Karmelo Anthony, now 19, did not testify in his own defense about the killing of Austin Metcalf, 17, whose death in April 2025 stunned Frisco, a booming Dallas suburb where the two students attended different schools.

Jurors heard dueling narratives from prosecutor Bill Wirskye and defense attorney Michael Howard, who repeatedly emphasized during his closing argument that Anthony was defending himself after Metcalf wanted him to exit a tent that belonged to the track team from Frisco Memorial High School.

The courtroom at the Collin County courthouse was packed again as the public passed through an extra security checkpoint to get inside and watch before jurors began their deliberations.

Howard told jurors that Metcalf had “no legal right to put his hands on Karmelo.”

“Texas law does not require that you wait until you get hit,” Howard said. “In that split second of chaos, you must put yourself in his shoes.”

Wirskye suggested it was strange that a teen would bring a knife to a school sports competition. He said deadly force has to be “immediately necessary” to be legal, and he also noted that Anthony was told roughly a dozen times to leave the rival school's tent, which was perched in the stadium bleachers.

“This is not self-defense, folks. It’s murder plain and simple,” the prosecutor said.

Wirskye also made a broader pitch to the jury: “Ultimately, this case is about accountability. What kind of community do you want to live in.”

Anthony, who was a student at Centennial High School, could face up to life in prison if convicted of murder. Judge John Roach Jr. said the jury also could consider a lesser charge of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

If jurors don't reach a verdict Tuesday, they'll be sequestered without phones in a hotel.

Over a nearly weeklong trial, Anthony's attorneys sought to show that he was forced to defend himself. Several schools were competing on that rainy day, and Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.

Trial witnesses described Anthony as the aggressor. Several students testified that Metcalf pushed Anthony, who then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest. Many questions from the lawyers centered on team culture at track meets and the confrontation in the tent.

One teammate told jurors that Anthony was “distraught” after the stabbing.

“I was hearing him say, ‘I told him not to touch me,’” the teenager testified Monday.

The judge ordered that the names of teenage witnesses not be made public.

The death last year quickly drew wide attention, in part because of social media posts that amplified the case in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white.

After the stabbing, Jeff Metcalf, Austin's father, condemned those who seized on the race of the teens. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys told jurors during the trial that race had nothing to do with the case.

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Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

A drone boat rescued two Army aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the waterway that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel. Trump said in a social media post that both service members “are safe and uninjured.”

House Republicans hope to approve nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement on Tuesday, which would fund Homeland Security throughout President Donald Trump’s time in office. Democrats call it a blank check that imposes no limits on agents despite the deaths of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

The Trump administration is vowing to appeal a federal judge’s rejection of its $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, saying the much-higher fee aims to prevent foreign workers from taking American jobs. Schools and states say filling teacher and doctor jobs was already hard enough before the fee hike.

Trump says he’ll nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for the full-time job, setting up a Senate test of his use of the Justice Department to pursue his foes and give himself immunity from potential tax crimes. And as he looks forward to celebrating his 80th birthday party Sunday with a UFC cage match, Trump has begun suggesting that the eight-sided, wire-mesh cage could become a permanent South Lawn fixture.

The Latest:

Trump says US ‘must’ respond after Iran downed US Army helicopter near Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing a U.S. Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday and said the United States must respond to the attack.

A drone boat rescued two Army aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the waterway that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel. Trump said in a social media post that both service members “are safe and uninjured.”

“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump wrote.

The helicopter went down as the Middle East was still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the strained ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state television reported Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.

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Melania Trump tells students to ‘keep using artificial intelligence as a muse’

The first lady spoke at the White House while recognizing the winners of a nationwide contest in which students were asked to complete a project using an AI method or tool to address a challenge in their communities.

“Today is about opening doors,” she said. “When new doors open, passions flow, courage blossoms and dreams are realized. AI inspires.”

More than 20,000 students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and more than four dozen Defense Department schools in 10 countries participated in the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge.

Melania Trump recognized six elementary, middle and high school champion teams, along with about 120 finalists.

The first lady is a proponent of using artificial intelligence in education and also has warned of the risks posed by the technology.

Trump’s push for healthcare price transparency aims to address a major concern for voters

The warnings are the latest example of Trump leaning into the message that his administration is fixing the problem of healthcare expenses that can drain a family budget. It’s a calculated pitch ahead of the November midterms at a time when affordability is a top concern, and Trump is vulnerable on this after allowing subsidies to lapse for Affordable Care Act insurance, widely known as Obamacare.

Just 29% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s healthcare policies in the most recent survey on the issue by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Price transparency could have a particular impact in the Republican strongholds of Texas, Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Louisiana, which have among the most hospitals warned about inadequate price information.

Trump administration warns more than 500 hospitals to provide more price information or face fines

The administration argues that the lack of basic pricing information for consumers to access is keeping healthcare costs higher than they should be.

The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing. Penalties range up to $2 million annually for each hospital that doesn’t create a plan to post clear pricing data.

The letters are meant to fix a fundamental problem: Patients, employers and insurers might not know ahead of time the cost of blood work, an imaging test or another form of treatment, and as a result pay more than they should have. AP has posted the list of hospitals that have received letters.

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House GOP leader says they’re ‘moving forward’ on passing $70 billion immigration enforcement funds

Pressed if the Republicans would be able to approve the package during afternoon votes, Majority Leader Steve Scalise appeared confident, despite their already slim advantage potentially being narrowed as lawmakers from several states dash home to campaign on primary election day.

“We always have to deal with absences, a narrow majority, that’s life in the big city,” Scalise, the Republican from Louisiana, told reporters.

Democrats oppose the package, which would fuel Trump’s immigration enforcement and deportation agenda through the rest of his time in the White House.

“We’re just going keep working through but, you know, we’re going to get our work done,” he said.

Thune says White House ‘weighing seriously’ a long-term DNI pick

Lawmakers in both parties are pressing the White House to reconsider its decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday he does not believe the administration is considering replacing Pulte in the acting role, and is instead weighing a permanent nominee to lead the intelligence community.

“I think they’re weighing seriously making a long-term pick,” Thune told reporters.

Thune added that it’s his “hope” the decision would come sooner rather than later.

Salt Lake City lawsuit is latest against DHS plan to use giant warehouses to detain immigrants

Salt Lake City and its county are suing to block a giant warehouse where Homeland Security plans to detain as many as 10,000 immigrants. Their federal lawsuit is the latest brought by local officials around the country who were not consulted before DHS purchased industrial warehouses to convert into regional immigrant processing and detention centers.

The lawsuit targets the most expensive yet: $145.4 million for a warehouse roughly the size of 15 football fields. The March purchase, from a real estate group partially owned by Deutsche Bank, cost nearly 50% more than the property’s 2025 assessed market value, records show.

In all, DHS purchased 11 warehouses for more than $1 billion in the final weeks of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure. The DHS Office of Inspector General is investigating whether that was wasteful, and Noem’s successor, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, has put it on hold.

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US military says a drone boat brought the 2 helicopter crew members to shore

A U.S. Navy drone boat rescued two Army aviators after their Apache helicopter went down near the coast of Oman, a U.S. military official said Tuesday.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said a 24-foot unmanned boat located the crew members, who had spent two hours in the water, and brought them to shore.

Military officials have not said what caused the helicopter to go down. The military said the incident is under investigation.

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House Speaker Johnson at White House as US surveillance tool risks a lapse

Rep. Mike Johnson is meeting with Trump now that the president’s choice of Bill Pulte for director of national intelligence has upended debate over extending an expiring foreign surveillance program.

Lawmakers in both parties are pushing the White House to drop Pulte, saying he lacks the congressionally mandated national security expertise.

Johnson expects the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, will be part of the talks.

FISA is set to expire Friday, risking an interruption of the surveillance tool if Congress fails to extend it.

Trump says pilots are fine after US helicopter crashes near Strait of Hormuz

Trump says two U.S. Army members were not injured when their Apache attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz.

“The pilots are fine,” Trump said after watching the NBA finals in New York Monday night. “Nobody injured.”

What caused the crash remains unclear in a Middle East still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the straining ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state television reported Tuesday the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of Iran’s defense units.

A statement from the U.S. military’s Central Command said the crew were rescued within two hours and were in stable condition.

Trump insists, again, that an Iran deal is coming

“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” Trump said Monday night, without providing any detailed reason for new optimism.

Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near over the two months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, however, said Monday that Trump’s remarks have “contradicted the agreed-upon sections, showing that (the U.S. is) neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”

“We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” the president said. “If we go and bomb — which we could do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing — they’ll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won’t have the strait open for months.”

He added: “If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I don’t.”

Trump’s enforcers are poised to ramp up deportations

The Senate completed its work last week, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republican to oppose it. If the House approves, Trump’s signature would all but assure an essentially uninterrupted flow of funds for his immigration enforcement and deportation agenda into 2029.

The Department of Homeland Security is under new leadership after Trump replaced Kristi Noem with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin. He has vowed to keep the department out of the headlines, but the administration is under pressure from anti-immigration advocates to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise of the largest deportation operation in American history.

So far, the administration has not hit its goal of 1 million deportations a year, but Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has promised more to come, including hinting at enforcement in New York, the nation’s biggest city, which is heavily Democratic.

House Majority leader says ICE funding is long overdue. Top Democrat calls it a blank check

“We have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it’s sad that Republicans have to do it on our own,” Johnson said.

The Republican-controlled Congress already provided nearly $140 billion for ICE and Customs and Border Protection as part of Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill.

Democrats wanted significant changes after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis — insisting for example that agents be required to display their ID badges and get a judicial warrant before entering private property. Instead, the funding will come with virtually no strings attached.

“We believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people – not give ICE another $70 billion blank check so that they can unleash brutality on American citizens and violently target law-abiding immigrant communities,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.

House set to fund Trump’s immigration actions for rest of his term

House Republicans hope to get nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement over the finish line Tuesday, enough to fund a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the rest of President Donald Trump’s time in office.

Speaker Mike Johnson will need near perfect attendance and GOP unity for the final votes. The legislation got sidetracked when Republicans sought to include $1 billion for enhanced White House security amid Trump’s new ballroom construction, and a $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump’s allies. Both proved politically toxic and were scrapped.

Now, the bill is focused entirely on fueling Trump’s deportation agenda, a topic Republicans hope will carry them to victory in this year’s midterm elections. The bill provides $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs.

House set to fund Trump’s immigration actions for rest of his term

House Republicans hope to get nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement over the finish line Tuesday, enough to fund a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the rest of President Donald Trump’s time in office.

Speaker Mike Johnson will need near perfect attendance and GOP unity for the final votes. The legislation got sidetracked when Republicans sought to include $1 billion for enhanced White House security amid Trump’s new ballroom construction, and a $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump’s allies. Both proved politically toxic and were scrapped.

Now, the bill is focused entirely on fueling Trump’s deportation agenda, a topic Republicans hope will carry them to victory in this year’s midterm elections. The bill provides $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs.

Maine primary tests Platner’s support following mounting scandals

Voters across Maine, Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota are casting ballots in another day of primary elections in America, but much of the political world will be focused on Maine’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest.

Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faces serious opposition for their party’s nomination, but the vote will test Platner’s credibility after his progressive campaign has been rocked by controversy over his past behavior.

Elsewhere, Trump’s clout within the GOP will be tested anew in states where he’s endorsed primary candidates.

▶ Follow the latest election-related developments

With jet fuel costs soaring 78% higher, airlines profits could drop by half

Oil and jet fuel costs have soared since the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran halted most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. airlines spent more than $6 billion on jet fuel in April, up 78% from a year earlier, according to government data.

Delta, American and United all gained between 1% and 2% overnight, but the airline industry’s top global trade group warned that soaring energy costs could nearly halve this year’s profits for major carriers, even as they raise airfares, cancel flights and trim schedules.

Elevated oil prices have sent broader inflation higher, increasing household bills. They’ve also hiked bond market yields worldwide, which threatens to slow economies and undercut all kinds of investments. The 10-year Treasury yield was holding around 4.55% early Tuesday, up from 4.01% before the Iran war.

The U.S. government will issue its wholesale prices data on Tuesday and consumer prices on Wednesday.

From tennis to T-ball, the White House’s South Lawn is no stranger to sports. But not like the UFC

The White House and its storied South Lawn are no strangers to sporting events. But they’ve never seen anything like the UFC bout President Donald Trump is hosting to celebrate his 80th birthday on Sunday or the eight-sided, wire-mesh cage complete with an open overhead dome featuring large screens that are surrounded by thousands of arena seats.

Sometimes called America’s backyard, the South Lawn was until now known for low-contact sports and joyful events geared toward children or bipartisanship, like the annual Easter Egg Roll or the congressional picnic.

The same space being used for blood sport, feting a president who relishes it and playing out in a hulking structure featuring a complicated overhead lighting scheme known as The Claw, illustrates yet another of the White House norms that Trump is gleefully laying to rest — or, in UFC parlance, forcing to tap out.

That the president has begun suggesting that he could make the cage-fighting venue a permanent South Lawn fixture further underscores just how far from T-ball the White House has come.

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Donald Trump booed by the crowd during the anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals

Trump was booed loudly by fans inside MSG when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem as he became the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

Chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” echoed through the arena as Avery Wilson sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but they gave way to boos moments later as Trump was displayed on the jumbo screens giving a military salute. The jeers ended when the U.S. flag followed him on the screens, and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown. Mentions of the San Antonio Spurs also elicited vociferous boos.

The president was unfazed. “It was, I think, mostly cheers,” he told reporters after the game before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington. “It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic.”

Trump watched Game 3 from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite, along with granddaughter Kai, personal adviser Boris Epshteyn and Cabinet secretaries Lee Zeldin, Sean Duffy and Doug Burgum. He sat next to Dolan for the first quarter and spent part of the second talking to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman.

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Trump administration will offer expedited visa interviews at select embassies for $750

The State Department will offer a “premium” expedited service for foreigners seeking business or tourist visas to come to the United States that will set applicants back $750 — on top of the initial fee of $185.

In a notice to be published in the Federal Register this week, the department will unveil a pilot program that will allow visa applicants to pay the $750 to schedule an appointment for an interview within 10 days of the payment at select U.S. embassies and consulates.

The pilot program will run from July 1 to Dec. 31, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press and a State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the program has not yet been announced.

The move is a potential effort to ease conditions caused by the Trump administration’s push to make entering the United States more difficult. The administration has cracked down on most forms of migration for foreigners — demanding that bonds of up to $15,000 be paid for visa processing in some, mainly African, countries and requiring years of personal history, including social media accounts, to be vetted.

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Republican senators warn surveillance program may lapse after Trump intel pick backlash

Republicans are warning the White House that a critical surveillance authority is likely to lapse this week amid bipartisan backlash over Trump’s pick to temporarily lead the nation’s intelligence community.

Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sounded the alarm in a letter over the weekend after a failed procedural vote to extend the program.

The senators urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also acts as the president’s National Security Advisor, to prepare “for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection” if the authority expires. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, set to lapse June 12, allows agencies, including the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.

In a response obtained by The Associated Press, Rubio replied to the senators that he understands the “political challenges” but said he is “deeply disappointed” that Democrats are opposing the legislation.

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Federal judge strikes down Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas

A federal judge on Monday struck down the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, contradicting an earlier federal court ruling upholding the fee hike.

The administration announced the much-higher fee as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking American jobs.

But U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and struck down the visa policy, concluding that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

“The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress,” Sorokin wrote.

H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs that are difficult to find American workers to fill. Deep-pocketed technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India. The states argued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee.

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The 44-year-old Williams was given a standing ovation as she walked onto the grass court at Queen's Club on Tuesday for her first-round doubles match together with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko. They were playing third-seeded duo Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe in Williams' first professional match in nearly four years, after the American last week announced her return to doubles.

She said at a news conference on Sunday that she has yet to decide whether to make a comeback in singles as well.

Williams immediately received the loudest ovation of the day at the Andy Murray Arena, even from a crowd that had earlier watched British players Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter secure wins in the singles tournament at the HSBC Championships.

It is Williams' first appearance at Queen's Club, which is nestled among residential blocks near Hammersmith in west London. The club, which held its first championships in 1881, did not stage a women's tournament for more than 50 years before the WTA tour returned to the venue in 2025.

The men's tournament, which starts next week, has long been one of the main grass-court warmup events for Wimbledon and counts Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker and John McEnroe among its former winners.

Whatever the result in Tuesday's match, Williams' return is set to last at least one more week as she will also compete in doubles at the Berlin Open in Germany.

She has yet to say whether she aims to play at Wimbledon, which starts June 29.

Williams had not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, she said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared that she was “evolving” away from tennis.

Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, including seven at Wimbledon, before stepping away from the game. She also added 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including six at Wimbledon — all with her older sister Venus Williams.

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

Rising healthcare costs and government spending have contributed to a projected depletion date that is less than 10 years from now.

The looming challenge for the programs is a partial funding gap, not a collapse. Even after trust fund depletion, the system will continue issuing benefits, albeit at reduced amounts.

Last year, Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund go-broke date was pushed to 2033 from 2036 the year before that, according to the report from the programs’ trustees.

Meanwhile, Social Security’s combined trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034, unchanged from the 2025 report. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.

Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said the Trump administration is “committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security” and “eliminating waste, fraud, abuse and ensuring program integrity.”

The trustees, who include the treasury secretary, labor secretary, health and human services secretary and the Social Security commissioner, say the latest findings show the urgency of needed changes to the programs, which have faced dire financial projections for decades. But making changes to the programs has long been politically unpopular, and lawmakers have repeatedly kicked Social Security and Medicare’s troubling math to the next generation.

AARP's CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a statement that the latest numbers “should be a wake-up call. Congress needs to act."

“Americans have worked hard and paid into Social Security their entire lives, and they deserve to count on it when they retire,” she said. “No family should see any cuts to what they’ve earned in Social Security. ”

About 70.1 million people are enrolled in Medicare, the federal government’s health insurance that covers those 65 and older, as well as people with severe disabilities or illnesses.

Social Security benefits were last reformed roughly 40 years ago, when the federal government raised the eligibility age for the program from 65 to 67. The eligibility age of 65 has never changed for Medicare.

In the first known operation of its kind by the American military, a drone boat rescued the two aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel.

Trump said in a social media post that military officials told him “the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters.” He added that both service members “are safe and uninjured.”

"Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump wrote.

The downing of the helicopter further strained a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.

Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

Army crew members picked up by drone boat

The crash happened about 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday off the coast of Oman while the helicopter was on a patrol, U.S. Central Command said.

An unmanned boat located the two aviators after they spent about two hours in the water, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. He said it was the first known drone rescue at sea by the U.S. military.

Military officials did not say what caused the Apache helicopter to go down, saying the crash was under investigation. Trump said he had just learned Iran was responsible before posting his accusation Tuesday.

AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.

The drone used to perform the rescue was a 24-foot (7.3-meter) vessel called a Corsair, Hawkins said. It's manufactured by Saronic Technologies.

The drone was assigned to the Navy’s Task Force 59, established in 2021 as the Navy’s first uncrewed and artificial intelligence unit that focuses on maritime security in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.

Trump insists an Iran deal is coming

Before he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.

“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days," Trump said late Monday. But he didn’t provide any details on why there was reason for new optimism. In the two months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near.

“We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” the president said. “If we go and bomb — which we could do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing — they’ll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won’t have the strait open for months.”

He added: “If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I don’t.”

Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the U.S. have taken hard-line positions.

The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be entombed in the aftermath of American airstrikes that happened during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.

Before Trump’s comments on negotiations, Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Monday that Trump’s remarks so far on a possible deal “contradicted the agreed-upon sections," showing that the U.S. is “neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”

The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is still a top Iranian priority as well. Lebanon’s army chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been a key figure in the Iran-U.S. talks.

Haykal's visit comes as Lebanon's government takes an increasingly hard line on Hezbollah but remains unable to disarm the powerful militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel “in defense of our Lebanese people,” suggesting that Lebanon's government should take this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.

Israel issues a warning for Tyre, Lebanon

Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for Lebanon’s southern port city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, which has so far been spared from airstrikes on the city.

Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that it believed Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas as Israeli strikes hammered the Mediterranean coastal area over the past two weeks.

After last week’s warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area. But Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, posted on X on Monday that the Israeli military “will have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon.”

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Superville and Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in New York, Will Weissert in Washington, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

The results aren't in question. Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faces serious opposition for their party’s nomination. And yet Tuesday marks an especially significant moment for Platner, the embattled veteran and oyster farmer, who's fighting to rebuild his credibility in a campaign rocked by controversy.

Elsewhere, President Donald Trump’s clout within his party will be tested anew in states like South Carolina and Nevada, where he’s endorsed his favored candidates. Democrats hope to build momentum in Nevada in their broader push to reclaim key governor’s seats.

Here's the latest:

What to expect in North Dakota’s state primary

North Dakota’s lone U.S. House member faces a partial rematch of her 2024 nomination race in a state primary Tuesday. Also on the ballot is a proposed amendment to the state constitution, while residents of Fargo will elect a new mayor.

Republican U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak seeks a second term. She faces another primary challenge from former foreign service officer Alex Balazs, who placed fourth in the 2024 contest with 4% of the vote behind her and others. Fedorchak went on to win the general election with 69% of the vote against Democrat Trygve Hammer, who also is running again and will face the winner of this year’s Republican primary.

Voters will also choose nominees for several top statewide offices, although candidates for most of those offices, such as secretary of state, state attorney general and state agriculture commissioner, are running unopposed.

Many of the state’s top elected offices, such governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and both U.S. Senate seats, won’t be up for election until 2028 or later.

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Lindsey Graham’s reelection campaign started with a show of force

More than a year before filing even opened for this year’s contests, Graham’s campaign said Sen. Tim Scott and Gov. Henry McMaster would chair his 2026 run.

Scott, South Carolina’s junior senator, chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

McMaster is the state’s longest-serving governor, having been elected twice after serving the remaining two years of Nikki Haley’s term after she became Trump’s first ambassador to the United Nations.

Busy primaries for Maine governor as Janet Mills prepares to leave office

Democrats and Republicans will pick nominees for governor to replace Mills as the Democrat’s time in office is winding to a close.

It’s a crowded field. Democrats are choosing between Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson; former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Hannah Pingree; energy executive Angus King III; and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah.

Republicans will choose between former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Bobby Charles; healthcare executive Jonathan Bush; former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason; University of Maine System trustee Owen McCarthy; former Paris, Maine, selectman Robert Wessels; and businessmen David Jones and Ben Midgley.

Mills is termed out and will appear on the Democratic ballot for U.S. Senate, although she suspended her campaign weeks ago.

Nevada Democrats seek to tie Gov. Lombardo to Trump

As Nevada voters participate in primary elections Tuesday, the state Democratic Party has launched a website — www.thelombardotrumpway.com/ — to highlight GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo’s connections to the White House.

The site is an effort to connect the governor to the economic fallout from Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war. Lombardo is considered one of the most vulnerable governors in the country.

The Democrats vying to challenge Lombardo include state Attorney General Aaron Ford, who has the backing of the Democratic congressional delegation and former Vice President Kamala Harris. He would be the first Black man elected governor of Nevada. He’s facing Democrat Alexis Hill, a county commissioner in northern Nevada who campaigned as a candidate willing to shake things up.

In GOP-heavy South Carolina, Democrats facing off in top races, too

Republicans have held all statewide-elected positions in South Carolina for more than a decade, but several Democrats are competing in primaries Tuesday for some of the state’s top posts.

Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022, is vying for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Lindsey Graham. Also in that contest is Brandon Brown, a former HBCU vice president and owner of funeral homes in Greenville.

In the governor’s race, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson and Greenville businessman Billy Webster are running in the Democratic primary. They’re joined by Mullins McLeod, an attorney who withstood calls from party leaders that he quit the race following an arrest last year for disorderly conduct.

Lindsey Graham’s reelection campaign coincides with the Iran war he’s pushed

The South Carolina senator’s bid for a fifth term coincides with the war he’s pushed for years. Graham has a close relationship with Trump and they speak regularly about the conflict.

But as voters mull whether to send Graham back to Washington, they’re also reckoning with the ongoing war, which has caused fissures among some of Trump’s most vocal supporters.

Graham frequently pushes Trump to take even more aggressive action, at one point suggesting that the U.S. military seize Kharg Island, which is critical for Iran’s oil industry.

Mace calls Evette a ‘disgrace’ after an altercation between their supporters

Rep. Nancy Mace says one of her supporters was assaulted at a Monday event with Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, one of her rivals in South Carolina’s governor’s race.

The man was escorted from Evette’s rally, then walked the sidewalk speaking into a megaphone. Then another man wearing an Evette campaign hat is seen on video grabbing the device from his hands.

Court records show the Evette supporter, Blake Garrison Kirsch, was charged with third-degree assault and battery Tuesday. No attorney was listed. Evette’s campaign said Kirsch was not a staffer and had been removed from the campaign’s finance committee since the altercation.

Asked about the incident Tuesday, Evette told reporters after voting in Taylors she was “saddened” by the situation and doesn’t “tolerate violence on any level.”

Democratic dark horse candidate faces uphill battle for Nevada governor

Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill faces state Attorney General Aaron Ford, whose fundraising has dwarfed hers —$2.3 million compared to Hill’s $100,000. He also has the support of the entire Democratic congressional delegation and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Hill, a local official in the county that includes Reno, has run a grassroots campaign, promising to shake up the status quo in the Democratic Party. Ford has largely ignored her, fixing his sights on the November election.

The winner will most likely face Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, who's running for reelection.

Voter voices from Graham Platner’s hometown of Sullivan, Maine

Brenda Wood said she voted for Republicans in the primary because she doesn’t believe Platner’s campaign promises and expressed dissatisfaction with his party generally.

“I think the Democrats have been a disgrace to Maine for years,” she said.

Annette Babcock, also from Sullivan, said she supported Platner, whom she said she’s met a few times and likes because he’s not an established politician.

She did not sound concerned over recent controversies surrounding his campaign.

“The Republicans don’t have much moral high ground to stand on when they’re criticizing him for what he’s done when Trump is a convicted felon,” she said.

What’s at stake in Maine’s US Senate race

The road for the Democrats to take back the U.S. Senate goes through Maine. That road starts today.

The Democratic Party needs to net four seats to retake the Senate majority, and thinks some of its best chances are in states like Maine, North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio. The party is set to officially pick its nominee in Maine on Tuesday.

Oyster farmer and combat veteran Graham Platner is the party’s presumptive nominee because his main rival, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign weeks ago. Mills remains on the ballot. David Costello, who hasn't campaigned aggressively, is also on the ballot.

Evette calls Trump endorsement ‘golden ticket’ in her South Carolina gubernatorial campaign

After voting at her precinct in Taylors on Tuesday, South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette said she was confident about how her campaign for governor had gone.

But if she doesn’t win the primary outright and has to campaign for two more weeks in a runoff, the Republican said she’d work hard to win over voters who didn’t initially support her.

President Donald Trump is backing Evette’s bid and the candidate said that, while she thinks that will help her in this “proud Trump state,” she’ll focus primarily on her own stances, like cutting taxes and regulations.

Graham Platner’s tattoo and social media controversies, explained

Platner’s campaign has spent months navigating controversies about a tattoo of a Nazi symbol that he had covered up and his history of inflammatory online postings.

Platner has said he was drunk on leave with some fellow Marines many years ago when he got a skull and crossbones tattoo on his chest. He had it covered up last year after saying he learned that it was a Nazi image.

There has also been much attention on his former social media and Reddit posts, which were dismissive of military sexual assaults, insulting of police and rural residents and used homophobic slurs, for which he's apologized.

Trump’s hold on Nevada GOP to be tested

Nevada’s primary will give an indication of the influence the president maintains in the battleground state.

In 2024, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate in 20 years to win Nevada. For Tuesday’s primary, he's backed candidates in three of the state’s four congressional races:

1. State Sen. Carrie Buck in the 1st District, a seat long held by Democratic Rep. Dina Titus.

2. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. David Flippo in the 2nd District, which opened after Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement.

3. And “Halo” composer Marty O’Donnell in the 3rd District, the state’s most competitive seat. Trump narrowly won the district in 2024.

Trump has a string of victories for his endorsed candidates so far this primary season. That includes those he endorsed in an effort to take down Republicans he deemed insufficiently loyal.

The GOP primary for the 2nd District appears to be the most contentious. Trump’s endorsed candidate faces James Settelmeyer, a rancher with a long political resume who has the backing of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and the retiring incumbent.

South Carolina’s Republican governor primary was all about Trump’s support

Trump’s endorsement is a powerful factor in a state where Republicans dominate politics.

U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, state Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette all showcased their proximity to the president. Mace worked for his 2016 campaign, Norman votes with him in the House, Wilson traveled to New York City when Trump was on trial, and Evette hired one of his advisers for her campaign.

In the end, Trump endorsed Evette in the primary’s closing days, also saying on social media that “A BIG added plus” was that Henry McMaster Jr. — the sitting governor’s son — could be Evette’s running mate.

McMaster is close to Trump, backing him in 2016 when much of the Republican establishment was hesitant to embrace the New York businessman and reality television star. So when McMaster endorsed Evette in February, it was a sign that Trump’s support could be on the way.

4 Democrats running for crucial Maine congressional seat

Many Maine Democrats are voting to pick a candidate for the 2nd District, which Republicans see as a key chance to pick up a seat in the narrowly divided chamber.

Incumbent Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection. The 2nd District includes much of rural Maine and Trump has had great success there at the top of the ticket in the last three presidential elections.

The Republicans’ presumptive nominee is former Gov. Paul LePage. Democrats will choose between former Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap; state Sen. Joe Baldacci; former U.S. Senate candidate Jordan Wood; and social worker Paige Loud.

Nevada website shows the status of mail ballots

The Nevada Secretary of State’s Office has launched a website designed to provide transparency around mail ballots.

The website shows how many were mailed, returned and accepted. It also notes the number requiring fixes by voters. Nevada mails a ballot to every registered voter unless a voter opts out.

It’s one of several swing states where Trump disputed his loss in 2020 with false claims of fraud. The secretary of state at the time, a Republican, investigated various claims and found no evidence of any widespread fraud. Trump also has repeatedly attacked the use of mail ballots generally.

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said he created the website to increase transparency around Nevada’s elections and provide a way for voters to see in real-time how many ballots are outstanding.

Spaniards don’t argue that much about issues like abortion or guns, but they do debate tirelessly about language and their favorite sport, whose significance transcends fandom.

The U.S.-born pontiff had rubbed Barcelona’s soccer fans the wrong way by saying he roots for Real Madrid instead of their beloved Barça. Barcelona’s residents had already been speculating that he might make minimal use of their native Catalan during his trip to Barcelona instead of Spanish, which he speaks fluently.

The pope sought to disabuse them of the latter assumption soon after his arrival by speaking first in Catalan. The languages and teams have been longtime wedges between Spain’s two biggest cities.

The pope visited Real Madrid’s museum

“The pope is for all teams, but Prevost is for Real Madrid" were the words that sealed Leo's sporting fate with many a Barça fan when he responded to a question on the papal plane en route to Spain.

Real Madrid proudly posted the video of the moment, and social media filled with comments about how the club is “the team of God.”

Tomás Roncero, a popular sports commentator for the widely read Spanish sports daily AS, said in a video that “the pope can’t be for Barça, because it is a sinful club ... in his heart he is of a pure and clean club like Madrid."

The Real Madrid-Barcelona divide is one of the biggest rivalries in club football.

For many non-Madrid fans, especially those in Spain’s regions with different languages and strong local identities like Catalonia, Real Madrid is associated with strong central power. Many consider it almost a pillar of the state, along with the central government and the Catholic Church. Barça, meanwhile, is closely aligned with Catalan nationalism, and was famously called "Catalonia's unarmed army."

The pope, who preached unity to Spain's capital, aligned himself closely with Real Madrid during events in the city.

On Monday, thousands of Catholics packed the stadium of Real Madrid for a rally with the pope featuring dancers kicking soccer balls, while dressed in the white and yellow colors of the Holy See.

“Today the Church in Madrid has scored a great goal to always be remembered!” Leo said at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, where he also met privately on the sidelines with Puerto Rican musical sensation Bad Bunny.

The pope even visited the club’s museum to peruse its packed trophy case with Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, who gave him a Madrid shirt with “Robert F. Prevost” on the back.

Folks in Barcelona noticed.

“A figure as important as he is shouldn’t take sides. Now that he has said that he supports Real Madrid, well, I am sorry, he has messed it up," said Eduard Modroño, an office worker and Barcelona fan. He noted that Leo and Madrid players, whose uniforms are pristine white, also dress similarly.

“He wears all white, doesn’t he? Enough said,” said Modroño, as he spoke outside the Sagrada Familia basilica, where the pope on Wednesday will celebrate a Mass in the major event of his stop in Spain’s second city.

Pope begins his homily in Barcelona with Catalan

Leo began his homily at Barcelona’s cathedral with a few words in Catalan and switched between it and Spanish in his first public address in the city.

“Beloved brothers and sisters, it is with great pleasure that I start my visit holding the midday prayer at this cathedral,” he said in Catalan.

Catalan and Spanish are spoken side-by-side in Catalonia, but are often weaponized politically.

Catalan, spoken by around 10 million people, was suppressed by Spain's 20th-century dictatorship under Gen. Francisco Franco, according to Catalans, who remain protective of their tongue. Its survival was an important driver of separatist sentiment during a recent push for independence that reached its peak in a failed breakaway bid in 2017.

The pope squeezed in a visit with Catalonia’s regional president, Salvador Illa, on Tuesday before a prayer vigil at the city's Olympic Stadium. Among other gifts related to the history of the Church in Catalonia, Illa gave him a reproduction of the 12th-century “Homilies d’Organyà,” a collection of sermons that is among the oldest examples of a Catalan literary text.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI used some Catalan when they visited Barcelona in 1982 and 2010, respectively. Spain’s king speaks Catalan when he's in Catalonia, but it's rare for Spanish politicians from non-Catalan speaking regions to do so.

The pope speaking a few words in Catalan may not be enough for many residents. But some were appreciative of the gesture.

“Speaking the language of the land that welcomes you is a wonderful act of love and respect. I hope you enjoy your visit to Catalonia, my nation,” Míriam Noqueras’ political party, Junts, said she told the pontiff — in English — when they briefly spoke at Spain’s parliament on Monday.

The archbishop of Barcelona, Juan José Omella, has tried to downplay the issue.

“The pope knew beforehand that he is coming to a country (Catalonia) where people speak a very old language that has never been lost through the centuries,” Omella told reporters. “He knows this and has prepared his speeches and his homily, while keeping in mind that he can only do so much and doesn’t want to end up looking silly in a language he doesn’t speak.”

For Modroño, the soccer fan, speaking in Catalan is more important than anything related to sports.

“It is a lack of respect not to speak entirely in Catalan," he said.

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AP writer Nicole Winfield contributed to this report.

On Tuesday, it was time for the offensive lineman to make it official.

“This place is so special that it was hard to truly say goodbye. I’m so glad I got to learn and be a Cleveland Brown my entire career,” Bitonio said during a news conference after he announced his retirement via the team website earlier in the day.

The 34-year-old Bitonio reminisced about his career and future plans while his wife, Courtney, and three children looked on. The announcement also came on the day the Browns opened their three-day mandatory minicamp.

Bitonio played his entire career in Cleveland after he was selected in the second round (35th) of the 2014 draft. He was a stalwart at left guard and emerged as the leader of the offensive line when Hall of Fame left tackle Joe Thomas retired after the 2017 season.

Bitonio’s 178 games — all starts — are ninth in franchise history. He has made the most starts in orange and brown since the franchise’s return to Cleveland in 1999.

“He was a model of consistency. I hardly ever remember Joel having a bad game,” owner Jimmy Haslam said. “He did what I think you ask everybody to do in any organization, and that is come to work, work hard, do your job, be a good team player, go home, spend time with your family, and come back and do it again, and he did that for 12 years.”

Even though Bitonio was still coming into the facility to rehab from offseason elbow surgery, there wasn’t any rush to make the retirement announcement until Bitonio felt like the time was right.

“We signed like three interior linemen on the first day of free agency, so that was kind of like me and AB (general manager Andrew Berry) had already discussed that I was going to retire and I was finishing up my career,” said Bitonio, a two-time All-Pro pick and selected seven times for the Pro Bowl. “I know my agent talked to a bunch of teams during the combine, and people asked if I was interested in continuing to play, but there never got anything where I was telling people I wanted to play for another team.”

The highlights of Bitonio’s career were being part of two playoff squads in 2020 and ’23. He missed the AFC wild-card game in Pittsburgh in January 2021 due to COVID-19. Cleveland’s 48-37 victory over the Steelers was their first playoff win since the 1994 season.

Bitonio had to watch the game at home.

“My neighborhood knew I was at home, and they started lighting off fireworks after the game, and they threw a little parade down the street. So it was an unbelievable experience because we got the win. I think it would have been heart-wrenching if you’re sitting there and the team loses,” he said.

Bitonio also had a front-row seat to the Browns’ fruitless quest to find a franchise quarterback. He was on the offensive line for 23 different quarterbacks, including 22 who made at least one start.

He was also the only Browns’ lineman to start and play all 17 games last season. Cleveland started 10 different line combinations last season because of injuries.

The Browns have made steady progress in rebuilding the offensive line. They drafted left tackle Spencer Fano with the ninth pick. They also signed left guard Zion Johnson and center/guard Elgton Jenkins while acquiring right tackle Tytus Howard from Houston.

The lone holdover from last season might be Teven Jenkins, who played all 17 games, including four starts at right guard.

“I think I was telling my wife the other day, it still kind of feels like an offseason right now. I’ve still been working out. I’m obviously not training as much, not at minicamp right now, but I think when training camp starts is going to be the real moment like, ‘OK, I’m retired from this,’ because that’s when everything really cranks up,” Bitonio said.

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

The Los Angeles Police Department says Jackson was arrested after officers were called to his home in the West Hills neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. NBC4 reported that Jackson allegedly attempted to take a phone away from a woman when he thought he was being recorded, and the woman had scratches on her arm.

Jackson has been the Rams' starting left tackle for the past three seasons, starting 45 regular-season games and six playoff games. The former undrafted free agent re-signed with the Rams on a three-year, $57 million deal in February 2025.

“We are aware of the incident regarding Alaric Jackson, and we take these matters very seriously,” the Rams said in a statement. “Due to this being an ongoing legal situation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

Jackson's bail was set at $50,000, and he was released on bond early Tuesday morning, according to Los Angeles jail records. The case will be submitted to the district attorney's office to consider charges.

The 27-year-old Jackson has been in trouble with the law before during his five-year career with the Rams. The Canadian-American dual citizen began his tenure as a backup on the Rams' Super Bowl-winning team in the 2021-22 season.

Jackson was sued last year by a woman who alleged he recorded sexual acts with her on his phone without her consent. The incident led to Jackson being suspended for the first two games of the 2024 season for an undisclosed violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, but the reason for the suspension was not publicly revealed until the unnamed woman filed her lawsuit.

The lawsuit was eventually dismissed in April.

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

Russell, the No. 10 amateur in the world, survived a bogey on the first playoff hole and grabbed the fourth and final spot from the Florida qualifier. Charlie Woods is one of his close friends who has the same commercial agent and is following Russell to Florida State.

“It kept it so light,” Russell said. “It's the first time I've had a buddy on the bag. I really like it, not talking much golf, just having a good time.”

Russell smiled when asked if he would have Woods at Shinnecock Hills, saying only: “We'll see what he's doing. To be determined.”

The medalist from the Florida qualifier was Giuseppe Puebla, who ranks second behind Russell in the American Junior Golf Association ranking.

They were among 715 players at 10 sites from coast to coast and into Canada, all of them vying for 43 spots available for the 126th U.S. Open.

Previous qualifiers were held in England, Japan and Dallas.

Vaughn Harber, who just finished his sophomore year at Ohio State, played his final five holes at The Lakes in 5-under par — including an eagle — and then advanced in the 4-for-3 playoff in one of the two Ohio qualifiers. Jackson Van Paris birdied his last two holes to qualify without extra holes.

