scheduled to begin on May 28, followed by the league’s draft, which will be held in Detroit on June 17.

Rheaume is from Beauport, Quebec, and began making her international mark in the early 1990s by signing with Trois-Rivieres of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In 1992, she tried out for the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, and allowed two goals on nine shots in one period of a preseason game against St. Louis. A year later, she made a second preseason game appearance against Boston.

Rheaume went on to win a silver medal representing Canada at the 1998 Nagano Games, the first to feature a women’s tournament. She also won gold medals at the 1992 and ’94 world championships.

DiDia takes over in Las Vegas

DiDia joins the PWHL after representing a number of league players including Boston goalie Aerin Frankel, Toronto forward Blayre Turnbull and Seattle teammates Cayla Barnes and Hannah Bilka. She worked for CAA Sports since 2022 and eventually launched the agency's women's hockey department.

“She understands the evolving landscape of women’s hockey and has a strong vision for building a team and culture that reflects both the ambition of the PWHL and the energy of the Las Vegas market," Hefford said.

From Los Angeles, DiDia grew up playing hockey and spent nine years working for the L.A. Kings in eventually becoming the team's director of marketing and content publicity.

“Las Vegas has embraced hockey with a rare intensity, and you can feel that the game has become part of this city’s heartbeat,” DiDia said. “Growing up as a player in Los Angeles, I witnessed the sport’s expansion across the Southwest, making this opportunity at the forefront of women’s hockey in Nevada deeply meaningful to me."

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Houston is going from sunny to stormy next week. This pattern change comes as a high-pressure system is pushed out and a cold front moves through the country.

The wettest time period for Houston will be late Tuesday into Wednesday. This timing may change so stay connected as we continue to iron out the details.

Now, this time of year, it can be hard to get fronts to move all the way through the southeast Texas coast, so we’ll have to watch and wait to see if the front stalls or slows down. The pace of the front not only determines timing but also how much rain falls where.

Right now, the highest rainfall totals are positioned north of Harris County. Harris County will receive rain, which will help reduce drought conditions.

The flood risk is low but not zero, so watch for street flooding and minor flooding in poor drainage areas.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said contradictory messages have “made us reluctant about the real intentions of Americans.”

“We are in doubt about their seriousness,” he told reporters in New Delhi, adding that negotiations would move forward if Washington was ready for a “fair and balanced deal.”

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week dismissed Iran's latest formal proposal as “garbage.” While Iran was said to include some nuclear concessions, Trump has said he wants to remove highly enriched uranium from the country and prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

In separate negotiations in Washington between Israel and Lebanon, both sides agreed Friday to extend their ceasefire until early June, U.S. officials said.

With talks between Iran and the U.S. at a standstill during the shaky ceasefire, tensions remain high and threaten to tip the Middle East back into open warfare and prolong the worldwide energy crisis sparked by the conflict.

Iran still has a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway where a fifth of the world’s oil passed through before the war, and America is blockading Iranian ports.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who finished talks on Friday, agreed the strait needs to be reopened.

China could play a diplomatic role, Iran says

Araghchi said Friday that Iran would welcome diplomatic support from other countries, particularly from China, citing Beijing’s previous role in facilitating the restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Beijing has shown little public interest in U.S. requests to get more involved, even though Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Xi had in their conversations offered to help.

Pakistan said Thursday it was continuing diplomatic efforts to help ease regional tensions. But it declined to disclose details of the discussions or say whether the U.S. had formally responded.

“The clock on diplomacy has not stopped. The peace process is working,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad.

Iran says uranium is a sticking point

Trump has demanded a major rollback of Iran’s nuclear activities while Iran says it has a right to enrich uranium.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who launched the war with Trump on Feb. 28, also wants Iran’s highly enriched uranium removed from the country.

Iran’s foreign minister said Friday that the issue of its enriched uranium stockpile is one of the most difficult subjects in negotiations with the U.S.

Russia has previously offered to take the stockpile if Iran is willing to give it up. Araghchi said Russia’s proposal was not currently under active discussion, but could be revisited.

“When we come to that stage, obviously we will have more consultations with Russia and see if the Russian offer can help or not,” he said.

Israel and Lebanon extend ceasefire as strikes continue

Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend the expiring Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire for another 45 days to allow for negotiations on a broader peace agreement, the U.S. State Department said.

After two days of meetings, the department said it would reconvene the two sides for discussions on June 2 and 3, while a military track — between the Israeli and Lebanese armies — by the Pentagon will begin on May 29. Hezbollah opposes Lebanon’s direct negotiations with Israel and has not been part of the talks.

Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said the talks were frank and constructive. “There will be ups and downs, but the potential for success is great,” he said in a social media post. “What will be paramount throughout negotiations is the security of our citizens and our soldiers.”

The ongoing ceasefire hasn’t stopped Israel and Hezbollah from trading strikes.

The Israeli military said Friday it hit Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon after reporting hostile aircraft alerts and launches from across the border. Lebanon’s health ministry said three paramedics were killed in a strike near the city of Harouf. Other strikes around the coastal city of Tyre wounded nearly 40 people, destroyed a health center and damaged the neighboring Hiram Hospital, wounding six medical workers, the ministry said.

Chinese company says its ship was taken into Iranian waters

A Chinese private security company said it lost communication Thursday with a ship it was operating as an offshore work platform — the same day the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported that a ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates coast had been seized.

Sinoguards said it had “been informed through relevant channels" that the vessel Hui Chuan was taken into Iranian waters for documentation and compliance inspection by the authorities.

The company's emailed statement said there was no indication of any injuries on the ship and that it was cooperating.

The security company and the U.K. maritime center did not say who was behind the seizure. It happened as a senior Iranian official reiterated his country’s claim of control over the Strait of Hormuz and another said it had a right to seize oil tankers connected to the U.S.

The U.S. seized vessels in the Gulf of Oman last month and on Friday the foreign minister of Pakistan said it had secured the return of 11 Pakistani nationals and 20 Iranian citizens who were aboard those vessels. “All individuals are in good health and high spirits,” said the foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said.

UAE speeds up construction of oil pipeline

The United Arab Emirates is speeding up the completion of a new pipeline that will allow the Gulf federation to export more oil without routing it through the Strait of Hormuz.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, directed state oil company ADNOC to accelerate work on the pipeline, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said Friday.

The oil company already runs a pipeline designed to carry 1.5 million barrels a day from its oil fields to the port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman.

The new pipeline, expected to double the company’s export capacity through that port, will become operational next year, the media office said.

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Schreck reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press reporters Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Koral Saeed in Abu Snan, Israel; Matthew Lee in Washington; and Mae Anderson in New York contributed.

A report from SmartAsset found Texas is the No. 33 state in the country for reported fraud incidents involving people age 60 and older.

The study analyzed Federal Trade Commission data and measured how often seniors reported being targeted by fraud and scams.

Key findings for Texas

• Texas recorded 4.3 reported fraud incidents for every 1,000 residents age 60 and older.
• About 6% of all reported fraud cases in Texas involved seniors.
• The most common scams targeting older Texans were business imposter scams, where criminals pretend to represent trusted companies such as banks or credit card providers.

Researchers say business imposter scams often involve fake calls, texts, or emails claiming there is suspicious account activity or urgent payment issues.

States with the highest rates

According to the study, the states with the highest rates of senior fraud reports were:

1. Florida
2. Delaware
3. Nevada
4. Georgia
5. Maryland

Why experts say seniors are often targeted

Fraud experts say scammers frequently target older adults because many have retirement savings, own homes, and may be more likely to answer phone calls or respond to messages appearing to come from trusted businesses.

The report comes as consumer protection agencies nationwide continue warning about rising scam activity involving AI-generated voices, spoofed phone numbers, and fake customer service agents.

Click here for the full SmartAsset study.

The existence of the secret Israeli military facility was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which described it as a base housing special forces and serving as a logistical hub for the Israeli air force.

The reports of a secret base stirred up a furor in Iraq. Officials there have said that Iraqi army forces investigated reports of an unauthorized military force in the Nukhaib desert — a barren area to the southwest of the cities of Karbala and Najaf — in early March and came under fire while en route to the location.

Iraqi officials have confirmed the presence of a small, short-term unauthorized force in the desert, but have not said that it was Israeli. However, two Iraqi security and intelligence officials and a senior U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said that it was.

The U.S. official said of the Israeli outpost that “base is a strong word to describe it” and described it rather as a “temporary staging area or camp to support operations in Iran.”

The Iraqi intelligence official said the Israeli force had set up tents in the area and "its objective was to monitor rocket launches and drone activity conducted by some Iraqi militias.” Iraqi authorities believe the force arrived via an airdrop operation but do not know when, he said. They also disputed the description of the military presence as a “base.”

A shepherd noticed the presence of the force and reported it to authorities, officials said.

Representatives of the Israeli military declined to comment. Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez declined to comment.

The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, triggering a regional war in which Iraq found itself caught in the crossfire. Iraq hosts a network of Iran-linked militias, which launched attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region and on Israel. U.S. and Israeli forces also struck militia sites in Iraq.

The Iraqi government, meanwhile, called on both sides to leave the country out of the conflict. The idea that an Israeli force could have been conducting military operations under their noses put Iraqi authorities in an embarrassing position.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi military sent forces into the desert, to the site of the alleged Israeli outpost, to show journalists that there was no indication of a long-term military presence there.

“We believe it was a small force that came and stayed for no longer than 48 hours,” said Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, chief of the general staff of the Iraqi army during the visit.

Maj. Gen. Tahseen al Khafaji, a spokesperson for the Iraqi defense ministry, told the AP that on March 3, the military received information about “a small enemy force in a specific area in the Najaf desert,” and Iraqi forces went to check the site the next day.

“Within 25 kilometers, the force which went there faced an aerial attack, which led to the martyrdom of one of our fighters and injured two other fighters,” he said.

Al Khafaji said the Iraqi force pulled out after coming under attack but returned the next day and found no signs of a base and no forces present.

“It is believed that the force was there for a very short time and it was a very small force,” he said, adding that search operations “did not show anything that indicates that the force was stationed there for a long time in that area.”

Satellite images from Airbus DS taken March 8 and analyzed by the AP appear to show a human-made track dug out at the site, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of the capital, Baghdad. The track runs in a straight line in a dried-out lake bed from northwest to southeast and measures about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile). That’s long enough for takeoffs and landing for warplanes.

The nearest town, al-Nukhaib, sits about 45 kilometers (27 miles) to the northwest along a road running to the border with Saudi Arabia. That distance is far enough to likely have not drawn too much attention, though Iraq’s skies were filled with fighter jets from both the U.S. and Israel during the weeks of active war with Iran.

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Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.

The limits on “ assault firearms,” as they are described by the legislation, are among two dozen new restrictions and regulations on guns enacted by the Democratic governor in her first few months in office. That marks a sharp policy reversal from her Republican predecessor, who had vetoed many similar measures.

“Firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets," Spanberger said in a statement Friday. "We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe.”

The new gun restrictions move Virginia closer to the likes of California, Illinois and New York, which similarly have full Democratic control of their legislatures and governors' offices. They also highlight a continued national divide on gun policy, as various Republican-led states have taken steps to relax firearm restrictions that they describe as an infringement on Second Amendment rights.

A dozen states now target semi-automatic firearms

The new Virginia law, which takes effect July 1, will make it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, for people to buy, sell, transfer, import or manufacture an “assault firearm.”

The measure defines that term to include semi-automatic rifles or pistols with a magazine capacity of more than 15 rounds. It also includes firearms with other characteristics, such as rifles capable of accepting a detachable magazine that have a second handgrip or a collapsible stock. The prohibition also applies to magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. For most people, there’s no penalty for merely possessing such weapons.

Eleven other states and Washington, D.C., already have laws prohibiting the sale an manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, though the details vary. Hawaii, for example, prohibits certain semi-automatic pistols and high-capacity magazines, but not semi-automatic rifles.

Gun-rights groups challenge the Virginia law

Legal challenges came swiftly after Spanberger signed the legislation Thursday. The National Rifle Association, joined by other groups, sued in both federal and state court, asserting violations of the right to bear arms.

“The firearms and magazines banned in this law aren’t bizarre and unusual outliers, they’re among the most commonly owned guns and magazines in the country," said Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation, which joined the NRA in the federal lawsuit. “They’re owned in the tens of millions by peaceable Americans who use them overwhelmingly lawfully.”

The U.S. Department of Justice also vowed to sue to block the Virginia law from being enforced.

The Virginia measure would “infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to enjoy and use AR-15 rifles for lawful purposes by making it a crime to purchase and sell them,” Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the department’s civil rights division, wrote in an April letter to Spanberger.

Courts have upheld other bans on semi-automatic weapons

So far, laws restricting certain semi-automatic firearms generally have been upheld, including by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Virginia, Maryland and several additional states.

That appellate court twice upheld a Maryland law banning dozens of types of semi-automatic weapons, describing them a 2024 ruling as “military-style weapons" that are ill-suited for self-defense. It concluded that “the Maryland law fits comfortably within our nation’s tradition of firearms regulation.”

The U.S. Supreme Court last year declined to hear a challenge in that Maryland case. But gun-rights advocates remain hopeful of a different outcome in future cases, noting that three conservative justices on the nine-member court disagreed with the decision and a fourth expressed skepticism that such firearm bans are constitutional.

A change in governor leads to a change in laws

Former Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed legislation each of the past two years that would have prohibited the sale of certain semi-automatic firearms.

But Youngkin's term ended in January, and he was succeeded by Spanberger. The transition presented a huge opportunity for advocates of gun restrictions, who already had support within the Democratic-led Legislature.

Spanberger, a former CIA officer and U.S. House member, had previously been a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, a group founded after a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut claimed the lives of 26 people in 2012. The group lists 20% of the Democrats in the Virginia House as its past volunteers.

"The fact that a former Moms Demand Action volunteer just signed an assault weapons ban in the home state of the NRA speaks volumes about how dramatically the political calculus around gun safety has shifted,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, the umbrella organization for Moms Demand Action..

Republican states act to expand gun rights

While Virginia tightens gun regulations, many Republican-led states have been expanding gun rights.

On the same day Spanberger signed the semi-automatic firearm restrictions, Missouri's Republican-led Legislature gave final approval to legislation creating a school ranger program that could let trained volunteers carry firearms in schools.

A law signed by Spanberger last month raised the age to purchase a handgun in Virginia from 18 to 21. By contrast, Republican West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a law last month lowering the age from 21 to 18 for carrying concealed guns without a state permit.

Yet another law signed by Spanberger last month opens new grounds for lawsuits against the firearms industry. That came shortly after Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law limiting liability lawsuits against the firearms industry.

A quick summary of what happened

Houston Police said the attack happened around 6:47 a.m. on Monday inside Garage 1 at the Houston Methodist campus at 6519 Fannin Street in the Texas Medical Center, where the nurse was stabbed in the upper body on Level 5.

She was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital, and hospital officials later told employees she was expected to be released the same day.

• PREVIOUS REPORT: Photo released of man accused of stabbing Houston Methodist nurse in Texas Medical Center parking garage

Perry Green, 46, was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in connection with the stabbing and robbery.

• DETAILS: Man arrested, charged in stabbing, robbery of Houston Methodist employee in TMC parking garage

Authorities previously said the incident did not appear to be a targeted attack. Houston Methodist temporarily placed some buildings on lockdown after the stabbing and announced increased patrols and security visibility across the Texas Medical Center area.

What changes is Houston Methodist making since the stabbing?

Many are asking what measures will be implemented to better protect hospital employees, especially those working early morning or overnight hours.

The hospital released a statement to employees that included several safety tips.

However, the statement did not mention any direct changes to security or safety protocols

READ THE FULL STATMENT BELOW:

“As you have seen in the media this week, an employee was attacked in a Texas Medical Center garage on Monday. This does not appear to be planned attack on our employee or Houston Methodist Hospital. However, this serves as an important reminder to always remain aware of your surroundings. Robert Schwartz, executive vice president and chief innovation officer, highlighted these safety tips in an email this week. Remember these key points as you are out in public.

• Always keep your valuables close to your body.
• Do not park next to a vehicle with dark-tinted windows that can prevent you from seeing if someone is sitting inside.
• Park in a high-visibility area and check for lighting in case you leave when it is dark.
• Ask a security officer to escort you to your vehicle if you feel uncomfortable.
• Walk briskly, confidently and directly through the parking lot. Be cautious of people handing out flyers or asking questions.
• Have your car keys ready to unlock your car door. Look around and under your car and observe other vehicles parked nearby for suspicious people before approaching.
• Watch for people who may be following you. If you suspect that you are being followed, report it immediately to security or police.
• Glance into the back seat and at the floorboards of your car before entering to check for anyone hiding inside.
• Do not sit in a parked vehicle. If a stranger approaches your vehicle, sound your horn.
• Do not open your car door or window for anyone. If someone is standing near your unoccupied vehicle, do not approach it.

