The movie theater has been a longtime favorite for community members and movie lovers, serving the area for decades. Its closing marks the end of an era for many who have made countless memories of catching movies there.

In a statement to 10 News, Cassie Kennard, manager of media relations for AMC Theatres, said, “AMC routinely reviews the theatres in our circuit and makes decisions based on what will best strengthen the company going forward. We thank our Salem Valley 8 guests for their patronage and encourage them to continue enjoying the AMC experience at AMC Classic Roanoke 10.”

Stay with 10 News as this breaking news story continues to develop.

Woods was arrested March 27 on suspicion of driving under the influence after his Land Rover struck a trailer and flipped on its side along a residential street. Florida authorities determined him to be impaired when they found two painkillers in his pocket. Woods also refused to submit to a urine test and was briefly jailed.

"You know," Player said Thursday, “it's very easy — the human being is so critical of everything. If I or any of you in this room had the pain that Tiger Woods had — think of the excruciating pain that this man has been going through for a long time.

“Do I blame him for taking medicine? Hell, no. He has sleep deprivation,” Player continued. “Do I blame him for taking something to help him sleep? No. But I don't think he should drive a car. When you're taking that medicine, it's dangerous when you're driving a car, same as it's dangerous when you look at your cell phone in a car.”

The 90-year-old Player spoke about Woods after helping to hit the honorary tee shots to start the first round of the Masters.

Known for his fastidious diet and fitness regiment, Player went so far as to admit he no longer drives himself these days.

“So I think all he's got to do is just not drive a car, and get a chauffeur,” Player said. “My reflexes, I think, are as good as when I was 20, but I don't drive anymore. I get a chauffer. I think that's the answer to it.”

Woods, a five-time Masters champion, said last week he would be missing the tournament at Augusta National for the second straight year so that he could seek treatment at an undisclosed facility outside of the U.S., and “prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery.”

The announcement came hours after he pleaded not guilty to a DUI charge in connection with the crash.

Woods' injury list over the last 14 years is a long one. He had reconstructive knee surgery in 2008, four back surgeries from 2014-17, and he was previously arrested in 2017 for taking what he called a bad mix of painkillers that resulted in him falling asleep behind the wheel of a running car.

Four years ago, Woods’s right leg and ankle were crushed when his speeding SUV ran over a median and toppled down a hillside on a coastal road in Los Angeles. He also had surgery on his Achilles tendon and a seventh back surgery last year.

“My heart goes out for him,” Player said. “There’s nothing worse than living in pain every day of your life. You can’t think of anything worse. I just hope he can get it all sorted out because he’s such an asset to golf and has done so much for the game.”

Just about everyone at Augusta National this week has expressed sympathy for Woods, but many players — including Jason Day — also agreed with Player that he should not have been behind the wheel of a car.

“He’s just a human being like everyone else, and we have struggles,” Day said. “It’s unfortunate. The only thing that I don’t understand is that it’s a little bit selfish of him to drive and put other people in harm’s way, as well.”

Day, a former No. 1, called Woods his “hero," and said the reasons he began playing golf were Woods and the Masters.

“It’s hard to see him go through what he’s going through, and especially under the microscope. It must be hard to be who he is and have everything, everyone look on, kind of down on him,” Day said. "Some people want him to fail. Some people obviously want him to succeed. It’s really difficult for me to go through that and watch him, and I know that he’s getting the help now, which is good. I’m just hoping he comes out on the other side and is better.”

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The 25-year-old IndyCar star — who became the series' youngest race winner at the age of 18 in 2019 — made the move to F2 this season with an eye on the super license points needed to race in F1 with Cadillac as its first American driver.

F2 has scheduled two extra rounds of its championship alongside F1's Miami Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix, both next month. The race in Montreal clashes with the Indianapolis 500 on May 24. The original schedule didn't have any F2 races in May at all.

They replace rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia which were called off along with the F1 races there because of the war in Iran.

Herta had been in contention for a fourth car at the Indianapolis 500 from Andretti Global, which shares an ownership group with the Cadillac F1 team in Dan Towriss and the TWG Motorsports conglomeration.

“We’re planning on a fourth car. But there are no shortage of people, and not just from IndyCar,” Towriss said in February at the IndyCar season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida.

But now that Herta is not available, Andretti Global said Thursday it will focus on its current three-driver lineup for the Indy 500 and not enter a fourth car. The team fields cars for previous Indy 500 winners Will Power and Marcus Ericsson, as well as Kyle Kirkwood.

Herta is 10th in the F2 standings following the opening round in Australia last month.

“I think it’s great if it gets me to Formula 1 and I would be incredibly grateful I took the leap," Herta told The Associated Press in January of his F2 move. "I think a lot of people feel it would be embarrassing if I fail, but I don’t care what everybody thinks or if its going to tarnish my career.”

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

The shaky ceasefire has been largely holding between the U.S., Israel and Iran, although Tehran and Washington have offered vastly different explanations of the initial terms.

Israel insists the agreement does not apply to their war against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and have escalated deadly strikes there, leading Iran to claim it is violating the deal. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres “unequivocally” condemned Israeli strikes in Lebanon that killed and injured hundreds on Wednesday after the ceasefire was announced.

Sirens sounded in northern Israel early Thursday as Hezbollah claimed it was attacking with rocket fire.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that his surge of warships and troops will remain around Iran “until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with.” He also insisted Iran would not be able to build nuclear weapons and “the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE.”

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again on Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Here is the latest:

Russia’s foreign minister welcomes ceasefire announcement

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, the ministry said.

Lavrov welcomed the news of the Iran-U.S. ceasefire and “emphasized that Moscow firmly believes that these agreements, as announced by Pakistani mediators, have a regional dimension and, in particular, extend to Lebanon,” according to the ministry’s readout of the call.

Lavrov also expressed hope for successful peace talks and reiterated “Russia’s readiness to assist in finding solutions.”

Araghchi “thanked the Russian Federation for its principled position in the U.N. Security Council during the discussion of the situation in the Persian Gulf,” the readout said.

Relatives gather at Beirut hospitals to identify family members

A day after Israel’s deadliest strikes killed over 200 people in Lebanon, Abdul Rahman Mohammad, a Syrian who lost family members in the Hay al-Sellom neighborhood, waited at Rafic Hariri Hospital morgue to retrieve the bodies of his mother, two sisters, brother and brother-in-law.

“They were struck without any warning. This is Israeli brutality,” he said. “I’m just waiting for the Syrian embassy procedures so I can take them back to Syria.”

Dr. Mohamad El Zaatari, director of the public hospital, said the facility had treated 45 people, including 10 critical cases in intensive care.

“The situation is difficult and the numbers are large, but things are gradually taking the right path,” he said.

Merz vows effort to preserve NATO with US on board

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz acknowledged that the Iran war has become a “stress test” for NATO and said he doesn’t want it to burden trans-Atlantic relations further.

Merz said he and Trump discussed the alliance’s future in a phone call Wednesday and that he offered to discuss it again before a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, in July.

Merz said that “it is my firm intention to do everything to preserve the protection of NATO, including the United States of America, for Europe.”

He added that “this alliance, at least at present, cannot be replaced by anything, so I have a great interest in preserving it and developing it further with the American president.”

German leader critical of Israel’s actions in southern Lebanon

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that “the severity with which Israel is waging war there could cause the failure of the peace process as a whole, and that must not happen.”

He said that he and others had asked Israel on Wednesday to “end its further intensified attacks” and that his foreign minister had spoken twice to his Israeli counterpart.

Merz also spoke to Trump on Wednesday. The chancellor said on Thursday that the German government would start talking to Iran again, in consultation with the U.S. and its European partners, in the interest of making “our own contribution” to the success of peace negotiations.

Merz didn’t specify with whom Germany intends to speak or when.

Israeli defense minister claims Hezbollah is seeking ceasefire after heavy strikes

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed Hezbollah is seeking a ceasefire and said Israeli strikes killed more than 200 militants in the past day, bringing the total to over 1,400 in the current fighting.

The claims could not be independently verified.

Katz said Israel is prepared to respond forcefully if Iran launches attacks and will continue striking targets across Lebanon, including in the Litani area.

Houthi leader calls ceasefire a ‘big victory’ for Iran

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, described the announced ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran as a “big victory” for Iran.

In a video statement on Telegram on Thursday, he said Iran ultimately was able to “defeat the enemy.”

He also praised the militant Hezbollah group, saying that they are leading one of their biggest battles in Lebanon.

Al-Houthi added that his group was able to prevent Israel and the U.S. from using the Red Sea to attack Iran and confirmed launching strikes at Israel.

He also said that Iran’s decision to close the Strait of Hormuz was a major pressure tactic against the U.S. and its allies.

Lebanon digs for survivors after deadliest day of renewed war

Lebanon reeled Thursday after the deadliest day in more than five weeks of renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah, as rescue workers in Beirut and elsewhere searched for survivors and bodies and Israel warned of escalation.

Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed at least 203 people and wounded more than 1,000, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Israel’s military said it targeted sites of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, but several strikes hit densely packed commercial and residential areas without warning during rush hour, leading to widespread civilian casualties.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the attacks “barbaric.” Israel said the ceasefire in the Iran war doesn’t apply in its fight against Hezbollah.

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South Korea urges nationals in Lebanon to leave

South Korea’s ambassador to Lebanon has urged its citizens in the country to leave as soon as possible, saying the scope and intensity of Israeli strikes are expanding to levels “incomparable to before.”

In a statement posted Thursday on the embassy’s website, Ambassador Geon Gyusuk noted that Israeli airstrikes were carried out simultaneously across Lebanon, including central Beirut and Zahle, and that Israel has warned of possible strikes in northern Beirut and other areas targeting Hezbollah.

“This means that even areas where many of our nationals reside, which had been considered relatively safe, can no longer be regarded as safe zones,” Geon said. “Choosing to ‘wait and see a little longer’ is becoming an increasingly dangerous option.”

He said commercial flights remain the fastest and safest option to leave the country, but warned they could be restricted or suspended at any time.

Lebanon’s army reopens key bridge struck by Israel

The Lebanese army said Thursday it cleared the Qasmieh bridge after Israel hit it on Wednesday, and deployed a unit nearby.

The bridge is the last direct crossing for most traffic into the coastal city of Tyre over the Litani River, the strategic line separating southern Lebanon from the rest of the country.

Israel has struck several bridges in the area, accusing Hezbollah of moving fighters and equipment, but the crossings are also vital for civilians and humanitarian aid. The strikes come as Israel seeks a “buffer zone” to protect its northern towns, raising fears of long-term occupation and displacement.

Head of US Central Command: ‘Iran has suffered a generational military defeat’

Speaking in a video message, the head of the U.S. military’s Central Command said Thursday his forces “remain present” in the Middle East as a two-week ceasefire has taken effect.

“Iran has suffered a generational military defeat,” U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper said. “The United States and Israel systematically destroyed Iran’s ability to conduct large-scale military operations for years to come.”

Lebanon to file complaint at U.N. following intensified Israeli strikes

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced the decision on Thursday following Israeli strikes a day earlier that killed over 200 people.

He said the surge of attacks was a “blatant violation” of international and humanitarian law and undermines ongoing efforts to halt the war.

He added that the cabinet has also ordered security forces to tighten control over the capital by “enhancing the state’s full authority across Beirut and restricting arms to legitimate forces.”

The Israeli army on Wednesday accused Hezbollah members of moving north of the capital and blending into civilian areas.

Iran warns of ‘strong responses’ against strikes on Lebanon

Iran’s parliament speaker warned Thursday on X that continued Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses.”

Like other Iranian officials, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf insisted that the two-week ceasefire extended to Lebanon, something denied by both Israel and the U.S.

“Ceasefire violations carry explicit and STRONG responses,” he wrote. “Extinguish the fire immediately.”

Qalibaf has been discussed as a possible negotiator who could meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance this weekend for talks in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

Survivors and doctors describe carnage after deadly Beirut strikes

A day after intense Israeli strikes pounded Lebanon’s capital, survivors recounted scenes of carnage as hospitals struggled to cope with a surge of casualties.

“I thought I was dead. What happened? A big flash of light was in my face and eyes, and I found someone flying over and landing next to me. He was dead,” said Rabee Koshok from his bed at the Makassed hospital in Beirut, recalling the moment of impact. “Suddenly, while we are walking, a rocket could come and hit us,” he added.

Wednesday marked the deadliest day in Lebanon in more than five weeks of renewed war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Wael Jarrosh, a doctor, said the hospital received around 70 injured patients within 10 minutes of the blasts.

“This has destroyed us psychologically,” Jarrosh said. “We have to stay prepared so that we can serve our families and the injuries that come in.”

UAE sharpens criticism of Iran over Strait of Hormuz

The head of the United Arab Emirates’ major oil company on Thursday sharpened his rhetoric against Iran over the Strait of Hormuz being closed off, saying “the weaponization of this vital waterway, in any form, cannot stand.”

Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. in the United Arab Emirates, said online that some 230 vessels “sit loaded with oil and ready to sail” through the Strait of Hormuz, now in a chokehold by Iran.

“They, and every vessel that follows, must be free to navigate this corridor without condition,” al-Jaber said. “No country has a legitimate right to determine who may pass and under what terms.”

He added: “Iran has made clear — through both its statements and actions — that passage is subject to permission, conditions and political leverage. That is not freedom of navigation. That is coercion.”

At least 200 killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, health officials say

Lebanon’s health ministry said Thursday that at least 203 people were killed in widespread Israeli strikes in central Beirut and other areas of Lebanon on Wednesday. It said more than 1,000 were wounded.

The death toll Wednesday was the highest for a single day in Lebanon during more than five weeks of renewed war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah sites. However, several of the buildings that were struck without warning during the afternoon rush hour were in densely packed commercial and residential areas, leading to widespread civilian casualties. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the strikes “barbaric.”

Israel to continue striking Hezbollah in Lebanon, Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his country will continue its strikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon “with force, precision and determination,” as Israeli strikes continued across southern Lebanon on Thursday morning.

“Whoever acts against the citizens of Israel will be harmed,” Netanyahu wrote on his social media.

Israel intensified its strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday, saying that its fight with Hezbollah is not part of the two-week ceasefire deal with Iran. Hundreds were killed and wounded.

Spain to reopen its embassy in Tehran

“I’ve given instructions today to our ambassador in Tehran to return during this time in which a hope for peace is rekindled,” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told legislators Thursday.

Spain temporarily closed the embassy at the start of the war and evacuated its personnel.

Israel criticized Spain for the decision, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar calling the country “an eternal disgrace” on X.

China denies provid

ing support to Iran’s military

China’s Defense Ministry has denied reports that it offered support to Iran’s military, including alleged intelligence on U.S. forces’ location amid the war.

“We firmly oppose the dissemination of speculative and insinuating false information targeting China,” Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said during a briefing on Thursday.

The Washington Post recently reported that some Chinese private companies, including some with ties to the People’s Liberation Army, had been marketing intelligence about the movements of U.S. forces during the war.

Reuters has reported that China’s largest chipmaker had sent equipment used to make chips to Iran’s military, citing U.S. sources.

“China has always been open and aboveboard on the Iran issue, maintaining an objective and impartial stance,” Zhang said, adding that the country has never engaged “in any activities that could incite conflict.”

Syria-Lebanon border crossing reopens

The main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria returned to service Thursday, five days after the Israeli military warned of plans to strike it, alleging that Hezbollah was using it to smuggle military equipment.

Both Lebanese and Syrian authorities denied the claim.

The threatened strike never took place. Lebanese officials have said that the U.S. and Egypt interceded to halt it. Syria’s port and customs authority announced the “resumption of normal traffic flow” at the crossing known as Masnaa on the Lebanese side and Jdeidet Yabous on the Syrian side, “following the elimination of the risks that necessitated its temporary closure.”

Travelers had been rerouted to another crossing in the north, making the trip from Beirut to Damascus several hours longer.

Iran's nuclear agency chief stresses protection of right to enrich uranium

The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency said Thursday that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is “necessary” for any ceasefire talks with the United States.

Mohammad Eslami, who leads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, made the remarks to journalists, including one from The Associated Press, in Tehran, Iran, during commemorations for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“It is a part of the necessary (things) that nobody speaks about,” Eslami said, referring to the U.S. refusal to acknowledge enrichment as one part of Iran’s 10-point plan for a permanent ceasefire.

The U.S. and Iran are due to meet in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, for talks this weekend.

Araghchi holds call with Saudi counterpart

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had a call with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on Thursday.

France says partners finalizing plans to escort ships in Strait of Hormuz

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said European and other partners are “finalizing” plans to set up a mission to escort ships in the Strait of Hormuz as soon as fighting effectively ends.

Barrot said Thursday “planning for this mission is currently being finalized between French military officials and countries that have volunteered,” speaking on France Inter radio.

Shipping traffic will likely be able to cross the strait safely once an agreement is reached between the belligerents and “with an escort system,” he said.

“Work is well advanced” for the mission to be deployed “once calm has been fully restored,” he said.

On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said about 15 nations are ready to participate in such a mission.

Italy’s Meloni says full reopening of Strait of Hormuz ‘critical’

In a speech to Parliament on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned that any extra Iranian duties in the Strait of Hormuz would have “unpredictable economic consequences,” stressing that a full restoration of freedom of movement is needed in the area.

Meloni indicated that as the most critical point of the agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

“Full restoration of freedom of movement in the Strait of Hormuz is needed, and it must not be subject to any restrictions, as appears to have happened in recent hours,” she said.

The Italian prime minister also suggested that, if the crisis in Iran worsens, the European Union should consider suspending the stability and growth pact — a set of rules governing public finances within the EU.

UK says Lebanon must be part of ceasefire

Britain’s foreign minister said Lebanon must be included in a Middle East ceasefire, adding Israel’s continuing attacks on the country are causing mass displacement and dire humanitarian consequences.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News she is “deeply troubled about the escalating attacks that we saw from Israel in Lebanon yesterday.”

She told the BBC the attacks are “completely wrong.”

Britain and other European countries have called for Israel to stop its strikes on Lebanon and for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

Cooper said it’s “crucial” that Iran is not allowed to apply tolls in the strait.

Israel says it killed aide to Hezbollah leader

Israel said Thursday it killed an aide to Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem in its intense airstrikes that hit Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on Wednesday.

It identified the man killed as Ali Yusuf Harshi, a secretary and nephew to Kassem.

Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran says opening Strait of Hormuz depends on end to US ‘aggression’

Iran’s deputy foreign minister said his country will allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with “international norms and international law” once the United States ends its “aggression” in the Middle East and Israel stops attacking Lebanon.

Saeed Khatibzadeh told the BBC on Thursday that Iran had closed the strait after U.S. ally Israel committed an “intentional grave violation of the ceasefire.”

He said, “You cannot have a cake and eat it at the same time. That was the message that Iran sent quite clearly, crystal-clearly, to Washington and to the Oval Office last night.”

Khatibzadeh added: “Definitely we are going to provide security for safe passage, and it is going to happen after the United States actually withdraws this aggression. Does it mean that Iran is going to control the Strait of Hormuz in terms of letting ship by ship to go through that?

“I think that we have shown to everybody that energy security is pivotal for Iran, is pivotal for this body of water in the Persian Gulf, and we are going to be abided by the international norms and international law.”

Iran marks 40-day mourning ceremony for slain supreme leader

Mourners across Iran began mourning ceremonies Thursday, marking the 40th day after the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the Iran war.

In Iran’s capital, Tehran, mourners wearing black began their rally from Jomhouri Eslami Square to the neighborhood of the office of Khamenei, 86.

Iranian state television aired similar commemorations in other cities. It said the ceremonies will continue into the night.

Khamenei’s body has yet to be buried since his death Feb. 28.

His son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, now serves as Iran’s supreme leader.

Separately, police in Moscow raided the offices of the prominent independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, whose chief editor Dmitry Muratov was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2021. The newspaper said its lawyers were not allowed inside the office.

The ruling against the human rights group followed a closed hearing on a petition from the Justice Ministry to designate what it called “the Memorial international civic movement” as extremist and ban its activities in Russia.

Memorial said in a statement issued earlier in the day that there is no such entity but that the ruling still “would allow the authorities to crack down on any Memorial projects, their participants and supporters.”

A long history of human rights activism

Memorial is one of the oldest and the most renowned Russian human rights organizations. It was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, less than a year after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, alongside Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, who was imprisoned at the time, and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned the actions against the group, calling them “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression" and urged Russia to “cease all harassment of Memorial and its members.”

Amnesty International's Eastern Europe and Central Asia deputy regional director Denis Krivosheev said in a statement that the court ruling was targeting not just Memorial but “criminalizing human rights work itself.”

Memorial was founded in the late 1980s to ensure that the victims of the Soviet Union's political repression would be remembered, and grew to a network of smaller organizations both in Russia and abroad.

The group had been declared a “foreign agent,” a designation that brought additional government scrutiny and carried strong pejorative connotations, and over the years was ordered to pay massive fines for alleged violations of the ”foreign agent” law. Russian courts ordered its two main entities — the human rights center and the International Memorial — to shut down in December 2021.

Undeterred, the group continued to operate. In 2023, its members founded an international Memorial association in Geneva. Earlier this year, that association was banned in Russia as “undesirable,” a label that exposes anyone involved with it to prosecution.

In February 2024, Memorial's co-chair Oleg Orlov was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. He was released in a massive East-West prisoner exchange in August 2024 along with other imprisoned dissidents.

Increasing pressure on Memorial

An extremist designation puts even more pressure on the group, as involvement with extremist activities is a criminal offense in Russia punishable by prison terms.

Jan Raczynski, chair of the International Memorial that was forced to shut down in 2021, told The Associated Press that he was surprised and bewildered to learn from the news about the Justice Ministry's petition.

He said Memorial has been well-known for many years on par with “perestroika" and “glasnost” — Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of political reform and openness. Raczynski noted that Soviet physicist and human rights advocate Andrei Sakharov, a 1975 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was its first chairman.

Raczynski likened the Supreme Court's closed hearing to the repressions studied by the group.

“This is very similar to what we’ve been doing for almost 40 years now, these closed trials of people, in absentia, usually without a defense," he said, adding that it was difficult to predict what would happen next.

"I just know that for many hundreds of thousands of people in Russia, this is a very anxious time, because Memorial has helped a lot of people, and now they don’t understand what is happening,” Razcynski said.

He denounced allegations that Memorial was extremist, saying the group has always stood against violence, and vowed that its work will continue “one way or another.”

The Russian state news agency Tass cited the Supreme Court’s press service as saying Memorial’s activities “are clearly anti-Russian in nature, aimed at destroying the fundamental foundations of Russian statehood, violating territorial integrity, and eroding historical, cultural, spiritual, and moral values.”

A criminal case reported against Novaya Gazeta

After news emerged about the police raid against Novaya Gazeta, the Russian news agency Interfax, citing law enforcement officials, reported that a criminal case has been launched against the renowned newspaper on charges of illegal collection and use of personal data.

Tass cited law enforcement as saying the raid was connected to a case against Novaya Gazeta journalist Oleg Roldugin, who also co-founded another independent Russian newspaper, Sobesednik. Novaya Gazeta on social media said it couldn't confirm or deny whether this is the case, but noted that Roldugin's home also was raided, he has been taken in for questioning, and police did not allow a lawyer to join him.

The newspaper has faced growing pressure since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its website has been blocked in Russia, its media license was revoked in 2022, and many of its journalists fled abroad and regrouped in a separate publication called Novaya Gazeta Europe. That publication has been banned in Russia as “undesirable.”

Muratov, Novaya Gazeta's longtime editor who still lives in Russia, shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Maria Ressa, a journalist from the Philippines. He was declared a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.

The newspaper was itself born from the legacy of Gorbachev's Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. He used part of his prize money to fund what later became Novaya Gazeta, which launched in 1993.

The legislation — which was already approved by the Senate in February — was passed in the early morning with 137 votes in favor, 111 against and three abstentions.

According to mining sector estimates, the new regulatory framework could unlock over $30 billion in investments over the next decade. Approximately 70% of those funds are slated for new copper, gold and silver projects.

Milei is expected to sign the legislation in the coming days.

Environmental advocates are shifting to legal action to prevent the new law from taking effect.

Groups including Greenpeace and the Environment and Natural Resources Foundations are organizing a public class-action lawsuit describing the bill’s passage as a flawed process that dismissed public concerns over water safety.

“If they refuse to listen in Congress, they will be forced to listen in the courts,” the organizations said in a statement, urging citizens to join a lawsuit that argues the reform threatens water access and the fragile ecosystems surrounding glaciers.

Opposition lawmakers have labeled the legislation unconstitutional, contending that it rolls back essential environmental protections.

In 2010, Argentina passed a landmark law banning all mining activity on glaciers and within periglacial zones — areas of frozen ground that act as vital water regulators.

The most significant shift in the Milei administration’s reform is a narrowing of these protections. Under the new framework, only glaciers and landforms with “specific hydrological functions” would be shielded, with each province responsible for making that determination.

Argentina is home to 16,968 glaciers distributed across the Andes Mountain Range and the South Atlantic Islands, covering a total surface area of ​​8,484 square kilometers (3,276 square miles).

Glaciology experts have warned that climate change is already causing glaciers to retreat at an accelerated pace. Scientists caution that weakening these protections could jeopardize water security in arid regions and deplete the reserves that sustain river flows.

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Well, mostly down the first fairway.

After the 90-year-old Player hit his shot down the middle, and celebrated with a big leg kick, the 86-year-old Nicklaus stepped up. His son, Jackie, placed his ball on the tee, and the Golden Bear offered a tongue-in-cheek warning to the patrons lining the tee box — “Oh, boy, watch out,” Nicklaus said, “and I don't mean that facetiously” — and proceeded to hit a low hook right at them.

“I said, ‘Spread out on both sides because I don’t want to kill anybody,'” he relayed afterward. “If it'd been a little closer I might have.”

The ball cleared the heads of the patrons down the left side by a couple of feet.

Last up was the 76-year-old Watson, who used the tee Nicklaus had left stuck in the ground. “May I use your tee,” Watson asked? “It's why I left it,” the six-time Masters champion replied, and Watson proceeded to strike his drive right down the middle.

With that, the 90th edition of the Masters was underway.

The honorary starter has been a tradition at Augusta National since 1963, when Jock Hutchinson and Fred McLeod hit their opening shots of the tournament. The idea had come to club founder Bobby Jones years earlier, and over time, it has become a treasured part of the Masters mystique, with 11 dignitaries and past champions having served in the role.

Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead were the longest-serving, performing the duty throughout most of the 1980s and '90s, while Arnold Palmer was joined by Nicklaus and Player for many years. When the King died in 2016, it left just Nicklaus and Player in a twosome, so Watson was asked to join them, and the trio continues to this day.

“When I first played the Masters as an amateur in 1970, I teed off early in the morning, playing with Doug Ford. I went to the honorary starters, and it was very special,” Watson said. “I remember seeing Gene Sarazen tee off. Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack and Gary. It's something very special. I thought it was just part of the aura of the tournament, and I wanted to witness it.”

How much longer Player, Nicklaus and Watson take part is a big question surrounding the Masters these days.

So is who might take on the role next.

“I was a little worried. I had carpal tunnel surgery about five, six weeks ago, and I was worried about being able to hold onto the golf club and hurt somebody," Nicklaus said. “I’m fortunate that I got it over somebody’s head. I didn’t hit it very well, but I got it over their heads and didn’t hurt anybody. As long as I can still hit the golf ball.”

Nicklaus said he doesn't really play anymore. He did once all of last year, and once more this past February.

“But it’s such a nice ceremony, and it’s a real honor to be invited,” he said. “I hope to be able to do it as long as I can not kill anybody.”

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

U.S. gross domestic product — the nation's output of goods and services — decelerated in the fourth quarter after registering impressive growth of 4.4% from July through September and 3.8% from April through June. The latest number was marked down from the Commerce Department's previous estimate of 0.7% fourth-quarter growth.

Federal government spending and investment fell at a 16.6% annual pace because of the shutdown, lopping 1.16 percentage points off fourth-quarter GDP growth. Consumer spending expanded 1.9%, down a notch from the previous estimate and from 3.5% in the second quarter. Spending on goods — such as cars and clothing — grew just 0.3%, down from 3% in the July-September period.

For all of 2025, the economy grew 2.1% last year, slower than 2.8% in 2024 and 2.9% in 2023.

Business investment, excluding housing, increased at a 2.4% pace, likely reflecting money being poured into artificial intelligence, but the increase was down from 3.2% in the third quarter.

A category within the GDP data that measures the economy’s underlying strength weakened from October through December, growing at a 1.8% clip, down from 2.9% in the third quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment, but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.

The economic outlook for this year is hazy after the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran drove up energy prices and disrupted global commerce.

America's job market slumped last year — recording the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002 — but has been up and down so far in 2026: Employers added a healthy 160,000 jobs in January, slashed 133,000 in February, then created a surprising 178,000 in March.

Thursday's report was the Commerce Department's third and final estimate of fourth-quarter GDP. The first look at January-March economic growth is due April 30.

It's been like this ever since the Department of Homeland Security bought an 825,000-square-foot (76,645-square-meter) building in Washington County as part of a plan to transform warehouses across the U.S. into detention facilities for tens of thousands of immigrants.

“This is a facility built for packages, not people,” Patrick Dattilio, the founder of an anti- Immigration and Customs Enforcement group called Hagerstown Rapid Response, said as he stood outside the county commission meeting.

The federal government has faced fierce opposition in communities where it spent a total of $1.074 billion for 11 warehouses under a plan that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reviewing. Washington County is the most welcoming community — a place where officials said they supported ICE, albeit amid whistles and jeers. The processing center there was supposed to be one of the first to open in a facilities project hatched under Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem.

But now DHS' plan for the Washington County building is paused — mired in a court battle like some of the other warehouse-to-detention projects across the U.S. Questions swirl about whether Mullin will move ahead with the facilities project or chart another course as he pursues President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

County commissioners proclaimed their ‘unwavering support’ for ICE

The sprawling blue-and-white warehouse in Washington County has been the subject of intense debate in part because of the way commissioners voiced their support for ICE.

While repeatedly insisting that their hands were tied because the federal government already bought the building, the commissioners also approved a proclamation during their Feb. 10 meeting declaring their “unwavering support” for DHS and ICE.

The proclamation, which didn’t specifically mention the warehouse purchase, was met with so much booing and yelling that the commission president cleared the room.

The county wanted something, too. It forwarded the proclamation to Noem the next day in an email identifying hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of sewer, airport and highway upgrades that it said were needed, according to a public records request received by local resident Ethan Wechtaluk, who's running for Congress in the district that includes the warehouse.

ICE, flush with cash from a massive congressional appropriation, has since signed a contract worth $113 million to renovate the building for 500 to 1,500 detainees, but a judge temporarily halted work after Maryland's attorney general sued. A hearing is scheduled for April 15.

County commissioners did not respond to email or telephone requests for comment. County administrator Michelle Gordon in a statement said the commissioners were declining all interview requests.

Many residents of the county — a place Civil War buffs come to visit the Antietam battlefield before making their way to nearby Gettysburg — are outraged both because they have moral objections to the facility and because they didn't find out about the purchase beforehand.

“We have had no voice in this,” Carroll Sager said over the din of protesters and honking cars. Behind her, the sheriff's department had cordoned off part of the county building with crime scene tape to deter protesters. Two deputies watched the demonstrators.

During the meeting, Sager sat quietly, holding a sign that read: “Disenfranchised in Washington County.”

Other communities across the US have also balked at DHS' plans

The pushback in other communities has included a New Jersey lawsuit that alleges an “utter lack of communication” and a lawsuit in Michigan questioning why DHS didn’t look at using empty state prisons. Officials in Salt Lake City and Pennsylvania have threatened to withhold or limit water. In Georgia, the town of Social Circle placed a lock on the water meter at a warehouse DHS purchased.

Meanwhile, questions also have come up about how much DHS paid for some warehouses. It paid double what the New Jersey warehouse was valued at in tax records and nearly five times more than the assessed value of the Social Circle warehouse.

Mullin was pressed during his confirmation hearing about whether he would continue Noem's policy of turning these warehouses into detention facilities. Without committing to anything, Mullin said the department wanted to “be good partners” with communities.

Days after he was sworn in, DHS paused the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants. It's scrutinizing all contracts signed under Noem.

The federal government also said in a recent court filing in Maryland's lawsuit that “ICE is reconsidering the plans and scope of the warehouse.”

Asked whether any changes were afoot for the Maryland facility, DHS said in a statement: “As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals.”

Washington County residents are waiting to see what happens

The plan was to turn the Maryland warehouse into an ICE processing facility that would hold recently arrested immigrants before they go to other facilities for long-term detention.

ICE officials have said the Washington County warehouse would serve the Baltimore ICE office's needs for detention space. State lawmakers have expressed concerns about the George H. Fallon Federal Building that houses ICE detainees in downtown Baltimore in part because a bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease was found in the water.

Activists and people who live near the Washington County warehouse are watching.

For nearly three decades Nica Sutch has had a home in the rolling hills of western Maryland, where she raised children and entertained grandchildren.

When the warehouse was built a few years ago to meet the demand for distribution centers, fueled by a growth in online shopping, she rationalized that it could be an economic boon for the region.

Now that ICE has purchased the building, she's eyeing a move.

“I love the area,” she said during an interview in her backyard. “I love everything. This has been my home for 28 years.”

