Discussion

At 400 PM CDT (2100 UTC), the disturbance was centered near latitude 27.3 North, longitude 97.6 West. The system is moving toward the northeast near 6 mph (9 km/h), and this general motion with an increase in forward speed is anticipated over the next couple of days. The disturbance should move offshore the Texas coast tonight, move roughly parallel to the upper Texas coast on Wednesday and move back inland in extreme eastern Texas or southwestern Louisiana late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. The disturbance is forecast to gradually strengthen and could become a tropical storm early on Wednesday. Weakening is anticipated on Thursday after the system moves back over land. * Formation chance through 48 hours, high, 70 percent. * Formation chance through 7 days, high, 70 percent.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 mb (29.68 inches).

Watches and Warnings

CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

A Tropical Storm Warning is issued for the coast of Louisiana from Sabine Pass to Morgan City.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for, * Sabine Pass to Morgan City

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for, * Sargent to Sabine Pass

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area, in this case within 24 hours.

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case within 12-24 hours.

For storm information specific to your area, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.

Land Hazards

Key messages for Potential Tropical Cyclone One can be found in the Tropical Cyclone Discussion under AWIPS header MIATCDAT1 and WMO header WTNT41 KNHC.

RAINFALL: Potential Tropical Cyclone One is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches, with isolated higher totals near 20 inches, through Thursday from the Mid and Upper Texas coast east-northeast into southern and central portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, along with western portions of Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. This could generate dangerous to life-threatening flash flooding.

For a complete depiction of forecast rainfall associated with Potential Tropical Cyclone One, please see the National Weather Service Storm Total Rainfall Graphic available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?rainqpf and the Flash Flood Risk graphic at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?ero

For a list of rainfall observations (and wind reports) associated this potential tropical cyclone, see the companion storm summary at WBCSCCNS1 with the WMO header ACUS44 KWBC or at the following link: www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/nfdscc1.html

WIND: Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area beginning early Wednesday and within the warning area on Wednesday morning.

STORM SURGE: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide,

Port Bolivar, TX to Morgan City, LA, 2-4 ft

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area, please see products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.

For a complete depiction of areas at risk of storm surge inundation, please see the National Weather Service Peak Storm Surge Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?peakSurge.

SURF: Swells generated by the Potential Tropical Cyclone are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along the northwestern Gulf Coast for the next couple of days. Please consult products from your local weather office.

A depiction of rip current risk for the United States can be found at: hurricanes.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?ripCurrents

TORNADO: A tornado or two is possible tonight and tomorrow from the Upper Texas coast across southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

The burning cross was discovered June 9 in Grant Park, where Barack Obama delivered his acceptance speech when he was elected the nation’s first Black president in 2008.

A man identifying himself as a 21-year-old college student told WMAQ-TV that he was the shirtless person in an image distributed by police when they were looking for a suspect. But police did not immediately say Tuesday if he's the person in custody. The man said he was protesting President Donald Trump and not making a racist statement.

“I did know about this historical relevance beforehand. But I didn’t know the severity, how racially motivated it may seem from what I did,” the man told the TV station. “Cause my protest has nothing to do with race, nothing to do with gender.”

Cross burnings in the U.S. have historically been seen as symbols of hate and intimidation against Black people and have often been connected to the Ku Klux Klan.

The Chicago Police Department's communications office confirmed that a person was in custody in connection with the case, but no other details were released. An email seeking comment from the prosecutor's office was sent Tuesday.

“I can’t speak to anyone’s motives. We can only speak to the impact. And the impact was devastating," Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is Black, said when asked about the cross and the man’s remarks to WMAQ.

The man interviewed by the TV station said he was protesting the “ruling class” and Christian nationalists who support Trump. He said he put a red hat on the cross to signify a MAGA hat worn by the president's allies.

The man said he doesn't consider what he did a hate crime.

“I understand why it was interpreted that way, and I apologize for that, but no, the intent was not there,” he said.

Gina Miranda Samuels, faculty director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago, said the man seemed sincere that he was not trying to send a hateful message to Black people.

Nonetheless, she added, “it says a lot about how uninformed people can be” about certain symbols “and that it would be acceptable to use a symbol of hatred and terror in this way.” ___ This story has been corrected to show that the man interviewed by WMAQ-TV said the hat on the cross was red, signifying a MAGA hat. It was not an actual MAGA hat.

A judge sentenced George to six months in the Fort Bend County Jail along with 200 hours of community service. He will also be on probation for five years. He was taken into custody after the sentence was announced.

He will also have to pay a $25,000 appeal bond on each of the two cases.

George was convicted on March 20 after a trial centered on allegations that he unlawfully moved campaign funds through personal accounts. The charges are third-degree felonies under Texas law.

• Fort Bend County Judge KP George suspended after felony conviction last month

The sentencing hearing comes months after George was suspended from office following his conviction.

Special prosecutor Brian Wice, who is a part of the prosecution team, recently spoke with KPRC 2 reporter Bill Spencer about the case and why the convictions resulted in money laundering charges.

Wice explained that money laundering charges can apply when funds obtained through unlawful activity are moved or transferred in a way that conceals their origin or nature.

• Fort Bend County Judge KP George found guilty in money laundering case tied to campaign finances

Another aspect of the case that has generated questions is why a judge, rather than the jury that convicted George, will determine his sentence.

Under Texas law, a defendant can elect to have either a jury or a judge assess punishment. In George’s case, the sentencing decision will be made by the judge presiding over the case.

• KP George KO’d in primary race for reelection as Fort Bend County Judge

KPRC 2 reached out to George’s defense attorney for comment ahead of the sentencing hearing but did not receive a response.

George has maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings and is expected to have the opportunity to appeal his conviction.

All eight people aboard were killed in Monday's fiery crash of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, which was taking part in a routine mission as part of an overall program to keep the long-running aircraft flying for decades to come. It was not yet clear what caused the plane to crash immediately after takeoff, and officials at Edwards Air Force Base said it could take up to six months to complete the investigation.

The B-52 was airborne for 3 minutes and 15 seconds before it crashed, according to AirNav Systems.

The airfield remained closed Tuesday. Crews were making the crash site safe for search and recovery teams to enter, after fires flared up overnight, said Mike Paoli, a spokesperson for the 412 Test Wing at Edwards.

The flight tracking that was available Tuesday shows the bomber turning to the northeast right after taking off and nearly completing a 180 degree turn before crashing on another runway, according to AirNav Systems. The data that comes from a system called “multilateration” doesn’t show precise altitude and speed information, but it does show the plane fell to earth at a rate of descent of 5,056 feet (1,541 meters) per minute — nearly 10 times as fast as a plane normally descends when preparing to land.

The aircraft was supporting a “radar modernization program,” Col. James Hayes, the deputy commander for the 412 Test Wing, said Monday. In 2025, Boeing sent a B-52 to Edwards with a modernized radar system that is key to keeping the bomber in the air through at least 2050, nearly a century after it first entered service.

A test team planned to conduct ground and flight test activities on the aircraft throughout 2026 to feed a production decision, the Air Force said in a 2025 news release. The modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar. It was unclear if that was the same aircraft involved in Monday’s crash.

AESA replaced 1960s radar technology and offers improved navigation and targeting capabilities, according to a 2023 news release from Raytheon, which designed the new system for the Air Force's entire B-52 fleet.

B-52 began flying in the 1950s

The B-52, a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955, is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons. It has been used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran.

Along with a new radar, the fleet of 76 B-52s are scheduled to receive additional upgrades, including new engines, crew compartments, conventional and nuclear communication systems, avionics and weapons. The military said the goal is to make the B-52 a complement to the Air Force’s newest strategic bomber, the B-21 Raider.

Aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft that went down at the base in the Mojave Desert about 100 miles (161 km) northeast of Los Angeles. Officials determined no one could have survived after reviewing footage of the crash, Hayes said at a news conference.

Those on the B-52 included government contractors, Boeing employees and uniformed military.

Edwards is home to the 412th Test Wing, which conducts regular developmental testing of all Air Force aircraft, weapons systems, software and components before purchase by the service as well as throughout their lifespan. Test missions take place at Edwards daily, Hayes said.

The base is where Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager reached a speed of Mach 1.05 and broke the sound barrier in 1947.

Investigators will focus on how quickly the crash came

Aviation safety expert J. Joseph said that often when a crash happens at very low altitude right after takeoff, a problem with the flight controls or engines is involved. But it is still too early to know what caused this tragedy, said Joseph, a retired Marine Corps colonel and airline pilot.

Even in a B-52 with eight engines, a malfunction can make the plane difficult to control if the pilot loses the outboard engines, and the forces pushing the plane get out of balance in a condition Joseph called asymmetric thrust.

And he said that when something goes wrong this close to the ground the pilot has very little chance to do anything.

“There’s a lot of options with altitude, a lot of options, with airspeed. And that is a very critical phase of flight right after takeoff,” Joseph said.

___

Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press journalist Konstantin Toropin contributed from Washington, D.C.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.6% and pulled 1.3% below its record set earlier this month. The market was nearly evenly split between stocks rising and falling, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 328 points, or 0.6%, to set a record for the second straight day. But drops for some influential tech stocks pulled the Nasdaq composite down 1.2%.

Stocks that had benefited from the boom in artificial-intelligence technology weighed on the market in particular following vicious swings over the last couple weeks.

They’ve been leading the market up and down amid worries that their stock prices shot too high in the mania around AI. That’s taken a toll because chip companies, makers of computer memory and other AI winners have grown so massive that they’ve become some of Wall Street’s most influential stocks.

Drops of 2.4% for Nvidia, 4.4% for Broadcom and 6.2% for Micron Technology were the heaviest weights pulling the S&P 500 lower.

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment sank 6.2% after reporting a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, while Robinhood Markets fell 1.4% after the investing platform said that it’s laying off about 10% of its full-time employees.

On the winning side of Wall Street was SpaceX, which rose 4.8% for its third straight gain since its debut on the U.S. stock market. It said it’s moving forward with a purchase of Cursor, a popular AI coding assistant, valuing it at $60 billion.

Yum Brands climbed 1.9% after it said it’s selling the Pizza Hut chain for $2.7 billion. Most of the restaurants will go to LongRange Capital, a private equity firm. Those in mainland China will go to Yum China Holdings.

All told, the S&P 500 slipped 42.94 points to 7,511.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 328.64 to 51,999.67, and the Nasdaq composite fell 307.60 to 26,376.34.

The strongest action was in the oil market, where optimism continued that a tentative U.S.-Iran deal on their war will reopen the Strait of Hormuz at the end of the week and get the global flow of oil going again. The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 5.1% to settle at $78.96.

Significant hurdles remain in the negotiations, including what to do with Iran’s nuclear program. But the hope on Wall Street is that this agreement will mean a long-term fix to a conflict that has worsened inflation around the world. The price of Brent has come down sharply from its $100-plus level of a few weeks ago, though it could still take months for the energy industry to get back to full speed.

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

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 briefly topped 70,000 for the first time before ending with a modest gain of 0.1% after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to 1%. That’s its highest level in three decades, and it followed a similar move by the European Central Bank last week.

The Federal Reserve began its own meeting on what to do with interest rates Tuesday, with an announcement on the decision scheduled for Wednesday.

It’s the first meeting under the Fed’s new chair, Kevin Warsh, who was nominated by President Donald Trump. Trump has been pushing for lower interest rates, which would give the economy a boost but also threaten to worsen inflation. The widespread expectation, though, is that the Fed will leave its main interest rate alone again.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.43% from 4.47% late Monday and from 4.56% earlier this month.

High yields in bond markets worldwide caused by expensive oil prices have threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for all kinds of investments, including stocks and cryptocurrencies.

High yields have already sent mortgage rates higher, and a report on Tuesday said construction crews broke ground on far fewer new U.S. homes in May than economists expected.

___

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

During a news conference Tuesday, Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said the monthslong investigation focused on two activist groups whose members and associates “violently opposed the enforcement of federal law."

He characterized the groups as “antifa,” an umbrella term for a diffuse movement of militant left-wing activists.

Information for the defendants' attorneys was not immediately available.

The indictment comes as the Trump administration continues to target protesters associated with “antifa,” which he has labeled a domestic terrorist group.

In March, eight people accused of having ties to antifa were convicted on terrorism charges in a Texas shooting, a first of its kind case that raised concerns among some civil liberties groups.

The 15 people charged Tuesday were part of “Direct Action Minnesota,” a left-wing coalition of protest groups that trains its members in the “surveillance, operational planning and rapid mobilization against law enforcement,” Rosen said.

Their alleged actions include “stalking” U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents, throwing blocks of ice at their vehicles, setting up blockades around federal buildings and passing out shields to demonstrators. Rosen declined to say whether any federal agents were injured as a result.

“Whether or not they actually, at the end of the day, cause bodily harm is not the measure of whether or not they committed a serious federal crime,” he told reporters.

Asked about the Justice Department's definition of "antifa,” Rosen said the question was “beyond the scope” of the indictment, but noted that several defendants had self-identified with the label.

On Tuesday afternoon, dozens of protesters gathered outside a federal courthouse in St. Paul, where most of the defendants were set to make an initial appearance. As some in the crowd attempted to block a courthouse door, federal officers in tactical gear deployed pepper spray at the group.

Each of the defendants was charged with conspiracy to impede or injury a federal officer, which carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison. Three others faced additional charges, including interstate stalking, assault on a federal officer and destruction government property.

One of the defendants, Kyle Wagner, 37, was previously arrested on charges that he made online threats against ICE officers and their supporters. An attorney listed for Wagner in that case did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The alleged conspiracy began in January, shortly after the Trump administration launched its sweeping immigration crackdown, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, in response to reports of fraud within Minnesota's Somali community.

The crackdown — described by ICE officials as the largest operation in history — brought thousands of federal agents into the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, who often wore masks and traveled in unmarked SUVs.

The sudden influx drew fierce protests from Minnesota residents, who quickly set up a sprawling network of anonymous Signal chats to track the movement of ICE agents. Protesters then used whistles and car horns to draw attention to detentions as they were happening.

Despite the intense pushback, federal prosecutors said the operation resulted in more than 4,000 arrests.

At the time, border czar Tom Homan indicated that federal authorities were probing “the organization and funding of the attacks on ICE.”

“They’ll be held accountable,” he said. “Justice is coming.”

The offices of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison — Democrats who have been critical of Trump’s immigration crackdown in the state — did not immediately respond to email messages Tuesday seeking comment on the federal indictment.

That’s where Allied Outdoor Solutions comes in.

The Houston-area company recently showcased a stunning backyard transformation featuring its proprietary Carvestone overlay system. Installed on the homeowner’s front entryway, pool deck, and backyard patio, Carvestone offers a custom look while helping improve the functionality of outdoor surfaces.

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Because the product can be installed over existing concrete, many homeowners are able to dramatically refresh aging patios, pool decks, and driveways without the cost and disruption of a complete replacement.

For those considering an outdoor renovation, Allied Outdoor Solutions is also offering flexible financing options, including qualified plans with zero percent down and no payments for 12 months.

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In a series of talking points sent to Trump supporters and Republican members of Congress this week, the White House proclaimed major victories, such as Iran agreeing to never have a nuclear weapon, reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz and fighting in Lebanon ending.

The talking points, on White House letterhead, were obtained by The Associated Press from two recipients of the document and go against some of the realities on the ground, especially regarding what Israel has agreed to in its conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, expected to be signed Friday in Switzerland, is still a closely guarded secret, even among Republican allies in Congress and the Israelis. That has led to confusion, concern and skepticism among all but the most hard-core Trump supporters about what has been agreed to.

Republicans acknowledged that the initial deal, by remaining under wraps, has created a vacuum that is being filled by potential misinformation.

“You don’t know what’s true and what’s not true — is it in there?” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. “My speculation is that it’s probably still being written and fine-tuned, and the administration is not ready to release it until it’s all done.”

Asked why he was not releasing the terms of the initial agreement, Trump told reporters Tuesday at the Group of Seven summit in France that he would “like to get a formal setting first before we do that.”

“I’ll not only release it,” he went on to say, “I’ll probably have a press conference and read it to you word by word, so that the press covers it accurately.”

Comparison with the Obama-era nuclear accord

Trump said he was open to submitting an eventual agreement to Congress for review and approval.

“I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” Trump said. “I mean who wouldn’t approve it?”

Yet submitting a nuclear agreement with Iran to Congress is not optional under a law that was passed following the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement reached by then-President Barack Obama, which Trump abandoned during his first administration. Some congressional aides argue that even the presumed memorandum of understanding to be signed Friday would also be subject to lawmakers' review.

The talking points claim that the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was never signed, which is partly true but misleading. The foreign ministers who negotiated the agreement did sign a copy of the deal, although it was viewed as an informal document meant to memorialize the occasion.

More important, the JCPOA was endorsed and approved by the U.N. Security Council, which enshrined its provisions into international law.

“President Trump solved a threat Washington spent forty years managing," according to the talking points. “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.” Copies of the talking points were provided to the AP by a congressional aide and an outside government adviser.

Iran’s position dating back decades is that it has no desire to develop a nuclear weapon. Many Iran critics doubt that pledge because the country has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz

Meanwhile, the talking points say “the Strait of Hormuz is open again, and energy prices American families pay every day are coming down.”

“American Families Are the Big Winners,” the document says. “Start with what this means at home. American families no longer have to fear a nuclear-armed Iran. They are going to feel relief at the pump and at the grocery store.”

The Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil passed before the war began, had been open to all maritime traffic until Feb. 28 when Trump and Israel began attacking Iran. That means that an agreement to reopen the strait would start to return the situation to where it was on Feb. 27 before the U.S. and Israel spent billions of dollars to go to war. It could take weeks or even months for some normalcy to return.

Consumer prices in the United States and elsewhere only spiked after the war began and shipments of oil and other commodities through the strait were interrupted by Iran, which insists it will retain control of access to the crucial waterway no matter what.

Sanctions relief for Iran

The talking points say Iran will not receive any American taxpayer money for its eventual agreement with and adherence to an as-yet unnegotiated nuclear agreement and will only get financial incentives if it meets certain benchmarks.

They suggest that Obama's 2015 nuclear accord cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars, when the monetary sanctions relief provided to Iran then actually came from frozen Iranian assets and not the U.S. treasury.

The talking points mention “the pallets of cash” the U.S. sent to Iran after the JCPOA was signed. In fact, the shipment of cash, which came from an Iranian payment for a canceled arms sale to the late Shah of Iran's government, were unrelated to the nuclear deal.

That money was part of a swap that saw the release of several American citizens detained in Iran and of several Iranians imprisoned in the U.S.

Israel-Hezbollah fighting in Lebanon

The talking points trumpet Trump's claim that the agreement will end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon.

“This signed agreement ends military operations on every front," they say. “For the first time, that explicitly includes Lebanon, with a commitment to both Israel and Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

However, Hezbollah is not party to talks that have been taking place in the U.S. between Israel and Lebanon, and the Iranian-backed militant group has rejected any agreements reached during them. Israeli officials also have said they will not be bound by the terms of the tentative Iran-U.S. agreement and do not know the details of it.

“We’re less encouraged about the fact that it seems that Lebanon has been included in the agreement with Iran," Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter told NPR. “And we think that that’s unnecessary and unhelpful.”

A senior U.S. official told reporters that Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon was not a condition of the memorandum of understanding. The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity Monday to discuss outlines of the unreleased agreement.

___

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Geneva, Darlene Superville in Evian-les-Bains, France, Koral Saeed in Jerusalem, and Michelle L. Price and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.

ICE said the standards, which apply to for-profit contractors and jails that hold detainees, were revised to “reduce the burden on our detention operators.” Experts said the changes would help contractors limit legal liability, reduce costs and get more operational flexibility while doing little, if anything, to improve conditions for roughly 60,000 people currently detained.

“100% it’s going to result in deterioration of already problematic conditions of detention,” said Michelle Brane, a former Department of Homeland Security ombudsman who oversaw immigration detention practices during part of the Biden administration. “It’s consistent with their general practice, which is to eliminate accountability and oversight. They are not concerned with people’s basic rights or safety of detainees.”

The revisions come as ICE detention facilities are reporting deaths in unprecedented numbers and face accusations of medical neglect, inadequate food and other inhumane conditions. They come as ICE is flush with cash, receiving more than half of the $70 billion immigration enforcement spending bill signed by President Donald Trump last week.

Dr. Sanjay Basu, an public health researcher who has studied ICE custody deaths, said the changes include “genuine improvements” to suicide prevention standards and mental health care. But he said the overall trajectory is “toward weaker standards governing a growing share of the detained population.”

ICE said the changes streamline its rules and move toward more relaxed standards used by the U.S. Marshals Service to hold pretrial federal inmates in jails. The agency said it considered input from operators “alongside operational, legal and policy requirements when making a final decision."

Dr. Homer Venters, an expert on correctional health care, said the changes could curtail access to language assistance by eliminating mandates that required in-person and telephone interpretation and translation services.

New standard allows use of AI

The revised standard says facilities can use artificial intelligence tools such as machine-learning-based translation or generative AI for “noncritical communication” or “informal interactions with detainees.” That communication could include giving and receiving information to or from detainees during intake, having conversations with detainees in housing units and responding to a detainee’s grievance or other concerns, it says.

Venters called the changes alarming because grievances often include “very urgent or even emergent information such as when a patient has been denied lifesaving care.” He said the rule also leaves unclear whether health assessments, crucial to flagging medical and mental health conditions, could be conducted through AI.

ICE said the standards ensure contractors provide interpretation and translation services “at no cost to the detainees.”

Several experts said they were concerned by a change that bars facility operators from refusing to admit any detainee ICE sends them.

The change means facilities may not be able to immediately refer severely ill or disabled detainees whom they cannot accommodate to hospitals or other settings for care — but it could reduce their liability for subsequent deaths. A related rule change requires facilities to request that ICE transfer detainees they cannot serve elsewhere, but that might not happen for several days after they are admitted.

A favor to contractors

New language making clear that detainees who participate in voluntary work programs are not employees and therefore not entitled to wages and benefits “is a favor” to ICE’s for-profit contractors, said Dora Schriro, former director of ICE’s Office of Detention Policy and Planning during the Obama administration.

For years, advocates for detainees have argued in lawsuits that these programs, in which detainees receive a stipend of as little as $1 per work day, amount to forced labor. The lawsuits have sought millions of dollars in unpaid wages from ICE contractors like GeoGroup and CoreCivic, and now they could face tougher odds of success by strengthening their legal defenses, Schriro said.

Another change bars facilities from paying above the longtime $1-per-day minimum stipend, which was allowed under the previous standard and an argument that had been used against contractors in court, said Carmen Iguina Gonzalez, an immigration detention expert at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former DHS and ICE official who is an expert on detention standards, said ICE could use its increased budget to improve conditions instead of “lowering standards across the board.” She recalled that under prior administrations, she pushed ICE facilities to add soccer fields and other recreation and visitation improvements with leftover money.

“Their goal is to make it easier for the jail operators,” she said. “No longer are they trying to make sure the focus is on the detainees and their care and the experience in custody.”

Huang has been optimistic about the technology’s potential to rapidly change society, creating faster economic growth and more scientific breakthroughs. But as the head of a computer chip company now developing AI systems, Huang has felt obligated to respond to critics who warn of job losses and threats to humanity itself.

“We need to create new social norms,” Huang said in an interview. “I would advocate that everybody use AI. Just go engage it.”

Huang made his case as AI has emerged as a political flashpoint, with objections to plans to build more data centers and fears that the speed with which it’s being adopted could spur the layoffs of workers who might not have a safety net to recover. Such questions have threatened public support of the technology.

His close relationship with President Donald Trump has been a source of criticism among Democrats, even as he makes the case that the computing power created by AI is key to adding the factory jobs that have been promised for decades without much enduring success.

He said the ability of AI to build a website, analyze complex documents, guide advanced research or even plan a kitchen remodeling has helped to close the technological divide in America. People can now do advanced work on computers without having to know how to program or write software, he added.

Huang stressed that there is a need for government regulation and safety standards for AI, emphasizing that national security also needed to be a priority for the technology that has been powering stock market gains and much of the U.S. economy in recent years.

The head of the world’s most valuable company said society will adapt to AI just as it did to automobiles. He said cars were once portrayed as killing children, but the world changed its norms by having sidewalks and crosswalks and stopping kids from playing in the streets.

“When I was growing up, I used to play in the streets,” Huang said. “When cars came along, you obviously can’t play in the streets now.”

Huang skeptical of what government ownership of AI companies would achieve

With a market capitalization of roughly $5 trillion, Nvidia has soared in valuation in recent years to become the world’s most valuable company. AI modeling companies OpenAI and Anthropic are potentially set to also clear the $1 trillion mark once their stocks are publicly traded.

That explosive surge in wealth concentrated in AI companies has prompted renewed worries about economic inequality. Trump has tried to defuse those concerns, recently musing about the prospect that the U.S. government could own some shares in AI firms, so any windfalls would be more broadly shared with the public. That idea has also been advanced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Huang expressed skepticism about the idea, saying he expects the country will already benefit broadly from AI advancements.

“I’m not exactly sure what they’re trying to achieve,” he said regarding government ownership. “I haven’t had a dialogue with them about that. But just remember that these are American companies. Their success benefits the stock price, of which many Americans are investors in. It generates taxes, which helps many Americans. It creates a lot of jobs.”

He noted that AI companies could also lead to higher profits for energy, construction and hardware technology firms.

“Americans have a stake in American companies already, naturally, in a whole lot of different ways,” Huang said.

Huang says national security needs to be a priority on AI

The Trump administration has recently reversed course from a light touch on regulating AI to taking a heavier hand.

It placed export controls on the AI company Anthropic’s latest models, leading the company on Friday to shutter all public access to those models over security concerns. Trump, a Republican, also signed an order to have new AI models voluntarily vetted by the government.

Huang said the government was properly focused on national security issues, but it was important to provide clear guidance when taking restrictive actions, as doing so could lead to unintended consequences.

“National security should always be the top concern of all technologies,” Huang said. “But having said that, you know, you have to be very specific about the risk that you’re concerned about, before setting up policies for export controls.”

During the Biden administration, Nvidia pushed back against export controls that were designed to restrict its ability to sell chips to China, rejecting the administration’s premise that a ban would guarantee an American edge on AI. Huang had warned that the export controls might limit America’s ability to develop the world’s AI ecosystem, as China would respond with its own advanced chips.

Huang says energy is key problem for America’s AI development

Huang stressed that while the U.S. has many strengths on AI, it is vulnerable because of a lacking energy infrastructure. The data centers performing the computations used in AI are creating a huge demand for electricity, which could be a strain on the power grid.

Some data centers will be constructed with their own electricity sources, but Huang said the U.S. is starting from a disadvantage on energy. And without more energy, it can be harder to play to American strengths in its AI infrastructure, models and computer chip development.

“The United States is woefully behind in energy production,” Huang said. “We just suffocated energy production for too long.”

Huang complimented Trump on his approach to seeking to increase energy production. The president has aggressively supported the use of oil, coal and natural gas, but he has scorned the use of solar and wind power.

The Nvidia CEO was not commenting on Trump's opposition to climate-friendlier energy sources, but the gap he identified goes to some of the fears that U.S. households have about AI increasing their utility bills.

Huang was speaking Tuesday in Sherman, Texas, at an expansion of the Coherent factory there to develop a laser for transmitting data among chips, which could cut power use by AI systems by up to 50%.

The deal, which is between the U.S. and Iran, has not been made public, and officials have sometimes offered contradictory interpretations of what is in it. While Israel is not party to the agreement, it is part of the war after joining the U.S. in launching strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Israel has also fought the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon and seized large swaths of that country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Israel’s continued occupation of southern Lebanon would violate the deal.

“Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” Araghchi said.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss outlines of the agreement, has said the deal does not call for an Israeli withdrawal. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would remain in Lebanon “as long as necessary.”

The negotiations to end the war have been plagued by such disagreements before, leading to a prolonged but uneasy ceasefire that has failed to develop into a permanent end to hostilities and has left the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the world’s energy supplies, effectively shut.

In other developments, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said the signing ceremony for the deal will take place Friday at the Bürgenstock resort near the city of Luzern. Ministry officials said Tuesday that the location was proposed by Pakistani and Qatari mediators, along with the U.S. and Iran.

Iran's call for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon complicates any deal

Pakistan has said the deal called for an end to military operations, including in Lebanon, as Iran long insisted. But Araghchi’s call for an Israeli withdrawal adds a new wrinkle.

It puts Israel into a dilemma as it tries to degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities without undermining an agreement championed by its most important ally, the United States. Israel invaded southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles across the border during the first week of the war. Since then, it has expanded its military footprint to levels unseen in decades and struck targets deep inside Beirut.

Though Hezbollah has been weakened, it retains the ability to strike Israel, leaving open questions about the effectiveness of Israel’s campaign.

As of Tuesday evening, Netanyahu had not seen the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, said a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door details. Another person, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations between Israel and the U.S., said Israeli officials have not asked U.S. negotiators for the memorandum.

Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The White House declined to comment on whether Netanyahu or Israeli officials have reviewed the agreement.

The Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, told NPR that while Israel does not know the details of the deal, the apparent inclusion of Lebanon is “unnecessary and unhelpful.”

The extent of Israel’s strikes have at times opened a public fracture between its leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump, who told reporters Tuesday that he was “not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah.”

“It just goes on forever,” he said of Israel’s strategy. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed nearly 4,000 people, including hundreds of civilians, and displaced more than 1 million. “Israel’s fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed,” Trump said.

Lebanese government welcomes prospects for a ceasefire

Israel and the Lebanese government have entered into their own U.S.-mediated direct negotiations, of which Hezbollah was not a part. Those talks have yielded several announced ceasefires that were never implemented on the ground.

Lebanese officials initially tried to keep Lebanon separate from the U.S.-Iran negotiations, not wanting to be seen as beholden to Iran, but they have since welcomed the announcement that the deal to end the U.S.-Iran war would include a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Araghchi’s latest comments appear to match the understanding of two regional officials with direct knowledge of the interim deal. The officials, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations, said it would require Israel to leave nearly all the territory it occupies in Lebanon, minus a few hilltop points along the border seized earlier.

The officials say Iran insisted the accord include Lebanon in the last days of the negotiations.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL reported that Israel and Hezbollah are still exchanging fire but at a “significantly reduced level,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.

Many questions loom ahead of ceremonial signing

Lebanon is only one of several major questions hanging over the ceasefire ahead of the planned ceremonial signing.

The agreement is meant to provide a meaningful truce in a monthslong war that has killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran’s theocracy, and raised the prices of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the region.

The agreement provides for the “immediate” opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the American naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss outlines of the agreement.

Pakistani officials who helped broker the agreement also described plans for the simultaneous lifting of Iran’s closure of the strait and the U.S. blockade.

The United States and Iran will then begin 60 days of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and the potential lifting of sanctions, Pakistani officials who helped broker the interim deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity about the unpublished text.

The pact also includes the possibility of releasing Iran’s frozen funds and a $300 billion fund to help rebuild Iran if Tehran meets certain benchmarks, senior U.S. officials told reporters Monday. Trump later said the United States would not “invest” funds in Iran.

Regarding the timeline, regional officials who spoke to AP about the deal said the release of frozen Iranian assets would be tied to Tehran implementing the deal. Gulf Arab states also have pledged to inject billions of dollars in Iran’s economy, they added, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

U.S. officials have not yet explained how they see the agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear program, including who will be in charge of verifying that Iran is in compliance and who will destroy or remove highly enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were badly damaged by U.S. strikes last summer.

Iran has agreed to discuss ways to possibly “dilute or remove” the uranium, the regional officials said. However, it remains unclear whether Tehran would agree to that, particularly with hard-liners opposing to giving it up.

Trump said he’s open to sending the emerging agreement to the U.S. Congress for review.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in the French Alps, Trump said, “I like the idea, send it to Congress please.” He added, “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”

Republicans on Capitol Hill say they want Trump to provide more information about the agreement, with some expressing skepticism that the deal can deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.

___ Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, and Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Julia Frankel and Koral Saeed in Jerusalem, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Michelle L. Price in Washington, Aamer Madhani in Geneva, Darlene Superville in Evian-les-Bains, France, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

New statistics released by the U.N. reveal that 2,300 people have been killed across Haiti so far this year, with another 100 kidnapped, while 1.5 million have been displaced. Among those abducted is James Boyard, cabinet director of the Defense Ministry, who was kidnapped last week in one of the few relatively safe areas of the capital.

Guterres’ one-day visit to Port-au-Prince comes after more than 30 people were killed, injured or missing last weekend in Cité Soleil, a seaside slum, according to Cooperative for Peace and Development, a local human rights organization.

His convoy sped past a neighborhood once fully controlled by gangs that left in their wake decimated car dealerships, abandoned homes and dozens of concrete buildings pockmarked with bullet holes. A colorful bus known as a tap-tap rumbled past, its windshield peppered with bullet holes.

Graffiti scrawled on a crumbling concrete wall read: “Down with Viv Ansanm, long live the police.” Viv Ansanm is a powerful gang federation that the U.S. government designated a foreign terrorist organization. It is estimated to control 70% of Port-au-Prince.

Guterres traveled past dozens of Haitians who fled the clashes and now live in makeshift homes under large pieces of canvas strung up with frayed rope.

They are among the more than 300,000 people displaced by gang violence across Port-au-Prince — a record. Among them are more than 18,000 people who fled the Cité Soleil slum in May, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration.

“Haiti’s displacement crisis is entering an even more alarming phase,” Gregoire Goodstein, IOM chief of mission in Haiti, said in a recent statement.

Guterres’ first stop was the headquarters of the new gang-suppression force, which the U.N. Security Council approved in September. It replaces a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police that aimed to help Haiti’s National Police fight gangs but remained underfunded and understaffed. So far, Jamaica, Chad, El Salvador and Guatemala have deployed troops that number less than 1,000 to form part of the growing force, which is due to start operations in the coming weeks.

They are expected to work with Haiti’s National Police and its growing Armed Forces, with hundreds of Haitian men and a couple of women lining up on a dusty road hoping to interview to join.

Guterres then met behind closed doors with Prime Minister Alix Didier-Fils-Aimé, who is under pressure to hold elections in the country of nearly 12 million people that hasn’t had a president since Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021.

“We had a frank conversation about what’s happening in Haiti, the vision the government has for the future,” Fils-Aimé told The Associated Press after the meeting.

He said security is a priority so the transitional government can hold elections and “get back to republican rule.” Fils-Aimé added that Guterres can help with that effort by ensuring that the countries backing the gang-suppression force “live up to their engagement.”

‘We don’t have a life here'

Guterres also stopped by a makeshift shelter in a former school where dozens of the people living there crowded around him.

Forced to flee their homes after gangs shot up their community and set fire to it, some had been living there for up to four years.

“Solino is not ready,” 31-year-old Clifford Lala said of going back to his community. It was one of the last holdouts in Port-au-Prince until gangs overran it.

Guterres ducked into a hot classroom and met privately with a group of six women who decried the lack of privacy at the shelter, even to shower or use the bathroom, and said they worried about their young children.

"It’s skin-to-skin and mouth-to-mouth,” said one woman.

The shelter houses more than 1,200 people who sleep side by side, and only one meal a day is guaranteed.

“We’re going to do our best,” Guterres told the women.

Outside, a man began to slap the building’s metal siding and bellowed, “We want to go back home!” His voice grew louder and angrier as security walked into the room and whisked Guterres away.

Wendy Cejour, 26, told the AP that he and his family have been living at the school for a year and a half.

“As long as we’re alive we have hope, but … things are difficult,” he said. “We ask ... to return to our neighborhood to live better, because we don’t have a life here.”

A day before Guterres's visit, Human Rights Watch published a letter urging him to protect the population and target the root causes of violence and human rights abuses. The organization also called for a “full-fledged U.N. mission” in Haiti.

“Even when fully staffed and resourced, security measures alone will not suffice to address this situation,” the rights group wrote.

“Any meaningful strategy should include effective protection for victims of violence, credible pathways for disengagement from criminal groups, accountability for abuses, and a coordinated humanitarian response to help restore access to basic goods and services.”

___

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

Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter gives credit for this tenacity to coach Mauricio Pochettino, who has taken over a team that repeatedly flopped on the international stage and infused it with a stronger mentality grounded in a few core beliefs.

“I think one is that we’re American. We don’t take s—-,” Berhalter said Tuesday.

“I think that’s something that (Pochettino) really put in,” Berhalter continued. “Even though he’s Argentinian, he has that mindset of, like, ‘Look, this is what we do, and this is who we are, and this is what America is about.’ So I think he just, you know, even from an outside perspective, he showed us Americans what we’re about. He really drilled that into us, and I think that’s something that has helped us this last cycle.”

That mentality was partly forged last October when the U.S. faced Australia in what turned into a scrappy 2-1 friendly victory in Colorado. Pochettino lambasted his team at halftime, imploring the players to stand up for themselves after the Socceroos delivered physical tackles and punishing play while U.S. midfielder Christian Pulisic left with an injury.

“Watching that game last year, you could see they were up for it,” said Berhalter, whose father, Gregg, coached the U.S. team before Pochettino. “They were putting in challenges, and I think that’s one of the reasons Mauricio had that halftime rant, and said, ‘These guys can’t kick us around.’ I think he was right.”

The players heard their coach's pleas, and they responded with an increased physicality in a game that ended with a combined 19 fouls and two yellow cards.

The Americans have largely kept it up since then, playing with a confidence and assertiveness that manifested throughout their 4-1 victory over Paraguay last Friday in Inglewood, California. Although they haven't racked up a string of impressive victories since Pochettino took over, the team's improvements in temperament and tactics have been obvious, and the World Cup could be the place where everything blossoms.

