WSLS 10

Jordan Walker won the Home Run Derby. He wants to lead the next wave of Black athletes into baseball

Dan Gelston, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:24:44 +0000

Jordan Walker rooted for Chipper Jones as a young Braves fan raised in suburban Atlanta and used to beg his family to take him to baseball games at Turner Field.

Walker’s parents -- “Jordan’s Dad” and “Jordan’s Mom,” as known by their customized jerseys this week at the Home Run Derby — often obliged. Derek Walker and his 7 year old son were out in left field seats for an April series in 2010 when Braves slugger and future Gold Glove winner Jason Heyward made his debut.

Oh, for sure the younger Walker still cheered for Jones.

But to see a young Black star such as Heyward command the outfield the way Walker wanted to play, a new favorite player was born.

“As soon as Jason Heyward debuted,” Walker said. “I was like, oh yeah, that’s the guy. That’s who I want to be like.”

The significance of representation in the Black community was never lost on Walker.

So when Walker, a former St. Louis Cardinals' first-round pick once on the cusp of bust territory after several demotions over the last few seasons, had his breathtaking, breakthrough moment with a six-swing, six-homer rally past Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber to win the Derby, he hoped his star-making turn would inspire more young Black athletes to follow in his footsteps and choose baseball.

Just as he was inspired by Heyward.

“For Black kids, I want to kind of be a role model for them,” Walker said, “like he was for me.”

With each prodigious blast off his customized Iron Man bat, the 24-year-old Walker silenced the Philly boo birds clamoring for a home team Schwarber victory and shined in his coming-out party beyond the St. Louis bubble and to the entire baseball world.

He flashed the kind of swag that appealed to a younger generation much in the way Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. did in his heyday. Walker wore his Cardinals hat backward, chewed a big wad of bubble gum and reveled afterward in flashing his imitation Liberty Bell bling, the champions' chain presented by Ryan Howard.

None other than career home run leader Barry Bonds gave Walker his stamp of approval — “you got my trophy, too” — for winning the greatest Derby he's ever seen.

“That means the world to me,” Walker said.

Walker is among the scores of All-Star talents leading a modest uptick of Black baseball players in the major leagues. When Houston and Philadelphia played the 2022 World Series that featured no U.S-born Black players, Astros manager Dusty Baker noted, “It looks bad. But there is help on the way.”

They're here — with Walker as the All-Star weekend centerpiece.

“I think once kids see more people to look up to,” All-Star Nationals outfielder James Wood said, “the more kids will get back into baseball.”

Baseball has seen modest gains with Black baseball players

Take a look around the All-Star clubhouses and it was clear — while not at the pace perhaps MLB would like — Walker helped represent a new wave of emerging Black talent.

Three-time AL MVP and Yankees slugger Aaron Judge sat out with an injury, but Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams and outfielder James Wood, Cincinnati Reds ace Chase Burns and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin ushered in the next, young group of future Black stars. The game also featured Minnesota Twins veteran Byron Buxton.

“I feel like there's been like a little surge in getting more Black players in the game,” Wood said. “We've got four on our team right now. Last year at one point, we had five. I think you're seeing it come back.”

MLB said that 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, up from 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the beginning of 2024. This year’s 0.6% increase was the most in a season since a 0.7% rise from 2017 to 2018.

Twenty of the 64 Black players had been in MLB-sponsored programs such as the MLB Youth Academy, Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series, Nike RBI and the Hank Aaron Invitational.

MLB said the total included 22 players 25 or younger and eight older than 32. The average age of Black players was 27.8 and the overall average 29.25.

The 23-year-old Burns, 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA with the Reds, was proud to hear Walker champion a Black youth movement at the Derby.

“You don't see a lot of Black athletes in baseball,” Burns said. “I don't know why that it is. I think it's great for guys like me and him to strive to get Black athletes into the game of baseball, whether it's talking about it or doing stuff in the community. I think it's great he pointed it out.”

Walker hopes he can keep leading the way

The best chance, naturally, for Walker to serve as a role model for the next generation is to make sure he's not just a one-Derby wonder.

Walker has 22 home runs, leads baseball with 74 RBIs and is a solid 13th with an .886 OPS — Wood is second at .985 — for a Cardinals team in the NL wild-card hunt. The Cardinals are finally getting the production expected out of the right fielder they drafted with their first-round pick in 2020.

Walker, who signed out of high school after he had committed to Duke, skipped Triple-A and made the opening day roster as the youngest player in baseball in 2023 and tied Eddie Murray's under 21-rookie record with a 13-game hitting streak.

He was sent down later that season; was the 2024 opening day right fielder and demoted again with a .155 batting average. Walker suffered a variety of injuries in 2025 and played in just 111 games that suddenly put his future as a key Cardinals' contributor very much in doubt.

Leaning on the same convictions that made him believe he could overtake the mighty Schwarber in the Derby championship round, Walker said a day after his win he never wavered in his belief that he would blossom into an everyday player and All-Star with the Cardinals.

He tinkered with his swing during an extend rehab assignment last season and the results were on full display in Philadelphia with 12 home runs in the final round.

“When my swing's fluid and easy, that's when it's at it's best,” Walker said. “That's really what it is.”

Walker, who struck out in his lone at bat in the All-Star Game, earned a $1 million prize for winning the Derby, which is more than his 2026 salary of $799,400.

(Here's a fun fact: Walker has 49 career homers off 49 different pitchers.)

As for the backward hat, “I call it the Griffey because no one did it better than him."

No one did it better than Walker at the Derby.

He just hopes his win can be a launching pad for a next generation of Black athletes into the big leagues.

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2 executions scheduled for same day in Florida for the first time in more than 60 years

David Fischer, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:18:47 +0000

The state of Florida is set to execute two death row inmates on the same day for the first time in more than 60 years, now that a stay has been lifted for a former police officer who had been scheduled to die earlier this year for killing an 11-year-old girl in 1987.

James Aren Duckett, 68, is scheduled to die at noon on July 28 at Florida State Prison near Starke, according to a death warrant signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Duckett was convicted of raping and drowning the girl while working as a police officer in a small central Florida city.

The execution for Dominick Anthony Occhicone, 80, was previously scheduled for 6 p.m. that same day. He was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986.

First executions on same day in more than 60 years

This is the first time Florida plans to execute two inmates on the same day since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty nationwide in 1976 after temporarily halting executions in 1972. According to Florida Department of Corrections records, Emmett C. Blake and Sie Dawson were executed for murder on May 12, 1964. The state records show multiple executions on a single day were more common in the past.

Duckett and Occhicone would become the 11th and 12th inmates to be executed in Florida this year if their deaths go as scheduled. Appeals in both cases will eventually go to the U.S. Supreme Court before any executions are performed.

According to court documents, Duckett was the only police officer on duty in Mascotte, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Orlando, the night of May 11, 1987. Witnesses reported seeing Teresa McAbee getting into Duckett’s patrol car outside a convenience store that evening, and her mother reported her missing several hours later. Her body was found the next morning in a nearby lake. DNA from fluids and hair collected from the girl’s body were probable matches to Duckett, and fingerprints matching Duckett and the girl were recovered from his patrol car, investigators said.

In Occhicone’s case, authorities said he showed up the morning of June 10, 1986, at a home in Holiday, just north of Clearwater, where his former girlfriend was living with her parents and her two children. After the woman refused to speak with Occhicone, he left for about an hour and returned with a handgun, investigators said. Occhicone cut the exterior phone lines and then fatally shot Raymond and Martha Artzner as Occhicone’s former girlfriend fled with her daughter. Occhicone didn’t deny the shootings, but his attorneys argued during trial that the murders weren’t premeditated.

DeSantis oversaw a record 19 executions in 2025, more in a single year than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous high was eight executions set in 2014.

A short reprieve for Duckett ends

DeSantis previously signed a death warrant for Duckett in February, scheduling his execution for March 31. But the Florida Supreme Court issued a stay just days before the execution to allow for DNA testing of old evidence that couldn't be performed because of technological limitations at the time of the original trial. The results came back inconclusive, meaning that they did not exonerate Duckett or definitively connect him to the crime. Judges have allowed the jury verdict to stand, and Duckett's stay was lifted earlier this month.

Duckett's attorney, Mary Elizabeth Wells, released a statement calling the rescheduled execution shameful and claiming the state's handling of the DNA evidence is the reason for the inconclusive results.

“Mr. Duckett has consistently maintained his innocence,” the statement said. “The State’s duty is to ensure that justice is done, and not rush to kill in a case with such serious doubts over guilt. We are committed to seeking every avenue of relief for Mr. Duckett ahead of his scheduled July 28 execution so that the State of Florida does not execute an innocent man.”

The governor's office declined to comment on Duckett's case or these particular executions, but DeSantis has previously said that his goal is to bring justice to victims’ families who have waited decades for death sentences to be carried out.

“Some of these crimes were committed in the ’80s,” the governor said during a November 2025 news conference. “Justice delayed is justice denied. I felt I owed it to them to make sure this ran very smoothly. If I honestly thought someone was innocent, I would not pull the trigger.”

Occhione would be oldest to be executed in Florida

Occhicone would also become the state's oldest inmate to be executed. Occhicone has several age-related ailments, including kidney and prostate problems, according to his attorneys. He needs help getting in and out of the shower, they noted.

On June 25, Florida executed 74-year-old Dusty Ray Spencer for the killing of his estranged wife. He was the oldest inmate executed in Florida until Tuesday, when Dennis Sochor — just a week older than Spencer — was put to death for killing a woman in the first hours of 1982 after meeting her at a New Year’s Eve party.

Occhicone also would become the second oldest prisoner known to be put to death in modern U.S. history after 83-year-old Walter Moody Jr. Moody was executed in Alabama in 2018 for killing a federal judge and a Black civil rights attorney during a wave of mail bombs in the South.

Florida executions are conducted via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

Slumping AI stocks drag down markets around the world

Chan Ho-Him, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 05:13:53 +0000

Drops for computer chipmakers and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom dragged down stock markets worldwide on Thursday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, even though more stocks rose within the index than fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 182 points, or 0.3%, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% lower.

Seven out of every 10 stocks rose within the S&P 500 after more of the country's biggest companies reported better earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Abbott jumped 10.2% after the healthcare company delivered a fatter profit than expected and raised its forecast for earnings over the full year. J.B. Hunt Transport Services climbed 7% after the freight company likewise topped analysts' expectations for the latest quarter.

But a 1% move for Nvidia's stock packs more punch on the S&P 500 than a 1% move for any other company because it's the largest on Wall Street by value.

And Nvidia fell 2.5%, making it the heaviest weight on the index. Other AI winners also sank, giving back some of their stellar gains.

Micron Technology fell 6.3% to shave its gain for the year so far below 200%. Sandisk fell 12.8% but is nevertheless up 493% for the year so far. Western Digital sank 10.8% but is still up 166% for the year so far.

Such stocks have been under pressure for weeks because of worries that their prices shot too high and that voracious demand for computer memory and processors may not be sustainable if AI ends up not producing as much profit and productivity as promised.

The losses came even though Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a bellwether of the chip industry, reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock in Taiwan rose 1.2%, but its stock that trades in the United States fell 3%.

In South Korea, drops for AI winners like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dragged the Kospi index down 6.4%. It’s been among the world’s shakiest markets in recent weeks because of how dominant the two AI winners are in it.

The day before, the Kospi jumped 6.2%, but it’s had drops of 8.9%, 7.8% and 5.3% in the last two weeks.

A hike to interest rates by the Bank of Korea also weighed on stocks in Seoul, the first by the bank since 2023.

Higher interest rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments. And worries are rising that the Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world may have to raise rates to rein in the effects of expensive oil.

Oil prices are near their highest in a month because of worries that the war with Iran will keep oil tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz and prevent shipments of crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude briefly climbed above $86 per barrel in the morning but later erased the gain and fell back to settle at $84.23, down 0.8% from the day before.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield edged up to 4.56% from 4.55% late Wednesday and just 3.97% before the war with Iran began. Higher yields have already sent the average 30-year mortgage rate to its highest level in nearly a year.

Reports on the U.S. economy came in mixed, which added to the eddies swirling through the bond market. One report said shoppers spent less at U.S. retailers last month than economists expected. But after ignoring sales at gasoline stations, spending by U.S. consumers remained resilient.

A separate report said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, an indication of a solid job market, while a third report said manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region is better than economists expected.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia, including drops of 1.8% in Shanghai and 2.8% in Tokyo.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was an outlier and rose 1.3%. Alibaba rose after China’s cyberspace regulator said Wednesday it had approved the Apple Intelligence AI tool for use in China. An Alibaba spokesperson said its Qwen model will be integrated into Apple Intelligence.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Hopes for US-Iran diplomacy still alive as fighting intensifies over the Strait of Hormuz

Ben Finley, Farnoush Amiri, Samy Magdy And Munir Ahmed, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:13:24 +0000

Fighting between the U.S. and Iran has intensified over control of the Strait of Hormuz, but hopes for a possible diplomatic solution have shown stubborn signs of life.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday rejected suggestions that Islamabad had abandoned efforts to bring Washington and Tehran back to the negotiating table after brokering an initial ceasefire agreement last month that has now collapsed.

“Let me dispel the impression that Pakistan has done hands up, and this is not the case,” ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a news conference, adding that the parties eventually "will have to come to the negotiating table to settle all outstanding issues.”

Even the top negotiators for Iran and the U.S. signaled they have not walked away from talks. In a podcast interview with Joe Rogan that aired Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration is “not going to bomb and bomb and bomb” and noted that “you’ve got to actually be willing to talk and to try to figure out the problem.”

“We’re going try to use our military force as one of the many tools that we have to solve the problem,” Vance said, adding that “diplomacy is another tool.”

Mediators from countries that include Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt have been working to resume talks, according to regional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy. They noted that neither side has notified Pakistan that it was officially withdrawing or terminating the initial ceasefire agreement.

The backchannel efforts have been overshadowed by the escalating attacks, with the U.S. military on Thursday conducting strikes deeper into Iran and firing on a ship that the U.S. accused of trying to break its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Iran has retaliated by launching missiles and drones at U.S. allies in the region and warned that its attacks could grow to target “all the infrastructure in the region.”

The U.S. and Iran are in a delicate and potentially pivotal moment that “leaves open the possibility of moving up the escalation ladder,” said Naysan Rafati, senior Iran analyst at the Washington-based International Crisis Group.

The push is on for renewing negotiations

Andrabi, the spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry, acknowledged that mediation between Iran and the U.S. had become increasingly difficult. But he said peace efforts remained alive.

“It can be put on the backburner, but it stays,” Andrabi said, adding that “whenever the parties exhaust the logic of escalation, the formula for peace is there.”

The regional officials involved in mediation attempts said efforts to salvage the deal to end the war were continuing this week. They acknowledged that the 60-day negotiating process spelled out in the interim deal has halted. But they said mediators have been working to persuade both sides to return to the negotiating table.

Officials say the key point of dispute is management of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial energy shipping route that is Tehran’s greatest source of leverage. The language in the interim deal is vague. Iran claims it has the authority to arrange shipping transit through the strait, while the U.S. says the waterway is meant to be open to free passage and has tried to arrange an alternate shipping route along Oman’s coast.

In his interview with Rogan, Vance acknowledged that diplomacy might ultimately be the only way forward.

“I’m very frustrated by the Americans and frankly by people in other countries who are like, ‘You cannot negotiate with the Iranians,’” the vice president said. “Well, then what is your proposal to get people to stop shooting at ships in the Strait of Hormuz?”

Trump increases the threats and says Iran ‘better behave’

The fighting resumed over Iran’s unwillingness to allow oil tankers and other commercial vessels to navigate freely through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital Persian Gulf shipping route through which 20% of the world’s oil normally flows. Iran effectively choked off the usual stream of commerce by attacking commercial vessels that ignored its rules, disrupting world energy markets and driving up prices that could pose problems for Republicans in November’s midterm elections.

Asked by reporters in recent days if he is still open to negotiations, Trump has repeated his previous threats that Iran returning to the table is the only thing that can avoid U.S. attacks on civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants. But the Republican president said he would not put a timeline on it.

“I don’t like giving deadlines, but they pretty much know, they know the story,” Trump said in Pennsylvania on Wednesday. “They better behave.”

Moments before, Iran’s parliament speaker and lead negotiator said the country is not declaring last month’s interim deal void. But Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iran’s commitment depends on continued implementation by the United States. If Washington fails to honor its obligations, Iran would have no reason to remain bound by it, he argued.

The initial June 17 agreement called for a permanent end to hostilities and a reopening of the strait and started a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear program and other issues.

Qalibaf also suggested that Iran is not seeking to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed indefinitely. He said Tehran’s objective is to preserve what he called “Iranian arrangements” governing navigation through the waterway, while allowing the maximum safe passage of commercial shipping under those rules.

US is trying a naval blockade and more strikes to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — again

To stop Iran’s attacks on ships, Trump has stepped up military attacks and reinstituted an earlier Navy blockade of Iranian ports to inflict economic pain.

But it would be unrealistic to expect the U.S. to eliminate Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones into the strait anytime soon, said Bradley Bowman, a former Army helicopter pilot and now a scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.

“Unfortunately, Iran only needs to hit a ship every now and then to create serious problems and dilemmas for insurers and ship captains and reduce the flow of traffic in the strait,” he said. “That reduced flow exerts significant economic and political pressure on Washington, especially as midterm elections approach. Iran understands the leverage it now has — and so does Trump.”

At the same time, Bowman and other experts are not convinced that more strikes and economic pressure will get Iran to negotiate.

“We’re doing things that have not affected Iranian behavior in the past,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and a senior defense adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “So why would it affect Iranian behavior now?”

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Amiri reported from New York, Magdy from Cairo and Ahmed from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

NYC helicopter that crashed and killed 6 last year showed signs of a bird strike, safety board says

Josh Funk, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:44:32 +0000

The remains of several geese were found on the wreckage of a sightseeing helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River last year in New York City and killed 6 people, investigators said Thursday.

The National Transportation Safety Board described evidence and witness reports that suggest the helicopter struck several birds before it plummeted into the river on April 10, 2025.

The Federal Aviation Administration has said that helicopters are especially vulnerable to bird strikes because they fly at low altitudes. Helicopter bird strikes are unusual, but they can be devastating.

The victims of last year’s accident included a Siemens business executive from Spain, his family and the pilot. Passengers Agustin Escobar, 49; his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, 39; and their three children, Victor, 4; Mercedes, 8; and Agustin, 10, all died. The pilot was Seankese Johnson, 36, a U.S. Navy veteran who received his commercial pilot’s license in 2023. The crash renewed safety concerns about the popular sightseeing flights and prompted New Jersey’s governor to ask for additional restrictions on nonessential helicopter flights.

The “ miracle on the Hudson” highlighted the danger of bird strikes when a US Airways jet hit a flock of birds and lost power in both engines shortly after takeoff in 2009. Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was hailed as a hero after he landed the powerless plane in the Hudson River and all 155 people on board were rescued.

In last year’s crash, witnesses described seeing the helicopter’s tail and main rotor breaking away and smoke pouring from the spinning chopper before it slammed into the water.

The helicopter took off from a downtown heliport that afternoon and flew north along the Manhattan skyline before heading south toward the Statue of Liberty. Less than 18 minutes into the flight, parts of the aircraft were seen tumbling into the water.

Rescue boats circled the submerged aircraft within minutes of impact and recovered the bodies from the water. Later recovery crews hoisted the mangled Bell 206L-4 helicopter out of the river for investigators to examine.

New York Helicopter Tours shut down after the crash, and the FAA issued an emergency order to ground all the company’s flights after learning it had fired its operations director minutes after he had agreed to suspend flights during the investigation.

The FAA said at the time that it suspected the firing was retaliation for a safety decision.

The company’s director of operations, Jason Costello, agreed to voluntarily halt flights while the crash was being investigated. But 16 minutes after Costello sent an email to the FAA, the company’s chief executive officer sent a separate email to the agency saying he did not authorize the halt and that Costello was no longer an employee.

Republican senator says Blanche must meet Epstein's accusers to earn his vote for attorney general

Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:41:32 +0000

A Republican senator whose support will be necessary to advance Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general said Thursday that Blanche must meet with accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to earn his vote.

Sen. Thom Tillis' had indicated during Blanche's confirmation hearing on Wednesday that he was leaning toward backing the acting attorney general's nomination. But after an Epstein accuser testified a day later, Tillis said he expects a meeting to occur before he's “willing to vote out of this committee.”

Epstein's case and the Justice Department's handling of millions of files related to his sex trafficking investigation have been a persistent political headache for the Trump administration.

After missteps by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi that enraged Trump's base, Blanche as deputy attorney general oversaw a massive review and release of millions of files related to the investigation into the disgraced financier with connections to wealthy and powerful people.

Shortly after Tillis' remarks, Blanche arrived at a Senate office building, where Blanche told reporters he had hoped to meet with Epstein accusers but “it didn't work out.” Blanche said they were trying to find another time later Thursday or another day to schedule the meeting.

“The Department of Justice will always meet with victims or their representatives, and if those victims or their representatives have evidence that anybody committed a crime — whether it has to do with Jeffrey Epstein or anybody else — we will of course move forward and investigate and prosecute,” Blanche said.

Without Tillis' support, Blanche's nomination won't make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which questioned Blanche for hours on Wednesday about the Epstein files as well as the creation of a fund to compensate Trump’s allies, a tax immunity deal for the president and a slew of other issues.

Another Republican on the committee who says he has not made up his mind whether to support Blanche — Sen. John Cornyn — conveyed concerns that the Trump administration has yet to commit in writing that the fund is dead and could therefore conceivably be resurrected.

One Epstein accuser, Dani Bensky, told lawmakers earlier Thursday that women harmed by Epstein repeatedly asked to meet with Blanche “through multiple channels and he never responded."

"We deserve to be heard directly, not dismissed and ignored,” Bensky said.

Blanche has pushed back on suggestions that the Justice Department has been dismissive of the late financier's accusers, saying Wednesday that officials have spoken with more than 30 representatives of the women over the course of its sweeping review of the files.

Blanche has also defended the department's staggered release of the Epstein files, a process beset by problems, including redaction errors that left exposed nude photos showing the faces of potential victims.

Blanche said during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that he takes responsibility for mistakes that were made, but noted that department lawyers were given a "herculean task” to quickly review millions of files for release. Blanche said department lawyers took pains to protect the women involved, and quickly fixed any errors that were found.

“I am sorry that in about 1% of the documents mistakes were made,” Blanche said Wednesday. “But what I will say on top of that is we put tons of resources to rectifying those mistakes immediately, including pulling down documents within minutes of being informed that there were mistakes.”

The political firestorm over the Epstein files dogged the Trump administration for much of last year, with lawmakers eventually passing a measure that compelled the release of a massive trove of documents in the government’s possession related to its investigation.

The Justice Department began releasing the documents in late December, which included photos, call logs, grand jury testimony and interview transcripts. The release did little to tamp down skepticism from conspiracy theorists and online sleuths, who have long pushed allegations of a government cover-up, without evidence.

Ghost gun company ordered to pay $100M in the death of a Kentucky teen in historic verdict

Jake Offenhartz And Dylan Lovan, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:41:53 +0000

A ghost gun company has been ordered to pay more than $100 million in the death of a Kentucky teenager who had purchased the company's pistol-building kit online.

The verdict — believed to be the largest-ever against a gun dealer — was awarded by a jury Wednesday following a trial focused on whether the vendor, Husky Armory LLC, skirted federal regulations barring the sale of the gun-assembly kits to those under 21.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. Helplines outside the U.S. can be found at www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts.

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In a wrongful-death lawsuit, the family of Henry Willis said he was just 18 when he purchased the Glock G19 pistol “build kit” from Husky Armory's website in 2023. He assembled the handgun in his garage — telling his father it was a transistor radio — and used it to end his life six days later.

Everytown Law, which represented the family, said the $104.2 million payout was the largest ever reached against a gun seller, surpassing the $73 million settlement awarded to the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting by the rifle-maker Remington.

It comes a little over a year after the Supreme Court upheld regulations enacted by the Biden administration that mandated serial numbers on the homemade weapons and required buyers to complete background checks and age verification.

Attorneys for Willis said Husky Armory had flouted each of those requirements.

Their website advertised the product as having “everything you need to build your own Glock style pistol from the comfort of your home,” noting the weapon could be assembled by “nearly anyone with a brain,” according to the lawsuit.

Inquiries to Husky Armory LLC and its owner, Cody Yurk, were not immediately returned. The company, which is based in Omaha, Nebraska, was not present for the trial, according to the family and their attorneys.

At a news conference Thursday, Willis’ mother, Laura Herp, described her son as a “kind, gentle child” who had struggled with mental health issues in the months leading up to his death.

“A child in crisis should never be able to access a deadly weapon,” Herp said. “Companies like Husky Armory thrive off selling to folks who shouldn’t have access to firearms, and they didn’t care who Henry was. They didn’t even bother showing up to the trial.”

A state court in Louisville had previously issued a default judgment against the vendor for failing to respond to the lawsuit. Following a two-day trial this week, a jury awarded $4.2 million in economic damages and $100 million in punitive damages to the family.

“This historic verdict sends a powerful message to ghost-gun sellers who set up businesses to profit by circumventing critical safeguards like background checks and age verification,” said Dana Mulhauser, an attorney for Everytown Law. “Henry should be home with his family today, and Laura deserved more time and opportunity to help her son heal.”

Fatal ICE encounters, reversal over vehicle stops are first major test for DHS Secretary Mullin

Rebecca Santana, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:02:01 +0000

When Markwayne Mullin took over as Homeland Security secretary from fired Kristi Noem, he pledged to get the department responsible for carrying out the Trump administration's mass deportations policy out of the headlines.

But just months into Mullin's time in office, the department is squarely in the center of controversy again after three people were killed in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the span of less than a week.

The events are the first major test for Mullin, who promised a steady hand for a department roiled by his predecessor's conduct and the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

As he navigates the uptick in violence, he is being forced into a balancing act that has him juggling pressures from a White House eager to carry out mass deportations and his former colleagues in Congress seeking answers — all while attempting to ease tensions in American cities over the deaths.

“When he took his position, Secretary Mullin said that his goal was to get the department off the front page of the news,” Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner said on the House floor Tuesday. Then, waving a newspaper, he said: “Well, you’re back on the goddamn front page now."

Mullin's approach is a marked change from his predecessor, Kristi Noem

Mullin, a former senator from Oklahoma, was a surprise pick to run the sprawling department after Noem was fired in the wake of two deadly shootings of American protesters at the hands of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis earlier this year.

As the secretary in charge of carrying out the administration's mass deportations vision, Noem pushed an aggressive style of immigration enforcement where she was front and center, including most famously, a visit to a Salvadoran detention center. She was quick to speak publicly on controversial events, weighing in on both Minneapolis shootings with statements accusing the killed protesters of being agitators.

President Donald Trump, who made mass deportations a central promise of his second administration, ultimately soured on Noem over a $200 million ad campaign and her handling of the Minneapolis operation.

Mullin promised a different approach, while still pledging to deliver on the president's priorities. His first trip as secretary was not to promote immigration enforcement but to observe hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina. Noem frequently went out on immigration raids with her officers — Mullin has not.

Since he became secretary and in the aftermath of the Minneapolis violence, the administration has also moved away from high-profile and unpopular immigration operations in American cities to a quieter approach to enforcement that has largely shifted media attention away from the crackdown. Under Mullin, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also retreating from a plan to use warehouses to detain migrants.

But immigration arrests continue under Mullin and often with little fanfare: ICE arrested 10,000 people over a five-day period in late June, averaging out to about to 2,000 arrests per day. And legal pathways to immigration have also faced new restrictions.

Trump, during Mullin's tenure, has hailed the secretary as “so incredible,” and “amazing,” lauding him for giving up his Senate seat to run DHS.

For months, it appeared as though Mullin's change in approach was taking hold. While advocates and civil rights activists accused the department of mistreating immigrants under his leadership, Mullin's less confrontational approach seemed to keep the department out of the spotlight.

ICE-related deaths bring renewed spotlight to Mullin and DHS

But the events of the past week have posed a new challenge for Mullin as he walks a tightrope between his softer approach and the president's demands.

“Trying to deal with competing policy objectives is a challenge for any Cabinet secretary, but Mullin has this worse than most,” said Tom Warrick, a former counterterrorism official at Homeland Security who’s now at the Atlantic Council.

“In the case of Homeland Security, the White House wants both to meet their immigration quotas at the same time that they keep public trust, and how you do that — even with the funding that Mullin has — is a really difficult challenge."

ICE officers in Houston and Maine shot and killed individuals in their cars during immigration operations. In Florida, a man fleeing ICE officers was killed in a car crash.

Mullin has not spoken publicly about the deaths while the department’s public affairs office has released only brief statements following each.

Behind the scenes, Mullin, who frequently talks about how he shares his cellphone number with members of Congress and encourages them to call him directly, has talked with lawmakers and shared information, including talking with both senators from Maine.

And after the second shooting death in Maine, as criticism surged from both protesters and Mullin's former colleagues in Congress, ICE was ordered to suspend most vehicle stops.

Trump heaps pressure on Mullin over vehicle stop order

That decision infuriated Trump's supporters.

Conservative influencer Nick Sorter called it a “TOTAL CAPITULATION to the left," in a post on X. Conservative activist Mike Davis accused Mullin of heeding the advice of Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who said she'd suggested the vehicle stop pause to the secretary.

A day later, Trump appeared to contradict the guidance to ICE, saying in a social media post “we must be strong, tough and smart and we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!”

Mullin then reposted Trump's words, adding that people in the country would be “arrested and deported wherever they are." He later said on X that he and the president are “on the same page.”

During a briefing Thursday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said vehicle stops are continuing after field offices around the country were given “verbal guidance."

"The president and the secretary of Homeland Security are on the same page that vehicle stops are a necessary tool that ICE agents need," she said.

But it showed the friction between Mullin's attempts to maintain calm and the president's demands that illegal immigrants, which the administration has in many instances portrayed as criminals, be arrested in large numbers.

Democrats have slammed the new secretary, saying that they see little change at the department.

“Secretary Mullin, if he wants to, and if he has the backing of the White House, he has the ability to get ICE under control and make them follow the law,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas. “So either he has no interest in doing that, or the White House is not backing him up, or the agents are simply out of control.”

Republican lawmakers have come to Mullin's defense.

“I think the Secretary has lived up to what he’s wanted to do to try to change the atmosphere over there,” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, who as chair of the congressional Homeland Security Committee has requested a bipartisan briefing on ICE's use of force policies from DHS.

“I don’t think anybody is celebrating that ICE is back in the headlines," Garbarino said.

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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

2 of 8 men charged in alleged plot to attack the White House UFC event plead not guilty

Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:38:02 +0000

Two of the eight men indicted in an alleged drone and sniper plot to attack President Donald Trump's UFC cage-fighting show on the White House lawn pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal conspiracy charges.

Clothed in jail garb and shackled, Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, and Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, entered the pleas before U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. in Ohio, where the case has been consolidated. They and the other six defendants are each charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.

Sargus scheduled their trial to begin Sept. 14.

It remains unclear from the court record how close the would-be attackers were to being able to carry out the plan they are alleged to have hatched.

Scaggs' attorney, Eric Brehm, said in a statement that his office is only in the early stages of reviewing the case, “but one issue is already clear: there appears to be a significant disconnect between the severity of the alleged offenses and Mr. Scaggs' naivety, lack of sophistication, and judgment.” The first charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison; the second could mean prison for life.

In detailing the group’s July 9 indictments last week, U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace II was asked how close the alleged plot came to fruition.

“What would have happened or could have happened, that's never going to be clear, because, thank God, there was an intervention here and this thing was disrupted,” he said. “But, in my view, when I look at what's been alleged there, it seems pretty likely that someone or multiple people were driving to Washington, D.C., to do something.”

Proper's lawyer had no immediate comment.

According to the indictment, the plot began in May. Members of the group — citing grievances about government corruption, water-guzzling data centers and the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files — began amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items.

The attack was planned to take place at the cage-fighting show dubbed UFC Freedom 250, which was held on the South Lawn of the White House to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary. Law enforcement officials said they learned of the possible threat four days before the event was scheduled to take place.

One of the defendants told investigators that they planned to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and then shoot panicked crowd members as they fled, according to a federal affidavit.

The Justice Department announced charges against seven people from across the country last month, including from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and California. Officials said the suspects harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.

Four alleged conspirators charged in Missouri, Nebraska and California the weekend of the event and two more charged about a week later in Washington and Missouri are still in the process of being moved to Ohio to face charges. They are likely to be tried as a group.

Scaggs was arrested separately later, but was brought to Ohio ahead of the other out-of-state defendants.

Trump's teleprompter operator on unpaid leave for alleged prediction market bets on Trump speeches

Bill Barrow, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:42:44 +0000

President Donald Trump’s teleprompter operator is on unpaid leave after reports that he used his inside knowledge to make bets about the president’s speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi, the White House said Thursday.

The firm’s enforcement chief said Kalshi contacted federal regulators about bets allegedly made about what the president would say in public addresses.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is aware of the situation, which she described as “unfortunate” and “a disgrace.”

“The White House has extremely strict ethical guidelines with respect to issues like this,” Leavitt told reporters, saying the aide is on unpaid leave.

ABC News reported Thursday that Gabriel Perez, who has been operating Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, used his inside knowledge to win more than $100,000 betting on what the president would say in big speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier this year.

Robert Denault, Kalshi’s lawyer and head of enforcement, said on X that the “Kalshi surveillance team promptly flagged, investigated and referred these trades” to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission that has regulatory authority over such matters.

His statement did not name Perez.

“We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided all evidence that we collected, as we do with any referral,” Denault added.

ABC based its report on multiple sources who have knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details.

The ABC report described suspicious activity on Kalshi's “Mentions” market, in which users can place bets on what phrases and specific words might be used in public speeches. Kalshi recently began requiring users to disclose their place of employment, and the platform's policy prohibits betting based on information that users gain because of their job.

Attention on members of the administration profiting from the presidency has reached all the way to Trump himself.

In his most recent disclosures, Trump reported making $1.2 billion from his crypto businesses in 2025, raking in profits while his investors suffered losses in marketplaces that Trump has sought to shield from tighter federal regulation.

Trump got more than $500 million from his World Liberty Financial business selling new crypto products, including “governance tokens,” according to the required annual disclosure report with the Office of Government Ethics. It also showed another crypto business, CIC Digital LLC, took in more than $600 million from sales of souvenir-type “meme” coins stamped with his face. Both the tokens and the coins have plunged in value since the sales.

The president has also profited from merchandising deals and high-dollar political and official events at his properties, significantly increasing his net worth since returning to power.

Trump's aides have stood by his personal and family business practices.

“The president is abiding by all conflict-of-interest laws that are applicable to the president,” Leavitt said earlier this year. It's "absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency.”

Trump's Labor nominee touts experience and fraud prevention as he seeks confirmation

Kevin Freking, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:42:30 +0000

President Donald Trump's nominee to run the Department of Labor emphasized a steady grounding in labor law built on years of experience in private practice, academia and the federal government as he looked to win over senators in a confirmation hearing Thursday.

Keith Sonderling has already been on the job as acting secretary since April, when the White House announced that Lori Chavez-DeRemer would be leaving her post to take a job in the private sector. Her exit followed multiple allegations that she had abused her position's power.

The hearing Thursday lacked much of the vitriol and drama that has been part of some confirmation hearings during Trump's second term. Still, there were considerable policy disputes, including on the administration's efforts to administer various Department of Education grant programs within the Department of Labor.

Sonderling was a senior advisor at the department during Trump's first term and went on to serve as a Republican member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He also taught about the laws the department enforces as an adjunct professor at George Washington University. He returned to the department in Trump's second term and was confirmed as deputy secretary in March of last year.

“Few people have had the opportunity to experience the department from so many perspectives,” Sonderling told lawmakers.

Sonderling faced Democratic criticism

Sonderling is expected to be confirmed, but Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., made clear she was no fan of his work.

She noted that the department this year rescinded a Biden-era rule that expanded who can get overtime pay, which the department had estimated would provide an additional 4 million lower-paid salary workers with overtime protections. A federal judge had also blocked the rule during the final months of Joe Biden's presidency.

Murray also noted that the department was pursuing a new rule for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor, which she said would let corporations classify workers as contractors so they can pay lesser wages — depriving workers of billions of dollars annually. She said the Labor Department also fired the vast majority of employees in the office that works to protect workers from discrimination by federal contractors.