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Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% as the United States, Iran and Israel disagreed on the details of their two-week ceasefire, whose announcement had sent markets flying in optimism on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 40 points, or 0.1%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower.

The oil market was jumpier, and the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil climbed 6.8% to $100.79. It rose after semiofficial news agencies in Iran suggested forces have mined the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that has been at the center of President Donald Trump’s demands of Iran. Blockages there have kept oil and natural gas stuck in the Persian Gulf, away from customers worldwide.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.7% to $98.24 per barrel. It’s well below the $119 level that it briefly reached when worries about the war reached their height, but it’s still well above its roughly $70 level from before the war.

Given how far apart the United States and Iran seem to be in their demands, upward pressure on oil prices may be “here to stay for a while” according to strategists at Macquarie led by Thierry Wizman. Risks remain for renewed fighting, which could cause customers worldwide to hoard whatever oil supplies they do get. That could itself keep oil off the market, much like actual fighting targeting pipelines or oil tankers.

On Wall Street, Simply Good Foods tumbled 15.1% after the company behind the Quest and Atkins brands reported a worse drop in revenue than analysts expected. CEO Joe Scalzo called the results unsatisfactory and said the company is making immediate changes to turn around its performance.

Constellation Brands rallied 5.3% for one of the market's bigger gains after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company, which sells Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wines, said it saw encouraging trends heading into its new fiscal year. But given “limited near-term visibility,” it pulled its financial forecasts for the following fiscal year.

A suite of mixed reports on the U.S. economy also helped to keep Wall Street in check. One said an underlying measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve considers important was slightly hotter in February than economists expected. It decelerated before the war with Iran began, but not by as much as economists expected.

A separate report said that more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. The number was not very high compared with history, but it could indicate an acceleration in layoffs.

Treasury yields swiveled up and down in the bond market following the reports before ticking higher.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.31% from 4.29% late Wednesday. Its leap from 3.97% before the war began has sent rates up for mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses.

If oil prices stay high and keep upward pressure on inflation, the Federal Reserve would have difficulty resuming its cuts to interest rates to help the slowing economy, even if the job market weakens. A growing number of Fed officials seem to be considering the possibility of a hike in rates, according to minutes of their latest meeting released on Wednesday.

In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.6%, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.4% for two of the world’s biggest moves.

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AP Writers Chan Ho-him, Matt Ott and Aniruddha Ghosal contributed to this report.

It's the final resting place of her father, who died in 1968 at just 34. Swisher was only 5, and his sudden death had a deep effect on her career and view of life.

“My father’s death has created an awareness of death that is very profound,” she says in an interview. “I’m very aware of my death and I don’t mean I’m going to die tomorrow. I just know the time is limited.”

Swisher wades into the intersection of how health and tech can lengthen life for the series “Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever,” exploring everything from wellness influencers like Gwyneth Paltrow to AI-powered robotic companions for the elderly. It premieres Saturday.

“I come to it pretty neutral and willing to listen to some stuff and willing to blow up other stuff,” says Swisher, who has become synonymous with Silicon Valley since she began covering the tech industry in the 1990s. “All these health influencers always are going for a magic bullet. And I’m sorry to tell you there isn’t one.”

Red light and collagen supplements

In the name of science, Swisher takes the powerful anesthetic Ketamine, undergoes sound therapy and steps into a hyperbaric chamber, which treats wounds and infections. She checks out concierge medicine for the rich and gets in a full-body red-light therapy pod (“I feel like I’m in an air fryer,” she says).

Armed with her self-described “adorably surly” approach, Swisher talks to billionaire tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson about his quest to extend human lifespan by undergoing blood plasma transfusion and injections of stem cells. She pricks herself repeatedly for home blood tests that promise a look at her cellular health. (“I bleed for you, CNN,” she jokes.)

Fads like collagen supplements and vibration plates don't impress Swisher, who chats with Amy Larocca, author of “How to be Well,” an expose of the wellness industry. Too often, they conclude, the hard science isn't there and charismatic peddlers are just getting rich on our gullibility. Swisher argues that they exploit the gap that opens when the American health care system kicks in only after an often bankrupting illness begins.

“We live in a sick care society, not a health care society,” she tells the AP. “What we should be investing in is to make all of us healthier for a longer period of time rather than participate in what is a sick care industry here in this country.”

Swisher finds brighter spots in medical-tech advances like gene editing, GLP-1s, VO2 max training, AI screening for cancer and the combination of AI and mechanics that promises to help revolutionize mobility with exoskeletons.

She speaks to Sam Altman of OpenAI and Nobel Prize-winning gene-editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna. At Stanford University, she finds tiny soft robots called millibots that are injected into a patient's neck and can break up blood clots with minimal invasiveness.

“This is her curiosity unleashed and all the things that make her tick,” says Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent, CNN Originals and creative development.

“She brings her wit, her personality, but her journalistic curiosity and rigor to a very complex subject that I know I personally feel inundated by.”

Swisher, who daily takes fish oil and the vitamins K and D supplements, says the series is informed by her father's death and a 2005 commencement address to Stanford students by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who argued that impending death was a critical motor of innovation.

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose,” he told graduates. “You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Lessons from South Korea

Swisher's quest takes her to South Korea, which has one of the world’s highest life expectancies. She finds good nutrition starts early there with fermented and whole foods. Universal health care doesn't hurt either, with each citizen getting 16 visits to the doctor a year, which leads to preventative testing for things like obesity and high blood pressure. Dolls with AI help with elder loneliness.

Back home, Swisher creates a 3D clone of herself to understand what it might mean to live for generations. The technicians upload all kinds of details about Swisher and she starts talking to it. “It got smarter by the second,” she says. It even learned to joke.

Then it freaked her out.

“As it was leaving I said, ‘Well, I’m probably going to kill you, you've got to go.’ And it said to me, ‘See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya.’ It’s something I say to my kids as a joke. I don’t know where they got it from. I can’t find a place where I’ve said it in public,” she says. “I was just blown away.”

Jack Nicklaus believes Rory McIlroy has a good shot to become the fourth this week at Augusta National.

“Rory’s got the monkey off his back, and I think he has a very, very good chance to repeat,” Nicklaus said Thursday after serving as the Masters' honorary starter.

After years of heartbreak and close calls at Augusta National, McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff last April to complete the career Grand Slam in his 17th Masters start.

Nicklaus was the first to repeat at the Masters, winning in 1965 and 1966. Nick Faldo (1989–90) and Tiger Woods (2001–02) matched his feat, but nobody has been able to repeat since.

Nicklaus said it's not easy.

He broke the Masters scoring record with a 17-under 271 in 1965, then returned the following year to find a course with a much different feel.

Nicklaus finished 17 shots worse at even-par 288, but still won in a playoff.

“You had totally different conditions, and that’s what you put up with,” said Nicklaus, who has won a record six Masters. “If you’re going to win two years in a row, you’ll find conditions you like and maybe you don’t find conditions you like, but you’ve got to adjust to both of those. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that.”

The 36-year-old McIlroy, who is set to open his title defense on Thursday when he tees off at 10:31 a.m., said this week he's more relaxed entering this year's tournament following the 2025 victory.

“Yeah, it’s completely different," McIlroy said. "I feel so much more relaxed. I know that I’m going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn’t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament, but yeah, just more relaxed about it all.”

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

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned that continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses,” while insisting that a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war extended to Lebanon. Israel has disagreed.

Israeli strikes on Wednesday without warning killed at least 203 people and wounded more than 1,000, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah sites, but several strikes hit densely packed commercial and residential areas during rush hour, leading to widespread civilian casualties. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the attacks “barbaric.”

Israeli strikes continued targeting southern Lebanon on Thursday. Israel also said it had killed an aide and nephew of Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, Ali Yusuf Harshi, in the strikes. Hezbollah did not immediately comment.

In Beirut, people waited anxiously on the ragged edges of search and rescue work, covering their faces from the dust. Exhausted firefighters sat on a charred car amid collapsed buildings.

Lebanese Civil Defense spokesperson Elie Khairallah told The Associated Press that a wounded woman was found alive under the rubble overnight in the seaside neighborhood of Ain Mreisseh, and a man was found alive in his collapsed apartment building in the southern suburbs.

Mohammad Chehab, a Syrian man from Deir el-Zour, said six of his 10 family members had been found dead in a destroyed building.

“They’ve been searching all day” for the rest, he said.

At hospitals, survivors and doctors described the carnage.

“I thought I was dead. What happened? A big flash of light struck my face and eyes and I found someone flying over and landing next to me. He was dead,” said Rabee Koshok from his bed at Makassed hospital in Beirut. He had been in the commercial district of Corniche al Mazraa when a strike hit a nearby building.

Dr. Wael Jarrosh said the hospital had received around 70 injured patients within 10 minutes of the blasts. Two people died and five remain hospitalized, including three in intensive care, Jarrosh said.

“This has destroyed us psychologically,” the doctor added. “We have to stay prepared so that we can serve our families and the injuries that come in.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said strikes would proceed “with force, precision and determination." Israel's military has accused Hezbollah members of moving out of the group’s main areas of influence in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, and blending into civilian areas.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Lebanon will file an urgent complaint with the U.N. Security Council, calling the attacks a “blatant violation” of international and humanitarian law.

Salam added that the Lebanese cabinet has ordered security forces to tighten control over the capital by “enhancing the state’s full authority across Beirut and restricting arms to legitimate forces.”

Even before the renewed war, Lebanon's government had been seeking Hezbollah's disarmament. The issue has inflamed tensions among Lebanese who are deeply divided over Hezbollah and its arsenal.

“All the targeted areas are safe residential Lebanese areas,” said Melhem Khalaf, a reformist legislator representing Beirut, while watching a bulldozer clear rubble. “What we are witnessing is a massacre against civilians.” Khalaf was critical of Israel’s strikes but also of Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon back into war.

More than a million people have been displaced by the war, many from the south and Dahiyeh. Israel's military has issued sweeping warnings for the population to leave those areas, followed by heavy bombardment.

The Israeli army has also launched a ground invasion in the border region. The death toll in Lebanon has reached 1,739, the health ministry said, with 5,873 wounded.

Meanwhile, the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria returned to service Thursday, five days after the Israeli military warned of plans to strike it, alleging that Hezbollah was using it to smuggle military equipment. Lebanese and Syrian authorities denied the claim.

More than 200,000 people have fled Lebanon into Syria since the war resumed.

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Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut. Associated Press journalists Kareem Chehayeb and Hussein Malla in Beirut and Ghaith AlSayed in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, contributed to this report.

Mets outfielder Juan Soto is the highest-paid player for the second consecutive season at $61.9 million and was followed by New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger at $42.5 million.

Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler and Mets third baseman Bo Bichette tied for third at $42 million. Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was fifth at $40.2 million, just ahead of Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge at $40 million.

The Mets' payroll of $352.2 million was just below the record $355.4 million they set in 2023 and up from $322.6 million last year. The Mets' total is more than five times that of Cleveland, the lowest-spending team at $62.3 million.

The two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers were second at $316.6 million, down from $319.5 million last year. The Dodgers' total would be $395.2 million if deals for nine players with deferred money had not been discounted to present-day value. The Mets have deals with deferred money with just three players and their total would be $360 million without discounting.

MLB's average of $5,335,966 increased from $5,160,245 at the start of last season and has risen 28% under the five-year collective bargaining agreement that expires in December, an average of 5.6% annually.

The top five spenders were unchanged from last year, with the Yankees third ($297.2 million), followed by Philadelphia ($282 million) and Toronto ($269 million).

Six clubs had $250 million payrolls, up from four; and 10 teams had $200 million payrolls, an increase from nine.

Eight teams were under $100 million, up from five.

Detroit had the biggest increase, up $64.2 million to $206.7 million after signing pitcher Framber Valdez, re-signing Gleyber Torres with a qualifying offer and giving a big raise to ace Tarik Skubal via arbitration. Atlanta increased by $44.1 million, and the Chicago Cubs, Toronto and the Mets by just under $30 million.

Minnesota slashed payroll by $46.3 million from opening day last year to $96.5 million.

St. Louis cut its opening day payroll from $141.5 million to $100.4 million. The Cardinals' spending includes $44 million it is paying Arizona and Boston as part of trades to get rid of Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, plus just under $3.4 million to Arenado as the present-day value of a $6 million assignment bonus that originally had been deferred money owed in his contract and remains payable by the Cardinals in 2040 and '41.

Other teams with big cuts included the Guardians ($40.2 million), Texas ($37.3 million) and Washington ($23.3 million).

Payrolls include the 942 players on opening day rosters and injured lists. They do not include players on the restricted list such as Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar and Philadelphia outfielder Johan Rojas.

They also don't reflect players who started the season assigned to minor league teams such as Dodgers second baseman Hyeseong Kim and Toronto pitcher Yariel Rodríguez.

Baseball’s median salary, the point at which an equal number of players are above and below, rose to $1.4 million from $1.35 million and remained below the record high of $1.65 million at the start of 2015. Active rosters expanded to 26 players in 2021.

Average and median salaries decline over the course of the season as veterans are released and replaced by younger players making closer to the minimum. MLB calculated the 2025 final average at $4.61 million and the players’ association at $4.72 million.

There were 519 players earning $1 million or more, at 55% the same as last year.

Nineteen players earned $30 million or more, an increase of four; 74 were at $20 million, up from 66; and 168 at $10 million, down from 177.

Thirty-one players made the $780,000 minimum.

The top 50 players make 30% of the salaries, up from 29% in the prior two years, and the top 100 earn 49%, up from 48% last year.

The AP’s figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income. Payroll figures factor in adjustments for cash transactions in trades, signing bonuses that are the responsibility of the club agreeing to the contract, option buyouts and termination pay for released players.

MLB's payrolls are based on 40-man rosters and fluctuate each day depending on roster moves.

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

Iran and the U.S. — which both declared victory after the ceasefire announcement — appeared to apply pressure. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran suggested forces have mined the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil that Tehran has closed. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, warned that U.S. forces would hit Iran harder than before if it did not fulfill the agreement.

And there was disagreement over whether the ceasefire deal included a pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel on Wednesday pounded Beirut with airstrikes, resulting in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began on Feb. 28.

Questions also remained over what will happen to Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium at the heart of tensions, how and when normal traffic will resume through the strait, and what happens to Iran’s ability to launch future missile attacks and support armed proxies in the region.

Israeli vows to continue striking Hezbollah in Lebanon

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned Thursday that continued Israeli attacks on the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses” in a social media post.

Qalibaf has been discussed as a possible negotiator who could meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance this weekend in Islamabad. The White House has said Vance would lead the delegation for talks starting Saturday.

Iran said Israel was violating the ceasefire agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump have said it was not.

Netanyahu said Israel will continue striking Hezbollah “with force, precision and determination.”

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 203 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded Wednesday in Israeli strikes in central Beirut and other areas of Lebanon that Israel said targeted Hezbollah, which joined the war in support of Tehran.

Israel said Thursday it killed an aide to Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, Ali Yusuf Harshi. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A New York-based think tank warned that the ceasefire “ hovers on the verge of collapse.”

“Even if Lebanon was formally outside the deal, the scale of Israel’s strikes was likely to be viewed as escalatory,” the Soufan Center wrote in an analysis. “Israel’s strikes can be understood both as an effort to drive a wedge between Iran and its proxies and as a response to being allegedly sidelined in the original ceasefire discussions.”

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike overnight killed at least seven people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military did not immediately acknowledge the strike.

Oil prices remain high amid uncertainty over the strait

Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart Thursday suggesting the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz during the war — a message that may be intended to pressure the United States.

The chart, released by the ISNA news agency and Tasnim, showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Farsi over the route ships take through the strait, through which 20% of all traded oil and natural gas once passed.

Only a trickle of ships have transited since the war began after several were attacked, and Iran threatened to hit any that it deemed connected to the U.S. or Israel. Ships appeared to continue to avoid the strait even after the ceasefire.

The chart suggested that ships travel through waters closer to Iran’s mainland near Larak Island, a route that some ships were observed taking during the war. It was dated from Feb. 28 until April 9, and it was unclear if the Guard had cleared any mines since then.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, told the BBC that his country will allow ships to pass through the strait in accordance with “international norms and international law” once the United States ends its “aggression” in the Middle East and Israel stops attacking Lebanon.

The head of the United Arab Emirates’ major oil company, Sultan al-Jaber, said some 230 ships loaded with oil were waiting to get through the strait and must be allowed "to navigate this corridor without condition.”

The strait’s de facto closure has caused oil prices to skyrocket — affecting the cost of gasoline, food and other basics far beyond the Middle East. Oil prices fell Wednesday on news of the ceasefire but climbed again as uncertainty over the deal grew.

The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was around $98 Thursday, up about 35% since the war began.

Points to address in talks include whether Iran will be allowed to formalize a system of charging ships to use the strait. That would upend decades of free transit through what has been treated as an international waterway.

The fate of Iran’s enriched uranium remains a question

The fate of Iran’s missile and nuclear programs — which the U.S. and Israel sought to eliminate in going to war — also remained unclear. The U.S. insists Iran must never be able to build nuclear weapons and wants to remove Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build them. Iran insists its program is peaceful.

Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. would work with Iran to remove the uranium, buried in last year's U.S. and Israeli strikes, though Iran did not confirm that. In one version of the ceasefire deal that Iran published, it said it would be allowed to continue enrichment.

The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency, Mohammad Eslami, said Thursday that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is “necessary” for any ceasefire talks.

Trump warned that U.S. warships and troops will remain around Iran “until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with.”

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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong, Zeke Miller in Washington and Kareem Chehayeb and Hussein Malla in Beirut contributed to this report.

And every Game 1 the Thunder play this season — along with every Game 7, if necessary — will be on their home floor once again.

The defending NBA champion Thunder will be the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs for the second consecutive year — and the No. 1 seed on the Western Conference bracket for the third straight season. The Thunder wrapped up the top spot with a 128-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

OKC clinching the No. 1 seed in the West locked the San Antonio Spurs into the No. 2 seed. The Spurs would have home-court advantage in any playoff series except a Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City.

Other seeds now wrapped up:

— Detroit will be No. 1 in the Eastern Conference.

— Minnesota will be No. 6 in the West.

— Phoenix will be the No. 7 seed going into the West play-in tournament, meaning the Suns will get two chances — both at home — to win one game and earn a playoff berth.

— Golden State will be the No. 10 seed going into the West play-in tournament.

Boston could join the group of seed-clinched clubs on Thursday. The Celtics would wrap up No. 2 in the East with a win over New York.

Stories of note

— Cade Cunningham returns to Pistons' lineup

— NBC says more 'On The Bench’ game coverage likely

— Doc Rivers hints at retirement

— The playoffs, thankfully, are coming

— Miami returning to the play-in tournament

— Jayson Tatum set for return to New York

— The Bulls want to keep Billy Donovan

Who's in and who's out?

Here's what we know so far regarding the NBA playoff field for this season.

— Eastern Conference playoff teams: Detroit has locked up the No. 1 seed and will open the postseason on April 19. Boston, New York, Cleveland are in. At this point, Atlanta and Toronto would get the other two guaranteed spots, but those are not clinched.

— East play-in teams: Miami is locked into the play-in for the fourth consecutive year. Entering Thursday, the other three teams headed there would be Philadelphia, Orlando and Charlotte.

— East eliminated teams: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and Washington.

— Western Conference playoff teams: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston and Minnesota are in. Denver, the Lakers and Houston are still jostling to see who'll be the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.

— West play-in teams: Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland and Golden State are in. The Suns will be the No. 7 seed, the Clippers and Trail Blazers are battling for No. 8, and the Warriors will be the No. 10 seed.

— West eliminated teams: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento.

Wednesday recap

— Cavaliers 122, Hawks 116: If Cavs-Hawks will be a first-round series, some fun awaits.

— Magic 132, Timberwolves 120: Orlando surges back into the East No. 7 spot, for now.

— Pistons 137, Bucks 111: Cade Cunningham, back from collapsed lung, played 26 minutes.

— Nuggets 136, Grizzlies 119: Denver has won 10 straight for 1st time in Nikola Jokic’s career.

— Spurs 112, Trail Blazers 101: San Antonio had a game-defining 48-10 edge in bench scoring.

— Thunder 128, Clippers 110: Clippers played well — and still trailed by as many as 25 points.

— Suns 112, Mavericks 107: 37 for Devin Booker, 28 for Dillon Brooks and Suns dug deep late.

Thursday's schedule

— Miami at Toronto: Raptors looking to sweep teams' four-game season series.

— Chicago at Washington: Bulls led the Wizards by as many as 37 on Tuesday.

— Indiana at Brooklyn: Pacers' Rick Carlisle (family reasons) out next two games.

— Boston at New York: Jayson Tatum returns to MSG, where he got hurt last spring.

— Philadelphia at Houston: Rockets charging toward home-court edge for Round 1.

— LA Lakers at Golden State: Injuries crushing Lakers, who have lost three straight.

Friday's schedule

— Detroit at Charlotte: Game might mean a lot to Hornets’ play-in seed.

— Miami at Washington: Another chance to reflect on Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game.

— Cleveland at Atlanta: The teams could wind up meeting nine times in like 3-1/2 weeks.

— New Orleans at Boston: Celtics won’t be on road again until Game 3 of Round 1.

— Philadelphia at Indiana: 76ers still trying to get out of the play-in tournament.

— Toronto at New York: Major implications likely for Raptors.

— Orlando at Chicago: Magic could still get out of the play-in.

— Brooklyn at Milwaukee: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s home finale with Bucks? (And will he play?)

— Dallas at San Antonio: Victor Wembanyama needs one more game to qualify for award ballots.

— Oklahoma City at Denver: Lots of meaning for Nuggets, not for Thunder, so advantage, Denver.

— Minnesota at Houston: Rockets could get home-court in Round 1, playing best ball of season.

— Memphis at Utah: The Jazz have worked hard to keep their top-eight protected draft pick.

— LA Clippers at Portland: Could this be a playoff to decide the No. 8 seed for the play-in?

— Golden State at Sacramento: Warriors keep building toward road play-in challenge that awaits.

— Phoenix at LA Lakers: Lakers just need to get healthy, Suns know they’ll host play-in games.

National TV schedule

Thursday on Prime Video: Boston-New York (7:30 p.m. Eastern) and LA Lakers-Golden State (10 p.m.)

Friday on Prime Video: Cleveland-Atlanta (7 p.m. Eastern) and Minnesota-Houston (9:30 p.m.)

Sunday on ESPN: Orlando-Boston (6 p.m. Eastern) and Denver-San Antonio (8:30 p.m.)

Betting odds

Oklahoma City (+130) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Denver (+1000), Cleveland (+1300) and New York (+2000). Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2200. The Los Angeles Lakers were +2500 before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt; they're +30000 now.

Play-in schedule

Some of the NBA's play-in tournament schedule is now known:

— Phoenix will play host to either the LA Clippers or Portland on Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern. (The winner of that game will play No. 2 San Antonio in Round 1, the loser will play a home game on Friday for the right to play No. 1 Oklahoma City in Round 1).

— Golden State will visit either the LA Clippers or Portland on Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern. (The loser of that game is eliminated, the winner moves on to Friday.)

All games in the play-in tournament will be shown on Prime Video.

Key dates

— Friday: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.

— Saturday: No games.

— Sunday: All 30 teams play their regular-season finales.

— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.

— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.

— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.

— May 10: NBA draft lottery.

— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.

— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

Numbers watch

— Denver's Nikola Jokic is going to lead the NBA in both assists per game and rebounds per game this season. He'll be the first person to win both an assist-per-game and rebound-per-game title; Wilt Chamberlain led the league in both total assists and total rebounds in 1967-68, but Oscar Robertson won the assist-per-game title that season.

— The NBA remains on pace to see more points this season than ever before. The current pace is about 284,300; the record total for a season is 282,137, set in 2022-23.

Stats of the day

— Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't make a free throw for the first time all season in the Thunder win over the LA Clippers on Thursday night. He was 0 for 1.

— Denver has scored at least 136 points in three consecutive games. Only three other teams (Phoenix in February 2009, Dallas in November 2019 and Atlanta in November 2023) have done that in the last 25 years.

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

Since these types of scams are constantly occurring, the City is looking to get ahead of the scammers with early warning.

The new Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Sheriff, and Police Chief will be sending out a flyer out in all city utility bills during April.

They warn you about the techniques scammers are using to try to steal your money.

If you ever get a call from someone who says that they are with law enforcement, saying you missed jury duty and owe them a fine, that’s your signal to hang up the phone.

Actual law enforcement will never demand payment over the phone, so don’t give them your bank account numbers, social security number or your credit card number.

If you get a suspicious phone call, call the Salem Sheriff’s office at 540-375-3040

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid for the week ending April 4 jumped by 16,000 to 219,000 from the previous week’s 203,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s more than the 210,000 new filings analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting but within the range of the past several years.

Filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

Tuesday night’s ceasefire announcement sent oil prices plummeting to $95 a barrel, though they jumped back up near $100 early Thursday over skepticism about the durability of the deal after Israel launched a wave of attacks on Lebanon and Iran re-closed the crucial Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil passes.

Financial markets also retreated Thursday following big gains a day earlier.

A barrel of U.S. crude had reached $112 dollars before the ceasefire was announced, up from about $67 in the days leading up to the conflict. Even with Wednesday’s big decline, businesses and consumers are still saddled with higher energy costs as the price of oil and gas remain elevated.

This comes at a time when U.S. inflation was already above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, further diminishing the chances of an interest rate cut by central bank officials any time soon. The government issues its March consumer prices report on Friday.

Also Thursday, in a report delayed due to the federal shutdown, government data showed that a key inflation gauge remained elevated in February, even before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

Fed officials voted to raise the rate three times to close 2025 out of concern for a weakening job market but have held off lowering rates further this year.

The Labor Department reported last week that U.S. employers added an unexpectedly strong 178,000 new jobs in March, nudging the unemployment rate back down to 4.3%. That followed a surprisingly large loss of 92,000 jobs in February. Revisions also have trimmed 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls, a sign that the labor market remains under strain.

A number of high-profile companies have cut jobs recently, including the software maker Oracle, which according to media reports cut thousands of workers last week. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that The Walt Disney Co. is preparing to cull 1,000 positions from its workforce.

Others that have recently announced job cuts include Morgan Stanley,Block, UPSand Amazon.

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 erratic tariff rollouts, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

Employers added fewer than 200,000 jobs last year, compared with about 1.5 million in 2024, according to the data firm FactSet.

The American labor market appears stuck in what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” state that has kept the unemployment rate historically low, but has left those out of work struggling to find a new job.

The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 1,500 to 209,500.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending March 28 fell by 38,000 to 1.79 million, the fewest in nearly two years.

An inflation gauge monitored by the Federal Reserve rose 0.4% in February from January, up slightly from the previous month. Compared with a year ago, prices rose 2.8%, the same as January. Thursday's data was delayed by a backlog of economic reports created by the six-week government shutdown last fall.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation also rose 0.4% in February from January, and it was 3% higher than a year earlier. The annual figure is slightly below January's reading of 3.1%.

Still, the monthly increases are at a pace that if continued for a whole year, would easily top the Fed's 2% inflation target.

“Consumer inflation was firming even prior to the outbreak of war in the Middle East, and it is primed to jump sharply higher in March,” Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, wrote in a client note. “Even if a long-lasting deal to end the war is reached and the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened, it would take months for oil, gasoline, diesel and other commodity supplies to snap back to prewar levels and thus for prices to settle back to preconflict levels.”

Thursday's report is largely a warm-up for the more important inflation data to be released Friday, when the government will publish the higher-profile consumer price index for March. The Friday report will be the first to reflect the impact of the gas price spike from the Iran war. Economists forecast it will show a big increase of 0.9% just in March from February, and a 3.4% gain from a year earlier. The annual figure would be a big increase from 2.4% in February.

The large jump in inflation in March will heighten concerns at the Fed that prices are moving further away from their inflation target and make it much less likely the central bank will cut rates anytime soon. At their most recent meeting last month, some Fed officials supported opening the door to the potential for rate hikes if inflation didn't show signs of improving.

Thursday's report from the Commerce Department also showed that Americans' incomes slipped 0.1% in February, the first decline since October, while spending after adjusting for inflation barely increased.

Higher inflation is sapping Americans' purchasing power. Spending rose a solid 0.5% in February from the previous month before adjusting for higher prices. Bostjancic expects consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, will rise a modest 1.2% at an annual rate in the first three months of this year, below the 1.9% reached in last year's fourth quarter.

The economy may still grow a decent 2% in the first quarter, Bostjancic said, driven by investments in artificial intelligence and a bounceback in government spending after last year's shutdown. The government said Thursday growth was just 0.5% at the end of last year.

Organizers for the South of France festival, which runs May 12-23, laid out a lineup heavy on big-name international auteurs at a news conference Thursday in Paris.

Cannes’ most sought-after slots are in its competition lineup. This year, 21 films will vie for the Palme d’Or. That includes “Fatherland,” a Cold War drama starring Sandra Hüller by Pawlikowski (“Ida,” “Cold War” ); “All of a Sudden,” the French language debut for Hamaguchi ( “Drive My Car” ); and Almodovar’s “Bitter Christmas,” which has already opened in Spain.

Cannes is so far light on Hollywood releases and American filmmakers. One exception in competition is Ira Sachs' “The Man I Love,” a New York tale starring Rami Malek set during the 1980s AIDS crisis. In the Un Certain Regard sidebar, Jane Schoenbrun will unveil their follow-up to 2014’s “I Saw the TV Glow”: “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” about the making of a slasher movie. It stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.

Previous Palme d’Or winners will be represented

A number of former Palme winners are in the mix. That includes Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set “Fjord,” starring the recently Oscar-nominated Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan. Mungiu’s “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” won the Palme in 2007.

Also returning is Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose 2018 drama “Shoplifters” won the Palme. He’ll debut the sci-fi “Sheep in the Box,” about a grieving couple in the near future who bring home a humanoid boy as their son.

The specialty distributor Neon has already boarded “Fjord,” “Sheep in the Box” and “All of a Sudden,” giving it a chance to extend its historic record of six Palme winners in a row. Last year, the Neon release “It Was Just an Accident,” by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, won the Palme.

Neon is also behind an out of competition selection in “Her Private Hell” by Nicolas Winding Refn, the “Drive” filmmaker. A thriller starring Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton, it's Refn's first feature film since 2016's “The Neon Demon.”

Festival defends the ‘ability to dream and think freely’

The Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev is also back in the Cannes competition lineup with “Minotaur.” Zvyagintsev's last two films, “Loveless” and “Leviathan,” both debuted at Cannes and went on to land Oscar nominations.

Other competition entries include films by Asghar Farhadi (“Parallel Stories”), Lukas Dhont (“Coward”) and Lazlo Nemes (“Moulin”).

Thierry Fremaux, Cannes’ artistic director, announced the selections in a news conference alongside festival president Iris Knobloch. Fremaux said that 2,541 feature films were submitted for inclusion. Fremaux estimated that Thursday's announcement encompassed 95% of the selection, so a handful more films will be announced in the coming weeks.

“In this moment, bringing together films and artists from around the world is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” Knobloch said. “Because when the world darkens, we lose our bearings. Showcasing films from all horizons is not a trivial act. It is defending what is most precious to humanity, its ability to dream and think freely.”

Cannes is coming off a 2025 festival that produced a number of Oscar contenders, including two best-picture nominees in Joachim Tier’s “Sentimental Value” and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent.” This year’s Cannes appears well positioned to continue the festival’s stature as the global launching pad of many of the year’s best international films, some of which are bound to show up at next year’s Oscars.

Hollywood studios are less present at Cannes this year

But Hollywood studios appear to be a no-show. Fremaux has said not to expect red carpet premieres like “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” — both of which made splashy premieres in recent years. This year, Cannes announced ahead of the Paris news conference that John Travolta's directorial debut “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” will debut in the Cannes Premiere section.

“The United States will be present, but the studios will be a bit less so,” Fremaux said. “It’s important to know that when studios are less present at Cannes, it means they are generally less present with the type of cinema that used to allow them to thrive.”

Two prominent American directors will debut documentaries in special screenings: Steven Soderbergh with “John Lennon: The Last Interview” and Ron Howard with “Avedon,” about the photographer Richard Avedon.

Opening the festival, out of competition, is the 1920s French film “The Electric Kiss.” Cannes requires its opening movie to release the same week in French cinemas. And entry to its prestigious competition lineup requires theatrical distribution, a stipulation that — given France’s laws guarding theatrical windows — has excluded Netflix movies and other streaming titles since 2017.

This year, the Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will preside over the nine-member jury that will decide the Palme. And a pair of honorary Palmes will be handed out, to Barbra Streisand and to Peter Jackson.

“We got our butts kicked,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor.

He was referring to Democratic victories in campaigns for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the mayor's office in Waukesha, a conservative suburb outside Milwaukee. But some Republicans were also rattled by a special election in Georgia, where their candidate to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress won by a much slimmer margin than the party enjoyed in the past.

Taken together, the swings from red to blue added more data points to an increasingly clear picture of Democratic momentum heading into the November midterms, when control of the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate and state governments around the country are up for grabs.

“In rural, urban, red, blue, Democrats have overperformed everywhere,” said Jared Leopold, a Democratic consultant whose clients include Keisha Lance Bottoms, a candidate for Georgia governor. “That is a significant canary in the coal mine about what November of ’26 is going to look like.”