“Please remain vigilant. If you observe any suspicious activity or have safety concerns, you can go directly to your supervisor or click here for more information on contacting our Public Safety team

“Events like this can be difficult for individuals who were involved as well as for those who witnessed the situation or are feeling its effects. Resources are available to support our team.”

In a Friday morning social media post, Trump said the National Garden of American Heroes would be built in West Potomac Park, a space near the National Mall that includes the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The area is also home to several fields and volleyball courts regularly used by local sports groups.

Trump described the area in his post as a “totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River.”

The president has said the garden would commemorate America's 250th anniversary with sculptures recognizing 250 prominent Americans who have made significant cultural, political and other historical contributions to the country. He first raised the idea during Fourth of July celebrations in 2020 and has framed it as a response to protests that resulted in the removal of controversial monuments, including those that commemorated slave owners and Confederate leaders.

In the final days of his first term, Trump, a Republican, signed an executive order naming 244 people including Ronald Reagan and Jackie Robinson who should be honored with statues in the garden. The idea languished under President Joe Biden, a Democrat, but Congress provided $40 million under Trump's big tax and spending cuts law last year to procure the statues included in his executive orders.

That may not be enough, however, to constitute the type of approval typically needed for major projects on or near the National Mall. Federal law requires projects and memorials to get a sign-off from multiple design and planning groups.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the garden will “ be built to reflect the awesome splendor of our country’s timeless exceptionalism.”

“President Trump continues to beautify and honor our Nation’s Capital during America’s historic semiquincentennial celebration,” he said.

He didn't comment on whether the administration was seeking the relevant approvals or had already awarded contracts for the statues.

Washington's monumental core is one of the nation's most closely regulated spaces, with the goal of protecting sightlines and preventing new construction that would undermine the area’s historic character. Between the approvals process, design disputes and funding challenges, changes in the area can take years — or even decades — to reach completion. One of the newest additions near the National Mall, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, took 21 years to finish after Congress initially approved it in 1999.

Trump and his supporters have shown little interest in following such procedures. He moved quickly this month to drain and repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. He suddenly demolished the East Wing of the White House last year to build a ballroom. Trump's name has been added to the facade of the Kennedy Center, which he plans to close later this summer for a two-year renovation.

Just this week, workers began preliminary surveys and testing of the proposed site of a triumphal arch that Trump is seeking between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Part of the site was fenced off, and pink flags typically used as survey markings were planted in the grass.

And the Trump administration is moving forward with plans to transform East Potomac Park from an accessible public golf course into what Trump has described as a “U.S. Open-caliber course.” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Thursday released a design plan for the new course that he said would provide “championship-quality golf at affordable, highly discounted rates.”

The plan provided few details on how the park, which is frequently used by local runners and bikers, would remain open to the general public.

Virtually all of the projects have become subject to litigation.

Of the 272 regular-season games next season, 22 will on a streaming service as the primary network (one more than announced last season), and 14 will be primarily on cable.

That leaves 236 games that will be on CBS, Fox, NBC or ABC, meaning 87% of the schedule will be on broadcast television, the same percentage as last year. All games in a team’s home market air on a broadcast network.

President Donald Trump recently weighed in with his dissatisfaction with the costs for fans who want access to all the games while investigations by the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice proceed.

“You have people that live for Sunday. They can’t think about anything else, and then all of a sudden, they’re gonna have to pay $1,000 a game? It’s crazy,” Trump said while being interviewed on “Full Measure” last weekend.

While fans are not paying $1,000 per game to watch at home, trying to view everything with the "NFL Sunday Ticket,” a cable or satellite package, and streaming subscriptions could total nearly $1,000 for the season.

Even with greater scrutiny of its distribution models, the league stuck to the same plan, according to Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution.

“Our focus is on getting the best games into the best windows," Schroeder said. "And even with the additional games that went to Netflix, we think we’re expanding the reach of those games.

“We love our model. Broadcast has been an incredible home to deliver our focus of reach. We also want to be on these platforms with a limited amount of our games where we know our fans are already.”

More broadcast windows, more problems?

The league was able to create new standalone windows after getting back four games that had been part of Monday night doubleheaders in previous seasons. Two went to Netflix (Thanksgiving Eve and the Saturday early game in Week 18), one to Fox (one of the international games ) and one to NBC (a Saturday game in Week 17).

CBS and Fox were able to add Saturday games in Week 15 that were Sunday regional games in past seasons. Fox also has a Christmas Day game for the first time since 2023.

While the league and ESPN thought having two Monday night games some weeks would benefit viewers, it often divided them because one game started at 7 p.m. and the other at 8:15 p.m.

“It wasn’t working as we intended. We could take these games and find a better home and broader distribution for them,” Schroeder said.

The games on Netflix should also draw a large audience, given its reach. The streamer has 81.4 million U.S. subscribers compared to 60 million for ESPN. Netflix will also be able to distribute its five-game package globally.

There will be 10 Monday night games simulcast on ABC this season. ESPN will also air the Super Bowl for the first time, while ABC will air it for the first time since 2006.

Tim Reed, ESPN’s vice president of programming and acquisitions, said he thought moving away from the doubleheaders helped “Monday Night Football” have a more complete schedule.

“The ability to streamline and simplify the schedule just helps. I assume it helped the league and makes it easier to land all the games,” he said.

With 10 broadcast windows to fill Thanksgiving week, there will be only six 1 p.m. games on Sunday, with three each on CBS and Fox. Seattle at San Francisco gets the late afternoon spotlight on Fox.

Christmas week will have 11 windows — Christmas Eve, three on Christmas Day, two on Dec. 26 on NFL Network, the CBS Sunday doubleheader plus an early game on Fox, NBC Sunday night, and ESPN Monday night. There likely will be six 1 p.m. Sunday games. San Francisco at Kansas City is the featured late-afternoon game on CBS.

“We’re probably stretched, arguably as thin as we can be, for Sunday afternoon," said Mike North, the NFL's vice president of broadcast planning. "One of the things we liked about this schedule was the fact that I think we’re still OK for CBS and Fox on Sunday afternoon. We’re still going to be able to make a half-decent map out of the 1 p.m. window.”

CBS, Fox happy with results

Despite all games being available to all networks, Fox still leans heavily into the NFC and CBS to the AFC to build their brands.

“There’s still some pride of ownership for Fox with the NFC. They still have more appearances of the Cowboys, Packers and Eagles than anybody else," North said. "And certainly for CBS with all those young quarterbacks, They’re not eager to see all the Baltimore, Buffalo and Kansas City games elsewhere.”

CBS, which had its best regular season in 2025, has the Chiefs four times and the Cowboys twice in its Sunday 4:25 p.m. doubleheader window.

Its best lineup looks to be Week 15, with Bears-Bills on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 8:20 p.m., followed by Steelers-Ravens on Sunday at 1 p.m., and Cowboys-Rams at 4:25 p.m.

“That will be a great scene in Buffalo for us, and then you go from that game to Sunday and a monster doubleheader with Ravens-Steelers early, a legendary black-and-blue game, and then having the Cowboys in LA against the Rams,” said Dan Weinberg, CBS Sports EVP of programming.

CBS also has the Cowboys in Week 3 against the Ravens, which will be played in Brazil.

By carrying the Patriots-Lions game in Munich on Week 10, Fox will have its first tripleheader since Week 8 in 2016. After the Sunday morning game, it will also feature Vikings-Packers as a showcase game at 1 p.m., followed by 49ers-Cowboys in the late afternoon slot.

Tom Brady makes his first return to Foxborough, Massachusetts, as a broadcaster when the Patriots face the Packers in Week 9.

“Sunday is still the core of the football experience and always will be. I think the league is mindful of not undermining the brand and power of Sunday football," said Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports president, insight and analytics.

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

Thierry Frémaux, the festival's artistic director, brought out the award for Travolta just before the screening of his “Propeller One-Way Night Coach.” A visibly moved Travolta clutched his chest while Frémaux presented the trophy.

“You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t know it would mean this," Travolta said to Frémaux.

“This is beyond the Oscar!” exclaimed Travolta.

Clad in a white beret, Travolta walked the Cannes red carpet with his 26-year-old daughter Ella Bleu Travolta. The actor wrote, directed and co-produced “Propeller One-Way Night Coach,” based on his own 1997 children's novel.

Cannes has sometimes previously surprised guests with an honorary Palme d'Or. It unexpectedly gave one to Tom Cruise in 2022. At this year's festival, the “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker Peter Jackson was given one in the opening ceremony. Barbara Streisand is to receive one later during the festival.

Trump's comments on Taiwan — a self-ruled island that China claims as its own territory — came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing U.S.-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan.

“I’ll be making decisions," Trump said. "But, you know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war that’s 9,500 miles away.”

Trump’s Republican administration in December authorized a record-setting $11 billion weapons package for Taipei, but it has yet to move forward. Lawmakers also approved a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan in January, but the sale cannot advance until Trump formally sends it to Congress. China opposes such sales and has suggested that Washington’s relationship with the self-governing island is the key factor in U.S.-China relations.

Trump said Xi also reiterated China's strong opposition to Taiwan’s independence. “I heard him out,” Trump said. “I didn’t make a comment.”

Trump's consultation with Xi about arms sales to Taiwan may violate the so-called Six Assurances, a set of nonbinding U.S. policy principles formulated in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan that have helped guide the U.S. relationship with Taipei, according to analysts.

The second of the Six Assurances states that the U.S. “did not agree to consult with the People’s Republic of China on arms sales to Taiwan.”

Trump said the issue of the 1982 assurances came up in the talks with Xi.

Trump says Xi is ‘very positive’ about a potential nuclear deal

Trump also said he raised a potential three-way nuclear deal that would involve the U.S., Russia and China. He wants each of the three countries to sign a pact that would cap the number of nuclear warheads in their arsenals. China has previously been cool to entering such a pact.

Beijing’s arsenal, according to Pentagon estimates, exceeds 600 warheads and is far from parity with the U.S. and Russia, which are each estimated to have more than 5,000 warheads. But Trump suggested Xi was receptive to the idea.

“I got a very a positive response,” Trump said. “This is the beginning.”

The last nuclear arms pact, known as the New START treaty, between Russia and the United States expired in February, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. As the treaty was set to expire, Trump rejected a call by Russia to extend the two-country deal for another year and called for “a new, improved and modernized” deal that includes China.

The Pentagon estimates China will have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.

Trump was impressed by Chinese presidential residence

Xi welcomed Trump at his official residence, Zhongnanhai, on Friday for their final engagement of the summit before the U.S. leader’s return to Washington. The leaders took a short walk through the grounds that feature ancient trees and Chinese roses, and they strolled through a covered passageway with green columns and archways painted with birds and traditional Chinese mountain scenes.

Over tea and lunch, Trump and Xi — with top aides and translators in tow — huddled for nearly three hours of talks before the U.S. leader completed his three-day visit to China.

Trump appeared impressed by the bucolic grounds, remarking that the roses were the most beautiful he had ever seen. Xi promised to send him some rose seeds.

“It’s been really a great couple of days,” Trump told reporters.

Xi, for his part, called it a “milestone” visit. “We have established a new bilateral relationship, or rather a constructive, strategic, stable relationship,” he said.

But the optimistic outlook collides with some difficult truths about the thorniest issues between the two superpowers.

Beijing has shown little public interest in U.S. entreaties to get more involved in solving the conflict in Iran, even though Trump said in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that Xi had in their conversations offered to help.

In recent weeks, the U.S. State Department has accused Chinese firms of providing satellite imagery to the Iranian government, and the Treasury Department has moved to target Chinese oil refineries accused of buying oil from Tehran, as well as shippers of the oil.

Xi on Thursday warned Trump during private talks that their differences on Taiwan, if handled poorly, could hurtle the world's dominant powers toward “clashes and even conflicts,” according to Chinese government officials.

But Trump, as he made his way home, said he was not concerned that the U.S.-China relationship was in danger. “I think we will be fine," he said.

Taiwan remains the most important issue for China

Xi's sharp language on Taiwan loomed large over the visit, with Chinese government officials amplifying his view that differences on the island pose the biggest risk to U.S.-Chinese relations.

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that U.S. policy toward Taiwan was “unchanged” and cautioned that it would be “a terrible mistake” for China to try to take Taiwan by force. He also framed Xi's comments as standard practice.

“They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics,” said Rubio, who was among senior aides to join Trump for the talks.

Some Republicans in Congress expressed displeasure at Trump's pronouncement that he has not decided whether to move forward with the arms package for Taiwan.

“We have to support Taiwan, just like we have to support Ukraine,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican. “These are the fortresses of democracy, and they’re on the front lines, and we have to protect and defend them.”

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul said he was not surprised that Xi came out with an aggressive posture on Taiwan.

“We’ve got to arm Taiwan so they can defend themselves for deterrence,” McCaul said.

China wants the Strait of Hormuz opened

Trump said he and Xi also spoke at length about Iran.

The leaders agreed that the critical Strait of Hormuz — effectively closed since the start of the Iran conflict — needs to be reopened to support global energy demands. About 20% of the world’s oil flowed through the strait before the war started on Feb. 28.

“We feel very similar about (how) we want it to end,” the president said. “We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon.”

White House officials said Xi was also opposed to any implementation of tolls on vessels crossing the strait and expressed interest in China potentially purchasing U.S. oil to reduce Chinese dependence on Gulf oil in the future.

Trump earlier this week downplayed the importance of talks with Xi on the 11-week-old Iran war that has led to surging energy prices and threatens to plunge the global economy into recession if the conflict does not conclude soon.

___

Mistreanu reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Huizhong Wu in Bangkok and Darlene Superville, Stephen Groves and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

Speaking a day after the body of a fifth member of the dive group was recovered on Thursday, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said despite the poor weather conditions everything possible would be done to bring the victims home.

The cause of the deaths remained under investigation. The recovery operation is expected to resume on Saturday.

“Unfortunately, the searches are suspended due to bad weather, but we will do everything possible to recover the bodies of our compatriots," Tajani told a political event in Italy.

Italy’s Foreign Ministry said the dive group had “apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters (164 feet)” in the Vaavu Atoll on Thursday.

The victims were identified as Monica Montefalcone, an associate ecology professor at the University of Genoa, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, according to the Maldivian government.

Benedetti’s body was recovered on Thursday.

Montefalcone’s husband, Carlo Sommacal, said he believed something unexpected must have occurred and ruled out recklessness on her part.

“Something must have happened,” he told Italian TV channel Rete 4. He said his wife was a disciplined diver who carefully weighed risks before each descent. He recalled her telling him at times: “This one I can do, you can’t.”

Cave diving is a highly technical and dangerous activity that requires specialized training, equipment and strict safety protocols. Risks increase sharply in overhead environments and at depth, particularly when conditions deteriorate. Experts say it’s easy to become disoriented or lost inside caves, particularly as sediment clouds can sharply reduce visibility.

Diving at 50 meters also exceeds the maximum depth recommended for recreational divers by most major established scuba certifying agencies, with depths beyond 40 meters considered technical diving, which requires specialized training and equipment. The recreational diving limit in the Maldives is 30 meters.

Sommacal said his wife survived the 2004 tsunami while diving off Kenya, resurfacing with other experienced divers despite the danger, and later returned to diving after a lengthy recovery from serious health complications. “She had two lives — one on land and one in her environment, the water,” he said.

Maldivian presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef said eight divers took part in Friday’s search and, working in pairs, explored the depths and drew up a map to continue the mission on Saturday.

He said Benedetti’s body was found near the mouth of the cave and authorities believed the remaining four had entered the cave.

Two Italians — a deep-sea rescue expert and a cave diving expert — are expected to join the recovery effort, Shareef said.

Italian officials said around 20 other Italians who were on the same expedition aboard a vessel named the “Duke of York” were safe. Italy’s embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.

The vessel was searching for safe harbor from poor weather conditions, and was waiting for conditions to improve before returning to Male, the Italian ministry said.

Greenpeace Italia, the environmental organization, paid tribute to Montefalcone as a passionate advocate for marine protection, saying it would miss “her professionalism and her advice immensely” and “that special light she had in her eyes when she spoke about the wonders of the sea and the importance of protecting them.”

The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology offered condolences for all the victims. It said Montefalcone had been widely recognized for her work studying and protecting the marine environment.

The Italian ministry said it was coordinating with Divers Alert Network, a specialist diving organization, to support recovery operations and the repatriation of the bodies.

It said the cave entered by the five divers is divided into three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Recovery teams explored two of the three chambers, but the search was limited due to considerations over oxygen and decompression.

On Saturday, they will explore the third chamber, the ministry added.

Italian officials and the honorary consul are in contact with the victims’ families to provide assistance.

___

Zampano reported from Rome. Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi and Krishan Francis in Colombo contributed to this report.

Although Starmer vowed to fight on after a bruising week in which one Cabinet member resigned, dozens of lawmakers called for the prime minister to quit and his new policy proposals were largely ignored, some observers believe it’s only a matter of time before he steps aside.