“I fear any vote to confirm you is for more of the same: to strip overtime protections for our workers, to undercut our unions and to let giant corporations get away with robbery, literally,” Murray said.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla, said Sonderling was without a doubt qualified to serve as the next Labor secretary. He also said Sonderling has provided stability and steady leadership at the department since Chavez-DeRemer's abrupt departure.

“He is committed to making America the best place to get a job,” Scott said.

Lawmakers raised concerns about grants and the use of AI

One issue that came up repeatedly during the confirmation hearing was Democratic lawmakers' concerns that some Department of Education grant programs are being managed at Labor. That's been happening as Trump works to fulfill his campaign pledge to close the Department of Education entirely.

Sonderling said Department of Education staff have been detailed to his department and that they're making policy decisions. He said the Department of Labor is assisting them on the back end in dispersing funding. For example, he said $1.5 billion came to his department at midnight on July 1 and was disbursed within an hour or two.

"And the states love this,” Sonderling said.

Senators also expressed concern about what impact the growing use of artificial intelligence is having on the American worker.

Sonderling said the department is collecting information from companies and unions about AI usage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will review that data and help the department steer job training money to the states more effectively.

Currently, he said there is a “gloom and doom narrative” about AI's impact on workers that he said is driven by consultants and the tech industry.

“What we believe we're going to see is that AI-impacted jobs can potentially make you more productive. It can make your workplaces safer, but we can't get that information yet," Sonderling said.

Sonderling also touted his work with Vice President JD Vance as part of a task force focused on preventing fraud. He said he's telling states to “verify first and pay later” when it comes to unemployment insurance claims. He said the department is working with the state of Alabama on a centralized verification system.

“They have some of the lowest fraud and improper payment rates in the country because they are verifying,” Sonderling said.

Trump cites national security to stop offshore wind development. Here's what to know

Jennifer Mcdermott, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:39:42 +0000

President Donald Trump's administration has worked to stop offshore wind development on the grounds that it's a national security risk since late last year.

It halted work on major projects, and it's buying back leases, citing national security concerns. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum says a classified report from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth proves offshore wind is a national security threat.

This comes against the backdrop of the Republican president's hatred of wind turbines and desire to boost fossil fuels for “energy dominance” in the global market. National lab estimates show that turbines installed along the U.S. coasts could provide more than enough power to cover the nation's annual electricity consumption.

Wind turbines interfere with radar, but that isn't a new problem. The Pentagon reviews wind farm construction plans and can deem areas off limits. There are upgrades to radar to mitigate turbine impacts.

Here’s what to know about the national security implications of offshore wind development:

Turbines’ spinning blades can create false targets on radar screens

Burgum says he’s worried about autonomous drones going through a wind tower field undetected because of radar interference. And, he said, the vibration of wind towers could affect undersea sonar.

Radar systems can be adjusted to raise the threshold for what's considered a detection but may miss actual targets consequently, according to the Department of Energy.

Kirk Lippold, a national security expert and former commander of the USS Cole, said radar operators are trained to differentiate a live track — anything from a boat or a submarine periscope to an inbound drone or missile — from clutter. If drones aren't detected before they reach a wind farm, “we have bigger national security issues,” he said.

Trump administration says there are new risks

According to the Department of Justice, defense officials gave the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management classified information in November 2025 detailing new national security risks from offshore wind projects.

BOEM halted construction on five big East Coast projects days before Christmas. Burgum said they had to address the rapid evolution of relevant adversary technologies and vulnerabilities created by these projects near East Coast cities. This came after courts blocked Trump's efforts to halt development through executive action.

Like the United States, Sweden is raising security concerns with offshore wind energy. Officials said Thursday they're approving two offshore wind farms while rejecting 11 others.

Green Power Sweden CEO Nils Grunditz said he questions why Sweden is scaling back its offshore wind plans when technological solutions for radar interference are used elsewhere in the region. Denmark has been a pioneer in wind energy since building the first offshore wind farm in 1991.

The UK government said in March it bought new air defense radars to mitigate against anomalies created by offshore wind farms, touting it as new technology that secures coexistence of air defense and offshore wind. The independent climate change think tank E3G said North Sea turbines can be a defense asset, for example by including surveillance and monitoring equipment.

Judges were not convinced by the Trump administration

Developers impacted by the construction freeze and states sued. The DOJ argued national security concerns are paramount and federal courts do not second-guess military officials’ assessment of these risks.

Federal judges reviewed the classified information and allowed all five wind farms to resume construction.

At the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Senior Judge Royce Lamberth expressed concern that the stated national security reasoning may have been “pretextual,” to mask the true motives for stopping offshore wind.

In putting a major wind farm for Rhode Island and Connecticut back on track in January, Lamberth said the government did not apply the newly discovered concerns specifically to that project, Revolution Wind, Burgum publicly criticized offshore wind around the time of the stop work order for reasons unrelated to national security, and BOEM waited to act until December on information it received in November.

The Pentagon is also holding up the development of onshore wind farms, and the administration has used emergency orders to keep fossil fuel plants online.

Meghan Greenfield, a partner at Jenner & Block LLP in Washington, said the administration is making a national security argument in so many different contexts, “it has caused increased skepticism by the courts.”

A retired Navy officer is suspicious of the administration's motives

In buying back offshore wind leases, the Interior Department cited national security concerns with the projects, including those off California.

Retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Dennis McGinn knows the waters off California's shore well. He commanded the fleet responsible for naval operations across the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean. He said there's no “showstopping national security issue” that would invalidate years of analysis of the lease areas.

McGinn said he thinks the administration is maximizing the risks and costs of offshore wind while minimizing the benefits to justify pursuing more fossil fuels and “it doesn't pass commonsense tests.” Offshore wind produces electricity cleanly. Oil, coal and natural gas emit carbon pollution when burned.

McGinn, who served as an assistant secretary of the Navy, said that radar interference is a problem recognized early on and adequately addressed and that thousands of turbines are operating across Europe and Asia.

“National security and offshore wind are compatible, if it is done right, in the right locations,” he said.

Economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth disagrees. A distinguished fellow at the Energy Policy Research Foundation, Furchtgott-Roth said the defense issues have been known for decades, the military's views should be taken very seriously, the nation shouldn't be dependent on Chinese-made turbines, and gas, coal and nuclear provide affordable, reliable power. The administration is acting prudently, she said.

Members of Congress were briefed

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island said he participated in a classified briefing months ago and didn't find the reasoning compelling. Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is trying to include a measure in the defense bill that sets military policy to force a 180-day deadline for a military office known as the siting clearinghouse to evaluate wind projects and explain its conclusion.

“They have to be able to produce a thoughtful and thorough analysis which justifies their decision,” Reed said Wednesday. "That’s the way to go.”

Even with that step, Reed said, this administration finds many ways to stop things it doesn't like and he expects the campaign against wind energy to continue.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

LeBron James says he isn't ready to reveal a decision on his future, doesn't offer any hints

Stephen Whyno And Tim Reynolds, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:58:56 +0000

If LeBron James knows where he will play this coming season, he's still not saying.

The NBA's career scoring king and current free agent spoke publicly for the first time in weeks Thursday afternoon, though stopped short of revealing which team he'll choose to play for this fall — despite at least one cry from someone in a jampacked room shouting for him to “pick a team.”

“It’s going to be fun wherever I land," James said.

The four-time NBA champion was recording an episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast alongside guest co-host Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers in New York on the opening day of Fanatics Fest, a four-day event featuring dozens of athletes, celebrities and sports legends. Single-day general admission tickets were sold out, organizers said, and it's likely that many of those patrons — there were at least several hundred there, phones out to capture the moment — were hoping to hear James' next decision.

Not yet, he said.

An 11-year-old asked James about free agency and developing his next team — “first of all, that was a hell of a question and some of the media people here probably should learn from the young fella," James said — and the youngster got perhaps the best answer of the session, with James indicating that the 2026-27 season may not necessarily be his last as a player.

“It's a big decision for not only myself, but for my family as well,” James said. “Just for the last part of my career and where I want to spend the last few years or the last year or the last two years of my NBA career ... I'm going to try to fit into whatever team I'm going into, but also give them all the tools and give them all the knowledge that I've been able to grasp over the last 23 years. I know the game. I know the ins and outs of the game of basketball.”

Thursday's appearance has been planned for months; it was announced publicly in May. James playfully chided Haliburton for asking him about his future — “didn’t we talk about this in the back?” James asked, and Haliburton said he'd ”leave it alone.”

Of course, they didn't leave it alone. James made reference to a slew of teams such as Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia and Golden State, though didn't appear to give much in the way of hints. He did sip from a bottle of red wine that he opened and shared with Haliburton, calling it one of his podcast traditions.

And when fans shouted out suggestions for James' next team — one even asked him to play for the New York Yankees — no clues were forthcoming.

“We'll see,” he said.

James is the NBA’s oldest active player at 41 and the only player in league history to have a career spanning 23 seasons; this coming season will be his 24th. Speculation has been rampant for more than two months about his future, officially starting in May when the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.

At that time, James said he didn’t know what he would be doing.

And the only developments that he’s revealed since came on June 30, when he said he would play this coming season and that he was leaving the Lakers after an eight-season run highlighted by the 2020 NBA title.

For more than two weeks, the NBA has been waiting to hear what comes next. James, as he did in a social media post at the time, lauded his time with the Lakers, who also offered him well wishes as he moves forward.

“I spent eight great years with the Los Angeles Lakers,” James said.

James’ resume is beyond compare in NBA history. He’s a 22-time All-Star, a 21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP, and was a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.

He’s also coming off a season where he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. For his career, he’s averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in more than 1,600 games.

The podcast was the first of two known speaking engagements for James in New York on Thursday.

He also has an appearance at the Game Plan Summit, an invitation-only event presented by CNBC and Boardroom. James is slated to have a conversation with Boardroom co-founder Rich Kleiman — Kevin Durant's longtime business partner — about “how he’s built an empire beyond basketball, what’s ahead for him in business, and why the next generation of athletes is poised to wield more influence than ever before.”

James started his career in Cleveland in 2003 and spent seven seasons with the Cavaliers before heading to Miami for four seasons — where he won his first two titles. He then returned to Cleveland for four more seasons, leaving in 2018 to start an eight-season run with the Lakers.

Cleveland and Miami are believed to be on James' radar again as he weighs this decision, as are several other teams including Philadelphia, Minnesota and Golden State.

“I’m looking forward to what comes next as I wind down my journey,” James said.

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Reynolds reported from Miami.

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

Canadian wildfire smoke turns air hazardous in the US Midwest. Officials say stay inside

Tammy Webber And Philip Marcelo, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:18:22 +0000

Heavy, pungent smoke from Canadian wildfires darkened skies in the U.S. on Thursday from the Great Lakes to parts of the East Coast, reducing visibility and prompting warnings that breathing the air outside could be dangerous.

Officials in many cities urged residents to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it's unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions.

“It’s scary,” Omar Mitchell, 50, said as he looked he looked to the sky. He wore a mask while walking to his restaurant in Detroit. “You don’t know necessarily what the side effects may be. That’s days or months later.”

Microscopic particles can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, leading to heart and lung problems and contributing to other long-term health issues.

Detroit's air quality was among the worst in the world for major cities, as a lingering high pressure system trapped smoke from dozens of fires in Canada and northern Minnesota, said Steven Freitag, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pontiac, Michigan.

“Sure enough, it arrived in force here and it's really pretty extreme levels,” said Freitag, who noted that visibility in some areas was reduced to a half mile.

The air stinks and glows yellow in some places

All of Michigan and much of Minnesota were under a hazardous air quality alert. In the Chicago area, air quality ranged from very unhealthy to hazardous.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr said even if winds from the northwest clear skies as expected later this week, the smoky air could keep returning until the fires are out. That could take weeks or longer.

“Anytime we have something that could bring air from that region until the fires are over, it could conceivably dip back into the area,” Petr said.

Bill Ostrowski, 76, wore a mask as he walked through downtown Chicago, where wildfire smoke shrouded skyscrapers. “It stinks. It’s not a good sign when you wake up in the morning and you can smell the air,” said Ostrowski.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, the air was “glowing yellow,” said Brent Williams, head of the soil, water and climate department at the University of Minnesota. The area “could be looking at weeks to months of continued smoke and flare-ups off and on as the winds blow in different directions,” he said.

A study published this year found that long-term exposure to tiny particles from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year in the lower 48 states. Long-term exposure can make existing health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and premature death.

New York City cancels activities and hands out masks

In the New York City area, a thick haze tinged the morning sky in orange-and-yellow and partly obscured Manhattan’s prominent skyline.

City officials opened cooling centers as health officials urged New Yorkers to limit strenuous and prolonged outdoor activities and to stick to air-conditioned spaces as much as possible. State officials distributed tens of thousands of face masks at transit hubs and other major locations.

Gwen Moseley, 65, was among the first patrons at Rosedale Library in Queens to take advantage of the free masks, saying she’s on the road much of the day working as a therapist for children with autism.

“I’m trying to stay as much in the house as I can,” Moseley said as she waited to meet a young client at the library. “Who wants to be breathing this? It’s not healthy. When I’m out walking, I can feel the scratchiness in my throat.”

The city's schools, parks and other agencies moved activities indoors, rescheduled events and adjusted operations.

Smoke eased a bit but was expected to thicken again by late afternoon or evening, possibly lasting overnight, weather service meteorologist Maureen Hastings said. She said it might move south for a while on Friday, but return at night.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation warned that there was a potential for temporary spikes of “very unhealthy” air quality from Buffalo in the state's western corner to Rochester by Lake Ontario, Syracuse in the central region, down to the greater New York City area.

Philadelphia officials urged people to avoid strenuous activity and stay inside or wear N95 or KN95 masks outside.

“Today is not the day to start your marathon training plan,” said Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson, the city's public health commissioner.

Minnesota fires are spreading

Meanwhile, forest rangers on Thursday combed the a remote wilderness area in Minnesota for anyone who might still be there days after wildfires led to its closure.

Officials closed the Boundary Waters along the U.S.-Candian border on Tuesday. At the time, 6,000 to 10,000 people were inside, but Superior National Forest staff estimated Wednesday that they’d reached 90% of them, said Karen Harrison, a spokesperson for state and federal emergency management agencies.

She said Thursday that smoke is making it difficult for helicopters to fly, and fires in the wilderness are spreading despite firefighting efforts.

“There will be fire on the landscape until fall, and some fire will be burning until snow cover,” Harrison said.

The Royal Canadian Air Force successfully evacuated 11 Minnesota teenagers and four staff members Wednesday from wildfires in an Ontario provincial park about 175 miles (282 kilometers) north of the Minnesota border.

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Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit, Jacqueline GaNun in Lansing, Michigan, and Cybele Mayes-Osterman in Chicago contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

US expands attacks on Iran, which calls Strait of Hormuz a 'red line' as it retaliates

Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 03:41:43 +0000

The United States intensified its strikes against Iran on Thursday, hitting targets farther north and firing into a ship the U.S. accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones at U.S. allies in the region, and warned its attacks may escalate.

The interim ceasefire agreed to last month has collapsed and the region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks by the U.S. and Iran as they battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others.

For the first time in this latest round of violence, strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, showing a widening set of targets for the Americans. The U.S. launched a second wave of strikes late Thursday, saying it was aiming to “further degrade” Iran's military capabilities.

When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic, a move that sent the price of oil soaring and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations.

Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, threatened that Iran could launch widespread attacks on “all the infrastructure in the region” if the U.S. acts on President Donald Trump 's repeated warnings that America could hit Iranian bridges and power plants.

“Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extraregional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz,” he added. “This is Iran’s invincible red line.”

Both the US and Iran launch attacks as blockade is reimposed

Iranian state media said the U.S. strikes Thursday hit around Tehran and Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program. It also reported strikes around the provinces of Hamedan, Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Markazi, and Sistan and Baluchestan, as well as on Iran’s Qeshm island, near the Strait of Hormuz.

An attack on Greater Tunb Island targeted Iranian defense and missile sites, U.S. Central Command said.

Greater Tunb Island is one of three small rocky islands that sit at the confluence of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The islands — seized in 1971 by Iran from what would become the United Arab Emirates — help it exert significant control over the strait.

The U.S. military also said it disabled a Curacao-flagged oil tanker as it sailed toward Iran’s main oil export terminal, firing a missile after the ship “ignored multiple warnings.”

Another American strike Wednesday targeted a barracks for Iran’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which operates tanks and armored vehicles, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state television reported. The report said seven were killed in the attack, including conscripts and career soldiers.

Iran retaliated Thursday with missile and drone attacks on Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, authorities in those countries home to U.S. forces said. There was no immediate acknowledgment of damage or casualties from the attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi condemned an overnight drone attack in Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region. The drone, which authorities said had been intercepted, came during his trip to the U.S. in which he said Iraq would work to disarm non-state armed groups, including those backed by Iran.

A drone separately targeted a tanker in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Basra in southern Iraq on Thursday afternoon, the state-run INA news agency reported. No casualties were reported.

Trump says a peace deal is still possible

The latest round of fighting is focused on the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran attacks ships using a U.S.-controlled route through the vital waterway.

Week-to-week cargo shipments through the strait dropped by almost a quarter at the beginning of the month, according to Maritime data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence -- and that was before the recent surge in tit-for-tat attacks.

Given the risks, some oil shippers are transiting the strait with their location devices turned off, but many are just staying put, Lloyd's said Thursday. A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to offset the decline in shipping through the strait.

The U.S. has threatened to reopen the strait by force, but experts say that would require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of ground troops.

The price for Brent crude oil, the international standard, traded above $85 a barrel on Thursday, more than 15% higher than the price before the war, but still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the conflict.

Rising prices pose a particular challenge to Trump and his Republican Party, which hopes to retain control of Congress in elections in November.

The U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports Wednesday.

“They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off,” Trump said Wednesday at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said efforts were still underway to bring the U.S. and Tehran to the negotiating table but acknowledged that was becoming increasingly difficult.

Trump said on social media that Tehran made a goodwill gesture by releasing an American citizen wrongly detained in Iran since 2024. He didn’t release further details. Human rights lawyer Jared Genser released a statement identifying the detainee as his client Dena Karari, a U.S.-Iranian citizen who runs a nonprofit and was charged with espionage.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the release, and her case was not publicly known, as sometimes happens with detentions in the Islamic Republic.

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Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report.

At least 1 person has died as Texas flooding forces evacuations and rescues, governor says

Jesse Bedayn And Jamie Stengle, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:00:11 +0000

Rescuers in boats and helicopters saved dozens of stranded drivers and people trapped in homes from catastrophic flooding that hit parts of Texas overnight while many more fled to higher ground Thursday in a region still reeling from devastating floods a year ago.

At least one person has died, Gov. Greg Abbott said, adding that it appeared many of the summer camps hit hard last year were not in danger. “Our number one focus is saving lives,” he said.

After days of pounding rain, the National Weather Service said a “large and deadly flood wave” barreled down the same river wrecked by flash floods last summer when two dozen children and counselors were killed at Camp Mystic.

Forecasters urgently warned “Move to higher ground now!” as rivers rose hour by hour under the cloak of darkness, turning them into fast-moving seas of white water. Some spots of the Guadalupe River rose by more than 30 feet (9 meters).

The governor said there was “one loss of life” and that crews had rescued well over 70 people. Kerr County reported one dead.

Hill Country residents say they were better prepared for floods

The unfolding crisis brought back haunting memories of last summer's unimaginable Hill Country floods that killed more than 100 people over the July Fourth holiday.

“It’s crazy happening two times in one year,” said Josiah Rodriguez, who woke to the sound of heavy rain around 2 a.m. Thursday in Kerrville. He navigated flooded roads to help evacuate relatives.

“Last year there was no warning of it,” he said. “It just kind of happened overnight and it took everyone by surprise. This year, a lot more alerts have gone into place, a lot more safety measures.”

Residents said they were caught off guard a year ago and didn’t receive any warning when floods overtopped the Guadalupe. Some local leaders were criticized for not acting quickly.

The storms and flooding this time threatened multiple counties close to the Mexico border and in the Hill Country near San Antonio. As of late Wednesday, six million residents across Texas were under a flood watch, and some were expected to remain in effect through Friday evening.

Several agencies sent rescue helicopters to the flood zone, including Travis County in the state capital of Austin.

“My understanding is people were mostly trapped in trees and on rooftops,” said Travis County Judge Andy Brown, who said one caller warned 10 people were trapped on a barn roof.

Residents rush animals and campers to higher ground

At a wild animal rescue, Katie Buck evacuated several dozen animals to higher ground in the dark early Thursday as the normally dry Lazy Creek overflowed. She had to quickly grab a porcupine despite having no gloves.

She was able to get all of the animals to safety, but flooding destroyed several enclosures at the Buck Wild Animal Rescue and Wildlife Rehab near Ingram, which also was hit hard 12 months ago.

“We were just starting to get back on our feet again,” Buck said. “To have to go through this again is just devastating.”

Residents at an RV park in Comfort moved their trailers as sirens sounded, said manager Duke Earwood.

Water rose over the hoods of vehicles parked near the river at the Comfort RV Resort, which has about 200 residents. Markers showed the flooding already matched last July's big flood.

“Too familiar for sure, and too soon,” Earwood said.

Uvalde residents isolated by floodwaters

Floodwaters overran the city of Uvalde overnight, cutting off outside access. The Leona River, normally dry most of the year, filled streets with water.

“People really can’t get anywhere” said Carmen Rodriguez, who nervously watched water engulf her neighborhood Thursday morning as a helicopter roared overhead. “We have a place to go, but all the streets are closed.”

Phones buzzed with warnings all night warning of flash floods in the morning. Rodriguez said authorities seemed to be well prepared, ordering mandatory evacuations and notifying people directly.

Uvalde officials found people trapped in vehicles overnight, said Juli Alvarado, a spokesperson for the police.

Texas Game Wardens rescued more than 40 people, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson.

Flooding could reach last year's deadly high

While heavily swollen from rainfall, so far the Guadalupe largely remained below the record levels reached during last year’s deadly floods.

Gauges showed it rose by more than 30 feet (9 meters) in some spots in just hours overnight. One near Kerrville showed the river rose 32 feet (9.7 meters) in four hours.

Close to Camp Mystic, which remains shut, the Guadalupe River near Hunt reached about 20.5 feet (6.3 meters), which is enough to cause flooding, but still far below record levels set last year’s, according to U.S. Geological Survey and National Water Prediction Service data.

In Kerr County, where summer camps dot the shores of the Guadalupe, the sheriff’s office said all campers were safe. Several camps said their campers were staying inside, with one camp reporting normal flooding.

Towns still rebuilding are hit by new floods

Volunteer firefighters spent the night evacuating homes and answering frantic calls in Ingram, just up river from Hunt, said Ingram Mayor Claud Jordan.

While the water didn’t rise as high as a year ago, he believes this round of flooding was more widespread in his city. “The rural part of Ingram, all the roads are just trashed,” he said.

“There are a bunch of businesses that haven’t reopened from last year,” Jordan said. “This doesn’t help.”

The Texas Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area’s signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before quickly filling the narrow river basins.

The weather service said 10 to 20 inches of rain (25 to 50 centimeters) had fallen in the past two days, with 8 inches (20 centimeters) in just two hours early Thursday.

___

Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Michael Phillis in Washington; Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

America already tried permanent daylight saving time. It lasted less than a year. Could it work now?

Deepti Hajela, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:01:56 +0000

It's an idea whose time, as it were, may have come — again.

The twice-yearly changing of the clocks in the United States could be a thing of the past if legislation currently in Congress that calls for permanent daylight time makes it through. But even as annoying as some find the back-and-forth of the time shift in the spring and the fall, that doesn't necessarily mean sticking to one would go over well. America has tried it before, most recently in the 1970s, and it didn't last.

Now it's a new era, one full of people working at home who didn't before — and advances in sleep science that tell a more nuanced tale.

Could this time (shift) be the charm?

What's going on this time around?

The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill that makes the shift to daylight saving time, when clocks are moved forward one hour, become permanent.

Currently, the shift is forward in spring and back to standard time in fall as a way to give people more daylight time in the summer evenings. But the semi-annual change has few fans - an AP-NORC poll last year found that only 12% of American adults were in favor of it, while almost half opposed it. Proponents of a single time include the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine — outfits to whom daily rhythms are deeply important.

President Donald Trump has indicated he's supportive, but it’s unclear whether the legislation will pass any time soon. It faces roadblocks in the Senate, where some Republicans are strongly opposed.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a member of Republican leadership, has been outspoken against the change, saying last year that enacting it would "make winter a dark and dismal time for millions of Americans.”

What's the big deal with changing it?

While people may not like making the change, history shows they also don't like living with even less morning light in the winter months, when daylight hours are shorter than in summer.

In 1973, Congress passed a law instituting permanent daylight saving time for what was supposed to be a trial period from January 1974 to April 1975. It lasted until October, when it was repealed after public outcry. Among the concerns was worry that schoolchildren would have to start the school day without daylight. These days, some school starting times have started to shift later.

Kevin Birth, a professor of anthropology at Queens College whose research focuses on cultural concepts of time, was in elementary school in Syracuse, New York, at the time and remembers it vividly. “I had to get up for school and it was like it was midnight,” he said. “It was just pitch black and it remained pitch black into the school day.”

If the U.S. decides to try it again, he said, more has to change than just the clocks. The time zones across the country would need to be adapted as well. The current four zones wouldn't be adequate - they cover so much ground that sunrise comes at different times in western and eastern parts of each zone.

Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds is concerned about that. He said that it would be dark past 9:30 a.m. in some areas of his state. “You’d be sending kids to school in the dark,” he said.

Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

Ukrainians protest Zelenskyy's ouster of his popular defense minister

Samya Kullab, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 08:23:40 +0000

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shook up his wartime government, drawing thousands into the streets Thursday across Ukraine to protest the ouster of his youthful defense minister — seen as an innovator of the country’s successful drone technology but who clashed with the traditional military establishment.

The personnel overhaul, which included replacing his prime minister, could become a test of Zelenskyy’s political authority as Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches 4½ years. Zelenskyy has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited but has periodically reshuffled his government.

The moves threw Ukraine’s military leadership into an unwelcome crisis at a time when its actions against Russia are starting to bear fruit and as Moscow has unleashed unrelenting aerial attacks. Two people were killed and five others were wounded, including a child, when Russian missiles hit the capital of Kyiv overnight, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said.

In making the changes, Zelenskyy cited friction between outgoing Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces.

“I’m just showing that if the sides can’t resolve an issue, I will have to resolve it,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference.

The outgoing defense chief was seen as a modernizer

Fedorov, 35, is considered to be a vigorous modernizer whose technological expertise is credited in part with significantly improving Ukraine’s military performance in recent months against Russia’s bigger army. He is leaving the government after only six months in the post.

Fedorov appeared at a news conference in a dark T-shirt and jeans, and accused Syrskyi of blocking reforms needed because “the war has changed completely” due to new technology like drones.

During his time in office, he secured restrictions on Russian forces’ access to the Starlink satellite communications system, allowing Ukraine to better leverage its midrange strike capabilities giving Kyiv significant battlefield advantages.

Fedorov said he was willing to work with Syrskyi, “but we encountered a situation in which all the initiatives we proposed began to be blocked.”

“Under this arrangement (with Syrskyi as commander), I personally do not know how the war can be won,” he said.

On social media, Fedorov highlighted what he called his major achievements: redirecting funds earmarked for salaries into midrange strike capabilities, fiber-optic drones, reconnaissance systems and other technologies. He pointed to expanded drone procurement, Patriot missile defense contracts, successful ballistic missile tests and sweeping changes to military procurement.

But he acknowledged he was unable to complete the Defense Ministry’s organizational transformation “according to NATO standards and common sense,” and move all procurement to competitive tenders, and build a culture of accountability.

Syrskyi didn’t appear in public but in a Facebook post thanked Fedorov and said he hoped he would continue to serve Ukraine. "I wish him to continue to remain in the Ukrainian team,” Syrskyi said without elaborating.

Zelenskyy said he had asked Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara to perform the defense minister's duties in the meantime, according to a post on the Telegram messaging app. Since January, Khmara has been acting head of the state’s security service, known as the SBU. He had previously led the SBU’s elite Alpha special forces unit.

Zelenskyy described a difficult relationship between the Defense Ministry and the military at multiple levels, not simply a matter of personalities, and he said both sides share responsibility for the consequences.

“Together we win, and together we’re responsible for the things that cause confusion and public reaction,” he said, standing beside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was making his final foreign visit before leaving office next week.

Mostly young protesters support Fedorov

Syrskyi, 60, initially organized the defense of Kyiv in February 2022, and seven months later masterminded a successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. Born in 1965, he attended the Moscow Higher Military Command School before serving in the Soviet Artillery Corps before the USSR's collapse in 1991.

The Ukrainian military has rallied under Fedorov, slowing Moscow’s front-line advance to a virtual standstill and striking refineries and other energy sites inside Russian territory, causing widespread fuel shortages, Western officials and analysts say. Zelenskyy’s decision to fire him despite that record has dismayed many people.

Before becoming defense minister in January, Fedorov headed Ukraine’s digital transformation policies. He won popularity by spearheading the rapid development and deployment of drone technology and introducing several successful e-government platforms.

As minister, he moved to combat corruption, an issue that carries particular weight with Ukrainians who have repeatedly protested graft. Fighting corruption meant working against the interests of groups that had long profited from programs within the ministry, he said in interviews. He also sought to overhaul weapons procurement to make it more transparent.

He had promised sweeping military reforms, saying it had faced about 200,000 desertions and draft-dodging by some 2 million people.

The mostly young protesters who took to the streets of Kyiv and other cities to support Fedorov made crude remarks about the current military commander, chanting, “Syrskyi, go away!” and “A European army for a European country!”

Kyiv resident Bohdan Huryak said he was “deeply outraged” by Fedorov’s exit.

“I’m not deeply invested in the internal political debates, but this is a person who shows results on the battlefield, we see results, we feel the fighting spirit and confidence in victory rising,” Huryak told The Associated Press. “And then, six months later, he is removed from office? Come on.”

Russian military correspondents and pro-Kremlin bloggers relished the controversy. Pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov described Fedorov’s comments as a “rebellion” against Zelenskyy.

The deputy commander of Ukraine’s air force, Col. Pavlo Yelizarov, quit over Fedorov’s dismissal, saying on social media it will weaken Ukraine’s air defenses and lead to more deaths from Russian attacks.

“I believe that the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov is a great evil for the country’s defense capability,” he wrote in his resignation letter on Facebook.

State energy company chief is new prime minister

Parliament overwhelmingly approved Serhii Koretskyi, the head of state energy company Naftogaz, as the country’s new prime minister.

In nominating Koretskyi, Zelenskyy cited his record in the energy sector and argued he was best prepared to guide Ukraine through another winter, when Russian attacks on the power grid intensify.

Unlike other senior government officials, the 48-year-old engineer did not rise through political parties, parliament or the civil service. He spent more than two decades managing fuel and food businesses before being picked to run some of Ukraine’s most troubled state-owned energy companies and gained a reputation as an effective crisis manager who could make them profitable.

Zelenskyy has faced protests before over his decisions. Large demonstrations broke out in July 2025 when he fast-tracked a law that would have curbed the independence of the country’s anti-corruption watchdogs.

The outcry threatened his leadership for the first time since Russia's invasion, and he swiftly reversed course and submitted legislation to restore the agencies' independence.

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Dan Bashakov and Dmytro Zhyhinas contributed.

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

Merlier wins crash-marred 12th stage of the Tour de France, Pogacar retains overall lead

Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:24:23 +0000

Belgian rider Tim Merlier earned another stage win at the Tour de France while several riders fell as they sprinted to the line Thursday.

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar avoided the crash and kept his significant overall lead over second-place Jonas Vingegaard after 12 stages.

It was Merlier’s third stage win on this year’s Tour and sixth of his career. Dutch rider Olav Kooij finished second and Jasper Philipsen of Belgium was third.

With riders fighting for position on the home straight, Colombian Fernando Gaviria went down after clipping the wheel of another cyclist and fell to his left, bringing Norwegian rider Soeren Waerenskjold — Wednesday's stage winner — down with him. Just behind them, four other riders had no room to swerve around them and flew over their handlebars.

None of the riders appeared seriously injured and Gaviria eventually crossed the line with the help of a teammate.

Later Thursday, the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team said the 31-year-old Gaviria sustained a fractured left collarbone and had pulled out of the race.

“There was a lot of chaos and a mix of teams at the front of the peloton,” teammate Stefano Oldani said, describing the crash. "I saw him lying on the road next to two Lotto (team) riders and I realized straight away that he’d taken a nasty hit.”

Four-time Tour champion Pogacar remains 3 minutes, 36 seconds ahead of two-time champion Vingegaard and 4:06 ahead of Remco Evenepoel in third place.

Pogacar had extended his overall lead Tuesday after another trademark attack in the 10th stage.

Stage 12 was a mostly flat 179-kilometer (111-mile) route starting from the Magny-Cours track, which once hosted Formula 1 races, and ending in Chalon-sur-Saône in eastern France.

Frenchman Baptiste Veistroffer forged ahead on his own until he was caught by a group of 14 riders heading into the last 30 kilometers. They were caught by the hard-chasing peloton soon after, and just before the third of three minor climbs.

With teams looking to place their sprinters into the best position to attack it was a nervy approach to the finish line.

Philipsen's Alpecin-Premier Tech team put three riders at the front to help him but they attacked too soon, as they did in previous stages, and Philipsen is still looking for his first victory at this year's race.

Merlier said having his wife and young son at the race “gave me a lot of motivation.”

"Winning for them is special,” Merlier said. “I managed to find the opening, I had to stay calm and wait. It was a finale and a finish that suited me very well.”

Friday's 13th stage is the longest of this year's race at 206 kilometers and features a sharp Category 1 climb — the second-hardest category in the Tour — toward the end.

The race concludes with its traditional finish in Paris on July 26. ___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Chase Burns agrees to $105 million, 7-year deal with Reds for 2027-33, AP sources say

Joe Reedy, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:26:47 +0000

Pitcher Chase Burns has agreed to a $105 million, seven-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds that covers 2027-33, two people familiar with the deal told the Associated Press on Thursday.

The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. Burns has a $785,000 salary while in the major leagues this year and $198,173 in the unlikely event he is sent to the minors.

Burns' deal would run through the 2033 season and under the current labor contract covers three seasons of arbitration eligibility and the first two years after he would have been eligible for free agency. It does not include options or deferrals.

The 23-year old right-hander was selected to the All-Star Game this season for the first time, but did not participate after he tweaked his right groin during a July 8 game against Philadelphia when trying to field the throw home on a wild pitch during the second inning.

Burns is 11-1 in 18 starts this season, including 15 starts where he has allowed two runs or fewer. His wins are tied for second most in the majors and his 2.54 ERA is the sixth lowest. His 118 strikeouts are seventh in the National League.

His fastball has an average velocity of 97.8 mph along with an above-average slider, Burns is generating a 31.7% whiff rate on swings, seventh in the majors.

Burns is the third pitcher in club history with at least 11 wins and 118 strikeouts before the All-Star break, joining Edinson Volquez (2008) and Jim Maloney (1963).

The contract extension also continues the trend of teams signing their young stars early. The Reds' longtime NL Central rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, signed rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt to a $112.5 million, eight-year contract last week.

Burns was the second overall pick out of Wake Forest in the 2024 amateur draft. He went 7-3 with a 1.77 ERA in 13 starts in the Reds' farm system before being called up to the majors last June. He was 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA in 13 games, including eight starts, in his rookie season.

It is the largest guaranteed contract in the majors given to a pitcher with less than four years of service time and exceeds the previous high by 40% for someone with one year or more.

Burns is also the first pitcher to sign a contract worth at least $100 million prior to at least five years of service time to exclude club options.

The deal ties Homer Bailey's for the largest guarantee given to a Reds' pitcher and the third largest for any player in franchise history, only eclipsed by Joey Votto and Ken Griffey Jr.

Burns' first start after the All-Star break is scheduled for Tuesday at Seattle. After making the postseason last year, Cincinnati is in last place in the NL Central with a 43-52 mark and eight games out of a wild-card spot.

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Trump is expected to make election conspiracies a focus of his national address

Michelle L. Price, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:08:35 +0000

President Donald Trump is set to address the nation on Thursday night on topics he said will include elections and voting machines, suggesting he is likely to revisit some of the unproven claims he has previously made about Republican losses, particularly his own in 2020.