“That game in Colorado was fun,” winger Tim Weah said with a grin. “That experience was fun. It was aggressive. I think from that game, we’ve changed a lot. We’ve gotten a bit more aggressive as well.”

Pulisic's health is again a concern for the Americans after he was forced to work out on his own for the second straight training session Tuesday because of the calf injury that limited him to the first half against Paraguay. The team described its playmaking attacker as “day to day” for Friday's match in Seattle.

Even if Pulisic is limited again, the Americans believe they can go toe-to-toe with Australia again. Berhalter could play an important role after he made his World Cup debut by replacing Pulisic for the second half against Paraguay.

“It’s going to be a physical game, but a fun game, and we’re excited,” Berhalter said. "(The Socceroos) are going to fight. We like teams that have that brotherhood, you know? We like teams that you can see they’re hungry, they want to fight.”

___

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

The Texas Education Agency published results from the annual State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, for grades 3–8, which aim to measure whether students learn material in core subjects at levels appropriate for their grade. High school results released last week showed gains in all areas.

This year’s results show children making some progress but that more work remains, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said in a statement.

“We are encouraged by continued gains in mathematics,” Morath said, “especially with the growing number of students participating and succeeding in advanced mathematics courses.”

The state tests showed that 49% of third graders scored on grade level in reading — a 1-percentage-point decline from last year. Fourth through sixth grades remained flat at 52%, 57% and 54%, respectively. And 54% of seventh graders met grade-level expectations — a 2-percentage-point increase — while eighth graders improved from 56% to 59%.

Students’ overall performance in reading continues to surpass pre-COVID levels.

Meanwhile, students posted math gains in almost every grade — except for third and seventh graders, who experienced no change and a 2-point decline, respectively. In social studies, 32% of eighth graders met grade level — a 2-point increase.

This year’s results come after state lawmakers passed a slate of laws aimed at improving classroom instruction, including a ban on cellphones in public schools — which Morath credited for the gains in middle school reading.

The STAAR exam also tests fifth and eighth graders in science. Agency officials said they plan to release those results on July 31.

In addition to providing families a snapshot into whether Texas children possess the academic skills appropriate for their grade level, STAAR results also play an outsized role in state academic accountability ratings.

Districts with a school that has five consecutive failing ratings face the commissioner replacing the locally elected school board and superintendent. The schools most often meeting that threshold educate predominantly Black, Hispanic and low-income students — including in Houston, Fort Worth and Beaumont. 

Districts under threat of a takeover include Austin, where Hispanic children make up more than half of the students. The three campuses that could trigger its state intervention improved across math and reading this year. However, the overwhelming majority of those schools’ students still did not meet grade-level standards on STAAR. 

The education agency releases school accountability ratings in August.

Texas is phasing out the STAAR for three shorter tests that students will take at the beginning, middle and end of each school year. Schools will begin administering the new exams in the 2027-28 academic year.

The move to replace STAAR was a response to criticisms from families and teachers who say the tests put too much pressure on children and that preparing for it takes up too much class time. State lawmakers also condemned STAAR, saying it is not an accurate measure of student learning and that it sets children up for failure.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Yum Brands said Tuesday that the private equity firm LongRange Capital will buy Pizza Hut, excluding the mainland China business, for about $1.5 billion.

In mainland China, Pizza Hut will be purchased by Yum China Holdings Inc. for approximately $1.2 billion, the company said. China is Pizza Hut's second-largest market outside the U.S., accounting for 19% of sales. Yum China Holdings Inc. spun off from Yum Brands and became an independent company in 2016.

Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Taco Bell, began to explore its options for Pizza Hut in November. Last year, Yum Brands' global sales rose 5% but Pizza Hut's sales fell 2%.

In February, Yum Brands announced plans to close 250 U.S. Pizza Hut locations. Pizza Hut had 19,974 restaurants worldwide at the end of last year.

“Pizza Hut has long been the weak link in Yum’s portfolio,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, wrote Tuesday. “Despite efforts to revitalize the brand and shut underperforming locations, it has become increasingly clear that pushing the division back into growth will require a level of investment and patience that Yum is just not prepared to commit to.”

Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by two brothers who borrowed $600 from their mother to open the store. They chose the name because their sign only had room for eight letters.

Pizza Hut’s familiar red roof debuted in 1969 and by 1971 it was the top pizza chain in the world by sales. PepsiCo acquired Pizza Hut in 1977 but spun off its restaurant division — which became Yum Brands — in 1997.

By the 1980s, Domino's was the fastest-growing U.S. pizza company, buoyed by its promise of 30-minute delivery. As pizza carryout and delivery grew in popularity, Pizza Hut was saddled with large, dine-in restaurants. In 2020, even as pizza delivery boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pizza Hut closed 300 U.S. restaurants.

The chain has been further pinched in recent years by the growth of DoorDash, Uber Eats and other restaurant delivery companies which marketed access to a slew of cuisines besides pizza.

U.S. pizza sales have slowed considerably since the pandemic, growing less than 1% in 2024 and falling less than 1% in 2025, according to Technomic, a restaurant consulting company. But Pizza Hut performed worse than average, with U.S. sales down 8.2% last year, Technomic said.

By selling Pizza Hut, Yum Brands can focus more on its brands with stronger sales, Yum CEO Chris Turner said.

“Under LongRange and Yum China, Pizza Hut will be well positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant industry," Turner said in a statement.

Connecticut-based LongRange Capital was founded in 2019 by Bob Berlin, who previously engineered a turnaround at Arby's when he led private equity investments at The Baupost Group. Berlin said Tuesday he looked forward to working with Pizza Hut's executive team and franchisees “to drive its next phase of growth.”

“Pizza Hut is a beloved global brand with a rich heritage and a loyal customer base that few brands can match,” Berlin said in a statement.

Asked Tuesday if LongRange planned to close any Pizza Hut locations, the company said it had no comment beyond Berlin's statement.

Yum Brands, based in Louisville, Kentucky, expects the sale in U.S. and China to close in the third quarter. The company's stock rose nearly 2% Tuesday.

The 79-year-old Republican cited his expertise on the issue as a former county prosecutor, member of both chambers of Congress and Ohio attorney general, as well as his seven years as governor.

But DeWine’s support for a policy change is far from assured to make waves, even in a state controlled by his own party. That's because DeWine is more moderate than many younger Republicans in the state, whose political aspirations rely on endorsements from President Donald Trump, a staunch death penalty supporter.

Here's a closer look at DeWine and his place in Ohio's political landscape:

Fifty years of experience with the death penalty

DeWine was first elected to public office in 1976, when he became prosecuting attorney in Greene County, where he grew up. He still lives in the historic home there where he and his wife, who had eight children, hosted a summer ice cream social each year to encourage and celebrate GOP candidates and officeholders. The event ended its 50-year run just last weekend.

When DeWine was elected to the state Senate in 1980, Ohio had no death penalty law. The old one had been declared unconstitutional and DeWine was instrumental in writing the new one, which cleared both legislative chambers with overwhelming bipartisan majorities. It's been in effect now since 1981.

He said Tuesday that he always believed the moral justification for the death penalty was its potential to deter violent crime.

During his four terms in the U.S. House, DeWine supported federal legislation signed by President Ronald Reagan that expanded the number of crimes eligible for the death penalty. As a U.S. senator, he backed a bill signed by President Bill Clinton that attempted to speed up the review of capital cases in federal courts.

In between those positions, DeWine was lieutenant governor of Ohio under storied Republican Gov. James Rhodes.

He took a brief break from politics after losing a Senate reelection bid to Democrat Sherrod Brown in 2006, before being elected Ohio attorney general in 2010. In that role, he said Tuesday, he “vigorously” carried out the state's death penalty law.

Since he became governor in 2019, problems obtaining lethal injection drugs have led to an unofficial moratorium on executions in the state, which last conducted one in 2018.

Uneven relationship with fellow Republicans

DeWine may be the titular head of the Ohio Republican Party, but that doesn't mean his party always listens to him. Particularly in the Trump era, he has presided over a party rife with internal divisions.

Clashes became particularly fierce during the COVID-19 pandemic, when DeWine and then-state Health Director Amy Acton — now the Democratic nominee for governor — presided over one of the most rigorous virus responses in the country in early 2020. Within months, a faction of Republicans had mutinied against DeWine's mandates, particularly over business closures, threatening to pass a bill limiting his powers or even to impeach him.

In 2023, after DeWine struck down a ban on gender-affirming care and transgender athletes participating in girls' sports, the Republican-dominated state Legislature easily overrode his veto.

The divisions have also been seen in this year's critical elections.

DeWine had tried to position popular former Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Jim Tressel as a potential successor, appointing the moderate Republican as lieutenant governor last year. But the state GOP rushed to back Trump-endorsed biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy in the race in May 2025, before Tressel had even made up his mind whether to run. DeWine endorsed Ramaswamy in January.

DeWine said Tuesday that he had not shared his decision to call for an end to the death penalty with Ramaswamy, now the GOP gubernatorial nominee. The recent effort by the Trump administration to take on Medicaid fraud has found DeWine defending his administration's work on the issue, even as Ramaswamy, Ohio-born Vice President JD Vance and GOP lawmakers take aim at Ohio's existing fraud-fighting efforts.

Other Republican voices come to DeWine's side

Among proponents of DeWine's push to end the death penalty in Ohio were a host of fellow Republicans, including some staunch conservatives.

“For many years, I was a proponent of the death penalty," former congresswoman and current state Rep. Jean Schmidt said in a statement. "My views changed because of the risks of executing an innocent person, the exorbitant costs, and my belief in the sanctity of life. The death penalty is no longer a policy worth preserving.”

Former Ohio Auditor and Attorney General Jim Petro cited wrongful convictions among the flaws that make the death penalty no longer tenable.

Former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, the great-grandson of President William Howard Taft and grandson of “Mr. Republican” Sen. Robert A. Taft Sr., also sided with DeWine.

DeWine “has been thoughtful and given this issue the careful consideration it needs,” Taft said.

Trump has been at the center of this year’s midterm campaigns, and his influence will be tested in different ways Tuesday as four states and the District of Columbia hold primaries.

Among Democrats, the primaries will hinge on longstanding divides between progressives and moderates as the party tries to chart the best path forward to November.

Here's the latest:

The top candidates for DC mayor vow to push back on Trump

The two front-runners, D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George and former member Kenyan McDuffie, both say outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser should have been less cooperative with federal authorities as they targeted the city’s immigrant communities.

Both candidates also said they would bolster the city’s legal defenses against federal overreach.

Lewis George, a self-described democratic socialist, told The Associated Press that her top priority is addressing “the affordability crisis here in D.C.,” which she said was made worse by the Trump administration “firing federal employees en masse and militarizing our streets.”

McDuffie said his top priority is public safety as crime continues to be an issue. He has said he would add 1,000 police officers over four years, fully staff the 911 call center after years of chronic staffing shortages and take a public health approach to violence reduction.

A presidential threat again hangs over the ballot in DC

Washington voters are headed to the polls as the president is once again threatening to take over the capital — but this time because of his opposition to mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George.

In the past, Trump’s threats have been about crime and cleanliness. His refrain from his campaign to inauguration was the city as a “dirty, crime-ridden death trap.”

He briefly seemed to back off, saying aboard Air Force One that he and Mayor Muriel Bowser “get along great.” But by last August, he was declaring a public safety emergency.

“We’re going to take our capital back,” Trump said.

The National Guard was brought in and remains today. Trump has touted his actions as the reason for historic drops in crime.

Alabama ballot features heated runoffs for statewide offices

Alabama’s primary runoffs Tuesday include heated contests for lieutenant governor and attorney general.

For lieutenant governor, Secretary of State Wes Allen and former Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl are battling for the GOP nomination.

As a state lawmaker, Allen sponsored legislation to ban curbside voting and to criminalize gender transition treatments for minors. The state library board, which Wahl leads, voted to remove books about being transgender from the youth sections of public libraries.

Th lieutenant governor presides over the Alabama Senate and takes over as governor if the governor dies or resigns, but the position has limited power. The winner will face Democrat Phillip Ensler in November.

For the GOP nomination for attorney general, former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell faces Katherine Robertson, who is chief counsel to current Attorney General Steve Marshall.

Mitchell has emphasized his courtroom experience, while Robertson has emphasized her work in the attorney general’s office. The winner will face Democrat Jeff McLaughlin in November.

Georgia’s governor primary pits Trump’s endorsement against a lot of money

The president’s preferred primary candidates have a strong record so far in 2026. But none have faced a self-funded rival with Rick Jackson’s spending power.

Trump has backed Burt Jones, who, as lieutenant governor, was part of Trump’s attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden, and the president has repeatedly praised Jones’ loyalty.

Jackson has chipped in more than $93 million of his own money to win the nomination. The 71-year-old businessman amassed a fortune from his company that provides contract healthcare personnel, and he’s used it to blanket television and online platforms with ads.

Trump and the National Guard are on DC voters’ minds

President Trump and the continuing presence of military uniforms in the city were among central themes for voters casting ballots in the Washington, D.C., primary.

Fran Tatu, 69, said she voted for Janeese Lewis George. “Many years she’s been in the streets with us activating, getting out there, with us in the movements standing up for the rights for all.”

Tatu said she also supported current council member Robert White Jr., in his contest to replace longtime non-voting delegate to Congress Eleanor Holmes Norton.

“What’s at stake — many young lives with the surge of federal officers by Trump and all of the troops that are here,” she said, citing one instance where Immigration and Customs Enforcement was detaining riders getting off public transportation. “We called Janeese and she showed up in her purple coat to check on her constituents,” she said.

Republicans fielding largest candidate slate in Washington, DC, since 1992

Although voters in the District of Columbia are overwhelmingly Democrats, the local GOP is fielding its largest group of candidates in more than 30 years.

Those candidates include Manuel Rivera, who's the first Republican ever to seek the Attorney General seat. He's running unopposed in the primary.

Republicans are also running for chair of the D.C. Council and Council members for Wards 1, 5, 6 and at-large, Member of the Council for Wards 1, 5, and 6, and Delegate to Congress, where Denise Rosado is running unopposed and will advance to the general election.

As of May 31, there were about 481,000 registered voters in Washington. More than three-quarters of them, about 363,000, were registered Democrats. Roughly 25,000, or 5%, were registered Republicans and about 18%, or roughly 86,000, were not affiliated with any party.

Georgia GOP chairman says Republicans will be united Wednesday morning

Josh McKoon knows there are differing opinions and a web of endorsements flying around the Georgia Republican Party. Most notably, the outgoing governor, Brian Kemp, and the president are on opposite sides in the Senate.

But they’re now aligned in the race for Kemp’s successor.

“We’ve heard this narrative for so long about Donald Trump Republicans and Brian Kemp Republicans,” McKoon said. But their mutual support for Burt Jones “speaks to the ability of Republicans to come together ahead of a general election.”

McKoon acknowledged Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms have had a head start. They had no runoffs. But McKoon said Wednesday morning will be a “fresh start.”

Still, in the Senate race, either Derek Dooley or Mike Collins will face a big financial gap. Earlier this spring, Ossoff had $32.5 million on hand. Each Republican had less than $2 million.

These are the Republicans vying to serve out Swalwell’s term

Wendy Huang is a real estate investor with past experience working in Silicon Valley, a background she’s touted while emphasizing that artificial intelligence will be a defining part of the economy. She’s focused on reducing the cost of housing and prescription drugs.

Dena Maldonado, who runs a floral business, says she wants to stop insider trading in Congress, protect the Second Amendment, install term limits and to stop “endless wars.” She has framed her decision to run around bringing transparency to what happens in the nation’s capital and how taxpayer dollars are spent.

The top-two primary is nonpartisan. Any Republican making it through to the special general election will have a tough time pulling out a win in a seat that has been safely Democratic.

These are the Democrats running to serve out Swalwell’s term

Eleven candidates are running in the special primary, which sends the top two voter-getters to a special general election regardless of party affiliation.

Democratic state Sen. Aisha Wahab has focused on housing costs and consumer protections such as banning junk fees. She's endorsed by the state Democratic Party and has leaned into her story of living through foster care and adoption in California.

Another Democratic candidate is Melissa Hernandez, a former mayor of the East Bay city of Dublin, who says she’ll tackle high costs by supporting small businesses and helping create jobs. She’s also emphasized expanding access to healthcare and childcare.

Both candidates also ran in the regular primary election seeking the full two-year term to the House seat.

In Georgia, two original tea party organizers take different sides

Jenny Beth Martin and Debbie Dooley were on the front lines of the early tea party movement during Barack Obama’s presidency.

In Georgia’s GOP Senate runoff, they’re on different sides. Each insists her candidate is the one to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the fall.

Martin backs Rep. Mike Collins, a self-declared “MAGA warrior” with Trump’s endorsement. Dooley supports first-time candidate Derek Dooley (no relation).

Martin says energizing the conservative base is necessary to protect Republican majorities that aren’t populated with Republican “anti-Trumpers” or “liberals like Jon Ossoff.”

Debbie Dooley says Collins has too much baggage and hard-right ties to win. “He will drag down the whole Republican ticket in Georgia,” she predicted. “This is about actually winning. It’s not about just following Donald Trump.”

Debbie Dooley and Martin have diverged before. In 2016, Dooley backed Trump from the start. Martin backed Ted Cruz for the GOP nomination.

GOP candidates for Alabama Senate seat feud over military service

The closing days of the Senate runoff between U.S. Rep. Barry Moore and former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson have been marked by a heated back-and-forth over military service.

Some of Hudson’s supporters have accused Moore, a three-term congressman, of inflating his military record.

Moore served in the Alabama National Guard and U.S Army Reserves, and has often emphasized his veteran status. He ran an ad in 2020 saying he knows how to support veterans because he’s been in combat boots.

In a recent video, Moore called it a “garbage swamp tactic” to suggest Guardsmen and reservists aren’t veterans. He said he never claimed to have been in combat.

The two are seeking the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who's running for governor.

Trump’s status as GOP kingmaker faces another test in Oklahoma

Trump’s early backing of Republican Rep. Kevin Hern for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin kept other potential big challengers at bay in Oklahoma, which hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1990.

A bigger test may come in the crowded race to succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Trump last month endorsed former state Sen. Mike Mazzei. Other prominent Oklahoma Republicans seeking the nomination include Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall and Chip Keating, the state’s former public safety director.

District of Columbia’s mayor shows up to vote

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser greeted supporters as she arrived to cast her primary vote at Shepard Park Elementary on Tuesday morning.

This fall, current council members Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie are the front-runners vying to replace Bowser, who was elected in 2014.

Runoffs for Georgia elections chief carry 2028 undertones

Georgia’s secretary of state election is open for the first time since Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 election, famously pressuring outgoing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,800 votes” to overtake Democrat Joe Biden. Raffensperger refused.

For his potential successor, Republicans are left to choose between an outright election denier, Vernon Jones, and a state lawmaker, Tim Fleming, who avoids explicitly disputing the president’s 2020 election lies.

Democrats will choose between Dana Barrett, a Fulton County commissioner, and Penny Brown Reynolds, a former state judge in Fulton County who also served in the Biden administration as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights for the Department of Agriculture.

In Georgia Senate race, Collins supporter likes his immigration stance

Retired software engineer James Haddad emigrated from Jordan and became a U.S. citizen in 1983. He backs Rep. Mike Collins in Georgia’s GOP Senate runoff because of Collins’ hard-line approach on immigration.

“I’m an immigrant, but I’m a legal immigrant,” Haddad said. “Just follow the law.”

Collins hopes to defeat former football coach Derek Dooley and then draw contrasts on immigration with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.

“The congressman is a good American who puts America first,” said Haddad, a 66-year-old from Woodstock.

Collins sponsored the 2025 Laken Riley Act, named for a Georgia nursing student killed by a man in the U.S. illegally. The law requires immigrants charged with certain crimes to be held without bond.

Ossoff voted against an initial version but backed it after Trump returned to power.

“It’s unfortunate that some immigrants have ruined it for others,” Haddad said.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is playing an insider-outsider game

The outgoing Republican governor passed on a Senate bid and recruited his former football coach Derek Dooley. Kemp’s spent months saying it’ll take an “outsider” to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.

Meanwhile, until Sunday, Kemp sat out the Republican tussle to be his successor. That runoff pits the sitting lieutenant governor against a first-time candidate. Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman, labels himself an “outsider” in his ads and plastered the word on his campaign tour bus.

Yet Kemp opted for Burt Jones, the Capitol insider. Campaigning with Jones on Monday, Kemp said there’s no contradiction in his message.

His reasoning, essentially: Georgia state government has been run by Republicans for a generation and things are great, whereas in Washington, where Dooley would go, Congress is often deadlocked and has atrocious approval ratings. But Kemp did not note that Republicans have a trifecta with Trump as president and GOP majorities on Capitol Hill.

Why are there 2 elections for Swalwell’s California seat?

There’s the regular race in November that will determine who'll be sworn in come January and serve a full, two-year term in the U.S. House.

But since Swalwell resigned early following sexual assault allegations, there’s also the special election that will decide who will serve out the rest of his current term until January.

Tuesday’s primary will decide the top two candidates for the special general election on August 18. But if one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, they’ll win outright and there won’t be a general election.

Sen. Ted Cruz says he’s not trying to separate himself from Trump

The Texas senator has gotten more active on the Republican campaign circuit.

In Republican governor’s races in South Carolina and Georgia, Cruz finds himself on the opposing side from the president.

Cruz was in Georgia ahead of Tuesday’s runoff to stump for billionaire Rick Jackson. Trump backs Jackson’s rival, Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

In the upcoming South Carolina runoff the GOP governor nomination, Cruz backs longtime state Attorney General Alan Wilson over Trump’s pick, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.

Cruz, who finished second in Republicans 2016 presidential nominating fight, insisted he’s not picking fights with Trump.

“Not remotely,” Cruz said Monday. He noted he and Trump have both endorsed former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu in his U.S. Senate bid.

“The president and I agree on the vast majority of races,” Cruz said. “What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win.”

Rick Jackson says he’s spending his own fortune to help people

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson choked up a bit in the closing hours of his GOP runoff campaign explaining why he’s spent nearly $100 million of his own money on the race.

Jackson called his wealth “God’s money” that he directs “the best I can.” And he compared his campaign spending to his years of philanthropy, especially to help children in foster care, where he spent part of his childhood.

“I want our kids, our foster kids and everybody else, to have hope, you know,” he told a lunch crowd Monday.

“I have lived in poverty,” Jackson continued. “When you, when you have not eaten, you never forget that you don’t forget the people that are struggling.”

It was a stark contrast to Jackson’s tone in some of his television ads, including a promise that migrants who are in Georgia illegally and commit crimes will be “deported or departed.”

Why Tuesday’s elections in Washington, DC, matter

Voters in the nation’s capital are selecting party candidates for mayor and the district’s delegate to Congress.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, who isn’t seeking reelection, has walked a fine line between staying in Trump’s good graces and responding to the concerns of constituents, many of whom said she didn’t push back hard enough on Trump’s actions.

The district’s long-serving congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, is also stepping down.

The election is taking place as Washington undergoes major change under the Trump administration.

Washington has limited autonomy and federal leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including the approval of the budget and laws passed by the D.C. Council.

In Georgia, Trump’s endorsements reflect his fixation on 2020

In 2020, a Georgia state senator named Burt Jones was part of Donald Trump’s alternate Electoral College slate and backed the president’s scheme to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump has referenced Jones’ “loyalty” many times since, including when endorsing his bid for governor. Jones, now the lieutenant governor, faces billionaire businessman Rick Jackson in a Tuesday runoff for the Republican nomination.

“Burt was strongly committed to my Campaign in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and worked tirelessly to help us WIN,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on the eve of the runoff. “He has been with us from the very beginning.”

A day earlier, Trump endorsed Rep. Mike Collins in a Senate runoff over former football coach Derek Dooley. The president chided Dooley for saying (months ago and not as a feature of his campaign) that Trump did indeed lose Georgia in 2020.

Collins, meanwhile, has consistently echoed Trump’s false claims of a “rigged” election.

Alabama GOP primary is latest test of Trump’s endorsements

The president’s endorsed candidates have mostly done well so far in the midterm primaries. But the open U.S. Senate race in Alabama will be another test of his endorsement power.

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, a three-term congressman, faces former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson in the GOP runoff. Trump endorsed Moore early in the campaign, but he's been forced into a heated race with Hudson, a political newcomer.

Hudson, borrowing a page from Trump’s original playbook, has tried to depict Moore as a political insider and has urged voters to send an outsider to Washington.

Trump held a telephone rally for Moore last week.

The candidates are seeking the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who's running for governor. The winner will face the Democratic nominee in November.

2 open races set off a political scramble in heavily Republican Oklahoma

GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt is term-limited, and former U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin vacated his seat to replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary.

Republican Alan Armstrong, an energy executive, is filling the U.S. Senate seat for now, but state law prohibits him from seeking a full term as an interim appointee.

Rep. Kevin Hern, a four-term congressman endorsed by Trump, is running against four other candidates of lesser profile in the Republican Senate primary.

The GOP primary for governor is more crowded, with nine names on the ballot, including several prominent Republicans. That could lead to an Aug. 25 runoff if no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote to win outright.

Investigators recovered firearms from several of the suspects last week and obtained encrypted text messages between roughly 20 participants who shared detailed maps and aerial photographs of the area and discussed the need for a “safe house” and escape routes after the intended attack, the documents show.

But it's unclear from the court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to being able to carry out the plan had it not been thwarted.

Several suspects or co-conspirators who were questioned by the authorities said they did not intend themselves to carry out violence but planned to instead watch others. One said he would have traveled to the UFC event as a protester but had to return home after his vehicle malfunctioned. And though the group chat participants spoke of using drones rigged with explosives, charging documents do not reveal that any were located by law enforcement.

United by conspiracy theories and anger over the country's direction

Law enforcement officials learned about the possible threat on June 10, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza on the White House’s South Lawn, “and thanks to the rapid action of the FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” Director Kash Patel said in a post on X on Tuesday.

Five people from states including Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska and California were arrested on federal charges.

Asked about the arrests Tuesday, JD Vance said there was “more violent rhetoric coming from the left than the right these days.” But the charging documents paint a much more muddled view of their views, depicting them as espousing a tangled web of anti-government sentiment, antisemitic grievances, fury over President Donald Trump administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and conspiracy theories about a powerful elite that sacrifices and consumes children.

Both Trump and Vance said Tuesday that they had not been briefed in advance of the plot. A top Secret Service official suggested Tuesday that the investigation was continuing despite the arrests.

“Anyone that believes that case was worked in a bubble is naive,” Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn told reporters at an unrelated news conference. “I'll tell you, the Secret Service led that investigation from the beginning. I'll tell you that it's ongoing. In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan, we chose not to leak it.”

Communications took place on TikTok and Signal

Among those arrested was Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old Ohio man whose mother contacted local law enforcement last week with concerns about his firearms purchases and online communications, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.

Proper admitted in an interview with law enforcement that he participated in the planning of an attack, according to the affidavit, which says some members of the group began communicating with each other last March through a TikTok group called “Vanguard of the Old.”

“The members of the group stated that they wanted to protect the United States, which they believed was headed in the wrong direction,” the affidavit says. “Members of the group believed that the United States needed to be torn down so that it could be rebuilt. Some expressed a desire that people who were involved with Jeffrey Epstein should not govern the country.”

A lawyer for Proper, who faces a detention hearing on Wednesday and is charged with firearms offenses rimes including attempted murder of an officer or employee of the United States, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The logistics were discussed via Signal, an app that uses end-to-end encryption for its messaging and calling services, through a primary chat of “approximately 19 individuals" and smaller side chats, authorities said. Messages obtained from Proper's phone show he discussed the plot with others and highlighted several Republican lawmakers he said should be targeted because they received donations from causes supportive of Israel, the affidavit said.

Proper told law enforcement officials that he had been planning to drive with weapons and body armor to a meet-up spot in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where the group was set to gather, it said. He said that though he did not intend to shoot people at the White House, others in the group did, the affidavit said.

The plan called for the use of drones that would be detonated over the north side of the White House, prompting a rushed evacuation into the line of fire of waiting snipers in an attack that Proper said was designed to “jumpstart” a revolution in the U.S., authorities said.

Investigators who examined Proper's phone and TikTok account identified additional suspects who helped develop plans.

Michael Alan Thomas told officials that he viewed him as “the planner and advisor for the group, and while he was not willing to take action himself, wanted to guide and instruct others on how to carry out attacks.” Thomas said the group’s planned attacks were designed to overthrow of the U.S. government, an FBI agent said in an affidavit. The agent said Thomas believed the U.S. government was “run by an elite group of individuals who sacrifice and consume infants who also were deeply involved with Jeffery Epstein and are now protected by President Donald Trump.”

Another suspect, Bryan Omar Roa, also of California, told the FBI he had planned to attend the event as a “protester” but that he had to return home because his car was broken, an agent said.

It was not immediately clear who their lawyers were.

Two other suspects were identified as Daniel K. Eskridge, of Missouri, who officials say said in a group chat that a target of the attack should be “big and someone a majority of the country knows,” and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, a Nebraska man whom the FBI said posted detailed plans in the group chat. A lawyer for Alvarez declined to comment and a lawyer for Eskridge did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Trump, who celebrated his 80th birthday at the UFC event on Sunday, was friends with Epstein many years ago but has said he ended their relationship before the disgraced financier’s crimes became known. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

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Associated Press writers Darlene Superville in Évian-les-Bains, France, and Michael Kunzelman in Washington contributed to this report.

The planned hours of operation on Tuesday are from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. instead of the normal 12:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“The shortened hours of operation remain subject to change if the weather conditions are unfavorable to a safe environment for attendees,” the FIFA World Cup 2026 Houston Host Committee says.

• RELATED: What is a Potential Tropical Cyclone and is it headed to Houston?

FIFA officials say they will continue to monitor weather conditions.

The FIFA Fan Festival was closed on Monday due to the anticipated severe weather. Monday’s closure also comes after weather repeatedly disrupted activities at the festival on Sunday, when organizers temporarily cleared the grounds twice because of lightning in the area.

At a recent home dedication ceremony at Robins Landing, Houston Habitat for Humanity celebrated another family achieving the dream of homeownership. Surrounded by supporters, volunteers, neighbors, and loved ones, the family officially received the keys to a home they can now call their own.

There were smiles. There were tears. And there was a powerful reminder that homeownership is about far more than having a place to live.

It’s about stability.

It’s about opportunity.

And for many families, it’s the foundation for building generational wealth.

More Than Just Handing Over the Keys

When people hear about Habitat for Humanity, they sometimes assume families are simply given a home.

The reality is very different.

Houston Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership program is designed to help families earn their way into homeownership through hard work, education, and financial preparation.

Future homeowners invest hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” into the process. That can include helping build Habitat homes, volunteering in the community, or participating in activities that support the organization’s mission. The sweat equity requirement allows families to contribute directly to the journey toward homeownership while developing a deeper connection to their future community.

In addition, homeowners purchase their homes through an affordable mortgage program, making monthly payments just like any other homeowner.

The goal isn’t simply to provide a house.

It’s to create long-term success.

Building Financial Confidence

One of the most impactful aspects of Houston Habitat for Humanity’s program happens long before move-in day.

Prospective homeowners participate in educational courses designed to prepare them for the responsibilities that come with owning a home. Topics often include budgeting, saving, understanding credit, mortgage responsibilities, property taxes, insurance, maintenance costs, and long-term financial planning.

For many families, these resources provide valuable tools that can help them navigate homeownership with confidence.

The education component helps ensure homeowners understand not only how to purchase a home, but how to keep it and thrive in it for years to come.

That knowledge can make a lasting difference for families who may be purchasing a home for the first time.

Creating a Foundation for Generational Wealth

Homeownership has long been considered one of the most powerful ways families can build wealth over time.

Instead of paying rent month after month with no ownership stake, homeowners build equity in an asset that can appreciate in value. That equity can provide financial security, create opportunities for future investments, and become something that can be passed on to future generations.

For many Habitat homeowners, buying a home represents more than a personal achievement.

It’s an investment in their family’s future.

Children benefit from the stability of having a permanent place to call home. Families gain greater financial predictability. And communities grow stronger when residents have the opportunity to put down roots and invest in the neighborhoods where they live.

A Growing Community at Robins Landing

The home dedication was also a celebration of the continued growth of Robins Landing, a master-planned community in northeast Houston that is helping create new opportunities for families across the region.

As more homes are completed and more families move in, the development continues to demonstrate what’s possible when organizations, volunteers, donors, and community partners work together toward a common goal.

Each home dedication represents one family’s success story.

Together, they represent something even bigger: a pathway to opportunity for generations to come.

As the family celebrated their new beginning, one thing was clear—the moment they received the keys wasn’t the end of the journey.

It was the start of a brighter future.

Britain's Defense Ministry launched an investigation after the yacht reported being fired on by a Russian navy vessel about 20 nautical miles (23 miles, 37 kilometers) south of the Isle of Wight, outside U.K. territorial waters.

There were no reports of injuries or damage to the sailing yacht, which continued its journey from the U.K. toward France.

The BBC reported that the yacht, which has no motor, had drifted toward the Russian vessel in foggy conditions.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the crew of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich tried to contact the yacht when it was seen sailing on a “dangerous course in close proximity with the warship.” It said the ship's crew launched flares and issued sound signals when the yacht did not respond.

“After the distance had closed to 150 meters (500 feet), the frigate’s commander decided to fire warning shots across the vessel’s bow using small arms,” the ministry said. It said the yacht then changed course and sailed away.

The ministry said the ship's crew “acted in strict accordance” with international navigation rules to avoid a collision.

Britain's account of the incident was similar.

“Following attempts to contact a British vessel in the channel, the Grigorovich fired warning shots. These were not aimed at the vessel and were an attempt to prevent a possible collision," Britain's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Russian warships passing through the English Channel are routinely shadowed by the Royal Navy, and patrol vessel HMS Mersey was monitoring the Russian ship at the time of the reported incident and provided support to the yacht's crew.

The British military said last month that it had monitored the Admiral Grigorovich throughout April as the Russian ship escorted six Russia-linked civilian vessels near the U.K.

The altercation occurred two days after British commandos boarded and detained a sanctioned tanker in the Channel that is suspected of being part of the Russian “shadow fleet.” British defense officials said they don't believe the two events are linked.

The tanker's captain, an Indian national charged with shipping Russian oil in violation of international sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine, was ordered held in jail after appearing Tuesday in court.

The British military has had several close encounters with Russian vessels in the region and warned Moscow in November that it was ready to deal with any incursion into its territory after the spy ship Yantar was detected on the edge of U.K. waters north of Scotland.

In April, Britain and Norway said they had tracked a Russian attack sub and two spy submarines operating north of the U.K. for several weeks.

A Royal Navy frigate, aircraft and hundreds of personnel spent weeks following the Russian vessels and prevented them from carrying out “nefarious” activities against underwater infrastructure, then-Defense Secretary John Healey said.

He accused Moscow of using the distraction of the Iran war to ramp up malign activity against Europe.

Five years ago, Russia said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the Black Sea to force the British destroyer HMS Defender out of an area near Crimea that Moscow claimed as its territorial waters.

The U.K. denied that account and insisted its ship wasn’t fired upon. It was the first time since the Cold War that Moscow acknowledged using live ammunition to deter a NATO warship, reflecting the growing risk of military incidents amid soaring tensions between Russia and the West. The incident occurred about six months before Russia invaded Ukraine.

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An earlier version of this story said the incident occurred about 20 miles south of the Isle of Wight. It is 20 nautical miles, or 23 miles.

The Department of Justice will take on enforcement of civil rights in education, while the Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education. With the transfers announced Tuesday, the vast majority of Education Department functions now have been assigned to other agencies.

Trump, a Republican, campaigned on shutting down the Education Department, saying he would “move education back to the states where it belongs.” While only Congress can close the department, Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon, a billionaire and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, has formed agreements with other federal agencies to handle much of her department’s work.

McMahon said the agreements align federal responsibilities with the agencies best positioned to support them.

“The Trump Administration has been clear: as we scale back federal micromanagement when it hinders success, we are equally committed to bolstering the efficacy of federal oversight where it is essential,” McMahon said in a written statement.

Critics warn of impacts to student services

Advocates said the changes would create uncertainty around services relied upon by millions of students and families.

“As is too often the case, traditionally underserved students — including students with disabilities, Black and Latino students, multilingual learners, students from low-income backgrounds, and students in rural communities — will bear the greatest burden created by this reckless decision, to which the disability and civil rights communities have already been vehemently opposed,” said a written statement from EdTrust, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that advocates for educational equity.

The Education Department already has offloaded some of its programs through 10 earlier internal agreements, but the agencies involved in Tuesday’s announcement -- the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the Office for Civil Rights -- were among the most closely watched.

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services manages billions of dollars in grants and oversees state compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Office for Civil Rights, which has been thinned by mass layoffs, investigates complaints of discrimination at the nation’s schools and universities.

The Department of Justice also will take over work protecting student privacy and will provide some training and advisory help to schools.

While HHS and the Department of Justice will take over most day-to-day duties of the assigned offices, the Education Department will continue to perform some tasks, such as responding to audits and issuing final determinations in civil rights cases, that it is explicitly required to do by law.

The agreements are scattering education programs to agencies that do not have the expertise to manage them, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

“Instead of helping kids get a great education, this administration is spending its time, energy, and taxpayer resources fixated on where employees sit and illegally trying to shutter the Department of Education,” Murray said in a written statement.

Rachel Gittleman, president of the union that represents department employees, said the moves will create chaos for families, students and schools.

“This will leave our most vulnerable students and families who have been shut out of our education system without the services they need and without protection when they face discrimination,” Gittleman said in written a statement.