The message of the past week “is that Labour seems to have made up its mind that Keir Starmer is going to have to go,” said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “And he’s going to have to go reasonably quickly, and he’s going to have to be replaced by someone who can, unlike him, connect with the public.”

Cabinet resignation adds pressure on Starmer

Weeks of speculation about Starmer's future broke into open rebellion Thursday when Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned in preparation for a possible leadership bid and the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, declared his intention to return to Parliament. Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced she had cleared up a tax issue that forced her to resign from the Cabinet last year, thus freeing her up as well.

Starmer is under growing pressure to step down after Labour performed dismally in local and regional elections last week, hemorrhaging votes to both the anti-immigrant Reform UK party on the right and the Green Party on the left. The electoral drubbing cemented doubts among many party members about Starmer’s judgment, vision and leadership less than two years after he led Labour to a landslide victory.

But the potential contest to unseat him is on hold for now as the party waits to see if Burnham can win a special election for a seat in Parliament that would allow him to enter the race. If he returns to the House of Commons, Burnham is widely expected to challenge Starmer.

On Friday, Labour's executive body approved Burnham to run for the seat that became available when a Labour lawmaker resigned to make way for the Greater Manchester mayor. That election is expected to be in the next five or so weeks.

As and when a challenge to Starmer emerges, Labour’s National Executive Committee will set the timetable for any leadership election. The most recent contest lasted three months.

The government’s borrowing costs rose Friday and the pound weakened on investor concern about continued disarray in Westminster. The pound has dropped 1.3% against the U.S dollar this week.

Starmer's supporters urge rivals to think again

Housing Secretary Steve Reed on Friday appealed to party members to step back from the brink of a divisive leadership contest that he said would prevent the government from tackling issues like the cost of living crisis and bolster the prospects of Reform UK.

“This weekend people just need to take a breath, look at what’s gone wrong this week, and come back next week ready to do what we said we’d do — country first, party second — and focus on delivering the change we were elected to deliver,” he told the BBC.

That plea came after a week of political jockeying that overshadowed everything else in Westminster.

The infighting reached a crescendo on Thursday morning when Streeting resigned. While praising Starmer’s “courage and statesmanship” in international affairs, Streeting said he had lost confidence in the prime minister’s leadership because of missteps on domestic issues.

“Where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift,” Streeting wrote in a stinging resignation letter.

“Leaders take responsibility, but too often that has meant other people falling on their swords,” he added. “You also need to listen to your colleagues, including backbenchers, and the heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices diminishes our politics.”

Opportunity knocks for the popular mayor of Greater Manchester

Streeting stopped short of putting himself forward as the best candidate to lead the party at the next general election, suggesting Starmer should step aside to allow a “broad” field of candidates to debate the future of the party.

That seemed to be a nod to Burnham, a former Cabinet minister who left Parliament in 2017 to run for mayor of Greater Manchester. Burnham has been looking for a way to return to the House of Commons so he can challenge Starmer for the top job.

Josh Simons, a Labour lawmaker from Northern England, provided that opening on Thursday by resigning his seat explicitly to make way for Burnham. But that was only the first step for Burnham. Before he can return to Westminster, Burnham must win a special election to represent Makerfield, a community where Reform UK posted strong results in last week’s local elections.

Burnham acknowledged those challenges on Thursday when he announced his candidacy for the seat.

“I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times,” he said in a statement.

Elias Rodriguez faces federal hate crime and murder charges in the killings of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left an event at the museum last May. Rodriguez shouted “Free Palestine” during the shooting and later told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” according to his indictment.

The charges against Rodriguez include a hate crime resulting in death. The indictment also includes notice of special findings, which allows prosecutors to pursue the death penalty.

“My message to anyone who seeks to commit political violence in this district -- D.C. is not the place. You will be held accountable and you will face the full wrath of the law,” Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said at an unrelated news conference Friday in which she revealed the Justice Department’s death penalty decision.

The hate crimes charges mean prosecutors will have to prove that Rodriguez was motivated by antisemitism when he opened fire on Lischinsky and Milgrim, a young couple who were about to become engaged. Milgrim, 26, was a U.S. citizen and Lischinsky, 30, was an Israeli citizen working in the U.S.

Prosecutors have described the killing as calculated and planned, saying Rodriguez flew to the Washington region from Chicago ahead of the May 21 event at the Capital Jewish Museum with a handgun in his checked luggage.

Witnesses described him pacing outside before approaching a group of four people and opening fire. Surveillance video showed Rodriguez advancing closer to Lischinsky and Milgrim as they fell to the ground, leaning over them and firing additional shots. He appeared to reload before jogging off, officials have said.

After the shooting, authorities say Rodriguez went inside the museum and said, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed,” according to court documents. He also told detectives that he admired an active-duty Air Force member who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in February 2024, describing the man as “courageous” and a “martyr.”

In Friday's court filing, prosecutors said Rodriguez's actions were “motivated by political, ideological, national, and religious bias, contempt, and hatred.” He “targeted individuals whom he perceived to have attended an event for young Jewish professionals ... to amplify the effect of his crimes,” they wrote.

Attorneys for Rodriguez didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Several weeks before Friday's announcement, defense attorneys had a meeting with Justice Department officials where they could present evidence that they believe would weigh against seeking the death penalty in the case.

The next court appearance for Rodriguez is set for June 30. A trial date hasn't been scheduled yet.

___

Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

SIGN UP HERE: Schedule an appointment

Help save up to three lives with your blood donation by scheduling your appointment at one of the links below. All successful blood donors will receive a “Lone Star Life Saver” t-shirt (in April) or a beach towel (in May) as a thank you gift while supplies last. Donors will also receive a free A1C test to screen their blood for prediabetes.

Tuesday, April 28

Houston Christian University (Donor Coach in front of Brown Administrative Complex) - 7502 Fondren Rd., Houston, TX 77074 | 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Thank you to all who donated!

Thursday, May 14

KPRC 2 (Donor Coach) - 8181 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77074 | 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Schedule an appointment

If you cannot make it to the blood drives at KPRC 2’s studios or HCU, you can donate at your Neighborhood Donor Center. There’s a critical need for blood donations in our community, especially with donations typically slowing down over the summer months. Your support now is critical in helping patients in the Greater Houston area.

Do you know your blood type? If not, you’ll find out when you donate blood. According to the Gulf Coast Blood, blood type O- is considered to be the universal red cell donor for all patients. To learn more, visit Gulf Coast Blood’s website at giveblood.org. Gulf Coast Blood is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Blood recipients and their families share the impact your blood donation can make:

The KPRC 2 Community Blood Drive is one of our spotlight initiatives in partnership with Energy Transfer and Houston Christian University. KPRC 2 would like to thank our partners at Energy Transfer for hosting a blood drive for their employees in May, too!

Thank you again to HCU for hosting the KPRC 2 Community Blood Drive on campus!

The aircraft are currently parked in a storage field following the shutdown of operations involving the planes. Industry experts say the jets were not owned directly by Spirit Airlines, but instead leased through outside companies that quickly moved to reclaim the aircraft.

• Spirit Airlines shuts down: What passengers can do about refunds — and what workers should know next

One aviation contractor involved in the process said crews had only a matter of hours to coordinate the recovery effort and relocate the planes.

That process included hiring former Spirit pilots who had suddenly found themselves out of work to help ferry the aircraft to storage facilities in Arizona.

“The reason I’m empathetic to all this is because I’ve been in the same situation four or five times,” one aviation worker said. “I was with airlines that closed their doors overnight. I woke up the next morning not having a job. I’m worried about how I’m going to make my mortgage, how I can pay for health care. I have little kids.”

Officials say the future of the aircraft remains uncertain. Depending on what the leasing companies decide, the planes could eventually return to service with another airline, be dismantled for parts, or scrapped altogether.

Spirit Airlines has not announced whether the aircraft could return to operations.

There are 25 languages, from Albanian to Ukrainian, sung onstage this year at the sequin-drenched international music competition, which reaches its finale in Vienna on Saturday. Eurovision performers increasingly want to share their mother tongues with the world.

“It’s easier to talk about your feelings in your native language,” said singer Pete Parkkonen, half of the Finnish duo who are oddsmakers’ favorite to win with scorching voice-violin duet “Liekinheitin,” or “Flamethrower.”

“And the main language is love, obviously," he said.

Eurovision once mandated that acts perform in an official language of their country, but since 1999 they have been able to choose any language. For many in the years that followed, English was an obvious choice for artists seeking an international audience.

Cultural anthropologist Andrew J. Green of King’s College London found that 20 of the 26 Eurovision winners between 1999 and 2024 were in English, but that the number of non-English songs has been growing in the past decade.

In 2016 there were only three songs with no English, and four in 2017. This year, contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union says there are 12 songs with no English, 16 entirely in English and seven that are multilingual.

The 35 acts competing at this year’s contest — 25 of whom made it through to the final — sing in languages including Spanish, German, Croatian, Azerbaijani, Latvian, Lithuanian and Romanian.

Eurovision fans around the world are learning, and singing, words like “Jalla” — a Cypriot term meaning “more,” and the name of the song by Cyprus’ contestant Antigoni — and “ferto,” or “bring it,” the title of Greek contestant Akylas’ infectiously catchy party rap song about overconsumption.

“It’s so important, because we’re all here to communicate our cultures, our languages, who we are," Akylas said.

“Bella,” by singer Aidan from Malta, mixes English and Maltese lyrics, to the delight of fans from the Mediterranean island nation.

Joseph Pace, who traveled to Vienna to cheer for Malta, said it’s “amazing” to hear fans from other countries try to sing along in Maltese.

“That we will listen to our language on an international stage, on a huge competition like this, it’s amazing,” he said.

Then there are the songs that mix multiple languages.

“Michelle,” the ballad by Israel’s Noam Bettan, has lyrics in Hebrew, French and English. Rapper Satoshi includes shout-outs in Romanian, English, Italian, French and more on raucous crowd-pleaser “Viva, Moldova.” Italian crooner Sal da Vinci sings in both Italian and the dialect of his native Naples on “Per Sempre,” his smooth-as-silk Eurovision entry.

Even the infamously monolingual U.K. is getting in on the act, showing Brits can count to three in German with “Eins, Zwei, Drei” by techno enthusiast Look Mum No Computer.

“People want Eurovision to be different from other song contests,” said Dean Vuletic, an academic expert on the contest's history. “They look for meaning in Eurovision because it is a showcase of cultural diversity.

“It’s countries competing against each other. And we want to see meaning in their entries. We want to see them say something about the countries and the cultures that they are representing.”

Some performers say it’s still useful to use English. Ukrainian singer Leléka usually performs only in her native language, but wanted her song “Ridnym” and its message of hope and renewal to reach the widest possible audience.

“It really has a very deep message that means the world to me, and I really want people to understand it,” she said.

___

Hilary Fox and Philipp Jenne in Vienna contributed to this story.

According to Constable Mark Herman’s Office, the crash involved a single vehicle. Emergency crews responded to the scene and transported the juvenile to a local hospital, where they later confirmed she died from her injuries.

The girl has been identified as a student at Klein Independent School District.

Authorities have not released additional details about what led to the crash.

As deputies and crash investigators continue processing the scene, northbound Ella Boulevard near Louetta Road has been shut down. Officials are urging drivers to avoid the area and expect significant traffic delays.

Klein ISD released the following statement:

Dear Klein Collins, Schindewolf, and Kreinhop Families,

It is with great sadness that we inform you that our Klein Collins student passed away from injuries sustained in this morning’s motorized bike accident on the way to school.

We recognize this is very difficult news, and our thoughts and prayers are with their loved ones.

At this time, we will not be sharing the child’s name as we are respecting the family’s privacy and their time to grieve. If there is something we can do to assist the family as a community, we will share that information with you.

We have counselors who are available to support students and staff. If you feel your child would benefit from speaking with a counselor, please do not hesitate to contact the school counseling office.

Should you wish to talk with your child about this loss, the Klein ISD Counseling Department provides helpful information at https://kleinisd.net/keepkleinsafe and https://kleinisd.net/tragedy. These resources offer guidance for supporting children through grief.

As always, we will continue to care for one another as a Klein ISD family.

Sincerely,

Klein ISD

The investigation remains ongoing.

But Global Citizen is preparing for its most ambitious production yet: the first-ever FIFA World Cup halftime show on July 19, curated with help from Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin. Super Bowl-style performances — uncommon in soccer — will feature Madonna, Shakira and BTS. Also Thursday, Shakira released the official World Cup song “Dai Dai” featuring Afrobeats giant Burna Boy.

Organizers plan to direct the tournament's billions of projected viewers worldwide toward a humanitarian initiative launched alongside soccer's international governing body. Leveraging what Global Citizen founder Hugh Evans called the “complementary” unifying powers of soccer and music, the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund aims to raise $100 million for grassroots groups providing underserved children with access to education and sports.

“I hope that on the world’s biggest stage, finally, the importance of investing in education steals the show,” Shakira told the Global Citizen NOW summit in New York on Thursday. Later, she told The Associated Press in an interview that she wanted to help the “many children who are being left behind.”

"That should be our first concern,” Shakira said. “I’m so excited that finally we’re gonna use a global event like this one as a platform to discuss what’s most important: kids’ education.”

That push could be complicated, however, by the staggering cost of match attendance. A dollar from every World Cup ticket sale will go toward the education fund. But with tickets selling for four- to five-figures, not to mention the high price of travel and lodging, some host cities are lowering their attendance expectations.

Further complicating that humanitarian image are FIFA's agreements with countries such as Saudi Arabia, whose sovereign wealth fund became an official World Cup supporter on Thursday. Critics say the kingdom uses sports to distract from its human rights record.

And the message of unity could be hindered by FIFA President Gianni Infantino's connection to President Donald Trump, whose restrictive immigration policies and recent military pursuits amount to what critics consider an unwelcoming environment atypical of an international sporting event.

Infantino awarded FIFA’s new peace prize to Trump in December. Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, was also appointed to the education fund's board.

Evans is not focused on politics, though. “I’m a pragmatist," he told the AP. “I’ve always believed that if we can do something so unbelievably positive, it has the potential to unite people at a time when the world needs it most.”

The summit's speakers emphasized their ability to build cross-sector support for causes like the education fund. The annual spring gathering draws entertainers, business executives and world leaders to discuss shared solutions to ending extreme poverty, oftentimes aligned with the United Nations’ ambitious list of “sustainable development goals” ranging from eliminating hunger to achieving gender equality.

They've raised $47 million so far for the education fund, according to a Thursday announcement. Corporate sponsors Bank of America, MetLife and Cisco put in $15 million between them, according to Evans. MetLife is donating an additional $5 for every video that fans post online of themselves juggling a soccer ball with the hashtag #FootworkForFutures.

Indian education entrepreneur Sunny Varkey and his Varkey Foundation contributed $3 million. Also being donated are ticket proceeds from The Weeknd’s high-grossing world tour as well as the joint tour recently announced by Usher and Chris Brown. Shakira announced Thursday she will donate 100% of her “Dai Dai” proceeds plus $1 from every ticket to her newly expanded tour in the United States.

Evans is now turning to heads of state for more financial support. He invited existing or future World Cup host countries to supplement funding.

“It has the potential to say to the whole world: We are global citizens... We’re all on this amazing planet together. Let’s solve the world’s biggest problems together," Evans said, adding that the move can foster a human approach rather than a “nationalistic” one.

Evans cited the 27 inaugural FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund grantees, released earlier this week, as inspiration. Among the recipients was Hit the Books, a Harlem-based nonprofit that uses mixed martial arts as the hook to provide students with additional educational resources.

The grants range from $50,000 to $250,000. Jhae Thompson, executive director of Hit the Books, said the support is meaningful because many nonprofits support hundreds of children on incredibly small budgets.

“What we are really leveraging is the foundation of what a young person needs in order to build character, to build discipline, to build confidence,” Thompson told the Global Citizen NOW audience.

Global Citizen has pursued partnerships in new regions as traditional actors including the U.S. cut their international aid budgets. That expansion includes the Middle East, represented by the addition of 2PointZero Group Vice Chair and Managing Director Mariam AlMheiri to their board.

AlMheiri, who heads the International Affairs Office at the Presidential Court of the United Arab Emirates, emphasized that “when you look at a football, everyone's happy" — a positive association she hopes will translate into support for the education fund.

Marcus Samuelsson, a multiple James Beard Award-winning chef and avid soccer fan, noted that this World Cup is spread across three different countries: the United States, Mexico and Canada. The tournament, he added, has expanded from its origins as a competition largely between South American and European nations to represent countries in Africa and Asia, too.

He hopes that wide geographic spread inspires curiosity about global issues.

“You start thinking about these countries. You maybe want to go there on vacation, maybe you want to go there, volunteer and help out. Whatever gets you going,” Samuelsson told AP. "And it can start by falling in love while watching them.”