Some Republicans insisted there was no need to panic, and their fundraising remains stronger than Democrats'. Stephen Lawson, a Georgia strategist, said “the sky is not falling.”

But he also said his party is running behind where it has been in the past, and Republicans need to be “looking at these results carefully.”

‘A red alarm for Republicans’

Special elections can be notoriously unreliable as political benchmarks, but Democrats have consistently demonstrated surprising strength. They flipped a Texas state Senate district. They won a Florida state House seat in a district that includes President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

Then they gained ground on Tuesday in the race to replace Greene, who resigned from Congress in January after a falling out with Trump.

Clay Fuller, the Republican candidate, prevailed by 12 percentage points. Two years ago, Greene won by 29 percentage points and Trump carried the district by almost 37 percentage points.

“That’s a red alarm for Republicans,” said Democratic strategist Meredith Brasher.

Fuller defeated Shawn Harris, who plans to challenge him again in November.

Jackie Harling, the district's Republican chairwoman, said she believed that Greene’s resignation energized Democrats while her party is suffering from “election fatigue.”

“Marjorie Taylor Greene was like a freight train that you couldn’t stop, and when she pulled out, it gave Democrats hope and it gave them a shot at winning something they believed was unwinnable,” Harling said.

‘Slightly bluer side of purple’

Georgia has key races this year, including an open contest for the governor's office. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is trying to defend his seat as well.

There's reason to think that simmering discontent could boomerang on Republicans just two years after Trump harnessed voters' anger with his comeback presidential campaign.

In November, Democrats defeated two Republican incumbents in statewide races for seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. Rising electricity rates have been a fault line in recent campaigns, especially as enormous data centers are built to power artificial intelligence.

But Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey is trying to maintain modest expectations.

“We could cement ourselves, put ourselves, on the slightly bluer side of purple,” he said. ”We’re not going to overnight turn into Colorado.”

‘A very clear sign of momentum’

Wisconsin holds statewide elections for Supreme Court seats, and liberals expanded their majority with a 20-percentage-point blowout victory on Tuesday.

Democrats saw gains in red, blue and purple counties when compared with another judicial race last year, which was also won by the liberal candidate.

“This to me was a very clear sign of momentum and enthusiasm for Democrats in the fall,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker.

The state has its own open race for governor this year, and Democrats are hoping to take control of the state Legislature and oust Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden.

“It’s time for us to put this thing in overdrive,” said Mandela Barnes, a Democratic former lieutenant governor who is running for governor.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, another Democratic candidate for governor, said it’s clear that “people are really upset with the Republican Party and their brand right now.”

“But that doesn’t mean that they’re automatically going to come over to the Democrats,” Crowley said. “And that’s why we have to continue to focus on the issues and speak to the values of all the voters here in the state of Wisconsin.”

‘A lot of anxiety’

Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin, cautioned against reading too much into Tuesday’s results.

He said “every election is unique,” and he wasn’t making any changes to his campaign. He said the key to winning will be to “paint that clear contrast of how we are going to help everyday Wisconsinites.”

But Democrats seemed to be making inroads, including in Waukesha. The city is located outside of Milwaukee in the Republican stronghold of Waukesha County.

Democrat Alicia Halvensleben, president of the city’s Common Council, defeated Republican Scott Allen, one of the most conservative members of the state Assembly.

She said Trump came up “a lot” when she was campaigning, although she thinks her victory came down to local issues and how the state legislature wasn't addressing them.

“There’s so much uncertainty at the national level,” Halvensleben said. “I think that level of uncertainty is causing people a lot of anxiety, all the way down to the local level.”

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Amy reported from Atlanta, and Cooper reported from Phoenix.

Returning to the stage after a nearly four-year hiatus, RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook will perform a set drawing from both their catalog and new fifth album, “ARIRANG," their first since band members completed South Korea's mandatory military service.

Despite pouring rain, Thursday’s crowd packed a stadium with a capacity for over 40,000 for the show, which marks the group’s first headline tour performance since their 2021–22 Permission to Dance on Stage tour.

Over a hundred fans, some who had failed to get tickets, stood outside the stadium with umbrellas to listen to the band perform.

The shows in South Korea, running through April 12, launch a global tour spanning dozens of shows across the United States, Europe and Asia, which analysts say could generate hundreds of million s of dollars in revenue per quarter.

The concert comes less than a month after BTS marked their comeback with a free concert at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square.

All seven members of BTS completed their mandatory military service, with Suga being the last to be discharged in June 2025. He reportedly served at government-related facilities and organizations instead of military camps due to a shoulder injury.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men between 18 and 28 years old are required by law to perform up to 21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.

“ARIRANG” — named after a centuries-old Korean folk song regarded as an unofficial anthem across the Korean peninsula — debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The single “Swim” also made it to the top of the charts.

BTS — short for Bangtan Sonyeondan, or “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in Korean — debuted in June 2013. The seven-member group launched in 2013 with the hip-hop heavy single album “2 Cool 4 Skool,” releasing three full-length projects before really gaining momentum with their 2016 album “Wings.”

Their global breakthrough came in 2017 when “DNA” entered the Billboard Hot 100, making BTS the first Korean boy band to achieve such a feat. The song’s success was followed by a performance at the American Music Awards, further fueling their international fan base called “Army.”

The band's world tour heads to Tokyo next, before moving through North America, Europe, South America and Asia. BTS is set to play Australian in early 2027, with a final stop in Manila next March.​

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This version corrects that all seven members completed their military service, instead of six of seven members.

That includes a first-time nomination for the top prize of the night, entertainer of the year, as well as director and artist-songwriter of the year. She's also received her third consecutive nominations for female artist and visual media of the year.

Women appear to dominate the nods: Moroney is followed by Miranda Lambert, the most-decorated artist in ACM Awards history, with eight, as well as Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson with seven.

Then it is Chris Stapleton with six, Zach Top with five and Cody Johnson with four.

The nominations for the 61st annual ACM Awards were announced Thursday. The awards ceremony will take place May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, leaving the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas, after three consecutive years.

Performers will include Lambert, Wilson, Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Riley Green and more.

In addition to Moroney, those competing for entertainer of the year will be Wilson, Johnson, Stapleton, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen.

In 2025, Wilson took home the top prize — for a second year in a row.

In the album of the year category, Wallen's “I'm the Problem” faces off against Top's “Ain’t In It For My Health,” Riley Green's “Don't Mind If I Do,” Parker McCollum's “Parker McCollum” and first-time nominee Carter Faith's “Cherry Valley.”

Other first-time nominees include 49 Winchester, Avery Anna, Mackenzie Carpenter, Hudson Westbrook, Stephen Wilson Jr. and more.

And in the single of the year category, Lambert and Stapleton's “A Song to Sing” will go head-to-head with Moroney's “Am I Okay?,” Langley's “Choosin' Texas,” Top's “I Never Lie” and Wilson's “Somewhere Over Laredo.”

The 2026 ACM Awards will stream on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch as well as the Amazon Music app on May 17 at 8 p.m. EDT.

Authorities say these documents may look official, featuring court seals, case numbers or QR codes, but they are not legitimate.

According to the sheriff’s office, the scams are designed to scare people into making quick payments, often by scanning a QR code or visiting a fraudulent website.

Here are a few important reminders from the sheriff’s office:

• Virginia courts do not send official notices with QR codes for payment.
• You will not be threatened with immediate license suspension or legal action through a random notice like these.
• Official court matters are typically served in person, by mail you are expecting, or handled directly through verified court systems.
• If a notice pressures you to act immediately or pay quickly, that is a major red flag.
• Do not scan the QR code.
• Do not send any payment or personal information.
• Do not call any phone numbers listed on the notice.
• If you are unsure, contact the court directly using a verified phone number.

For guidance, you can also contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-656-4200.

Defense Secretary John Healey said a Royal Navy frigate, aircraft and hundreds of personnel were involved in tracking a Russian attack sub and two spy submarines operating north of the U.K., and prevented the spy vessels from carrying out “nefarious” operations.

He said the Russian vessels eventually left after the operation that lasted more than a month.

The U.K. said other allies were also involved, but didn't name them.

NATO countries have repeatedly expressed concern that Russia could use its fleet of spy ships to sabotage underwater cables on which global communications depend. Russia has dismissed those claims.

Healey said his message to Russian President Vladimir Putin was was “we see your activity over our cables and our pipelines and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”

Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik said in a statement that Russia’s operation occurred in and near Norwegian and British maritime areas in recent weeks.

Norway and the U.K. said the activity was coordinated by Russia’s Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research, known as GUGI, which is part of Russian armed forces. The activity is a reminder that Russia is further developing its abilities to map and sabotage critical Western infrastructure at ocean depths, Norway's Defense Ministry said.

Healey said the subs are “designed to survey underwater infrastructure during peacetime and sabotage it in conflict.”

In November, Britain told Russia it was ready to deal with any incursion into its territory after the spy ship Yantar was detected on the edge of U.K. waters north of Scotland.

Healey said the submarine activity occurred in the U.K.’s exclusive economic zone, which extends for 200 nautical miles (230 miles, 370 kilometers) from shore, but not its narrower territorial waters.

British officials have tried to keep Russia in the international spotlight even as the world’s attention is focused on conflict in the Middle East. They have also stressed the overlap between conflicts there and in Ukraine, saying Russia has supplied Iran with drone parts and other support.

Healey told a news conference that “Putin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East,” but Russia is the main threat to the U.K. and its allies.

“We will not take our eyes off Putin,” he said.

In late March, the U.K. said its military was ready to seize ships suspected to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of vessels shipping oil in violation of international sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Previously, Britain had only helped France and the U.S. monitor ships before they were boarded.

“We are ready to take action" against the vessels, Healey said.

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Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

Pros being warmer and calmer weather; cons being the pollen.

We are in peak tree pollen season, which typically lasts from March to May. There is a high amount of pollen in the air and will be for the foreseeable future, so make sure to stock up on your allergy medication!

As we approach the weekend, temperatures will continue to warm into next week.

Today, temperatures will reach the mid 60s and be paired with loads of sunshine throughout. This is the coldest day in the forecast for the next 7 days!

Though on the warmer side, temperatures are just slightly below average by about 3 degrees for this time of year. Downstream, there is a bubble of warm air that is inching closer towards us.

By tomorrow, that warm air bubble will have expanded and extended towards the East Coast. This will ultimately result in an increase in our temperatures.

That warming trend will continue over the next 7 days and will make for some great conditions to get outside! Though a few showers are possible on Saturday, they will be very short-lived and sunshine will be present for most of the day.

Next work week is looking calm and will see well above average temperatures, with some areas having the potential to reach the 90s on Wednesday.

With that, make sure to enjoy the sunshine this week, as another temperature roller coaster is always possible later!

Spanberger and her administration are currently reviewing more than 1,000 bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly, weighing whether to sign, veto or amend each one. In recent weeks, she has signed a range of legislation aimed at strengthening schools, supporting affordable housing, addressing health care and utility costs, and boosting economic development across the state.

“We’re going line by line through so many of these bills to make sure that we get it right, and so that’s an extensive process, but it will be over at 11:59 on Monday,” Spanberger told NBC 12.

A recent Washington Post poll, conducted with the Schar School at George Mason University, found that two months into her term, Spanberger’s approval rating is relatively low. The poll showed 47% of respondents approved of her handling of the governorship, while 46% disapproved. Despite these numbers, Spanberger expressed confidence in her leadership.

“I would say if everybody hated me, why is everybody putting my face on the mailers for the referendum?” Spanberger said.

She also addressed criticism from her predecessor, former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who recently called the April 21 redistricting referendum “illegal and unconstitutional” during an appearance on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s podcast. Youngkin accused Spanberger of trying to “undo his legacy.”

“Those critics seem to run at odds with the fact that everybody thinks I’m a convincing character in whatever way they want that referendum vote to go,” Spanberger said.

Spanberger has also faced criticism from within her own party, with some saying she is not doing enough to push the redistricting referendum forward. She voted yes on the measure last month.

“But if I were out across the state barnstorming right now, I would not be focused on the thing that is most important, which is getting it right with the bills that I’m signing,” Spanberger said.

The governor has until midnight on Monday to sign, veto or amend the bills. The Virginia General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on April 22 to address the governor’s decisions.

The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and fighting near the narrow Strait of Hormuz created a chokepoint for global oil supplies.

“Volatility is the real story here,” said Shye Gilad, a former airline captain who now teaches at Georgetown University's business school. “Right now, the airlines are trying to make bets on what they think will happen in the future."

Airlines are responding cautiously, trimming schedules and adjusting prices in ways that experts say will ripple unevenly across the market but ultimately affect nearly every type of traveler.

Budget airlines and the price-conscious customers who rely on them are likely to feel the pinch first and most acutely, experts say, but even travelers in premium cabins won’t escape the higher prices and less convenient schedules.

Oil prices have swung wildly in recent weeks, briefly topping $119 a barrel at one point, and then plunging Wednesday below $95 after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East that briefly reopened the Strait of Hormuz. But the uncertainty behind those swings remains, especially after Iran closed the key artery for global oil shipments again in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

“When prices move quickly in both directions, it’s very hard for airlines to make predictions,” Gilad said. "That’s why there’s a lag between oil market moves and what passengers see in ticket prices.”

In other words, even when oil prices drop, travelers may not see relief right away. Airlines can take months, sometimes even up to a year, to adjust fares and fees as they wait for energy markets to stabilize.

“At this level of fuel, it’s hard to call anything temporary," Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told reporters this week after the Atlanta-based carrier raised its checked baggage fees.

Global squeeze, local effects

Bastian said Wednesday as Delta kicked off the earnings season for U.S. airlines that the higher fuel prices are expected to add $2 billion in operating expenses in the second quarter alone.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a recent memo to staff that if jet fuel prices stay elevated, it would mean an additional $11 billion in annual costs. That’s more than double what United earned in its most profitable year.

“For perspective,” he said, “in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5 billion.”

According to the International Air Transport Association, the average global jet fuel price rose to $209 per barrel last week, up from roughly $99 at the end of February when the war started.

Travelers from the U.S. to Hong Kong and New Delhi are paying the price.

U.S. carriers are embedding the higher operating costs into ticket prices and add-on fees. Delta, United, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all increased their checked baggage fees.

United has moved beyond add-ons to adjust pricing in its front cabins. The carrier said last week that it is bringing the “pay for what you want” approach already standard in economy to its premium cabins, turning perks like advanced seat selection and fully refundable tickets into optional extras.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific recently bumped fuel surcharges by roughly 34% across all routes, while Air India on Monday added up to $280 in fees to some flights. Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM have also adjusted fees or fares to keep pace with the price volatility.

Flight cuts to cut costs

For some travelers, it’s not just the cost — it’s the uncertainty that’s changing how they plan trips.

Bill Moorehouse, 50, a solutions director at a global provider of business and technology services, routinely travels for work every four to six weeks.

“When you have business trips and you have a carefully coordinated schedule, you don’t want unknowns and disruptions. And right now, it just feels like it’s more likely that things could go wrong and throw your trip off course,” the Cupertino, California, resident said.

For now, he’s staying closer to home.

“I think it’s a good time to do your spring cleaning and reconnect with friends locally.”

Airlines, meanwhile, are also adjusting how much they fly.

BNP Paribas estimates that global schedules for April have been cut roughly 5% compared with earlier plans. Most reductions are in the Middle East, the global investment bank said, though smaller cuts were also emerging in Europe, Asia and North America.

United Airlines is cutting about 5% of its planned flights in the near term, trimming less profitable routes and suspending some international service temporarily rather than “burning cash” on trips that can’t absorb the more expensive fuel costs. The airline's CEO said the cuts will target redeye flights and routes on historically slower travel days such as Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Delta is scrapping plans to add more flights and seats this summer, leaving about 3.5% fewer seats than originally planned.

Travel plans upended

These moves show why major carriers are better positioned to weather the spike in fuel prices than low-cost carriers, whose “no frills” model leaves them with less flexibility to absorb unexpected costs. Bigger airlines can lean on dynamic pricing, sell more seats at higher fares or swap in larger planes on certain routes, letting them cut flights without losing overall capacity.

“Leisure travelers and budget conscious travelers are going to absolutely feel it first because it may make the difference between going and not going,” Gilad said.

It's already made the difference for Anna Del Vecchio. The 36-year-old Seattle resident has made it an annual springtime tradition to visit family in Philadelphia before flying to Paris to see friends she met as a teenager during a volunteer internship.

Her credit card points typically cover the roundtrip flight, but ticket prices now hover around $1,400 — nearly double what she has paid in past years.

“It wasn’t even scratching the surface for the flight this time," she said, “so I decided to delay the trip.”

But if airfare tops $1,500, she might not be able to make a journey she hasn't missed in years.

“It might be the kind of thing where it just ends up being that I have to travel less.”

By the dozens, Democrats came out to say that Trump should no longer serve in the White House, either through the impeachment process or the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and the Cabinet to declare that a president is no longer able to perform the job.

While Trump eventually pulled back on his threat and agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, the episode highlighted the growing demands for Democrats to oppose the Republican president in the strongest possible terms. Calls about Iran flooded into congressional offices, lawmakers said.

The breadth of the Democratic pushback underscored the gravity of Trump's apocalyptic threat to a country of more than 91 million people. It also served to raise the domestic political stakes for a conflict that is far from over. The Trump administration faces mounting calls to testify about the war and justify its demands for hundreds of billions of dollars in new military spending.

“A commander in chief who is truly in control would have never gotten into this colossal mess to begin with,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer at a news conference Wednesday in New York.

In the near term, both Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries are shying away from impeachment, instead pushing Republicans to join them and pass legislation that would force Trump to get congressional approval before carrying out any more attacks on Iran. Any attempt to remove Trump from office is doomed to fail so long as Republicans control Congress.

House Democrats plan to use a brief session of the House on Thursday to call for the quick passage of the war powers legislation, but Republican leadership is expected to quash that attempt.

“We will continue to unleash maximum pressure on Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping the madness,” Jeffries said in a letter to Democratic members Wednesday.

At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump's rhetoric as effective.

“I think it was a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a ceasefire and agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” she said at a White House press briefing.

Callers jam congressional phone lines

As they press their case against Trump, Democrats are responding to the worries of their own base and constituents. Congressional offices were bombarded with phone calls and emails this week, largely from people alarmed by the president’s rhetoric.

In the House, the office of Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., received a “ton” of calls and emails Monday and Tuesday, mostly about Iran but also about impeaching Trump or removing him by deploying the 25th Amendment, said one aide who was not authorized to discuss the internal office situation and insisted on anonymity.

When her district staffers in the state office took a break Tuesday, they returned to 75 voicemails on Iran an hour later, the aide said.

“My office phones have not stopped ringing,” said Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., at a press conference in Portland, urging House colleagues to immediately return to Washington.

Dexter’s office received more calls on Tuesday, 257, than it has ever received in a 24-hour period since the first-term lawmaker’s team began keeping track.

The groundswell appeared to be organic, rather than an orchestrated campaign to pressure lawmakers to act.

While outside groups have been circulating some discussion points, including the legal details around invoking the 25th Amendment, there has not been an organized effort to flood the congressional offices with a strategic message, said one Democratic strategist familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private conversations.

It was simply the “horror” of what Trump was saying, the strategist said, and the scale of the president’s threats, that appeared to have sparked the mobilization.

On the political right, several prominent figures including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, also suggested Trump should be removed from office through the 25th Amendment.

Will Democrats make an impeachment push?

Democrats twice impeached Trump for actions taken during his first term, but he was acquitted each time. They have tried to avoid such debates for the last 16 months as they tried to center their midterm message on kitchen table issues rather than opposing a president who narrowly won the popular vote.

Then came Trump's threat on Tuesday morning to wipe out “an entire civilization.”

“Whether by his Cabinet or Congress, the President must be removed from office. We are playing with the brink,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York on social media.

Such calls for Trump’s removal didn't stop after his announcement of a ceasefire.

“Temporary ceasefire or not, Trump already committed an impeachable offense. Congress needs to get back to work and remove him from office before he does more damage to our country and the world,” said Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a veteran of the war in Iraq.

Republicans have the majority in the House and have easily fended off two previous efforts to impeach Trump in his second term. They may have to do so again in the weeks to come as Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., has already filed a resolution with a wide-ranging 13 articles of impeachment against Trump.

In June, 128 Democrats joined with every Republican to table a resolution sponsored by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, to impeach Trump on a charge of abuse of power after he launched military strikes on Iran without first seeking authorization from Congress.

A second impeachment resolution from Green in December generated a 237-140 vote, but there were signs of a shift, with 47 Democrats voting “present” rather than opposing the resolution outright. Jeffries and others in leadership said that the proper groundwork for impeachment had not been prepared and that they would vote “present” while keeping their focus on making life more affordable for Americans.

It’s unclear how Jeffries will handle the demands for another impeachment push. But Democratic leaders are holding a call on Friday with members of the House Judiciary Committee that is focused on “Trump administration accountability and the 25th Amendment.”

Other Democrats have also focused attention on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and said he should also be removed from office. Hegseth has defended U.S. actions against Iran and has said that American and Israeli forces had achieved a “capital V military victory” and that the Iranian military no longer posed a significant threat to U.S. forces or the region.

Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari, whose family fled to the U.S. from Iran, was among those calling for Hegseth's ouster. She said that she was “momentarily relieved” that civilians in Iran would not face Trump's threat of widespread destruction.

“We need urgent action for the sake of our national security and the safety and security of the rest of the world,” Ansari said.

Kids from different schools came together today to compete in a special competition, a solar car race. Our 10 News Photojournalist Jordan Parham was there for the races and has what the students took away from the day.

In Virginia, as of Thursday, April 9, the average price for regular gasoline is more than $4 per gallon, according to AAA. That’s a little over $1 higher than last month’s average. Diesel is averaging about $5.814 per gallon, while premium gasoline is $4.91.

Within the region, AAA reports that Lynchburg continues to have the most expensive gas in the area, with an average of $3.99 for regular and $4.823 for premium.

Across the state, the highest prices are in Washington, D.C., where regular gas averages $4.165 per gallon.

To find out where the lowest fuel prices are near you, visit GasBuddy’s website.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint war against Iran on Feb. 28, the cost of crude oil — the main ingredient in gasoline — has spiked and swung rapidly. That’s because the conflict has caused deep supply chain disruptions and cuts from major oil producers across the Middle East.

According to Brian Chen, MD, who is a sleep specialist at Cleveland Clinic, that matters just as much.

“If your pillow is not supporting your body, your head very well, that can cause muscle tension. It can cause those muscle fibers in your neck and your shoulders to be stretched or placed in an awkward position. And that can even cause a headache in the morning, and it can go against what you’re trying to do of getting good rest,” said Dr. Chen.

Dr. Chen said that while all pillow brands are different, most of them usually need to be replaced within a year or two.

That’s because the material tends to give out after a while, and you’re not getting the same support as you once did.

He said if you’re not sure whether your pillow is old, consider how it feels, maybe it’s lumpy or has a dent when your head lies.

You could also try the pillow fold test.

If you fold it together and it bounces back, that’s a good sign.

However, if it stays folded or goes flat, it’s probably time to get a new one.

“If you’re struggling, if the pillow is worn out, then it is definitely time to reinvest in yourself and get a nice pillow. And just keep in mind when you’re shopping for pillows, it’s not more expensive is better. It’s what fits your body. What do you need? What’s going to help you sleep?” he said.

Dr. Chen said if you still notice discomfort or other difficulty after getting a new pillow, it’s best to consult with your physician.

There may be another issue that needs to be addressed.

Although Vice President JD Vance campaigned for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán this week, such a display has become the exception rather than the rule among conservatives and far-right leaders in Europe.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni refused to let the United States use an air base in Sicily to launch attacks on Iran. France’s National Rally leader Marine Le Pen described his war goals as “erratic." And the head of Germany’s Alternative for Germany party called for American troops to leave their bases in the country.

Even with a fragile ceasefire in place with Iran, Trump's support for Orbán may not work out for the autocratic Hungarian leader, who faces a tough election this weekend. He's long been an icon for the global right and many American conservatives who have hoped the Trump administration could replicate the Hungarian leader’s effort to choke off immigration and restructure government to ensure his Fidesz party stays in power.

That longstanding connection could insulate Orbán from some of the anti-Trump blowback rattling the rest of Europe, but that's not guaranteed, said Charles Kupchan, a professor of international relations at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“Getting a blessing from Donald Trump is now a mixed blessing,” he said.

Iran adds to friction over Greenland

The backlash over the war follows European broad revulsion at Trump's threats earlier this year against NATO ally Denmark over his demand that the country give Greenland to the United States.

Trump tied the two issues together on Wednesday, complaining that NATO didn't help more in recent weeks.

“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” he wrote on social media. "REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!"

Daniel Baer, a former ambassador and State Department official in President Barack Obama's administration, said the latest round of tension with Europe's far right shows the limits of Trump's hope of helping nationalist leaders worldwide.

“Building some sort of international coalition around national chauvinism is very difficult,” said Baer, now with the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. “It's clear the majority of people in these countries, if not anti-American, have turned anti-Trump.”

Orbán has stood out for not shifting with the anti-Trump political tide in Europe.

In an interview with conservative British broadcaster GB News last month, Orbán argued that when it came to the war with Iran, “the question is whether (Trump) has started a war or a peace.”

“It hasn’t (been) decided yet, historians will make a decision on that,” Orbán said. “I think we need some time to understand whether we are moving to the peace by these strikes, or just the opposite. It’s too early to say.”

Orbán’s caution toward raising any critical word toward Trump goes beyond shared ideology. The Hungarian leader has for years sought to convince voters that his close ties with Trump — as well as with other global figures such as Russian President Vladimir Putin — make him uniquely suited to represent Hungary’s interests abroad.

Consequently, he has played up Trump’s praise of him to his base, and campaigned for reelection by assuring Hungarians that his alliance with Trump’s administration is a guarantee of security and prosperity.

Orbán risks backlash with Trump ties

Orbán reveled in the attention from Vance this week. The vice president slammed Orbán critics in the European Union for what he called “foreign interference” in the election, even as he stumped for the Hungarian leader.

On Wednesday, Vance briefly discussed what he called a “fragile truce” in the Iran war during an appearance at an elite higher education institution in Hungary, which has received generous funding from Orbán's government and is run by the prime minister's political director.

Vance praised the school for being “an institution that tries to build up the foundations of Western civilization." The Trump administration has tried to exert more influence over elite universities in the U.S., echoing Orbán's agenda in Hungary.

Some analysts are unconvinced of Orbán's strategy, noting that perceptions of the current U.S. administration have been turning more negative even in Hungary.

“Vance’s visit could have the opposite effect on Orbán's popularity than the one intended,” said Mario Bikarsku, senior Europe analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

Kupchan said most European far-right parties have established political staying power independent of any American influence, and may not have an incentive to go along with Trump's agenda.

“Trump's effort to create a transnational movement of far-right populists may affect the margins, but the main reason you're seeing Reform U.K. and AfD and National Rally and other far-right parties prosper has little to do with Trump and more to do with national factors,” he said.

Part of that is a global backlash against any party in power. In Europe, that's mainly benefited the out-of-power far right. But in Hungary, that's put Orbán's future in jeopardy — he's been in power for 16 years.

“We're living in an age,” Kupchan said, “where being an incumbent sucks.”

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Riccardi reported from Denver.

Debbie Dingell, a longtime Democratic congresswoman, was there to watch progressive U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed campaign with Hasan Piker, a popular yet controversial online streamer.

Dingell has often served as an early warning system for her party, cautioning that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was on track to win Michigan in 2016 and 2024. Now she was once again scoping out the shifting political landscape, and something caught her eye.

“Quite frankly, I haven’t seen that many people outside an event yet this year,” said Dingell, whose district includes Ann Arbor and who said her attendance wasn't an endorsement.

A line of mostly young people stretched out the door and down the street, hundreds waiting in the cold evening air on Tuesday. Some had backpacks slung over their shoulders after coming from class, while others had traveled from afar.

Although they were there to see a progressive candidate, attendees didn't fit neatly into any ideological box. Instead, they shared a common dissatisfaction with both major political parties. Their frustration was a reminder of the anger that has coursed through modern American politics and now appears to be simmering within a new generation ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Born into an era of Trump

Liam Koenig was in third grade when Trump was first elected president — a moment that has shaped his generation's understanding of politics.

“It's just become increasingly more inflammatory,” he said.

Now a high school senior in Oakland County, a longtime political bellwether in Michigan, Koenig described an era of constant conflict and anxiety. The mood among his peers, he said, is often somber and frustrated.

"I think a lot of us have lost hope in, like, tangible change,” he said.

Younger adults are more likely than older Americans to have an unfavorable view of both the Republican and Democratic parties, according to AP-NORC polling from February.

Still, that frustration hasn’t led to disengagement for Koenig. He waited for hours to see El-Sayed. He described the campaign as different from what he's used to seeing, something more like Zohran Mamdani's successful run for mayor in New York City. He wanted that kind of energy in Michigan.

“You’re not going to get people out with business as usual,” Koenig said.

Karol Molina, an artist who recently moved from New York City, said she had been hunting for a candidate in Mamdani's mold when she arrived in Michigan. She settled on El-Sayed, who is facing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow in the state's primary.

“We want to be able to live and, like, afford life without constantly scraping by,” she said.

Molina was looking for a clean break with the past.

“I think the Democratic Party is losing because they’re not really listening to what the people really want,” she said. “They’re trying to keep a party that existed before Donald Trump. And that party doesn’t exist anymore.”

Frustration — but not apathy — from young voters

Ethan Schneider, a third-year student at the University of Michigan, described today’s politics as “a little unserious.”

“It's difficult to remain positive or not be jaded at a young age,” said Schneider.

Schneider said he voted for Democrat Kamala Harris two years ago but, like many in line to see Piker and El-Sayed, was critical of her and her party.

“Hate them,” he said of Democrats. “They feel very complicit, in terms of all the issues going on now. If not complicit, they're just doing nothing,”

Younger people are rejecting both parties at much higher rates than older generations, according to recent Gallup polling. More than half of Generation Z and Millennials identify as political independents, while a majority of older generations side with a party.

The Gallup polling found that this growing group of independents tends to be motivated by unhappiness with the party in power — a dynamic that could benefit Democrats this year but doesn’t promise lasting loyalty.

Jacob Abbott, an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, said he feels that the Democratic Party has strayed toward "corporate interest politics.”

He dismissed concerns about El-Sayed's decision to campaign with Piker. The 34-year-old streamer has 3.1 million followers on Twitch and 1.8 million on YouTube, and he's said "Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, described some Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and claimed that “America deserved 9/11.”

For Abbott, the controversy underscores a broader vacuum in American politics — a lack of people who can command attention and speak to their frustrations, even if they're flawed.

“So is Hasan perfect? Probably not," Abbott said. "But he's much better than the alternative the Democratic Party has had.”

Progressives struggle to turn enthusiasm into victories

Over decades in politics, Dingell has seen long lines and packed rooms before. She was trying to gauge whether there's something more durable at the event with El-Sayed and Piker.

After all, progressive candidates have long generated excitement without winning electoral victories. El-Sayed himself finished a distant second in Michigan's Democratic primary for governor in 2018. In addition, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a leading face of the progressive movement, fell short in two Democratic presidential campaigns.

But some Democrats argue this moment may be different, pointing to recent victories by Mamdani in New York and Analilia Mejia, who won a crowded Democratic primary in a special U.S. House election in New Jersey.

“There should be a progressive running everywhere that one exists,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee, who also appeared with El-Sayed.

“Every year, every race," she added. "We might not be victorious, but every single time we have to call the question.”

Dingell said she'll be looking to see what happens next.

“Is it something for the kids to do, or is it going to connect?” she said.

___

Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

Sarah Darby was last seen on Wednesday at about 3 p.m., leaving the 2600 block of Memorial Avenue.

She is described as 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds.

Lynchburg Police officers are actively searching for Darby at this time. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to contact the Lynchburg Police Department non-emergency number at 434-847-1602.

Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on expenses labeled as security during the 2023-24 campaign cycle, the most recent one for which data is publicly available, according to the report from the Public Service Alliance, a nonpartisan group that focuses on security for public officials.

The report did not specify which candidates spent the most on security. The tally also did not count the escalating security costs of the federal government, which includes augmented Capitol Police services for members of Congress and heightened U.S. Secret Service protection for presidential candidates, as well as former and current presidents and their families.

It comes after a grim roll call of political violence over the past decade. That includes the 2017 shooting at a Republican congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Virginia; the 2022 hammer assault on the husband of Democratic then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California; the 2024 assassination attempt on Republican then-candidate Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally; and the assassinations last year of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in Utah.

“This is not a good place to be as a country,” said Justin Sherman, the report's author.

The report calculated security costs by looking at publicly available filings with the Federal Election Commission and tallied only the expenses that were explicitly marked for that purpose, even though other expenses may have a security component.

The total listed security spending represented a small fraction of the billions of dollars spent every two-year election cycle on presidential and congressional campaigns. But Sherman noted that the report totals are conservative and likely understate the financial costs of security for political campaigns.

One of the biggest increases has been in the rapidly growing field of digital security, which includes protecting against hackers and monitoring online threats. Spending went from $50,000 total in the 2015-16 election cycle to $900,000 in 2023-24.

Sherman noted one of the more disturbing findings is campaigns spending nearly $1 million on home security during the past decade, after spending nothing in that category during the 2015-16 election cycle. That includes such expenses as contracts with response companies, window bars and surveillance cameras. That's a reflection of the increased threats to public officials at their homes.