Families of students with disabilities opposed the decision

The transfer of special education to Health and Human Services most alarmed disability advocates, who say oversight of whether schools are adequately serving children with disabilities is best handled by education experts — not medical experts.

“The IDEA is intended to equip students as they learn alongside their peers, not cure them — the HHS is not prepared to oversee and administer the IDEA program effectively. Health and education systems speak in entirely different languages, including variations in terminology, training, and disciplines," said Jennifer Coco, interim executive director of the Center for Learner Equity.

The Education Department said McMahon spent over six months in listening sessions with families, advocates and educators to better understand concerns around how the department's dismantling could affect special education. Many families raised concerns about obstacles to obtaining proper services for their children, but Coco said participants in those sessions were united in their opposition to moving special education oversight out of the Education Department.

“I think we agree on the problem,” Coco said. “We have stark disagreement on the solution and these transfers today don’t feel like a solution to that problem.”

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The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. 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.

A small fly has the potential to impart a big impact on Texas’ beef and agricultural industry.

On June 3, the New World screwworm was detected in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since then, the agency reported more screwworm infestations in Texas.

The fly poses a multibillion-dollar crisis for the state’s cattle industry, which generates $41 billion a year. It could also increase already record-high beef prices nationwide.

It’s unclear how many cases could hit Texas. Nearly 28,000 cases have been detected in Mexico since November 2024, according to Mexican officials.

State and federal officials are working together to stop the northern migration, which they have tracked since 2023. In response to the cases, USDA and the Texas Animal Health Commission have ramped up animal surveillance of animals near the confirmed detections by setting up zones around each infestation. Animals are not allowed to leave infested areas without being properly inspected.

Officials are also increasing fly traps, surveillance of wildlife and releasing sterile flies, which are used to break the reproduction cycle of the parasitic screwworm fly.

What is New World Screwworm?

New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly that is attracted to living tissue, burrowing their larvae into open wounds. After they hatch, the maggots then feed off that living flesh, causing damage to the animal. If untreated, the damage can even cause the animal to die.

Screwworm can also burrow through openings in the skin, such as the corner of an eye or through the nose.

From a biological standpoint, all mammals are vulnerable to screwworm, including pets and humans. However, livestock and wildlife tend to be the most susceptible because they spend their entire lives outdoors.

Dogs and cats are vulnerable through small wounds or scratches that break the skin. Health officials recommend pets be medicated for fleas and ticks year-round, said Casey Locklear, veterinarian and parasiticides lead for Elanco Animal Health.

“As a pet owner, if you were to notice that your dog or cat had a wound, especially if it’s foul smelling, it’s enlarging, you may actually see the maggots,” Locklear said. “If you see a wound, get treatment early. Whether that’s for yourself or your pet, early treatment is key.”

Read more about the screwworm here.

The primary marks the first time in a generation that D.C. residents will vote for a new mayor and delegate in the same election. And in an overwhelmingly Democratic city, that party's winner is expected to come out on top in the general election in November.

The most prominent race is for mayor after Muriel Bowser, who was first elected in 2014, decided not to seek a fourth term. Democratic front-runners Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie are hoping to replace her.

The district's long-serving congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, is also stepping down, with top candidates council member Brooke Pinto and at-large council member Robert White Jr. vying for the role. Republican Denise Rosado, an immigration lawyer, is running unopposed.

The primary will include ranked choice voting for the first time, which D.C. election officials have warned could delay results for days.

Trump looms large over the vote

Central to all the campaigns has been the city's fraught relationship with the Trump administration and the federal government. The city has limited autonomy and federal leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including approval of the budget and laws passed by the D.C. Council.

That autonomy has been further squeezed under Trump, who launched a federal law enforcement surge last summer and sent in the National Guard for an ongoing, open-ended deployment. Trump's efforts to downsize the federal government also roiled the capital region, costing thousands of people their jobs. He has also been reshaping the city by removing or renovating storied landmarks and putting his name or image on buildings.

Trump last week threatened a new federal takeover of Washington when asked about his response to a potential victory by Lewis George, a democratic socialist.

“Maybe we’d take back Washington, run it on the federal basis,” he said.

McDuffie said it was “the most consequential election of our lifetime,” because there is a president who “wants to infringe on our local autonomy. So we have to get this right.”

Bowser found herself walking a fine line between staying in Trump’s good graces and responding to the concerns of constituents, many of whom said she didn't push back hard enough on Trump's actions.

Republicans in Congress, meanwhile, have used their oversight authority to challenge the local government’s limited autonomy.

Federal intervention, affordability among candidates' top priorities

Washington resident Fran Tatu, 69, said the National Guard deployment was a concern for her.

“What’s at stake — many young lives with the surge of federal officers by Trump and all of the troops that are here,” she said, adding that she was voting for Lewis George and White.

Lewis George, in response to questions sent by The Associated Press, said her top priority is addressing “the affordability crisis here in DC, which the Trump administration has only made worse by unjustly firing federal employees en masse and militarizing our streets.”

McDuffie said his top priority is public safety. He would add 1,000 police officers over four years and take a public health approach to violence reduction that would include focusing on mental health.

Other candidates for mayor include former council member Vincent Orange and Hope Solomon, a former federal contractor who lost her job because of cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency.

Five people are seeking to replace Norton, who is finishing her 18th term representing D.C. in Congress. Norton, 89, faced heavy pressure to stand down from critics, including her former chief of staff, who said she was diminished and not capable of mounting the defense the moment called for against Trump.

White told the AP that he had planned to run for mayor but felt the challenge to D.C.'s limited autonomy was best fought in Congress.

“I got to go to the place where that fight is.”

Pinto, who traversed the city on election day, has carried a similar message. She has said she would work to build a broader national coalition around D.C. self-governance. “Home Rule is not just a D.C. issue: it’s a democratic principle,” she told the AP ahead of Tuesday's vote.

Other candidates seeking the Democratic spot on the ticket include Trent Holbrook, a former Norton staffer; Kinney Zalesne, the former Deputy National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee; and Gregory Jaczko, former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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This story corrects the spelling of Zalesne's first name. It is Kinney, not Kenney.

Uncertainty lingered over the situation through the team's elimination in Game 6 of the final against Carolina on Sunday night. General manager Kelly McCrimmon announced Tuesday that Tortorella would not be back.

“We thank Torts for the guidance he provided our team since joining the organization in March,” McCrimmon said. “When the decision was made to bring Torts to Vegas, we needed an immediate impact to help us at a pivotal point in the season. Torts’ experience and leadership proved to be the boost that we were looking for, helping guide us to the Stanley Cup Final. We are grateful for Torts’ passion, sincerity, and commitment to our organization, and we wish him and his family the best.”

McCrimmon hired Tortorella on March 30 when he fired Bruce Cassidy with eight games left in the season. The Golden Knights won seven of them and then got through three rounds before losing to the Hurricanes in the final.

Players spoke highly of how Tortorella handled jumping in this spring, and that praise continued on exit day after finding out he would not return. Rasmus Andersson said Tortorella “was a perfect fit at a perfect time for us.”

“Torts was awesome,” fellow defenseman Shea Theodore said. “I think he was really what our group needed at the end to kind of push us in the playoffs. A lot of credit to him. He was a fantastic coach.”

Tortorella, who turns 68 next week, is 22 years removed from coaching Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup in 2004. After his time with the Lightning, he spent time running the bench for the New York Rangers, Vancouver, Columbus and Philadelphia and was out of the league for roughly a year before getting the call from McCrimmon.

“It’s a tough situation for a coach to come in with that little time left," said Vegas' Noah Hanifin, who won gold at the Olympics when Tortorella was on staff as an assistant. “And just the way he was able to kind of get us back on the right track fast, and give us a chance, was pretty impressive.”

Tortorella took criticism in recent days for deciding to stick with goaltender Carter Hart, whose .863 save percentage was the lowest in the final since Minnesota's Jon Casey in 1991. Hart and Tortorella overlapped with the Flyers from '22-24.

McCrimmon is scheduled to speak to reporters on Wednesday. One avenue Vegas could go with for Tortorella's successor is promoting Ryan Craig, who has been coach of its top affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League, for the past three seasons.

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AP freelance writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

___

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

DeWine, 79, said during a news conference that data indicates the death penalty is not serving as a deterrent to violent crime, which he had always believed was its moral imperative.

“I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I’ve cited to support that belief will change,” he said. “Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.”

To bolster his case, DeWine brandished charts and graphs detailing the diminishing number of death sentences meted out by courts and showing the exceedingly long wait times that elapse as legal appeals play out for those on death row. He said condemned murderers are increasingly unlikely to ever be executed, sometimes dying by natural causes or by suicide before their execution date arrives.

“In summary, each decade that the death penalty has been in effect, the chances of a murderer getting executed get more and more and more remote,” DeWine said.

He also cited years of pain brought to victims’ loved ones by the delays and the toll taken on the mental health of state employees who serve on execution teams.

DeWine, who faces a term limit in December, said he felt compelled to share his observations now, having had 50 years of experience with the issue from the time he was a young county prosecutor, through being a congressman and U.S. senator, and then serving as Ohio's attorney general. But he said his outright opposition to the procedure has only crystallized over the past year.

State lawmakers may not support DeWine's stance

Headed into the announcement, any chance of a legislative repeal of the death penalty appeared unlikely.

Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman said in February he would “vigorously oppose” such an effort, and then-Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost agreed with him on social media. It remains unclear how Interim Attorney General Andy Wilson, appointed last month to serve the remainder of Yost's term, will respond, and whether the position held by Huffman, who is Catholic, might be affected by immediate praise for DeWine's announcement by the Catholic Conference of Ohio.

“In a state and country in which alternatives to execution exist, we should support punishments that are in greater conformity with the dignity of the human person, made in the image and likeness of God,” executive director Brian Hickey said in a statement.

In repeatedly extending Ohio’s unofficial death penalty moratorium by postponing scheduled executions, DeWine has cited pharmaceutical suppliers’ unwillingness to provide the drugs used in lethal injections. In January 2025, President Donald Trump ordered then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to help states try to resolve that issue, and Yost — a capital punishment supporter — had told Bondi that “without the assistance of the federal government, Ohio’s situation is unlikely to change.”

Republican State Auditor Keith Faber, running this fall to succeed Yost, said DeWine was wrong.

“The current law has not been utilized. It should be,” he said in a statement. “I’ll work with the General Assembly to identify constitutional methods of execution that can be implemented immediately.

DeWine has already said he expects no further executions during his term, but he said the compelling nature of the death penalty data remains the same whether you include the past seven years, when executions have been on hold, or not.

Other states also have been rethinking the procedure in recent years. New Hampshire state lawmakers overrode a governor’s veto in 2019 to abolish the death penalty in that state. Colorado followed suit in 2020 and Virginia in 2021. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has urged legislators to follow suit, announcing he wouldn’t sign any new execution warrants. Gov. Kate Brown commuted sentences of the 17 people on Oregon’s death row in 2022 and ordered the execution chamber dismantled.

DeWine’s position on executions has evolved over time

Pushing back the dates for condemned killers to be put to death has left Ohio with 30 executions scheduled over the next four years, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

Ohio hasn’t put an inmate to death since July 18, 2018, when Robert Van Hook was executed for stabbing a man he met at a Cincinnati bar in 1985. DeWine assumed the governor’s office in 2019.

The state declared execution unconstitutional in 1972, but reinstated capital punishment in 1981 under a law co-written by DeWine. Ohio resumed death penalties in 1999 and 56 people have since died by lethal injection in the state.

DeWine’s support for the death penalty has slowly shifted since his political career began in 1976. As attorney general, DeWine ordered the Ohio prison system to consider alternative lethal injection drugs. A year later, in 2020, he said lawmakers would have to choose a different method before any more inmates could be executed.

Since then, neither a bipartisan push to ban the practice nor a competing effort to bring nitrogen gas executions to Ohio has gone anywhere. A nitrogen gas execution in Alabama was halted last week, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to set aside a lower-court ruling that found the method unconstitutionally cruel.

Advocates divided on DeWine's position

Kevin Werner, executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions, said the governor's decision is in line with “an evolution on the death penalty” across the political spectrum in Ohio.

“Nobody supports a system that harms victim families, convicts innocent people and wastes millions of dollars without a shred of improved public safety,” Werner said.

Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action, said his group had been anticipating DeWine’s announcement, which he called “well-reasoned.”

Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which supports the death penalty and crime victims’ rights, said DeWine may be right that Ohio's death penalty isn't currently serving as a deterrent.

“The problem could be fixed, though, and we have known for a long time how to do it,” he said. “What is needed is the political will and effective leadership.” He said “not a single state has effectively opted in” to an option for fast-tracking capital cases that Congress has provided.

But former Republican Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who oversaw 24 executions from 1999 to 2007, said in a statement that he agrees with DeWine.

“As a former governor, I know what it’s like to contend with this issue and I support his decision,” Taft said. “The Legislature taking up the issue and passing (a) repeal this year is in the best interest of the people of Ohio.” ___

Associated Press reporter John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, contributed.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch through Thursday morning for much of Southeast Texas, warning that excessive rainfall could lead to flash flooding, flooded roads, and rising water levels in creeks, bayous, rivers, and other low-lying areas.

• Tropical Storm Watch now issued as we track potential tropical development

A dangerous flooding setup is unfolding across Southeast Texas this week as a stalled front, deep tropical moisture, and a disturbance near the Gulf combine to bring multiple rounds of heavy rainfall to the region.

Whitmire was joined by officials with the Houston Office of Emergency Management, Houston Police Department, Houston Fire Department, Houston Public Works, and METRO.

Mason said the city has been preparing since Saturday by completing the following:

• Lowered Lake Houston by a foot
• Place safety barricades around the city
• Stage rescue vehicles around the city

Mason says the city of Houston is expected to be on the “clean side” of the storm. He also noted that Fan Fest for FIFA World Cup will be open for tonight’s game.

Whitmire says Houston experiencing flooding is not unusual and cautioned residents to not drive through high water or stand in flooded areas.

• Track today’s weather updates here

CenterPoint’s outage tracker reported over 1,000 customers impacted by outages around 2:19 p.m. Tuesday.

• Track real-time outages here

CenterPoint Energy said it activated its Emergency Operations Center ahead of the storm system and has crews stationed throughout the Greater Houston area to respond to any weather-related outages.

The utility said it is monitoring forecasts for severe weather and potential flooding while coordinating with local emergency management partners.

The KPRC 2 Weather Team is continuing to track these storms.

The appearance was notable because it marked a rare foray for a Trump administration official into what they would consider hostile media territory, and it raised eyebrows since the Federal Communications Commission under the Trump administration has launched an investigation into the show over possible violations of the requirement that broadcast stations give equal time to political candidates when they appear on-air.

The long-running morning show, led by veterans Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, is generally dominated by its liberal hosts. It combines entertainment and political interviews and often features commentary critical of President Donald Trump.

Vance himself acknowledged the uncomfortable terrain, joking with the hosts at the start of the hour: "This is a show of MAGA Republicans, right? That’s what my media team told me.”

He did get a few questions about his new book “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith," which he described as “actually way less political than you might think.” The tentative deal he has worked on to try to bring about an end to the Iran war did not, however, come up.

Vance asked to explain Trump's remarks on affordability

The show's hosts almost immediately began questioning Vance about the country's economic situation, specifically Trump's comments on affordability and inflation. In both circumstances, Vance turned into somewhat of a Trump translator.

Behar asked about Trump's dismissal of the affordability issue as a “hoax” started by Democrats while instead focusing on projects including refurbishing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, building a triumphal arch across the river from Arlington National Cemetery or refashioning the White House South Lawn into a UFC arena for Trump's birthday.

“Why is he doing them when everybody knows that Americans are struggling?" Behar asked. "What is he spending all this money for?”

Vance rejected Behar's characterization of Trump's comment. “What the president said is, the idea that Republicans caused the affordability problem is a hoax, and I think that’s true,” the vice president said.

After co-host Ana Navarro interjected with Trump's recent statement, “ I love the inflation,” Vance offered another Trump translation.

“What he said is that he loves the fact that the inflation is going to come down when this war is over,” Vance said, eliciting cross talk from the table.

“That's not what he said,” Goldberg responded.

"Are you his interpreter, or are you his vice president?” Behar added.

Vance tried to pivot, talking about increases in manufacturing jobs and other economic improvements.

“My view — I’m sure you guys don’t agree with it — is that we inherited a mess and we’re fixing it, but sometimes it takes a long time to fix a mess,” he said.

Vance acknowledges he's an Epstein ‘conspiracy theorist’

Vance was questioned at length about the Epstein files, as well as recent reporting from The New York Times that he had been a major advocate for releasing the materials, including during meetings in the White House Situation Room.

“I am, frankly, kind of a conspiracy theorist on the Epstein stuff,” Vance admitted, acknowledging he agrees with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on that point.

The vice president said he did want to defend his boss on the issue, referring to Navarro and others' assertions that Trump ejected Epstein from membership in his private club because of a business deal gone wrong and not Epstein's nefarious sexual proclivities.

“He was very frustrated when the Democrats were making this about him,” Vance added of Trump and the fractious political conversation over the files' release and their content.

Pressed repeatedly by co-host Sunny Hostin over other matters related to the files, including millions that have yet to be released, Vance said there are many duplicates, as well as others over whose release a court would need to rule, but that “we're not holding anything back.”

After promising Hostin he'd check on some files that remain unreleased, Vance playfully suggested a return to the purported show agenda when Goldberg shifted to another commercial break.

"Let's talk about the book. I’m here to sell books. ‘Communion!’” he said.

“Eventually, we will," Goldberg said. "But this is a good opportunity for us to get some clarity.”

Vance also dove into Trump's signature issue: immigration

The conversation shifted to Trump's signature issue as Vance explained the evolution of his relationship to the president, whom he once criticized and about whom he now says he — and others, chronicling Trump's political rise — got some things wrong.

“One of the things I underappreciated about Donald Trump is that so many of the things that people said about him weren’t actually true,” Vance said. “I read stories that said, ‘Donald Trump said that all Mexicans were rapists’ — he never said that."

After several hosts queried how Vance as both a Christian and father would explain Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and urged him to visit detention centers, Vance acknowledged the need to “strike a balance, of course,” between enforcing laws and treating people appropriately.

“Law enforcement is always inherently not a very pretty process, especially when you’re dealing sometimes with violent people, with people who are resisting arrest," he allowed.

As the show began to wrap up, Goldberg aimed to try to tie in the book, asking Vance about rationalizing his Catholic faith with a hard-line stance on immigration.

“I think it strikes the right balance here,” Vance said of Catholicism, that “you can have borders, you’re allowed to enforce your borders ... but you also have to take certain precautions and certain care.”

Hosts asked Vance about administration's stance on race

Some of the most impassioned moments of the show were when the hosts questioned Vance about some of the administration's moves when it comes to race.

“What did Black people do to this administration that has allowed it to really stigmatize folks of color?” Goldberg asked. Some audience members reacted negatively as Vance asked for more information.

When Vance responded that the question suggested that "allegedly the administration is holding back the appointments of people based on skin color,” Hostin jumped in with a correction.

“I’m talking about Black history getting erased from public spaces, Black voter districts are being dismantled, Black leaders are being sidelined from our ranks,” she said. “Where do Americans of color fit in this vision? Because it doesn’t seem like we fit.”

Saying that “everybody is welcome in our political coalition,” Vance pointed toward the administration’s efforts to increase safety in Washington, D.C., a heavily Black city, adding, “Black history is not erased.”

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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

A Tropical Storm Watch has now been issued for parts of our viewing area until Monday 9:55.

We’ll continue to watch for potentially life-threating flash and urban flooding for parts of the Texas coast moving eastward into central Mississippi through Thursday. Widespread small stream and minor river flooding is expected along the Texas coast into SW Louisiana with isolated areas of significant flooding possible on the Texas and Louisiana Coasts.

As we track flash flood warnings for parts of Montgomery until 1:30 pm. If you live in this area, it’s important to avoid the roadways because of the higher rainfall rates. And that’s why we say Turn Around Don’t Drown - even shallow-looking water is extremely dangerous.

You can however track LIVE radar right here at anytime

FLOOD WATCH:

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch through Thursday morning for much of Southeast Texas, warning that excessive rainfall could lead to flash flooding, flooded roads, and rising water levels in creeks, bayous, rivers, and other low-lying areas.

A dangerous flooding setup is unfolding across Southeast Texas this week as a stalled front, deep tropical moisture, and a disturbance near the Gulf combine to bring multiple rounds of heavy rainfall to the region.

Today’s Forecast:

Shower and storm chances increase Tuesday morning, mainly south of I-10 to start. These showers will bring the potential for heavy rainfall and frequent lightning strikes.

Here is a preview of today’s timeline - locations and timing can change, but this gives you a better understanding of our weather pattern today.

• 2 pm: Thunderstorms north of I-10, spotty storms on the west side of the map
• 5 pm: A little more widespread through the pm hours.

Tuesday afternoon, the rain will continue to develop north of I-10 as a stalled boundary and tropical moisture combine. Evening hours showers begin to wind down.

Tuesday’s Flood Risk:

The flood threat ramps up Tuesday as deep tropical moisture continues streaming into Southeast Texas. Periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected throughout the day, with the greatest flooding concern focused near and south of Houston. Rainfall rates could be intense at times, leading to localized street flooding and rapidly changing road conditions.

Wednesday’s Flood Risk:

Depending on where the tropical disturbance tracks, Wednesday could be one of the highest-impact days of the week. The combination of a stalled front and a nearby tropical disturbance could lead to repeated rounds of heavy rain, especially across the Houston metro, Galveston Bay region, and areas east of the city. Flash flooding becomes a more significant concern as rain accumulates and soils become increasingly saturated.

Thursday’s Flood Risk:

By Thursday, the disturbance is expected to begin shifting eastward toward Louisiana, but a flood threat will remain across Southeast Texas. The greatest concern may gradually shift toward Chambers County, Liberty County, Beaumont, and Port Arthur, though heavy rain could still impact parts of the Houston area. Any locations that received significant rainfall earlier in the week will be more vulnerable to flooding.

Friday’s Flood Risk:

The overall flood threat should continue decreasing on Friday as the system pulls farther east. Conditions should gradually improve heading into the weekend, but some lingering water issues could persist where the heaviest rain fell earlier in the week.

Potential Tropical Storm Arthur:

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a disturbance over northeastern Mexico that could move into the northwestern Gulf later this week. Development is possible, with a 60% chance of formation within the next 7 days and a 60% chance within the next 48 hours. If a tropical storm forms, it would likely be short-lived as it moves near the Texas or Louisiana coast.

Regardless of whether this system becomes a named storm, the primary concern for Southeast Texas is rainfall-related flooding. A stalled front combined with deep tropical moisture will bring multiple rounds of heavy rain through at least Thursday. Forecast models indicate some areas could receive 5 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated higher totals possible. Flash flooding, flooded roads, rising bayous and creeks, and localized impacts to homes and neighborhoods are all possible, especially where heavier rain bands repeatedly move over the same locations.

Forecast rainfall totals generally range from 3 to 7 inches across Southeast Texas through the end of the week, but some locations could see significantly higher amounts if heavier rain bands repeatedly move over the same area. Rainfall rates may exceed 2 to 4 inches per hour at times, which can quickly overwhelm drainage systems and lead to flash flooding. Because the exact location of the heaviest rain remains uncertain, everyone across Southeast Texas should stay weather aware, monitor forecast updates, and avoid driving through flooded roadways. Remember: Turn Around, Don’t Drown. Floodwaters can be deeper than they appear, and it only takes a small amount of moving water to sweep away a vehicle.

10-day forecast:

Rain and storm chances continue through the late week. By the weekend, southeast Texas dries out, but the heat and humidity will return swiftly.

The call to action was issued at the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, the first time an African nation has hosted the major annual event, which focuses on addressing critical ocean issues, including climate change, biodiversity and pollution.

Hundreds of delegates from Africa, the United States, the European Union, and climate-vulnerable Caribbean and Pacific island nations are taking part in the conference, where leaders have sought to position Africa as a driving force in global ocean governance.

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in his opening remarks at the Commonwealth Ocean Ministers’ Roundtable that the High Seas Treaty, which came into effect in January after ratification by 60 countries, marked a historic turning point by creating, for the first time, a legal mechanism to establish protected areas in international waters.

But he warned that progress remained too slow.

“We have 10% of the ocean under protection this year,” Kerry said. “That is worth marking. But only 3% is highly or fully protected, and the rest of the protections are, unfortunately, just lines on a map.”

Kerry said that industrial fishing fleets continue to exploit the oceans, with some vessels operating thousands of miles from home and using massive nets that indiscriminately catch marine life.

“Ratify it if you haven’t, and move immediately to implementation,” he urged countries, noting that key decisions on the future of the treaty will be taken next year.

The treaty, formally known as the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, aims to help countries achieve a global target of protecting 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.

The Kenyan Cabinet secretary of maritime affairs, Hassan Joho, said that governments must now shift from promises to tangible action.

“The purpose of this roundtable is not to restate ambition, but to convert such pledges into measurable results for our communities, our economies and our oceans,” Joho said.

Joho noted that since 2014, the One Ocean Conference has generated more than 2,900 pledges worth more than $169 billion. The challenge, he said, is to turn them into effective management of marine ecosystems.

The Commonwealth’s 56 member states collectively account for 36% of the world’s ocean jurisdiction and nearly half of its coral reefs, giving the bloc a unique responsibility in protecting marine resources.

Africa, meanwhile, is increasingly setting itself as a leader in ocean conservation.

Kerry praised African countries for championing transboundary marine protection and pointed to commitments by eight Gulf of Guinea nations to sustainably manage all of their waters by 2030.

“A region long described as a victim of ocean exploitation is now choosing to lead instead,” he said.

The East African nation has adopted integrated coastal management plans, expanded marine protected areas and stepped up efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Its 640-kilometer (400-mile) coastline and vast exclusive economic zone support fisheries, tourism and other sectors that sustain millions of livelihoods.

As negotiations continue in Mombasa, delegates say the coming months will be critical in determining whether the new treaty becomes a transformative tool for ocean conservation or another set of international promises that fail to materialize.

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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. ___

This story has been corrected to show that the city in the dateline is Mombasa, not Nairobi.

The campus was placed on lockdown shortly after 1 p.m. after a report was made to the Lone Star College System Police Department regarding a threatening statement allegedly made by a visitor inside the campus library.

According to Lone Star College officials, the individual allegedly said they were going to their vehicle to retrieve a rifle and return to campus.

An employee who heard the statement immediately reported it to police, prompting officials to issue a campus-wide lockdown.

“ATTENTION: LSC-Tomball Main. Lockdown now. Go to nearest room and lock the door and stay quiet. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,” an emergency alert sent to the campus community stated.

College officials said Lone Star College System police quickly intercepted the individual. After making contact, officers determined the person did not have any weapons.

Officials said the individual does not appear to be a student or employee of the college.

The lockdown was lifted around 1:30 p.m. after police determined the campus was safe.

“LSCS takes seriously and fully investigates all alleged threats to ensure the safety and security of our students, employees and facilities,” campus officials told KPRC 2’s Michael Horton in a statement.

No injuries were reported.

It remains unclear whether any charges will be filed. The investigation is ongoing.

These are large scale weather systems where winds rotate inward towards a central area of low pressure. These storms are tropical in nature and are fueled by warm ocean waters and warm moist air evaporating and rising rapidly, creating an area of low pressure.

These storms are characterized by their violent winds, heavy rain and intense storm surges.

So back to why they get named differently based on where they form…

• RELATED: Tropical Storm Watch now issued as we track potential tropical development

Tropical development in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern/central Pacific Ocean basin will get the label of a hurricane. What we see here in the U.S.

Now if we head into the western Pacific Ocean basin where countries like Japan, the Philippines, and China, are located, they are impacted by typhoons.

Looking at the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, their storms get the label of cyclone.

If you just hear the term Tropical Cyclone, that’s just a more general term to call these systems.

Its worth noting that any cyclone that develops in the Southern Hemisphere will have a clockwise rotation around its low pressure. While in the Northern Hemisphere these storms will spin counter-clockwise around its low pressure.

• RELATED: What’s the difference between a tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm and hurricane?‘

Again they all work under the same physics, it’s just where they form that dictates if it’s called a cyclone, hurricane or typhoon.

Now we are seeing some tropical development close to home that may bring some increased rainfall to the area over the next couple of days.

The National Hurricane Center has marked an area of unorganized showers and thunderstorms as Potential Tropical Cyclone One

Now what does that really mean?

The National Hurricane Center gives this label to a disturbance that is not a tropical cyclone, but will be impacting and posing a threat of tropical storm or hurricane conditions to an area within 48 hours.

Essentially it allows the Hurricane Center to start issuing watches and warnings while the system is still developing.

Then it gets its assigned number based on the total number of storms that have occurred within that basin during the season.

That’s what we are seeing here with Potential Tropical Cyclone One. It still hasn’t reached the criteria for a tropical storm, where it would get the first name in this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, “Arthur,” but it still poses a threat to land. In which we have now seen the Hurricane Center issue tropical storm watches from the mid to upper Texas coast.

If this storm’s center can stay over the waters of the Gulf then it can develop into a tropical storm, which the National Hurricane Center has forecasted it to do. Regardless if it gets a name or not, the impacts to southeast Texas stay the same. We remain with elevated rain chances for this afternoon and Wednesday.

Serena and Venus Williams won a combined 21 titles on the storied grass of the All England Club in their singles and doubles careers and now they're going for one more.

A doubles wild card invitation for the sisters was announced on Tuesday by organizers of Wimbledon, which starts in less than two weeks.

The move comes after 44-year-old Serena recently returned to competition after nearly four years away from professional tennis.

Venus, who has still been competing sporadically, turns 46 on Wednesday.

“I think it’s going to be fun. My daughter, Olympia, told me I should play with Venus. She’s always right,” Serena said after losing a doubles match with another partner, Karolina Muchova, in Berlin on Tuesday. “So I said, “OK Olympia, we’ll see if we can do it.”

The sisters have won 14 Grand Slam titles together in doubles, including six at Wimbledon — the first of them in 2000 and the last in 2016. Their first two doubles titles at Wimbledon, in 2000 and 2002, came as wild cards.

In all, their records at the All England Club look like this: Seven singles titles for Serena and five singles titles for Venus at Wimbledon; those six Wimbledon doubles titles together; a mixed doubles title for Serena with Max Mirnyi at Wimbledon in 1998; plus a singles gold medal for Serena at the 2012 London Olympics and a doubles gold for the sisters at the same Games. Count 'em up and it makes for 21 trophies and medals — because their powerful serves always did more damage on grass than any other surface.

With their six titles, the Williams sisters share the record for most trophies as a pair in women’s doubles at Wimbledon with Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan, who won five consecutive titles from 1919 to 1923 and a sixth in in 1925.

The Williams sisters last played doubles together at the 2022 U.S. Open, where they lost their opening match. That was the first time they played doubles together in 4 ½ years.

In her first competition since 2022, Serena won her doubles match with partner Victoria Mboko at Queen’s Club in London last week and then the pair had to withdraw after Mboko injured her knee in a singles match.

At the Berlin Open on Tuesday, Serena and Muchova were beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Giuliana Olmos and Erin Routliffe.

Singles wild card spot left open

Serena has not ruled out a return in singles, too, and one of the eight wild card spots for women’s singles was left as “to be announced.”

Recent French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska received a singles wild card, as did six British women: Harriet Dart, Alicia Dudeney, Hannah Klugman, Mika Stojsavljevic, Katie Swan, and Mimi Xu.

Wawrinka, Dimitrov and Kyrgios

Men’s singles wild cards went to Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov and four British players: Jacob Fearnley, Arthur Fery, Jack Pinnington Jones and Toby Samuel.

Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion whose best result at Wimbledon was reaching the quarterfinals twice, plans to retire at the end of the year.

Dimitrov led eventual champion Jannik Sinner two sets to none in the round of 16 last year before having to retire early in the third due to an injured pectoral muscle. Dimitrov is now ranked No. 169.

Two more men’s singles wild cards were also left open.

In men’s doubles, a wild card went to the pairing of Alexander Bublik and Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios was a singles finalist in 2022.

Matteo Berrettini, a Wimbledon finalist in 2021, was left off the list despite a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open. He’s ranked No. 49 but was ranked outside the top 100 when Wimbledon’s entry list was established. Still, Berrettini could get direct entry into the main draw depending on withdrawals.

Wimbledon starts June 29.

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AP Sports Writer Ciaran Fahey in Berlin contributed to this report.

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

Not just any soccer game, a World Cup match.

The international soccer tournament, held every four years, is ongoing at 16 sites in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Those include 11 markets that are also home to a combined 13 Major League Baseball teams.

Kansas City, where the Cardinals open a three-game series Thursday, is hosting six World Cup matches at the NFL stadium in the same complex with the Royals' ballpark. The Cardinals and Royals will be off Saturday, when Ecuador plays Curaçao.

“That is the goal, yes,” Marmol said when asked if he was going to that match.

Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and his wife, who played soccer at Old Dominion, plan to be there.

“It’s strange, but it’s special circumstances,” Pasquantino said. “It’s awesome that Kansas City got access to World Cup games. So, however many years until the United States hosts again, we’ll be all right with some off days like that.”

World Cup matches are being played in the United States for the first time since 1994.

Getting their kicks in Texas

A tournament-high nine matches are being played at AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys that is adjacent to Globe Life Field. The neighboring Texas Rangers will host two split series, but also have a Monday off between home series on July 6, the day of a round of 16 match.

Texas is now in a three-game series against Minnesota that will finish Thursday, after a pause Wednesday when powerhouse England plays its Cup opener against Croatia.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson, who played soccer as a kid in California.

The Rangers completed a road trip Sunday in Boston, with thousands of Scottish fans chanting and singing at Fenway Park the night after Scotland won the opener of its first World Cup appearance in 28 years. That win over Haiti was at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, about 30 miles away.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said the presence of the Tartan Army made it feel like a European soccer game. He and members of his staff now want to attend the World Cup.

“It was so much fun that on the off day the majority of our staff is trying to find a way to get tickets to go to a game that they know really nothing about because of the atmosphere that was so incredible,” Schumaker said. “The passion was insane.”

In Philadelphia, the Phillies will be off Friday during their home series against the New York Mets since Brazil plays Haiti at nearby Lincoln Financial Field.

Like for the Rangers, Royals and Seattle Mariners, the home of the Phillies is next to an NFL stadium hosting some of the 104 matches during the nearly six-week tournament with teams from 48 nations. Those stadiums all have shared parking lots.

Texas and Kansas City are both off for round of 32 Cup matches on July 3, a Friday. The Rangers will have already opened a series against Detroit, while the Royals wait to start an unusual Saturday through Monday series against the Phillies.

Not all of the matches are next door

Either the Mets or Yankees have a home game on each of the eight dates World Cup matches are at MetLife Stadium across the river in New Jersey, including the championship finale July 19, when the Yankees also host Shohei Ohtani and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Yankee Stadium is about 14 miles from the Meadowlands, with Citi Field about 24 miles away.

World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium will be about 13 miles from Dodger Stadium and 35 miles from Angel Stadium. Either the Dodgers or Angels play at home on six of the eight match dates in Inglewood. Those other two dates fall on normal off days during a homestand, one for each team.

With separation between stadiums, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Miami and Toronto all will play multiple home games that concur with World Cup matches in their markets.

Mariners and Red Sox almost played two

There will still be a split series for the Angels when they go to Seattle, with a midweek break July 1 for a round of 16 Cup match.

The Mariners were originally scheduled to have a home doubleheader Saturday against Boston with the United States playing Australia in Seattle. But when match time at Lumen Field was set at noon local Friday, the Mariners and Red Sox switched to a traditional three-game series with the opener that night, instead of playing MLB's first scheduled doubleheader in two years.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, was arraigned on 17 counts, including first-degree murder, in the new indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Washington. Lakanwal originally pleaded not guilty in January to nine charges in the November 2025 shooting that killed Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.

Before the Justice Department announces whether it will seek the death penalty against Lakanwal, his defense attorneys can meet with prosecutors and present any evidence that they believe weighs against a death sentence.

Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24, were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard for the federal law-enforcement surge that began in August in Washington, D.C., at the direction of President Donald Trump.

Lakanwal is accused of driving to the nation’s capital from Bellingham, Washington, while in possession of a stolen firearm and ambushing the two Guard members outside a subway station three blocks from the White House.

Another National Guard member heard gunshots and saw Beckstrom and Wolfe fall to the ground as Lakanwal fired a gun and screamed, “Allahu Akbar!” according to a police report.

Lakanwal, who was shot during the confrontation, was seated in a wheelchair during his arraignment on Tuesday. He didn't speak during the hearing; one of his attorneys entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country. Lakanwal worked with the American government, including the CIA, “as a member of a partner force” in Kandahar, Afghanistan, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has said.

Lakanwal is due back in court Sept. 16. A trial date for his case hasn't been scheduled yet.

They were among a trickle of residents who returned to the city to check on their homes after the announcement of a deal between the U.S. and Iran to end their war. Iranian officials have said the deal will also mandate an end to the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon.

Although the fighting in southern Lebanon has not stopped, the strikes have been more limited since the U.S.-Iran deal was reached, and many people displaced from the area have taken the opportunity to check on their houses.

Jleilati and her 22-year-old daughter, Sukaina al-Muhtadi, lived on the first floor of a three-story building consisting of six apartments that collapsed as a result of the airstrike.

City subjected to intense airstrikes and shelling

Jleilati managed to pull out most of her husband’s scuba diving equipment, as well as some clothes, while her daughter’s main hope was to find a photo album that had pictures taken when she was a little girl.

“What can I say? All that we have gathered in our life has been wasted,” Jleilati said, adding that they knew that their home was destroyed on May 26, when al-Muhtadi saw the destroyed building on a social media platform.