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

The cruise missile hit the nine-story corner apartment block Thursday during what the Ukrainian air force said was Russia’s biggest barrage on the country of the full-scale invasion. Emergency workers finished digging through the rubble searching for victims after more than a day, Zelenskyy said on X.

Crowds of grieving people — many of them children — streamed toward a makeshift memorial beneath a tree near the destroyed building.

Teenagers clutching bouquets arrived in groups and broke into tears as they approached the growing mound of flowers and stuffed toys beside photographs of the dead. A portrait of a girl in a school uniform, posed against a bright yellow backdrop, was among the photos.

Zelenskyy and other top government officials visited the site to pay tribute to the dead, as did Kyiv-based foreign diplomats.

Russia has hammered Ukraine with large-scale aerial attacks in the days since a May 9-11 ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump said he asked Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe. Fighting continued over those 72 hours, although reportedly on a lesser scale.

This week’s attacks ran counter to recent suggestions from Trump and Putin that the war is close to ending.

The assault mostly targeted the Ukrainian capital, where 48 people were wounded, including two children, Zelenskyy said.

He said Moscow had launched more than 1,560 drones against Ukrainian population centers since Wednesday, adding that about 180 sites across the country were damaged, including more than 50 residential buildings.

Previously, the biggest Russian drone attack was on March 23-24 when Moscow’s forces fired nearly 1,000 drones and missiles at Ukraine. Thursday's death toll in Kyiv approached one from July 2024 that killed 32 civilians and injured another 85.

Russia reports a Ukrainian attack on Ryazan

Ukraine has also built up significant long-range capabilities, and Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday that its air defenses downed 355 Ukrainian drones overnight in one of the largest barrages of the war. Several airports suspended flights overnight because of the attacks.

A Ukrainian drone struck Ryazan, a city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Moscow, killed four people, including a child, regional Gov. Pavel Malkov said. Massive plumes of black smoke rose from a fire at an oil refinery. Ukraine has targeted Russian oil facilities to try to deny vital revenue for Moscow and rattle the Kremlin.

Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment on the Ryazan strike.

The cruise missile that hit the Kyiv apartment building was built in the second quarter of this year, Zelenskyy said, apparently after Ukrainian experts analyzed the wreckage.

“This means Russia is still importing the components, resources and equipment necessary for missile production in circumvention of global sanctions,” he said in another post on X late Thursday. “Stopping Russia’s sanctions evasion schemes must be a genuine priority for all our partners.”

Also on Friday, Russia and Ukraine swapped 205 prisoners of war, one of an occasional exchange.

Zelenskyy said it was the first phase of a planned swap of 1,000 POWs from each side. Some of the Ukrainians have been held by Russia since 2022 and fought in some of the war’s fiercest battles, he added.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the exchange and thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping to broker it.

___

Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.

___

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

METRO PD says the technology can instantly interpret nearly 200 languages using handheld devices and dispatch systems, helping officers, 911 operators, victims, witnesses, and tourists communicate more clearly when every second counts.

Why METRO PD says this matters

Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the country, with residents and visitors speaking dozens of languages every day.

Police leaders say misunderstandings caused by language barriers can delay emergency response, escalate tense situations, or leave families confused during crises.

With the World Cup expected to bring a global audience to Houston, METRO PD says the system is part of a larger effort to improve safety and communication citywide.

What the technology will be used for

METRO PD plans to use the translation system in several real-world scenarios, including:

• Traffic stops
• 911 emergency calls
• Crowd control at major events
• Conversations with victims and witnesses
• Assisting tourists unfamiliar with English

The department says officers and dispatchers will receive training on when and how to use the technology.

Questions the community wants answered

Community advocates say the technology could help build trust, but they also want accountability and proof the system works under pressure.

Key concerns include:

• How accurate translations are in noisy environments
• Whether dialects and slang are interpreted correctly
• What happens if the technology fails
• Whether conversations are recorded or stored
• How quickly officers can access translations during emergencies

Immigrant advocates, neighborhood leaders, and international visitors are also expected to weigh in on whether the system improves confidence in public safety.

A safety upgrade before Houston takes the global stage

METRO PD says the goal is simple: help officers and residents understand each other faster and more clearly during high-stress situations.

As Houston prepares for one of the world’s biggest sporting events, city leaders say communication could become just as important as security.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect METRO Police Department as the agency responsible for the new technology, not the Houston Police Department.

The all-Republican court dealt a blow to Gov. Greg Abbott and state Republicans in their efforts to severely punish the more than 50 Democrats who bolted for New York, Illinois and Massachusetts in a bid to stop a vote on the maps during a special session.

The Texas redistricting effort kick-started cascading efforts by both parties across the country to redraw voting maps ahead of this year's midterm elections: Republicans, pushed by Trump, seek to hold their slim majority in Congress as Democrats try to counter them.

Those efforts have gained new intensity after the U.S. Supreme Court further weakened the Voting Rights Act by no longer allowing race to be considered in how congressional and other districts are drawn.

In Texas, Abbott had argued in a lawsuit filed directly to the state’s highest civil court that state Rep. Gene Wu, the leader of the House Democratic caucus, and others had effectively abandoned their office.

If successful, they hoped to wield a new hammer to threaten lawmakers considering any future quorum breaks.

Wu had argued that he was not abandoning his office, but was exercising a right to dissent.

In denying Abbott’s request, the court opinion written by Justice James Blacklock noted that the Republican-majority Legislature had adequately resolved the problem itself through measures such as fines against the missing lawmakers, and it noted they eventually returned on their own within a few weeks.

“In the end, a quorum was restored in two weeks’ time, without judicial intervention, by the interplay of political and practical forces,” Blacklock wrote.

“Courts have uniformly recognized that it is not their role to resolve disputes between the other two branches that those branches can resolve for themselves,” the opinion said.

If the issue rises again and the Legislature cannot effectively compel lawmakers to return, the court may someday consider whether the courts should step in, the opinion said.

“When Greg Abbott threatened to arrest and expel us for denying him a quorum, we told him he should ‘come and take it.’ He tried!” Wu said in a statement Friday. “Abbott was wrong, weak, and after all his bluster, he couldn’t come and take a damn thing.”

Wu and the other lawmakers eventually returned to Texas, and the new map was passed and signed into law by Abbott.

Wu had argued that because he had returned to the Capitol and the map was eventually signed into law, there was no longer any reason for the court to weigh in.

If lawmakers leave again, the governor will bring the same issue back to the court, Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said Friday.

“No elected official has the right to abandon their duties, flee the state and shut down the people’s business,” Mahaleris said. “Governor Abbott’s legal action is what brought derelict Democrats back to Texas to do their jobs and pass the Big Beautiful Map.”

The state constitution requires that at least 100 of the 150 House members be present to conduct business, and the quorum break effectively shut down a special legislative session Abbott had called to address redistricting and other issues.

And Texas has a history of walkouts.

In 2021, the court ruled that the Texas Constitution enables the possibility of a quorum break but also allows for consequences to bring members back.

Last year's Democratic walkout was the third since 2003, when lawmakers bolted to stop a vote on a redistricting bill. They did it again in 2021 over an elections bill. In both cases, they were temporary victories as Democrats eventually returned and the Republican majority in the Legislature ultimately passed both measures into law.

Friday, May 15

• HL Rhythm Energy Question of the Week
• “Dear Alien at Alley Theatre
• Sun & Ski Sports Memorial City
• The Travel Mom

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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David Northern, who resigned as president and CEO of the Houston Housing Authority amid an investigation into his spending, was hired as CEO of the Flint, Michigan Housing Commission — putting him back in charge of the same type of federal dollars he had been accused of misusing in Houston.

SEE MORE: KPRC 2 Investigation into the Houston Housing Authority

A familiar name helped him land the job

The person who helped bring Northern to Flint appears to have had a prior financial relationship with him in Houston.

Damon Duncan served as interim CEO of the Flint Housing Commission and announced on LinkedIn that his company helped recruit Northern for the role.

Records obtained through an open records request show that just seven months before Northern’s hire in Flint, Northern signed a Houston Housing Authority check paying Duncan nearly $13,000. The memo line on the check noted the payment was for “technical assistance at a Cuney Homes on-site visit.”

Duncan did not return calls for comment.

Northern did not respond either.

Neither did the mayor of Flint.

Houston’s mayor weighs in

Houston Mayor John Whitmire does not oversee the Houston Housing Authority directly. The agency is funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is governed by an independent board — one the mayor appoints.

“I think everybody should be held accountable. But I just can’t speak to Flint. HUD has all of our records. We’re pretty clear that we think they should review them carefully,” Whitmire said.

The mayor was quick to note that the board members who hired Northern in 2022 were appointed by his predecessor.

“One thing, when I watch your reports, I always will say, come on, Amy (Davis). Emphasize this was all before I got here,” Whitmire said.

When Whitmire took office in January 2024, one of his first actions was replacing the Housing Authority board members. That new board launched the investigation into Northern that ultimately led to his resignation.

“I got him off his position, the CEO of the board as quick as possible, replaced it with some fine Houstonians,” Whitmire said.

When asked whether Northern was fit to lead a housing authority in another city, Whitmire didn’t hold back.

“Flint, Michigan, I can’t speak for them, if they would have done their due diligence and been above board, I don’t believe Mr. Northern would be fit for that job. Based on his record here,” the mayor said.

Federal investigators and a frustrating silence

The FBI and HUD’s Office of Inspector General were among the agencies examining the Houston Housing Authority’s records.

“The FBI was there, OIG of HUD. I would assume it gets all the way up to the top, the secretary,” Whitmire said, when asked specifically which law enforcement agencies were investigating Northern’s actions at HHA.

When asked whether HUD’s inspector general was tracking Northern’s move to Flint, the agency responded: “It is the policy of the HUD OIG to neither confirm nor deny any investigative actions that may or may not be underway.”

For Whitmire, the lack of communication from federal agencies has been its own source of frustration.

“We send the files, and then nothing. You know what’s even frustrating? How about just a report? What if they said, we don’t like what we see, but it hadn’t reached a certain level?” Whitmire said.

“They just leave you in limbo, but I do my job and then I move on to the next challenge,” he added.

The Flint Housing Commission has since developed its own financial scandal.

Signs of progress in Houston

The newly restructured Houston Housing Authority — now rebranded as Housing Alliance HTX — has passed new rules governing credit card purchases and financial oversight. Spending on those cards is down 58% since Northern’s departure.

At Cuney Homes, Larry Grisby said the new administration eventually installed missing tables and benches at the pocket park Northern’s contractor had left unfinished.

“Yeah, I sit out here every morning. I used to clean it. I ain’t got no rags,” Grisby said with a laugh.

At Kelly Village, some windows remain boarded up — but residents say crews have been slowly replacing the windows the previous contractors removed.

Grisby said he never expected Northern to resurface in another housing role.

“I was saying to myself, ‘He’ll never work for housing no more. Never,’” Grisby said. “Cause what he did, you know. Things that he did.”

The original investigation: What KPRC 2 uncovered

More than a quarter of renters in Harris County spend over half their income on housing. For thousands of Houstonians on waiting lists for federal rental assistance, every dollar counts — which is what made the findings so striking.

The original KPRC 2 investigation found Northern spent millions of federal dollars on expenses that had nothing to do with helping families.

Housing Authority credit card statements showed Northern’s senior policy advisor, Na’Shon Edwards, spent more than $9,400 dining out — including at least six visits to Steak 48. Nearly $100,000 was spent on travel. Northern himself charged more than $2,300 for workout equipment and another $2,300 for chair massages for employees at work.

“It means a lot. It means almost a few months of rent paying,” said Janet Hoffart, who relies on housing subsidies and receives about $1,600 a month in disability and Social Security payments.

“I am one illness away from losing everything. I am one disability check from losing everything,” said Jessica, who was waiting on a housing voucher at the time of the investigation.

A cooling project that left residents in the cold

One project meant to help public housing residents beat the Houston heat ended up making their homes less safe.

Northern hired contractors to install window air conditioning units in every apartment at Kelly Village, Cuney Homes and Irvington Village — Houston’s three public housing communities. The investigation found Northern went more than $3 million over budget, hiring inexperienced contractors who blocked fire escapes during installation.

“I thought it was a good thing, until you know, everything transpired,” said Shamica Killings, who worked at Kelly Village during the project.

To fix the fire hazards, crews had to remove the newly installed units — but the original windows had already been discarded. Workers boarded them up and moved on.

Northern hired 22 different companies to install the units. One supervisor, who made $75 an hour working for one of those companies, started his own company just four months later. Northern then awarded that new company more than $1 million to fix the fire hazard issues the original project had created.

One of the companies hired for the AC installation was a clothing company based in Chicago — connected to a Housing Authority employee Northern had recently brought on from Chicago.

“That’s odd because you would expect to want to hire companies that had the experience to do the job, and you would want to go local,” said Houston City Council member Julian Ramirez. “Houston’s a huge city. We have plenty of companies that can do good AC work, so why would you have to go to Illinois?”

Incomplete park, silenced employees, a growing tab

Here’s more on the park project mentioned above. Residents at Cuney Homes were also left with an incomplete pocket park — missing tables, benches and lighting — even after records showed Northern approved paying the contractor more than $766,000.

“There’s supposed to be two benches. Supposed to have been a bench here and a bench right here. And there’s supposed to have been a table right here,” said Larry Grisby, a Cuney Homes resident.

The spending didn’t stop there.

Northern paid out $289,133 in settlements to housing executives he dismissed — always keeping payouts just under the $100,000 threshold that would have required board approval. Every employee who received a settlement signed a non-disclosure agreement.

In February 2024, Northern announced that funding for housing vouchers for low-income families had run out. Around the same time, he distributed more than $166,000 in raises to five employees in a single round of increases.

When the investigation added it all up, the total tied to mismanagement, waste or questionable decisions surpassed $4 million.

Suspension, resignation — and six-figure payouts

Within six weeks of the investigation’s publication, the Housing Authority board voted to suspend Northern with pay while it conducted its own review. Northern ultimately resigned. The board also eliminated the position held by Edwards.

Both left Texas — each with six-figure payouts. Northern received $210,252. Edwards received $27,692.

The total connected to Northern’s tenure, including those payouts: more than $4.2 million.

KPRC 2 will continue to follow this story as federal investigators review the Houston Housing Authority’s records. Until those answers come, the team will keep pressing — because for the thousands of Houstonians still waiting on housing assistance, accountability isn’t optional. If you have a tip or question, email Investigator Amy Davis at ADavis@kprc.com.

Located just about 3 hours from H-Town on the Texas Gulf Coast, this laid-back beach town delivers everything families want in a summer vacation—beautiful beaches, fresh coastal cuisine, kid-friendly activities, nightlife, fishing, and plenty of ways to relax and unwind.

One of the biggest things setting Port Aransas apart is the variety of experiences packed into one destination. Families can spend the day building sandcastles, learning how to become a pirate on the Red Dragon Pirate Cruise, driving directly onto the beach, cruising around in golf carts, or heading out on dolphin tours and fishing charters. Whether you’re traveling with little kids, teens, grandparents, or a big group of friends, there’s something for every age to enjoy.

And when it comes to accommodations, Port A offers a different feel from many other Texas beach towns thanks to its abundance of beach homes and vacation rentals. Families can spread out, enjoy extra space, and really settle into vacation mode while still being close to restaurants, shops, and the water.

Beyond the beaches, the town offers plenty of amenities while still maintaining that small-community feel. It’s easy to navigate, family-friendly, and relaxed in a way that encourages visitors to slow down and actually enjoy the moment. During the summer months, the area also comes alive with live music, waterfront dining, shopping, and nightlife for visitors wanting a little extra entertainment after sunset.

For trip planning, restaurant reservations, activities, and more, click over to Visit Port Aransas.

Watch as Lauren Kelly takes us for a look around the island!

Houston summers combine triple-digit temperatures with intense humidity that can make it feel even hotter. The moisture in the air slows your body’s ability to cool itself through sweat, which is why stepping outside can feel like walking into a sauna.

Here’s what newcomers should know before the hottest months hit full force.

It’s not just hot — it’s humid

Humidity is what surprises most transplants.

Even when the actual temperature is in the 90s, the heat index can feel much higher because sweat evaporates more slowly. That means you stay sticky, overheated, and exhausted longer.

Houston natives often joke that summer starts with “preheating” in May before the real heat arrives in July and August. Reddit users new to Houston describe the humidity as a shock to the system, especially for people moving from drier climates.

Your hair and skin may react differently

Houston humidity can completely change your hair routine.

People with curly or textured hair often notice more frizz, swelling, or faster moisture loss because hair pulls moisture from the humid air. Some residents say lightweight products that worked elsewhere stop working in Houston’s climate.