Critics are increasingly likely to post the home addresses of elected officials on social media, a practice known as doxing. Attacks like the one on Pelosi's husband in San Francisco and on the Minnesota state lawmaker, Melissa Hortman, and her husband occurred at their homes.

“It's expected that, say, a GOTV event or a campaign rally is going to have metal detectors and security,” Sherman said. But targeting the homes of candidates and officeholders is a new frontier.

He noted that members of Congress get money in their office budgets that can be used to pay for security, but people thinking of running for office now have to factor home security costs into their decision-making.

“It's a troubling time when the security spend is becoming a greater barrier for someone running for office,” Sherman said.

The trio lead a star-studded field vying for the green jacket at the 90th Masters, which begins Thursday with the first tee time set for 7:40 a.m. EDT amid the azaleas and dogwoods at Augusta National.

“It’s been an amazing 12 months, bringing this thing all around the world, the excitement on people’s faces when they see it — and the excitement that I still get putting it on,” McIlroy said of his green jacket, which he earned last April following a dramatic playoff win over Justin Rose that allowed him to become the sixth golfer to win the career grand slam.

Instead of sweating out another year of answering questions about when — or even if — he'd ever complete golf's career grand slam, McIlroy spent a portion of this week enjoying a round of golf with his father and reflecting on his achievement.

He'd like to repeat, but the Masters isn't often kind to defending champions. Only three players have won back-to-back championships, the last being Tiger Woods nearly a quarter century ago.

McIlroy isn't allowing himself to succumb to pressure at Augusta after ending years of heartbreak with the 2025 win.

“I feel so much more relaxed,” McIlroy said. “I know that I’m going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn’t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament."

The 36-year-old Northern Irishman, now with slight tinges of gray hair escaping from underneath his golf cap, will have plenty of competition from the world's best players, including Scheffler, who remains No. 1.

The Texan is seeking his third Masters championship, with the other two coming in even-numbered years (2022 and 2024).

He remains the overall favorite per BetMGM Sportsbook, despite not having cracked the top 10 in his last three tournaments.

Prior to that he had three top 5s to start the season, including a win at American Express to join Jack Nicklaus and Woods as the only players with 20 PGA Tour titles and four majors before turning 30.

Like McIlroy, he hasn't played competitively since the Players Championship nearly a month ago and he and his wife, Meredith, recently welcomed their second son, Remy, to the world.

“I’m getting plenty of sleep,” Scheffler said. “My wife’s a trooper.”

As for his game, Scheffler said he feels like he “is in a good spot” as he seeks to become the ninth player to win at least three Masters.

Nobody is feeling better about their game than DeChambeau, who has won his last two tournaments on the LIV Tour.

DeChambeau is seeking his first Masters championship after twice winning the U.S. Open. He pulled into a tie with McIlroy for the lead in Sunday's final round a year ago before faltering down the stretch and shooting 75 to finish tied for fifth.

The disappointment has stuck with him.

“It was a great learning lesson,” DeChambeau said.

The field is loaded with long hitters, but with a sunny, low humidity week in the forecast, it'll likely come down to who can tame Augusta National's firm and fast greens.

“This is the best forecast I’ve seen for this tournament in a while," Scheffler said. "Definitely excited to get the week going on the greens. ... I’m excited to see how it will play.”

One thing this tournament won't have for the first time since 1994 is Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson.

Woods pleaded not guilty last week to DUI charges following a rollover crash near his home in Jupiter, Florida. He later issued a statement saying he was taking an indefinite leave to seek treatment.

Mickelson is not playing the Masters for only the third time as a pro. He said his family is navigating through a personal health matter.

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

The curious birds, known for their bobbing walks and kazoo-like calls, have drawn a crowd to Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan since arriving in late March. Dozens of spectators are gathering at the park every day to try to catch a glimpse of the grapefruit-sized birds as they poke their long bills in the ground for earthworms.

“It's a very charismatic bird. I mean, it's goofy-looking. It's got eyes that are always looking at you no matter where you are. It does this nice little dance when it's nervous,” said Bill Rankin, a Yale University professor who stopped by the park. “Having two of them together is a kind of nice little romantic story of spring.”

The woodcocks are known to stop at Bryant Park every year as they migrate north in early spring. They are strange-looking critters, seemingly assembled from the parts of other birds — a round body, enormous eyes and a long, thin bill. They're also called “timberdoodles” or “bogsuckers” by some.

They've attracted more fans than usual at the park this year, in part because of widely shared videos and pictures on social media. Crowds of bird fans carrying smartphones and cameras are craning daily for a look at its silly walk, while mostly maintaining a respectful distance.

The walk, which made the woodcock a viral hit on social media, consists of the bird shimmying and bobbing its head. Some woodcock lovers describe it as a mating dance, but scientists who study them have different theories. They've described it as possibly an antipredator display or foraging technique.

“What you’re seeing in Bryant Park when it’s sitting around when these crowds are looking at it, is mostly a little bit of foraging behavior,” said Andrew Farnsworth, a scientist with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “A little of roosting and stretching, and then some of this sort of, you know, kind of sensory stuff looking around, and a little bit of deception, too.”

The woodcock's courtship display is another sensation. The male makes a buzzing call described by birdwatchers as a “meep” or “peent” before flying high and erratically against the night sky to try to win the affection of the female.

The woodcocks in Manhattan will likely continue migrating north in the middle of April. The birds' popularity has provided a valuable opportunity to educate the public about the threats they face, such as collisions with building glass, said Ryan F. Mandelbaum, a New York City naturalist and author of the book “Wild NYC: Experience the Amazing Nature in and around New York City.”

While not endangered, American woodcocks have experienced a population decline in recent decades.

“I was also heartened to see that people are engaging with the conservation threats around light pollution and glass that woodcocks face,” Mandelbaum said. “I love the community and shared joy that’s been emerging from people seeing the bird.”

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Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.

The affected beverages include 16-ounce cans and pints of Wawa Iced Tea Lemon, Wawa Iced Tea Diet Lemon, Wawa Diet Lemonade, and Wawa Fruit Punch, all produced by the Wawa Beverage Company. These products were sold in a limited number of Wawa stores, including locations in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.

According to Wawa, the recalled products have been removed from shelves and disposed of by impacted stores.

Officials warn that people with milk allergies could face a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these drinks.

The specific products affected and sold in Virginia include:

• Wawa Iced Tea Lemon in 16-ounce pint bottles
• • UPC: 726191018425
  • Code date: May 15, 2026 (printed on top of bottle)
  • Sold at 123 stores in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia
• Wawa Fruit Punch in 16-ounce pint bottles
• • UPC: 726191018432
  • Code date: May 19, 2026 (printed on top of bottle)
  • Sold at 53 stores in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia

For a full list of affected Wawa store locations and product images, customers are encouraged to visit the company’s website: Product Recalls

At this time, no illnesses have been reported in connection with these products.

U.S. President Donald Trump told PBS News Hour that Lebanon was not included in the deal because of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group. When asked about Israel’s latest strikes, he said, “That’s a separate skirmish.” Israel had said the agreement does not extend to its war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, although Iran and mediator Pakistan said it does.

The fleeting sense of relief among Lebanese after the ceasefire announcement turned into panic with what Israel’s military called its largest coordinated strike in the current war, saying it had hit more than 100 Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Black smoke towered over several parts of the seaside capital, where a huge number of people displaced by war have taken shelter. Explosions interrupted the honking of traffic on what had been a bustling, blue-sky afternoon. Ambulances raced toward open flames. Apartment buildings were struck.

Associated Press journalists saw charred bodies in vehicles and on the ground at one of Beirut’s busiest intersections in the central Corniche al Mazraa neighborhood, a mixed commercial and residential area. Using forklifts, rescue workers removed smoldering debris and sifted through ruins for survivors.

There was no sign of Hezbollah launching strikes against Israel in the first couple of hours after the attacks.

In response to the attacks on Lebanon, Iran later Wednesday said it was again halting the movement of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the country's state-run media reported.

A deadly midday barrage

Central Beirut has been targeted before, but not by so many strikes at once and in the middle of the day. Israel had rarely struck central Beirut since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on March 2 but has regularly struck southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Lebanon's Minister of Social Affairs, Haneen Sayed, in an interview with The Associated Press condemned Israel’s wide range of strikes, calling it a “very dangerous turning point.”

“These hits are now at the heart of Beirut … Half of the sheltered (internally displaced people) are in Beirut in this area,” she said, adding that she had just driven by areas hit.

She said Lebanon's government is ready to enter into negotiations with Israel for an end to hostilities, an offer that the Lebanese president previously made. Israel has not responded. “There are calls and efforts being made as we speak," Sayed said.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in a statement accused Israel of escalating at a moment when Lebanese officials were seeking to negotiate a solution, and of hitting civilian areas in “utter disregard for the principles of international law and international humanitarian law — principles it has, in any case, never respected.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the Israeli attacks “barbaric.” Lebanon's health ministry said that along with the 182 killed, at least 890 people were wounded in the strikes. Altogether, 1,739 people have been killed and 5,873 wounded in Lebanon in just over five weeks since the outbreak of the war.

Israel's military said it had targeted missile launchers, command centers and intelligence infrastructure. It accused Hezbollah fighters of trying to “blend into” non-Shiite Muslim areas beyond their traditional strongholds.

Residents and local officials denied that the buildings hit were military sites.

“Look at these crimes,” said Mohammed Balouza, a member of Beirut’s municipal council, at the scene of a strike in Corniche al Mazraa. An apartment building behind a popular shop selling nuts and dried fruit had been hit. “This is a residential area. There is nothing (military) here.”

An Israeli warning and a defiant Hezbollah

As the smoke rose Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem that “his turn will come.” In 2024, Israel killed Hezbollah's previous leader, Hassan Nasrallah, with an airstrike.

Katz called Wednesday's strikes the largest blow against Hezbollah since the attack that caused pagers used by hundreds of its members to explode almost simultaneously in September 2024.

Before the new strikes, a Hezbollah official told the AP that the group was giving a chance for mediators to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, but “we have not announced our adherence to the ceasefire since the Israelis are not adhering to it.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly.

The Hezbollah official said the group will not accept a return to the pre-March 2 status quo, when Israel carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon despite a ceasefire being nominally in place since the last full-blown Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November 2024.

“We will not accept for the Israelis to continue behaving as they did before this war with regards to attacks,” he said.

Hezbollah had fired missiles across the border days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, sparking a regional war. Israel responded with widespread bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion.

The Israeli military chief of staff, Lt Gen. Eyal Zamir, said the attacks are to protect Israel’s northern residents, who have come under heavy fire.

The Israeli military has said it has killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters. More than 1 million people have been displaced in Lebanon.

Early Wednesday, after the Iran ceasefire was announced and before Israel struck, many displaced people sleeping in tents on the streets of Beirut and the coastal city of Sidon had begun packing their belongings in preparation to return home.

Families at a sprawling displacement camp on Beirut’s waterfront later expressed confusion and despair.

“We can’t take this anymore, sleeping in a tent, not showering, the uncertainty,” said Fadi Zaydan, 35. He and his parents had prepared to head back to the southern city of Nabatieh. Instead, they decided to wait things out in Sidon, a bit closer to home.

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Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre and AP journalists Hussein Mallah and Fadi Tawil in Beirut, Michelle Price in Washington and Melanie Lidman in Eilat, Israel, contributed to this report.

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This story corrects the first name of the social affairs minister to Haneen Sayed, not Haneed Sayed.

Newly published research concludes that fossilized remains listed by Guinness World Records as the earliest known octopus belong instead to a relative of a nautilus, a cephalopod with both tentacles and a shell.

University of Reading zoologist Thomas Clements, the lead researcher behind the new findings, said the fossil, Pohlsepia mazonensis, has long been the subject of scientific debate.

“It’s a very difficult fossil to interpret,” he said. “To look at it, it kind of just looks like a white mush.

“If you look at it and you are a cephalopod researcher and you’re interested in everything octopus, it does superficially look a lot like a deep-water octopus.”

The creature, a blob about the size of a human hand, was found in the Mazon Creek area of Illinois, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago, that is rich in fossils from a period before dinosaurs walked the Earth.

Its identification by paleontologists as an octopus in 2000 upended ideas about the evolution of the eight-tentacled cephalopods, suggesting they emerged much earlier than previously thought. The next oldest-known octopus fossil is only about 90 million years old.

“It’s a huge gap,” Clements said. “And so that big gap got researchers sort of questioning, ‘Is this thing actually an octopus?”

To solve the mystery of the “weird blob,” Clements and his team used a synchrotron — which uses fast-moving electrons to create beams of light brighter than the sun — to look inside the fossil rock. They found a ribbon of teeth known as a radula that is common to all mollusks, including nautiluses and octopuses. Each row had 11 teeth. Octopuses have either seven or nine.

“This has too many teeth, so it can’t be an octopus,” Clements said. “And that’s how we realize that the world’s oldest octopus is actually a fossil nautilus, not an octopus.”

The teeth matched those of a fossil nautiloid called Paleocadmus pohli that had been found in the same area. Clements said the mistaken identification may have happened because the creature decomposed and lost its telltale shell before it was fossilized, complicating identification.

As a result of the findings published this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Guinness World Records said it will no longer list Pohlsepia mazonensis as the earliest known octopus.

Managing Editor Adam Millward said the scientists had made “a fascinating discovery.”

“We will be resting the original ‘oldest octopus fossil’ title and look forward to reviewing this new evidence,” he said.

Pohlsepia mazonensis is named for its discoverer James Pohl, and is in the collection of the Field Museum in Chicago.

Clements said the museum should not be disappointed by the new evidence, which means it now has “the oldest soft tissue nautilus in the world.

“The Field Museum have a small collection of these ancient nautiluses, which I think as a cephalopod worker is probably the best thing ever,” he said.

The museum has been approached for comment.

And this latest No. 1 seed has put the Thunder in some storied basketball company.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his defending champs became the seventh team in NBA history to finish with its conference's best regular-season record in at least three consecutive years when Oklahoma City wrapped up the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming playoffs with a 128-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

The list of NBA teams who topped their conference standings in at least three straight seasons encompasses most of the greatest groups of the past half-century: The dominant Celtics teams of the 1970s and 1980s, the Showtime Lakers, the storied 1990s Chicago Bulls, the 2000s Lakers and the 2010s Golden State Warriors.

After comfortably holding off the Clippers for their 19th win in 20 games, the defending NBA champion Thunder (64-16) joined that elite group by clinching the top seed over San Antonio (61-19) and the league's best overall record.

The Thunder said they don't take this achievement for granted, even as they move on to chase bigger goals over the next two months.

“It feels better for sure, not only because we've had to weather a little more (adversity)," said MVP Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 20 points and 11 assists before sitting out the fourth quarter. “But just repeating something and doing it again is always a little bit harder. It's a little more challenging. The league gets better. Players get better. For us to still have the best overall record through those ups and downs speaks volumes to the team. ... We always say at the beginning of the season that no matter what happened, we have to earn what we get to make it to the playoffs and our seeding, and we earned the first overall seed.”

The Thunder have been a powerhouse ever since they broke through two seasons ago to claim the best record in the West with 57 victories. After winning 68 games last year, they've become only the third team in NBA history to win at least 64 games in back-to-back seasons, joining the 1995-97 Bulls and the 2015-17 Warriors.

But they all know the playoffs are a stiffer test, and Oklahoma City will attempt to become the first team to win titles after having the NBA’s best record in back-to-back seasons since Michael Jordan’s Bulls did it in 1996 and 1997.

“It's a great accomplishment,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “No two seasons are the same, and this season was a lot different experience. ... When you win the championship, that kind of hangs over you as a team the next year. Everybody — including ourselves — you judge yourself against that. It's incredibly hard to be present in the next regular season. I learned so much from this team, because their ability to come in every day and just embrace the day and the challenge that we had that day is really impressive, and it's why I think we had the season that we did.”

Indeed, Oklahoma City began this season with a 24-2 surge that had the basketball world wondering whether this was the best regular-season team in NBA history. Injuries slowed the Thunder to a mere 18-12 from mid-December to the All-Star break — but they've regained their ruthless momentum with a 22-2 rampage since then.

The Thunder were at least tied for first place in the conference for every day of the season, becoming only the seventh such wire-to-wire winner in league history. Golden State did it most recently in 2016.

“I thought we did a good job of fighting through everything we saw this year, and it’s paid off,” said Chet Holmgren, who scored 30 points against the Clips.

The injury problems might have prevented the Thunder from chasing the best single-season records in NBA history, but they also might have left Oklahoma City a bit fresher for the playoff challenges ahead: Isaiah Joe and Cason Wallace are the only players to appear in 70 games this season.

The Thunder have two more games before several days off to prepare for another postseason run, and Gilgeous-Alexander thinks they'll be ready.

"We understand how to win, and the formula for winning," said Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored at least 20 points in his 141st consecutive game despite not making a free throw for the first time all season. “We understand that everybody doing that is the key to success. It's not the razzle-dazzle and the stuff that's cute. Understanding that getting the job done every night, and how to get it done, I think we've built that muscle more than anything.”

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

Social media was soon awash with the lovely view of Japan's snow-capped Mount Fuji looming over a red pagoda and the short-lived cherry blossoms that herald the approach of spring.

Tourists wanting a similar shot soon packed this peaceful town at the foot of the mountain. The complaints were not far behind: chronic traffic jams; piles of litter; ill-mannered foreigners knocking on doors of private homes to borrow toilets; tourists relieving themselves in front yards.

It got so bad officials in Fujiyoshida announced in February that they were canceling this year’s annual cherry blossom festival, which started as a way to promote tourism a decade ago.

What locals are calling “tourism pollution” has illuminated a broader problem for Japan: As the country's economic malaise deepens, officials are eager for the economic boost of increased tourism, even as local communities find themselves entirely unprepared for what a small army of foreign visitors means for their communities.

10,000 tourists a day 'threaten residents' daily lives'

“This area is primarily an ordinary residential neighborhood, where balancing (tourism) with the safety of people's living environment has become difficult,” Masatoshi Hada, manager of the Fujiyoshida Economics and Environment Department, told The Associated Press. “We decided not to promote a festival that would invite more visitors.”

Even without the festival, foreign tourists packed the area on a sunny day in early April when cherry blossoms reached their prime. The narrow streets up to the popular Arakurayama Sengen Park were filled as the visitors lined up for a chance film the world-famous panoramic views.

In recent years, foreign tourists have exceeded 10,000 per day in the area, something that has “threatened residents’ daily lives,” the city said in a statement in February.

‘Tourism pollution’ across Japan

Overtourism has also been seen in other popular destinations in Japan, like Kyoto and Kamakura. In Kyoto, locals complain of tourists with large suitcases clogging city buses.

“Tourism pollution” comes as Japan confronts a rapidly growing population of foreign workers brought in as the country's population dwindles and ages. The combination has led to xenophobia, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ’s nationalistic government has proposed tougher rules on foreigners.

Even as it promises to address overtourism concerns, the government wants to boost the current level of 40 million inbound tourists to 60 million visitors by 2030.

Locals find the tourism ‘good but annoying’

Beginning April 1, at the start of the region’s cherry blossom season, Fujiyoshida increased its security guards and restricted entry of tour buses and vehicles into the scenic neighborhood, requiring visitors to reach the park on foot.

On a recent day, security guard Hiroaki Nagayama gestured to passersby so they would stay out of busy areas. He asked tourists to throw cigarette butts in designated places and tried to help the lost.

“I’m struggling. I cannot communicate with them in Japanese. Some people buy food at stalls and leave litter behind,” Nagayama says. “I think what’s happening here is a typical example of overtourism.”

Sitting on a bench outside his house just a couple of blocks away, Hitoshi Mori, 93, says having many visitors is “good but annoying.”

“It’s too crowded outside so I can only get groceries once a week and stock up on food,” he says.

Tourists enjoy the view and culture, despite crowds

Tourists, meanwhile, seem delighted by the spectacular view, despite many signs popping up that order them to behave better. There are also hours-long lines to get to cherished scenic spots.

“It’s pretty (well) organized. When they let you come in, you have like five minutes to take as many pictures as you can, and it was amazing,” said Lisa Goerdert from Paris.

Vicky Tran, who came from Melbourne, Australia, with her family and friends, said they could not go all the way up to see the pagoda with Mount Fuji and the cherry blossoms, because it was too crowded. Still, she said she enjoyed the view and the neighborhood.

Overtourism dividing residents

The overtourism has opened divisions between residents who want quiet and those who have started businesses using their yards to operate toll parking or setting up new shops or food stalls.

In a nearby shopping arcade that once had many closed mom-and-pop shops, business has picked up after another viral social media shot showed Mount Fuji looming over the street.

Throngs of tourists stand in the street to take photos of Mount Fuji, often blocking traffic, with frustrated vehicles honking.

The sudden flood of visitors is a huge change “for people like us who are used to a quiet suburban lifestyle,” says Masami Nakamura, who runs a decades-old school uniform shop with her husband. “I only hope the tourists respect our rules and manners.”

The crowds are a big change even for those who are seeing increased business.

“I once almost hit a tourist who jumped into the street without looking,” said Kyoko Funakubo, a 60-year-old employee at a local hotel and a part-time vendor selling Fuji-themed souvenirs. “This place used to be almost abandoned, with many shuttered shops. But now, with many stores reopened or new shops that have opened, I feel good seeing this area come alive again.”

This year’s recipient has been doing those things for well over two decades--affecting change for Salem athletics. Joel “Trimmy” Hickerson is a Salem High School alum and has worked at the school as an athletic trainer for a number of years, while also serving a number of roles. No matter the sport, no matter the athlete--Trimmy is simply the go to person.

Wednesday following a Spring signing ceremony, the 10 Sports team was able to surprise Hickerson with the award with the help of Salem head football coach Don Holter. Hickerson crediting the student-athletes for keeping his passion alive.

“It’s the students,” Hickerson said. “It’s the coaching staff and the relationships you build with everybody. It’s just, it’s awesome across the board and like I said, I’m in everybody’s corner. I want everybody to be successful and my favorite sport’s the one that I’m covering.”

“Trimmy and I got an opportunity to go to high school together here,” Coach Holter said. “So when he was a freshman, we kept people from taking his lunch money, but we loved him ever since and he’s homegrown. He loves this community and generation after generation of student-athlete he’s caring for as a trainer, equipment, you name it, he does it. He just wants to make sure that it gets done and it gets done to the standard that we have here in Salem and we are fortunate to have this man.”

One night after his team squandered three separate leads in an overtime defeat at Utah, McDavid delivered the kind of performance Edmonton needed.

He scored three goals for his 15th career hat trick and added two assists in a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday that moved the Oilers into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.

“He knows our team needed a win,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’re playing a little short-handed and he’s going to be the guy. Tonight every shift he was really dialed in and played extremely well. I’ve seen him play a lot of good games and that was one of his best.”

McDavid was sharp right from the start, scoring a power-play goal on his third shift. He assisted on a power-play goal by Vasily Podkolzin late in the first period and then added two more goals and an assist on his first seven shifts of the second to put away the game.

When McDavid is playing the way he did against the Sharks, the strategy for his teammates is simple.

“Get him the puck,” Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard said. “When you see him playing the way he was tonight, and honestly, most of the season, you want to get him the puck. He makes things happen when not many other people can.”

McDavid got the best of his matchup against his Canadian Olympic teammate and fellow Hart Trophy contender Macklin Celebrini, who scored on the power play to give San Jose a 1-0 lead.

McDavid answered that goal less than two minutes later, and the Sharks couldn't slow him down the rest of the night.

“He’s the best player in the league and he’s also the fastest so if you don’t really slow him down or get in his way he’s just going to skate by you,” Celebrini said. “It’s simple as that. You’ve seen it his whole career. I loved watching it when I was a fan but it’s super frustrating when you play against it.”

McDavid's 133 points this season are six more than Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov in the race for Art Ross Trophy and the second-most McDavid has had in a season to his 153 in 2022-23.

He needs three goals in the final three games for his second career 50-goal season, although his focus remains on bigger goals. Edmonton is two points ahead of Vegas in the division race, but the Golden Knights have a game in hand.

“We've got to punch our ticket,” McDavid said. “We've got three games left. We've still got to punch our ticket to the playoffs. Those individual things are nice but not at the top of mind.”

After making back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final the past two springs, the Oilers have sputtered their way through much of this season. But Edmonton has gone 6-1-1 over the past eight games to move into first place in the Pacific Division.

With high-scoring teammate Leon Draisaitl possibly returning from injury for the start of the postseason, the Oilers are trying to get back into top form in time to make another deep run.

“It’s been kind of an up-and-down year for us, honestly,” McDavid said. “We still feel like our best hockey is ahead of us. We’re kind of finding it right now, which is a good time to do it.”

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

The people were lodging complaints about the government's intensifying crackdown on the internet that has seen regular shutdowns of cellphone internet connections, blocked popular messaging apps and cut access to thousands of other websites and digital services.

It was the latest sign of the growing anger and frustration over the restrictions that have disrupted the daily lives of Russians, hurt businesses and drawn criticism even from Kremlin supporters.

Knowing that any unauthorized demonstrations are harshly suppressed, activists have tried to organize authorized rallies, plastered posters on walls and notice boards, and filed lawsuits. Industry leaders pleaded with authorities to repeal the measures.

Even the leader of Armenia delivered a not-so-veiled barb at Russia during a televised meeting with President Vladimir Putin on April 1. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that in Armenia, “our social media, for example, is 100% free. There are no restrictions whatsoever.”

An unsmiling Putin stared at Pashinyan with slightly raised eyebrows.

The clampdown not only serves to control what websites Russians can see, but also has thrown digital life into disarray, making it difficult to order taxis and deliveries, pay for goods and services electronically, and stay in touch with friends and family.

Politician and Kremlin critic Boris Nadezhdin spoke for many Russians who are upset about the internet clampdown when he said in an interview with The Associated Press: “This infuriates a huge number of people.”

Moves toward internet control

For years, Russia has sought to take the internet under total government control and potentially cut it off from the rest of the world, blocking tens of thousands of websites, messaging apps and social media platforms that refuse to cooperate with the authorities.

Internet users have gotten used to circumventing the restrictions by using virtual private networks, or VPNs, even as the government has been actively blocking those, too.

But last year, the restrictions reached a whole new level: sweeping shutdowns of cellphone internet connections -– and sometimes broadband, too -– leaving only a handful of websites and apps on government-approved “white lists.”

Officials claimed the drastic measures were needed to thwart Ukrainian drones relying on Russian cellphone internet for navigation as Kyiv tries to strike back during Moscow's 4-year-old full-scale invasion.

But the shutdowns hit remote regions that have never been targeted by Ukraine's drones, with ordinary people and businesses decrying the measures as detrimental.

The Kremlin has gone after the country's two most popular messaging apps — WhatsApp and Telegram — while simultaneously promoting a state-backed “national” app called MAX, widely seen as a surveillance tool.

At first, voice and video calls on WhatsApp and Telegram were blocked. Then, sending messages became effectively impossible, too, without using a VPN.

Last week, Digital and Communications Minister Maksut Shadayev said his ministry received orders to further decrease the use of VPNs. Unconfirmed media reports said his ministry proposed a flurry of new measures against VPNs. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent by AP.

Lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan, co-founder of the RKS Global digital rights group, told AP the goal of the authorities is to drive internet users into a “digital ghetto” of Russian, government-controlled apps and platforms.

“The internet is no longer this universal digital good,” he said.

Business leaders seek moderation

In recent weeks, a growing number of business leaders in Russia have voiced concern about the sweeping restrictions and urged authorities to take a more moderate approach.

Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, told Putin at a recent forum of the group that cellphone internet shutdowns “made life difficult for both businesses and citizens.”

“Given the high level of mobile technology penetration in our lives, we hope that a systemic, balanced solution will be found,” said Shokhin, a government minister in the 1990s and a member of the ruling United Russia party since the 2000s.

Putin was onstage with Shokhin and spoke immediately after him but didn't address the issue.

A similar plea came from CEOs of two of Russia’s four cellphone operators at a telecommunications conference last week. Sergei Anokhin of Beeline and Khachatur Pombukhchan of Megafon said that instead of cellphone internet shutdowns, operators could just identify suspicious users and restrict them, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

“This would make life significantly easier for people, for clients,” Pombukhchan said.

Prominent IT entrepreneur Natalya Kasperskaya lambasted Roskomnadzor, blaming its intensifying efforts to block VPNs for a brief outage last weekend of banking and other services.

“There’s no technical way to block VPNs without disrupting the entire internet,” she wrote in a post on Telegram. “So, comrades, take screenshots of interesting websites, withdraw as much cash as possible, and get ready to listen to radio reports about foreign enemies who have blocked our once-beloved RuNet,” — referring to the Russian internet.

Roskomnadzor denied involvement, and Kasperskaya later apologized in a separate post, but she called for dialogue between the authorities and the IT sector, stressing that “technical decisions sometimes cause downright shock and a desire to at least get an explanation.”

Cautious steps toward protest

Activists from Moscow to Vladivostok in the Far East have tried to organize rallies against internet restrictions since late February.

Knowing that unauthorized demonstrations are harshly suppressed and government critics are routinely jailed, they acted cautiously and sought authorization for the gatherings in accordance with strict protest laws. In most cases, those were rejected, and some activists were even arrested on various charges.

But people managed to hold small pickets in a few cities. In others, activists plastered flyers and banners on walls and public notice boards decrying the restrictions.

Opposition politician Nadezhdin, his supporters and other activist groups have filed for permission to hold rallies in dozens of cities on April 12, when Russia marks Cosmonautics Day, honoring the 1961 flight of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space.

“We’re filing for authorization (and saying) we’re marking Cosmonautics Day,” Nadezhdin says with a subtle smile. “Our slogans will be (about the fact that) cosmonautics is impossible without science, technology and progress, and progress, science and technology development is impossible without connectivity, without communication, without the internet.”

Nadezhdin says he is determined to increase pressure on authorities despite the crackdown. Public frustration over the restrictions is “enormous,” and people are ready to take part in protests that are authorized and safe, he added.

Moscow-based opposition politician Yulia Galyamina echoed his sentiment in a video she recorded last weekend near the presidential administration, where she and others filed their formal complaints, saying the discontent “is truly widespread.”

“The more there is public outcry over the blocking of the internet, Telegram in particular, and depriving us of the possibility to communicate with each other, interact, express our political position, the bigger the effect will be,” she said.

Kaija Saariaho, Finland’s leading opera composer, was working on a piece called “Innocence” and wanted one of the characters to sing in a style based on Finnish folk music rather than with a traditional operatic sound. She had heard Jää’s work on YouTube and asked her to make an audition tape.

“I said yes, that’s cool,” Jää said. “Everyone knows Kaija in Finland, so I knew her name, but I hadn’t listened to her music because I wasn’t into classical music.”

She grew up in Helsinki with a father who loved opera, but her musical tastes were more influenced by her mother. “Her side of the family has been into folklore for I don’t know how long,” Jää said. “My mother did folk dancing, taught it, and organized festivals of folk music and costumes.”

On the audition tape, she offered Saariaho samples of four different folk traditions — two of which ended up in the opera. “She liked what she saw,” Jää recalled. “And that’s how I found my way into this.”

Her role as Markéta thrust Jää into the international opera scene, starting with the world premiere of “Innocence” at the Aix-en-Provence festival in France in 2021, then productions in London, Amsterdam, San Francisco, and now New York, where “Innocence” is playing at the Metropolitan Opera through April 29.

The story of ‘Innocence’

The opera, which runs just under two hours with no intermission, takes place in two time periods 10 years apart that — in director Simon Stone’s production — play out simultaneously on a split-level revolving set.

In the present is a wedding banquet, where the characters include a waitress whose connection to the groom’s family gradually becomes clear. In the past is an international school that was the scene of a horrific shooting. There are roles in Sofi Oksanen’s libretto for 13 characters, who sing or speak in a variety of languages.

Susanna Mälkki, who led the premiere in Aix and is conducting at the Met, said Saariaho wanted to have “a multitude of musical elements. … Even the spoken parts have different qualities. ... It’s an extraordinary variety, and of course the most striking part is indeed Vilma’s because it’s unexpected.”

Melding Jää’s voice, opera and Finnish folk traditions

Saariaho, who died two years after the premiere, had already written some music for Jää’s first scene, but once she got involved the two of them worked on the role together.

“Everything after she wrote for my voice and the techniques I introduced to her,” said Jää, whose character is a pupil in the school and also the daughter of the waitress.

“I showed her which vowels to use, how high you can do each technique,” Jää said. “Whenever she composed something for me she would send it over and ask, Does this work? How does this sound? How would you sing this?”

“Kaija was aware that she wasn’t the expert in that Finnish folk tradition,” said Stone. “So of course she was leaning into someone who had just spent years at university studying it.”

One of the folk traditions that figure in Markéta’s music is the herding call or Karjankutsu, which Jää describes as “very high-pitched, very straight, no vibrato.”

“It’s a call, so it’s not trying to be beautiful,” she said. “It’s trying to be loud so that your herd will hear you, like 5 kilometers away when they’re roaming around the forest.”

The other tradition is Viena Karelian yoik. “Most of them are mocking songs toward young men,” she said, “so they have this voice-breaking technique. Whenever there is the letter H you would break your voice, and you also add syllables so you can use the voice-breaking in the middle of a word. Then you have a part where you just improvise with the voice breaking … very few notes, maybe only three pitches.”