Since the early days of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, the ancient city of Nabatiyeh has been subjected to intense airstrikes and shelling that have killed and wounded scores of people.

The once bustling market of Nabatiyeh suffered wide destruction and on Tuesday, several bulldozers were removing rubble and debris as some people returned following the late Sunday deal reached between the U.S. and Iran to end the conflict.

Jleilati and other residents in the city are not sure whether the truce will last since previous ceasefires that first went into effect on April 17 have been fragile with Israel and Hezbollah continuing their attacks.

Over the past few weeks, Israeli troops have pushed deep into southern Lebanon reaching about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) southeast of the city that has been a trade hub for centuries. It's famous for its Monday market when residents of nearby villages came to sell products in the city.

The importance of Nabatiyeh through the centuries

Since the state of Lebanon was created in 1920 after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Nabatiyeh and its surroundings have been a center for religious and cultural activities, with Shiite clerics having strong links with the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in modern day Iraq.

Nabatiyeh historically was the capital of the predominantly Shiite Jabal Amel region from where some religious scholars went to Iran in the 16th century and helped its Safavid rulers convert much of Iran’s population to Shiite Islam.

Nabatiyeh is also a main center in Lebanon where Shiite Muslims mark Ashoura, a solemn day marking the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussein. The 10-day mourning period that culminates on the 10th of the Muslim month of Muharram, begins on Wednesday.

Widespread destruction in the city as fighting rages nearby

At the center of Nabatiyeh, 75-year-old Kamel al-Kamel looked in shock at his giant business consisting of a supermarket and a coffee roastery burned to ashes while the century-old building housing it crumbled.

Walking with the help of a cane, al-Kamal estimated his losses at $2.5 million. He said that unlike previous wars he has lived through — from the 15-year civil war that broke out in 1975 to Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon to various rounds of Israel-Hezbollah wars — the latest one has been the worst.

“Thank God we are still alive,” he said, adding that he wept as he walked into Nabatiyeh on Thursday.

Samar Zuraik was happy to find that her house is still standing but damaged and will need some repairs. But she said nothing can compensate her for the loss of her son Ali, 27, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the edge of the city.

She said that despite the Iran-U.S. agreement, Nabatiyeh is unlivable at the present time, still subjected to shelling and without electricity, telephones or internet.

“I wish I lost my house and my son stayed alive,” Zuraik said.

Human losses in the city

There are three major hospitals in the Nabatiyeh area the oldest of which is the Najdeh El Chaabiyeh Hospital on the edge of the city, where hundreds of people wounded in the latest war were treated.

The hospital’s medical director, Dr. Shafi Fouani, said the latest Israel-Hezbollah war was similar to the previous war in 2024.

“It was a very harsh war,” he said about the latest one that broke out on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks against Iran.

He said that during the current war, the hospital dealt with about 500 deaths and treated nearly 1,200 patients, some of whom who were in critical condition and were referred to medical centers in Beirut or the southern city of Sidon.

More than 3,800 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest fighting, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Also, 30 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

On Tuesday, Israeli troops fired artillery shells toward the outskirts of Nabatiyeh while Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli positions near the city. Thuds of the blasts could be clearly heard in Nabatiyeh as Israeli troops have fought for days in an attempt to capture the Ali Taher hill that overlooks large parts of the city.

Lebanese troops closed some roads that lead to areas where Israeli troops are inside Lebanon.

As Jleilati and al-Muhtadi searched through the rubble of their former home, the young woman found a watch that her mother gave her when she was a child. The women were planning to head back to a Beirut suburb later Tuesday where they have been staying, saying they are waiting to see if the truce will hold in order to come back to Nabatiyeh and rent an apartment until their building is rebuilt.

“We cannot live outside Nabatiyeh,” al-Muhtadi said.

Watch the “Houston Life” special program “Gallery of Wonder” in the video player above.

The 9,500 gallery features five immersive exhibits:

• Tot*Spot - This space has been reimagined with an oversized garden, buzzing beehive, meandering path and lots of soft surfaces and rounded corners that provide a safe place for the youngest children to learn.
• Into the Woods - Climb up into a tree and slide down to a sweet little campsite! This mini forest of imagination is perfect for energetic little ones.
• Under the Waves - Explore tunnels and find sea creatures hiding in nooks in this special area designed with calming, sensory-friendly lights, sounds and water displays.
• Viva Village - Calling all little helpers! Viva Village encourages children to learn through play as they groom toy pets, cook in the the play kitchen and run errands at the market. Kids can imagine themselves running a household and even their own business.
• Treetop Terrace - Opening soon! We can’t wait to see this breezy outdoor space where children can drive little cars and run around with new friends!

Children’s Museum Houston also offers nearly two dozen early learning programs where children learn through music, movement, experiments and more. Check out the museum’s full calendar of events here.

The storms threatened to bring heavy downpours that could lead to dangerous floods across southern states including Texas and Louisiana. The system was centered Tuesday afternoon about 55 miles (85 kilometers) south-southwest of Corpus Christi, Texas, according to a hurricane center advisory.

National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan said meteorologists are expecting the system to strengthen, possibly into a tropical storm by early Wednesday. But coastal areas could experience tropical storm conditions this week, even if the system doesn’t officially get a name, Brennan said.

“The main hazard with these types of systems is largely the flooding from the heavy rainfall,” Brennan said. “And we could see potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding across the Texas coast eastward into central Mississippi through Thursday. Prolonged rainfall may extend the flood threat into the weekend.”

Tornadoes were possible from the upper Texas coast across southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, forecasters said.

The storm's maximum sustained winds were around 30 mph (45 kph) Tuesday, just shy of the 39 mph (63 kph) needed to be named a tropical storm. The system had a 70% chance of forming into a tropical cyclone over the next two days, the hurricane center said.

Houston, where a World Cup match between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is scheduled for Wednesday, has been under a flood warning since Monday. The stadium is covered, and no plans have been announced to move or reschedule the match.

By Thursday, the storms could drop 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain, with isolated totals of a foot (30 centimeters) in coastal areas.

A tropical storm watch was already in effect from Sargent, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana. Rough surf could cause rip currents along the Gulf for the next couple of days.

A Canadian federal court heard the appeal Tuesday, just one day before Ghana faces Panama in Toronto.

Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had criticized the visa denial for Partey, who awaits trial in Britain, as a “high-handed and extremely unfair decision.”

Partey faces allegations from several women dating to his time playing for English club Arsenal from 2020-25. Partey, who played in Spain for Villarreal this past season, has pleaded not guilty.

In March, a lawyer for Partey said the player intends to plead not guilty to two new charges of rape after a woman alleged Partey twice raped her on the same day in December 2020. Partey had separately been awaiting trial on five counts of rape related to two other women and one count of sexual assault involving another woman, and the new allegations arose after the first set of charges were publicized.

Partey’s lawyer, Mackeda Bramwell, told the court Tuesday that as a World Cup host nation, Canada has a “public interest” in allowing the “orderly participation of accredited national team athletes.”

In a statement submitted to the court, Partey said he would remain under constant supervision of team officials, and will leave Canada when the team does.

Millions of his countrymen are hoping the team advances to the the knockout round, he said.

“I have not been convicted of any offense. I have pleaded not guilty, and I remain presumed innocent,” Partey said.

Canada officials have said immigration decisions are made on a case-by-case basis regardless of the World Cup.

Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz had cited a presumption of innocence for Partey when he included the player in his World Cup squad.

Ghana's base camp for the World Cup is in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Even if Tuesday's appeal fails, Partey will still be eligible to play June 23 when Ghana faces England in Massachusetts. Ghana concludes group play June 27 against Croatia in Philadelphia.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

A string of arson attacks targeting a car and two London homes linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had attracted little attention, possibly because the then 21-year-old attacker, a Ukrainian recruited online, was not very good at documenting them.

One video that was supposed to show Starmer’s former car on fire lasted only seconds. The second, filmed in the dark, largely captured the repeated sound of striking matches.

El Money wanted publicity and was prepared to pay.

The attacker, Roman Lavrynovych, was found guilty Monday alongside his accomplice. But the person — or network — behind the online persona of El Money has escaped public blame or punishment.

The plot fits the description of Russian state-backed sabotage, said Cmdr. Dominic Murphy, who has spent two decades investigating such activities — including previous high-profile attacks — and who oversaw the initial investigation into the fires before retiring in March.

But establishing Moscow's involvement is difficult. There is a difference between proving something in court — which could raise public awareness — and assessing such attacks in the context of a wider threat and often classified and incomplete intelligence.

European officials say Moscow is exploiting that space as it carries out a sabotage campaign against European countries that support Ukraine. The Associated Press has tracked at least 192 attacks across Europe since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that include arson and cyberattacks as well as attempted assassinations.

When asked by AP in June if Russia is waging a covert war against the West, President Vladimir Putin brushed the allegations off.

“What are the specific facts?” he said. “What has been proven?”

The U.K. Home Office called the fires an “abhorrent attack” in a statement and said those responsible have been brought to justice. It did not respond to requests for comment about whether the British government blamed Russia.

Three arson attacks targeted property linked to Starmer

Lavrynovych was tasked with setting and filming the fires over several days in May 2025, according to evidence presented during his six-week trial.

El Money recruited him online and sent detailed instructions, including the locations of the targets and how to mix flammable liquids from a hardware store.

The attacks did not cause injuries or major damage, but the prime minister’s sister-in-law, Judith Alexander, said she was left “struggling to breathe” after smoke filled her house in the third attack. She and her family were staying at the residence, which had been Starmer's home before he became prime minister.

“It’s all dead quiet so far — not a single article or announcement about the incident on this street,” El Money wrote to Lavrynovych on the messaging app Telegram after the fire.

It had, however, attracted the attention of British counterterrorism police.

Jurors heard little about the ‘devil in the background’

At the trial, jurors heard extensive evidence about how Lavrynovych conspired to set the fires — and almost nothing about the person or group of people who ordered them.

He was initially paid to post anti-Islam posters and graffiti in Muslim neighborhoods of London, an apparent attempt to stoke unrest. He told the court he was offered larger sums for the fires — and threatened if he did not comply. His lawyer, James Scobie, said he was a “vulnerable, ignorant” puppet in the hands of a serious operator.

“It must be a bit of a frustration that no part of this case has really looked into the devil in the background,” said Scobie. Without mentioning Russia by name, he said the attacks targeted Starmer over his support for Ukraine, calling them an assault on “the very institutions and fabric of this country.”

Prosecutors, however, did not bring charges under Britain's National Security Act, passed in 2023 to counter state threats, so no evidence was presented of a wider conspiracy linked to Moscow.

El Money is the “central figure in the case but a man or group about whom we know very little,” Justice Neil Garnham said. For that reason, he directed the jury “not to speculate about him.”

There's a gap between evidence and intelligence

Police have “no evidence to suggest that this was a state-backed threat and target on the prime minister,” said Helen Flanagan, the current head of counterterrorism police. She was referring to evidence gathered by police, as opposed to classified intelligence assessments.

European intelligence services say Russia is recruiting people online and paying them relatively small sums of money to carry out sabotage. Last year, a British court found three men guilty in the torching of a London warehouse. Prosecutors said the ringleader was recruited online for a plot masterminded by Russia’s intelligence services.

Murphy said there is a difference between assessing state-level involvement in an attack and using evidence like cellphone data and messages to prove something in court beyond a reasonable doubt.

Sometimes evidence, particularly from intelligence services, cannot be shown to jurors because it would reveal “highly sensitive capabilities and tactics,” Murphy said.

Investigators spend “a huge amount of time and effort” trying to identify the individuals overseas behind attacks, he said. They comb digital devices, online footprints and links among suspected co-conspirators, often working with partner countries.

He said evidence gathered by police showed that El Money spoke Russian and is “likely to be in Russia.” El Money's methods were “very similar” to those known to be used by Russian intelligence services acting in the U.K. Such plots, he said, often have “very senior sign-off.”

But that’s not enough for a jury — or, it seems, to publicly assign blame.

AP asked various departments if the government plans to attribute the attack to Russia or if there was additional evidence suggesting a link to the Russian state that was not shown in court.

The prime minister’s office referred questions to the Home Office, which provided the statement about the case but did not answer questions about Russian involvement. In a statement, U.K. counterterrorism police said a thorough investigation has been carried out and that it does not comment on matters of intelligence.

Officials say the threat from Moscow is growing

British intelligence agencies have accused Russia of probing the U.K. and its European allies with activities just below the threshold of conventional war. Court cases are key to raising public awareness of the threat and can lead to tougher action, such as sanctions, said Murphy.

“We need to keep calling Russia out and we need to ensure our society is as resilient as it possibly can be,” he said, calling for a wider public conversation about the threat from Moscow, including to critical infrastructure.

Murphy was a lead investigator into the attempted killing of Sergei Skripal, a Russian former military intelligence officer, in 2018. The U.K. attributed that attack to Moscow, and it led to a mass expulsion of Russian diplomats — and spies — from Western countries.

Since then, Russia has shifted toward the recruitment of local proxies.

Shortly before police arrested Lavrynovych, El Money wrote to him, promising to pay.

“Don't worry, I won't set you up,” El Money wrote. But Lavrynovych never got the money.

There is “only one winner” in the case, Scobie told the court as he argued for his client, “the anonymous devil who manipulated, used and won.”

The company said Tuesday it’s bringing back fried apple pies for the first time in more than three decades. They’ll be available at most U.S. restaurants for a limited time starting June 23.

McDonald’s is one of several fast-food companies offering semiquincentennial treats. Burger King recently debuted its Firecracker Cookie Pie, which has a sugar cookie crust and red, white and blue star-shaped sprinkles. Sonic is offering a red, white and blue slush float for $2.50. Hardee's has an iced Star-Spangled Biscuit with red and blue sprinkles.

Here’s a look at McDonald’s fried apple pies by the numbers:

— 1968: The year McDonald’s introduced both its fried apple pie and the Big Mac hamburger. Litton Cochran, a McDonald's franchisee in Tennessee, developed the rectangle-shaped pie, which was served in a cardboard sleeve. 1968 was a momentous year that included the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis and Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles, protests against the Vietnam War and the signing of a federal law prohibiting housing discrimination.

— 1992: The year McDonald’s replaced the fried apple pie with a baked version in most of the U.S., responding to growing consumer awareness of fat and cholesterol consumption. The U.S. Department of Agriculture first published its food guide pyramid the same year. Fried apple pie remained on McDonald's menus in Hawaii and is still sold in some other countries, including the United Kingdom, Mexico, Greece, Australia and China.

— 230: Number of calories in McDonald’s baked apple pie. That’s 10 more calories than the fried version, according to the company’s website. A cup of boiled lentils, a single almond Snickers bar and a grande Frappucino from Starbucks have the same calorie count, according to publicly available nutrition information.

— 130: Number of members of the Facebook group “Bring Back the Original McDonald’s Fried Apple Pie.” By comparison, there are 1,100 members lobbying McDonald's in the “Bring Back the McRib” Facebook group and 928 members of the “McDonald's, Bring Back the Szechuan Sauce” Facebook group.

— 170 million: Number of American-grown apples that McDonald’s says it serves every year at its U.S. stores.

— 35: Height, in feet, of a giant fried apple pie that McDonald’s is installing on Route 66 in Joliet, Illinois, near McDonald's Chicago headquarters. That's about the height of a three-story house and some species of palm trees. The giant apple pie will stay in place until July 4, the company said.

The Iran war has recently overshadowed Ukraine, but Trump said he wants to shift the focus following the announcement of an agreement to end the 3 1/2-month-old conflict in the Gulf.

Trump said Iran will soon be “back in the rearview mirror.”

Trump said the sanctions on Russia that were eased during the Iran war to help lower oil prices can go back in place as more oil moves through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Soon we’ll be able to do that because the oil is now flowing,” Trump told reporters in Evian, the French spa town close to the Swiss border that is hosting the summit. “We’re in a position to do that soon.”

The U.S. in March temporarily eased some sanctions on some Russian oil shipments as crude prices sharply increased. The waiver has been extended.

Zelenskyy joins G7 leaders for talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined the G7 leaders for talks on the war in his country. They wrapped quickly, after just 75 minutes.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is serious about peace while Russia toys with world leaders. “The entire ‘Seven’ supports Ukraine unanimously today,” he said.

Zelenskyy added that G7 leaders supported Ukraine’s need for more Patriot missiles and discussed how to increase production by licensing production. Patriot missiles are able to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and cities.

As the U.S. under Trump has cut back aid to Ukraine, France and its European allies are now the biggest providers of military and financial support to Kyiv.

Trump downplayed the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the U.S. but lamented the death toll.

“The whole thing is ridiculous,” Trump said. “So, yeah, I’m going to do whatever I can.”

Meanwhile, the U.K. announced new sanctions targeting the “ shadow fleet ” Russia uses to ship oil and gas, and the finance networks used by Moscow to evade Western sanctions. The ships targeted include several recently purchased by Russia to transport liquefied natural gas from its sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.

Russia fires again at Ukraine's biggest cities

Hours before the summit began Monday, Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s biggest cities in a barrage that killed 11 people and set fire to a religious landmark.

The attacks came after Zelenskyy and Putin spoke separately by phone with Trump on Sunday, the U.S. leader's 80th birthday.

While campaigning in 2024 for a return to the White House, Trump claimed he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. However, negotiations have faltered and Trump has acknowledged it has proved much harder than he thought.

Ukraine on Monday officially started European Union membership negotiations, launching a process that will require its government to commit to years of political reforms even as it fights the Russian invasion.

Ukraine sees EU membership as a security guarantee for a stable future once the war ends. Its best guarantee would be membership in the NATO military alliance, but the Trump administration insists that cannot happen, and others are wary of Ukraine joining while the war continues.

Trump says he may send Iran deal to Congress

The U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal got plenty of attention at Tuesday’s sessions, with Trump voicing his openness to sending the deal to Congress for review. The text has not been made public.

“I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” Trump said at the start of a meeting with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the summit's sidelines. He added, “I mean who wouldn’t approve it?”

Republicans on Capitol Hill say they want Trump to provide more information about the agreement, with some expressing skepticism that the deal can deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.

Trump also met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. The Gulf nations are not part of the G7, but French President Emmanuel Macron extended invitations to their leaders at a fraught moment for their region.

Trump also expressed frustration over Israel’s continued hostilities with the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon, telling reporters he’s “not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah.”

Trump said Israeli operations to target Hezbollah “should have been able to deal with them faster,” adding: “It just goes on forever. And when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal. And that’s the deal with Iran.”

Macron said France and other Western partners are “ready to take action very quickly” to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz peacefully to ease the economic impact of rising oil prices. France and the U.K. have championed a mission to restore maritime security there as soon as conditions allow.

The G7 comprises France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Other guest nations, including Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea, were invited to participate in some discussions.

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Madhani reported from Geneva. Jill Lawless and Samuel Petrequin in London, Collin Binkley in Washington and Illia Novikov in Kyiv contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump is at the center of each contest.

In the Senate race, the president made a late endorsement of Rep. Mike Collins, a second-term congressman who calls himself a “MAGA warrior,” over Derek Dooley, a first-time candidate and former football coach who has the backing of outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp.

Trump picked his candidate for governor 10 months ago, endorsing Burt Jones, the Georgia lieutenant governor who was part of Trump’s attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to former President Joe Biden. In that race, it was Kemp who made a late-hour endorsement, announcing his support for Jones on Sunday.

The power of Trump's endorsement — and Kemp's — is being tested by billionaire Rick Jackson, whose campaign has spent more than $100 million, mostly out of his own pocket, to win the nomination.

Senate contest previews a titanic fall fight

Georgia is key to the national fight for control of Capitol Hill. Ossoff, first elected in the 2020 cycle, is the only Democratic senator running in a state Trump won in 2024; Democrats desperately need to keep his seat if they hope to notch a net gain of four seats in order to have a majority.

Republicans’ choice hinges on a familiar debate over electability, with Dooley, 58, insisting his newcomer status is a benefit.

“We have got to get the best candidate to beat Jon Ossoff,” Dooley said at a campaign stop Monday. “The Republican Party has not won a Senate race in 10 years. … We have to learn some lessons from that.”

Before becoming a college and NFL coach, Dooley hailed from a storied family in Georgia sports lore. His father was legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.

The younger Dooley also has criticized Collins for a House ethics complaint accusing the congressman of abusing taxpayer money by paying the girlfriend of a former top aide for a congressional job she allegedly did not perform. An initial inquiry yielded a referral of the matter to the House ethics committee.

Collins, the son of a congressman, celebrated his endorsement from Trump. But he argues that his record actually makes for the best contrast with Ossoff, especially on immigration, and can attract a broader coalition.

“We’ve got a great organization with the right voting record and the right message,” he said.

Collins, 58, sponsored the 2025 Laken Riley Act, which requires immigrants accused of certain crimes to be held without bond. The law is named for a Georgia nursing student killed in 2021 by a man who had entered the U.S. illegally. Ossoff voted against the measure before flipping to back it after Trump returned to the White House.

Collins also emphasizes his ownership of a trucking company, saying it's exposed him to the struggles workers and business owners endure. “We must protect Americans first, protect our people, put them first, get the federal government off the backs of hardworking men and women out there,” he said.

Whoever wins the nomination will face an immediate campaign finance gap and depend heavily on national GOP resources. By the end of May, neither GOP hopeful had reached $5 million in fundraising and both had less than $2 million on hand. Through late April, the last time Ossoff had to file before his uncontested primary, the senator had raised $60.4 million and had $32.5 million on hand.

What voters in Georgia are saying

Voters Jenny Beth Martin and Debbie Dooley — who has no relation to Derek Dooley — were split over which Republican has the best chance of defeating Ossoff.

Martin, who supported Collins, says energizing the conservative base is necessary to protect Republican majorities that aren’t populated with Republican “anti-Trumpers” or “liberals like Jon Ossoff.”

But Debbie Dooley, who voted for Derek Dooley, said Collins has too much baggage and is too closely tied to the far-right to win.

“He will drag down the whole Republican ticket in Georgia,” she predicted. “This is about actually winning. It’s not about just following Donald Trump.”

Gubernatorial primary is a unique challenge for Trump

The president’s preferred primary candidates have a strong record so far in 2026. But none have faced a self-funded rival with Jackson’s spending power.

Jackson, a 71-year-old business owner, amassed a fortune from his company that provides contract healthcare personnel, and he's used it to blanket television and online platforms with ads. Appealing to hardcore Trump supporters, he’s pledged that immigrants in Georgia illegally will be “deported or departed.” He promises a slew of tax cuts. And previewing a potential general election argument, he’s played up his biography as a product of the state foster care system and featured his grandchildren advising him on how to make friendlier ads.

Jones, 47, comes from a wealthy family but is running a more modest campaign. Framing himself as a “proven leader,” Jones proposes eliminating Georgia’s state income tax — without detailing how he’d make up the revenue. And he trumpets his presidential seal of approval and time as a University of Georgia football player in the 1990s. As lieutenant governor, Jones pushed legislation that ultimately did not pass but would have disqualified Jackson’s company from receiving taxpayer-funded contracts.

Trump did not travel to Georgia to campaign with Jones but he's given the lieutenant governor a fresh round of support on social media and called in to a telephone rally during the early voting period.

“Burt was strongly committed to my Campaign in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and worked tirelessly to help us WIN. He has been with us from the very beginning,” Trump posted on Truth Social last week.

Runoffs for elections chief could shape 2028

Georgia's secretary of state race is open for the first time since Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 election, famously pressuring outgoing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,800 votes” to overtake Biden. Raffensberger refused.

For his potential successor, Republicans are left to choose between an outright election denier, Vernon Jones, and a state lawmaker, Tim Fleming, who avoids explicitly disputing the president’s 2020 election lies.

Jones, a perennial candidate who was once a Democrat, embraced Trump’s “stop the steal” movement and says he stands “with those who believe there was election fraud.” Fleming, who once served as deputy secretary of state, says there were “irregularities” in 2020, a word choice that has become code for Republicans who want neither to ratify nor call out Trump’s errant claims.

Democrats will choose between Dana Barrett, a Fulton County commissioner, and Penny Brown Reynolds, a former state judge in Fulton County who also served in the Biden administration as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights for the Department of Agriculture.

10:00 The National Hurricane Service has now issued an update on Potential Tropical Storm Cyclone One.

The tropical development is expected to turn into a tropical storm sometime between now and Wednesday.

We’ll continue to watch for potentially life-threating flash and urban flooding for parts of the Texas coast moving eastward into central Mississippi through Thursday.

A Tropical Storm Watch has now been issued for parts of our viewing area

That Tropical Storm Watch is until Monday at 9:55 a.m., but could expire sooner.

Widespread small stream and minor river flooding is expected along the Texas coast into SW Louisiana with isolated areas of significant flooding possible on the Texas and Louisiana Coasts.

9:30 Update: The National Hurricane Center will issue advisory on Potential Tropical Cyclone One at 10 am.

You can keep an eye on radar anytime right here:

• Visiting Houston for the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Here’s what you need to know about Texas weather

Rainfall rates could exceed 2 to 4 inches per hour at times, overwhelming drainage systems and leading to flash flooding with little warning. While not everyone will experience flooding, any area caught beneath persistent rain bands could see rapidly deteriorating conditions.

Most of Southeast Texas is forecast to receive 4 to 7 inches of rainfall through the end of the week, but localized amounts of 10 -15 inches or more are possible where the heaviest rain repeatedly falls.

The exact location of those higher totals remains uncertain and will likely shift as new forecast data becomes available. Residents should remain weather aware, closely monitor forecast updates, and avoid driving through flooded roadways.

Remember: Turn Around, Don’t Drown. Even a small amount of moving water can sweep away a vehicle.

If flooding develops in your area, we’d love to see what you’re seeing. If you can do so safely, submit photos and videos through Click2Pins to help us track conditions across Southeast Texas. Your reports help our weather team identify areas experiencing flooding and may be featured on-air, online, or on our social media platforms. However, no photo or video is worth risking your safety.

📍Send us your weather pics and let’s track the storms together.

LIVE RADAR: Extreme rainfall rates cause street flooding in some areas

LIST: Houston-area intersections, roads most likely to flood during heavy rain

Here’s how to submit. There are four ways to make it easy📸🤳:

1. Go to Click2Pins.com to share them! It’s easy -- login or create an account. Go to the upload a pin button, find your photo on your phone, and tell us about it. Choose your category under a channel, then click upload and you’re done!
2. Go to the Click2Houston app and click on the top left menu. In the dropdown tap Click2Pins. Log in or create an account. Go to the upload a pin button, find your photo on your phone, and tell us about it. Choose a category and channel that fits best, then click upload pin.
3. Go to the KPRC 2+ app, click on the menu at the top left of the screen to find Click2Pins, or scroll down to the Click2Pins box. Go to the upload a pin button, find your photo on your phone, and tell us about it. Choose a category and channel that fits your pic best, then click upload pin.
4. Go to the KPRC 2 weather app and click on the camera icon at the bottom of the screen. Log in or create an account. Go to the upload a pin button, find your photo on your phone, and tell us about it. Choose a category and channel that fits best, then click upload pin.

Flash Flood

Flooding caused by the rapid rise of water in rivers, creeks, other waterways, or urban/developed areas as a result of intense rainfall over a small area. Flash flooding usually happens within minutes to several hours after a heavy rainfall event.

Flash Flood Watch

An announcement is issued when conditions are favorable for flash flooding. It does not mean that flash flooding will occur, but it is possible.

Flash Flood Warning

A warning is issued when flash flooding is imminent or occurring.

Flood

Overflowing of a stream or other body of water. Or, the accumulation of water over areas that are not normally submerged.

Flood Watch

An announcement is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible.

Flood Warning

A warning is issued when flooding is imminent or occurring.

The first full day of the G7 summit of leading industrialized nations is being held in the French town of Evian-les-Bains.

Shortly before his arrival, Trump announced an agreement to end the 3 1/2-month-old U.S. war against Iran.

“Now that this (Iran) is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that,” Trump said, referring to efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

A working session is aimed at ensuring stability in the Middle East, with discussion expected on the global economic crisis resulting from the war's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The G7 includes France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Guest nations at this summit include Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, South Korea, Qatar, Ukraine and the UAE.

Here is the latest:

Vance says he was late for radio show because Trump called to check on ‘progress’ of Iran deal

Megyn Kelly was ready to bring Vice President JD Vance live onto her radio show, but she told listeners that they’d have to wait because Vance was on the phone with Trump.

Once he’d gotten mic’d up with Kelly, Vance said Trump — who is in France for the G7 conference — “just called me to check in on how things are going” and on “the progress of the deal” concerning the Iran war.

Vance told Kelly he has been trying to correct misinformation about what is and isn’t part of the deal.

Details of the agreement announced by Trump have not been made public.

The deal is centered around reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States’ naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran, if it meets certain benchmarks.

For the second consecutive day, Vance flubbed the name of the Gulf alliance, referring to it as the Gulf Coast Coalition instead of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Modi, Carney aim to reach Canada-India trade deal before December G20 summit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he would like to conclude a trade deal with Canada before he visits Canada later this year.

And Carney says he would like it done by the Group of 20 summit in Florida in mid-December.

Carney met Modi at the G7 summit and noted Modi wants to double Canada-India trade. Carney wants to double non-U.S. trade in the next decade after Trump imposed tariffs on Canada.

The ties between India and Canada were strained under Carney’s predecessor in the wake of the 2023 killing of a Sikh activist in Canada.

G7 explores alternatives to Strait of Hormuz for global energy supplies

The leaders’ discussions about the vital waterway at their summit in France have included looking at other supply routes that could be opened to bring oil and gas out of the Persian Gulf, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“There were discussions to see how we can depend less on the strait,” he said. “This has to change for the future.”

Before the Iran war, a fifth of the world’s crude oil passed through the maritime chokepoint.

“Part of the discussions were, ‘OK, how can we imagine, finance, and build infrastructures, sometimes on the terrestrial part, that will be able to go outside of the track of the Strait of Hormuz?’” Confavreux said.

Has Netanyahu seen the US-Iran memo?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not seen the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran as of Tuesday evening, said a person familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity to discuss closed-door details. Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment from The AP.

Though Israel is not party to the agreement, it is directly implicated. Iran’s top diplomat has said that the agreement requires Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, where it is fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon and where its troops occupy a large southern swath of the country. Israeli officials have said they do not plan to withdraw.

— By Julia Frankel

G7 leaders sound concerns about Ebola

They say they want “a strong and coordinated response” to the month-old Ebola outbreak centered on Congo, and that their countries will work more closely together on “appropriate and effective travel, quarantine, and isolation procedures” for people who have been to affected regions.

Their statement, issued on day 2 of the G7 summit notes that globally, millions of people will be traveling in coming weeks for the World Cup and other reasons.

“We must ensure that they can do so safely,” they said. They pledged support to help develop and deliver vaccines.

They also issued statements about aid for developing countries and committing to accelerate the fight against cancer.

Chuck Schumer calls for briefing on tentative agreement with Iran

The Senate Democratic leader is calling on Trump to brief Congress and the American people on the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war in Iran.

Schumer says Americans have been told dozens of times over the course of the conflict that it was over, only to be disappointed.

“Trump has yet to give Americans a reason to believe that this latest peace deal won’t leave them disappointed again,” Schumer said Tuesday on the Senate floor.

Schumer says the conflict has left America worse off, with gas prices dramatically higher and an Iranian regime he says is more extreme than before.

“Trump needs to reveal the deal and end this war once and for all,” Schumer says.

Iran war makes energy security a top priority in Southeast Asia

An International Energy Agency report released Tuesday says the Iran war could cost Southeast Asia billions of dollars if it doesn’t diversify sources of energy more quickly.

The energy shock from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent the region into a state of energy triage, leading to higher energy bills and rising inflation. In response, the region has seen rising sales of electric vehicles, a renewed interest in nuclear power and a boom in rooftop solar and other renewable energy installations, the report says.

But without more sweeping reforms, the region’s energy import bill could triple from $80 billion in 2024 to $245 billion by 2035, the report warns. And meanwhile, the conflict has reinforced the need for coal in times of crisis, a setback for efforts to phase out fossil fuels.

“Diversification of energy sources and supply routes is now a central priority,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA executive director.

▶ Read more

Officials say Zelenskyy showed Trump photos of bomb-damaged Kyiv cathedral

European officials said Zelenskyy showed Trump some photos of the damage at the Dormition Cathedral, a revered religious landmark in Kyiv that was set ablaze in a Russian bombing.

Three officials with knowledge of the matter spoke anonymously, because they were not allowed to disclose details about leaders’ talks at the G7 meeting.

Without confirming Zelenskyy’s use of photos, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said in an Associated Press interview that the strike was discussed at the leaders’ meeting and that “everyone” was shocked.

Asked whether Zelenskyy showed photos of the church attack to Trump and other leaders, Confavreux said “the discussions remain in the room.” But he confirmed that they discussed the latest strikes “and how unacceptable they were for everyone, because they were against international law.”

Secret US-Iran memorandum to be signed in Swiss resort

Switzerland’s foreign ministry says a signing ceremony for a deal between the United States and Iran will take place Friday at the Bürgenstock resort near the city of Luzern.

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs says the location was proposed by Pakistani and Qatari mediators, along with the U.S. and Iran. It said it has been in close contact with the four countries about the possible signing of the “memorandum of understanding.”

Details of the agreement announced by Trump have not been made public. The deal is centered around reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States’ naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks.

The resort, which sits atop a mountain and features breathtaking views of Lake Lucerne, hosted an international conference on Ukraine two years ago.

Iran says the US war deal requires Israel to withdraw from Lebanon

Iran’s top diplomat said Tuesday that the tentative deal to end the war with the United States would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon — a condition Israel has already rejected. The contradictory interpretations could sink the agreement and lead to the resumption of all-out war.

The deal between the U.S. and Iran has not been made public, and while Israel is not party to the agreement, it is part of the war: It joined the U.S. in launching strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, and has since fought the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon and seized large swaths of that country.

“Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal’s outlines said it did not call for an Israeli withdrawal. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would remain in Lebanon “as long as necessary.”

▶ Read more

— By Jon Gambrell, Sam Metz and Samy Magdy

Trump’s Iran deal greeted with skepticism on Capitol Hill

Republicans on Capitol Hill are expressing skepticism and asking the White House for details about Trump’s announced deal to end the war in Iran. Responding to a reporter’s question at the G7 summit on Tuesday, Trump said he’s open to a congressional review of the agreement, which is set for a ceremonial signing Friday in Switzerland.

The deal is centered around reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States’ naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks. But Senate Republicans and Democrats said Monday that many questions remain unresolved and they need thorough briefings before it is finalized.

“I just don’t know enough about it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters in the Capitol.

“If it’s a secret deal then how can I take it seriously?” asked Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

▶ Read more

UK-EU summit date announced at last

Britain and the European Union have announced the date for a summit seen as a key step in rebuilding their relationship.

European Council President Antonio Costa says the meeting will be held in Brussels on July 22. Costa met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the G7 summit on Tuesday.

There has been a question mark over the date due to uncertainty about Starmer’s future. He is facing calls to resign and a potential leadership challenge this summer.

Trump says he’s hasn’t been briefed on alleged plot to attack UFC event

“I haven’t heard about it, no,” Trump said when asked by a reporter about the alleged plot to target the high profile event. “The attack that I watched were the fighters.”

FBI director Kash Patel announced earlier Tuesday that law enforcement officials had disrupted “planned attacks” meant to target the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House this past weekend, and that multiple people were in custody.

▶ Read more

Why Trump said yes to dinner at Versailles

The president said the opulent setting of his scheduled one-on-one dinner with Macron was a factor in his decision to extend his stay after the summit — the two are scheduled to dine at the Palace of Versailles.

“I’m a fan of beautiful places, and I was leaving in the afternoon, and then the French president who happens to be a very nice man, invited me to dinner at Versailles,” Trump said. “And Versailles is not gold leaf — Versailles is the real deal. And I said I’d like to do it.”

Trump said it will have little impact on his schedule, noting that he’s “not a big sleeper anyway” and will get home early in the morning: “I won’t lose any time in the Oval Office.”

Zelenskyy says Ukraine is serious about peace while Russia toys with world leaders

“The entire ‘Seven’ supports Ukraine unanimously today,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters at the doorstep of the G7 summit today.

He said that all G7 partners of Ukraine recognize Ukraine’s readiness to meet with the Russian side to establish a ceasefire, its active engagement on the battlefield, and its effective capabilities in mid- and long-range strikes.

The Russian side, meanwhile, is failing to show any serious activity toward peace, he said, calling Russia’s actions “a game.”

“It’s important that at the G7 meeting everyone realizes that. It’s important.”

Trump says US plans to resume sanctions on Russian oil shipments

Asked if he would reinstitute sanctions that were eased to help lower oil prices, Trump said the restrictions can resume as more oil moves through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Soon we’ll be able to do that because the oil is now flowing,” Trump told reporters. “We’re in a position to do that soon.”

The U.S. in March temporarily eased some sanctions on some Russian oil shipments as crude prices sharply increased. The waiver has been extended as the war stretched on.

Trump tells Carney he likes Canada’s cap on Chinese EV imports

A microphone recorded them talking about how less than three percent of Canada’s market, 49,000 cars, will be allowed to enter from China.

“It’s a cap, we capped, a hard line,” Carney said. “I thought you’d actually like that.”

“That’s good, I like it,” Trump responded.

Breaking with the United States, Canada agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars earlier this year in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products. Carney said then that an initial annual cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports coming into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1% would grow to about 70,000 over five years.

Trump says he’d send Iran deal to Congress for review

The president voiced his openness to making the move at the start of a meeting with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French Alps.

“I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” Trump said. He added, “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”

Republicans on Capitol Hill say they want Trump to provide more information about the agreement between the United States and Iran, with some expressing skepticism that the deal can deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.