Dermatologists also warn that heat, sweat, air conditioning, and sun exposure can dry out skin even in humid climates. Experts recommend:

• Lightweight moisturizers
• Non-comedogenic skincare products
• Daily sunscreen
• Drinking more water than usual

Many longtime Houstonians also rely on leave-in conditioners, anti-humidity styling products, and protective hairstyles during peak summer months.

Hydration is serious here

One of the biggest mistakes newcomers make is waiting until they feel thirsty.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends drinking water consistently throughout the day during extreme heat, even before you feel dehydrated.

Experts also suggest:

• Limiting alcohol and excessive caffeine
• Replacing electrolytes if sweating heavily
• Carrying a reusable water bottle everywhere

Avoid the middle of the day

In Houston, outdoor activity between roughly 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. can become dangerous quickly.

Health officials recommend:

• Exercising early in the morning or near sunset
• Taking breaks in air conditioning or shade
• Wearing loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing

If you’re moving from a cooler climate, your body may need several weeks to acclimate to the heat.

Learn the warning signs of heat illness

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can happen fast in Houston summers.

Symptoms can include:

• Dizziness
• Heavy sweating
• Nausea
• Headaches
• Muscle cramps
• Confusion
• Fainting

The CDC says confusion, slurred speech, or loss of consciousness can signal a medical emergency requiring immediate help.

Air conditioning isn’t optional in Houston

Longtime residents often plan entire days around access to A/C.

During extreme heat, public health officials recommend staying in air-conditioned spaces as much as possible because fans alone may not be enough once temperatures climb too high.

The Houston Health Department also encourages residents to monitor heat alerts and cooling center information during dangerous heat waves.

Houston summers require preparation, hydration, and pacing yourself, especially if you’re new to Texas.

The good news: most people eventually adapt. The bad news: locals say you may not truly understand Houston heat until August hits.

Within weeks, the neighborhood was a ghost town and the playground was empty.

What prompted the mass exodus was a bungled message from the housing authority in Port Isabel, a South Texas community of 5,000 people, many of whom are immigrants working at hotels and restaurants on the beaches of nearby South Padre Island. The Port Isabel Housing Authority indicated a Trump administration proposal was about to take effect that would end housing assistance to families with at least one member in the country illegally. The events that followed provided a glimpse of what could happen in communities across the U.S. if the proposed rule is actually finalized.

“The impact was not limited to undocumented immigrants, but really to immigrants who are here legally as well as people within their families who are citizens,” Marie Claire Tran-Leung, senior staff attorney at National Housing Law Project, said.

For decades, families with at least one legal or eligible resident have been allowed to live in public housing provided those who are here illegally or are otherwise ineligible due to their immigration status pay a full, unsubsidized share of rent. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to reverse that.

Advocates estimate up to 80,000 people would be kicked out of their homes nationwide under the measure that is part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. They include U.S. citizens, many of them children born in this country but whose parents were not.

A message from the Port Isabel Housing Authority

On Feb. 3, the Port Isabel Housing Authority sent residents a letter saying that the Trump administration wanted every household member to prove legal status within 30 days or face eviction. Three weeks later, the agency sent a note of “clarification” that no such proof was required.

It was already too late.

Half of residents living in Port Isabel public housing left within a month of receiving the first letter. The occupancy rate plunged from 91% in January to 43% in May, far below the national average of 94%.

The proposed rule from HUD still has not taken effect.

The housing authority gave no explanation for the initial misunderstanding and officials did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Rumors and panic

Fears about eviction and rumors that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement might get involved prompted panic among some residents.

“My kids and I spoke and wondered what we were going to do, but then we said it’s better to leave and avoid any retaliation,” a single mother from Mexico raising two teenagers who are U.S. citizens told The Associated Press. She, like other former residents, spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears of being deported.

She turned to legal service organizations that told her and others they could stay in public housing. But she and her children decided it was too risky and left their home of nearly a decade, finding an apartment within the same school district that costs about $500 more per month.

The move also added about 10 minutes to the commute to the island, where both the mother and her daughter work. The 18-year-old gets home from school at 4:30 p.m. and grabs a quick dinner before her mom drives her to a job that starts at 5 p.m. The daughter is a top student in her senior class and plans to go to college in the fall with help from scholarship offers, but she worries how her family will make ends meet. Her brother was laid off, and their mom underwent cancer treatment last year, depleting her energy and straining their finances.

Other families face even greater challenges.

A mother of three said she moved her family into a one-bedroom trailer home illegally parked between two other trailer homes. Her oldest son sleeps in the living room.

Another family of three sold beds and other furniture so they could squeeze into a small trailer home, only to find out the landlord wouldn't let them use the mailing address, affecting her children’s school and health insurance.

“Since we got the letter, everything changed from one day to the next. It wasn’t the same anymore. Before the letter, the kids were happy, playing outside,” the mother of two said.

A preview of a Trump administration proposal

The Trump administration proposed in February that any household with one ineligible resident would disqualify an entire family, estimating that 24,000 recipients were ineligible in 20,000 households.

“We have zero tolerance for pushing aside hardworking U.S. citizens while enabling others to exploit decades-old loopholes,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said at the time.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income families, estimates that 79,600 people could be forced to leave their homes, with a disproportionate impact on children and Latinos.

The rule drew more than 16,000 public comments, many of them critical, including from city leaders across the U.S.

For example, the New York City Council told HUD that an estimated 12% of city of households have at least one member who lacks legal status. Some 240,000 children are in those homes.

“This proposed rule will unequivocally lead to increased displacement, homelessness, poverty, and decreased educational and health outcomes,” the council wrote.

HUD is expected to publish a final version of the rule after considering public comments.

It is almost certain to face legal challenges.

___

This story has been updated to correct the name of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Casey in Boston and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this story.

Vote centers will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Who can vote — and where

This election is only for voters who live in District C, which includes parts of The Heights, Washington Avenue, Montrose, Rice Village, and Meyerland, among other neighborhoods.

The two candidates in the runoff are Joe Panzarella and Nick Hellyar.

“This is the final opportunity for eligible voters to decide who will represent District C,” said Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth. “Only 3.9% of District C’s nearly 169,000 registered voters cast a ballot during the Early Voting period of this runoff election.”

Harris County is planning to operate 20 vote centers across District C for Election Day voting.

Vote center locations and eligibility can vary. Harris County officials recommend checking your status and finding your closest location online at HarrisVotes.com.

What you’ll need at the polls

Texas requires most voters to show an approved photo ID. Acceptable forms include:

• Texas driver’s license
• Texas personal ID card
• Texas election ID certificate
• Texas handgun license
• U.S. passport (book or card)
• U.S. military ID with photo
• U.S. citizenship certificate with photo

If you requested a mail ballot

Voters who want to hand-deliver a mail ballot can do so on Election Day at 1019 Congress Street in downtown Houston, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You’ll need to bring a valid photo ID.

If you requested a mail ballot but decide to vote in person instead, you’ll need to turn in your mail ballot at the vote center. If you don’t have it with you, you can still vote, but you’ll be asked to cast a provisional ballot.

More election info

You can find sample ballots, vote center locations, and updates at HarrisVotes.com, and on social media from @HarrisVotes.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock — a Republican and former Abbott aide — cited legal precedent that the courts “have uniformly recognized that it is not their role to resolve disputes between the other two branches that those branches can resolve for themselves.”

“The courts’ institutional ‘reluctance … to involve themselves in contests of factional political power,’ a reluctance we reiterate and reinforce today, is a check on the judicial power ‘of ancient standing,’ not an optional preference we are at liberty to discard,” Blacklock wrote.

Friday’s ruling from the all-Republican Supreme Court is a setback for Abbott, who vowed to expel any members who refused to return to Texas to pass the GOP’s new congressional map. The unusual mid-decade redistricting arose under pressure from President Donald Trump, who sought to shore up the GOP’s narrow majority in the U.S. House by having Texas lawmakers draw new districts designed to give Republicans five additional seats in Texas.

More than 50 Democrats, including Wu — the House Democratic leader — left the state in August to shut down the Legislature and stall passage of the GOP’s map.

Democrats condemned the unusual mid-decade redraw as a partisan power grab that will reduce the power of Black and Hispanic voters. The Legislature adopted the map shortly after Democrats returned, and the U.S. Supreme Court approved its usage for the midterm elections, overruling a lower court’s finding that the map was racially gerrymandered.

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday left open the possibility of getting involved in any future quorum breaks, or when lawmakers purposely deny the Legislature the headcount needed to take up business.

“Whatever wrong may have been committed by the absent House members, the Texas Constitution’s internal political remedies, none of which involve the judicial branch, were sufficient to the task of restoring the House’s ability to do business,” Blacklock wrote. “Should those remedies unexpectedly prove inadequate in a future case, we might have occasion to consider whether any judicial remedy could ever be available in circumstances such as these.”

In a concurring opinion, Justice James Sullivan indicated a greater appetite for addressing future quorum breaks and potentially finding that lawmakers had vacated their offices.

“Were it to happen yet again, I believe the next set of quorumbreakers had better be ready to pay us a visit,” he wrote. “Our original jurisdiction to issue writs of quo warranto will empower us to inquire whether they’ve abandoned their legislative offices and, if we so find, to throw them out.”

Quorum breaking has a long history in Texas politics. The state’s founding fathers intentionally set the bar for quorum high, requiring two-thirds of both chambers to show up, compared to a simple majority in most states. Most recently, Democrats fled in 2003 and 2021 to delay redistricting and voting restrictions, respectively.

No Texas lawmaker has ever been removed from office solely for breaking quorum. Never in U.S. history has a governor gotten the courts to remove a member of a legislature for breaking quorum.

In the emergency petition he filed with the state Supreme Court in August, Abbott argued that Wu had abandoned his office by decamping to Illinois and declaring “this corrupt special session is over” — a signal that Wu and the absentee Democrats planned to stay on the lam long enough to run out the last two weeks of the overtime session, Abbott said.

“What is at stake here? Nothing less than the future of Texas,” Abbott wrote. “If a small fraction of recalcitrant lawmakers choose to run out the clock today, they can do so for any, and every, Regular or Special Session, potentially bankrupting the State in an attempt to get their way.”

In his response, Wu said he had not abandoned his office, and in fact was representing his constituents more fully by refusing to allow the House to pass legislation they opposed.

Wu “has not died and has not been expelled from the House by the constitutionally prescribed means: a 2/3 vote of the House,” his lawyers said in a response. “His presence in another state is not a voluntary resignation — as his opposition to this petition makes evident. Respondent is entitled to serve through the entire term to which he was elected.”

Longet's nephew, Bryan Longet, announced her death in a social media post on Thursday. “You have been a true inspiration in my life and you will always be," he wrote. "Another star in the sky. Thank you for everything, my aunt.”

Reached by phone by The Associated Press, he confirmed Longet had died but did not reveal the cause of her death.

Longet was a native Parisian who had been acting since childhood. She appeared in numerous TV shows, recorded such hit albums as “Claudine” and was widely known for the bossa nova-style ballad “Nothing to Lose,” a highlight of the 1968 movie “The Party” that starred Longet and Peter Sellers.

At the time, she was married to singer Andy Williams, whom she had met in the early '60s while dancing in a Las Vegas revue. But by the mid-1970s, she and Williams were divorced and she was living near Aspen, Colorado, with Sabich, who had competed for the United States in the 1968 Olympics.

On March 21, 1976, a day that would long be scrutinized, she shot him at their home with a Luger pistol that she would contend he had been showing her and fired accidentally. Sabich, 31, died of a single shot to his abdomen; Longet had accompanied him in the ambulance to the hospital.

Her trial in Aspen attracted worldwide attention. Williams was among those present, escorting her to and from the courthouse, paying for her legal fees and otherwise supporting his former wife and the mother of their three children.

“I thought it was unfair, I thought she was innocent, I thought it was an accident,” Williams told “CBS This Morning” in 2009.

Longet had been charged with reckless manslaughter, but law enforcement officials made such critical errors as taking a blood sample from Longet without a warrant. After four days of deliberation in January 1977, the jury found her guilty of negligent homicide. She was given two years’ probation, fined $250 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, eventually served on dates of her choosing.

Longet's career in entertainment was effectively over, though, and for a time she was the subject of mockery in popular culture, from a skit on “Saturday Night Live” to the Rolling Stones rocker “Claudine,” which featured a taunting refrain, “Claudine's back in jail again.” (The song was unreleased for decades).

Longet later married her defense attorney, Ron Austin, and lived with him in Aspen. After Sabich's family filed a $1.3 million lawsuit in 1977 against her, the two sides reached a settlement that barred Longet from ever discussing Sabich or the trial.

___

Associated Press writer Samuel Petrequin in London contributed to this report.

In New Delhi, gasoline prices rose to 97.77 rupees ($1.17) a liter, while diesel climbed to 90.67 rupees ($1.09) a liter.

India imports about 90% of its oil and has been hit hard by rising energy prices and supply disruptions linked to the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It had until now avoided raising retail fuel prices despite sharp increases in energy costs, making it one of the last major economies to pass higher crude prices on to consumers.

The price increases came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indians to adopt voluntary austerity measures.

Modi on Sunday called on people to work from home where possible, limit foreign travel and reduce purchases of gold. He described fuel conservation and saving foreign exchange as an act of “patriotism,” and encouraged greater use of public transportation, carpooling and lower fertilizer consumption.

Opposition leaders said Modi’s appeal came only after a key round of state elections had concluded, noting that fuel prices were kept unchanged during the campaign.

Manoj Kumar, a 48-year-old taxi driver in New Delhi, said the rise in fuel prices was adding to the strain on working-class people.

“For common people like us, even one rupee has great value. People work so hard from morning till evening just to make ends meet. The government is not seeing this," he said.

Earlier this week, India also raised import duties on gold and silver to 15% in an effort to curb demand for imports that drain foreign exchange reserves.

The Indian rupee has fallen to record lows in recent weeks as higher oil prices increased pressure on imports and foreign exchange reserves.

Meanwhile, India’s capital has become the first state to roll out austerity measures.

Authorities in New Delhi on Thursday announced fuel-saving measures, including mandatory work-from-home days for some government employees. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the 90-day campaign aims to reduce official fuel use and encourage people in the capital to rely more on public transportation instead of private vehicles.

Under the plan, employees whose work can be done remotely will work from home two days a week, while private companies are being encouraged to adopt similar measures voluntarily.

India has also accelerated ethanol blending in gasoline as part of its push to cut crude oil imports.

Most fuel stations across the country now sell gasoline blended with 20% ethanol, and the government has proposed expanding the use of fuels containing 85% — or even 100% — ethanol in compatible vehicles.

Energy experts said blending biofuel can help shield from global energy shocks but can lead to further stressing already depleting groundwater resources, encroach on land meant for food crops and impact older vehicles’ engines.

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AP journalists Sibi Arasu in Bengaluru, India and Shonal Ganguly in New Delhi contributed to this report.

At a Seattle sports bar on a recent Saturday night, hundreds of very tall people got to experience something rare: blending in. Women in their highest heels craned their necks to look at someone taller. Men who usually duck under doorways looked ordinary. For once, nobody had to explain why they don’t play basketball.

Welcome to Tall Tour, a traveling meetup drawing thousands across the United States to celebrate the one physical trait that has made them stand out — for good and ill. Since launching last summer, the tour has visited 19 cities, with crowds swelling from an initial 30 people in Tampa, Florida, to some 4,000 in Orlando, according to organizers. Seattle drew around 750, they said.

“You’re walking around and there’s people your height and people taller than you when you thought you were just this giant freak,” said Tyler Bergantino, the tour’s 6-foot-9 founder who wears a size-16 shoe. “That’s something that I think is very healing for tall people.”

The concept emerged almost accidentally. Bergantino, 32, a former software salesman turned TikTok creator, posted a casual invitation on social media while traveling through Texas. He wanted content. Instead, he sparked a movement.

“It created itself,” he said. “I can’t really take credit for it.”

Each stop follows a similar format: Tall people gather, take photos, share recommendations for shoe shopping and swap stories about hitting their heads on door frames and cramming into airplanes.

For many women, the night’s biggest draw is the speed dating component and the hope of meeting someone comfortable dating a taller woman — whether that means matching their height, exceeding it or simply being open to it. Many bonded over the shared challenge of navigating a dating culture that still favors petite women.

“Dating as a tall woman, you feel like you’re intimidating to people,” said 25-year-old Ksenia Protasenko, who's 6 feet tall. “There’s this association with you being a warrior type, but it’s not true. It’s tough to have your height as the first thing people notice about you because it feels like people are not really seeing any vulnerable parts of you.”

Protasenko said men often ask whether she plays basketball. She usually has a reply ready.

“I tell them, ‘Yeah, sure,’ even though I don’t,” she said. “Then I ask them if they play mini golf. That seems to straighten them right up.”

Crowning the royalty of the tall

The highlight comes when organizers crown the tallest man and woman in attendance. In Seattle, those titles went to a mother and son. Susan Mullendore, 44 and 6-foot-5, stood beside her son Grayson, 19 and 7 feet tall, as the crowd erupted.