That qualifier also produced the first player from Iceland to play in the U.S. Open, Arni Sveinsson, who plays for LSU.

In the other Ohio qualifier, Billy Horschel found a happy note in an otherwise tough season when he was among five who made it through. Tony Finau missed out by two shots and will not be at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2017.

Here's how the other qualifiers looked (a-amateur):

Ohio-Springfield

QUALIFIERS: Neal Shipley, Zac Blair, Dylan Wu, Billy Horschel, Nick Hardy.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Brandt Snedeker, Tony Finau, Cam Davis.

DIVOTS: Shipley, who finished his college career at nearby Ohio State, has missed the cut in nine of his 12 starts in his rookie year on the PGA Tour. ... Snedeker was the first alternate.

Florida

QUALIFIERS: a-Giuseppe Puebla, Ben Silverman, a-Ryder Cowan, a-Miles Russell.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Matt Kuchar, Matthieu Pavon, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Luke Clanton, Luke Poulter.

NOTEWORTHY: Three of the four qualifiers are amateurs. ... Kuchar hasn't played in any major since the 2024 U.S. Open.

Canada

QUALIFIERS: Emiliano Grillo, Alejandro Tosti, Marcelo Rozo, William Mouw, John Parry, Max McGreevy.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Max Homa, Matt Wallace, Garrick Higgo, Seamus Power.

NOTEWORTHY: The final three spots were determined by an eight-man playoff. ... Homa missed out in a playoff for the second straight year in U.S. Open qualifying.

Maryland

QUALIFIERS: Jackson Suber, Ben Kohles, a-Logan Reilly, Jake Sollon.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Blades Brown, Michael Thorbjornsen, Karl Vilips.

NOTEWORTHY: Sollon earned the final spot in a playoff over Bryan Lee. He was scheduled to leave for Bogota, Colombia, for a PGA Tour Americas event. ... Kohles was coming off a victory Sunday on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Ohio-Columbus

QUALIFIERS: Davis Thompson, J.B. Holmes, a-Vaughn Harber, a-Arni Sveinsson.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Lucas Glover, Jhonattan Vegas, Bud Cauley, Austin Eckroat, Denny McCarthy, Erik van Rooyen.

NOTEWORTHY: Sam Udovich bogeyed his last two holes and was the odd man out in a 4-for-3 playoff. He will be the first alternate. ... What used to be the main qualifier for PGA Tour players only had a 51-man field.

North Carolina

QUALIFIERS: a-Jackson Ormond, Carl Yuan, Jackson Van Paris, Brandon Wu, Cole Hammer.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Aaron Wise, Ryo Ishikawa, Bill Haas, Troy Merritt.

NOTEWORTHY: Ormond, an 18-year-old who will play at Florida next year, birdied five of his last seven holes for a 63 to go from outside the number to being the medalist. ... Haas, the son of Jay Haas, had his son caddying for him.

New York

QUALIFIERS: Kevin Roy, Max Greyserman, Ben James, James Nicholas.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Matt Jones.

NOTEWORTHY: James makes his pro debut this week in the Canadian Open. He finished atop the PGA Tour University ranking. ... Roy makes his U.S. Open debut in his native New York.

Georgia

QUALIFIERS: Chris Kirk, Jake Peacock, Keith Mitchell, Robbie Higgins, a-Chase Kyes.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Aldrich Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Jason Dufner, Patton Kizzire.

NOTEWORTHY: Kyes birdied the last hole in near darkness to avoid a 3-for-1 playoff for the final spot. ... Potgieter can still get in the U.S. Open if he wins the Canadian Open this week, which would give him two PGA Tour victories since the last U.S. Open.

California

QUALIFIERS: Taylor Montgomery, a-Eric Lee, a-Matthew Robles, a-Marek Fleming.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Geoff Ogilvy, Michael Block, Stewart Hagestad.

NOTEWORTHY: Matthew Robles birdied his last two holes. ... Thayer Plewe was one shot out of the lead when he took double bogey on the 16th, bogey on the 17th and missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

Oregon

QUALIFIERS: Greyson Leach, Andrew Putnam.

NOTABLE PLAYERS MISSING: Michael Putnam.

NOTEWORTHY: Andrew Putnam won on Tuesday morning with a par on the ninth playoff hole over Spencer Tibbits. ... Leach finished his final season at Oregon last year and has played four PGA Tour Americas events this year.

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

In its place rose Madison Square Garden — home of NBA’s New York Knicks and NHL’s New York Rangers — while train commuters were forced underground into gloomy, claustrophobic, low-ceilinged corridors when the redesign was completed in 1968.

“Through Pennsylvania Station one entered the city like a god,” the architectural historian Vincent Scully famously lamented. “One scuttles in now like a rat.”

But a dramatic new vision for the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere calls for a return to the original station's grandeur from 1910.

Renderings released Monday feature a rectangular stone facade lined with imposing columns along a grand entryway. Inside, a sunlight-drenched concourse boasts soaring ceilings more than 50 feet (15 meters) high in places. There are bronze finishes and other ornamental details, like a bas-relief of the city’s famous skyline and a large station clock.

Inside one entryway, an inside wall bears the seal and name of President Donald Trump, who had Amtrak assume control of the project last year after decades of political infighting among transit agencies and opposition to moving MSG from billionaire owner James Dolan.

Trump has floated renaming his hometown station in his honor as he’s sought to burnish his legacy through public works projects, from a massive new White House ballroom to a triumphal arch.

For now, though, the name etched across the proposed grand facade would still read “Pennsylvania Station,” according to the renderings. They were released by Amtrak, which owns the terminal, and Penn Transformation Partners, the design and development consortium picked for the project.

Proposal aims to make Penn Station an icon again

The proposed design draws from the ornate, Beaux-Arts design of Grand Central Terminal, the city’s other major rail hub, as well as Art Deco landmarks like the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center, according to lead design architect Vishaan Chakrabarti.

The vision, he said, is to restore Penn Station’s place among the pantheon of the city’s greatest landmarks.

“There was this fearless embrace of ornament and decoration that in some ways we’ve lost,” Chakrabarti said. “We want to bring some of that sense of craftsmanship back.”

The redesign is projected to cost roughly $8 billion, and construction is targeted to begin before the end of 2027, officials said Monday. Penn Station would remain in operation throughout as the project progresses in phases over about six years.

More than 600,000 commuters traverse the rail hub on any given workday, or more than the three major international airports that serve greater New York City — John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty — combined.

Knicks and Rangers home arena would remain at the site

Plans floated over the decades have called for relocating MSG, but the plan is for the “World’s Most Famous Arena” to remain in place. A theater owned by MSG and built directly above the tracks, however, would have to be razed.

The developers and MSG's owner have reached an agreement on this critical point, but the final terms — including payment — are still being negotiated. That's according to Andy Byford, a former New York City subway chief who Amtrak named as a special adviser to oversee the redevelopment.

Transit advocates complain the process has been shrouded in secrecy.

“It’s really important that there be public input and involvement,” said Lisa Daglian, who heads a group that advises the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates New York’s subway and two commuter rail systems.

“We don’t need another megamall or monument and certainly not at the cost of billions in local revenue or by putting existing services at risk,” added Danny Pearlstein of the transit advocacy group Riders Alliance.

Byford said more details will be revealed in the months ahead, including a more detailed breakdown of costs, as the developers refine the preliminary designs and the project goes through the extensive federal environmental review process.

But he vowed no fare hikes to cover project costs and no plans for the government to condemn and take surrounding properties to expand the station, as some have suggested.

At Penn Station on Tuesday, John Schoen was among the regular riders who welcomed the prospect of a more inviting commute.

“The city needs new looks. This is old,” the 55-year-old Long Island resident said. “Let’s do it. Move forward.”

Others, though, wondered how construction might worsen their commutes. James Culhane, another Long Island rider, noted parts of the station received a significant face-lift in recent years that brought in new eateries, more natural light and other improvements.

“Things are operating as well as they can be,” said the 24-year-old opera stagehand. “Just use the money elsewhere.”

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

The S&P 500 dropped 1.7% after careening between an early gain of 1% and a loss of 2.3%, sinking further from its all-time high set a week ago. The Nasdaq composite was 2.9% lower, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 408 points, or 0.8%, as of 1 p.m. Eastern time.

Indexes swung lower as companies selling computer chips, memory and other building blocks of the AI boom broke from early gains to losses. Micron Technology went from a jump of 4.2% to a drop of 7.6%, for example. That's a day after it soared 9.9% and two days after it plunged 13.3%.

The computer memory company’s stock has already tripled so far this year, raising criticism that it’s gone too far, too fast. Following last week’s industrywide sell-off, the question is whether AI stocks broadly are heading for a long downturn or just needed a shake-out to get rid of excessive optimism.

Marvell Technology dropped 13.3%, and Advanced Micro Devices sank 8.7% after both AI winners also erased early-morning gains. Nvidia's fall of 3.1% was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 because the chip company is Wall Street's largest company by value and thus its most influential.

All the while, several big-name AI companies are racing to list their stocks on a U.S. exchange and sell them at high prices. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said Monday it was the latest to file confidential paperwork with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering. SpaceX's IPO could happen later this week.

The weakness for AI stocks drowned out the benefit Wall Street got from easing oil prices. More stocks in the S&P 500 actually rose than fell, despite the sharp drop for the overall index, as the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil sank 2.7% to $91.66.

Oil prices have swung as hopes rise and fade that the United States and Iran can reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. A reopening would allow oil tankers to resume delivering crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

Oil prices pared their losses, though, after President Donald Trump said Iran was responsible for downing an American military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and that the United States “must” respond to the attack.

High oil prices caused by the war with Iran have already created a painful acceleration of inflation for U.S. shoppers. They have also pushed bond yields higher worldwide, raising the pressure on stock prices.

Treasury yields eased a bit Tuesday with the fade in oil prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.54% from 4.56% late Monday. But it’s still well above its 3.97% level from just before the war with Iran.

The latest monthly updates on U.S. inflation will arrive later in the week, with one on consumer prices coming Wednesday and one on wholesale prices coming Thursday.

Inflation is high enough, and the U.S. job market looks strong enough, that traders on Wall Street largely expect the Federal Reserve will have to raise its main interest rate at least once by the end of this year. Higher interest rates would keep a lid on inflation, but they would also threaten to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate has already recently climbed to its highest level in nine months, and high costs to borrow money could discourage the building of AI data centers that are fueling the U.S. economy's growth.

On Wall Street, J.M. Smucker jumped 11.2% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

The company behind the Folgers, Hostess and other brands benefited from higher prices charged for coffee and sweet baked goods. It joined the long list of U.S. companies delivering stronger profit growth than analysts expected, which has helped drive the S&P 500 to record after record this year.

Nuvalent soared 39.2% after GSK agreed to buy the biotech company for $10.6 billion. The shares of U.K.-based GSK that trade in New York added 0.9%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped in Europe following bigger moves in Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 8.2% and nearly recovered Monday’s plunge of 8.3%. It’s been beholden to the performance of big tech stocks like SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

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

Some slept in sleeping bags, face masks over their eyes to block out the afternoon sun. Others sat on the sidewalk eating from cereal boxes. Shoes lay scattered alongside empty mini-liquor bottles. A boom box blasted a Jay-Z song: “This can’t be right, there’s gotta be more.”

Atlanta announced an ambitious plan last summer to end encampments and other street sleeping downtown ahead of the 39-day soccer spectacular that begins Thursday. Called Downtown Rising, the program said it has housed nearly 500 people. But the scene on a recent afternoon outside this shelter on Pryor Street was a visceral reminder that Atlanta has not reached everyone.

Atlanta is one of several of the cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico using the attention that comes with hosting the world's premier soccer tournament to address homelessness. Seattle announced a housing push and said it was using the World Cup to gauge its progress. Dallas said it was expanding a successful effort to house homeless people living downtown.

A survey by The Associated Press found, however, that most of the 16 venues, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Toronto, and Vancouver, British Columbia, are relying on existing programs — most without any new funding tied to the World Cup — to address homelessness.

Growing tent encampments have bedeviled urban leaders for years. Federal data showed a double-digit percentage increase in homelessness nationwide from 2023 to 2024, when 770,000 people were counted as homeless — a number acknowledged as an undercount. That was followed by a slight decrease last year to 745,652.

In the past, many cities have treated the homeless as an eyesore to be removed ahead of big sporting and political events.

During last year's Super Bowl, New Orleans spent millions of dollars clearing away tent encampments near the Superdome and moving the homeless into a temporary warehouse. Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, migrants were bused out of the city until the Games ended. Chicago removed one of its biggest encampments ahead of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

“These events provide a choice for communities,” said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “They can do the easy thing and sweep people out of encampments and into jails or other neighborhoods, or they can do the harder work that will benefit everyone in the community — housed or unhoused.”

Atlanta seeks to house downtown homeless

As host of the 1996 Olympics, Atlanta removed some 9,000 homeless people to a newly built detention center. It gave others one-way bus tickets out of town and launched “Operation Olympus,” detaining hundreds of people to reduce crime.

But this time around, the city was determined to do things differently.

It has raised $185 million in state and city funding, as well as corporate grants and other donations, toward a goal of $235 million, with the aim of housing 3,900 people citywide by next year. The latest city count last year showed there were some 2,900 homeless people citywide, about a third living in encampments or on the street.

“There will always be homeless people on our streets, more than likely, unfortunately,” said Cathryn Vassell, the CEO of Partners for HOME, the organization tasked with creating and executing Atlanta’s homelessness strategy. The goal is “to be able to identify them and quickly exit them into shelter, resources, services, and then ultimately housing.”

Downtown Rising has helped Michael Sutton turn his life around. In foster care since he was an infant, he bounced from family to family. For most of the past decade, the 31-year-old slept in train stations, parks, abandoned buildings and homeless shelters.

Since September, Sutton has had a one-bedroom apartment in an Atlanta suburb and a case worker.

“Everyone has rough days, and being able to go home or vent to yourself about it, relaxing in your own home … is priceless,” Sutton said.

But not everyone can be helped.

Some homeless people recoil at shelter rules, lack the documents to quickly move into permanent housing or have complicated drug and mental health challenges, or nomadic lifestyles that make them difficult to reach.

Tommy Elam said he's been on numerous housing lists, but nothing has happened — though he's hard to find. His phone was stolen countless times and he doesn’t currently have one.

“They don’t know where I’m at,” said Elam, who's been homeless since early 2020 and spent the last three months sleeping on the sidewalk near the Pryor Street homeless shelter, his latest spot since a crackdown on the encampment where he lived near the Georgia State Capitol building.

Standing outside the downtown supportive housing center where he now lives, Willie Jackson, who spent years on the streets, said he knows people who’ve been helped by the Downtown Rising initiative. But he's skeptical it will lead to lasting change after the World Cup — or that it’s made a significant impact on downtown’s homelessness problem.

“Just look around,” he said.

No more tents in Dallas

Two years ago, it was hard to miss the hundreds of tents around Dallas City Hall.

But ahead of the World Cup, there were no tent encampments downtown, where FIFA’s broadcast center is set up, or at the nearby fan zone. The matches will be played at Dallas' stadium in suburban Arlington.

Sarah Kahn, president and CEO of Housing Forward, which leads the homelessness response for Dallas and nearby Collin counties, said a $30 million campaign since 2024 reduced the number of people sleeping on downtown streets by 87% and placed some 2,000 into permanent housing.

In March, an additional $28 million was allocated to expand countywide, with a goal of providing 1,100 people housing, the agency said. Outreach workers deploy daily within a quarter-mile of transit hubs, the fan zone and the FIFA broadcast center to find anyone sleeping outside and offer services, it said.

Elisabeth Jordan, founder of The Human Impact, which helps the chronically homeless, praised the initiative as “the single greatest change ... in homeless response in Dallas.”

But she criticized Dallas police tactics that included zip-tying and removing people who remained after their encampments were cleared. Dozens of people from one encampment were housed in May, but about 20 who remained were detained, she said. In a statement, the Dallas police department called such detentions “standard practice” for people “violating the prohibited camping law” and who refuse housing.

Kacey Coker, who spent years on the streets or in jail, described a dramatic improvement in how the homeless are treated. Authorities used to “come through with a bulldozer and take our stuff and throw it away,” said the 51-year-old, who lost her birth certificate and social security card in those sweeps.

In May, she was offered a subsidized one-bedroom apartment for a few hundred dollars a month. For the first time, Coker feels safe.

“I can actually build something,” she said.

Tiny homes emerge in Seattle

At a vacant lot several miles from Seattle's stadium, workers were putting the final touches last week on 75 tiny homes.

The 70-square-foot units with a bed, space heater and air conditioner are part of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's ambitious plan to open 500 units of new shelter by the start of the World Cup.

It's a goal she acknowledges she has missed — by 425 units.

“The World Cup .... provided just kind of a good goal post,” Wilson told the AP in an interview, saying the city will open an additional 228 beds by the end of the summer.

“When you put a number out there, that has the advantage of galvanizing people,” but it can also be framed as a failure if you miss it, Wilson said. “So, I really hope that the message ... is look, we are making progress.”

Homelessness advocates said they weren't surprised Wilson didn't meet such a lofty goal within six months of election. The World Cup isn't what's important; getting people housed is, they added.

“I’m just happy that anything has happened so far,” said Bruce Drager of Ballard Community Task Force on Homeless and Hunger near where the tiny homes were built.

Camped out with his wife between a sidewalk and train tracks just blocks from the stadium, Chris Moore said he hasn't heard about the city's housing plans.

A large encampment nearby has been cleared twice in the five months since he's been there, said Moore, who's been homeless for eight years. But dozens of tents were back again a week before the first game.

“I guess because the World Cup’s coming, you don’t want homeless people around,” he said.

Inglewood spruces up the stadium area

In Inglewood, California, site of the Los Angeles area stadium, roads were squeaky clean and paved with fresh asphalt. Bright flowers filled planters downtown and near the stadium.

“There’s no homeless in Inglewood,” Mayor James Butts told the AP when asked about the city's plans for housing people living on the streets ahead of the World Cup. “Just look at the numbers.”

Indeed, Inglewood's' homeless count last year was small — just under 400, about a third of whom were living on the street in the city of 100,000 people — compared to LA, where 43,695 homeless were counted in the city of 3.8 million-plus.

But less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the stadium and just outside Inglewood city limits, the nonprofit St. Margaret’s Center was handing out dozens of sack lunches for the homeless on a recent morning.

Carter Hewgley, who oversees strategic partnerships at LA County’s Homeless Services and Housing Department, said it has secured three motel sites ahead of the World Cup — “not because there's games, but because there's homeless.” The sites, including in Inglewood, range from 54 to 104 rooms. The agency also maintains tens of thousands of shelter beds, he said.

In Toronto and Vancouver, business as usual

In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver said they were relying on their already extensive services to provide thousands of shelter beds and temporary housing rooms, as well as outreach to those living on the streets. Vancouver has also set up centers where matches will be shown. Both said there were no plans to relocate homeless people ahead of the games.

Still, there were sporadic reports by advocates of crackdowns targeting homeless people.

In Toronto, where Canada's largest shelter system supports more than 8,500 people each night, advocates held a rally last month denouncing what they said were transit police tactics aggressively targeting the homeless at the city’s main train station.

Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union said its survey of dozens of homeless people found some forcibly removed from lavatories and elsewhere, and subjected to verbal abuse by transit police. In a statement to the AP, the city did not directly address the complaints but said it doesn't “tolerate, ignore, or condone discrimination or harassment.”

In Vancouver, hundreds of activists held a protest in April over increased security ahead of the World Cup. A 2025 count showed 2,715 homeless people, some in Vancouver's Downtown East Side area near the stadium.

Last month, at a downtown park where homeless people are allowed to stay overnight, Harley Ransom was resting in his tent and said he's seen aggressive tactics.

Nearby, Francesca Crane, who said the van she lived in with her pet rabbits had been towed away, accused the city of “sweeping the homeless people under the carpet for FIFA to make it look like a clean city, no homelessness.”

“They are catering to people from other countries but stepping on the people of their own city and province,” she said. “What they’re doing is wrong.”

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Casey reported from Boston. Associated Press reporters Manuel Valdes in Seattle; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia; Robert Gillies in Toronto; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri; Jamie Stengle in Dallas, and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed.

The Food and Drug Administration says the ingredient, bemotrizinol, met the agency’s standards for protecting from dangerous ultraviolet rays while causing little irritation or absorption into the skin. The ingredient is safe for adults and children 6 months and older, the agency stated in a release.

Bemotrizinol will initially be sold in the U.S. by the Dutch manufacturer DSM Nutritional Products under the brand name Parsol Shield, which is expected to launch later in the year. After an 18-month exclusivity period, the ingredient will be available for use by other manufacturers.

Efforts to introduce new sunscreen products have been bogged down for decades by the FDA’s bureaucratic system for updating its lists of safe nonprescription drug ingredients. Bemotrizinol is the first ingredient to go through a streamlined process authorized by Congress in 2020.

Experts say bemotrizinol will fill an important niche in the U.S. market: protecting against both ultraviolet A and B rays while not leaving white streaks associated with mineral-based sunscreens.

"For decades, Americans have used outdated sunscreen tech while the rest of the world moved forward,” said David Andrews of the Environmental Working Group. “The approval of bemotrizinol will help change that.”

Andrews’ group has long pushed the FDA to tighten sunscreen standards and allow new ingredients on the market.

Under FDA rules, all sunscreens must protect against UVB rays, which cause most sunburn, as well as UVA rays that pose the greatest risk of skin cancer and wrinkles.

Currently available chemical-blocking ingredients only protect against one or the other. Companies generally mix the chemicals in combination to achieve “broad spectrum protection.”

Mineral-based ingredients, including zinc oxide, block both UVA and UVB but leave a chalky white residue.

Bemotrizinol was authorized by European authorities in 1999 and first filed with the FDA for review in 2005.

“The FDA is committed to ensuring the American consumer has access to the most effective and safe therapies, including over-the-counter products like sunscreens,” said Dr. Mike Davis, acting director of FDA’s drug center.

The FDA has been gradually updating its standards for sunscreens. In 2011, the agency banned terms like “waterproof,” which regulators said was misleading, and required that all sunscreens filter out UVA and UVB rays. Previously some formulas only protected against UVB.

In 2021, the FDA proposed additional measures — including capping SPF numbers and requiring stronger UVA protection — but those have not been completed.

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

Frank Bisignano is expected to face pointed questions from lawmakers at a hearing on his agency’s customer service performance, its ability to pay Americans their benefits, protect their privacy, and other questions about the inner workings of the SSA.

He plans to tout shorter wait times and other customer service metrics to a House Ways and Means Committee hearing slated for Wednesday, and slam his predecessor for requiring appointments for field office visits, in a letter to lawmakers viewed by The Associated Press.

In the letter, Bisignano states that the SSA has cut phone wait times by 75% under his leadership, fixed frustrating website issues, and served 50% more people.

“I’ve been very clear. We will meet clients where they want to be met. You want to call us on a phone, we’ll have technology on the phone, or you can talk to somebody on the phone. You want to come to a field office, you can come with an appointment, or without,” Bisignano told The Associated Press in an interview.

Critics argue those gains are being achieved through temporary staffing shifts, increased reliance on online services, and workforce reductions that have created longer-term service risks, shifting bottlenecks around rather than solving staffing problems.

Bisignano dismisses the criticism. “People boo at Yankee Stadium, even when they’re winning,” he said.

Bisignano took over the agency after a series of chaotic customer service changes, leadership exits, and false allegations made by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — who ran the Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting program — that millions of dead people were receiving benefits.

The SSA cut 7,000 workers at the start of the Trump administration. Roughly 2,000 employees were reassigned last year into direct-service positions, including staff whose jobs don't normally involve answering calls.

The SSA's Inspector General — its internal watchdog — has identified ongoing errors in benefit administration and claims processing. But its latest semiannual report to Congress also shows the agency has made measurable progress in improving telephone service and deploying technology to speed disability claims processing.

The union representing SSA employees and field office workers says some offices are severely understaffed. That includes Ironwood, Michigan; Decorah, Iowa; Havre, Montana; Big Spring, Texas; Sheridan, Wyoming; Glasgow, Montana; Pierre, South Dakota; Cedar City, Utah; and Cody, Wyoming, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Council 220.

But Bisignano said no field offices have been closed and noted that the agency is committed to meeting clients where they prefer.

“What I’m trying to achieve is to have a better way for the American public to interact with the Social Security Administration,” Bisignano said.

Bisignano also serves as chief executive of the IRS, in a role that was created by the Trump administration. Asked about a new tax audit immunity deal for Trump and his family that was part of the controversial settlement crafted to resolve Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, Bisignano referred The Associated Press to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent comments to a congressional committee, where he refused comment on ongoing litigation.

The winner will be the South American country’s ninth president in 10 years.

Official figures showed nationalist congressman Roberto Sánchez with 50.055% of votes, while conservative politician Keiko Fujimori had 49.945%. The electoral body has counted more than 17.8 million votes.

Fujimori, the daughter of a disgraced former president, and Sánchez, an ally of an imprisoned ex-president, beat 33 other candidates in the initial vote in April, but neither earned even 20% of support. Electoral authorities took more than a month to declare them winners of that contest.

The country’s chief electoral authority, Roberto Burneo, has said the outcome of Sunday's vote will be available within 30 days. He asked voters and political organizations to “act with democratic responsibility” as the counting continues.

The slow pace is due to a law that requires each ballot and each tally sheet, which summarizes the votes from each polling station, to be taken to one of more than 100 offices to be counted. Additionally, ballots and tally sheets must arrive in the capital, Lima, from 63 countries to be counted.

Voting is mandatory for Peruvians aged 18 to 70. Failure to do so results in a fine of up to $32.

More than 27 million voters are registered. Of those, about 1.2 million were expected to cast ballots from abroad, mainly in the United States and Argentina.

Surging crime, particularly extortion, was the overarching concern for voters. Experts attribute the increasing power of organized crime to growing profits from illegal gold mining in the Andes and the Amazon.

The runoff’s winner will be sworn in to a five-year term on July 28.

Neither candidate was particularly popular, and many voters associate each with controversial Peruvian ex-presidents.

Fujimori is linked to the authoritarian and corrupt legacy of the government of her late father, Alberto Fujimori, in the 1990s. She became Peru's first lady in 1994 after her parents’ separation.

Sánchez is one of the closest allies of imprisoned former President Pedro Castillo, whom many perceive as corrupt and chaotic. Castillo’s 16-month term saw more than 70 Cabinet changes.

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

Dwight D. Eisenhower put in a putting green. George H.W. Bush added a horseshoe pit. Herbert Hoover played a game named for himself to get more exercise, while George W. Bush threw open the space for youth T-ball.

The White House and its storied South Lawn are no strangers to sporting events. But they've never seen anything like the UFC show President Donald Trump is hosting to celebrate his 80th birthday on Sunday or the eight-sided, wire-mesh cage complete with an open overhead dome featuring large screens that are surrounded by thousands of arena seats.

Sometimes called America’s backyard, the South Lawn was until now known for low-contact sports and joyful events geared toward children or bipartisanship, like the annual Easter Egg Roll or the congressional picnic.

The same space being used for blood sport, feting a president who relishes it and playing out in a hulking structure featuring a complicated overhead lighting scheme known as The Claw, illustrates yet another of the White House norms that Trump is gleefully laying to rest — or, in UFC parlance, forcing to tap out.

That the president has begun suggesting that he could make the cage-fighting venue a permanent South Lawn fixture further underscores just how far from T-ball the White House has come.

“Sports has been central to presidents. I don’t know that it’s been quite the spectacle that it is with the Trump administration,” said Michael Patrick Cullinane, senior historian at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

Teddy Roosevelt pioneered sports at the White House

Many early presidents were talented athletes before taking office. Abraham Lincoln and William Howard Taft were celebrated young wrestlers. John Quincy Adams was fit enough to take daily naked swims in the Potomac River while in office.

But Teddy Roosevelt was the first to make sports a large part of White House life, installing a tennis court on the lawn. His wife, Edith, was concerned about his workload, and the grass court outside his office was meant to force more relaxation.

Cullinane, who is the author of “Theodore Roosevelt and the Tennis Cabinet" and is a history professor at Dickinson State University, said Roosevelt loved tennis and, though he didn't play well, he did so “long and vigorously."

Roosevelt would take the court daily at 3 p.m., rain or shine, for seemingly endless six-game sets against top aides. He also boxed, holding bouts in the White House that were far more intimate affairs than Sunday's UFC fight. While sparring with his military aide Col. Daniel T. Moore in 1905, Roosevelt detached the retina of his left eye.

During a recent New York Post interview, Trump was asked about Roosevelt and replied that he “had a lot of energy, loved the outdoors.” He indicated that he knew about Roosevelt's having boxed at the White House but didn't comment on how the UFC event might compare.

Other presidents brought more sports with them

Hoover used the lawn to play a combination of tennis and volleyball involving 6-pound (2.7-kilogram) medicine balls that White House physician Adm. Joel T. Boone was credited with inventing to improve his fitness. The game eventually became known as Hoover-ball.

His successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had an indoor pool built for polio therapy. Harry S. Truman ordered an old horseshoe pit removed from the White House grounds, but the first President Bush reinstalled it in 1989.

His son hosted T-ball on the South Lawn beginning in 2001 and presided over 20 games, with his last featuring Little Leaguers who were the children of active-duty military personnel.

Eisenhower used the putting green outside the Oval Office frequently enough to leave golf-spike marks on the floors inside. Barack Obama had White House tennis facilities repainted as a basketball court, though they were converted back as part of a pavilion improvement project overseen by first lady Melania Trump during her husband’s opening term.

Presidents often mixed sports and politics

Playing, or at least being avid fans of, sports has long given presidents ways to connect to everyday voters while also projecting vitality.

John F. Kennedy largely hid his skill as a golfer because he was afraid of bad political optics. But he promoted footage of himself and his family playing touch football and frolicking in the surf, seeking to convey his youth and energy.

Nixon had a single-lane bowling alley built in the White House yet spoke much more frequently in public about his love of football, trying to appeal to sports fans in ways that his advisers initially feared might alienate some. Obama made an event of filling out NCAA brackets with his predicted tournament winner each year.

Trump has attended a series of major sporting events, including Monday's trip to the NBA finals in New York. The UFC coming to him, however, is unlike anything the presidency has seen.

“There’s definitely precedence for athletic events, but this is a combination of athletic event and a celebrity event,” said Tevi Troy, a presidential historian and senior fellow at the Reagan Institute.

Troy noted that, as the bevy of musical acts pulling out of the Trump-led celebration to mark America's 250th birthday illustrates, “The entertainment world is just hostile to Republicans and Trump. So he goes to find his celebrities where he can."

Trump has been a UFC fan for decades. His 2024 presidential campaign showcased his friendship with the league's chief, Dana White, and Trump also attended bouts around the country, hoping to energize voters not usually interested in politics.

UFC’s cage matches mirror Trump’s bare-knuckled approach to politics and sometimes can overlap with his policy initiatives. In making the case for his immigration crackdown, Trump once told White to consider setting up a league in which migrants could fight one another — with the winner then squaring off against the UFC champion. He suggested the “migrant guy might win.”

Cullinane noted that the “UFC is dominated by men and this idea of masculinity,” which means “whenever you aim for a certain demographic, you are almost naturally politicizing the sport.”

‘Maybe we’ll never take it down'

The South Lawn's octagon was built in a matter of weeks and designed to be temporary, unlikely to survive prolonged exposure to the elements. But that hasn't stopped Trump from musing about leaving it up permanently.

The president has likened his birthday party to an international celebration of yore and The Claw to an architectural marvel in France. He noted on TikTok that Paris’ Eiffel Tower was built to be a temporary structure for the 1889 World’s Fair but then, “They said, ‘You know we sort of like it,’" and eventually, “They never took it down.”

“You know, we’re building something in front of the White House that’s quite attractive to a lot of people,” Trump said before adding, "And I’m looking at it, and maybe we’ll never, ever take it down.”

Troy said that, 20 years from now, the spectacle that is the UFC on the White House lawn may feel normal as accepted traditions on celebrity and sports shift. If so, Trump's tradition-busting will have played a role.

“Trump, I think, is more willing than other presidents to be asked that question: ‘Why aren’t you doing it the way the previous presidents did?’” Troy said. “Breaking the precedent doesn't bother him.”

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

The announcement came two months after Artemis II's record-breaking trip around the moon that surpassed the distance record of Apollo 13.

NASA's Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano won't fly to the moon or land on the surface. Instead, they’ll orbit Earth while practicing docking their Orion capsule with two lunar landers.

“To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to deliver the lunar landers. The two-week demo is targeted for 2027. Blue Origin suffered a recent setback when its massive rocket exploded during an engine-firing test on the launch pad in Florida, shaking nearby homes and illuminating the sky with an orange fireball.

NASA's Jeremy Parsons said the setback is a learning opportunity and that the space agency is confident Blue Origin's rocket will be ready in time.

NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface for the first time since the 1970s. A recent revamp of the program announced by Isaacman aims to fast-track it similarly to the Apollo era, adding the upcoming spaceflight around Earth before eyeing a lunar landing in 2028.

“We are certainly humbled as a crew to be able to be your crew that executes this Artemis III mission in space,” said Bresnik, Artemis III commander.

Added Douglas, mission specialist: “My brain — it is going a mile a minute right now. But my heart, it is so warm. It is so full."

In May, NASA awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four companies, including Blue Origin, to build landers, rovers and drones for a future moon base. Isaacman said the goal of the moon base is to lay the foundation for a Mars expedition.

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

The Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning for the port city, including the Christian quarter, which has been spared so far.

The statement by the Christian leaders was from George Iskandar, the metropolitan archbishop of Tyre for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church; Elias Kfoury, the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Tyre, Sidon and Dependencies; and Charbel Abdullah, the archeparch of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre.

The warning from Israel's military prompted hundreds of people to flee the Christian district along the Mediterranean coast, while members of the Civil Defense evacuated older people to safer areas, the state-run National News Agency said.

Cars packed with mattresses, luggage and household belongings stretched for kilometers along Lebanon’s coastal highway, as residents fled Tyre following the latest Israeli warning. Traffic ground to a halt as families crammed whatever they could into vehicles, with carpets protruding from rooftops, and trunks were left partially open to accommodate furniture and personal belongings.

“After the warnings in Tyre, we left. We picked up and left,” said Ali Bahar, who was traveling with his wife and three children in a car loaded with possessions.

“Where should we go? There is nowhere to go,” Bahar said. “We will end up in the streets. We are heading to Sidon.”

Nearby, Hussein Darwish sat in the gridlock after packing his vehicle with what he could carry.

“We left to be reassured and safe,” he said.

An Israeli airstrike Tuesday in another neighborhood in Tyre killed eight people and wounded 32 others, according to the Health Ministry.

The three Christian leaders called on the international community and Lebanese leaders to “take immediate and serious action to spare the old quarter of Tyre from destruction and human tragedies.”

The Israeli warning to Tyre came after Israel and Iran traded fire following Israel's targeting of Hezbollah in Beirut on Sunday, triggering heightened tensions in the Middle East and fears that the conflict could spread further.

Over the past few weeks, Israel’s airstrikes have caused wide destruction in Tyre, the fourth-largest city in the country.

Considered one of the oldest metropolises of the world, Tyre has several archaeological sites, some of them submerged. The city was officially declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

“The old city is not merely a residential area,” the clergy said in their statement. “It is the historical and human heart of Tyre, home to thousands of civilians, including families, children, and the elderly.”

They said that the old quarter also holds a rich cultural, religious and civilizational heritage dating back centuries.

“Any targeting or destruction of this neighborhood would constitute a humanitarian and national catastrophe with irreversible consequences,” they warned.

Kfoury said that the ongoing conflict isn't only a war on Hezbollah.

“The war is against all of Lebanon, not just one particular group within Lebanon,” he said.

“They are destroying Lebanon. Period,” Kfoury said about the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war that broke out on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, two days after the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran on Feb. 28.

He said that the fighting should stop because it's a “destructive war.”

Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas over the past two weeks, because they were spared from the aerial bombardment along the Mediterranean coast.

After last week’s warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, posted on X that as the military warned days ago that Hezbollah members were working inside the Christian district, the Israeli military “will have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon.”

Adraee said that any building used by Hezbollah for military purposes “may be subject to targeting.”

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon has killed around 3,500 people and displaced more than 1.2 million.

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Bassem Mroue reported from Beirut.

Our temperatures have stayed mild throughout the morning, thanks to higher dewpoints and cloud cover. We will see a slower warmup today as well.

This is the setup that is bringing us all of the heat and humidity. This next weather-maker is moving a lot of humidity into the Gulf and will give us plenty of fuel for our active pattern.

Futurecast shows the showers & storms firing off between 1-3 PM and wrapping up around 6-7 tonight. You’ll want to grab an umbrella for the evening commute, as some pockets of heavier rainfall are possible within these lines. Lynchburg & Southside Zones will stay the driest out of the region.

The active pattern continues tomorrow with the coverage of Wednesday’s storms becoming a bit more widespread than Tuesday’s. Storms on Wednesday afternoon also have the chance of producing heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts. Be sure to stay weather aware tomorrow!

Each federation for the 48 teams taking part is entitled to receive and distribute 8% of stadium capacity for each of its games at the World Cup, adding up to several thousands of tickets per game.

Those allocations typically went on sale to each team's most loyal fans soon after the tournament draw in December, when Iranians had already for five months been subject to a travel ban by the U.S. government.

Now, just days before Iran opens its World Cup — on June 15 at the 70,000-seat Los Angeles Rams’ stadium in Inglewood against New Zealand — the federation claimed in a statement reported by semi-official state media it was now unable to provide any tickets to its supporters.

The claim adds to the tensions between Iranian soccer, FIFA and tournament co-host the U.S., which began military attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

FIFA has total authority over ticketing operations at the World Cup, yet the Iranian soccer body suggested “the United States has now taken steps to obstruct the presence of Iranian supporters at the stadiums.”

“This incident raises serious questions about the influence of non-sporting and political considerations on the organization of the world’s biggest football event,” the Iranian soccer federation said.

FIFA said in a statement Tuesday it is "working closely with the IR Iran Football Federation to identify compliant solutions that maximize opportunities for Iranian supporters to attend matches.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino and its CEO-like secretary general Mattias Grafström each promised logistical support in face-to-face meetings with Iranian soccer officials in Turkey in recent weeks.

Iran's bumpy ride to World Cup

Most of Iran's 26-man squad has not had a competitive game since February because they play for clubs in the domestic league that was shut down by the war.

They are now based in the Mexican border city of Tijuana instead of a pre-war plan to train in Tucson, Arizona. It is the team's seventh appearance at a men's World Cup.

Some federation officials also have been denied visas to enter the U.S., where Iran also plays Belgium in Inglewood on June 21 and then Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Fans wanting to come to the U.S. to follow the team were likely to face issues obtaining visas issues and making payments while financial sanctions are in force.

“However, in an unexpected move, the allocation granted to Iran’s football federation has been withdrawn, and under the current circumstances the federation is unable to offer even a single ticket to national team supporters,” the federation said.

It was unclear Tuesday how many tickets in Iran’s allocation were sold, if they live in their home country or are part of its diaspora including about 1 million people in the U.S.

If Iranian tickets are revoked, FIFA would have just days to sell about 5,600 tickets for the Iran-New Zealand game on Monday, though Los Angeles has the largest Iranian community in the U.S.

The FIFA sales site on Tuesday showed rows of field-level seats available at $450 each though in the dozens rather than hundreds.

Still, Infantino stated in 2017 — when U.S. soccer officials were preparing a co-hosting bid with Canada and Mexico they won the following year — that fans must have access to the tournament.

“It’s obvious when it comes to FIFA competitions as well (that) any team, including the supporters and the officials of that team, who would qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup,” Infantino said nine years ago. “That is obvious.”

Hostile welcomes

U.S. policy toward World Cup visitors is becoming a strong theme before the games begin on Thursday.

A FIFA-appointed match referee from Somalia was denied entry to the U.S. in Miami at the weekend and on Monday he was cut from the 104-game tournament that starts in Mexico City.

An Iraq player was detained for several hours on arriving in Chicago and a photographer traveling with the delegation was denied entry.

“The disruption is such that one has to ask who is running the World Cup. Is it FIFA or is it the U.S. government with its racially charged immigration policies?” Piara Powar, the head of FIFA's anti-discrimination monitoring partner, said on Tuesday in a statement.

“Before a ball has been kicked,” said Powar, executive director of the Fare Network, “the sense that this World Cup is anything but the celebration of global humanity a World Cup should be is beginning to take over.”

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

About 100-150 people were participating in the protest in the western city of Herat, witnesses said.

Protests are rare in Afghanistan, which has been run by the Taliban since 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces. The government has since imposed rules governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic, or Shariah, law. Dissent is not tolerated, and protests against government decisions are illegal.

The regulations include draconian restrictions on women and girls, including bans on education beyond primary school and what women can wear.

The rules stipulate that women can only go out in public when wearing full hijab — which includes a headscarf and long robe covering the entire body — as well as a face covering that leaves only the eyes visible. The regulations are policed by the feared Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

One witness said he was driving by the site of the protest when he saw police cars arriving and the police firing shots in the air.

“After several shots, we got scared and got out of the car, so as not to be injured,” said Kakar, who asked that only his one name be used for fear of reprisals for speaking with the media. Shortly afterward, the police clashed with the protesters “and the police opened fire again, and some people were injured. I saw blood on the road.” Kakar said he couldn’t be sure exactly how many people had been injured.

Another eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said he saw three people injured.

Richard Bennett, the United Nations’ investigator on human rights in Afghanistan, said he was “alarmed by excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat today.”

In a post on X, he said those responsible for the violence should be held accountable. “It’s time to defuse the tension, respect citizens’ freedom of expression, especially women and girls, and avoid further harm,” Bennett said.

A human rights monitor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details to the media, said Monday that monitors had verified at least 16 arrests and detentions, including of a pregnant woman, in Herat since Friday over alleged non-compliance with dress requirements.

Afghanistan’s vice and virtue ministry dismissed the reports of arrests and detentions of women.

“The issues being spread about women being arrested in Herat are all rumors,” it said in a statement, adding that wearing the “hijab is a divine command, a law that we are obliged to implement.”

Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher for the rights organization Human Rights Watch, said: “The Taliban's apparent use of lethal force ... is very concerning.”

The organization called on authorities ”to immediately release all those detained for peaceful protest and provide health services to the injured ones," Abbasi said, adding that Human Rights Watch was also concerned about the “arbitrary detention of women for so-called inappropriate clothing.”

On Sunday, the U.N.'s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a post on X that the arrests and detentions of women in Herat over alleged dress code violations raised “serious human rights concerns.” It had expressed concern over similar arrests in the Afghan capital, Kabul, last year.

During last week's Friday prayers, imams in mosques in Herat issued announcements on behalf of the vice and virtue ministry that women were not allowed to leave their homes without wearing the hijab. The human rights monitor said the arrests and detentions began shortly after that.

Vance, who has been tapped to lead the Trump administration's anti-fraud efforts as he seeks to raise his political profile as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, cited in a letter to the Justice Department a report from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee that alleges Walz and Ellison were aware of pervasive abuse of government programs for years and let it flourish.

The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to questions Tuesday about whether it would open an investigation. It was unclear what, if any, potential violations of federal law could support a probe into the Democratic Minnesota officials, who have defended their efforts to combat fraud and have characterized a separate Justice Department investigation involving state leaders as politically motivated.

Minnesota has long been under a microscope for staggering amounts of fraud in programs for children and other social services, with dozens of defendants charged under the administrations of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and President Donald Trump, a Republican. Vance’s referral for an investigation into state leaders, however, marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s stated “war on fraud” that officials have said would not be political or partisan.

Vance is seeking an investigation by a new Justice Department division that has drawn intense scrutiny over the potential for political influence given its close relationship with Trump’s White House. The White House announced the division's formation in January and initially said its leader would answer directly to the president instead of the typical Justice Department command.

Walz spokesperson Teddy Tschann derided the House committee as “nothing more than a joke” that continues to “re-hash COVID-era fraud.”

“Governor Walz is glad to see fraudsters are going to prison,” Tschann said in an email. “If the committee is concerned about corruption, they should investigate why President Trump continues to let fraudsters out of prison.”

Ellison called the allegations unfounded and dismissed Vance’s referral as “a political stunt from an administration that uses the machinery of government to target its perceived opponents while extending leniency to those aligned with its interests.”

“It is deeply troubling to see official powers and public resources diverted away from serving the people and instead aimed at pursuing political adversaries,” Ellison said in a statement. “That is not what government is for, and it diminishes public trust in our institutions.”

The House committee alleges that “fraud warnings were elevated to the most senior levels of the Minnesota state government" and payments continued “long after credible signs of fraud emerged.” In his referral, Vance wrote that officials in Minnesota or anywhere else in the country “must be held accountable” if they facilitated fraud, prevented officials from stopping it or retaliated against whistleblowers who tried to report it.

“Minnesota state officials are not above the law,” Vance wrote in a post on X.

The Trump administration has clashed repeatedly with Minnesota officials not only about fraud but also the massive federal immigration crackdown that swept across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and other communities and led to widespread protests.

The Justice Department in January served grand jury subpoenas to Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded federal law enforcement through public statements they made. The status of that investigation is unclear.

The Trump administration has touted the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division as a crucial step in its efforts to prevent the misuse of taxpayer dollars. The division's leader, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, is a veteran prosecutor who has vowed to pursue cases “without fear or favor."

Critics, however, have questioned the administration's motives behind the new division given that fraud was already prosecuted by the agency's Criminal Division, which last year announced the largest coordinated takedown of healthcare fraud schemes in Justice Department history.

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Associated Press reporter Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., contributed to this report.

The drones have crashed into the chimney of a power plant in Estonia, hit empty fuel tanks in Latvia and been shot down by Romanian fighter jets stationed in Lithuania. Ukrainian officials apologized, saying the drones had been aimed at military targets in Russia but were sent off course by Russian electronic interference.

Estonia hosted the summit in its capital of Tallinn amid Russia's 4-year-old, full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Estonia holds the rotating presidency of the NB8, a regional grouping of the five Nordic and three Baltic countries, and brought together the bloc’s prime ministers, along with Zelenskyy.

Sharing Ukraine's drone expertise

Zelenskyy and Estonian President Alar Karis agreed to work on cheaper ways to shoot down drones that have flown over Estonia, including one that a NATO fighter jet shot down over the south of the country in May.

“We have shown that we can shoot the drones down with the planes,” Karis said at a news conference. Using fighter jets to shoot down the drones is expensive, he added, so he hopes to partner with Ukraine for its technology and expertise to do it more cheaply.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to do so, drawing on its experience with helping countries in the Middle East shoot down drones, where it had sent experts to train local forces. “We did this in the Middle East, and it worked,” he said.

He said Ukraine could offer the low-cost interceptor drones it has deployed at home to build an inexpensive shield against Russian drone attacks, and that Kyiv could send experts to its European partners “at any moment.”

Karis said he expects drones to cross into Baltic airspace as the war continues and urged the public to remain calm. Estonia and the other Baltic nations are among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in its war against Russia.

Ukraine's bid for EU membership

Zelenskyy said his talks with the leaders had focused on advancing diplomacy, strengthening air defenses and Ukraine’s path to European Union membership. He said Kyiv had met the conditions to open its accession negotiations and urged the bloc to approve them this summer.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels that Ukraine is “making extraordinary progress” on reforms to allow it to join the EU and that “it’s high time for us also now to deliver.”

Prospective members must complete negotiations in 35 policy areas, or chapters, ranging from agriculture to trade in a process that can take years.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine and Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs signed a drone deal to deepen joint defense and co-production.

Russia's deadly strikes on Ukraine

Russia, meanwhile, kept up its strikes across Ukraine. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, three people were killed and 25 others, including three children, were wounded in attacks in the past 24 hours, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional administration.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, three people were wounded when several districts came under attack overnight, said regional administration head Oleksandr Hanzha.

Russia launched 166 long-range strike drones and two guided missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said, with air defenses shooting down 146 of the drones.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its defenses downed 140 drones overnight. A woman was killed when a Ukrainian drone hit an apartment building in the Belgorod region neighboring Ukraine, regional emergency officials said.In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine is “making extraordinary progress” on reforms to allow it to join the EU and that “it’s high time for us also now to deliver.”

Seeking more sanctions on Russia

Zelenskyy said he had pressed for tougher sanctions on Russia, including its shadow fleet. He also held talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses.

“All of our partners now note that Ukraine’s positions on the front are significantly stronger, and so our diplomacy, which we are working to step up, must proceed from that,” Zelenskyy said. “Unfortunately, Russia is trying to make up for its enormous battlefield losses with strikes on our cities and communities, and on civilian infrastructure.”

In Brussels, Von der Leyen announced proposals for new sanctions against Russia targeting its energy, financial and trade sectors, including fisheries for the first time with a ban on cod, among other measures.

She also proposed banning EU entry for “anyone who has served in the Russian armed forces since the beginning of the war” to ensure that Europe stays off-limits "for anyone who has participated in the invasion of Ukraine.”

The sanctions must be endorsed by the 27 EU member countries before they can come into force.

On Monday, Zelenskyy said he had held positive talks with U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during a stopover at an airport in Moldova’s capital, describing them as focused on ending the war. In a social media post, he said the two sides discussed diplomatic prospects ahead of this month’s Group of Seven summit, and that he had briefed the U.S. side on Ukraine’s assessment of Russia’s intentions.

The bloc's executive Commission, which is the 27-nation EU's top antitrust and competition enforcer, said it was taking action to prevent harm to competition in the growing market for AI assistants before it's too late.

The commission said it was imposing “interim measures” while it continues its investigation into WhatsApp’s artificial intelligence policy over concerns the company is breaching EU law by blocking competitors from offering their AI assistants on the platform.

Meta said it would appeal.

“The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free," the company said in a statement. “This is regulatory overreach subsidized by the many European companies that pay.”

Brussels has occasionally resorted to temporary orders after facing criticism that previous years-long antitrust investigations into Big Tech companies were too slow to rein in their market power.

“AI markets are developing exceptionally fast, and AI assistants are expected to become an important way for consumers all across Europe to access and use AI,” the commission’s executive vice-president overseeing competition, Teresa Ribera, told reporters in Brussels.

“Therefore, when the damage can happen quickly and there is a risk of companies being forced to leave the market, we need to use our tools.”

EU regulators last year began scrutinizing updated terms and conditions for Meta's business customers using AI assistants to communicate with customers over WhatsApp.

They were concerned that the agreement prevented third-party AI companies from offering their assistants on the platform, leaving only Meta’s chatbot service available to users.

Meta attempted to resolve the probe by charging rivals for access, but that didn't satisfy regulators, who threatened in April to force the company to reinstate access for free.

Riber said Meta's fee was so high it was “not economically sustainable for competitors,” without providing more details. The commission's order would remain in place until June 2029 or until the end of the investigation, which has no deadline.

If Meta doesn't comply with the order, it could face fines of up to 10% of annual revenue.

He didn’t know Bari Weiss, the news division’s editor in chief, would be there. But his initial reaction to seeing her was “This is terrific of her,” he told The New York Times in a wide-ranging podcast interview. He figured he'd able to ask questions, and she’d explain her sweeping changes of the previous week, in which she’d replaced the executive producer, Tanya Simon, and let go two correspondents, along with other key staffers.

The last thing on his mind? That he himself was about to be fired, after a meeting that he says lasted about 10 minutes. “I just didn't connect the dots,” he said.

In a raw and emotional interview with the Times’ Lulu Garcia-Navarro, released Sunday, Pelley, who had been at CBS for 37 years, told his side of the story. Several times, he teared up. He said the whole affair felt “like your spouse was murdered.”

Here are some takeaways from the interview.

He didn't see ‘Black Thursday’ coming

THE BACKGROUND: Five days before he was fired, on the previous Thursday, the stunning changes were announced. In Simon’s place Weiss had installed Bilton, a former tech columnist at the Times and a documentarian with no TV broadcast experience. Though Weiss, who had quickly become a polarizing figure in the industry, had been widely expected to make changes, Pelley says that what he calls “Black Thursday” came as a shock.

THE QUOTE: “No one saw the Black Thursday massacre coming. This is our entire senior staff. Tanya Simon, our boss, she’s the first woman ever to be executive producer of ‘60 Minutes.’ And she concluded this season with a growth in our audience of nine percent, which is unheard-of in broadcast television."

His emotions are close to the surface

THE BACKGROUND: The correspondent teared up several times when describing how close-knit relationships were at the show.

THE QUOTE: “That’s a family at ‘60 Minutes'. My colleagues and I have worked together 10, 20, 30 years. We travel together. We dine together. We go into literal combat together. My former boss and former producer Bill Owens saved my life in a firefight in Iraq. So, Lulu, these bonds are pretty tight, and when somebody wipes out, murders, a large number of your family members, people are hurt, and shocked, in disbelief and just desperate for some explanation. And as you and I sit here today, there still has been none."

The staff meeting with the new boss was preceded by an ‘insulting’ email

THE BACKGROUND: Bilton had written an introductory email to the staff. Pelley didn't appreciate it.

THE QUOTE: “It was so insulting ... He told us that it wasn’t 1968 anymore, and he helpfully noted that gasoline doesn’t cost 32 cents anymore, and suggested that we had all been frozen in amber in 1968 when the program first went on the air, and that nothing had improved.”

At the meeting, a ‘tone-deaf’ boss read from his phone

THE BACKGROUND: Pelley set a scene of a roomful of people "who have devoted their lives to ‘60 Minutes"’ and had received no explanation of what was going on. He says they were waiting for Weiss to elucidate. She didn't attend. Instead, Bilton took out his phone and started reading from it.

THE QUOTE: “Nick makes his way to the front of the room and does something absolutely jaw-dropping to me. He pulls out his phone and begins reading a statement off his phone in a room full of 50 heartbroken people. The callousness, the tone-deafness of that, you could hear the groan in the room. They put out a big spread of bagels like we were all going to feel better. ... I felt that somebody had to stand up, not just for the broadcast, but for the people. There are people in that room who go to war zones when they are pregnant.”

He never expected to be fired

THE BACKGROUND: What happened at the meeting is now widely known, with Pelley challenging Bilton about his qualifications for the job and saying Weiss was “murdering” the show, among other things. Still, he did not think his job was on the line.

THE QUOTE: “Oh gosh, furthest thing from my mind. …Some reporter I turned out to be. I just didn’t connect the dots. I mean, was this meeting (on Monday) contentious? Yes, but ‘60 Minutes’” is known for two things: a ticking stopwatch and hard questions.”

He says leadership advocated ‘falsehoods and bias’

THE BACKGROUND: In the story about the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in confrontations with federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year, Pelley says that he and colleagues made efforts, on their own, to show examples of how protesters had been aggressive. But Weiss asked for more that he says he could not give. Ultimately, Pelley simply resisted the changes and the piece went forward.

Asked about the accusation, CBS News responded: “In an email, Bari made four points in the course of editorial back-and-forth. They had no political motivation and were proposed solely to make the piece as strong, fair, and accurate as possible. As is frequently the case in any newsroom that operates with collaboration, not everything she raised made it into the final piece.”

THE QUOTE: “We get the piece approved by everyone. And about four hours after our deadline, Bari Weiss sends an email to my boss, Tanya Simon. Two of the things in the email include, 'Can we make the protesters look more violent?' Now, I’m paraphrasing. I don’t have the quote, but that’s what was communicated to me. And the other thing, Renee Good’s car. You need to describe her as driving toward the officer … This is not what you see on the video.. But that’s how that happened. There was a thumb on the scale for the president’s version of events that I felt was a level of political influence that I had never seen in 37 years at CBS News.”

He has not spoken to three fellow correspondents who stayed

THE BACKGROUND: Pelley says in the interview he has not spoken to Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim and Bill Whitaker, who have said they decided to stay for now, based on assurances that they can work without interference. But he says he doesn’t think those assurances can be trusted. He also suggests that Anderson Cooper, who did not renew his contract for what he said were family reasons, actually was leaving because of the new leadership.

THE QUOTE: “I haven’t talked to them. .... we have had conversations before this about staying to maintain the principles of the broadcast. If we leave, we can’t help. There have been other times — when Anderson left, when others were fired — that we could have stormed into a meeting and quit, but those very distinguished correspondents and myself did have conversations about this and decided that we were better working on the inside, and that we could influence things for the better. And we did. And it was my intention to stay and do exactly that. ... (Now) I would venture to say that trust is broken.”

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

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, is the latest brought by local officials around the country who were not consulted before DHS purchased industrial warehouses that it planned to convert into regional immigrant processing and detention centers.

The lawsuit targets the most expensive property purchased by DHS for the initiative: $145.4 million for a 833,000-square-foot (77,388-square-meter) warehouse that is roughly the size of 15 football fields. The March purchase, from a real estate development group partially owned by Deutsche Bank, cost nearly 50% more than the property's 2025 assessed market value, records show.

In all, DHS purchased 11 warehouses for more than $1 billion between January and March in the final weeks of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure under her $38.3 billion plan for a new detention model to increase bed capacity and make deportations more efficient. The DHS Office of Inspector General has opened an investigation into whether the plan was wasteful, and Noem’s successor, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, has put it on hold.

Like others filed around the country, the lawsuit in Utah alleges DHS violated federal law by failing to conduct required environmental reviews or get input from state and local officials before the purchase.

“This kind of facility has no place in Salt Lake City, not only due to its inhumane nature but also because of our limited water supply, the increased strain on public utilities systems, and the potentially drastic public health and safety impacts it would have on our residents,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement.

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said the plan “is a dire threat to the very essence of our community values," adding it would overwhelm infrastructure, harm businesses, and undermine public health and safety.

A newly formed advocacy group, Uproar Utah, also planned a news conference Tuesday to discuss litigation against the warehouse plan.

“As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals,” DHS said in a statement Tuesday, adding that Mullin has pledged to work with community leaders and be “good partners.”

Legal actions elsewhere have had some initial success.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has issued administrative orders blocking the operation of two planned detention centers until DHS can show they are complying with state and federal environmental regulations. DHS is appealing the orders.

In Maryland, a judge has granted a preliminary injunction halting construction activities at a Williamsport warehouse while a lawsuit is heard. In New Jersey, ICE is preparing a new environmental assessment and decision after a lawsuit was filed against its plan for a detention center in Roxbury Township. Other cases are pending in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, jointly owned by Canada and the U.S. state of Michigan, is set to take place on Friday, while the bridge itself is expected to open to traffic later this month.

In February, Trump demanded that Canada turn over at least half the ownership of the bridge to the U.S. federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of his many salvos over cross-border trade issues.

The bridge, which would connect Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, and would be a vital economic artery between Canada and the United States, had been expected to open early this year, according to information on the project’s website.

The bridge is named after Howe, the late Canadian hockey great who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

The project was negotiated by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder — a Republican — and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.

“Obviously the bridge will be open at the end of the week. A symbol of, but also a fact of cooperation between our countries,” Carney told reporters as he walked into Parliament.

“Great for Canadians going across the border, Americans coming across the border, and for commerce,” he said, calling it “positive news.”

Trump threatened the bridge as the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for review this year, and Trump has been taking a hard-line position before those talks, including by issuing new tariff threats.

Carney, meanwhile, has spoken out on the world stage against economic coercion by the United States.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, has said that the Canadian-funded project is a “huge boon” to her state and its economic future.

Michigan is a swing state that Trump carried in both 2016 and 2024.

Snyder wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit News earlier this year that Trump was wrong in asserting that Canada owns both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the Gordie Howe bridge.

“Canada and the state of Michigan are 50/50 owners of the new bridge,” Snyder wrote. “Canada was wonderful and financed the entire bridge. They will get repaid with interest from the tolls. Michigan and the United States got their half-ownership with no investment.”

The Gordie Howe bridge will join the privately owned Ambassador Bridge as the second span connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

The rival Ambassador Bridge is considered the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in auto manufacturing.

Companies controlled by the Moroun family, owners of the rival Ambassador Bridge, previously sued to prevent the Howe bridge from being built.

Speaker Mike Johnson will need near perfect attendance and unity on his side to complete weeks of action on the bill. The legislation got sidetracked when Republicans sought to include $1 billion for enhanced security on the White House grounds, including for Trump's new ballroom, and the Trump administration tried to create a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies of the president who claim they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Those proposals proved politically toxic and were scrapped.

Now, the bill is focused entirely on immigration enforcement, a topic that Republicans have treated as a defining issue between the two major political parties and one they hope will carry them to victory in this year's midterm elections. The bill provides $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs, fueling Trump's deportation agenda.

“It's long overdue,” said Johnson, R-La., of the bill. “We have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it's sad that Republicans have to do it on our own.”

Funding accelerates Trump's deportation agenda

The funding comes on top of the nearly $140 billion that the Republican-controlled Congress gave ICE and Customs and Border Protection last year as part of Trump's tax and spending cuts bill.

Democrats objected to giving the agencies more money without significant changes in the way they operate after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. For example, Democrats insisted that agents be required to display their ID badges during enforcement operations and that they get a judicial warrant before entering private property. Instead, the funding will come with virtually no strings attached.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed his party would oppose the package.

“We believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people – not give ICE another $70 billion blank check so that they can unleash brutality on American citizens and violently target law-abiding immigrant communities,” said Jeffries of New York.

Homeland Security faced longest shutdown in history

The package is the result of a monthslong standoff in Congress after Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and other American cities, leading to the longest shutdown in agency history.

Negotiations had been underway with the White House to alter ICE operations as Democrats were demanding. When those negotiations failed, Republicans turned to a complicated procedural maneuver to get around the filibuster and pass the immigration funding with no Democratic votes.

If approved, the package would next go to Trump for his signature, all but assuring an essentially uninterrupted flow of funds for his immigration enforcement and deportation agenda into 2029.

The Senate completed its work on the legislation last week during an all-night session that extended into the early morning hours Friday. The final 52-47 vote on the bill was nearly party line, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republican to oppose it.

Money comes at pivotal time for immigration agenda

The money will come at a pivotal time for the Department of Homeland Security, which is under new leadership after Trump replaced Kristi Noem with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin in March.

While Mullin has vowed to keep the department out of the headlines, the administration is under pressure from anti-immigration advocates to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise of the largest deportation operation in American history.

So far, the administration has not hit its goal of 1 million deportations a year, but Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has promised more to come, including hinting at immigration enforcement actions in New York, the nation's biggest city, which is heavily Democratic.

At the same time, the administration is making it more difficult for legal immigrants to remain in the U.S. by working to end Temporary Protective Status, changing the processes for obtaining green cards and leaving some Dreamers — the young people who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children — reporting delays in renewing their status, which allows them to stay and work.

Tight vote ahead

On the House side, Johnson has little margin for error. Republicans can afford to lose only a couple of votes if every lawmaker is present. GOP leadership opted to avoid any hiccups and sent lawmakers home last week rather than take up the bill early Friday once the Senate had completed its all-nighter.

The bill is just a slim package, without the hundreds of pages of details and directives that typically come from Congress when it provides funding for agencies.

Leading up to the vote, Democrats portrayed DHS as an agency that has used its new resources to buy private jets for its leadership, warehouse immigrants in deplorable conditions and attack U.S. citizens.

“To give these rogue agencies another $70 billion now when they still have $100 billion in the bank from last year would implicate all of us in the escalating corruption and shameful actions of this department," said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democratic member on the House Judiciary Committee.

Republicans countered that they were fulfilling their duty to safeguard the nation and support the men and women charged with enforcing the law.

“Democrats can say whatever they want, but what it’s about is public safety. What’s it about is keeping Americans safe,” said Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.

Existing home sales rose 3.2% in May from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Sales also rose 3.2% compared with May last year.

Home sales increased from a year earlier in the Midwest, South and West, but fell in the Northeast, NAR said.

The latest sales figure topped the roughly 4.07 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home sales have been mostly hovering close to a 4-million annual pace going back to 2023, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2-million.

Sales rose last month even as mortgage rates have continued to mostly trend higher this spring, although they remain below where they were a year ago.

Home prices continued to rise nationally last month. The U.S. median sales price increased 1.3% in May from a year earlier to $429,300, an all-time high for any May on data going back to 1999, NAR said. Home prices have risen on an annual basis for 35 months in a row.

Even so, home price growth is now lagging income growth in many areas. That, plus mortgage rates holding below where they were this time last year, is helping to improve affordability, giving the housing market momentum, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

“I cannot definitively say if home sales are truly coming out of the slump, because we know that there’s still uncertainty related to the oil prices or how the mortgage rates will move,” Yun said, adding that he expects home sales will emerge from their multi-year slump if the average rate on a 30-year mortgage drops back closer to 6%.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low. They have remained sluggish so far this year. They were flat in April after declining from a year earlier through the first three months of this year.

Years of soaring home prices, especially in the early part of this decade when rock-bottom mortgage rates fueled a buying frenzy, have left many would-be homebuyers frozen out of the market. And a chronic shortage of homes for sale nationally, due partly to years of below-average new home construction, has helped prop up home prices even in a multiyear sales slump.

Homes purchased last month likely went under contract in March and April, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 6% — close to its lowest level in three and a half years — to 6.46%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. The average rate was at 6.48% last week, down from 6.85% a year earlier.

While the average rate has remained below where it was a year ago, it has been mostly trending higher since the war with Iran began, disrupting the passage of tankers ferrying crude oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide and driving oil prices sharply higher. Expectations of high oil prices as the war continues have pushed up the long-term bond yields that lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans, causing mortgage rates to climb.

“If not for the war-related spike in inflation, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate could well be in the mid-to-upper 5’s,” said Ted Rossman, principal analyst at Bankrate.

Despite the uncertainty over mortgage rates, first-time buyers accounted for 35% of home purchases last month, the highest share going back to June 2020, Yun said. Historically, they made up 40% of home sales.

Those who can afford to buy at current rates are likely benefitting from buyer-friendly trends in many markets. In May, median list prices were down 2.4% from a year earlier, the steepest drop on data going back to 2017, according to Realtor.com.

They also have more homes on the market to choose from, although home inventory levels remain well below historical norms.

There were 1.55 million unsold homes at the end of May, up 3.3% from April and up 0.6% from May last year, NAR said. That’s still short of the roughly 2 million homes for sale that was typical before the COVID-19 pandemic.

May’s month-end inventory translates to a 4.5-month supply at the current sales pace. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in April. His attorneys say he is being detained on baseless claims that he is a foreign policy threat, but they believe he was actually targeted for speaking out against Israel and for a conviction as a minor by Israeli military courts.

He has no criminal record in the U.S., where he has lived for more than 30 years.

Sarsour has Type 2 diabetes and his blood sugar levels aren't being consistently checked, putting him at risk of organ failure or death if left untreated, his attorneys told a federal judge on Monday. Sarsour is being held in an Indiana county jail while his immigration case is pending.

“We had the opportunity to make a direct, urgent appeal to the court about the need for Salah’s release, including being able to report that he has lost a staggering 30 pounds while in detention,” Luna Droubi, an attorney for Sarsour, said in a press release. “The Judge raised questions about the medical care Salah is receiving, and we will continue to press this case.”

The Department of Homeland Security said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press that all people in ICE custody receive three meals a day and proper medical treatment. The DHS said Sarsour is in the U.S. illegally and will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. Court documents filed by attorneys representing DHS and ICE all appeared to be sealed in the online federal court files, so any legal response to the allegations raised by Sarsour's attorneys was not immediately available to view.

An investigation by KFF Health News and the AP found that hundreds of detainees in at least 33 states have filed federal lawsuits with similar allegations of medical neglect. Those lawsuits include other detainees who say they were denied medication or had treatment delayed for conditions including cancer, high blood pressure, epilepsy, Parkinson's, HIV, diabetes, infections, depression and more.

Sarsour's attorneys offered more details about his detention conditions in a letter sent late last month to U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon. They are asking the judge to release Sarsour while his case moves forward.

“Mr. Sarsour's health continues to deteriorate,” they wrote. “Though he recently developed severe abdominal pain, he was told by officials in the jail that they could not help him and that he must purchase his own medication. His blood sugar levels are not being consistently checked.”

Sarsour is also being tormented by jail guards who denied him access to a Quran and who repeatedly interrupt him when he is trying to pray in accordance with his Muslim faith, his attorneys said. When Sarsour asked for an adequate diet to stabilize his blood sugar levels, he was told to purchase BBQ pork rinds from the commissary, even though that food would violate his religious beliefs and dietary restrictions, his attorneys said.

“Just over two months ago, my dad would have been starting his day as usual by checking in on my grandmother and heading to work,” said Kareem Sarsour, Salah’s son. “We’re not only fighting now for my dad’s legal right to be here, but also for his health — and basic due process guaranteed by his constitutional rights to speak up about injustice.”

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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.

The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing. Failing to comply with the warnings comes with penalties as high as $2 million annually for each recipient that doesn't create a plan to post clear pricing data.

The letters are meant to fix a fundamental problem that patients, employers and insurers might not know ahead of time the cost of blood work, an imaging test or another form of treatment, and as a result pay more than they should have. AP has posted the list of hospitals that have received letters.

A senior administration official who requested anonymity to provide the list said that President Donald Trump plans to tighten enforcement of price transparency standards made possible by a 2019 executive order signed by Trump. More hospitals are likely to receive letters regarding the absence of pricing data, the official said.

The warnings are the latest example of Trump leaning into the message that his administration is fixing the problem of healthcare expenses that can drain a family budget. It's a calculated pitch ahead of the November midterms at a time when affordability is a top concern for voters. But Trump is also vulnerable on this particular issue, as his administration allowed subsidies to lapse for people buying insurance through the 2010 Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare.

Just 29% of U.S. adults approved of Trump's healthcare policies according to the most recent survey on the issue by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The president fared slightly worse on that issue in the December survey than on the economy, immigration or his management of the federal government.

The push for price transparency could have a particular impact on Republican strongholds like Texas, Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Louisiana, which are among the states with the highest count of hospitals that have not provided adequate information on the costs of medical services.

Texas had 42 hospitals that received warnings, more than any other state. Baptist Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, among the state's largest hospitals with 1,585 beds, received a letter, as did the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Missouri-based Ascension, one of the country’s largest hospital systems, had 13 hospitals in multiple states that received letters. The Republican state of Indiana had 34 hospitals that received letters, nearly as many as the 38 in Democratic-led California, even though California has five times more people than Indiana.

Administration officials interviewed for this article noted that Christiana Hospital in Biden's home state of Delaware also received a warning letter.

The letters reflect two competing philosophies between Republicans and Democrats over how to handle the ballooning expense of healthcare, which is also a growing risk for the federal government's own balance sheet.

Biden's team put more emphasis on record enrollment in Obamacare programs that increased the percentage of people with health insurance. Biden also signed a bill that allowed the government to begin negotiating prices for some Medicare drugs directly with pharmaceutical companies. That program, which has continued into Trump’s second administration, has helped knock down the list prices of some of Medicare’s costliest drugs.

The Trump administration, by contrast, has focused more on trying to find ways to provide details on pricing — such as promoting the TrumpRx site for prescription drugs — betting that doing so will lead to better and more efficient spending on healthcare as the data gets crunched.

Critics have said Trump's negotiated prices on prescription drugs might not produce genuine savings for many Americans with insurance, while the administration has estimated savings in excess of $500 billion over 10 years.

With the various lists of hospital prices, the administration wants providers to make it easier to access the files and to ensure the information in them is legitimate, instead of being based on estimates or omitting numbers for key procedures.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has a hearing planned for Wednesday on price transparency.

“Transparency is the foundation of a healthcare system that rewards competition based on cost and quality,” Shawn Gremminger, CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, plans to say in his prepared remarks.

Omar Artan was going to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament, which was announced two months ago. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.

He was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without giving details of those concerns. Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya that processed it.

The move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country is highly unusual. Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.

Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subjected to new travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s strict crackdown on immigration. That raised concerns that fans, players and officials from those countries — most of which are African — might be caught up in the crackdown and denied entry for the World Cup despite having valid visas.

Questioned for hours at airport

Artan told The New York Times he was interviewed at Miami airport for 11 hours by border officials, who asked him why he'd traveled to the U.S. and questioned him about Somali politics and the al-Shabab militant group that is fighting an insurgency against the government there. He showed them FIFA documentation and photos from his refereeing career, he said.

After the questioning, he was put in a holding cell and sent back on a plane to Istanbul, Turkey, from where he'd taken his connecting flight to the U.S.

“I think that they have a problem with my country,” Artan told The New York Times, adding he had the correct documents and visa. He said he wasn't told why he was refused entry, according to the Times.

The Somalia Youth and Sports Ministry said on Tuesday that its embassy in the U.S. was trying to resolve the problem to allow Artan to referee at the World Cup, which opens on Thursday.

The refusal to allow him into the U.S. might be related to the larger travel restrictions on Somalia "rather than any specific allegation against him,” Isse Aden Abshir, a senior adviser at the Somalia sports ministry, told The Associated Press.

Artan subjected to ‘additional inspection’

Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Monday that Artan “underwent additional inspection" on arrival and called it “a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility.”

“Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry,” CBP said.

CBP said all travelers seeking entry into the U.S. — including World Cup players, coaches and staff — were subject to CBP inspection and vetting.

“Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” the CBP statement said. “CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections, and determine admissibility consistent with U.S. law.”

FIFA drops ref from World Cup

FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes and was informed by U.S. authorities that Artan’s “status will not be changed at present.” It said Artan wouldn’t be able to train and officiate at the World Cup.

“In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country,” FIFA said.

Still, FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino built close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump’s government as the U.S. prepared to co-host with Mexico and Canada and had publicly stressed how that would help the World Cup run smoothly.

Infantino did not immediately comment on the issue, while FIFA released a statement on behalf of Artan.

“Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” Artan said in the statement.

He was to make history for Somalia

Artan was praised as one of Africa's best referees and was the ref for the decisive leg of the African Champions League final last month — Africa's biggest club soccer game.

He spoke in a recent interview with the Al Jazeera TV network about how he was honored to be selected as the first Somali to referee at the World Cup and how he faced challenges in his conflict-torn country in East Africa, including sometimes having to change his route to training because of explosions in the streets of the capital, Mogadishu.

"You cannot give up as a referee," Artan said in the interview. This (going to the World Cup) was my big, big target and I'm really excited."

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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed.

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

The findings of the study, in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, were in line with years of research, saying that health risks go up with just one drink a day and no level of alcohol has a protective effect on mortality. Even levels considered “moderate” raise the risk of premature death and more than 200 diseases, including heart disease and cancer, researchers found.

The new study was one of two government reviews meant to help inform the new dietary guidelines. Released earlier this year, the guidelines advised consuming “less alcohol for better overall health.” The authors of the independently released study say that didn’t provide detailed practical advice about the risks of drinking.

One of the officials involved in the study commissioned by Biden's Democratic administration accused Trump's Republican administration of “sidelining” the research — an allegation the Trump administration denies.

Robert Vincent, a former Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration alcohol policy official who led the yearslong effort, made the accusations in an editorial published alongside the study. Vincent was laid off last year as part of a government reduction in force.

“The challenges confronting alcohol policy today are not rooted in scientific uncertainty,” Vincent wrote. “What remains contested is whether evidence will meaningfully inform policy when it conflicts with commercial interests.”

The dispute over the study underscored the increasingly tense relations between the medical and scientific community and the Trump administration, which has questioned or ignored longstanding science in its policymaking, fired a slew of veteran scientists from the federal workforce and cut scientific grants that proponents say help keep the U.S. at the forefront of medical innovation.

Industry and congressional Republicans pushed back on the study

After the study's researchers released a draft report last year, the alcohol industry mobilized against it, launching campaigns to discredit its work. The House oversight committee also criticized the study, releasing a report earlier this year that called it “fraught with bias” and accused the study authors of having predetermined conclusions based on their past research and affiliations.

Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, denied any notion that the study wasn’t considered.

HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture "reviewed the study alongside the broader body of available scientific evidence and followed the established process for developing the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” she said. “The Guidelines are informed by the totality of the scientific record, not any single report or analysis.”

Vincent told The Associated Press in an interview that the researchers were thoroughly vetted for conflicts and the findings were scientifically sound. He said that while he was in the Trump administration, he was “asked to kill the study” but did not. HHS didn’t immediately respond to that claim. The department said the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration wasn't involved in the review or the clearance of the study for publication.

Amanda Berger, senior vice president of science and research for the alcohol trade association the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said in an email to the AP that the congressional committee's findings showed the study was “irretrievably flawed."

Findings support more forceful alcohol intake recommendation

The Trump administration earlier this year released new dietary guidelines that advised consuming “less alcohol for better overall health.” The researchers said that they don't dispute that advice but that their findings support a more detailed and forceful recommendation that current adult drinkers consume one drink or fewer a day.

“I’m glad that they had a message that corresponds with our science, and that is that less is best,” said Dr. Timothy Naimi, director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and one of the study’s authors. “But giving people quantity information is necessary to make a truly informative guideline.”

The study differed from the other research commissioned by the government to help inform the dietary guidelines on the issue, which said moderate alcohol use was associated with a decreased risk of mortality from all causes but also an increased risk of some diseases.

Priscilla Martinez-Matyszczyk, one of the authors of the new study and a deputy scientific director at the Public Health Institute’s Alcohol Research Group, said their study didn’t look at mortality from all causes but instead examined mortality specifically attributed to alcohol to avoid confounding factors.

Martinez-Matyszczyk also addressed an issue raised by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz in his explanations of the new guidelines: that drinking is “a social lubricant that brings people together” and that even though not drinking is preferred, being social has health benefits.

“I don’t know of any studies that have teased out the social effect from the health effect,” she said.

Research aligns with other recent findings

The new findings are “in line with the latest science that basically shows less is better when it comes to health,” Naimi said.

For example, a 2019 study in Lancet found that moderate drinking slightly raised the risk of stroke and high blood pressure and offered no protective effects on health.

Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that idea. Older studies compared groups of people by how much they drink instead of randomly assigning people to drink or not, so they couldn’t prove cause and effect. When researchers adjusted for things like education levels, income and health care access, the benefits tended to disappear.

About half of Americans age 12 or older had a drink in the past month, researchers said, making it the most commonly used addictive substance in the U.S. One drink is the equivalent of about one 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine or a shot of liquor.

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

A petition filed by the 32-year-old Nick Reiner's civil attorneys in a Los Angeles County court on Monday says that trustees overseeing the funds have denied them to him without legal justification, and he needs and should get them now.

“Nick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths. But the facts about what did and did not happen to them are not at issue in this Trust litigation,” the petition says. “Like anyone accused of a crime, Nick is presumed innocent, and he is entitled to mount his defense with the resources that are lawfully his own.”

The director and Hollywood luminary Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer and producer Michele Singer Reiner, were stabbed to death in their home in the upscale Brentwood section of Los Angeles on Dec. 14. Nick Reiner was arrested hours later and has since pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder.

Reiner retained high-profile private lawyer Alan Jackson to represent him, but less than a month later Jackson left the case for reasons he said he couldn't share. The new filing reveals that Reiner's siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, had initially agreed to pay for Jackson, but reversed course.

In a declaration included with the petition, Jackson said “my firm stands ready, willing, and able to resume representation of Mr. Reiner” if the funds become available.

The filing says that apart from the larger Reiner family trust, which is not at issue, Rob and Michele Reiner established smaller individual trusts for Nick Reiner and his siblings. It says they left “unambiguous instructions” in Nick Reiner's trust, established in 1993, that he was to receive half its money when he turned 30 and the rest at 35.

But, the filing says, Reiner never received the funds he was entitled to at 30, and that the trustee overseeing them since February — attorney Paul R. Kanin — has given “a shifting series of excuses and justifications” to deny Reiner the money, including concerns about Reiner's competence that have no bearing on a payout that is mandatory.

Reiner says he should also get the money he was to receive at 35 immediately because his defense and his need for basic necessities in jail require it.

The petition says the trust has at least $1.5 million in assets, but that Kanin will not share the exact amount of its value.

Kanin did not immediately respond to an after-hours email seeking comment.

Proceedings in Reiner’s murder case are moving slowly. He is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing in September. He is eligible for the death penalty, but District Attorney Nathan Hochman has said his office has not yet decided whether to seek it.

Authorities have said nothing about possible motives, and leaks in the case have been virtually nonexistent on both sides. A court order has kept most details of the autopsy secret. Many of the most basic questions about the killing remain unanswered publicly.

On the day he left the case, Jackson, speaking outside court, declared adamantly that “pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder.”

In April, Jake Reiner gave his first detailed account of the experience of losing his parents and having his brother at the center of it, calling it “a living nightmare” that is “too devastating to comprehend.”

Rob Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and ’90s. His credits included “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “A Few Good Men,” and “When Harry Met Sally… ,” during the production of which he met photographer Michele Singer. They wed soon after and were married for 36 years.

Court of International Trade Judge Richard Eaton said he wanted to hear details that would help him decide whether to order the government to speed up and expand its system for issuing tariff refunds. The Justice Department subsequently appealed an earlier order by Eaton to make all businesses that paid the now-defunct import taxes eligible for refunds plus interest.

The Justice Department argued in a court document that only companies that were parties in any of the more than 2.500 lawsuits that challenged the tariffs were legally entitled to seek refunds.

With the dispute now in the hands of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Tuesday's hearing in New York may provide more clarity about the next phase of the refund process.

First phase of tariff refunds is still ongoing

Eaton ordered Customs and Border Protection in March to create a system by which “all importers of record” could apply for their share of the $166 billion CBP estimated it had collected before the Supreme Court struck down the global tariffs.

The agency launched the online system April 20, saying it would first review applications from importers whose tax bills had not been finalized.

Claims for refunds totaling $89.6 billion had been accepted for processing as of June 1, according to CBP, and the agency reported last month that it had so far directed the Treasury Department to issue $20.6 billion in refunds.

The pace and scope of the process became a contentious matter, however, when Eaton directed CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to appear in court to discuss the agency's timeline for complying with the judge's “universal” order. The Justice Department objected and asked if one of Scott's deputies could attend the hearing instead.

When Eaton insisted on hearing directly from the head of the agency, Justice Department lawyers appealed both that mandate and the judge's broader ruling on refund eligibility. On Thursday, the Federal Circuit agreed to temporarily suspend the requirement for Scott to testify.

Eaton agreed to hear from Susan Thomas, the agency's executive assistant commissioner for trade.

Who gets access to the next phase of tariff refunds

The hearing is expected to focus on CBP's capability and willingness to open the refund process to companies with tariff payments that date back the farthest.

So far, the agency has limited applications to businesses that either did not have their tax bills finalized by the time the Supreme Court struck down Trump's “reciprocal” tariffs in late February or whose bills had been settled within the preceding 80 days.

In a court declaration ahead of the hearing, Thomas said CBP was developing a way to handle refunds involving older shipments but would not process cases beyond the 80-day window while Eaton's order requiring for all duty payers was on appeal.

“Should the court’s order become final and require reliquidation of entries of all importers, CBP intends to fully comply with the court’s final decision as expeditiously as possible,” she wrote.

At issue is the agency's detailed and deadline-driven process for reviewing and clearing customs declarations on new imports.

When foreign goods enter the U.S., importers or customs brokers acting on their behalf estimate the amount of tariffs owed and make a deposit toward the final bill. CBP then has 314 days — and up to four years, if necessary — to review the declared goods, determine the actual amount owed, and either require more or less than the deposit.

The taxed merchandise then is pronounced “liquidated.” Importers have 180 days to protest CBP’s determination. Goods typically can't be reassessed after that point.

Eaton has said he is holding Tuesday's hearing “to ascertain if it is the government's policy to return all of the unlawfully collected duties either by complying with the court’s order, or by some other means.”

Lawyers for the five companies behind the lawsuit that produced the judge's order said it would be unconstitutional for them to pay less tariffs than other companies that also paid the invalidated duties, which the Supreme Court held Trump improperly imposed by citing an emergency powers law to usurp Congress' taxmaking authority.

The companies have asked Eaton to certify their case as a class action on behalf of “potentially tens of thousands of identically situated importers.”

Meghann Supino, a partner at the law firm Ice Miller, said she thinks CBP will continue to build out the technology needed to refund all tariffs, but “whether they open it up to non-litigants and importers that do not have orders for their own sake is going to continue to be an issue with the appeal.”

But Spencer Pratt was not able to pull off his latest venture — an improbable bid to become mayor of Los Angeles. The Associated Press determined Monday that the onetime reality television personality did not qualify for the November runoff to unseat embattled incumbent Karen Bass.

Instead of Pratt, a Republican who received a nod of approval from President Donald Trump, Bass will face progressive Nithya Raman, a city council member who had challenged the Democratic mayor from the political left.

Pratt's candidacy was fueled by celebrity — he starred on “The Hills,” a show about young people in Los Angeles — and videos that supporters generated with artificial intelligence. But his campaign also reflected frustration that political leaders have been unable or unwilling to address chronic problems. Pratt had relentlessly focused on homelessness, crime and decay that's marred a city otherwise known for its culinary scene, postcard scenery and a global entertainment industry.

"Enough is enough,” Pratt often said on the campaign trail.

Officials spent days tallying votes from the June 2 primary, typical in a state where slow counting has made the process a target for frustration and conspiracy theories. On Friday, Pratt posted photos of himself outside city hall with a single word — “Patience.”

No Republican has won a mayor’s race in Los Angeles since 1997, and Pratt faced a steep climb as a first-time candidate. His political ambitions were forged by tragedy that added grit to his tabloid backstory. His house was one of thousands destroyed in last year's Palisades Fire, the most destructive in city history.

“This is where I live," Pratt said in a campaign video while standing in front of a trailer parked on the ruins of his property. "They let my home burn down. I know what the consequences of failed leadership are.”

Never mind that Pratt didn't actually live in the trailer — TMZ later reported he was living with his wife and two young boys in the luxurious Hotel Bel-Air. His outrage mirrored broader dissatisfaction with Bass, a Democrat who was on a presidential delegation to Ghana when the blaze began and has faced criticism for the slow pace of rebuilding.

Some Angelenos are desperate for change

Dennis Kamrany, a lifelong Pacific Palisades resident who sells real estate and is waiting for his home's gas lines to be reconnected more than a year after they were damaged in the fire, said Pratt's political inexperience didn't matter.

“I’d rather have someone that’s a fighter, that has energy, that’s young, that is talking about common sense policies," he said.

“What the hell do we have to lose?” he added. “We’re already in the dumps. Give somebody else a shot.”

Steve Hilton, a conservative commentator who became the leading Republican candidate for governor, saw Pratt's candidacy along with his own as signals that California voters are desperate for a break from the state's prevailing liberal governance.

“We've got a failed and broken system and you've got a couple of outsiders who've never run for office before,” Hilton said of himself and Pratt. “This is our moment."

Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in California by a nearly 2-1 ratio, and Republicans account for under 15% of registered voters in Los Angeles.

With that math working against Pratt, there were simply not enough Los Angeles voters who believed he should be given a chance to oversee a $15 billion budget and 50,000 municipal workers, including roughly 8,600 police officers, in the nation's second-largest city.

Billionaire businessman Rick Caruso faced a similar challenge in 2022, when he ran against Bass for mayor. The Republican-turned-Democrat spent over $100 million, most of it his own money, on a campaign focused on public safety, and he lost by nearly 10 percentage points.

Deanna Crane, 33, said she wanted “anyone with a pulse other than Spencer Pratt” for mayor.

Although she shared Pratt's dissatisfaction with how Bass handled last year's fires, she voted for Raman instead.

Pratt rose through celebrity circles

Pratt is a product of the early aughts youth reality television boom in Los Angeles, where he entrenched himself for the better part of two decades. His breakthrough came when he joined the second season of “The Hills” as Heidi Montag’s boyfriend. The couple — especially Pratt — embraced their onscreen personas as fame-seeking television villains, even publishing a book, “How to Be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part, Playing the Press, and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture,” in 2009, the year they married.

There was little, it seems, that Pratt wouldn’t do for a headline or in the name of publicity.

He claimed responsibility for spreading rumors about a sex tape featuring “The Hills” star Lauren Conrad but later denied it. A year and a half after marrying Montag, they filed for divorce; several months later, he said it was faked to boost Montag’s fledgling music career. During their separation, he also was arrested and jailed in Costa Rica for attempting to board a flight with a firearm.

In 2018, he talked about how he blew through a $10 million net worth in pursuit of a lavish lifestyle, replete with $4,000 bottles of wine and $1 million worth of crystals. He also started a company, Pratt Daddy, that sells crystals. The website explains that the crystals helped heal Montag’s post-surgery pain “that even morphine could not relieve.”

After the family's home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire, they faced backlash for accepting money from fans. Pratt insisted they were not rich even before losing everything. He also turned to TikTok videos as a source of revenue, tried to get a reality show going about their rebuilding process, and started encouraging fans to stream Montag’s music, including her 15-year-old album “Superficial.”

It hit No. 1 on iTunes, thanks to support from the likes of Paris Hilton, Alix Earle and Flavor Flav. He celebrated with a video on Instagram.

“Who needs a house, who needs clothes, who needs anything but this level of clout, pop, superstardom?” Pratt said.

Los Angeles faces steep challenges

The next mayor will likely become an international figure when Los Angeles hosts the Olympics in 2028.

But a falling population in the region speaks to frustration with taxes, traffic and the cost of just about everything.

Although statistics suggest that the city has made headway on homelessness, makeshift encampments and rows of rusting RVs remain commonplace. Dirty, pocked streets and sidewalks abound.

Meanwhile, Hollywood jobs have been decamping for years to more affordable filming locales. The restaurant industry has been ailing.

Los Angeles' ailments had some voters willing to take a chance on Pratt.

Susie Tho, 38, came to wait outside Pratt’s primary night party hoping to shake his hand.

Tho said she is a Democrat but voted for Pratt. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and said she was voting for a change after feeling like the city has “gone downhill.”

When Pratt first announced his candidacy, she was apprehensive. But she said he won her over with his debate performance, which she called sharp and prepared.

“I just wanted a clean and safe street for my child to grow up in,” Tho said. “I miss the LA that I grew up in.”

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Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding contributed.

Only four people were considered missing on official records in the southern provinces near where the 7.8 magnitude quake struck Monday morning, but the Office of Civil Defense acknowledged several collapsed and heavily damaged buildings must be thoroughly inspected for possible survivors or casualties.

The earthquake centered off Mindanao, the second most populous Philippine island, injured nearly 500 people and displaced more than 32,000, most of whom fled to emergency shelters.

Many people who left their homes feared a tsunami. Waves up to 1.4-meters (4.6-feet) above tide level were measured in the Philippines, but the only tsunami damage reported was to six shanties on stilts in a coastal village. Smaller waves washed ashore in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

Landslides and building collapses caused several deaths

The earthquake left a trail of destruction, including in General Santos, a lively coastal city of more than 700,000 people known as the country’s tuna capital, where at least 13 people were killed in collapsed buildings and due to falling debris.

At least 18 died in Sarangani province, mostly in a landslide that buried houses in the mountainside town of Glan, according to Rafaelito Alejandro of the Office of Civil Defense.

The other deaths were reported in the southern provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island, disaster response officials said.

About 2,500 houses and 117 government buildings and facilities were damaged in several provinces, according to an initial government damage assessment. The international airport in General Santos remained shut for a second day, forcing the cancellation of 63 domestic flights except for those on humanitarian missions.

About 6,000 public school buildings in quake-hit provinces must be assessed before classes can resume. The quake struck on the first day of classes nationwide after a two-month summer break, and many who sustained injuries were young students who had gathered with excitement for morning flag-raising ceremonies.

Authorities have warned that buildings that sustained cracks could collapse due to aftershocks, some of them dangerously powerful.

“We cannot force the immediate reopening of schools because we have to ensure the integrity of the buildings,” Alejandro said.

It was the strongest Philippine quake since 1976

Monday's earthquake was centered at sea at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province.

It was set off by movement in the Cotabato Trench and was the strongest since the same undersea depression triggered an 8.1-magnitude quake that whipped up tsunami waves on Aug. 17, 1976, said Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

About 8,000 people died from that quake and tsunami waves of up to 8 to 10 meters (26 to 33 feet) that engulfed several towns and provinces, Bacolcol said.

The Philippine seismological institute was scheduled to commemorate the anniversary of the 1976 quake and tsunami in August by installing markers to remind vulnerable towns and cities of the need for constant vigilance, Bacolcol told The Associated Press.

A 1990 earthquake that also had a magnitude of 7.8 left more than 1,000 people dead, injured thousands and caused extensive damages in northern provinces and cities.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. deployed top defense-mitigation officials from Manila to help oversee search and rescue, the distribution of tens of thousands of food packs and construction materials to quake victims and assess damage to bridges, roads and other infrastructure.

The United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines, said it was coordinating with Manila and was ready to support Philippine response efforts. France, Japan and New Zealand also expressed support.

The Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

The archipelago is also battered by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

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Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. AP journalists Basilio Sepe in General Santos, Philippines, and Haruka Nuga in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Now 72 and in her 14th year teaching at the YMCA of Greater Seattle, Santos has an almost cult-like following of older adults — many in their 80s and 90s — who come to stretch, dance and lift weights multiple times a week.

From Doris Day singalongs to hip-hop routines and country line dances, the classes get people kicking, popping and spinning.

Some of Santos' students say younger instructors — however great — don’t quite “get them” in the same way.

And Y organizers and other experts say many older instructors can be role models, speaking their peers' language in a way that makes exercise more fun.

Exercise can build social connections

Sharon Ruff, 81, was attracted to Santos’ classes by the eclectic mix of music, and loves the instructor’s energy and enthusiasm. Before she retired from her job as a teacher, she had never exercised regularly. “I didn’t really like it, because it wasn’t fun,” she says.

Her friend Ann Kashiwa, 91, often stays for two hour-long classes in a row. She started taking Santos’ classes during the pandemic, and has stuck with them through treatment for pancreatic cancer.

“She is not only a fantastic teacher, but she gets people together,” says Kashiwa, whose Y friendships have helped her through tough times.

Santos says inspiration flows both ways. Her students inspire her to keep going, she says, and “I’m hoping I inspire them to keep going.”

What older instructors can offer

Exercise and being with people are crucial for healthy aging, so finding incentives to do that is important.

“Everybody has to figure out what their barriers are” and come up with strategies to make physical activity rewarding, says Daniel E. Lieberman, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard and author of several books, including “Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding.”

Finding someone to get you moving, whether an instructor or a friend, can help overcome that natural resistance.

“People who stay active as they get older are important role models for everyone,” Lieberman says.

Harry King, an 83-year-old personal trainer in Greenville, South Carolina, agrees that motivation to take that first step is tough for many people, and becomes even harder as their mobility weakens.

King had always been active – kayaking, hiking and playing basketball – but when he retired from his job as an insurance executive and business coach, he felt a pull toward a comfortable chair in front of the TV. But that got boring fast, so when he saw a Help Wanted sign at Planet Fitness, he applied and worked his way up to become a trainer.

Most of his clients are 50 or older.

“I’ve heard people say I set a good example and I try to,” he says. “At my age, if I can exercise, why can’t other people too?”

Recruiting older instructors

The YMCA in Seattle is mindful of the value of having an older instructor leading a senior class.

“We don’t put an age limit on our applicants,” says program executive Kerry Ashby, who started there as a younger instructor for the Active Older Adults program. The Y does recruit from within the older adult classes, and a lot of instructors are former participants.

“We know it’s more than just fitness for the majority of our active older adults,” Ashby says. “It’s also the mental and emotional aspect.”

Tom Kleinecke, 67, has been a member of the Y for 18 years and has sampled many different classes. Younger instructors, he says, tend to teach their classes, while Santos leads and inspires.

Kleinecke says his fitness and endurance have improved noticeably since he started taking three of Santos’ classes a week. Although he’s fit, he says, it’s challenging to keep up with her.

One of the classes includes a faster-paced dance class not designed for older students. At first, parts were tough to follow, he said, but before long, he knew all the steps, from mambo to moonwalk.

“If you’re worried about being out of sync and uncoordinated, don’t worry about it because nobody is paying attention to you,” Kleinecke says. They’re all watching the instructor.

Now, he and his wife go out dancing on the weekends.

Looking forward to working out

Santos says she considers the ages and backgrounds of her students when choosing the exercise class soundtrack.

“I always tell other instructors it isn’t your class, it’s their class,” she says.

She also teaches smaller classes in three senior living facilities. Those students range from 80 to 102.

“The caregivers wheel them out. I play their music. It triggers their memory,” from Judy Garland to Louie Armstrong, Santos says. “When they see me they think they’re going to party.”

Some even waltz in their chairs.

Attacks on health workers from angry residents, skepticism among some locals and armed conflict in hot spots continue to challenge efforts to stop the Ebola outbreak declared on May 15, caused by a severe form of the disease.

Out of the 550 cases confirmed as of Sunday, there have been 101 deaths and 19 recoveries, the latest situation report said late Monday. The outbreak is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, and has spread across the border to Uganda.

However, the number of cases in Congo is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed weeks late and the contact tracing coverage rate, which has improved in recent days, is still at 64%.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that over the last 24 hours, only 137 samples have been tested, with 35 coming back positive.

The latest Ebola outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which does not have an approved vaccine or treatment unlike the “Zaire virus,” another name for the Ebola virus, responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

The rapid increase in the number of cases is partly due to the scale up of diagnostic capacities, enabling testing of the backlog of previously collected samples, authorities said.

The outbreak disrupts a provincial capital

Health measures put in place to limit the spread of Ebola have disrupted daily life in Bunia, the bustling capital of Ituri province.

Justin Abekani, who ferries customers on his motorcycle, said they are "now only allowed to carry one customer per motorbike.”

There is still widespread skepticism and disregard for health protocols in some parts of the province. Survivors of Congo's 2018 Ebola outbreak, the second-biggest in history, have warned that a repeat of past mistakes could lead to a high number of preventable deaths.

Front-line health workers, who labor with little pay or rest, have been attacked multiple times by angry residents, and have been unable to reach some communities cut off by conflict involving armed rebels.

Eastern Congo has for years seen attacks by dozens of separate rebel and militant groups, some of them with links to foreign countries or the extremist Islamic State group.

Since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, more than 520 incidents impacting the work of health professionals have been reported, according to Marie Roseline Darnycka Belizaire, WHO’s emergency director for Africa. She did not elaborate on the incidents or say whether anyone was hurt.

Conflict and movement complicate disease tracing

The fighting is "disrupting surveillance and response activities, and increasing the risk of undetected transmission,” WHO said Monday. “Such incidents underline the challenges of the context and the importance of working closely with local leaders and communities.”

Nearly a million people have been displaced by conflict in Ituri, according to the U.N. humanitarian office, making contact tracing difficult as people flee attacks or move frequently in the vast province with dense forests, poor roads and remote villages that can take days to reach.

Tracing also is difficult among the thousands of artisanal miners who regularly move between remote sites in the mineral-rich region.

WHO currently assesses the risk of spread for the rest of Africa and at the global level as low.

“(Ebola) patients can recover if they get the medical support they need,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday during a visit to Uganda.

Protests in Kenya over US plans for Ebola quarantine

On Tuesday, Kenyan police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the town of Nanyuki, near a military air base where the United States plans to build an Ebola quarantine center, a project that has since drawn protests but was later halted by the courts.

A heavy deployment of riot and regular police prevented the protesters from marching toward the base.

Last month, U.S. officials said Washington intends to send Americans exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya rather than flying them back home. They said the center would be located at Laikipia Air Base with a capacity of 50 quarantine beds.

A Kenyan court later suspended construction of the facility and barred the arrival of any foreign patients, pending the outcome of a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya and a constitutional watchdog group. The petitioners cited concerns about Kenya’s fragile health system and the lack of transparency surrounding the bilateral agreement.

Kenya has not recorded any Ebola cases but neighboring Uganda has reported 19 confirmed cases.

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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Associated Press writers Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal, and Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

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

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

Turns out, it was the perfect mind-clearing activity that helped him shake off his miss at the buzzer in Game 2 and take over Game 3 of the NBA Finals, preventing the San Antonio Spurs from getting pushed to the brink of elimination.

“I really tried to relax,” Wembanyama said. “The playoffs is like a whirlwind. It’s hard to put your head out of the water, and sometimes it’s like I don’t even (have) to watch the game back, by the way. I just need a little time off, let my brain cool down and recover — recover as much for the body as for the mind.”

Wembanyama made the first two shots he attempted on Monday night on the way to scoring 32 points in a 115-111 victory over the New York Knicks. He had nine points in the first five minutes, including an alley-oop on the first basket of the game and a dunk on the next possession.

Spurs Coach Mitch Johnson said getting the ball to Wembanyama inside was not a strategy different from any other game.

“We never told Victor don’t shoot an open 3-point shot, even if it’s early in the game,” Johnson said. “We wanted to put pressure on the paint and the rim.”

Wembanyama was a force on both ends of the court, especially late when it mattered most.

After delivering the pass to Keldon Johnson for his layup that tied the score at 76 with 5:38 left in the third, Wembanyama hit a 3-pointer from 29 feet out to put the Spurs ahead. He scored the first basket of what turned into a dominant fourth quarter, including six free throws.

“Wemby played great,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “He had probably seven lob dunks because we didn’t follow attention to detail and try to take that away.”

With four minutes left and the Knicks looking to stage another comeback, the 7-foot-4 big man from France surged to block what looked to be an easy layup by Landry Shamet.

Wembanyama finished with eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks in what was close to a must-win situation. No team has fallen behind 3-0 in the finals and come back to win the series.

“I don’t think any of us are surprised or expect anything different than a strong performance and him being on his front foot in terms of being in attack mode,” Mitch Johnson said.

Teammates were not at all worried about Wembanyama in the aftermath of the 22-year-old star clanking a shot off the rim that would have been the Game 2 winner. Johnson said his recommendation was to shoot again, and he it made clear the Spurs want the ball in Wembanyama's hands at important moments.

Before the game, Brown said of containing Wembanyama, "You hope you can make him work at the end of the day, and you hope he misses some shots.”

Wembanyama missed seven shots from the floor, going 11 of 18 and silencing the crowd that at one point directed a vulgar chant his way. Asked if he was becoming the latest New York villain, he quipped: “I guess. I’m nowhere near Trae Young level, though.”

He could surpass the longtime Atlanta Hawks and now-Washington Wizards guard as soon as Game 4 on Wednesday, when Wembanyama gets the chance to help the Spurs try to even the series in Game 4 back at Madison Square Garden.

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

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed the tool to collect data of human hand motion that could eventually help robots achieve the dexterity that has been difficult for machines to master.

“Imagine people doing housework,” said Xuanhe Zhao, an MIT professor of mechanical engineering. “We can use the data obtained by our system to train a robot to do exactly (that) housework with this dexterous hand motion.”

As much of the tech world is still captivated with artificial intelligence assistants that are taking on computer-based tasks, Zhao is among the scientists trying to imbue AI with more sensory data from the physical world.

Beyond housework, the technology could help with other tasks that require flexing fingers and hands, such as surgery.

The wristband uses high-frequency sound waves to “see” through its wearer's skin. It relays images of the muscle and tendon movements to a computer that uses AI to enable a nearby robotic hand to mimic the gestures.

An AI algorithm is trained to decode images generated by the device into what engineers call degrees of freedom – specific ways a joint can bend or rotate. The human hand has 22 of them.

In earlier systems, tracking even a fraction of those movements was a significant challenge.

In laboratory demonstrations with eight volunteers, developers showed the wristband could precisely mirror hand gestures – including all 26 letters in American Sign Language – within 120 milliseconds.

The wristband can operate wirelessly, meaning the controlling person and the receiving robot need not be in the same room.

Beyond remote control, the team sees a path toward using the wristband to build huge datasets of human motion that could eventually enable humanoids to learn dexterous tasks without human guidance.

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AP Technology Writer Matt O'Brien contributed to this report.

A spokesman for the 27-nation EU’s executive arm on Tuesday disputed Apple’s explanation for why the company can't include European users when the app launches later this year.

“We indeed need to set the record straight,” European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said. “The decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is Apple’s and Apple’s only because absolutely nothing in the DMA prohibits Apple from introducing new products in the EU."

Regnier was referring to the Digital Markets Act, a tough EU rule book that aims to stop Big Tech "gatekeepers" from locking out rivals.

Apple had blamed the DMA after unveiling its upgraded artificial intelligence assistant a day earlier at its annual developers conference. It said in a statement Monday that it wouldn't be available for iPhone and iPad users in the EU, and did not provide any timetable.

The DMA requires the biggest tech platforms to give access to rivals on equal terms. But Apple complained that under Brussels' “extreme interpretation” of the rule book, the company would have to give any virtual assistant “direct access" to user data without “essential protections." Apple said it designed a solution and a plan to roll it out gradually over 18 months, but the commission rejected its proposals.

Regnier had a different version.

“Instead of trying to find a suitable, compliant solution," Apple merely asked the commission for a 18-month exemption, he told reporters at a regular briefing in Brussels.

“Guess what? That’s not an option, because it would mean that no AI agent other than Siri AI, by the way, powered by Google, would have an equal chance to be chosen by iPhone users."

EU law is “non-negotiable," Regnier said. “The commission won’t give any exemptions, just like a police officer would not exempt a driver from respecting the speed limit.”

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AP writer Sam McNeil contributed to this report

Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesman has been the animated face of its campaigns and the main source of warnings ahead of strikes and major offensives. That has made him one of the most recognizable Israelis in the Arab world — a focus of fury as well as some fascination.

In social media videos shared to his 2.5 million followers across platforms, the colonel appears in military fatigues, gesticulating as he delivers official statements and mocks Israel’s enemies, often using satire or pop culture references, all in fluent Arabic.

In the wars sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, his social media accounts have carried warnings for civilians to leave — sometimes at a moment's notice — areas shaded in red on maps of Gaza and Lebanon. Millions have paid heed, with hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in squalid tent camps.

Adraee, who is retiring this year, takes pride in his work. Asked to respond to the fact that many associate him with death and displacement, he said he has helped Arabs to better understand Israel's military operations.

“Because of these evacuation orders, many millions were saved,” he told The Associated Press. “There's no other army in the world that acts this way.”

The ‘face of evil’ for many Palestinians and Lebanese

Israel’s offensive in Gaza killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced most of the population of some 2 million, often multiple times, before a fragile ceasefire took hold in October. Its latest war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has killed some 3,500 people and displaced over 1.2 million.

Both campaigns have drawn allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which Israel has adamantly denied, often through spokespeople like Adraee.

The grim warnings also have made him something of a celebrity. In Lebanon, a look-alike delivery driver posts satirical videos and pranks unsuspecting residents, showing the fear Adraee inspires.

“Avichay Adraee is the face of evil, to me and to the people of Gaza,” said Ayman Ahmad, a resident of Khan Younis in southern Gaza who has been displaced twice during the war. Few people in Gaza had heard of Adraee before the war, he said, but now everyone closely monitors his social media accounts.

“Once we see a new post from him, we know that a disaster is about to happen,” he said.

Adraee's family has deep roots in the region

Adraee, 43, grew up in the mixed Jewish and Arab city of Haifa in northern Israel.

His father's family is part of the Jewish community that lived in the area for generations before Israel's establishment in 1948. His mother's family came to Israel from Iraq, among hundreds of thousands of Jews from centuries-old communities across the Middle East who emigrated to Israel to escape violence and persecution.

Adraee said he loved watching Egyptian soap operas on Israeli TV as a kid and that studying Arabic was “love at first sight.” He picked up some Arabic at home before studying the language in school and during a stint in military intelligence.

“My ability to speak and absorb Arabic is connected to my roots,” he said. “My grandmother and father were very proud when they saw me on TV speaking in Arabic.”

From talking head to social media influencer

Adraee became the military’s first Arabic-language spokesperson in 2005, doing interviews with TV outlets, including regular appearances on the increasingly influential Al Jazeera.

He said 2011 marked a turning point with the rise of social media, which was used to great effect during the Arab Spring uprisings that year.

“People know me, we’ve been through so many wars,” he said. “But the revolution of social networks in 2011 allowed us to lean on the persona of Avichay.”

Adraee wants his videos to go viral, leaning on the casual nature of social media to get his message across.

The military's claim to have found Hamas infrastructure under a luxury hotel in Gaza made little impact, but Adraee said his satirical video of a Hamas leader leaving a Trip Advisor review for the tunnels was widely shared. He has sent birthday messages to singers and holiday greetings to Arab influencers, even exchanging public messages with Lebanese journalists who work for Hezbollah-linked outlets.

“We want people to be exposed to the really important and serious messages, the information we’re trying to convince them of, but if you want them to remember you, you have to be more creative,” he said. Social media, he said, allows him to “talk directly to the people, above the heads of the government.”

A race to draw attention to war narratives

Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East studies at the London School of Economics who was born in Lebanon, said Adraee's posts are “dreaded and feared because they really carry life and death implications for hundreds of thousands of people.”

Still, “you have some people basically who are fascinated by his personality because he’s now almost an official influencer for Israel,” he said.

Israel’s military has spokespeople in several languages, but only Adraee is famous enough to be known by his first name.

Gerges said it's part of a wider trend in which official spokespeople try to make their messages go viral.

The Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida was widely known for delivering fiery statements, sometimes cut with footage of attacks or Israeli hostages, before he was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Hamas and Hezbollah have released videos showing their attacks, cut with music and graphics.

Supporters of Iran's government have released AI-generated music videos with Lego characters mocking U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House has released its own videos celebrating strikes on Iran, featuring video game screenshots and movie clips.

Accusations of incitement after the killing of journalists

It's not unusual for military spokespeople to have adversarial, if professional, relations with reporters. But Adraee has been accused of justifying the killing of some journalists.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says there is a “repeated pattern” in which Adraee “publicly labels Palestinian and Lebanese journalists as militants or terrorists — often without presenting verifiable evidence — before or after they are killed in Israeli strikes.”

After a strike in March killed three journalists in Lebanon, Adraee’s account published a photo of one of them, Ali Shoeib, in military fatigues. The image was later determined to be computer generated.

Adraee said it was a mistake not to label the photo as “illustrative,” but insisted Shoeib was a known Hezbollah operative who spied on Israeli positions while working as a reporter for a Hezbollah-linked outlet. Adraee presented no evidence he was involved in fighting. Israel says it does not target journalists.

At least 207 journalists have been killed in Gaza and 16 in Lebanon since 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Someone you can reach on Instagram

After 20 years in the role, Adraee is retiring and will be replaced by Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the military’s highest-ranking Muslim woman.

Last month, Adraee received one of the strangest messages of his long career.

A teenager in a Beirut suburb reached out on Instagram and told Adraee that her school was hiding weapons. Israel regularly bombs buildings it says are used by militants, so the message prompted panic, vehement denials by school officials and a search by the Lebanese military, which turned up nothing.

It was later revealed the girl was playing a joke with a friend and likely wanted to avoid going to class.

Adraee chalked up the whole situation as a win.

“The fact that the (Israeli military) spokesperson is someone you can write to on Instagram, that’s the whole story,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed.

A report from Cleveland Clinic found that a majority of women do not realize they are at greater risk for getting Alzheimer’s.

So, what can they do to help prevent it?

“There are two key aspects for brain health and dementia prevention. One is your medical care. So, addressing things like elevated blood pressure. A lot of times blood pressure, if it’s a little high, it’s brushed off as, ‘Oh, you’re just a little stressed right now or you’re rushing.’ But that needs to be taken seriously because it absolutely impacts our brain health down the road,” said Sandra Darling, DO, preventive medicine at Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Darling said the other key aspect is your lifestyle, which would include things like getting regular exercise and keeping a healthy diet.

But what exactly does that mean?

She said a healthy diet should consist of mainly whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, meats, and legumes.

It can also be helpful to follow the MIND or Mediterranean diet, as research has shown that both are beneficial for brain health.

Dr. Darling adds that it’s just as important to maintain social connections and get good quality sleep.

“Over time, sleep deprivation can really cause problems including increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. So simple sleep tips: prioritize sleep, that’s number one. A lot of women will put off sleep because there’s so many other things to do, and I understand we’re all busy, especially if you’re raising children and you’re working full-time, but we must stick to a schedule. That’s how we train our bodies to sleep through the night and to stay on that sleep-wake cycle with the circadian rhythm,” she explained.

Dr. Darling said you may also want to consider doing some kind of mindfulness meditation or yoga before bed.

That can help not only with sleep but your mental health in general. 

Church representatives in the nation's largest Protestant denomination are also slated to elect a new leader and vote on a raft of resolutions ranging from immigration to antisemitism.

This will be the fourth year in a row that messengers, as the church delegates are known, are voting on an amendment regarding women pastors. The Southern Baptist Convention's statement of belief, the Baptist Faith and Message, opposes women pastors. But its churches are independent and the denomination can't tell them what to do.

But the denomination can exclude a church from its ranks, and it has already expelled some churches with women in senior pastoral positions. Opinions have been more mixed on the status of churches with women in associate pastoral roles. The currently proposed amendment would specifically ban churches where women have the office of pastor or are functioning as one, including “preaching to the assembled congregation.”

Such an amendment would require a two-thirds vote in two consecutive years, which it has failed to attain over the previous three years despite getting a majority of votes.

The latest version of the amendment is being proposed by Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky. He has said a constitutional amendment would provide clarity and prevent the long and time-consuming debates that the issue has drawn in recent years.

Mohler was also a lead author of the revision to the Baptist Faith and Message in 2000, which incorporated the opposition to women pastors. That statement was adopted in the the Orange County Convention Center, the same Orlando convention hall where this week's meeting is taking place.

Southern Baptist leaders cite biblical passages they say clearly limit the role of pastor to men.

While that view has predominated within the SBC, advocates for women in pastoral roles have cited biblical passages where women are empowered to share the gospel. “God calls women to pastor, preach and minister” proclaims a billboard near the convention center. The billboard is sponsored by Baptist Women in Ministry, an advocacy group working in a variety of Baptist denominations.

The messengers are also expected to vote Wednesday on resolutions that condemn antisemitism and call for humane treatment of migrants while affirming the legitimacy of immigration enforcement.

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

The crash occurred on Dec. 22 on I-81 northbound in Roanoke County around 11 p.m. Police say the tractor-trailer ran off the right side of the road and hit a Honda Odyssey that was stopped on the right shoulder, killing three people inside the van.

As a result, 65-year-old Lorraine Renee Williams, 49-year-old Ebony Latasha Williams, and 2-year-old Shazziyah Lesley, who was properly secured in a child safety seat, were taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where they later died.

Three other passengers, including a 63-year-old man, a 73-year-old man and a 10-year-old girl, were hospitalized with injuries.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, identified as 58-year-old El Hadji Ouattara, is now facing further investigation.

Search warrants filed in May with the Roanoke County Circuit Court detail that video provided by trucking company D.M. Bowman shows Ouattara appearing to nod off and veer off the road moments before the crash, according to police. Court documents also reveal that at the time of the crash, Ouattara was approaching the maximum allowable driving time under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations.

Ouattara was initially charged with reckless driving. He was later charged with involuntary manslaughter, though those charges were temporarily dropped in February.

State police are now seeking additional evidence through search warrants targeting any video footage or driving data recorded inside the tractor-trailer leading up to the crash.

Search warrants have been filed for both the trucking company, D.M. Bowman, Inc. and the fleet’s software management company, Netradyne, Inc.

Republican contenders have trumpeted their loyalty to President Donald Trump, who has remained popular in the state despite some nationwide wavering as the war with Iran continues. Sen. Lindsey Graham, among Trump's top allies on Capitol Hill, notched the president's endorsement before his campaign had even begun.

In the governor's race, Trump backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette over several opponents, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace. The primary will determine whether the endorsement can help Evette win outright or if there will be a runoff on June 23.

Democrats are searching for their first victory in a statewide race here in 20 years, but their campaigns for governor and Senate will be an uphill climb.

GOP governor candidates have played largely to Trump

Competition among Republicans for Trump’s support has seemed more intense than any other facet of the primary campaign.

Even before Evette received the president's endorsement, she frequently featured photos and videos of herself with Trump in campaign materials. She was backed by outgoing Gov. Henry McMaster, a longstanding ally of Trump whose support telegraphed the president's own.

Mace also wanted Trump's support, and he endorsed her congressional reelection in 2024 even though she criticized his actions of Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Rep. Ralph Norman, among the most conservative members of the House and a member of the Freedom Caucus, strongly supported Trump in the president’s first term. But in the 2024 campaign, Norman stumped for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley instead of Trump.

Rom Reddy, a coastal businessman who has eschewed campaign donations and self-funded his effort, has touted his lack of political experience as an asset, drawing comparisons between Trump and himself.

Graham, backed by Trump, hopes to bounce Lynch en route to 5th term

South Carolina’s other top contest Tuesday is its Senate race, where Graham is competing for the Republican nomination as he seeks a fifth term. A political confidant and regular golfing partner of the president, Graham has routinely batted back primary challengers over the years. Some of this year's contenders — including Project 2025 chief architect Paul Dans and former Lt. Gov. André Bauer — dropped out months ago.

Although their relationship has undulated through the years, Graham has remained close with Trump, who fulfilled the senator's longstanding wish for direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran. Graham cheered Trump’s decision to strike nuclear sites last year and recently said he often speaks to the president about the ongoing conflict.

Among Graham's primary foes is Greenville businessman Mark Lynch, who has said Graham isn't conservative enough to represent the state. Calling himself an “America First” candidate, Lynch has campaigned as a Trump supporter, but on social media the president has called him a “lunatic” and a “disaster for the Republican Party."

Winning statewide in November remains a tall order for SC Democrats

Democrats haven’t won the governor’s office or a Senate seat in South Carolina for decades.

McMaster defeated his opponent by nearly 18 percentage points in 2022. Graham won by 10 points in 2020, defeating Jaime Harrison after the most expensive race in state history.

Some Democrats hope to capitalize on dissatisfaction with Trump this year. In the governor's race, State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, seen as a rising star in the party, is facing several opponents, including political newcomer Billy Webster, a payday loan company founder who lent his campaign $2 million. There's also attorney Mullins McLeod, who withstood calls from party leaders to shutter his campaign after dashcam video of his 2025 disorderly conduct arrest was released.

In the Senate race, Charleston physician Annie Andrews — who unsuccessfully challenged Mace in 2022 — is vying for the Democratic nomination against Brandon Brown, a funeral homeowner and former House candidate.

___

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

The onetime Democratic congressman, White House chief of staff, Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan hasn't formally announced his ambition to return to power in Washington. But his weekend trip through the state that typically holds the first presidential primary was hardly subtle.

There were the union hall visits and intimate house parties, staples of New Hampshire political rituals. At one event in the backyard of a handsome home in Concord, Emanuel greeted voters and practiced a stump speech that highlighted strains on the middle class and the excesses of the tax system.

And then there was the bike tour.

Over the course of three days, Emanuel pedaled more than 117 miles (188 kilometers) across New Hampshire from Portsmouth on the coast to Hanover on the Vermont border in what he dubbed the “Spin-Free Tour,” a nod to his blunt demeanor that he sees as an asset for a Democratic Party trying to move beyond its devastating losses in 2024.

“Tough times require a tough leader,” Emanuel told The Associated Press during a break at a coffee shop in Warner. “I don't think this is just about learning the words to ‘Kumbaya.’”

For someone who has spent the better part of three decades in the highest orbits of political power, the 66-year-old Emanuel is in the unusual position of lacking a natural platform. His likely rivals in a Democratic presidential contest are mostly younger and, as governors, senators or a recently departed vice president, can more easily attract attention.

And despite his thick resume, Emanuel isn't especially well known outside political circles, as demonstrated by a woman who asked who he was after he left the coffee shop. When informed that it was Emanuel and that he was considering a campaign, she responded, “A campaign for what?”

How Emanuel taps into tenacity to overcome hurdles

Emanuel is tapping into his hard-wired tenacity in hopes of overcoming such challenges.

As many prominent Democrats focus on castigating President Donald Trump, Emanuel has released a flurry of policy proposals addressing everything from social media bans for children to prediction markets and a mandatory retirement age of 75 for those in public office. That would prevent him from seeking a second term if he were elected.

Emanuel is often on the road, talking education in Mississippi and Michigan. He'll travel to Israel next month to address the U.S.-Israeli relationship as the war in Gaza has spurred new divisions in both political parties, especially among younger voters.

He is a regular guest on podcasts ranging from those hosted by Katie Couric and Kara Swisher to shows focused on fly fishing. He often uses the appearances to knock his own party for overreaching in cultural debates, particularly those involving the rights of transgender people. It’s a message of centrism that has echoes of that of the first president he served, Bill Clinton.

“We did things that were really ridiculous,” he said of Democrats on an episode of Couric's podcast that posted last week. “Rather than worry about classroom excellence, we were worried about bathroom and locker room access.”

And he hops on the bike.

The tour gives him a chance to both demonstrate his physical fitness at a time of heightened awareness of the nation's aging political leaders and to introduce himself to the state's notoriously picky voters before the rest of the field swoops in after the November midterms.

“It is early,” said Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., who appeared alongside Emanuel at the Concord house party. “But what I'd say is the people in New Hampshire know how to vet candidates and they're the most engaged electorate in the country.”

Martha Kruse, a 76-year-old retired special education teacher from Laconia, New Hampshire, is just that type of voter. Active in her local Democratic Party, she traveled to the Concord event to see Emanuel after hearing him in interviews.

“I'm going away really enthused about him,” she said, adding that he was “right on” to prepare a campaign so early.

Riding through the hills of rural New Hampshire

The future of the presidency seemed a world away during a hilly 20-mile stretch of the ride on Saturday, which included an elevation gain of more than 1,300 feet (395 meters). Along with a cadre of friends and aides, Emanuel cycled past homes where residents were tending to their yards or celebrating a recent graduation on their front patio. He was chatty at times as he rode with the pack and cycled alone at other points, showing little strain in navigating the steep hills.

With summer finally creeping into New England, the humidity was high and the rain was occasionally intense. The group stopped for water and snacks every 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 kilometers), huddling under a barn during one rainy stretch. A small group of local activists met up with Emanuel at the coffee shop in Warner, where he held court from a rocking chair.

But the realities of modern politics occasionally asserted themselves. The group cycled past signs praising Trump and denigrating his predecessor, Joe Biden. As the miles dragged on, a chase vehicle crept by periodically with cameras poking out the window to capture scenes that could later be shared on social media, where Emanuel now has an almost daily presence.

And the whir of the midterms wasn't far away. In neighboring Maine, Graham Platner was contending with a drumbeat of reports about his history with women that has left some Democrats worried that the party's path to a Senate majority is suddenly imperiled. Emanuel, who helped power Democrats to their sweeping 2006 victories in the U.S. House, said the “jury is still out” on whether Platner can win the Senate race.

“Everybody is holding their breath whether this is the start of something or the end of something,” he said.

Emanuel hopes voices of moderation are prevailing

But as the broader debate over the Democratic Party's ideological future unfolds, Emanuel said he thought voices of moderation were prevailing. He noted recent wins by Rebecca Bennett, who emerged from a crowded Democratic primary in New Jersey with the nomination for a competitive House seat, along with Josh Turek, the new Democratic Senate nominee in Iowa.

“There's a bigger character piece to this than ideological,” Emanuel said. “There's radical moderates and their profile and character speak to kind of fighting a system, which is what's needed right now.”

The bike tour was certainly not John McCain's “Straight Talk Express,” the 2000 campaign bus from which the Arizona Republican senator opined on any question that came his way to seize attention and mount a surprise New Hampshire win over front-runner George W. Bush. But some voters said they were open to Emanuel.

Don Daley, a 60-year-old state employee from Concord, watched Emanuel talk from a bench in the backyard of the house party. He said that Emanuel probably “steps on a few toes.”

“But I think that's what we need right now,” he said. “Some of our Democratic leaders haven't been strong enough.”

Since 2023, the Scandinavian country’s center-right coalition government has pursued a policy prioritizing more reading time and less screen time, particularly among preschool students, by favoring books and other traditional learning tools.

Lawmaker Joar Forsell, chairperson of the Swedish parliament's education committee, said officials have seen a decline in the general ability to read and write in Sweden, especially among younger students.

“We’re rolling the screens back because we believe that books and more traditional ways of learning are better for kids,” Forsell said.

Sweden’s plans are part of a broader shift and a digital reckoning against smartphones in schools internationally after countries outfitted their campuses with laptops, tablets and learning apps for their students. Classrooms have become saturated with screens and a growing number of parents, teachers and school districts say it is time to scale back.

In the Nordics, Denmark looks set to implement a similar ban to Sweden, and a law restricting use of mobile devices in schools in Finland came into effect last August. Other countries from Spain to South Korea have taken a variety of steps that range from a ban of mobile phones in classrooms to limits on screen-based homework.

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the U.S., has said it will ban screens until second grade, require daily caps for screen time per grade, ban YouTube and require an audit of all education technology contracts.

Backing away from screens

Tech-savvy Sweden, which is home to music streamer Spotify and telecoms giant Ericsson, has one of the most digitally advanced education systems in the world. But the mobile ban aims to foster learning environments with fewer distractions by building on restrictions on phones already independently implemented by many schools in the nation of over 10 million.

Alongside the ban, the government this year set aside 555 million Swedish krona ($59 million) as part of a new grant for purchasing textbooks and teachers’ guides.

The back-to-books policy was triggered by falling reading levels. In the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment, the latest study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 24.3% of Swedish ninth graders did not reach a basic level of reading comprehension. That figure is only slightly better than the European Union average of 26.2%.

Magnus Haake, an associate professor of cognitive science at Lund University in southern Sweden, said learning with physical materials engages the motor sensory part of kids’ brains and “boosts the whole system.”

Sweden also is taking steps outside of school: Its public health agency has provided advice to parents about being better role models on use of screens, like having the same “screen-free zones” at home as their kids do.

Removing mobile phones removes distractions

At the Malmö Borgarskola high school in southern Sweden, mobiles are already banned during classes. Students place their handsets in a box — nicknamed a “Mobile Hotel” — and pick them up at the end of class.

“When you have a phone, there’s always something to look at,” student Melina Sallahi, 17, said. “It’s less of a distraction.”

Classmate Vasilije Stjepanovic, also 17, said apps like games or social media are “more fun than learning,” adding that students can learn better by taking away the phones.

At the same time, every student is given a laptop computer. But Deputy Headmaster Patrik Sander said students are now discouraged from using them in class, unless teachers say so.

“Nowadays, we see the push going in the other direction,” Sander said. “We have pushed back, learning that writing with your hands and a pencil helps you remember.”

Starting last summer, Swedish children under 2 years old could use only nondigital materials such as books, and preschoolers in general face no requirement to use digital learning tools. A new curriculum to prioritize book-based learning is expected in 2028.

Divisions over digital reckoning in classrooms

Not everyone in the Nordic nation supports the shift away from digital learning.

Trade association Swedish Edtech Industry said in a report that 90% of all future jobs are expected to require digital skills. A lack of this knowledge could cause a skills shortage among young Swedes, a lack of innovation in the public sector and even increased unemployment, the report warned.

Peter Carlsson, CEO of Malmö-based startup Imvi Labs, which uses virtual reality headsets to train brain-eye coordination in children and adults, said not all screens disrupt learning and some software is “critical” to help children with learning or reading difficulties.

“By having good tools, the teaching can become more efficient,” he said.

But at Malmö Borgarskola, there is little concern over learning digital skills. One morning in May, students clutched textbooks and discussed Russian history as they prepared for end-of-year exams.

“Everyone uses digital devices during their free time, so I don’t think that’s something that should be taught in school,” student Melina Sallahi said. “It’s nothing I’m worried about.”

Classmate Aslan Özhan Kilicasan added, “We learn much more easily when we use books.”

The list, updated and published Monday by the Pentagon, now sanctions well-known, non-state-owned Chinese companies that are not traditionally considered to be in the defense or security sector. It reflects growing wariness of Beijing’s strategy of tapping the strength of non-state businesses for military purposes.

Created in 2021 by a congressional mandate, the list seeks to identify Chinese companies that the Pentagon considers to have links to the Chinese military — not only those directly controlled by the Chinese military and security forces but also those contributing to the country's defense industrial base.

When updating the list last year, the Pentagon said the Chinese military sought to acquire advanced technologies and expertise developed by Chinese companies, universities and research programs that “appear to be civilian entities.”

The Chinese Embassy on Monday accused the U.S. of “overstretching the concept of national security and making discriminatory lists to go after Chinese companies.” It said Chinese companies observe the laws and regulations of the countries where they do business. “The U.S. should stop its wrong practice and create a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies,” the embassy said in a statement.

Alibaba, BYD and Baidu said there is no basis for including them on the list. “Alibaba is not a Chinese military company nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy,” a statement from the leading e-commerce company said. Baidu, which has expanded into artificial intelligence and self-driving taxis, said the suggestion that it is a military company is “entirely baseless.”

BYD said in a statement it is “not a military enterprise” and that the determination “seriously contradicts the facts.” It also said it “will actively safeguard its legitimate rights and interests through all feasible administrative and legal means.”

This year's list has grown to 188 Chinese entities, up from last year's roughly 130 named by the Pentagon. It already had covered companies such as DJI, a major maker of consumer drones. While a company on the list can still do business in the U.S., it faces reputational damage and could be subject to more restrictions.

After the Pentagon released the updated list, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party called it “a warning to American businesses, all levels of government, and the American people." It said the companies on the list that are traded publicly on U.S. exchanges should be delisted and no American company should do business with those on the list, “otherwise they are enabling China's military ascendance.”

In naming Alibaba, the Pentagon said the tech giant helps boost China's defense industrial base because it is affiliated with the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Alibaba is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Pentagon said BYD and Baidu are affiliated with the same ministry, which oversees China's technology and industrial policies. BYD is dominant in the global electric vehicle market, and President Donald Trump said in January that he would welcome Chinese carmakers such as BYD if they built plants in the U.S. and hired American workers.

However, a number of U.S. lawmakers have said they will seek a ban on Chinese electric vehicles.

Another addition is the Chinese robotics company Unitree, whose dancing robots impressed Simon Cowell on NBC's “America’s Got Talent.” The Pentagon said the company “knowingly received assistance” from the Chinese government through its designation as a small or medium-sized company that is highly innovative, highly competitive globally and critical to the country's supply chain. Unitree did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

1. Yield: The accounts with the highest yields typically require you to maintain a minimum balance. “Teaser” rates may apply to the first few months but drop after that. Additionally, that high yield may only apply to balances under a certain level, and you’ll earn less if you hold more than that.

2. Liquidity: If you’re willing to tie up your money for a predetermined time—as with certificates of deposit—you’ll usually be able to earn a higher return.

3.

Guarantees: FDIC-insured accounts protect you from a loss, up to $250,000 per depositor per institution. These include checking and savings accounts, CDs, money market accounts, and online savings accounts. Money market mutual funds aren’t FDIC-insured, though funds that invest in Treasury bonds are buying securities that are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government.

Surveying the Field of Short-Term Investments

Certificates of deposit

CDs  will typically offer the most compelling yields of all cash instruments, and they’re also FDIC-insured.

There are caveats: Minimum deposits for the highest-yielding CDs might be $25,000 or higher. You’ll usually pay a penalty if you need to crack into your holdings before the maturity date. The longer the term of the CD, the bigger the penalty. Banks offer “no-penalty CDs,” but yields are substantially lower.

Retirees or others with ongoing cash flow needs can employ a laddered CD strategy, purchasing CDs of varying maturities. For emergency reserves, however, CDs will be less appropriate because withdrawals are apt to be unplanned and could trigger penalties.

Online savings accounts

If you want daily liquidity, a decent yield, and protection, your best bet will tend to be a high-yield savings account through an online bank or a savings account through a credit union. The former offers FDIC protection, up to the limits, whereas credit union accounts are insured by the National Credit Union Administration. Minimum investment amounts tend to be lower than those for CDs, but there may be requirements to maintain a minimum balance.

Money market mutual funds

Money market mutual funds, from providers like Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard, offer daily liquidity and the convenience of being side by side with your long-term investments. But money market fund yields are generally below those of online savings accounts today. Additionally, they aren’t FDIC-insured, though in practice most funds have done an excellent job of maintaining stable net asset values.

Don’t confuse money market mutual funds with brokerage sweep accounts. Interest rates on sweep accounts, which hold investors’ cash that hasn’t yet been invested, have ticked up recently but are still well below other cash options.

Stable-value funds

Stable-value funds, only accessible inside company retirement plans, offer an often-decent yield in exchange for not checking the liquidity and guarantee boxes. They invest in bonds, so they’re not FDIC-insured; to protect investors’ principal, they employ insurance wrappers to help maintain a stable net asset value.

There are drawbacks: First, because you can only own such a fund within a  401(k), you’ll pay taxes and penalties to withdraw your money before retirement unless you meet certain criteria. So don’t think of a stable-value fund as an emergency fund unless you’re already retired or close to it. Second, the assets aren’t guaranteed or eligible for FDIC protection.

Honorable mention: I Bonds

In contrast with the preceding investment types, the income from which will be gobbled up by inflation,  I bonds  are the only safe investment vehicles that will guarantee to make investors whole with respect to inflation. I bonds are Treasury bonds that pay a fixed rate of interest as well as another layer of interest that varies with the current inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. The inflation adjustment is made twice a year.

The downsides: First, I bonds fail the liquidity test. If you redeem an I bond within five years of buying it, you’ll forfeit three months of interest. Second, new I-bond purchases are restricted to $10,000 per year per Social Security number.

_____

This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.

ChristineBenz is director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.

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There certainly is plenty at stake.

Should the Golden Knights win and take a 3-1 series lead, they will be in an almost unbeatable position. Teams with such an advantage in the final are 38-1, the one defeat occurring 84 years ago when Detroit lost a 3-0 lead and fell to Toronto.

A Hurricanes victory would not only even the best-of-seven series, but regain home-ice advantage with potentially two of the three remaining games in Carolina.

Good luck trying to predict where this series will go. What was largely expected to be a high-checking, low-scoring championship round has been wide open at times, with each team capitalizing on the other's mistakes. The teams have combined to score 25 goals, the highest total through three games in the final since the New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars had 30 in 1981.

There have been blown leads of at least two goals in each game. Vegas rallied from such a deficit in Game 1 and Carolina did it in Game 2.

Then came the real doozy in Saturday night's Game 3 when the Golden Knights led 4-0 well into the third period before the Hurricanes scored three goals in a record 39 seconds. Carolina eventually forced overtime, but the Golden Knights won in double OT when Shea Theodore bounced a puck off the boards that caromed off goalie Brandon Bussi's skate.

Because of course it did.

Bussi, who hadn't played in two months, entered in the third period after coach Rod Brind'Amour had seen enough of Frederik Andersen. The Golden Knights couldn't figure out Bussi until that final wacky shot, so he might start Tuesday. Brind'Amour said he knows who will start, but isn't letting on.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Roanoke-Salem Plaza, located at the intersection of Melrose Avenue and Peter’s Creek Road.

Available veterinary services for dogs and cats include:

• Well Exam: $10
• Rabies Vaccine: $10 (exam required first)
• Vaccines (DHPP, FeLV, FVRCP, Lepto): $10 each
• Dewormer: $10
• Microchip: $10
• Nail Trim: $10
• 4DX Test: $25
• FIV/FeLV Test: $20

No appointments are necessary, but try to arrive early if you can because service will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Access to affordable veterinary care is one of the most effective ways to keep pets healthy and with the families who love them,” said Lisa O’Neill, Executive Director of Angels of Assisi. “We’re grateful to partner with the Roanoke Police Department to bring these services directly into the community and make preventive care more accessible for local pet owners.”

For more information about Angels of Assisi and its community programs, visit www.angelsofassisi.org

The outcome means Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former reality television personality from “The Hills,” is out of the running. His candidacy had drawn national attention because of his celebrity and willingness to challenge liberal governance in a city dominated by Democrats, but the buzz did not translate into enough votes to make the runoff.

Raman made a last-minute entry into the race, after she had endorsed Bass for reelection. She was elected to the council with the support of the Democratic Socialists of America, and the election will test whether voters in the heavily Democratic city want to move further to the political left to address long-running problems of homelessness, buckled streets and sidewalks and climbing rent and home prices.

The race also has historical markers. Bass is the first Black woman to hold the post, and Raman could be the first South Asian woman in the job.

“If you’re as frustrated by the broken status quo as I am, I hope you’ll join our movement to build a city that works for everyone,” Raman said in a statement. "For too long, City Hall has prioritized giving political advantage to powerful interests that fund elections. Meanwhile, working people pay the price in higher rents, depleted services and a city that has stopped working for them.”

“A campaign against Nithya Raman, who allows encampments near schools and cuts the police force, is one Mayor Bass looks forward to winning,” said Bass campaign strategist Douglas Herman.

Raman gained votes on Pratt in every vote update since Election Day as Los Angeles continued to process additional mail ballots and release results. Raman moved past Pratt and into second place on Sunday and extended her lead over Pratt on Monday to nearly 22,000 votes.

The mayoral matchup sets the field in one of the state's two marquee races. In the other, the California governor’s race, Democrat Xavier Becerra has advanced to the general election but it's not yet clear if he will face Republican Steve Hilton or fellow Democrat Tom Steyer. Hilton has more votes than Steyer, but Steyer cut into his lead by nearly a third in Monday’s vote updates.

The mayoral race was technically nonpartisan, so the candidates appeared on the ballot without party identification next to their names.

The election was not a vote of confidence in Bass, who according to incomplete returns received under 35% of the vote, a vulnerable position for an incumbent.

Bass represents the Democratic establishment as the incumbent mayor, and she’s backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with influential labor unions. She served in the state Legislature and Congress before becoming mayor in 2022 and was under consideration to be former President Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020.

Raman — in her first run for citywide office — has promised to speed up housing construction, bring back entertainment industry jobs and improve services in a city known for dirty streets, gridlock and homeless encampments that are commonplace in many neighborhoods.

“What we are doing right now is just not working,” Raman says. “LA’s primary strategy for homelessness has been to move encampments from one block to another, from your block to your neighbor’s block and back again. ... It’s political theater.”

California’s vote count takes a long time

It took nearly a week to determine who would face Bass in November due to California’s notoriously slow vote-counting process. Ballots are mailed to every eligible voter and they are counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive at an election office within seven days.

Los Angeles, like other counties in California, processes and counts mail ballots in roughly the order they are received, so the last ones returned are the last ones counted.

On Tuesday night after polls closed, Los Angeles released results from mail ballots that had been returned early and already processed as well as votes cast that day. Those votes put Bass in the lead with Pratt running in second and Raman behind in third. Since then, the county has been processing and releasing results from mail ballots that arrived later.

Election data shows that large numbers of Democrats held onto their mail ballots and returned them in the race’s final days, which helps explain why Bass and Raman have been doing better than Pratt in the votes counted since primary day.

Raman’s political positions have shifted

Born in India, Raman moved to the United States as a child and earned degrees from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied urban planning.

She has opposed efforts to prohibit homeless people from setting up tents within 500 feet (152 meters) of schools and daycare centers. However, she appears to have softened her opposition to no-camping zones, which were intended to curb the spread of encampments and clear streets. She voted against dozens of them on the council but later said she would not block them if elected mayor.

Raman’s positions on policing in the city have also changed.

She once talked of a department that would be much smaller and posted “defund the police” on social media in 2020. She did not support the mayor’s 2023 police contract, which she said was too expensive for the financially strapped city.

More recently, she said the Los Angeles Police Department should remain at its current size, about 8,600, down from about 10,000 in 2020. The police union has taunted her in ads, calling her “Flip Floppin’ Raman.”

In diverse Los Angeles, mayors are elected by building coalitions, ethnically and geographically. And to surpass 50% of the vote and win, Raman will need to find more supporters.

“I don’t think it’s impossible, but she is going to have to expand beyond her ideological base,” said Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, who sees Bass as vulnerable.

“The people who didn’t vote for Nithya weren’t voting against her, they were voting for somebody else. Karen (Bass) had a good number of people who were voting against her,” Carrick added.

Though Raman and Pratt are political opposites, both have attracted voters who aren’t happy with the city’s status quo.

Tanika Vickers, who works for a housing nonprofit in Los Angeles, said that she felt like she was part of a group of people who work and pay taxes but have been “forgotten.” She said she was frustrated with the way tax dollars were being spent, especially “throwing” more money toward homelessness without results.

She said she voted Raman for mayor because she was most qualified to execute her plans and fulfill what the city needs.

“I think that we are all looking for change,” she said.

___

Associated Press journalists Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles and Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington contributed.

Originally built in 1965, the Eureka Recreation Center became a top priority for upgrades after a 2019 Parks and Recreation assessment highlighted a long list of facility issues. To address these needs, the city dedicated $14.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to redevelop the center, making it the largest single-project investment in Parks and Recreation history.

The fully renovated facility now features a 5,750-square-foot addition, a spacious indoor gymnasium with new hardwood floors, upgraded restrooms, a multi-use community room, lounge space, and dedicated areas for the P.L.A.Y. after-school program. The project also added more parking, a new events lawn, an ADA-accessible pathway, a pavilion, and 140 newly planted trees.

Community members are invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour the updated facility on June 12 at 11 a.m.

Robot makers in China say they have thousands of orders from both the government and private businesses for humanoids that can do such things as sort parcels at postal centers, as the country finds ways to cope with an aging population and rising labor costs. However, some experts believe demand for humanoids lags the capacity to build them.

China and the United States dominate research for what Morgan Stanley estimates is a $5 trillion humanoid robots market.

By some measures, the U.S. holds an upper hand in developing the artificial intelligence for such robots' high-level computing power, or “brains.” But as the world's factory floor, China leads in mass production capacity, supplies of hardware and harvesting of data for training robots.

Robot makers say real-life demand is growing

The Shanghai-based startup Matrix Robotics makes humanoid robots that employ AI. Its flagship humanoid robot, the “MATRIX-3,” stands nearly 5.6 feet (1.7 meters) tall and is equipped with hands able to make finely controlled movements. They are priced at around $99,000 per unit.

Customers for the roughly 1,000 orders it has received include coffee chains and hotels, its founder and CEO Allen Zhang, who formerly worked for Tesla, said at a recent robotics expo in Macao.

So far, Matrix has made only a few hundred of the robots, though it said it will be capable of delivering 5,000 units within this year, depending on the number of orders.

EngineAI, a startup based in southern China’s Shenzhen, says its full-sized humanoid robots could be used as security guards and museum guides. They also perform, with dancing and boxing.

A basic edition of its humanoid costs 180,000 yuan ($26,600). “The next step will be to move into more real-life scenarios,” said Issac Li, EngineAI's head of brand and marketing.

Demand for robots may lag behind

Most humanoid robots are still performative rather than functional, falling short of working in messy, unpredictable environments, said Samm Sacks, a senior fellow at the New America think tank focused on Chinese technology.

“The use cases of these robots are still so limited,” said Chibo Tang of the venture capital firm Gobi Partners, which invests in technology startups including robotics companies. “Without the demand and without that scale from the market, these companies are not able to really go into mass production.”

China had more than 140 humanoid robot manufacturers and more than 330 models in 2025, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Last year, the Chinese government even publicly warned about the risk of a bubble in the industry given the lagging state of commercialization and applications.

Corporate and academic labs are buying humanoid robots for research. And in China, many of the more than 2 billion yuan ($295 million) worth of orders in 2025 came from state-owned enterprises for use in places such as power plants, data centers or for entertainment, Morgan Stanley said.

“The economics are tough: humanoid robots remain expensive to produce, fragile in operation, and dependent on highly structured environments to function,” Sacks explained. There's “a long way to go to get to a level of functionality where people will actually feel comfortable having them in their homes providing care for elderly or children,” she said.

Still, compared to other countries, China is keen on humanoids

The more viable commercial path will more likely be through industrial and logistics settings, Sacks said. But many factories in China and elsewhere already are equipped with non-humanoid robotic arms that perform repetitive single functions and may not need many humanoid robots.

In Japan and in the U.S., humanoid robot startups are also struggling to find buyers in industrial and other work settings.

Yet over the past year, real-world deployment of humanoid robots in China has accelerated.

Chinese people are relatively “used to this rapid change in terms of technology,” said Ye Tian, an ex-Apple engineer and founder and CEO of the Chinese startup RoboScience, which focuses on developing the systems behind AI-powered robots.

As the technology matures, humanoids could perform heavy-lifting and mundane tasks in warehouses, factories and ports, said Lian Jye Su, with the technology research group Omdia.

Humanoid robots also can fill in gaps where work is dangerous or repetitive, Matrix's Zhang said. There's also a “very large household market” for handling chores in hundreds of millions of homes in China, he believes.

In Beijing, freelance social media content creator Yang Ning recently tried out a cleaning service with a helper robot with mechanical arms and hands. It can do simple tasks like organizing shoes, folding clothes and changing garbage bags, but it's accompanied by a human cleaner.

Watching the robot sort shoes at her doorway was “amazing,” she said. Still, she thought the helper robot was not that efficient and was “a bit too big and difficult to move around in a small house.”

China leads the global humanoid robots market

Last year, Chinese humanoid robots accounted for around 85% globally, according to a recent research report by Barclays.

Startups in China have the advantage of massive state support, in line with the ruling Communist Party’s 2026-2030 five-year plan targeting the frontiers of technology, including advancements of humanoid robots.

Of the more than 13,000 humanoid robots shipped in 2025, AGIBOT and Unitree, two of China’s leading robotics companies, each shipped over 5,000, while U.S. rivals like Figure AI and Tesla each shipped a few hundred or less, according to Omdia.

Morgan Stanley expects China’s humanoid sales to more than double this year to around 28,000 units. Omdia forecasts that annual shipments of advanced robots could surpass 1 million units by the early 2030s.

Some robot makers say they are already profitable. Unitree said it made 1.7 billion yuan (around $250 million) in revenue last year, with a profit of over 278 million yuan ($41 million).

Robot makers argue that as production of humanoid robots increases, costs will drop. Using more locally made parts also helped make Chinese robots 20% or more cheaper than foreign models on average, Morgan Stanley said. It estimates the average price could fall to about $21,000 by 2050, from $46,000 last year.

Some humanoid robots in China were priced at below $6,000.

Even so, cost remains an obstacle

A report by the Mercator Institute for China Studies said while China’s humanoids are already cheaper than those made elsewhere, they are still “far too expensive for widespread deployment.”

Another challenge for manufacturers is to accumulate enough good data to train more robots.

Wang Xiaogang, co-founder of the Chinese AI software company SenseTime and chairman of ACE Robotics, said his company is collecting a lot of human-centric data from factories, retailing and offices settings that could guide advanced robots to perform complicated functions.

For humanoid robots to learn more than single tasks, data from a wide variety of scenarios in public and private settings with a reasonable level of difficulty is needed, said Eric Guo, founder and CEO of Shenzhen-based AI² Robotics. But that could take years to massively scale up.

“The mass production capability in (the) robotic area is still at the very early stage,” Guo said.

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Associated Press video journalists Olivia Zhang and Wu Jia in Beijing contributed to this report.

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This story was first published on June 6. It was updated on June 9 to correct the spelling of the first name of the CEO of Matrix Robotics to Allen.

He remembers the pain and fear in his community in the eastern Congo city of Beni during the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak, history's second-biggest with more than 3,400 reported cases and over 2,200 deaths. It was stopped with the aid of vaccines.

Kombi also remembers the broad skepticism over the disease, attacks on health workers and inaction from patients that he blames for the speed in which the disease spread.

“We thought it was witchcraft,” said Kombi. “The community had not accepted that this disease existed and it had not accepted that we could recover from it.”

In Beni, a bustling commercial hub near the borders with Uganda and Rwanda, some fear that a repeat of mistakes made during Congo’s past outbreaks and the lack of an approved vaccine this time around might make the response to the latest outbreak more challenging.

A total of 550 cases of the disease were confirmed as of Sunday in the current outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which can cause Ebola disease, including 101 deaths and 19 recoveries.

Suspicions of a conspiracy

Kombi recalled how he contracted the virus after being exposed to others who had it. He said they had little information about the disease at the time, and that while many thought it was witchcraft, others described it as a “Western conspiracy for funding reasons.”

“The community had not accepted that we could recover from this disease, that’s why reintegrating into the community at first was a bit difficult,” he said.

“When a pandemic hits here in Congo, we initially think it’s a political issue,” said Bienfait Wanzire, who also recovered after contracting Ebola during the 2018 outbreak.

“At first, we thought it was a spiritual illness,” he said. “Then because there were election campaigns, we believed it was political.”

Doctor recalls losing his uncle and colleagues

Dr. Babah Mutuza Lusungu, a physician at “Dieu Est Grand” Medical Center in Beni, remembered losing his uncle and two colleagues even as he tried to convince people the outbreak was real.

“There was very strong resistance,” said Lusungu. “And so there was a climate of mistrust that took place between the population, the authorities, the partners too, right, and the health workers.”

Youths at the time were not directly involved in response efforts, he said, urging local authorities to work more closely with youth leaders to enlighten people about the disease.

“If we wait until they have so many declared cases to start making an effective response, we will have totally missed the target,” he said.

Vaccines saved his family

Esperance Masinda, who was working for the U.N. children’s agency in Beni during the 2018 outbreak, said it was particularly difficult caring for children who had lost their parents to Ebola.

She contracted the disease while looking after her husband who was working as a medical doctor. Although they both later recovered, the vaccine that helped save them distanced them from family and neighbors.

“When we were in the community, we were told that you’re not going to make it even five years, you’re going to die with that medication that you took there,” Masinda said.

“And today, when they see us, these people no longer stigmatize us,” she said. “We are all humans, even though we have been victims of Ebola, all of us are humans.”

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

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

Creasy brings more than 30 years of experience in fire and emergency services to the role. He is well known in the community, having held a variety of positions in the Lynchburg area and beyond.

Currently, he serves as executive director of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs, where he oversees a state agency responsible for firefighter training, professional development, grant administration, and fire prevention programs.

He stepped into that role in 2022, when he was appointed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and was later reappointed by current Gov. Abigail Spanberger this year. Creasy continues to work with the governor and the secretary of public safety and homeland security on fire and EMS legislation, regulations, and policy.

In addition, he serves on the Virginia Public Safety Foundation Board of Directors, the FEMA Fire Investigator Comprehensive Occupational Study Advisory Board, and the Bedford Community Health Foundation Board.

Creasy is a graduate of Liberty University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in business management and administration. He previously served as fire chief for the Town of Bedford Fire Department from 2008 to 2022 and held leadership roles with Roanoke Fire-EMS.

He has had many accomplishments during the span of his career, including the Governor of Virginia Fire Service Award – Fire Chief of the Year in 2021 and the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Chief of the Year in 2022. He also holds the Center for Public Safety Excellence Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation.

“Brad Creasy distinguished himself throughout this process as a highly respected leader with a proven record of service and innovative organizational leadership,” said City Manager Wynter C. Benda. “His experience leading at the local, regional, and state levels, combined with his commitment to workforce development, community engagement, operational excellence, and firefighter wellness, makes him exceptionally well-suited to lead the Lynchburg Fire Department into the future. We are excited to welcome him to the City of Lynchburg.”

“I am deeply honored and excited to accept the opportunity to serve as Lynchburg’s next Fire Chief,” said Creasy. “I have tremendous respect for the proud tradition that has been built by the men and women of this organization, and I look forward to working alongside our firefighters, elected officials, and community partners to continue that legacy. Together, we will build upon the department’s many strengths, embrace opportunities for growth, and ensure we remain prepared to meet the evolving needs of the community. I am grateful for the trust that has been placed in me and am enthusiastic about the future of the Lynchburg Fire Department. I look forward to listening, learning, and leading as we continue our mission of providing exceptional service to our community.”

Creasy will officially begin his role as fire chief in July.

American Bridge 21st Century's $50 million effort adds financial firepower to Democrats' attempt to flip control of Congress in the midterm elections. The party has struggled to match Republicans' fundraising, and it has lost ground in a nationwide redistricting battle that President Donald Trump initiated last year.

“We really have to maximize our wins and gains this year, particularly in Republican territory,” American Bridge co-founder Bradley Beychok said. “We are going all in.”

American Bridge, known for its opposition research, has been escalating its own advertising efforts. During the last presidential election, it announced plans to spend $140 million in an attempt to siphon away Trump's support among rural voters.

Beychok said the idea for the midterms campaign was seeded last year, when he attended an inauguration rally and saw the slogan “Trump will fix it.”

"Trump made a big promise to these working-class voters that he was gonna bring down costs," Beychok said. Now it's clear, he said, “that Trump and Republicans really broke that covenant.”

The House seats American Bridge is targeting are in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. On the Senate side, they’re getting involved in races in Alaska, Iowa, Michigan and Mississippi.

The group passed on Senate races in states like Maine, North Carolina and Texas because it doesn't expect those to lack resources.

The campaign will involve digital ads, streaming audio and television, social media, direct mail and radio.

Beychok said the organization is learning to focus on issues at a “visceral level," and featuring specific voters so they can offer firsthand accounts of their experiences with the economy.

Making the pitch in American Bridge ads will be voters like Brad Singleton, a 50-year-old personal trainer from Walford, Iowa. Singleton said he was a Republican for 32 years until recently when dissatisfaction with the president led him to change registrations to Democratic.

For Singleton, the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot was the start of his changing view of the president, who he said “threw a fit like a toddler” over the 2020 election results. But by 2024, he voted for Trump again, persuaded by the Make American Healthy Again movement.

“I immediately regretted it,” Singleton said. “Because of the economy, because of this war with Iran, because so many things that have happened."

“I feel like Donald Trump cares about himself and his millionaire buddies,” he added. "He does not care about me.”

Jill Kordick, 64, a retired health care administrator from Norwalk, Iowa, is another voter featured in the group's ads.

A registered independent, she described her political views as moderate to progressive. She said Trump's second term has spurred her to get more involved in politics, such as attending No Kings rallies and speaking up at meetings with lawmakers.

Kordick said she's aware how challenging it could be to flip Republican-leaning districts, and she's asking herself how best to bring people who feel like the president let them down to the Democrats' side.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be easy,” she said. “I think there has to be some way to invite people to the table so that they can feel better about how they vote and not feel so stuck or embarrassed by what they voted for in the past.”

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Catalini reported from Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

Officials say the outbreak is linked to one death and eight illnesses across three states. Of those who became ill, seven were hospitalized. The recalled cheese was sold at Clover Hill Dairy’s retail market, at farmers markets, and through other distributors, including in New York and Virginia. The product may also be relabeled under a different brand, but the label will list the Clover Hill manufacturer permit or plant number as “24-128.”

Listeria is most dangerous for people who are pregnant, age 65 or older, or have weakened immune systems due to certain medical conditions or treatments. For those who are pregnant, listeria can cause pregnancy loss, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in newborns.

If you are pregnant, 65 or older, or have a weakened immune system, throw out the recalled cheese and clean your refrigerator, containers, and any surfaces that may have touched it. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have eaten the cheese or have symptoms.

Symptoms of listeria infection usually begin within two weeks after eating contaminated food, but they can start as soon as the same day or as late as 10 weeks after exposure. Common symptoms include:

• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Stiff neck
• Confusion
• Loss of balance
• Convulsions

For more information about the recall, click here.

As of Tuesday, June 9, the average price of regular gas in Virginia is $3.94, according to AAA. Premium averages $4.82 per gallon, while diesel averages $5.16 per gallon.

Taking a closer look at our region, here’s a look at the average price of gas for localities in our area:

• Lynchburg:
• • Regular: $3.84
  • Mid: $4.36
  • Premium: $4.76
  • Diesel: $5.20
• Roanoke:
• • Regular: $3.91
  • Mid: $4.43
  • Premium: $4.82
  • Diesel: $5.17
• Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford (New River Valley area)
• • Regular: $3.93
  • Mid: $4.38
  • Premium: $4.79
  • Diesel: $5.11

Count on 10 News to bring you the latest price at the pump every morning.

To find out where the lowest fuel prices are near you, visit GasBuddy’s website.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint war against Iran on Feb. 28, the cost of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has spiked and swung rapidly. That’s because the conflict has caused deep supply chain disruptions and cuts from major oil producers across the Middle East.

Automatic runner Christian Yelich scored the decisive run from third when Athletics second baseman Jeff McNeil threw wide to home plate on a grounder by Brice Turang in the top of the 12th.

Abner Uribe (4-2) got four outs for the win and Chad Patrick struck out McNeil with runners at the corners for his third save.

José Suarez (0-2) took the loss despite striking out four batters in two hitless innings.

The teams totaled 34 hits, and 14 pitchers combined to throw 444 pitches. It was the fourth game in major league history with at least 29 runs and 11 homers.

Tyler Soderstrom and Nick Kurtz each homered twice for the Athletics, who went deep seven times at the site of their Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators. The team normally plays at its temporary home in West Sacramento, California, but is playing six games in Las Vegas this week ahead of a scheduled move into a new stadium in the city in 2028.

Shea Langeliers hit the first pitch from Brewers starter Kyle Harrison 483 feet to left-center field for his 17th home run. It was the longest home run of Langeliers’ career and the fourth-longest in the majors this season.

Both teams scored four times in the 10th.

William Contreras gave Milwaukee a 14-10 lead with a three-run homer off Scott Barlow projected at 463 feet, but the A's answered with an RBI single by Langeliers, a two-run shot by Kurtz and a tying homer from pinch-hitter Jonah Heim.

Zack Gelof also went deep for the Athletics, giving them an 8-4 lead in the third.

In addition to Contreras, the Brewers got home runs from Turang, Vaughn and Jake Bauers. Contreras had three of Milwaukee's 18 hits. Turang and Bauers each knocked in three runs. Jackson Chourio went 3 for 5 and scored three times.

Harrison gave up eight runs, eight hits and three homers in 2 1/3 innings after not allowing more than two runs in any of his first 11 outings. His ERA climbed from 1.57 to 2.72.

Up next

Brewers LHP Robert Gasser (0-2, 4.73 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Athletics RHP J.T. Ginn (3-3, 2.74).

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

Called “Leonardo’s Ferry,’’ the mechanism of the so-called reaction ferry was designed five centuries ago and immortalized by the Renaissance genius himself in a drawing preserved in Windsor Castle's Royal Collection outside of London.

It is the last remaining of its kind along the Adda River, which extends from the Alps to the Po River in the Lombardy region.

“This is a mean of transport that has been here for 500 years and has always connected the two banks of the Adda,” said Massimo Zoia, one of the volunteer ferrymen who operates the vessel. “And now it has returned to its original purpose: connecting two populations living on different banks of a river."

Despite its name, it remains unclear whether Leonardo himself actually designed the ferry. What is certain, however, is that he sketched it in 1513, as part of his famed studies of waterways, including Milan's canal system. Leonardo was one of history’s greatest polymaths, filling notebooks with designs across a range of disciplines, including flying machines that wouldn't be realized for centuries.

The ferry’s operating principle is as simple as it is ingenious, and entirely environmentally friendly.

“The river pushes us downstream. We have a cable that binds us, and by breaking down the forces, according to the parallelogram rule, which we study in high school, the force is broken down and one part becomes resistance and the other we use for lateral movement,” Zoia said.

“The rudder is used to adjust the inclination of the ferry so that it better absorbs the stream that hits us and makes us move,” he said.

The ferry is run by the town of Imbersago, and runs to the town of Villa d’Adda on the other side. It came close to disappearing in 2023, when its operator gave up the concession. Determined to save it, Imbersago Mayor Fabio Vergani obtained a ferryman’s license himself and, together with the local tourism association, assembled a team of volunteers.

Since 2024, they have primarily transported weekend visitors from one bank of the Adda to the other.

But they added commuter service this spring after a nearby bridge was closed for maintenance to help ease traffic congestion. It now runs from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., with a two hour lunch break at noon. Passengers pay 1.50 euros (about $1.75) if they are on foot, 2 euros ($2.30) with a bicycle, 2.50 euros ($2.88) with a motorbike and 3.50 (around $4) for a car.

Gianpaolo Graffagnino lives in Villa d’Adda and works on the other side of the river. He has started biking to work, using the ferry as a shortcut.

“Right now this is the fastest system, but above all the nicest because you get three minutes of peace,” he said.

Mauro Carnati drove his Maserati onto the ferry to bring his daughter to school on the other side, avoiding a long detour caused by the bridge closure.

“It’s true that we spend a little money, and it’s not possible every day, but the romance and added value of the Adda and the ferry are truly amazing. It makes for a better start to the day,” he said.

Wembanyama had 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists, carrying the San Antonio Spurs to a 115-111 victory Monday night that cut the Knicks’ lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

San Antonio is trying to make a first-of-its-kind NBA Finals comeback, and the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, with his array of skills, makes anything look possible.

“I’m sure Victor has numerous sources of motivation,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I don’t think any of us are surprised or expect anything different than a strong performance.”

The Spurs handed the Knicks their first loss in 46 days and potentially salvaged their season in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd that included President Donald Trump.

The Knicks had their 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in NBA postseason history, snapped and missed a chance to move to the brink of their first title since 1973. Their previous loss occurred on April 23 in a one-point defeat to the Atlanta Hawks. They won the next three against Atlanta, swept Philadelphia and Cleveland and took the first two games against the Spurs.

The run stirred New York into a frenzy, with raucous watch parties, fans paying outrageous sums of money for tickets and “Knicks In Four” becoming a daily greeting on streets, subway cars and in workplaces.

But Wembanyama and the Spurs ended the streak and ruined the Knicks' first home NBA Finals game since 1999.

“At home, it really feels like playing six against five. Here, it feels like five against six,” Wembanyama said. “It really shows what teams are made of.”

Knicks coach Mike Brown complained about the Spurs’ 24-8 advantage in free throw attempts in the second half.

“I tell the guys, it’s a seven-game series for a reason,” Brown said. “They are a great team. They are well-coached. They have an iconic player. It’s not going to be easy.”

Stephon Castle and De'Aaron Fox hit big shots late as the Spurs avoided falling into a 3-0 hole, which no NBA team has escaped. Now they can tie the series Wednesday night and are guaranteed another game at home, with Game 5 scheduled for Saturday.

Castle finished with 23 points as the Spurs got started in their quest to become the first team to win the NBA Finals after losing the first two games at home.

Jalen Brunson scored 32 points and OG Anunoby had 28 for the Knicks.

Fans who endured long lines to get in with the extra security measures in place — and some who paid five-figure sums for the chance to do so — were treated to a back-and-forth game as the NBA Finals returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time in 27 years.

Wembanyama, whose turnover late in Game 2 cost the Spurs dearly, didn’t make many mistakes Monday. He had 10 points in the final quarter, helping San Antonio build just enough of a cushion to withstand Brunson's latest comeback attempt.

Minutes after Trump was booed loudly when he was shown during the national anthem, the Spurs got off to an ideal start. Wembanyama dunked for their first two baskets and they had a double-digit lead 4 1/2 minutes into the game. San Antonio made nine of its first 11 shots, with the Knicks and their fans frustrated by the referees and the home team’s sloppy play, and led 33-22 after one.

The Garden crowd didn’t really start to rock until Anunoby’s 3-pointer capped an 11-2 surge that cut it to 40-38. The Knicks got their first lead of the night on Brunson's 26-footer as part of a big burst to finish the half. New York led 64-57 at the break.

But the Spurs went back ahead in the third quarter and led 111-104 on Castle's 3-pointer with 1:53 to play. Castle then closed the scoring with two free throws with 6.8 seconds left after Anunoby's 3-pointer cut it to two.

The Knicks had piled up massive scoring margins while romping through the Eastern Conference playoffs, then were just good enough in the two games in San Antonio. This time, a horrible start to the fourth quarter put them too far behind.

A star-studded crowd that included Derek Jeter and Eli Manning, champions of New York teams in other sports, was hoping to see the Knicks move closer to a third NBA title. But with Karl-Anthony Towns limited to 11 points and Mikal Bridges saddled with foul trouble, a team that had been so potent in the postseason struggled for long stretches.

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

Montserrat, a healthy drive from the city followed by a steep ascent, is dear to many of the Catalan people in northeastern Spain. Annually, 2 million people travel to the complex that includes an 11th-century Benedictine abbey as well as a 16th-century basilica. Its Black Madonna statue, which studies show originally was white but turned dark by centuries of smoke and incense before being painted black, is widely revered.

But for many Catholics watching from afar — and especially non-Catholics — the highlight of the Chicago-born pope's seven-day trip to Spain will be his evening Mass at the Sagrada Familia — the Basilica of the Holy Family — commemorating the centennial of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí. Leo will speak almost exclusively Spanish on the trip, with some comments in Catalan.

The visit illustrates his balancing act of upholding centuries-old religious traditions in a country where faith is waning while reaching a global audience from a basilica that is more a magnet for tourists than believers. Yet the two sites share a connection even some locals don't know.

A pulpit for the world

The Sagrada Familia fuses the universal language of nature — trees, birds, reptiles, cornucopias of fruit — with scenes from Christ's life. Beyond that unique aesthetic, its allure stems from allowing visitors to bear witness to a great church's ongoing construction.

That began 144 years ago, with the first cornerstone laid in 1882 during the pontificate of Leo's namesake, Pope Leo XIII.

Its claim to “the new” is what sets Gaudí’s masterpiece apart from Europe's other cathedrals and why it has captivated millions. Leo’s Mass is an opportunity to link him with this breathtaking place of worship.

"Its stones and stained glass speak of the possibility of conjuring up 2,000 years of Christian history from a modern and even postmodern view," Ferran Sáez, professor of humanities at Barcelona’s University of Ramón Llull, told The Associated Press. "It is a building that expresses very complex ideas while coming across as comprehensible for anyone who is receptive, whether they are Christian or not.”

The Sagrada Familia is an international sensation, featuring on virtually any self-respecting globetrotter's bucket list. Foreigners account for 90% of its visitors, whose entrance fees fund its construction, and more Americans visit than Spaniards, according to the basilica.

While there aren't statistics on visitors' average age, it is hugely popular among adolescents and twentysomethings. That's in stark contrast to the graying parishioners at most Spanish churches at a moment the Catholic Church strives to engage with and remain relevant to youth.

The basilica's latest superlative — world’s tallest church, with its recently raised Tower of Jesus Christ — has made it an even greater beacon.

Catalans see Montserrat as a spiritual home

The Sagrada Familia is a global pulpit, but it's set in a country where Christianity is receding. Spain underwent a religious crisis in the late 20th century during its return to democracy. Just over half of Spaniards polled by the state opinion agency in 2024 self-identified as Catholics, but only about 1 in 5 called themselves practicing Catholics.

And Catalonia is one of Spain's most secular provinces, Sáez said.

Catalonia’s Catholics are reserved in their practice, without flamboyant Easter Week processions like those in Seville and other Spanish cities.

The force of their faith rests in its holy places: the Sagrada Familia, the Poblet monastery and the Romanesque churches dotting the foothills of the Pyrenees. And, above all, in Montserrat, where pilgrims arrive by bus, cable car, cog railway and strenuous trails.

“It is home to our most beloved representation of Mary, the Black Madonna,” Catalan theologian Francesc Torralba told AP. “Many Catalans pray to her and feel close to her in times of need. Montserrat is a key to our culture, as well as our efforts to maintain our language and our traditions.”

While Montserrat is the region's religious epicenter, its faith is “culturally expressed in its artistic creations” like the Sagrada Familia, he added.

Throngs of tourists

And it's that unbridled and unique artistry that draws so many visitors. Many Barcelona residents feel the Sagrada Familia's fame has driven some of overtourism's worst ills. Tour buses flood the area with day-trippers from cruise ships, and streets facing the church are full of fast food restaurants and souvenir shops. Protesters who squirted tourists with water guns last year were planning to reach the Sagrada Familia until police stopped them.

“Where there are two people (tourists and locals), there can be friction, and that happens in the best marriages,” the Sagrada Familia’s rector, the Rev. Josep Turull, told AP. “So we try, just like with a marriage, for these small crises to be growing pains, and that’s why we try to not just welcome pilgrims and tourists but also make sure that our parishioners feel that this is their basilica.”

Leo could bring even more tourists. Pope Benedict XVI's consecration to make it an operating basilica in 2010 boosted visits from about 3 million a year to nearly 5 million in 2025, according to Xavier Martínez, the CEO of the Sagrada Familia’s construction project.

“I believe that on June 10 we will experience something similar to what we saw in 2010," Martínez said. "At that time, the world discovered the interior of the Sagrada Familia. Now the world will discover the towers of the Sagrada Familia.”

Tour guide and historian Mònica Santín has seen the Sagrada Familia's stunning power for believers and nonbelievers alike; some even weep upon crossing the church's threshold. As personally fulfilling as it is to help tourists achieve these life-changing moments, she is concerned Leo's Mass could drive tourism to levels that are unsustainable for the community.

The sacred sites share a connection

Santín has reserved her spot to see Leo in person, but it won't be at the basilica. She will instead make the journey to the Montserrat monastery.

Santín’s grandmother made the same pilgrimage, walking barefoot to a mountainside cave where legend has it shepherds discovered the Black Madonna statue and prayed for protection for her husband during the Spanish Civil War. Today, Santín wears the ring her grandmother gave her.

“I don’t know how it doesn’t fall apart,” Santín said, gently touching her ring, with its profile of the Virgin of Montserrat, the patron saint of Catalonia, barely visible after so many years.

And she notes that Montserrat and the Sagrada Familia have a shared, but little-known, connection.

A young Gaudí apprenticed with an architect building the mountaintop chapel for the Virgin of Montserrat, according to Santín, who is researching her doctoral thesis on the architect at Barcelona's ISCREB theology school. That same architect was originally hired to build the Sagrada Familia, but material costs made his neo-Gothic proposal inviable and the commission went to Gaudí. As part of his radical design, he introduced elements of the mountain.

Even the basilica's sandcastle-like towers resemble the spirelike rock formations that every Catalan can identify as jutting from Montserrat.

“Montserrat is our holy mountain,” Santín said. “The Sagrada Familia is like a Montserrat in the middle of the city."

“I never thought I’d see that in an NBA Finals game, and I saw it tonight,” Brown said.

The Spurs won 115-111 on Monday night to cut the Knicks' lead in the series to 2-1. It was New York's first loss in 46 days, ending a 13-game postseason winning streak.

Brown credited the Spurs for their performance and listed some things the Knicks did poorly. But he said the officiating made a difference in the game.

“San Antonio is a great team. They are a great team, OK. It’s going to lower our odds big time, big time, if we play Game 4 and in the second half, they get 24 free-throw attempts to our eight. Maybe we were fouling. Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled, too.

“There were a lot of things that we didn’t do that we did in Game 1 and Game 2,” Brown added. “But to go 24 free-throw attempts in the second half, that’s 48 for the game, if you think about the way they called that second half, compared to eight. All the shots we took, we got fouled four times, roughly, for eight free-throw attempts.”

Mikal Bridges had to go to the bench early after picking up two quick fouls and Jalen Brunson had to do the same in the third quarter when he picked up his fourth. The Spurs shot 14 free throws in the third quarter to the Knicks' three.

“There are a lot of things we can do better and we are going to have to do better, but the same breath, like I said, hopefully they will see some more fouls called against them, so it’s not 24-8,” Brown said. “This is a four-point ballgame. Four-point ballgame. One-possession ballgame going down the stretch. It’s tough to overcome.”

The Spurs finished 25 for 32 for the game, while the Knicks were 18 for 22. Told about Brown's comments, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said the referees weren't the problem.

“That didn’t cost us the game,” he said. “Turned the ball over. Didn’t execute. Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins in a row. That’s how you lose a game.”

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Chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” echoed through the arena as Avery Wilson sang “The Star-Spangled Banner," but they they gave way to boos moments later as Trump was displayed on the jumbo screens giving a military salute. The jeers ended when the U.S. flag followed him on the screens, and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown. Mentions of the San Antonio Spurs also elicited vociferous boos.

The president was unfazed. “It was, I think, mostly cheers,” he told reporters after the game before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington. “It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic.”

Trump watched Game 3 from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite, along with granddaughter Kai, personal adviser Boris Epshteyn and Cabinet secretaries Lee Zeldin, Sean Duffy and Doug Burgum. He sat next to Dolan for the first quarter and spent part of the second talking to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman.

Trump’s Marine One helicopter flew from his home in New Jersey and landed near Wall Street before his motorcade made its way up through Manhattan and to the arena roughly an hour before tipoff. He encountered a handful of people making rude gestures, and outside the area, one group held signs saying “Trump must go.”

He settled into Dolan's suite shortly afterward.

During the afternoon before Trump's arrival, the New York Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service set up a large perimeter surrounding Madison Square Garden. Fans lined up to get inside the arena more than four hours before tipoff, in a scene more closely resembling New Year’s Eve in Times Square than the usual leadup to a basketball game.

They were required to provide a ticket or pass to get past various checkpoints, along with going through a Transportation Security Administration-style magnetometer. Secret Service personnel and police were positioned at every corner and in large numbers. Daily commuters, tourists visiting Manhattan and fans were all confounded at various times as they tried to maneuver the security.

New Yorkers forced to adjust

After traveling from his home in Florida for the game, Knicks fan Greg Weldon said the main inconvenience faced so far has been the lack of information.

“We’ve asked so many cops, secret service, guys with machine guns, what to do, where should we go,” he said. “Nobody knows.”

Knicks coach Mike Brown and Spurs counterpart Mitch Johnson downplayed any concept of being inconvenienced by the closures and enhanced security because of Trump.

“There’s a lot going on, and I’d much rather be a part of it than not,” Johnson said.

With security stepped up, a watch party outside was canceled, and ticket-holders were not allowed to bring bags inside the Garden. Fans had gathered near the arena to watch games during this playoff run, during which the Knicks have won 13 games in a row to reach the final for the first time since 1999 and move two victories from their first NBA title since 1973.

“We are looking forward to bringing back watch parties for Game 4,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Monday. "But I think New Yorkers are used to presidents coming to town, and they understand that that generally means lockdowns of areas and that’s what you’re going to see tonight at the Garden.”

The Knicks’ streak was broken Monday night, with the Spurs winning 115-111. Game 4 will be played Wednesday night at the Garden.

Incidents heighten attention to Trump's security

This is the latest major sporting event Trump has attended during his time as president, and the security measures have created major hassles for fans.

Thousands of fans missed the start of last year’s U.S. Open men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner because of lengthy security lines. Even though the U.S. Tennis Association pushed back the start of the match by a half-hour, many fans still couldn’t get in because added measures meant that they had to go through screening not only when they arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center but again in front of the steps into Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Trump watched from a suite.

Federal law enforcement officials have been reexamining Trump’s security in light of three incidents in the past two years: a shooting at a 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania; the discovery of a man armed with a rifle as Trump played golf in West Palm Beach, Florida, later that year; and the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Asked Sunday his thoughts on Trump attending, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson said: “Cool, I guess. We can still get out there and play (no matter) who’s here and who’s not.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other dignitaries were also at the game, as were Yankees Hall of Famer Derek Jeter and two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning of the Giants.

It was already hard enough for Knicks fans to get inside Madison Square Garden because of astronomical ticket prices. The get-in price for a ticket is higher than the average cost of monthly rent in New York, surging over $5,000.

The best seats were listed for tens of thousands of dollars. Mamdani said he bought his ticket, which he said was standing-room-only, for about $1,000 directly from Madison Square Garden.

The difficulty of seeing the game in-person has prompted fans to crowd bars, streets and watch parties all over the city. The watch party near the Garden has become a major event all through the playoffs, but with Trump attending, that event was moved a few blocks away outside the security perimeter, at Bryant Park.

“We improvise,” said Knicks guard Jose Alvarado, who is a New York native. "We're New Yorkers. We’re going to find a way to watch a game, and that’s what we’re doing.”

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AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

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Knicks fever reached a new peak Monday night, with New York hosting Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Shouts of “Let's go Knicks!” and “Knicks in four!” were heard throughout midtown Manhattan, with spirits up even as tight security measures for the presence of President Donald Trump caused hours-long lines to get in.

The excitement extended until just about the final buzzer, when the Spurs finished off a 115-111 victory that ended New York's 13-game postseason winning streak. San Antonio trimmed its series deficit to 2-1 and avoided getting pushed to the brink of elimination.

With the Knicks in the finals for the first time since 1999 and leading the best-of-seven series 2-0, their first home game this round was a hot ticket. The get-in price exceeded the average cost of rent in the biggest U.S. city.

“This is my son here, so taking him to the finals, you can’t really put a price on the experience,” said Greg Weldon, who flew in from Florida to attend a finals game as he did when New York won it all in 1970 and '73. “It’s like that commercial: The tickets, ridiculous; the hassle getting in, ridiculous — the experience, priceless.”

The cheapest upper-deck seats available were going for over $5,000 on resale platforms like StubHub, SeatGeek and VividSeats. The experience of being courtside carried a $75,000 price tag.

“I don’t care who you are, that’s a lot of money for a ticket,” said guard Jose Alvarado, a New York native who was planning a viewing party in Brooklyn and pointed out his Queens high school also is hosting one. “People that could afford it, we’re grateful with them coming out, and it just shows you our team is really special and we’re doing something here that hasn’t been done in a long time.”

The hoopla for Game 3 included the appearance by Trump, booed by fans when he was shown on arena video screens, as well as Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Yankees Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, Giants two-time Super Bowl-wining quarterback Eli Manning, actor Daniel Radcliff and more.

Trump's presence led to the cancellation of a planned watch party outside the arena. There was instead one a few blocks away in Bryant Park, which included police intervening in at least one altercation among people gathered, according to video from the scene.

Officers also shut down an unauthorized viewing party when the game was projected onto the side of a building on 33rd Street not far from The Garden.

The possibility of a sweep drove ticket prices up to more than $10,000 apiece over the weekend, and the price is about the same for an if-necessary Game 6, which is more likely now after San Antonio guaranteed a Game 5 back in Texas.

Fewer than 20,000 people will get the opportunity to attend each night in the Big Apple. Alvarado knows far more will be watching on television all over.

“The people that can’t afford it, we improvise,” he said. "We’re New Yorkers. We’re going to find a way to watch a game, and that’s what we’re doing.”

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Associated Press writer Philip Marcelo contributed to this report.

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

The results are not in question. Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faces serious opposition for their party's nomination. And yet Tuesday marks an especially significant moment for Platner, the embattled veteran and oyster farmer, who is fighting to rebuild his credibility in a campaign rocked by controversy.

Elsewhere, President Donald Trump's clout within his party will be tested anew in states like South Carolina and Nevada, where he's endorsed his favored candidates. Democrats hope to build momentum in Nevada in their broader push to reclaim key governor's seats.

Powerful family ties will also be in the spotlight in Maine and South Carolina, where candidates with political pedigrees are running for office.

Here's what we're watching Tuesday.

Platner faces a big moment

Platner sits at the very center of the Democratic Party's quest to reclaim the Senate majority this fall. So Democrats need him to take a significant step forward Tuesday, with the eyes of the nation watching, in the urgent task of rebuilding his credibility.

It was barely a week ago when revelations surfaced that Platner had engaged in sexually explicit messages with multiple women while married. Allies wondered if more baggage would emerge, and then The New York Times reported new allegations about his behavior during previous relationships.

There is no doubt that Platner will win his party's Senate nomination Tuesday. His most serious opponent, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign in April after it became clear Platner was in a commanding position. That said, Mills is still technically on the ballot and some advocates have suggested voting for her as a way to protest Platner.

More important, perhaps, will be Platner's public remarks Tuesday night. Friends and foes alike will be paying close attention to how he addresses the evolving questions about his past and whether he can refocus the race on Collins.

Maine race will test Democrats’ standards

It's not just Platner who will be tested Tuesday — the Democratic Party itself will face new scrutiny about its standards in the Trump era.

So far, Platner's biggest national supporters have remained firmly behind him. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of his earliest backers, reiterated his support for the Maine Democrat on Saturday, a day after Rep. Ro Khanna appeared alongside Platner at a campaign event.

The public show of support reflects how much Democratic politics have changed over the last decade.

At the height of the #MeToo movement, Democrats argued they held their candidates to a higher standard than Republicans, particularly as Trump faced a series of sexual misconduct allegations. Back in 2017, Democratic leaders pressured Sen. Al Franken to resign in the wake of allegations of inappropriate touching and kissing.

The reaction to Platner has been markedly different. Even after allegations surfaced that he locked a woman in a room, among other accusations of inappropriate behavior, most Democrats have declined to abandon him.

“I think President Trump set a new standard,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Expect Democratic leaders to face a new round of difficult questions about their own standards after Tuesday's primary.

Trump looks to shake off embarrassment

Just a week ago, Trump's pick for Iowa governor was defeated in a rare rebuke from his own party. Trump hopes to move past the political embarrassment during a fresh test of his political clout in South Carolina and Nevada.

The biggest may come in South Carolina, where Trump has endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in a five-person Republican gubernatorial primary. There are a number of other high-profile candidates in the race, including Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, who may prove formidable. State Attorney General Alan Wilson and millionaire Rom Reddy are also running.

Trump will also keep a close eye on whether one of his closest allies in Congress, Sen. Lindsey Graham, is forced into a runoff for the first time ever. Graham faces appliance business owner Mark Lynch, who Trump has said “would be a DISASTER for the Republican Party” if elected.

Candidates must earn a majority of the vote to avoid a June 23 runoff.

Meanwhile, in Nevada’s 2nd congressional district, Trump-backed candidate retired Lt. Col. David Flippo is facing former state Sen. James Settelmeyer. Republican Rep. Mark Amodei, who announced his retirement from the seat, has endorsed Settelmeyer, as has the state’s governor, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.

Democrats eye a key governor's seat

Democrats will select a nominee for Nevada's governor race, where they have a real opportunity to flip control of the swing state this fall. Republican incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo is considered one of the most vulnerable governors in the country.

The race is a window into the broader political landscape this fall as Democrats go on the offensive in several states Trump won in 2024.

The Democrats vying to challenge Lombardo include state Attorney General Aaron Ford, who has the backing of the Democratic congressional delegation and former Vice President Kamala Harris. He would be the first Black man elected governor of Nevada. He's facing Democrat Alexis Hill, a county commissioner in northern Nevada who campaigned as a candidate willing to shake things up.

Democrats are also fighting to win Republican-held governors' seats in states like Georgia, Ohio and Iowa.

Republicans, of course, have several pickup opportunities of their own, despite the challenging political environment for their party. They include Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Can they keep it in the family?

The power of political family ties will be tested in at least two states where candidates with last names you'll likely recognize are on the ballot.

In Maine, Democrats Angus King III and Hannah Pingree are competing for their party's nomination for governor. King is the businessman son of U.S. Sen. Angus King. Pingree, a former speaker of the state House, is the daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, who has represented the state's 1st congressional district since 2009.

There's a member of an even bigger political dynasty on Maine's ballot, too. Republican candidate for governor Jonathan Bush, a 57-year-old businessman, is the nephew of former President George H.W. Bush — and yes, that also makes him the cousin of former President George W. Bush. Despite the family ties, Jonathan Bush is casting himself as the outsider in the race and focusing heavily on his local business experience.

And don't forget about South Carolina, where Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson is running for governor. While he has established his own resume as the state's top law enforcement official, Wilson also happens to be the son of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, who has served South Carolina in the House of Representatives for a quarter century.

South Carolina: redistricting dies and Clyburn’s political future survives

Just weeks ago, longtime Rep. James Clyburn, the dean of South Carolina Democrats, appeared to be facing the greatest threat to his political future.

Republican lawmakers, backed by Trump, considered a congressional map that would have significantly altered Clyburn’s majority-Black district and made it harder for him to hold onto the seat for an 18th term. But the Republican-led state Senate rejected the effort, leaving his district largely intact.

Clyburn is heavily favored in Tuesday’s Democratic primary against a little-known challenger. As South Carolina’s lone Democratic House member, he's one of the party’s most influential figures, with many Democrats expecting him to play a significant role in the lead-up to the 2028 presidential race.

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Peoples reported from New York.

The days of struggling to win double-digit games are behind the Hidden Valley Titans, who have transformed themselves into one of the state’s most dangerous teams heading into the state playoffs.

“Numbers were down the first couple of years, and when I took over, the numbers were right where we wanted them to be, and we had some good young talent coming up,” said Hidden Valley head coach Kevin Slough.

“So every year we’ve gotten better. This year, the flip has been the leadership that we have on the team and everybody just working well together and making plays.”

The Titans have scored 49 more runs than the national average, including 23 runs in just two games during the month of June.

But it’s the pitching that the Titans pride themselves on, highlighted by their 6-foot-6 ace.

“I know when I go out there, I can just throw strikes, and if a runner happens to get on base or get a hit, I’m not worried about it because they could hit three home runs and we’d still have a lead,” said senior pitcher Wynn Womeldorf. “So it kind of gives me a lot of confidence on the mound knowing I have some bats behind me.”

“Our pitching this year has been the key, and there have been times this year we haven’t used nearly enough pitching because our starters are going deep into games,” Slough said.

With a strong class of eight seniors, it’s possible a handful of Titans will lace up their cleats for the final time. But the ride has certainly been worth it.

“The past four years with this team have been crazy,” said senior catcher Chase Pritchard. “I played at Cave Spring, and I transferred over here my freshman year, and I honestly wouldn’t have changed it for the world. All my buddies are over here, so we’re just rolling right now. We’ve just got to keep it going.”

“I’ve been playing with them since middle school — travel ball, Little League, all that. So it just feels great to kind of finish it out on a high note with them," concluded Womeldorf.

The state playoff game marks the Titans first since 2012. They’ll take their home field on Tuesday at 4 p.m. against Spotswood.

In a television interview Monday with Channel Nine’s “100% Footy,” Evans said he was gay and that he felt like a weight had lifted off him when he finally could talk about it publicly.

Evans is the first high-level rugby league player in Australia to come out as gay since Ian Roberts in 1995.

Evans played 131 games in the elite National Rugby League from 2014-2021 for clubs including the Sydney Roosters, Parramatta and the New Zealand-based Warriors before finishing off his professional career in England in 2023. He played 13 international games for Fiji.

“I had three goals in life: It was to play NRL, to buy my parents a house, and then I wanted to top myself, because I was living in denial from a young age,” the 34-year-old Evans said in the television interview. “I know that I’m gay. But I went down every other avenue to sort of build up these walls ... to escape who I am.”

After struggling with addiction and suicidal thoughts as he dealt with his sexuality as a younger man and professional footballer, and then experiencing homelessness after a business collapse in his post-rugby league career, Evans finally got the support he needed.

Helping out

Evans said it was only after talking to Joe Galuvao, a former player who works with the Rugby League Players’ Association, that he realized help was so close.

“I thank God that he came and visited me and got me into rehab with the help of the RLPA,” Evans said.

Others in the football fraternity reached out, Evans said. Like Sydney Roosters head coach Trent Robinson, who helped pay the bills while Evans was in rehabilitation and invited him back into the club.

“He called me just to let me know that the Roosters are still my home and they’ve got my back, whatever I’m facing,” Evans said. “That meant the world to me. He took me, my best friend, and one of my mentors to Roosters HQ a week after I got out of rehab."

Evans had planned to come out to his family before the television interview aired.

“I've been fighting a war within since I was about 15 years old and it's not sustainable,” he said. “I’m here today to show people that you don’t have to live like that. Even now I feel a bit more free, just by saying it out loud, I’ve brought it to the light."

Evans said he'd had “people blackmail me … I’ve had people try to deflect their problems by trying to out me. And it just built up a lot of shame, and fear and guilt within myself.”

“Now I’ve spoken about it, I’ve shattered all those chains. They’ve lost their power," he added. “I feel like coming and speaking to you today, fear, shame, guilt -- all of that, I’ve cut ties with all that. I feel peace within.”

Great support

Roberts, who played for Australia in the 1990s, described Evans' interview as an “extraordinary moment” and “I was in tears watching.”

“I am so proud of him,” Roberts told News Corp. “Everything he was saying ... I thought ‘this poor kid,’ I know exactly where he is in his head, what he is going through, the extremes of uncertainty of your own sense of self and your sense of other people.”

Andrew Johns, one of rugby league's greatest players, said the bravery Evans had shown would be encouraging for other people.

“To come out and tell the world, especially the rugby league world, it's incredibly strong," Johns told the Nine network. “There's going to be so much love for him in the rugby league — he's going to save a lot of lives.”

Johns said there were a lot of young people struggling with their sexuality and when “they see someone like Kane and the pain he's gone through, and the strength he's shown, it'll help them stand up and talk to parents, or people close to them.”

“So Kane, well done mate," he added. "We all love you. Incredibly proud of you.”

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

He said friends for years have jokingly referred to him as senator and asked if he has ever thought about running. He said he’s been considering it for more than a decade.

“This is my choice,” Sullivan, who lives in the small fishing community of Petersburg, said in a telephone interview Monday.

Last week, Sen. Dan Sullivan accused the challenger Sullivan of “trying to trick” voters to help his main rival in the race, Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola. The senator suggested the other Sullivan's entrance in the August primary was part of a coordinated effort by Democrats and Peltola's campaign to confuse voters, an accusation they deny. He threatened litigation to get to the bottom of it.

Late Monday, Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican who oversees elections in the state, announced she was opening an investigation into the candidacy of the challenger Sullivan.

‘I have every right to run’

The issue is of national concern to Republicans because they are seeking to hold onto their majority in the U.S. Senate in what is expected to be a difficult midterm election year for the party in power. Sullivan, the challenger, dismissed claims that his candidacy is a merely a ruse to undermine the senator's reelection chances.

He said he has had no contact with Peltola's campaign — “zero, none, zilch” — and said “no” when asked if anyone from the state Democratic Party or any national Democratic operatives had contacted him to run.

A Peltola spokesperson, Harry Child, has said the campaign “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.” The executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, Jenny-Marie Stryker, said her organization “is in no way affiliated with either Dan Sullivan.” A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson, Monica Robinson, replied “no” when asked if the group had been involved in urging the challenger Sullivan to run.

Sullivan called sharing a name with the Alaska's incumbent U.S. senator “a matter of fate” and said he had done nothing wrong.

“I have every right to run for whatever office I'm qualified for, and I’m qualified for this office,” the challenger said, adding: “I think I’m doing what most Americans would think would be a patriotic thing to do when you’re unsatisfied with the status quo. You stand up and say, I’m going to fight for things I believe that are going to make my community better.”

Like Murkowski, but with 'touches of a Rand Paul Republican’

Ballots in prior years in Alaska have not identified the incumbent, but the Alaska Division of Elections’ current candidate list online does. It also distinguishes the candidates using a middle initial — Dan S. Sullivan for the senator and Dan J. Sullivan for the challenger.

Alaska has open primaries in which the top four vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the ranked choice general election in November. Sen. Sullivan's campaign worries having two Dan Sullivans on the ballot could confuse voters.

Sen. Sullivan's campaign, in a statement Monday, said, “Alaskans deserve a fair and honest election — not political games meant to manipulate the ballot and benefit Democrats.”

The challenger said he was registered with the limited government-leaning Alaskan Independence Party for decades, until the party's dissolution late last year. Election officials had said voters registered with the party could change their affiliation but if they did not, they'd be shown as “undeclared.” Sullivan said he then was listed as undeclared until filing to run for office, when he registered as Republican.

He said he was motivated in part by his late father, whom he described as a “true, compassionate, conservative Republican.” He said if he had to label himself, it would be “a pragmatic Republican centrist” — similar to Alaska's senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, but “with touches of a Rand Paul Republican in there.”

He said he grew up in the Chicago area but was drawn to Alaska and put down roots nearly 50 years ago in Petersburg. The fishing community of about 3,400 in southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest is known as “Little Norway” for its many residents with Scandinavian roots. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service before changing careers and becoming a teacher. He has since retired.

Candidate ponders how to run a campaign

Like most communities in Alaska, Petersburg isn't connected to the state's main road system and is accessible only by air or water. Juneau, the nearest city, is about 45 minutes away by plane.

Petersburg sits on Mitkof Island, which is distinguished by mountains, thick stands of forest and boggy areas called muskeg. Sea lions hauled up on buoys and humpback whales and orcas are common sights off its shores.

Sullivan, who will turn 69 this weekend, passed on an interview request last Friday, he said, because the king salmon were running and he wanted to fish.

As far as his run for office, the challenger said he plans to do some fundraising and hopes to campaign in the state's larger cities, including Anchorage and Juneau, but he so far has no firm plans to do so and is working on the details.

He finds the current dustup over his Senate run — and the incumbent's reaction — a bit surprising.

“I guess my thought would be, ‘Dude, why don’t you just run your campaign?’ If you’ve got a strong record, run on your record. People will love you for it and you’ll be swept back into office,” he said Monday. “Why would he be concerned that a guy out of Petersburg is this huge threat?”

It's extremely difficult to independently verify reports released by state-controlled media outlets of North Korea and China. But their dispatches on the meeting touted a joint push for greater cooperation while not mentioning North Korea's banned pursuit of nuclear weapons. This implies the summit produced outcomes both leaders could portray as gains; Xi reaffirms influence on North Korea and Kim wins some economic and political benefits.

It was Xi's first visit to North Korea in seven years. Xi and Kim last met in Beijing in September after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.

Xi was given pomp-filled, extravagant welcome ceremony

Upon arrival at Pyongyang's international airport on Monday, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were greeted by Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju, who broadly smiled and clapped.

Xi later arrived at Pyongyang’s main square, where a military honor guard and thousands of people, including children carrying balloons and hopping, staged a welcoming ceremony. Buildings surrounding the plaza were draped in the two countries’ flags, giant portraits of Kim and Xi and red-and-yellow banners welcoming the Chinese leader and celebrating the nations’ “friendship and unity.”

In the evening, Kim threw a banquet for Xi and his delegation.

Kim calls North Korea-China ties ‘most important’

In a summit later Monday, Xi expressed China’s willingness to expand cooperation in a wide range of areas including trade, agriculture, construction and technology, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report.

Xi said the two countries should strengthen strategic cooperation and firmly safeguard their respective sovereignty and security interests, according to the report.

Kim, for his part, affirmed that North Korea and China will maintain their friendship as “the most important top-priority strategic work," the official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday. Kim called Xi “the greatest state guest,” saying he views the fact Xi chose North Korea as a destination for his first foreign travel this year as “the most encouraging support” to North Korea, according to KCNA.

Kim also reiterated Pyongyang’s support for Beijing’s “one-China principle,” a reference to Beijing’s official position that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. Kim and Xi also discussed international and regional issues and reached broad agreement on strengthening strategic coordination to safeguard their shared interests, KCNA said.

Sway over North Korea could help Xi's dealings with US

China has long been North Korea’s economic lifeline and main diplomatic backer. Experts say China has avoided fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sent clandestine aid to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat. This year marks 65 years since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty.

But there have been questions about their ties in recent years, with North Korea prioritizing cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and weapons to support its war against Ukraine. In return, North Korea has received economic and military assistance from Russia.

Restoring an exclusive influence over North Korea would give Xi leverage in dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to restart diplomacy with Kim. Xi and Trump met in Beijing last month and are to meet again in the U.S. in September.

Xi's trip was meant to demonstrate China’s “sway over the Korean Peninsula” and “a leadership role in entire Northeast Asia in the age of strategic competition with the U.S.,” said Kwak Gil Sup, the head of One Korea Center, a website specializing in North Korea affairs.

“Implementing U.N. Security Council resolutions and enforcing sanctions do not appear to be priorities for China,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

Kim needs Xi's support for his nuke ambitions, economy revival

A key takeaway from the Chinese and North Korean reports was that they didn't touch upon North Korea's nuclear program at all. No public mention of the subject by Xi was crucial for Kim, who is desperate to win international recognition as a nuclear weapons state as a way to call for lifting of U.N. sanctions on North Korea.

That stands in contrast to Xi's trip to North Korea in 2019, when he was quoted by Chinese media as saying that Beijing was willing play a constructive role in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Xi's 2019 trip came after Kim's nuclear diplomacy with Trump collapsed earlier that year.

After last month’s summit between Trump and Xi, the White House said the two leaders confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea. But China only said the leaders discussed the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

Ahead of Xi’s trip, North Korea made it clear again that it’s advancing nuclear program is non-negotiable. Kim unveiled a new plant to produce nuclear ingredients and vowed to bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.” His sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, also dismissed as an “anachronistic dream” a U.S. push for the denuclearization of North Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told reporters Monday that North Korea is producing enough nuclear ingredients annually for about 10 to 20 bombs and is close to perfecting intercontinental ballistic missile technology.

“Chinese officials have taken the position of not speaking publicly about denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula while still maintaining it as a long-term goal. Kim appears to want Xi to accept North Korea as a nuclear neighbor,” Easley said.

Xi could have offered economic aid packages such as shipments of rice and fertilizers and a resumption of Chinese group tourism to North Korea as well, analysts said.

“North Korea can’t solely rely on Russia. It needs to align with China,” Kwak said.

Two-way trade volume between China and North Korea last year recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Earlier this year, the countries also resumed direct flights and passenger trains that were stalled since the pandemic. Xi said Monday that both nations should use the reopening of flight and train services as a chance to expand people-to-people exchanges.

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Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press writer E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing contributed to this report.

The screwworm is actually a fly larva that eats living flesh instead of dead material. The flies lay their eggs in open wounds of animals like cattle, but wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans can be infested. The government has a program to breed sterile male flies and drop swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females, which kept screwworm contained at the southern end of Panama for decades.

So far, there are five confirmed cases: three calves and a goat in Texas and a dog from neighboring Lea County, New Mexico. The small dog, which the USDA initially reported as a Texas case, lives in New Mexico and was reclassified as the first in that state.

The dog had not traveled to Mexico or Texas, so authorities were investigating around the property where the pet lived. If they find infected flies, animal inspections in the area will increase, New Mexico State Veterinarian Samantha Holeck said during a virtual news conference Monday.

Screwworm cases continue to climb

The first two screwworm cases were discovered last week in calves a few miles apart in south Texas. A case was announced Monday in a calf in La Salle County, southwest of San Antonio, and in a goat in Gillespie County, west of Austin.

In each case, officials have set up a 12-mile (20-kilometer) quarantine zone to try to slow the parasite's advance.

Along with cattle and other warm-blooded livestock, scientists worry screwworms could devastate the millions of wild white-tailed deer in Texas.

Scientists expect new cases could pop up in the coming days and weeks, but it doesn't mean screwworm is spreading rapidly, said Edward Burgess, a University of Florida entomologist who studies the fly.

“When that first case is seen, everyone is being vigilant and their eyes are on it more intensely,” Burgess said. “And when you are looking for something, you are more likely to see it.”

A race to stop the screwworm now moves to Texas

Screwworm gets its name from the maggots’ habit of burrowing — or screwing — into a wound, according to the USDA. The pest eats the flesh of the animal, further opening wounds and increasing the risk of deadly bacterial infections. Animals can die within a few weeks if not treated. There are a dozen government-approved medications to treat livestock.

The agency and the U.S. cattle industry have been racing to prevent an outbreak since screwworm was detected in Mexico late in 2024. The USDA has been dropping sterile flies in south Texas since February and is working to both increase sterile fly production in plants outside the U.S. and build a $750 million fly factory in Texas.

So far, screwworm's reappearance hasn’t greatly affected beef prices, which are already near record levels because there are fewer cows in the United States. Although the parasite attacks live cattle, it does not infest meat or fruit.

Canada temporarily stopped importing cattle, horses or other livestock from Texas on Friday. The parasites prefer humid areas where temperatures are at least 77 F (25 C), making them more of a summer problem up north.

Fighting screwworms with sterile male flies

Burgess said the long-term solution — breeding sterile male flies — is months away. Since wild female flies mate just once, if that encounter is with a sterile male, outbreaks can eventually be halted as the flies die out.

The goal is to have enough sterile flies to stop the pests from returning in 2027 after the winter kills off most of them, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a news conference at the U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, Texas.

Scientists are also working on ways to sterilize only male flies to make the program even more effective.

Texas officials encouraged ranchers to keep a close eye on their herds and local wildlife. There's now a 24-hour screwworm hotline and a website and map for reported cases.

“This is a highly treatable condition if you act on it immediately,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said.

However, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller — who lost the recent Republican primary to a candidate backed by Abbott — said the federal response will take too long and risks crippling the cattle industry.

Instead, he says a poison bait could eliminate the screwworm problem in a few months, even if the USDA and other experts say the bait hasn’t been proven effective and could poison other flies, animals and even humans.

“What the hell is a good fly?” Miller said in an interview.

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This story has been updated to reflect that the USDA revised the dog screwworm case to New Mexico, not Texas as the agency initially reported, and to correct the spelling of Kerrville.

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Associated Press writers Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

The state first used nitrogen for capital punishment in 2024, and the ruling could upend Alabama’s next scheduled execution on Thursday. The method involves strapping a respirator to the person’s face and replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen, causing death from lack of oxygen.

The three-judge panel on Monday night reversed a judge’s May finding that the nitrogen method does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment and remanded the case for additional consideration. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed last year by Jeffery Lee, a man on death row who is scheduled to be executed with nitrogen on Thursday at a south Alabama prison.

The panel stopped short of staying Lee’s planned execution. However, the panel asked the judge to consider whether his proposed alternative of a firing squad was feasible.

The U.S. Supreme Court requires a two-prong test for people challenging the constitutionality of an execution method. They must show the method provides a substantial risk of superadded pain and that a feasible alternative method is available. The appeals court said Lee met the first test but sent it back to the trial court to consider the second.

The appeals panel raised concerns about the nitrogen method and how long it might take the subject to lose awareness.

“In our view, the overall suffering described by the district court, which lasts for one to three minutes, presents a substantial risk of serious harm over and above death itself," the panel wrote. “Counting to 60 or 180 seconds is not a quick exercise, and constitutionally speaking, that timeframe is intolerable given the suffering that would likely take place under Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia protocol.”

The Alabama Attorney General’s Office did not immediately issue a comment on the decision. The state has maintained the method is constitutional.

Opponents of the method cheered the decision.

“For the first time a court has acknowledged what I and so many others have seen with our own eyes. Nitrogen executions are a unique form of horror,” said the Rev. Jeff Hood, who was the spiritual adviser at two nitrogen executions.

Nitrogen has been used in eight executions nationally — seven times in Alabama and once in Louisiana. Lee’s attorneys argued it causes excessive suffering. Alabama’s last nitrogen execution took more than 30 minutes to complete.

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

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

The ruling came several hours after a vigil was held at the Alabama Capitol urging the governor to reduce Lee’s sentence to life imprisonment.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he opposed the clemency request.

“The people of Alabama have not forgotten Jimmy and Elaine. I have not forgotten them," Marshall said. “Anything short of carrying out the sentence imposed by the court falls short of justice for the victims, and that is not what victims of this state deserve.”

The San Francisco-based company said Monday it has filed confidential paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We expect it to leak so we’re just announcing it,” the company said in a statement. “We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.”

OpenAI's move follows its rival Anthropic's June 1 disclosure that it is also moving toward an initial public offering of shares. Both are now following Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX, which has started an IPO roadshow pitching itself as an AI-focused space company.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first publicly floated the possibility of an IPO last fall, describing it as the “most likely path” for the company given its size and the need for vast amounts of capital to advance its technology.

OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the common good and is now a company valued at $852 billion.

The filing comes at a “precarious moment” for OpenAI as it appears to be losing ChatGPT’s strong early leads with consumers and businesses to Google and Anthropic, said Emarketer analyst Nate Elliott.

“But OpenAI doesn’t have a lot of other places to look for the enormous capital required to support its costs,” Elliott said.

Paving the way for going public was OpenAI’s decision last year to reorganize its business structure and convert itself into a public benefit corporation even as it remains technically under the control of a nonprofit.

OpenAI cleared another obstacle last month with its victory against Musk in a federal jury trial. Musk, an OpenAI co-founder and early donor, had sued the company seeking to oust Altman from its leadership and unravel its conversion to a for-profit business. A judge dismissed the case after the jury found Musk filed his lawsuit too late.

OpenAI has not yet publicly disclosed how much money it is making or when it plans to turn a profit. Much like Anthropic and SpaceX, the company has been losing more money than it makes because of the huge costs of building out the venture. OpenAI faces fierce competition from Anthropic, maker of the increasingly popular chatbot Claude, and Google's AI assistant Gemini.

In an April interview, OpenAI’s chief financial officer Sarah Friar declined to give a timeline for a potential IPO but said the company was already “acting with the good hygiene of a public company,” such as by measuring its revenue in the way a publicly traded firm would have to report earnings to the SEC.

“I want us to be ready,” she told The Associated Press. “I think it’s good to be able to tap the public markets. They’re much bigger than the private markets."

She said OpenAI’s current valuation would make it one of the 15 biggest companies in the S&P 500.

She also said there is a “credentializing moment of being a public company.”

“At that point, people are checking your balance sheet, the SEC is governing you and so on,” she said.

In a separate statement Monday published around the same time as the announcement of the confidential filing, Altman outlined a broad vision for OpenAI including three big goals: building an automated AI researcher, accelerating economic growth and giving “everyone on Earth a personal AGI,” which stands for artificial general intelligence or a form of AI that surpasses humans at many tasks.

Altman said OpenAI started out in AI research and moved into commercial product development but is now moving into its third phase involving a “broad distribution of power” as the economy reshapes around AI technology.

He said OpenAI is “working to ensure the gains are widely shared. Everyone should have an opportunity for a meaningful share in the prosperity AI creates.”

The remarks follow Altman’s visit last week with Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is pushing a plan for the public to take a 50% ownership stake in AI companies such as OpenAI, as well as comments from President Donald Trump embracing giving the public a stake in AI’s growth.

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AP Technology Writer Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this report.

The person said Knight will first sign a foundational contract with Las Vegas as part of Phase 2 of the league’s expansion signing process. Las Vegas in turn has reached an agreement to trade Knight to Detroit for the team’s first-round pick in the draft next week, the person added.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the trade. The deal won’t become official until the PWHL’s trade freeze lifts on June 16, a day before the draft.

The 36-year-old Knight is a five-time U.S. Olympian and one of the most decorated players in her sport. She is coming off captaining Team USA to a gold-medal victory at the Milan Cortina Games in February, in which Knight deflected in the championship game-tying goal late in the third period of a 2-1 overtime win against Canada.

Though Knight said the Olympics in Milan would be her last, she planned on continuing her pro career.

Knight is on the move for a second straight PWHL offseason. After spending her first two PWHL seasons in Boston, she left the Fleet to sign with the expansion Seattle Torrent to be closer to her offseason home in Idaho.

Now, it’ll be the Chicago-area town where she grew up that she’s closer to.

As much as Knight and the Torrent would have preferred she remain in Seattle, the team under the expansion rules was restricted to protecting three players. The Torrent chose to protect forward Alex Carpenter, defender Anna Wilgren and goalie Hannah Murphy.

Knight at least gets the benefit of signing a foundational offer, which guarantees her at least $100,000 per season. She made $106,090 last year.

Each of the PWHL’s four expansion teams were allowed one foundational contract offer. Las Vegas still had its foundational slot open, while Detroit used its offer to sign Toronto forward Daryl Watts last week.

Las Vegas, meanwhile, lands an additional first-round pick in a draft class stocked with young talent and led by five U.S. national team members, including defender Caroline Harvey and defender/forward Laila Edwards. The PWHL has yet to set the draft order, with the exception of Vancouver picking first.

Knight counts toward one of the five players Las Vegas must add in this expansion phase, which closes on Monday. The team filled its final two slots by signing Walter Cup champion Montreal Victoire teammates forward Hayley Scamurra, a two-time U.S. Olympian, and defender Erin Ambrose, a two-time Canadian Olympian.

San Jose rounded out its initial five-player roster by signing New York forward Maddi Wheeler to a two-year contract. Wheeler is the third Sirens player to join the team, joining Anne Cherkowski and Kristin O’Neill.

Phase 2 of the expansion process closed with Vancouver not losing a player, and Boston losing just one, with forward Alina Muller signing with Hamilton.

In Detroit, Knight joins a team that already features three U.S. gold medal-winning teammates in forwards Britta Curl-Salemme, Hannah Bilka and defender Cayla Barnes, who were signed in the expansion process. She also is reunited with newly hired Detroit coach Josh Sciba, who was an assistant on the U.S. Olympic team.

And Knight joins a team headed by one of women's hockey's trailblazers in GM Manon Rheaume. The 54-year-old Rheaume was a goaltender, and the first woman to appear in an exhibition game of any of North America’s four major sports.

Earlier in the day, Detroit filled its fifth expansion spot by signing Toronto forward Jesse Compher to a three-year contract. Compher won a silver medal representing the U.S. at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Knight finished last season with five goals and 14 points in 22 games, while missing the final two months of the season with a lower-body injury. A year earlier, she finished tied for the league lead with 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists). Overall, she ranks 12th in the PWHL with 54 career points (26 goals, 28 assists) in 76 games.

The trade caps an eventful stretch for Knight. A day before winning gold, she became engaged to American speedskater Brittany Bowe. Her goal against Canada was her 15th and 33rd point of her Olympic career, U.S. records for both categories.

In 2024, Knight was the International Ice Hockey Federation's female player of the year. She has won two Olympic gold and three silver medals since making her Team USA debut at the 2007 world championships. She has won 10 gold medals at worlds and holds the career tournament records for goals (67), assists (53) and points (120).

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday that a Somali national who was planning to referee in the World Cup had been denied entry after arriving to Miami International Airport from Istanbul on Saturday. While the CBP statement didn’t mention the person by name, Artan is the only World Cup referee from Somalia.

FIFA confirmed later Monday that Artan wouldn't be able to train and officiate at the World Cup, then released a statement on the referee's behalf.

“Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career," Artan said in the statement. “I would like to thank FIFA and (the African federation) for all their support and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future. I want to thank the football family for their messages and wish my colleagues all the best success during the World Cup and I look forward to joining them again in future competitions.”

In its own statement, FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes and was informed by authorities that Artan's “status will not be changed at present.”

“In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country," soccer's governing body said.

CBP issued a release explaining why Artan was denied entry.

“During processing, the traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility,” CBP said in its statement. “Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.”

CBP noted that all travelers seeking entry into the U.S. — including athletes, coaches and staff — are subject to CBP inspection and vetting.

“Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” the CBP statement said. “CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections, and determine admissibility consistent with U.S. law.”

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

Now, one of those politicians has pleaded guilty to being an illegal agent of the Chinese government. Former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang's plea, entered in federal court Friday, continues a saga that some residents of the area worry could bring unfair scrutiny on the broader Chinese and Asian American community.

Arcadia has gone under rapid demographic change in the last two decades as immigrants from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong flocked to the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. After Wang's case was made public May 11, the news made national headlines and filled the unassuming suburban city with anger, disappointment and murmurs of quiet concern. On social media, fears about spies and Chinese Communist Party influence abounded.

“We cannot allow this moment to become an excuse for people to paint entire communities with one brush or weaponize ethnicity for political gain,” acting Mayor Paul Cheng said in a statement.

Shock in heavily Chinese community

Wang agreed in April to plead guilty to doing the bidding of Chinese officials by sharing articles favorable of Beijing on a news website she ran, without notifying the U.S. government as required by law.

The 56-year-old was elected in November 2022 to a five-person City Council, from which the mayor is selected on a rotating basis. She was born in Chengdu, China, and immigrated to the U.S. in 1995.

The San Gabriel Valley is home to the largest concentration of residents of Chinese and Taiwanese descent in the United States. Beginning in the 1970s, real estate developers marketed the region as “Chinese Beverly Hills” to woo affluent immigrants. As the population grew, it became a haven for newer immigrants who could go about life without needing English, access business opportunities, and avoid putting their children through China’s intensely competitive education system. Arcadia's population of about 53,000 is majority Asian, like many other cities in the region.

Ted Tseng, 52, arrived in Arcadia from Taiwan nearly 40 years ago with his parents, who emigrated because they feared potential conflict between Taiwan and China.

Tseng was concerned Wang's indictment would deepen animosity against Asian Americans and discredit their contributions to the region. Fears of anti-Asian racism, though hate crimes are down since the COVID-19 pandemic, still linger.

“I'm just worried our image has been damaged,” Tseng said.

Feds crack down on Chinese espionage

The U.S. Department of Justice has escalated efforts in recent years to combat Chinese espionage. In April, a man accused of running a secret Chinese spy outpost in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood was convicted of acting as an illegal foreign agent.

Wang has suggested that she was misled by her former fiance, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, who pleaded guilty to the same charge last year and is now serving a four-year prison sentence. Sun was the treasurer for Wang’s 2022 election campaign.

A statement shared by Wang's lawyers references her "trust and love for apparently the wrong person who ultimately led her astray.”

April Verlato, a former City Council member who served with Wang, said Wang and Sun lived together, and Sun accompanied Wang wherever she went.

Verlato said Wang should have stepped down as soon as she came under investigation.

“She was being selfish, getting sworn in as mayor and not resigning when she knew she was going to be pleading guilty to something,” Verlato said.

Gene Sun, a long-time lawyer in Arcadia, agreed.

“I don't understand how she could have continued being a City Council member,” he said.

Beijing seeks influence overseas

It is not surprising that the Chinese government would attempt to exert political influence in the region, especially given the increased political tension and economic rivalry between China and the U.S. in recent years, said Wei Li, a professor of Asian Pacific American Studies at Arizona State University.

“A lot of countries, if they have the will and if they have the means, will try to influence their diaspora,” Li said.

According to his federal criminal complaint, Sun was in contact with John Chen, who also pleaded guilty to being an illegal agent of the Chinese government, regarding local politicians that Beijing could influence. In reports to Chinese officials, Sun and Chen called Wang a “New Political Star” and bragged about her contacts with mainstream U.S. politicians.

They also wrote of combatting “anti-China forces” such as Taiwan independence and the Falun Gong, an exiled anti-communist spiritual movement.

In a January 2023 message from Chen to Wang referenced in Sun’s criminal complaint, Chen said: “You are doing a good job, I hope you can continue the good work, make Chinese people proud.”

Some fear political repercussions for Asian Americans

Not only was the news of her guilty plea like a “slap in the face," the reaction from some community members has also been painful, said Cheng, the acting mayor.

Some residents at a May 19 City Council meeting blamed remaining council members for enabling Wang and called for their resignations.

“I’ve been called more names, been told to go back to China although that’s not where I’m from,” said Cheng, who came to the U.S. from Taiwan at age 2.

For many Arcadia residents and workers, life was as usual the day after the news broke. Many smiled apologetically when asked about the issue, saying they don’t pay attention to politics.

Aliza Mo, who emigrated from China six years ago for her children's education, said she first thought the headlines must be exaggerated.

“A lot of people wondered if it was discrimination," she said.

When she learned what Wang pleaded guilty to, she changed her mind.

“I think it would be improper for anyone to be doing something like that,” she said.

Separately, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that Roman Abramovich acted as a go-between for messages between Kyiv and Moscow. Zelenskyy told Sky News that the former owner of Premier League team Chelsea traveled to Kyiv with a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy said Abramovich brought the message that the Russians “want to understand what we are ready to do,” and had offered to take a reply to Putin.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said a new proposed round of sanctions against Russia includes 80 listings targeting Russia’s “military industrial complex, human rights violators and propagandists.”

Kaja Kallas told a news conference after a meeting of EU defense ministers Monday that Western sanctions have already cost Moscow an estimated $1.2 to 1.5 trillion.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 310 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.

Russia targeted Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 124, according to its air force.

Ukraine strikes Russian energy sites

Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces had struck Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region overnight, hitting the Grushovaya oil transshipment base near Novorossiysk. The complex is one of the largest transshipment hubs in southern Russia for oil and petroleum products.

Russian regional authorities confirmed a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at the facility, adding that there were no casualties. While they did not comment on the extent of damage, they said 130 rescue workers were involved in putting out the blaze.

Asked whether the Kremlin is worried about the fuel crisis in Crimea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Energy Ministry and other agencies are working on a set of measures to respond to the situation.

“There are indeed certain problems at the moment,” Peskov said. “Measures are being taken.”

The Krasny Yar “linear production and dispatching station” in the Volgograd region was also hit, the General Staff said. A fire broke out at the site, according to the statement. Russian Gov. Andrei Bocharov didn’t specify what the facility produces, but said there were no injuries.

Ukraine also carried out strikes overnight in the Semykolodezkaya oil base in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula on Sunday night, sparking a fire at the facility. The base is used to store fuel reserves supplying the Russian military, according to the statement posted on Telegram.

Ukrainian forces also struck an oil depot near Feodosia in Crimea, the General Staff said.

Zelenskyy sent message to Putin

Zelenskyy said his message was that he would meet Putin “any time” in any location other than Russia or Belarus, and either bilaterally or with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.

But he said Ukraine would not surrender the Donbas region, currently part-occupied by Russia.

“It was the key message. I said we will not leave and we will not go out from our territory,” Zelenskyy told Sky News.

Putin said last week that a Russian businessman, who he didn’t identify, traveled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelenskyy to hear his offer of a personal meeting. The Russian leader rejected the idea of a meeting, saying he saw no point in it.

Drone strikes civilians

Two people were killed and at least 18 injured, including four children aged 5, 10, 13 and 12, by a Russian drone attack in the central Zaporizhzhia region that damaged residential buildings and vehicles and destroyed market kiosks, said the regional military administration head, Ivan Fedorov.

In Nikopol. a Russian attack killed a 49-year-old woman and injured four other people, according to the State Emergency Service.

The service also reported that four people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region when strikes hit residential buildings. In Odesa, three people were wounded after a Russian drone struck a public transport stop.

Russian drone strikes overnight also injured civilians and damaged buildings and businesses in the Kharkiv, Odesa and Chernihiv regions, regional authorities said.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone overnight struck a passenger train traveling from Moscow to Simferopol in occupied Crimea, injuring the driver and killing the driver’s assistant, Kremlin-installed regional leader Sergei Aksyonov reported early Monday.

Akysyonov added that no passengers were hurt. But all passenger train traffic in Crimea was halted following the attack, with passengers evacuated and replacement buses provided, Russian operator Grand Service Express reported on Telegram that same morning.

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

At a press preview on Monday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was pleased that the mostly emptied-out Berlin residence was being opened to art and to the public.

“We need art," Steinmeier said. “A democracy without free art loses its capacity for self-criticism, and art without freedom loses its social relevance.”

The former Prussian royal palace, built in the 18th century, is set to undergo extensive renovations, including a repair of the roof, a new air conditioning system and upgraded offices. The work is expected to last eight years, meaning Steinmeier is not expected to return to the residence. His second and final term ends next year.

The pop-up show Freiraum Kunst, which roughly translates as “free art space,” was organized by the city’s Academy of Arts.

The president of the academy, Manos Tsangaris, thanked Steinmeier for the opportunity to use “these wonderful spaces."

“An opportunity like this to truly bring art to life is something we greatly appreciate,” he said.

It opens to the public Friday and runs until June 28. During this time, the president's residency, which is normally not freely accessibly, will be open to anyone who manages to book a free ticket online.

People’s interest in getting a glimpse inside the official presidential residence was so great that the website crashed just a few hours after it went live last month.

The temporary art show is also certain to attract a lot of interest with works by well-known artists Katharina Grosse, Wolfgang Tillmans and Monica Bonvicini, among others.

Upon entering the building, visitors will be able to see two paintings by artist El Bocho. The first one is an oversized portrait of a young woman with bright orange hair called “Die Bundespräsidentin,” or The Female President.

Across from it hangs a painting of three faceless men in suits called “Die Alten” or “The Old Ones.” The question the artists wants to raise, said curator Anh-Linh Ngo, is why Germany has never had a female president so far.

In general, all artists were given a free hand in what messages they wanted to convey to the public and many used the opportunity to interact with the normally political space, the organizers said.

Artist Karin Sander created a miniature sculpture of Steinmeier which she placed on a pedestal in the “political speeches room” — the only space the artists were asked to not alter as it has to stay untouched until moving day — in case the president needs to give an ad hoc political speech.

So now, a 36-centimeter (14-inch) tall sculpture of the president made of plaster stands on a pedestal in the center of the room under sweeping chandeliers and framed by light-blue silk curtains. It will keep that position until the real Steinmeier, whose role is largely ceremonial, either needs to give a speech or officially opens the president's interim residency near Berlin's central train station.

The overall move, which has already started, is expected to be finished by the end of the summer.

Before visitors finish their art tour, they pass through the former lobby, where film screenings, dance and music performances and readings will take place. They will also be able to meet with the artists.

As a result, the New York Police Department warned fans that watch parties near Madison Square Garden had been canceled and that anyone attending the game on Monday should arrive at least two hours early as part of enhanced security measures.

Here's the latest:

Trump and his granddaughter Kai are in Dolan’s suite

The president was spotted with Knicks owner James Dolan in his suite high above the court. His granddaughter Kai Trump was also in the suite, as well as his personal adviser Boris Epshteyn.

Cabinet secretaries Lee Zeldin, Sean Duffy and Doug Burgum were also nearby.

Trump clapped, waved and gave a thumbs up as he looked out from behind a pane of glass onto the court.

Crowds stream into Bryant Park for watch party

Fans started grabbing seats on the lawn in front of a giant screen Monday evening at the New York park.

The watch party is typically held near Madison Square Garden, but with Trump attending, it was moved a few blocks away outside the security perimeter, at the park.

A voice blaring out over the crowd listed the many rules, including that chairs, plastic sheets, dogs and yoga mats were not allowed on the grass. Visitors also had to have their bags inspected.

Evette calls Trump’s endorsement ‘huge positive’ for her South Carolina governor campaign

Speaking with reporters after her final primary eve rally, Evette said voters across the state had stopped her to say they were backing her because the president had.

“I think we’re going to do really well tomorrow,” Evette said in Greer. “It’s a momentum, I feel it.”

If no candidate wins a majority in Tuesday’s vote, a runoff will be held two weeks later, and Evette said she was ready if needed to “make sure I win everybody’s vote.”

Trump is arriving at Madison Square Garden

Trump’s Marine One helicopter landed near Wall Street in lower Manhattan. His motorcade drove past throngs of people lining metal racks.

There were a handful of people making rude gestures, and outside the area, one group held signs saying, “Trump must go.”

Trump heading to Spurs-Knicks game

Trump was on his way to Madison Square Garden Monday for NBA Finals Game 3.

A line of police and an armored vehicle with flashing lights was making its way up FDR Drive in New York. A helicopter could be heard overhead.

Fans in Knicks gear wait in long queues

A sea of blue-and-orange Knicks jerseys filled the streets around Madison Square Garden on Monday evening as thousands of fans crowded into lines that stretched for blocks around the arena and Penn Station.

The queues wrapped around corners and spilled down sidewalks, with fans slowly inching toward entrances while checking tickets, taking photos and soaking in the atmosphere ahead of the Knicks’ first NBA Finals home game in 27 years.

For many arriving fans, the wait had become part of the spectacle, with some standing shoulder-to-shoulder for blocks before reaching the Garden.

Knicks fans make their way to NBA Finals Game 3

Greg Weldon was in the stands rooting for the Knicks when they made it to the championships more than half a century ago. Now he’s back with his son to cheer them on.

Standing in line outside Madison Square Garden in his New York jersey, he said, “You can’t really put a price on the experience.”

After traveling from his new home in Florida for the game, he said the main inconvenience he’s faced so far has been the lack of information.

“We’ve asked so many cops, Secret Service, guys with machine guns, what to do, where should we go,” he said. “Nobody knows.”

Security ramps up for NBA Finals Game 3 ahead of Trump’s anticipated arrival

An extensive security operation was underway around Madison Square Garden on Monday ahead of Trump’s expected attendance.

Hundreds of police officers lined streets surrounding the arena in Midtown Manhattan as fans wound through a maze of barricades and sanitation trucks positioned to block vehicle traffic. Thousands passed through an exterior security checkpoint before entering the secured perimeter around the Garden.

The heightened security footprint extended well beyond the arena itself, transforming several blocks around neighboring Penn Station into a tightly controlled security zone.

Trump holds primary eve telerally with South Carolina’s Graham and Evette

During a telerally late Monday afternoon, Trump wished his chosen Senate and governor’s race candidates “good luck,” urging South Carolina voters to support Sen. Lindsey Graham and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in the next day’s primary.

Last year, Trump endorsed Graham’s bid for a fifth term. He didn’t weigh in on Evette’s candidacy until less than two weeks before Tuesday’s votes.

As he has done in social posts endorsing Republican candidates in the state, Trump also reminded listeners of his general election victories in South Carolina in all three presidential campaigns.

The telerally was piped into a Greer event for Evette, with several people in the audience filming on their phone as the three Republicans spoke.

DHS secretary calls on sheriffs to sign agreements to assist ICE

While speaking at the National Sheriffs’ Association’s annual meeting in his home state of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin pitched sheriffs on signing a 287g agreement that allows them to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Mullin said the Department can help pay deputies’ salaries or for equipment in those jurisdictions that have signed 287g agreements with ICE.

Under the Trump administration, the number of jurisdictions that have signed agreements with ICE has skyrocketed.

They essentially make law enforcement agencies in states and cities around the country an arm of immigration enforcement.

“We can do all that through the 287g program, and then we’re not in the streets arresting these individuals. You guys are simply picking them up for a traffic stop,” Mullin said.

Trump formally nominates Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general

Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Trump, has been leading the Justice Department in an acting capacity since Trump fired Pam Bondi in April.

It’s unclear whether Blanche has enough Senate support to be confirmed. A key vote on the Judiciary Committee, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, has not said whether he will back Blanche’s nomination.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the committee, said Blanche is “well-qualified and has shown his dedication to restoring law and order across our country.”

Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee, said: “Donald Trump has been engaged in the most corrupt enterprise in the history of the Presidency,” adding, “Todd Blanche apparently has not noticed.”

Blanche said last week that he was “honored and humbled” by the nomination.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy has call with Trump envoys ahead of G7

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media he spoke by phone with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner earlier on Monday.

The call comes a week before Trump heads to the Group of Seven summit in France in which Russia’s war on Ukraine is expected to be on the agenda. While Ukraine is not a G7 nation, Zelenskyy has been invited to attend next week’s summit.

Zelenskyy in his statement on X also alluded to the conflict becoming more of a backburner issue as Trump looks to find an endgame to the three-month old Iran conflict.

“We understand how much of the world’s attention is focused on the situation around Iran,” Zelenskyy said in a post. “But our shared goal of peace in Europe remains on the agenda.”

Dems call Trump’s refugee approach ‘shameful’

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and California Sen. Alex Padilla said in a letter Monday to the president that there are “multiple legal defects” with the administration’s decision to lift the refugee cap, but only for white South Africans.

The Democrats, who criticized the “shameful efforts to gut the refugee admissions program,” argued there is no “unforeseen refugee emergency” that requires a mid-year adjustment to the refugee levels, which is typically done in September.

“By contrast, there are numerous forced displacement crises and conflicts worldwide that would justify an emergency increase in the ceiling, including, for example, in Sudan, Burma, and Haiti,” the senators wrote.

They also said the administration’s legally-required consultation process with Congress was insufficient, in that it sent deputy officials to meet with lawmakers, not Cabinet rank. The Democrats said the decision to admit solely Afrikaners was a “betrayal of our nation’s longstanding bipartisan commitment to serve as a safe haven for those fleeing persecution.”

State Department to offer expedited visa interviews at select embassies and consulates for $750

The State Department will soon offer a “premium” expedited service for foreigners seeking business or tourist visas that will set applicants back $750 on top of the initial fee of $185.

In a notice to be published in the Federal Register this week, the department will unveil a pilot program that will allow visa applicants to pay the $750 to schedule an appointment for an interview within 10 days of the payment at select U.S. embassies and consulates. The embassies and consulates at which the service will be available were not identified.

Wait times for visa interviews for citizens of countries that are not part of the Visa Waiver Program can be several months, if not longer. But paying the fee for the “optional premium add-on service” does not guarantee that a visa will be issued.

The program would run from July 1 to December 31, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press and a department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the program has not yet been announced.

—- Matthew Lee

Iran’s UN envoy hopes US-Iran talks ‘will reach a conclusion’ by the end of June

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the United States and Iran are “providing and exchanging the views to reach to a conclusion” through Pakistan.

“We have not received to a final document, but we are pursuing to receive it,” he said in response to a question from The Associated Press after he spoke at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Afghanistan on Monday.

Does he think this is going to happen by the end of the month? “We hope so. We hope so,” Iravani replied.

He stressed that the ceasefire was comprehensive and applied to the region, including Lebanon, which Israel rejects. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel will continue striking Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants on Monday, even as it backed off of further strikes with Iran.

“And just, I think, all sides returned to the ceasefire,” Iravani said.

Pentagon includes Alibaba on its list of Chinese military companies

The Pentagon has added the tech giant Alibaba, electric-car maker BYD and the search engine Baidu to its list of Chinese military companies, preventing them from getting U.S. defense contracts.

The list updated and published by the Pentagon on Monday now sanctions some of the best-known, non-state Chinese companies that are not traditionally considered to be in the defense or security sector.

It comes at a time when Washington has become wary of Beijing’s strategy of tapping the strength of non-state businesses for military purposes.

The list was created in 2021 to identify Chinese companies that the Pentagon considers to have links to the Chinese military. It already covers companies such as DJI, a major maker of consumer drones.

Defense Department updates its list of faith traditions after LDS senators complain

The Pentagon updated its recognized religious affiliations Monday, three days after it released a streamlined list.

Utah Republican Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis had complained because the Pentagon’s Christian categories did not include The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Whether members of the LDS Church, often called Mormons, are Christian is a long-running debate.

The latest rubric does not categorize the LDS Church as Christian. Rather, it removes the Christian label from 20 other traditions, including Catholic, Lutheran and Pentecostal.

The Defense Department posted on social media that the original list “included redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed.”

US hits more than 100 Nicaraguan officials and family members with travel ban

The United States has placed travel bans on more than 100 Nicaraguan officials and their family members as part of a broader campaign to punish the current government for alleged human rights abuses.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Monday that the new sanctions were, in part, imposed because of the death of indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera and the policies of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife and co-president Rosario Murillo.

“The United States stands with the Nicaraguan people who, like Rivera, aspire to see a free Nicaragua,” he said.

The U.S. has now barred more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and family members from entering the United States. The identities of the most recent targets were not released.

US stocks claw back some of the ground they lost on Friday

Wall Street is recovering a bit from its beat-down from Friday, as stocks swept up in the artificial-intelligence boom bounce back.

Oil prices are higher following fighting between Israel and Iran, but they’ve come off their peaks from overnight.

The S&P 500 rose 0.9% early Monday following its 2.6% drop Friday, which was its worst since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 215 points, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.5%.

Some of the best performers were companies that sell computer chips and other products fueling the AI boom. They had plunged Friday amid worries that their prices had shot too high.

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Donald Trump, Knicks fan, heads back to New York to root for his team

There was a time when Donald Trump was just another celebrity sitting courtside at New York Knicks games. He was famous, but not yet flanked by Secret Service agents or defined by the politics that have left him deeply unpopular in his hometown.

Now, more than a decade after attending his last Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, Trump is making a rare trip back to New York City as president to cheer for them in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Invited by Knicks owner James Dolan, he’ll be the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

The Knicks are seeking their first championship since 1973, when Trump was 26 and a relative newcomer to the family real estate business that vaulted him to wealth and fame. Two years after that triumph, the team’s owners at the time hired him as a consultant as they looked to sell the arena.

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As America 250 approaches, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, AP-NORC poll finds

As the U.S. prepares for an extravagant celebration of its founding principles, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, a new poll finds.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research highlights many Americans’ feelings of unease over the future of its representative government — particularly among young people. It presents a jarring contrast as communities around the country commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found, while 44% say it’s one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others. About 3 in 10 say there are better countries than the U.S., an increase from 19% in an AP-NORC poll conducted in June 2016.

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Lawsuit seeks to stop the UFC fight on the White House South Lawn for Trump’s birthday

A federal lawsuit seeks to halt the upcoming UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The filing Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration’s authorization of the June 14 event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.

The White House said in a statement that the legal challenge was “an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” attempt to prevent Trump from hosting the fight and that the event was “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”

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Trump issues pardon to former Republican congressman convicted of insider trading

Trump has issued a pardon to Stephen Buyer, a former Republican congressman from Indiana who served nearly two years in prison for making illegal stock trades based on inside information after he left office.

Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023 for trades made while working as a consultant and lobbyist. He was ordered to forfeit more than $350,000, representing the amount of the illegal gains, and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released in 2025.

The Supreme Court in May rejected Buyer’s appeal without comment or noted dissent.

In granting “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon,” Trump cited Buyer’s career as a judge advocate general in the Army and in the House that was “distinguished and highly productive.” The pardon was dated Thursday and released by the White House late Friday.

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No watch party at Madison Square Garden with Trump attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals

Police scuttled an NBA Finals watch party near Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks warned fans to get to Monday’s matchup at least two hours early as part of enhanced security measures with Trump attending the game.

Trump is a longtime Knicks fan who confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. He already has attended a number of major sporting events in his second term, including the 2025 Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup.

Part of the fallout from Trump’s visit was the cancellation of a Game 3 watch party outside MSG. The New York Police Department said in a statement Sunday the decision was made in coordination with the Secret Service.

“There will be no watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 only,” the statement said. “This was done fully in coordination with the Secret Service because of the presidential visit. We expect watch parties at Madison Square Garden to resume for Game 4.”

Trump dismisses idea that Iran betrays his ‘no new wars’ campaign message

Trump is dismissing the idea that launching the war with Iran this year betrayed his refrain of “No new wars” that he made repeatedly as he campaigned again for the White House.

Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said he “didn’t guarantee” there would be no wars if he were back in office.

“First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?” Trump said.

It came just hours before Israel and Iran traded fire in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a full-scale regional war. It was the first exchange of fire since an April 8 ceasefire was reached.

Trump also defended plans for a now-scrapped $1.8 billion fund that would have compensated allies of the Republican president and he repeated his baseless claims of mass fraud in California’s drawn-out vote count from Tuesday’s primary. He ended the interview abruptly when he became frustrated with pushback from NBC’s Kristen Welker.

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But when the 26 players took the field at Orange County's Great Park on Monday to the cheers of several thousand fans who had turned out just to watch a mere practice, they were given yet another reminder of just how special this opportunity will be if they seize it.

The Americans projected confidence and excitement as they settled into their training base for at least the next three weeks in Southern California. The team convened in Georgia last month before playing two friendlies in the past eight days.

All three of the Americans' World Cup group stage matches are on the West Coast, starting with their opener Friday night against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, the palatial NFL arena about 50 miles away in Inglewood, California.

“I think the group is in a really good place at the minute,” U.S. captain Tim Ream said. “We’ve all been, I wouldn’t say overwhelmed, but pleasantly surprised by the excitement and the buzz around the team and in the stadiums. Pulling up here with 5,500 fans ready to watch a training session is incredible. I just think we’re in a good place mentally right now. It’s been a long two weeks, a hard two weeks, but guys are in a great position mentally, physically and emotionally, and ready to get going.”

The team was greeted in Irvine by rows of enthusiastic fans who won a multi-stage lottery among 32,000 applicants for the chance to watch practice and to get autographs at FIFA's Community Day event. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino entertained the crowd and got a “U-S-A!” chant going while his team was doing a brief gym workout before it got on the grass.

“The facilities are amazing,” Pochettino said. “It’s more than we expect, and not only the facilities, but the people who are here working. Great facilities and great people are an amazing combination. We are grateful, and I want to say a big thanks.”

The fans stood in lengthy security lines at this sprawling athletic complex for an up-close morning look at a team that isn't among the favorites, but has the backing of millions in a country where soccer has proliferated in popularity since the World Cup's last visit in 1994. The Americans' training stadium is the normal home of Orange County SC, a club in the second-tier USL Championship, which didn't exist three decades ago.

“I’m old enough that I remember bits and pieces of 1994,” said the 38-year-old Ream, who grew up in St. Louis before his lengthy career as a defender in England and the U.S., where he now plays for Charlotte in Major League Soccer, which didn't stage its inaugural season until 1996.

“So I’ve tried to tell guys and tried to convey the messaging that this is a once-in-a-career opportunity, and with that comes more expectation, more pressure," Ream added. "But we have to enjoy it. There’s nobody putting more expectation and more pressure on us than ourselves, and that's the way it should be. For me, it’s about just opening your eyes and taking everything in, because this is unique. This is completely different from anything any of us has experienced. So take it in and embrace everything that it is, because it’s so unique, it's so special, and it's not something we'll ever be doing again.”

The most notable part of practice was the full participation of top defender Chris Richards, who injured his left ankle last month while playing for Crystal Palace. Richards didn't play in the two friendlies, but his full return to practice is another hopeful sign in his plan to be on the roster that must be finalized Thursday night.

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

The decision sent shock waves across college sports since bans for gambling are a bedrock rule of the NCAA and many professional sports.

The NCAA said it strongly disagrees with the ruling and “is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports.” The NCAA said it would appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo.

Sorsby, whose school said he has a gambling problem that he is addressing through treatment, will miss the Red Raiders’ first two games next season under a judge-approved penalty that had been proposed by his attorneys. The NCAA, which usually handles such punishments, was not involved.

The ruling by Judge Ken Curry prevents the NCAA from being able to block the transfer QB's eligibility for what will be his final college season with a team among the favorites to win the Big 12 Conference and return to the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive season.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said the ramifications of the ruling “could have broad impacts across college athletics, creating great concern amongst our membership.” He called a meeting this week of his league's athletic directors and executive board, and been in touch with NCAA President Charlie Baker.

Texas Tech opens the season on Sept. 5 at home against Abilene Christian. The Red Raiders then play Oregon State before their Big 12 opener at home on Sept. 18 against Houston.

“I’m very grateful for the endless support I have received throughout this entire process,” Sorsby posted on social media. “I am also grateful for the chance to rejoin my teammates. This opportunity comes with the responsibility to remain focused on my personal growth, the ability to learn from this experience, and to be able to use my situation to help others going forward.”

The judge's ruling

Curry held a two-hour hearing last week in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech is located. In his decision, he wrote that he agreed Sorsby would suffer “a probable, imminent and irreparable injury” if he cannot practice or play for the Red Raiders.

The injunction comes with conditions that Sorsby must continue counseling for his gambling and to participate in peer support through Gamblers Anonymous or a similar group. He also must continue treatment to address “the underlying anxiety that served as the primary driver of (his) gambling behavior.”

Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said a comprehensive support structure, including clinical care, monitoring and compliance checks, will remain fully in place for Sorsby during his time at the school.

“As we have said before, we do not believe that the circumstances of Brendan’s case warranted permanent ineligibility,” Hocutt said. “As he returns to our football program, we remain committed to supporting Brendan’s recovery and ensuring his compliance with the court’s order.”

Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor told Yahoo Sports he was disappointed by the ruling.

“It is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team,” he told the outlet.

Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen confirmed to The Associated Press that his coaches have been told to not schedule Texas Tech in any sport, as first reported by Yahoo Sports. Georgia also will not schedule Texas Tech in any sport, according to multiple media outlets.

“This may be one of those seminal moments we've all been waiting for,” Dannen said in a text to the AP.

A significant setback against the NCAA

NCAA attorney Taylor Askew had said during the hearing that allowing Sorsby to play another college season would provide “reputable harm” to the governing body.

“Saying the NCAA is now the first league in America that allows you, without punishment, to bet on its own contests, that’s a reputable harm to the NCAA,” Askew told the court. “This would be the first league in America that does that. ... We should not say for the first time serial gambling is OK.”

Court records show that Sorsby has acknowledged making thousands of impermissible bets totaling at least $90,000 during his time at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. That included 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on any of the games he played in with the Hoosiers.

While some guidelines for penalties related to gambling have changed in recent years, NCAA rules still call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team.

Sorsby was at Indiana for two seasons before the past two at Cincinnati.

The Texas native transferred in January to Texas Tech for a reported multimillion-dollar deal. The Red Raiders brought him in to be the starting quarterback when trying to defend their first Big 12 title and return to the CFP.

What led to the NCAA investigation

According to court filings, on March 11 the NCAA received a tip about Sorsby’s gambling activity from an online sportsbook, which had been informed by law enforcement. Texas Tech was notified April 14 that an investigation was underway by the NCAA.

Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who negotiated the $2.8 billion House settlement against the NCAA and now represents Sorsby, told the court that the 22-year-old quarterback has a diagnosed addiction and anxiety-driven compulsion. Sorsby recently completed a monthlong stay in a residential treatment program in Arizona that he entered after the start of the NCAA’s investigation.

According to a clinician who treated Sorsby, Kessler said, not allowing the quarterback to play would hurt his mental health and hamper his recovery.

The NCAA in its statement Monday said it is “committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport.”

The lawsuit and NCAA appeals

The injunction came in Sorsby’s lawsuit filed May 18 against the NCAA seeking the restoration of his eligibility. That case was initially assigned to District Judge Phillip Hays, a Lubbock native and Texas Tech graduate who later recused himself. Curry is a retired judge from Tarrant County, nearly 300 miles away.

Since the filing of that lawsuit, the NCAA has twice denied Texas Tech’s petition to restore the quarterback’s eligibility.

When the school on May 26 revealed the first denial and its intent to appeal, university president Lawrence Schovanec wrote in a letter to the Texas Tech community that the school felt “the NCAA’s ruling should be reversed or modified.”

That comment illustrates the difficult landscape for the NCAA, which has lost multiple court cases challenging rules that were put in place by the very schools that make up its membership. Many focus on eligibility, with athletes contending they should be allowed to play and continue to earn money that was made available under the House ruling.

The NCAA is on the verge of approving a new eligibility model following meetings among stakeholders and even President Donald Trump. The NCAA continues to also seek limited antitrust protections from Congress in hopes of eliminating or at least smoothing the state-by-state rulings that have thrown the industry into chaos.

“There is no better example of why targeted intervention from Congress is necessary,” Baker said on social media after the ruling. “When you have schools and deep-pocketed supporters willing to look the other way on the glaring integrity threat of betting on your own team — and judges whose rulings effectively strip away our ability to stop them — only Congress can equip the NCAA to apply this common sense rule to everyone fairly and consistently. The Protect College Sports Act would empower the NCAA to enforce rules including the gambling restrictions — it’s needed now more than ever.”

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AP College Football Writer Eric Olson contributed to this report.

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

Virginia’s Joint Commission on Health Care (JCHC) released a report addressing the pressures that various rural hospitals in the commonwealth are facing. In the report, which you can read here, 13 of Virginia’s 36 rural hospitals are listed as at risk of closure or at immediate risk of closure:

• At risk of closure
• • Ballad Health Dickenson Community Hospital
  • Ballad Health Smyth County Community Hospital
  • Bath Community Hospital
  • Bon Secours Rappahannock General Hospital
  • Bon Secours Southern Virginia Medical Center
  • Duke Lifepoint Twin County Regional Hospital
  • HCA LewisGale Hospital Pulaski
  • VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital
• Immediate risk of closure
• • Bon Secours Southampton Memorial Hospital
  • Carilion Giles Community Hospital
  • Carilion Tazewell Community Hospital
  • Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital
  • VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital

The VJCHC report says “the seven hospitals at highest risk of financial distress or closure share a common operating context: each serves a predominantly rural population with limited commercial insurance coverage, obtains the substantial majority of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid, and operates within health systems that can absorb losses that would otherwise threaten facility viability. These structural conditions produce predictable patterns in 16 Financial condition of Virginia’s rural hospitals financial performance, inpatient capacity and utilization, and service availability – patterns that are evident across ten years of data and that underscore the systemic rather than facility-specific nature of rural hospital financial risk in Virginia. All seven rural hospitals at highest risk reporting operating losses in 2024 Across all seven hospitals, total gross revenue grew substantially between 2015 and 2024, driven primarily by expansion of outpatient services. Despite this revenue growth, every facility reported a negative operating margin in 2024, meaning revenues and gains did not cover expenses and losses.”

10 News is checking with local hospitals about their response to the report and whether they plan to close.

LewisGale Hospital Pulaski

Following the release, Teresa Hamilton Hall, the Director of Communications and Community Engagement for LewisGale Regional Health System, released a statement saying the hospital is not closing:

“LewisGale Hospital Pulaski is aware of the recent report and has reviewed its findings. We want to reassure our patients, colleagues and community that LewisGale Hospital Pulaski is not closing. We are operationally sound, remain open and focused on caring for the patients and families who depend on us.

The report appears to rely heavily on publicly available financial data. As part of a larger health system, LewisGale Hospital Pulaski does not publicly report individual hospital financial performance in the same way some independent hospitals may. As a result, the report may not fully reflect our hospital’s position as part of a larger healthcare network.”

Teresa Hamilton Hall, the Director of Communications and Community Engagement for LewisGale Regional Health System

Carilion Giles Community Hospital & Carilion Tazewell Community Hospital

“Rural and safety net hospitals across the country continue to face significant financial pressures driven by multiple factors, including workforce shortages, inflation, reimbursement challenges, a declining and aging rural population, and changing care needs. It’s proof this issue isn’t unique to Virginia – it’s a national concern.

We have no plans to close hospitals. We remain committed to providing high-quality care in the communities we serve and are continually looking for ways to strengthen services and improve efficiency. Our integrated care model helps us work together across the organization to be nimble as we navigate industry challenges.

We will continue collaborating with our policymakers to strengthen Medicaid to protect access to healthcare, support local economies, and sustain rural and safety net hospitals that serve as major employers and essential community infrastructure.

It’s essential for health systems, policymakers, employers, insurers, and communities to continue having candid conversations and collaborating so we can maintain access to care in rural areas. We all have to stay actively engaged.

Executive Vice President and CFO of Carilion Clinic Don Halliwill

Bath Community Hospital

On its webpage, Bath Community Hospital released a statement regarding the report, while addressing the struggles of rural health care providers. while addressing the struggles of rural health care providers. The statement says that Bath Community Hospital is stable. Read the full statement here.

Recent media reports have highlighted concerns regarding the financial challenges facing rural hospitals across Virginia and the nation. While these reports underscore the very real pressures confronting rural healthcare, Bath Community Hospital wants to reassure our patients, employees, providers, volunteers, donors, and community members that the hospital remains stable, operationally strong, and committed to serving the region for generations to come.

Like healthcare organizations across the country, Bath Community Hospital continually monitors changes in reimbursement, workforce availability, regulatory requirements, and federal and state healthcare policy. These challenges require thoughtful planning and responsible stewardship, and the hospital’s leadership team and Board of Directors remain actively engaged in ensuring the organization’s long-term success.

While national reports often evaluate hospitals using broad financial indicators, they do not capture the unique strengths, community support, strategic planning, and local resources that contribute to the long-term sustainability of organizations such as Bath Community Hospital.

Over the past year, Bath Community Hospital has continued to invest in strategic initiatives designed to strengthen the organization and improve access to care. These efforts include workforce development, operational improvements, revenue cycle enhancements, technology investments, and ongoing efforts to recruit and retain high-quality healthcare professionals. The hospital remains focused on delivering exceptional care close to home while maintaining financial discipline and operational excellence.

Bath Community Hospital also benefits from a longstanding partnership with the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation, which has provided meaningful support to the hospital over many years. The Foundation has been an important partner in strengthening healthcare access in our community and has expressed its continued commitment to supporting the hospital’s mission. This enduring relationship provides an additional source of stability as the hospital continues investing in the services, people, and infrastructure needed to meet the healthcare needs of our region.

Bath Community Hospital

Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital

A Sentara spokesperson says there are no plans to close Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital.

“Ensuring access to quality care for the communities we serve remains our highest priority.  We will continue to serve the communities who rely on us, advocate for those without a voice, and work alongside state and federal leaders, nonprofit partners, and fellow health systems to navigate the road ahead.  There are no plans to close Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital.  In fact, in January, Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital marked a major milestone in the construction of its new hospital with a traditional topping off ceremony celebrating the placement of the final steel beam atop the new structure which is being built to meet the needs of the community for decades to come.” 

Mike Kafka, Sentara Spokesperson

Duke Lifepoint Twin County Regional Hospital

A spokesperson from Twin County Regional Healthcare said they are not closing.

Twin County Regional Healthcare is aware of recent reports regarding the financial stability of rural hospitals in Virginia, including speculation about our hospital. We want to reassure our community that Twin County Regional Healthcare is not closing.

We remain fully operational and committed to providing safe, high-quality care across the region. While rural hospitals nationwide continue to face industry challenges, Twin County Regional Healthcare benefits from the support and resources of a larger organization, allowing us to continue investing in our hospital, services, and community.

Our focus remains on advancing our mission of making communities healthier by serving the healthcare needs of this region today and into the future.

In our 50+ year history, Twin County has encountered and successfully navigated headwinds around reimbursement, workforce challenges, provider shortages, and public policy changes. We remain operationally strong and are prepared for our next 50 years of service in Southwest Virginia.

Christa Harrison, Marketing Coordinator

Once the ridge shifts closer towards the East Coast, our conditions will turn much more seasonal for one brief day on Tuesday. After that shift, we warm up very quickly for mid-to-late week with a heat wave on the horizon.

Futurecast shows the pop-up showers and storms Monday will be very isolated and mainly in the late afternoon and early evening hours. The precip is mainly towards the NRV, but a stray shower for the Highlands Zone can’t be ruled out.

Monday’s heat and humidity kick off our active pattern for the week. This is much-needed rainfall, but each day will not be a washout! Only isolated showers & storms are expected each day, mainly in the afternoon, thanks to diurnal heating.

The camp, held at a local school, blends traditional summer camp activities — pool trips, field trips and clubs — with project-based learning and cross-school collaboration. It is fully funded through a planning grant secured by Pulaski County Public Schools.

A camp built on access

Superintendent Rob Graham said equity was central to the program’s design.

“Not everybody can experience or afford to get to a summer camp, and of course this is free, paid for by the grant,” Graham said. “So we were reaching out to those who really wanted to experience this but didn’t maybe have the opportunity.”

Graham described the first day as a milestone. “It’s only been half a day and it’s the first day, but it’s just been a magical experience,” he said. “To see so many smiles on the children’s faces is well worth the work that we’re having to put into it.”

The camp draws students from all five of the division’s elementary schools — a feature Graham said carries long-term benefits.

“It’s such a unique experience because we are pulling from all five elementary schools,” he said. “That’s quite an advantage for them as they move into fifth grade and transition into sixth grade, because maybe they’ll know each other when they get into that large middle school.”

Campers arrive nervous, leave excited

For many campers, Camp Ignite is their first time at any summer camp — and the nerves showed on day one.

“My first time. I was scared. I was horrified. It’s very fun and I enjoyed swimming even though I didn’t really do the swimming contest,” said camper Camari Rostick.

Camper Owen Baffuto said he wasn’t sure what to expect. “I was sort of nervous when I got out of the car,” he said. “I was like, is it gonna be just like middle school or is it just gonna be like a camp?”

The anxiety faded quickly for most.

“I was kind of like expecting some stuff, but it’s totally blowing those expectations out of the water,” said camper Elias Dalton.

Camper Piper Shumate made two new friends on the first day. “I’m really excited about playing with my friends and working together and seeing how it turns out,” she said. “It’s kind of like really fun here. It’s better than the regular school days.”

For camper Aiden Whiting, simply being there was something new. “I’ve never been to camp,” Whiting said. “I didn’t know there was a field trip, but I look forward to that.”

Camper Memphis Covey said the mix of unfamiliar faces made the experience feel significant. “It was new to me,” Covey said. “I only have a few people from different schools that I know and really trust them. So it’s good that I’m trying to get the hang of new people.”

Camper Michael Thompson already knew what he was there for. “Clubbing and having fun with friends,” Thompson said. “I signed up for Diamond Art, Walking Club and Extreme Art Club.”

Staff and learning at the center

Camp Ignite instructor Haley Smith said the energy among students was visible before the day even started.

“I saw so many kids waiting out at their bus stop with their bathing suits on — they were so excited with their hats and their little bags,” Smith said. “It’s really cool to see kids excited to come back to school in the summer.”

Graham praised the staff who gave up their summers to run the program. “It takes a lot for somebody to give up their summer to come and make a difference in the life of a child during a 10-week period,” he said. “We are so grateful for the time that they’re taking.”

Project-based culmination event set for June 19

The camp’s academic component centers on project-based learning, with students creating work throughout the session that they will present to their parents.

“The culmination event is on Friday the 19th, where they have their presentation learning,” Graham said. “Their parents can come and see what they’ve created.”

Future of the program depends on grant funding

Camp Ignite is currently funded through a planning grant. Graham said the division hopes to parlay a successful first year into long-term funding.

“The grant that we have right now is a planning grant, and if we see good things from this and wonderful data on it, then we are going to go for the implementation grant and hopefully have this money for a while so that we can continue to do this in the summertime,” he said.

Graham added that community support could play a role in securing future funding. “Any support letters that we can have to send in with the grant when we apply for it will be beneficial — any testimony, anything like that would be super,” he said.

The loss ended another successful postseason run for Cave Spring, which entered the match as the defending Region 3D champion after capturing back-to-back regional titles.

The semifinal matchup remained in doubt until the final match was completed, but Maggie Walker ultimately secured the deciding point to advance to the state championship match, ending Cave Spring’s season with a narrow 5-4 defeat.

Final scoring included:

-Alex Tan (MW) def. Andrew Draper (CS), 6-1, 6-0

-Rishi Patel (CS) def. William Chen (MW), 6-0, 6-0

-Ahdrit Ahan (MW) def. Prateek Reddy (CS), 7-5, 3-6, (10-6)

-Peter Yanovitch (MW) def. Cole Schillinger (CS), 7-5, 6-4

-Carter Kuyper (CS) def. Ohm Patel (MW), 6-2, 7-5

-Daniel Lee (MW) def. Caleb Myers (CS), 4-6, 6-3, (10-8)

-Patel, Draper (CS) def. Tan, Yanovitch (MW), 7-5, 6-3

-Patel, Lan (MW) def. Schillinger, Kuyper (CS), 6-1, 6-3

-Reddy, Kuyper (CS) def. Chen, Fox (MW), 6-0, 6-2

Other boys team tennis action:

-Class 2: Floyd Co. def. Richlands, 5-3

Girls team tennis results:

-Class 1: George Wythe vs. Bland Co. (Tuesday)

-Class 2: Ridgeview def. Radford, 5-4

-Class 4: E.C. Glass vs. Jamestown (Tuesday)

Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sounded the alarm in a letter over the weekend after a failed procedural vote to extend the program.

The senators urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also acts as the president's National Security Advisor, to prepare “for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection” if the authority expires. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, set to lapse June 12, allows agencies including the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.

In a response obtained by The Associated Press, Rubio replied to the senators that he understands the “political challenges” but said he is “deeply disappointed” that Democrats are opposing the legislation.

“Allowing Section 702 to expire would have dire impacts on our ability to keep the nation secure,” Rubio wrote.

Efforts to secure a long-term extension of the program already faced hurdles because of bipartisan concerns that the program can incidentally collect Americans’ communications. Privacy advocates and some lawmakers have been pushing to create a new warrant requirement before those communications can be searched.

Senate leaders from both parties appeared to be nearing bipartisan agreement on a long-term extension, but the effort collapsed after Trump selected federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence.

Democrats and several Republicans registered their opposition to Trump’s selection of Pulte, arguing the federal housing finance regulator lacks the experience needed to oversee the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies and has used his current position to investigate some of the president's perceived political rivals.

“Why the president would throw this live hand grenade of Bill Pulte in 10 days before this is due to expire, I'm not sure," Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on ABC's “This Week.”

Pulte pick upends bipartisan deal

Even as they say it is critical, Democrats have said they won't have the votes to renew the surveillance authority unless Pulte's appointment is withdrawn. Republican leaders tried to start the process last week, but seven Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in blocking a long-term extension.

“The White House bears the responsibility to fix this,” Warner said. “They have the power to do it. They can do it today. Let’s see what happens.”

Trump has said that Pulte won't be his permanent pick, but has not announced a nominee to be confirmed by the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that there are “conversations” around the White House nominating a permanent pick for the job before the surveillance authority expires. But he said he wasn't sure what they would decide to do.

“We have a deadline ahead of us. We need Democrat votes,” Thune said. “The naming of Pulte to that position, although the timing arguably wasn’t the best, I still don’t think it ought to derail something that’s this important."

Thune has also expressed concern over Pulte's pick, saying the nation’s top intelligence post should not be “weaponized” and that the job should be filled by “professionals.” Cotton, who rarely strays from supporting Trump and is a leading advocate for the surveillance authority, declined to endorse Pulte last week, saying only that he had “no observations on the matter.”

“He’s not qualified for the long-term position,” Republican Sen. James Lankford, another member of the Intelligence Committee, told “Fox News Sunday.” “That’s been clear on this. He has no national security background.”

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

“Clearly to get to good-faith negotiations the effort to elevate Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence should be reversed. Immediately," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.

A key surveillance tool

The current reauthorization debate is hardly the first time that lawmakers have grappled with the fate of the surveillance program, particularly after a flurry of revelations about government misuse of the vast trove of intelligence it collects.

The topic in recent years has scrambled predictable partisan alliances, with Democratic critics of the Trump administration uniting with skeptics of government power on the right in voicing concerns about Section 702’s renewal.

In 2024, for instance, those divisions nearly caused the program to lapse. The Senate barely missed its midnight deadline that year before approving by a 60-34 margin legislation to reauthorize Section 702 that was subsequently signed by then-President Joe Biden.

In a post on X, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche urged Democrats “to come back to the table with their Republican counterparts.”

The authority is “one of our nation’s key tools for finding and stopping foreign terrorists," Blanche said.

Cotton and Grassley said they believed Democratic leaders would not support another short-term extension of the surveillance authority and urged Rubio to prepare contingency plans. They said Trump should consider an executive order to prevent a disruption in intelligence collection.

Democrats and Republicans have said they were close on a bipartisan deal on a long-term extension and could still move quickly should a change occur before Friday. Still, the bill would likely need to go through the House — and the two chambers so far have disagreed on a separate issue regarding central banking digital currency.

Republicans are already warning of the consequences if Congress fails to act.

“If it goes dark, then it would be a calamitous situation for the country,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

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Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.

The 56-year-old is facing allegations of sexual misconduct with a female aide, in a scandal that has dragged on for more than two years. He has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

A final decision on Khan's fate is now up to the Assembly of States Parties, the body that oversees the ICC, which will hold a special session to decide if Khan can remain in his job at the global court.

The Bureau of the Assembly of States parties — the executive committee of the court’s oversight body — said in a statement that it based its decision “on the report of an investigation undertaken by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the underlying evidence, the advice of an ad hoc Panel of judicial experts, and written submissions.”

It added that Khan's suspension pending the assembly meeting “is not an indication of the final outcome.”

The U.N. investigation found evidence that Khan had “nonconsensual sexual contact with (the aide) in his office, at his private residence, and whilst on mission,” according to a copy of its report seen by The Associated Press. However, a three-judge panel selected by the executive committee for a legal assessment of the findings found that the investigation was not conclusive enough.

When contacted for comment, Khan’s legal team said a statement would be issued Tuesday.

Khan had already temporarily stepped down in May 2025 pending the outcome of the investigation. The process is unprecedented for the ICC, and the Assembly of States Parties has had to repeatedly create new rules to accommodate the situation.

The allegations against Khan were first reported to the court’s independent watchdog more than two years ago. An AP investigation revealed that Khan was alleged to have seen the woman working in another ICC department and moved her into his office. She later became a regular presence on official trips, according to whistleblower documents.

On one foreign trip, Khan allegedly asked her to rest with him on a hotel bed and then “sexually touched her,” the documents said. Other alleged nonconsensual behavior cited in the documents included locking the door of his office and sticking his hand in her pocket. He also allegedly asked her several times to accompany him on a vacation.

Only the Assembly of States Parties has the authority to remove Khan from office, a move that would require a majority in a secret ballot of its 125 member states. Sixty-three countries would need to support a measure to remove him.

No date was immediately set for the session, but the assembly said it would be convened as soon as possible.

Jones, who spent six years with the Sun before coming to New York in 2023, received a standing ovation from the crowd in a pregame ceremony.

“I want to say thank you to this organization for taking a chance on me and bringing me here,” Jones told the crowd. “Thank you to the fans. Even though it's the ”Sunset season" there are a lot of memories here. A lot of winning that happened here. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Jones didn't end up playing in the game as she was a late scratch because of an illness.

Connecticut, which is playing its last season in the state before moving to Houston next season, will honor six former Sun members of the franchise during this season.

“It’s an honor. It means a lot, a lot of great memories there,” Jones said. “It’s an organization that saw a lot of me before I proved myself to the WNBA. I said it before, but (Connecticut) decided to move players that were really solidified in this league."

Connecticut acquired Jones on draft night in 2016 from the Los Angeles Sparks in a deal for Chelsea Gray that worked out well for both teams.

“They saw me as someone that could come in and really contribute before I ever stepped on the court in the WNBA. That means a lot to me,” she said. "It’s kind of cool to say you’re honored while you’re still playing in the WNBA as well. Definitely new territory. Something I’m looking forward to, and something that I’m really excited about.”

Jones, who won the league's MVP award in 2021, helped the team reach the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2022. She is sixth in franchise history with 196 games and fifth in points scored, totaling 2,657. She's first in blocks with 270 and third in rebounds with 1,633. She was traded to New York before the 2023 season.

“It was important to us that Jonquel's legacy be permanently recognized,” Sun president Jen Rizzotti said. “Raising her number into the rafters is a tribute to one of the greatest players in franchise history and a lasting reminder of everything she has meant to this organization and to our fans.”

Connecticut will also honor former players Jasmine Thomas, Alyssa Thomas, Tina Charles as well as coaches Curt Miller and Mike Thibault.

Jones joined other Connecticut greats Margo Dydek, Katie Douglas, Nykesha Sales, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Lindsay Whalen and Asjha Jones in the rafters at the arena.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Kings hadn't yet announced the results of their lengthy search for a permanent replacement for interim coach D.J. Smith, who replaced Jim Hiller in March.

The 61-year-old Laviolette is expected to get a three-year contract to take over his seventh NHL team. The Kings have made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, but they've also endured five straight first-round exits under three head coaches and two general managers.

Laviolette is returning to the NHL after being fired by the New York Rangers in April 2025. He has also led the New York Islanders, Carolina, Philadelphia, Nashville and Washington during a 23-year head coaching career highlighted by a Stanley Cup championship with the Hurricanes in 2006.

Laviolette's teams have reached the postseason in 11 of the past 14 seasons he finished behind a bench, and he also led the Flyers (2010) and the Predators (2017) to the Stanley Cup Final. His 1,594 career games coached are the ninth most in NHL history.

In his first West Coast NHL job, Laviolette is taking over a good team that is stuck in a profound rut, unable to become a Stanley Cup contender.

General manager Ken Holland fired Hiller shortly after the Olympic break in the coach's second full season in charge, and the Kings went 11-6-6 after Smith stepped up from his assistant's role. Smith, who was a candidate for the permanent job, got the Kings into the final Western Conference playoff spot — but Los Angeles was swept out of the first round by the Colorado Avalanche.

The Kings' four previous first-round exits were all at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, leading to the departure of general manager Rob Blake a year ago.

Los Angeles still hasn't won a playoff round since raising the Stanley Cup in 2014, but the roster has a solid core of talent despite the retirement of longtime captain Anze Kopitar.

Holland acquired high-scoring forward Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers last winter, and high-scoring forwards Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala are all returning in the fall.

The intense Laviolette became known for creating aggressive offensive attacks and making quick franchise turnarounds in his previous stops. He could be part of an organizational shift for the Kings, who have spent two decades as a philosophically defense-first team — to the regular detriment of their offense.

Los Angeles finished 29th in the NHL in scoring last season with just 220 goals, easily the fewest among playoff teams. The Kings are in the bottom half of the NHL in scoring over the past five seasons despite making the playoffs every year.

Holland publicly wondered whether the Kings are too defensive-minded after they scored just five goals in their four-game sweep at the hands of the Avs, but he didn't commit to a change in team philosophy.

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

The meeting, which followed in the tradition of popes meeting with abuse survivors during their foreign trips, lasted about an hour and took place at the Vatican embassy in Madrid, the Vatican said in a statement.

Spain’s Catholic hierarchy has only recently begun reckoning with its legacy of abuse and cover-up after long dismissing the severity of the scandal that came to light thanks to reporting by the newpaper El País.

In 2023, the Spanish government’s ombudsman delivered a damning 800-page report estimating there were hundreds of thousands of possible victims in Spain over decades — based on a survey of 8,000 people. The report also examined 487 known cases.

Spain’s bishops rejected the estimate, saying its own investigation had uncovered 728 sexual abusers within the church since 1945.

During Monday’s meeting, the survivors told the pope their stories and recommendations for how the church should better respond, the Vatican said. Victims in Spain and elsewhere have long complained that the church’s response to the scandal was often retraumatizing, with victims often accused of only seeking money or to harm the church.

“The pope listened with affection and attention, assured them of his closeness — and that of the entire church community — and pledged his commitment to ensuring that the suggestions received serve as a foundation for further efforts, so that the church may truly be a safe and spiritually healthy place where wounds find comfort and healing,” said a statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.

The encounter marked the first known time Leo had met with victims while on a foreign visit, but it by no means was his first time hearing first-hand from survivors.

As a bishop in Chiclayo, Peru, the former Robert Prevost was in charge of listening to victims as the point of reference for the Peruvian bishops conference. In that capacity, he became intimately aware of the abusive practices in the powerful Peruvian group, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which Pope Francis formally suppressed last year.

As pope, Leo has insisted on the need to listen to victims but he has also demanded that the rights of accused priests be upheld.

In his recent encyclical, he said the journey for justice for victims included “just reparation” and he included not only victims of sexual abuse but also spiritual, economic, institutional and power-based abuse, as well as abuses of conscience.

Ahead of the expected meeting with Leo, several groups representing survivors that were not included said they were left in the dark about the encounter, and held a small protest outside the Vatican’s embassy in Madrid.

“Our associations are pleased that a group of victims from the reparation plan can be heard by the pope, but they do not represent all the victims, and deep down they are being used by the church, by the bishops conference, to clean up the image of a Spanish church that has never been able to live up to its victims,” said Juan Cuatrecasas, a spokesperson for the Robbed Childhood association.

Leo addresses abuse to bishops and parliament

Before the meeting, Leo told Spanish bishops that they must offer reparations to survivors and that the entire church community should have an "ever more determined commitment to prevention and a culture of care.”

“Faced with this scourge, the ecclesial community is called to respond with listening, truth, justice, reparation," Leo said. “Every wounded person must be able to find sincere listening, welcome, protection and real paths to healing.”

Amid public outrage over the abuse crisis, Spain launched a reparations system earlier this year for clerical abuse cases too old to be prosecuted that requires the participation of the Catholic Church and the Spanish government.

Other countries and churches have set up reparations mechanisms to compensate survivors and provide therapy, but the Spanish one is unusual in that it gives the government a strong role in the process and the final say in payouts.

The system, which is not legally binding, has drawn praise and some skepticism from advocacy groups and survivors. It gives people a year to apply.

Leo reaffirms church’s right to confessional secrecy

Leo also reaffirmed the right of the Catholic Church to maintain secrecy involving the sacrament of confession, amid efforts in Europe and elsewhere to force Catholic priests to report abuse that they learn about during the one-to-one conversations.

Independent investigations into clergy abuse around the world have identified the seal of confession as a major impediment to exposing and preventing abuse, and called for it to be abolished. The investigations have documented how abusers used the confessional to solicit sex from minors and then relied on the seal of confession to keep it secret.

In his speech to the Spanish parliament Monday, Leo framed the right of the church to keep priest-penitent conversations confidential as a matter of freedom of religion.

“To protect it legally, as is done in a similar way in some professions, means preserving a sacred space of inner freedom, where the believer can open his or her soul to God without fear of external pressures,” he said.

Several mostly low-rise buildings collapsed or sustained heavy damages in the hard-hit city of General Santos. Tsunami damage was reported in at least one southern coastal village. Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

The quake also triggered a landslide in Glan, a municipality in the province of Sarangani, that killed 13 villagers, Rene Punzalan, a provincial disaster-mitigation official, told the DZBB radio network. Four other villagers died in Sarangani, he said.

The major earthquake was the strongest to hit the Philippines this year, Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said. He warned people to seek advice before returning to damaged buildings and houses, which could collapse due to aftershocks.

The United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines, said it was coordinating with Manila and was ready to support Philippine response efforts. France, Japan and New Zealand also expressed support.

“Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire,” Rod Sosmeña, a regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, told The Associated Press from General Santos, where he was traveling when the quake struck at 7:37 a.m.

“The shaking was very strong and people dashed out of houses into the streets,” Sosmeña said.

Epicenter in sea off Mindanao

More than 100 students in uniforms and a dozen teachers had gathered for a flag-raising ceremony in a coconut tree-ringed grade school compound in the rural town of Malita in Davao Occidental province when the ground shook, turning the first day of school after a two-month summer break into chaos.

“Their excitement on the first day of school turned to trauma,” school principal Rosavel Cachuela told the AP.

Some of the young students screamed in panic and wept but most remained seated and still, preventing any injuries, Cachuela said, adding that a motorcycle was damaged when a shed crumbled to the ground.

At least four people remained missing in General Santos, a port city of more than 700,000 people and a regional hub for the tuna export industry. Search and rescue teams worked to find people who may have been trapped in a supermarket, a warehouse, a grade school, and other small buildings that either collapsed or were severely damaged, officials said.

The international airport in General Santos was temporarily shut due to the earthquake and 17 domestic flights were canceled, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said.

The quake was centered at sea off Mindanao, the second most populous island in the Philippine archipelago. According to Bacolcol, the quake occurred at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province.

Assessing damage and casualties

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the cancellation of classes and directed disaster-response agencies to immediately get to work in quake-hit provinces, saying “the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind.”

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami largely passed about five hours after the quake. Philippine officials also lifted a tsunami warning by mid-afternoon. Six shanties on stilts were damaged in a coastal village in Zamboanga del Sur province due to the quake and taller waves, officials said.

Aside from the landslide in Sarangani, most of the other deaths were caused by collapsing buildings and falling debris, including in a damaged mosque, in the southern provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island, according to Sosmeña and another disaster-mitigation official, Ednar Dayanghirang.

The DZRH radio network in Manila reported that a four-story commercial building where its provincial station was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries.

Tsunami waves near 3 feet measured

Waves of 1 meter (3 feet) were monitored in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani. A 1.4-meter (4.6-foot) wave hit at one time in Kiamba town, Bacolcol said.

The quake was also felt in Malaysia’s Sabah state on Borneo island. Sabah is just a boat ride away from southern Philippines. An 83-centimeter (2.7-feet) tsunami was measured by a gauge off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, and the PTWC said 30-centimeter (1-foot) waves were measured in Palau.

Waves up to 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) were detected on the remote Japanese island of Chichijima and the central Japanese town of Kushimoto, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

The archipelago is also battered by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.

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Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writers Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and global executive producer Kiko Rosario in Bangkok contributed to this report.

The administration announced the much-higher fee as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking American jobs.

But U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and struck down the visa policy, concluding that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

“The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress,” Sorokin wrote.

H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs that are difficult to find American workers to fill. Deep-pocketed technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India. The states argued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee.

Most H-1B visa applications cost several thousand dollars before the announced increase set off a wave of panic among confused employers, students and workers in the United States and abroad and led to several lawsuits, including in Boston.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also sued, in federal court in Washington, D.C., and has appealed a denial of a summary judgment against the fee hike. That left the higher fee in effect, at least until September 2026, when it is scheduled to expire. Monday's ruling is also a summary judgment, to the opposite effect. Still another lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco, by religious groups and labor organizations, setting up the possibility of divided rulings in three appellate court circuits.

In the Boston case, the states argued that the policy impedes their ability to hire primary and secondary school educators and to staff public colleges and universities, will stymie academic research and will lead to a decline in medical workers.

“Today’s victory protects the integrity of the H-1B visa program as a tool to address severe labor shortages in vital industries like education, healthcare, and medical research," Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement. "In Massachusetts, this win will ensure we can fill critical vacancies and hire world-class faculty and researchers at colleges and universities across the Commonwealth."

Bobby Mukkamala, the president of the American Medical Association, called the ruling “a victory for patients.”

“At a time when communities across the country face physician shortages and growing barriers to care, we should be removing obstacles — not creating new ones — to attract talented physicians and other highly skilled professionals,” Mukkamala said. “International medical graduates play a vital role in caring for patients, particularly in underserved and rural areas.”

A Department of Homeland Security statement said the agency disagrees with “this blatant judicial activism dismantling President Trump’s historic efforts for immigration reform.”

“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, our immigration system is being reformed to serve American citizens, American workers, and American families and to preserve our national identity — not to rapidly import foreigners who take American jobs, commit crimes, burden our welfare system, and erode our cultural and social fabric," the statement said, referring to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

In a separate statement, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the administration "is confident this order will be reversed on appeal.”

Christopher Matthew Higgins filed a 19-page complaint in Bedford County Circuit Court alleging he was retaliated against after reporting issues connected to the Forest Youth Athletic Association — known as FYAA — and county youth sports programs.

Allegations against FYAA

Higgins claims FYAA received county funding and services and that he raised multiple concerns, including out-of-boundary Little League participation, “non-resident” fees he alleges were never remitted to the county, and safety concerns involving over-age players. He also alleges FYAA leaders threatened him before seeking his termination through a county supervisor.

Claims against county officials

According to the lawsuit, county administrators responded to Higgins’ complaints by extending his probationary period, denying him raises, and later placing him on administrative leave before ultimately terminating his employment.

The lawsuit includes a whistleblower-retaliation claim against certain county officials and a tortious-interference claim against FYAA board members.

What Higgins is seeking

Higgins is seeking a jury trial and monetary damages — $2 million against the county defendants and $5 million against the FYAA defendants — as well as remedies that include reinstatement and back pay.

Bedford County, FYAA yet to respond

Bedford County released a brief statement in response to the lawsuit.

“The County does not comment on pending litigation, but affirmatively states that it intends to vigorously defend itself against these allegations,” the statement read.

As of the time of this report, FYAA, Higgins and his attorney had not responded to requests for comment.

Virginia State Police have installed speed safety cameras in work zones along I-81. The cameras are now in Botetourt and Roanoke counties between mile markers 143 and 150.

There is a 30-day warning period for drivers to be made aware of the cameras. After that, drivers going over the posted speed limits in work zones may receive a $100 fine.

State police tell us the cameras were activated sometime last week.

Since conflict erupted in the Middle East earlier this year after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, much of the shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical oil transit route bordering Iran — has remained effectively halted, pushing up the price of oil and jet fuel.

In an effort to contain costs, airlines around the world have raised airfares and fees, cut other perks and canceled flights or trimmed schedules.

U.S. carriers spent nearly $6.5 billion on fuel in April, compared with about $3.6 billion a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Fuel consumption in April totaled 1.573 billion gallons, down slightly from 1.575 billion gallons a year earlier.

The latest figures came as the International Air Transport Association released a report on Sunday saying it now expects airlines worldwide to earn a combined $23 billion in net profit in 2026, far below its previous forecast of $41 billion and down from $45 billion in 2025.

“Airlines are bearing the brunt of the fuel price shock,” said Willie Walsh, director general of IATA, which represents most of the world's carriers. “While airfares are rising, airlines are still absorbing part of the hike in their bottom lines.”

The group said jet fuel prices are expected to average $152 a barrel in 2026, nearly 70% higher than in 2025, pushing the global airline fuel bill to about $350 billion from $252 billion a year earlier. IATA said that fuel is forecast to account for more than 31% of airline operating expenses in 2026, up from about 25% last year.

In the U.S., the cost of a gallon of jet fuel in April was $4.11, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said. Last April, it cost $2.31.

In a sign of the conflict’s ongoing repercussions for travel, American Airlines said last week it was suspending some of its routes this summer. In April, Lufthansa Group said it would cut 20,000 short-haul flights through October and Air Canada announced it was suspending its service to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport from June until late October.

Other airlines, ranging from U.S. carriers like United and Delta to Air France-KLM, Philippine Airlines and Cathay Pacific in Europe and Asia, have either cut flights, readjusted their schedules or halted plans to add more seats and routes this year.

The S&P 500 added 0.3%, coming off a drop of 2.6% from Friday that was its worst since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 80 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9%.

Some of the best performers were companies that sell computer chips, memory and other products fueling the AI boom. They had plunged Friday amid worries that their prices had shot too high due to AI euphoria. Such worries dragged South Korea’s Kospi index down 8.3% early Monday, pummeling tech stocks there like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

But prices recovered as trading moved westward through Europe to New York. Micron Technology rose 9.9% after sliding 13.3% Friday for the largest loss in the S&P 500. That resumed a run where its stock has more than tripled so far in 2026.

Marvell Technology climbed 9.6% in its first trading after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the semiconductor company’s stock has grown enough to join its widely followed S&P 500 index. Marvell’s stock has also more than tripled so far this year, aided by a 32.5% surge in one day last week. That was its best day since it began trading in 2000, and it came after Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, suggested at a conference in Taiwan that Marvell could be “the next trillion-dollar company.”

That such a comment could add billions of dollars to a company’s value in an instant suggests to critics that AI stocks are running too hot. Chip and memory companies are indeed reaping big growth in revenue and profit because of the AI boom, but their stock prices have been soaring at astounding speeds. A widely followed index of semiconductor stocks surged nearly 85% for the year so far through Thursday, for example.

Now, the question is whether Friday’s drop was the start of a downturn or just a pause that helps shake out excessive optimism.

Michael Wilson, a strategist at Morgan Stanley, is relatively optimistic. “Markets rarely move in a straight line at the pace seen since the March lows,” he wrote in a report. “In our view, a correction was inevitable and ultimately healthy if this bull market is going to extend into year-end” and pull the S&P 500 to his baseline target of 8,000. That would be an 8.3% rise from Friday’s close.

Corning climbed 5.6% after Amazon announced a multibillion dollar deal where Corning will produce optical fiber, cable and other products for its data centers across the country.

That helped offset a 0.9% dip for Campbell’s, which reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected but also a worse decline in revenue. The company’s stock is also set to drop out of the S&P 500 index when Marvell Technology’s stock joins it.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 21.99 points to 7,405.73. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 80.77 to 50,786.01, and the Nasdaq composite gained 220.23 to 25,929.66.

In the oil market, prices jumped after Israel and Iran launched strikes against each other, threatening to drag the region back into full-scale war. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, briefly topped $98 overnight.

But it later regressed after Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes. Brent’s price settled at $94.25 per barrel, up 1.2% from Friday.

High oil prices caused by the war with Iran have already sent inflation higher, which increases not only bills for households but also yields in the bond market. High yields worldwide recently have threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

On Monday, Treasury yields ticked a bit higher following their jump on Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.56% from 4.55%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes edged lower Europe following sharp losses in Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3.8%, while stocks fell 1.7% in Shanghai and 1.2% in Hong Kong.

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