Trump speaks to EU leader about Greenland in another hot mic moment

Sitting down before a meeting about Ukraine, Trump was caught on a hot mic speaking about Greenland with European Council President António Costa.

“You understand?” Trump said before pausing and eyeing Costa. “Greenland.”

The start and end of the conversation is unclear.

European politicians across the continent were infuriated when Trump threatened in January to seize the large Arctic island, a territory of EU-member Denmark. The idea raised fears of splitting up of the NATO military alliance, and spurred Denmark to increase its military presence there.

Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — sent small, symbolic numbers of troops to the island.

Trump jokes about stealing Macron’s watch

In a lighter moment, a microphone caught Trump joking about stealing Macron ’s watch.

After one of the leaders asked where Macron went during the working lunch, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said, “He’s left his watch here. We’ve got his watch.”

“Give me it if he left, gimmie,” Trump responded, followed by laughter by the group.

Spouses of foreign leaders tour lakeside town near G7 summit

France’s Brigitte Macron led a tour of spouses of world leaders to the lakeside town of Yvoire during the G7 summit in France.

With security in tow, Macron led the group — Canada’s Diana Fox Carney, Britain’s Victoria Starmer, Germany’s Charlotte Merz, Kenya’s Rachel Kimetto, Brazil’s Janja Lula da Silva, and Heiko von der Leyen, husband of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — on a walk through the town on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Children gave the spouses bouquets of flowers and locals gawked at the small group of dignitaries.

Starmer senses a ‘mood change’ on Ukraine

Starmer said G7 leaders share a sense that “things are changing” and Ukraine is regaining the initiative in its war with Russia.

Speaking to British broadcasters, the U.K. prime minister said “there was real unity in the room” when Trump and the other G7 leaders discussed the conflict.

He said they agreed “that Ukraine is doing better now, regaining territory, that the sanctions are having a real impact on Russia, and a real sense that now is the moment for all of us as a G7 to ramp up the pressure.”

Zelenskyy says G7 supports boosting Patriot missile production

Zelenskyy said he had a positive meeting with G7 leaders who supported Ukraine’s need for more Patriot missiles and discussed how to increase production by licensing production.

Speaking during a bilateral meeting with Carney after earlier meeting with the all the G7 leaders, including Trump, Zelenskyy said his allies agreed that Russia is not winning and that they have to push Putin to end the war.

Patriot missiles are able to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and cities.

Papier mache heads of state gather at the summit

Oxfam activists wearing papier mache heads depicting the G7 leaders made an appearance near the summit location for a satirical, but sedate, protest.

Oxfam has used the outsized eye-catching heads — depicting Trump, Meloni, Merz, Carney, Takaichi, Macron and Starmer — for several protests around the summit.

The demonstration outside the security bubble thrown around the summit, in a park overlooking the clear-blue waters of Lake Geneva, was intended to draw attention to a lack of clean water for the people of Gaza.

No G7 invite received for Putin-Zelenskyy talks, Kremlin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not receive an invitation from Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend the G7 summit through official channels.

Asked whether such an invitation had been made, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Of course there wasn’t. As you know, there aren’t even any official channels between Moscow and Kyiv.”

Peskov said Putin has repeatedly said Zelenskyy could go to Moscow. “If Zelenskyy is ready to talk responsibly and seriously … he can always come to Moscow, where he will be received,” Peskov said.

Zelenskyy and Trump meet on sidelines of G7 summit

Zelenskyy and Trump have held talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France.

Zelenskyy posted photos of the meeting on social media, writing that “it is always important to coordinate positions.”

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council chief, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also took part, the photos showed. In one image, the two leaders sat close enough that their knees nearly touched.

The encounter between the two presidents “was in the context of the general meeting at the summit,” Zelenskyy’s communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters, suggesting a separate meeting would take place later.

G7 leaders meeting with leaders of Egypt, Qatar and UAE

The leaders of the G7 are holding a meeting with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.

They are attending a working lunch dubbed “Addressing Crises and Ensuring Stability in the Middle East.”

The Middle East countries are not G7 members, but were invited to the summit at a tumultuous moment for the region and beyond because of the Iran war.

Ceasefire should ‘mean a definitive end' to Iran’s nuclear program, EU says

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Trump at the G7 summit and then took to social media to congratulate him on striking a ceasefire with Tehran.

“We both agree that it should mean a definitive end to Iran’s nuclear programme. The Strait will reopen. Oil prices are falling. And that’s how diplomacy delivers,” von der Leyen said in a post.

Economies across the European Union have been rattled by rising fuel and fertilizer prices.

Trump says Syria could handle Hezbollah better than Israel

Trump said he proposed asking Syria to help against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah,” Trump said. “Because to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job.”

Syria has a long complicated relationship with Lebanon, with Syrian troops maintaining a military occupation in the country from 1976 to 2005.

The complaint filed in Franklin, Tennessee, by the “Hard Fought Hallelujah” singer lists the reason for divorce as irreconcilable differences. The couple were married in Las Vegas in 2016. The filing lists the date of separation as May 9.

Jelly Roll, whose given name is Jason DeFord, won three Grammys earlier this year, including best contemporary country album for “Beautifully Broken.”

In his acceptance speech for the album award, Jelly Roll thanked his wife, Alisa DeFord, who goes by Bunnie Xo, saying, "I would have never changed my life without you. I would have ended up dead or in jail.”

The Nashville native's songs often explore overcoming adversity and his long road back from drugs and prison, and he speaks about his redemption arc to diverse audiences, from people serving time in correctional centers to concert crowds and even in testimony before Congress.

In December, Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Lee issued a pardon for Jelly Roll after friends and civic leaders joined in an outpouring of support.

In a memoir released in February, Xo wrote that Jelly Roll is her “soulmate” and said a true connection kept the couple together through ups and downs. A message to her attorneys seeking comment was not immediately returned on Tuesday. A representative for Jelly Roll also did not immediately respond to messages.

The U.K.'s charity regulator in 2024 disqualified Campbell, 56, as a charity trustee for five years after finding serious financial mismanagement at the Fashion for Relief charity she founded.

The Charity Commission said at the time that thousands of pounds worth of the charity's funds were used to pay for a luxury hotel stay in Cannes, France, for Campbell as well as spa treatments, room service and even cigarettes.

Only 8.5% of the charity’s overall expenditure went to charitable grants in a six-year period from 2016, the regulator said.

Campbell launched an appeal against her ban last year, claiming she was a “victim of fraud and forgery.”

On Tuesday, she told a tribunal that she was deceived by her fellow trustee Bianka Hellmich, who she alleged forged her signature and lied about her credentials as a charity lawyer.

Campbell said she “did not do a check on Bianka,” adding that she had assumed Hellmich was “acting within the law.”

The Charity Commission had also disqualified Hellmich as a charity trustee for nine years after its investigation found she received around 290,000 pounds ($385,000) of unauthorized funds for consultancy services.

Campbell's lawyer, Andrew Westwood, said Hellmich advised her that she could effectively act as a “figurehead” for the charity, while Hellmich “carried out a long-term and consistent scheme of mismanagement and deception in relation to the running of the charity.”

In a written statement ahead of the hearing, the model said she has “never undertaken philanthropic work for personal gain, nor will I ever do so.”

Fashion for Relief was set up in 2005 in the U.S. and registered in the U.K. in 2015, with the aim of uniting the fashion industry to relieve poverty and help those affected by natural or other disasters around the world. The organization was dissolved and removed from the register of charities in 2024.

A third trustee of the charity, Veronica Chou, was barred for four years after the charity watchdog's investigation.

Other witnesses were expected to give evidence on Wednesday.

While they may sound similar, each term describes a different stage in a tropical system’s development.

A tropical cyclone is the general term used for rotating storm systems that form over warm tropical or subtropical waters and have organized thunderstorms and a defined circulation. Depending on wind speeds and organization, these systems are classified into several categories.

Tropical disturbance

A tropical disturbance is the earliest stage of development. It is an area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms that forms in the tropics and may have some signs of circulation, but lacks a well-defined center. Many tropical disturbances never develop further.

Tropical depression

When a disturbance becomes more organized and develops a closed circulation with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph or less, it is classified as a tropical depression. These systems are numbered by the National Hurricane Center but are not given official names.

Tropical storm

Once sustained winds reach 39 mph, the system becomes a tropical storm and receives a name from the National Hurricane Center’s predetermined list. Tropical storms can produce heavy rainfall, flooding, strong winds and dangerous surf conditions. Sustained winds range from 39 mph to 73 mph.

Hurricane

A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when maximum sustained winds reach at least 74 mph. Hurricanes are categorized on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale from Category 1 to Category 5 based on wind speed. Higher categories generally indicate a greater potential for wind damage, although flooding and storm surge can occur with any hurricane.

What about cyclones and typhoons?

Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are essentially the same type of storm. The difference is where they form.

Storms that develop in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific are called hurricanes. Similar storms in the western Pacific are known as typhoons, while those in the Indian Ocean and parts of the South Pacific are often called cyclones.

Why warm water matters

Tropical systems rely on warm ocean water as their fuel source. Most develop over waters that are at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit, along with favorable atmospheric conditions such as moist air and low wind shear.

With the Atlantic hurricane season running from June 1 through Nov. 30, forecasters encourage residents along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts to stay informed and have a hurricane preparedness plan in place before any tropical threat develops.

There were slightly fewer than 5.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While that appears to be a small decline from about 5.5 in 2024 and 5.6 in the two years preceding, researchers say it is statistically meaningful and translates to hundreds of fewer infant deaths per year.

It's difficult to pinpoint what's driving the recent developments, but “this is an encouraging data point, and we hope that this trend will continue,” said Dr. Michael Warren, chief medical and health officer for the March of Dimes.

Infant mortality is the measure of how many babies die before reaching their first birthday. Because the number of babies born in the U.S. varies year to year, researchers calculate rates to compare infant mortality over time.

The overall numbers, too, have been going down. U.S. infant deaths fell to about 19,350 last year, according to provisional CDC data that may rise a little as additional analysis is completed. The final tally is still expected to be down from about 20,050 in 2024 and about 20,160 in 2023, according to the agency.

The U.S. rate has inched down over the decades — it was at 7.5 per 1,000 three decades ago — thanks to medical advances and public health efforts.

But it has remained worse than other high-income countries, which experts have attributed to poverty, inadequate prenatal care and other problems. A study published last year found the U.S. infant mortality rate in 2022 — when the rate rose — was nearly twice as high as what was seen in several other high-income democratic nations, including Italy, Japan, Spain and Sweden.

That was the year of the first statistically significant jump in the U.S. rate in about two decades. Experts attributed that rise to a rebound in RSV and flu infections.

In 2023, U.S. health officials began recommending two new measures to prevent the toll on infants: one was a lab-made antibody shot for infants that helps the immune system fight off the virus, and the other was giving an RSV vaccine to women between 32 weeks and 36 weeks of pregnancy. A March of Dimes expert last year said the effort likely contributed to the improvement in 2024.

Meanwhile, a decline in sudden infant death syndrome could be connected to an increase in education around safe sleeping for infants, Warren said in a statement.

The CDC posted the 2025 provisional data in late May. On Tuesday, the agency released a more in-depth analysis of 2024 infant mortality data, offering details not yet available for 2025. Among that report's highlights:

— Death rates declined both for the youngest infants, less than 28 days old, and for older infants. Those declines continued last year, the 2025 provisional data indicate.

— In 2024, infant mortality continued to differ by race, sometimes dramatically. Death rates for infants born to Black women were more than twice as high as those for the infants of Hispanic, white and Asian American women.

— Researchers noted a decline in the mortality rate for infants born at full term, at 39 to 40 weeks. But rates did not change significantly for other gestational age groups.

— Mississippi had the highest infant mortality rate, at 9.65 deaths per 1,000 births, and New Hampshire had the lowest, at just under 3 per 1,000.

“These differences are reflective of a variety of reasons related to access to care, community factors, and policies that improve health and outcomes,” Warren said.

___

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

• 7600 block of Danehill Drive
• W New Harmony Trail and Creekside Green Drive

Here’s a list and map of locations and intersections to avoid when severe weather moves through the Houston area.

High water barricade locations

City officials said the following intersections or underpasses may be barricaded if flooding becomes a problem:

• Greens Road at 45 N. Fwy.
• Greens Road at E. Hardy Road
• Washington Avenue at Hempstead
• Barker Cypress at W. Parkview
• Barker Cypress at Clay
• Barker Cypress at Saums
• Clay Road at West of Brittmore Road
• Crosstimber at 45 N. Fwy.
• Kelly Road at Hardy Toll Road
• West of Boundary St. at North Main St.
• Jensen Dr. at South of Bennington St.
• Bennington St. at 59 North Fwy.
• Jensen at N. Of 610 Fwy.
• Mesa at N. Of U.S. 90 Hwy.
• Katy Road at Silver Eagle
• Allen Pkwy. at Waugh Dr.
• Memorial at Waugh Dr.
• White Oak at Taylor
• White Oak at Sabine
• Studewood at I-10 Fwy.
• Center St. at Houston Ave.
• Houston Ave. at I-10 Fwy.
• North Main at Burnett
• 2900 Allen Pkwy. at Montrose Dr.
• Memorial at Shepherd
• Memorial at Studewood
• Memorial Dr. at Houston Avenue
• Lamar St. at Bagby
• Walker St. at West of Bagby
• Travis St. at I-10 Fwy.
• Louisiana St. at North of Franklin St.
• 1300 Commerce St. at Austin St.
• Texas St. at Prairie St.
• Franklin St. at St. Emanuel St.
• Jensen Dr. at North of Lyons Ave.
• 7000 Main St. at Holcombe Blvd.
• 7000 Fannin St. at Holcombe Blvd.
• Lawndale St. at Braes Bayou
• 9600 Lawndale at E. Of Goodyear Dr.
• Galveston Rd. at S. Of Howard

KPRC 2 FLOOD TRACKER: Get alerted if flooding is occurring in your immediate area

Underpass locations

City officials said the underpasses at the following locations could become problematic if heavy rain falls:

• 100 Milam St
• 100 Shepherd Dr Fr
• 100 Yale
• 1000 Houston Ave
• 11600 West Park
• 11700 Richmond
• 11700 West Park
• 1200 Studemont
• 1200 Wayside
• 1500 North Main
• 1600 East Crosstimbers
• 1600 Jensen
• 1900 Kelly
• 200 75th
• 200 Forest Hill
• 2100 Franklin
• 2400 Harrisburg
• 2900 Allen Parkway
• 300 Studewood
• 3400 North Shepherd
• 3500 Kelly
• 3800 Polk
• 400 Houston Ave
• 4800 Elgin
• 4800 Memorial
• 4900 Galveston Rd
• 5000 Washington
• 5600 Mesa
• 600 Broadway
• 6500 Jensen
• 7000 Clinton
• 7000 Fannin
• 7000 Main
• 7000 Old Katy Road
• 7200 J W Peavy
• 7200 Senate Ave
• 8000 Memorial
• 8100 Harrisburg
• 8100 Hempstead
• 9600 Lawndale

Flood signal locations

City officials said to look for flood signals in these areas if heavy rain falls:

• 4401 Elgin St (Ih-45s And Railroad)
• 1989 Allen Pkwy (Montrose)
• 3087 Allen Pkwy (Waugh)
• Main & Holcombe Blvd (1000 Blk Holcombe)
• Fannin & Holcombe Blvd (1100 Blk Holcombe)
• 6514 Jensen Dr (Creston)
• 1700 Jensen Dr (Railroad)
• 3500 Kelley (Between Ih-69 Hov And Jensen)
• 5800 Elysian St (North Loop 610 East)
• 7506 E Hardy Rd (Hardy Toll Road And Crosstimbers)
• 5405 Mesa Dr (Liberty And Railroad)
• 10704 W Little York Rd (Between Business Park And Sam Houston Tollway West)
• 774 Houston Ave (Memorial)
• 4450 Memorial Dr (Shepherd)
• Houston Ave & Center St (1100 Block Houston Ave)
• 600 Brooks St (North Main)
• 7220 Clinton Dr (North Wayside)
• Yale & Center St (100 Block Yale)
• 9600 Lawndale (Sims Bayou)
• 615 Broadway St (Between East Erath And East Elm)
• 8040 Harrisburg Blvd (Railroad)
• 306 S 75th St (Between Railroad And Rusk)
• 247 Forest Hill Blvd (Between Rusk And Capitol)
• 6598 Lawndale (Wayside)
• 3799 Polk (Milby And Railroad)
• 2050 Franklin St (Commerce)
• 5455 Old Spanish Trl (Spur 5 And Railroad)
• 4953 Galveston Rd (Allendale And Railroad)
• 10200 Old Katy Rd (Conrad Sauer)
• 7095 J W Peavy Dr (Railroad)

Houston flood trouble spots

Click here to check our exclusive KPRC 2 Flood Tracker for rainfall and flood conditions where you live.

This time Hilton was speaking in support of two families who filed lawsuits Monday alleging that their children were mistreated at Provo Canyon School, the same facility where Hilton spent almost a year in the late 1990s. The hotel heiress and media personality alleges staff members beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing.

“I dreamed of becoming strong enough, successful enough and powerful enough to come back and be the hero that I needed when I was a little girl locked inside,” Hilton said. “Today is that day, and I am not backing down.”

The school is now under new ownership, and the administration has said it can’t comment on anything that came before the change, including Hilton’s time there.

Hilton, 45, called on Utah licensors to shut down the school. She has testified about her experiences there in Congress and state legislatures around the U.S., helping pass laws to protect teens in Utah and 15 other states. Utah has long played an outsized role in the troubled teen industry, a network of private, for-profit residential centers for children with behavioral issues.

State health officials imposed temporary restrictions on Provo Canyon School in May, saying the staff did not seek immediate medical care for a student with serious injuries. The restrictions, which include a prohibition on accepting new clients, are set to end Thursday.

Aleah Corona, the mother of the injured student, alleged in Monday's lawsuit that the school did not immediately help the 13-year-old after another resident slammed his head on the ground. The boy ended up with a fractured jaw and a traumatic brain injury, she said. Another family alleged their daughter had severe stomach pain and nausea for more than a week before the school sought proper medical attention. She then experienced kidney failure, their lawsuit alleges.

The school said it could not comment on specific cases due to patient privacy laws.

“At Provo Canyon School, the safety, dignity, and well-being of those entrusted to our care are our highest priorities,” the school said in a statement.

Hilton strutted toward the campus in Springville with her middle fingers raised, telling The Associated Press she refused to be intimidated by a place where she once feared for her life every day.

She warned that parents, like her own, can fall victim to misleading marketing tactics that portray teen facilities as safe.

“These places really just prey on parents who are just looking for help for their children,” Hilton said. “I wasn't a bad kid, I was just sneaking out at night, getting bad grades. I had ADHD, so I wasn't doing well in school, but this was definitely not the place that I should've been sent. My parents had no idea.”

Not so fast, experts say.

Even after oil starts flowing again from the Middle East, it could take awhile for consumers to see a difference at local fuel pumps, supermarkets and other places they shop, according to economists and industry analysts.

Fighting over the Strait of Hormuz disrupted not only supplies of crude and refined fuel but also the supply chains for fertilizer, food and even footwear. Businesses expect higher costs to linger, which means their customers might need to prepare for that too.

“It is not clear, despite three months of war, that anything has been achieved that makes the American consumer better off,” Brett House, an economist who teaches at Columbia Business School, said. “In fact, by almost any measure, not just the American consumer, but the world, is worse off as a result of this attack.”

If the deal between the U.S. and Iran holds, here’s how experts see the war's effects receding — or not — in the weeks ahead:

US motorists can expect some gas price relief

Following news of the tentative agreement, oil prices fell Monday to about $80 for a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude. That compares to $67 per barrel before the war and the price of over $120 a barrel reached earlier in the conflict.

Refineries typically pay for crude oil a month or more in advance, so even after oil prices drop, they won’t immediately be processing cheaper products.

“The tendency of gasoline prices to fall slowly is partly because the raw material takes weeks to work through the system until it’s delivered to consumers,” said Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at the nonpartisan Energy Policy Research Foundation.

In places without enough refining capacity to meet their needs, such as the West Coast of the U.S., gas prices will take longer to drop, said Mark Barteau, a professor of chemical engineering and chemistry at Texas A&M University.

In some Asian and African countries that rely more on oil from the Middle East, the supply shock led to school and government office closures and instructions to work from home, according to the International Energy Agency.

“The bottom line is that getting back to ‘normal’ will be a lengthy process involving many parties and countries,” Barteau said. “Getting an agreement between the U.S. and Iran to open the strait is just the beginning.”

Flights won't get cheaper right away

Industry experts have spent months warning that even if the war ended, travelers should not expect airfares to go down immediately.

Airlines typically buy fuel in advance, adjust their schedules gradually and price tickets based heavily on demand, meaning lower oil and jet fuel prices can take weeks or months to get factored into the cost of commercial flights.

“I think it’s unlikely that we’re going to see a retreat or reduction in the cost of flying at any point this summer,” Columbia's House said.

Fuel surcharges that some airlines outside the U.S. added are one of the first areas where passengers might get a reprieve, said Gordon Ho, a professor at the University of Southern California’s business school.

“Consumers are going to say, ‘Wait a minute, why are you still charging me a fuel surcharge?’” Ho said.

Pressure on grocery prices will likely continue

Reopening the strait is unlikely to deliver instant relief at the grocery store, according to David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University.

Fuel accounts for roughly 15% to 30% of the total cost of food, according to the Independent Grocers Alliance, a grouping of 7,500 global supermarkets.

But it can take months for an energy shock like the one caused by the Iran war to wind through the food supply chain and raise grocery prices. And once prices go up, it takes them a long time to come back down, especially when the future is unpredictable, Ortega said.

“We’re likely still looking at inflationary pressure on food in the coming months,” Ortega said. “There’s still a good deal of uncertainty about how the reopening will unfold, and it will take time for fuel, diesel and retail fertilizer prices to come back down.”

Rabobank, which is based in the Netherlands, said it expected war-related food price inflation to peak sometime next year in Europe. In the U.S., grocery prices are expected to rise 3.2% this year, which compares to a historical average of 2.6%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Farmers remain strapped for fertilizer

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz would also be a welcome change for farmers and the production of food globally. Roughly 30% of the world’s fertilizer passed through the waterway before the war began. Prices soared as the supply was effectively cut off, and shipments probably will take a long time to return to pre-war levels.

The consequences of the shortage facing farmers now may only intensify down the road, regardless.

Many farmers around the world are going through planting seasons without the fertilizer they need or paying sky-high prices for both fertilizer and fuel needed to produce and transport their products. The World Food Program of the United Nations expects this to have a “devastating impact” on crop yields — and consequently, food prices and the availability of food — for months to come.

Retailers don't anticipate a cost reprieve

U.S. retailers that sell shoes were encouraged to see falling gasoline prices, hoping they would mean Americans have more money to spend on back-to-school shopping, said Andy Polk, senior vice president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America trade group.

However, shoe companies anticipate their own costs staying higher for the foreseeable future, Polk said. The group's members keep a two- to three-month inventory of finished products, but their next orders may include suppliers charging more for materials, he said.

Most of the footwear sold in the U.S. is imported, and Polk said he expects shipping costs to remain higher for the rest of 2026 and 2027.

U.S. tariffs imposed last year have made it more difficult for shoe sellers to absorb higher costs or pass them on customers, he said. In May, footwear prices were 5.2% higher than the same month a year earlier, according to government figures.

Shipping industry expects a slow recovery

Judah Levine, head of research at the freight booking platform Freightos, said the Straight of Hormuz closure has affected about 2% to 3 % of the total volume of container ships that are used for global shipping, but higher oil prices and disruption have impacted the shipping industry more broadly.

Josh Steinitz, chief strategy officer of the business logistics platform ShipStation Global, said consumers might notice higher shipping costs and more out-of-stock items online until the end of the year.

“I think fuel surcharges, which then flow into shipping costs, which then get passed along to consumers, are still going to be with us for quite sometime from many of the major carriers,” Steinitz said.

___

Associated Press writers Cathy Bussewitz, Anne D’Innocenzio, and Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit and Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

But that doesn’t always happen.

• Are freezes finished in Houston?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve given a forecast mentioning storms, only to hear someone later say, “You didn’t say it would rain.” Even more concerning is when I hear, “I didn’t know the storms would be this bad.”

Those moments tell me something important: sometimes the message about severe weather isn’t fully understood.

Over the next several weeks, I’d like to spend some time going back to the basics and building a clearer understanding of what severe weather and severe weather forecasts actually mean. My hope is that by the end of this little journey, we’ll all learn something and be better prepared the next time storms threaten.

What is severe weather?

You might be surprised to learn that severe weather is defined by just three elements:

• Hail: At least 1 inch in diameter (about the size of a quarter)
• Wind gusts: 58 mph or stronger
• A tornado

You may also notice something missing from that list. Lightning and flooding are not included in the official definition of severe weather. We’ll talk more about that in a future edition.

• Frozen in time: Houston’s greatest snowfall

The history behind severe weather warnings:

When forecasters talk about a severe weather threat, it means one or more of those three elements could occur. Interestingly, severe weather warnings originally weren’t created for the public, they were designed for aviation.

In the early 1950s, hail warnings were issued for ¾-inch hail. A 1952 study found that hailstones of that size could cause significant damage to aircraft traveling between 200 and 300 mph.

• The Hidden Flaw in Rainfall Forecasts

In 2010, the threshold changed to 1-inch hail. Engineering studies showed hail that size can damage roofs, siding, and vehicles. A quarter-size hailstone falling at roughly 100 mph can cause real property damage.

Despite how destructive hail can be, hail-related deaths are extremely rare, only eight have been recorded in the United States over the past 70 years. So, when you see a hail warning, it’s primarily about protecting property.

Why 58 mph winds?

The history of wind warnings is also interesting. Originally, the National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings for winds of 75 mph or greater, while aviation used a separate warning threshold of 50 mph.

In 1962, the Air Force raised its warning threshold to 58 mph. Having two different standards was confusing, so in 1970 the National Weather Service unified the criteria. Since then, 58 mph has been the official benchmark for severe thunderstorm wind warnings.

At that speed, winds are strong enough to damage trees, which can then fall onto homes, vehicles, or people.

These wind warnings refer to straight-line winds, meaning the wind moves in one general direction. Tornado winds, on the other hand, rotate and spin.

• Contrails, cloud seeding, geoengineering and chemtrails

The purpose of severe weather warnings:

The mission of the National Weather Service is simple: to save lives and protect property.

So, when you see a severe weather outlook, it means the atmosphere could produce storms capable of causing damage or posing a danger to people.

Wednesday’s severe weather threat:

Our next potential severe weather event for Houston and Southeast Texas arrives Wednesday.

Now that we understand what “severe weather” actually means, let’s take a look at the setup and what hazards could develop.

First, it’s important to know where this forecast comes from. The outlook you’re seeing is issued by the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The SPC is part of the National Weather Service, which operates within National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Their job is to monitor and forecast severe weather across the United States.

The Storm Prediction Center issues outlooks for severe weather up to eight days in advance, giving forecasters and the public an early look at when and where storms could become dangerous.

For Houston on Wednesday, the SPC has placed our area in a marginal risk for severe weather and a slight risk north and east of the Loop.

Instead of just describing what a marginal and slight risks means, I think it’s more helpful to show you the SPC graphic that explains the different threat levels and what each one represents.

Specifically, Wednesday’s threats include all three severe weather elements. Damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes are all possible. You may hear someone say the greatest risk is for damaging winds because that probability is 15%, which is represented by the yellow shaded area below.

One important thing to remember with this forecast, and really with any forecast, is that these graphics show what is possible, not necessarily what will happen. For severe weather to develop, several ingredients have to come together at the same time. If one or two of those ingredients are missing, the storms will not become as strong.

It’s also helpful to understand what these probabilities mean. For example, the hail risk on Wednesday is 5% across all of Southeast Texas. That doesn’t mean everyone will see hail. In fact, only a small number of cities or neighborhoods may experience it.

This is plenty of information for now. In the next articles, I’ll break down a few more important topics, including lightning, flood outlooks and warnings, and the difference between a watch and a warning.

To make sure you don’t miss those updates, subscribe to my Anthony’s Weather Lab newsletter. And for video versions of these articles, follow me on Instagram or Facebook @kprc2anthony.

Hiott’s firing was announced by Anita Vangelisti, interim dean of UT-Austin’s Moody College of Communication, in an email to KUT staff on Monday. A UT-Austin spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about why Hiott was terminated.

Hiott is a longtime Texas journalist who worked at the Austin American Statesman for 28 years, rising to editor-in-chief, before joining KUT in 2019.

In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Hiott said she was called into a meeting at 3 p.m. with Vangelisti and two other staff members from the university. She described being presented with two letters to choose from. One was a letter of resignation written for her, and the other was a letter of termination stating Vangelisti had “lost confidence” in Hiott after the KUT Festival. Hiott chose the termination letter.

“I had no intention of quitting on the station, or its audience or the Austin community,” Hiott said.

Hiott said no one had communicated any disciplinary concerns to her before Monday as a result of the festival’s handling.

The dispute between leaders at the state’s flagship university and the radio station became public April 28 when major changes to the KUT Festival were announced. The two-day event, which was planned for months, was May 1-2.

The festival still went forward but with a smaller campus footprint.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat and former presidential candidate, delivered the keynote at LBJ Presidential Library Auditorium, while Saturday events were moved to Central Machine Works and East End Ballroom. Other speakers included Republican U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul and Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, part of a broader lineup that also included musicians, authors and Austin cultural figures.

Days before the festival, Vangelisti emailed festival speakers saying that because “KUT provided insufficient planning for safety,” the station would reduce the festival’s footprint and move portions off campus to avoid disrupting end-of-semester academic activities.

Minutes later, Hiott sent her own email to speakers, saying top university officials ordered KUT to cancel the outdoor portions of the festival, citing a safety analysis she said the school had not provided.

“In our months of planning, we have agreed to every health, security and safety request that has been made of us and our production company,” Hiott wrote.

Hiott said she believed her public response to the university’s statements about the festival resulted in her termination.

The disagreement between KUT and school officials escalated when UT-Austin General Counsel Amanda Cochran-McCall accused Hiott of making “false” statements about the university’s handling of the festival, according to copies of the letters posted publicly by Neena Satija, an investigative reporter for NPR’s The Texas Newsroom.

In her letter to Hiott, Cochran-McCall wrote on April 29 that KUT was short 10 police officers, lacked sufficient youth protection measures and did not include adequate planning for emergency medical response, crowd control or severe weather. She wrote that event planners rejected university police’s recommendation to use drone overwatch.

Hiott countered in a written response sent later that KUT had previously addressed many of the concerns raised. For example, the station agreed to more officers or private security and already added 15 crowd management staffers and provided licensing information for the emergency medical provider after UT-Austin had questions about it.

Additionally, she noted that university officials’ request overestimated the expected crowd at 7,000 when fewer than 2,000 attendees had RSVP’d.

Hiott wrote that KUT already had a child reunification plan in place and that no one from the university raised concerns about not planning drone flights. She added that UT-Austin had not given the station shelter-in-place locations it requested.

In an interview with The Tribune earlier this spring, Hiott said she did not know why UT-Austin officials acted when they did and did not have any evidence that speakers, politics or KUT’s journalism played a role. However, she said she believes KUT’s festival was being treated differently than other campus events, pointing to Longhorn City Limits.

That music and tailgating event is held on the LBJ Lawn during home football games. Hiott said that event typically draws much larger crowds than what the festival was expected to attract in a similar footprint and includes live music, food trucks, carnival activities, tents and alcohol.

Hiott said KUT’s reporting and content have been independent during her seven years time at the station and that UT-Austin had previously been a strong partner.

“Obviously, this is some sort of sea change,” she said.

The dispute comes at a politically fraught moment for both public media and higher education.

Congress rescinded federal funding for public media last year, and the Trump administration has used federal funding to push universities, including UT-Austin, to adopt policies aimed at correcting what government officials described as an ideological imbalance on campuses. In Texas, Republican lawmakers gave governor-appointed regents more authority to restrict college protests and outside speakers.

The festival dispute raised questions about UT-Austin’s relationship with KUT. The university holds the station’s broadcast license, KUT employees are university staff and the newsroom is housed in the Moody College of Communication. But the station says it operates with editorial independence and relies almost exclusively on donations rather than university funding.

On Tuesday, UT-Austin named Gerald Johnson, an executive director for innovation and partnerships at the Moody College of Communication, as KUT’s interim general manager, the station reported. Johnson previously led Texas Student Media and worked with KUT and Hiott on station revenue operations, according to KUT.

The festival dispute has also prompted another question: did UT-Austin hold KUT to the same security standards as other high-profile campus events?

UT System police policy requires each campus police department to assess events that could be high risk, including concerns, political events, conferences and sporting events.

Events score more points for a larger crowd size, media presence, high-profile attendees, anticipated protests, credible threats and whether the event involves a polarizing issue on a risk-assessment form. Events with more than 15 points are considered high risk.

For high-risk events, campus police officials are supposed to help develop an incident action plan covering issues such as medical planning, staffing, traffic control, physical security and contingency plans. The police chief or a designee is supposed to review and approve those plans at least 48 hours before the event.

On April 15, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas gave a lecture at Hogg Memorial Auditorium that was open to thousands of invited students, faculty, supporters and donors, according to records obtained through a public information request by The Texas Tribune. Thomas also attended a breakfast with university leaders, lunch with students and senior administrators and a dinner with guests from the legal and university communities.

It’s unclear whether the Thomas event required the same kind of safety planning as the KUT Festival, which had been scheduled for multiple on-campus locations near Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, including outdoor programming along the LBJ Library lawn.

The Tribune requested final or summary safety-planning records for the KUT Festival and other spring campus events, including events of a similar size and those featuring speakers across the political spectrum. Those requests are pending.

Hiott has served twice as a Pulitzer juror, sits on the board of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and previously served on the board of the Texas Managing Editors, then known as Texas Associated Press Managing Editors.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

Disclosure: KUT News and The Texas Tribune have been partners on public events. KUT News is also a media partner with Austin Current, a member of The Texas Tribune’s network of editorially independent local newsrooms. LBJ Presidential Library, University of Texas System and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The 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.

As chair of the National Governors Association, Stitt has made “Reigniting the American Dream” his signature initiative.

The former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Ifill has called the struggle to fully realize the 14th Amendment “the defining constitutional battle of the 20th and 21st centuries.” 

Architect of George W. Bush’s political rise and a longtime Republican strategist, Rove brings a singular perspective to understanding the transformation of the Republican Party.

A Harvard professor and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, Perry has become one of the most renowned interpreters of Black American life, history and culture.

Espinoza-Grcic was among the dozens of immigration judges fired during Donald Trump’s second term.

And Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, has spent years bringing scientific rigor to the search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence, at a moment when the question of what’s in our skies is dominating the news and popular culture.

Other national and Texas leaders joining us in September are state Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville; Elisa Villanueva Beard, president and CEO of Houston Endowment; former San Antonio mayor and candidate for Bexar County judge Ron Nirenberg and Joanna Lydgate, president and CEO of States United Democracy Center. 

At TribFest, now three months away, we join our robust lineup of speakers to wrestle with the big questions together.

Get your tickets now, and help shape the conversations about our state and our country’s future. 

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

Judge Gregory Carro had scheduled the hearing for Tuesday but adjourned it about a half-hour after it was supposed to start when Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann told him that prosecutors had failed to send required paperwork to the jail.

“It's on us,” Seidemann said. “We got the writ signed but we failed to serve it.”

“That's unfortunate,” Carro replied.

Seidemann noted that the judge in Mangione's federal case, Margaret Garnett, had sent an order to the jail authorizing him to wear a suit to court, but the prosecutor acknowledged that alone wasn't enough to get him brought to court.

Mangione, 28, is being held at a federal jail in Brooklyn while awaiting trial in state and federal trials in the Dec. 4, 2024, killing. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases and could spend his life in prison if convicted in either case.

Carro had been expected to rule Tuesday on an unspecified matter after holding a secret hearing two weeks ago. Carro said he sealed the virtual proceeding at the request of the defense but provided no other details at the time.

Any ruling from Carro would now come on Wednesday.

Mangione is set to go to trial in the state case on Sept. 8. His federal trial, which involves stalking charges, is set to begin on Oct. 13.

Thompson, 50, was killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.

At a hearing last month, Carro ruled that a gun and notebook that prosecutors say link Mangione to the killing can be used as evidence against him.

The gun, a 3D-printed pistol, matches the one used to kill Thompson, prosecutors said. The notebook describes wanting to “wack” a health insurance executive and rebelling against “the deadly, greed fueled health insurance cartel.”

The Hollywood & Entertainment Signature Auction presented by Heritage Auctions announced Tuesday and held July 13-17 also includes hats from “The Wizard of Oz” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” hoverboards from “Back to the Future II,” rugs from “The Big Lebowski” and a pair of Rocky's boxing boots.

A major Beatles artifact will also be up for sale: John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for “If I fell,” written on the back of a Valentine card while he was in New York for the Fab Four's first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. The bidding for it will open at $500,000.

The lightsaber, used onscreen by Mark Hamill in the climactic Cloud City fight in the 1980 “Star Wars” sequel, where Darth Vader declares “I am your father,” includes a severed hand effects rig. It’s never been up for auction before and bidding opens at $1 million.

Bidding starts at $100,000 for a Wicked Witch of the West hat worn by actor Margaret Hamilton in 1939's “The Wizard of Oz” and at $50,000 for the brown top hat worn by Gene Wilder as the title character in 1971's “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

The auction will also include a pair of boxing boots worn by Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky III.” Stallone wears the showy boots featuring tassels and a Nike swoosh in the opening montage of the 1982 film. Bids will begin at $100,000.