“As a mom, just seeing Grayson having this experience meant the world to me,” Susan said. “To be able to be crowned with him was really special. It was nice to have our height celebrated.”

For Grayson, a college freshman, the evening offered something rare: a feeling of normalcy. When in public, he said, strangers make comments and photograph him without asking. “People think that because we’re tall they can say whatever they want or do whatever they want, like we’re zoo animals almost,” he said.

At Tall Tour, the dynamic flipped.

“It was insane to feel small for once,” he said, noting the event's 7-foot-3 and 7-foot-4 co-hosts known as the Tall Boys. “It was so surreal to be able to have a conversation and look people in the eyes.”

That commonality runs deeper than shoe size. Attendees describe a lifetime of social hyper vigilance — raising their voices a few pitches to sound less intimidating, slowing down around corners so they do not startle strangers, slouching to fit in.

“You’re hyper-fixated on making sure that people don’t see you as a threat,” Bergantino said.

Tall people often feel isolated and out of place, particularly around puberty, he said, noting he reached 6-foot-9 at age 16. But at Tall Tour, people can finally feel what it’s like to fit in.

“It heals a portion of your inner child,” he said. “Everyone’s walls come down, and it’s like we’re all one family.”

Susan knows the feeling.

“Sometimes you just want to go through the airport and be left alone. And that doesn’t happen for us. We usually get a lot of whispers,” she said. “We get it. It’s shocking to see tall people. But sometimes it does get old.”

The challenges extend beyond social awkwardness. Finding clothes and shoes that fit can be a mission. Susan, who wears a size-14 shoe, orders clothes from a specialty brand in the United Kingdom. To fit in his dorm bed, Grayson added a mattress extender and three sheets of plywood for support. He still hangs off the edge.

What began as a meetup has become a fast-growing business

Bergantino quit his sales job two years ago and now runs Tall Tour full time with a small team that includes his brother, who handles video and social media, a chief executive officer and a chief operating officer.

Even celebrities have taken notice. Seven-foot-6 basketball player Mamadou Ndiaye attended the Los Angeles event and the team has been in contact with 7-foot-1 NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.

Future plans include expanding speed dating, launching a fashion show featuring height-inclusive brands and models, and adding spinoffs such as Tall Tour at Sea. International stops in Canada, Dubai, London, Australia, the Netherlands and Japan are also on the wish list. Bergantino says he wants to build “the tall-person ecosystem” — advocacy for exit row seating, better clothing options and even a phone app.

For now, the reward comes in smaller moments, like watching women in heels celebrate the height that once caused shame.

“The most joy of the day comes from the Tall Queen when she gets her crown and everyone’s going crazy,” he said. “It gets me every time.”

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Tall Tour will run through May with two more stops in Houston and Dallas, Texas. Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram.

Georgia's current secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, became a household name when he defended the state's election results against Trump's false claims about widespread voter fraud and resisted the president's urging to help “find” enough ballots to win the race.

Now that Raffensperger is stepping down to run for governor, election oversight is a key issue in the race to replace him. Some Republican candidates are endorsing the same distortions that Trump did six years ago. The president has stocked the federal government with people who echo his conspiracy theories, and election denial has spread through state offices as well.

A looming deadline over vote counting

The race comes at a time when lawmakers have made a contradictory mess of state law governing how votes are counted. Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday called lawmakers into special session on June 17 for redistricting but also to address a looming deadline on voting.

Georgia’s touch-screen voting machines print a paper ballot that includes a human-readable list of voters’ selections and a QR code that a scanner reads to count votes. Lawmakers two years ago passed a law saying QR codes could not be used for the official vote count after July 1 of this year.

However, they've failed to agree on an alternative method since then, causing uncertainty and the potential for lawsuits over Georgia elections until that's sorted out.

While the special session may resolve the question temporarily, the next secretary of state will likely be involved in implementing a new voting system by 2028.

The shadow of the 2020 election

Gabriel Sterling, who was one of Raffensperger’s top aides, is the only Republican secretary of state candidate actively defending the state’s 2020 election results.

He rose to prominence by imploring Trump to help discourage threats of violence against election workers, and he said in a recent Atlanta Press Club debate that the state has “the best and safest elections in America.”

But others continue to echo Trump’s claims.

Vernon Jones, who was elected as a state representative and DeKalb County CEO as a Democrat and then switched parties to become a Republican and fervent Trump supporter, is maybe the harshest critic.

“I believe there were many irregularities. I believe violations have taken place,” Jones said, adding, “I stand with those who believe there was election fraud.”

Kelvin King, a general contractor who previously ran for U.S. Senate and is married to State Election Board member and conservative commentator Janelle King, is only a little more reserved.

“I think 2020 is still in question to be frank with you,” King said.

State Rep. Tim Fleming said he believes there were some “irregularities" in 2020 and that “great strides” have been made to address the issues. He said he's “not running on conspiracy theories” and is focused on the future.

What they're saying

Fleming said he believes he and his fellow lawmakers need to find a “temporary fix” during the special session to remove the QR code from the ballot in a way that is “least disruptive for the county elections officials.” But ultimately, he said, he also wants to see the state move to hand-marked paper ballots, a position supported by many other Republicans.

Fleming previously worked for the secretary of state's office while Brian Kemp, now the outgoing Republican governor, held the position. He led a study committee on Georgia's election system last summer, but the committee produced only the briefest of reports.

Jones and King and Ted Metz, who has previously run for governor and secretary of state as a Libertarian, have criticized Raffensperger's record as secretary of state. They have decried what they say is incompetence, which he denies, and a lack of transparency and are calling for a switch from touch-screen voting machines to hand-marked paper ballots. They have extended that criticism to Sterling, who oversaw the implementation of the state's current voting system and continues to defend it.

Sterling, for his part, has insisted he is best positioned to beat a Democrat in the fall. He endlessly repeats the refrain that he has defended Georgia's election laws and policies against attacks from “Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden's Justice Department and the woke world.”

Cole Muzio, president of Frontline Policy, a Christian conservative group, said he believes Jones has “traction” in the closing days of the race, but said he believes that in any runoff, rank-and-file Republicans are likely to rally behind anyone who is opposing Jones. Muzio said despite Jones’ outspoken pro-MAGA position, questions about his party switch could intensify in a runoff, particularly over Jones’ switch from vociferously defending legal abortion to opposing it.

The Democrats

On the Democratic side, the candidates have stressed protecting the right to vote and fighting attacks on the state's elections.

The Democrats running for secretary of state include certified financial planner and political organizer Cam Ashling; Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett; nonprofit founder Adrian Consonery Jr; and former Fulton County State Court Judge Penny Brown Reynolds.

Two weeks after Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner with Golden Tempo and after Jenna Antonucci won the 2023 Belmont with Arcangelo, Russell has the chance to complete the Triple Crown sweep of female trainers when she saddles Taj Mahal in the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.

“It would sort of feel probably a little fairytale-like," Russell said. "Jena opened the door just a couple years ago with Arcangelo, and Cherie got it done in the Kentucky Derby. The fact that I feel like I have a live one in the Preakness here, look, there’s some pressure and I certainly hope we can do it, but it would mean an awful lot.”

Where the race is taking place and who will be aboard could make it mean even more. The Preakness is being run at Russell's home track, Laurel Park, for the first time, and husband Sheldon is the jockey. They would be the first married couple, at least as trainer and jockey, to win a Triple Crown race.

“The dream, the goal was always to get one that would take us to one of the big races, and he’s sort of taken us there,” Sheldon Russell told The Associated Press. “Just like a normal day, really.”

Most weekends, the Russells take their children to Laurel Park, which is just off I-95 between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and 6-year-old daughter Edy and 4-year-old son Rye are expected to be in attendance.

They were a little younger when they went to the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar in Southern California, in the fall of 2024 when Post Time, trained by their mother and ridden by their father, finished second in a world championship mile-long dirt race. It was a cross-country introduction to the sport.

“That was a big event for them,” Sheldon Russell said. “They didn’t really understand what we were doing there until we sort of got there. (This time) it’s not like we have to travel.”

And, unlike the usual Maryland-based horses who go into the Preakness as long shots, Taj Mahal is right in the mix of contenders in the wide-open field of 14 that does not include Golden Tempo. He opened at odds of 5-1, just behind morning line favorite Iron Honor.

Taj Mahal is unbeaten in three races, all at Laurel Park, including going wire to wire to win the Federico Tesio Stakes on April 18 by more then eight lengths.

“Immediately everybody started talking, just the way that horse won it,” Maryland Jockey Club president and CEO Bill Knauf said. “To have Brittany as our leading trainer for many years now here, she’s obviously one of the best in the country, and Sheldon has done an unbelievable job.”

Brittany Russell called it a dominant effort, and she hopes the home track advantage could be a major one. Her husband rides most of her horses, and that's another relationship edge they have over everyone else as they watch replays together and discuss strategy.

“Most of the time, it’s great,” Brittany said. "Now, look, does everything go to plan? Is everything always perfect? No, and it can be a little tricky. But at the end of the day, it’s horse racing and some things are out of our control. In this particular instance, I think it’s great. He knows the horse. He’s won on it three times. He knows the racetrack better than anybody. I think it’s a good thing.”

This is Brittany Russell's first Preakness horse in her eighth year of training. It's her husband's fourth chance to ride in the middle leg of the Triple Crown after finishing fifth aboard Chase the Chaos in 2023, sixth aboard Excession in 2020 and 10th aboard Concealed Identity in 2011.

This is different, though Sheldon Russell said he has not pondered the big-picture ramifications. His thoughts keep coming back to the little things, like, “We have a chance.”

“I guess if it happened, it’s going to be something,” he said. "We both know that he has a decent chance of showing up on the big day.”

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

The Colombian superstar Shakira and Afrobeats icon Burna Boy have teamed up for “Dai Dai,” the official song for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

It's a mesh of their musical landscapes: Afrobeats and Latin rhythms, an undeniably global, multilingual pop track. In one verse, they name a number of the world's most famous soccer players and countries competing in this year's World Cup: “Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia,” Shakira cheers. “Mexico, Japan, Korea, Netherlands.”

After the first chorus, Shakira and Burna Boy take turns tackling their own verses, singing back and forth, before joining in a duet.

The song arrived shortly after it was announced that Shakira, Madonna and K-pop group BTS will co-headline the FIFA tournament's first-ever final halftime show on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just outside New York City. The lineup was curated by Coldplay's Chris Martin.

The show will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is raising $100 million to help children access education and soccer.

Shakira first teased “Dai Dai” last week, sharing a minute-long teaser clip of her dancing in the center of the field of Maracaná Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. She included a snippet of the opening verse: “Here in this place / You belong,” she sang in English, a male voice harmonizing with her now identifiable as Burna Boy. “What broke you once / Made you strong.”

She is no stranger to World Cup anthems. Her song “Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” was the official song of the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa and is widely regarded as one of the best.

It's also not uncommon for sponsors of the FIFA World Cup to release their own singles for the tournament. In March, Coca-Cola shared its own official anthem for the World Cup, a reimagination of Van Halen’s “Jump” that features Colombian singer J Balvin, drummer Travis Barker, pop/R&B singer Amber Mark and guitarist Steve Vai.

It is similarly multilingual: Balvin wrote a new verse in Spanish for the anthem, bringing in Brazilian funk and hip-hop to the classic rock staple. “‘Jump’ is not a fútbol song,” he told The Associated Press about the original track, using the Spanish word for soccer. “So that’s why I had to put the Latin love and passion for fútbol (in the lyrics).”

The World Cup is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and runs through June and July.

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

No coffeehouse employees are affected, the company said. The cuts will impact employees in support functions like marketing, human resources and supply chain management. No international employees are affected for now, but Starbucks said it is also reviewing its corporate structure outside the U.S.

Starbucks said it’s also closing underused offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and other cities. The Seattle-based company recently announced that it's opening a corporate office in Nashville, Tennessee, that will employ up to 2,000 people within five years.

Starbucks expects to the moves to result in $400 million in restructuring charges, including $120 million in employee separation benefits.

Starbucks has been trying to reduce costs and complexity under Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last year, the company laid off 2,000 corporate employees and closed hundreds of stores in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Niccol said last month that the simplified structure is helping the company innovate more quickly. Starbucks is also investing in its remaining stores to improve customers' experience. It plans to redesign 1,000 U.S. stores this year to give them a cozier, more comfortable feel, and it's also hiring baristas to ensure faster service during busy times.

The efforts appear to be paying off. In the January-March period, Starbucks said its U.S. same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, jumped 7%. Niccol called the quarter “the turn in our turnaround.”

“Our focus now is on sustaining our momentum and making our results repeatable and durable, all while delivering a healthy cost structure that supports profitable growth,” Niccol said during a conference call with investors. “It’s how we turn progress into consistent results.”

Monica Elfriede Witt, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2019 on charges of espionage, including transmitting national defense information to the government of Iran. She remains at large.

Witt “allegedly betrayed her oath to the Constitution more than a decade ago by defecting to Iran and providing the Iranian regime National Defense Information and likely continues to support their nefarious activities,” Daniel Wierzbicki, special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division, said in a news release Wednesday.

“The FBI has not forgotten and believes that during this critical moment in Iran’s history, there is someone who knows something about her whereabouts.”

It wasn't immediately known why the FBI was bringing attention to Witt's case. The United States and Iran have been at war since Feb. 28.

Witt served in the Air Force between 1997 and 2008, where she was trained in the Farsi language and was deployed overseas on classified counterintelligence missions, including to the Middle East. She later found work as a Defense Department contractor.

The Texas native defected to Iran in 2013 after being invited to two all-expense-paid conferences in the country that the Justice Department says promoted anti-Western propaganda and condemned American moral standards.

Before that, Witt had been warned by the FBI about her activities, but told agents that she would not provide sensitive information about her work if she returned to Iran, prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, Witt placed at risk "sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information and programs,” the news release said.

“Witt allegedly intentionally provided information endangering U.S personnel and their families stationed abroad. She also allegedly conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to allow them to target her former colleagues in the U.S. government,” it said.

No games were scheduled for Thursday — the league's first day with no games in a month — meaning the playoffs will resume Friday with two games.

Detroit, trying to keep its season alive, will play in Cleveland. And Minnesota, trying to keep its season alive, will play host to San Antonio.

The Cavaliers and Spurs hold 3-2 leads in those series. If Game 7s are needed, they would be Sunday in Detroit and San Antonio.

Saturday is another day with no games on the schedule.

Friday's schedule

— Game 6, Detroit at Cleveland, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime)

Series: Cleveland leads 3-2.

Odds: Cleveland by 4.5.

The Pistons are already 3-0 when facing elimination in these playoffs, with one of those wins coming on the road — the one where they rallied from 24 points down in the second half to beat Orlando in Game 6 of Round 1. If the line holds at Cleveland -4.5, it would mark just the fifth time this season that the Pistons are such a big underdog.

— Game 6, San Antonio at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)

Series: San Antonio leads 3-2.

Odds: San Antonio by 5.5.

Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are one game away from a showdown with Oklahoma City. Minnesota let Game 5 get away in a hurry in the second half but remains alive in the chase for what would be its third consecutive appearance in the Western Conference finals.

Saturday's schedule

— No games scheduled

Wednesday's recap

— Cavaliers 117, Pistons 113, OT for a 3-2 series lead. The Pistons are in trouble.

Conference finals schedule

The NBA Finals will start on June 3. And there is a chance that we won't know where Game 1 of that series is going to be until June 1.

Conference finals schedules are out, with start dates contingent on Friday's results. Here are the scenarios:

— If Detroit-Cleveland ends in six games, then the Cleveland-New York series (with the Knicks having home-court) would be played May 17, 19, 23, 25, 27, 29 and 31.

— If Detroit-Cleveland ends in seven games, then the Cavs/Pistons winner-New York series (with either the Pistons or the Knicks having home-court) would be played May 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29 and 31.

— If San Antonio-Minnesota ends in six games, then the San Antonio-Oklahoma City series (with the Thunder having home-court) would be played May 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, and 30.

— If San Antonio-Minnesota ends in seven games, then the Timberwolves/Spurs winner-Oklahoma City series (with the Thunder having home-court) would be played May 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, and June 1.

Awards watch

A breakdown of this season's NBA awards:

— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.

— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.

— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.

— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.

— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.

— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.

— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.

— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.

— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.

Among the announcements still to come:

— Most Valuable Player: Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver's Nikola Jokic.

— Coach of the Year: Johnson, Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff, or Boston's Joe Mazzulla.

Betting odds

Defending champion Oklahoma City (-170) is favored to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.

The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+325), New York (+600), Cleveland (+3500), Detroit (+5000) and Minnesota (+12500).

Key dates

— Sunday or Tuesday: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— Monday or Wednesday: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft.

— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft.

Quote of the day

“It was preparing for moments like this. I knew that I was going to come back this season. I knew that this team was good enough to make a run and I was just preparing myself, preparing my body, preparing my mind for these moments, to be the best player that I can be to help us win.” — Cleveland's Max Strus, on how he handled missing 70 regular-season games but was ready for the playoffs.

Stats of the day

— Cleveland's James Harden is up to 4,144 career playoff points, three away from tying Golden State's Stephen Curry for 10th on the all-time playoff list. Harden would move into third among active players if he passes Curry, behind only LeBron James (8,521) and Kevin Durant (5,008).

— San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama is up to 14 3-pointers and 38 blocks so far in these playoffs. Every other player with that many 3s and blocks in a single postseason — Rasheed Wallace in 2004 and 2005, Draymond Green in 2016 and Myles Turner and Chet Holmgren last year — saw their teams reach the NBA Finals. (Wembanyama is the first player to have that many 3s and blocks in just the first two rounds of the playoffs.)

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

Sen. Bill Cassidy is running for a third term but first must overcome a Republican primary field that includes state Treasurer John Fleming and U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who was endorsed by Trump in January.

The primary is the president’s latest opportunity to exact retribution from his perceived political enemies, including fellow Republicans he considers disloyal. Cassidy has been near the top of that list since his vote more than five years ago to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial following the insurrection by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump was acquitted.

Louisiana is not among the states Democrats are targeting in their effort to retake the U.S. Senate. A Cassidy defeat in the primary would likely result in a Senate GOP caucus even more unified behind Trump and further demonstrate the strength of the president’s grip on the party.

Voters will also decide primary contests for state Supreme Court, Public Service Commission and state school board, along with five proposed state constitutional amendments.

Louisiana’s primaries for U.S. House were postponed after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s current congressional map, which includes a majority Black district that favors Democrats. U.S. House races will still appear on ballots, but any votes cast in those contests will not be counted.

In another key departure from previous Louisiana primaries, contenders in Saturday’s contests will run in separate party primaries, rather than in one jungle primary in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. State lawmakers adopted the new system for certain offices in 2024, but the law didn’t go into effect until 2026.

U.S. House races were originally slated to use the new primary system under the 2024 law, but state Republicans on Thursday adopted legislation to reinstate the jungle primary for U.S. House races, citing a compressed schedule after the Supreme Court decision. Just as in previous cycles, the jungle primary will be held on Nov. 3 alongside the general election.

East Baton Rouge Parish, home to Baton Rouge, and Jefferson and Orleans Parishes in the New Orleans area are the most populous in the state, but St. Tammany Parish, north of New Orleans along the Mississippi border, contributed the most votes in the 2016 and 2024 Republican presidential primaries.

Caddo Parish in the northwest, home to Shreveport, and Lafayette Parish also tend to play a bigger role in Republican primaries than in Democratic ones.

Trump narrowly won a four-way primary in 2016, powered in part by a large margin in Jefferson Parish and overcoming losses in East Baton Rouge and Caddo Parishes to Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. He swept the state eight years later in the 2024 primary against former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who had dropped out of the race by the time of the primary but was still posting stronger-than-expected showings in other states.

Cassidy’s previous victories in 2014 and 2020 were under the old primary system, in which his main opposition on the ballot came from Democrats.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. local time (CT), which is 9 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, state Supreme Court, state Public Service Commission and state school board, as well as five statewide ballot measures.

Who gets to vote?

Registered party members may vote only in their own party’s primary. In other words, Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may participate in either primary. Voters registered with other parties may only vote on nonpartisan contests.

How many voters are there?

As of May 1, there were about 3 million registered voters in Louisiana. Registered Democrats and Republicans numbered about 1.1 million each, with registered Democrats at a slight advantage. About 813,000 voters were not registered with any party. The remainder were registered with other parties.

How many people actually vote?

Louisiana’s new primary system is closer in format to the 2024 presidential primaries than to previous state primaries. About 192,000 votes were cast in the Republican primary and about 167,000 in the Democratic contest. Each primary represented about 6% of registered voters.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 41% of the Republican primary vote and about 45% of the Democratic primary vote in 2024 was cast before primary day.

As of Thursday, about 255,000 ballots had already been cast in Saturday’s election, about 44% from Democrats and about 41% from Republicans.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Results from early and absentee voting are usually released by each parish in the first vote update, as separate totals from in-person Election Day vote results.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 general election, the AP first reported results at 9:32 p.m. ET, or 32 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 11:56 p.m. ET, with more than 99% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

There are no automatic recounts in Louisiana, but a candidate may request and pay for a recount of absentee and early votes. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Saturday, there will be 42 days until the June 27 primary runoff if needed, 171 days until Nov. 3 general election and the rescheduled U.S. House jungle primaries and 210 days until the Dec. 12 runoff.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

The auction on eBay was intended to revive an event that Buffett hosted for more than two decades that raised $53 million for the GLIDE Foundation homeless charity in San Francisco. This year's auction that wrapped up Thursday night also raised month for Curry's Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation that he established with his wife, Ayesha.

The anonymous winner paid $9,000,100 to win a private lunch with Buffett and the Currys in the 95-year-old investor's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, next month.

"We’re overwhelmed with gratitude for this opportunity, which reflects a shared belief that when different generations and institutions come together with purpose, we can create deeper and more lasting impact for the people who need it most,” the Currys said in a statement.

The Buffett auctions started in 2000 and continued every year until the pandemic prompted a couple years off. Starting in 2008, every winning bid for lunch with the investing giant topped $1 million. He discontinued the event after someone paid $19 million for a lunch in 2022.

A follow-up auction in 2024 raised $1.5 million for a lunch with software titan Marc Benioff, but that version of the event didn't last.

Buffett reached out to the Currys earlier this year to ask them to join the lunch auction this year. Curry missed 27 games this year before returning to help the Golden State Warriors down the stretch.

Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway in January after six decades of leading the conglomerate. He remains chairman, but just sat through his first annual shareholder meeting — sitting in the audience instead of leading the event from stage.

The village, al-Joura, was demolished by the Israeli military at the time. It has since vanished under neighborhoods of the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and the grounds of a national park.

The neighborhood where Abu Hamam’s family ended up — and where he spent most of his life — now lies also largely in ruins. Buildings in the Shati Camp in the northern Gaza Strip have been razed and wrecked by Israeli bombardment and demolitions during the past 2½ years of war.

On Friday, Abu Hamam and millions of Palestinians mark the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe,” referring to the mass expulsion and flight of some 750,000 Palestinians from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. It’s the third commemoration of the Nakba since the war in Gaza began.

The 78-year-old Abu Hamam, one of a dwindling number of Nakba survivors, says the current war is an even greater catastrophe.

Israel’s military has pushed deep into Gaza, now controlling 60% of the territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, during a Jerusalem Day celebration.

"Today it is 60%, tomorrow we will see, tomorrow we will see,” he told a cheering crowd in Jerusalem.

More than six months after an October ceasefire, Gaza’s more than 2 million people are now crammed into less than half of the 25-mile-long strip along the Mediterranean coast, surrounded by the Israeli-controlled zone.

“There is no country left,” Abu Hamam said, speaking next to his home, which was heavily damaged by Israeli shelling earlier in the war. “A square kilometer and a half extending from the sea, this is what we are living in … It’s indescribable, unbearable.”

What was the Nakba?

For Palestinians, the Nakba meant the loss of most of their homeland. Some 80% of the Palestinians who lived in the area that became Israel were driven from their homes by forces of the nascent state before and during the war. The fighting began when Arab armies attacked following Israel’s establishment as a home for Jews in the wake of the Holocaust. Palestinians who remained behind hold Israeli citizenship.

After the war, Israel refused to allow Palestinian refugees to return to ensure a Jewish majority within its borders. Palestinians became a seemingly permanent refugee community that now numbers some 6 million, with most living in refugee camps in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Gaza.

Around 530 Palestinian villages in what became Israel were destroyed, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.

Abu Hamam’s birth village was one of them. Al-Joura was seized by the Israeli military as it advanced against Egyptian forces in November 1948. Soldiers were ordered to destroy every home in al-Joura and neighboring villages to ensure their Palestinian populations couldn’t come back, according to military archives cited by Israeli historian Benny Morris.

Refugees swelled the population of the tiny patch of territory along the southern coast that became the Gaza Strip. They stayed in tent camps, run by a newly created U.N. agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, which provided aid and schooling. Those camps, like Abu Hamam’s Shati Camp, grew into dense urban neighborhoods over the decades, before many were flattened during the latest Gaza war by Israeli bombardment.

In Gaza, Palestinians live a new Nakba

The ancestors of Ne’man Abu Jarad and his wife, Majida, were already living in what would become the Gaza Strip in 1948. They both recall stories from their families about refugees streaming in by foot from areas further north, like the village Abu Hamam came from.

Though they avoided the original Nakba, there was no escaping from what Majida now calls “our Nakba.”

Their hometown has been wiped off the map. Over the past year, Israeli bulldozers and controlled detonations have razed nearly every building in the northern Gaza towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun. A new Israeli military base stands about 700 meters (765 yards) from where the Abu Jarads’ house once stood, according to satellite photos.

Also gone is the southern Gaza city of Rafah, once home to a quarter million people, and other villages and neighborhoods located in the Israeli-held half of the Gaza Strip. The military says it is destroying positions used by Hamas and preparing the area for reconstruction. Satellite photos show nearly every structure reduced to rubble.

Over the last 31 months of war, the Abu Jarads and their six daughters have been displaced more than a dozen times as they fled Israeli bombardment and offensives. They currently live in a camp in the southern city of Khan Younis. Their tent offers little shelter from biting winter winds or summer heat, Majida said.

Their daughters have been out of school for over two years now.

“The Nakba of ’48, I don’t think it can be compared to our Nakba,” Majida said. “In ’48, they say people were displaced once and settled in one place, and they are still there until now. But our Nakba, honestly, is more severe because our displacement has happened multiple times. There is no stability.”

Around 90% of Gaza’s more than 2 million people have lost their homes, according to U.N. estimates, with most of them now sheltering in huge tent camps with rat infestations and pools of sewage. They are dependent on aid to survive.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 72,700 Palestinians, according to local health officials. It was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people. Militants also abducted 251 hostages.

In the northern West Bank, tens of thousands of Palestinians are entering their 15th month of displacement, after the Israeli military ordered them out of their refugee camps as it launched an operation it said was targeting militant groups.

Since then, troops have demolished or heavily damaged at least 850 structures across the refugee camps of Nur Shams, Jenin and Tulkarem, according to an analysis of satellite imagery by Human Rights Watch released in December.

Saving what was lost, again and again

The 1948 Nakba also brought the loss of Palestinians’ history, as those fleeing struggled to keep hold of the documents and possessions tying them to their homes.

One of the largest archives of Palestinian documents dating back to the Nakba belongs to UNRWA.

UNRWA staff members, who fled their offices in Gaza after Israel ordered the north evacuated, had to leave behind the agency’s extensive archive.

The staff then launched a mission to rescue the most crucial documents — birth, death and marriage certificates and refugee registration cards, according to Juliette Touma, a former senior UNRWA official.

Without those documents, Palestinians could lose their rights and refugee status. Staffers crammed their personal suitcases full of papers and carried them through checkpoints and out of the territory, Touma said.

The current war has cost Palestinians in Gaza what little remained of their personal histories. Majida’s parents’ home in Beit Hanoun was destroyed, and with it family photos.

“There is nothing left,” she said.

Abu Hamam, too, says everything has been lost.

“When this war came, it devoured trees, stones and people,” he said. “Entire families were erased from the civil registry. Hundreds of families are still buried under the rubble.”

___

Associated Press writer Ibrahim Hazboun in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Several parents accused the district of failing to properly communicate the proposal and leaving families “in the dark” about changes that could significantly impact students who rely on stable routines and specialized support services.

The proposal would reassign some students currently enrolled in self-contained special education classrooms to different campuses beginning next school year. HISD officials say the changes are aimed at improving staffing levels, reducing class sizes, and expanding access to specialized educational services across the district.

But many families say they were blindsided by the plan.

At times, tensions escalated inside the meeting room, with some parents reportedly being escorted out after refusing to stop speaking during public comments.

Among those speaking out was Cristian Garcia, whose 11-year-old daughter Avril has autism. Garcia said families are deeply concerned about the emotional and educational impact the changes could have on students with disabilities.

“We didn’t expect this,” Garcia said during the meeting, expressing fears that disrupting established routines and support systems could make students’ lives “more hard.”

The controversy has also drawn federal attention. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights recently opened an investigation into whether the proposed changes could violate disability discrimination laws.

Parents and advocates argued district leaders moved forward without enough family input and warned the transition could undo years of progress for some students.

HISD maintains that students’ Individualized Education Plans, commonly known as IEPs, will continue to be honored under the proposed system.

The district has not announced when a final decision on the proposal will be made.

According to the district, more than 90 elementary students have either missed school or been sent home sick since Thursday. School officials said the closure is being implemented out of concern for student and staff health.

District leaders noted that the school calendar is designed with emergency closure days in mind to help accommodate situations such as widespread illness outbreaks.

During Friday’s closure, classrooms and campus facilities will undergo thorough sanitization and cleaning. Ganado ISD plans to resume normal operations on Monday, May 18.

The district also apologized to parents for the short notice and encouraged families to stay safe and healthy.

A rocky start that wasn’t entirely Dobes’ fault, led to the goalie regaining his form and confidence. He stopped Buffalo's final 32 shots in a 6-3 win on Thursday night that gave Montreal a 3-2 lead in its second-round playoff series.

“I told him thank you for leaving me and trying to prove myself," Dobes said, referring to St. Louis. "That’s a big part, to have (the) trust of your coach, and I will never disrespect it. I appreciate it and the only thing I was trying to do just give some momentum back to the team and try to keep it tight, and it worked out.”

Game 6 is at Montreal on Saturday night.

Whatever struggles Dobes had to open a game in which the Sabres led 3-2 by the 10:15 mark of the first period, the 24-year-old from Czechia reassured his team he had rediscovered his groove.

That was particularly evident some four minutes into the second period in stopping Tage Thompson on a breakaway after the Sabres caught Montreal on a line change. Buffalo’s regular-season scoring leader drove in from the left wing, cut across the crease only to have Dobes stay with him and stop Thompson’s shot with his left pad.

Montreal responded with three goals over the final 12 minutes of the period in building a 5-3 lead.

“It was a huge save,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “We never lost confidence in him. Everyone was struggling in that first period. And I just thought that was a big moment for us.”

For Dobes, who went 29-10-4 in his first full NHL regular season, the down-then-up outing was a lesson in not giving in to frustration. The goalie acknowledged he sagged after rookie Konsta Helenius beat him through the legs on Buffalo’s third goal.

“The one lesson I learned from today was just got to have a better body language for the boys — don’t let them know that I’m not feeling maybe my best,” Dobes said, noting he was reminded of that during a first-intermission discussion. Dobes has been Montreal's starter since the playoffs opened, and is now 7-5 in which he's allowed 28 goals.

St. Louis said it was goalie coach Marco Marciano’s decision to not pull Dobes.

“Ultimately, it’s probably my decision right? But I feel like the goalie position is probably the one position that I can help much,” said St. Louis, a former NHL forward. “So I try to stay out of it and not be emotionally driven, and being upset that we’re down.”

St. Louis described the conversation over the radio with Marciano, who was watching from the press box, as being brief.

“He said, 'No, keep him in.’ OK, let’s move on,” St. Louis said.

Forward Juraj Slafkovsky defended Dobes by saying Buffalo’s first goal pinballed in by deflecting off Sabres forward Jason Zucker and then a Montreal defender. And Dobes was screened when Josh Doan beat him to put Buffalo up 2-1.

“We didn’t help him there, but then he came back and he was in a game, and he was once again really good,” said Slafkovsky, who had three assists. “It’s just Marty trusting him. I think it’s huge for confidence of (Dobes). And we all trust him as well.”

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

By Friday, the items were back on the store shelves, and are flying off them once again as customers rush to stock up while they still can, said Leroy Sims, a cashier at the East Austin smoke shop.

“My boss is really big on keeping us all informed because he’s aware of the fact that Texas can’t really make its mind up,” Sims said. “We just put stuff in a box until they can make a decision because we can’t send it anywhere else to sell.”

Some of the most profitable products at smoke shops around Texas have been forced off store shelves, then allowed back on, then forced off again, then allowed to return — all within a 45-day span — amid a dizzying slew of court actions centered on the state’s ban on smokeable hemp products. This ping-ponging regulatory landscape in recent months has injected economic uncertainty into and bled revenue for an industry that employs more than 30,000 people around the state.

“This is what we call the ‘Texas whiplash,’” said David Sergi, an attorney for the hemp industry. “These poor guys don’t know what is going to happen one day to the next. All they want is certainty and to sell their products.”

While the percentage varied at each shop that spoke to The Texas Tribune, managers and cashiers said smokeable hemp products make up a sizable portion of their total profits. The uncertainty surrounding a potential ban on their sales is already leading to employees losing their jobs, hours being cut back and plans being made to close store locations. The ultimate fear is that customers will soon start losing access to some of their favorite products even before the courts permanently rule on the ban.

Austin Vape & Smoke is eyeing closing its less popular location near the University of Texas at Austin campus, leaving a handful of employees out of work, and cutting back on hours at their South Austin location, said Zaquiri Hensen, a manager at the South Austin store. About 43% of the company’s sales are smokeable hemp products.

“It … sucks,” Hensen said, using an expletive to emphasize his frustration with the recent uncertainty. “We’re lucky that we don’t really have any turnover, so a lot of our guys have been working here for a long, long time. I’m very close with them.”

Texas smoke shops have had the opportunity to plan for a ban because it has already happened twice in recent months as the Texas Department of State Health Services’ efforts to further regulate the consumable hemp industry is challenged in state courts.

A statewide ban on the sale of smokeable hemp went into effect on March 31 under rules imposed by the public health agency. Smoke shops briefly pulled the products from their shelves until a Travis County district judge on April 10 temporarily lifted the ban until May 1 as a lawsuit by the hemp industry challenged the ban played out in court.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled to extend the ban until the next hearing in the district courts, scheduled for July 27, but because the 15th Court of Appeals agreed to considering the state’s appeal, the ban was back in effect last Thursday. That ban only lasted for some hours — briefly forcing the products off store shelves again — until the appeals court last Thursday allowed the sale of the smokeable flower.

The next ruling on whether or not the injunction will stand is expected in the coming weeks. If the appeals court blocks the injunction, the ban will remain in effect at least until the district court’s July 27 hearing.

The regulatory effort to ban smokeable hemp began last fall after an effort to completely ban consumable hemp products failed in the Legislature. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other conservative legislators leading the effort argued the products are dangerous to Texans and must be banned.

Rather than keep the Legislature in Austin for a special session on the topic, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered DSHS and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to create stricter regulations on the products, which culminated with the state health agency’s ban of smokeable hemp.

Abbott referred a request to comment to DSHS, which referred a request for comment to Abbott’s fall executive order. Patrick did not respond to a request for comment.

Businesses are working to comply with changing state laws and regulations, all while enforcement raids of smoke shops have picked up in recent years. But following the recent flurry of court actions has proved challenging.

“I wasn’t even aware it was illegal because the last I had heard we were good to sell it until July 27,” Anthony Vazquez, owner of Dooby’s Smoking Depot in south-central Austin, said of last week’s hours-long ban. “I didn’t get any messages saying that it was gone. It wasn’t brought to my attention until Friday when I went to my distribution company and they were pulling the stuff back out on roller carts again.”

Other smoke shops have been following the court proceedings in group chats with thousands of members created by the state’s largest trade association for the industry and one of the plaintiffs in the case, the Texas Hemp Business Council. Others said they are closely following updates in the news and pass the updates on to their customers.

More than half of the sales at Dream Planet are smokeable hemp, Sims said, and the company’s three locations may work to transition away from the products regardless of the court rulings because of the ongoing uncertainty.

Sam Mafza, a cashier at La Casa Smoke Shop in East Austin, said 50% of the sales at his store are smokeable hemp, and they have already cut back on hours. Mafza said he has a friend at a different smoke shop who recently lost his job due to the uncertainty.

“Everybody is watching this,” Mafza said. “You can’t just abandon a product everybody uses.”

The Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and several Texas-based dispensaries and manufacturers have been fighting the state’s new testing requirements that create a 0.3% total THC threshold that would effectively bar the sale of natural smokeable hemp products. The state also created a 3,000% increase in licensing fees for hemp retailers.

During a three-day hearing before the district court on the injunction, attorneys for the state argued that Texas law requires the health agency to prioritize Texans’ well-being in rulemaking, allowing them to implement new hemp regulations.

Lawyers for the hemp industry argued that the state’s public health agency overstepped its constitutional authority by rewriting the legal definitions of hemp to make it different from what lawmakers passed in 2019, and the ban would put stores out of business.

Cynthia Cabrera, president of the Texas Hemp Business Council, said the effects of a ban go far beyond smoke shops, harming farmers that grow hemp, suppliers that manufacture the products, packaging companies, transportation and consumers.

Beau Whitney, the founder and chief economist at Whitney Economics, a cannabis economic research firm, told the district court that the new rules and regulations will have a $7.2 billion negative impact on the Texas economy due to job losses and reduced tax revenue from hemp retail closures.

“The ripple effects are far, wide and deep,” Cabrera said.

In the meantime, the business council is simply trying to keep its members informed of the fast-moving legal landscape, Cabrera said. While smoke shops await clarity from the courts, many stores are trying to diversify their merchandise, such as hemp edibles and drinks, that will not be banned under the new rules, she said.

Many are also trying to move their products through their stores as quickly as possible, offering promotions like buy two get one free for joints and other discounts on smokeable flower buds.

If a full ban goes into effect, “I just have to take a loss on everything,” Vazquez said. “I’d rather have cash than be stuck with a bunch of weed.”

The Republican Senate contest between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, as it turns out, is almost as expensive. 

Years later, Perot is part of a constellation of donors who have powered a GOP primary with a record-setting price tag. Over $120 million has been spent on advertising across the two rounds of the contest, including $21 million in the runoff, according to media tracking firm AdImpact. A network of campaigns, PACs and dark money groups have been spending for nearly a year to ensure their preferred candidate wins.

The Cornyn-Paxton race, set to conclude in a May 26 runoff election, has been shaped not only by intense vitriol between the two candidates, but also the eye-popping amounts of money that have put that acrimony on display to voters via millions worth of attack ads. Even before the runoff, the contest set a record for the most expensive primary in the country’s history.

Donors range from Wall Street billionaires to Texas CEOs to Washington insiders to small-dollar grassroots funders. Taken together, they have enabled both sides — particularly Cornyn — to inundate Texans’ television screens, social media feeds, radio stations and mailboxes with ads both promoting their preferred candidate and savaging the other.

Cornyn, who has an extensive donor network and relationships throughout Texas and Washington, has maintained a dominant financial position over Paxton. Last summer, pro-Cornyn groups spent mightily to reintroduce the senior senator to voters, boasting of his 99% voting record in line with President Donald Trump and his endorsements from law enforcement. 

The primary also has featured an onslaught of dark money — funds spent by tax-exempt nonprofits that are not required to disclose their donors. And even some PACs, which do need to share who’s funding them, were funded exclusively or largely by dark money groups, making the source of millions of dollars’ worth of spending untraceable. 

In the runoff, which has seen spending ramp up in the final weeks, the Cornyn faction has continued to outspend Paxton’s camp — though both have gone up with ample negative ads bashing their opponent. 

Amid the spending barrage, The Texas Tribune has laid out the nexus of outside groups and key donors powering both sides’ efforts to tilt the election in their favor. The topline fundraising and spending numbers come from Federal Election Commission records, most of which cover activity through May 6. To provide a nearly up-to-the-minute view of the spending, including future ad reservations, we included data from AdImpact, a media tracking firm that tallies political spending on TV, radio and digital advertising. 

The pro-Cornyn groups

Cornyn’s campaign

• Texans for Senator John Cornyn Inc. (main campaign account)
• Cornyn Lonestar Victory Fund (joint fundraising committee)
• Cornyn Victory Committee (joint fundraising committee)

Campaign finance:

• Amount r aised this cycle, per FEC records: $26.5M
• Amount spent this cycle , per FEC records : $23.4M
• Total ad spending, per AdImpact: $24.1M
• Runoff-only ad spending, per AdImpact: $6.4M

Most of Cornyn’s spending has come from his joint fundraising committees, a relatively novel strategy that seizes on new rules allowing JFCs to buy ad time at the cheaper rates reserved for candidates. Through three vehicles — his campaign account, and two committees that raise jointly with groups including the National Republican Senatorial Committee — he has far outraised Paxton in hard dollars.

Donors are capped at giving up to $3,500 per election, per candidate, to these accounts. Dozens of donors have maxed out at the same amount, so we’re highlighting some notable ones here.

Notable donors

Former President George W. Bush
Cornyn served as Texas attorney general during the tailend of Bush’s tenure as governor, with each having flipped the offices from Democratic control. Cornyn was then elected to the Senate in 2002, during Bush’s presidency. The former president has been relatively mum about Republican politics, in Texas or otherwise, since leaving office, though he notably left his ballot blank in the 2016 presidential race. His $5,000 donation to Cornyn was his first political donation to a federal candidate in Texas since the 2022 cycle. That year, he also donated $125,000 to his nephew, George P. Bush, who challenged Paxton in the attorney general primary and lost in a runoff.

Rupert Murdoch
A right-wing media mogul and longtime chairman of the News Corp and Fox Corp empires, Murdoch gave Cornyn $200,000 on New Year’s Eve. Murdoch is a frequent donor to Republican candidates. Cornyn has appeared regularly on Fox News programming over the course of his career.

Ross Jr. and Sarah Perot
The Perots have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Cornyn’s various campaign committees. Perot Jr., the son of billionaire and third-party presidential candidate Ross Perot, chairs the Perot Companies and is an active donor in Dallas and national Republican circles. He initially supported Nikki Haley in the 2024 presidential primary, but pivoted to Trump, ultimately giving pro-Trump PACs hundreds of thousands in donations. Perot was named board chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last year.

Texans for a Conservative Majority

Super PAC

Campaign finance:

• Raised, per FEC: $35.6M
• Spent, per FEC: $32.8M
• Ad spending, per AdImpact: $32.9M
• Runoff-only ad spending, per AdImpact: $9.5M

The top pro-Cornyn super PAC has been the biggest spender in the Republican contest this cycle. Texans for a Conservative Majority has close ties to Trump’s inner circle through Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser who was a top aide on Trump’s 2024 campaign. The PAC has made multiple seven-figure ad buys and hammered Paxton in recent ads over his ethical baggage and tenure as attorney general.

Top donors

Ohio Works Inc. + America Works Fund Inc.: $8.6M
Ohio Works is a 501(c)(4) group — better known as a dark money group — which does not have to disclose its donors. It is also one of the biggest mysteries of the cycle. The group spent millions in the 2024 cycle opposing an Ohio ballot measure that would have had a citizen commission draw the state’s redistricting maps. It also spent in the presidential race on behalf of Trump and against Democrat Kamala Harris. The group had to disclose donors in 2024 under Ohio law, revealing that it was funded at the time by oil and gas-linked groups, Republican leaders in Washington and one Texan — Dallas billionaire Kenneth Fisher. In late 2025, Ohio Works amended its name to America Works Fund. Registered at the same address, America Works made a $3 million donation to the pro-Cornyn super PAC in May.

John Nau III: $7.9M
The Houstonian Nau was the longtime chairman and CEO of Silver Eagle Beverages, a beer distributor. A prolific donor to Texas Republicans, Nau has served as the treasurer of Gov. Greg Abbott’s gubernatorial campaigns. He has tended to bankroll establishment Texas Republicans over the years in primaries against hardline primary opponents.

Stephen Schwarzman: $1.5M
Schwarzman is the billionaire CEO of Blackstone, a private equity firm that is the world’s biggest asset manager. He has been a megadonor to Republican candidates for decades, including in 2024, when he was one of the largest donors in Republican politics. He provided strategic economic advice to Trump as part of a business council during his first term.

Other notable donors

Jim and Robson Walton: $1M
The Walton brothers, Arkansas billionaire heirs to the Walmart fortune, each gave $500,000 to the PAC. This donation is Rob Walton’s largest of the cycle so far.

Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Nebraska: $300,000
Ricketts is facing his own reelection bid, likely against independent Dan Osborne, in Nebraska. But the self-funded senator, whose father founded TD Ameritrade and whose family owns the Chicago Cubs, has helped his colleague out with six-figure donations. Ricketts’ father, Joe, kicked in another $100,000.

Harlan Crow: $100,000
A Dallas real estate developer, Crow is a cofounder of the conservative Club for Growth and major donor to Republicans. He’s come under scrutiny in recent years for the pricey gifts he’s given Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. In 2023, Cornyn walked out of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting in which Democrats sought to subpoena Crow for records related to his relationship with Thomas, calling it an “outrageous attempt to target private citizens.”

The Pro-Paxton groups

Paxton’s campaign

• Ken Paxton for Senate (main campaign account)
• Ken Paxton Victory Fund (joint fundraising committee )

Campaign finance:

• Raised, per FEC: $8.1M
• Spent, per FEC: $5.3M
• Ad spending, per AdImpact: $4.8M
• Runoff-only ad spending, per AdImpact: $2.5M

In the lead-up to his Senate campaign launch last year, Paxton said he thought he could beat Cornyn if he raised $20 million. The attorney general is well short of that goal, even after opening a joint fundraising committee to raise funds concurrently with the PAC that supports him. Paxton’s fundraising highlights the challenge of transitioning from state elections in Texas, where there are no campaign contribution limits, to federal ones where there are hard limits.

Notable donors

Michael Rydin
The retired Houston software developer, a major funder for right-wing movements, gave Paxton $17,000. Rydin helped seed the Conservative Partnership Institute, a hub for right-wing organizing that regularly hosts the House Freedom Caucus at its headquarters. He has given over $1 million to the Freedom Caucus Fund, the caucus’ political arm, this cycle.

Darwin and Doug Deason
Darwin, the late information technology billionaire, and his son, Doug, have been massive Republican donors and contributors to Paxton over the years. Darwin, who died in December 2025, gave the maximum of $7,000 to Paxton’s campaign earlier in the year, as did Doug. The pair have a long history of donating to Texas Republicans, including Perry and Sen. Ted Cruz. Both have given to the pro-Paxton super PAC this cycle too.

Phillip Huffines
Huffines, a Dallas developer and brother of GOP comptroller nominee Don Huffines, gave Paxton $7,000. Phillip Huffines previously lost his 2018 bid for a state Senate seat against Paxton’s wife, Angela Paxton, who continues to serve in the upper chamber.

Lone Star Liberty PAC

Super PAC

Campaign finance:

• Raised, per FEC: $8.2M
• Spent, per FEC: $6.2M
• Ad spending, per AdImpact: $4.2M
• Runoff-only ad spending, per AdImpact: $2.1M

Lone Star Liberty PAC is the main super PAC supporting Paxton. The group has spent on ads in both Texas and in South Florida to attempt to target Trump. And it hosted rallies and events that Paxton spoke at shortly before the March primary.

Top donors

Jonathan Knutz: $1.1M
Knutz is the CEO of a medical device company in Houston. This election cycle, he has also donated to Aaron Reitz, Paxton’s former top aide who he unsuccessfully endorsed to replace him as attorney general, and Senate District 9 Republican candidate Leigh Wambsganss, who lost a special election in January. Knutz has donated to more MAGA-aligned members of Congress, including Texas GOP Reps. Lance Gooden, Brandon Gill and Ronny Jackson.

Preserve Texas Inc.: $950,000
This Virginia-based dark money group was formed shortly after Paxton launched his Senate bid.

Douglas Scharbauer: $750,000
Scharbauer, a Midland oilman, comes from a prominent horse breeding and racing family in North Texas. He’s a longtime supporter of Paxton, having previously donated six-figure sums to the attorney general on multiple occasions. This cycle, Scharbauer has also given small sums to Hellfire PAC — Hunt’s leadership PAC — and maxed out to Cornyn’s campaign account with a $7,000 donation.

Other notable donors

Gary Heavin: $500,000
Heavin is a Waco area-based businessman and founder of the Curves fitness chain. An anti-abortion advocate, Heavin is a significant donor to conservative and Christian causes. Heavin was Paxton’s top donor in his first fundraising report after his 2023 impeachment, giving the attorney general $500,000 at the time.

Chelsey Milton: $500,000
Milton, an Arizona homemaker, is a Trump donor whose husband was pardoned last year by the president. Trevor Milton, who gave Paxton an additional $100,000, was previously the CEO of an electric vehicle manufacturing company. In 2022, he was found guilty of securities fraud and wire fraud in federal court and sentenced to four years in prison. The couple donated more than $1.8 million to a pro-Trump group; Trump pardoned Trevor Milton in early 2025.

Two Toads LLC / SSC Inc. / Baloney Feathers LTD: $300,000
These mysterious groups each gave $100,000 to the PAC on March 17. Each is registered to the same PO Box address in Lubbock, and none have made any political contributions beyond Lone Star Liberty PAC. SSC Inc. has registered oil and gas leases. The PO Box is also the address of a company owned by Johnny McDonald, who has donated $13,500 to Paxton’s campaign and $100,000 to Lone Star Liberty PAC.

Robert Marling: $225,000
Marling, a banking CEO in Montgomery County, has already had success ousting a Republican incumbent this cycle after he seeded a super PAC backing state Rep. Steve Toth’s victorious primary campaign against U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw. Marling is a longtime Cruz donor as well.

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