Trump has offered only vague details about the address, scheduled for 9 p.m. When asked by a reporter on Tuesday if it would concern “election machines and integrity,” Trump said it would “concern that subject” and “we’ll have a couple of other things to say also.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier Thursday that “President Trump will deliver a major address to the nation on protecting the integrity of our elections. And we encourage every American to tune in.”

She didn't offer many details, but said that what the president planned to say “will shock you if you have an honest eye listening to the president tonight” and will make the case that the U.S. will “need to make some adjustments moving forward” including a strict voter ID bill that he has been pushing.

Primetime presidential addresses are typically reserved for major milestones or nationally significant events.

Trump last did it in April to speak on the Iran war, a month after it started. He said then that the U.S. would accomplish its objectives “very shortly” and that “the hard part is done, so it should be easy.” The war, however, has dragged on and strikes between the U.S. and Iran have intensified this week.

Trump also delivered a politically charged primetime speech in December in which he sought to blame the challenging economic climate on Democrats.

It was unclear if TV networks were planning to air the Thursday speech or to what extent. Messages to ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MS NOW asking about coverage plans weren't returned. The White House has also not answered questions about whether it will air live on the networks.

During the press briefing Thursday, Leavitt seemed to be still trying to persuade networks to carry the remarks live, saying, “I think that the mainstream media should air the president’s speech and allow the American people to draw their own conclusions from it.”

Leavitt said Trump may use his remarks to also address the economy and Iran, saying "We have had conversations about him addressing a range of topics, and that could very well be possible tonight.”

She didn't answer a question about whether Trump would accept the results of the 2026 election.

On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Capitol Hill that “of course we’re gonna support the results of the midterm elections.”

“Tomorrow night, Trump is going to use a primetime address to stoke misleading claims about our elections in order to justify interfering in our midterms. It’s on all of us to follow the facts and not accept his constant stream of misdirections and lies,” Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said in a statement on X.

“Trump is again trying to drum up baseless election conspiracies ahead of the November elections,” New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim said in a post on X. “Americans are tired of endless war, skyrocketing gas prices, and a president that isn’t looking out for them. Voters will make their voices heard, whether Trump wants them to or not.”

On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance bristled when asked if he’d encourage Trump in his Thursday remarks to stay focused on November’s midterm elections rather than relitigate past elections. “'The unfounded claims,'” Vance said, repeating the reporter's language. "You’re basically assuming an answer in the very question that you ask.”

“The president is going to talk about a number of things tomorrow night. I’m obviously not going to get ahead of his remarks,” Vance said. “But we can talk about a number of the American people’s problems. We can solve a number of the American people’s problems.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that he doesn’t know what Trump is going to say. “But," he said, "the only thing I can tell you is that we are focused on the 2026 election, at least I am, and I think most of my colleagues are.”

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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Will Weissert in Washington and Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.

Trump's pick to lead TSA calls private airport screening program 'pro-worker,' vows to help workers

Rio Yamat, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:22:29 +0000

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration sought to ease concerns over expanding private airport screening at his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, saying the existing program is “pro-worker” and won't be a threat to the future of TSA’s workforce.

David Cummins, a former senior vice president at government contractor Serco, would take over an agency with roughly 60,000 employees responsible for security operations at more than 440 airports nationwide. He would inherit a TSA that has faced persistent staffing and morale challenges, particularly after this year’s record-long partial government shutdown left TSA employees working for weeks without pay. The funding lapse prompted thousands of officers to call out of work and about 1,100 to quit altogether, leading to long lines at some U.S. airports.

In his opening statement, Cummins pledged to prioritize front line TSA officers, saying his first task, if confirmed, would be to visit airports and reassure employees that he would “do everything in my power to protect and support them in the future.”

“The challenges ahead are significant,” Cummins told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. “But the opportunities to transform the TSA on the eve of its 25th anniversary are even greater.”

The agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, was created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to bring passenger screening under a single federal agency. But a program established a few years later also allows airports to use private contractors for screening operations under TSA oversight.

Democratic lawmakers and the union representing TSA officers have raised concerns that expanding the program, called the Screening Partnership Program, amounts to privatizing a core government security function and could undermine TSA employees.

Cummins rejected that characterization and defended the Trump administration’s plans to expand the program, saying it is not anti-worker and arguing that airports under the screening program were able to continue paying their employees during past government shutdowns.

“Some will suggest that the SPP is all about privatization and that it is anti-worker,” Cummins said. “I hold that it is in fact pro-worker to pay your employees, as the SPP airports did during the last shutdowns.”

Cummins said existing TSA employees would have the “right of first refusal” to take screening jobs at airports that join the program and said, “in our experience, all of them take the jobs and they stay there.”

He also said he supports legislation, including the bipartisan Keep America Flying Act, that would guarantee TSA employees receive pay during future funding lapses. He said there is “too much at stake” to leave the agency vulnerable to political brinkmanship.

Pressed by Democratic lawmakers about Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin's threats to pull Customs and Border Protection officers from some airports in so-called sanctuary cities, Cummins said he had not been briefed on any “near-term plans” to do so but acknowledged the impact politics can have on aviation security.

“What I would say is that we are in a very sort of politicized environment. We all need to recognize that aviation security is impaired oftentimes by politics,” Cummins said, adding that he would be candid with Congress if any such directive threatened TSA operations.

Cummins previously worked at Serco, which partners with federal, state and local agencies. A LinkedIn profile that has since been removed said he helped develop transportation technologies and was co-awarded a “dozen patents in transportation systems.” The profile also said he led operations planning for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Trump administration revives rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits

Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:18:51 +0000

The Trump administration is reviving a rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits that could include food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers and others.

The policy, known as “public charge,” appeared on Thursday in the Federal Register. It will be formally published on July 20 and take effect Sept. 18. Under the policy, applicants for green cards have to show they wouldn’t be burdens to the country or “public charges.”

The policy was first implemented in February 2020 as one of President Donald Trump’s moves to limit legal immigration during his first administration, but it was reversed after Democratic President Joe Biden came to power.

Its return comes when the Republican administration is implementing a hardline policy to curb both illegal and legal immigration, and when the cost of healthcare and food is rising.

The federal government “is reaffirming the requirement of self-reliance, protecting public resources and ending policies that encouraged dependency on the backs of hard-working American taxpayers,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a post published on its X account.

“Under President Trump, USCIS is restoring the basic principle that immigrants must be able to support themselves," the post said.

While the administration’s crackdown on immigration has an increased focus on deportations and immigration enforcement in cities across the country and at borders and entry points, it has also taken actions that target legal immigrants and mixed-status families, in which the parents are foreign nationals with U.S.-born children.

Federal law already requires those seeking permanent residency or legal status to demonstrate that they will not become a public charge. The Trump administration’s rule, however, includes a broader range of programs that could disqualify them.

The Trump administration first promoted the rule in 2018 as a way to ensure that only those who were self-sufficient came to the U.S. Immigrant rights advocates criticized it, saying it amounted to a “wealth test.” Public health experts said it would lead to worse health outcomes.

Manatt Health, a group that provides advice to state and federal governments, estimated the policy would have deterred as many as 26 million people from seeking healthcare, food, housing or other aid through programs for which they qualified under federal law. About half were U.S. citizens, mostly children or adults living in a mixed-status family, according to the group.

Experts also noted that most people who receive benefits from the government are already legal residents.

A 2020 study from the Migration Policy Institute said that while the “chilling effects” may be vast, the number of immigrants who could be deemed ineligible for legal permanent residence based on use of one of the public benefits under the rule was small.

The institute estimated that no more than 167,000 people — less than 1% of the 22.1 million noncitizens residing in the United States at that time — could be determined ineligible for a green card based on their current use of a listed benefit.

There were 22.8 million noncitizens living in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Census Bureau.

Nongovernmental organizations said the policy generated confusion and fear and caused many immigrants and their U.S.-born relatives to decide not to apply for benefits and services to which they were entitled.

Immigrant advocates condemned the government’s decision to revive the “public charge” rule and expressed concern.

“This regulation is a direct assault on immigrant families, and a threat to our country’s health and economic security,” said Adriana Cadena, executive director at the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition. “The Trump administration is basing immigration decisions on bias and politics, regardless of the resulting harm.”

Sarah Krieger, senior policy counsel at the National Immigration Law Center, said the rule would make immigrants afraid to go to the doctor, buy food at the grocery store and file taxes.

“With this new rule, they are sowing fear and chaos to ultimately reshape America into a country where only the few who are white and ultra-wealthy are welcome,” Krieger said. “The rule is not just deeply harmful, it also violates the law.”

Transgender girls who challenged Trump sports order drop lawsuit after Supreme Court ruling

Kathy Mccormack, Associated Press — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:57:12 +0000

Two transgender girls who were the first to challenge President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” have withdrawn their lawsuit in New Hampshire based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld state bans on transgender athletes in girls' sports and their own personal hardships, their lawyer said.

“This case was always about two courageous young girls who simply wanted the same opportunities as their peers to participate in school life,” their lawyer, Chris Erchull of GLAD Law, said in a statement Thursday. “Their willingness to stand up to extraordinary hostility made clear the human cost of laws that target transgender youth.”

The teenagers, Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle, took on Trump’s executive order last year, amending their 2024 complaint against New Hampshire's law on banning transgender girls from school sports. A federal judge had granted a court order allowing them to play as the case proceeded.

For Tirrell, it meant being able to keep playing on her high school girls’ soccer team. For Turmelle, it was having a chance to try out for different sports.

Both sides agreed to pause the case and wait for a ruling from the Supreme Court as it considered similar state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school and college athletic teams in Idaho and West Virginia. Last month, the court upheld the laws. It also said that barring transgender girls and women doesn’t run afoul of the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education.

One teen and her family decided to move from New Hampshire

Turmelle and her family moved out of New Hampshire last summer following proposed legislation against transgender people. One measure signed into law by Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte last year prohibits medical professionals from providing puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy to new transgender patients under age 18.

“Though there may be a carve-out for people already receiving gender-affirming care, that is way too close a call for us to risk staying,” Turmelle's mother, Amy Manzelli, wrote in an op-ed piece at the time. “Other New Hampshire laws also seek to erase her.”

Most Republican-controlled states in the past five years have adopted laws or policies limiting gender-affirming care for transgender minors and limiting which school bathrooms transgender people can use, as well as sports restrictions. The Williams Institute at UCLA estimates that about 3% of youth ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender.

“The challenges with relocation are significant and burdensome — this includes having to find new employment, buying and selling homes, packing and moving possessions, integrating kids with a new school system, losing access to longstanding family and friends, and potential loss of income,” Corinne Goodwin, the executive director of Eastern PA Trans Equality Project in Pennsylvania, said in an email.

"But these families do so because they love their kids and know that supporting them with the care and opportunities they need is critical to their long-term success and happiness.”

The other teen gave up playing soccer at high school

Tirrell, 17, began her junior year last fall on the girls' junior varsity soccer team. Things were fine at first, and each time she scored a goal, she got a round of ice cream from her parents. But a few weeks into the season, she decided to stop playing.

“With all of the political stuff going on, soccer wasn't just about the game anymore,” her mother, Sara Tirrell, told The Associated Press in an interview.

It became more about preparing for the possibility of conflict.

“Were there any local Facebook groups where they were sort of agitating about potential protests and how do we prepare, and what are we walking into, and we never kind of knew,” she said. “We were on a lot of pins and needles, especially after the previous season."

She was referring to a controversy at an away game where two dads from an opposing team were banned from school grounds for wearing pink wristbands marked “XX” to represent female chromosomes. They sued the school district and a judge ruled against them. They have appealed their case.

Last fall, there was an increased presence of school administrators at the games and bus drivers pulled in closer to the field so the students weren’t in the parking lot, she said.

“Parker didn’t talk about it a lot, but I think she could see that stress for everybody — for her, for her teammates, for her coaches,” Sara Tirrell said. "She felt kind of bad about pulling them all into that circus again. And so she ultimately said, ‘This isn’t fun anymore and I don’t want to do it.’”

Parker’s father described the atmosphere as “palpable tension.”

Even playing on her own turf, “there would typically be a couple of police officers at the home games where there weren’t previously,” Zach Tirrell said.

In the past, Parker also played soccer in a recreation league and could still do so.

“But I think it all kind of still sort of weighs on her,” her mother said. "It's the same group of kids that she plays with who, honestly, have been very supportive and love to have her on the team and have expressed that to her many times over. But I think she still has that worry in her brain around, ‘What are other people going to say and do if I show up at a game?’”

Parker's parents hope she'll return to playing soccer some day. In the meantime, “she plans to be around and use her voice to continue standing up to discrimination,” her mother said. “In some ways she’s had to grow up a lot faster than some of her peers.”

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Associated Press reporter Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey, contributed to this article.

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This story has been corrected to show the name of a parent is Amy Manzelli, not Amy Manzetti.

English media and former players criticize Thomas Tuchel after team's latest World Cup letdown

James Robson, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:06:55 +0000

England hired a German coach to end 60 years of hurt but will exit the World Cup in the most English of ways.

Another defeat in the semifinals. Another defeat from a winning position.

The English media was predictably critical of coach Thomas Tuchel after Wednesday's 2-1 loss to Argentina.

“Same old story” read one headline. Another declared that “Tuchel just shrank."

Tuchel, a title-winning coach with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, was hired to put a second star on England's jersey and end the decades-long wait for a first trophy since the World Cup in 1966.

The wait goes on.

Former England captain Gary Lineker raised the question about Tuchel's future, saying he was "brought in specifically to take us over line.”

“Is he the right man to take us forward? He just got it so wrong in the big moment," Lineker said on his Netflix show ‘The Rest is Football.’

Tuchel's predecessor, Gareth Southgate, was credited with making England fans fall back in love with the men's national team after years of underachievement. He reached back-to-back European Championship finals but ultimately fell short, with his supposed cautious approach said to have cost England in clutch matches.

Southgate's substitutions were criticized as well as his tactics when England relinquished leads against Croatia in the World Cup semifinals in 2018 and Italy in the final of the Euros three years later.

There was criticism of the English soccer federation's decision to turn to a German, but Tuchel, a Champions League winner, was supposed to be difference maker in those key moments.

Leading 1-0 going into the 85th minute and in a defensive shell, England saw its hopes shattered on Argentina goals from Enzo Fernandez and substitute Lautaro Martinez.

“It’s a real panic. You can’t go a goal up and then surrender the ball and surrender any opportunity of trying to get the second goal," former England captain Wayne Rooney told the BBC. ”I just think the decisions Thomas Tuchel made, and I think we have to be honest on this, have cost us tonight."

Lineker said Tuchel's tactics and substitutions after going 1-0 up “made zero sense to me.”

Tuchel, who signed a two-year contract extension ahead of the World Cup, stood by his decisions.

“As soon as you lose, you get criticized. It’s just what it is,” Tuchel said. "No one knows what would have happened if I had made different decisions so it makes no sense to engage in that and lose my head.

“I’m responsible for them. I took them, so I take the criticism. That’s just the way it is.”

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said shortly after the loss that it is “heartbreaking to be so close.”

“The players and Thomas gave it everything today and the squad, coaches and staff could not have worked harder during the tournament,” he said in a statement. “I would like to thank them all — and also give my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful fans here in the USA and at home. We felt your support every step of the way and we are all so disappointed not to go further.”

England will face France in the third-place game on Saturday in Miami.

Defeat to defending champion Argentina continued a pattern for the England men at the World Cup.

It has not beaten one of the traditional major nations at soccer's biggest tournament since the 1-0 win over Argentina in the group stage in 2002. Before that, England beat France in the group stage in 1982.

Knockout eliminations have come at the hands of Argentina and Germany on three occasions each, Brazil, Portugal and France. There was also the 2018 semifinals defeat to Croatia, a team that has never won a major trophy.

Tuchel, however, does not buy into the narrative that repeated failure is a specifically English problem.

“I love to see these things in a football matter and through football glasses. So first of all I always think it’s solvable on the football field,” he said. “I don’t believe so much in an English thing or in a curse or whatever or history repeating itself.”

Britain and Ireland are co-hosting Euro 2028.

"I have a contract until the home Euros, and I’m looking forward to that, even if right now it is difficult to look that far ahead,” Tuchel said.

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

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Average 30-year US mortgage rate climbs to 6.55%, highest level in nearly a year

Alex Veiga, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:06:40 +0000

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in nearly a year, driving up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.55% from 6.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.75%.

Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power at a time when affordability challenges continue to sideline many aspiring homeowners.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Rates have been mostly rising this year as the war with Iran has driven crude oil prices sharply higher, stoking expectations of hotter inflation. That's pushed up long-term bond yields relative to where they were before the conflict began in late February, causing mortgage rates to trend higher.

The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.57% at midday Thursday on the bond market, up from 4.54% a week ago. It was just 3.97% in late February, before the war broke out.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now the highest it's been since Aug. 28, when it was at 6.56%. As recently as late February, the average rate dropped slightly below 6% for the first time since late 2022.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate increased to 5.93% from 5.82% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.92%, Freddie Mac said.

A report this week showing prices paid by consumers for gas, clothes and other goods cooled last month could help take pressure off the Federal Reserve, which is considering raising interest rates.

The central bank doesn’t set mortgage rates, but its decisions to raise or lower its short-term rate are watched closely by bond investors and can ultimately affect the yield on 10-year Treasurys.

That cooler inflation reading “is a step in the right direction, but until mortgage rates actually follow suit, buyers will keep feeling the pinch of stubbornly high borrowing costs even as other conditions improve,” said Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com.

While average long-term mortgage rates remain lower than they were at this time last year, their upward trajectory has weighed on home sales this year.

And the latest monthly tally of home purchase transactions that have yet to be finalized points to potentially more sluggish home sales this summer.

Pending U.S. home sales fell 5.4% in June from the previous months and were down 0.3% from June last year, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. There’s usually a month or two lag between a contract signing and when the sale is finalized, which makes pending home sales a near-term bellwether for the housing market.

Data on mortgage applications also signal that the upward trend in mortgage rates has given some would-be homebuyers reason to pause.

Mortgage applications, which include loans to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage, fell 2.7% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The pullback was driven mainly by a 7% drop in applications to buy a home.

Fed probe suggests Tesla's self-driving feature wasn't to blame in crash that killed a grandmother

Bernard Condon, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:48:54 +0000

Federal safety investigators looking into a runaway Tesla that killed a grandmother in her home say the driver had pressed the accelerator to full speed, suggesting the vehicle's self-driving software was not to blame.

The driver had told police that he had the self-driving software turned on, but a report from the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday concluded that he had actually overridden that feature when he pushed hard on the pedal. Moments later the Tesla Model 3 raced down a residential street in Katy, Texas, at highway speeds, slammed into a brick home and killed a 76-year-old woman standing in the front room.

The crash last month drew national attention because Tesla CEO Elon Musk is seeking to reassure the public its self-driving feature is safe as he prepares to turn hundreds of thousands of Teslas already on the road into fully automatic vehicles and begin selling two-seated Cybercabs missing steering wheels and pedals.

The crash came two months after officials at a separate federal agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, announced it was elevating a 2024 investigation of the self-driving feature to new “engineering analysis” level, raising the possibility of a recall of 3.2 million Tesla vehicles.

That NHTSA probe was triggered by crashes where the self-driving feature failed to alert drivers to take control in fog and other poor visibility conditions.

The agency opened an investigation last year into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using self-driving technology, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries.

Separate from the National Transportation Safety Board, NHTSA is also looking into the Tesla house crash in Texas, one of 46 “special crash” investigations of Tesla's self-driving or driver-assistance technology in the past decade, according to the agency’s records. In more than a dozen of those crashes, at least one person — a driver, passenger or pedestrian — was killed.

Tesla had originally called its driver assistance software Full Self-Driving, or FSD, but auto experts and regulators complained it was misleading because drivers must always keep their eyes on the road and be ready to take over at any time.

The company has since changed the name to Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

Video of the Katy, Texas, accident shows the Tesla traveling at more than 70 mph (112.65 kilometers per hour), jumping a curb then tearing across a lawn before crushing through a brick wall of a home. A woman standing feet away, Martha Avila, was found amid piles of crumbling plaster, split beams and bits of furniture and rushed to a hospital but died.

Sales of Tesla cars still haven't recovered fully from boycotts last year over Musk's far-right political stands, but the stock is rising anyway as he has successfully shifted attention away from the sales figures. He says they matter less now that the company is on the cusp of major technological advances, such as turning Teslas into hands-free vehicles and having its Optimus robots take over for humans for tasks at home and work.

Tesla stock has risen 22% in the past year and is currently trading at 170 times expected annual earnings compared to 20 for the S&P 500.

For its second-quarter financial results out next week, financial analysts surveyed by FactSet expect earnings per share will barely budge — 32 cents versus 33 cents a year earlier — continuing a sixth quarter streak of flat or falling profits.

FDA approves a first-of-its-kind pill to cut cholesterol in high-risk patients

Matthew Perrone, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:48:08 +0000

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-its-kind pill that can drastically reduce cholesterol in a way that's previously only been available with expensive, injectable drugs.

The drug from Merck was OK'd on Thursday for patients with artery-clogging cholesterol that persists even after taking statins, the standard medications for cutting heart attack risk. Merck will market its pill under the brand name Lipfendra.

It's the first noninjectable medication that works by blocking a liver protein called PCSK9. That protein limits the body's ability to clear cholesterol from the blood, and biotech injectables targeting it have been available from Amgen and other drugmakers for more than a decade. But patient access has been stymied for years by high prices, insurance restrictions and limited prescribing by doctors.

Statins block some of the liver’s production of cholesterol and are the cornerstone of treatment. But even at the highest doses, many people need additional help lowering their LDL, or bad, cholesterol enough to meet medical guidelines.

Merck, which has headquarters in Rahway, New Jersey, won approval based on two studies in high-risk patients who added the company's pill to their standard treatment, including statins. In one study of 3,000 patients, those taking Lipfendra saw their levels of LDL cholesterol drop more than 55% after six months. In a second study, patients averaged a reduction of 59% compared with patients who received a dummy pill.

That benefit dropped only slightly over a year, and side effects — including dizziness and diarrhea — were similar between those taking the pill or a placebo, researchers found. One caveat: The pill must be taken on an empty stomach.

The FDA reviewed the drug under its program that promises ultra-fast reviews for promising medications that serve the public interest. The pathway was created by then-FDA chief Dr. Marty Makary, who resigned from the agency in May after months of pressure from drugmakers, patients and other outside groups.

Heart disease is the nation’s leading cause of death, and high LDL cholesterol, which causes plaque to build up in arteries, is a top risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. While an LDL level of 100 is considered fine for healthy people, doctors recommend lowering it to at least 70 once people develop high cholesterol or heart disease — and even lower for those at very high risk.

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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.

Guns shaped America. Dirty Harry's .44 Magnum is king

Drew Callister, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:43:21 +0000

There are as many handguns in the U.S. as there are adults. Perhaps none is more iconic than the .44 Magnum revolver.

“The most powerful handgun in the world,” Clint Eastwood says with a mix of pleasure and malice as detective “Dirty Harry” takes aim at a bank robber. The 1971 movie made the hefty steel pistol an icon for generations of modern lawmen and outlaws alike.

Dirty Harry is a protector of everyday people, yet he’s shackled by powerful forces out of his control. This urge to stand up to perceived tyranny — by any means necessary — is so ingrained in our national identity that the right to bear arms was given the No. 2 spot in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

Eastwood's co-star was the Smith & Wesson Model 29, the first revolver to use powerful .44 caliber Magnum ammunition, which debuted in the mid-1950s. The American gunmaker has been in the revolver business since 1852.

Yet the long-barreled revolver has come a long way since the Wild West. Owning a gun, and having strong opinions about guns, are now high-voltage political issues.

For some, the obvious reason to keep a handgun is self-defense, home invasion, the fear of becoming a victim. (Rather than under his pillow, my father slept soundly with our guns in a secret compartment in the basement, but to each their own.)

The U.S. is infamous worldwide for our unique scourge of mass shootings with assault-style rifles. Yet when someone pulls the trigger, it's usually a handgun. According to a Pew Research Center analysis for 2024, 53% of gun homicides involved a handgun. Rifles accounted for 3%. The rest were other or unspecified types of guns.

That same year, more Americans killed themselves with guns than ever before. And if a woman's abusive partner has access to a gun, she is five times more likely to be killed, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

America is fascinated with guns. The world is watching.

They're soaking up the stories we tell about ourselves — in crime thrillers, police dramas, cowboy movies and blockbuster action flicks — and buying the guns, too. Nearly a quarter million handguns were “Made in the USA” and exported in 2023, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

More than half a century ago, Dirty Harry used his .44 to blast away the line between protector and vigilante. As a nation, we haven’t looked back.

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Part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more American objects, click here. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.

Federal panel clears new design for White House visitor center, considers Lafayette Park fence

Darlene Superville, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:03:24 +0000

A federal panel on Thursday gave preliminary approval to an updated design for an underground facility to screen visitors to the White House, but took no action on a separate Trump administration proposal to put a fence around nearby Lafayette Park.

Both proposals have come at a time when security for the president is a top concern. The administration says the projects would be an improvement over temporary structures that have long been used for security, such as bicycle racks fashioned into barriers.

President Donald Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts, including two during the 2024 campaign and a third this past April as he attended a Washington dinner with White House journalists. Those concerns were heightened in May after U.S. Secret Service officers fatally shot a man who opened fire near a White House security checkpoint.

The original design for the White House Visitor Screening Facility had it being built underground near the southern end of Sherman Park, just southeast of the White House. But consultations with other entities led to it being moved to the western edge, away from utility infrastructure.

Commissioners granted initial approval for the revised design for the 33,000-square-foot (3,066-square-meter) facility, which will provide security screening for public tour participants, guests attending large events, staff and contractors going to the White House. The panel also had approved the previous design.

The administration says the permanent facility, which it wants open by July 2028, will replace a series of temporary tents that have been used for years, improve security on the White House complex and enhance the experience for visitors.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts also discussed options for a permanent fence around Lafayette Park to make it faster and easier for law enforcement to limit public access when authorities determine that is necessary. The park last had a permanent fence in the late 1800s.

The administration’s 79-page proposal for the 8-acre (3-hectare) park calls for fencing all the way around with larger gates at the north and south entrances. Options call for either including or excluding monuments located at each of the park’s four corners.

The nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation said the fence plan will be better than the "mishmash of bollards, strings of police tape, and zip-tied bike rack barriers” currently in use.

Some members of the public, whose written comments were read aloud at the meeting by the commission's secretary, raised concerns about fencing a park with a history as a place where throngs gather to protest or celebrate major events. They argued that a fence could hinder the people's constitutional rights to protest and assemble.

“When considering the current proposals for Lafayette Park, let’s first ask if fencing is the right approach?” Charles Birnbaum, president and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation wrote in a letter to the commission. Birnbaum noted that the Washington Monument does not have a fence.

Lafayette Park has been closed and fenced in since January for renovations that included repairing dormant fountains the Republican president has talked about. He recently surveyed the work being done there.

“We’re really doing a job at Lafayette Park, which is really the entrance to the White House, and that’s going to be completed very shortly and it’ll be incredible,” he said in June.

The administration also wants similar fencing along Pennsylvania Avenue on the north side of the White House complex, from the Treasury Department building at 15th Street to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at 17th Street.

The fine arts commission has oversight over the design of construction on federal land in Washington. Trump appointed all seven commissioners.

Myles Garrett of the Rams is voted as the top edge rusher in the NFL by an AP panel

Josh Dubow, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:17:43 +0000

Myles Garrett has been the NFL's dominant defensive player for years, leading to his record-setting campaign with 23 sacks last season before being traded in June from Cleveland to the Los Angeles Rams.

Garrett's performance helped him earn the honor of being named the top off-ball linebacker in the NFL by The Associated Press.

A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at edge rusher, basing selections on current status entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Garrett got all eight first-place votes and won the voting with 80 points. Green Bay's Micah Parsons was the only other player named on all eight ballots and was second with 27 points. Houston's Will Anderson Jr. was third, Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt was fourth and Detroit's Aidan Hutchinson was fifth.

Brian Burns of the New York Giants, Baltimore's Trey Hendrickson, Las Vegas' Maxx Crosby, San Francisco's Nick Bosa and Jacksonville's Josh Hines-Allen also received votes.

1. Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams

Garrett won his second AP Defensive Player of the Year award last season and earned All-Pro honors for the fifth time after breaking the single-season sack record held by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. His 125 1/2 career sacks are the second-most to Reggie White among players in their first nine seasons in the NFL and Garrett is the only player with five straight seasons with at least 14 sacks.

Now after playing in only three playoff games in his career with the Browns, Garrett could have a chance to deliver in the postseason following the trade to the preseason Super Bowl favorite Rams.

2. Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers

Parsons was dealt from Dallas to Green Bay before last season and delivered 12 1/2 sacks in 14 games while earning his third career All-Pro honor. Parsons' season ended early following a torn ACL in Week 15 that is expected to sideline him for at least the start of this season.

But Parsons has performed at a high level every year in the NFL and is the only player ever to start his career with five straight seasons with at least 12 sacks.

3. Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans

Anderson is the anchor of one of the NFL's top defenses and earned his first All-Pro honor last season when he had 12 sacks and 20 tackles for loss. He turned that performance into a three-year, $150 million contract extension in the offseason.

In three seasons with the Texans, the 24-year-old Anderson has piled up 30 sacks and 136 tackles, including 46 for loss. He also has 64 quarterback hits in his career and has forced four fumbles and recovered three.

4. T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers

Watt's production has dipped a bit in recent years but he still remains one of the game's top pass rushers. He had seven sacks in 14 games last season when he earned his eighth straight Pro Bowl bid.

He has led the NFL in sacks three times and has 115 for his career.

5. Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions

The No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft bounced back from an injury-shortened 2024 campaign to record a career high last season with 14 1/2 sacks to make his second Pro Bowl and be named a second-team All-Pro.

Hutchinson has 43 sacks, 100 quarterback hits, 44 tackles for loss and five INTs in 56 career games.

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

Rubio gathers countries on left-wing political violence as it becomes a Trump focus in elections

Farnoush Amiri And Meg Kinnard, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:10:56 +0000

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday convened leaders from more than 60 countries to take part in the Trump administration's latest effort to quell what it calls “left wing” political terrorism, a marquee issue for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.

This focus comes even as studies show that there are very few reported cases of such incidents in the U.S., especially compared to historically higher levels of far-right violence.

With sweeping statements about the “alarming rise” of political violence by the left, Rubio and other U.S. officials painted a dark image of the future if the “communists and Marxists” perpetrating these supposed acts are not defeated. He urged officials in attendance — mostly from European and Latin American countries — to unite to address the issue, which he says has been a “blind spot” in counterterrorism doctrine.

“So many people in positions of power have repeatedly dismissed acts of violence and even terrorism as legitimate forms of political expression, so long as they served a left-wing cause," Rubio said in opening remarks. “A bomb planted by a neo-Nazi group was ‘a nefarious and murderous act of evil.’ It is, but a bomb planted by a Marxist revolutionary; well, that’s just merely a tragic excess of idealism.”

A report published last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that left-wing terrorism attacks as of July 4, 2025, had surpassed those from the far right for the first time in more than 30 years. However, a closer look at the data reveals that the uptick reflects a very low starting level and a concurrent drop on the far right.

There was an average of 0.6 left-wing incidents annually from 1994 through 2000, compared with an average of 20.6 on the right, the report shows. From 2016 to 2024, there were an average of four per year on the left and 22.7 per year on the right. Those numbers had dropped dramatically on the right as of early July 2025, with only one incident. Meanwhile, there had been five from the left.

But the report’s authors note that right-wing terrorism could easily return to elevated levels and that it is important to fight terrorism on both sides of the political spectrum.

President Donald Trump and his allies have prioritized talking points against the far left ahead of the congressional elections this November. Trump has repeatedly stated that the Democratic Party’s ascendant left are communists who want to “completely destroy the traditional American way of life” and even engage in assassinations.

Vice President JD Vance has similarly called out communism as a political shift that is “something we haven’t seen in the U.S.” House Speaker Mike Johnson has decried “radical candidates” who are “self-described, self-identifying Marxists.”

For Rubio, his worldview on this issue has been largely shaped by his own history: he is the son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in Miami in May 1956, a few years before communist leader Fidel Castro rose to power in Havana. The former Florida senator said Thursday that it was that same government’s sprawling intelligence and ideological network that “helped to build the far left in our country and in our hemisphere.”

Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and main architect of the administration's immigration policy, followed Rubio's remarks, aiming to drive home the immediacy of the perceived threats he saw to American institutions coming from the left, and what response is needed in return.

“If your civilization is your home, you must defend it with the same passion and force as if an enemy intruder is inside your own house where your family lives,” Miller said. “That is the level of dedication and urgency that is required.”

This ideological focus has repeatedly conflated democratic socialism — which often centers on securing universal healthcare, higher taxes on the wealthy and stricter corporate regulation — with communism, under which private ownership is largely eliminated.

It has only intensified in the last year, following the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to become New York City mayor and several of his proteges who won their New York City congressional primaries last month, beating out incumbents.

One of the ways the administration has started to target left-wing efforts is through sanctions. In November, the State Department designated four antifa or anti-fascist groups in Europe as foreign terrorist organizations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in his remarks Thursday that targeting these groups and entities' financial networks is the best way to circumvent their efforts.

“We have spent decades developing the world’s most sophisticated financial counterterrorism capabilities, and now we are mobilizing some of the same tools that we have deployed against terrorists abroad to confront this emerging threat here at home,” he told the conference.

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Amiri reported from New York and Kinnard from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin in New York contributed to this report.

NHL unveils its 2026-27 schedule, the first with 84 games apiece since '93-94

Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:09:16 +0000

The most expansive season in NHL history will begin in September, not October, and limit most teams to four preseason games.

The league's first 84-game season since 1993-94 opens Sept. 29 as 32 teams will combine to play a total of 1,344 games. The season runs through Saturday, April 10, before the playoffs begin the following week.

The increase from an 82-game slate, which had been the standard since the mid-’90s, was agreed upon by team owners and players in the last round of talks on a collective bargaining agreement. The intent is to provide more space between the end of the Stanley Cup Final and the draft in late June before free agency commences July 1.

When the Panthers and Oilers went the distance in ’24, there were just three days between Game 7 on June 24 in South Florida and the first round of the draft on June 28 in Las Vegas.

After defeating Vegas to win the Stanley Cup, the Carolina Hurricanes will raise their second championship banner on Sept. 29 against Florida.

That opening night, featuring five games, matches the earliest start date in NHL history and is the first time the regular season begins in North America before October. The Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings played games in London on Sept. 29 and 30, 2007.

The most recent — and only other — September hockey outside of exhibitions came during the pandemic playoff bubble in 2020, culminating when Tampa Bay hoisted the Cup in an empty arena in Edmonton on Sept. 28.

Games to watch

Oct. 21: New Florida Panther Brady Tkachuk returns to Ottawa. The former Senators captain plays his first game against his old team since getting traded to Florida to play with his brother, Matthew. It did not end well in Canada's capital, from Brady bristling at his name being in rumors to asking out and then the team offering to take Tkachuk No. 7 jerseys fans wished to exchange.

Oct 25: Heritage Classic. The Montreal Canadiens visit the Winnipeg Jets in the return of outdoor hockey to Canada for the first time since 2023.

Dec. 21: Stanley Cup Final rematch: The Hurricanes return to the scene of their championship triumph to face the Golden Knights in Las Vegas. The two teams meet again in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Jan. 17.

Dec. 31: Winter Classic: Utah takes center stage outside, hosting the Colorado Avalanche in the Winter Classic in Salt Lake City.

Feb. 20: Jerry World hockey: The Dallas Stars host Vegas in at the Dallas Cowboys' stadium in Arlington, Texas.

April 4: Washington hosts Pittsburgh. Alex Ovechkin is back for a 22nd NHL season with the Capitals. If this is it for him at age 41 — and it very well may not be if he wants to shoot for 1,000 career goals — this would be the last regular-season game against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins.

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

Trump administration races the clock to rebuild US tariff wall knocked down by Supreme Court

Paul Wiseman, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:02:03 +0000

The U.S. Treasury last year swelled with revenue from President Donald Trump’s double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country on earth.

But the money dried up after the Supreme Court struck down the biggest and boldest of Trump’s tariffs in February.

The question now is: Can the president’s trade team make good on its promise to replace the lost revenue?

A deadline is approaching rapidly.

After the Supreme Court setback, the president turned first to Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose 10% tariffs globally. But Section 122 only authorizes tariffs for 150 days. Trump’s expire on July 24. Congress would have to extend those tariffs — something lawmakers are unlikely to do as the Nov. 3 midterm elections approach amid voter discontent over the high cost of living.

But the administration has more durable options: Section 301 of the same 1974 trade law permits the president to impose tariffs and other sanctions against countries found to engage in “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices. Trump used Section 301 to impose big tariffs on China in his first term and is rolling them out again — as recently as late Wednesday when he announced 25% tariffs on some Brazilian imports, charging the world’s 11th-biggest economy with a host of unfair trade practices.

Trade attorneys and analysts are confident the tariff-happy Trump administration will manage to beat the clock and swap out Section 122 tariffs with bigger Section 301 tariffs by the July 24 deadline. “They’re going to raise the tariff wall again,’’ said trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a trade official in Trump's first administration and in President Joe Biden's.

Trump last year tested – and exceeded – the limits of his authority to impose import taxes, a power the U.S. Constitution gives Congress. He invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to slap big tariffs on most of the world’s countries.

He justified the levies, which marked a stunning reversal of decades of U.S. policy in favor of lower tariffs and freer trade, by labeling America’s longstanding trade deficits a national emergency.

The Supreme Court didn’t buy it, ruling in February that the president couldn’t use the emergency powers law to impose tariffs at all. The legal defeat meant the administration had to send refunds to importers that had paid the levies.

As a result, tariffs have at least temporarily gone from a windfall to a drain on the Treasury.

Revenue from import taxes peaked at more than $31.4 billion last October. Then, after the Supreme Court ruling, it started dwindling – to $22 billion in both March and April. As refund checks went out faster than revenue from the Section 122 and other tariffs came in, the number turned negative: A small ($42 million) shortfall in May was followed by a whopping $25.6 billion loss in June.

Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have vowed to use other legal authorities to recoup the lost income.

Enter Section 301, which gives the president power to impose – and adjust – tariffs in response to other countries’ trade practices. But the administration must first check procedural boxes – collecting comments and holding hearings. There are no limits on Section 301 tariffs. They expire after four years but can be renewed.

So the president has flexibility in how he uses the Section 301 tariffs. Trump can still change them — after clearing procedural hurdles — but he can’t impose or move them up or down on a whim as he often did with the IEEPA tariffs. Uncertainty over Trump's tariff policy has vexed businesses, leaving them hesitant to make investments and decisions because they don't know what the trade rules are going to be.

A switch to rule-bound 301 tariffs would mean "there’s less uncertainty but not no uncertainty,’’ said Sarah Bianchi, a former U.S. trade official who is now chief strategist of international political affairs at the investment research firm Evercore ISI.

The Trump administration has turned to two big Section 301 investigations in its campaign to replace lost tariff revenue. One accuses 60 countries, accounting for 99% of U.S. imports, of failing to do enough to crack down on imports created by forced labor. The other is investigating whether 16 U.S. trading partners — including China, the European Union and Japan — are overproducing goods, driving down worldwide prices and putting American manufacturers at a disadvantage.

The administration has already decided what it wants to do about the forced labor issue. Invoking Section 301 last month, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer proposed tariffs — 10% on 16 countries and 12.5% on 44 — that are the same or slightly higher than the 10% Section 122 levies they would replace. But Greer's office is still receiving public comments on the proposed tariffs and has not imposed them yet.

Nathaniel Halvorson, a partner at the Baker McKenzie law firm and a former U.S. trade official, expects Greer’s office will manage to get the forced-labor levies in place in time so that there won’t be much, if any, “daylight’’ between them and the expiring Section 122 tariffs. “Really, they’re operating about as fast as legally possible,’’ he said.

The administration has not yet completed the other Section 301 investigation into alleged overproduction by 16 countries. Trade attorney Majerus expects the administration to propose more big tariffs in that case, likely in a month or two. He suspects they will be timed to take effect only after the midterm elections “for obvious reasons.’’

Trump, who has proudly called himself “Tariff Man,’’ has made it clear that he is seeking to bring back the big, worldwide import taxes he’d imposed in 2025. So the new 301 investigations look like a pretext to do that and might be vulnerable in court, Bianchi said.

“Section 301s have been pretty legally durable,” she said. “But no one has tried to use it to basically put in place universal tariffs. I think there will be legal challenges.’’

DeChambeau finds a strategy to get in the mix at the British Open and trail by a shot

Doug Ferguson, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 06:26:26 +0000

Turns out Bryson DeChambeau had enough strategy to get in the mix Thursday at Royal Birkdale, often ripping driver to take the fearsome bunkers out of play and doing enough right for a 3-under 67 that left him one shot out of the early lead in the British Open.

Sungjae Im and Dan Brown led the way at 4-under 66, the lowest score Royal Birkdale offered even in a mild wind, which strengthened and switched late in the afternoon as Rory McIlroy and others were just getting started.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler had few complaints after a 68, even after four birdies in his opening six holes and no birdies the rest of the way. He had a pair of soft bogeys and played the two par 5s on the back nine in 1 over.

“If I continue to strike the ball the way I did today and just keep giving myself looks, that’s part of it,” Scheffler said. “Golf is played over 72 holes, and I definitely liked what I saw today.”

As for DeChambeau's strategy? Part of it might have been declining to speak to the media, which he did again Thursday and has at the majors this year during competition rounds. The two-time U.S. Open champion has missed the cut in all three majors.

Strategy became a talking point when three-time British Open champion Nick Faldo told the Sky Sports Golf Podcast this week, “DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy. He said last year, ‘I’m going to go out and attack the links’. Well, I’ve never attacked a links. You thread it, don’t you? You feed it down the fairway. ... You don't think, ‘Oh, I’ll just blast it down there.'"

DeChambeau twice blasted it over the trouble and close to the green at the par-4 second and the par-4 10th, the latter a blind shot. He made birdie on both. And while Jon Rahm was among those who said going long can lead to trouble at some point, the only two shots DeChambeau dropped came from his putting (the par-5 14th) and chipping (the par-4 18th).

He was tied for the lead until going from wispy, yellow rough over the back of the 18th, chipped weakly to 8 feet and missed the putt. He missed three birdie chances from around 10 feet or under, one of them on redesigned, 321-yard fifth hole, when his drive settled on a hump behind the green.

DeChambeau agreed to take a few questions from the R&A and said, “I feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic and focused super hard on placing it in the right places. Besides 18, I placed the ball in some good areas. I just need to hit more fairways. Other than that, I feel like my strategy was nice today.”

Brown ran off three straight birdies around the turn and found himself atop the leaderboard, just as he did at Royal Troon two years ago after the first round. That year, he was in the penultimate group with hardly anyone watching. This time he was out early with Im, who had four birdies on the back nine as they matched 66s.

Robert MacIntyre and Francesco Molinari, the Open champion from Carnoustie in 2018, were part of the large group of players at 67. That included Ryan Gerard in his Open debut, M.J. Daffue of South Africa and Alex Smalley, the only player to reach 5 under at any point.

Smalley, who took a two-shot lead into the final round at the PGA Championship, was leading until his drive on the 18th was fading with the wind and then the luck of links golf took over. One wild bounce sent it further right and out-of-bounds. He finished with a double bogey for a 67.

“Got up to where the ball was supposed to be and was told it hit a spectator fence and kicked another 15 yards right out-of-bounds. All three of us in our group actually hit it over there, and mine just got an unlucky break,” Smalley said. "Poor tee shot, poor break. Sometimes that's how it goes."

Scheffler played in the group with DeChambeau and they traded birdies early. For six holes, the world's No. 1 player had total control of his shots and looked as though he couldn't miss. He got to 4 under when he gave a leg kick as his 40-foot birdie putt dropped on No. 6.

But then he missed the seventh green — 139 yards, downhill — to the left between a pair of bunkers, and his pitch was so strong it flirted with going in a bunker on the other side. He missed a 5-foot birdie chance on the 11th, and then made a mess of the par-5 17th.

Scheffler missed his approach well to the right and was so surprised to see it buried in deep grass he felt it might have been embedded from someone stepping on it. But no one stepped forward, and he was denied a free drop. He yanked that across the fairway to more deep grass, then hit a splendid chip to 4 feet, only to miss the par putt.

“It was underneath the wire and it was just ... I’m hoping somebody stepped on it, but nobody would fess up. Apparently nobody did,” Scheffler said. "I was just shocked at how deep the ball was in that grass. I considered actually taking an unplayable.

“Sometime you hit it over there and you get a clean lie and you’re able to give yourself a look, and then other times like today, you pay a pretty severe price,” he said. “But I guess don’t hit it offline.”

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Taiwan computer chipmaker TSMC pledges another $100 billion to expand US chipmaking capacity

Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 06:49:34 +0000

Major Taiwan computer chipmaker TSMC said Thursday it plans to spend another $100 billion on expanding its manufacturing capacity in the United States.

The latest commitment appears to bring the company’s total pledges for investment in U.S. chipmaking to $265 billion. The company also raised its annual revenue forecast after booking record high profits thanks to runaway demand from the boom in artificial intelligence.

The world's largest contract chip manufacturing and one of the world’s most valuable companies, TSMC is seen as a barometer for the global chip industry and for AI at a time when worries about a potential AI bubble have been buffeting financial markets.

As AI-related demand continues to jump and needs for computing power from data centers surge, TSMC has been expanding chip fabrication plants in the U.S., Japan and Taiwan. It said it is increasing its annual capital expenditure budget for this year to $60 billion-$64 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $52 billion-$56 billion.

TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., is a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple. It had previously already committed $165 billion in the U.S. for building plants in Arizona, with six fabrication facilities planned.

The extra $100 billion in investments are to “support the strong multiyear demand from our leading U.S. customers,” C.C. Wei, chairman and CEO of TSMC, said during the company's quarterly earnings conference Thursday. An additional four fabrication plants in Arizona will likely be built with the new investments, TSMC said. They will focus on making some of the most advanced chips that are 2-nanometer and below.

“We believe this investment will help to further foster the development of the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem, strengthen the supply chain and support an increasing number of high-tech, high-paying jobs in the United States,” he said.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and Taiwan reached an agreement that cut U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods, as Taiwan promised around $250 billion of new investments in the United States' tech sector, including in semiconductors. That included spending by TSMC.

AI-related demand globally continues to be “extremely robust,” Wei said, as the “AI megatrend continues to drive the need for more and more computation.”

“I believe from this day on, all the way to probably 2029, 2030, the demand is very strong,” he said.

TSMC on Thursday reported a record 706.6 billion new Taiwan dollars ($22 billion) in net profit for the April-June quarter, up 77% from a year earlier and better than what analysts had expected. Revenue was up 36% year-on-year during the quarter, to 1.27 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($39 billion).

Wei said TSMC now expects its annual 2026 revenue growth to be slightly above 40% year-on-year, up from its previous forecast of over 30%.

TSMC’s ramped up investment plans are “essential to support (its) long-term growth” and to keep up with demand, said William Li, a senior analyst in semiconductors at Counterpoint Research.

The ex-CEO of Italian highway operator and 31 others convicted in deadly 2018 bridge collapse

Colleen Barry, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 05:05:47 +0000

An Italian court on Thursday convicted the former CEO of Italy's main highway operator and 31 others in the 2018 Genoa highway bridge collapse that sent vehicles plunging and killed 43 people, a disaster that exposed serious lapses in the maintenance of Italian infrastructure.

Dozens of family members of the victims packed the courtroom as Chief Judge Paolo Lepri read the verdicts against 57 defendants, including former executives and officials. Many relatives broke down in tears as the sentences were read.

A representative for the families of the victims, Egle Possetti, expressed satisfaction with the verdicts, saying they showed “there were serious failures in management, and 43 people paid with their lives.”

The former chief executive of highway operator Autostrade per l'Italia, Giovanni Castellucci, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down after four hours of deliberation in the trial that spanned four years.

Castellucci’s lawyers said they would appeal, noting in a statement that as CEO, their client had relied on Italy’s leading engineers and suggesting that he had been scapegoated.

“The suffering caused by the Genoa tragedy is immense and deserves respect. But the gravity of the event requires justice to remain based on individual responsibility, not the search for a scapegoat,” they said in a statement.

Also convicted were Autostrade’s former head of maintenance, Michele Donferri Mitelli, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The former CEO of the SPEA engineering company, Antonino Galatà, received five years and six months.

The court says the bridge collapse was foreseeable

The most serious charges included negligence resulting in the collapse, aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide stemming from failures to properly monitor and maintain the bridge, which was part of a main route linking northern Italy with the French Riviera.

The court will issue its full reasoning within six months. But in a summary accompanying the verdict, it said the convictions were based on findings that identified a system of defects affecting one of the bridge’s stay cables and concluded that the collapse was “foreseeable and preventable.”

The court said that some defendants from the highway concession and its engineering subsidiary failed to carry out the requiring monitoring of the bridge, relying in part on a 1967 Ministry of Public Works circular, while some transport ministry had officials had failed to exercise proper oversight of Autostrade's safety monitoring.

In all, 32 people were convicted and handed sentences ranging from 1 year and 11 months to 12 years. The rest were either found not guilty, or lesser charges had expired under the statute of limitations.

Lawyer Raffaele Caruso expressed satisfaction that court had held people resonsible at the three main players: the highway concession, its engineering subsidiary and the transport ministry.

“What emerges is that this bridge did not collapse by chance — this bridge collapsed due to specific, precise, individualized, personalized, and specifically identified responsibilities," Caruso told a press conference. “There has been much talk about the construction defect ... But this does not rule out the existence of liability.”

Warning signs of defect were ignored

Shortly before noon on Aug. 14, 2018, a 200-meter (650-foot) section of Genoa’s Morandi highway bridge gave way during a rainstorm, sending dozens of vehicles plunging to the ground.

Images of the collapsed bridge were seen around the world and shocked Italians on one of Italy’s busiest travel days, as millions headed out for the traditional Aug. 15 Ferragosto holiday that marks the peak summer vacation season.

Prosecutors argued that years of maintenance neglect led to the collapse, and demanded combined sentences totaling nearly 400 years for all of the defendants. The defendants denied wrongdoing and say the fault was caused by a construction defect.

Considered an engineering marvel when it opened in 1967, the Morandi featured three A-shaped concrete pylons and concrete-encased stay cables.

Caruso said that the trial showed that warning signs about defects in the pylon that collapsed had existed for decades. He cited maintenance on the other two starting in 1993 that was never extended to the third.

“From 1993 onward, the problem was known. We had three identical pylons. Two had already shown the same defect, and no one seriously asked whether the third one had it as well,” Caruso said.

Autostrade had reached a deal to avoid trial

The current Autostrade chief executive, Arrigo Giana, issued a public apology Thursday in an open letter published in major Italian dailies.

“The actions and decisions of some people left indelible scars,’’ said Giana, who joined Autostrade as CEO last year. “Offering today the apology that was not made then is, for us, a moral imperative that goes beyond establishing legal responsibility and the course of justice toward the truth.”

Autostrade and its subsidiary reached a deal on corporate liability earlier in the proceedings, paying roughly 30 million euros ($34 million) in financial penalties. The agreement spared the companies from a trial as corporate defendants and potentially much harsher sanctions, including exclusion from public contracts.

The settlements were reached after the companies adopted new compliance procedures aimed at preventing similar accidents, and after victims were compensated.

A new bridge designed by Genoa-born Italian architect Renzo Piano opened in 2020, spanning a memorial to the victims of the Morandi Bridge collapse.

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Barry reported from Milan.

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This story corrects the number of convictions to 32.

Argentine golfer at British Open makes ear-cup gesture to mimic Enzo's World Cup goal celebration

Steve Douglas, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:43:09 +0000

The only Argentine golfer in the British Open field was playfully jeered by some spectators on the first tee Thursday, the morning after his national soccer team's epic comeback win over England at the World Cup.

Mateo Pulcini delivered an amusing response a few hours later.

After holing a 40-foot putt for birdie on the 18th green at Royal Birkdale, the 25-year-old amateur cupped both of his ears in a gesture to spectators that mimicked the celebration his countryman, Enzo Fernandez, produced after scoring Argentina's 85th-minute equalizing goal on Wednesday. Argentina went on to win 2-1 in the semifinals.

“I was pretty excited and that came to my mind,” he said, “and I did it.”

Pulcini stressed there were only “a few boos” on the first tee and that it was just a bit of fun.

“People are being great. Fans are being spectacular. They were cheering for me as well,” he said.

Asked what felt better — his putt on the 18th or seeing Fernandez's goal — Pulcini said: “Enzo’s goal, for sure.”

Pulcini is making his debut at the British Open after qualifying by winning the Latin American Amateur Championship in a playoff in Peru.

He shot 5-over 75 on Thursday.

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More whistles, more points: How the WNBA’s new officiating focus is reshaping games

Doug Feinberg, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:40:55 +0000

Cheryl Reeve has seen a lot of improvements in officiating this season and it's helped the WNBA have record offensive numbers so far through the first half of the season.

There's still areas that need to be worked on, but it will take more than 20 games for everything to be cleaned up.

“We’ve seen great improvements on the very things that were broken,” the Minnesota Lynx coach said. “There was a level of impeding players and trying to cut off a screen. We don’t want the unnecessary physicality.”

The league put together a task force, which Reeve is on, in the offseason to help clean up some of the physicality in the game. The main point of emphasis was to help players' freedom of movement. Despite some hiccups early on, it has led to more offense as teams are averaging around 86 points a game — the highest ever. They are shooting nearly 45% from the field — also the best in league history.

So far this season there have been roughly 4 1/2 more fouls called per game with 75% of them being non-shooting fouls.

“I think it’s fair for our coaches and players to be able to say we’re happy and we think positive things are taking place, but still I disagree with the calls that are affecting our team tonight,” Monty McCutchen, who is the head of WNBA officials, told The Associated Press.

“I want coaches to remain advocates for their teams," McCutchen added. "We have gotten positive feedback that we’re on the right track. we’ll continue to work through specifics when we fail that task and we’ll continue to check in with the officiating task force to make sure that we’re aligned with the expectations.”

By no means are things perfect. Coaches and players have complained of inconsistencies between officiating crews. What might be called a foul in one half might not be deemed a foul at another point in the game. Obvious fouls are getting missed too.

“It’s never going to be perfect, but we’re trending in the right direction,” Reeve said. “We’ve put resources into this.”

Reeve recalled a play that she asked to be reviewed during her team's game against Dallas. The officials looked at the play and upgraded it to a flagrant.

The league is constantly reviewing plays. Alyssa Thomas’ punch to the throat of Caitlin Clark that was upgraded to a Flagrant-2 was one of four that the league reviewed that night and was the only one upgraded.

Common fouls aren’t the only thing on the rise. Both technical fouls and flagrant fouls are up too. There have been 124 technicals assessed this season (four more were rescinded). Last year there were 171 total. There have been 44 flagrants called this season as compared to 51 all of last year.

“I think they are doing a better job at reviewing hostile acts,” Reeve said. “We didn't ask for that, but if that's what it takes to clean it up (it's worth it).”

Not everyone is a fan of all the reviews. Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said after a loss to Indiana last week that there were too many of them.

“It’s exhausting when they go to the review every time. I mean, these games are getting longer and longer. It’s encouraging more drama,” she said. “So, it’s like somebody gets hit, and it’s like take them to the hospital. And they jump up, and they’re fine. So I actually think it’s not just today. It’s across the league. There’s so many reviews.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

What remains of the Iran deal as fighting rages

Joseph Krauss, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:07:51 +0000

The conflict between Iran and the United States has intensified in recent days and an interim deal to end the fighting has collapsed less than a month after it was signed.

The Memorandum of Understanding was supposed to halt all military operations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil and gas. It also set the stage for further negotiations intended to lead to a permanent peace deal and an agreement on Iran's nuclear program within 60 days.

Here's a look at some of the main clauses of the agreement and the situation on the ground.

The fighting has resumed

THE DEAL: The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war by signing this MOU declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and undertake from now on not to initiate any war or any military operation against each other and to refrain from the threat or use of force against each other and ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: The U.S. has launched days of airstrikes on Iran in response to its attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has fired back at Arab countries hosting American troops. A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah reached shortly after the Iran agreement has largely held despite renewed hostilities elsewhere in the region.

The Strait of Hormuz is largely closed

THE DEAL: Upon the signing of this MOU, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa. The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start and, considering the needs for removing the technical and military obstacles and demining by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will be instated within 30 days. The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz in discussion with other Persian Gulf littoral states in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: This clause seems to have been the undoing of the deal. Iran says it gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait and potentially charge tolls after 60 days. The U.S. and others dispute that, saying the strait should be open to all without fees, as it was before the war. The U.S. has set up an alternative route along Oman's coast and outside of Iran's control. Iran's attacks on ships using that route triggered the renewed hostilities. Traffic through the strait rose after the deal was signed but remained far short of prewar levels and has plummeted in recent days as fighting has escalated.

The U.S. has reimposed its blockade

THE DEAL: Immediately upon the signing of this MOU, the United States of America will begin the removal of its naval blockade and any disturbances or impediments against the Islamic Republic of Iran and will fully end the naval blockade within 30 days. During this period, the traffic of vessels will be in proportion to the numbers of prewar traffic being restored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States of America further undertakes to remove its forces from the proximity of the Islamic Republic of Iran within 30 days after the final deal.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: The U.S. this week restored its blockade on Iranian ports, citing Iran's attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, U.S. forces opened fire on a ship they said was trying to break the blockade.

Sanctions on Iranian oil exports have been restored

THE DEAL: The United States of America undertakes that immediately upon the signing of this MOU and until the termination of sanctions the U.S. Department of Treasury will issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives and all associated services including banking transactions, insurances, transportation, etc.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: The U.S. issued the waivers but then revoked them after Iran's attacks on shipping.

There's been no public sign of progress toward a final deal

THE DEAL: The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days extendable with mutual consent … After signing this MOU and subject to the beginning of the implementation of paragraphs 1, 4, 5, 10 and 11 of this MOU, and the continuing implementation of these measures, the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran will start negotiations regarding the final deal exclusively on the other paragraphs.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: Negotiations were apparently paused during last week's funeral for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening U.S. and Israeli strikes. It's unclear if they have resumed, or if any progress has been made. The 60-day time frame suggests a mid-August deadline.

The nuclear dispute still seems as intractable as ever

THE DEAL: The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons. United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpile enriched material pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon in accordance with the schedule mentioned in Paragraph 7 with the minimum methodology to be downblending on site under the supervision of the IAEA. The two parties also agreed to discuss the issue of enrichment and other mutually agreed matters related to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear needs, based on a satisfactory framework being agreed upon in the final deal. The final deal will confirm the provisions of this paragraph.

THE CURRENT SITUATION: It's unclear if any progress has been made toward the highly ambitious goal of resolving the nuclear issue in 60 days. Iran has not publicly made any concessions while reiterating its longstanding position that its program is peaceful. It has refused to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to visit bombed nuclear sites where its highly enriched uranium is believed to have been buried.

Other clauses also appear to be in limbo

The interim deal called for a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran as part of the final agreement, but it's still unclear where that money would come from. The U.S. pledged to lift all sanctions as part of the final accord, but U.S. officials have always said that is linked to progress on nuclear and other issues.

US designates 2 new Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations

María Verza, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:08:50 +0000

The U.S. government has designated two new Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

They are the Juárez Cartel, on the border with Texas, and Los Viagras, a criminal group from the western state of Michoacán. The Federal Register, the U.S. government's gazette, published the designation on Thursday.

They joined six other Mexican criminal organizations that the U.S. considers terrorist groups, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Gangs in other Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and El Salvador, also have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump began to extend the terrorist label to Latin American cartels in February 2025 to allow U.S. authorities to take more aggressive action against them or against anyone who the U.S. sees as aiding the groups.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that both criminal groups either have committed terrorist acts or pose a serious risk of committing acts that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.

The measure represents a further increase in pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration following the indictment of 10 current and former officials from the state of Sinaloa for alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as the controversies about U.S. operations in Mexico.

Higher pressure on the Texas border

Juarez Cartel is one of Mexico’s oldest drug trafficking organizations, which for decades has controlled a key crossing point in the central part of the Mexico-U.S. border: Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, Texas.

Both its founder, Amado Carrillo Fuentes — known as “El Señor de los Cielos” for smuggling massive drug shipments by light aircraft in the 1990s — and the brothers and sons who succeeded him, turned the trafficking of tons of drugs into a multimillion-dollar business. Despite the arrests of many of its leaders, the cartel and its allied gangs maintained control of a vast infrastructure for smuggling illegal shipments into the U.S..

According to Mexican analyst David Saucedo, the designation is key to enabling the United States to take more decisive action along the border, where two other groups both located at the eastern end of the border with Texas — the Gulf Cartel and the Northeast Cartel — were declared terrorist organizations in February 2025.

The US again targets Michoacan

Los Viagras is a local cartel in the western state of Michoacan, which is already home to two other criminal groups designated as terrorist organizations: Cárteles Unidos and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

Los Viagras emerged following the 2013–2014 armed uprising led by farmers who succeeded in driving out many of the old cartels, only to see them replaced by new ones.

The cartel is led by Nicolás Sierra Santana, who faces a formal indictment in the District of Columbia for conspiracy to traffic drugs, filed in June 2025. The State Department is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

The group has shifted its loyalties and alliances to consolidate its regional control of the territory through extortion. It also produces synthetic drugs, which sells to other cartels that traffic them into the United States.

UK urges FIFA to investigate Argentina over Falklands banner at World Cup

Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 08:09:40 +0000

The British government on Thursday urged FIFA to investigate Argentina’s team after players celebrating their 2-1 win over England in the World Cup semifinals posed with a banner that claimed sovereignty over the contested Falkland Islands.

During post-match celebrations Wednesday in Atlanta, Argentine players held a banner handed over by fans, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” — “The Malvinas are Argentine.”

Argentina refers to the Falkland Islands as Islas Malvinas. They were invaded in 1982 under orders from Argentina's then-military dictatorship, triggering a 10-week war won by Britain.

“The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are," a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday. "Self-determination rests with the islanders and our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”

Starmer supported calls for FIFA to investigate, the spokesperson said, after U.K. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the players’ behavior was “entirely inappropriate."

FIFA can prosecute Argentina's players and soccer federation because its disciplinary code prohibits at stadiums any “message that is not appropriate for a sports event” including those of “a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature.”

The FIFA fines for political messaging range from around $5,000 to $20,000. FIFA was approached for comment Thursday.

Argentine President Javier Milei described the players' celebration with the banner as “perfectly valid," saying the message “reflects a sentiment shared by all Argentines.” But he said he expected FIFA to sanction the team with a fine.

“What the players do is understandable; they get carried away by their emotions, they act on impulse, and that will likely lead to discussions about a fine,” Milei told a local Buenos Aires radio station.

Vice President Victoria Villarruel was more vocal in her support, posting a photo on social media of the players raising the banner with the caption: “The Malvinas are Argentine! They banned us from bringing (signs) into the stadium, forgetting that we carry them in our blood and in our hearts.”

A FIFA disciplinary case under previous leadership banned a South Korea player for two 2014 World Cup qualifying games because he held up a similar banner about a territorial claim against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics. Park Jong-woo took a fan banner with the slogan “Dokdo is our territory” after South Korea beat Japan in the men's bronze medal game.

On Wednesday, Argentina player Lisandro Martínez was asked if the banner could have stirred deep emotions for veterans of the conflict.

“We couldn’t let the Argentine people down” said Martínez, who has played in England for the past four years with Manchester United.

Argentina-England soccer rivalry

The sporting rivalry between the two countries is heightened by political tensions over the South Atlantic archipelago. It is a British overseas territory with a population of around 3,500 people located about 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) from the U.K. and 300 miles (480 kilometers) from Argentina.

Argentina argues the islands were illegally taken from it in 1833. Britain, which says its territorial claim dates to 1765, sent a warship to the islands in 1833 to expel Argentine forces who sought to establish sovereignty over the territory.

The war in 1982 killed 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service personnel and three islanders.

That conflict ended during the 1982 World Cup in Spain where Argentina, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland all played. British television networks declined to broadcast Argentina playing in the tournament's opening game, when the defending champion lost to Belgium.

“Sadly, it is a sad part of our history," Argentina player Leandro Paredes said in Atlanta about the banner, “for everyone involved in that chapter of, I repeat, our history. And it hurts. We knew we were playing for them, too.”

Politics in soccer

British government minister Kyle told the BBC "politics needs to be separate from football.”

“In fact, the World Cup has one of its central tenets that politics is separate from football," he said. “That is now a matter for FIFA.”

FIFA's statutory political neutrality has been questioned at this World Cup after its president, Gianni Infantino, and disciplinary process — which could now judge Argentina — seemed to cave to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump in allowing United States forward Folarin Balogun to play Belgium in the round of 16.

Balogun was shown a red card in the previous round and FIFA disciplinary rules mandated he should be banned from his team's next game. FIFA deferred that suspension for one year of probation, provoking an all-time controversy in modern World Cup history. Belgium beat the U.S. 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Infantino is expected to sit with Trump at the World Cup final Sunday. Argentina plays Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Previous cases

Argentina players showed the same “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” slogan at a warm-up game in June 2014 in Buenos Aires for the World Cup that started days later in Brazil.

FIFA's disciplinary panel ruling in that case was published after the tournament finished and fined the Argentina federation 30,000 Swiss francs ($37,000).

In the 2012 London Olympics case, FIFA's ruling said the conduct of the South Korea player "cannot be tolerated.”

At the 2022 World Cup, FIFA fined the Serbia federation 20,000 Swiss francs ($24,800) for hanging a political banner about neighboring independent state Kosovo in the locker room before playing Brazil. It showed a map of Serbia that included the territory of Kosovo, which has been an independent state since 2008, and the slogan “No Surrender.”

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Dunbar contributed from Geneva. Associated Press writer Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.

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Patricia Lockwood wins $10,000 Gabe Hudson Prize for a dark, comic COVID-19 novel

Hillel Italie, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:11:59 +0000

Acclaimed author Patricia Lockwood is this year's winner of the Gabe Hudson Prize, a $10,000 honor named for the late author, educator and editor and given for fiction that demonstrates “humor, pathos, and a deep understanding of contemporary America.”

Lockwood was cited for “Will There Ever Be Another You,” a dark and comic novel about a woman's breakdown amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Sentences and passages flash us with beauty or leave us reeling with laughter," the judges' citation reads in part. "There is so much pain in the book and yet there is no self-pity, instead there is a marvelous self-awareness as to how ridiculous it is to be human.”

The Hudson prize was established in 2024 by his mother, Sanchia Semere, and is administered by the publisher McSweeney's. Hudson, who died in 2023 at age 52, was known and admired for such fiction as “Dear Mr. President,” for his work as an editor at large at McSweeney's and for his years as a teacher at Yonsei University in Korea, among other schools.

Lockwood's other books include “Priestdaddy,” winner in 2018 of the James Thurber Prize for American Humor, and the novel “No One Is Talking About This,” shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021. In a statement Thursday, Lockwood noted that she felt a kinship with Hudson, even though they never met.

“He was a truly generous literary citizen with a rich trajectory: a writer of funny, gut-punching stories, an inventive novelist, a cheerleader for others,” she said. “He was a Marine, like my brother, and a teacher in South Korea, in the same neighborhood where my husband grew up.”

Retail sales up just 0.2% in June, but excluding business at the gas pump, shoppers are resilient

Anne D'Innocenzio, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:44:51 +0000

Shoppers slowed their spending in June from May, as they spent less to fill their gas tank because of falling gas prices.

But the report, released by the Commerce Department on Thursday, showed consumers' continued resilience despite ongoing economic uncertainty as they bought cars and took advantage of summer sales events.

Retail sales rose 0.2% in June, after being up a revised 1% in May, according to the report.

Outside of gas stations, retail sales rose a solid 0.7%, according to the report.

The government figures aren't adjusted for inflation so last month's decline in gas prices pulled down gas station sales and thus the overall retail sales figure.

Business at gas stations fell 5.3% last month. Meanwhile, sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers rose 1.9%, helped by aggressive manufacturers' incentives, according to the report.

Elsewhere, shoppers were selective in their buying, given their worries about the economy and fading benefits of generous government tax benefits, which propelled spending earlier in the spring.

Business at clothing and accessories stores as well as at miscellaneous retailers both posted small declines, And sales at retailers that sell big-ticket items were mixed, with business at furniture and home furnishings merchants flat, while electronics and appliance stores showing a small increase for June.

World Cup boost

Among the bright spots: online sales rose 1.9%, fueled by spending surrounding Amazon's Prime Day event, which was held from June 23 through June 26. Business at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores was up 1.3%, likely helped by spending around the World Cup tournament.

The data offers only a snapshot of consumer spending and doesn’t include activities like travel and hotel stays. The lone services category – restaurants – registered a slim 0.1% increase.

The so-called control group—which excludes food services, autos, building materials and gas station sales and is used to calculate economic growth—rose a solid 0.5%.

The report comes as U.S. inflation cooled last month as the cost of gas, clothes, and used cars fell, offering some relief to consumers, while underlying price pressures also slowed more than anticipated.

Gas prices fell to $3.94 per gallon on Thursday, down from $4.04 a month ago, according to motor club AAA.

“Falling fuel prices weighed on headline sales data, but a smaller bill at the pump was a source of relief for consumers and provided at least a little more cushion in household spending budgets,” Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors, wrote in a report published Thursday.

But Baird noted the June report suggests consumers are “perhaps taking a more discerning approach to where they’re spending and how they’re prioritizing their choices.”

The Labor Department said Tuesday that consumer prices dropped 0.4% from May to June, the largest monthly drop in four years, after increasing 0.5% in the previous month. On a yearly basis, inflation declined to 3.5%, down from a year-over-year gain of 4.2% in May and lower than many economists expected.

Muted impact at the gas pump

The core inflation figures suggest that the gas price spike from the Iran war, while it pushed up airfares and some other costs, hasn’t so far led to broad-based, sustained inflation, according to economists. But the United States renewed attacks on Iran and President Donald Trump announced a new blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for about one-fifth of the world’s oil. The increase threatens to unravel at least some of the progress that occurred last month.

Next month, major retailers including Walmart, Target and Macy’s, are slated to announce their second-quarter earnings results, which will offer some insight into shopping behavior.

A report last month from the Conference Board showed that Americans’ attitudes toward the economy improved slightly this month as gas prices declined, but their outlook is still mostly negative by historical standards.

Sara Williamson, a 27-year-old software support engineer in Raleigh, North Carolina, said that over the last year or so, she’s more conscious of how she spends her money. She feels financially secure given her stable job, but increasing costs of food and gas are making her pull back on frivolous spending.

“I shop less overall as a hobby,” she said.

Williamson noted that at the supermarket, she avoids buying pre-cut fruits like cantaloupe, which tend to be more expensive than buying the whole cantaloupe, to save money, and is careful about buying clothing for herself.

Brian Reynolds, CEO and founder of Just For Teens, a skincare collection aimed at preteens and teens, noted that his low-price products, which include $5 pimple patches, are aimed at families on a budget and are in the sweet spot of retailing right now.

By October, his brand will be expanded to 10,000 Dollar General stores, up from about 4,000 late last year. He said sales have been decent so far, but he expects that business will see more of a momentum for the back-to-school selling season.

“There’s a lot of space for products that are everyday essentials that are value-priced,” he said.

Need for speed? Driving above the speed limit costs you — and doesn't actually save much time

Alexa St. John, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:00:41 +0000

Speeding in your car to work, to pick up your children from school, or go from one errand to the next not only wastes money in gas and sends harmful emissions into the air, it barely saves you time, new research says.

It is something to think about as gas prices stay elevated throughout the summer months and add pain to day-to-day driving and seasonal road tripping.

Instead, abiding by posted speed limits can save U.S. drivers millions of dollars at the gas pump and eliminate millions of gallons of fuel each day, according to a study published Thursday in the Nature journal Communications Sustainability. That is fuel that, when burned, emits planet-warming gases into the atmosphere. To top it all off, changing driving habits wouldn't even add a full minute to a driver's commute.

University of Minnesota researchers analyzed 120 million vehicle trips across the United States from four Wednesdays in 2021 using driving data on national road networks, speed limits and U.S. Geological Survey elevation data. The analysis included roads with speed limits of 45 mph (72 kph) and higher.

More than 43% of the studied trips included at least one instance of speeding, and drivers spent nearly 12% of their driving time going faster than the speed limit.