Also up for sale are the two rugs that are essential to the plot of “The Big Lebowski,” including the rug belonging to Jeff Bridges' the Dude that is soiled at the beginning of the 1998 film that “really tied the room together,” and the other that he takes from his wealthy namesake. Bidding on them opens at $15,000 apiece.

“This auction represents the full spectrum of entertainment history, from Hollywood’s Golden Age to modern blockbuster cinema and the most influential moments in popular music,” Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, said in a statement.

Many other items including a Paul Newman hockey jersey from “Slap Shot,” a necklace worn by the title character in “The Bride of Frankenstein” and the inflatable “Otto the Autopilot” from “Airplane” will be up for auction.

That vision might hinge on a factory groundbreaking an hour north of Dallas.

Nvidia is formally unveiling on Tuesday plans for a major upgrade to its AI infrastructure as part of its $2 billion partnership with the factory’s owner, Coherent. The factory will produce the material for a laser to transmit data among computer chips, allowing those chips to work as a single system with more power, speed and efficiency, according to executives who discussed the technology before the public announcement.

“AI factories are the infrastructure of the new industrial revolution," Huang said in a statement.

The factory represents a fundamental test of whether, as Huang believes, AI will be a source of job creation instead of a technology that supplants workers as it becomes possible to write software, analyze a spreadsheet, run an assembly line or even drive an automobile without much human effort.

Huang has led Nvidia as it became the world’s most valuable company, worth roughly $5 trillion, to a point where it's looking beyond chips to developing entire AI systems. The companies expected to rely on those systems to further develop AI models could soon join the elite circle of those with a valuation of more than $1 trillion. Just how that wealth spreads and the consequences of the technology have rapidly evolved into fundamental debates about how America itself is structured.

AI is powering academic breakthroughs and it creates the promise of rapid economic growth. But even if stocks are buoyed by those possibilities, there are voters who see reasons for concern over its use of electricity, the potential for job losses and the newfound national security risks.

A shifting approach on AI

President Donald Trump's administration, which once saw a light regulatory touch as essential for fostering AI’s development, has recently begun to reverse course. It placed export controls on the AI company Anthropic’s latest models, leading the company on Friday to shutter all public access to those models over security concerns.

Trump, a Republican, signed an order to have new AI models voluntarily vetted by the government. He has also mused about the government owning a stake in the companies that develop AI, so that the public could benefit from the expected windfall even if that would blur the lines between the public and private sectors.

Still, Trump depends on the AI boom to fuel economic growth, drive future gains in manufacturing and construction, and push the stock market to new heights. He has insisted on Huang accompanying him on foreign trips, most recently having Air Force One pick up the leather-jacketed CEO in Alaska while en route for the state visit to China.

Trump has called Huang “smart,” a “friend” and “amazing” — and he’s publicly recounted that he once mused about breaking up Nvidia because of its dominance, only to admit that Huang was someone that he needed as an ally.

“We are proud to have you in our country,” Trump told the Taiwanese immigrant last year.

AI buildout creating jobs

Coherent’s factory in Sherman, Texas — which includes Nvidia as a major customer — relied on bipartisan government support. The Biden administration approved $33 million in backing from the CHIPS and Science Act to help fund its buildout, while the Trump administration provided an additional $17 million grant to help ensure a key part of the AI infrastructure would be made in America.

Including construction workers, Coherent estimates that the factory will create 1,000 jobs, with about 550 of them in advanced manufacturing, engineering and technical roles.

The factory expansion will increase production of Indium Phosphide, which is used to make a laser that has the optical intensity of the surface of the Sun. Each second, the light pulses a few hundred billion times through a fiberglass straw the width of a human hair. That allows Nvidia’s computer chips to share information and work together as one system in what Huang has dubbed “AI factories.”

Power consumption would be cut up to 50%, enabling computations to occur faster and at a drastically lower price. The prospect of reducing the cost of tokens — the industry’s term for AI usage — would make it easier for AI to expand its reach and abilities.

“This investment expands America’s capacity to manufacture critical AI-enabling technologies, creates high-value jobs, and reinforces U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing, photonics, and innovation,” said Coherent CEO Jim Anderson in a statement.

In a paper published this month, the economists Jessica Wachter and Jonathan Wachter noted that the five largest U.S. technology firms invested $380 billion last year as part of the AI buildout and that sum could roughly double this year. Based on that investment, they estimate the possibility of rapid economic growth as AI accounts for more of U.S. gross domestic product. While AI is roughly 3% of the economy now, that figure could grow to a range of 8% to 39%.

One Nvidia executive, who insisted on speaking on background to describe its industrial strategy, stressed that the company was moving from developing computer chips to providing entire AI systems. That has meant clustering more production in the U.S. with chipmaking increasingly centered in Arizona and the assembly process increasingly located in Texas, so that there is a reliable domestic supply chain.

The executive said that Nvidia was selling brains and a nervous system to its customers, so that the intelligence generated can then be applied to their businesses in ways that create new products and identify new savings and business lines. That could allow manufacturers that depend on foreign suppliers to restore production in the U.S., taking an AI that so far has largely been accessed on laptops onto factory floors where it can, in their words, “move atoms.”

The possibility has not been lost on Trump, who sees the industry as essential to American greatness.

“It’s an amazing industry,” Trump said to reporters last week. “It’s bigger than any industry anyone’s ever seen. We are leading China by a lot. And whoever leads that is going to really lead the world to a large extent, that’s how big it is.”

His X account has amassed more than 600,000 followers as fans track his cross-country adventure.

Little is known about the man behind the FreddyLA7 account. He does not share photos of himself online, instead covering his face with emojis in posts and videos. His profile indicates he is a fan of Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The vlogger arrived in Houston on Saturday, June 13, after leaving Louisiana, where he shared a photo of a “Welcome Freddy” sign. While in Louisiana, he and his family toured Tiger Stadium. Freddy described it as “the biggest stadium I’ve ever been to.”

Upon arriving in Texas, he posted, “after seven days on the road (yes, a lot of detours), we have made it to the state where Germany will play its first World Cup match.”

One of his first Texas surprises came courtesy of former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who provided hotel accommodations and team merchandise for Freddy and his friends. He also received gifts from the Houston Rockets.

The trip got off to a successful start for Germany, which defeated Curaçao 7-1.

Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone following our journey. You're making it possible for us to have the most American experience imaginable on this trip. Not only are we driving across the country, but we're also getting to see behind the scenes and meet so many… pic.twitter.com/TCrqul92nV

— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 16, 2026

The experiences continued, Freddy toured Houston Police Department facilities, met with HPD Chief Noe Diaz, and, according to his post he, “ate typical Texan BBQ together.” He later called the visit his “most American experience so far.”

On Monday night, Freedy attended his first MLB game, watching the Houston Astros take on the Detroit Tigers. During the game, he said he also met Houston Mayor John Whitmire.

Freedy said he plans to remain in Texas for Wednesday’s Portugal vs. Congo match.

“After that match we’ll jump straight into the car to start driving toward Oklahoma for the Ella Langley concert,” he wrote.

Reflecting on the journey, Freedy thanked his growing audience for helping make the experience possible.

https://t.co/c0I6oZpXK0 pic.twitter.com/6wAQVdUPjq

— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) June 16, 2026

“Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone following our journey. You’re making it possible for us to have the most American experience imaginable on this trip. Not only are we driving across the country, but we’re also getting to see behind the scenes and meet so many amazing people,” Freddy wrote.

Roupp started the 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Friday night with “Gen 9:12-16” written on his cap. A portion of the Bible verse overlapped the rainbow SF logo players wore for the Pride Night. San Francisco relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker also added Bible verses to their caps.

Another Giants pitcher, left-hander Sam Hentges, wore the team's standard black cap with the orange logo instead of the Pride Night version.

MLB issued a warning about future violations of the league's uniform policy.

“The writing on the cap violates our rules and consistent with normal practice we have warned the players about future violations,” MLB said in its original statement.

The league issued another statement Tuesday to elaborate.

“To be clear, this routine verbal warning not to wear the hat in future games is not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message," MLB said.

"We respect players’ right to free expression. However, writing of any kind, with any message, is prohibited per Major League Baseball’s Uniform Regulations which provides in part that, ‘(a) Player may not write, attach, affix, embroider or otherwise display nicknames or messages on apparel or playing equipment…’. We have given the same warning numerous times in the past to players for messages such as ‘Dad’, ‘Happy Mother’s Day, I Love Mom,’ and names of family members.”

MLB teams sometimes host Pride Nights during the regular season to support their LGBTQ+ fans. The league has been a leader among the four major U.S. pro sports in hosting Pride Nights, in part because its regular season overlaps with Pride Month in June. Many adopt rainbow-colored uniforms patches or logos, set up special signage around ballparks and invite guests including community leaders and drag performers.

The portion of the Genesis verse cited by Roupp on his hat included God's promise to never again send a worldwide flood and the rainbow in the sky is the sign of that covenant.

“That’s just kind of something I believe in, and I stand firm in that, and I’m thankful we live in a country where, you know, we have the freedom to believe what we want … and express what we want,” Roupp told reporters.

Giants manager Tony Vitello told reporters nothing was discussed with the pitchers before the game. Vitello said it was “just kind of a general knowledge" that players "have the freedom to do what they think is best.”

___

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

The initial quake was centered inland about 43 kilometers (27 miles) east-southeast of Palu, and the U.S. Geological Survey said it was about 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep.

The strong shaking sent people fleeing into open areas in and around Palu, a city of about 400,000 people and the capital of Central Sulawesi province. Several hospitals evacuated patients, some with IV drips, outdoors as a safety measure.

Four regencies close to the epicenter — with a combined population of 1.3 million — have yet to be fully assessed, but a preliminary report said at least 109 people have been displaced by the powerful earthquake. At the same time, 32 people were reported injured and rushed to a nearby hospital, including eight with serious injuries in the hardest hit Sigi regency, according to Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Management Agency's spokesperson.

He said the earthquake also caused widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure, including 64 houses, four places of worship, four public facilities, two bridges, two government office buildings, a cafe and a hotel. A section of a provincial road linking Palu city and its neighboring regencies of Sigi and Poso was cut.

The agency also said that at least 55 aftershocks continued throughout the day, raising concerns among residents shaken by memories of a devastating 2018 earthquake and tsunami in the region. The aftershocks prompted residents to flee buildings and gather in open areas.

Images from the area showed heavily damaged structures with partially collapsed roofs, shattered walls and debris scattered across the streets.

“We have evacuated all guests from the hotel, including several guests who remained in their rooms,” said Effendi Natali, a general manager of a four-star hotel in Palu.

“They all panicked, which is a natural reaction during an earthquake, but everyone is safe,” Natali said, adding that the hotel sustained only minor damage.

People also moved away from coastal areas as a precaution in case the quake set off a tsunami. Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned aftershocks could continue.

“The earthquake shaking was extremely strong,” Palu resident Muhtar Ahmad said. “We are still traumatized by the previous earthquake, so we chose to remain outside because we are afraid that aftershocks may continue.”

Many Sulawesi residents are haunted by the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that devastated Palu in 2018, setting off a 3-meter (10-foot) high tsunami and a phenomenon called liquefaction in which soil collapses into itself. More than 4,000 people were killed, including many who were buried when whole neighborhoods were swallowed in the falling ground.

In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake near the city of Mamuju on Sulawesi island left at least 100 people dead, with thousands sleeping outdoors for days out of fear of aftershocks.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

___

Associated Press journalists Niniek Karmini and Edna Tarigan in Jakarta contributed.

The Bulls, who announced the move on Tuesday, scheduled an introductory news conference for Splitter on Wednesday.

“Throughout our process, Tiago stood apart for his basketball intellect, his ability to connect with and develop players, and the way his teams compete every single night," Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham said in a news release. “He has won at every level of the game as both a player and a coach, on multiple continents, and we believe his vision is the right fit for our young roster.”

Splitter, 41, joined Chauncey Billups’ staff in Portland last June. He was elevated from assistant to interim coach when Billups was arrested in October in a federal takedown of a sprawling gambling operation. Billups has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

Splitter coached Portland to a 42-40 record and a five-game loss to San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs. It was the first playoff appearance and first time the Trail Blazers finished with a winning record since the 2020-21 season.

Splitter played for San Antonio, Atlanta and Philadelphia during his seven seasons as an NBA player. The 6-foot-11 center from Brazil was selected by the Spurs in the first round of the 2007 draft, and he helped the team win an NBA title in 2014.

He worked for Brooklyn for five seasons from 2018-23, first as a pro scout and then as an assistant coach. He was an assistant for Houston for one year before coaching Paris Basketball Club to a French Cup championship during the 2024-25 season.

Splitter is replacing Billy Donovan, who resigned after six seasons. The Bulls had conversations with Donovan about returning, but he decided to step aside rather than work with a new front office.

“The Bulls represent everything I love about this game, carrying a proud tradition, a passionate city and a young, hungry group of players ready to grow," Splitter said in the news release. "I’m grateful for the trust this organization has placed in me.”

Chicago allowed 121.5 points per game this season, ranking 28th overall in the NBA. The Bulls finished with a 31-51 record while missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

Graham was hired on May 4. Stephen Mervis and Acie Law IV joined the team’s revamped front office on May 19.

___

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

“Obsession” fell just short. It debuted with $17 million. They were still thrilled. Barker made the horror film with just $750,000. It was enormously successful. But then something unexpected happened. The following weekend, “Obsession” easily cleared $20 million. And then it did again and again and almost a fourth time — an almost unheard-of staying power.

“It was just like: Holy cow. I didn’t think that was an option,” Barker says. “Now we’ve said if it hits $300 million, we’ll all get the tattoo. We had to make a new milestone. And I think we’ll reach it.”

Over the last month, “Obsession” has sent shock waves through Hollywood. Barker’s microbudget thriller has grossed $286 million worldwide, and it’s still going. On its fifth weekend in theaters, it was second only to Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” with $19 million. In North America, it has outgrossed “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.” It’s the biggest hit in the 24-year existence of Focus Features, which has had to postpone the video-on-demand release. It ranks among the most profitable movies ever made.

Barker, who built a following making sketches and short films on YouTube, is living out the dream of every aspiring filmmaker. Life, he granted in a recent interview, is different now.

“My day to day is pretty much the same. It’s just that when I go out in public, it’s a lot different,” he says, laughing. “I actually feel a little unsafe sometimes.”

That’s an ironic development for someone whose twist on an old Monkey Paw story has frightened moviegoers. In “Obsession,” Bear Bailey (Michael Johnston) wishes on an antique toy called a One Wish Willow that his crush, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), loved him. The spell — loosely inspired by an old “Simpsons” Halloween episode — works disturbingly well.

The astonishing success of “Obsession” has been hotly debated throughout the industry. Coupled with the A24 hit “Backrooms,” by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, it’s been a coming-out party for YouTube as a breeding ground for the next generation of filmmakers.

It’s also brought waves of Gen Z moviegoers — who already make up a promisingly robust percentage of frequent ticket buyers — into theaters. Summer has historically been dominated by legacy franchises, but “Obsession” may represent a sea change.

“If there’s a lesson from ‘Obsession,’ I think it’s about audiences,” says Peter Kujawski, chairman of Focus Features. “We have a generation that grew up online, approaches culture with enormous curiosity and playfulness, and is far less concerned with where a filmmaker comes from than whether the story connects. They’re engaged, incredibly film-literate and eager to champion new voices and original stories.”

From YouTube to the multiplex

Barker, who grew up in Mobile, Alabama, before moving to Los Angeles at 18, says he feels as though he’s writing for his generation. The response to “Obsession,” he says, taps into a collective need.

“I get it because I think we’re a little tired of being at home. Our generation is the COVID generation,” says Barker. “I was fortunate enough to have all four years of high school experience. My brother, Riley, lost two years of that. We’re sick of the phones.”

Barker wanted to be an actor before he wanted to be a filmmaker. And while his early exposure to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” at age 11, helped set him on a horror path, he didn’t begin that way.

“I was a huge Harry Potter fan growing up. Huge. I was obsessed,” Barker says, smiling. “I had all the wands. I would dress up.”

Barker attended film school in Los Angeles for a year, where he met Cooper Tomlinson, a co-star and producer on “Obsession.” The two soon forged their own path, though, on YouTube and TikTok. Their comedy sketch series, “That’s a Bad Idea,” found a footing online.

Barker wrote and directed the 2023 short “The Chair,” which attracted the interest of Tea Shop Productions. Producer James Harris approached Barker about a feature of “The Chair,” but he instead wanted to make a film — “Obsession” — that drew on many of the same ideas. Meanwhile, Barker also made an $800 found-footage horror film, “Milk & Serial.” After failing to secure distribution, he simply uploaded to YouTube. It went viral and landed him an agent.

“Obsession” was selected to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, giving it an enviable platform. After a bidding war, Kujawski and Focus acquired it for $15 million.

“What stands out about Curry is that he isn’t working from an inherited playbook,” says Kujawski. “Whether you look at his earlier work or ‘Obsession,’ there’s a consistency of vision and a confidence in his storytelling that immediately sets him apart. He knows exactly what he wants to say while being absolutely committed to making every minute of his work as entertaining as possible, and he’s willing to take real risks in service of that vision.”

More ‘Obsession,’ but other projects first

Barker’s swift but hard-earned rise has made him the poster boy for a new brand of filmmaker, one who has honed his craft as a digital creator and arrives with an established fan base. Jason Blum, the chief executive of Blumhouse Productions, has compared Barker and company to the 1970s wave of American auteurs, “making edgy movies that are connecting in theaters in a crazy way.”

“When you really step back, my journey is not really that different than Christopher Nolan or David Fincher or Steven Spielberg,” Barker says. “You can watch their early short films and see their work before they were given a chance. I think YouTube is just a path, a platform we can use now to show the industry what we’ve got.”

Now, Barker is one of the most in-demand filmmakers in Hollywood. He has already shot his next feature, “Anything But Ghosts,” starring Aaron Paul and Bryce Dallas Howard, for Blumhouse. Two months ago, A24 announced that he will write and direct a reboot of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

All the attention has taken some getting used to. Filmmakers like Ari Aster and Zach Cregger and even Spielberg have reached out to compliment Barker on his film.

“That’s when you start to feel this impostor syndrome of like: What? It’s not that good,” Barker says, laughing. “All I see when I watch ‘Obsession’ is the problems.”

An “Obsession” sequel is, naturally, a certainty. “A sequel isn’t hard for this movie,” grants Barker. He sketches out how new wishes by other characters on One Wish Willows could lead to entirely different stories, all revolving around some new vice: greed, fame, whatever.

But as much as it’s tempting to see “Obsession” as the product of Barker's own wish, it’s more like the opposite. In the film, Bear’s profound mistake is putting off confessing his feelings to Nikki, thinking there’s plenty of time to do it. (The movie immediately cuts to a dead cat.) Barker, on the other hand, had no timidity about realizing his dreams. He wanted to make movies, so he did.

“Anyone that asks what advice you have for young filmmakers, I always say the same thing,” says Barker. “I went to a film school for a year out in L.A. and I watched people paralyze themselves with the pressure of: I’ve told people I’m a director so now I have to direct something that has to be good. If it’s not good, everyone’s going to judge me. The result of that thinking is two years on one short film.”

“You can’t put too much pressure on an idea,” adds Barker. “You just got to make it.”

An overreliance on oil and gas transported through the Strait of Hormuz left the region particularly vulnerable to shocks from the Iran war, a “stark wake-up call” for its energy security, the report says.

It notes that rising sales of electric vehicles, a renewed interest in nuclear power and a boom in rooftop solar and other renewable energy installations show that the war is spurring change.

But more sweeping reforms are needed. Otherwise, Southeast Asia’s energy import bill could rise to $245 billion by 2035, tripling from $80 billion in 2024, the report warns.

“Diversification of energy sources and supply routes is now a central priority,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA executive director.

Iran war exposes Southeast Asia's energy risks

The energy shock sent Southeast Asia into a state of energy triage, leading to higher energy bills and rising inflation.

In a likely setback for efforts to phase out dependence on fossil fuels, the conflict has reinforced the need to rely on coal during times of energy crisis, the IEA said.

The war is also furthering plans for nuclear power in Southeast Asia, but yearslong construction and regulatory processes remain. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines may be the furthest along with nuclear power plans, but their timelines are uncertain.

“This energy shock is prompting not just the short-term responses. But a deeper reassessment of policy priorities and investment strategies by governments,” said Sue-Ern Tan, head of the IEA Regional Cooperation Centre in Singapore.

Do-it-yourself approaches an option

In the Philippines, which declared a national energy emergency, consumers have turned to rooftop solar at record rates, as a quick, do-it-yourself solution to rising utility bills.

“This is the first time I've seen a demand shock of this magnitude,” said Ivan Cano of the Manila-based solar company EcoSolutions.

The Philippines became the second-largest destination for Chinese solar exports in the first quarter of 2026, the IEA found. Imports were around three times higher than the same period last year.

Consumers have also driven a shift in Southeast Asia's transportation industry.

Electric vehicle sales more than doubled in 2025 to around half a million units, according to the IEA, which found that one in five cars sold regionally is electric.

Last month, Laos banned the import of fuel-powered vehicles for the rest of 2026 to cut oil imports and encourage the shift to EVs.

“The IEA report clearly highlights that Southeast Asia is at a crossroads,” said Sam Reynolds of the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, or IEEFA.

Despite the tentative deal to end the Iran war, fossil fuel prices will likely remain high which means “we will see a push towards more ambitious clean energy deployment,” Reynolds said.

IEA says reducing fossil fuel demand is key

To overcome its weaknesses, Southeast Asia needs to reduce its overall demand for imported fossil fuels, the IEA said.

It suggests making national grids more efficient and boosting investment in all forms of renewable energy, such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power.

The IEA also recommended prioritizing regional energy sharing initiatives like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Power Grid. The wake-up call from this energy crisis will hopefully help neighboring nations overcome the political barriers that have hindered the project, Birol said.

“The Middle East conflict is both a stress test of Southeast Asia’s current energy system and a catalyst to accelerate structural change,” the report said.

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Executive Reporter

Reporter

Segment Digital Producer

Digital & Social Producer

If you’re reading this, you’re probably considering one of our open positions or are curious about what we’re building with ENOUGH.

Accountability journalism isn’t new. KPRC 2 has a long history of investigative reporting, consumer advocacy, and asking tough questions on behalf of our audience. We’re proud of that work.

But as we’ve developed ENOUGH, we’ve come to realize we’re building something larger than a traditional investigative unit or a new 10 p.m. show.

The idea started with a simple observation. People have never had more access to information, yet many still struggle to get answers to the questions affecting their daily lives.

• Why is my bill so high?
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Those aren’t investigative questions. They’re life questions. And increasingly, we believe local journalism has a responsibility to help answer them. That’s what ENOUGH is about.

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What Makes ENOUGH Different?

Most news organizations have investigative teams. But accountability shouldn’t begin and end with investigations. The issues affecting people’s lives don’t arrive on an investigative schedule. They show up every day.

That’s why ENOUGH is designed to be more than a reporting unit.

We’re building a team that combines accountability journalism, digital storytelling, audience engagement, and multi-platform content creation around a shared mission: helping people get answers.

Our goal isn’t simply to produce investigations. Our goal is impact. That means asking tough questions. Pursuing answers. Providing clarity. Following stories beyond the initial headline. Measuring success not just by what we expose, but by whether our journalism helps people better understand and navigate the issues affecting their lives.

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Join the Team

We’re building a team of journalists, storytellers, and content creators who want to do meaningful work and help shape the future of accountability journalism.

Current opportunities include:

Executive Reporter

Lead high-impact accountability reporting that asks tough questions, uncovers answers, and drives meaningful impact across platforms.

Apply: www.click2houston.com/careers/2026/01/14/executive-reporter-10pm/

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Develop and deliver original stories that hold institutions accountable, explain complex issues, and help our audience better understand the challenges affecting their daily lives.

Apply: https://www.click2houston.com/careers/2025/09/25/reporter/

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Help identify, develop, and distribute compelling accountability journalism across digital, streaming, social, and broadcast platforms. www.click2houston.com/careers/2026/03/11/segment-digital-producer-10pm/

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Create platform-specific content that extends the reach and impact of ENOUGH across social media, digital, and emerging platforms. Help connect audiences to accountability journalism in new and engaging ways.

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We’re not simply recruiting people to do stories. We’re recruiting people to help build what ENOUGH is becoming.

If you believe local journalism can still make a difference, we’d love to talk.

Cody Campbell, the billionaire booster who is chairman of the Texas Tech regents, wrote in an open letter Monday night that Sorsby will not be part of the team.

“This decision was made with Brendan and his family and is purely an output of practical analysis of the situation,” Campbell wrote. “Brendan and Texas Tech stand on very solid and legitimate legal ground, but he faces a June 22nd deadline to be eligible to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft, and there is no practical way to resolve all the various pending legal disputes and ensure his eligibility prior to this date. This is the only viable and fair path for Brendan and his future, as well as for his teammates, and our university.”

That came exactly one week before the deadline for Sorsby to apply for the supplemental draft.

It was also one week after Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA, an order that sent shockwaves through college sports because one of the NCAA’s foundational rules, and one found in many professional sports as well, is the ability to ban players for gambling — especially those wagering on games involving their own team.

All the legal wrangling had raised the stakes in the fight over whether Sorsby could play and who would decide that.

Sorsby's decision came on the same day the NCAA and Big 12 Conference had filings in separate courts challenging a temporary injunction that had cleared the way for the 22-year-old quarterback to play despite being declared ineligible after he admitted making thousands of bets worth at least $90,000 while in college. Those included at least 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on the game in which he played for the Hoosiers that season.

Sorsby didn't play a down for the defending Big 12 champion Red Raiders. He transferred to Texas Tech in January for a reported multimillion-dollar deal after playing the past two seasons at Cincinnati, another Big 12 school. The Texas native was at Indiana in 2022 and 2023.

Campbell, while not revealing any figures, said Texas Tech will not seek the return of any payments already made to Sorsby through his NIL agreements with the university.

Sorsby, not Texas Tech, filed the suit against the NCAA that resulted in the injunction. But school officials repeatedly said that for his mental health and well-being he would be better off on the team.

“I am grateful for the support from my family, my Tech coaching staff, teammates, the community, and so many others who have encouraged me to address and learn more about this important issue,” Sorsby wrote in a social media post Monday night. “As my journey continues, I remain fully committed to and focused on being the best I can be, both on and off the field.”

Court testimony revealed Sorsby has a diagnosed addiction and anxiety-driven compulsion. He recently completed a monthlong stay in a residential treatment program in Arizona that he entered after Texas Tech was notified in April about an NCAA investigation into his gambling activity.

“I pray that he can stay on his path to recovery,” Campbell wrote. “Texas Tech will continue to provide the support and recovery resources Brendan requires on this journey.”

Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec and athletic director Kirby Hocutt echoed that in a joint statement.

“When Brendan’s lawsuit resulted in the granting of a temporary injunction, we found ourselves in a difficult situation. With his health and wellness as our top priority, we supported him in spite of very different perspectives and opinions. Our position was challenged by many but our support for him never changed," they wrote.

The ruling last week by Judge Ken Curry prevented the NCAA from being able to block the QB's eligibility for what would have been his final college season. Tech is among the favorites to win the Big 12 and return to the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive season.

“It’s been a challenging week for both our Conference and the college athletics landscape," Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement Tuesday. "The Big 12 looks forward to moving ahead as 16 (schools) strong. We wish Brendan Sorsby success in his future endeavors.”

The NCAA's appeal

In documents filed Monday with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo, the NCAA had asked for an emergency motion to stay the June 8 injunction. The NCAA also asked for a resolution of the case before the start of Texas Tech's season. The trial was scheduled for February, well after the season ends.

Attorneys for the NCAA wrote that the trial court’s temporary injunction "undermines the integrity of college sports, rewrites member-adopted rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, immunizes Brendan Sorsby from discipline for admitted and serial violations of NCAA anti-gambling rules, incentivizes a run on courthouses across the country to challenge even the most obvious and straightforward student-athlete eligibility decisions and demolishes the status quo.”

Big 12 goes to federal court

The Big 12, meanwhile, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Dallas seeking a court order backing its ability to use its bylaws for possible sanctions against Texas Tech if Sorsby had played this season. Last week, the Texas attorney general’s office warned the league of potential legal action from Texas Tech for any such sanctions.

The Big 12 filing names Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee in the U.S. Senate race this fall, as well as Texas Tech leadership, including its president, chancellor and athletic director. It accused them of trying to prevent the Big 12 from exercising its own rules the school itself agreed to long ago. Sorsby wasn’t named as a defendant.

“An athlete with an extensive, documented history of wagering on intercollegiate athletic contests — especially his own team’s games — presents a reputational and integrity risk to the conference and its championship competition that the conference has both the right and the responsibility to address,” attorneys for the Big 12 wrote. “The conference is not required to accept that risk on behalf of its 15 other member Institutions, their student-athletes, their fans and its commercial partners. And no government official has the power to compel it to do so.”

That came before a meeting Monday of the Big 12 board of directors, which is made up of presidents and chancellors from the league’s 16 schools.

In a statement by the board after that meeting, the Big 12 said it was committed to protecting the competitive integrity of conference competition and that, "Universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics.”

Big 12 athletic directors in a conference call with Yormark last week expressed opposition to Sorsby playing for the Red Raiders this season, and some even suggested maybe not playing Texas Tech if he had.

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

Neither player was immediately signed to a contract, though, per sources.

Yarns, the Gamblers’ leading rusher, also worked out for the Denver Broncos. Both workouts went well, per a source.

A former University of Delaware standout, Yarns rushed for 345 yards. He had a season-high 111-yard game on April 16 against the United Football League champion Louisville Kings with a 70-yard touchdown run.

Yarns, who rushed for 2,344 yards and 23 touchdowns in college, is 5-foot-11, 198 pounds and has run the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds.

He signed with the New Orleans Saints last year as an undrafted rookie and was released after training camp.

Asante (6-foot, 218 pounds), a former Auburn and North Carolina player, has played for the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons. He has run the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds.

He recorded 34 tackles, four for losses with two forced fumbles this season for the Gamblers.

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

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

But come closer and you'll see the contours of the eight-sided cage, 30 feet (9 meters) in diameter and shaped, with careful precision, like the MMA league's signature Octagon.

That is, a STOP! sign flipped on its edge, with wire-mesh sides and padded corners fitted with different sponsors' logos: Morgan & Morgan, Bud Light, Dodge Ram and Polymarket, which identifies itself as the world’s largest prediction market.

Overhead looms The Claw, a four-sided mass that arcs more than 90 feet (27 meters) into the air and features lights, speakers, thick snakes of wiring and four large screens so fans not seated right next to the Octagon can follow the cage fighting below.

Think more of the four-sided, metal grabby thing that tries to grasp stuffed animals at a video arcade rather than what house cats have — hence the extraterrestrial vibes.

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

‘Quite attractive to a lot of people’

For non-UFC fans, all of this might be disorienting under any circumstances. But the temporary arena is covering nearly the entirety of the White House's South Lawn, where Marine One usually lands to ferry the president to out-of-town trips and gobs of kids scramble in the grass during the Easter Egg Roll every spring.

More than $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been poured into building the arena, according to a court filing from the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn and is contesting a lawsuit meant to block the event.

The White House says the UFC is covering the costs, though the filing states that seven agencies — including the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration — have “allocated significant resources and manpower.”

Fighters, their entourages and assorted support staffers are expected to take over the driveway and part of the West Wing when they're not fighting. But they'll enter the arena via curtained-off walkways with access to the Octagon.

They, as well as ordinary attendees of Sunday's spectacle, will have picturesque views of the White House's Executive Residence and its storied Truman Balcony on one side and the Washington Monument towering in the distance on the other. All of it will be accentuated by swirling spotlights, and perhaps even sweat and blood pouring off the fighters pummeling each other.

A packed pre-event schedule includes a press conference at the Lincoln Memorial with UFC chief Dana White and the fighters on Friday night.

There's also a ceremonial weigh-in for combatants on Saturday at the Ellipse, a park near the White House, where organizers expect 120,000-plus visitors to watch Sunday night's proceedings on large screens after winning free tickets in a lottery.

Stunt athlete Travis Pastrana is also set to do a potentially death-defying backflip on a dirt bike on the White House lawn as part of the preshow extravaganza.

Trump has called the Octagon and its Claw “quite attractive to a lot of people.” He's even suggested that maybe the temporary structure could become permanent, like the Eiffel Tower, which he notes was originally built as part of the 1889 World's Fair but then was never taken back down.

Only the president knows how serious that suggestion really is.

The fights will go on rain or shine — despite a lack of covering

Work on the arena began May 20 and has continued for weeks. During a walk-through for reporters on Thursday, construction noises — particularly sanding and hammering — could be heard. Giant cranes were carrying materials around overhead, though that was for the $400 million ballroom that Trump is building nearby, not the UFC fight.

The remaining grassy lawn around the arena, on the other sides of the White House, has been fitted with supplemental spotlights. But the grass that normally grows between the White House and the start of the risers for the arena is now gone, with nothing but dusty dirt that will need to be resodded when this is all over — unless the president really does decide to leave the arena up permanently.

There's also a large Freedom 250 logo standing between the White House and the arena. Nearby, crews removed the tables and yellow patio umbrellas from Trump’s refurbished Rose Garden and were power-washing that space, as well as the colonnade to the Oval Office, in preparation for the fights.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a cooperation agreement with UFC that will see both institutions provide fight training and health and diet regimens, while promoting teamwork and leadership among youth around the world.

“We are so polarized,” Rubio said. “There are only a handful of things that bring people together in one place at one time, united by their interest in one thing. We need more of those.”

Later Thursday, crews began testing the sound system, unleashing a deep rumbling — and sometimes unsettling bass notes — throughout the West Wing. During a subsequent Oval Office event, the music from the lawn was loud enough that the 1970s hit "Boys are Back in Town” rollicked in the background as Trump spoke.

Sunday's event starts at 8 p.m. ET. As darkness falls, crews will illuminate The Claw in red, white and blue, and the mass of lights will offer projections that make it seem as though the entire structure has been enveloped in a twirling stars and stripes pattern.

The weather forecast calls for hot and muggy conditions with thunderstorms possible. The underside of The Claw's tower features an overhead cover that should keep the fighters reasonably dry should it rain — and Trump is also likely to watch from a protected, covered area.

But everyone else would almost certainly get wet.

White has vowed that even heavy lightning — when The Claw might make a conspicuous target for bolts — wouldn't stop the show.

“I don’t care if it snows," White said.

___

This story was first published on June 11, 2026. It was published again on June 16, 2026, to delete an incorrect reference to Corona Extra being a sponsor of the event. Corona Extra was not a sponsor.

It doesn’t have to be that way, said Aaron Owens Mayhew, a dietitian and long-haul trekker in Orcutt, California.

“It always made me sad that people who train so hard, they exercise, they eat well at home, and then they go backpacking and pick up honey buns,” Owens Mayhew said.

Getting outside generally improves mental and physical health. But too often, campers and hikers resort to the convenience of processed foods high in saturated fat, salt and sugar.

Here’s how to rethink campsite cooking to eat healthy while acting healthy.

Eat outdoors what you eat at home

Many people rightly assume that a little processed food is fine, especially when you're exerting outsize energy that can help counter excess calories. The problem lies in the way the body processes it, said Owens Mayhew, who founded Backcountry Foodie, a website dedicated to bringing nutrition to the trail.

Simple carbohydrates like sugary baked goods and candy bars can cause rapid blood glucose spikes followed by a sharp drop, leaving hikers more fatigued than before. Meanwhile, heavily processed foods tend to be dense in calories but lacking the vitamins, minerals and protein the body needs to perform well.

A healthy diet can provide consistent energy throughout the day and improved recovery.

“I like to think of food as one variable that can be controlled, unlike a sprained ankle or bad weather,” Owens Mayhew said.

She said the best way to eat in the wilderness is to find ways to continue eating the food you normally do at home. Instead of frying bacon and eggs on the fire because that’s what you did at camp as a kid, have that bran cereal you eat every morning, this time with powdered milk (find it in the baking aisle).

Many of the recipes on Owens Mayhew's website are healthier versions of her family’s classic recipes, including tuna casserole, garlic-Parmesan noodles and sweet potato casserole. As a supplement to grilled meat or fish, she suggested packing instant brown rice, quinoa and couscous, which are lightweight, healthy and require only boiled water.

To boost flavor, add fresh ginger, herbs, or garlic or onion powder. Adding nuts, dried mushrooms, grated Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes or dried fruit turns the starch into a meal of its own.

Prep meals at home and assemble at camp

Cooking at camp is much harder than when you’re comfortably home in your kitchen, so winging it is usually a bad idea, said Rashad Frazier, founder of Camp Yoshi, a gourmet adventure outfitter.

Well before a trip, take time to plan meals and prep as many ingredients as will stay fresh in zip-top bags or containers. Chopping onions or grating fresh ginger at home frees time to enjoy the sunset and spend time with family when you're outdoors.

“There’s no extra bonus points for cutting onions and making mango chutney at camp,” he said.

Frazier's cookbook, “Cook Out,” devotes a section to pantry ingredients that can be prepped at home. His universal spice mix, salsa verde, chutneys, curry paste, pickled onions and other flavor boosters pack a punch without adding many calories. They can be mixed and matched, he said, with whatever meat, vegetables or grains you have.

Also, always have an emergency backup meal for when bad weather or other factors ruin your plans, Frazier said. His is a Bolognese sauce that he keeps in the freezer until leaving. But a homemade pureed soup or even peanut butter and jelly can be a lifesaver.