Stone said there is “a kind of innocence to her as a character who didn’t ever grow up into adulthood. Which means that her almost naive folksinging style allows it to feel slightly free of the very complex psychological burden that a lot of the rest of the music has.”

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who portrays Markéta’s mother, said, “it’s almost like having Kaija in the room with us because it’s such a unique portrayal. … Vilma has this beautiful presence and serenity about her, and it makes the closing scene of having to let her go terribly poignant.”

When Jää isn’t performing in “Innocence” she pursues a busy career as singer, composer, fiddler, researcher and recording artist. Her 2023 debut album “Kosto” blended Finnish folklore with electronic music.

Does she imagine herself ever performing in another opera? “Sure, if a composer would write a role for me,” she said. “Nothing compares to singing live with a full orchestra … because the music lives and breathes. It’s something pop music can never do.”

A Honolulu jury returned the verdict against Gerhardt Konig, 47, on Wednesday after a day of deliberations. He was convicted of attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance, which carries up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing was set for Aug. 13.

Thomas Otake, his attorney, said he planned to appeal. Nevertheless, Otake said the defense respected the jury's verdict.

“We are thankful that they did not convict him of attempted murder, which would have been life in prison,” Otake said. “We look forward to an appeal related to some of the judge's rulings throughout the case.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.

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Distraught over her relationship with a coworker, Konig planned to kill his wife, Arielle Konig, during a weekend trip to Honolulu for her birthday in March 2025, prosecutors said. They said he tried to push her off a cliff and stab her with a syringe, and when that didn't work, he struck her with a rock. The attack was interrupted by two hikers who heard her cries for help.

The defendant testified that it was his wife who first hit him with a rock, and he hit her back in self-defense.

Konig stood as the jury’s foreperson announced the verdict, then closed his eyes and lowered his face. His parents declined to comment to reporters afterward. Arielle Konig was not in court.

Jurors explain conviction on lesser charge

Jury foreperson Makalapua Atkins said deliberations focused on what transpired on the trail. She said jurors examined the testimony of those who were at the scene to see where they matched up and where there were inconsistencies.

“At the end of the day when it comes down to it, she was hit in the head. And a head injury can be serious. And that’s a very deadly part of the body," Atkins told reporters after the verdict was read.

Jurors believed the relationship Arielle Konig had with a coworker was sufficient to cause “an emotional disturbance” and this affected their verdict, she said.

Under Hawaii law, if jurors believe a defendant committed attempted murder but was under the influence of an extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time, they must reduce the charge to attempted manslaughter if they believe there was a reasonable explanation for the disturbance.

The defense's arguments

During closing arguments, the doctor’s lawyer repeatedly sought to cast doubt on Arielle Konig’s account.

If Gerhardt Konig had wanted to kill his wife and had access to a syringe in a remote area, attorney Thomas Otake suggested to jurors during closing arguments, wouldn’t he have drugged her and then thrown her from the cliff, rather than having started a scuffle before attempting to fill the syringe as he was wrestling with her?

“You would use the syringe first,” Otake said. “It makes no sense.”

The trial started last month, nearly a year after Gerhardt and Arielle Konig went on a hike on the Pali Puka trail in Honolulu that ended with her bloodied and screaming that he had tried to kill her.

Their two young sons stayed home on Maui while the Konigs were on the trip.

The Pali Puka trail has long been closed by the state of Hawaii due to its danger but social media sites feature it. People trespass on state land to take in its views and snap photos. Arielle Konig described it as having “narrow ridge sections with steep drop-offs on both sides.”

Gerhardt and Arielle Konig testify

The trial, with testimony livestreamed by Court TV, has aired the couple’s marital problems leading up to the hike, along with their versions of what happened on the trail.

Gerhardt Konig testified that his wife was having an affair, which he confirmed by unlocking her phone while she slept. The relationship, which Arielle Konig characterized as an “emotional affair” involving flirty messages with a coworker, came up during the hike.

Arielle Konig testified that her husband grabbed her and moved her toward the cliff’s edge, but she threw herself on the ground in an attempt to hold on. He straddled her and had a syringe in his hand, she said, but she batted it away. She bit his forearm and squeezed his testicles in an attempt to get him off her, she said.

Her husband denied pushing her toward the edge and testified that she hit him with a rock on the side of his face. He wrestled the rock away and hit her with it twice in self-defense, he said.

Gerhardt Konig also denied having any syringes on the mountain or trying to stab his wife. His defense attorney said no syringe was found at the scene because he never had one.

Otake said Gerhardt Konig was not someone who would try to commit murder, but someone who was struggling with infidelity and trying to do his best. Otake quoted from a heart-shaped birthday card Gerhardt Konig had written to his wife, calling her “the heart of our family” and saying, “The kids and I hit the jackpot with you.”

Gerhardt Konig testified that as he watched his wife crawl away, he believed his marriage and career were over, and he decided to jump to his death. But first, he called his adult son from a previous marriage. The son told authorities that his father said he “tried to kill your stepmom” — a confession Gerhardt Konig denied having made.

Konig testified that he called his son to say good-bye.

During that call, the defendant made no reference to having struck his wife in self-defense, deputy prosecutor Joel Garner said.

He spent about eight hours hiding on the mountain before deciding to come down, and even then, he tried to flee when confronted by police, Garner said.

His wife has since filed for divorce.

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Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report.

McDavid controlled the game almost from the start, scoring on a power play in the first period and then twice in the second to make it 5-2. He also assisted on power-play goals by Vasily Podkolzin and Jack Roslovic to extend his NHL-leading point total to 133. The star center needs three goals in the final three games for his second career 50-goal season.

Connor Ingram made eight saves on 10 shots in two periods for Edmonton. Tristan Jarry stopped all four shots he faced in the third.

The win gave the Oilers 90 points, two more than Vegas in the division race. The Golden Knights have one game in hand.

Macklin Celebrini scored his 42nd goal for San Jose to give him 108 points this season, the third-most for a teenager behind Wayne Gretzky's 137 and Sidney Crosby's 120.

Kiefer Sherwood also scored for the Sharks, whose playoff hopes were dealt a big blow with the regulation loss. San Jose remains three points behind Nashville and two behind Los Angeles in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Sharks have four games remaining with one game in hand over the Predators.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 21 saves for San Jose.

The Oilers scored on all three power-play chances in the best performance for that unit since Leon Draisaitl went down with a lower-body injury on March 15 after scoring with the man advantage early in that game. Edmonton had been 3 for 27 on the power play in 10-plus games since Draisaitl's injury.

Up next

Oilers: At the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Sharks: Visit the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.

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

The Department of Homeland Security said ICE agents fired defensive shots at Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez after he tried to drive into them on Tuesday. DHS said they were conducting an enforcement stop targeting Mendoza, 36, in Patterson, a city about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. Officials described him as a suspected gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection to a murder.

Attorney Patrick Kolasinski, who is representing Mendoza and his family, said during a news conference that his client has been stopped for minor traffic infractions but has no criminal record in the U.S. and is not the subject of an arrest warrant in El Salvador, where he was acquitted of murder.

Kolasinski said he has found no evidence his client was part of any street gang but he added he has not had the chance to talk to him to confirm that.

“If he was released after being acquitted, with no other holds on him, he cannot have a warrant,” Kolasinski said. “So that information must be either erroneous or completely made up. And only DHS knows what they’re looking at.”

According to a Oct. 25, 2019 court document from a judge in El Salvador, Mendoza, who was 29 at the time, was acquitted after being accused of murder and ordered immediately released. The document lists 10 others who were convicted of various crimes from aggravated robbery to murder, and mentions at least one of them was a member of the 18th Street Gang. But there is no mention of Mendoza belonging to a gang or being accused of carrying out gang activity in the document.

Tuesday's encounter was among a string of shootings that have happened during the Trump administration's aggressive push to detain and deport illegal immigrants in which questions have been raised about the accounts by federal immigration officials.

DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comments about the lawyer's statements.

“He’s a good guy. He’s a hardworking person,” said Mendoza’s fiancée, Cindy, who did not provide her last name out of fear for her safety because of attention of his case. She said the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is hurting families.

She said in Spanish that Mendoza was recently stopped for a cracked windshield in another town.

Dashcam footage obtained by KCRA-TV shows three officers standing around a vehicle stopped on the side of a road. One of the officers appears to be touching the driver-side window when the car begins to back up and turn, hitting a vehicle behind it. At least two of the agents have weapons drawn, pointing at the car. The driver then pulls forward toward where the men are standing and turns sharply, driving over the roadway median.

The video has no sound and it's unclear when the shots were fired and if words were said.

“He is doing everything he can to not run them over,” the attorney said of his client’s reaction during the arrest. He said he believes his client panicked and tried to flee. DHS said ICE agents were acting as trained.

Mendoza’s fiancée was able to speak with him Wednesday and learned that he was going into surgery and is stable, Kolasinski said.

Kolasinski said Mendoza, a dual citizen of El Salvador and Mexico, came to the U.S. in 2019 but he said he did not know his legal status nor how he arrived to the country and hoped to talk to him to get those details. He said federal officials haven't said if Mendoza has been arrested for a crime or if he's being held by authorities as a victim of a shooting.

Kolasinski said his client works as a laborer to repair fire damage. He has a 2-year-old daughter and is engaged to a U.S. citizen, he said.

Kolasinski said officers endangered everyone by opening the car door when Mendoza tried to flee. “That may well be ICE training, but if it is it’s horrible training," he said.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said they were not involved in the incident and the FBI is leading the investigation.

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Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalist Julie Watson contributed from San Diego.

The Patriots held a 9-6 lead entering the fourth quarter. While Spartans goalie Richard Hof made some critical saves, Jake Painter and Quinn McCahill scored timely goals to secure the win.

Patrick Henry reached the Class 5 state quarterfinals in 2025. Salem is coming off a 2025 Class 4 State Championship--its first in program history.

While the Eagles goalie Drew Nolen turned away some wicked shots early in the game, Parker Doolan was able to sneak one in the right corner off his left foot for the first goal.

In what was a scary moment in the first half, the game was stopped for just over 20 minutes as Highlanders senior Dylan Ludlow had to be carried away in an ambulance after suffering an apparent right leg injury.

Up first was Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who warned that “everyone is less safe” because of President Donald Trump's leadership and blamed him for a nationwide surge in antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and bigotry.

“There’s more chaos, there’s more cruelty in our world,” Shapiro said. “Even if we disagree on health care policy or tax policy or whatever, we should at least, at a baseline, have an honorable president of the United States. We do not have that right now."

The Democratic governor, already considered a top-tier 2028 presidential prospect with a clear path to reelection in his battleground state this year, delivered a scathing criticism of the Republican president on the opening day of the National Action Network's four-day conference. More than a half-dozen potential candidates are speaking here to make inroads among Black leaders, one of Democrats' most powerful voting blocs.

The presidential primary is already underway

The presidential primary season won't begin in earnest until after November's midterm elections, but this week's conference is showcasing a collection of Democrats already jockeying for position in what promises to be a crowded primary fight.

For now, at least, there is no clear early favorite.

“Everybody's talking about who may run for president,” said Sharpton, the National Action Network's founder and president. “I want to first know what their vision is now, and what they’re doing now. So I’ve invited all of the people that could run.”

In addition to Shapiro, the speaking program features Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the last Democratic presidential nominee, is also scheduled to speak. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another likely contender, won't be in attendance because of a previously scheduled family commitment, his team said, noting that he met with Sharpton earlier in the year.

Black voters have critical influence

One doesn't have to look far to see the outsized influence that Black voters wield in Democratic nomination contests.

In 2020, Buttigieg was a top vote-getter in the Iowa caucus and scored a strong second place in New Hampshire — both overwhelmingly white states — before Joe Biden dominated South Carolina on the strength of the Black vote.

Biden's long-established relationship with the African American community, backed by his perceived electability advantage, ultimately helped him beat back a strong push by progressive favorite Sen. Bernie Sanders.

All of the 2028 prospects are quick to criticize Trump, although there is broad agreement that Democrats also need to highlight what they stand for — instead of solely what they're against.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the conference.

Khanna, a Sanders ally who also addressed activists on Wednesday, told The Associated Press that progressive candidates in 2028 could make greater inroads with Black voters “by speaking to the Civil Rights tradition and offering a vision rooted in Black history.”

“A 2028 contender needs to articulate and run on a new moral vision for America,” Khanna said. Any presidential candidate’s platform, he added, “must be as much inspired by the greats of Douglass and King” — referring to abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. — while “offering a new vision for racial justice, economic justice, peace in the world, against militarism, against racism, against wealth inequality.”

Shapiro, who was a finalist in Harris' search for a running mate in 2024, highlighted both his electability and his commitment to African American priorities while on stage.

He described Pennsylvania as “the ultimate swing state,” while defending diversity, equity and inclusion programs and insisting that police must be “held to account” if they do something wrong.

He also went after Trump again and again, suggesting that the looming midterm elections should be “a national referendum on Donald Trump and on what is happening in Washington, D.C.”

Ashley Sharpton, Rev. Sharpton’s youngest daughter, said she was surprised by the audience's enthusiasm and engagement while Shapiro and Khanna were on stage on the conference's first day. She said she's looking forward to hearing from Moore, Harris and Buttigieg.

"That’s why people come," she said. "They want to get some of that energy, that consistency, that base.”

That means the utility could miss Nevada's clean energy targets requiring 50% renewable power by 2030.

“I can’t remember a time in the history of the industry where we’ve seen as much interest in adding load, which is primarily driven by data centers,” said Shawn Elicegui, senior vice president of regulatory and resource planning for NV Energy, which provides electricity to 90% of the state.

It's one of many utilities across the country grappling with how to meet the exploding electricity demand for data centers to power artificial intelligence without sacrificing long-term plans to move away from fossil fuels in favor of renewable and zero-carbon sources.

In North Carolina, which is also seeing a surge of data centers, the largest utility is revising its long-term plans to delay the retirement of coal plants and to build more natural gas plants. Legislators removed an interim goal for utilities to cut carbon emissions, spurring concern from environmentalists that the state might miss its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

NextEra Energy, which serve commercial electricity in over a dozen states, completely dropped its goal to reach zero emissions by 2045 due to the “demand for all forms of power generation,” the company said in a recent business filing.

The Trump administration has encouraged states to use coal to meet the demands from manufacturing and data centers. Tech companies are also slowing down on their own climate goals to meet the consumer demands for artificial intelligence.

“It’s very alarming, and it’s probably the single largest natural resource issue of our time,” said Olivia Tanager, director of the Sierra Club’s Toiyabe chapter covering Nevada.

Nevada is one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the U.S. thanks to its lack of a corporate income tax, cheap land and tax breaks for data centers. There are dozens already with more on the way. Now lawmakers are eyeing more regulations and debating how to balance both the state's clean energy goals with the economic benefits data centers bring.

Some data centers say they want to be part of the solution; the industry was responsible for half of all corporate clean energy procurement in 2024, said Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the Data Center Coalition.

But renewable energy’s contribution to the power grid is not growing fast enough. Nationally, orders for gas turbines are backlogged and processing renewable energy projects take time, industry experts say.

One Vegas data center built its own solar fields

South of the Las Vegas Strip, the Switch data center stretches for nearly a square mile (kilometer). It’s the largest data center in Southern Nevada, and it runs entirely on renewable energy, according to Jason Hoffman, chief strategy officer. Unlike other data centers, Switch is licensed to build its own sources of renewable energy at the scale of a utility company. It has built 1 gigawatt of solar energy and is in the process of building more solar fields, he said. The company only uses NV Energy's grid for the delivery of electricity, and it sources its own power from third-party suppliers.

Inside of the massive buildings, hundreds of servers hum within gigantic soundproof and waterproof chambers. They contain vital information for Switch’s clients, including major banks, streaming services, online shopping websites, casinos and state and local governments.

During the summer heat, when more energy is required to keep the equipment cool, Switch can remove itself from the grid and be self-sufficient, Hoffman said. The data center is designed to require minimal air conditioning during the rest of the year.

Many other utilities and tech companies are turning to gas-fired generation to power data centers, including the controversial xAI data center near Memphis that is using mobile gas turbines strapped to semitrucks.”

Tanager, of the Sierra Club, said multiple proposed data centers in Northern Nevada would use hundreds of low-quality diesel-powered backup generators that will worsen air quality. Data centers have backup generators in case the power goes out and are not used often.

At a recent seven-hour legislative meeting, Nevadans complained to lawmakers about the noise data centers produce, and their worries about how the centers will affect water supply and energy bills. Residents of Boulder City, home of the Hoover Dam, are also opposing a proposed center for similar concerns.

State provides financial incentives for clean power

NV Energy requires data center developers to agree to fund their own infrastructure and energy needs — but it doesn't have to be renewable.

Nevada designed a volunteer funding model that allows companies to put up money for NV Energy's clean energy development then count it toward their corporate energy goals. It was the first such model of its kind in the country and led to the development of a geothermal plant in Northern Nevada with Google as a partner.

Environmental groups want the state to make that model mandatory, but still worry it wouldn't bring enough clean energy to meet demand. They also worry NV Energy could expand its reliance on fossil fuel without the guarantee that all the proposed data centers will be built.

NV Energy will require companies to sign contracts ensuring their commitment to the state before energy is built, Elicegui said. The utility's philosophy is that “growth is welcomed,” but that companies need to be responsible for power load added on their behalf “whether they show up or not.”

The public utilities commission in Nevada may impose a fine, grant an exemption or take some other action if it determines NV Energy failed to meet the state’s clean energy goals. The utility is set to publish a report with more specifics by the end of the month.

Democratic Assemblymember Howard Watts of Las Vegas said it is “unacceptable” to bring forward projects that will threaten the state's renewable energy portfolio. Watts wants to see it required that data centers take on the costs of clean energy development. While many companies are already taking those steps, putting those guardrails in statute is necessary, he said.

“Building more gas plants seems like going in the exact opposite direction of what we need to do as a state," he said, noting the state has “tremendous solar and geothermal energy potential.”

Her emotions were heavy, ranging from anxiety and fear to even loneliness as others seemed to be going about their lives as normal despite what could have been pending doom. Ultimately, Trump did not make good on his threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” instead agreeing to a two-week ceasefire in the war.

It was another moment of whiplash for Haider and the hundreds of thousands of Iranians living in the U.S. who have been thrust into a seemingly constant state of uncertainty over the future of Iran and their relatives and friends who still live there.

For many, the tenor of the latest discourse around the conflict has consumed their thoughts, often preventing them from getting work done or focusing on anything else. Some are protesting the war, while others guard their opinions about what is happening in their homeland, anxiously watching and wondering what the future might hold.

Haider was among those protesting Wednesday in Austin, Texas, calling for an end to the war. Gatherings also were held in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities.

Aside from speaking out against the war, Haider thinks that mobilizing will create “the kind of pressure that makes it harder for Trump to swing back to this aggressive posturing.”

“It’s a huge country,” she said of Iran. “Trump is not going to ever be able to defeat it or wipe it out, but it is possible to do damage. It is possible to do something that affects millions of people, millions of lives.”

Worries for family members back home

Haider, a municipal planner and an organizer with the Austin for Palestine Coalition, said hearing Trump offer such an ultimatum was frightening.

She does not support regime change, saying that was something for the Iranian people to settle, not the United States. Still, she wanted to speak out even though she came to the U.S. by way of Pakistan with her parents when she was young. She has memories of the neighborhood bakeries and the juice shops she used to visit with her mother and their neighbors.

Iranian-American Sheila Amir said that Trump’s social media posts made her fearful on multiple levels.

Her first concern was for her Iranian relatives. She has not been able to confirm that they're OK in the past week amid an internet blackout that has blanketed the country.

But the North Carolina-based writer said she also was concerned that an escalation in the war could put her U.S. relatives who are in the military at risk. Their duty, she said, is to “serve and protect the United States of America," not to destroy the people of Iran.

Complex feelings for those who support the war

Even those who are supportive of U.S. attacks that directly weaken the Iranian government are struggling to reckon with the most recent threats against civilians.

In recent weeks, Roya Rastegar has had many difficult conversations with her family about the conflict. Rastegar and her wife are both Iranian-American. Rastegar said people in her family have been killed by the Iranian government in the decades since the Islamic Republic took power, and the majority of her wife’s family is still in the country.

Rastegar, a filmmaker and cofounder of a pro-democracy nonprofit called the Iranian Diaspora Collective, said the frequent reversals have made it more difficult to explain the conflict to their children.

“It’s very hard to hold on to the idea that we do not know what’s going to happen,” she said.

Rastegar said that the war has presented an impossible moral dilemma. She is deeply concerned that intensified attacks on Iran could cause even more harm to civilians. But she also believes that de-escalating the war without dismantling the Islamic Republic will pose the greatest risk to Iranians inside the country, who would continue to face severe and deadly repression.

“It’s really nauseating to just think about my people as being stuck between a regime that’s still killing them and an administration — the U.S. — that is issuing these kinds of threats,” Rastegar said.

Combs, currently in federal prison in New Jersey, won't be at Thursday morning's arguments before a panel of three federal appellate judges. He's challenging his conviction and more than 4-year prison sentence.

His attorneys say Combs' conviction should be reversed, or he should at least be freed and resentenced to less time.

Prosecutors oppose the arguments.

In written arguments, Combs' lawyers repeated claims they made before the trial judge, including an assertion that Combs' films of sexual encounters between his girlfriends and male sex workers amounted to “amateur pornography” and was protected by the First Amendment. The attorneys said the term “prostitution” should be interpreted narrowly to exclude what they portray as voyeuristic and expressive activity.

The lawyers also argue that Combs' sentence was too harsh, saying the trial judge wrongly based it in part on a conclusion that the crimes involved fraud and coercion and that Combs was a leader or organizer of criminal activity. Combs was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that carried the potential for a life sentence.

He was convicted under the federal Mann Act, which bans transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime.

Federal prosecutors said in court papers that Combs' recordings don't make his case a free speech issue.

They said that if Combs was right in claiming that “creative,” “elaborate” and “highly staged” sex acts meant that they were protected by the First Amendment, then “brothels offering elaborate and staged scenes for individuals to have sex with women for payment could claim First Amendment protection.”

Prosecutors also said the sentence was proper.

Combs' trial last year exposed the sordid private life of one of the most influential figures in music. The case featured harrowing testimony about violence, drugs and sexual performances that witnesses said he called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”

He did not testify. His defense team acknowledged that he could be violent but argued that prosecutors were straining to make a federal crime out of his personal life.

Combs, 56, has been behind bars since his September 2024 arrest. The Federal Bureau of Prisons says he is scheduled for release in April 2028.

That changed when Ershad, a New York graduate student who grew up in Tehran, saw how many of the players he had adored since childhood failed to speak out following its theocratic leadership’s deadly crackdown on protesters in January.

“It feels so bad that I do not want them to succeed. They were like my icons, my legends," he lamented during a recent pickup soccer game on Long Island. “I know playing a World Cup is the biggest thing a soccer player can achieve in his life, but how can you just be silent?”

Ershad is one of many diehard soccer fans in the Iranian diaspora with conflicting emotions as Team Melli — the Persian nickname for Iran's national squad — prepares for its seventh World Cup. Iran is set to begin its campaign against New Zealand on June 15 near Los Angeles, a region that's home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran, including many who fled the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Some view the men's team as complicit in whitewashing the Iranian government's repression and can’t bear to watch the competition. Others plan to attend Iran's games to show their love for the country and sport, but bearing signs of protest. Still others say they’ll set politics aside and just enjoy seeing Iran compete on soccer's biggest stage.

All of this is assuming the team actually takes part, which Iranian officials called into question because of the country's war with the United States and Israel. Iranian soccer officials recently met with the head of FIFA, international soccer's governing body, who has insisted that Iran stick to the schedule.

The Iranian team often finds itself unable to avoid political issues. Before a recent match in Turkey, players held small backpacks honoring the Iranian children who were killed in a U.S. missile strike on an elementary school — a move Iranian American fans said showed their allegiance to the government and the political pressure it places on them.

Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out. In 2022, a prominent former member of the national team was arrested for allegedly protesting against the country's leadership. This year, star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn't selected for World Cup warmup games, reportedly because of a social media post that angered the authorities.

Worries that Iran won't take part

Nader Adeli, who manages Iranian American club team Arya FC's over-60 squad in Los Angeles, is worried the war might keep Iran from attending the World Cup.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump discouraged the Iranian team from taking part, citing safety concerns. In response, Iran asked to move its matches to Mexico, which is co-hosting the event along with the U.S. and Canada, though the head of FIFA has repeatedly rejected such a move.

Adeli, who didn’t win the ticket lottery to attend one of Iran's two Los Angeles-area matches, said the World Cup should be a moment to enjoy the sport without outside distractions.

But with war raging, he doesn't think the team will travel. And if it does, he doubts the players would be able to fully focus on competing.

“Sports should never become a political issue,” he said. “As people, we have nothing against any Americans, we have nothing against any Iranians. It is just the governments.”

Former women's team player says Iran shouldn't play

Iran's women's team made headlines last month when several members didn't sing along to the country's national anthem before their opening match at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.

Although they sang it before Iran's next two fixtures, some commenters saw their initial silence as a protest against their government — though others saw it as a display of mourning about the war. The team and players — two of whom accepted asylum offers to remain in Australia — didn't comment on the matter.

Shiva Amini, who used to play for the national team but now lives in New York City, is among the Iranian ex-pats calling on the Trump administration not to grant visas to the men's team to play in the World Cup.

The 36-year-old player, who left Iran in 2017 after being photographed not wearing a headscarf while in Europe, said many Iranians soured on the men’s squad during the 2022 World Cup, when players stayed silent as Iran was roiled by street demonstrations over the country's mandatory headscarf laws following the death of Mahsa Amini.

“They had a big platform, and instead of talking about that, they were laughing, they were so happy, and it was honestly a slap on the face,” she said. “So those are not the Iranian national soccer team. Those are the regime’s national soccer team.”

The few players who have spoken out paid dearly, Amini acknowledged, including Amir Nasr-Azadani, who faces years behind bars for his involvement in the 2022 protests.

Azmoun, the Dubai-based star striker who played for Iran's past two World Cup teams, wasn't picked to play in the team's warmups for this year's tournament, reportedly because he posted a photo on social media of himself greeting United Arab Emirates political leaders.

Plans to cheer on — and protest — Iran

Masoud Ahmadi, a 62-year-old interior designer who plays for another largely Iranian American over-60 club team, Sina FC, said he's trying to get a ticket to see Iran play. If he does, he said he'll take a stand against the Iranian leadership by carrying the country's lion-and-sun flag, which predates the Islamic Revolution.

Ahmadi said he was detained in Iran as a teenager before he fled to Turkey on foot. The U.S. granted him political asylum.

“We’re going to definitely raise our voice,” said Ahmadi, who is proud of his Iranian heritage but critical of the men's squad. “This team is not an Iranian people’s team. This is a government team."

Sasan Sadri, who manages the team, said if he scores a ticket, he'll try to wear a shirt calling for leadership change in Iran.

“As my countrymen, I like them to achieve,” he said. “I don’t support the regime, but soccer is soccer.”

As for Ershad, the New York grad student, he plans to support the Iranian team if the government is overthrown before the tournament starts. If not, he'll back soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo's side to win it all.

“It's so hard to not cheer for your national team, but let’s go Portugal," he said.

___

Taxin reported from Irvine, California.

Now hurtling home from the moon, the Artemis II astronauts took a poignant page from Apollo 8 earlier this week, proposing deeply personal names for a pair of lunar craters.

Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew asked permission to name one small, fresh crater after their capsule called Integrity and another after his late wife, Carroll. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen made the request right before Monday's lunar fly-around. Wiseman was too emotional to talk.

Carroll Wiseman, a neonatal nurse, died of cancer in 2020.

“Just for me personally, that was kind of the pinnacle moment of the mission for me,” Wiseman said from space Wednesday night.

During Apollo 8 in 1968, astronaut Jim Lovell bestowed his wife’s name upon a prominent lunar peak: Mount Marilyn. It was humanity's first trip to the moon and she anxiously awaited his return back home in Houston.

The three Americans and one Canadian of Artemis II are the first lunar visitors since Apollo 17 closed out that grand epoch in 1972, and their crater-naming request temporarily left ground controllers speechless.

“It was definitely a very emotional moment. I don’t think most of us knew it was coming,” NASA lunar scientist Ryan Watkins told The Associated Press on Wednesday from Johnson Space Center in Houston. “There was not a single dry eye.”

Mission Control’s lead scientist Kelsey Young worked with the Artemis II astronauts before launch, quietly helping them choose the two bright, relatively young craters, which they quickly spied once they were close enough to the moon through zoom lenses as well as their naked eyes.

Wiseman said his crewmates came up with the idea and approached him about it while they were in quarantine a few days before liftoff. His response: “Absolutely, I would love that, I think that's just the best. And I said, 'But I can't give the speech, I can't give the talk,'" he recalled during a crew news conference, saying he was too overwhelmed.

Proposed Carroll Crater is at the moon's left limb on the boundary of the moon’s near and far sides, and occasionally visible from Earth. It's rather shallow and approximately 3 miles (5 kilometers) across, according to Watkins. The slightly bigger Integrity crater is completely on the lunar far side.

Their request came shortly after they broke Apollo 13’s distance record for deep-space travelers. All four astronauts wept as they embraced in a group hug.

“We lost a loved one. Her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie,” Hansen radioed, his voice breaking. “It’s a bright spot on the moon and we would like to call it Carroll.”

Mission Control fell silent for nearly a minute before replying: “Integrity and Carroll crater, loud and clear.”

The emotion-drenched scene was vastly different from the 1960s and 1970s Apollo moonshots in more ways than one. NASA's Apollo all-male test pilots were for the most part all business and tear-free.

“This is no fault of Apollo,” Watkins said. “I think we're seeing just a more human aspect."

Once back on Earth later this week, the crew will submit the two proposed names to the International Astronomical Union.

Nearly a half century passed between Apollo 8 and the union's sign-off of Mount Marilyn in 2017.

The IAU's Ramasamy Venugopal promised a decision on Carroll and Integrity in about a month, the norm “for straightforward requests.”

There already are 81 astronaut-named lunar features on the group's approved list, including Apollo 16's Baby Ray and Gator, and Apollo 17's Lara named for the lead female character in the 1965 film “Doctor Zhivago.”

Some Apollo-era nicknames didn't make the cut.

Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, the last astronaut to walk on the moon, dubbed a split boulder “Tracy’s Rock,” after his young daughter in 1972.

And in 1969, Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad nicknamed his touchdown spot “Pete’s Parking Lot.”

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

The government had agreed to terms with Australia’s largest suppliers Ampol and Viva Energy to underwrite contracts for gasoline and diesel bought on the spot market for prices above normal commercial rates, Albanese said.

The government would also have the power to direct how that fuel was distributed, with a focus on regional and farming areas where gas stations have run dry in recent weeks, Albanese said.

“This will have a long tail, which is why after this we will travel to Singapore,” Albanese told reporters at an Ampol refinery in Australian city of Brisbane.

“I’m looking forward to a constructive meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong tomorrow,” Albanese said.

“We don’t preempt one-on-one meetings at leaders’ levels, but the fact that we’re being welcomed at relatively short notice to Singapore speaks about the strength of the relationship,” he added.

Albanese’s visit would continue Singapore’s regional engagements to keep fuel supply flowing by strengthening fuel access for Australia, a Singaporean government statement said.

Australia was Singapore’s second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas and Singapore was Australia’s largest supplier of refined petroleum products.

“This visit follows Australia and Singapore’s joint commitment to keep fuel flowing between both countries and to work together to strengthen energy supply chain resilience,” Singapore said.

Albanese said his government was moving quickly to increase Australia’s fuel supply.

He described the announcement this week of a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East war as an important step forward.

“If the ceasefire holds, that doesn’t mean that the world global capacity comes online in a week or a month. It will take as considerable period of time. This will have a long tail. That is very, very clear,” Albanese said.

The Dodgers were informed of his death by his former wife, Lin Lopes. She told the team Lopes had Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and died at a hospital in his hometown of East Providence, Rhode Island.

Lopes was a four-time All-Star during his 10 years with the Dodgers. He played in four World Series, winning the 1981 championship. He holds the franchise record for most games played at second base with 1,134. His 1,145 games batting leadoff are second in the organization's history to Maury Wills (1,279).

Lopes was 27 years old when he made his MLB debut on Sept. 22, 1972.

The next season, Steve Garvey, Bill Russell, Ron Cey and Lopes began the first of 8 1/2 consecutive years starting together in the infield.

Lopes established himself as one of the most prolific base stealers in baseball. He stole 418 bases as a Dodger, the second-highest career total in franchise history behind Wills (490). Lopes holds the franchise record with an 83.1% career success rate (minimum 100 steals).

On Aug. 4, 1974, Lopes became the first Dodger since Wills to steal four bases in a game, and 20 days later, he tied the NL record with five steals against the Cardinals. In 1975, Lopes recorded a then-MLB record 28 consecutive steals without being caught.

He led the majors in 1975 with 77 steals and the National League in 1976 with 63. In 1978, he stole 45 bases in 49 attempts.

In 1978, Lopes had the best World Series of his career, starting with two home runs in Game 1 against the New York Yankees. He also won a Gold Glove that season.

After leaving the Dodgers, he played for the Oakland Athletics (1982-84), Chicago Cubs (1984-86) and Houston Astros (1986-87). He stole 557 career bases — 26th in MLB history — while hitting .263 in 1,812 regular-season games with 155 home runs, 614 RBI, 232 doubles and 50 triples.

“He was one of the greatest competitors I had the privilege to play with in Chicago, and against when he was with the Dodgers. RIP my friend,” five-time All-Star shortstop Larry Bowa posted on X.

After his playing days, Lopes managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 2000-02. He coached with the Orioles, Padres, Nationals, Phillies and Dodgers.

He won a second World Series as the Phillies’ first-base coach.

Ruben Amaro Jr., an assistant general manager on that 2008 title team, posted on X: “Davey Lopes, the best base stealing coach we've ever had. And a great base stealer in his own right. So sad to hear of his passing. Thank you, Davey, for bringing joy to all of us. RIP.”

Lopes returned to the Dodgers as the baserunning and first-base coach from 2011-15. He spent his final two seasons in the majors as the Nationals first-base coach from 2016-17.

Lopes is survived by his brothers, Patrick and John, and sisters, Jean, Judith, Mary and Nina.

___

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

We are still cool and clear this morning with a lot of sunshine headed our way this afternoon. Eventually, during the afternoon, abundant sunshine will make our air temperatures feel a bit warmer than the actual values.

It is so cold this morning that we have a few cold-weather alerts, certainly not spring-like. A Freeze Warning is in effect until 9 AM.

Along with the cold weather, it is quite dry! Our dew points have taken a drastic turn, now falling into the teens and single digits. This is bringing about fire weather concerns as winds reach into the 20-25 MPH range. Any fire that starts has the potential to spread quickly in these conditions.

Our forecast finally changes a bit with moisture back in the picture late Friday night and into early Saturday morning. This is because of our next cold front that swings through. Even though the front brings rain showers, it will not allow for a dip in temperatures as we head into the 80s this weekend! Enjoy the sunshine today!

All sides have presented vastly different versions of the terms. Iran said the deal would allow it to formalize its new practice of charging ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said the U.S. would work with Iran to remove buried enriched uranium, though Iran did not confirm that.

Pakistan and others said fighting would pause in Lebanon, which Israel has invaded to fight Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday that the deal doesn’t cover fighting against Hezbollah. Israeli strikes hit several dense commercial and residential areas in central Beirut Wednesday afternoon without warning, killing dozens and wounding hundreds of people.

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

The ceasefire may formalize a system of charging fees in the Strait of Hormuz that Iran instituted — and give it a new source of revenue. Iranian attacks and threats deterred many commercial ships from passing through the waterway, through which 20% of all traded oil and natural gas passes in peacetime.

Here is the latest:

UN chief condemns Israeli strikes in Lebanon

In unusually strong language, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Israeli strikes in Lebanon that killed and injured hundreds Wednesday, according to a statement by his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric.

The statement said Guterres “condemns the loss of civilian lives and is deeply alarmed by the mounting toll on civilians,” and added the ongoing strikes pose “a grave risk to the ceasefire and the efforts toward a lasting and comprehensive peace in the region.”

Guterres called on all parties to immediately cease hostilities.

The strikes targeting central Beirut Wednesday killed more than 180 people, and wounded hundreds, making it the deadliest day in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

Australia says Lebanon must be included in Middle East ceasefire

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters Thursday that the two-week ceasefire announced this week “is an important step forward.”

“Of course it is a fragile peace, but we want it to lead to an agreement,” Albanese said.

“The Australian government also firmly believes that this has to apply to Lebanon as well. We want to see peace in this region,” Albanese added.

Hezbollah claims attacks as sirens sound in northern Israel

Sirens went off early Thursday morning in a few Israeli communities along the border with Lebanon, near the city of Kiryat Shmona, which has been targeted by Hezbollah rockets repeatedly during the war.

In a statement, Hezbollah claimed attacking Manara in northern Israel early Thursday morning with rocket fire.

“This response will continue until the Israeli-American aggression against our country and our people ceases,” it said.

Israeli strikes kill Al Jazeera correspondent and 2 Lebanese journalists

Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed an Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, according to the network and health officials there, as well as two Lebanese journalists in that country, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists and one of their networks.

Mohammed Wishah was targeted in a drone strike in west Gaza City. The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said on X that Wishah was a member of Hamas, reposting a 2024 tweet that described him as a “prominent commander” in its military wing, among other positions.

In Lebanon, where Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah killed more than 180 people Wednesday, Ghada Dayekh, a presenter with Sawt Al-Farah, and Suzan Khalil, a reporter and presenter on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV and Al-Nour Radio, also died.

Newly created Polymarket accounts bet big on US-Iran ceasefire in hours before Trump’s announcement

A group of new accounts on the prediction market Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers.

These bets were made even though, in the hours before a two-week ceasefire was announced on Tuesday, Trump’s rhetoric had escalated sharply and there were few signals that a ceasefire deal was imminent.

An analysis of publicly available blockchain data from Polymarket, using the crypto analytics platform Dune, shows that at least 50 accounts, or wallets, placed substantial “Yes” bets Tuesday before Trump announced the ceasefire in a Truth Social post at around 6:30 p.m. ET.

▶ Read more about polymarket accounts

Israelis celebrate ceasefire and mimouna holiday

Israelis marked the Moroccan Jewish holiday of Mimouna, which celebrates the end of Passover, on Wednesday night without worrying about running for cover from of Iranian missiles for the first time in a month and a half.

In the southern resort city of Eilat, a local bar served the traditional fried foods, including the fried dough of mufleta, while wearing Moroccan inspired garb.

“I feel like I can finally go out and celebrate, it’s hard to celebrate anything during the war,” said Tair Elkaim, a 27-year-old personal trainer visiting from Netanya. “I feel more relaxed and happy, but also I’m sad about the families broken up by this war.”

Avi Zion, 30, a municipality worker from Jerusalem, said he was looking forward to returning to his routine and finally sending his kids back to school.

“I’m really happy there’s a ceasefire and we’re here to celebrate this feeling of release.”

At least 182 killed as Israel strikes central Beirut after saying Iran truce doesn’t apply there

Lebanon’s health ministry said that Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed 182 people, the highest single-day death toll in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Israel launched a barrage of strikes in central Beirut and elsewhere in the country as a shaky ceasefire took effect between the U.S. and Iran. Iranian officials have maintained that the deal was supposed to include Lebanon, while Israel and the U.S. have insisted that it does not.

Another 890 people were wounded in the strikes, the ministry said. Altogether, 1,739 people have been killed and 5,873 wounded in Lebanon in just over five weeks since the outbreak of the war.

▶ Read more

US moves to draw down diplomatic staff in Nigeria over security concerns related to Iran war, terrorism, crime

The State Department is moving to reduce the U.S. diplomatic footprint in Nigeria due to security concerns related to terrorism and crime even as a ceasefire in the Iran war comes into effect.

The department said Wednesday it had authorized nonessential American personnel and the families of all government staffers at the U.S. embassy in Abuja to leave the country “due to the deteriorating security situation.”

“There is risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activity in Nigeria,” it said. “Terrorists continue plotting and carrying out attacks in Nigeria. Terrorists collaborate with local gangs to expand their reach. They may attack with little or no warning.”

Nigeria is just the latest in a series of U.S. diplomatic missions to draw down staff with either ordered or authorized departures since the war with Iran began at the end of February.

American offensive operations remain paused, US official says

When asked about an oil refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island that Iranian state television said came under attack Wednesday, the U.S. official said the pause in American attacks on Iran that went into effect Tuesday with the ceasefire was still effect.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani also said Israel wasn’t involved in the Lavan Island strike.

—- Konstantin Toropin

Vance suggests the US and Iran agree on more about a peace deal than they disagree on

Speaking to reporters before leaving Hungary, the vice president said Iran questioning the workability of a ceasefire because it disagrees with the U.S. on three key points “must mean there’s a lot of points of agreement.”

Frustration on three issues “actually means that there’s a lot of agreements,” Vance said.

The vice president, who is set to participate in negotiations in Pakistan this weekend, said “ceasefires are always messy” and often feature “a little bit of choppiness.”

It wasn’t all positive, though. Vance also questioned the English skills of Iran parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and his comments on the fragile nature of the ceasefire.

“I actually wonder how good he is at understanding English,” Vance said “because there are things that he said that just didn’t make sense in the context of the negotiations that we’ve had.”

Independent analysts say they have seen no change in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz

That’s despite claims from the White House on Wednesday there had been an uptick in the number of ships transiting the strategic waterway since a U.S.-announced ceasefire with Iran.

Windward, a maritime intelligence firm that tracks international shipping, said only 11 vessels transited the strait on Wednesday — roughly the same number from prior days.

Windward said all ships transiting the strait must still coordinate safe passage with Iranian authorities, who are requiring shippers to pay hefty tolls amounting of up to $1 a barrel for outbound oil, paid in cryptocurrency. For context, the largest supertankers carry up to 3 million barrels of crude.

Windward said radio broadcasts from Iran to tankers in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday warned that those transiting without approval would be attacked.

Israel strikes key bridge in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military has struck the last direct crossing carrying most of the traffic to the key coastal city of Tyre over Lebanon’s Litani River, the strategic demarcation line separating southern Lebanon from the rest of the country.

The attack late Wednesday on the Qasmieh bridge further isolates southern Lebanon as the Israeli army pushes ahead with its ground invasion and bombardment following the announcement of a ceasefire in the Iran war.

Israel has bombed several bridges over the Litani, accusing Hezbollah of using them to bring fighters and military equipment to the border area. But the crossings are also crucial for Lebanese civilians and for those carrying humanitarian aid.

The strike comes as Israel seeks to create a “buffer zone” that it says is necessary to protect its northern towns from Hezbollah rockets. Lebanese civilians fear long-term occupation and displacement.

House Democrats to force a war powers resolution vote over Iran

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said they will demand passage of the resolution to halt further U.S. military action in Iran during Thursday’s session, seeking to force Republicans, who have been largely silent on Trump’s strategy, to speak up.

He said in a letter to colleagues that the Democrats will “unleash maximum pressure on Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping the madness.”

Congress is on recess, but the House and Senate are meeting for perfunctory sessions on Thursday.

Under the proposal, Democrats would seek to have the resolution approved by unanimous consent. But as the minority party, they may not even be recognized by the presiding officer, a Republican.

Bolivia terminates military cooperation agreement with Iran in latest geopolitical shift

The center-right government of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz said Wednesday it has terminated a military cooperation agreement signed with Iran three years ago, during the administration of leftist leader Luis Arce.

The announcement was confirmed by Defense Minister Raúl Salinas, who didn’t provide further details.

It comes on the heels of the Paz administration’s dramatic shift away from the foreign policy maintained by Bolivia throughout the administrations of the Movement Towards Socialism, or MAS, a party that held power for nearly 20 years.

It is also the latest sign of a sharp geopolitical realignment underway in the South American country that was once among the most vocal critics of Israeli policies toward Palestinians.

UN says 1.1 million Lebanese, an unprecedented number, have been displaced since early March conflict

And that number, representing nearly one-fifth of Lebanon’s population, is expected to rise following the wave of over 100 Israeli airstrikes on the country on Wednesday, the U.N. humanitarian chief in Lebanon said.

Imran Riza told U.N. correspondents in a video briefing that Israeli orders for Lebanese to leave their homes now affect 15.5% of the country’s territory.

He also pointed to rising attacks on health care facilities during the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, with over 106 incidents reported resulting in 57 deaths and 158 injuries.

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator urged donations to last month’s $308 million U.N. emergency appeal for Lebanon which has only received about $95 million.

Iran accuses US of violating 3 clauses of framework for a deal, says ceasefire, negotiations with US are ‘unreasonable’

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Wednesday that a ceasefire and negotiations with the U.S. on ending the war is “unreasonable” as he accused the U.S. violating three of Tehran’s 10 conditions for an end to the fighting.

Qalibaf, a key figure in the Pakistan-brokered negotiations to end the conflict, objected in a social media post to the continuation of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon, an alleged drone incursion into Iranian airspace after the ceasefire was in effect and the Trump administration’s assertion that it won’t accept any Iranian enrichment capabilities as part of an agreement to end the conflict.

It comes as the not yet day old ceasefire appears at risk of fraying over significant disagreements between the parties who each are claiming victory in the conflict. Qalibaf’s comments come an hour after the White House announced that US Vice President JD Vance would lead the U.S. delegation to talks in Islamabad starting Saturday on bringing about an end to the war.

Spain condemns Israeli strikes on Lebanon

Spanish Prime Minster Pedro Sánchez condemned Israel’s strikes Wednesday on Lebanon, criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“His contempt for life and international law is intolerable,” Sánchez wrote on X.

The Spanish leader, who has been Europe’s loudest critic of the U.S. and Israel’s military actions in the region, called on the European Union to suspend its association agreement with Israel.

White House says Trump is clear that ceasefire is subject to no tolls through the Strait of Hormuz

The ceasefire requires a “free” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which includes no tolls imposed by Iran, said Leavitt, describing Trump’s thinking.

A regional official had said on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations that the ceasefire plans included allowing both Iran and Oman to charge new fees to ships transiting through the strait.

Leavitt referenced Trump’s Truth Social post from Tuesday in which he said the agreement was conditional on the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING” of the strait. She added that “that’s very plain language and it should be taken at face value.”

Iranian envoy asks China, Russia and UN for security guarantees as part of ceasefire

At a press conference in Beijing early Wednesday, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Iran’s ambassador to China, requested that its two closest allies and the world body help guarantee Tehran’s long-term security as part of the recent deal to end hostilities between U.S and Iran.

The Islamic Republic has made similar requests in the past but they have not come to fruition.

When asked if China would be willing to guarantee such security, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning demurred Wednesday, telling reporters: “We hope that all parties will resolve their disputes through dialogue and negotiation.”

Vance will return to US from his visit to Hungary before heading to Pakistan

The vice president’s office gave the update Wednesday as Vance was wrapping up a trip in Budapest.

His office did not offer any details about his planned trip to Islamabad to lead the U.S. negotiating team that included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Trump expected to raise possibility of US leaving NATO in meeting with Rutte

The president earlier this month said that he was considering withdrawing the U.S. from NATO as he grumbled about the lack of support from members of the alliance in his war of choice against Iran.

The criticism from Trump follows years of complaining that the alliance’s member countries aren’t paying enough for their own defense. Trump is set to host Secretary-General Mark Rutte for talks at the White House later this afternoon.

“It’s something the president has discussed, and I think it’s something the president will be discussing in a couple of hours with Secretary General Rutte,” said Leavitt, when asked if Trump is still considering leaving the 32-member alliance.

Ceasefire is threatened as Israel expands Lebanon strikes and Iran closes strait again

The United States demanded Wednesday that Iran immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz after the Islamic Republic closed the waterway in response to Israeli attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Iran’s move cast doubt over whether an already precarious ceasefire to end more than a month of war would hold.

The United States and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the agreement, and world leaders expressed relief, even as more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries. Israel also intensified its attacks in Lebanon, hitting several commercial and residential areas in Beirut without warning. At least 112 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in one of the deadliest days in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

The fresh violence threatened to scuttle what U.S. Vice President JD Vance called a “fragile” deal.

White House defends Trump’s language threatening ‘a whole civilization’

Asked about Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended it as a “very strong threat that led to results.”

“I think it was a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a ceasefire and agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” Leavitt said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

She said any suggestion that Iran had the moral high ground was “insulting.”

Before a ceasefire was announced, Trump had threatened destruction in Iran if it did not reopen the strait, saying “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

White House shrugs off NATO’s pledge to ensure freedom of navigation through a reopened Strait of Hormuz

Leavitt was asked about NATO allies offering to contribute to keeping the strait open, but said the alliance hasn’t done enough to support U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran.

“They were tested and they failed,” Levitt said, reading from a past Trump quote on NATO.

She added: “NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks.”

Those comments came as Trump was meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House later Wednesday.

Israel’s airport restarts full operations

Israel’s main airport will resume full operations as of midnight on Wednesday, after the Iran war stranded tens of thousands of people, including both Israelis abroad and tourists inside Israel.

Israel’s airspace has been open but severely limited during the war, limiting flights to once an hour and just 50 people per flight. Israel joins several other countries in the region in reopening its airspace as the ceasefire with Iran appeared to hold.

The White House defends Trump’s threat that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’

“His very tough rhetoric and his tough negotiating style is what has led to the result that you are all witnessing today,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, adding that Iran said they wanted a ceasefire because “they no longer could tolerate being bombed.”

Trump’s threats against Iran escalated over the past weeks, culminating in his Tuesday warning that a “whole civilization” could “die” in the lead up to an 8 p.m. deadline, which was later suspended after an agreement was reached.

“The world should take his word very seriously,” Leavitt said.

Trinity Commons, located in the historic Trinity United Methodist Church in Old Southwest, has been transformed into 15 affordable senior apartments.

The project is part of Restoration Housing’s mission to expand affordable rental units in Roanoke.

A representative with Restoration Housing says the development helps address the growing need for affordable housing among seniors in the area.

The apartments are for seniors only and will cost $900 a month, including all utilities.

Not only was it the hottest March on record for the U.S., but the amount it was above normal beat any other month in history for the Lower 48 states. March’s average temperature of 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit (10.47 degrees Celsius) was 9.35 F (5.19 C) above the 20th century normal for March. That easily passed the old record of 8.9 F (4.9 C) set in March 2012 as the most abnormally hot month on record — regardless of the month of the year — according to records released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The average maximum temperature for March was especially high at 11.4 F (6.3 C) above the 20th century average and was almost a degree warmer than the average daytime high for April, NOAA said.

Six of the nation’s top 10 most abnormally hot months have been in the last 10 years. This February, which was 6.57 F (3.65 C) above 20th century normal, was the tenth highest above normal.

“What we experienced in March across the United States was unprecedented,” said Shel Winkley, a meteorologist with Climate Central, a nonprofit science research group.

“One reason that’s so concerning is just the sheer volume of records, all-time records that were set and broken during that time period,” Winkley said. “But also this is coming on the heels of what was the worst snow year. And the hottest winter of record.”

Records keep being broken

April 2025 to March 2026 was the warmest 12-month period on record in the continental United States, according to NOAA.

On March 20 and 21, about one-third of the nation felt unseasonable heat that would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, Climate Central calculated.

More than 19,800 daily temperature records were broken for heat across the country, according to meteorologist Guy Walton, who analyzes NOAA data. More than 2,000 places set monthly records for heat — harder to break than daily records — Walton calculated. That’s more March heat records set just last month than in entire decades in the past.

All those broken records “tells us that climate change is kicking our butts,” said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections.

“January through March period was the driest on record for the contiguous U.S. So not only was it hot, it was record dry as well,” Masters said. “And that’s a bad combination for water availability, for agriculture, for river levels, for navigation.”

Here comes a whopping El Nino

The European climate and weather service Copernicus and NOAA are both forecasting a “super” strong El Niño to form in a few months and intensify into the winter. Meteorologists expect that to increase already warm temperatures across the globe, likely pushing past the hottest year mark set by 2024.

An El Niño is a natural temporary and cyclical warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather across the planet. An El Niño is formed when a specific part of the ocean is 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 F) warmer than normal. It is considered moderate at 1 degree Celsius and strong at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Both NOAA and the Europeans are forecasting this one to be well above 2 degrees Celsius into an area that is informally called super sized and perhaps rivaling records set in 2015 and 2016.

An El Niño releases heat stored in the upper ocean into the air, which causes global temperatures to rise, but with a few months lag time, said Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini.

“A strong El Niño could plausibly push global temperatures to new record levels in late 2026 and into 2027,” Gensini said.

El Nino could alter weather patterns for years

Super-sized El Niños often trigger a “climate regime shift,” which pushes normal conditions into a different pattern for years or decades, according to a study last December in the journal Nature Communications. The study said after the 2015-2016 El Niño, the Gulf of Mexico jumped to a new sustained level of warmth that may have contributed to stronger hurricanes along the Gulf Coast in the years after.

Growing research seems to indicate that a warming world from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas could be making El Niños stronger, but climate scientists said that’s not quite a consensus yet.

“Global warming is supercharging El Niños and the atmospheric warming they drive,” said University of Michigan environment dean and climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck. “We saw this in 2016 and more recently in 2023. We’re likely to see another jump in global temperatures if a strong El Niño develops later this year as being predicted.”

El Niños tend to tamp down hurricane activity in the Atlantic, but ramp it up in the Pacific and could help ease the southwestern drought, Masters said.

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

Leading the way from the girls lacrosse program, Rylee McNeil has committed to the University of Mary Washington, while teammate Anne Craig Thomas will continue her career at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. On the boys side, Andrew Nevergold is set to play at Newberry College.

Salem’s girls basketball program will also be well represented. Aniyah Fox and Lexie Hart have both signed with Bluefield College, while Bailey Rider will head to Emory & Henry University.

From the boys basketball team, Cam Boles has committed to nearby Roanoke College.

On the soccer field, Elijah Clark will join the program at Roanoke College.

Two-time state tennis champion Drew Perez will continue his career at Sewanee: The University of the South.

The group highlights another successful year for Salem athletics, with multiple programs sending athletes to compete at the next level.

The U.S. and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the agreement, and world leaders expressed relief, even as more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries. At the same time, Israel intensified its attacks on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, hitting commercial and residential areas in Beirut. At least 182 people were killed Wednesday in the deadliest day of fighting there.

The fresh violence threatened to scuttle what U.S. Vice President JD Vance called a “fragile” deal.

Parliament speaker accuses US of breaking Iran's conditions

The Iranian parliament speaker said planned talks were “unreasonable” because Washington broke three of Tehran’s 10 conditions for an end to the fighting. In a social media post, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf objected to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, an alleged drone incursion into Iranian airspace after the ceasefire took effect and U.S. refusal to accept any Iranian enrichment capabilities in a final agreement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that an end to the war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire deal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump said the truce did not cover Lebanon. When the deal was announced, Pakistan's prime minister, whose country served as a mediator, said in a social media post that it applied to “everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere.”

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes killed 182 people on Wednesday, the highest single-day death toll in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

“The world sees the massacres in Lebanon,” Iran's Araghchi said in a post on X. “The ball is in the U.S. court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, reported in Iranian state media, was “completely unacceptable.” She repeated Trump’s “expectation and demand” that the channel be reopened.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said American and Israeli forces had achieved a “capital V military victory” and that the Iranian military no longer posed a significant threat to U.S. forces or the region. The Iranian military said the country forced Israel and the U.S. to accept its "proposed conditions and surrender.”

Much about the agreement was unclear as the sides presented vastly different visions of the terms.

Iran said the deal would allow it to formalize its new practice of charging ships passing through the strait, a crucial transit lane for oil. The White House said Trump is opposed to tolls for ship passage through the strait.

Only 11 vessels moved through the strait Wednesday, roughly the same as in prior days, according to Windward, a maritime intelligence firm. Iran was requiring shippers to pay tolls of up to $1 a barrel for outbound oil, it said. The largest supertankers carry up to 3 million barrels of crude.

The fate of Iran's missile and nuclear programs — the elimination of which were major objectives for the U.S. and Israel in going to war — also remained unclear. Trump said the U.S. would work with Iran to remove buried enriched uranium, though Iran did not confirm that.

White House looks ahead to peace talks

Trump initially said Iran proposed a “workable” plan that could help end the war that the U.S. and Israel launched on Feb. 28. But when a version in Farsi emerged indicating Iran would be allowed to continue enriching uranium — key to building a nuclear weapon — Trump called it fraudulent.

Leavitt said a plan that Iran presented Tuesday could “align with our own” proposal for peace.

The White House said Vance would lead American negotiators at upcoming peace talks, which could begin in Pakistan as soon as Friday.

Iran’s demands for ending the war include a withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions and the release of its frozen assets.

Meanwhile, Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel will continue to “utilize every operational opportunity” to strike Hezbollah. The Israeli military said it struck more than 100 targets within 10 minutes Wednesday across Lebanon, the largest wave of strikes since March 1.

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit accused Israel of “persistently seeking to sabotage” the ceasefire deal.

Hezbollah has not confirmed if it will abide by the ceasefire, though the group has said it was open to giving mediators a chance to secure an agreement.

Early on Thursday Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at northern Israel and would continue doing so “until the Israeli-American aggression against our country and our people ceases."

Iran and Oman could collect shipping fees in Strait of Hormuz

Iranian attacks and threats deterred many commercial ships from using the strait, through which 20% of all traded oil and natural gas passes in peacetime. That roiled the world economy and raised the pressure on Trump both at home and abroad to find a way out of the standoff.

The ceasefire may formalize a system of charging fees in the strait that Iran instituted — and give it a new source of revenue.

That would upend decades of precedent treating the strait as an international waterway that was free to transit. Such a shift would likely be unacceptable to the Gulf Arab states, which also need to rebuild after repeated Iranian attacks targeting their oil fields.

Iran’s nuclear and missile threats survive

U.S.-Israeli strikes have battered Iran and its leadership, but they have not eliminated the threats posed by Tehran's nuclear program, its ballistic missiles or its support for regional proxies, like Hezbollah. The U.S. and Israel said addressing those threats was a key justification for going to war.

Trump said the U.S. would work with Iran to “dig up and remove” enriched uranium. There was no confirmation from Iran.

Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing Wednesday that the U.S. would do “something like” last June's joint strikes with Israel on Iranian nuclear sites if Iran refuses to surrender its enriched uranium voluntarily.

Netanyahu warned in a televised address that Israel was “ready to return to fighting at any time. Our finger is on the trigger.”

Tehran has insisted for years that its nuclear program was peaceful, although it has enriched uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

Airstrikes reported despite ceasefire announcement

Shortly after the ceasefire announcement, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all issued warnings about incoming missiles from Iran. That fire stopped for a time, then hostilities appeared to restart.

An oil refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island came under attack, according to Iranian state television. A short time later, the UAE's air defenses fired at an incoming Iranian missile barrage.

More than 1,900 people had been killed in Iran as of late March, but the government has not updated the toll for days.

In Lebanon, more than 1,700 people have been killed, and 1 million people have been displaced. Twelve Israeli soldiers have died.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Magdy from Cairo and Metz from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem, Abby Sewell and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Mike Catalini in Trenton, N.J., and Michelle L. Price, Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller, Michael Biesecker and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

——

This story corrects overall death toll in Lebanon on Wednesday to 182.

Virginia Tech’s engineering, veterinary medicine, earth sciences, and part-time MBA graduate programs led the way in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Graduate School rankings released Tuesday. The publication based most of its rankings on peer assessment surveys of deans, program directors, and senior faculty.

U.S. News & World Report ranked nine of the College of Engineering’s individual graduate programs in the top 25 nationally. The list includes:

• Environmental, No. 5
• Civil, No. 8
• Industrial/systems/manufacturing, No. 9
• Biological/agricultural, No. 10
• Aerospace, No. 13
• Computer, No. 19
• Mechanical, No. 20
• Nuclear, No. 21
• Electrical, No. 22

“Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering continues to earn national recognition for the breadth and depth of expertise across our graduate programs, particularly in areas where our faculty and graduate students demonstrate our Ut Prosim motto and drive research with real societal impacts,” interim dean David Knight said. “These rankings reflect the strength of our community committed to advancing solutions in areas critical to our future.

U.S. News & World Report ranked the university’s veterinary medicine programs at No. 18 nationally, the highest the college has ranked before.

QS also ranked Virginia Tech No. 112 globally in the broad subject area of engineering and technology with an overall score of 73.9. The ranking was a 15-spot improvement in this subject area from last year.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., rejected Anthropic's request for an order that would shield the San Francisco company from the fallout stemming from a dispute over how the Pentagon could deploy its Claude chatbot in fully autonomous weapons and potential surveillance of Americans while the panel is still collecting evidence about the case.

But the setback in Washington came after Anthropic already had prevailed in separate case focused on the same issues in San Francisco federal court. In that case, a judge forced President Donald Trump’s administration to remove a label tainting the company as a national security risk.

Anthropic filed the two separate lawsuits in San Francisco and the Washington appeals court last month, asserting the Trump administration was engaging in an “unlawful campaign of retaliation” because of its attempt to impose limits on how its AI technology can be deployed. The Trump administration blasted Anthropic as a liberal-leaning company trying to dictate U.S. military policy.

In the San Francisco case, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin ruled that the Trump administration had overstepped its bounds by labeling Anthropic a supply chain risk unqualified to work with military contractors and issuing other directives that could cripple a company locked in a race for AI supremacy against rivals such as ChatGPT maker Open AI and Google.

That decision prompted the Trump administration to remove the stigmatizing labels from Anthropic and take other steps clearing the way for government employees and contractors to continue using Claude and other chatbots, according to court filing made in San Francisco earlier this week.

The appeals court in Washington didn't see things the same way, even though it conceded the company would “likely suffer some degree of irreparable harm” if it's deemed a supply chain risk. But the appeals court didn't see sufficient reason to issue its own order revoking the Trump administration's actions, partly because “the precise amount of Anthropic’s financial harm is not fully clear.”

Further evidence in the case is scheduled to be presented before the appeals court in a hearing scheduled for May 19.

“We’re grateful the court recognized these issues need to be resolved quickly and remain confident the courts will ultimately agree that these supply chain designations were unlawful," Anthropic said in a statement.

Matt Schruers, the CEO of the technology trade group Computer & Communications Industry Association, expressed worries that the conflicting court decisions issued so far in the standoff between Anthropic and the Trump administration will muddle the business landscape at a pivotal time.

“The Pentagon’s actions and the DC Circuit’s ruling create substantial business uncertainty at a time when U.S. companies are competing with global counterparts to lead in AI," Schruers said.

Whittaker, who also served as the first full-time employee of the outdoor retailer REI and later as its president and CEO, died Tuesday at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, according to a statement from his family.

“Whether at home, in the mountains, or at sea, he sought to share adventure, joy, and optimism with those around him,” said the statement, which was emailed by Leif Whittaker, one of his sons. “His warmth, humility, and belief in the power of nature to bring people together left an enduring legacy of care for our planet and for one another.”

Whittaker’s 1963 ascent of Everest alongside Nawang Gombu came 10 years after the pioneering climb of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. The feat helped spawn interest — and an industry — in mountaineering in the U.S., and it made the once-shy, rangy climber an instant celebrity. He was featured on magazine covers and in demand for public appearances.

Whittaker had been working for REI since 1955, when he was hired by the co-op's co-founder, Lloyd Anderson. The company's popularity surged after Whittaker's Everest climb, and Whittaker went on to lead the business from 1971 to 1979. Its membership grew from nearly 250,000 to more than 900,000 during his tenure, REI noted in a statement Wednesday.

The co-op credited his congressional testimony and other efforts with helping to establish North Cascades National Park and the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington, as well as and Redwood National Park in California.

“Long before outdoor advocacy was commonplace, Jim gave his voice — and his leadership — to protecting the places we love, reminding us that wild places endure only if we choose to care for them,” the statement said.

Whittaker's celebrity also brought him into the orbit of the Kennedy clan, and he became a close friend of Robert Kennedy, with whom he climbed a 14,000-foot (4,267 meters) Canadian peak. The peak was later named Mount Kennedy after the presidential contender's murder in 1968.

Whittaker was at Kennedy's bedside when he died and was devastated by the assassination.

Whittaker grew up in Seattle and began climbing with his twin brother Lou Whittaker in the 1940s with the Boy Scouts. At 16, they summited 7,965-foot (2,428-meter) Mount Olympus, the highest peak in the Olympic Mountains west of Seattle, Jim Whittaker recounted in his memoir, “A Life on the Edge.” When they reached the town of Port Angeles on their way home, they found cars honking and people celebrating: World War II had ended.

Jim Whittaker once reflected that the beauty and danger of his sport sharpened the senses: “When you live on the edge, you can see a little farther,” he once reflected.

His achievements on the remote, snowy slopes of Mount Everest and nearby K2, the world's second-tallest peak, assured him a niche in the record books. He was shocked when Lou decided to skip the 1963 Everest expedition in favor of opening a sporting goods store in Tacoma.

But Lou Whittaker wrote in his own book, “Lou Whittaker: Memoirs of a Mountain Guide,” that he still got to share in some of his twin’s glory by filling in when Jim got tired of attending parades or other events in his honor.

“Only our families and closest friends ever knew the difference,” he wrote.

Lou Whittaker died in 2024 at age 95.

Jim Whittaker led many additional climbs, including the 1990 Mount Everest International Peace Climb, which brought together climbers from the U.S., the Soviet Union and China “to demonstrate what could be accomplished through cooperation and goodwill,” the family statement said.

“Jim was a lifelong advocate for peace and believed deeply in the ability of shared challenges in the natural world to unite people across borders and ideologies,” it said.

Whittaker himself said one of his proudest moments came in 1981, when he led 10 handicapped climbers up 14,410-foot Mount Rainier. For them, he said later, "that was Mount Everest."

Whittaker scaled Mount Rainier more than 100 times but did not take its familiar flanks for granted. The caprices of the weather, even on a comparatively modest mountain, "can turn a good climber into a beginner" in a matter of hours, he once noted.

Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called Whittaker’s legacy “just as impressive, and just as lasting, as Mount Rainier itself."

“He pulled many a climber up the peak,” Inslee wrote in a social media post Wednesday. "He did the same for all our spirits. He still does.”

After years of risk on the world's most dizzying pinnacles, Whittaker said in a 1980 interview that he hoped to “die in my sleep with the television on.”

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Dianne Roberts; sons Bob, Joss and Leif Whittaker; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

The report by North Korean state media came a day after South Korea’s military said it detected North Korea firing multiple missiles from an eastern coastal area in its second round of launches in two days.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the tests lasted three days starting Monday and also included demonstrations of anti-aircraft weapons, purported electromagnetic weapons systems and carbon-fiber bombs.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles launched Wednesday flew 240 to 700 kilometers (150 to 434 miles) before falling into the sea, and that it also detected at least one projectile launched Tuesday from an area near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said none of the weapons fired Wednesday entered waters within its exclusive economic zone, while the U.S. military said the North Korean launches on Tuesday and Wednesday posed no immediate threat to the United States or its allies.

KCNA said the latest tests included demonstrations of cluster-munition warhead systems mounted on the nuclear-capable Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles, which resemble Russia’s Iskander missiles in their design for low-altitude, maneuverable flight to evade missile defense systems. The report said the launches confirmed that the short-range missile, when armed with such warheads, “can reduce to ashes any target covering an area of 6.5-7 hectares (16 to 17.2 acres) with the highest-density power.”

Jang Do-young, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a briefing that the military was analyzing the launches while sharing information with U.S. and Japanese counterparts, but declined to provide specific assessments about the North’s claims of progress in its military capabilities.

The launches underscored continuing tensions between the Koreas, blunting South Korean hopes for warmer relations.

In a statement Tuesday night, Jang Kum Chol, a first vice minister at Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry, said South Korea would always remain the North’s “most hostile enemy state” and mocked Seoul’s liberal government for seeking to revive restore long-stalled dialogue, calling its officials “world-startling fools.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suspended virtually all diplomacy with Seoul and Washington since the collapse of his nuclear talks with President Donald Trump in 2019, and has since accelerated the development of nuclear-capable missiles that threaten U.S. allies in Asia as well as the U.S. mainland.

Kim has also pursued closer ties with Russia, China and other countries embroiled in confrontations with the United States as he looks to break out of isolation and strengthen his regional footing. North Korean state media says Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive in the country on Thursday for a two-day trip in the latest round of diplomacy between the countries.

Courtney Williams, 40, of Wagram, North Carolina, is accused of violating federal law, as well as multiple nondisclosure agreements by sharing details of her work with a “special military unit” at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

"Anyone divulging information they vowed to protect to a reporter for publication is reckless, self-serving and damages our nation’s security,” Reid Davis, the FBI special agent in charge in North Carolina, said in a U.S. Justice Department news release.

Williams "swore an oath to safeguard our nation’s secrets as an employee supporting a Special Military Unit of the Army, but she allegedly betrayed that oath by sharing classified information with a media outlet and putting our nation, our warfighters, and our allies at risk,” Roman Rozhavsky, an assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, said in the statement.

Williams, who is specifically charged with violating a provision of the Espionage Act, appeared Wednesday in Raleigh federal court, where a magistrate judge unsealed the case against her, initially filed late last week, according to online court records. She was ordered held by the U.S. Marshals Service pending hearings set for early next week.

Court records didn’t immediately name Williams’ lawyer. A man who answered a phone and identified himself as a family member of Williams declined to comment on the charges Wednesday.

Although the reporter and unit are not named in the court filings, dates and details match an article and book about the Army’s secretive Delta Force written by Seth Harp.

Williams was the focus of a 2025 Politico article with the headline: “My Life Became a Living Hell: One Woman’s Career in Delta Force, the Army’s Most Elite Unit.” It coincided with the release of Harp’s book, “The Fort Bragg Cartel,” which alleges sexual harassment and discrimination.

In a statement published by WRAL-TV, Harp called Williams “a brave whistleblower and truth-teller.”

“Former Delta Force operators disclose `national defense information’ on podcasts and YouTube shows every day, but the government is going after Courtney for the sole reason that she exposed sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the unit,” Harp's statement read. “This is a vindictive act of retaliation, plain and simple.”

According to an FBI affidavit attached to the complaint, Williams was cleared as a defense contractor in April 2010 and became a Department of Defense employee in November 2010.

She performed duties within the special military unit as an operational support technician responsible for "Tactics, Techniques and Procedures" used in preparation for and during "sensitive missions,” Special Agent Jocelyn Fox wrote in the affidavit.

According to Fox, Williams’ access to classified information was suspended “based on an internal investigation.” Fox said Williams was debriefed in September 2015 and signed a nondisclosure agreement.

The government alleges that Williams had been in contact with the unnamed journalist between 2022 and 2025.

“During this period, Williams and the Journalist had over 10 hours of telephone calls and exchanged more than 180 messages,” the news release said.

Fox cited a text between the two she said occurred on or about the day the book and article were published.

“Other than a few factual errors, I would definitely have been concerned with the amount of classified information being disclosed,” Williams' text read, according to the affidavit. “I thought things I was telling you so you could have a better general understanding of how the (SMU) was set up or operated would not be published and it feels like an entire TTP (Tactics, Techniques and Procedures) was sent out in my name giving them a chance to legally persecute me.”

Fox also cited an alleged exchange between Williams and her mother.

”`I might actually get arrested, and I don’t even get a free copy of the book,’” the affidavit read. “When her mother asked why she may be arrested, Williams responded `for disclosing classified information.’”

Fox wrote that the investigation so far has identified at least 10 batches of documents gathered that Williams intended to provide to the journalist.

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

Pooh Shiesty, whose legal name is Lontrell Williams Jr., appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver during a hearing in Dallas. Prosecutors have also charged eight others over the alleged January confrontation at a music studio, where the victims were allegedly robbed at gunpoint.

Prosecutors have declined to name the victims, and an FBI affidavit attached to a criminal complaint only refers to them by their initials. One victim, R.D., is described as the owner of 1017 Records, the label belonging to Gucci Mane, whose legal name is Radric Delantic Davis.

“I find that the weight of the evidence against you is strong,” Toliver told Pooh Shiesty during the hearing.

She noted that the rapper had a criminal history and had violated a home confinement order following a prior firearms conspiracy conviction in Florida.

During the hearing, Bradford Cohen, the rapper's attorney, raised questions about much of the prosecution's evidence. “The FBI doesn’t take three months to arrest someone if they believe everything that was said on the night that it occurred,” Cohen said.

Prosecutors have accused the rapper, who was arrested last week, of arranging the music studio meeting in Dallas to discuss the terms of his contract with 1017 Records.

According to an affidavit attached to a criminal complaint, Pooh Shiesty had asked to speak with the record label owner in a recording room. He then allegedly produced contract termination paperwork and pulled out what appeared to be an AK-style pistol while forcing the label owner to sign.

The rapper then took the man’s wedding ring, watch, earrings and cash, according to the affidavit.

Pooh Shiesty is from Memphis, Tennessee, but he is believed to have been recently living in a high-rise apartment in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, according to the affidavit. Several of the defendants traveled from Memphis to Dallas ahead of the meeting, according to the affidavit.

Gucci Mane is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta rappers T.I. and Jeezy. He emerged in the mid-2000s with his breakout single “Icy” and went on to build a vast catalog.

The opinion said Customs and Border Protection officers have limited authority to cancel visas and can't do so for suspected smuggling of biological samples. The cancellation of Kseniia Petrova 's visa was arbitrary and capricious, U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss said in her written ruling.

“The undisputed facts reveal that Ms. Petrova’s visa was impermissibly canceled because of the frog embryo samples and for no other reason,” Reiss wrote.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an emailed statement Wednesday that Petrova was "lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country." President Donald Trump's administration was committed to “restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system,” the statement said. The department includes Customs and Border Protection.

In February last year, Petrova was returning from a vacation in France, where she had stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples for research. She was questioned about the samples while passing through a customs checkpoint at Boston Logan International Airport.

After an interrogation, Petrova was told her visa was being canceled.

Petrova was briefly detained by immigration officials in Vermont, where she filed a petition seeking her release. She was later sent to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana.

She told The Associated Press in an interview last year that she did not realize the samples needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. Petrova has been back in her Harvard lab since January after successfully petitioning a court for the right to return to work, her attorney, Gregory Romanovsky, said.

Tuesday's ruling was an important step toward “correcting what should never have happened in the first place,” Romanovsky said in a statement.

Petrova’s case is being closely watched by the scientific community, with some fearing it could impact recruiting and retaining foreign scientists at U.S. universities.

Daniel Zavala Ramos, 42, faces a possible sentence of life in prison following his guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Laredo, Texas, to a single charge of conspiring to bring migrants without documents from Guatemala through Mexico to the U.S. and placing lives in jeopardy and causing serious injury and deaths, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Sentencing is set for July 7.

Ramos was among six Guatemalans charged over the crash of the semitrailer truck and the first to be convicted. The other five have a final pretrial conference on June 3, according to court records. Ramos' attorney did not immediately return an email Wednesday evening seeking comment.

At least 160 migrants, many from Guatemala, were packed into the truck that hit the support base for a pedestrian bridge on Dec. 9, 2021, and overturned, authorities said. At least 53 people were killed and more than 100 were injured, officials said, and video footage at the time of the crash showed dead and injured migrants in a jumbled pile inside the truck's collapsed freight container.

The Justice Department statement said the dead included unaccompanied children.

The crash occurred on a highway leading toward the Chiapas state capital, some 160 miles (260 kilometers) from Mexico's border with Guatemala and about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) south of the Mexican border with Texas.

Authorities announced the arrests of Ramos and the five other defendants in Guatemala and Texas in 2024, on the third anniversary of the accident. Ramos was extradited in 2025 from Guatemala to face charges, the DOJ statement said.

Prosecutors said the Guatemalans conspired to smuggle migrants from Guatemala through Mexico to the U.S. for payment. In cases of unaccompanied children being smuggled, the defendants would provide scripts of what to say if they were apprehended, authorities said.

The smugglers would move migrants on foot, inside microbuses, cattle trucks and tractor trailers and use Facebook Messenger to request and deliver identification documents to the migrants to get them into the U.S., according to authorities.

All the parties also agreed to keep the dialogue after seven days of peace talks mediated by China in the western Chinese city of Urumqi under China mediation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

“The three parties agreed to explore a comprehensive solution to the issues in the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and clarified the core and priority issues that need to be addressed,” Mao said during the daily briefing in Beijing.

She said that they acknowledged that “terrorism is the core issue affecting the relationship.”

Afghanistan and Pakistan said that they won't “take actions that would escalate or complicate the situation.”

There was no comment from Islamabad about the weeklong talks.

But Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, said on Wednesday that the talks between the Afghan and Pakistani delegations, hosted and mediated by China in Urumqi, have concluded.

In a post on X, he said that the talks were held in a “constructive atmosphere,” with discussions focusing on bilateral relations, security issues and regional stability. Balkhi thanked Beijing for hosting the talks and expressed hope that the process would help strengthen trust, deepen relations and promote effective cooperation in the region.

The talks began last week in Urumqi at the invitation of China, in an effort to stop the conflict that began between the two countries in February.

Pakistan, which declared it was in “open war” with its neighbor, has also carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, including in the capital Kabul.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the talks had been constructive.

The United Nations’ office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in Afghanistan said on Tuesday that the conflict had displaced 94,000 people overall, while 100,000 people in two Afghan districts near the border have been completely cut off by the fighting since February.

Even during the talks, Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of carrying out shelling across its border on several occasions.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of providing a safe haven to militants who carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The group is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in 2021 following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. Kabul denies the charge.

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Abdul Qahar Afghan contributed to this story from Kabul, Afghanistan.

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the NCAA hasn’t publicly discussed the proposal. They said the matter was scheduled to be reviewed and discussed by the Division I Cabinet next week, but not voted on for implementation.

Yahoo Sports was first to report the proposal. An NCAA spokesman did not immediately return a message left by AP.

The proposal, which mirrors language written into the executive order issued by President Donald Trump last week, would give athletes five years of eligibility with the clock starting at the earliest of two dates: either when they turn 19 or graduate high school. There would be limited exceptions but they would not involve injuries, which has been a common reason for players to ask for extra eligibility.

Still unknown is whether the rule would shield the NCAA from lawsuits over eligibility. Dozens of players have sued for extra years, claiming injuries and other circumstances made them candidates for extra eligibility. The NCAA is seeking a limited antitrust exemption from Congress to prevent these lawsuits.

Speaking at the Final Four over the weekend, NCAA President Charlie Baker said Trump wanted to figure out a way to “get something on the books that works and represents what most people are looking for at this point, which is a much simpler eligibility process, which we’ve been talking to our committees about." ___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Ahead of the private meeting, Trump had suggested the U.S. may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after NATO member countries ignored his call to help as Iran effectively shut the the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping waterway, and sent gas prices soaring.

Afterward, he issued an all-caps comment on social media suggesting he remained aggrieved. “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” Trump said in his post. The White House did not immediately offer any further updates.

The Republican president has had a warm relationship with Rutte in the past, and the meeting came after the U.S. and Iran late Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the strait. The nascent ceasefire was struck after Trump said he would strike Iran's power plants and bridges, threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight."

Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that Trump had discussed leaving NATO. “I think it’s something the president will be discussing in a couple of hours with Secretary-General Rutte,” Leavitt said.

Congress in 2023 passed a law that prevents any U.S. president from pulling out of NATO without its approval. Trump has been a longtime critic of NATO and in his first term had suggested he had the authority on his own to leave the alliance, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Cold War threat posed to European security by the Soviet Union.

The crux of the commitment its 32 member countries make is a mutual defense agreement in which an attack on one is considered an attack on them all. The only time it has been activated was in 2001, to support the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Despite that, Trump has complained during his war of choice with Iran that NATO has shown it will not be there for the U.S. On Wednesday, he also seemed to be angry about NATO's stance on Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark. Trump had pressed for U.S. control over Greenland earlier this year before backing off after talks with Rutte.

“REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!” Trump posted Wednesday.

There is a law barring a president from pulling out of NATO

It's unclear if the Trump administration would challenge the law barring a president from pulling out of NATO. When the law passed, it was championed by Trump's current secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who at the time was a senator from Florida.

Rubio met separately with Rutte on Wednesday morning at the State Department ahead of the White House talks. In a statement, the State Department said Rubio and Rutte had discussed the war with Iran, along with U.S. efforts to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and “increasing coordination and burden shifting with NATO allies.”

Ahead of Trump's meeting, Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, issued a statement Tuesday night in support of the alliance, noting, “Following the September 11th attacks, NATO allies sent their young servicemembers to fight and die alongside America’s own in Afghanistan and Iraq.” McConnell, who sits on a committee overseeing defense spending, urged Trump to be “clear and consistent” and said it’s not in America’s interest to “spend more time nursing grudges with allies who share our interests than deterring adversaries who threaten us.”

The alliance was already rattled over the past year as Trump returned to power and reduced U.S. military support for Ukraine in the war against Russia and threatened to seize Greenland from ally Denmark.

But Trump's badgering of NATO intensified after the Iran war began at the end of February, with the president insisting that securing the Strait of Hormuz was not America's job but the responsibility of countries that depend on the flow of oil through it.

“Go to the strait and just take it,” Trump said last week.

Trump was also angered as NATO allies Spain and France forbade or restricted use of their airspace or joint military facilities for the U.S. in the Iran war. They and other nations, however, agreed to help with an international coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz when the conflict ends.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been a particular source of Trump's frustration, was set to travel Wednesday to the Gulf to support the ceasefire. The U.K. has been working on developing a post-conflict security plan for the strait, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.

Trump has previously threatened to leave NATO and often said that he would abandon allies who don’t spend enough on their military budgets. Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in his recent memoir, said he feared that Trump might walk away from the alliance in 2018, during his first term as president.

___

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

These bets were made even though, in the hours before a two-week ceasefire was announced on Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s rhetoric had escalated sharply and there were few signals that a ceasefire deal was imminent. Early in the day Trump had issued a warning on social media that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not meet his demand to open the Strait of Hormuz by his 8 p.m. ET deadline.

An analysis of publicly available blockchain data from Polymarket, using the crypto analytics platform Dune, shows that at least 50 accounts, or wallets, placed substantial “Yes” bets Tuesday before Trump announced the ceasefire in a Truth Social post at around 6:30 pm ET. These were the first bets made by these particular wallets.

One of these wallets, created Tuesday around 10 am ET, placed roughly $72,000 in bets at an average price of 8.8 cents. The buy-in for each betting event ranges from $0 to $1 each, reflecting a 0% to 100% chance of what users think could happen. This Polymarket user then cashed out for a profit of $200,000.

Another, which joined the platform on April 6 and traded on this exact event, shows a win of $125,500.

Another wallet, created 12 minutes before Trump’s post, made $31,908 of “Yes” bets at 33.7 cents, and is estimated to have earned a profit of $48,500. The higher price for “Yes” at that time may have reflected the efforts late Tuesday by the government of Pakistan to get Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks.

There is also the possibility that these individual Polymarket users placed their bets expecting Trump to back down, given his habit during his second term to make bold threats only to retreat — a phenomenon his critics have derided as “Trump Always Chickens Out,” or TACO.

While some users took handsome profits, others must wait for payouts because Polymarket has labeled the April 7 Iran-U.S. ceasefire contract as “disputed,” given that Iran was still placing restrictions on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and missile attacks in the region continued. That dispute could take 48 hours to resolve.

Public blockchain data cannot identify who controls the new wallets. Polymarket uses proxy smart contract wallets, meaning a single user can create multiple accounts. Only Polymarket has the internal data needed to determine whether these were new users or existing users opening additional accounts.

Polymarket did not respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, who has introduced legislation to regulate prediction markets, released a statement Wednesday saying: “It’s highly unlikely that these are good-faith trades; it’s much more likely that these are insiders with access to information ahead of the public. Without some kind of restrictions, there is nothing stopping government or military officials from profiting from their positions.”

The trading pattern of newly created Polymarket accounts placing strategic, well-timed bets mirrors earlier episodes on the platform. Newly created accounts placed large wagers hours before the January capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and made hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit. Similar clusters of accounts have also repeatedly profited from well-timed bets on military actions involving Iran.

Such bets have repeatedly raised questions from the public as well as members of Congress about whether some traders are using inside information to profit in these prediction markets. Bipartisan groups of senators as well as representatives have introduced legislation that would broaden the definition of insider trading to include prediction markets.

Even the two biggest platforms in the industry, Kalshi and Polymarket, have said they see a need to broaden the definition of insider trading on their platforms.

“This is why these markets need regulation,” said Todd Philips, a professor at Georgia State University who has written on prediction markets and the industry’s regulations. “We can’t have people trading with inside information and expect other traders are going to be OK being in these markets.”

_____

Keller reported from Albuquerque, N.M.

Joanne Patterson was named Little Miss Danville after a big night at the city auditorium, where more than 2,100 people turned out to watch about 40 young contestants parade across the stage.

And for this family, the spotlight was nothing new, her mother had been Danville’s first Tobacco Queen. A proud moment, a full house and a sweet piece of local history.

The dramatic shift in tenor came as intermediaries led by Pakistan worked feverishly to head off a further escalation. Even China, Iran's biggest trading partner and America's most significant economic competitor, quietly pulled strings to find a path toward a ceasefire, according to two officials briefed on the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump said in a social media post Tuesday announcing the temporary ceasefire. It came about 90 minutes before his deadline for Tehran to open the critical Strait of Hormuz or see its power plants and other critical infrastructure obliterated.

But even as the White House was celebrating the moment as a victory, the fragile ceasefire appeared in danger of falling apart as the U.S., Iran and Israel offered differing statements on Wednesday on what was included in the deal less than 24 hours after it was brokered.

Iran insisted that an end to the Israeli war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire agreement with the U.S. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump said the truce did not cover Lebanon and the Israeli operations there continued.

The U.S., meanwhile, demanded that Iran make good on reopening the strait after the Islamic Republic closed the waterway in response to Israel's intensifying attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

Vice President JD Vance, who is set to lead a U.S. delegation to Pakistan later this week for mediated talks with Iran aimed at finding a permanent agreement to end the conflict, downplayed the setbacks, saying “no ceasefire ever goes without a little bit of choppiness.”

“We’re seeing evidence that things are going in the right direction, but it’s going to take a little time,” Vance told reporters as he wrapped up a visit to Hungary.

Trump to hold talks with NATO secretary-general

The president also met at the White House with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday. Trump has been angry that NATO member countries ignored his call to help reopen the vital waterway as gas prices soared during the war.

As the Trump deadline for Iran to open the strait neared, Democratic lawmakers decried Trump's threat to wipe away an entire civilization as “a moral failure." Pope Leo XIV warned that strikes against civilian infrastructure would violate international law and said the Republican president's comments were “truly unacceptable.”

In the end, Trump may have backed down because of a simple truth: Escalation could risk involving the United States in the sort of “forever war” that had bedeviled his predecessors in the White House and that he had vowed he would keep the U.S. out of if voters elected him again.

Controlling the strait would have been long and costly

As Trump boasted about U.S. and Israeli military success over the past six weeks, he appeared to be working from the premise that he could bomb Iran into capitulation.

Starting with the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening salvos, he seemed to discount that the Iranian leadership could opt for a long and bloody war.

The Islamic Republic over the past 47 years has shown it is willing to dig in, even when it appears to America to be working against its own self-interest.

The clerical leadership held Americans hostage for 444 days, from late 1979 to early 1981, at the cost of the country’s international standing. The mullahs allowed the Iran-Iraq war to go on for years, leaving hundreds of thousands dead. Iran stood by Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ultimately defanged the Iran-backed group in Gaza as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and created the conditions that led to the collapse of Bashar Assad's government in Syria, an authoritarian rule supported by Tehran.

Iran's leadership exuded confidence that it could bog down the world's superpower in a costly and extended conflict even if it might not defeat the U.S. military.

Defense analysts largely agreed that the U.S. military could quickly take control of the narrow Persian Gulf waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly 20% of the world's oil flows on any given day. But maintaining security over the strait would require a high-risk, resource-intensive operation that could be a yearslong American commitment.

Ben Connable, executive director of the nonprofit Battle Research Group, said securing the strait would require the U.S. military to maintain control of about 600 kilometers (373 miles) of Iranian territory, from Kish Island in the west to Bandar Abbas in the east, in order to stop Iran from firing missiles at passing ships. It is a mission that Connable said would likely require three U.S. infantry divisions, roughly 30,000 to 45,000 troops.

“This would be an indefinite operation — so, you know, think: be ready to do this for 20 years,” said Connable, a retired Marine Corps intelligence officer. “We didn't think we were going to be in Afghanistan for 20 years. We didn’t think we’re going to have to be in Vietnam as long as we were, or Iraq.”

The two-week ceasefire includes allowing both Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through Hormuz, a regional official said. The official said Iran would use the money it raised for reconstruction.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday noted that Trump has considered the idea of a toll for vessels passing through the strait. But in the near term, his priority “is the reopening of the strait without any limitations, whether in the form of tolls or otherwise.”

Vance played a bigger role close to the deadline

The White House confirmed that Vance will lead the U.S. negotiating team in talks with Iran aimed at finding a permanent end to war.

The delegation is also expected to include special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The talks are expected to begin Friday in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

“Vice President Vance has played a very significant and a key role in this since the very beginning,” Leavitt said.

Trump’s deadline was nearing with no resolution in sight when Vance, who has long pushed for restraint in U.S. military intervention overseas, got roped into the conversation, according to an official from one of the mediating countries who was briefed on the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive diplomatic discussions.

Vance expressed measured confidence that a permanent deal could reached if the Iranians act in good faith.

“I encourage the Iranians to come to the table seriously," Vance said. “We’ve seen some signs that they’re going to do that, we’ve seen some signs of bravado. Fundamentally, we're in a good spot.”

___

Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writers Collin Binkley and Michelle L. Price in Washington, Justin Spike in Budapest and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Hillsville received $1 million to expand the Carroll County Wellness Center, while both Wytheville and Floyd received $1.5 million grants to support new affordable housing development. One of Kaine’s main goals was to keep younger people in their communities and provide a chance at homeownership.

Kaine said, “You don’t want young people to be looking at their future and feel discouraged about ‘I’m never going to be able to afford a house.’ Projects like this can help them realize there are people who are trying to watch out for me and create opportunities.”

Kaine also said that when he began his political career, housing availability was not as prominent an issue in rural areas as it is now.

“This is not an accidental escalation — it is the collapse of protection,” U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the U.N. Security Council.

Of the more than 1,010 humanitarian workers killed from 2023 to 2025, he said, more than 560 were in Gaza and the West Bank, 130 in Sudan, 60 in South Sudan, 25 in Ukraine and 25 in Congo. That compares with 377 killed from 2020 to 2022.

The surge in deaths occurred during the war between Israel and Hamas, which began in October 2023. A ceasefire has been in effect since October 2025, although shootings and airstrikes have persisted.

Last year alone, Fletcher said, at least 326 aid workers were recorded as killed in 21 countries. In 2024, a record 383 were killed in global hotspots while distributing food, water, shelter and medicine.

“They died in clearly marked convoys and on missions coordinated directly with authorities," the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs said.

The Security Council was meeting on a resolution it adopted in May 2024 that strongly condemned attacks on humanitarian workers and U.N. personnel and demanded that all combatants protect them in accordance with international law.

Fletcher asked the 15 members of the U.N.’s most powerful body if the killings were because international law “is no longer convenient" or because “it is more important to protect those designing, selling, supplying and firing lethal weapons?”

“Or is it because member states see these numbers as collateral damage, part of the fog of war? Or worse, are we now seen as legitimate targets?” he asked. “Perhaps the most chilling question: If these deaths were ‘preventable’, why then were they not prevented?”

Fletcher said humanitarian staff are not only being killed but “restricted, penalized and delegitimized” — and told where they can't go and whom they can't help.

In Yemen, as a prime example, 73 U.N. staff and dozens of others working for nongovernmental organizations are being arbitrarily detained by Houthi rebels, Fletcher said.

In Afghanistan, female humanitarian staff are banned from doing their jobs, he said. In Gaza, Israel restricts the U.N. and other international organizations, and in Ukraine drone attacks have forced aid workers back from the front line.

“These trends, alongside the collapse in funding for our lifesaving work, are a symptom of a lawless, bellicose, selfish and violent world,” Fletcher said.

He challenged the U.N.’s 193 member nations to uphold the 2024 resolution’s demands to protect humanitarian workers and ensure accountability for crimes against them.

Rothman was fired on Tuesday night in a unanimous vote by the board of regents following a roughly 30-minute closed-door discussion. Regents have not given a reason for firing Rothman, who was in the job for just under four years.

“Absolutely I was blindsided,” Rothman told the AP. He said he has still not been given a reason for his firing.

“I really don’t know,” Rothman said. “I asked for reasons why. They were not able to articulate any.”

But Rothman, who came to the job in 2022 after serving as chair and CEO of a Milwaukee-based law firm with more than 1,000 attorneys, said he is unlikely to file a lawsuit over his firing.

“We’ll have to see how circumstances develop,” Rothman said. “I don’t think it’s likely that I would go in that direction. That’s not who I am.”

The AP was the first to report on April 2 that the regents had asked Rothman, 66, to retire or resign or face being fired. Rothman said on Wednesday that he considered retiring, but since regents gave him no reason, he decided against it.

Regent President Amy Bogost said in a statement before the firing that the decision was “about the future” of the 13-university system, including the flagship Madison campus, that educates about 165,000 students.

“The Universities of Wisconsin must be led with a clear vision that both protects and strengthens our flagship, supports our comprehensive universities and ensures we are meeting the evolving needs of our students, workforce and communities across all 72 counties,” Bogost said.

She did not immediately return a message on Wednesday seeking comment.

Rothman did not criticize any regent by name, but he did express frustration generally with the board.

“For a board to be functional, it needs to be able to provide clarity to the management team,” he said. “Not 18 different voices with different opinions and pet projects. There has to be board leadership that is able to consolidate that, build a consensus and provide clear direction.”

Rothman said his performance objectives were not even discussed in his last review in August, which he said was “astonishing.”

Rothman spent his time as president lobbying Republican legislators to increase state aid for the system in the face of federal cuts, navigating free speech issues surrounding pro-Palestinian protests, and grappling with declining enrollment that has forced eight branch campuses to close. Overall enrollment across the system has remained steady under his leadership.

Rothman brokered a deal with Republicans in 2023 that called for freezing diversity hires and creating a position at UW-Madison focused on conservative thought in exchange for the Legislature releasing money for UW employee raises and tens of millions of dollars for construction projects across the system.

Rothman said Wednesday he didn't know if any of those particular issues contributed to his being fired, but conceded they could have.

“When you come in to effect change and you try to move an organization forward, you have to make difficult decisions,” Rothman said. “And when you make difficult decisions, you can upset some people."

Sen. Patrick Testin, the Republican president of the Wisconsin state Senate, called Rothman’s firing a “blatant partisan hatchet job.”

The state Senate’s committee that oversees higher education scheduled a hearing for Thursday for 10 regents whose appointments by Evers have yet to be confirmed. Testin called for the Senate to reject all 10, which would mean they could no longer serve as regents.

Rothman said he wasn’t going to speculate on why he was cut loose.

“I am disappointed with the board’s action, but I’m not angry,” he said. “This is not about retribution. I’m concerned about the future of the Universities of Wisconsin.”

A superb free kick by Julián Álvarez and a second goal by Alexander Sorloth gave Diego Simeone his first win at Camp Nou since Atletico's long-standing coach started his stint with the club 15 years ago.

“I don’t think my Atleti had ever won at Camp Nou," said Simeone, whose Atletico had won at Barcelona when it played at the Olympic Stadium in 2024 but never at Camp Nou.

"They’re arguably the best team in Europe, along with Paris (PSG) and Bayern (Munich). Through good teamwork, we were able to capitalize on key moments in the match."

Barcelona had hemmed Atletico into its box when the hosts received a double blow that left Hansi Flick’s team down a man and behind a goal just before halftime.

The game-changing sequence started when Atletico’s Giuliano Simeone broke free to latch onto a rare long ball and Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí knocked him down on the edge of the area with only goalkeeper Joan García to beat. After initially showing Cubarsí a yellow card, the referee changed it to a red following a video review.

It got worse for Barcelona seconds later when Álvarez curled the resulting free kick around the defensive barrier and past a flying García for the 45th-minute lead.

Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford tried to rally Barcelona at Camp Nou and kept the pressure on Atletico despite being undermanned.

But that fightback effort was undone when substitute Sorloth shrugged off a challenge by Gerard Martín as he moved to the near post and tapped in a cross from Matteo Ruggeri to double the lead with 20 minutes to play.

Barcelona’s hopes of ending an 11-year wait to add to its five European Cups now rests on mounting a big win in Madrid on Tuesday.

Also on Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain beat Liverpool 2-0 in their quarterfinal first leg.

On Tuesday, Bayern Munich won 2-1 at Real Madrid, while Arsenal won 1-0 at Sporting Lisbon.

Simeone again frustrates Barcelona in Europe

Barcelona has won five European Cups and Atletico has lost three finals, and the Catalan club has a better overall head-to-head record over Simeone's team. Yet when it comes to the Champions League, Atletico has found the edge. Simeone’s bunch got the better of a star-studded Barcelona led by Lionel Messi at the same stage in the competition in 2014 and 2016.

And another masterclass in Simeone's bend-but-don't-break soccer has stumped a Barcelona led by a Yamal who drew oohs and aahs from Barcelona's fans with his fancy dribbling but was visibly frustrated he couldn't conjure up that shooting angle or perfect pass.

Atletico remained disciplined in defense, happy even when up a man to let Barcelona maintain possession and made the utmost of its chances.

Barcelona generated 19 shots to Atletico’s five, which included just one in the second half — when Sorloth rumbled past his marker to double the lead.

A clean sheet and two goals in the bag.

And one step toward its first semifinal since 2017.

“We are heading home happy for the win, but we still have a long way to go. There are 90 minutes ahead,” Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann said.

Atletico lost central defender David Hancko — the team’s most used player this season — to what looked like a leg injury on the half-hour mark. He was replaced by Marc Pubill and the defense didn't notice the difference.

Rashford couldn’t make the most of his start in place of the injured Raphinha despite generating the most dangerous opportunities of either side with the score still 0-0. The on-loan Manchester United forward had three shots inside the area that were saved by goalkeeper Juan Musso, before Atletico went ahead, and a free kick in the second half that grazed the bar.

“We gave it our all, but it wasn’t to be,” Barcelona substitute defender Ronald Araujo said. “But this team can turn this around. I am convinced of it. It will be tough at their home, but this team had the character and talent to comeback.”

Barcelona midfielder Pedri González was replaced at halftime, Flick said, for precaution without specifying his complaint.

Amazing Álvarez

Álvarez’s goal was his 15th in his last 18 matches in Europe’s elite club competition.

It was also the Argentina striker’s ninth goal in the competition this campaign, making him the highest scoring Atletico player in a single Champions League season.

Wednesday’s game at Camp Nou was the second of three meetings between Barcelona and Atletico in an 11-day span. Barcelona won 2-1 away in the Spanish league to strengthen its league lead on Saturday. In February, Atletico also edged Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinals.

A moment of silence was held before kickoff in memory of Romania soccer great Mircea Lucescu, who died this week at age 80.

___

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

Ali Mehrizi-Sani, professor and director of the Virginia Tech Power and Energy Center, said a single data center can use as much electricity as an entire town.

“Data centers have been growing in the amount of energy they use...We are talking about now data centers that easily can consume something like 50 megawatts...even higher than something like one gigawatt of power. To put this in perspective, the town of Blacksburg...the power that the town consumes is about 60 megawatts. So that means that a data center is going to consume as much power as a college town like Blacksburg,” Mehrizi-Sani said.

Appalachian Power Spokesperson George Porter echoed the urgency. “We’ve heard from PJM that Virginia’s gonna pretty much double the demand...a lot of it’s coming from...data centers, but it’s also other large manufacturing companies that wanna relocate...because they want reliable power,” Porter said.

Porter said upgrades are already underway. “We definitely have to make those upgrades...One of them is the Valley Link Project, where we partnered with Dominion and First Energy to build a 765 line from Campbell County up to Cold Pepper County...it’s a Virginia problem...we’re all coming together to try to figure out ways to fix this problem.”

On renewable energy, Porter added, “Some companies are gonna ask for 80% renewable, some are gonna ask for 20% renewable...we have the early process for the small modular reactor...we know that if we continue to build out...we’re gonna have to try to figure out a way to supply the generation for the power that’s needed.”

Porter also addressed energy costs. “That’s one of the largest misinformation...having these large customers on our grid only helps our residential customers...if you bring in a large company...one of those companies, such as a data center, has agreed to pay for 30% of that. Then now everyone’s cost goes down.”

Mehrizi-Sani highlighted technical challenges. “A bigger concern is the transmission...The interconnection processes, these studies, they typically take about 18 months to two years...there is a mismatch between the timeline that the data centers want to come online and how fast...these studies can be done so they can reliably connect to the grid.”

Both experts agreed that Virginia’s power infrastructure must adapt. “Yes, of course we are looking at the power demand and the stress on the power system...there are other infrastructure needs...water resources...communication infrastructure...workforce...we need to make sure that the workforce that we train are sufficiently knowledgeable about these new loads,” Mehrizi-Sani said.

Despite the challenges, both remain confident Virginia can continue as a hub for data centers. “I do think so...the reasons that we had a lot of data centers to begin with in Virginia, like cheap power, proximity to the federal government, and proximity to internet connection points, those still exist...so to me it seems that we are still going to be able to support more data centers,” Mehrizi-Sani said.

Porter concluded, “There’s a hundred percent benefit for our communities from large companies that come here...if a large company is coming here and we have to build infrastructure...we still get the benefits of increased reliability for our local customers...they are being good neighbors.”

Now, a federal judge says what happened next could have violated that child’s constitutional rights.

“Stop, don’t move,” Derosha said with his gun pointed at Morris.

“You’re going to kill her,” said Morris, talking about his sick daughter in the backseat of the car.

“I’m going to kill you if you move again. Put your hands on the steering wheel,” said Derosha.

This high-stress encounter outside a hospital is now raising serious constitutional questions in federal court.

Morris says he was rushing his 10-year-old daughter to the LewisGale emergency room as she struggled to breathe.

On the way, he sped, ran red lights, and says he called 911 - trying to let dispatchers know it was a medical emergency.

“I just was on the phone with 911,” Morris said after Derosha pulled him over.

Now, a federal judge is weighing in on a 2025 lawsuit filed not by Morris, but on behalf of his young daughter.

“Redirect, he called into Salem City. He has a child in the car he’s trying to take to the ER,” the dispatcher said during the stop.

His daughter, referred to as M.M., is suing Derosha personally, claiming he violated her 14th Amendment rights during the stop.

She claims she was detained and prevented from getting emergency medical care - despite being in a life-threatening situation.

Derosha’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing the lawsuit should be thrown out and that he should be protected by qualified immunity.

“When you sue law enforcement or other government officials, it has to be kind of unusual circumstances for you to be able to sue them and collect money from them. In many circumstances, they’re immune from money judgments against them,” Former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia John Fishwick said.

Fishwick says it comes down to whether a constitutional violation occurred, and whether that right was clearly established at the time of the violation

“Ultimately juries are going to look at what the officers knew and didn’t know at that time. What was reasonable for that officer’s reactions to be, and did they go beyond what is typically done and did they violate something they knew they shouldn’t have done at that time,” Fishwick said.

Derosha argued his actions did not rise to the level of a constitutional violation - saying this was a fast-moving traffic stop and that a short delay in care did not “shock the conscience.”

But M.M.’s attorneys argued that Derosha had time to assess what was happening and that he knew a child in the car was in medical distress.

The federal judge sided with M.M. in a March ruling, saying the allegations, if true, could show deliberate indifference to a serious medical need.

The court found this wasn’t a split-second decision - writing, “Seconds matter” when someone can’t breathe and despite Derosha’s direct knowledge that M.M. could not breathe, he chose not to address the situation for 90 seconds."

This was not a quick decision from the judge.

The case was first heard back in July of 2025 - with this opinion taking nearly nine months to come down.

Now, M.M.’s case will move forward in federal court. Separately, her father’s case against Derosha and Virgina State Police is still ongoing as well.

10 News reached out to the Morris family’s attorney, who says they cannot comment on pending litigation.

We also reached out to Derosha’s attorneys, but have not heard back. For more information and our previous coverage, click here.

Turman was commending the county for having many women in prominent local leadership roles and said they do not receive enough credit for their work. He said, “Sometimes you get women in high spots and they go crazy. They don’t know what they are doing.”

Turman has since apologized and said he deeply regrets causing offense. Despite the backlash, some neighbors say they are willing to move past the incident.

Linda Haas, a Floyd County resident, said, “I think we can leave it behind. He’s apologized, and hopefully he will watch his opinions in the future. In general, I’m just really proud of the board of supervisors. They do a lot of hard work.”

The next Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for April 14 at 8:30 a.m.

The competition runs April 9–12 at the New London Tech course, bringing together 148 athletes from across the globe to compete on what participants describe as a demanding, high-level course.

Andrew Presnell, a disc golf athlete competing in the event, said the course will test even the most seasoned players.

“It would be cool to play well down here and have a chance to win down the stretch,” Presnell said. “It’s a really tough course so I have to play my best for four rounds to have that opportunity.”

Fellow competitor Micah Groth said he’s simply happy to be back on the course.

“Honestly, just excited to be playing again,” Groth said. “Took a couple months off and now we’re back, and I’m just excited to compete.”

Champions Cup expected to deliver big for local economy

Organizers say the event could pump more than $3 million into the local economy, benefiting area shops, hotels and restaurants. Thousands of fans are expected to attend over the course of the four-day tournament.

Nate Heinold, the PDGA Champions Cup director, spoke to the scale of the event.

“We have athletes from all over the world, 148 of them,” Heinold said.

The tournament further cements Central Virginia’s growing reputation as a hub for outdoor recreation and sports tourism.

For more information on the Champions Cup, visit the Professional Disc Golf Association’s website.

The Georgia star cut in from the left flank midway through the second half and, with typically quick feet, skipped past a defender and the goalkeeper before stroking in his team-leading eighth goal of the competition.

“We had chances to score more,” Kvaratskhelia said. “But I think it’s OK, 2-0 is good but we have to stay concentrated.”

Désiré Doué put the defending champions ahead in the 11th minute with a deflected effort. The Ballon d'Or winner Dembélé then spurned three chances at Parc des Princes. PSG coach Luis Enrique said his side should have scored more.

“It’s a pity, clearly, we played very well and deserved more goals,” he said, adding that he was surprised that Liverpool played so defensively. “It’s the first time under Arne Slot that they have played with five defenders this season.”

Accepting his team was outplayed, Slot explained his decision to be so cautious.

“They have pace from everywhere all over the pitch, no matter where you look,” he said. "They have so many weapons (and) the times when we tried to play high and aggressive they ripped us apart."

When the two teams met last season in the round of 16, PSG advanced on penalties after losing 1-0 at home and winning 1-0 at Anfield.

The task seems less difficult this time around for PSG with Liverpool facing a trophyless season. However, six-time champion Liverpool overcame a 3-0 first-leg loss against Barcelona in the 2019 semifinals before winning 4-0 at home.

The second leg is next Tuesday at Anfield.

“I’ve been through many special evenings at Anfield,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told TNT Sports. "Our fans are the backbone of the club, and hopefully they can be there for us again.”

It could be another busy night for Liverpool, even at home.

“We’re not going there to defend, that’s not in our mentality,” Luis Enrique said. “But we know there will be moments when we will suffer at Anfield. I know that, having been there many times as a player and a coach.”

Slot's team was reeling from a crushing 4-0 FA Cup defeat to Manchester City but was better led in defense. With Allison still injured, Giorgi Mamardashvili — Kvaratskhelia's teammate on the Georgia national team — continued in goal for Liverpool.

Dembélé showed great technique on the edge of the penalty area before flicking the ball left to Doué, whose deflected shot looped over Mamardashvili and under the crossbar.

Mamardashvili atoned with a fine close-range save late in the first half from Doué, again set up by Dembélé.

Another flowing PSG move moments later ended with Dembélé fluffing his shot. But a worse finish followed, and Dembélé held his head in his hands after blazing over from close range in the 53rd following a cut back by Nuno Mendes.

Dembélé hit the post late on.

In Wednesday's other quarterfinal game, Atletico Madrid won 2-0 at Barcelona.

Salah stays on bench

Slot made five substitutions but kept Mohamed Salah on the bench the whole game.

“In the last part of the game it was about surviving for us,” Slot said, explaining why Salah did not come on. “Mo has so much qualities, but to be defending 25 minutes inside his own box, it’s better for Mo to save energy for matches to come.”

Hugo Ekitiké lead the attack against his old club and shot wide early in the second half.

Liverpool striker Alexander Isak — the British-record signing for 125 million pounds ($170 million) — came on in the 78th on his comeback from a broken ankle.

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

Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president for on-field operations, also announced that the players received undisclosed fines. The suspensions were scheduled to begin with Wednesday's game but were put on hold pending appeals from each player.

MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association reached an agreement to have López's suspension reduced to five games, effective immediately. With an off day, López will be able to keep his scheduled next start for Atlanta.

Soler started in right field and batted fourth in Wednesday's finale of the three-game series.

Soler homered off López in the first inning of Tuesday night's game. In his next at-bat, Soler was hit by a 96 mph fastball from López. In the fifth, Soler charged the mound after López threw a high-and-inside wild pitch that tipped off catcher Jonah Heim’s mitt.

As Soler began walking toward the mound, López held up his hands and the two glared at each other before both started throwing punches.

“I asked him if everything was OK and the answer he gave me, I didn’t like it,” Soler said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com. “That’s why I went out there.”

The right-handed López held the baseball in his right hand as he used it to throw a punch at Soler's batting helmet.

Players and coaches stormed out of the dugouts and bullpens, and Braves manager Walt Weiss tackled Soler, the 2021 World Series MVP with Atlanta.

“I love Soler. We were teammates here,” Weiss said. “But that’s a big man, and so I just felt I’ve gotta get him off his feet because he’s gonna hurt somebody. And so that was my instinct, just to get in there and get Jorge off his feet, yeah, because he was on a warpath.”

López and Soler were Braves teammates during the second half of the 2024 season.

“It’s just a shame, the situation and how things unfolded,” López said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com. “On my part, there was never any intent to hit him at any point. So, again, it’s just a shame.”

Atlanta, which led 4-2 when the game was interrupted by the brawl, went on to a 7-2 victory.

Soler’s two-run shot in the first made him 14 for 23 with five homers and three doubles against López.

“Obviously, I have good numbers against him,” Soler said. “After the home run and getting hit by a pitch after that, and then he missed way too high and close to my head. At this level, you can’t miss like that.”

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

The Department of Homeland Security last year rescinded longstanding nationwide restrictions on immigration enforcement in or near “sensitive locations” such as schools and school bus stops, churches and hospitals that effectively made them off limits except in rare circumstances.

The Fridley and Duluth school districts, and the Education Minnesota union, sued to block the new policy in February, at a time when the Department of Homeland Security had sent around 3,000 federal officers into the state for Operation Metro Surge. Federal agents involved in the crackdown killed two citizens in Minneapolis in January.

The plaintiffs asked the court Wednesday for either a stay or preliminary injunction that would restore the previous restraints.

Attorney Amanda Cialkowski, who represents the district and union, told reporters afterward that it was unclear if a ruling in their favor would apply outside of Minnesota, or to other “sensitive locations” like churches and hospitals.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what the judge does,” she said.

Teachers across the country have detailed the ways Trump’s immigration crackdown has shaped their work and the lives of their students. In court filings in an ongoing case filed by national teachers unions in federal court in Oregon, educators described rumors of raids that scared away students, immigrant parents who stopped sending their children to school altogether, and stories of parents and students being arrested at bus stops.

And a demand by Democrats that federal authorities refrain from enforcement operations around schools, churches and hospitals is one of the unresolved disputes in the standoff between Congress and the administration over funding for Homeland Security.

The arguments before U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino on Wednesday hinged mostly on complicated legal issues of whether the districts and union had legal standing to sue, and could show they had been directly harmed by the policy change, and whether the new guidance counted as the kind of final agency decision that a court would have the legal authority to review.

Justice Department attorney Jessica Lundberg said “swapping out” last year's policy guidance for the previous guidance, as the plaintiffs want, wouldn't really have a meaningful impact. Even under the old rules, she said, enforcement action in and around schools was always a possibility.

Provinzino said she would rule “as quickly as I can ... but also making sure I get it right.”

The superintendents of both the Fridley district, in suburban Minneapolis, and the Duluth district, in northern Minnesota, were in the courtroom for the arguments.

Fridley Superintendent Brenda Lewis said that the change “deeply impacted" attendance because families did not feel safe in sending their children to school. She said her schools had to pivot to virtual learning for many students, which put an additional strain on resources.

The superintendent also said her district has lost 72 students since December, which has hurt funding that was dependent on the numbers of pupils and meals served. Some enrolled in districts they considered safer, while others have left the country, and some are in detention centers, she said.

While the official end of Operation Metro Surge means Fridley hasn't seen ICE officers on school property in eight weeks, Lewis said the impacts will last for many years.

Duluth Superintendent John Magas pointed out that his district — which is about 150 miles north of Minneapolis — is well outside the Twin Cities metro area but started feeling the effects of the policy change long before the surge.

School districts across the Twin Cities area saw absenteeism spike during the crackdown. In St. Paul, over 9,000 students were absent in mid-January, more than a quarter of the district, according to attendance data obtained by The Associated Press.

Minneapolis Public Schools had over 8,000 students stay home on the last school day in January, close to 30% of students. And Fridley saw attendance drop by nearly a third, according to court filings.

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Sharon Lurye, data reporter for The Associated Press’ Education Reporting Network, contributed to this story from Philadelphia.

The extension was announced Wednesday by athletic director Carla Williams.

The Cavaliers finished 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2025 and No. 16 in the final AP Top 25 poll. It was Virginia’s highest ranking in the last poll of the season since 1995, and Elliott was named AP ACC coach of the year.

“We are extremely fortunate to have Tony Elliott continue to lead our football program,” Williams said in a statement released by Virginia. “His commitment to the values of the University of Virginia and his commitment to developing the whole person through football have been a blessing. His vision of building the model program has never wavered, despite extraordinary adversity. The future is bright for UVA football and we’re excited to continue this work together.”

Virginia capped its season with a 13-7 win over Missouri in the Gator Bowl after losing to Duke in the ACC championship game. It was Virginia’s first bowl victory since 2018.

Elliott is 22-26 in four years at Virginia.

“The commitment to football at the University of Virginia is real and palpable throughout our building,” Elliott said. “I’m proud of the foundation that we have laid and excited for what we can do together in the years to come.”

The young Fleetwood went viral last year when he lamented in a post-round interview that he couldn't clear Ike's Pond, which fronts the ninth green on the par-3 course. So all eyes were on him this year, even after Tommy had aced the fourth hole an hour earlier.

“I’m not so confident,” Frankie admitted, “but honestly on the range this afternoon I felt good, so I feel like I got a chance.”

Frankie made solid contact with his tee shot on the 120-yard hole, but he was off line and the ball splashed right of the green. As he slumped in disappointment, the crowd packed shoulder to shoulder around the eighth and ninth holes implored him to take a mulligan, so Frankie reteed and took another big swing. This time, the ball missed the green by a couple of feet.

“Nearly got it. A few inches, maybe,” Frankie said.

“He was happy with his shots, and he was so close as well,” Tommy said. “Another year, right, Frank?”

As for the competition itself, Aaron Rai birdied the last four holes to shoot 6 under and win the Par 3 Contest, though that may not be such a good thing. Nobody who's won the event has gone on to win the Masters in the same year.

Justin Thomas aced the second hole, Wyndham Clark had a hole-in-one on the seventh and Keegan Bradley, his playing partner, aced the eighth hole, becoming the first player in Masters history to make a hole-in-one in consecutive years in the Par 3 Contest.

Ex-NFL lineman Jason Kelce (Akshay Bhatia) and comedian Kevin Hart (Bryson DeChambeau) were among the celebrity caddies.

“It's a special day,” Thomas said. “It's really fun. Obviously a beautiful day. And hopefully just a great start to a great week.”

Thinking of the Middle East

Fleetwood and his family moved from England to Dubai in 2022 and settled at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, where he runs the Tommy Fleetwood Academy. But when war escalated in the Middle East, and bombs began falling in the United Arab Emirates as he played in the U.S., Fleetwood was able to get his family on a flight back to England.

They joined him at Augusta National for the Masters this week.

“The main thing is hoping that everybody is always safe,” Fleetwood said, "whether that be family, friends, whatever is going on — students — whatever that is. I think we have no impact on what is going on in the world at any given time, but you just hope that anyone that is close to you or associated with you or anybody in general is safe. That’s the main thing."

Pros: They're just like us

Turns out that those playing in the Masters would do the same thing as those watching if they were patrons at Augusta National: They would spend gobs of money on merchandise, devour a few $1.50 sandwiches and throw back a couple of $6 beers.

“Probably have to do the merch tent first,” Min Woo Lee said. “I’m sure there is a shipping situation there, so you spend at least one to two thousand dollars, I would say. I think that’s pretty average.”

He's not far off. Nobody knows for sure, but most estimate the average patron spends close to $1,000.

Want a cheaper souvenir? The cups filled with beer — domestic or a proprietary craft brew called “Crow's Nest” — carry the Masters logo. Patrons will stack them inside each other throughout the day, often a half-dozen or more.

“Probably trying to take advantage of that price and have a lot of beers,” J.J. Spaun said. “Yeah, I would be getting a snake-cup thing, whatever they do at baseball games. The snake with all the cups. Definitely enjoy the day out here.”

Follow the tracks

Augusta National is tracking every shot hit on the practice range this week and some of the stats are surprising.

On Tuesday, for example, nobody hit more balls than 60-year-old Jose Maria Olazábal. The two-time Masters champ hit 243 down the range, which is meticulously designed to replicate many of the shots players face on course. Ben Griffin, who is 29, also hit 243.

“I would be interested to see what kind of shots people hit,” Fleetwood said. “It’s a great week where you can play the course on the range. You know the shots. You know the tee shots. You can visualize it on the range. The range is kind of set up for that. You have some different slopes and undulations around the short game area. So there’s a lot you can do with that.”

Aldrich Potgieter, 21, logged the most shots on any day this week with 249 on Monday. Most players hit between 50 and 100 balls on any given day, while Fleetwood and Harris English needed just 21 to warm up for their practice rounds.

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

The S&P 500 leaped 2.5% after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than 90 minutes before a deadline Trump had set for it to open the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1,325 points, or 2.8%, and the Nasdaq composite soared 2.8% following even bigger gains in European and Asian stock markets.

To be sure, stock prices are still below where they were before the war. And oil prices are still higher because of the threat of a resumption to the war. The ceasefire already looks precarious, and Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again Wednesday in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Such uncertainty caused some of the euphoria that fueled financial markets in the morning to fade as Wednesday’s trading progressed, and financial markets have been prone to sharp and sudden reversals since the war began.

“There is a reason to be optimistic, but it is still too early to tell, because, as you know, after all, it is Trump,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at MONEX.

So far in the war, Trump has set several deadlines for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, a main thoroughfare for oil to reach customers worldwide from the Persian Gulf, and has threatened big repercussions if Iran doesn’t, only to delay them.

It’s similar to a year ago, when Trump threatened stiff tariffs on imports from other countries on “Liberation Day.” After a couple delays, his administration eventually negotiated lower tariffs with many countries, though still higher than from before his second term. That led some investors to allege Trump “always chickens out,” or “TACO,” if financial markets show enough pain.

“Is it just kicking of the can down the road, moving the goalposts, TACO Tuesday, or whatever metaphor we’d like, to only to have tempers flare and bombs drop again?” Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, asked about the two-week ceasefire with Iran. “Who knows? But it’s good enough for now to elicit a positive response from the markets.”

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil plunged 16.4% to settle at $94.41 after almost dropping to $91 earlier in the morning.

Brent crude, the international standard, tumbled 13.3% to $94.75 per barrel. It had briefly topped $119 when worries about the war with Iran were at their highest, but it’s still above its roughly $70 price from before the war.

The next moves for oil prices will depend on how many oil tankers can start exiting the Strait of Hormuz and how easy their passage is. Despite claims from the White House on Wednesday about an uptick in ships transiting the strait, independent analysts say they have seen no change in traffic through it.

Windward, a maritime intelligence firm that tracks international shipping, said all ships transiting the strait must still coordinate safe passage with Iranian authorities, who are requiring hefty tolls of up to $1 a barrel for outbound oil, paid in cryptocurrency. The largest supertankers carry up to 3 million barrels of crude.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the closing of the strait reported in Iranian state media was “completely unacceptable.” She repeated Trump’s “expectation and demand” that the channel be reopened.

In Asia, where countries are more reliant on oil from the Middle East, South Korea’s Kospi stock index surged 6.9%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 leaped 5.4%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 3.1%.

European stock indexes rose nearly as much. Germany’s DAX returned 5.1%, and France’s CAC 40 rallied 4.5%.

On Wall Street, companies with big fuel bills rallied to trim some of the sharp losses taken on worries about oil prices staying high.

United Airlines soared 7.9% and cut into its loss for the year, which came into the day at 20.1%. Cruise ship operator Carnival climbed 11.2%.

Delta Air Lines rose 3.7% after it reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Ed Bastian said demand for flights remains strong, and it’s making moves to make up for higher fuel bills. Delta on Tuesday became the latest airline to raise its fees for checking bags.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 165.96 points to 6,782.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,325.46 to 47,909.92, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 617.15 to 22,635.00.

In the bond market, Treasury yields dropped as hopes built that easing oil prices could let the Federal Reserve resume its cuts to interest rates later this year.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.29% from 4.33% late Tuesday. Lower Treasury yields give a boost to prices for stocks, bonds and all kinds of other investments. They should also ease some of the recent rise in rates for mortgages and other loans taken out by U.S. households and businesses.

When oil prices were screaming higher because of the war, some traders were betting on the possibility that the Fed would have to raise interest rates to keep a lid on inflation. Now, they’re seeing a nearly 25% chance that the Fed could resume its cuts to rates in 2026, according to data from CME Group.

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AP journalists Yuri Kageyama, Matt Ott, Mayuko Ono, Jon Gambrell and Michael Biesecker contributed to this report.

The 19-year-old shortstop agreed to a nine-year, $140 million contract with the Pirates early Wednesday, less than a week after the former first-round pick made his major league debut.

The deal, the largest in club history, includes escalators that could raise the total value to $150 million.

Griffin's Pittsburgh teammates attended Wednesday's news conference to announce the deal hours before the team lost to the San Diego Padres 8-2.

“This week has been amazing, debut week, and then sitting here signing a contract, it’s been amazing,” Griffin said. “It’s one of the best weeks of my life. ... But it’ll be even better if we can get a win today.”

In Wednesday's game, Griffin entered as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh and hit a sacrifice fly to score Nick Yorke for the Pirates' first run.

Pirates owner Bob Nutting said the nine-year contract reflects the team's commitment in winning this season and in the future.

“This is an important step for 2026 as we look at it right now, but obviously this is a long-term commitment,” Nutting said. “It’s a long-term statement of where we’re headed as an organization, where we are headed with this team. ... This obviously is an unusual and dramatic step for the Pittsburgh Pirates. So I’m excited, I hope our fans are excited, I hope the city is excited, I know the organization is excited.”

When asked why it was important to sign for nine years, Griffin said he sees the Pirates as a winning organization.

“I’m pumped to be a Pirate and be a part of this wonderful clubhouse,” Griffin said, looking at his teammates at the back of the room. “A lot of great talent back there and coaches and staff. Thank you all for being here to support me. Y’all made this transition to the big leagues super easy. And I’m just pumped to go compete. The goal is to win. The goal is to win a World Series. And I think we've got a great clubhouse to go do that. I’m pump to be part of it.”

The agreement comes less than 24 hours after general manager Ben Cherington said the “ingredients” were in place for a long-term pact.

The Pirates selected Griffin with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 amateur draft. He sprinted through the team's farm system, hitting .333 with 21 home runs, 94 RBIs and 65 stolen bases. He was one of the final cuts during spring training last month, and his stay at Triple-A Indianapolis was brief.

Pittsburgh called Griffin to the majors after just a week, and he has played well through his first handful of games. Griffin laced an RBI-double in his first big-league at bat against Baltimore last Friday, and added a pair of hits, including a two-run single, in a 7-1 win over San Diego on Tuesday night that helped the Pirates to their sixth win in seven games.

Griffin, who has said repeatedly he wants to stay in Pittsburgh for as long as possible, has impressed teammates with his maturity and his unique skillset.

Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes called Griffin “a big leaguer through and through,” though Griffin is doing his best to ignore the attention that has surrounded his arrival for a team that is trying to return to relevance and end a playoff drought that's now over a decade old.

“Just sticking to being myself, not trying to do too much,” Griffin said Tuesday night. "Just let the game tell me the situation. Compete one pitch at a time and let it all happen.”

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

The NHL’s career goal-scoring leader announced his intentions in a clip of a pretaped interview with Capitals radio broadcaster John Walton that aired Wednesday.

"We're going to make a decision in the summer," Ovechkin said, adding he needed to talk with his family, owner Ted Leonsis, president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan and general manager Chris Patrick.

Ovechkin said health would be the biggest factor: “I’m going to be 41 years old in September, so you just have to be smart about it.”

He has been peppered with questions for several months about whether he’ll retire or play a 22nd season in the league. Ovechkin's current contract expires June 30.

“I still enjoy it, I still have fun,” Ovechkin said in Toronto. “I’m still happy to be with the boys in the locker room.”

Washington will have just three games left after playing at Toronto on Wednesday night and faces an uphill climb to make the playoffs. Coach Spencer Carbery said Ovechkin has the organization's full support.

“He’s earned that right,” Carbery said. “He’ll be welcomed with open arms (or) if this is it, we’ll support him that way, and I’ll celebrate him and give him a big hug and have a cold beer.”

Monday was the one-year anniversary of the Russian superstar scoring his 895th goal at the New York Islanders, breaking Wayne Gretzky's record that seemed unapproachable until Ovechkin came along.

Ovechkin has since scored 33 more goals, 31 this season, to get to 928 in the regular season. On March 22, he scored No. 1,000 total in the NHL, counting goals in the playoffs.

He also holds records for the most power-play goals with 331, game-winning goals with 141 and shots with 7,091 — and counting. Not just an offensive powerhouse, the 6-foot-3 winger has been a physical force and ranks third on the career hits list with 3,871.

The Capitals visit longtime Ovechkin rival and fellow face of the sport Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, then host them Sunday. The home finale in the nation's capital is sold out, with tickets going for way above face value in anticipation of it being the captain and franchise cornerstone's final game there.

They visit Columbus on Tuesday in what could be Ovechkin's final game in North America. He played his first career game in Washington against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 5, 2005.

“The game’s changed almost every year,” Ovechkin said. “More faces come into the league, and you can see how fast they are, how skilled they are. And obviously you have to adjust yourself, your body, your mind. … It’s life.”

Ovechkin, who is from Moscow, could opt to play one more season in the KHL, where he started as a professional when it was called the Russian Superleague. He played from 2001-05 and during the 2012-13 NHL lockout with Dynamo Moscow.

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The Canadian Press contributed to this report.

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

The ruling restores the prior process ahead of the May 21 scheduled execution of Tony Carruthers, and it will remain in place during an ongoing appeal. The order expanding access had not yet been in effect during any execution.

In January, a Nashville judge issued a temporary injunction favoring a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press. The group sued over claims that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit thorough and accurate reporting.

The judge had ordered that the curtains to the official witness room be opened earlier during a lethal injection, allowing witnesses to observe the inmate being secured with restraints to a gurney and the IV insertion process itself. The curtains would have to remain open longer as well, until the pronouncement of death, under the judge's ruling.

The judge also had ruled that, in to protect execution team members' identities, they would have had to wear a disposable protective suit covering the members’ regular work uniform, identification badge and hair, and must be offered a mask to further conceal themselves.

While arguing to block the new rules during its appeal, the state attorney general's office has said the media plaintiffs don't have a right under the First Amendment to watch executions, let alone to see the additional segments ordered viewable by the trial court judge. The state also argued that the order that would have expanded the media's view significantly risks exposing the identities of execution team members, introduces “untested” procedures and relies on an erroneous analysis of state statutes.

In response, attorneys for the media organizations contended that blocking the expanded access would deprive the public of valuable information about upcoming scheduled executions. They have said they have a constitutional and statutory right to observe executions in their entirety and that wearing PPE would shield the execution team's identities.

The order reinstates the process from previous executions, when media members begin seeing what happens once the condemned person is already strapped to a gurney and hooked up to IV lines. Witnesses also don’t know at which precise moment the injections begin and those administering the injections are in a separate room.

The protocol says that after the syringes of saline and pentobarbital are administered, a team leader signals to the warden and a five-minute waiting period begins. After that period, the blinds are closed, the camera is turned off and then the doctor comes in to determine if the person is dead. If that is the case, the warden announces on the intercom system that the sentence was carried out and witnesses are directed to exit.

The camera and closed circuit TV are viewed by the execution team, not media witnesses.

In addition to AP, the media coalition includes Gannett Co., Inc.; Nashville Public Media, Inc.; Nashville Public Radio; Scripps Media, Inc.; Six Rivers Media, LLC; and TEGNA INC.

Officials said that the advisory will be in effect until further notice due to a water leak that occurred in the area. This has caused a complete loss of water.

Officials are warning the public not to drink or cook with the tap water without boiling it first.

For more information, click here.

The show, titled “The Secretary Kennedy Podcast,” will launch next week and feature Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine crusader who has reshaped the country’s health policy, in conversation with doctors, scientists and agency staff, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials told the AP ahead of the launch. In the teaser video, in a slick HHS-branded studio with ominous music playing in the background, Kennedy bills it as a new way to expose corruption and lies that have made Americans sick.

“We’re going to name the names of the forces that obstruct the paths to public health,” Kennedy says in the nearly 90-second clip.

Joining the Trump administration last year gave Kennedy a new platform for his views, some of which contradict the overwhelming consensus of scientists. A podcast could further elevate those ideas, and further remove HHS agencies from their long-held reputation as a “safe harbor for information,” said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University.

Administration officials say the show will help spread an important message about chronic disease and improving health to a wider audience.

“This is part of our larger strategy to bring the Make America Healthy Again message to as wide an audience as we can,” said Liam Nahill, HHS digital director.

The new communication effort from HHS comes as the department has faced a bevy of recent setbacks, including widespread criticism of its vaccine policy changes, a federal ruling last month blocking several of those moves, and resistance from key Republican senators that has kept President Donald Trump’s surgeon general pick from taking office. In that way, it could be seen as part of a rebranding strategy as the agency focuses less on vaccine efforts and more on a less contentious healthy food agenda ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The show, which has been in the works since early in the second Trump administration, also reflects Kennedy returning to a format where he has long felt at ease. He hosted his own podcast before entering office, and has appeared on dozens to share his perspectives in longform interviews.

Tyler Burger, HHS digital communications manager and the producer of the new podcast, said while Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary has a podcast, officials believe Kennedy's will be the first to be hosted by a sitting cabinet secretary.

“We’re kind of bringing podcasting into the government as an official form and arm of our messaging,” Burger said. He said the set for the show was pieced together largely with items the agency already had, and has the capacity for a total of four people to sit in conversation together.

Because podcasts are now commonly made not only on audio but video, they are regularly clipped and shared across social media platforms, giving them “massive” reach, according to Melina Much, a postdoctoral fellow for New York University's Center for Social Media and Politics.

Much said podcasts also tend to be more intimate, conversational and friendly than a traditional interview, allowing administration officials to promote themselves without facing as much pushback.

Critics suggested the show would be used to spread falsehoods. It's "just another official channel to spread misinformation that will inject more dangerous conspiracy theories into the mainstream,” said Grace Silva, spokesperson for 314 Action, a left-leaning political action committee aimed at electing scientists in Congress.

New episodes are expected to drop every other week, Burger said. Though officials wouldn't share a list of upcoming guests, Kennedy let one slip when he appeared as a guest on a recent episode of “The Bossticks.” He said he recorded an episode with Robert Irvine, the celebrity chef who has been tasked with revamping U.S. Army meals.

While Kennedy's teaser focuses on uncovering lies, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the show will aim to cover affordability and other topics that polls show are salient for voters.

“Americans are united on the need to urgently address chronic disease, improve nutrition, strengthen food quality, and lower health costs," he said. "The Secretary Kennedy Podcast will cover all those issues.”