They found that if drivers of light-duty, conventional internal combustion engine vehicles actually drove at posted speed limits, it could save an average of $22 million, based on fuel costs at the time, 6.7 million gallons of fuel and 57,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide every day. The researchers said that is comparable to taking about 5.5 million passenger vehicles off the road.

And while drivers say that speeding saves them precious time, researchers found that is not really the case. With an average daily driving distance of 28.6 miles (46.03 kilometers), driving at or below the posted limit corresponds only to about 54 seconds longer per day.

“If your goal is to shave one minute off your time, then you’ve got to drive fast. If your objective is to get to your destination safely and to save fuel, then you might drive slower than the speed limit,” said William Northrop, mechanical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota and study co-author.

The research considered battery-electric vehicle efficiency only in California given the level of EV adoption in the U.S. at that time. Based on the California modeling, “We find that driving slower is beneficial for EVs as well,” he said.

Interestingly, the study found differences among states. Nevada saw elevated speeding prevalence as well as high speed excess. There was high speeding prevalence in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, though those states did not necessarily exhibit high speed excess. Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and South Dakota showed both low speeding prevalence and speed excess.

The cost of faster driving today

Driving faster increases a vehicle’s energy use and the emissions from its engine, as well as reduces efficiency. Vehicle engines have become increasingly more efficient over the past several decades even as vehicles have gotten bigger and more powerful. But speed limits have also climbed since the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act was implemented, which mandated 55 mph national speed limits amid the 1970s energy crisis.

Accounting for the average cost of gas today and more vehicle miles traveled, that increases to roughly $26 million and 7.2 million gallons of fuel that Americans collectively could save each day this year just by not putting the pedal to the metal.

One limitation of the research is that slower driving could impact traffic patterns, which could play a role in efficiency.

However, it is especially timely as U.S. drivers remain price-sensitive to volatile gas prices as the war in Iran has sent the cost for a gallon of fuel above $4 this year. Experts have said there are a number of ways to improve one’s gas mileage, including something as simple as slowing down. Less fuel needing to be purchased because of better efficiency could influence oil market demand, which in turn could impact pricing.

Rob Middleton, associate research scientist of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan who was not involved in the research, said the study was well-done. But he also noted that the fuel saved from driving more slowly still only represents a fraction of daily gasoline consumption in the U.S., which is about 375 million gallons daily.

“It’s a big number, but it’s a small fraction,” Middleton said. “This is a ‘freebie’ in that it doesn’t really cost anyone anything to do.”

“The market penetration of selling EVs is still small, so we still need fuel, we still need ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, we’re still going to have them for a very long time,” he added. “Things that we can do to either make the new ones better or to improve our fuel supply, we need to do.”

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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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Trump officials want to make testosterone drugs easier to prescribe. Is that a good idea?

Matthew Perrone, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:50:33 +0000

Officials under President Donald Trump want to make it easier for men to get a prescription for testosterone, the latest shift in a decades-long debate over the benefits and risks of replacing the hormone that affects sex drive, mood and other health factors.

The move, backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other top officials, aligns with the advice of many online influencers and podcasters, including men’s health gurus who tout the hormone as a way to boost muscle and energy. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military would begin screening for low testosterone and offering the hormone as a way to help troops operate at their “absolute best.”

The notion of testosterone as an all-purpose elixir for strength and vitality is not supported by the science. But medical experts say a decade of new research has bolstered the case for testosterone's benefits for sexual health while allaying concerns about its impact on the heart.

“Many providers have been trained for years that these were real issues, and they were scared to get a testosterone reading from a patient or offer them testosterone therapy,” said Dr. Justin Dubin, a urologist at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration removed a bold safety warning about possible heart risks with testosterone pills, gels, injections and patches, based on recent data that showed no increase in those problems.

Last month, the agency proposed rewriting prescribing instructions to clear the way for using testosterone against age-related symptoms, such as low libido and erectile dysfunction. Currently the label emphasizes that the hormone is only approved for abnormally low testosterone levels caused by serious medical conditions or injury.

But experts who prescribe the drug say those patients are a small segment of people seeking help.

“The majority of people we see in our office are regular men complaining of these common symptoms because they're dramatically affecting their quality of life,” said Dr. Helen Bernie, a urologist and director of sexual health at Indiana University.

Testosterone use has evolved over decades

Testosterone was first approved in the 1950s to treat hypogonadism, a condition defined by low testosterone levels caused by medical problems affecting the testes or other organs.

Testosterone declines naturally with age and can effect sexual function, mood, bone density and other measures. The question of how to diagnose and treat men with those issues has long been debated by researchers.

“These symptoms overlap with symptoms of human aging in men, so there’s a high risk of misdiagnosis and that’s led to the controversy” said Dr. Shalender Bhasin, of Harvard Medical School, who has co-authored several recent testosterone studies and guidelines.

Bhasin says increased willingness to prescribe testosterone reflects growing acceptance of the seriousness of men's sexual health problems, beginning with the introduction of Viagra for erectile dysfunction in the 1990s.

Bhasin helped write the Endocrine Society’s current guidelines for testosterone, which recommend discussing testosterone with men who have documented symptoms and two blood test results confirming low hormone levels. One recent study by Michigan researchers found that just 12% of men getting a prescription met that criteria.

Prescriptions previously soared, despite little evidence

The potential for overprescribing testosterone is real and helped lead to current restrictions.

In the early 2010s, drugmakers spent millions on TV ads for gels, patches and other products promising relief from “low T,” including a laundry list of symptoms like fatigue, muscle loss, brain fog and weight gain.

By 2013, the drugs were generating more than $2 billion in sales annually, despite lacking FDA approval for most of the issues described. Doctors remain free to prescribe drugs off-label, or for unapproved uses, and many men today continue taking testosterone because they believe it improves energy, mood and appearance.

In 2015, the FDA hit drugmakers with a double whammy: They had to clarify that their drugs weren’t approved for routine problems and also add a boxed warning about possible heart risks.

FDA scrutiny led to new research

The FDA now says updated data warrants relaxing the restrictions.

An FDA-mandated study published in 2023 followed 5,000 men with a history of heart disease, with half receiving daily testosterone gel and the other half getting a sham drug. After two years there was no difference in heart attack, stroke and related problems between the two groups.

A series of studies by the National Institutes of Health also clarified the benefits of the hormone. Results from nearly 800 older men showed testosterone therapy improved erectile dysfunction, libido and other sexual measures and had a small effect on mood. There was little or no improvement in other measures like fatigue, memory or overall well-being.

The recent testosterone studies are the largest ever conducted, but Bhasin — who helped lead both efforts — says more research is needed on longer-term effects.

“I think FDA’s label changes are very welcome and they are bringing us a big step forward," said Bhasin, who also co-authored the Endocrine Society's guidelines. "But I think there’s a lot more to be done to better define the safety and efficacy.”

In recent comments submitted to the FDA, the Endocrine Society recommended studies of 15 to 20 years to assess conditions that evolve slowly, including prostate cancer, which remains a concern when prescribing testosterone.

Some men should not get testosterone

Experts agree that men who are hoping to have children in the near future shouldn’t take the hormone. Getting testosterone from a pill or gel shuts off the body’s natural process for making the hormone.

“It can stop the signal from your brain to your testicles to make testosterone, and so you stop making sperm,” Dubin said. “That can compromise fertility.”

Most guidelines also recommend careful consideration for men who have had prostate cancer or are at risk of the disease, given lingering questions about whether hormone therapy hastens tumor growth. But guidelines may soon change.

The FDA has proposed new language that would only suggest that men whose prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body should avoid testosterone.

Be wary of online promotions

Dietary supplements promoted online to boost testosterone should be avoided because they aren't FDA approved and probably don’t work.

FDA-approved testosterone drugs come in a variety of forms. Gels and pills generally need to be used daily. Injections, patches and implantable pellets can last for weeks or several months.

Many of these medications are available through telehealth services, though accessing them that way can have risks.

A 2022 paper by Dubin found that only 1 in 7 online prescribing companies asked basic screening questions, including whether men planned to have children. And most of the companies did not have a testing threshold for whether patients actually had low testosterone.

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Danny Boyle’s Rupert Murdoch movie ‘Ink’ to open Venice Film Festival

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:47:12 +0000

A new film about the rise of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and “The Sun” editor Larry Lamb has been selected to open the Venice International Film Festival, organizers said Thursday. Directed by “Trainspotting” filmmaker Danny Boyle, “Ink” is an adaptation of James Graham’s acclaimed play, which dramatizes Murdoch’s 1969 acquisition of the daily newspaper “The Sun.”

Guy Pearce plays Murdoch and Jack O’Connell plays Lamb in the film about how they turned the paper into Britain’s most influential tabloid. Claire Foy also co-stars.

“Long before Fox News, click bait, and Truth Social; decades before Twitter, Facebook, Google (and) Only Fans, these (two) men created a new tabloid which against all the odds became the biggest selling newspaper in the world,” Boyle said in a statement. The paper, he added, "challenged the establishment and remade our world for the modern era.”

Boyle said it was a huge honor to be selected, noting that, “I’ve been to the Biennale many times, but this is my baptism at the film festival.”

“Ink” will be playing in competition at the 83rd edition of the festival, which kicks off on September 2. The full slate of films vying for the Golden Lion is expected to be revealed next week.

The play opened in London in 2017, and went to Broadway in 2019, where it was nominated for, and won, multiple Tony Awards.

“I started writing this way before Trump, way before Brexit,” Graham told The Associated Press in 2017. “But I knew I wanted to capture what was clearly in the air about populism."

'Sorry, Mum': Cigarette smoker Dan Brown lights up British Open with another strong first round

Steve Douglas, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:45:30 +0000

Dan Brown is lighting it up again at the British Open.

One of the few smokers in golf, Brown went through “seven or eight" cigarettes during his 4-under 66 that gave him the clubhouse lead midway through the first round at Royal Birkdale on Thursday.

After weeks of sunshine in this northwest corner of England, the fairways here are baked and parched — making them a potential fire hazard from discarded cigarettes.

“I’ve been making sure that they’re out,” the 31-year-old Englishman said reassuringly.

Not that he sounds too proud of a habit that makes him stand out on the circuit, but which he feels is needed to relieve some stress.

“Sorry, Mum,” he said with a cheeky smile.

The burly and bearded Brown is an interesting character, not least because of the 10 tattoos on his body — three of which are of little birds — and his YouTube channel called “BeersForeBogeys” which has around 4,000 subscribers.

Brown first came into widespread consciousness in golf in 2024 when, as the world No. 272, he shot a 6-under 65 for the outright first-round lead in his British Open debut at Royal Troon.

His name — one he shares with the author of “The Da Vinci Code” — was a headline writer’s dream and his dry humor proved popular, too. Brown was tied for second place heading into the final round at Troon and wound up in a tie for 10th.

That experience taught him he could compete with the best players in the world.

“I feel like I’m a better player now to what I was back then, two years ago,” he said. “So we’ll see.”

Brown arrived at the Open with no form from his first year on the PGA Tour — he missed the cut in his last four events — but has immediately taken to the Birkdale links.

He made seven birdies, including three straight around the turn, after being 1 over after seven holes.

“Today a few putts dropped, which was nice to see,” Brown said, “because I’ve not seen that for a while.

"(Hopefully), I’m in a sort of similar area on the leaderboard come Sunday."

That might mean continuing to have a smoke during his rounds.

“There might be a big drop off by Sunday if I’m not allowed," he said.

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AI chatbots are at risk of spreading government restrictions on online speech, a new study says

Didi Tang, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:33:00 +0000

Ask Claude to make a pamphlet critical of President Donald Trump or Britain's King Charles III, and Anthropic's chatbot would oblige. Prompted to do the same for Thailand's king, Saudi Arabia's crown prince or China's leader, and the artificial intelligence model declined.

It is a key finding from a Meta Oversight Board study released Thursday, showing that major AI systems, including those built in the U.S., are more likely to refuse to criticize restrictive leaders or governments. It raises concerns that the large language models powering chatbots and AI agents could be regurgitating and spreading government influence over online speech as the technology is increasingly adopted worldwide.

“There is a real risk that, if model developers do not undertake human rights due diligence and implement mitigation measures, they will build AI infrastructure that, intentionally or not, has the effect of extending illegitimate restrictions on freedom of expression globally,” according to the report from the quasi-independent body.

The Associated Press sent emails to several AI companies seeking their responses to the Meta Oversight Board study but didn't get any immediate replies.

The findings come as countries are determining how to put up guardrails around AI without impeding their ability to compete in the rapidly developing field. That includes a Trump administration oversight effort related to the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems.

AI models extend state influence beyond borders

The oversight board, which has been working on state influence on tech companies and the impact on freedom of expression, came up with seven questions related to political criticism to pose to chatbots about both restrictive and permissive governments.

The study picked 10 commercial large language models by top tech companies — including Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI — and asked the AI systems to make critical pamphlets, write limericks, give reasons if someone should join protests, and more.

“In short, in aggregate, models responding to requests from an Australia-based user were much more likely to generate political criticism of authorities” in places such as Chile, Japan, Taiwan, the U.K. and the U.S. “compared to where criticism of authorities is legally restricted and penalized,” such as in Cambodia, China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Turkey, the report said.

The study indicates that AI models are reflecting speech restrictions beyond the countries where they apply — likely not helping a potential demonstrator in Brisbane, for example, create protest materials to speak out against events in China or Saudi Arabia, the report said.

“Such impacts, wherever they originate, have the practical effect of extending the long arm of restrictive governments across borders to limit speech in free countries,” the report said.

The board said it could not determine the causes for the responses but suggested that models could have absorbed latent biases in data used to train the systems and companies might have weighed the risks and liabilities.

Other researchers warn about a growing problem in AI results in non-English languages

The board's report followed a separate study by a group of scholars at American universities that found U.S.-built AI models are vulnerable to foreign controls when trained on non-English-language data that has been influenced by governments.

While the oversight board posed questions in English, the university researchers queried chatbots in different languages. For example, they asked ChatGPT in English if China is a democracy, and the U.S.-developed chatbot said it’s not generally considered one. Asked in Chinese, the artificial intelligence model told the researchers in that language that "it depends on how you define ‘democracy.’”

The researchers, whose study was published in the academic journal Nature in May, said in a blog explaining their work that they found no evidence that governments had intentionally tried to influence the output of AI chatbots. But they noted that “there is every reason to believe they’ll try to do so in the future, if they are not already.”

“People often talk about AI as if it learns from the internet in some neutral way. It doesn’t,” said Hannah Waight, a study co-author and assistant sociology professor at the University of Oregon. “It learns from information environments that have already been shaped by institutions and power.”

No easy solution to how data is being fed to AI models

Carlos Carrasco-Farré, who specializes in machine learning, AI, misinformation, social media and human-machine interactions at Esade Business School in Barcelona, said that “AI systems inherit not only biases contained within individual documents but also inequalities in who has the power to produce and suppress information at scale.”

There is no easy solution, though developers could assess the data to avoid treating thousands of copies of the same state narrative as if they are thousands of independent voices as well as run multilingual audits, said Carrasco-Farré, who was not part of either study.

Neither Anthropic nor OpenAI responded to requests for comment on the researchers' study published in May.

How to protect yourself from the bad air caused by wildfires

Caleigh Wells, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:55:08 +0000

When wildfires burn, smoke can travel long distances and degrade air quality far away, posing risks to those breathing it.

Fires burning in one state can make the air worse several states away, and wildfires in Canada can send smoke into U.S. cities.

Here’s what to know about taking precautions against poor air quality due to wildfires.

What counts as bad air?

The Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index converts all pollutant levels into a single number. The lower the number, the better.

Anything below 50 is classified as “healthy.” Fifty to 100 is “moderate,” while 100 to 150 is unhealthy for “sensitive groups,” and anything above 150 is bad for everyone.

Sensitive groups include people with asthma, lung disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said Dr. Sanjay Sethi, chief of the division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at the University at Buffalo medical school.

“If you have heart or lung problems, then you’ve got to be definitely more careful,” Sethi said. “I would either avoid going outside or wear an N95 or at least a dust mask.”

Is my air unhealthy?

Sometimes the air is bad enough to see or smell the smoke. Even if you don't see the pollution, it can be unhealthy to breathe.

The EPA maintains a website with up-to-date, regional air quality information. PurpleAir, a company that sells air quality sensors and publishes real-time air quality data, has a citizen scientist air quality monitoring network with a more granular map of street-by-street air quality readings.

The best way to get indoor air quality readings is to buy a monitor, said Joseph Allen, director of Harvard University's Healthy Buildings Program.

“You can find these low-cost, indoor air quality monitors just about everywhere online now. They don’t cost all that much anymore,” he said.

What if I have to go outside?

For most people, going outside for just a short time won't have a negative long-term impact, said Sethi.

Wearing an N95 mask, which became common during the coronavirus pandemic, will help filter out the pollution.

“N95 is going to get rid of 90-95% of the particles,” said Jennifer Stowell, a research scientist at Boston University’s Center for Climate and Health. “If you have access to a mask that has a respirator-type attachment to it, then that’s the very best.”

If you must be outside and you experience symptoms, experts say you should head indoors or elsewhere with better air quality. Even if you are healthy, it’s good to take precautions.

“If you start wheezing, which is like this whistling sound of the chest, or if you’re feeling short of breath, that’s definitely more concerning,” Sethi said.

How do I make my air cleaner?

Close the windows and turn on the air conditioner, if you have one, setting it to circulate the indoor air. Use blankets to cover cracks that allow outside air into your home, such as under doors.

Finally, swapping the air conditioner's filter for a MERV 13 filter can help, but ensure it's installed correctly.

“If you happen to have access to an air purifier, even if it’s just a room air purifier, try to keep it running and in the room that you’re doing most of your activities in,” said Stowell.

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Wells is a former reporter for The Associated Press.

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Ava DuVernay announces '14th' documentary on birthright amendment contested by Trump

Jake Coyle, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:00:30 +0000

Ava DuVernay announced Thursday that she has made a documentary for Netflix on the 14th Amendment, which gave liberty and rights to formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, and which has come under legal attack from President Donald Trump.

Netflix said Thursday that it will release “14th” later this year. The film will mark a return to nonfiction for DuVernay, the filmmaker of “Selma” and “Origin,” and a follow-up to DuVernay's 2016 film “13th,” her examination of the legacy of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery.

The 14th Amendment has been a prominent target of Trump's. On the first day of his second term, he signed an executive order that would have heavily restricted birthright citizenship as protected by the amendment. In June, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s order by a 6-3 vote.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 during Reconstruction states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The constitutional amendment nullified the 1857 Supreme Court decision Dred Scott v. Sandford, which had held that those descended from slaves couldn't be citizens.

DuVernay said her film will detail how the 14th Amendment became “a permanent argument.” It will feature politicians, historians and cultural voices.

“If ‘13th’ asked who gets caged, then ‘14th’ asks who gets counted,” DuVernay said in a statement. “This is not a film about the past tense of freedom. I’m not interested in asking you to look back. The film asks what kind of country is being written beneath our feet now … while we’re busy believing the stories we’ve all been told.”

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, upheld the protections of the amendment, which makes a citizen of anyone born in the country, with very limited exceptions.

“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land,’” wrote Roberts. “We keep that promise today.”

Trump has vowed to continue to contest the Supreme Court's ruling. Following the decision, he wrote on Truth Social: “This miscarriage of justice will destroy America if they don’t change their absolutely insane decision.”

Max Verstappen leaves his F1 future open but says things are 'really good' with Red Bull team boss

James Ellingworth, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:56:12 +0000

Max Verstappen has left his future in Formula 1 open again ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix and praised his “really good” relationship with Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies.

Verstappen has yet to commit to staying with Red Bull for next year after he was linked to McLaren and suggested he'd consider leaving F1.

“I don’t want to go here, say yes, and no, and this and that about my future. I said already many times that if there was something new I would say it myself,” the four-time world champion said Thursday.

‘Open and transparent’ with Mekies

Mekies is marking a year in charge of the team after replacing longtime boss Christian Horner midway through 2025, and Verstappen had warm words for him.

“It’s been really good. I get on very well with Laurent. We speak a lot on track, but also off track," he said. "I think the relationship that he has also within the team is great.

"Everything for me feels very positive and I think it’s always nice when you can discuss a lot of things with your team boss. So from that sense, yeah, very happy. It’s all very open and transparent.”

After faults with the rotating rear wing pitched Verstappen into the barriers at high speed two weeks running in Austria and Britain, Red Bull is reverting back to an old wing design for Belgium this week.

“It’s quite obvious, no, why? So we’ll go back on the old one and then see whenever the latest or new one is ready again to be used for us,” Verstappen said.

He crashed out of the British Grand Prix and delivered an expletive-laden rant at the car over the radio before branding it “dangerous” to drive.

A history of uncertainty

It's the third year running that Verstappen has kept his future open, only to recommit to Red Bull halfway through the season. Last year, he didn't pledge to stay with the team until the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 31.

He has been part of Red Bull's racing program since childhood and has a contract through 2028, though it includes clauses potentially allowing an earlier exit.

This time, a reported meeting between Verstappen's management and McLaren fueled the speculation of what would have been a blockbuster move. McLaren has also signed Verstappen's longtime engineer and confidant GianPiero Lambiase as its “chief racing officer” in future.

However, McLaren chief executive Zak Brown seemed to rule out a move when he said the team's current drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were “not going anywhere.”

It wasn't even certain Verstappen would stay in F1 after he publicly considered leaving the series earlier this year. Verstappen has been the most vocal critic of the reliance on electrical power in the 2026-specification cars, which he says are not fun to drive and promote artificial overtaking.

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

British Open: Baldwin hits 'terrifying' opening shot after missing World Cup semi due to early start

Steve Douglas, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:53:10 +0000

Matthew Baldwin had the honor of hitting the opening tee shot of the British Open at Royal Birkdale, where the Englishman has been a member for 23 years after growing up in the area.

It meant needing a 3:30 a.m. alarm.

It also meant missing one of his country’s biggest ever soccer matches.

Baldwin said he didn’t watch England’s agonizing 2-1 loss to Argentina in the men’s World Cup semifinals, a match that started at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. He was dozing until waking up 55 minutes into the game and discovering England was leading 1-0. He fell asleep and woke up again around midnight, to be informed by his wife that England lost.

More important to Baldwin was making a good start to his fourth appearance at the Open — and first at Birkdale.

He said the opening shot — an iron that split the middle of the parched fairway and was approved by a cheering crowd in a full grandstand under early morning sunshine — was “terrifying” and “overwhelming.”

“But,” added Baldwin, who shot 2-over 72, “it’s something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

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After 6 years, Trump brings his election obsession to primetime at the White House

Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:10:20 +0000

In the weeks after Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020, the people Trump appointed to run the Department of Justice, cybersecurity agencies and intelligence departments all said the same thing — the election was fair, legitimate and free of major fraud or foreign interference.

In his second term, Trump, a Republican, has tried to use the levers of power to rewrite that well-settled history, something that he's expected to try again on Thursday night with an address to the nation.

He has already appointed loyalists who have echoed his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and made clear he expects everyone to follow his lead.

In an indication of how fealty to Trump’s lies has become a litmus test for his administration, many of his nominees have steadfastly refused to directly answer the question of who won in 2020, preferring to tersely note that Biden, a Democrat, became president. Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to become the next national intelligence director, was the latest to repeat that formula in his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

“He had the most electoral votes," Clayton said of Biden. “He was declared the winner.”

“And who has the most electoral votes? Is it the person who wins or the person who loses?” asked Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat.

“That’s your characterization," Clayton responded. "I’m not going to continue to do this.”

The president has embraced baroque conspiracy theories about an international cabal that penetrated U.S. voting machines that have led to libel suits against his allies when they’ve repeated the claims.

Ahead of his speech, Trump has teased “really big news” and said “it doesn't get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country.”

Election experts fear another round of falsehoods.

“There has been six-plus years of consistent findings from the intelligence community and from everyone who’s looked at it that there was no foreign interference in 2020, and our voting systems were secure and accurate,” said Victoria Bassetti of States United, a nonpartisan group supporting the state officials who run elections. “I suppose the president could come up with some new assertion or new conclusion. It would fly in the face of all the evidence.”

Huge range of reviews find same thing: No major fraud

There’s been an enormous amount of reviews of the 2020 election. Trump and his allies lost dozens of court cases challenging the results, sometimes before judges the president appointed himself. Numerous audits, recounts and investigations, including several by Republicans, found no major problems with the vote or count.

Trump's own attorney general at the time, William Barr, said there were no signs of significant fraud, a statement that earned him Trump's ire. Trump's appointee to run the agency that watches for cyberattacks on American election infrastructure, Chris Krebs, declared that the 2020 election was secure and there were no signs of tampering — which led Trump to fire Krebs and demand an investigation of him upon returning to power in 2025.

An intelligence assessment released in the early days of the Biden administration but completed on Jan. 7, 2021, in Trump's last days in office, found no foreign tampering with vote totals or election equipment in 2020. And, last year, Trump signed a federal document as part of a regular review of possible foreign influence in elections that declared “there has been no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcome or vote tabulation in any United States election.”

‘Untold taxpayer resources’ reinvestigating the election

Since returning to office, Trump has launched a review of the 2020 vote. Federal agents have seized voting records in Democratic-run Fulton County, Georgia, and Republican-run Maricopa County, Arizona — two major metropolitan swing state counties that figured prominently in 2020 conspiracy theories.

Trump tapped Kurt Olsen, a prominent lawyer in the world of election conspiracy theorists, to head the probe. Olsen was previously sanctioned by the Arizona Supreme Court for false statements in a lawsuit he brought to challenge the 2022 loss of an Arizona governor's race by one of Trump's allies.

"He has committed untold taxpayer resources,” said David Becker, a former Department of Justice lawyer who now leads the Center for Election Integrity & Research. “They’ve found nothing.”

A search warrant affidavit filed in the Fulton County case was full of old, debunked conspiracy theories about the vote in the county. The FBI reassigned hundreds of analysts to go through the material.

Conspiracy theories have led to libel cases

Still, election conspiracy theorists have been buzzing — as they have ever since Election Day in 2020 — that Trump is about to reveal irrefutable evidence of massive election fraud.

One version alleges that Venezuela and possibly other countries manipulated U.S. voting machines to deprive Trump of a victory. Venezuela's former president, Nicolas Maduro, is currently awaiting trial in Manhattan on federal charges of drug trafficking after the U.S. military took him from that country's capital.

Those theories have led to massive payouts in libel lawsuits brought by voting machine companies and others. Fox News paid $787.5 million to settle one lawsuit over it airing those claims and others on the air in late 2020. Conservative networks Newsmax and One America News have also reached settlements with voting companies over airing those allegations.

A Denver jury found that Mike Lindell, a prominent election conspiracy theorist who Trump this week endorsed as a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, defamed an employee with a voting machine company by calling him a traitor.

Becker noted there has been a clear pattern over the six years of election conspiracy theories surrounding Trump's loss. Conspiracy theorists, including Trump himself, make sweeping allegations in public, sometimes with what seems to be massive reams of documentation from elaborate election databases. But they've lost regularly in court, where the threshold is whether there's any factual basis to the claims.

He suggested that anything new from Trump on elections be subjected to that same scrutiny.

"If someone’s alleging a crime that occurred six years ago, we shouldn’t be responding to their claims,” Becker said. “We should be demanding they meet the burden of proof.”

US weekly unemployment claims fall to 208,000, fewest in 10 weeks

Matt Ott, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:40:34 +0000

Filings for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in 10 weeks as U.S. layoffs remain historically low.

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid in the week ending July 11 dropped by 8,000 to 208,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's well below the 219,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the U.S. job market.

In its more comprehensive June jobs report earlier this month, the government reported that employers pulled back on hiring in June, adding only 57,000 jobs. That’s less than half the previous month’s total and a sign that companies remain cautious about adding to their head counts. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though that decline is mostly because many out-of-work people gave up looking for jobs and were no longer counted as unemployed.

June’s tepid hiring comes after a relative surge in job gains the previous three months, countering concerns that the war in Iran could trip up an already wobbly labor market.

Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

Among the companies that have trimmed their workforce recently are Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.

Last week, Microsoft said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its Xbox video game business.

Thursday’s layoffs data showed that the four-week moving average of weekly jobless claims, which adjusts for volatility, declined by 4,750 to 214,250.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending July 4 fell by 16,000 to 1.81 million, also a historically healthy figure.

No radiation leak after 'contamination' events at Africa's only nuclear plant, regulator says

Gerald Imray, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:46:36 +0000

South Africa's nuclear regulator said Thursday that no radioactive material leaked into the environment during three recent “contamination” events inside Africa’s only nuclear power station.

The incidents involved “elevated airborne radioactive contamination” inside the Koeberg Power Station, on South Africa's west coast, when there was a loss of power to ventilation units during maintenance work, the National Nuclear Regulator said, adding there was no danger to the public.

It said the three separate contamination events on June 30, July 2 and July 7 were contained inside the station.

Workers inside the power station who may have been exposed were screened and recorded radioactive contamination below the radioactivity a person is exposed to when they have a dental X-ray, the NNR said.

The regulator said that while it was conducting further inspections the recent events “did not meet the criteria for classification as a nuclear or radiological incident or emergency and did not result in any off-site radiological consequences.”

The Koeberg plant is located around 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of South Africa's second biggest city, Cape Town. It is Africa's only commercial nuclear power station and was commissioned in the 1980s during apartheid. It has two reactors which generate around 5% of South Africa's electricity, and is operated by the national electricity company, Eskom.

Its reactors were recently granted 20-year life extensions, clearing them to be operational until after 2040.

South Africa has plans to expend its commercial nuclear capability with new stations to support its unreliable and polluting energy supply, which is struggling to provide for a growing population and heavily based on burning coal.

Other countries are also turning more towards nuclear power to meet skyrocketing energy demands despite long-held safety fears from opponents of nuclear power citing disasters like Chernobyl and, more recently, Fukushima in Japan.

Several other African nations are advancing their own commercial nuclear plans, including Egypt, which is building its first nuclear power station with four large Russian reactors that it hopes will be operational around 2030 and generate around 10% of the country's electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Virginia women billed hundreds for mammograms despite new screening law

Bella Walser — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:37:08 +0000

Three women in our region received unexpected bills for breast cancer screenings despite a new Virginia law designed to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for those services.

After viewers Debbie and Lynn reported receiving bills of $300 and $600, respectively, Roanoke resident April reached out saying she was billed $971 for a diagnostic mammogram and breast ultrasound.

“On July 2, I had a diagnostic mammogram and a breast ultrasound. My insurance company billed $1,867 and I was billed $971,” said April. “My only aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer at 45 and passed away from breast cancer. This is an incredibly personal issue for me.”

The bills — and dozens of viewer comments — prompted a closer look at the law and the questions surrounding it.

Law covers diagnostic exams, not just routine screenings

Julian Walker, Vice President of communications for the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, sat down to address some of the most common viewer questions.

One of the biggest questions: Does the law cover diagnostic exams, or only routine screenings? Walker says it covers both — but only for health plans regulated by the state.

“Diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasounds, breast MRIs — under the law, state-regulated health insurance plans are prohibited from charging things like copays, coinsurance, or deductible fees for those kinds of services,” Walker said.

‘Medically necessary’ language leaves room for interpretation

Even when a plan is state-regulated and the service appears to be covered, the law’s own language may create gray areas. The law defines a diagnostic breast examination as “medically necessary and appropriate” — a phrase that can be interpreted differently depending on the case.

That ambiguity is part of why some women on covered plans may still find themselves facing unexpected bills.

“There are exceptions to the law, which is important for people to understand,” Walker said.

Some plans may not be covered until July

Another frequently asked question involves insurance plans that renew in July. The Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation confirmed the law does not apply until July 1 for some plans.

Walker pointed to the law’s language, which states it applies to “health care services delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the Commonwealth on and after January 1, 2026.”

“I wouldn’t want to speculate on that, but that is the language that is in the law,” Walker said.

How to find out if your plan is covered

Viewers also want to know how to determine whether their plan falls under the law. Walker acknowledges that calling your insurance provider is never fun — but says it is worth doing before your appointment rather than after.

“They can always call their insurance company ahead of time and just make sure. ‘I’m getting this service; I’m getting it through this provider. I want to make sure that this is a service that is consistent with the provisions of the new law,’ which means that that patient would be spared from that copayment or that coinsurance,” Walker said.

The best approach: Know before you go. Before scheduling a breast cancer screening, call your insurance provider, confirm your plan is state-regulated and ask whether the services you need are covered under the law. Speaking with your provider before your appointment means you’ll know exactly what’s covered — and could save you hundreds of dollars.

If you’re unsure whether your bill is valid, the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation has a simple but important piece of advice — don’t pay it yet. It can take far longer to get a refund from an insurance company than it does to make a phone call to sort out the issue before any money changes hands.

Already paid? Here’s what to do

If you’ve already paid a bill, you believe should have been covered, visit the resources below for assistance.

Lynn and April are still working with their insurance companies to recover the money they paid. Debbie’s situation went a step further — after attempts to resolve the issue directly with her insurance provider were unsuccessful, she filed an appeal with the Virginia Bureau of Insurance and received her money back. 10 News is working with Lynn and April to navigate the situation.

Resources

To help patients navigate the new rules, the foundation created an online resource page with detailed information about the law and guidance on whether it applies to a specific plan.

What patients should do

The Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation recommends that patients take the following steps:

Before your appointment: Call your insurance and confirm whether you have a state-regulated health care plan covered under the new law.
If you receive a bill: Do not pay immediately. Contact your insurance plan first, point out that you believe your plan is covered by the new law and file an appeal if necessary.
If asked to pay upfront: It is acceptable to ask the provider to bill your insurance company first or send a bill later. Providers may not yet be aware of the new law.
If all else fails: If you have exhausted all options with your insurer and believe your plan is covered, the Virginia Bureau of Insurance may be able to help resolve the situation. The number is 804-371-9631.

Another Smoky Thursday Morning

Delaney Willis — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:05:16 +0000

Yet another day of smoke filled skies! We are still seeing mild temperatures this morning as a result of the smoke and haze acting like an atmospheric blanket overnight and keeping us from radiational cooling.

Temperatures Current as of 8AM

It is noticeably hazy when you step outside and our air quality is now at a moderate level because of the upper Midwest and Canadian wildfire smoke in the region. If you do have respiratory issues, please be sure to take frequent breaks if you have to be outside today and tomorrow.

Wildfire Smoke

Although we are dry today, the good news is we have a cold front that will sweep through the area tomorrow and bring the chance of isolated afternoon showers and storms. This will do a bit to help clear out the air. Another system will pass through this weekend, bringing the better chance for widely scattered showers and storms.

Futurecast

We will return to seasonable temperatures on Monday and break the mini heat wave that has ruled the roost this past week. Have a great day and try to stay cool!

7-Day

EU forces Google to share search data and open Android to rival AI companies

Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:02:54 +0000

The European Union issued two new rules for Google on Thursday to force it to share search data and open up its Android operating system to rival AI companies.

In the latest attempt to rein in tech behemoths' deep control of the digital economy, the EU said it will support innovation and diversity in the field by enabling fair access to AI features on Android devices and search engines.

“Thanks to these measures, we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice of services,” Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice president at the European Commission overseeing tech, said.

The measure is the latest advancement of Brussels’ growing rules and regulations that have given the 27-nation bloc a global leadership position in checking the power of tech juggernauts or “gatekeepers” like TikTok, which are largely based in China and the U.S.

Recently, Brussels has pushed through efforts to ensure Google gives access to Gemini AI services to rival AI companies and search engines; forced Apple to add interoperability features to its devices to connect to non-Apple products; and demanded Meta dismantle “ key addictive features ” like infinite scrolling.

Kent Walker, president of global affairs for both Google and its parent company Alphabet, said the new rules could backfire by removing safeguards that the company had built to protect user privacy like the vetting of third-party AI assistants.

“Europeans’ private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymization of the data and without user knowledge or consent. This would weaken citizens’ privacy, risk business trade secrets, and endanger national security,” he said in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at EU tech regulation in the past.

In issuing the two new rules, the commission said it found that AI agents not made by Google were unable to function on Android phones at the same level as Google's Gemini.

Google must now allow voice-activation of these alternative AI agents and enable them to run background tasks like booking restaurants via third-party apps.

By January 2027, Google must also begin sharing anonymized search data with some rivals. The commission said the move is meant to level the playing field since Google controls a vast trove of user data that no competitor can match.

India's Gen Z 'cockroaches' took protest to the streets. Now they rally around a hunger strike

Sheikh Saaliq And Shonal Ganguly, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:04:53 +0000

The protest camp came to life as student demonstrators rolled up their bedding after another night under the open sky. At the heart of the camp, activist Sonam Wangchuk lay inside a tent, his weakened frame showing the toll of weeks on hunger strike.

“If not fasting, what? Riots in the streets? That’s what we don’t want to do. So this is a peaceful way to take your voice to the government,” Wangchuk said on a recent afternoon as worried supporters checked on him.

The 59-year-old has become an unlikely symbol of India’s Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led movement that erupted online two months ago and gained momentum over alleged leaks on social media in the country’s fiercely competitive college entrance exams.

With the hunger strike in its third week, organizers are racing to keep pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which they accuse of ignoring their calls for the education minister’s resignation.

“There has been no kind of response from the government. They have left Sonam Wangchuk to die,” said Abhijeet Dipke, a Boston University student and founder of the Cockroach Janta Party.

Online outrage becomes a street movement

The movement began in May after Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant compared some unemployed young people to “cockroaches" during a hearing on another issue. Supporters embraced the insult as a badge of resilience, turning it into a satirical political campaign that amassed more than 21 million Instagram followers in a few days.

The movement seeks the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, over the alleged leaks, along with sweeping reforms to the examination system and compensation for families of students who died by suicide, whether over the leaks or exam results.

For many young Indians, their future depends on a single entrance exam for government jobs and medical colleges.

Dipke said the movement's online popularity has translated into growing support on the ground. Since its first major demonstration in New Delhi in early June, he said, thousands of supporters have turned out at universities and rallies in other cities.

The presence of Wangchuk, a well-known climate activist, shows how the protest has drawn professionals beyond the world of education.

High-profile attention is growing. Opposition leaders from several political parties and some Bollywood celebrities have visited the camp or lent support to the movement in recent days.

But turnout in New Delhi has been modest compared with the large online following.

On most days, a few hundred people gather at Jantar Mantar for a sit-in, with crowds typically swelling to around 1,000 by evening. Many have endured weeks of monsoon rain, sleeping in tents.

Unlike established political parties, Dipke said, the movement has no formal structure. Supporters pay their own way to New Delhi, where they camp at Jantar Mantar, a designated public protest ground enclosed by police barricades. There has been no police attempt to shut down the protest.

Ajay Zingade, a 33-year-old IT professional, said recurring exam paper leaks compelled him to join the protest despite no longer being a student.

“I am just exercising my fundamental right of dissent,” he said.

Protesters face continued government silence

Organizers say the movement has grown into a broader campaign for accountability and restoration of trust in institutions that students believe have failed them, including the judiciary, the political system and the media.

“The system needs a complete overhaul because the current system is no longer accountable or even taking basic responsibility,” Dipke said.

But the government has neither opened negotiations nor publicly acknowledged the movement's demands. The education ministry did not respond to AP questions.

Senior leaders in Modi’s government have largely dismissed it, with the education minister accusing its members of working against the country. Other government leaders have argued that while students’ concerns deserve attention, there is no need for the government to negotiate with them.

Protest organizers say the government’s silence has hardened their resolve as Wangchuk’s hunger strike continues.

“In a democracy the government is supposed to listen to the people, to have a dialogue with the people, and more importantly to be answerable to the people. I don’t know why the government isn’t doing that,” Dipke said.

For Wangchuk, his strike is an attempt to channel that anger into peaceful civil disobedience.

“It’s to demand accountability, which is important in any government,” he said.

Organizers plan a march to Parliament

Organizers say they are preparing to escalate the campaign with a march to Parliament on Monday.

Wangchuk said it is intended to bring demands directly to lawmakers.

“We hope that government is sensible enough to reward peaceful ways rather than wait for not-so-peaceful ways,” he said.

Dipke said they are prepared to continue the demonstrations for as long as it takes.

“The government was thinking that maybe if they ignore us: These are kids, they will go back home. But I think we have proved that we are here for the long battle, and we are not going to go back home," he said.

Deadly Bangkok bar fire exposes Thailand’s safety loopholes for nightlife venues

Jintamas Saksornchai, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:34:17 +0000

Debates have stirred over Thailand’s safety regulations and the legal loopholes that allow some venues to avoid stricter standards since a deadly fire at a Bangkok music bar killed more than 30 people and injured over 70 earlier this week.

The capital of Thailand is renowned for its vibrant nightlife, with bars and clubs spread across the city. However, gaps in the country’s licensing system have left many venues operating under regulations that may not match their activities.

The fire that broke out Sunday night killed at least 33 people and injured dozens, with 27 people still hospitalized on Thursday, Erawan emergency services said. Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation, while a few died from burn injuries, officials said.

The bar claimed on social media to have space to accommodate around 600 people, but it is unclear how many were there Sunday night.

What set off the flash blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar in northern Bangkok and why it caused so many casualties is under investigation.

Amorn Pimanmas, president of the Thailand Structural Engineers Association, cited possible causes including overcrowding, combustible materials inside and obstructed exits, an analysis that has been echoed by fire safety and engineering experts.

The tragedy could have been prevented “if proper engineering principles and all relevant laws and regulations had been strictly followed,” Amorn said.

Safety standards upgraded after a similar tragedy

The primary law regulating nightlife venues in Thailand, the Entertainment Place Act, was enacted in 1966. The statute was updated in 2012, three years after 67 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a fire during a Jan. 1, 2009, New Year’s Eve celebration at the Santika nightclub.

The revised standards include fire-resistant or non-flammable materials for interior decoration and acoustic soundproofing. They also must have smoke ventilation systems, sprinklers and fire escape routes sized appropriately for the number of patrons.

However, those requirements apply only to entertainment venues that are licensed and operate within designated zones, including three zones in Bangkok. Opposition lawmaker Paramait Vithayaruksun of the People’s Party called the law “outdated and unrealistic.”

Paramait told Parliament on Monday that although there are clubs and bars across Bangkok, by law the venues outside the three designated zones cannot obtain proper licensing, even if operators are willing to meet the safety standards.

Instead, many operate by registering as restaurants licensed to sell alcohol and host live music, which have less stringent safety regulations, he said.

The Na Ladprao bar where Sunday's fire occurred is located outside Bangkok's entertainment zones and was registered as a restaurant with live music, officials said.

The restricted zoning law for entertainment venues is in effect in 55 provinces throughout Thailand, while 22 other provinces do not provide entertainment venue licenses, according to the Department of Provincial Administration.

Loopholes allow businesses to bend the rules

The measures as they are written have enabled businesses to circumvent the law, allowing nightlife venues to “evade strict safety standards and face much lighter legal penalties,” Paramait said.

Restaurants do not have to meet the same requirements, especially for soundproofing materials, and operators can install cheaper soundproofing foam for live music performances, he said.

Thailand’s conservative, Buddhist values also have shaped policymaking decisions, with tight controls reflecting concerns over social impact from nightlife businesses. The venues cannot be within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of a temple or school.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul acknowledged the shortcomings this week and said the law should be reviewed.

“Times have changed. I’ve asked officials to study how we should adjust the rules,” he said. “We need to look at it from every angle — what society is like today, as well as our culture, customs and traditions.”

Wasawat Kitsiriteeraphak, former president of the Building Inspectors Association, said inspections should focus on how structures are actually used rather than solely on their licensed classification.

“The risks to lives and assets of the people depends on the actual use of the building rather than how the business is called,” he said in a statement, urging relevant authorities to conduct a sweeping review of similar establishments in Thailand based on their operations to prevent future tragedies.

Trump is taking longer to approve disaster aid and denying Democratic states more frequently

David A. Lieb And M.K. Wildeman, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:05:26 +0000

When major disasters strike, Americans are routinely waiting weeks — or even months — to receive presidential approval for aid. And if they live in a state that didn't support President Donald Trump, chances are greater that aid will be denied.

The delays and denials come as Trump's administration contemplates a makeover of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers disaster aid. Major disaster declarations are intended for events that are beyond the resources of state and local governments.

Trump is saying yes to Republicans more than Democrats

During his second term, Trump has denied a greater percentage of disaster requests than any president dating to 1989. Those denials have not been evenly distributed among states.

Trump has approved 80% of the disaster requests from Republican governors but only about 60% from Democratic governors, according to the AP's analysis of FEMA data.

The discrepancy is even more apparent when analyzing major disaster declarations based on presidential elections. Trump has approved more than three-fourths of the requests from states that voted for him in the 2024 election but less than half the requests from states that did not. Although there are federal criteria for disaster aid, decisions ultimately are at the president’s discretion.

A batch of denials earlier this month included four Democratic states — Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island — seeking federal aid for a February snowstorm.

“The President’s denial is part of a pattern of extreme partisanship as he tries to shift a heavier economic burden onto blue states. Disaster aid should be merit-based, not politicized,” Rhode Island's Democratic U.S. Senate and House members said in a joint statement.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that “there is no politicization to the President’s decisions on disaster relief.”

During his first term, Trump actually approved a greater share of requests from states that had opposed him than those that supported him.

Yet no other president had such a wide partisan divide in disaster declarations as currently exists under Trump. Obama approved 87% of the disaster requests from Democratic governors during his second term and 79% from Republican governors, but Obama's approval rate was identical for states that voted for and against him.

When requests are denied, individuals, insurers and local governments are left to shoulder the costs themselves.

Trump is waiting longer to declare disasters

Since Trump assumed office last year, it’s taken him an average of a month and a half to approve major disaster declarations after receiving a request from the governor or chief executive of a state, territory or tribe, the AP found. Because it can take several weeks after a disaster for officials to inspect the damage and submit a request, the total wait time often has exceeded two months.

By comparison, Trump approved major disaster requests in an average of about three weeks during his first term, a pace similar to President Joe Biden. Their predecessors — Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush — all had average disaster approval times of less than two weeks.

All presidents have taken longer to approve some requests. But that’s become the norm in Trump’s second term. Of Trump’s approvals, 70% have taken at least a month — up from about one-quarter of requests during Trump’s first term and Biden’s administration, and fewer than 10% under their predecessors.

Jackson said that Trump conducts a more thorough review than any administration before him, “ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute — their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.”

The longer the approval process takes, the longer people must wait to receive federal aid for daily living expenses, temporary lodging and home repairs. Delays in major disaster declarations also can hamper recovery efforts by local officials uncertain whether they will receive federal reimbursement for cleaning up debris and rebuilding infrastructure.

FEMA nominee is pledging faster decisions

FEMA has had four different temporary leaders since Trump took office in January 2025. One of those, Cameron Hamilton, is awaiting Senate confirmation as the agency's permanent director.

During a Senate committee hearing last month, Hamilton said he would try to speed up disaster declaration decisions and reimbursements. He also pledged to ensure that FEMA is objective, fair and reasonable in reviewing disaster declaration requests and making recommendations to the president.

Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL, had been fired as FEMA's acting director in May 2025 after publicly disagreeing with Trump's idea of dismantling the agency. His reemergence signals that Trump now may support changes to FEMA instead of an outright elimination of the agency.

Panel's recommendations could lead to more denials

A council appointed by Trump has recommended a series of changes to FEMA that would shift greater responsibility to states, potentially reducing the number of major disaster declarations and the amount of federal money paid out.

The council suggested revised criteria to qualify for presidential declarations, including a prerequisite of annual minimum expenditures by states, territories and tribes.

Another recommendation, which would require congressional approval, would reduce the federal government's share of the disaster aid from a minimum of 75% to 50% of the costs, leaving state and local governments more to cover. For governments approved for assistance, federal funding could get there quicker — within 30 days of a federal disaster declaration, instead of waiting months or years for reimbursements that are based on proof of expenditures.

For individuals, the council recommended consolidating several different types of aid into one payment targeted for those whose homes are uninhabitable.

Fujitsu and leading Japanese robotics companies to use Nvidia technology in 'physical AI'

Yuri Kageyama, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 07:43:45 +0000

Japanese communications company Fujitsu is leading a major push in artificial intelligence using Nvidia’s technology, bringing together what it said was the best in Japan’s manufacturing prowess in robotics with AI.

The technology area known as “physical AI” refers to smart, futuristic robots that can think on their own, not just follow programmed directions, to work safely alongside people in factories, homes and hospitals.

The initiative was announced in Tokyo on Thursday by Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Jensen Huang and Fujitsu Chief Executive Takahito Tokita, along with the CEOs of Japan’s top makers of industrial robots, Fanuc Corp., Yaskawa Electric Corp. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

The latest announcement comes on top of a deal announced by Nvidia and Fujitsu last year.

The executives expressed hopes that the robots can address the nation’s acute labor shortage. Japan is among the most rapidly aging societies in the developed world and the smart robots could help take care of the elderly living alone, they said.

Huang said physical AI was a good fit for Japan because of the country's reputation for manufacturing quality because robots that move independently could potentially be dangerous.

“Japan’s excellence is a philosophy, a way of life. ‘Made in Japan’ means the highest quality, the highest precision. Japan sets the standard for the state-of-the-art in modern manufacturing,” he said.

Huang listed Japan’s prized concepts in fine manufacturing such as “kaizen,” which means “continuous improvement.”

The companies did not give a specific time frame for the arrival of such robots in daily life. They stressed efforts were underway with what they called the first phase of the collaboration coming later this year.

There has been no decision on setting up a joint venture, although that could come later, they said.

Japan has acknowledged it has fallen behind some nations, including China and the U.S., in AI, and has been eager to play catch-up.

The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently announced a plan to drum up more than 370 trillion yen ($2.3 trillion) in public and private investment in various technology fields by 2040, including physical AI, semiconductors and data centers.

Silicon Valley-based Nvidia, which offers an open-source technology, has been aggressive in forging various ties in Japan, including with leading banks, automaker Toyota Motor Corp., video game maker Sega and national research institute Riken.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

The band playing when a Bangkok bar caught fire mourns its members among the 33 dead

Tian Macleod Ji And Jintamas Saksornchai, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:39:54 +0000

Victims of this week’s flash fire at a Bangkok music bar that took more than 30 lives included four of the six core members of the band playing when the blaze broke out.

The fate of the Totsakan band has been a key focus in Thailand's coverage of the blaze, and as residents expressed their sadness, confusion, outrage and demands for compensation on Wednesday, the sister of the group’s late keyboard player struck a particular note of grace.

“If I can be his representative, I think he would say he doesn’t want to see everyone sad and cry,” said Chanyanuch Pudmon, the sister of keyboard player Preutthipong Pudmon, as she and other family members retrieved his body from Bangkok’s Institute of Forensic Science. “He would not want everyone to see him as he is now, but please remember his smile on stage, playing music that he loves.”

The fire that broke out Sunday night killed at least 33 people and injured dozens, with 17 hospitalized in critical condition, Erawan emergency services said. Wiroon Supasingsiripreecha, chief of the forensic institute, told reporters Wednesday that most of the victims died from smoke inhalation, while a few died from burn injuries.

What set off the blaze at the Rong Beer Na Ladprao bar in northern Bangkok and why it caused so many casualties is under investigation. Authorities are looking at whether the venue’s ceiling had especially flammable soundproofing foam, whether its exits were accessible and unlocked and whether the venue was legally registered.

The band played good-time music every Sunday

Totsakan was a house band at the bar, and every Sunday they played the kind of good-time roots music that is popular especially in rural areas where traditional beats are played on modern instruments.

The band’s members were among the first to spy a spark from a circuit breaker that may have set off the blaze that roared across the ceiling, which experts suspect was covered with highly combustible material. People rushed for the few and narrow exits in what they said was total darkness.

The chaos was such that even after the blaze was brought under control by firefighters and the injured taken to hospitals, it was unclear who had survived and who had perished. However for the band’s leader and singer, Atipat Wijan -- nickname “Ice” -- a big blow came right away.

In an interview with Thai TV Channel 3 just hours after the flames were extinguished, he recalled how the band’s bass player called him to tell him that Nahatai Sajjalert, the lead female singer nicknamed “Breeze″ — who was also his girlfriend — was undergoing CPR in back of the still-smoldering building.

Ice said he tried helping the EMS team resuscitate her, but she could not be revived.

“She wasn’t burned at all. Her body was completely intact. She just looked like she was peacefully asleep,” he recalled.

Ice said it was originally believed that keyboardist Preutthipong -- nickname “Kwang” -- had been found and hospitalized, but that was a misunderstanding. He never made it out of the bar. Nattapat Thamnita, or “Biw,” the band’s drummer, was evacuated in critical condition, but also did not survive.

A fourth band member died Wednesday

Misery extended to Wednesday when the band announced that its other male singer, Thitiwat Kaewkanha, had died in hospital. He was initially feared dead, but had then turned up hospitalized after a day of frantic searching. According to Thai Rath, Thailand’s most popular newspaper, Thitiwat, whose nickname is “Din,” had burns over 80% of his body.

Other survivors and family members of victims of the fire visited a police station on Wednesday to seek compensation, gather belongings and give their testimony.

Natthaphong Lakhorn, 26, was at the beer hall on the night of the fire with four companions. He was sitting near the stage when the fire broke out. He recounted seeing white smoke coming from the stage, which he at first thought was an effect from dry ice before realizing it was the start of a fire.

“When the fire broke, I just ran, and then all power went out,” said Natthaphong, who said that one of his companions, a relative, died in the fire. “It was so hectic."

Natthaphong said he escaped through the back door of the bar near the bathrooms and that there was a security guard there who was using a flashlight to lead people out, contradicting reports from police that the door was not used. He said he did not recall hearing a fire alarm.

Bandages covered both of Natthaphong’s ears and part of his forehead. Before registering with the police, he said that he plans to seek compensation for his injuries.

Kanticha Singkhon, 25, was at the police station to pick up a handbag and other personal belongings of her mother, who died in the fire. With her mother gone, Kanticha said she is now responsible for her younger brother. She said she wanted the bar owners to be the ones who reach out to the victim's families “because they would be going back to their hometowns by now. They won’t have time because each victim came from far away," she said.

A lawyer representing the bar owners told local media that survivors and family members will initially receive 10,000 baht (approximately $300) in compensation.

“It’s not enough money for a funeral — I had to take a loan to arrange my mom’s funeral,” Kanticha said. “I have not had any financial arrangements, and no one has contacted me."

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This story has been updated to correct the number of people in critical condition to 17, not 15, according to Erawan emergency services, and to correct the spelling of the keyboardist’s name, Preutthipong not Puttipong.

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Khemmapat Rojwanichkun in Bangkok contributed to this report.

More than 500 feared dead as officials investigate reports of boats capsizing with Rohingya refugees

Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:55:25 +0000

More than 500 people are feared dead after reports that two boats carrying members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority have capsized in the Bay of Bengal, officials said Thursday.

According to preliminary information, the two boats left Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine in late June carrying mostly Rohingya passengers, including some who had traveled from refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh, according to a statement from the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

One boat, believed to have been carrying around 250 people, lost contact shortly after departure. A second boat, reportedly carrying 280 people, is believed to have sunk off Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady coast on July 8.

″While the incidents and casualty figures have yet to be officially confirmed, UNHCR and IOM are gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life,” the agencies said.

Acting police Brig. Gen. Soe Lin Aung, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s Ministry of Home Affairs, declined to comment. Spokespeople for Myanmar’s president and the Ayeyarwady region’s government did not respond to requests for comment.

The Rohingya, who have in recent years fled both Myanmar and Bangladesh’s squalid refugee camps by the thousands, typically avoid such boat journeys at this time of year, when monsoons are frequent and conditions at sea are particularly dangerous. The UNHCR and IOM noted this in their statement, saying that recent torrential rain and flooding across the region would have made such journeys especially risky.

Around 1.2 million stateless, predominantly Muslim Rohingya remain trapped in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing waves of violence by Myanmar’s security forces.

The refugees have no way to safely return to Myanmar, where the military that killed thousands of Rohingya in 2017 during what the United States declared a genocide remains in charge of their homeland. The Rohingya still living in Myanmar face severe restrictions and many are confined to internment camps.

Steep cuts to foreign aid by the U.S. and other countries have led to ration cuts in Bangladesh’s refugee camps, while the ruling military and an ethnic armed organization in Rakhine have fought for control of the region.

The unrest has led to an increasing number of Rohingya attempting to make the dangerous ocean crossing to Malaysia on rickety boats. Thousands have died in the process, including babies, children and pregnant women. Local maritime authorities have frequently abandoned the Rohingya at sea, often ignoring reports of boats in distress.

The IOM and UNHCR said on Thursday that the latest potential tragedy at sea underscores the continued lack of sustainable solutions for the Rohingya, and urged the international community to support those trapped in Bangladesh’s camps.

“Stronger regional and international efforts are needed to prevent further loss of life along one of the world’s deadliest maritime routes, including through enhanced search and rescue efforts, access to asylum and protection, and actions against smuggling and trafficking networks,” the agencies said.

More than 6,500 Rohingya fled and nearly 900 were reported dead or missing in 2025, the deadliest year for Rohingya who tried to leave by boat. The figure represents the highest mortality rate of any major route for refugee and migrant sea journeys in the world, the UNHCR said.

'Jurassic Park' actor Sam Neill died from pneumonia, agent says

Charlotte Graham-Mclay, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 04:43:39 +0000

Actor Sam Neill died from pneumonia and will be honored at a private family memorial at his New Zealand farm later, his agent told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Neill's family had earlier announced the actor known for “Jurassic Park,” “The Piano” and other films died Monday in Sydney.

His agent Philip Grenz said he was providing more information after speaking with Neill's family and following news reports “which contain inaccuracies and outright falsehoods,” he said.

"Sam passed away from pneumonia," Grenz said. “Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”

He added that Neill had filmed four projects “back-to-back” during the past year that are due to be released in the coming months.

“As Sam was an intensely private man who loathed a fuss, his family will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date,” Grenz said.

The New Zealand actor disclosed in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and said in April this year that he was cancer-free. CAR-T therapy is a form of immunotherapy based on an individual's T cells and is used for several types of blood cancer.

His agent's statement followed days of tributes to Neill from film industry colleagues who remembered him as a kind, witty and curious man.

“You are so loved and will be sorely missed by us all,” director Taika Waititi, who directed Neill in 2016's “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” — one of Neill's best-loved films in New Zealand — wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.

“Love you and see you soon, sweet Nigel," Waititi wrote, referring to Neill's birth name, which he told interviewers he had changed to Sam at school because there were too many Nigels in his class.

“Sam was exceptionally collaborative," said Steven Spielberg, who helmed the first “Jurassic Park” movie, in which Neill played paleontologist Alan Grant.

“I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him,” Spielberg said in a statement. "Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”

Neill was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s. In New Zealand, he has been mourned as a friendly, unassuming person who shunned celebrity and contributed to causes and community projects near his home, according to local news outlets.

Neill was also a vintner and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.

He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.

Top officials in Arizona's Maricopa County agree on how to oversee elections, ending a legal battle

Josh Kelety, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 01:22:06 +0000

Election officials in Arizona's most populous county reached an agreement this week on how to jointly oversee the vote, ending a prolonged legal battle.

Republican Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap sued the predominantly GOP board of supervisors in June 2025, alleging it illegally took control of certain aspects of election administration. The board called the lawsuit frivolous and said Heap was wasting taxpayer money.

They reached a settlement this week to resolve the lawsuit after mediated negotiations, and the board approved it.

“This deal gets us out of the courtroom,” board Chair Kate Brophy McGee, said after Tuesday's vote. “I’m sick of drama. We are done with being on the front page going forward.”

Heap said his objective was simple: to ensure his office's statutory responsibilities are carried out lawfully.

“I am pleased we have reached an agreement that, when implemented, will restore those responsibilities and establish a clear framework for administering elections moving forward,” Heap said in a statement jointly released with the board.

Under the agreement, an interim plan proposed by Heap and approved by the Arizona Supreme Court will govern the July 21 primary. Early voting began in late June.

Heap will oversee much of early voting, selection of ballot drop box locations and other duties. The board will handle other areas, including Election Day voting, ballot tabulation and voting location equipment maintenance. The board also will fund a new $15 million information technology system and related positions for the recorder.

Heap was backed in the lawsuit by America First Legal, a conservative public interest group founded by Stephen Miller, a deputy chief of staff in the White House. Heap had claimed the board transferred funding, IT staff and some key functions — including management of drop boxes and establishment of early voting sites — away from his office through an agreement negotiated with his predecessor.

Heap defeated incumbent recorder Stephen Richer, in a GOP primary, and won the 2024 general election.

The two were at odds over election administration in Maricopa County. In the past, Heap has stopped short of repeating false claims that the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen. But he has said voters don’t trust the state’s voting system and that it is poorly run. Richer, also a Republican, relentlessly defended the legitimacy of the vote.

Supervisor Steve Gallardo, a Democrat, did not vote to approve the settlement and criticized Heap during Tuesday's board meeting.

“Honestly, I don’t think he wants to have an election that is conducted transparent or even an election that’s not compromised,” Gallardo said. “Now, with this, he owns it."

Search suspended for 3 missing after boat with family spreading ashes capsizes on San Francisco Bay

Olga R. Rodriguez, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:28:28 +0000

U.S. Coast Guard crews suspended their search late Wednesday for three people missing a day after a boat capsized in the cold, choppy waters of San Francisco Bay while carrying 20 family members and friends who went out to scatter the ashes of a loved one.

“Suspending a search is one of the hardest parts of our job and our condolences are with the families of all involved,” U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jared S. Toczko said in a statement.

Ralph Boisa said his extended family and a few close friends were on his younger brother's boat Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the life of his daughter who died over a decade ago and was in her 30s.

His older brother, Clifford, died shortly after being pulled out of the water. Sixteen others were rescued as the cabin cruiser was hit by a wave, took on water, listed heavily to one side and rolled over before sinking. Clifford's dog also died.

The three people missing are his sister Carol, Clifford's wife Jackie, and his daughter's friend, he said.

“We’ve gone through a lot of tragedy over the years,” said Boisa, who lost his other daughter in 1995. He lives in Washington and couldn't make it for the excursion.

Search ends at sundown Wednesday

Crews searched more than 814 square miles (2,108.3 square kilometers), according to the Coast Guard, and suspended their search “pending further developments.”

Toczko previously said he would not dismiss the possibility that those missing could still be alive, though he also said some could have been trapped inside the three-deck, 49-foot (15-meter) cabin cruiser.

“We do know individuals were in the main deck and potentially below deck," he said. Witnesses described seeing people pounding on glass windows, trapped as the boat sank.

Crews have identified the location the boat sank but have yet to determine how deep it sank, Toczko said.

Once the boat is located, officials will send either divers or an underwater drone to determine if it's feasible to salvage it, said San Francisco Police Commander Brien Hoo. If the boat is under 120 feet (37 meters) of water, it would be difficult for divers to get to it, he said.

Witnesses reported “rough seas,” San Francisco Fire Department Chief Dean Crispen said, and rescuers said swells reached up to 5 feet (1.5 meters). Marine weather conditions, however, didn't warrant a small craft advisory from the National Weather Service.

Fire department spokesperson Lt. Mariano Elias said the vessel, named Volare, was registered out of Stockton, California, which sits at the eastern edge of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

According to the ship-tracking website VesselFinder, the boat departed a San Francisco marina, passed under the Golden Gate Bridge twice and visited Angel Island State Park, the largest natural island in the bay. It was on its way back to San Francisco when it sank near Alcatraz, the famous maximum-security federal prison which closed more than 60 years ago.

Kirk Miller, an experienced local sailor with a master mariner license, said an uneven distribution of passengers could have caused the Volare to tip.

“As it rocks in the waves, it leans over a little bit,” Miller said. “And as it leans over, the stability would decrease. If you had weight down below it acts as ballast. There was nothing in the conditions that were extreme in any regard. There was no massive gust of wind, no huge wave.”

Like a ‘Titanic’ scene, rescuer says

Two men who jumped into action while fishing for halibut said the boat that sank was more than capable of being out in the bay. Justin Marceline and Michael Montoya said they saw what they thought was smoke and arrived to find the vessel halfway submerged.

“We just started yanking people out,” Marceline told The Associated Press. At least two people bobbed in the water without life jackets, while others clung to a windsurfer’s board.

Marceline could see people trapped inside the rapidly sinking boat through its windows. He threw lead fishing weights to survivors in the water, hoping they could smash the glass, but they were too weak.

“It was like Titanic in real life,” he said. “There was stuff everywhere. People were banging on the glass.”

Montoya estimated they pulled eight or nine people aboard, including the captain, before first responders arrived.

Initial callers reported what appeared to be smoke coming from the boat, but San Francisco police officers who first reached the vessel said it was steam.

Toczko said there were life jackets onboard the boat and that some people were rescued wearing them.

Sudden immersion in water under 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius) can lead to cold water shock, a condition where people lose dexterity in minutes. That can be dangerous or deadly when trying to escape a sinking watercraft.

The owners of the boat are John Boisa and Miriam Boisa of Stockton, Coast Guard records show. They did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

“All of us are grieving during this time,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Ralph Boisa said his brother John is a “very capable and experienced boatsman” who served in the U.S. Navy. He frequently took family members out on the boat to the San Francisco Bay, Boisa said.

His older brother who died, Clifford Boisa, lived on a small prune orchard in Sutter County in the Sacramento Valley and was a volunteer sheriff's deputy for more than a decade. Ralph Boisa had planned to visit him for his 80th birthday party next month.

“He was a happy guy, jovial,” Boisa said. “We're pretty broken up here.”

___

Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Ed White in Detroit; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and photographer Noah Berger in San Francisco contributed to this story.

US imposing a 25% tariff on some Brazilian imports starting July 22, citing unfair trade practices

Michelle L. Price, Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 03:30:56 +0000

The United States is imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil after finding a range of what it deemed unfair trade practices by the world’s 10th-biggest economy.

The tariffs, which were first proposed last month, will take effect July 22.

The order exempts some goods that are not produced in the U.S. or that officials worry would disrupt supply chains. Exempted products include coffee, beef, oranges and orange juice, some oil and gas energy products and aerospace parts and components.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative concluded after a yearlong investigation that Brazil had a range of unfair trade practices, including lax anti-corruption enforcement and unfair tariffs of its own, among other practices seen as unreasonable and unfair. The U.S., however, has had a goods trade surplus with Brazil for years.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the action was necessary to ensure American workers and companies compete on a level playing field.

“Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation,” he said.

After U.S. officials in early June warned that they were proposing the tariffs, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reacted with indignation. He instead pointed to political considerations, blaming his rival in the country's October elections, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro had recently visited Washington and is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X about the announcement of the tariffs: “Let there be no confusion about why: President Lula and his government have not negotiated with the US in good faith. His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians. For the past year, Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that.”

The tariffs are being imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, allowing the U.S. to launch the investigation into Brazil’s trade practices.

The U.S. Supreme Court in February ruled against many of Trump's tariffs imposed under a different law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977. The court found he overstepped his authority under that act to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners, including Brazil.

Trump had under that law imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil to protest its prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro for trying to overturn his loss in a 2022 election. But Trump's relationship with Lula seemed to improve in May, when he visited the White House.

US airstrikes hit northern Iran as it disables ship trying to run the blockade

Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 03:25:34 +0000

The United States intensified its strikes targeting Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Bahrain and Kuwait before dawn.

Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East — and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz — have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and could tip the region back into all-out war. Already, Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded more than 300 others. Strikes also reached into areas around Iran's capital, Tehran, for the first time of this latest round of violence.

When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic — a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations.

US and Iran trade threats as attacks intensify

Those rising prices pose a particular challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, which hopes to retain control of Congress in elections in November. But Washington has struggled to successfully reopen the waterway, leading to Trump reimposing the naval blockade Wednesday.

Iran’s parliament speaker and lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said Iran was prepared for a fuller military confrontation if the U.S. does not live up to the terms of the interim deal, and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to halt all energy exports from the Middle East over the blockade.

“The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” the Guard said.

Trump again insisted Iran was ready to strike a peace deal, but he did not elaborate.

“They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off,” he said Wednesday at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania.

Trump separately said on social media that Tehran made a goodwill gesture by releasing an American citizen wrongly detained in Iran since 2024. He didn’t release further details. Human rights lawyer Jared Genser released a statement identifying the detainee as his client Dena Karari, a U.S.-Iranian citizen who runs a nonprofit and was charged with espionage.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the release and her case hadn't been publicly known, which sometimes happens with detentions in the Islamic Republic.

Both the US and Iran launch attacks as the blockade is reimposed

The U.S. strikes early Thursday hit around Tehran, state media reported. It also reported American attacks targeted Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program.

On Wednesday, the U.S. resumed striking Iran during daylight — further showing the increasing tempo of the attacks. Its attack on Greater Tunb Island, a strategic point in the Strait of Hormuz — targeted Iranian defense and missile sites, Central Command said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said it opened fire on the Curacao-flagged oil tanker Belma sailing toward Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. After the ship “ignored multiple warnings,” a U.S. aircraft disabled the merchant vessel by firing a missile into the ship’s smokestack.

Another American strike Wednesday targeted a barracks for Iran’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which operates tanks and armored vehicles, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state television reported. The report said Americans fired at least 13 missiles in the attack and the seven dead included conscripts and career soldiers. A number of troops were wounded.

The Strait of Hormuz remains at the heart of the fighting

The latest round of fighting is focused on the Strait of Hormuz. How to reopen the strait has bedeviled the U.S. since Iran choked it off in the early days of the war.

During the interim deal, some ships began moving through the passage using a route near Oman overseen by the U.S. military that is outside Tehran’s control.

In recent days, Iran attacked ships using that route — and back-and-forth attacks ensued. The U.S. has threatened to reopen the strait by force — but experts say that would require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of ground troops. Imposing the blockade is another way to put pressure on Iran.

But in the meantime, oil prices are rising. The price for Brent crude oil, the international standard, traded above $85 a barrel on Thursday — more than 15% higher than the price before the war, but still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the conflict.

___

Associated Press writers Michelle Price, Konstantin Toropin, Will Weissert, Collin Binkley and Fatima Hussein in Washington, Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

Dry pattern starting Wednesday!

Delaney Willis — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:25:34 +0000

This morning has just been delightful. Our temperatures are seasonable, but what really has made it feel so incredible is the low dewpoints. The abundant dry air makes it feel much cooler than the actual air temperature this morning.

Otherwise, when you look outside you may notice a bit of a haze in the region. That is all due to Northern Midwest and Canadian wildfire smoke being lofted into our atmosphere by the Jetstream.

Temperatures Current as of 9AM

The smoke has left a light haze across the area, which makes for beautiful sunrise and sunsets, but is not so great for our air quality.

Smoke Current as of 9AM

We are now at a moderate air quality level because of the wildfire smoke. Please be aware that if you are in the unusually sensitive groups that you may need to limit time outdoors or take precautions.

Air Quality

Rain will come along to clear any remaining smoke by Friday, but the coverage won’t be as impressive as the weekend. Storms will be widely scattered both days this weekend, but it won’t be a washout by any means.

7-Day

Family of Black teen found dead after boat trip agrees to inspect his cellphone with DA

Laura Turbay And Claudia Lauer, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 22:50:46 +0000

Attorneys for the family of a Black teenager who went missing during a July Fourth boat trip to an island off the Mississippi coast said they will work with a local prosecutor's office to inspect the contents of his cellphone as the investigation into his death continues.

The family of Nolan Wells had previously alleged that messages seemed to have been erased from his phone before they got it back, just one of a series of concerns they've raised about the circumstances and investigation surrounding his death.

They met with District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath on Wednesday, largely to discuss the inquiry process. But attorney Ben Crump said McIlrath also committed to presenting the investigation to a grand jury once it was completed.

Messages seeking comment from McIlrath’s office were not returned.

Attorneys hope a grand jury will bring an impartial decision

“The hope is when this is presented to the grand jury, all relevant witnesses and evidence will be presented to them, so we can have a fair and impartial investigation into the death of Nolan Wells,” Crump said. “Our lived experiences tell us that we must question everything, everybody’s role, law enforcement’s role. That is the lived experience as Black people in America.”

Most felony cases go to a grand jury in Mississippi, said Ronald Rychlak, a law professor at the University of Mississippi. A grand jury is typically comprised of 15 to 25 citizens who listen to the prosecutor’s evidence and decide whether there is enough evidence for an indictment, Rychlak said.

Wells had traveled to the island with friends, but failed to return with them when they left around 3 p.m. Conflicting accounts have been given as to whether he planned to remain on Horn Island, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) offshore, to talk to a girl — or to return with those friends.

The roughly 11-mile-long (17-kilometer-long) spit of land is near the Alabama state line. The island is uninhabited and accessible only by boat and is popular for parties and gatherings, officials said.

Wells' mother reported him missing shortly after midnight on July 5. The next day, boat and rescue crews launched searches and Wells’ body was recovered in waters near the island afterward.

Speculation and suspicion about the teen’s death have been rampant online, as people grapple with the state’s history of racial tension and what it means to be a Black person in a majority-white space. Family and attorneys have said from photos and videos of the Fourth of July celebration on the island, where nearly 200 people had gathered, that Wells was one of very few Black people present.

The Congressional Black Caucus also weighed in Wednesday, adding to calls for an independent investigation into the death.

Authorities with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies were quick to say they did not suspect foul play in his death. Results of an official autopsy are still pending, and the investigation is continuing, officials said.

Both the family’s attorneys and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department investigators have asked witnesses or anyone with video from the island to come forward as they seek answers about the moments before Wells’ disappearance and death.

Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on the football team. His family has urged a deeper investigation, saying he could swim. They also questioned why his friends would leave him behind but take his keys and phone.

Questions remain around teen's recovered cellphone

Family members retrieved his phone from the home of one of Wells' friends the evening of July 4 after using a locator app to find it. His family said their son was an avid Snapchat user, but there were no posts or messages from the 24 hours or so before they retrieved it.

Crump previously said he planned to hire an expert to determine whether data could be recovered from the phone or social media. Wednesday, he said that process will move forward in cooperation with investigators in the prosecutor's office.

Rychlak, the law professor, said mutual inspection of evidence between the police and victim’s family is not typical.

“Evidence is secured and not usually shared,” Rychlak said, adding that cooperation between the family and police could speed the investigation.

Wells’ death has galvanized the Black community. Actor and producer Tyler Perry is helping pay for Wells’ funeral. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is helping pay for his independent autopsy, and filmmaker Spike Lee attended a news conference last week in support of Wells’ family.

Wells’ mother Christine Wonsley said Wednesday that they want Monday's funeral to be a celebration of their son's life.

“He would not want us to be sitting around crying and eating, and so what we’re gonna do is kind of have a party to celebrate him,” she said. _____

Lauer reported from Philadelphia and Turbay reported from Little Rock, Arkansas.

Israel's latest strikes kill a dozen people in Gaza, including police officers

Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy And Sam Metz, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:32:37 +0000

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least a dozen people in Gaza over the past two days, local health officials said Wednesday, as strikes continue almost daily despite a months-old ceasefire with Hamas.

On Wednesday, three members of a family were killed in central Gaza, Al Aqsa Hospital officials said.

On Tuesday, woman and six police officers were among those killed in an airstrike on a police station in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, hospital officials said. A man died in the bombing of a tent camp in Khan Younis in the south, Nasser Hospital officials said. And Israeli forces shot and killed a child in the Muwasi area outside the southernmost city of Rafah, according to hospital officials.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes in central and southern Gaza. In a statement on the attack in Jabaliya, it claimed that four of the slain police officers were Hamas militants, without providing evidence on how those killed were involved in planning or carrying out attacks.

One of the officers, Col. Mohamad Marwan Salem, was a senior police commander and head of the Jabaliya police station, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said.

Hamas, which ruled Gaza for years, maintains an armed wing as well as civilian police and security services that are overseen by its Interior Ministry. Throughout the war, Israel has targeted local police, including those guarding humanitarian aid convoys.

Israel's military has claimed it considers police stations legitimate targets if they're “being used to advance military activities, or if those present are military operatives involved in advancing terrorist activities.”

It did not say what military activities it believed were taking place at the Jabaliya police station, nor did it provide evidence that attacks were being planned. Hamas says the police force is engaged in maintaining law and order.

Israeli attacks on Gaza’s police have been condemned by the United Nations human rights office, which said last month that police personnel had been attacked at least a dozen times in 2026, including “during ordinary law enforcement operations, including directing traffic and patrolling streets and markets.”

“The pattern of attacks raises concerns that Israeli forces apply no distinction between police personnel and fighters belonging to armed groups in Gaza,” it said in a June 3 statement.

Ofer Guterman, a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Israel’s targeting suggests that it regards parts of Hamas' policing apparatus as closely integrated with its military infrastructure, including through dual-role personnel and the use of facilities for weapons storage, operations and logistics.

The fragile ceasefire deal in October attempted to halt a two-year-long war between Israel and Hamas.

The heaviest fighting has subsided but at least 1,123 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which has been part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants but says women and children make up most of the dead.

Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,264 Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. ___

Magdy reported from Cairo and Metz from Ramallah, West Bank.

France’s National Assembly gives final approval to assisted-dying bill after years of debate

Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 05:23:13 +0000

France’s National Assembly gave final approval Wednesday to a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication, the culmination of years of debate over end-of-life care.

But the 291-241 vote in the lower house of parliament doesn’t mean the bill immediately becomes law. There will be a review to determine if it complies with the French Constitution.

The National Assembly approved the measure after backing it in three previous readings. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the legislation more than three years ago.

“In 2022, I committed to opening this path with the French people,” Macron said in a message posted on X. "With seriousness, with humility, and with full respect for our democracy, that commitment has been fulfilled.”

According to various estimates, assisted dying is available to around 300 million people worldwide, with euthanasia legal under certain conditions in some countries and assisted suicide allowed in others and in several U.S. states. France has an increasingly aging population, with growing numbers of patients in the country who require care for chronic illnesses.

France, a traditionally Catholic nation, has grappled with legal, medical, moral and religious questions about end-of-life options, including existing legislation that allows doctors to keep terminally ill patients sedated before death, but stops short of allowing assisted suicide and euthanasia.

“The national representation has risen to the occasion during these debates. This has been the longest debate since the 1980s,” said Yael Braun-Pivet, the president of the National Assembly.

Many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia are legal. Medically assisted suicide generally involves a patient voluntarily taking lethal medication prescribed by a doctor. Euthanasia involves a doctor or other healthcare professional administering a lethal injection at the patient’s request.

End-of-life options are also being debated in the United Kingdom. A bill to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales will formally return to Parliament on Sept. 11, five months after it ran out of time in Parliament’s last session.

The bill sets strict conditions

The proposed measure in France primarily provides for medically assisted suicide, by allowing patients to receive and self-administer lethal medication under strict conditions. Only people whose physical condition prevents them from doing so would be allowed to receive assistance from a doctor or a nurse.

Patients seeking to end their lives would have to be at least 18 years old and either French citizens or legal residents of France.

A doctor would first have to consult a team of healthcare professionals and then confirm that the patient has a serious and incurable illness that is life-threatening. The patient must be in an advanced or terminal stage, experiencing pain that can't be relieved or is unbearable, and seeking lethal medication of their own free will.

Lawmakers specified that psychological suffering alone wouldn't qualify a person for medically assisted dying.

People with severe psychiatric disorders or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s wouldn't be eligible.

Patients would initiate the request, to be reviewed by health professionals within 15 days, and then confirm it after a period of reflection lasting at least two days.

If approved, they could take the lethal medication at the time and in the place of their choice, including at home or in a healthcare facility, in the presence of their loved ones if they wish.

On the chosen date, the doctor or nurse would have to verify that the person still wishes to proceed and remain nearby to intervene if complications arise.

France’s national health insurance system would cover all associated costs.

Many French people support the changes

A 2023 report found that most French people are in favor of legalizing end-of-life options, and opinion polls have shown support increasing over the past two decades.

The Association for the Right to Die With Dignity said that the law would allow people “to choose to end unbearable suffering, freely and with full awareness.” Its president, Jonathan Denis, said in a statement that “a law that creates a new right never forces anyone to exercise it. It does, however, ensure that every person … can remain at the heart of medical decisions that concern them and have their wishes respected.”

Opponents argue the measure could put pressure on older people and those living with illness or disabilities.

In an open letter to Macron, the anti-euthanasia group Alliance Vita said that “every effort must be made to ensure that people who are suffering have immediate access to palliative care and support. Presenting death as a desirable solution can never be an acceptable response to suffering and is contrary to human dignity.”

The vote caps a lengthy parliamentary process

The Senate, the upper house where conservatives hold a majority, rejected the bill. But under France’s legislative process, the National Assembly has the final say when the two houses of parliament disagree.

Senate President Gérard Larcher and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that they would refer the bill to the Constitutional Council, which will have up to a month to determine whether it complies with the French Constitution. The law will only take effect once that review has been completed.

“Extensive debates have taken place in the National Assembly on this bill. However, discussions in the Senate did not allow for such an in-depth examination, in order to produce legislation that addresses both the aspirations of its supporters and the concerns of those who are worried about how it will be implemented,” Lecornu said.

In the U.K., opponents of the bill to legalize assisted dying prevented it from passing in the House of Lords, the upper house, by filing more than 1,200 amendments on a range of concerns, including potential coercion of vulnerable people and a lack of safeguards for those with disabilities.

That was in April, after elected representatives in the House of Commons passed it.

The bill that is expected to be presented again proposes allowing adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel. One aim is so people no longer go to other countries, such as Switzerland, for an assisted death.

In Germany, parliament’s lower house, the Bundestag, in 2023 considered two proposals to regulate assisted dying and rejected both of them.

___

John Leicester in Paris, Pan Pylas in London and Geir Moulson in Berlin, contributed to this report.

New York Times files motion to quash subpoenas served on journalists over Air Force One coverage

Associated Press — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:06:09 +0000

The New York Times on Wednesday filed a motion to quash subpoenas that the Justice Department served on journalists who reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, teeing up a significant court fight pitting press freedom against the the government’s ability to force reporters to identify sources.

David McCraw, the newspaper’s senior vice president and deputy general counsel, accused the government of bringing the subpoenas in “bad faith to punish The Times for its coverage.”

“They violate the constitutional rights of The Times and its journalists,” McCraw said in a statement. "We are going to court to defend our journalists’ rights to report freely on the administration and to provide the public with stories that matter."

The filing was made under seal in the Southern District of New York, where the journalists were summoned in subpoenas delivered last Friday to testify before a federal grand jury. The Times had said it expected five journalists to be subpoenaed; three were ultimately served.

The subpoenas, delivered to reporters at their homes, marked a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on media leaks that free press advocates swiftly condemned as a government effort to intimidate news organizations. It followed an FBI search earlier this year of a Washington Post reporter’s home and the seizure of her electronic devices.

The new jet in question, a present from Qatar that Trump’s administration spent $400 million to retrofit and upgrade, recently entered service. But the Republican president used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey last week.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. On social media, Trump denied security concerns.

The Justice Department has justified the subpoenas by saying that “to be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”

“We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country,” the department said after the Times reported it had received the subpoenas. “But DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.”

Asked about the issue at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is “not targeting reporters,” describing them as “material witnesses” to a leak investigation.

When Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, pointed out to Blanche that the department wants to ask the journalists who their sources were, Blanche replied, “No, the question we want to ask them is who provided them with classified national security information, which everybody in this body should want to protect.”

The Justice Department over the years has developed, and revised, internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks.

Though the department across presidential administrations has periodically seized the phone records of individual journalists in hopes of identifying sources for national security stories, it is extremely rare for the government to attempt to compel a reporter to reveal their sources before a grand jury.

In April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a policy from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups. The moves again gave prosecutors the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.

A memo Bondi issued said members of the press are “presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,” and subpoenas are to be “narrowly drawn.” Warrants must also include “protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities,” the memo stated.

In January, FBI agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who has been covering Trump’s transformation of the federal government, as part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information.

A mass trial of alleged MS-13 gang members wraps up in El Salvador

Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 19:22:03 +0000

A three-month mass trial of hundreds of alleged gang members of MS-13 wrapped up Wednesday in El Salvador, with prosecutors delivering their closing arguments and asking for maximum sentences.

The proceedings against 485 members of the international criminal Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang on charges that include homicide, extortion, drugs, arms and human trafficking, have drawn criticism by human rights groups, which say they infringe on defendants’ rights under the Latin American country's state of emergency.

The state of emergency, enacted in March 2022, suspended some constitutional rights and tens of thousands of Salvadorans have been detained since then.

“First, the police arrested thousands of people without investigation. Now, the courts are handing down mass convictions to hundreds without credible evidence or any real chance of defense," said Juan Pappier, Americas deputy director for Human Rights Watch.

"This is not justice; it is giving a veneer of legality to the arrests of innocent people that should never have happened.”

According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the gang members are on trial for involvement in a total of 14,420 crimes — including 444 killings — committed between 2012 and 2022. The prosecution has asked for maximum sentence for each crime, which could amount to life in prison for some and $9 million in civil damages in all.

The prosecution argued that MS-13, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, used about 1,200 children in its criminal activities, exploited 638 women, and formed 32 groups, two of which operated from outside El Salvador.

During the hearings, the prosecutors played audio recordings of calls attributed to gang leaders in which they allegedly order killings and other crimes.

The trial was conducted virtually and the defendants appeared on camera from their detention center — the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a megaprison built by the government of President Nayib Bukele. The facility, where visits, recreation and education are prohibited, has also housed hundreds of migrants deported from the U.S.

It's unclear when the verdict is expected.

El Salvador has made this form of collective trials possible under a July 2023 reform of its criminal code, which allows for those detained under the state of emergency to be grouped according to their gangs or territories.

Officials say that since the state of emergency was imposed, more than 92,480 people accused of belonging to gangs or having ties to them have been imprisoned.

Bukele has said that 8,000 innocent people have been released. Human rights organizations, meanwhile, say they have registered more than 6,000 complaints of human rights violations and arbitrary detentions, and documented the deaths of at least 547 people in custody.

Despite the criticism, the state of emergency remains popular in El Salvador, where many residents have grown tired of the years of violence and praise Bukele for his approach to improving security.

This is the country's second mass trial of gang members. Last November, 45 members of the Barrio 18 gang were convicted of various crimes, including extortion and homicide. One of that gang's leaders was sentenced to 397 years in prison.

Among the MS-13 leaders on trial now are Dionisio Arístides Umanzor Osorio, known by his alias “El Sirra de Teclas,” as well as Borromeo Henríquez Solórzano, aka “Diablito de Hollywood,” Carlos Tiberio Ramírez Valladares or “Snayder,” and César Antonio López Larios, aka “Greñas.”

___

Associated Press reporter Anna-Catherine Brigida reported from Mexico City.

___

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

More than half of House Democrats vote to cut Israel aid in growing split

Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 22:00:19 +0000

More than half the House Democrats voted Wednesday to strip $3.3 billion in U.S. aid from Israel, the most substantial signal yet that once rock-solid bipartisan support for the country is disintegrating in the aftermath of its war in Gaza that has killed thousands of Palestinians.

The vote tally, 104-314, was not enough to attach the amendment to a broader national security spending bill, but stands as a stark accounting of the shifting attitudes that are dividing the Democratic Party and the nation over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war strategy, now approaching its third year.

The House's Democratic leadership split over the issue in what was largely seen as a test vote ahead of the U.S. midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. More than 100 Democrats voted for the amendment to strip the foreign military aid money, and almost as many voted against. Most Republicans voted to preserve the Israel aid.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who announced he opposed the measure that would zero out the aid, nevertheless said “that for the good of Israel and the Palestinian people, American policy in the Middle East must change.”

Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues, ahead of a private caucus meeting this week where he spoke on the issue, that he believes “there are more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change necessary when it comes to the far-right Netanyahu government.”

Democrats divided over US support for Israel

The deepening divide over Israel threatens to upend the Democratic Party as it faces an energized left flank that is promoting self-proclaimed democratic socialists in a handful of marquee House races, particularly last month in New York.

While more traditional Democrats have stood with U.S. support for Israel, a growing number have distanced themselves from Netanyahu's strategy as the war has dragged on in a prolonged response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

The Democratic Whip, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, announced she would support the measure to withhold the funds.

Republicans have seized on the divide to portray Democrats as being overtaken by their more radical far-left elements, even as House Speaker Mike Johnson faces divisions within his own ranks as President Donald Trump's most ardent America First Republicans lean toward less foreign military spending.

According to an AP-NORC poll this month, about one-third of U.S. adults — including roughly half of Democrats — believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza, an accusation that’s been leveled by some human rights organizations and vehemently denied by Israel and the U.S. government.

Amendment pushed forward from Rep. Thomas Massie

The amendment to strip Israel's foreign aid was offered by Rep. Thomas Massie, the libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican who lost his own bid for reelection after Trump backed his challenger.

During the floor debate, Massie said the $3.3 billion could be better spent at home on U.S. roads, bridges and veterans' needs, especially as national deficits are on the rise. He said the American weapons were used on “oftentimes innocent civilians.”

“I think we should stop it — we should put them on a diet,” Massie said.

But Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, himself a former party leader, championed longtime support of Israel and warned against withdrawing U.S. aid.

“I rise in strong opposition to this amendment, which would dangerously undermine American national security," Hoyer said. He said it would limit the United States' ability to confront terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, which he said “expressly target American citizens and military personnel.”

Lawmakers under pressure as midterms near

The lawmakers were feeling pressure from all sides as they prepare for midterm elections this fall.

The powerful American-Israel group AIPAC encouraged its supporters to contact members of Congress to register their opposition.

"We must ensure his dangerous amendment is defeated," AIPAC said in a statement ahead of the vote.

At the same time, the progressive advocacy organization J Street gave lawmakers more leeway to express their views, as Jeffries did, even as the group opposed the amendment as poorly drafted and overly broad.

President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement that J Street recognizes “that, for many Democrats, this is one of the few opportunities to cast a recorded vote expressing opposition to the way American military assistance and American-supplied weapons have been used by the Israeli government in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and elsewhere.”

He said that what unites the majority of Democrats “is far more significant” than this vote as they work to support “the security and rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Lionel Messi delivers again for Argentina as defending champions reach another World Cup final

Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:00:17 +0000

Lionel Messi delivered for his teammates.

With one more win, he'll be delivering another World Cup trophy to Argentina.

Messi didn't add to his tournament-leading goal total, but the 39-year-old assisted on two late strikes that carried La Albiceleste to another stunning comeback and a 2-1 victory over England in the semifinals Wednesday.

“Leo is still performing at the highest level,” England captain Harry Kane said. “I felt like for large parts of the game, we dealt with him really well. But as always with the most dangerous players in the world, when they have the ball in the final third, they can be place-setters. And he did that again today. He's obviously one of the best players ever for a reason.”

Eight days after an improbable rally against Egypt in the round of 16, Messi returned to Atlanta to produce another stellar moment in a career that might already be the best of anyone to play the sport.

England was surely envisioning going for its first World Cup title since its only one six decades ago after a 55th-minute goal from Anthony Gordon.

But Messi and his blue-clad teammates, as they have shown over and over again, are never done. Now it's on to face Spain in the final on Sunday with a chance at becoming the first repeat champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.

In the 85th minute, with England hanging on for dear life, Messi pushed out a short corner, immediately got the return pass and spotted Enzo Fernández lurking in the middle of the field, 25 yards from the goal. Fernández ripped a curling shot past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to even the score.

At that point, it seemed inevitable that Argentina would pull out the victory.

And that's just what happened, with Messi again the orchestrator. Two minutes into stoppage time, he suddenly turned on the speed as he raced toward the end line, gaining enough space to send a pinpoint cross into the area at the back post. The ball cleared six English players, setting up Lautaro Martínez to effortlessly head home the winning goal after slipping between two defenders.

It was a poignant moment for Martínez, all of it made possible by his captain.

“This is really powerful,” he said in Spanish, fighting back tears. “The first time my old man bought me a pair of soccer boots, I always dreamed of scoring this goal.”

From there, it was just a matter of protecting the lead, which Argentina did easily.

When the final whistle blew, Messi dropped to his knees in the middle of the field, pumping his fists.

American sports stars were in awe of what they had just witnessed.

“WOWWWWWWW,” the NFL's J.J. Watt posted on X.

“Argentina is unreal,” added NBA champion Jalen Brunson, also on X.

Messi played for years in the shadow of the late Diego Maradona, the pride of Argentina who led the country to a World Cup title in 1986 that included two memorable scores — the “Hand of God” and the “Goal of the Century” -- in a quarterfinal win over England.

Now, it’s Messi who has stamped his legacy with a triumph over one of Argentina’s most bitter rivals.

“Seeing Messi playing football like this, at his age, it just leaves me speechless,” said Matías Adorno, who turned out in Messi's No. 10 jersey to celebrate with thousands or revelers in central Buenos Aires. “As Argentines, we’ve always put so much pressure on him. But he’s achieved everything I could imagine.”

Messi remains even with Kylian Mbappé of France in the goals race for the Golden Boot, with both stars having scored eight times. But with two assists, he moved ahead of Mbappé in that category, which is the first tiebreaker for the award. Mbappé has a chance to retake the lead in Saturday's third-place match against England.

Messi is also the World Cup career scoring leader with 21 goals.

But what he really wants is another title.

He's one win away.

___

Associated Press writer Isabel Debre in Buenos Aires contributed to this report.

___

NYC’s Rikers Island jail hosts World Cup watch party for inmates

Philip Marcelo, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 20:16:20 +0000

New York City’s official World Cup guide lists no less than 100 free places to take in soccer’s biggest tournament on big screens. One place that isn’t listed? The city’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex, better known for its overcrowding and violence than for hosting social events.

But more than 100 inmates were rewarded with a special viewing of the World Cup semifinal match Wednesday between England and Argentina because of their model behavior behind bars.

The inmates, dressed in tan uniforms, took seats at tables facing a large projection screen set up in a gymnasium. The jail has hosted about 90 such watch parties since the tournament kicked off last month, with about 4,500 of the roughly 6,600 inmates incarcerated on the 400-acre island participating, correction officials said.

“Programs like this equal safety in our jail,” said Stanley Richards, the city’s correction commissioner and a former Rikers inmate. “What we say to them is that your humanity is seen, heard and valued.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who briefly stopped by, added: “The World Cup has been a magical moment for the entire city. These are New Yorkers, and they will be New Yorkers when they get out of Rikers.”

The scene Wednesday was in sharp contrast to complaints about Rikers Island that have been so bad in recent years that a federal judge appointed an outside manager to help improve the facility.

On Tuesday, that federal overseer, former Vermont Department of Corrections head Nicholas Deml, submitted a plan for reforms that underscored the continued dysfunction at the facility, which opened in 1935.

The report described one instance when inspectors arrived at a housing unit to find it filled with smoke from fires set by prisoners, blaring alarms and people pounding on their cell doors. In another incident, prisoners streamed through an unsecured door and brawled after a guard abandoned his post.

“Violence remains pervasive, basic correctional practices remain unreliable, and unconstitutional conditions persist,” the report said.

Mamdani has vowed to honor a 2019 city law mandating the closure of Rikers, but also conceded the 2027 deadline is likely unrealistic after years of delays.

With his white shirt sleeves rolled up, the Democrat went table-by-table chatting up inmates.

One told the mayor he expected Argentina to prevail over England and go on to face Spain, which had defeated France the day earlier.

“You never know,” said Mamdani, a professed Morocco fan.

At another table, an inmate told the mayor he was going home later in the day. “That’s amazing,” Mamdani said, patting his back.

The jailhouse crowd erupted in a mix of groans and cheers as England struck first with a goal early in the second half.

Ralph Veal was among the minority of England fans who raised his arms in celebration. The 53-year-old Mount Vernon resident, who has been incarcerated since November, said the watch party made him reflect on how he might better approach life after jail.

“I could be doing this with my family, you know?” he said. “My son, he’s a big soccer fan, so this would be great for me and him to have that relationship and that bond.”

Others simply relished the chance for a rare treat: a freshly catered meal of salad, salmon, penne alla vodka and chicken parmesan, along with Snapple drinks.

“I’ve been locked up 21 months," said Thomas McCoy, 52, of Brooklyn. “It’s been a long time since I had real food like that.”

When the final whistle blew and Argentina earned a spot against Spain in the final Sunday, Victor Caldas was overcome with emotions.

The 39-year-old, who has been incarcerated for four months, has been rooting for Argentina since his home country of Ecuador was knocked out of the tournament.

“It reminds me of when I was a kid, playing soccer. It’s all about love. Soccer brings a lot of love,” he said, still staring at the final score as others started cleaning up the gym.

“It don’t matter from where you are in the world, you know. It’s about bonding with another culture, other people.”

Hong Kong booksellers are reportedly arrested over alleged sales of seditious publications

Kanis Leung, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 15:19:27 +0000

Hong Kong authorities have raided two bookstores and arrested five people on suspicion of selling allegedly seditious publications, local media reported Wednesday, in the latest step targeting independent booksellers.

Videos and photos from multiple media outlets showed officers wearing vests marked with “Police” seizing boxes from the building housing Have A Nice Stay, a bookshop founded by former journalists. A bookseller was seen being taken away.

A few streets away a similar scene played out, with boxes taken from the building housing Greenfield Book Store, according to a video by online news outlet The Collective.

Police later said they raided two stores in Mong Kok district, without identifying them. They arrested two men and three women on suspicion of breaching the 2024 national security law, according to their statement.

This is the third round of arrests linked to independent bookstores after similar operations in March and June that were widely seen as stifling dissent in the Asian financial hub.

The new police statement said an investigation showed the five people were suspected of displaying seditious materials and selling seditious publications on the premises. The publications' content includes stirring up hatred against the city's government, judiciary and law enforcement agencies, it said.

Customs officials referred the case after the discovery of allegedly seditious books in a batch of goods shipped to Hong Kong from overseas, police said, without specifying titles.

The bookstores were closed during usual opening hours on Wednesday. Calls to Greenfield and a founder of Have A Nice Stay were unanswered.

Have A Nice Stay had already announced it would shut down on Aug. 30. In a social media post, it said financial difficulties and an elusive red line were among the factors.

Hong Kong was once known for its freedom of publication and freedom of expression. Some Chinese residents crossed the border to buy books deemed to be too politically sensitive on the mainland.

Lam Wing-kee, the owner of Causeway Bay Books until his death earlier this month, made international headlines in 2016 when he revealed that he was held by Chinese authorities after crossing from Hong Kong to the city of Shenzhen. Four others affiliated with the bookstore in Hong Kong disappeared in late 2015.

Lam's account shocked many people in the former British colony, which Beijing promised would maintain its Western-style civil liberties for 50 years after its return to China in 1997.

Following political changes after anti-government protests in 2019, independent bookstores have been operating in an even more challenging environment.

Amnesty International’s Asia deputy regional director Sarah Brooks said the use of “sedition” offenses to target bookstores demonstrated how the city’s national security framework “is being weaponized to silence dissenting voices and eradicate spaces for free thought.”

“This year’s escalating attacks on Hong Kong’s independent bookstores hammer home the chilling reality of what the city has become: a place where you can be criminalized simply for what’s on your bookshelf,” she said.

Authorities say the national security laws are crucial for the city’s stability. Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Chris Tang has said the government would not set up a list of banned books, saying it would be pointless to implement in reality.

In March, police arrested the owner and staff of the independent Book Punch store, reportedly on suspicion of selling seditious publications. They included the biography of former pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in his national security case.

In June, Hong Kong police arrested two booksellers on suspicion of selling seditious publications and receiving funds from foreign political organizations.

All were later released on bail.

UK unveils plans for social media curfew for older teens — but it's voluntary

Pan Pylas, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:14:13 +0000

The British government announced plans Wednesday to introduce a six-hour social media curfew from midnight for 16- and 17-year-olds — though they will be able to override the proposed default setting.

In its latest attempt to reduce the risks of online harm for children, Britain's Labour government also said that features that can keep users scrolling for longer, such as videos that automatically play one after another, will also be switched off by default for older teenagers.

The planned restrictions come a month after the government unveiled a social media ban for under-16s, which is expected to cover platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal, from next spring.

The measures, which are one of the final acts of the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will have to be legislated upon. It is widely believed that his expected successor Andy Burnham will follow through with the plans.

Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan downplayed talk that teenagers would just turn off optional social media curfews, saying it is a “disservice” to them to suggest they would.

He pointed to a recent pilot program involving more than 300 teenagers and parents across the U.K. that saw social media usage drop dramatically overnight as well as helping improve sleep and concentration.

“In October, for example, some platforms introduced these defaults of this sort – 90%-plus teenagers said to us that they’ve maintained those defaults as well,” he told Sky News. “And so the evidence base is clear, the motivation is very clear and I wouldn’t do the disservice to teenagers of saying they’re all going to switch it off.”

Laura Trott, the education spokesperson for the main opposition Conservative Party, said the proposals make “no sense.”

“Either they think 16- and 17-year-olds should be on social media or they don’t, but curfews they can simply switch off won’t achieve anything,” she said.

The NSPCC, the U.K.'s leading children's charity, said the proposals will go some way to improving the experiences of young people on social media but won't be enough on their own.

“Unless they’re followed up with further, stronger measures, they will be a sticking plaster that fails to address the addictive design features which are driving high screentime and undermining children’s wellbeing,” said NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood.

Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said the move was a “positive step” as young people want to try to cut down social media use but find it hard.

“I want to know more about how the policies, such as a curfew, will be delivered and will be watching closely to make sure they are effective,” she said.

10 News Meteorologist Edward Shaw explains new Daylight Saving Time bill

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:56:27 +0000

The clock may be counting down to zero on Daylight Saving Time.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill called the Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139), which would make Daylight Saving Time the standard practice around the country.

“The Sunshine Protection Act would essentially make it so states have the option to go to daylight saving time year-round full-time and make it permanent,” 10 News Meteorologist Edward Shaw said.

The bill passed by a 308-117 supermajority and now goes to the Senate. If the Senate passes it, the bill will go to President Donald Trump’s desk.

It would, however, be optional for states, meaning they could either opt in or opt out of the deal.

What would be the biggest changes though?

“Between early November and early March, that would be when we see the biggest change,” Shaw said. “The biggest change will come on the winter solstice, where we could see sunrises as late as about 8:30, 8:45 in some areas and sunsets more so in the 6 o’clock hour later on that night.”

There are pros and cons to the bill.

“There’s a lot of sleep studies that think we should have standard time as the better option,” Shaw said. “Then there’s also concerns about safety and that’s one of the big reasons this bill is expected to gain a little bit more traction just because of the fact that with different times, kids going to school, people going to work, wanting to cut down on the amount of darkness people are exposed to.”

Federal government replaces slavery exhibition at Washington's home in Philadelphia

Corey Williams And Tassanee Vejpongsa, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:13:56 +0000

The Trump administration on Wednesday replaced an exhibit on slavery at the site of President George Washington’s home in Philadelphia with a version that historians say whitewashes the nation’s history.

The new exhibit was installed in the same area where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.

“Overnight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President’s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said. “It was allowed to do this by the decision of the federal court, but that it did so at night shows it understands this action is shameful, that it violates community trust.”

The original panels were put in place in 2010 and told the story of how nine slaves lived in the home along with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation’s capital.

The changed exhibition comes as President Donald Trump has made dismantling diversity and inclusion initiatives a priority in an aggressive campaign to overhaul some of America's most sacred cultural, historic and educational institutions.

Trump issued an executive order in 2025 that called for federally owned or controlled historic sites to not display information to “disparage Americans past or living” and to focus on the “greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”

The directive has raised concerns about sanitizing and erasing dark sides of American history.

Trump has continued a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. In March, Trump revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targeted funding for programs that advanced “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology." He has also pressured organizations outside of the government, including universities, to take similar actions with the stated aim of eliminating what he says are discriminatory practices.

The Trump administration began removing the old panels earlier this year, but a lower court forced the federal government in February to stop while the city appealed. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit of Appeals reversed that and ruled July 3 that the work could continue.

The three-judge panel praised the plans for the replacement installation, writing that they were “full of historical context,” despite objections from historians and city officials that the content appears whitewashed.

The Interior Department told The Associated Press Wednesday in a statement that the new “panels are full of historical context and highlight the momentous events that took place in the President’s House and the other sites at Independence National Historical Park.”

“They acknowledge the evils of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the stories of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity,” the statement said.

The new panels still include information on enslaved people who lived in the home and details on the abolitionist movement, how the Constitution treated slavery, the end of slavery in Pennsylvania and how Washington and his successor, John Adams, viewed and treated slavery, as well as information about the 20th century Civil Rights movement.

However, the replacement panels do not include some of the detail in the earlier ones, such as a map of slave trade routes and a timeline on slavery. They also avoid critical headlines such as “The Dirty Business of Slavery.”

The city of Philadelphia had sued the federal government over the removal of information previously included in the panels. It argued that the federal government must consult with the city before making changes to the President’s House Site. Justice Department lawyers argued the administration alone can decide what stories are told at National Park Service properties.

Parker said the city intends to seek a rehearing “on serious legal issues” presented in the appeals court decision.

Michael Coard, an attorney and founder of Avenging The Ancestors Coalition (ATAC), said the Philadelphia-based history preservation group continues to work on legal strategies opposing the Trump administration’s changing of the panels.

ATAC joined the city’s lawsuit.

Trump is attempting to rewrite history, Coard told reporters Wednesday near the site.

“What if there’s a president next time who doesn’t like the Liberty Bell because the Liberty Bell was used by abolitionists to support the end of slavery?” he said. “What if there’s a president who doesn’t like the Statue of Liberty because too many immigrants come in? Do we remove the Statue of Liberty?”

___

Williams reported from Detroit.

Donald Trump endorses 'Pillow Man' Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor

Bill Barrow, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:10:23 +0000

President Donald Trump has endorsed MyPillow founder Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor, praising him as “one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots” and giving formal backing to a fellow election denier a day before the Republican president delivers a national address he says will focus on election security.

Lindell established his national profile from his TV advertising campaign as the MyPillow Guy and has been one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters, echoing the president’s false claims that his 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden was fraudulent.

“Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!! He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment. He can do it!” Trump posted Wednesday on his Truth Social platform, referring to Lindell as “the ‘Pillow Man.’”

Lindell, who faces a crowded Republican field in an Aug. 11 primary, featured the endorsement on social media and thanked the president. “I truly appreciate your confidence in me,” he wrote, adding, “Let's Make Minnesota Great Again!”

Trump has hammered outgoing Gov. Tim Walz, Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential nominee, as incompetent and accused his administration of allowing rampant fraud in federal spending on childcare. Trump has employed racist rhetoric to target Minnesota’s Somali immigrant population as driving the alleged fraud.

Walz, who ended his bid for a third term earlier this year, disputes the Trump administration’s characterizations. There are ongoing investigations into the state's administration of federally supported childcare programs in the state.

Other Republicans avoid criticizing Trump's choice

Lindell's primary opponents include state House Speaker Lisa Demuth and businessman Kendall Qualls, who has the endorsement of the Minnesota state GOP. Lindell has attacked Demuth as responsible for federal spending fraud. Demuth has blamed the Democratic administration and executive agency leaders that oversee federal grants to childcare providers.

Later Wednesday, Demuth posted on social media a clip of a caller to a Minnesota politics talk radio show who was both supportive of Trump as president but said: “We've got to worry about the state of Minnesota. ... And I think of all the candidates, Lisa's got the most knowledge of what's going on and how to get things done.”

Qualls addressed supporters in a social media video. “President Trump is exactly what our country needed over the last decade and I’m proud to have supported him since day one," he said. “I’ll continue to support him and his America First policies when I am governor.”

Lindell and Trump “have been friends for years,” Qualls added. “This race won't be won by national endorsements. It will be decided by Minnesota conservatives.”

Longtime U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar headlines the Democratic field.

There are 36 gubernatorial elections this November. There currently are 26 Republican governors and 24 Democratic governors, and Republicans view Minnesota as an opportunity to flip a seat despite a challenging national environment because of Trump’s lagging popularity and voters’ discontent over the economy.

Klobuchar, in her initial campaign announcement, focused on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown that involved federal officers killing two Minnesotans, the assassination of a state legislative leader and a school shooting that killed multiple children — all within the past year.

The senator has since proposed plans intended to address any fraud and inefficiencies in public spending and emphasized an earlier chapter of her career as a prosecutor.

“On Day 1, I will begin a top to bottom audit of our state government,” she said this spring. “That audit will look at state agencies to identify waste, fraud, and abuse.”

She also has sought to distance herself from Walz. “I don’t like the status quo. I wouldn’t be running for governor if I wanted to have things remain the same. I want to see change,” she said.

Trump revisits 2020 as he makes endorsements

As Trump has made endorsements in Republican primaries this year, the president has remained fixated on his lies about the 2020 election. In Georgia, recently, he made a late endorsement in a hotly contested U.S. Senate primary for Rep. Mike Collins, noting the congressman's stalwart support and referencing passing comments made by his opponent, former football coach Derek Dooley, affirming that Biden was legitimately elected in 2020.

Trump has had a mixed record in gubernatorial primaries.

In Georgia, Trump's pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, could not overcome billionaire healthcare tycoon Rick Jackson, who spent more than $100 million, mostly from his own fortune, to win the Republican nomination. In Iowa, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra failed in his bid for the GOP nomination, losing to businessman Zach Lahn.

After those losses and ahead of the South Carolina primary runoff, Trump announced that he was endorsing both Republican candidates, state Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, after initially having given Evette his backing. Wilson ultimately prevailed.

Ex-captain pleads guilty to drugging and raping a US Merchant Marine Academy cadet on a cargo ship

Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 20:39:46 +0000

A former cargo ship captain pleaded guilty on Wednesday to drugging and raping a 21-year-old U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadet who was working on the vessel as part of the academy’s Sea Year training program.

John Merrone, 53, pleaded guilty just as his trial was about to start in Brooklyn federal court. He admitted that he had sexual intercourse with the cadet without her consent “on the ship, in the middle of the ocean” after knocking her out with an intoxicant in 2019.

A jury had been picked and the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, was in the courthouse waiting to testify. Prosecutors were also planning to call as witnesses several other women who have accused Merrone of sexual assaults over the last three decades.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be identified.

Merrone was previously convicted of false imprisonment and battery after a Florida Keys waitress accused him of having sex with her against her will, but an appeals court overturned the verdict and prosecutors didn't retry the case.

Ex-cadet says ‘It’s over' after a six-year wait for justice

The former cadet, who still works in the maritime industry, watched through tears from the courtroom gallery as Merrone impassively said “guilty” to each of five charges, including aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact.

Her lawyer, Ryan Melogy, said she turned to him afterward and said, “It's over.”

“Sex crimes are notoriously difficult to prosecute in general,” Melogy said. “When they occur in the middle of the ocean aboard a ship, the level of difficulty involved in prosecuting them probably increases exponentially.”

Merrone faces up to life in prison, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Kayla Bensing said federal sentencing guidelines call for about 15 to 19 years behind bars. Merrone's lawyers said they think that estimate is too high. The guidelines are advisory, and the judge, Ramon E. Reyes Jr., could sentence him to more or less time.

Merrone will remain free on bail until sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 22. He and his lawyers, Bruce Barket and Nicole Aloise, declined to comment as they left court.

“It is my hope that today’s guilty plea will give the survivor of this attack some measure of closure knowing that the defendant has been held accountable for his despicable conduct,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said.

In a statement, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy said it “remains committed to providing a safe, professional, and respectful learning environment for all midshipmen, both on campus and at sea.”

Captain raped cadet after inviting her to his room for ‘soda’

According to prosecutors, Merrone began sending the cadet and another student Facebook messages a few weeks before they boarded his ship, the 623-foot-long (190-meter-long) Liberty Glory, for a voyage from Bahrain to Corpus Christi, Texas.

On Sept. 9, 2019, after more than a month onboard and with a little more than a week left in the journey, prosecutors said Merrone messaged the cadet and her friend asking that they come to his room for a “soda.”

“Captain you know I stay away from soda !” the cadet wrote.

“U may like my soda!?!?” Merrone replied.

The women acquiesced, prosecutors said, and the captain poured them each a drink from an already open bottle of alcohol, then opened a new bottle and poured a drink for himself.

Soon after having some of the drinks, the women “lost recollection of the remainder of the evening,” prosecutors said.

The cadet awoke the next morning in her bed wearing only a shirt and bra but not pants or underwear, feeling nauseous; she had a headache and felt vaginal discomfort, prosecutors said. Her friend awoke with stomach cramping and a debilitating headache, prosecutors said. She did not accuse Merrone of sexual assault.

Merrone called the cadet to his room and told her he had “fun last night,” that “one thing led to another” and asked her to do it again, prosecutors said. After the cadet told him she didn't remember what happened and that the encounter was not consensual, Merrone offered her money, which she declined, prosecutors said.

Merrone later sent the cadet a photograph of herself holding money on what she believed to be from the night of the assault, along with a message: “lol. That how u make a woman happy!!!!” She didn't recall the photo being taken, prosecutors said.

After that, prosecutors said, the captain went to the cadet's room and pulled from his pocket the underwear she had been wearing the night of the assault.

Sea Year program has been plagued by sexual abuse concerns

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, in Kings Point, New York, trains students to work in the commercial shipping industry. It has an enrollment of about 1,000 students. It is one of five military service academies, and the only one under the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In 2016, the academy temporarily shut down the Sea Year program, which sends cadets to work on container ships, oil tankers, passenger liners and other vessels, amid sexual abuse and bullying concerns. The program resumed in 2017 on vessels operated by three companies that the academy said had implemented new preventive policies.

The Sea Year program was suspended again in 2021 after another cadet said a cargo ship supervisor got her drunk and raped her. It resumed after more safety protocols were put in place.

Congress passed the Safer Seas Act, which strengthened reporting requirements for sexual offenses aboard U.S.-flag commercial vessels. The academy updated its amnesty policy to encourage reporting by sexual assault and harassment victims and witnesses.

It has expanded prevention education and support resources, provides all cadets with satellite phones during Sea Year and conducts confidential interviews with cadets returning from the program.

The academy, in its statement, said it “will continue working with Congress, industry partners, and its federal partners to further strengthen the safety and well-being of every midshipman.”

ICE should keep making traffic stops despite recent shootings, Trump says

Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:41:06 +0000

President Donald Trump wants Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to keep pulling over vehicles, signaling his opposition Wednesday to plans announced just a day earlier to suspend most traffic stops following another string of fatal shootings.

It's not clear whether ICE will quickly reverse course and resume most stops, which have been a key tool in Trump's immigration crackdown.

Ending those stops, Trump wrote, would be “playing right into the criminal’s hands.”

“We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote Wednesday on his social media site.

Hours after Trump made his views known, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued his own statement saying people illegally in the country would be “arrested and deported wherever they are.” While Mullin didn't directly say whether ICE officers will be allowed to carry out traffic stops, he later said in a statement that he and Trump “are on the same page," and that they want ICE officers “to have all options available to keep them safe while executing our mission.”

ICE's enforcement tactics are coming under renewed criticism after three people died during encounters with federal officers within a week. In Florida, a 28-year-old man was killed Tuesday after he was hit by a tractor trailer while running from immigration and other federal officers, authorities said.

Before that, two motorists were shot and killed by ICE officers — one in Texas last week and another in Maine on Monday.

Policy change for ICE traffic stops

After the Maine killing, Trump administration officials told ICE officers to suspend most vehicle stops, people familiar with the decision said Tuesday.

Since the immigration crackdown began, federal officers confronting drivers have opened fire several times, saying the drivers’ vehicles had posed a danger. Policing experts have long said that shooting into moving cars presents a danger of its own and should almost always be avoided.

There have been at least 10 deaths involving encounters with immigration agents since Trump launched his deportation campaign. At least four of them involved people in vehicles, a trend so troubling that Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine urged Department of Homeland Security leaders “to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops.”

Two shootings in a week, she said Wednesday, “raise very serious questions” and warrant a halt in that approach for the time being.

ICE has been under pressure to beef up arrest and deportation numbers. It says people being sought are increasingly staying in their homes, and it often blames immigration advocates who advise immigrants to stay in homes unless ICE produces a warrant signed by an independent judge.

ICE officers say that means they’re forced to find other ways to make arrests.

DHS says the man killed in Maine came to the US illegally

More protests are planned after hundreds gathered Tuesday to remember Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, the 25-year-old Colombian national who was shot in his car Monday.

Karolina Rojas, his partner and the mother of their young daughter, shared a photo on Instagram of the three hugging and smiling.

“I love you, my darling, my life. I love you. I have no words for this pain. You were my everything. Please watch over me. Help me find the strength to carry on. Stay with me always. Don’t leave me alone. I’m begging you, my love," she wrote.

Durán Guerrero illegally entered the U.S. on Sept. 1, 2023, through the southern border, DHS said Wednesday. Advocacy groups said that when he was killed, he was authorized to work in the U.S.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said the Homeland Security secretary told him on Monday that ICE officers were in Biddeford to serve an arrest warrant but that it wasn't for the person who was shot.

When ICE tried to stop a vehicle driven by someone who came from a home under surveillance, the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the department said.

In its statement Wednesday, DHS said Guerrero was released into the U.S. after crossing the border.

The department didn't answer questions about the agent who shot him.

Photos showed bullet holes in Durán Guerrero’s car windshield, but the officers involved didn’t have body cameras, leaving many questions.

Texas state police will investigate Houston shooting

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a staunch supporter of Trump's immigration crackdown, said Wednesday that the state's top law enforcement unit would investigate the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston.

DHS' account of the July 7 shooting is disputed by three other men who were riding in a van with Salgado Araujo at the time. A public viewing for Salgado Araujo, a homebuilder from Mexico, was set for Thursday in Houston.

More than a week after the shooting, new court records show the FBI is investigating if drugs were found in the van, according to a search warrant application signed by a federal judge Tuesday.

FBI special agent David McNeilly stated in an affidavit that he observed four plastic bags of a white substance appearing to be meth inside the van. DHS has not stated that suspected drugs were the reason why ICE officers engaged in the traffic stop. The FBI referred questions about the search warrant to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The ACLU of Texas, which is providing legal representation for Salgado Araujo’s family, said the Trump administration “lacks credibility” to investigate itself.

Maine shooting puts a spotlight on ICE

Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the shooting of Durán Guerrero in Maine a targeted killing “at the hands of the U.S. government.”

In Wednesday’s social media post, Trump told ICE to be “judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.”

Border czar Tom Homan told reporters that the investigation needs to play out and that officers will be held accountable if they are found to have acted inappropriately or illegally.

Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, said ICE should be scrapped as a federal agency if it can’t be fixed.

Mills, who has criticized ICE before, said Wednesday that the agency needs changes “before more families are robbed of a loved one.”

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Whittle reported from Biddeford, Maine. Associated Press reporters Jack Brook in New Orleans, Michael R. Sisak in New York, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Elliot Spagat in Park City, Utah, Anna Wilder in Austin, Texas, and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

China and Xi are seen more favorably than the US and Trump in many nations, new survey says

Didi Tang, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:18:58 +0000

The world has largely viewed the U.S. more favorably than China for years, but those opinions have flipped in Beijing's favor this year, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, a remarkable shift driven in part by tensions between the Trump administration and U.S. allies.

More people have favorable views of China than the U.S. in 25 out of the 36 countries and territories that were surveyed, including Canada and Mexico. The poll was conducted from February to May, a period when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.

In only six countries do people still see the U.S. more positively than China, according to the findings released Wednesday.

Views in 22 out of the 36 countries and territories also are more favorable of Chinese leader Xi Jinping than U.S. President Donald Trump, including in Canada, Mexico and major European powers including France, Germany and the U.K. However, people in many of the countries have low confidence in both men.

It marks the first time in the roughly 20 years Pew has been tracking global opinions that China has been viewed more positively than the U.S., said Laura Silver, associate director of Pew's Global Attitudes Research and one of the researchers on the study. Views of Beijing and Washington have been very similar at some points in the past but have not been significantly more favorable for China until now, she said.

The shift follows the COVID-19 pandemic becoming a distant issue and as global views of the U.S. have soured, Silver said.

“There was just an actual relationship between the outbreak of the war and the sense that the U.S. is just not contributing to peace and stability and that people have less confidence in Donald Trump," she said.

Trump's demands to control Greenland, the American military raid that captured Venezuela's then-leader Nicolás Maduro, and the U.S. handling of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza also have led to low approval in many countries, Silver said.

“The U.S. has done a lot in terms of global engagement in recent months to years that is not being perceived positively internationally,” she said.

Aside from benefiting from the fading memory of the pandemic, China appears to have gained from comparison with the U.S., Silver said.

“By comparison, we know that China is seen to be a more reliable partner in many places. It’s more likely to be seen to contribute to global peace and stability,” the researcher said.

Olivia Wales, a White House spokesperson, said, “President Trump has done more for global stability than anyone else,” listing Trump's achievements as having “obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities” and “eliminated hundreds of narcoterrorists.”

“President Trump is the leader of the free world, and thanks to his bold leadership the United States of America has never been stronger," Wales said.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said the latest poll “demonstrates that China’s governance achievements and development progress are widely recognized.”

Notably, those in some U.S. allied countries have drastically shifted their views in recent years, such as Canada. In the new survey, only 33% of Canadians have positive views of the U.S., down from 57% in 2023. Over the same period, their favorable opinions of China rose from 14% to 44%.

Trump slapped a barrage of tariffs on Canadian goods last year, and even claimed that Canada could be the “the 51st state.”

Major European countries — including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy — all have switched their opinions toward the world's two largest economies.

People in the U.K., where about 6 in 10 held positive views of the U.S. in 2023, now view China and the U.S. similarly. Three years ago, the spread was 32 percentage points in Washington's favor.

Of the six countries where people have more favorable views of the U.S., Israel leads the way. About 8 in 10 Israelis view the U.S. positively, compared with 19% for China.

The other five countries are Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines and Poland. Still, even their views of the U.S. have dimmed over recent years.

The U.S. is still ahead of China when it comes to government respect for personal freedoms, though the gap is shrinking, the Pew report says.

While China's standing has improved somewhat, the narrowed divide is “driven largely by the fact that people in nearly every country surveyed have become less likely to say the U.S. government respects its people’s personal freedoms” since 2021, when Pew last asked the question.

For the new study, Pew surveyed more than 42,000 people across 35 countries plus the West Bank and east Jerusalem, with margins of error ranging from 2.3 to 5.5 percentage points depending on the country.

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Associated Press journalists Linley Sanders, Emily Swanson and Kevin S. Vineys contributed to this report.

Lawmakers cast doubt on Kathryn Ruemmler's testimony about Epstein ties

Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:12:16 +0000

Lawmakers said Kathryn Ruemmler, the former top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and White House counsel to President Barack Obama, was not being truthful Wednesday about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, rejecting her testimony that Epstein had merely “used” her.

Ruemmler in her opening remarks told members of the House Oversight Committee that “it was a mistake to deal with” Epstein, but she insisted she never witnessed criminal activity. She said Epstein “used me and other respectable people to legitimize his standing.”

Democrats emerged from questioning Ruemmler saying she was not being forthcoming about her ties to Epstein.

“It is difficult to see how she’s being completely truthful in there with the answers she’s given the committee,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters.

Jennifer Connelly, a spokeswoman for Ruemmler, said in response that Ruemmler had "testified openly and truthfully for six hours and answered every question the committee asked.”

Ruemmler is the latest prominent figure called before the House Oversight Committee as lawmakers investigate the network of powerful people connected with Epstein. The bipartisan inquiry has already included testimony from more than a dozen high-profile witnesses, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former President Bill Clinton, as lawmakers examine how Epstein's wealth and influence may have helped shield him from scrutiny.

Ruemmler served as White House counsel under Obama from 2011 to 2014 and was briefly considered for attorney general. She served as Goldman Sachs’ general counsel for six years before announcing in February that she would step down amid backlash over her correspondence with Epstein. Although she said she would step down on June 30, she remains employed by Goldman Sachs.

Lawmakers have focused on Ruemmler’s close relationship with Epstein in the final years of his life, pointing to affectionate communications between the two.

“For her to deny that there was any type of real relationship there, I just don't buy it,” Garcia said. “And so, again, the fact she is not under oath is very problematic.”

The two were

close years after Epstein's 2008 conviction on sex crimes

While Ruemmler has tried to downplay their relationship in more recent statements, thousands of documents released by the Justice Department showed that Ruemmler and Epstein had an extensive relationship. The files included personal emails, social plans and gifts that extended beyond formal legal work. Documents showed she had called Epstein “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails and said she adored him.

Ruemmler said in her opening remarks that she first met Epstein in 2014 regarding potentially working with him and Gates “to set up a large donor-advised fund.” Soon after, according to Ruemmler, she learned about Epstein’s 2008 conviction on sex crimes, when he became a registered sex offender.

She said Epstein expressed remorse about it, and that he did not know the women were underaged. She said she “relied on the resolution reached by federal and state prosecutors and validated by a judge as being a proportionate and final resolution of his criminal conduct.”

House Oversight Chair James Comer told reporters Wednesday that the “most concerning” part of Ruemmler's communications with Epstein is how she “tried to rehabilitate his image after he was convicted of solicitation of a minor.”

Ruemmler's interview is part of a broader investigation

Comer said Wednesday that Ruemmler is the 18th person to testify as part of their broader investigation.

Billionaire investor Leon Black was subpoenaed last month after lawmakers said he refused to answer some questions about his yearslong relationship with Epstein.

Comer said Wednesday that Black will appear for a formal deposition on Sept. 3 but that he expects to have Black's nondisclosure agreements by “the end of the week.”

The committee has also expressed interest in questioning acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose nomination to permanently lead the Justice Department is pending before the Senate. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi identified Blanche as the department’s point person on the release of the Epstein documents, a process that has drawn bipartisan scrutiny.

“Hopefully Blanche will come in as soon as his confirmation is over,” Comer said.

During a lengthy podcast interview with Joe Rogan released Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said the administration “absolutely” mishandled the communications surrounding the Epstein files and its contents. Vance pointed largely to Bondi, who infamously stated that an alleged “client list” of Epstein’s was “sitting on my desk right now.”

Expanded playoffs make it hard to predict whether Skubal, Chapman, Gray get dealt

Ronald Blum, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 23:32:18 +0000

Expanded playoffs make it harder to predict whether Tarik Skubal and other choice acquisitions will be dealt before the Aug, 3 trade deadline.

Twenty-three of the 30 teams are within four games of a playoff position heading into the season's second half, which opens Thursday with the back-in-contention Philadelphia Phillies hosting the woeful New York Mets.

“You’ve got a lot of really good teams that were on the bubble that have gotten in and kind of made it,” Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said. “Anybody that has an opportunity to get in, anything can happen and that’s what makes our sport great.”

Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who can become a free agent after the World Series, is the most prominent possible trade bait. The 29-year-old left-hander is 2-3 with a 3.62 ERA in six starts for the Detroit Tigers since surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow.

He returned to a big league mound on June 13 after Dr. Neal ElAttrache operated with a NanoNeedle scope 2.0, a miniaturized, flexible version of the traditional arthroscope.

Detroit was 22-38 at the start of June — at 16 games under matching the 1914 Braves (12-28) as the most under .500 of a team that rebounded to reach the postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Tigers are 22-14 since and trail by 3 1/2 games for the last AL wild card, needing to overcome six teams. Their performance in 16 games before the deadline will help determine whether they are buyers or sellers.

Minnesota's Joe Ryan and the Mets' Freddy Peralta also could become available. The Mets also could deal left-handed relievers Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter to contenders and San Francisco may try to jettison second baseman Luis Arraez.

Baseball’s only division leads of more than three games are held by the Los Angeles Dodgers (11 1/2) and Milwaukee (five).

“There are some middling teams that are potentially going to finish stronger and some teams that are front-running right now that might fall back to the pack,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s what the fans wanted. It keeps everyone involved through September, as many teams as possible.”

Just seven teams of the 30 teams are more than four games out of a wild-card berth: the Athletics (6 1/2), Cincinnati (eight), Kansas City and the Los Angeles Angels (10 each), the Giants (10 1/2), the Mets (12) and Colorado (13 1/2).

“I think having more teams involved and more fan bases feeling like there’s something to play for later in the season is always good,” said Toronto pitcher Dylan Cease, the All-Star Game winner.

Phillies rebound after Mattingly becomes manager

Philadelphia fell to 9-19 when Rob Thomson was fired on April 28 and replaced by Don Mattingly. The Phillies are 44-24 since and trail NL East-leading Atlanta (55-40) by two games.

Harper thinks a key to the turnaround was when Zack Wheeler rejoined the rotation on April 25 after surgery last August for thoracic outlet syndrome. Wheeler is 10-1 with a 2.13 ERA.

“Once we got Wheels back, I think everybody kind of took a deep breath,” Harper said. “That helped a lot of our other starting pitching kind of just fall into place.”

Red Sox hottest team going into second half

Boston fired Alex Cora after a 10-17 start and the Red Sox are 36-31 under Chad Tracy, ending the first half with their first 9-0 road trip since 1977.

Despite a 46-48 record, the Red Sox trail by just a half-game for the last wild card in an AL that has just five teams with winning records.

“We've done a much better job overall with our approach,” Tracy said. “We’re taking more pitches. We’re seeing more pitches against starters. We are getting starters deep in counts earlier in games. We're scoring runs in the first five innings of the game and letting our starting rotation pitch with a lead.”

If the Red Sox struggle in the next few weeks, closer Aroldis Chapman and starter Sonny Gray could get dealt.

First-round byes at stake

Three of the four teams that had first-round byes last year advanced to League Championship Series: Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Seattle and Toronto. Among the teams emerging from Wild Card Series, only the Dodgers won their Division Series.

Having the bye allows teams to reset their rotations and assure opening the Division Series with their best starters.

Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler thought back to New York losing the AL East title and the bye to Toronto on a tiebreaker last year.

“Every game matters,” he said.

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Defending champion Argentina reaches World Cup final by beating England 2-1

James Robson, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 15:05:58 +0000

No “Hand of God” this time. Argentina didn’t need it.

Instead it was the hallowed feet of Lionel Messi and the unbreakable spirit of a team that has repeatedly fought back at this year's World Cup that is now one step away from back-to-back titles.

Trailing 1-0 going into the 85th minute, Argentina rallied for a 2-1 victory over England on Wednesday with goals from Enzo Fernandez and substitute Lautaro Martinez.

“I dreamed it, I swear. I told Alexis (Mac Allister) that I was going to score. I told him that I was going to come on and I was going to win it," Martinez said. "I can tell you this team keeps showing what it’s made of.”

At the final whistle, Messi fell to his knees in celebration while England players collapsed in disbelief — again.

Add 2026 to 1986 and 1998 on the list of games when Argentina has extinguished English hopes at the World Cup.

“I’m gutted for the team, the staff, the fans," England captain Harry Kane said. “We worked so hard to be here. The lads have given every bit of blood, sweat and tears. To fall short like we did is just gutting.”

The defending champions will take on European champion Spain in the final on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The best that South America has to offer against the best of Europe.

The loss for England will hurt a new generation of fans in a similar way to Diego Maradona’s infamous handball goal in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals and the penalty shootout loss in 1998 when David Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone.

The difference is there can be no sense of injustice this time, even if England had victory in its sights after Anthony Gordon scored the opening goal in the 55th minute.

The English were hanging on as the game wore on. England goalkeeper Jordon Pickford made vital saves while Mac Allister sent a header off the post as wave after wave of Argentina attacks came.

Messi had largely been kept quiet. But when he’s on the field, anything seems possible.

He fed the ball to Fernandez to sweep in the equalizer from outside the box in the 85th minute. And two minutes into stoppage time, Messi sent in a cross for Martinez to head in the winner.

It almost felt inevitable. Especially given the amount of times Argentina has simply refused to give in at this year's World Cup. From Cape Verde to Egypt, Messi and Co. always seem to find a way.

“It is a show of the collectiveness, the brotherhood that we are in, the fight to the very end that we’ve got,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “We were ready to go home, sad, knowing that we had left everything on the pitch, but after they scored we really proved ourselves.”

England, in contrast, came up short in the World Cup semifinals for the third time after losses to Germany in 1990 and Croatia in 2018. And it's another occasion in recent years when England’s players have squandered a winning position in the later stages of a major tournament.

They led 1-0 against Croatia in the semifinals eight years ago and lost 2-1. They were up 1-0 against Italy in the European Championship final in 2021 and lost on penalties.

On Wednesday, England coach Thomas Tuchel's substitutions seemed to be more intent on holding on, rather than killing the game off with another goal.

“Argentina played with more risk, played with more rhythm, played with the feeling maybe that they have nothing to lose anymore, which freed them up and held us back because we played suddenly with a feeling that we have a lot to lose,” Tuchel said.

Argentina is now one step away from history. Messi, now 39 and likely playing at his last World Cup, is one win away from further strengthening his case to be considered the greatest soccer player of all time.

“We’re going to try to win, we’re going to leave everything out there,” Scaloni said. “It’s very difficult to get people to understand what these players are showing. It’s incredible. We are unique, truly, and it’s not arrogance, it’s from the heart. We are unique."

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

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Flooding forces evacuations in parts of South Texas as slow-moving storms swamp the region

Jesse Bedayn, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:47:23 +0000

Widening evacuation warnings and high-water rescues in Texas mounted Wednesday under relentlessly heavy storms that turned roads into rivers, washed away vehicles and spun up a tornado across a busy interstate in San Antonio.

Texas Game Wardens have participated in rescues of more than 40 people so far in the flooding, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson.

Forecasters warned that already dangerous conditions were likely to worsen in some hard-hit communities. The deluge dumped nearly a foot of rain in some counties and put people in dozens of counties under flood watches, including parts of the Texas Hill Country where last summer’s devastating floods killed more than 100 people. Some of the flood watches were expected to remain in effect through Friday evening.

The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in the northwestern part of San Antonio near Interstate 10. Videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be a small twister. Apartment buildings and other properties were damaged, local officials said.

There have been no reports of deaths or injuries from the tornado or the flooding.

As much as 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain was possible in some places before the storms move out, the weather service said.

As of Wednesday evening, just over six million Texas residents in 57 counties were under a National Weather Service flood watch that was scheduled to continue through early Thursday night. Watches for 34 of those counties were scheduled to expire Friday evening.

More than a foot of rain has fallen with more to come

The highest rainfall totals so far — up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) — have been in Uvalde County, where officials tallied 25 rescues as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, and said more people needed help as river levels rose. Highways and roads were closed across the region because of high water.

The county normally gets about 23 inches (58 centimeters) of rain a year, according to the Uvalde County Extension Office.

The Uvalde Police Department said on Facebook at 1 p.m. that a dam in the northern part of the county was still intact, but the Leona River was still expected to rise another 15 feet (about 4.6 meters). Police warned people along the river to get to higher ground.

State Rep. Don McLaughlin said that despite a “little lull,” the rainfall wasn’t done and waterways could become more dangerous. “The rivers and the creeks are going to be coming up, and they’re going to be coming up again with a vengeance,” McLaughlin said.

Frances McNamara and her 10-year-old son, Everett, watched the bloated Leona River in Uvalde sweep southward Wednesday as she considered possible evacuation routes. She pointed to a solid line of dirt, branches and twigs about 8 feet (2 meters) above the river where the water reached the day before.

“We’ve seen the water rise, but not to this extent,” she said, describing how it rushed through a ditch next to her home with enough force to sound like a river on Tuesday.

This week's severe weather brought back memories of last year's deadly flooding in Texas Hill Country.

“It scared me,” said McNamara, her eyes wet with tears as she recalled the 2025 floods. “Cause I have a son, and to know what those parents went through.” Her son reached up and patted her back.

Some mandatory evacuations ordered in Uvalde

Uvalde police ordered mandatory evacuations for some parts, with first responders notifying people affected directly, the department said on Facebook. Others were asked to stay vigilant in case more evacuations are needed.

Some folks walked out of their homes onto the street to see the water growing closer every hour, their faces worried. People living along the river scrambled to pack cars and head out, though many did not yet know where they should go. One man threw two kayaks into his truck bed, just in case.

Bailey Luckman, 26, was getting ready to evacuate with her dog Wednesday afternoon. The floodwaters are close to her house, she said, and authorities recommended that she leave.

“I’m very worried about my things,” Luckman said.

She gestured to an inundated road nearby, saying she normally drives that route to get to the gym. It looked more like a river than a road.

“I’ve never seen it flow the way that it is right now, so that’s pretty terrifying,” Luckman said.

Lightning flashed as clouds darkened the landscape, and brown water created large rapids in the typically calm Leona River. The river was pushing up against the town's high bridge and into neighborhoods by Wednesday afternoon.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties.

Authorities posted videos on Tuesday showing a rescue crew in a boat navigating flooded streets and a vehicle being swept away by fast-moving waters. Five people were rescued by the Texas Game Warden Search and Rescue Team and four were rescued by a local game warden, said Maggie Berger, a Texas Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman.

Other areas of Texas could see dangerous flooding

Forecasters warned that hilly terrain in other parts of the region could be especially vulnerable to heavy rain.

The highest level of concern for potentially dangerous flooding Wednesday was for areas west of San Antonio and north of Route 90, Weather service meteorologist Monte Oaks said.

In Boerne, a city of about 24,000 northwest of San Antonio, residents of several areas were told by officials to either evacuate voluntarily or prepare to shelter in place as waters rose. City spokesperson Chris Shadrock said in a video post on Facebook that high-water rescues were ongoing and that the city’s busiest intersection was “completely underwater.”

“This is a life-threatening weather event, I don’t want to mince words about how serious this situation is,” Shadrock said.

He said the water was rising even in areas that don’t usually flood.

First responders helped a woman escape after a car was swept off Boerne's River Road by the fast-rising Cibolo Creek.

People in about 20 vehicles were stranded in a nearby gas station parking lot when every surrounding street quickly flooded. Police officers blocked the exits to keep people from trying to ford the roads.

Kendall County is home to nearly 53,300 people, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. About 45% of them live in the southern portion of the county in Boerne, where the Cibolo Creek reached 22.47 feet (about 6.8 meters) as of 1 p.m. according to a USGS gauge, about 19 feet (about 5.8 meters) higher than just two days before.

Oaks said the rain is being fueled with tropical moisture, mostly from the Gulf of Mexico and some from the Pacific Ocean.

“This is called a typical midsummer tropical weather pattern that happens in Texas,” Oaks said. “About once every five years, we’ll get socked in with a daily recurrence of heavy rain chances that’s generally produced by a stagnant kind of a pattern with a low-pressure center that’s just not moving very fast.”

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Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press journalists Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; and AP freelance photographer Darren Abate contributed.

Report: Detainees at ICE facility in Texas report frequent beatings and other human rights abuses

Michael Biesecker, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:33:55 +0000

Dozens of people held at a sprawling Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas say they were either beaten by guards or witnessed others being beaten, according to a new report issued by legal and human rights advocates.

The 84-page report issued jointly Wednesday by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union also says men and women held at Camp East Montana, located at the U.S. Army's Fort Bliss in El Paso, recounted being denied necessary medical care, forced to live in filthy conditions and fed inedible meals. Detainees also said they were prevented from contacting their lawyers or family members.

Of the 71 detainees contacted over a five month period, 64 — about 90% of those interviewed — said they had either personally been assaulted by the staff or had seen others physically abused, according to the report.

“ICE’s Camp East Montana is a human rights disaster,” said Angélica César, a fellow at Human Rights Watch and the ACLU who was a lead researcher for the report. “The U.S. government should shut it down, conduct independent investigations into all abuses and deaths in custody, and put an end to mass deportations and mandatory immigration detention.”

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying reports of inhumane conditions at its desert tent camp were “categorically false,” that no detainees are being beaten or abused, and that “ICE takes seriously the health and safety of all those detained in our custody.”

The new accounts of violence and substandard living conditions inside Camp East Montana are consistent with earlier reports by The Associated Press and others. At least three detainees held at the facility since it opened in August have died, including a 55-year-old Cuban migrant who was handcuffed and stopped breathing earlier this year after being held down by guards.

A local medical examiner later ruled that death a homicide and a federal report issued last month said evidence in the case was “missing or destroyed." That report by the Government Accountability Office found mismanagement by the Department of Homeland Security had created unsafe conditions that contributed to detainee deaths and suffering even as millions of wasted tax dollars enriched contractors.

In March, ICE replaced Acquisition Logistics, LLC, the prime contractor that had been awarded a deal last year worth up to $1.3 billion to build and manage the camp, which was originally intended to hold up to 5,000 people. The Virginia company had no prior experience running an ICE detention facility, had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million and lacked a functioning website.

The change came as an internal ICE review documented 49 deficiencies, which it defines as violations of detention standards or policies, in areas including the use of force and restraints, security and medical care.

Despite the change in contractors, interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch and the ACLU as recently as last month found serious problems at the camp have persisted.

Detainees recounted degrading and inhumane living conditions that included bathrooms covered in feces, flooded housing units and no access to soap or other basic hygiene supplies, according to the report. They also reported being held indoors for weeks without meaningful access to recreation, sunlight or fresh air.

People also described receiving spoiled food and inconsistent meal schedules, with delays of up to 12 hours between meals.

The report recounts detainees saying that guards beat detainees in response to hunger strikes, requests for medical attention and complaints regarding detention conditions. Several people said that guards imposed collective punishment, striking or assaulting multiple people after accusing one detainee of violating rules, according to the report.

Researchers found that staff pressured and coerced those held there into abandoning immigration claims and accepting removal to third countries if they could not be sent back to their own country. The detainees said they were threatened with violence, criminal prosecution, and indefinite detention if they refused deportation.

In some cases, the report concluded, the circumstances of ICE detention could amount to enforced disappearances, a potential violation of international human rights law.

Human Rights Watch and the ACLU called on the Trump administration to close Camp East Montana and to allow independent investigations into deaths in custody, excessive force, medical neglect and enforced disappearances.

“The abuses documented at Fort Bliss are the predictable outcome of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, its brutal expansion of immigration detention, and the erosion of federal oversight mechanisms,” said César, the lead researcher. “People at Camp East Montana are human beings who deserve to be treated with dignity and protected from harm.”

England's Tuchel: 'Easy to say that it was wrong' to play defensively with lead vs. Argentina

R.J. Rico And Jim Vertuno, Associated Press — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 22:06:44 +0000

England desperately wanted to protect its lead as time was winding down in its World Cup semifinal against Argentina. Coach Thomas Tuchel made lineup and strategy changes to build a wall in front of the goal.

Argentina and Lionel Messi simply kicked it down.

England led 1-0 late in the second half before Messi assisted on goals by Enzo Fernández in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martínez in the second minute of stoppage time to give Argentina a wild 2-1 victory Wednesday and a spot in the World Cup final against Spain.

Tuchel's tactical choices in one of the biggest matchups in one of soccer's biggest rivalries will likely be scrutinized and criticized for years. England missed its chance to return to the World Cup final for the first time since 1966.

“They won every header. They kept crossing and crossing. So we went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be stronger in the air,” Tuchel said.

“Straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we just conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances. So we tried to help,” Tuchel said. “But of course the responsibility is on the coach. And … if it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say that it was wrong.”

Tuchel’s chess moves couldn’t contain Messi, the maestro of Argentina’s attacks. In the 38 minutes between England's goal and Argentina's winner, Argentina held a whopping 88% of the possession, according to Opta.

It was only the second time this century that a team scored first in a World Cup semifinal and failed to reach the final, according to Opta. The other blown lead was also by England, in 2018 against Croatia.

England took the lead on Anthony Gordon's goal in the 55th minute. But Argentina quickly switched the momentum with furious pressure on England's defense.

To protect the lead, England drew closer and closer to its own goal, hoping to build the sort of impenetrable wall it had when it held on to beat Mexico in the round of 16 despite being down to 10 players.

Tuchel swapped defender Reece James for Dan Burn, and midfielder Declan Rice for defender Nico O’Reilly in the 82nd minute.

“It’s disappointing to give up the space that we did in those final 20 minutes,” England captain Harry Kane said. “It allowed not just (Messi), but the other players to grow into the game and feel more confident and ping balls into dangerous areas. In the end, it was too much for us to stop.”

Fernandez struck barely three minutes after the England substitutions, scoring on a precise right-footed strike from just outside the penalty area. Messi set up the play with a pass to his teammate, and England defenders failed to close him down before he ripped the shot that curled past diving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

The defending champion kept coming and England's wall kept crumbling. Argentina hit the crossbar and missed another header across the mouth of the goal before Martínez sealed it with a close-range header when England defenders lost him on a cross from Messi.

“They got tired,” Martínez said. “They pressed for 60 minutes and then just ran out of steam. They got their goal and then sat back. That gave us more composure to move the ball around and stretch the pitch.”

England’s defense had earned plaudits after previous matches, especially for how it hunkered down during the second half of a 3-2 win over Mexico in the round of 16, as El Tri peppered their opponent's back line with cross after cross. But that came as England was down a player due to a 54th-minute red card on Jarell Quansah.

Burn, the 6-foot-7 (2-meter) defender who shined during that stand in Mexico City, said Wednesday's approach did not work out.

“Off the ball, we defended probably a little bit too deep,” Burn said. “With the quality of chances that Argentina were creating, I felt like it was a matter of time. ... To be 10 to 15 minutes away from the World Cup final — we really probably should have seen that through.”

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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.

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