“Have that one dish that’s always like, in the event of emergency, break glass, eat this,” he said.

Two recipes to elevate campsite cooking:

Rashad Frazier’s Universal Camping Spice Mix

From the cookbook “Cook Out "

Ingredients

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon thyme

1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder

1⁄2 teaspoon onion powder

1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to spice preference)

Directions

Mix at home and put into a sealed container. Rub onto any meat, fish or vegetable before cooking on a well-oiled grill.

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Backcountry Foodie’s Parmesan Pesto Ramen

One serving

Ingredients:

1 package ramen noodles

2 tablespoons pine nuts or almonds

1 tablespoon dried basil (or 2 tablespoons fresh, if available)

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon table salt

2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 oz water

Directions

At home, discard the ramen’s high-salt seasoning packet. Create a pesto packet by putting the nuts, herbs, garlic and cheese into a small baggie. At camp, boil water to cook the pasta, discard the water when tender, and stir in the pesto packet and oil. Tear fresh basil if you have it and stir it in.

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The recipe for Universal Camping Spice Mix is excerpted from “Cook Out: Recipes and Tips for the Great Outdoors” by Rashad Frazier, courtesy of 4 Color Books.

The recipe for Parmesan Pesto Ramen comes from the website “Backcountry Foodie."

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Albert Stumm writes about food, travel and wellness. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com

“The more God trusts you, the more he will bless you, but he has to trust you with what he’s going to give,” Harvey told The Associated Press after a recent appearance at the Social Innovation Summit in Atlanta. “And a part of what he is going to give to you is going to require that you take a portion of it and return the favor.”

Zeev Klein, CEO of Landmark Ventures and founder and curator of the Social Innovation Summit, said Harvey’s message is an important one at a time when we face so many urgent challenges.

“Steve has an extraordinary ability to meet the moment with honesty, empathy, and clarity,” Klein said. “He doesn’t just speak to an audience, he connects people in a way that moves conversations forward.”

The longtime host of “Family Feud” and star of numerous movies and TV shows, Harvey takes giving back very seriously, especially through The Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation, which he started with his wife. And he has made sure that his children also take philanthropy very seriously.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Can you talk about why philanthropy is so important to you?

I think I got that from my mother. She always raised me to believe that God blesses you to become a blessing. You have to give to people without expecting anything in return. It’s your job. When you give to somebody you don’t have the right to make the determination what they need it for. (People say,) “He ain’t gonna do nothing but buy some beer. He ain’t gonna do nothing but get drunk. He gonna get high.” That ain’t your business, right? If you do it with the intent to help, the reward is given back to you.

In today’s society, though, there is a lot of discussion about whether the people receiving help are worthy of being helped.

People who don’t know what it is like to be without, they come from a different perspective. They don’t know what it is to grovel. So, we have to start developing some type of understanding with one another. OK, you may not have grown up poor, but suppose you learn what a lot of poor people go through? That would eventually have an effect on you if you were human. But when you don’t listen to them, you don’t want to hear their story, then you keep acting as though you’ve been rich the whole time. That’s the problem we have today.

How were you able to avoid that problem with your children?

Most decent parents want their children to live better than them. My father wanted me to have a better life than him. They didn’t want me to struggle like they did. I did that for my kids. None of my kids really had to grow up poor. Each one of my children had a room with a bathroom in it. Each one had their own desk and computer. I gave them a lot. And sometimes I overdid it, especially the girls. Lord, I just don’t know how to tell my daughters, “No.” That’s my problem. But I taught them: You don’t have the right to think you are better than anybody else. You just hit the jackpot, I’m your daddy. That’s your black card. You really don’t deserve nothing you have. I taught them all this: “Justice is when you get what you deserve. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve. But grace is when you get what don’t you deserve.” My children were born into grace. They didn’t have to work to have. I did all of that. That’s how I raised them and that’s why they have good heads on their shoulders.

Is that what you teach in your foundation’s annual mentorship camp, which starts in Atlanta on June 17?

It’s funny you asked me that because I’ve had to change the messaging over the years. It’s a different boy that comes to this camp now. And I guess the only way I can tell it to you is just that it’s a softer boy that’s being raised now. We used to go right into the tough stuff. Now we gotta ease them off the bus. I gotta get up on the bus and give them a little speech. Over the years, we’ve had to taper this so much. It’s a softer camp now. But for the five days I got them, we still show them how life really works. You don’t get participation trophies in life. If you miss the promotion in corporate America, they don’t just give you the check anyway.

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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.

Trump has been at the center of this year's midterm campaigns, and his influence will be tested in different ways Tuesday as four states and the District of Columbia hold primaries.

Among Democrats, the primaries will hinge on longstanding divides between progressives and moderates as the party tries to chart the best path forward to November.

Here are a few things to watch as voters go to the polls in Alabama, California, the District of Columbia, Georgia and Oklahoma.

How much is a Trump endorsement worth?

Nothing is certain in politics, but a “complete and total endorsement” from Trump is about the surest path possible to winning a Republican primary.

Rick Jackson is testing that truism in his bid for Georgia governor. The healthcare tycoon, who faces Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a runoff, has provided most of the $100 million-plus that his campaign has spent to convince Republican primary voters to overlook Trump's advice.

Trump endorsed Jones more than a year ago and reiterated his support last week, praising Jones' “Courage and Wisdom” in a social media post. Rarely has the power of Trump's endorsement been tested against such a lopsided spending disparity.

Jones finished first with 38% and Jackson second with 33% in the May 19 primary. Now the election to lead one of the nation's preeminent battleground states will be decided by the voters who didn't back either of them.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma's Republican primary for governor will test Trump's endorsement in a different way. There, the president weighed in late, throwing his support two weeks ago to former state Sen. Mike Mazzei among a crowded field without a clear front-runner. The race will go to a runoff if no candidate gets a majority.

Trump is used to getting his way, but earlier this month his choice for governor of Iowa, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, lost to Zach Lahn in the state's primary.

MAGA becomes the insider movement and faces an outsider

Trump rose to power as an outsider, the head of a “Make America Great Again” movement keen to bulldoze the old political order.

But now the onetime insurgent sits atop a sprawling establishment. What happens when he endorses an insider candidate?

That question is at the heart of the Republican primary runoff for Alabama's open Senate seat.

Trump is backing U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, a three-term congressman who has promised to be “a warrior for President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda" if elected.

He faces former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, who is presenting himself as a Washington outsider, trying to harness the anti-establishment fervor that propelled Trump to power to defeat Trump’s preferred candidate.

Alabama is a Republican stronghold, so whoever wins the primary will be heavily favored to prevail in November over either candidate in Tuesday's Democratic runoff, business owner Dakarai Larriett and lawyer Everett Wess.

The seat is being vacated by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee in the race for Alabama governor.

DC mayor’s race features a democratic socialist and a new voting system

One of the leading Democratic contenders in the District of Columbia mayor's race, Janeese Lewis George, describes herself as a democratic socialist, a political denomination that became more prominent with Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaigns.

George’s bid for the party’s nomination is not so far removed from democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's upset victory for New York City mayor last year. And, as in New York, the race has drawn national attention, including the president's.

Trump indicated days before the mayoral primary election that he might take over the city if George wins, saying “we won’t put up with it.” George called Trump’s threat “an attack on democracy itself.”

The overwhelmingly Democratic city's relationship to the president is a focal point of the campaigns as Trump has exercised broad power over Washington, D.C. That’s included an open-ended deployment of National Guard troops in the streets and his culling of the federal workforce, a chunk of the city’s jobs.

Some residents were frustrated that the mayor, Muriel Bowser, didn’t push back enough on the administration. Part of George’s platform on her website, which heavily focuses on affordability, is to “protect Home Rule” with “leaders that stand up and fight back, not shrink in the face of injustice.”

George and another Democrat, Kenyan McDuffie, who’s focused on public safety, are two of the seven candidates whose race will be the first decided with D.C.’s new ranked choice voting system.

Like a handful of other places, D.C. voters will rank the candidates on a ballot, and if no one crosses 50% of the popular vote, then residents' second choices come into play. That happened in Maine, where election officials started counting ranked choice votes for governor and a key House race three days after election night.

In D.C., election officials have warned the new system could delay results by days.

Election denial looms over race for Georgia secretary of state

Six years ago, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger resisted Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud and his request to “find 11,780 votes” to overtake Democrat Joe Biden.

Now, in the first open election for the seat since Raffensperger’s defiance, the two Republicans in the runoff echo Trump’s falsehoods to varying degrees.

Candidate Vernon Jones, who was previously elected to the statehouse as a Democrat but switched parties and aligned himself with Trump, has said he believes there were “irregularities” and “violations” and he stands “with those who believe there was election fraud.”

Of four key points on Jones’ campaign platform, three have to do with election management, including stronger voter identification rules and requiring voting in person with limited exceptions.

Jones’ runoff opponent, state Rep. Tim Fleming, has tiptoed around the topic, saying there were “irregularities” in 2020 but adding he’s “not running on conspiracy theories.”

Still, of the seven platform points on his campaign website, four are focused on election management and one says the state should "make it impossible for the Left to cheat in our elections.”

Skepticism of elections flared up recently in California after Trump made a baseless claim that Democrats were cheating to defeat a Republican candidate for governor and another for Los Angeles mayor.

Soon after, the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, led by Trump appointee Bill Essayli, said it was opening fraud investigations related to the elections.

A special election to fill Eric Swalwell’s seat after sexual assault allegations

Eric Swalwell resigned from the U.S. House in April after a woman alleged he had sexually assaulted her twice, saying she was too intoxicated to consent to sex in both cases.

The Democrat has denied the accusations, but he dropped out of the race for California governor and resigned from Congress.

That’s what prompted a special primary election Tuesday, when both Republican and Democratic candidates will compete to serve out Swalwell’s term until January. If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote Tuesday, that candidate wins outright, otherwise the top two contenders will go to a runoff election Aug. 18.

The Democratic candidates, favored to win in the blue district covering several East Bay cities, include Aisha Wahab, a state senator, and Melissa Hernandez, a Bay Area Rapid Transit director.

It's a competition between the more progressive Wahab, who's established in California politics, and Hernandez, a local politician who sits closer to the political center. To lower costs, Wahab takes aim at “corporate profiteering” and argues for an expansion to social safety nets. Hernandez focuses on local job growth and supporting small businesses.

Both candidates also ran in the regular primary election for Swalwell’s seat and will face off in the general election in November. Whoever wins that race will take over next year.

___

This story has been corrected to show Trump wanted to find 11,780, not 11,800, votes.

___

Cooper reported from Phoenix, Bedayn from Austin, Texas.

“Paddington The Musical” will play the Al Hirschfeld Theatre starting in March after wowing critics in London and winning seven Olivier Awards earlier this year, including best new musical.

“The excitement around the show and the sort of joy that it seems to be bringing people has put wind in our sails and marmalade in our suitcases,” says director Luke Sheppard.

The move is not entirely unexpected. During the Tony Awards’ opening number, a Paddington stuffie was brought out by Neil Patrick Harris, to which host Pink responded, “Maybe next season.”

“Spoilers!” Harris said.

Based on Michael Bond’s children stories, “Paddington The Musical” was written by playwright Jessica Swale and songwriter and author Tom Fletcher of the band McFly.

Paddington has been having a revival thanks to three successful movies and an onscreen appearance with Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, just weeks before her death. The bear recently graced the cover of Rolling Stone in the U.K.

“The films I think have looked after him brilliantly and allowed him to find an identity that lives in this moment and speaks to new audiences,” says Sheppard. “We’re very proud to be the sort of the next custodian of him.”

The musical's plot is about this orphaned bear who goes to London and is taken in by a kind family. He learns how to handle his neighbors and new city but they also learn about his big heart. “Kindness is never complicated” is one of the show's lyrics.

“If we’re doing something it’s trying to spread kindness and that is such a simple thing that sometimes can feel quite difficult,” says Fletcher, adds there's a message of welcoming immigrants and strangers also baked into the musical.

“What’s really special about Paddington is that coming from Peru to London looking for a home, looking for family, that’s a very real story for a lot of people,” he says.

Fletcher has leaned on his musical influences — everything from the Beatles and Queen to the Sherman Brothers and Alan Menken — for a score that reflects modern London's varied and diverse sounds.

Paddington — like his precious marmalade — is a national treasure in England but both are less well known in the United States, so the creative team will “get back under the hood” and see what tweaks they may need for a New York run.

“We’re going to take this opportunity not to fundamentally change anything but to consider this a chance to fine-tune and hone and upgrade,” Swale says.

Its Olivier wins included a joint best actor in a musical award for James Hameed and Arti Shah, who together play the title role. Hameed provides the voice and remote puppetry, while Shah — the first woman to win a best actor Olivier — inhabits the bear costume onstage.

The New York Post called it “a mesmerizing fur de force” while The Guardian said “This is the new ‘Mary Poppins:’ a well-known story imaginatively staged, immaculately performed and utterly winning.”

It's creators were pleased to find out that 40% of the audience for “Paddington The Musical” in London was first-time theatergoers and hopes to replicate that on Broadway, perhaps turning on a generation to live theater.

“Most stories are about a little girl or an old man or a very specific type of human and so an audience will naturally gravitate to someone who looks like them,” says Sheppard. “And yet we’ve got a bear who somehow becomes an Everyman and so his story really has something for everybody.”

Jackson, who earned a Tony Award nomination playing opposite Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Alexander Hamilton, will return to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Sept. 8 through Jan. 3.

“I wanted to touch the thing that I feel turned me into an artist in a way that nothing I’d ever done had done,” he tells The Associated Press. “I wanted it to touch this thing again.”

Jackson is the second original cast member to return, following Leslie Odom Jr., who reprised his Aaron Burr last year, pushing the show to the top of the box-office charts again and bringing in over $4 million in one week for the first time since 2018.

Jackson says he was inspired to return while reconnecting with his fellow actors during the 10th anniversary events last year.

“There’s a feeling of being alive in a different kind of way in this show. The timing was right and, quite honestly, I needed that infusion and that challenge again,” he says.

Before landing “Hamilton,” Jackson played Simba in “The Lion King,” Benny in “In the Heights” and Delray in “Memphis.” He also was in “After Midnight,” “Bronx Bombers” as Derek Jeter and “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” the musical that used Tupac Shakur songs. He was a composer and songwriter for the children's television programs “The Electric Company” and “Sesame Street.”

After “Hamilton,” Jackson had a role in the CBS drama “Bull” and HBO Max's “And Just Like That,” returned to Broadway in “Hell's Kitchen” and “Freestyle Love Supreme,” and sang in the hit animated movie “Moana.”

“I haven’t stopped working since I left ‘Hamilton.’ I’ve been very fortunate,” Jackson says. “But there’s nothing that I have done that has challenged me in the way that show does.”

Jackson left the show in November 2016 after having been with “Hamilton” since it began performances in early 2015 off-Broadway. The Broadway show won 11 Tony Awards, including best new musical, best book and best score. The cast album was a blockbuster and the show has toured to packed houses.

Jackson calls the Richard Rodgers Theatre his “favorite building in New York” and the site of the “greatest, most profound artistic moments of my life. I want to see if I can go in there and have new ones.”

Many in the cast alongside Jackson were relatively unknown to the wider world when they hit the stage: Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos and Phillipa Soo. Even Miranda wasn’t yet a brand name.

Jackson — the subject of the song “Washington on Your Side” — will return to sing such songs as “Right Hand Man,” “History Has Its Eyes on You” and “Yorktown.”

He says he'll have to recapture the muscle memory of the show but there are benefits, like that his children can see him play the role as young adults. Plus, he knows his way around the theater.

“I just don’t have to look for where the bathrooms are. I know where all the bathrooms are. I know how to get into the stage door. I know where to park, how long it takes me to go from Point A to Point B.”

The International Skating Union published the lineups Tuesday for the new season's Grand Prix events, listing Skate America in Everett, Washington, on Nov. 13-15 as the first event on the circuit for Liu, U.S. champion Amber Glenn and Malinin.

Skaters can take part in two of the six Grand Prix events to qualify for the finals in Chongqing, China, in December.

Liu and Glenn are set to skate against Ami Nakai, the Olympic bronze medalist from Japan, and world bronze medalist Nina Pinzarrone of Belgium in a stacked field at Skate America. Malinin is up against experienced American skater Jason Brown and Italy's Daniel Grassl.

It's not immediately clear if Liu, Glenn and Malinin plan to skate any lower-level Challenger Series events before that. Liu hasn't skated competitively since winning her Olympic gold medal in February. She skipped the world championships after that as Kaori Sakamoto retired with a fourth title.

Malinin retained his world title in March after missing the medals at the Olympics with a disastrous free skate.

After Skate America, Liu is listed as competing again one week later in her second Grand Prix of the season at the Finlandia Trophy. Malinin's second event is the NHK Trophy in Japan against world bronze medalist Shun Sato.

Olympic gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan is in the Grand Prix season opener in France from Oct. 23-25 and then skates the Cup of China in November.

There's no Grand Prix assignment for U.S. ice dance team Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who have said they're taking a break from competition. Olympic gold medalists Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron start at their home Grand Prix de France.

Pairs world champions Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany start their Grand Prix season at Skate America. Olympic pairs gold medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan retired in April.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

If you want real-life aristocracy, head to Sweden’s squad.

Gustaf Lagerbielke, a 26-year-old defender who played the entire match in Sweden’s 5-1 defeat of Tunisia on Sunday, is a baron from a noble family in Sweden. His father and grandfather are counts.

Soccer players typically come from modest backgrounds — take Messi and Ronaldo, for example.

Not Lagerbielke.

“I mean, it’s rare,” he said in an interview ahead of the World Cup.

Lagerbielke grew up in Djursholm, a wealthy suburb in the Swedish capital, Stockholm. When he played soccer as a kid, he says he had the family’s coat of arms on his shin pads.

“When I was kid, I wanted to become a professional footballer,” Lagerbielke said after Sunday's match in Monterrey. “They have taught me goals. They are very happy for me and very proud.”

Lagerbielke’s heritage has been a talking point throughout a career that has taken him from Sweden (AIK, Sollentuna, Västerås, Elfsborg and Degerfors) to Scotland (Celtic) and now Portugal.

Sections of the British media reported he was 254th in line to the Swedish throne, though Lagerbielke said “I don’t know if it’s true.”

“But I think for it to happen,” he added, “a lot of people need to go away. And I don’t want that to happen.”

For now, Lagerbielke just wants to help Sweden become the king of soccer at the World Cup.

“To have one of the biggest wins in Swedish history at the World Cup, it’s amazing," he said.

__

Ethan Wilcox is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

___

Douglas reported from Sundsvall, Sweden.

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

SpaceX said in April that it had the rights to buy Cursor, or pay $10 billion to “work together” with the company.

In a regulatory filing Tuesday, SpaceX said that Cursor will become a wholly owned subsidiary when the deal closes in the third quarter.

Cursor, made by San Francisco startup Anysphere, is a popular AI coding assistant. What SpaceX has described as Cursor's wide “distribution to expert software engineers” is likely part of what made it attractive to Musk's company, giving it access to a new customer base.

When it first announced the potential acquisition, Cursor said the partnership with SpaceX subsidiary xAI would enable it to build future AI products using xAI's massive AI data center complex Colossus, based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Cursor, which started in 2022, helped sparked a trend called “vibe coding” as AI coding assistants have become increasingly capable of doing the work of computer programming.

Cursor competes with other coding tools like Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex but also has relied heavily on partnerships with those larger AI research companies for the foundations of its technology.

It was Cursor’s Composer, combined with Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet, that a prominent AI researcher was playing with for weekend projects when he coined the phrase “vibe coding" in early 2025.

SpaceX became a public company on Friday in what is largely considered a successful debut. Shares of the company have jumped since Friday, and are up 9% before the opening bell Tuesday.

We’ve had an unexpected start to our week when a line of storms pounded the Houston are Monday, bringing widespread rain and street flooding.

Now, we are expected to see more rain today. The National Weather Service has since issued a Flood Watch through Thursday morning.

And according to our meteorologists, a tropical disturbance could make Wednesday one of the highest-impact days of the week.

To read more, click here.

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YOUR MORNING FORECAST ☀️

TODAY:82° TONIGHT: 79°

KPRC 2 Meteorologist says:

“Shower and storm chances increase Tuesday morning, mainly south of I-10 to start. These showers will bring the potential for heavy rainfall and frequent lightning strikes. Tuesday afternoon, the rain will continue to develop north of I-10 as a stalled boundary and tropical moisture combine. Evening hours showers begin to wind down.”

Get your forecast details here.

TOP STORIES

LIVE RADAR: More storms arriving today with street flooding possible

See when rain will hit your area with our live radar.

First tropical storm of 2026 may form in the Gulf this week and bring heavy rainfall to Houston

For the first time this Atlantic hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring a system with a realistic chance of becoming a named tropical storm.

A disturbance currently located over northeastern Mexico is expected to move toward the northwestern Gulf over the next couple of days. Right now, the National Hurricane Center gives it a 50% chance of development over the next seven days.

Gov. Greg Abbott issues disaster declaration for Harris County, 100 others amid storm and flood threat

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Monday that he hasissueda disaster declaration for 101 Texas counties as severe storms continue to threaten the state. Harris County is among the counties on the list.

“Texas is prepared to respond to the severe weather threats that continue to move across our state,” said Governor Abbott. “Because of the impact caused by ongoing storms and flood risks, I have issued a disaster declaration for 101 Texas counties to ensure that local officials and communities have access to the full range of state resources and support. Texans should heed the guidance of state and local officials and take all necessary precautions to stay safe during this severe weather.”

ARE YOU A KPRC 2 INSIDER? HERE’S SOME EXCLUSIVES

Check Your Area: Houston Roads Most Likely to Flood During Heavy Rain

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See a news story in your neighborhood? Capture a great weather moment? Just want to share a photo of your pet? Send your photos and videos to Click2Pins, and you may see them on air and online!

We’ve had an unexpected start to our week when a line of storms pounded the Houston are Monday, bringing widespread rain and street flooding.

Now, we are expected to see more rain today. The National Weather Service has since issued a Flood Watch through Thursday morning.

And according to our meteorologists, a tropical disturbance could make Wednesday one of the highest-impact days of the week.

To read more, click here.

➡️ Love our morning newsletter? Share it with your family and friends!

YOUR MORNING FORECAST ☀️

TODAY:82° TONIGHT: 79°

KPRC 2 Meteorologist says:

“Shower and storm chances increase Tuesday morning, mainly south of I-10 to start. These showers will bring the potential for heavy rainfall and frequent lightning strikes. Tuesday afternoon, the rain will continue to develop north of I-10 as a stalled boundary and tropical moisture combine. Evening hours showers begin to wind down.”

Get your forecast details here.

TOP STORIES

LIVE RADAR: More storms arriving today with street flooding possible

See when rain will hit your area with our live radar.

First tropical storm of 2026 may form in the Gulf this week and bring heavy rainfall to Houston

For the first time this Atlantic hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring a system with a realistic chance of becoming a named tropical storm.

A disturbance currently located over northeastern Mexico is expected to move toward the northwestern Gulf over the next couple of days. Right now, the National Hurricane Center gives it a 50% chance of development over the next seven days.

Gov. Greg Abbott issues disaster declaration for Harris County, 100 others amid storm and flood threat

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Monday that he hasissueda disaster declaration for 101 Texas counties as severe storms continue to threaten the state. Harris County is among the counties on the list.

“Texas is prepared to respond to the severe weather threats that continue to move across our state,” said Governor Abbott. “Because of the impact caused by ongoing storms and flood risks, I have issued a disaster declaration for 101 Texas counties to ensure that local officials and communities have access to the full range of state resources and support. Texans should heed the guidance of state and local officials and take all necessary precautions to stay safe during this severe weather.”

ARE YOU A KPRC 2 INSIDER? HERE’S SOME EXCLUSIVES

Check Your Area: Houston Roads Most Likely to Flood During Heavy Rain

CLICK2PINS: SHOW US WHAT YA GOT 📷

See a news story in your neighborhood? Capture a great weather moment? Just want to share a photo of your pet? Send your photos and videos to Click2Pins, and you may see them on air and online!

On Monday, we saw stalled vehicles, flooding, and excessive rainfall throughout the afternoon.

Track it all on our live radar:

• Check the latest weather alerts
• Check real-time traffic conditions
• Check the forecast
• Share your weather pictures and video
• Download the free Storm Tracker 2 app

After a Republican primary that focused on fighting Sharia law and diversity policies, the general election for a seat on Texas’ oil and gas regulatory agency is shaping up as a partisan brawl with more talk of issues unrelated to its core functions.

Bo French, a scion of the Texas GOP’s hard-right flank, is now turning his attention to a November matchup with state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, after French ousted incumbent Jim Wright in last month’s runoff. Rosenthal, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, is aiming to upset French and win a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission by touting his two decades of experience as an oil field engineer, betting he can win crossover support from voters turned off by French’s emphasis on the culture wars.

French, a longtime conservative activist who recently chaired the Tarrant County GOP, and whose family runs an oil business in Midland, has said in interviews with conservative media that he’s campaigning on social issues because they resonate with his supporters.

“I ran a campaign because I had to win a Republican primary,” he told right-wing podcaster Jack Posobiec on the heels of the runoff. “Talking about the Islamification of Texas, talking about DEI, talking about LGBTQ issues … I think my victory is a testament to the grassroots folks in Texas who are tired of electing people who aren’t fighting for them on any of these issues.”

The elected railroad commissioner will have limited say over such issues, though French argues otherwise, alleging the agency doles out too many contracts “based on DEI criteria rather than merit.” That is only a drop in the Railroad Commission’s $593 million budget the winner stands to inherit — the agency’s largest budget in its history — along with regulating Texas’ booming oil and gas production and a sea of wastewater that operators are scrambling to dispose of.

Next up: Facing Rosenthal

After securing the GOP nod, French wasted no time firing off his first waves of attacks against Rosenthal. On social media, he posted a selfie Rosenthal took on the House floor in 2021 wearing a face mask imprinted with the message, “Protect Trans Kids.”

“This is my opponent. Do you think he is going to make the oil and gas industry stronger or protect the Texas miracle?” French wrote. A few days later, he took aim at Rosenthal for a post promoting Pride Month, saying the Democratic lawmaker “never misses a chance to indoctrinate kids and celebrate degeneracy.”

Rosenthal said he’d ignore the politics. His longshot bid — Texas Democrats last won statewide in 1994 — hinges on showing his grasp of the agency, he said, and courting disaffected Republicans who want to hear about his plans for the state’s oil and gas industry.

“My philosophy from the very beginning has just been to run based on the issues, my background, and my technical expertise,” Rosenthal told The Texas Tribune. “To build coalitions around these specific issues that are for the Railroad Commission, and that the general public, whether they understand the Railroad Commission’s role in these things or not, they’re worried about our energy grid, they’re worried about our electric bills, they’re worried about pollution.”

Nancy Sims, a political scientist at the University of Houston, said partisan rhetoric is sure to clash with Rosenthal’s effort to keep the Railroad Commission in the spotlight, if not overshadow it altogether. The contentious social issues driving French’s campaign will only be amplified, Sims said, by races higher up the ballot that reliably wade into those same topics, making it even harder for Rosenthal to sell voters on the nuts and bolts of government.

“In this office, it would be great if Texans were paying attention to the issues the Railroad Commission deals with, like abandoned wells, contaminated water and the many issues that affect oil and gas production,” Sims said. “But that is probably not the No. 1 issue for Texans when they go vote this fall.”

Republicans shift from Wright to French

Meanwhile, Texas Republican leaders who supported Wright — and previously criticized French in harsh terms — are coalescing around their party’s new nominee as they look toward the fall elections.

French represents the most rightward flank of a party that has already moved dramatically to the right in recent years, sometimes leading to members of his own party to criticize him publicly. Earlier this year, French called for the U.S. to deport 100 million people, a number so large it would have to include American citizens.

French’s newfound supporters include Gov. Greg Abbott, who, while campaigning for Wright, said his runoff opponent “doesn’t know anything about oil and gas” and would “wreck the miracle” of Texas’ oil and gas production — comments Rosenthal has recirculated on social media. From his own campaign account, Abbott later congratulated French on his runoff win, saying Republicans would stay united to win in November.

French also reported having “a very nice call” and winning the support of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who previously called on French to step down as Tarrant County GOP chair after French posted a social media poll asking whether Jews or Muslims were a bigger threat to America.

Rosenthal, meanwhile, said he is sticking to the same plan he always envisioned for the general election.

“Whether we were going to go up against an incumbent we saw as corrupt and self-dealing, or against the chaos candidate, the ideologue … it didn’t matter too much. We were still going to run an issues-based campaign, and I still plan to do that,” Rosenthal said. “I personally wish for a world where government just goes back to being boring and doing their dang job.”

Complicating Rosenthal’s task is that most of the public is unfamiliar with the Railroad Commission, which has had nothing to do with railroads for over 20 years.

Still, he is charging ahead with plans to campaign on under-the-radar issues the Railroad Commission deals with, such as enforcing weatherization requirements — standards companies have to meet to ensure their gas facilities are equipped for extreme weather — and selling voters on the pitch that this will keep energy costs at bay for consumers. He’d also push to impose a new fee for saltwater disposals, the practice of injecting industry wastewater below the surface. That would fund plugging wells, of which there are at least 10,000 across the state. He’d also raise bonds and cash deposits for operators, which would also help fund plugging such wells.

French’s priorities

Beyond the culture wars, French, who did not respond to a request for comment, has pledged to cut regulations on oil and gas operators set by the Railroad Commission, whose three seats have been controlled by Republicans since 1995. He has also accused the agency of pushing environmentally friendly rules that are onerous to oil companies. And he contends that the agency gives out more than $1 million a year in contracts based on diversity, equity and inclusion criteria — a practice he wants to scrap.

More recently, French wrote an opinion piece for the conservative website Texas Scorecard arguing that a plan to expand electricity transmission infrastructure to West Texas could overburden the state’s ratepayers. Some of the state’s most influential oil and gas trade groups have pushed for years to advance the plan, urging the Legislature and regulators to green-light the massive project.

Jerry Bullard, director of the Reeves County Emergency Services District in oil-rich West Texas, said he hopes the Railroad Commission’s functions get their share of attention on the campaign trail. Reeves County has experienced earthquakes, fires and oil wells bursting with chemical slush, which pose environmental and safety risks for his community.

“If they want the West Texas vote, they’ll talk about water and plugging wells,” Bullard said. “That’s what people want to hear.”

Harden was arrested at 3:41 a.m. and booked just before 5 a.m., then posted $100 bond and was released from police custody, according to charging documents, which said he had a handgun in plain view that was not in a holster.

His arraignment is scheduled for June 22, according to the clerk’s office website. Harden is listed as a Houston resident in court documents.

“The Cleveland Cavaliers are aware of the arrest of James Harden this morning and are in the process of gathering additional information,” the team said in a statement. “We are in contact with James and his representation and will continue to monitor developments as they become available. At this time, we will have no further comment.”

A message sent to Harden’s representatives from The Associated Press seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Harden, 36, just finished his 17th NBA season and has the right to exercise a $42.3 million option to return to the Cavaliers next season. He indicated when Cleveland’s playoff run ended with a loss to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals that he would like to remain with the club, which would suggest he’s willing to forgo the option in favor of a longer contract with the Cavaliers.

Harden is an 11-time All-Star and an eight-time All-NBA selection who earned MVP honors in the 2017-18 season while playing for the Houston Rockets.

___

AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

___

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

Aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft that went down around 11:20 a.m. during a routine test mission at Edwards Air Force Base, which is north of Los Angeles. Black smoke rose from a large swath of charred desert near the runway on the base, with emergency vehicles nearby.

Those on the B-52 included government contractors and uniformed military. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing confirmed Monday evening that two of its employees were on board.

After reviewing footage of the crash, it was determined that no one could have survived, Col. James Hayes, the deputy commander for the 412 test wing at Edwards, said at a news conference.

“We lost eight great Americans,” Hayes said, adding that officials were working to notify their families.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, and it could take up to six months to complete an investigation, Hayes said, but shared that the B-52 was supporting the “radar modernization program.”

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran.

In 2025, Boeing sent a B-52 to Edwards with a new, modernized radar system. A test team planned to conduct ground and flight test activities on the aircraft throughout 2026 to feed a production decision, the air force said in a 2025 news release. The modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar for efficacy. It was unclear if that was the same aircraft involved in Monday’s crash.

Edwards Air Force Base is home to a large portion of the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft test and development efforts and is about 100 miles (161 km) north of Los Angeles. The 412th Test Wing, which runs the base, also conducts developmental testing of all Air Force aircraft, weapons systems, software and components before purchase by the service as well as throughout their lifespan.

The vast desert base is where Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager reached a speed of Mach 1.05 and broke the sound barrier in 1947.

The airfield was closed most of Monday and all inbound aircraft were being diverted, but it reopened to people coming onto the base by late afternoon. Non-commercial visitor passes for the base were suspended as emergency crews doused the flames.

It’s too soon to say what might have happened.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said he is deeply saddened by the lives lost.

“We mourn this loss and honor the service of our Airmen, civilians, and contractors who work every day to advance our mission,” he said in a post on X.

The way the B-52 crashed so quickly after takeoff without getting very high or going far makes aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti suspect some kind of flight control malfunction.

It’s possible the controls were rigged wrong after maintenance, he said, or a catastrophic engine problem or a failure of a piece of equipment that was being tested.

“I think it was definitely a controllability issue. Now, whether that was tied to an engine failure, a flight control failure, or some new testing device failure, I’m not sure,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Although the Air Force has been flying B-52 bombers for more than 70 years, testing out new equipment on a plane can create new challenges.

“A flight test is always riskier than normal operations, so that’s why you have specially trained test pilots, and you should have other safety protocols,” Guzzetti said.

In recent years, fatal Air Force training accidents in the U.S. have included an instructor pilot who was killed in 2024 when the ejection seat activated while the aircraft was still on the ground in Texas and an Air Force ROTC cadet's death in a 2022 accident involving a Humvee during a training exercise in Idaho. Two Air Force pilots were killed when a trainer jet crashed near an Alabama airport in 2021.

___

Toropin reported from Washington, D.C. AP Transportation Writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, and AP reporters Hallie Golden in Seattle and Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this report.

The events of June 16, 1976 — now commemorated annually as Youth Day — are considered a turning point in South Africa's liberation struggle against white minority rule.

They ignited more demonstrations in various parts of the country, fueled more resistance against the apartheid system of segregation, and brought international attention to the racial oppression faced by Black people in South Africa.

Fifty years after the uprising, however, there are still concerns about the plight of young people in the country.

Survivors of the protests, experts and young South Africans have lamented the challenges facing the country's youth including inequality, high unemployment, poverty and social problems such as drug and alcohol abuse.

Soweto, one of the oldest townships in South Africa, bears symbols of the historic day which are frequently visited by local and international tourists.

These include a memorial named after Hector Pieterson, the boy whose lifeless body was seen being carried away by another student in an iconic photograph that came to symbolize the 1976 uprising.

Murals and billboards depicting protesting students can be found throughout the township, which is also home to the June 16 Memorial.

But for those who survived the protests, the symbols are a painful reminder of the day that changed their lives forever.

Seth Mazibuko, a survivor, remembers vividly how students fought back against the police, who were using tear gas to try and disperse the defiant demonstrators.

“They struggled with the tear gas because when they threw it our way, the wind would blow the gas back to them, so it was also affecting them,” said Mazibuko. “They then started sending the police dogs to us, we used stones to chase the dogs back to them.”

Mazibuko was detained for 18 months after his arrest and later imprisoned on Robben Island, where he served seven years alongside other political prisoners.

Fifty years after the uprising, South Africa has undergone significant changes but inequality, unemployment and poverty are among the most pressing challenges facing its “born free” generation — those born after the end of apartheid in 1994.

“I would say the issues of poverty and crime are the most pressing ones,” said Sima Poto, a 19-year-old visiting the June 16 Memorial. “It is poverty that is leading many of them into crime.”

Zola Mguli, a 29-year-old who works with the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance, an organization campaigning against alcohol and substance abuse, said he is grateful to belong to a generation that has grown up in freedom, even as significant challenges remain. "Things are not going as well as our forefathers hoped, there is still racism, alcoholism and other things we are battling with,” he said. “But if we, the youth, rise up, we can do better.”

Historian Noor Nieftagodien said the 1976 student protest movement was a traumatic and transformative moment that reshaped the anti-apartheid struggle, placing young people at the forefront of liberation politics.

“This was a generation that was young, gifted, and Black,” he said. “They wanted education.”

“The idea of Black power resonated with this new generation of young people,” Nieftagodien said. “Black consciousness was kind of electrifying; it inspired university students and then increasingly also students in high schools.”

He said that since June 16 was declared a public holiday after the end of apartheid, the significance of the event has diminished, overshadowed by celebratory events that, in his view, water down its political meaning.

“It has lost its meaning,” he said. “What has happened is that we’ve had the day marked with concerts, etc. I’m all for concerts. But, in fact, in so doing, the kind of celebrations that have been organized have been disinvested from politics, from a critical understanding of what happened.”

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

They all played Monday. None of them won. None of them lost, either.

Through five days and 16 matches of soccer's biggest extravaganza ever, the underdogs are proving to be very tough to beat. All four matches on Monday ended in ties — the most in a single day of men's World Cup play since 1958 — and all of them technically could be considered upsets as well.

The biggest win (that wasn't a win) of all saw Cape Verde — ranked No. 67 and in its World Cup debut — hold No. 2 Spain, a favorite to win the whole thing, 0-0 in what easily has been the biggest shocker of the tournament to this point.

“It means everything,” said Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitão Brito, who simply goes by Bubista.

The other Monday results:

— No. 85 New Zealand, the lowest-ranked team out of the 48 qualifiers entering the World Cup, tied No. 20 Iran 2-2.

— No. 61 Saudi Arabia tied No. 16 Uruguay 1-1.

— No. 29 Egypt tied No. 9 Belgium 1-1.

For Monday's underdogs, the ties were a pretty big deal. But even they knew what the Cape Verde score meant in the grand scheme of things.

“The draw involving Spain,” Saudi Arabia coach Georgios Donis said, “may be the biggest surprise in this World Cup.”

Four years ago, the Saudis opened with a shocking win over eventual champion Argentina.

The World Cup isn't like the NCAA tournament. Nobody is eliminated or assured of advancing no matter the outcome of their first match. But if this event was more like March Madness, it's certain that plenty of brackets would already be busted.

Spain was -1500 to beat Cape Verde according to odds posted just before the match started Monday. Those are overwhelming odds, ones that mean bettors would have had to wager $1,500 just to profit $100. And oddsmakers in Las Vegas said Spain was picked to win in a slew of parlays, all of which were quickly doomed.

“This shows how difficult it is to play (the first game) in a World Cup,” Uruguay's Maxi Araújo said. “We've seen that they are difficult — not only in our group, but in many groups.”

He's right. And there's not much margin of error now in Groups F and H.

Teams are guaranteed three group-stage matches at the World Cup, one against each of the other three teams in their group. The top two finishers in each of the 12 groups are assured of reaching the knockout stage; the eight best third-place teams also will advance.

But in Group F (New Zealand, Iran, Belgium and Egypt) and Group H (Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Cape Verde), everyone has exactly one point with two matches left. Teams get three points for a win, no points for a loss.

“A lot of positives to build on,” New Zealand’s Elijah Just said.

The upsets-that-were-ties trend didn't start Monday. There were two other significant ones earlier in the tournament: No. 56 Qatar tied No. 19 Switzerland 1-1, and No. 64 Bosnia and Herzegovina tied No. 30 Canada 1-1.

Through the first 16 matches, eight ended in ties. The other two weren't exactly of the shocking variety: No. 18 Japan was a slight underdog going into its 2-2 tie with No. 8 Netherlands, and No. 6 Brazil and No. 7 Morocco — as would be expected, given how close they are in the world rankings — tied their opening match 1-1.

There's been only one match through Monday where a team was 10 or more spots below its opponent in the FIFA world rankings going in and won: No. 33 Ivory Coast beating No. 23 Ecuador 1-0.

Not exactly a shocker. But some of these ties would qualify as such.

“Football is like that,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. “There are no small opponents here.”

___

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

Crow-Armstrong completed the first cycle by a major leaguer this season with a seventh-inning single Monday night, then was promptly picked off first base by Colorado Rockies reliever Brennan Bernardino in a one-run game.

“My excitement was a little short-lived,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell quipped after his team scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 win.

Crow-Armstrong, who was a single short of the cycle Saturday in San Francisco, hit a leadoff home run in the first inning, tripled off the wall on almost the same trajectory in the third and doubled down the right-field line in the fifth.

When he came up again to lead off the seventh, the 24-year-old said he was more prepared for the moment than he might have been earlier in his career, or even earlier this season.

“Earlier, it probably made me a little nervous," Crow-Armstrong said. "I felt like I ‘had to’ instead of ‘I get to' hit in this really cool moment with this crowd of 40,000 pulling for me. I think I'm learning to use that to my advantage instead of me shaking in my boots when I'm up there and wanting to get the job done so badly. It's also a regular thing at Wrigley. That happens a lot."

With both Crow-Armstrong and the crowd fully aware of what was at stake, Crow-Armstrong lined a 1-1 fastball from Bernardino to right to finish the 13th cycle in Cubs history and only the second since 1993.

Just two Cubs center fielders have hit for the cycle since 1901: Crow-Armstrong on Monday and Wilson on June 23, 1930.

Crow-Armstrong was asked what that sort of history means to him.

“I know it’s a rare feat," he said. “It’s hard to answer questions like those when the game just ended and I’m processing a lot. Maybe I’ll have a better answer tomorrow.”

Crow-Armstrong also added a key sacrifice fly in the eighth to cut the Rockies' lead to 4-3.

“I absolutely put up great at-bats tonight and I’m proud of the production that I’ve helped have over the past few weeks,” he said. “But you saw it tonight: The game’s not over until it’s over. I did everything I could to help the team. But I also had a real lapse in focus and that really could have hurt us tonight. That’s what I’m talking about. Not going to dwell on that. Something so simple as someone gets in your ear and says that can’t ever happen again, and it can’t ever happen again.”

Crow-Armstrong has a 19-game on-base streak dating to May 26, hitting safely in 18 of those games. He's batting .402 with seven doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 12 RBIs during that span.

“Watching him every day, he's a player who overcomes your imagination,” Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga said through an interpreter.

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Jimmy Crooks had a two-run double and Alec Burleson added an RBI double for the Cardinals, who won for the eighth time in 11 games.

May (5-6) struck out nine and walked one. He threw 69 of his 101 pitches for strikes during his first complete game in 71 major league starts.

The 28-year-old right-hander didn’t allow a baserunner until he walked Fernando Tatis Jr. to begin the seventh. Manny Machado singled one out later, putting runners at the corners, but Gold Glove shortstop Masyn Winn turned a nifty double play on Gavin Sheets’ grounder up the middle to keep it 3-0.

May struck out the side in the sixth and eighth. He became the first Cardinals starter to get an out in the eighth inning this year and the first to go the distance since Sonny Gray threw a one-hitter against the Guardians on June 27 last season.

It was the ninth complete game and sixth individual shutout in the majors this season.

Center fielder Jackson Merrill robbed Burleson of a home run against Lucas Giolito leading off the fourth. Giolito retired eight in a row before Lars Nootbaar and Winn had two-out singles. Crooks followed with a double to left-center for a 2-0 lead.

Iván Herrera walked with two outs in the fifth and advanced on a wild pitch before scoring on Burleson's double.

Giolito (2-2) allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings of relief after opener Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless first. Kyle Hart gave up one hit over two innings.

Hart was recalled from Triple-A El Paso when the Padres placed closer Mason Miller on the bereavement list. Miller, who leads the majors with 19 saves, will miss the series.

Padres manager Craig Stammen served a one-game suspension after Major League Baseball ruled that reliever Ron Marinaccio intentionally hit Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson with a pitch on Saturday. Marinaccio received a three-game suspension, but he appealed and remains eligible to pitch.

Up next

Padres RHP Michael King (4-5, 3.46 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (7-4, 3.88).

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Chicago trailed 4-3 in the ninth inning before Pedro Ramírez hit an RBI single off Seth Halvorsen with the bases loaded and nobody out. Matt Shaw then walked on five pitches to force home the winning run.

Cole Carrigg's three-run homer off Caleb Thielbar in the eighth, his third home run in seven big league games, gave the Rockies a 4-2 lead. Crow-Armstrong's sacrifice fly in the bottom half pulled Chicago within one.

Crow-Armstrong extended his on-base streak to 19 games with his second leadoff home run in three games, a 434-foot shot center field off Michael Lorenzen.

Crow-Armstrong led off the third with a triple to center. He doubled in the fifth and singled leading off the seventh for the 13th cycle in Cubs history and second since 1993.

A triple short of a cycle on Saturday, Crow-Armstrong joined Hack Wilson (1930) as the only Cubs center fielders to hit for the cycle since 1901.

Crow-Armstrong finished 4 for 4 with two RBIs but only scored once as the Cubs went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position until the ninth. He was picked off first base by Brennan Bernardino after his single.

Daniel Palencia (2-1) pitched a scoreless ninth for the Cubs (38-35).

Juan Mejia (1-6) took the loss for the Rockies (27-46).

Chicago starter Shota Imanaga allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings. He was lifted with two on before reliever Phil Maton walked Carrigg to force home Colrado's first run.

With the score tied 1-all in the sixth, Shaw tripled into the right-field corner to score Moises Ballesteros from first.

Ramírez entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth.

Up next

Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (2-2, 5.20 ERA) starts Tuesday against Cubs RHP Edward Cabrera (4-3, 4.86).

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The sheriff's office in Grand County, Utah, confirmed one of the dead was Andy Lewis, an extreme athlete known for feats in BASE jumping, a dangerous sport that involves parachuting to the ground after jumping from a tall fixed object such as a building, a bridge or a desert cliff overlooking a deep canyon.

The victims had been conducting a tandem jump in which two people are harnessed together, according to a social media post by Aerial Arts Moab, an acrobatics company that described Lewis as “co-owner and best friend.”

Lewis also owned BASE Jump Moab, a business that offered tandem jumps to inexperienced customers who would be harnessed to a guide wearing the parachute. Promotional videos on the company’s website show pairs of people stepping off the edges of towering cliffs and briefly plummeting before their parachutes open.

In BASE jumping circles, Lewis had a huge following and a reputation for pushing the envelope — leaping into tighter spaces or deploying his parachute later than his peers would dare, said John McEvoy, a BASE jumping instructor in Twin Falls, Idaho, who has jumped with Lewis.

“He had an incredible level of athleticism and skill that was developed over years of practice,” McEvoy said. “But then he would take an incredible amount of risk.”

Grand County Sheriff Jamison Wiggins confirmed the other person who was killed was Danny Joe Kregle, a 68-year-old father and grandfather who was described by a family member as an accomplished businessman.

“Danny had a wonderful sense of humor and was always looking for ways to make people laugh,” relative Sydney Laverty told The Times-Independent. “One of his greatest joys was performing magic tricks alongside his granddaughter.”

Lewis' other sport made him an overnight celebrity, thanks to Madonna

Lewis was also a prominent figure in the niche sports of slacklining and tricklining, which combine elements of high-wire walking with aerial acrobatics — sometimes at perilous heights.

He went from obscure athlete to overnight celebrity when he appeared onstage in Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show. Dressed in a Roman toga, Lewis bounced and executed tricks on his inch-wide line like it was a trampoline while Madonna sang behind him.

“My phone actually rang itself to death three days in a row,” Lewis said soon afterward in an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s late night show.

Emergency responders were dispatched Sunday to a report of people injured in a BASE jumping attempt at Mineral Bottom, a remote desert area near the Utah-Colorado line, according to the sheriff's office.

BASE jumping is far more dangerous than skydiving

Though there's no official tally of BASE jumping deaths, a list compiled by the website BASEaddict.com shows 540 total fatalities worldwide since 1981 — including 30 people killed last year. Prominent deaths include BASE jumper Dean Potter and his climbing partner, Graham Hunt, who were killed in 2015 while attempting a wingsuit flight in California's Yosemite National Park.

A study focused on BASE jumping in Norway, published in a medical journal in 2007, estimated that BASE jumping carried risks of injury or death five to eight times greater than skydiving.

Lewis openly acknowledged the sport’s inherent danger.

“It’s weird to think about how many people are dead, because it’s like a normal thing,” Lewis told documentary filmmaker Ella Warnick in an interview published last year.

Tandem BASE jumping carries additional risk because it straps together two people, one of whom generally lacks experience, under a single parachute, McEvoy said. But because they involve novices, they also tend to be the most low-risk, basic types of jumps.

“Within BASE, it’s a very controversial topic,” McEvoy said. “There’s a lot of people who say it's the stupidest thing in the world and others arguing: `No, we’re giving people the experience of their lives.'”

No one immediately returned phone, text and Facebook messages left Monday for BASE Jump Moab.

Lewis won four straight world championships in competitive slacklining from 2008 through 2011. Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China's Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.

In 2014, he walked a slackline suspended between two hot air balloons more than 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) above the Nevada desert.

Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn't say who ordered the Iranians to leave earlier than planned. The team had expected to spend the night in California to maximize the normal recovery process after its opening game, only to be told after the match that everyone must immediately get on a plane for the 140-mile trip back to Tijuana.

“They didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. “After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’ It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that.”

The Iranians’ World Cup cycle has been in upheaval since the U.S. and Israel began a war against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran ultimately decided to compete even after FIFA rejected its request to move its three group-stage matches out of the U.S.

Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said the team endured five hours of travel and security checks during what's normally a very short trip from Tijuana to the Los Angeles area on Sunday.

“We don’t know why they are returning us, to be honest,” Ghalenoei said. “I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us. The decision-making for us is being made elsewhere. We were supposed to come two nights before the game, and we were supposed to stay tonight to recover and return tomorrow at lunchtime. We have no idea why.

"I think our team is perhaps the most oppressed in the World Cup.”

Taremi and Ghalenoei both decried the team's lack of many important staff members — including the president of Iran's football federation, coaching support personnel and media officials — who were denied visas by the U.S., amplifying the team's difficult preparations.

“We have to leave Los Angeles right now, and it’s not good for us,” Taremi said about an hour after the match. “I think FIFA have to help us more than this. ... Everything is like a disaster, actually, for us.”

Ghalenoei said several players developed cramps during the game, which was played in mild conditions. He attributed the injury problems to the lack of proper preparation time caused by Iran's bureaucratic and diplomatic obstacles.

“Before the game, I said we haven’t had time to adjust because of the travel,” Ghalenoei said. “Many of our players, they had cramps, and that’s why we had to substitute them. So it wasn’t for technical reasons that we made substitutions. It was because of the injury and because of the cramp. They will be examined (Tuesday) by our technical staff, but the fact they delayed our arrivals and they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery, they are making the situation more difficult."

The Iranians’ remaining two games in group stage play are against Belgium in Inglewood on Sunday, followed by a trip to Seattle to face Egypt next week.

Iran opened its World Cup with a disappointing draw to a team ranked 65 places lower in FIFA's rankings. Yet the Iranians also overcame two deficits in an exciting match, getting the tying goal from Mohammad Mohebi in the 64th minute before a strongly pro-Iranian crowd at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, which has the world’s largest population of Iranians outside Iran.

The game was played in a crackling atmosphere created in part by a conflicted, diasporic fan base which remains furious with the current Iranian government, but is still largely supportive of Team Melli.

While several hundred Iranian Americans protested the government outside, many fans from the diaspora jeered and turned their backs on the field during the national anthem. Dozens of Lion and Sun emblems — the centerpiece of Iran’s official flag before 1979 — were displayed in the crowd despite FIFA’s attempts to keep them away, while dozens more fans wore the Lion and Sun emblems on T-shirts.

Yet the vast majority of the crowd vocally supported the Iranian players once the match kicked off.

“It was an incredible atmosphere in the game, all 90 minutes,” Taremi said. “It was like at home for us.”

Elijah Just scored early in each half for New Zealand, but Iran responded twice with a pair of beautiful goals, including Mohebi’s header off a perfect pass from Ramin Rezaeian, who had scored off the side of his boot in the first half.

Mohebi appeared to mime the shooting of a gun after his goal, setting off criticism online. He also made the now-ubiquitous “ice in my veins” gesture originated 10 miles away from SoFi Stadium by Los Angeles Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell a decade ago, before he held up a heart to the cheering fans.

“The Iranians who live in Los Angeles, they make a great atmosphere,” Mohebi said. “That celebration, it comes in the mind, and I did like this" — motioning to his arm — "for all the fans. Just a celebration.”

Players from both teams embraced and shook hands after the final whistle, with at least one jersey swap occurring. While Ghalenoei sat by himself in the dugout, his players gathered together and walked around the field applauding their remaining thousands of flag-shaking, roaring fans.

Both of Iran’s next two matches are tougher on paper, endangering their chances of getting out of the World Cup group stage for the first time. Iran, Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand have one point apiece after the opening round.

“We’re facing more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best,” Ghalenoei said. “I think today was one of the best games in the World Cup so far, and I think the fans really enjoyed it inside the stadium and outside the stadium.”

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Associated Press writer Amy Taxin and AP Sports Writer Beth Harris contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

Iran's participation in the World Cup has been beset by challenges since the war's outbreak, dividing the community in the United States. Fans cheered and booed loudly while Iran's national anthem was played at the game against New Zealand, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Some spectators held large lion-and-sun flags in the front rows just hours after a court upheld FIFA's ban on the flags.

Outside the stadium, demonstrators contended the team is synonymous with Tehran's government, while fans, their cheeks striped with red-and-green face paint, filed past, saying they were separating soccer from politics. At one point, protesters snatched an official Iran flag from a fan and stomped on it and ripped it.

Southern California is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran, many who arrived after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Rameileh Jaffrey, 46, of Los Angeles, left Iran a dozen years ago and said she feels the team’s players are aligned with the current government in Iran.

“They are not my team. They are a government team,” she said.

When soccer and geopolitics collide

Event security broke up shouting matches between protesters and fans before and after the match, and were joined by sheriff’s deputies shortly before kickoff. A woman protesting jeered Kia Keanh and his family as they walked by wearing T-shirts supporting the team.

“I’m just here to watch the sport, it’s not about the regime,” he said. “I’m just here for a World Cup game, to enjoy it with my family.”

Some of the demonstrators also went inside the stadium to see the team play, like 42-year-old Ella Bah, who brought extra clothing to conceal the lion-and-sun flag she wore tied around her like a dress.

“We’re not here to cheer them on,” she said. “We’re here to be the voice for the people inside Iran.”

Iran's participation in the tournament has been fraught with conflict because of the country's war with U.S. and Israeli forces. Late Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had reached a deal with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf.

After the war's outbreak, the team moved its training base to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, and some of the country's soccer officials were not granted visas to enter the United States. Many in the diaspora have mixed feelings over how to show their support of the Iranian people, but not the government.

After the game, Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said the support from Iranian fans in the stadium made it feel like a home game.

“It was an incredible atmosphere in the game, all 90 minutes,” he said. “It was like at home for us.”

He said he preferred to talk about soccer, not politics, and wants to see the Iranian people united in Iran and outside of Iran.

Iran's coach, Amir Ghalenoei, said the team was ordered to leave the U.S. and return to its training base in Mexico only a few hours after the game ended. The team had expected to spend the night in California to recover, and Ghalenoei didn’t say who ordered the Iranians to leave earlier than planned.

A wide range of views

Kourosh Safavi, 42, traveled to see Iran play from Dallas with his 11-year-old son Jibreel. While he was born in the U.S, Safavi said he wanted to cheer on the country of his ancestors, where soccer means so much.

“They’re playing for the people, and I just hope and pray that they have success, that they can bring the people in Iran happiness,” he said.

Still in their street clothes, many of the Iranian players walked onto the field nearly two hours before kickoff. Thousands of fans already in the building greeted them with loud cheers and whistles.

Some fans said the large Iranian American crowd in Los Angeles made it feel like Iran had the support of a home team. New Zealand fans were also in attendance, and other spectators wore soccer jerseys from countries spanning from Mexico to Croatia.

Some Iranian American soccer fans said they don't support the squad because they believe it is tied up in politics. In the past, Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out. In 2022, a prominent former member of the national team was arrested for allegedly protesting against the country’s leadership, and star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn’t selected for this year's World Cup squad, reportedly because of a social media post that angered authorities.

The flag question

The controversy also has been playing out in a push by Iranian Americans to be allowed to carry the lion-and-sun flag at World Cup games. The Iranian American Institute for Voices for Liberty filed a lawsuit last week to try to circumvent FIFA's ban on the pre-revolutionary flag at matches.

Despite a judge upholding the ban, fans held up large lion-and-sun flags in the front rows of the stadium during Monday's game. Others carried the official flag of Iran.

Parsa Ezati, 21, and his mother brought the official Iranian flag to the protest outside the stadium so people could stomp on it. Many passersby took the opportunity to walk over it, some giving it an extra scuff or taking a minute to spit on it.

“It represents the ayatollahs that killed so many Iranians and have massacred people in my generation,” Ezati said. “FIFA only accepts this flag on the floor.”

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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

FIFA’s discrimination monitor had called for Shaun Evans to be removed from the tournament.

Evans worked Germany’s opening 7-1 win over Curaçao on Sunday as an assistant to the video assistant referee, based at the World Cup broadcast center in Dallas. When the official broadcast cut before the game to show the video review officials, Evans made an “OK” symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg.

“I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind,” Evans said in a statement released Monday by FIFA. “The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers.”

In 2019, the gesture — with thumb and forefinger touching in a circle and other fingers outstretched — was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.

“Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles,” said the Fare network, a long-time partner of FIFA and European soccer body UEFA that monitors racist and discriminatory chants, flags and symbols at international games.

“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup,” Fare said in its statement, describing the gesture as “neo-Nazi.”

Evans is working at his second World Cup, and it was his first game of this year’s tournament.

“FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee can confirm that, after looking into the matter involving support video assistant referee Shaun Evans, it has found no evidence of breaches of the FIFA disciplinary code,” the FIFA panel said in a statement. “The disciplinary committee has also taken note of Mr. Evans’ statement.”

The gesture was appropriated a decade ago as a signal for white supremacy that started as a hoax on the far-right online message board 4chan.

“Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him?” Fare said. “We note that in the two subsequent games it appears TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.”

The sign sparked global attention in March 2019 in New Zealand after it was made during the first court appearance by the white supremacist shooter who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch.

Later in 2019 when the sign was designated as a hate symbol, Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, said context is key to interpreting whether an “OK” symbol is hateful or harmless.

At the time, he said: “There is enough of a volume of use for hateful purposes that we felt it was important to add.”

Evans is among 30 video review analysts selected by FIFA to work at this year’s World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am,” Evans said. “Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this, however I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested. Officiating at the World Cup is the biggest honor of my career and I look forward to supporting my colleagues for the rest of the tournament.”

Australia's Professional Football Referees Association said it welcomed the outcome of FIFA's review.

Evans, a referee in Australia's top-flight competition since 2012, “has consistently represented the values expected of football officials: professionalism, respect and integrity,” the PRFA said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.

“The PFRA celebrates diversity across football and unequivocally rejects racism, discrimination and extremist ideology in all forms,” the statement said. “We acknowledge Shaun’s public statement, in which he addressed the matter directly, and we recognize the importance of fairness, context and due process when concerns are raised.”

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AP Sports Writer John Pye in Brisbane, Australia, contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

But the campaign hasn’t dented China’s industrial prowess.

The world’s second biggest economy is exporting more products than ever. It’s just redirecting them away from the U.S. tariff wall and toward more open markets in Europe and elsewhere in Asia.

The shift in Chinese trade risks creating a European sequel to the China Shock that wiped out hundreds of thousands of factory jobs in the American heartland in the 2000s and contributed to the political upheaval that put Donald Trump in the White House twice.

Despite U.S. sanctions, China last year notched a record global trade surplus — an astonishing $1.2 trillion.

Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Chinese exports are “literally killing a large part of the European industry’’ and admitted that Europe was “slow to see that.’’

The Europeans are clear-eyed now. China’s trade practices will be near the top of the agenda this week as leaders of the G7 rich democracies gather in Évian-les-Bains, France. In briefings last week, French officials indicated that they hope to come out of the summit with a plan to tackle the China threat.

One possibility is that the European Union and others will build a higher tariff wall of their own against Chinese imports. Currently, the EU imposes relatively low tariffs on China under World Trade Organization rules — though it hits specific Chinese products with higher ones (up to 35% on electric vehicles, for example).

“China’s export surge, unless its leaders rein it in, will provoke a protectionist wave against Chinese imports worldwide,’’ said Maurice Obstfeld, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “All the more so if the current disruptions around the Iran war persist and cause a sharper global slowdown.’’

Economist Taylor Wang at HSBC warned this month that a China-EU trade dispute could threaten Chinese exports; Europe accounted for a big share of China’s exports of electric vehicles, solar panels and lithium-ion batteries.

The Europeans also hope to persuade Trump to stop targeting U.S. allies like the European Union and Canada with punitive tariffs and to start working with them instead to counter China.

China Shock 2.0 is different — and more disruptive

The first China Shock started around 2001 when the Chinese joined the World Trade Organization and gained low-tariff access to the lucrative markets of the United States and Europe. In the United States, many factories couldn’t compete with low-cost Chinese textiles, furniture, electronics and other manufactured goods.

Economists David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David Dorn of the University of Zurich and Gordon Hanson, now at Harvard, found that competition from China had led to the loss of 2.4 million American jobs.

China Shock 2.0, as it’s come to be known, is playing out differently.

The first time around China was still emerging as a major player in global commerce. Now it dominates world trade and manufacturing.

China accounted for just 4% of global goods exports in 2000. Now its share is 16% — the highest in the world — making Beijing’s trade policies far more consequential.

China has also upped its game, exporting sophisticated products like EVs and batteries, advanced machinery, software, scientific instruments and putting it in direct competition with the richest countries in the world. For example, Chinese exports now compete with nearly 58% of the exports from the 21 European countries that share the euro currency, up from 46% in 2000, according to a paper last month by researchers at the Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

“The second China shock is characterized by its companies running the board on manufacturing exports -- from low-tech, low-wage to high-tech high value-added industries,” said economist Eswar Prasad of Cornell University. “This is directly hitting advanced economies where it now hurts the most″ — high tech industries such as EVs and high-end robotics that many countries “had been counting on for a manufacturing revival.’’

Germany has taken a hit from Chinese exports

Germany has been hit hard. German companies once grew fat on exports to China but the situation has reversed: China now sells more goods to Germany than it buys. And German companies are struggling to compete with the Chinese rivals in industrial machinery, construction equipment, cars and chemicals – all mainstays of Germany’s export-oriented economy.

Partly because of the competition from China, Germany’s economy has stagnated, shrinking in 2023 and 2024 and growing just 0.2% last year.

The United States is less vulnerable than it was in the 2000s. Trump’s tariffs have kept out a lot of Chinese products. Exports of Chinese goods to the United States dropped 37% from January through April this year, versus the same period of 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department reports.

The United States is also in a stronger economic position because it produces its own energy — unlike the EU and Japan — and is enjoying a boom in productivity and investment in artificial intelligence.

Despite Trump’s tariffs and diminished sales to the United States, China is benefiting from soaring demand for its low-cost EVs and from AI investment, which generates sales of Chinese electrical components and machinery for data centers.

Exports from China to the 27-nation EU climbed 16.4% in January to May from a year earlier. For France, that meant that its trade deficit with China, according to Beijing’s customs statistics, rose to $5.3 billion from $3.3 billion a year earlier.

Chinese policies contribute to the problem

Economists say China’s policies encourage factories to overproduce and consumers to underspend. For example, state-run Chinese banks pay low interest rates to savers but offer cheap loans to government-owned manufacturers. A flimsy social safety net pressures Chinese families to save, not spend, to build a financial buffer against old age and medical problems.

Obstfeld said the policies are partly meant to keep factories busy and workers employed. “The result is an excess domestic supply of manufactured products, which must be exported abroad,’’ he said. So low-priced Chinese products flood world markets and threaten to put European and other factories out of business.

Beijing also has encouraged companies to compete ruthlessly against each other at home. “The rest of the world is ill prepared to compete with these apex predators,’’ Autor and Hanson wrote in a New York Times column last year.

China has repeatedly promised to rein in overproduction and encourage consumer spending – as the United States and other countries have urged for decades. That would make its economy less reliant on exports and its consumers better off. It would also give U.S. and European an expanding market to sell into. “The leadership has long said this is a goal,’’ Obstfeld said, “but they have been slow to act as if they mean it.’’

“Beijing has been relying on the rest of the world to address its overcapacity problem,” said former U.S. trade negotiator Wendy Cutler, now senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. “However, this unsustainable situation may soon change if the EU and others take steps to halt Chinese imports, following the U.S. lead.’’

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AP Business Writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong, AP Chief Correspondent John Leicester and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.

Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok and McHugh from Frankfurt, Germany

On Wednesday, Warsh may provide the first hints of an answer when he oversees his first Fed policy meeting as chair and holds a news conference afterward. Bond markets, which can swing sharply on a chair's pronouncements, will be watching particularly closely for any signs of which way he leans.

“We expect the press conference to be pivotal,” Jonathan Pingle, an economist at investment bank UBS, wrote in a note. “This will be Kevin Warsh’s first public appearance as Chair. ...We do not really know what his policy views are.”

Economists say Warsh will likely aim for a neutral approach, largely because he is taking over the Fed at a challenging time. Rising inflation has made it all but impossible for the Fed to cut interest rates anytime soon, which could stimulate growth and further raise prices. Hiring has improved noticeably since the beginning of the year, removing another key rationale for rate cuts. And the other 11 policymakers on the Fed's rate-setting committee — including Warsh's predecessor, former chair Jerome Powell — are split on whether an increase in the Fed's key rate will be needed or if it can stay unchanged.

High inflation puts Fed in tough spot

Oil prices have fallen sharply on news that the U.S. and Iran have reached an initial deal to end their war, which could eventually cool inflation. Yet it's unclear whether a permanent agreement can be reached.

“The right thing to do now is wait and see,” said William English, an economist at the Yale School of Management and a former top Fed economist.

Inflation has jumped to a three-year high of 4.2%, the government said last week, mostly because of higher gas prices. Even Trump has backed off a bit from his relentless demands for lower rates, and instead has argued that rate hikes — which the Fed undertakes to cool the economy and slow inflation -- aren't necessary.

In an interview earlier this month on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Trump said, “Kevin is fantastic and I want him to do whatever he wants," but added, “there's no reason to raise rates."

On Wednesday the Fed is widely expected to keep its key rate at about 3.6%, where it has remained since last December. When the Fed reduces its rate, over time it can lower other borrowing costs for things like mortgages, auto loans, and business loans.

Changes likely to dash hopes for those seeking lower rates

Still, some changes are expected, which will disappoint those hoping for lower borrowing costs: The Fed is likely to drop language that suggests its next move will be a rate cut, and instead adopt wording that is more neutral. Several Fed policymakers in recent weeks have said that the Fed's most likely next move is a hike, rather than a cut.

The central bank is also scheduled to release its quarterly economic projections on Wednesday, which include forecasts for how the Fed's key rate will change over the next three years. In March, those projections suggested the Fed would cut its rate once this year. Yet on Wednesday they will likely show no change in 2026, with maybe one or two cuts next year, economists say.

Warsh has criticized the projections for providing too much “forward guidance” to financial markets and leading Fed officials to stand by their forecasts for too long, even as the economy changes. Fed watchers will look closely to see if Warsh participates in the quarterly projections. If he doesn't submit his own forecasts, it could be a sign he will seek to get rid of them entirely in the coming months.

Warsh to bring a new approach to Fed leadership

Outside of policy, Warsh is expected to bring a different style to the Fed than Powell, people who've worked with him say. He wants Fed policymakers to give fewer speeches, have more debates behind closed doors, and will likely avoid commenting on the daily ups and downs of the economy. Powell was relatively plainspoken and straightforward, while Warsh has suggested he sees the famously oracular Alan Greenspan, the Fed's chair from 1987 to 2005, as a model.

“He's just going to say less, because he doesn't find that stuff very helpful," said Robert Tetlow, a former senior policy advisor at the Fed.

Randall Kroszner, an economist at the University of Chicago who served on the Fed's governing board from 2006 to 2009, when Warsh was also a governor, said the new chair would likely focus on bigger-picture questions, such as how AI will impact the economy. He will avoid thornier issues, such as whether tariffs raise inflation, which Powell was willing to address.

By avoiding such hot-button issues, the Fed could attract less negative attention from the White House, Kroszner said.

“He’s going to stay away from those,” Kroszner added. “If the Fed is to maintain its independence, it needs to maintain its focus.”

While seeking Trump's nomination, Warsh called for “regime change” at the Fed and criticized the central bank for not preventing the 2021-22 inflation surge, when prices jumped 9.1% in a year, the biggest spike in four decades.

Yet Kroszner said that Warsh will likely to seek to build consensus around changing things like the Fed's communications policies, rather than imposing them. So far, former Fed officials say he hasn't sought to fire top staff.

“He's not there to break things,” Kroszner said.

During his Senate confirmation hearing in April, Warsh said he would focus on quelling inflation.

“Inflation is a choice, and the Fed must take responsibility for it,” he said then.

If he acts on that sentiment by keeping rates unchanged — or even raising them — Trump could end up disappointed in another Fed chair. He often threatened to fire Powell, whom he also appointed, for not cutting rates deeply enough.

“There's at least a risk here that six months down the road, Trump is fulminating about how he didn’t get what he wanted from Warsh, and he'd like to fire Warsh,” English said.

• RELATED: First tropical storm of 2026 may form in the Gulf this week and bring heavy rainfall to Houston

Whitmire says Houston Public Works is lowering Lake Houston’s water level, staging barricades at flood-prone locations, and preparing dump trucks to assist with potential high-water challenges.

Both the Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department have positioned high-water rescue vehicles and boats throughout the city. The city has also activated its Emergency Operations Center.

• RELATED: Flood watch extended through Thursday for all of SE Texas

“We are taking every step to prepare for this weather and keep our community safe,” Whitmire said. “I urge residents and visitors alike to stay informed, use caution on the roads, and never drive through flooded streets. By working together and following official guidance, we can help keep everyone safe.”

KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel spoke with Harris County emergency management officials and was live downtown near Interstate 45 North and Travis Street, where floodwaters had receded by evening after heavy rains filled roadways earlier in the day.

Cars drove through high water throughout the area. Some vehicles became stuck under bridges and had to be towed. The flooding forced closures at the University of Houston Downtown, including its on-campus food bank, leaving some students without access to resources they depend on.

Fouad Allaham, a UHD student, rushed to campus hoping to get his weekly food rations only to find the area flooded and the campus closed.

• First tropical storm of 2026 may form in the Gulf this week and bring heavy rainfall to Houston

“I came today to get my rations for the week and I had no idea there was a flood. I just came in a hurry. I depend on UHD’s market for food. I just saw a bunch of water,” Allaham said.

Harris County Emergency Management Director Mark Sloan made clear that the danger is far from over.

“This is not over. We still anticipate some heavy rains with street issues, especially overnight into the morning hours,” Sloan said.

With a flood watch in place, Sloan urged residents to take the threat seriously and follow safety guidance.

“Pay attention and heed the warnings that are out there. Turn around, don’t drown. Stay out of any of these water conditions and don’t drive around barrels or barricades if our first responders and transportation partners put those up,” he said.

• PHOTOS: Houston flooding stalls vehicles, causes manholes to overflow as more rain likely

Emergency responders across the region are on standby and ready to act.

“Communication and coordination with our first responders, talking with our fire departments with their high water rescue vehicles and boats, making sure they’re in position to react and respond throughout the county. Talking with our law enforcement partners with their water rescue assets, talking with the state of Texas on pre-positioning potential assets along the Gulf Coast, because it’s not just Harris County, it’s a region being affected,” Sloan said.

The Houston Fire Department staged several boats and emergency vehicles throughout the city in preparation for continued rainfall and potential rescues.

• RELATED: Gov. Greg Abbott issues disaster declaration for Harris County, 100 others amid storm and flood threat

Sloan’s closing message to Houston residents was simple: “Be patient, drive with caution and heed the warnings.”

Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for Harris County, making state disaster relief resources available to the area.

The accident happened near Kelley Street, or just north of I-610.

Houston Transtar says multiple lanes are closed going both northbound and southbound.

Houston Transtar also says there is a hazmat spill at the location. It is unclear what the truck was carrying that spilled in the accident.

Prepare for delays and seek an alternate route.

New York has reached the WNBA Finals in each of those seasons, winning once and losing once. The Liberty players didn't want to think that far ahead after clinching their spot Sunday in the mid-season tournament title game. Still it's hard to ignore the success considering New York has won seven straight games and finally had their entire roster healthy for the victory over Washington.

The Commissioner's Cup first started being played in 2021 and one or both teams have gone to play for the WNBA championship three times — in 2022-24. New York beat Las Vegas in 2023 before losing to Minnesota the next season in the Commissioner's Cup finale. The Liberty avenged that loss by beating the Lynx for their first WNBA championship later that season.

“It’s a pretty high number of teams that go to the Commissioner’s Cup championship that play in the (WNBA) finals,” Liberty center Jonquel Jones said.

New York is still waiting to see who and where it will play. Las Vegas was routed by Dallas on Monday night and is tied with Minnesota atop the Western Conference. The Aces have the tiebreaker with the Lynx after beating them the other day. Las Vegas plays Phoenix on Wednesday and Minnesota vists Los Angeles.

The first tiebreaker for determining who would host the championship game is regular-season winning percentage through Wednesday night. The second one is point-differential in Commissioner Cup games.

Behind the scenes

ESPN will show a four-part series on the Toronto Tempo and how the first WNBA team outside of the United States was built from the ground up.

“With the incredible growth of the WNBA and women’s basketball, this is the perfect time to showcase the launch of Canada’s first WNBA franchise,” said Lindsay Rovegno, Vice President & Executive Producer, ESPN Originals. “Setting the Tempo presents a rare opportunity for fans to see what it truly takes to build a successful organization, shining a spotlight on the female executives whose decisions and vision are laying the foundation for the future.”

Power poll rankings

Las Vegas takes over the top spot after edging Minnesota 100-97 on Saturday night. The Aces were followed by the Lynx, New York, Atlanta and Dallas. Golden State, Indiana and Los Angeles were next. Expansion teams Portland and Toronto were ninth and 10th. Washington, Chicago and Phoenix followed the Tempo. Seattle and Connecticut rounded out the poll.

Player of the week

A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas was the AP player of the week. She averaged 30 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks to help the Aces win all three of their games last week. Other players receiving votes included Kelsey Plum of Los Angeles, Breanna Stewart of New York and Caitlin Clark of Indiana.

30-year anniversary

The Los Angeles Sparks and New York Liberty will play each other on Sunday for the official 30th anniversary rematch of the WNBA's first-ever game in 1997. Penny Toler scored the first points in league history, making a baseline jumper 59 seconds into the game.

Game of the week

Atlanta vs Indiana, Thursday and Saturday. The Dream and Fever play a home-and-home matchup this week with third-year stars Angel Reese and Clark facing off for the second and third time in a two week stretch. Indiana won the first matchup on June 4.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball