First responders were dispatched to the scene at approximately 2:30 a.m. on the Interstate 35 southbound upper level near the Finesilver Curve.

Upon arrival, investigators determined a blue Chrysler was driving the wrong way when it collided head-on with a red Toyota.

The driver of the Chrysler, a 27-year-old man, and the driver of the Toyota, a 35-year-old man, were both pronounced dead at the scene, according to an SAPD preliminary report.

A 25-year-old woman, who authorities said was a passenger in the blue Chrysler, suffered life-threatening injuries. She was transported to a local hospital for further treatment, officers said.

It is unclear if any criminal charges will be filed in this case.

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The high court's 6-3 decision means people can carry guns onto privately owned property like shopping malls and gas stations, unless the owners specifically say guns are banned at their establishments. It comes shortly after the court found that marijuana users can't be completely banned from owning firearms.

It's a win for President Donald Trump's Republican administration, which argued the law violates the Second Amendment. The measure was sometimes referred to as a “vampire rule" because it required people with guns get permission to enter, like vampire lore says bloodsuckers need an invitation to enter a home.

Hawaii argued that the 2023 measure ensured private owners could decide whether they wanted firearms on their property. The state passed the law as thousands more people got legal permission to carry guns in the wake of a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that found the Second Amendment gives most people the right to have guns in public.

About four other states have enacted similar laws, though presumptive restrictions for guns on private property open to the public have also been blocked elsewhere.

Hawaii also restricts guns in places like parks, beaches and restaurants that serve alcohol, but those rules weren't before the court. They are being challenged in lower courts, however.

The suit before the Supreme Court was filed by a gun rights group and three people from Maui. A judge originally blocked the measure, but an appeals court allowed it to be enforced. Trump's Republican administration backed the Supreme Court appeal.

The gun-control group Everytown Law called the decision “disappointing,” but pointed out that business owners can still post signs forbidding firearms on their properties. “The Supreme Court may have changed the default rule, but it cannot take away a private property owner’s authority over their own land," said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment Litigation

The two Second Amendment decisions this term are the latest in a series of gun cases that have come before the Supreme Court in the wake of its 2022 ruling that led to a flood of challenges to firearm restrictions around the country. The justices have since struck down a ban on bump stocks, gun accessories that enable rapid firing, but upheld a federal gun law intended to protect domestic violence victims as well as strict regulations on firearms known as ghost guns, which are nearly impossible to trace.

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Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

It turned out, however, that the victims had nothing to do with the theft in February, investigators said.

“Fame doesn’t get you out of criminal charges or our pursuit of justice and holding criminals accountable," Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said.

Three men in their late teens were held at gunpoint, battered, pistol-whipped and robbed in a Tampa apartment on Feb. 4, police said, three days after personal property worth more than $250,000 was reported stolen from Arnold and others at an Airbnb rental in Largo, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of the city.

Arnold, 23, was the “primary conspirator” in the attack, police said in a statement, and will face kidnapping and armed robbery charges.

Arnold surrendered to authorities Wednesday and is scheduled to appear in Hillsborough County court Thursday afternoon. The state attorney's office has up to 21 days to file formal charges, community relations manager Gabriella Pumo said.

Arnold denies involvement, according to Denise White, the CEO of EAG Sports Management agency that represents the football player.

“There is no credible evidence linking Mr. Arnold to these allegations,” White said. “Instead, the government appears to be relying on testimony from multiple convicted felons who have admitted their own involvement and may have substantial incentives to shift blame in an effort to lessen their sentences.”

At least seven people face charges, including two who pleaded guilty Wednesday for their roles and are cooperating, the state attorney's office said.

The victims told police that Arnold’s friends lured them to an apartment, held them at gunpoint and hit them, all the while streaming the attack to Arnold. Police said Arnold was giving orders in a group chat and later arrived at the apartment.

“No one has the right to take the law into their own hands. A dispute over missing property does not justify kidnapping, violence or retaliation," State Attorney Suzy Lopez said.

Arnold was a first-round pick in the 2024 draft after playing at the University of Alabama. He had 31 tackles and an interception last season for the Lions. The Lions said they are aware of Arnold's arrest but declined to comment.

Trump harangued GOP senators face-to-face earlier in the day for allowing a vote to block his war in Iran on Tuesday, further escalating a feud that has diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year affordability issues.

Also, congressional Democrats called for investigations Wednesday into renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the ongoing drama over the president’s problem-plagued, $16 million rehabilitation project continued to roil the capital.

Heres' the latest:

DHS secretary says the department is reevaluating warehouses purchased for ICE detention

Markwayne Mullin says his department is reevaluating the eleven warehouses his predecessor purchased to use as immigration detention facilities.

Mullin says some just “probably won’t work” and suggested a lack of “due diligence” when it came to purchasing the warehouses. They were purchased under Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement received huge pushback around the country after the purchases became known.

When Mullin came into office, he paused any new purchases and federal officials have been looking at ways to offload some of them.

Federal judge halts Trump’s election executive order seeking to create a federal voter list

The executive order also sought to limit who can receive a mail ballot.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, sided with a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the Republican president’s order in granting a summary judgment. Her ruling applies to this year’s midterm election cycle.

Plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits, both filed in federal court in Boston, that Trump’s order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. The judge agreed, noting in her ruling that the provisions of Trump’s order “unconstitutionally violate the separation of powers.”

▶ Read more

Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end legal protections for Haitians and Syrians

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria, exposing hundreds of thousands more people to potential deportation.

The decision overturns lower court orders and allows the Department of Homeland Security to swiftly end temporary protected status, a program that protects a total of 1.3 million people from 17 countries.

The Trump administration argued judges can’t second-guess immigration officials’ decisions about the protections, which were intended to be temporary.

Immigration attorneys said the countries remain unsafe to return, and the administration ended them in an unlawfully hasty process tinged by racial animus. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants were abducting and eating dogs and cats.

▶ Read more

Supreme Court clears way for the Trump administration to revive a restrictive immigration policy

The policy was once used to turn back migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The justices overturned a lower court order blocking the practice that limited the number of people who could apply for asylum each day under the Obama administration and during Trump’s first term.

Advocates said the tactic created a humanitarian crisis as thousands of people settled in unsafe makeshift shelters to await their turn. The Trump administration said it was necessary to deal with an increase of asylum seekers at the border.

The policy isn’t in place now, though authorities have imposed other restrictions on asylum seekers.

The administration argues that metering is a critical tool that’s been used by presidents of both parties and should stay available.

▶ Read more

Trump’s showdown with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy

President Trump was attending a private lunch Wednesday with the Senate GOP when he wondered aloud how anyone could have voted for a war powers resolution a day earlier that sought to block further U.S. military action against Iran.

Cassidy, one of the four Republicans who backed the measure, was ready with an answer.

“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on,’” Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, recounted to reporters afterward. “This is supposed to last four weeks. It’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved.”

Things deteriorated from there.

When Cassidy told Trump he would continue voting for war powers resolutions until there’s a congressional briefing on developments in Iran, the senator recalled that Trump “did not particularly care for my comments” and “raised his voice.”

Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private meeting. At one point, the president called the senator a “lunatic,” the person said.

Cassidy acknowledged losing his temper, which he said was “not appropriate.”

▶ Read more

— Steven Sloan and Lisa Mascaro

Oil tankers use new route through Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian threats

Several tankers made their way out of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday using a new route promoted by a U.N. maritime agency. Iran has threatened vessels using the path, which runs along the coast of Oman.

The opening of an alternative passage through the vital waterway would relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of leverage in ongoing talks about the interim deal signed last week with the United States.

Traffic through the strait has increased but is still well below prewar levels. Oil on Thursday briefly dipped below its last prewar price of just under $73 a barrel, a sign that the market believes the situation is improving.

The two sides are still debating terms of the deal — from getting ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf to the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

▶ Read more

Key inflation gauge jumps to 3-year high in latest sign of affordability challenges

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose to a new three-year high in May as gas prices peaked, a sign rising costs could pose political problems for President Trump as midterm elections near.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, the largest annual increase since April 2023. On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.4% last month, matching April’s increase and down from 0.7% in March.

The increase was largely driven by more expensive gas, as well as pricier semiconductors and other computer equipment that are in high demand for the AI buildout. Rising prices have caused the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve to keep their key rate unchanged this year, a reversal from January when they had penciled in two cuts. Some economists forecast the central bank could lift rates this year instead.

▶ Read more

Lawmakers demand answers as turmoil over Reflecting Pool repair continues

Congressional Democrats called for investigations Wednesday into renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the ongoing drama over the president’s problem-plagued, $16 million rehabilitation project continued to roil the capital.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate demanded answers about the saga that’s been highlighted in the news cycle for weeks, even as the White House has repeatedly blamed — without evidence — unidentified vandals for peeling paint and other problems. Six people have been arrested, President Donald Trump said, without providing details, and a local wildlife nonprofit conducted necropsies on dead ducks found near the Reflecting Pool. The president has said the pool may need to be drained once again for additional repairs.

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, challenged the Trump administration over no-bid contracts for work on the Reflecting Pool, saying they were awarded to vendors with previous relationships to Trump.

▶ Read more

Senate Republicans reject war powers resolution after Trump berates them at Capitol meeting

Senate Republicans who were berated by President Donald Trump over opposition to his war in Iran held a late-night vote Wednesday to try to appease him, rejecting a war powers resolution a day after a similar measure passed.

Trump harangued GOP senators face-to-face earlier in the day for allowing a vote to block his war in Iran on Tuesday, further escalating a feud that has diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year affordability issues and brought much of the chamber’s business to a halt. He exchanged particularly harsh words with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of four Republicans who had voted with Democrats on the measure.

Hours later, though, Cassidy was invited to receive a personal briefing on the war at the White House from Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff. Cassidy then returned to the Capitol to vote against a separate but nearly identical war powers resolution.

▶ Read more

In new overnight strikes, Zelenskyy said Thursday that Kyiv's forces hit two more Russian oil refineries in Ufa, 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from the front line, and an oil depot in the Krasnodar region, 300 kilometers (180 miles) from Ukraine.

In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up its aerial campaign against Russian military installations and energy facilities. Its success has caused fuel shortages and disrupted army supply lines, stalling Moscow’s full-scale invasion after more than four years of fighting.

Zelenskyy said in his daily address late Wednesday that Russia is moving more air defenses to the capital as well as to Valdai, a town some 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Moscow and the site of a residence for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said they are also protecting the Kerch Bridge, a vital supply route connecting the Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland.

“In the Moscow region alone, they have amassed hundreds of launchers” for air defense missiles, Zelenskyy said. “Nearly 90 launchers have been redeployed to Valdai from other regions of Russia.”

It was not possible to independently verify Zelenskyy's claims, which portrayed the Russian leadership as caring more about protecting itself than other cities and towns in the vast country. Russian officials made no immediate comment.

Ukrainian drones this month have hit Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city and Putin’s hometown. Ukraine is also trying to cut off Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.

The air defense changes, Zelenskyy suggested, would leave other parts of Russia vulnerable to Ukraine’s increasingly sophisticated long-range drones, which can now fly more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles).I

“There are many difficulties (for Russia), all because Putin refuses to end his war and to hear our proposals for a meeting, genuine negotiations, and a dignified peace,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump but Putin has refused, and a year of U.S.-led peace efforts made no significant headway.

Trump praises Zelenskyy

Western officials and analysts say Ukraine’s prospects have improved after more than four years of a grueling war of attrition as its domestic development and production of cutting-edge drones pin down the bigger Russian army.

Trump, who previously has been critical of Zelenskyy, said Wednesday the Ukrainian leader is “courageous” and “doing pretty well” in the war.

Zelenskyy said he won pledges of sustained foreign support when he attended a recent summit of G7 leaders, including Trump, and that promised aid will further help Ukraine’s intensified campaign.

“Our operation, including the one concerning Crimea, has been carefully planned, and the way it is unfolding clearly demonstrates that if Ukraine receives exactly what we discussed with our partners at the G7 — and that depends on our partners’ decisions — we will quickly create conditions in which Russia will be forced to choose peace,” he said.

“We very much hope for a positive response from our partners,” Zelenskyy added. “They know exactly what we are talking about.”

Ukraine is wary of its neighbor Belarus

Belarus, whose factories have played a key role in supporting Moscow’s war effort, appears to have turned off signal repeaters on its soil that Kyiv says were used to help guide Russian drone attacks on Ukraine. Moscow launched its 2022 invasion of its southern neighbor from Belarus.

Zelenskyy demanded last week that Belarus, which borders both Ukraine and Russia, remove the relay equipment. He threatened to take action against the relay stations, presumably with a military strike that could bring the countries into direct conflict.

Ukrainian intelligence has determined that the repeaters are now off, Zelenskyy told journalists.

Even so, Zelenskyy said later Thursday on Telegram that “along our state border, Belarus is completing the construction of road infrastructure and storage facilities for ammunition and fuel, which have no purpose other than military use.”

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said he recently met with Zelenskyy’s representatives and warned them against using force against his country. At a meeting with the governor of the Moscow region, he said Belarus has no intention of entering the war and doesn’t want to fight Ukraine but would “stand alongside Russia.”

Ukrainian military officials on Wednesday ordered a mandatory evacuation for the approximately 1,000 people still in the Chernihiv region bordering Russia and Belarus starting July 1.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Lukashenko is walking a fine line.

“Lukashenko continues to stall and deflect the Kremlin’s intensified attempts to drag Belarus into the war in Ukraine while maintaining relatively neutral rhetoric towards Ukraine,” the institute said.

Ukrainian Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the armed forces, said last week that Ukraine is strengthening defenses on its northern border, including creating new drone units there.

Russia targets Ukraine's civilian gas stations

Russia launched a ballistic missile and 90 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.

One drone struck a gas station Thursday in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, injuring four people, said regional administration head Oleh Hryhorov, adding that Russian forces have attacked the region's gas stations 13 times in June alone.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 269 Ukrainian drones from late Wednesday until early Thursday.

Several Russian airports temporarily restricted flights overnight during drone attacks.

In other developments, the French navy intercepted an oil tanker in the Mediterranean that is suspected of being part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of aging vessels of uncertain ownership and safety practices that are dodging sanctions, French authorities said.

The Deliver, sailing under the flag of Cameroon, had departed from the Russian port of Primorsk, authorities said.

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

Dusty Ray Spencer is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke for the 1992 killing of his wife Karen.

According to Florida Department of Corrections records, the next oldest state inmates to be executed were both 72 — Samuel Lee Smithers on Oct. 14, 2025, for the 1996 killings of two women and R. Charlie Gifford on Feb. 21, 1951, for the 1950 shooting death of a state representative, Charles Schuh Jr.

Nationwide, the oldest person ever to executed in modern times was Walter Leroy Moody Jr., 83, who was put to death in Alabama in 2018 for sending mail bombs during a wave of Southern terror, killing a federal judge and a black civil rights attorney.

If carried out, Spencer's execution would be Florida's ninth to date this year following a record 19 executions in 2025. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.

Another 74-year-old Florida death row inmate, Dennis Sochor, 12 days younger than Spencer, is set to be executed on July 14. He was convicted of killing a woman just hours into 1982 after meeting her at a New Year’s Eve party.

Court records show Spencer was arrested after choking and threatening to kill Karen Spencer in December 1991. While in jail, Dusty Ray Spencer called his wife and warned her that when he got out, he was going to finish what he started.

On Jan. 18, 1992, Spencer beat his wife's teenage son with a clothes iron when the boy tried to stop Spencer from attacking his mother, officials said. Then about a week later, the son responded to a commotion outside their home and found Spencer hitting his mother in the head with a brick, according to officials.

Court records show the teen tried to shoot Spencer with a rifle, but the gun misfired. Spencer threatened the teen with a knife, and the boy ran away to get help. When police arrived, they found Karen Spencer dead with several stab wounds to the chest.

Spencer was initially sentenced to death in 1992 after being convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery. In 1994, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing after finding that the trial court had mishandled evaluating aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Spencer was resentenced to death the next year, and subsequent appeals have been denied.

Last week, the state Supreme Court rejected Spencer's appeals. His attorneys had argued that he has health issues such as liver disease that pose a heightened risk of pain and suffering and argued that executing him at his advanced age would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

A final appeal was still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.

All Florida executions are carried out by lethal injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

The 6-3 decision overturns lower court orders and allows the Department of Homeland Security to swiftly end temporary protected status, a program that protects a total of 1.3 million people from 17 countries.

The Republican administration argued that judges cannot second-guess immigration officials' decisions about protections that were intended to be temporary.

The court's conservative majority agreed, finding that the law creating the program keeps courts out of the process. “The Secretary’s TPS designation decisions are not subject to judicial review,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote.

Immigration lawyers said the countries at issue remain unsafe for migrants to return and they argued that the administration ended the protections in an unlawfully hasty process tinged by racial animus. During Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, he amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants were abducting and eating dogs and cats.

The court majority found that the statements from Trump and his administration were not “overtly racial." Alito said that Haitian people should not face character attacks. “But whatever one may think of the cited statements, they are insufficient to show that the termination of Haiti’s TPS designation was based on the race of the Haitian people,” he wrote.

The court's three liberal justices dissented, writing that the law does allow for judges to step in if officials sidestep the process for ending the protections. Race, meanwhile, does appear to have played a role, Justice Elena Kagan wrote.

“The evidence is there, plain to see, in the President’s statements, which the majority (and for that matter, his own lawyers) cannot even bear to repeat,” she wrote. “Respectfully, I dissent from the Court’s decision that they may instead be put on the next plane."

Lawyers for the Haitian immigrants said the Haitians would be in danger if they were sent back. “Simply put, the Supreme Court’s ruling will directly result in thousands of innocent people dying violent, needless deaths,” Geoff Pipoly and Andy Tauber said.

They urged the Senate to approve an extension of deportation protections for Haitians. That measure has languished since it was passed the House on a rare bipartisan vote in April.

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, also condemned the decision.

“This ruling is a devastating betrayal of Haitian families who have lived, worked, and contributed to this country for years –- only to be cast out based on anti-Black immigration sentiment,” he said.

The Department of Justice appealed to the Supreme Court after judges postponed the end of the program for about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. The high court sided with the administration before and allowed the end of the program for people from Venezuela.

Federal authorities deny prejudice played a role. They also cited a Supreme Court decision from Trump’s first term that rejected bias claims based on his social media posts and upheld a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, DHS has ended the protections, including some that had been in place for more than a decade, for people from 13 countries.

The terminations were made even though countries such as Haiti and Syria remain dangerous, immigration lawyers said. Four Haitian women who were deported from the United States in February were found beheaded and dumped in a river several months later, lawyers said in court documents.

The United States first granted protections to Haitians in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and extended them multiple times amid ongoing gang violence that has displaced more than a million people, according to court documents.

Syrians were first granted protected status in 2012, during a civil war that lasted for more than a decade before the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government in late 2024.

The program was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters, civil strife and other instability. It allows people already in the country to stay with work permits in increments of up to 18 months, but it does not provide a path to citizenship.

Officers responded to the incident around 10:25 p.m. in the 300 block of East Lachapelle, which is located near Lone Star Boulevard.

Officers said the man, who’s around 30 years old, was sitting on the tracks prior to the collision.

The train was not able to stop in time and hit the man, SAPD said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine his identity, as well as his cause and manner of death.

SAPD said its investigation is ongoing. Further information was not readily available.

Read also:

• Drivers raise concerns over dark stretch on Loop 410 after chain-reaction crash
• Body found inside burned vehicle in southwest Bexar County, SAPD says

The justices, in a 6-3 decision, overturned a lower court order blocking the practice that limited the number of people who could apply for asylum each day, first under the Obama administration and then expanded during President Donald Trump’s first term.

Advocates said the tactic created a humanitarian crisis as thousands of people settled in unsafe makeshift shelters to await their turn. The Trump administration said it was necessary to deal with an increase of asylum seekers at the border.

The policy isn't in place now, though authorities have imposed other restrictions on asylum seekers.

The administration argued that metering is a critical tool that’s been used by presidents of both parties and should stay available. Federal attorneys say people turned away at the border could come back later, though lines were thousands of people long when the policy was in place before.

The case is one of several immigration suits is considering this term, including Trump’s push to end restrict birthright citizenship and his administration’s effort to strip legal temporary protections for migrants fleeing instability and armed conflict.

Under federal law, migrants who arrive in the U.S. must be able to apply for asylum and be screened for fear of persecution in their home countries.

The Justice Department argued that people stopped by authorities haven’t arrived in the country, so immigration agents don’t have to let them apply.

The court's conservative majority agreed. “A guest does not arrive in a house when he knocks on the front door,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote.

But attorneys for people seeking asylum say the law has long meant anyone arriving at a port of entry should be screened, and blocking arrivals disregards the nation’s ideals.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the bench, saying that the majority’s opinion “regrettably and tragically extinguishes the light of the torch of the Statue of Liberty.”

In an unusual exchange, Alito voiced a response after she finished speaking. He expressed surprise that she had read her dissent out loud and defended his opinion by pointing out that the policy had been used during two presidential administrations. “I won’t add anything more to that,” Alito said.

Metering was first used under President Barack Obama when large numbers of Haitians appeared at the main crossing to San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico. It was expanded to all border crossings from Mexico during Trump’s first term in the White House.

It ended in 2020 when the government introduced greater restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, and President Joe Biden formally rescinded it in 2021.

The same year, a California-based federal judge found that metering violated the asylum seekers rights and the law requiring screening. A divided appeals court panel affirmed the ruling but nearly half of judges on the full San Francisco-based court voted to rehear it, a strong signal that might have caught the attention of the Supreme Court.

U.S. law allows people seeking refuge to apply for asylum once they are on American soil, regardless of whether they came legally. To qualify for asylum, they must show a fear of persecution in their homeland for specific reasons, like race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.

People who are eventually granted asylum can’t be deported. They can legally work, bring in immediate family, apply for legal residency and seek citizenship.

___

Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.

Due to the detection of the New World Screwworm, Medina County Judge Keith Lutz said in a statement that portions of Bandera, Medina and Uvalde counties have since been designated as “Infested Zone 09.”

Bandera County Commissioners met at 10 a.m. Thursday to consider declaring a local state of disaster regarding the parasitic fly.

To prioritize the health of animals and reduce the spread of the parasitic fly, the Texas Animal Health Commission said a quarantine is now in effect for Infested Zone 09.

The following animal movement restrictions are now imposed:

• Warm-blooded animals located in Infested Zone 09 cannot be moved outside the zone without permission from the TAHC
• To move animals outside the zone, the animal must be inspected and treated as required by the TAHC and issued a permit or certificate for movement by a TAHC representative
• Any parts of an animal capable of serving as a host for the parasitic fly must be inspected and receive treatment deemed necessary by a TAHC representative before its removal from the zone
• Unauthorized movement is not allowed and is subject to administrative penalties and/or criminal prosecution

According to the TAHC, the order will remain in effect until the quarantine is lifted.

As of Thursday morning, there are 17 active cases of the New World Screwworm in Texas, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture online dashboard.

More related coverage of this story on KSAT:

• The U.S. last beat screwworm in 1966. Can current leaders learn from the past’s playbook?
• Texas officials say rodents and other small wildlife could be to blame for New World Screwworm infestations
• 2 new screwworm cases detected in Edwards County over last 24 hours, USDA says

The movie mogul still stands convicted of another sexual felony in New York and others in California, and he remains behind bars. But the New York rape charge had remained unresolved after an overturned conviction followed by two hung juries. The judge formally dismissed the charge Thursday.

Weinstein had a neutral expression as court officers led him out of court in his wheelchair. The Oscar-winning producer denies all the accusations.

The rape charge concerned an allegation that he raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013. Mann has testified that she also had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with Weinstein, who was married at the time.

But she told jurors she repeatedly tried to leave and said no to any sexual activity as he cornered her in the hotel room. She said he persevered, demanding that she undress and grabbing her arms, until she was afraid to keep protesting.

“After a lot of thought and reflection, I have chosen not to proceed with a fourth trial against Harvey Weinstein,” Mann wrote in a letter that a prosecutor read to the court. “It was clear to me at this last trial I could no longer endure going through this any longer.”

The trial took a visible toll on Mann, 40, who testified for five days and was questioned for the first time about a diary-like, soul-baring note she wrote two days after the alleged rape, which the note did not mention. At one point during her testimony, Mann said she was struggling to focus, prompting court to wrap up early for the day.

Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg said Thursday that prosecutors believe Mann and hail her “bravery, strength, courage and inspiration” to other survivors, but given her feelings about proceeding, “dismissal is appropriate.”

The 74-year-old Weinstein, meanwhile, reported chest pains during jury deliberations in the most recent trial, spurring another early end to court.

“The interests of justice would have never been to bring this case at all,” defense lawyer Jacob Kaplan said.

Weinstein was one of the movie industry’s most powerful figures, a producer of such tastemakers and hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.”

Then a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him became public in 2017, fueling the #MeToo campaign for accountability and eventually leading to criminal charges.

Weinstein was convicted in 2020 of raping Mann. Then an appeals court overturned that verdict for reasons unrelated to her testimony. Jury deliberations broke down at a 2025 retrial, and jurors deadlocked again at another retrial this spring.

The rape charge in this case was a low-level felony punishable by up to four years in prison — less time than Weinstein already has served. He faces considerably longer sentences on his other, separate convictions in New York and California, including raping an Italian actress in Los Angeles.

Weinstein didn’t testify at any of the trials, though he complained during and after the 2025 New York retrial that it was unfair; the judge disagreed.

His lawyers have maintained that all his accusers, who were trying to go places in show business, had completely consensual sexual liaisons with a movie studio boss who could help them. Weinstein himself has said he “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they choose to be named, as Mann has done.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region. Nearly 1,000 people were injured and thousands were reported missing across the country, with damage and casualties particularly heavy in the coastal region of La Guaira, which is north of Caracas, the capital.

Buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Caracas, where the country’s main airport was closed after sustaining damages.

Panicked residents of the capital poured into the streets, where many people walked among the debris searching for the missing. Television broadcasts showed rescue workers using power tools to get through piles of rubble where buildings once stood.

In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared stunned at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.

“I lost everything. Everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”

Offers of help poured in from around the world, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela's then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.

The natural disaster poses a major challenge for acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the capture of Maduro. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement she represents.

Rescue teams head to heavily damaged coastal region

Rodríguez, who gave the latest death toll early Thursday, said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira.

Footage on state TV showed three children, covered in dust but alive, pulled from the rubble in La Guaira state, which Rodríguez described as a “disaster zone.”

“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there ... and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” Rodríguez said.

Video shared online appeared to show dozens of people, some lying on the ground and others on hospital beds, being treated outside a hospital in La Guaira. While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.

Rodríguez appealed to businesses to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations, adding that search and rescue teams certified by the United Nations were on their way to help.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles). Just a minute later, USGS reported a second 7.5 magnitude earthquake, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could cause further damage.

Venezuela residents reeling from two strong quakes

During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings, and many were shocked when they turned back to see destroyed walls that left furniture visible from the street.

In La Guaira, a man wearing only shorts climbed down the face of an apartment building tilted at a dangerous angle as a crowd watched.

Dayana Delgado, mother of three children, said she was desperate because her 8-year-old was missing.

“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said.

Delgado questioned where the heavy machinery that government officials had promised was, pointing out that neighbors were the ones digging through the rubble.

In downtown Caracas, hundreds of people spent the night huddled around parks, parking lots and other open spaces. Authorities warned against returning to homes with structural damage.

“We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us,” said María Cristina Díaz, a 41-year-old janitor. “My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn’t sleep a wink; but I didn’t want to spend the night alone at home after that terrible earthquake.”

“It was awful. We cried, we screamed. Thankfully, we’re alive,” she added.

Díaz and her family rushed to Plaza Candelaria in downtown Caracas because it’s one of the few open areas near her home.

Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone coverage, and the earthquakes damaged and closed Simón Bolívar International Airport, the country’s main airport, Rodríguez said.

In Caracas, subway services were suspended and natural gas shut off, she said. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centers.

On Thursday morning, scores of people in Venezuela and abroad struggled to contact family members. Families began posting missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for those still unaccounted for.

The U.N. human rights mission in Venezuela called on the government to lift local restrictions on social media so people can get more timely access to potentially life-saving information. In August 2024, Maduro ordered X blocked in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential elections.

Several governments offered assistance

Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes, and had instructed the economy and finance ministers to oversee the effort.

Countries from across the world from Qatar to Mexico began to send aid to Venezuela. Rodríguez expressed thanks for the messages of support and offers for help.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had spoken to Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States is “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.”

“We will have a whole government response,” Rubio said Thursday in Bahrain, noting the were facing logistical obstacles with Caracas’ airport collapsed. “It will be big. It will be fast. It will be effective.”

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Garcia Cano reported from Bogota, Colombia. Associated Press writers Megan Janetsky and Anna-Catherine Brigida in Mexico City, Danica Coto and San Juan, Clara Preve in Buenos Aires; Astrid Suarez in Bogota, Colombia; Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo; Cristina Fuentes in Madrid; and Maria Teresa Hernandez in Beijing contributed to this report.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, sided with a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the Republican president's order in granting a summary judgment. Her ruling applies to this year's midterm election cycle.

Plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits, both filed in federal court in Boston, that Trump’s order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. The judge agreed, noting in her ruling that the provisions of Trump's order “unconstitutionally violate the separation of powers.”

It was the second ruling in as many days against executive orders Trump has signed seeking oversight of the nation's elections. A separate ruling Wednesday prohibited an executive order he had signed last year that would have required people to show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote.

The administration, in its motions to dismiss the lawsuits challenging the order seeking to establish a federal voter list, argued that the motions are premature and that plaintiffs lacked the legal basis to bring their claim based on the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

But in an interim order before Thursday's ruling, Talwani said the motions pertaining to this year’s election cycle were relevant: “In light of the EO’s specific deadlines over the next three months, and the reality that elections will be occurring throughout this period with the November 3, 2026 midterm occurring in just five months, postponing judicial review is impracticable and may inflict significant hardship on Plaintiffs,” she wrote. That order denied the Trump administration's motion to dismiss the challenges.

Trump’s executive order, the second one aimed at elections during his second term, comes as he continues to raise the specter of widespread voting by noncitizens as a reason to change election rules. But states already have detailed processes aimed at keeping their voter rolls accurate, and voting by noncitizens has been shown to be rare. It also is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.

Trump issued his second order in March after a bill he supported to overhaul voting stalled in Congress. The order would have had the federal government create a list of eligible voters and then directed the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to those on the list. Election officials argued that it was ripe for abuse and could cause chaos, and the postal union has objected to the idea of mail carriers policing ballots.

The Postal Service has published a proposed rule required by Trump’s executive order in the Federal Register. Among other things, the rule would not apply to primary elections or overseas ballots.

The lawsuit seeking summary judgment was filed by Democratic attorneys general representing 22 states and the District of Columbia. Also signing on were attorneys representing Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, which has a Republican attorney general.

The states also told the court that the move imposes a costly burden on election officials to comply and would spread fear about the possibility of prosecution. Stephen Pezzi, a lawyer for the Trump administration, had argued that no one would be prosecuted for violating the order.

In a separate lawsuit filed against the executive order, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., in May agreed with the Trump administration that it was too early to block the order because it had yet to be implemented. That lawsuit was brought by Democratic and civil rights groups, who have appealed.

Since his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has groundlessly claimed mail voting is rife with fraud and has launched a federal investigation into that year’s vote, even though repeated audits and investigations, including ones run by Republicans, found it was free of widespread fraud. Trump also has said he wants to “take over” election administration in Democratic areas.

How do we know this? Researchers tickled 13 captive apes — including gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos — and recorded the results. The new research reexamined those decades-old recordings and compared them with the newly captured giggles of four young children while they were being tickled and playing at home.

It turns out that the chuckles of humans and great apes follow similar rhythms, with regular timing between their laughs, a uniting thread that likely reflects their ties to a common ancestor, researchers said.

“In a way, we are very similar to other great apes because we’ve been laughing in a similar way for 15 million years,” said study author Chiara De Gregorio, a primatologist at the University of Warwick in England.

Laughter communicates a playful, happy feeling without using words. Many animals can laugh too, but the giggles don’t follow human patterns as closely. When researchers tickle rats, for example, they respond with ultrasonic squeaks.

Scientists trying to uncover how laughter evolved have picked apart animals’ facial expressions, but less work has been done on how laughs sound. And compared with apes, human laughter has become faster and more complex. For one, our laughs sound different based on context — from a polite chuckle among colleagues to a full-bodied guffaw with close friends.

“We are like the masters of laughter, I would say,” said De Gregorio, whose findings were published Thursday in the journal Communications Biology.

These giggles evolved to best suit animals’ different social lives, said Brittany Florkiewicz, who studies animal communication at Lyon College and had no role in the new research. She said the study’s findings make sense, and point to a need for more investigation.

Florkiewicz said she’d like to hear comparable recordings of other animals with playful facial expressions, like dogs, horses and cats. That could tell us more about how laughter evolved, so we can “understand what makes us uniquely human, but also what is similar between humans and other animals.”

Studying the origins of laughter may seem corny, but it's one aspect of human communication that can help us understand others — including how we learned to speak. Because sounds don't fossilize, scientists are using the evidence we do have to trace things back, one chuckle at a time.

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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 Saharan Air Layer as its most known is most notable for helping to suppress tropical activity due it’s dry, dusty and hot atmospheric conditions.

By the upcoming weekend, some dust will try and sneak into Florida.

Unless really thick, you’ll only know it’s there by the milky haze in the sky or dirt residue left on outside objects from rain carrying dust particles to the ground.

The dust is usually suspended thousands of feet in the air.

The thickest concentration of the plume is expected to head toward Texas. This is where air quality would be most impacted.

Florida Impacts

While extremely sensitive groups may notice lower air quality, most will not be impacted.

The dry, dusty airmass is expected to move in Saturday into Sunday. As a result rain chances will drop and temperatures will soar.

Highs will top out in the upper 90s with rain chances falling to 30%.

In the areas that do receive rain, keep an eye out for the dusty spots on cars or outdoor porch furniture.

Florida may see just the right amount of dust to help enhance the sunrise and and sunset Sunday and Monday.

The extra particles in the atmosphere will help to scatter light more enhancing the red color in the sky.

What’s The Deal With The Dust?

There are several good and bad things that comes with the dust.

Limits tropical development

During the months of May, June and July, when the dust is most prolific, it helps to keep tropical development at bay in this part of the world. The dust tends to a much lower impact during August, September and October.

Amazon rainforest fertilizer

The dust cloud contains phosphorous, among other things, which is then transported more than 5,000 miles across the Atlantic often settling in the Amazon. The phosphorous helps to fertilize the soil in the rainforest.

The bad side of this is it can help fuel algae blooms and red tide.

Poor air quality & dirty rain

The dust typically hangs out anywhere from 5,000 feet to 20,000 feet above the ground. Rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds can bring some of this dust down to the surface, aggravating allergies and impacting those with respiratory ailments. Air quality when the dust is thick could become unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Some of the raindrops could also contain the dust leaving dirty marks on your car or porch furniture when the raindrops evaporate.

Vibrant sunrise/sunsets

When the sun is low on the horizon in the morning and evening, the sun’s rays have to travel through more of the Earth’s atmosphere. The light scatters more, producing beautiful red, orange and pink colors in the sky. When small dust particles are introduced, more scattering takes place, enhancing the already vibrant colors.

The Charlotte Hornets agreed to trade Ball, their starting point guard, and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for power forward Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round draft pick, three first-round pick swaps and three future second-round picks, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by ESPN, has yet to be approved by the league.

The three first-round pick swaps will be in 2028, 2029 and 2030. The Hornets also get three second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033.

The 24-year-old Ball, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, had three years left on a franchise-record five-year, $203.9 million designated rookie contract.

An All-Star in 2022, Ball has struggled with ankle and foot injuries during his career, but he played in 72 games last season and averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game, helping the Hornets win 44 games before being blown out in the play-in tournament by the Orlando Magic.

Ball finished second in the league in 3s made last year with 272, one behind rookie teammate Kon Knueppel.

Ball is considered an exceptional offensive player, but his shortcomings on the defensive end were at times a source of irritation for coach Charles Lee.

Still, Ball's ability to create opportunities for his teammates off the dribble, his exceptional passing and unique knack for getting off 3-pointers — with shots often coming off one foot — via a stepback move, make him one of the league's most dynamic scoring point guards.

But Ball was never able to get the Hornets to the playoffs in his six seasons with the club, with injuries playing a role. Before this season, Ball missed 141 games over the previous three seasons.

This trade is expected to be included as part of the transaction in which Minnesota agreed to send Julius Randle to Brooklyn in a deal that involved the Chicago Bulls, a second person with knowledge of the agreement told the AP. It will create an NBA-record trade exception of nearly $41 million for the Hornets.

The deals cannot be finalized until July 6, when the league moratorium on such moves is lifted.

It’s another blockbuster for the league, which has seen Giannis Antetokounmpo getting traded by Milwaukee to Miami for a package that includes Tyler Herro, a move that followed the Randle deal before the draft.

The Hornets are expected to re-sign unrestricted free agent Coby White to serve as their starting point guard.

White, the all-time leading scorer in North Carolina high school basketball history, averaged 15.6 points and 3 assists per game while shooting 39.1% from 3-point range last season for the Hornets after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bulls.

Reid, 26, has spent all seven of his NBA seasons with the Timberwolves.

After reaching the Western Conference finals in 2024 and 2025, the Timberwolves stagnated at times last season and were ousted in six games in the second round of the playoffs by the runner-up San Antonio Spurs.

President of basketball operations Tim Connelly has never been shy about aggressive pursuit of roster improvement, from the package of draft picks he sent the Utah Jazz in 2022 for defensive ace Rudy Gobert shortly after taking the job in Minnesota, to the stunning trade of franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks two years ago.

To make this work, the Timberwolves had to give up one of the most popular players in their history in Reid, the 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year who would’ve been in line for a starting spot after the departure of Randle.

The 6-foot-11 Reid, who went undrafted out of LSU in 2019, worked his way into an excellent offensive player with a shooter’s touch from the outside who has the quickness to get to the rim. Playing through a painful shoulder injury this season, Reid appeared in 77 regular-season games while averaging 13.6 points and a career-best 6.2 rebounds per game.

Their five-game loss in 2025 to the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder and their defeat by the Spurs last month made clear to the Timberwolves that they’re not yet at the championship level they’ve been chasing since building their roster around 2020 first overall pick Anthony Edwards. Now they’ll have the third pick in that draft to play next to Ball, one of the few remaining pure point guards in a league that has evolved toward more volume scorers serving as the primary initiators of the offense.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch lamented after the season his abrupt decision to make Edwards the starting point guard, a move Finch said last month set the whole team back.

Trusty veteran Mike Conley will be a free agent and is now more of a limited-role player, leaving Minnesota's front office looking outward for ball-handling options. The agreement to bring back Ayo Dosunmu went a long way toward solidifying the backcourt for the long term, but he’s more of a combo guard who can thrive off the ball.

Connelly even hinted at a move like this on Tuesday night after the first round of the draft.

“We have to ensure that we’re creating as many good shots as possible, specifically for Ant, and whether that’s on our present roster or whether it’s looking outside of our team, it’s something that we certainly have to address,” Connelly said.

Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson is expected to address the deal at a Thursday news conference in which the team is scheduled to introduce first-round draft picks Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr.

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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami and AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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

The opening of an alternative passage through the vital waterway would relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of leverage in ongoing peace talks with the United States. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to the Gulf to reassure American allies, said Washington was committed to the new route.

Traffic through the strait has increased but is still well below prewar levels. Oil on Thursday briefly dipped below its last prewar price of just under $73 per barrel, a sign that the market believes the situation is improving.

The two sides are still debating terms of an interim peace deal — from getting ships through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf to the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed last week, the U.S. and Iran have 60 days to iron out the details. As talks are held behind closed doors, U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders have seemed to negotiate in public, trading threats and claiming concessions the other side denies.

Meanwhile, a flare-up of fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants threatened the wider truce. Lebanon says five people have people been killed by Israeli strikes over the past two days.

More ships are passing through the strait, but far fewer than before the war

Oil tankers, led by the Stoic Warrior vessel, sailed along the United Arab Emirates and then Oman early Thursday, passing by Oman's Musandam Peninsula fairly close to the shore. The route was laid out by Oman and the International Maritime Organization, a U.N. agency.

North of the route is a corridor in the center of the strait where ships had moved through freely before the war, transporting about a fifth of all the world’s oil and natural gas.

Iran said it mined that passage after the U.S. and Israel attacked it on Feb. 28. At least one mine has been sighted there.

Though some ships had been getting out of the strait, with U.S. military support, the U.N. agency's effort is the latest to free trapped vessels. The shipping company Maersk said its container ship, the Maersk Baltimore, and another chartered vessel made it out on Thursday.

Last week, 125 vessels crossed the strait, up from 33 the week before, according to marine data and analysis firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

According to S&P Global, Wednesday saw 78 transits, the most since the war began, but still below the daily prewar average of 130 or more.

“Opportunistic operators — and there are many of them — emboldened by the lower transit risk, or at least the perceived lower transit risk, have begun chasing the backlog of trapped cargoes,” said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief at Lloyd’s List.

Iran says the new shipping route is ‘unacceptable’

The naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard, apparently reacting to the new shipping route and increased traffic, issued a warning Thursday, carried by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.

It said the new route was established without notice or coordination with Iran, calling it “unacceptable and completely dangerous.”

“The only authorized route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian force said. “Vessel traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited.”

“Violators will be dealt with,” it added, without elaborating.

There were no immediate reports of any incidents in the strait. On Wednesday, the Guard threatened one tanker over the radio, with a soldier warning, “You are in range of my missiles and maybe (I) fire on you,” according to the private security firm Ambrey.

Rubio says the US will ensure there are no tolls on ships

Rubio met with foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to assure them that their interests would be protected in any agreement with Iran.

Those countries, including major energy producers reliant on the strait for exports, came under attack by Iran after the start of the war.

“There is no part in this deal that’s undertaken that in any way undermines the security, the stability or the prosperity of any of our partners in the Gulf region,” Rubio said at the meeting in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

He later told journalists the U.S. and Gulf allies would ensure there would be no fees charged on ships moving through the strait.

He said the U.S. wanted to make sure the Oman route continued for ships to transit the strait. “If that stops, then we’re going to have a problem,” Rubio said.

Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani thanked the U.S. for its support, saying that because of the agreement, “today we see a glimmer of hope for our region” but stressed that it was “critically important that Iran adheres to its obligations.”

Lebanon remains a flashpoint

A lull in fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah that started Sunday began to show cracks after Israel said it targeted Hezbollah militants.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Thursday that three people were killed by an Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has called the recent strikes a ceasefire violation but has not retaliated. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the latest strike, which came as Lebanese and Israeli officials were in Washington discussing a proposed phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.

Israel’s military said Thursday that a reservist soldier was killed and another hurt in southern Lebanon.

Over 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in March, when the Lebanese militant group fired at Israel. At least 37 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel during the fighting.

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Lee reported from Manama, Bahrain. Associated Press writers David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

The justices, in a 6-3 decision, overturned a lower court order blocking the practice that limited the number of people who could apply for asylum each day under the Obama administration and during President Donald Trump’s first term.

Advocates said the tactic created a humanitarian crisis as thousands of people settled in unsafe makeshift shelters to await their turn. The Trump administration said it was necessary to deal with an increase of asylum seekers at the border.

The policy isn’t in place now, though authorities have imposed other restrictions on asylum seekers.

The administration argues that metering is a critical tool that’s been used by presidents of both parties and should stay available. Federal attorneys say people turned away at the border could come back later, though lines were thousands of people long when the policy was in place before.

The case is one of several immigration suits is considering this term, including Trump’s push to end restrict birthright citizenship and his administration’s effort to strip legal temporary protections for migrants fleeing instability and armed conflict.

Under federal law, migrants who arrive in the U.S. must be able to apply for asylum and be screened for fear of persecution in their home countries.

The Justice Department argued that people stopped by authorities haven’t arrived, so immigration agents don’t have to let them apply.

But attorneys for people seeking asylum say the law has long meant anyone arriving at a port of entry should be screened, and blocking arrivals disregards the nation’s ideals.

Metering was first used during President Barack Obama’s administration when large numbers of Haitians appeared at the main crossing to San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico. It was expanded to all border crossings from Mexico during Trump’s first term in the White House.

It ended in 2020 when the government introduced greater restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, and President Joe Biden formally rescinded it in 2021.

The same year, a California-based federal judge found that metering violated the asylum seekers rights and the law requiring screening. A divided appeals court panel affirmed the ruling but nearly half of judges on the full San Francisco-based court voted to rehear it, a strong signal that might have caught the attention of the Supreme Court.

U.S. law allows people seeking refuge to apply for asylum once they are on American soil, regardless of whether they came legally. To qualify for asylum, they must show a fear of persecution in their homeland for specific reasons, like race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.

People who are eventually granted asylum can’t be deported. They can legally work, bring in immediate family, apply for legal residency and seek citizenship.

Van Hollen’s endorsement, shared first with The Associated Press on the day early voting begins in Michigan, makes him the first senator to back El-Sayed since Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed him shortly after he launched his campaign last year. It also comes on the heels of big wins for progressive challengers in New York U.S. House races on Tuesday.

The Aug. 4 race in Michigan has increasingly split Democrats along ideological lines, with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer backing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow drawing support from other prominent senators.

Democrats will need to hold the Michigan seat if they want a shot at winning the majority this year. It opened by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ retirement and former Rep. Mike Rogers has an uncontested path to the Republican nomination.

In an interview with the AP, Van Hollen said he believed El-Sayed was the “strongest” candidate who can win in November, and “the candidate who’s willing to take on the status quo.”

“When I say the status quo, I mean not just the lawless Trump administration, but take on the Democratic establishment that has not fought hard enough for working people," said Van Hollen.

Senate Democrats have split across the field

Schumer last week publicly backed Stevens, a fourth-term congresswoman from suburban Detroit who is seen as the more moderate candidate in the race. She has also been endorsed by other senators from battleground states, including Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, and former Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Stevens has also benefited from heavy outside spending, including nearly $8 million this month from United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

McMorrow, a state senator, has tried to carve out her own lane between Stevens and El-Sayed as an anti-establishment candidate with a reform-focused agenda. She has won endorsements from other senators, including Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, while also drawing millions in outside support.

El-Sayed, the former Wayne County health director, has run furthest to the left on issues including Medicare for All and halting all U.S. weapons transfers to Israel, making him a favorite of the party’s progressive wing. He has campaigned with popular-yet-controversial streamer Hasan Piker, who has millions of followers online but has said things such as that “America deserved 9/11.”

Earlier this month, the United Auto Workers endorsed him, saying its members “want a fighter in Washington, D.C. who isn’t afraid to push forward a strong working-class agenda with moral clarity.”

Van Hollen said he believes El-Sayed is best positioned to compete in a battleground state because he is running on affordability and against what he described as a political system too influenced by wealthy donors and special interests.

“This is not about left versus right. This is about very concentrated economic and political power at the top, and everybody else,” Van Hollen said. “And he’s fighting for everybody else.”

El-Sayed praised Van Hollen after receiving the endorsement, calling it the “culmination of an ongoing conversation” and describing the senator as a “mentor.”

With progressives coming off a string of wins in New York, El-Sayed said the results reflected the same frustrations he has heard from voters across Michigan.

“It’s not surprising to me that candidates who buck that system win,” El-Sayed said. “I really hope that folks in D.C., like Chuck Schumer, decide to pay attention, finally.”

Tensions with Schumer as Democrats debate their future

Asked whether backing El-Sayed amounted to a broader rebuke of Democratic leadership, Van Hollen said the endorsement was “not about personalities” but about backing a candidate who would take on both President Donald Trump and “the establishment Democratic Party” that he said is “too cozy with big money special interests.”

Van Hollen has not called on Schumer to step aside. Asked if he would be interested in leading Democrats in the Senate, Van Hollen told the AP that he has “not thought about doing that.”

But his endorsement lands at a moment of growing friction between Democratic leadership and the party’s left flank over how aggressively to confront Trump and what kind of candidates can win in battleground states.

Those tensions were exacerbated earlier this month in Maine, where Schumer had backed Gov. Janet Mills in the Democratic Senate primary before she suspended her campaign and progressive Graham Platner won the nomination.

Van Hollen has also been among the Senate Democrats urging the party to rethink its approach after the 2024 election. He framed his endorsement of El-Sayed at odds with leadership as a “difference of opinion with respect to which candidates will best connect with voters.”

“I think it's pretty clear that Abdul is the candidate who can build a grassroots movement and others are not," said Van Hollen.

San Antonio Mission Indian Descendants, a nonprofit organization, has launched the “Find Your Roots, Claim Your Story: Descendants Legacy Project.”

The project is an effort designed to help families trace their lineage and learn more about their connections to the people who helped build and sustain the city’s historic site.

For many residents, the San Antonio Missions are among the city’s most recognizable landmarks and a source of pride.

However, organizers say many descendants of the indigenous communities associated with the San Antonio Missions grew up in the city without knowing their own family ties to the historic site.

KSAT talked to Diana Reyes with the San Antonio Mission Indian Descendants during GMSA @ 9 this week about the Descendants Legacy Project, which aims to bridge gaps in historical knowledge by providing research assistance for people interested in exploring their family histories.

As part of the initiative, the nonprofit is partnering with universities in San Antonio and San Marcos to help descendants access genealogical records, historical documents and academic expertise.

Organizers hope these partnerships will make it easier for families to uncover ancestral connections that may have been lost over time.

Reyes is encouraging community members who believe they may have ancestral ties to the San Antonio Missions to participate in the program and learn more about their family heritage.

Additional information about the Descendants Legacy Project, including upcoming events and research opportunities, is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Read also:

• Broadway transformed: A look at new developments, closures reshaping San Antonio corridor

The case came before the justices after a tidal wave of litigation that included some multibillion-dollar verdicts against the global agrochemical manufacturer Bayer, which acquired Roundup when it bought its original manufacturer Monsanto in 2018.

The decision is a victory for the Trump administration, but one that could be tricky politically since allies in the Make America Healthy Again movement want to rein in pesticide use.

The high court, in a 7-2 ruling, found that the company can’t be sued in state courts because federal regulations have found a cancer link unlikely and do not require a warning label.

The decision “is good for science, farmers, and industries that depend on regulatory clarity for innovation,” Bayer said in a statement. “It should help significantly contain the Roundup litigation after nearly a decade of legal battles.”

Though Bayer said the ruling should result in the dismissal of pending lawsuits containing failure-to-warn allegations, the company said it plans to proceed with a proposed $7.25 billion class-action settlement intended to resolve many of the remaining claims.

Lawyers for some residents pursuing Roundup litigation criticized the court's decision.

“This Supreme Court ruling wrongly slams the courthouse door on Americans sickened by pesticides," said attorney Christopher Seeger, who is proposed as a claimants’ representative in the settlement. But he said a settlement still would allow some people to receive compensation.

The case before the Supreme Court was filed by Missouri resident John Durnell. He developed a cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after more than 20 years of serving as the neighborhood association’s “spray guy,” using Roundup on parks in his historic St. Louis community.

A jury agreed that the company failed to warn him about possible cancer dangers and awarded him $1.25 million. It’s one of thousands of similar cases, including some multibillion-dollar damage awards.

There’s still fierce debate about cancer and Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the chemical as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015. The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that it’s not likely to cause cancer in humans when used as directed.

The agency approved a label without a cancer warning, and Bayer argues that it’s required to follow those federal standards — not the state laws that Durnell and others have sued under. The ruling still could allow other suits alleging problems with the way the product was designed, his attorney Ashley Keller has said.

Bayer disputes the cancer claims but previously set aside $16 billion to settle cases, and earlier this year proposed a $7.25 billion class-action settlement. A federal judge recently ruled that the proposed settlement will be heard in a Missouri state court, where many of the lawsuits have been filed. At the same time, the company has tried to persuade states to pass laws shielding it from liability in failure-to-warn lawsuits, and three states have agreed.

About 200,000 Roundup-related claims have been made against Bayer, mostly from home users. It has stopped using glyphosate in Roundup sold in the U.S. residential lawn and garden market.

The company has said it might have to consider pulling glyphosate from U.S. agricultural markets if it keeps getting sued. Agricultural industry group say could have a devastating effect on the food supply.

But pesticides have also created a rift between the Trump administration and members of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s MAHA movement, adding to their frustration with an executive order aimed at boosting glyphosate’s production.

Kennedy himself has said repeatedly that glyphosate causes cancer, even as he says he recognizes the executive order was necessary for food supply and national security reasons.

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Associated Press writer David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Mo., contributed to this report.

The decision, which comes amid a record heat wave in France, fell short of requests from the climate organizations who brought the lawsuit to force the company to reduce its oil and gas production.

The court scheduled a new hearing for January 2027 to consider TotalEnergies’ new assessment under a 2017 law that requires companies to prevent human rights abuses and environmental risks. It is the first time that the so-called corporate duty of vigilance law is being applied to climate change.

The law is not intended to make companies “responsible for the risks linked to climate change, which result from all human activity on the planet since the Industrial Revolution” the court said in a statement, but rather requests them to act “according to their own situation.”

Environmental groups Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, ZEA, France Nature Environnement, together with the city of Paris, launched the proceedings in 2020.

They claim that TotalEnergies is one of the largest historical emitters of greenhouse gas and asked the court to require the company to reduce oil production by 37% and gas production by 25% by 2030. The lawsuit also asked for a halt to all new fossil fuel projects.

The court's decision comes as Europe is in the midst of a brutal heatwave. Punishing temperatures extended to the United Kingdom and Spain, where weather agencies issued red alerts — like France — about the risks of extreme heat for tens of millions of people.

The iconic Eiffel Tower and the Louvre museum have been forced to restrict visiting hours and school and transportation schedules have been interrupted across the continent.

Human-caused climate change is tied to increasingly extreme weather, and U.N. climate agency projections say the next five years are likely to shatter more heat records.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Over the last four years, more than 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes, and most of those deaths were preventable, the World Health Organization’s Europe office said this month.

The decision is the latest in a series of rulings in climate change cases. Last year, the United Nations’ top court, the International Court of Justice, said countries could be in violation of international law if they fail to take measures to protect the planet from climate change. In 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that countries must better protect their people from the consequences of climate change.

In 2019, the Netherlands’ Supreme court handed down the first major legal win for climate activists when judges ruled that protection from the potentially devastating effects of climate change was a human right and that the government has a duty to protect its citizens.

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Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% after erasing an early gain of 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 228 points, or 0.4%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% lower.

Micron Technology helped lead the market after jumping 9.7%. The maker of memory chips for computers reported much stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it gave a stronger growth forecast for the current quarter than Wall Street expected. That helped allay worries a bit that its stock had grown too expensive after coming into the day with a surge of 267% so far this year.

Micron and AI stocks broadly have been under pressure recently because of worries that their profits can’t possibly keep pace with the tremendous rallies for their stock prices. But beyond Micron, Qualcomm said late Thursday that the acceleration of the AI era is forcing it to upgrade forecasts for its own growth in upcoming years.

The chip company said it expects its revenue outside of handsets, including data centers, to hit $40 billion in its fiscal year of 2029, roughly double its prior target. Qualcomm’s stock rose 3.1%.

But all the strong demand for computer memory and storage that's driving producers higher also means higher prices for customers. Apple on Thursday raised prices for many of its products, including increases of 15% to 20% for Mac computers, according to analysts. Its stock fell 4.8%.

The broad U.S. stock market also got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market. They regressed after a report showed inflation is behaving pretty much as economists expected.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, slipped 0.1% to $73.81 and is near its roughly $72 price from just before the war with Iran. It’s come well off its highs above $100 caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of the war, which slowed the global flow of oil.

That jump in oil prices earlier this year sent inflation sharply higher, and a report showed that a measure of inflation hitting U.S. consumers accelerated to 4.1% last month from 3.8% in April. But that wasn’t any worse than economists expected, and the hope is that inflation may ease because of the drop-off in oil prices.

That helped the yield on the 10-year Treasury slip to 4.36% from 4.41% late Wednesday and from 4.56% earlier this month.

High yields in bond markets worldwide caused by worries about inflation are threatening to slow economies, and they have already sent rates higher for mortgages and other kinds of loans. High yields also hurt prices for investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive. That raises the pressure on AI winners.

In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 5.4% after its own AI winners shot higher, including a 13.1% surge for SK Hynix.

Other markets also rallied, including gains of 4.6% for Japan’s Nikkei 225 and 0.6% for the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100. A 1.4% drop for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was an outlier.

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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Thursday, the largest annual increase since April 2023. On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.4% last month, matching April’s increase and down from 0.7% in March.

The increase was largely driven by more expensive gas, as well as pricier semiconductors and other computer equipment that are in high demand for the AI buildout. Rising prices have caused the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve to keep their key rate unchanged this year, a reversal from January when they had penciled in two cuts. Some economists forecast the central bank could lift rates this year instead.

“Underyling inflation is closer to 3% rather than 2%,” said Mark Vitner, chief economist at Piedmont Crescent Capital. "It does suggest to me that the next Fed move, whenever it comes, is more likely to be a hike than a cut.” The Fed probably won't raise rates until next year, he added.

Oil and gas prices have fallen substantially since Trump agreed to a peace deal with Iran earlier this month, but the conflict lifted gas prices to nearly $4.50 a gallon on average nationwide in May. They have since fallen back to $3.92 as of Thursday, according to AAA, but that's more than 20% above prices at this time last year as the driving season gets underway.

Declining gas prices will likely pull down headline inflation next month, yet measures of underlying inflation remain stubbornly elevated and will be a concern for the Fed. Excluding the volatile energy and food categories, core prices rose 3.4% in May compared with a year earlier, up from 3.3% in April and the largest increase since October 2023. On a monthly basis, they rose 0.3% from April to May, the same as the previous month.

Higher gas prices aren't the only thing worsening inflation. The AI buildout has made computer components more expensive, and Apple announced last week that it would raise prices for its computers and iPads because of the higher costs. Services prices also rose sharply last month, lifted by more expensive restaurant meals, hotel rooms, auto repairs, and health care.

At the same time, consumers appear willing to keep spending and boost the economy. Adjusted for inflation, spending rose 0.3% from April to May. And inflation-adjusted incomes rose for the first time in four months, picking up 0.3%, which could bolster consumer spending in coming months.

A separate report Thursday showed that the economy expanded at a 2.1% annual rate in the first three months of the year, an upgrade from a previous estimate of 1.6%. And the number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week, a sign that layoffs remain low.

New Fed chair Kevin Warsh last week underscored the central bank’s determination to drive inflation back to its 2% target, but he gave no sign of what steps the Fed might take. Some economists, however, now expect the central bank to increase rates this year. Those expectations upended U.S. markets this week, hammering fast-growing sectors like tech.

Inflation has been above the Fed’s 2% target for more than five years, leaving many Americans more gloomy about the future. Vitner points out that inflation hadn't topped 2.5% for nearly a decade before the pandemic, likely making the inflation spikes since then even harder to accept for most households.

Thursday’s report covers the personal consumption expenditures price index, a lesser-known measure compared to the consumer price index, which was released earlier this month and showed a similarly large increase. The Fed prefers the PCE index because it puts less weight on housing and also reflects changes in how Americans shop when prices rise, such as when consumers buy cheaper off-brand items.

The new inflation data arrives a day after Trump refused to sign housing legislation, approved by Congress, that is intended to spur more construction and lower home prices over time, a response to Americans' concerns about rising costs.

Trump responded to the CPI report earlier this month by saying he “loved the inflation.” He has previously dismissed Democrats’ focus on “affordability” as a “hoax.”

Inflation jumped to 9.1% under former President Joe Biden, but even as it fell back closer to 2% in 2024, voters remained angry about the cumulative rise in the cost of groceries, rent, and other necessities.

The PCE price index was last below 2.5% in April 2025, when Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs. Inflation then climbed steadily to 2.9% just before the Iran war.

For the past four years, Windcrest has been recruiting new tenants and developments to help offset that loss.

Mario Hernandez, the executive director of the Windcrest Economic Development Corp., said the city has not yet determined exactly how much of the gap has been closed, but sales revenue is trending about 10% higher than last year.

“To lose a million dollars is very significant,” Hernandez shared.

One of the most significant projects in the works is at the former Builders Mark site, which has sat vacant for years.

Hernandez told KSAT that a developer has plans to build two national restaurant chains.

The companies have not yet been publicly named, but Hernandez said developers are investing nearly $10 million into the project, with an opening date in early 2028.

The restaurant development is one of several projects Windcrest has been pursuing as it looks to grow its tax base. The city has also announced three other businesses that are expected to open soon.

Within the past year, Windcrest has already welcomed four new food spots and a fitness center. Hernandez said that level of development is notable for a city of Windcrest’s size.

“Doesn’t sound like a lot, but this is a community of two-and-a-half square miles and 5,800 people,” Hernandez explained.

Still, not all residents are convinced the city is bringing in the types of businesses they need most.

One woman, who spoke off camera, said she would like to see more retail options, especially for older residents who cannot easily travel elsewhere to shop for clothes.

On June 17, the city’s EDC announced on Facebook that a Marshall’s will be moving in, next to the Sketchers off Interstate on Fourwinds Drive.

Resident Rey Valdez said he wants to see more businesses that support the surrounding neighborhood.

“Our neighborhood around here is not, how do you say it? I don’t want to say dying. It’s just not making it around here,” Valdez said. “There’s nothing supporting in the neighborhood.”

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The growth in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — marked a rebound from a sluggish 0.5% in the last three months of 2025 when a 43-day federal government shutdown weighed on the economy. Thursday’s numbers were an upgrade from of Commerce’s previous first-quarter estimate of 1.6% growth.

Business investment surged, probably reflecting an investment boom in artificial intelligence. But consumer spending, which accounts for around 70% of U.S. economic activity, fell sharply from fourth-quarter 2025 and from Commerce’s previous estimate in a sign that consumers may be cutting back in the face of higher gasoline prices caused by the war with Iran.

“It was unsettling to see consumer spending revised even lower,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said in a commentary. "Spending is likely to tick up in (the second quarter), but it’s worth watching carefully... It’s been a tough few months for American consumers, but most have been able to make it through. The question is how much relief is coming” as the U.S. and Iran continue talks toward a resolution of the conflict.

Excluding housing, private investment jumped 10.6%, up from 2.4% in fourth-quarter 2025. In a sign of the AI boom, investment in information-processing equipment jumped at a 39.9% pace as companies scrambled to outfit their data centers. But Michael Reid, head of U.S. economics at RBC Capital Markets, said before Thursday’s report came out that “unfortunately, it’s not a sustainable path.’’ He expects data center investment to lose momentum going forward.

Residential investment, weighed down by high interest rates, dropped 7.8% from January through March, biggest fall since late 2022 and the fifth straight quarterly decline.

The federal government's spending and investment rose at a 9.4% clip in the first quarter after dropping 16.6% in October-December 2025 largely because of the government shutdown.

Imports, which are subtracted from GDP, grew at a slower pace than last estimated from January through March. They still subtracted 1.49 percentage points from first-quarter growth, but that was down from a 2.59 percentage-point hit in the previous estimate and was a major factor in Thursday's upgrade.

The U.S. economy — the world’s biggest — has continued to chug along despite the Iran energy shock. The American job market has proven especially resilient. Employers added an average 188,000 jobs a month from March through May after adding fewer than 10,000 a month in 2025 amid uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade and immigration policies.

Thursday’s report was the Commerce Department’s third and final estimate of first-quarter GDP growth. The first look at second-quarter economic growth is due July 30.

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits in the week ending June 20 fell by 12,000 to 215,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 225,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Weekly 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.

Despite concerns that the war in Iran would trip up an already wobbly labor market, hiring has picked up in recent months following a miserable 2025 that saw fewer than 200,000 job gains. For comparison, about 1.5 million jobs were added in 2024.

U.S. employers delivered a surprising 172,000 new jobs in May and the economy is averaging 188,000 job gains in the three months since the Iran war began in late February. That’s the best three months of hiring since early 2024. The unemployment rate remains historically low at 4.3%.

The government issues its June jobs report next week.

Job openings also rose in April as employers posted 7.6 million vacancies, up from 6.9 million in March and the most since May 2024.

The government also reported Thursday that the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose to a new three-year high in May as gas prices peaked due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s southern border, where one-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes every day.

Consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, the largest annual increase since April 2023, largely driven by more expensive gas. While energy prices have fallen considerably from their peak during the Middle East conflict, those higher prices put the squeeze on consumers’ budgets for months and may have made businesses more reluctant to hire.

Last week, Iran and the U.S. agreed to a deal to end the war and allow Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and sell its oil without restrictions.

With inflation still well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, officials at the U.S. central bank left the benchmark interest rate at its most recent meeting last week.

Lower interest rates can boost the economy and hiring, but also tend to stoke inflation, leading a number of Fed policymakers to say they are actually willing to consider at least one interest rate hike this year. That could potentially help bring inflation down, but higher borrowing costs generally make businesses more reluctant to hire.

The Federal Reserve has signaled that it could raise interest rates at least once before the end of the year. Wall Street sees an 85% chance that the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate this year, according to date from CME Group.

Optimism over artificial intelligence has also injected a degree of uncertainty about the job market due to the investment required to develop it and because the powerful technology could alter or even replace some jobs.

Among the companies that have cut jobs recently are Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.

Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

Thursday's report showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 750 to 224,250.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending June 13 increased by 21,000 to 1.82 million.

Trump harangued GOP senators face to face earlier in the day for allowing a vote to block his war in Iran on Tuesday, further escalating a feud that has diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year affordability issues and brought much of the chamber’s business to a halt. He exchanged particularly harsh words with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of four Republicans who had voted with Democrats on the measure.

Hours later, though, Cassidy was invited to receive a personal briefing on the war at the White House from Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff. Cassidy then returned to the Capitol to vote against a separate but nearly identical war powers resolution.

“I want to thank Vice President Vance and Special Envoy Witkoff for the thorough briefing this afternoon on Iran. I appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns,” said Cassidy, who lost reelection last month after Trump endorsed his opponent, in a post on X.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who has repeatedly voted with Democrats to halt the war, voted present this time “to give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace,” he said on X. The measure failed 47-50-1 just before midnight on Wednesday, and the Senate then left town for a two-week recess.

It's unclear whether the move will be enough to appease Trump, who had called the Republicans “losers" for voting against his war and had called Cassidy a “lunatic” at the lunch after their tense exchange. But the vote was a clear signal to the president from Republican senators who still want to placate him, despite increasing tensions in recent weeks and his decision Wednesday morning to reverse himself and delay signing a housing bill that received overwhelming bipartisan support.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and a small group of his Senate GOP colleagues called Trump after the vote. Thune told reporters that the president was “pleased with the outcome."

Trump later thanked Thune in a social media post and noted that Cassidy and Paul had switched their votes. “This vote puts Iran on notice!” he wrote.

The war powers measure blocked by the Senate on Wednesday was on a separate track from the nearly identical resolution adopted on Tuesday, which had also been passed by the House. Both votes were largely symbolic, and the measures do not carry the full force of law.

Cassidy had sharp words for Trump

Invited by Florida Sen. Rick Scott to speak at a GOP luncheon in the Capitol, Trump had signaled ahead of time that he would use the closed-door meeting to push senators to pass his proof-of-citizenship voting bill. But the conversation was more focused on Tuesday’s vote on war powers.

Most Republicans stayed quiet. But Cassidy stood up and defended his vote.

“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on,’” Cassidy told reporters after the meeting. “This was supposed to last four weeks, it’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved.”

The two men “went back and forth,” Cassidy said, and he “matched his tone and volume." Cassidy said that he eventually de-escalated, but he did not want to be bullied.

“I am voting for war powers until I get a briefing,” he said afterward.

Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down, according to a person familiar with the private meeting who was not authorized to discuss it. At one point, the president called the senator a “lunatic."

Publicly, Trump said afterward that they had “a really great meeting." But he hinted at the discord.

“We like everyone in the room," Trump told reporters on his way out. "I don’t like a few people, but that’s OK.”

The luncheon capped weeks of friction between Trump and Senate Republicans and added a new layer of frustration as Tuesday's vote was the first time the Senate had adopted a war powers resolution on the Iran war. Trump made clear he was in no mood to compromise before it even started, calling off a scheduled signing ceremony on a housing bill that passed both chambers overwhelmingly this week and that GOP lawmakers were touting as an election-year achievement.

Trump reverses on housing bill

Republican senators were eager for a conciliatory meeting with the president after escalating tensions in recent weeks. But Trump upended their plans when he declared on social media just beforehand that he wouldn't sign the legislation until they send him the SAVE America Act, his bill to require proof of citizenship for all voters.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he doesn't know why Trump is holding the housing bill “hostage” for the voting bill that “will never pass in this Congress.”

“It makes no sense to me,” Tillis said as he walked into the luncheon.

Thune said the housing legislation, which aims to lower costs, is “an affordability issue,” and that ”eventually I hope he finds a way to sign it.”

It's unclear if Trump might veto the legislation or if the late Wednesday night vote will change his outlook. But by rejecting a public bill signing, Republicans worry that Trump is indicating a level of indifference to voters’ affordability concerns heading into November’s midterm elections.

Trump and Senate Republicans have been at odds

Trump's move on the housing bill is his latest reversal after weeks of being at odds with Senate Republicans.

Trump has blocked the Senate from confirming one of his own nominees, asked them to fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition and forced them to defend the Iran war even as they question the strategy and endgame.

Trump has also helped whittle down his own support in the Senate after endorsing primary challengers to two GOP incumbents who were previously reliable votes for his agenda — Cassidy and Texas Sen. John Cornyn. Both men have become more critical of Trump since losing reelection.

“If we’re going to win the midterm elections, we need to get on the same page,” Cornyn said ahead of the meeting. “We’re not on the same page now, and that I think is dangerous.”

Trump pushes Thune on SAVE America Act

Trump has pressed Republicans for months to kill the Senate filibuster and focus on the proof-of-citizenship voting bill, even though Thune has repeatedly told him that neither has the votes.

While Thune remains popular in his conference and cordial with the president, he has spent much of his time lately telling Trump what he doesn’t want to hear. Thune said Tuesday that while Trump and some in their conference want to see the voting bill pass, “it’s just not realistic.”

Thune devoted weeks of floor time to the voting bill earlier this year and has said he supports it. But he has repeatedly said there aren’t enough votes to scrap the filibuster that triggers a 60-vote threshold to pass most bills in the 53-47 Senate. And Democrats are uniformly opposed to the bill.

“I think people at some point have to come to grips with that,” Thune said.

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Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

The new requirement takes effect Nov. 1. It applies to gasoline-powered vehicles that are between 2 and 24 years old. Diesel and electric vehicles are exempt.

The Official Inspection Station/Texas Tag and Title office is holding a free pre-screening event from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at 10480 Culebra Road, located near Loop 1604 on the far West Side.

The pre-screening can tell drivers whether their vehicle will pass or fail the actual emissions test. It may also help identify why a vehicle failed, giving owners time to make repairs before the requirement begins.

Once the law takes effect, the emissions test is expected to cost about $26. Vehicles that fall under the requirement must pass the inspection to register with the state.

Charissa Barnes, owner of the Official Inspection Station, said earlier this year that she is concerned many Bexar County residents who drive older vehicles may need time to fix problems before the deadline.

“Oh, absolutely,” Barnes said when asked whether some groups may have more difficulty than others. “And even different communities across Bexar County. So we expect to see a higher failure rate in Bexar County, first of all, and in other subparts of subcommunities of Bexar County as well.”

The emissions testing requirement comes as Bexar County remains out of compliance with the federal Clean Air Act.

Other major Texas metro areas, including Dallas and Houston, have required emissions testing for years.

Drivers can call the Official Inspection Station at 210-698-1000 for information about future pre-screening events.

Now, they're going on public display for the first time after a nonprofit organization paid a whopping sum of more than $7 million for the sketches after they ended up on an auction block following a family dispute over their ownership.

The four 1940s-era sketches titled “So You Want to See the President!” show people from all walks of life waiting to see President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. They depict U.S. senators, members of the military, the press and even a Miss America biding their time in the West Wing reception area, as they wait to be shown to the Oval Office.

The White House Historical Association spared no expense for the sketches to prevent them from being “lost forever,” such as to a private art collection, its president Stewart McLaurin told The Associated Press. The public will be able to see them through June 2027 at the historical association’s “The People’s House” education center near the White House, he said.

“And since they had been seen by the eyes of so many presidents and first ladies and senior White House staff and important visitors from around the world, we wanted the American people to see them," McLaurin said. “So we acquired them.”

The sketches had been put up for sale by a grandson of the White House official who received them as a gift from Rockwell.

Rockwell is famous for his scenes of American life

Rockwell, who became famous for his illustrations of everyday American life that graced covers of the Saturday Evening Post, spent hours at the White House people-watching from a chair in the West Wing lobby, McLaurin said.

But after his sketches were consumed by a fire that destroyed Rockwell's art studio in Vermont, he went back to the White House to collect more material.

“So it's really a combination of his memories from that first visit, the memories of the second visit,” McLaurin said. “And it is an array of these people representing the military and White House staff and members of Congress and the press corps and all kinds of people that literally, to this day, go through that space in the West Wing.”

The first of Rockwell's colorful sketches opens with scenes of the entrance gate, photographers waiting outside the White House entrance on West Executive Avenue and Stephen Early, a former AP journalist who became the third White House press secretary under Roosevelt, in a huddle with a group of journalists. Seated on red leather chairs and reading papers are members of the press and Rockwell, with a pipe in his mouth and legs outstretched.

The next scene shows Miss America — identified as Rosemary LaPlanche, the 1941 titleholder — in a yellow dress and her sash, sitting on a red sofa alongside her publicity man. A kilt-wearing Scottish officer also sits nearby as a Secret Service agent hovers.

U.S. Sens. Tom Connally, D-Texas, and Warren Austin, R-Vt., face each other in conversation as they sit on a red couch in the third sketch while a U.S. Navy “WAVES” officer looks on from a nearby chair. Gens. Joseph W. “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell and Edwin M. “Pa” Watson shake hands while being photographed, and an aide pushing Roosevelt's lunch cart is chased by Fala, the president's dog.

The final sketch shows more uniformed U.S military members huddled in conversation and, finally, an aide opening the door to the Oval Office, where the president is glimpsed.

“It's such a little aquarium of these people and we're like a fly on the wall as to what it was like at that particular period of time,” McLaurin said of the sketches.

They were a gift for Roosevelt's press secretary

Rockwell made the sketches for Early and gave them to him after they appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in November 1943, during World War II, McLaurin said.

Early, who died in 1951, had displayed them on the wall in his West Wing office and then kept them for many years after. In 1978, a family member turned the sketches over to the White House, where they were on display throughout the West Wing for more than four decades, sometimes in a hallway between the press offices that are mere steps from the Oval Office.

The family’s ownership dispute began in 2017 when Thomas Early, one of the press secretary’s sons, saw them on a wall in the White House while watching a television interview with President Donald Trump, according to court records.

William Elam III, a grandson of Stephen Early, said his mother received the drawings as a gift from her father, the press secretary, before he died, and that ownership had later passed to him.

The illustrations had gone to the White House in 1978 under an agreement that required they be returned to Elam upon request. The White House gave back the drawings in 2022.

A federal appeals court settled the dispute in May 2025, upholding a lower-court ruling in favor of Elam, according to court records. Elam put them up for sale.

Association says the sketches are ‘priceless’

Historians at the association have researched the people in the drawings to learn their stories, McLaurin said, and the exhibit will include a digital component that uses modern technology to bring the characters in the sketches to life.

The association is still figuring out what happens to the sketches after the exhibit ends in June 2027. They may be shown in other venues, and may eventually end up back in the White House, McLaurin said.

When the association learned the sketches were for sale, “our board affirmed that this is an acquisition that we should make,” he said.

McLaurin said the privately funded association, which was founded in 1961 by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and receives no taxpayer dollars, had feared the sketches would sell for even more than the $7.25 million it paid for them. That is the most the association has ever paid for a work of art for the vast collection it holds as part of its mission to help the White House collect and display artifacts that represent American history and culture.

“In our view, these are priceless works,” McLaurin said.

At least 275 influenza cases have been confirmed amid the outbreak, according to Castro.

KSAT reported last Thursday that there were more than 150 military recruits who tested positive for the flu. The total has increased by nearly 73%.

“Over the last three weeks, the 37th Training Wing, in close coordination with the 59th Medical Wing, has been managing a localized influenza outbreak among trainees at Basic Military Training,” an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement to KSAT last week.

In April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made vaccinations optional for all U.S. military personnel — both active duty and reserve. Previously, the vaccine had been mandatory.

Since the outbreak, the services have already been given exceptions to Hegseth’s policy, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, ABC News reported. As part of those exceptions to the policy, the Army, Navy and Air Force are once again requiring flu shots for basic trainees, according to officials.

“The Department remains committed to the health and readiness of our warfighters and civilian personnel,” JBSA’s statement to KSAT said.

As of Tuesday, four people had been hospitalized, ABC News reported.

According to CNN, the vaccine mandate for Air Force recruits was restored on June 11, and within weeks, unvaccinated trainees at JBSA-Lackland received the flu shot.

KSAT has reached out to JBSA-Lackland for additional information regarding their vaccination policy.

Read also:

• 150+ recruits test positive for influenza as outbreak hits JBSA-Lackland, reports say
• San Antonio nonprofit provides groceries, community to older adults in isolation

Ashoura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in A.D. 680 Imam Hussein was killed with his family and companions after refusing to pledge allegiance to the Umayyad caliphate.

The event cemented the schism between Sunni and Shiite Islam and remains a powerful symbol of resistance against oppression and injustice.

The holiest day in the Shiite calendar

This year, Ashoura comes after months of war in Iran and Lebanon, homes to two of the world’s largest Shiite populations. Iran and the U.S. this week launched talks aimed at finalizing a fragile ceasefire agreement.

On the first day of the war, on Feb. 28, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The 86-year-old Khamenei was not just Iran’s top political leader. He also had a final say on all religious matters and was revered by millions of Shiites worldwide. Ashoura comes just days before his funeral procession.

The war also spilled over into Lebanon, where Iran’s key ally, the Hezbollah militant group, has been battling Israeli troops for months.

Hezbollah entered the fighting days into the war by firing rockets into northern Israel in solidarity with Tehran. That sparked widespread Israeli aerial bombardment and a ground invasion that decimated large swaths of predominantly Shiite areas in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Ashoura comes as many of the more than one million displaced Lebanese people are trying to return to their villages in southern Lebanon. Cities and towns had held sermons and events in the buildup to the holy day surrounded by buildings reduced to rubble and ruins.

Ashoura is the holiest day in the Shiite calendar, marked by traditional mourning rituals that include chest-beating, elegies and lamentations. It is held on the 10th day of the month of Muharram.

Visitors arrive at Imam Hussein's shrine

In Karbala, the southern Iraqi city holy to Shiite Muslims, security was tightened as visitors arrived. Religious banners flew from the walls of Imam Hussein’s golden-domed shrine and actors played out scenes from the 7th century.

“We see all kinds of people here and they don’t lack food, drinks or services, thanks to God, despite the massive gathering,” Redha Nouri, who traveled from Ahwaz in Iran, said. “There will be more crowds coming tomorrow, but the Iraqi people are here and will serve them.”

Mourners observe the holy day in Iran

In war-stricken Iran, black-clad mourners filled streets, mosques and neighborhood religious halls across Tehran for a public holiday that brought much of the capital to a halt.

Shops were shuttered in many areas as processions of men beating their chests marched past and loudspeakers played elegies. Volunteers handed out tea and dates.

The previous evening mourners had gathering at the shrine of Imam Ruhollah Khomeini south of Tehran in a ceremony attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian and other officials, Iranian state media reported. Khomeini led the 1979 revolution that ushered in Iran’s Islamic republic.

In a social media post laden with an apparent message of resistance to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, Pezeshkian noted how Hussein taught people to stand against oppression, the temptation of power and the pursuit of self-interest.

“We should neither oppress, nor accept oppression, nor remain silent before it,” he wrote.

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, Gen. Esmail Ghaani, invoked the “spirit of Ashoura” in warning Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon or face defeat.

The annual ceremonies came as Iran’s leadership continues to draw on Ashoura’s language of sacrifice and resistance at a time of deep political and economic pressure.

The faithful in Lebanon attend sermons and visit graves

Families in the Lebanese coastal city of Tyre who lost relatives fighting with Hezbollah or working as paramedics wept during a sermon on the third day of Muharram. A cleric, who sat between portraits of current Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Kassem, compared the struggles the modern-day leaders faced in the war to that of Hussein and his companions in Karbala.

Banners in red and black bearing Hussein’s name were hung on every street.

In Beirut’s southern suburbs, many flocked to the grave of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024.

Security is raised in Pakistan to protect the Shiite minority

Elsewhere, Pakistan deployed thousands of police and paramilitary personnel across the country following intelligence reports warning of possible militant attacks on Shiite Muslims, a minority in the predominantly Sunni country.

Although most Sunnis and Shiites live peacefully alongside one another, militant groups have repeatedly targeted Shiite communities, mosques, and religious gatherings in sectarian attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives.

As members of Pakistan’s Shiite minority prepare to take part in mourning processions, mobile phone service in some areas is expected to be suspended temporarily to help prevent attacks.

“Imam Hussein is a symbol of the highest struggle and sacrifice,” said Saadia Shah, 33, as she entered a congregation hall in the eastern city of Lahore with her two children. “His name gives us the courage to stand up to tyranny, to say what is right and oppose what is wrong.”

___

Associated Press journalists Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Ali Sadiq in Karbala, Iraq, contributed to this report.

Thursday, June 25

All southbound main lanes of Interstate 35 near downtown — including the access ramp — are closed after a crash early Thursday morning, according to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

TxDOT said the closure is impacting the area near St. Mary’s Street and Flores Street.

As of now, TxDOT has not provided an estimate for when the lanes will reopen.

KSAT has reached out to San Antonio police to confirm details about the crash.

For more information on traffic, you can click here to view our traffic page on KSAT.com. To view more on the current weather conditions, click here.

Click the links below for current road closures.

• San Antonio road closures
• Bexar County road closures
• TxDOT highway conditions

Rabbis and Jewish leaders, however, criticized the biblical passages chosen by the State Board of Education as heavy on Christianity and dismissive of Judaism, reducing the term Judeo-Christian to “a fig leaf at inclusion.”

The State Board of Education kicked off a week of meetings Monday by hearing from more than 400 experts, teachers and concerned citizens on two proposals — one that would overhaul the state’s social studies curriculum, and another that would create a required reading list for K-12 public schoolchildren. Both proposals include biblical references, passages and stories. A final vote is expected by Friday.

Many of the speakers who praised the proposed reading list said it was important to teach children about Judeo-Christian heritage and values.

“Don’t lie about where we came from as Americans,” witness Richard Green said. “It was the Judeo-Christian value system that produced the greatest, most powerful, the wealthiest, most free, the most benevolent nation in the history of the world.”

Larry Holland with the conservative grassroots group Citizens for Education Reform endorsed the reading list because it was aligned with “a nation founded on the principles of Judeo-Christian heritage.”

Several rabbis and Jewish individuals rejected the use of “Judeo-Christian” to support the list.

“One would think that this phrase is meant to evoke friendship between the two faiths, but I do not find that here — or in the language surrounding support for this list,” said Blake Ziegler, a Texas field organizer for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Cameron Samuels, executive director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, which works to include young people in state policy decisions, objected to using “Judeo-Christian” to characterize Texas values.

“Not in my Jewish faith shall you mandate entire chapters of the Bible for over five and a half million students in Texas and proclaim that this speaks for Jewish people,” Samuels said.

“A Fig Leaf at Inclusion”

The term Judeo-Christian was popularized during the Cold War — a conflict frequently characterized as a spiritual battle between those of faith and “godless” enemies abroad, said Robert O. Smith, associate professor at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

In the United States, the term united Protestants, Catholics and Jews under a banner of shared religious origins that excluded Muslims, he said.

“The Protestant, Catholic, Jew construct” of the Judeo-Christian ethos is based on the “rejection of the atheist and the rejection of the Muslim,” Smith said in an interview.

Though Judaism is embedded in the phrase, the partnership has not been equal, Smith added. The term Judeo-Christian “implies a Christian construction of Jewish existence” in which “Jews exist inherently to fulfill Christian purposes,” he said.

“Christianity, from its very beginnings, has had a very ambivalent relationship with Jews and Judaism,” Smith said. “There’s a desire for Jews to convert — and therefore for Judaism to disappear into Christianity — but there’s also a recognition that Judaism is the foundation of Christianity.”

For many of the Jewish leaders who testified before the State Board of Education, the required readings signified the contradictions behind the term Judeo-Christian.

Of the roughly dozen scriptural passages included in the reading list, many were taken from the Hebrew Bible — the shared text between Jews and Christians — but most of the excerpts are from distinctly Christian translations.

Ziegler and Houston Rabbi David Segal criticized the reading list’s inclusion of Lamentations Chapter 3, the only biblical passage taken from the Tanakh, the Jewish translation of the Hebrew Bible. The Texas curriculum requires using a translation produced in 1917 by the Jewish Publication Society, and many contemporary Jewish communities no longer use it.

Ziegler told the education board that the translation was outdated and said he was concerned that the passage’s “graphic violence isn’t appropriate for eighth grade.”

Lamentations 3 details the physical, mental and spiritual effects of God’s wrath on those who stray from him.

Ziegler also criticized placing Lamentations 3 alongside Holocaust literature, like Elie Wiesel’s “Night,” in the curriculum.

“Lamentations understands the destruction of the ancient temple in Jerusalem as God’s punishment for the Israelites’ sins,” he said. “When it’s taught alongside Holocaust literature — suggesting that was similarly a divine punishment for Jews — that is an unacceptable implication that invites antisemitism and hurts Jews across the state.”

Segal agreed. “Of course, [the translation] is outdated, but worse, you’ve anchored it to Holocaust literature, which invites eighth graders to consider whether the Holocaust was God’s punishment for the Jews,” he told the board.

“I assume this poor choice comes from ignorance, not intent, but either way it’s unacceptable, as is the proposed list as a whole, which I ask you to reject and start over,” Segal said.

Joshua Fixler, rabbi at Houston’s Congregation Emanu El and a member of the Religious Action Center, said the curriculum’s near-exclusive use of Christian interpretations and scriptures will result in the “further alienation of non-Christian students.”

Speaking after his testimony, Fixler said he is almost always troubled by invocations of “Judeo-Christian,” which to him “make actions that Christians are doing seem more inclusive by including Jews in the phrase.”

“It feels like a fig leaf at inclusion,” Fixler said. “They’re promoting a particular version of Protestant Christianity in our public schools and trying to use Jews as cover by using the term Judeo-Christian.”

“Pride in our moral, cultural and civic traditions”

Several speakers told the education board that the proposed reading list honored the nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage and values.

Susan Perez of Citizens for Education Reform said the “nation was founded on Judeo-Christian values,” adding that aspects of the American judicial system “were set up under Moses in the Bible.”

Kason Huddleston, a pastor from Rockwall, said the reading list would create “strong readers … who love America and understand our Constitution and the Judeo-Christian foundations.”

“We do not need to emphasize other cultures like Islam,” Patricia Franklin of Lubbock told the board of education. Focusing instead on Judeo-Christian ideas “will foster our students’ understanding and pride in our moral, cultural and civic traditions,” she said.

Laurie Cardoza Moore, the evangelical Christian founder of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, a group that mobilizes support for Israel, emphasized Judaism’s impact on Western civilization.

“For more than two decades, PJTN has warned that anti-Israel propaganda and historical revisionism and ideological activism are entering classrooms,” she said.

“Students are being exposed to narratives that minimize the Jewish roots of Western civilization, distort the history of Israel, ignore the contributions of the Jewish people to America’s founding,” she said.

The Judeo-Christian Caucus says it unites pastors, legislators and citizens to “uphold and promote our Judeo-Christian heritage.” Contacted by email, Dran Reese, president of the group, said the term “Judeo-Christian” recognizes Christianity’s heritage “and affirms the timeless moral and ethical principles shared by both Jews and Christians.” The group was not present at the hearing.

“United by these common values,” Reese said, the caucus seeks “to strengthen faith, family, freedom, and the biblical foundations that have blessed our nation and civilization.”

Fixler, the rabbi from Houston, has a different perspective. Though Jewish people were in the United States at its founding, he said, “we were not the founding fathers.” Using “Judeo-Christian” to describe the nation’s origin is “a prime example” of how the term rewrites the Jewish experience, he said in an interview.

The founding fathers were a “group of men representing a variety of religious beliefs” who built “the world’s first government that was explicitly not rooted in religion,” he said.

Fixler wore a tie depicting the Constitution when he testified before the education board — a choice he later said reflected his concern that the “sacred principles of the United States Constitution and our secular democracy were under threat.”

“The reading list and the social studies standards are part of a concerted effort to chip away at the wall of separation between church and state, which has been so important to people of all faiths in America for its 250-year history,” he said.

For Fixler, there is “a big difference between teaching about religion and teaching religion.” In his view, the list accomplishes the latter, and he would rather the vast majority of scriptural references be eliminated.

The Jewish Federations of Texas and Shalom Austin recommend using the 1985 Jewish Publication Society translation for passages from the Hebrew Bible, as well as additional representations of the Jewish experience beyond Holocaust literature.

Segal is similarly open to including some scriptural passages on the reading list.

“I do think it should be taught” to foster religious literacy, Segal said in an interview. But he said Jewish texts should not be taught “through a Christian lens” or be insensitively paired with Holocaust literature.

Ziegler said if lessons include religious texts, “they should reflect the diversity of our society.”

“The First Amendment does not permit the state to anoint one religious tradition above others. Texas students deserve an education that broadens their understanding of the world’s religious traditions, rather than narrowing it,” he said.

This story is published through a collaboration between The Texas Tribune and Religion News Service.

LUBBOCK — The New World screwworm has entered the country, and if history is any indication, the parasite’s devastating effects on the U.S. could last for decades.

The screwworm re-emerged following years of warnings from Central America and Mexico officials of the impending outbreak. Then last year, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cut funds for screwworm monitoring in Central America.

Government officials continue to work to pinpoint how screwworm entered the U.S. while cases continue to creep up.

While the financial impact of this modern-day outbreak is still unknown, the USDA estimates the industry saved more than $900 million a year as a result of eradication in the past.

Unlike the first outbreak, however, there is now a playbook on how to eradicate the pests.

Edward F. Knipling, one of the lead entomologists who worked on eradication, said the only way to deal with major insect outbreaks is with large-scale responses. Historical documents from the National Agricultural Library show the nearly 60-year battle with the screwworm and the solution that could’ve helped sooner.

“I thought what we really need is some way to control the screwworms before they attack the animals, rather than just wait until after the animals had the screwworm, then try to control it,” said Knipling in a 2000 interview. “I realized you would never truly control the screwworm that way. What we needed was a preventative measure.”

Knipling, who was born and raised in Texas, theorized that the real solution was to reduce or eliminate the screwworm altogether. Long before Knipling’s theory, however, the public was only beginning to learn about the screwworm. After initially confusing the screwworm with a species of blowflies, researchers were able to start studying the parasite in 1933. By then, the screwworm had already spread in the U.S., from the Southwest to Southeast through a shipment of infested animals.

The pest left deadly consequences in its wake — in 1935, 180,000 livestock deaths from the screwworm were reported in under half of Texas’ counties.

In a 1946 letter, Knipling suggested that they bring geneticists in to help eradicate the screwworm — decades before the worst of the outbreaks. Knipling’s idea was about the possibility of creating a mutation to produce sterile, but otherwise healthy, screwworm flies. His idea was not pursued.

While working at a research facility in Menard, Knipling helped develop Smear 62, a thin paste with an active poison that could be applied to wet and dry wounds. One dose of the treatment would kill all screwworms in a wound up to the size of half a dollar. It would also protect against reinfestation until the wound healed.

In a report by the USDA Agricultural Research Administration, scientists wrote: “Fortunately, it is not a repellent to adult flies. Flies therefore continue to lay their eggs on treated wounds, and the larvae die as soon as hatched.”

Then, while Knipling was researching how to control insects that threatened servicemen and women during World War II, he thought of using sterile flies to stop the screwworm. He wrote to Emory Cushing, his supervisor at the time, about the idea. Thirty years later, Knipling discovered Cushing never sent the letter, and all copies were destroyed except for one.

Even though his idea was ignored, Raymond Bushland, another scientist, was also working on a way to sterilize flies. Bushland raised the flies with a special diet and sterilized them with X-ray radiation. Together, Bushland and Knipling developed the Sterile Insect Technique.

As director of the Kerrville lab, Bushland ordered the release of sterile flies on Sanibel Island in 1951. Radiation proved to be an effective way to sterilize the flies, and by 1953, scientists were cautiously optimistic about the technique and ended the experiments on the island.

Then came a bigger test field. B.A. Bitter, a veterinarian on the island of Curacao, 40 miles from Venezuela, wrote to the USDA that same year. He was desperately seeking help for the outbreak they were experiencing and said the infestation was affecting all kinds of animals on the island — not just livestock — and resulting in their death.

“I should like to consider a way of fighting this pest,” Bitter wrote.

Bitter said infestation was inevitable. The warm climate attracted screwworm flies, and livestock frequently broke their skin through barbed wire fences and thorns, giving the screwworm a point of entry. He included a tube with larvae that was found on a dog’s tail.

“For these reasons, only the biological way of destroying the flies seems to be possible,” Bitter said.

Knipling informed Bitter that field tests of the sterile fly theory were underway — some successful, some not. He said the method was complex, but he thought it was worth exploring. Bitter agreed to operate the fly traps on the island, and the island became the ideal testing area for the Sterile Insect Technique.

By 1958, the Florida legislature appropriated funds for a full-scale screwworm eradication program. With the federal government providing matching funds, a large insect production plant was built and, under full production, produced 50 million sterile flies per week, a method that is being explored today.

By early 1959, the screwworms disappeared from Florida and much of the Southeast.

Then, it was Texas’ turn. Southwestern livestock producers, along with the federal government and state lawmakers, brought in funds to fight the screwworm. Ranchers formed a nonprofit called Southwest Animal Health Research Foundation, which raised over $3 million to support eradication. The Southwest eradication program covered a much larger area and was constantly at risk of re-infestation from Mexico.

By 1966, the lab in Mission was producing up to 150 million sterile flies a week. The mass release of sterile flies, along with help from livestock producers in slowing the spread, proved successful.

The USDA declared the U.S. free of indigenous screwworms in 1966. But the threat wasn’t over, and researchers realized keeping the U.S. free from screwworms forever was impossible.

“Texas again had the somewhat dubious honor of recording more cases in 1967 than any other state cooperating in the program, with 835 in 67 counties,” read one report. In the same year, Arizona only recorded 23, and New Mexico had none.

Most of Texas’ cases happened after a hurricane, with most being reported from September through October. The outbreak was back under control by early November. Dolph Briscoe Jr., a Uvalde rancher and chairman of the Southwest Animal Health Research Foundation, credited the Sterile Insect Technique.

“Thus, it has been proven again that the sterile screwworm fly technique can stop outbreaks of screwworm,” Briscoe wrote in a report.

By 1972, the U.S. experienced an even worse outbreak than before, due to lax quarantine measures and warm, moist weather in Mexico and the U.S. Texas alone confirmed 90,000 cases after only seeing 444 the year before and had a confirmed case in almost every county.

In 1976, producers spent $132.1 million in response to the screwworm, which included loss from deaths, animal weight loss, medication, and extra labor. The total economic loss for Texas that year was nearly $330 million. When adjusted for inflation, the loss would be closer to $1.8 billion if it happened in 2024. The outbreak spurred U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz and Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Manuel Bernardo Aguirre to sign an international agreement establishing a joint Mexico-United States Screwworm Eradication Commission. It also inspired another public awareness campaign — this one to “stamp out screwworms forever.”

“The weather is on our side. The fly strain is on our side. Mexico is on our side. Are you on our side?” reads one brochure from 1977.

By 1980, northern Mexico states were free of the screwworms. Two years later, the last case of the screwworm was reported in the U.S., and only a handful of imported cases were reported until this year.

“We cannot deal with these pest problems by just trying to control them year after year, on a farm-by-farm basis,” Knipling said in 2000. “Just like we never would’ve controlled the screwworm that way.”

• HAZY SKY: Smoke, more rounds of dust, low impact on air quality
• CONSISTENCY: AM clouds, PM sun, highs in the 90s
• BEACH FORECAST: Quiet & hot for Port A/Rockport

FORECAST

HEAT AND HAZE

We are stuck in a summer rut. While not much will change with regards to temperature or humidity, ten thousand feet above us, suspended smoke and dust will make for hazy conditions. This likely will not affect air quality for us, but it will make for nice sunrises and sunsets and just an overall hazy sky.

The haze today will increase due to a fire all the way up in Utah. Smoke, aloft, is being transported into Texas.

Also of note, early next week, a thicker round of Saharan dust will arrive to the area.

BEACH FORECAST

Headed to the beach this weekend? It’ll be good beach weather, with hot conditions, and a generally rain-free forecast. Water temperatures continue to be warm, sitting in the mid-80s.

QUICK WEATHER LINKS

• WATCH LIVE: Doppler Radar
• Hourly and 10-Day Forecast
• Download FREE KSAT Weather Authority App: Up-to-date forecast information and livestreams from trusted local meteorologists.
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Mateo Chávez and Julián Quiñones scored in a six-minute span early in the second half, and Mexico beat the Czech Republic 3-0 on Wednesday to complete wins in all three of its World Cup group-stage matches for the first time.

The 22-year-old Chávez, in his first World Cup, opened the scoring in the 55th minute and Quiñones scored his second goal of the tournament in the 61st. Alvaro Fidalgo added a goal in stoppage time.

“It was something very beautiful, and I’ll take it with me to the grave,” Chávez said of his goal. “I imagined it many times; I dreamed of this.”

Mexico's previous best group-stage performance was two wins and one draw, done in 1986 and 2002 and both featuring Javier Aguirre, the first as a midfielder and the second as El Tri's coach. Aguirre is back as coach this year, his third stint leading the national team.

After topping Group A, Mexico will play again at Estadio Azteca on Tuesday in a round-of-32 match against an opponent to be determined.

“Now comes the knockout stage; statistics and data don’t matter. We’re achieving things, but what lies ahead is what counts,” Aguirre said. “Neither the players nor I dwell on what we’ve just done; we’re thinking about what’s next.”

Mexico is undefeated at nine World Cup matches at the massive stadium, which was packed with 80,824 fans on Wednesday. El Tri has only two losses at Azteca, most recently in World Cup qualifying against Honduras on Sept. 6, 2013.

The match Wednesday included nods to Mexico’s past and future. Gilberto Mora, at 17, became the youngest Mexico player to start in a World Cup. And 40-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa entered in the 77th minute, joining Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to appear in six World Cups.

Mora said “it’s like a dream come true after everything I’ve worked for.”

“Now we have tough opponents ahead,” he added. “We’re going to keep working to stay on this path. We want to keep advancing because the Mexican national team can become champion.”

Mexico's triumph was marred, however, by the return of a homophobic chant by fans that has previously led to fines and other sanctions against its soccer federation. The chant, a one-word slur, was heard near the end of the first half when Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovar took a goal kick.

The Czech Republic was eliminated, finishing with one point in three games.

Mexico is unbeaten in 11 games dating to a friendly loss against Panama last November. And Aguirre has made the most of his roster, using 25 of 26 players in the tournament. Chávez was one of five starters Wednesday who didn't start in the previous win over South Korea.

“Twenty-five of the 26 have played — that is no small detail — nor is it a small detail that everyone celebrates the goals,” Aguirre said.

Ochoa makes history in his likely farewell

Ochoa, who wears No. 13, played the last 13 minutes in regulation, plus stoppage time, in what's likely to be his last appearance for Mexico. He turns 41 on July 13 and plans to retire from international competition after the World Cup.

“Life — football — had this farewell in store for me, to cap it all off perfectly. For my part, I’ve left it all out there; I gave everything,” Ochoa said. “I leave with nothing left because I poured it all into my teams and the national squad.”

He was a substitute in the 2006 and 2010 tournaments and started for Mexico in 2014, 2018 and 2022.

“I felt Memo had to play (but) for how long? I never knew until I said, ‘This is the moment,’” Aguirre said. “These are coaching decisions, but it was a night for Mexico to honor its legend, Memo.”

Raúl Rangel is the starter this year, stepping in for the injured Luis Ángel Malagón, who helped Mexico win the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup last year. Malagón's injury opened the door for Ochoa's return.

Ochoa became the oldest Mexican to play in the World Cup. The previous record holder was Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who was 37 when he played in South Africa in 2014.

After the match, the veteran goalkeeper kissed the goal post before kneeling down and was hugged by the rest of the squad.

“Regarding Memo’s appearance, we don’t know if he’s going to say goodbye or not, but it was a nice tribute for his six World Cups,” added Aguirre. “He is a legend — he is Mexican.” ___

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

The majority-Republican State Board of Education on Thursday morning granted preliminary approval to a rewrite of Texas’ social studies lessons — leaving only a few courses pending — two days after initially authorizing a mandatory reading list for all public schools that includes Christian stories. 

Board members will return Thursday afternoon to complete preliminary voting on social studies. Final votes are expected Friday.

Hundreds of teachers, students and community members attended the board meetings this week and expressed support and concern about the suggested lessons. 

Some of the nearly 500 speakers exchanged heated words about Christianity’s role in the development of the country, and at least one person with a Confederate flag was deemed out of order by the board chair and escorted from the room for verbally interrupting the meeting. 

The statewide reading list would require, among other literary works, that schools teach Bible material to children as young as 6 years old up to young adults preparing to receive their diplomas. That includes Christian stories about Adam and Eve, the eight Beatitudes and the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

The social studies proposal, meanwhile, features a dramatic transformation in how Texas schools have long administered lessons on history, geography, economics and government. It eliminates the current sixth-grade world cultures course, deemphasizes world history outside of European tradition and dedicates more focus to Texas and the United States.

If approved by the education board Friday, both changes would take effect during the 2030-31 school year.

Conservative Republican leaders and activists champion the new lessons, which they view as “the final battle” in a push to rid Texas schools of instruction they say paints America in a negative light and trains students to hate the country. 

Sociology classes, for example, currently require students to understand “the impact of race and ethnicity on society” and “analyze the varying treatment patterns of minority groups.” But that standard was eliminated in the newly proposed social studies plan. 

Republican leaders across the state often depict Islam as a violent religion they view as incompatible with their conservative Christian American values. During the board’s April meetings, the board eliminated a social studies standard that would have required students to learn about Muslim contributions to algebra and astronomy.

“Let me be very clear: Islam is not a religion,” state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, testified before the education board Monday. “It is a totalitarian theocracy, not unlike totalitarian systems of communism, Nazism and globalism.”

Asked if he had ever visited a Muslim-majority country, Hall responded no. 

Elizabeth Jensen, who identified herself as a Texas school board trustee but did not specify the district, told the education panel that she believes “slavery was and still is fundamental to Sharia,” referring to the set of moral codes and principles that Muslims follow. Sharia does not have a uniform meaning, as Muslims interpret and act upon it differently. 

Muslims have spent months denouncing such Islamophobia at State Board of Education meetings, calling it misinformation and harmful to the hundreds of thousands of Texans who practice the faith. 

Meanwhile, students, educators and progressive activists spoke out in opposition to the lack of racial, ethnic and gender inclusion in the debated books and lessons, as well as the state’s Christian focus over other religions. 

“These proposed standards actually defy the Constitution and highlight only one group of Americans as the founders who built this country to the exclusion of others — both in the past and in the present,” Ruth Nasrullah, a Muslim speaker, told the board members.

English teachers stressed during the meeting that many of the books on the proposed reading list do not align with what Texas requires them to teach, despite taking up most of roughly 36 weeks of instructional time in an academic year.   

On the other hand, educators criticized how the social studies proposal prioritizes memorization over critical thinking and simplification over accuracy. Historians called attention to factual errors, saying the new standards would set children up for failure post-graduation. 

One lesson, for example, had described the forced relocation and imprisonment of Japanese families during World War II as one of the “contributions” to America’s military effort. Another proposal noted that high school students should know the significance of leaders in the Civil Rights Movement, specifying Thurgood Marshall, Barbara Jordan and Hector P. Garcia — but not Martin Luther King Jr. 

The standards initially approved this week reflect slightly different suggestions, instead describing Japanese incarceration as one of the “changes” during the war and adding King to the list of Civil Rights leaders. 

But Democratic board members said the minor tweaks will not fix what they see as a whitewashed social studies plan and a politically influenced approval process. 

A panel of nine advisers guided the social studies overhaul, almost all of whom hold no Texas K-12 classroom experience and several of whom are either conservative activists or closely affiliated with them. Educators have described it as a major reversal of previous years when teachers led the way, while Democrats have said they do not feel fairly included in decision-making. 

“Our voices are being left off constantly,” Democratic board member Tiffany Clark said. 

Republicans clarified that advisers only provide recommendations. Elected members maintain final say in the social studies overhaul, they noted. The GOP members argued that it is Democrats’ own responsibility to ensure they are included in the rewrite. 

“I, as well as several of my colleagues, have been in direct contact with our content advisers,” Republican member Audrey Young said. “I have been communicating through my content adviser this entire time.”

But some of the appointed experts also expressed frustrations. Yolanda Chávez Leyva, a historian at the University of Texas at El Paso helping guide the board, said she “didn’t feel that every adviser’s input was treated equally.” 

Kate Rogers, a social studies adviser who previously led the Alamo Trust before publicly clashing with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, said the group remained professional but its recommendations did not represent all participants. 

For instance, the advisory panel proposed changing a lesson that originally called on students to “identify domestic challenges for the United States following World War I related to racial violence and intolerance, including the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and the Tulsa Race Massacre.”

They instead suggested that students learn about the Klan’s “intolerance” of Catholics, Jews and immigrants but did not specify Black Americans. They also changed the “Tulsa Race Massacre” to the “Tulsa Race Riots.” During the 1921 massacre in Oklahoma, a white mob killed Black residents, destroyed their homes and looted their businesses after a Black teenager was falsely accused of trying to assault a white girl in an elevator.   

The appointed group also removed standards that defined racial segregation as “keeping people apart based on the color of their skin” and  specified that Africans endured slavery in the U.S. because of their race. 

“I want to make it clear to the board members that we did not discuss every item on this document,” Rogers said. “Some of the changes were not reviewed by all of the content advisers.”

Board members adopted many changes proposed by the advisory group but reinserted several others, including how Nat Turner’s Rebellion “heightened sectional tensions and deepened disagreements over slavery” and how the expansion of slavery was the central cause of the Civil War. They also clarified that the Klan sought to intimidate and “limit the rights of African Americans in Texas during Reconstruction.” 

Some members initiated changes that would expose students to more positive aspects of Black history, including Republican Keven Ellis’ suggestion that schools teach about Bessie Coleman, a Texan who became the first African American and Native American woman to obtain an international pilot license. 

On the contrary, Republicans eliminated a standard specifying that students should consider “the perspectives of groups whose voices are less represented in traditional historical accounts.” They added another requirement that introduces the biblical story of Moses alongside the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman — who was nicknamed “Moses” because, similar to the biblical prophet, she helped people escape slavery. 

Prior to debating high school social studies, a handful of Republicans on the elected board unsuccessfully attempted to block amendments from members who did not meet an earlier deadline to submit proposed changes. 

If successful, the move effectively would have stopped Democrats from proposing on-the-spot tweaks, which was notable because the rule had not been enforced when the board discussed elementary and middle school lessons.

Before initial approval of the reading list, the board members — led by Republican Tom Maynard — debated whether they should prohibit teachers from assigning non-state-mandated books without the educators first posting them online for parental review. However, some expressed concerns about micromanaging teachers.

They also considered whether to grant charter schools flexibility in which grades they introduce the required readings, an attempt to appease charter leaders who said they wanted to assign more rigorous books to children in lower grades. But some members said doing so might create the opposite effect, allowing lower-performing campuses to lessen rigor for students in higher grades. 

Neither of those passed, but board members have another opportunity to resurface suggestions before the final vote Friday.

More than 30 House representatives, both Democratic and Republican, streamed into the reception at the Longworth House Office Building to show their support, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D.-California; Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican and former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Ted Lieu, a California Democrat who serves as the vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

"I love Taiwan," declared McCaul, as he welcomed Han. “It’s very important to me to say that the United States supports you, Mr. Speaker."

“The support for Taiwan is bipartisan and bicameral — both houses, both parties,” Pelosi said. “It’s about peace. It’s also about commerce in terms of keeping the ships able to travel here.”

Han, who is leading an eight-person parliamentary delegation, arrived in the nation's capital on Tuesday night after a stop in Phoenix, Arizona, where the chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is building new fabs and producing advanced chips crucial to powering the A.I. boom. TSMC is the poster child of Taiwan's importance to the U.S. economy.

The delegation met seven Democratic senators earlier Wednesday, including New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It wasn't clear if Republicans senators also met the visiting lawmakers.

The Democrats called on the Trump administration to move ahead with the $14 billion in arms sales to Taiwan without further delay. “We remain committed to maintaining close and friendly relations with Taiwan, providing Taiwan with arms for self-defense and supporting deterrence against growing coercion from the People’s Republic of China,” they said in a statement.

Taiwan, which Beijing claims to be part of the Chinese territory and vows to seize by force if necessary, is a highly thorny issue in U.S.-China relations. Washington is obligated by a domestic law to provide the island with sufficient hardware to fend off any invasion from the mainland. President Donald Trump, after his May trip to Beijing, has said he would be reviewing the $14 billion arms sales package, which Beijing strongly opposes. Trump also has suggested that the arms sales package could be a bargaining chip. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the U.S. policy on Taiwan remains unchanged.

On Wednesday, several U.S. lawmakers showed their support for the arms sales package.

“I'm here today ... to affirm in the strongest terms that Taiwan is not a bargaining chip. It is an island of freedom. And we need to do all we can to preserve it,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D.-Texas. “ I believe we need to make available every weapon that Taiwan needs in its defense as quickly as it becomes possible.”

Lieu criticized the Trump administration for holding up the $14 billion package. “I urge the administration to reverse that and to allow their arms sale to proceed," he said.

Han, who is a member of Taiwan's opposition KMT party, in his speech complimented the U.S. for its achievements in the past 250 years and said the island, like the U.S., cherishes the value of freedom and democracy and that both sides shoulder the responsibilities of safeguarding the democratic system and of maintaining regional stability and peace.

Han touted the robust trade between Taiwan and the U.S. The island of 23 million people has surpassed Germany as the fourth-largest trading partner of the U.S., largely driven by the demand for Taiwan's advanced chips and other tech hardware.

Han also urged the U.S. to help Taiwan gain more international space. No country can have diplomatic ties with both Beijing and Taipei because of China's territorial claim over the island. Only 12 governments, including the Holy See, still recognize Taiwan's statehood. Beijing also has kept Taiwan out of many international organizations, including the World Health Organization.

“On the international stage, Taiwan feels very lonely in its heart," Han said. “I am here asking Taiwan's good friends in Congress ... to help us participate in global activities.”

Han is scheduled to leave on Friday for the inaugural nonstop flight by the Taiwanese carrier EVA Air between Washington Dulles International Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which has also been touted as proof of deepening U.S.-Taiwan ties.

The Swiss got goals from Rubén Vargas and Johan Manzambi to beat Canada 2-1 on Wednesday and win Group B. Switzerland will get a week of rest before returning to Vancouver to face one of the eight best third-place finishers on July 2.

“I think that we deserve to be where we are right now,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “In three days from now, we will know the opponent of the next match, and now we have the possibility to watch this tournament, and to watch the matches, and we will take what we will get.”

Canada dropped to second place in the group and will play in the knockout round for the first time in team history. But the Canadians had been hoping for a win or a draw on Wednesday so they would play their round-of-32 match on home soil.

Instead, Canada will travel Inglewood, California, to play Sunday against South Africa, which beat South Korea 1-0 Wednesday night in Monterrey, Mexico, to finish second in Group A.

“We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a massive opportunity ahead of us to find a way to still electrify the nation, even though it’ll be from Los Angeles,” Canada coach Jesse Marsch said.

After Manzambi came off the bench and scored two goals in Switzerland’s 4-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday, he earned a spot in the starting lineup against Canada. The 20-year-old midfielder became the youngest player to score two goals off the bench in the World Cup and is among the breakout young stars of the tournament.

Vargas broke through for Switzerland about 40 seconds into the second half with a strike that sailed past sliding Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, hit the post and went into the net.

Breel Embolo then crossed the ball to Manzambi, whose shot went through the hands of Crépeau to put the Swiss up 2-0 in the 57th minute. The goal quieted the red-clad sellout crowd, which included Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani.

Canada pulled a goal back in the 76th. Promise David scored with a volley on his first touch of the game about a minute after he came on as a substitute. But despite a flurry of chances, the Canadians couldn't find the second goal to keep them at home.

Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka had a chance in the scoreless first half but his free kick in the 37th minute and sailed over the net as he let out a yell.

Ali Ahmed had one of Canada’s best attempts of the first half in the 42nd minute, but his shot to the near post was smothered by Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

On Thursday, Canada won its first World Cup match, 6-0 over Qatar, and put itself in position to advance. But the historic victory was bittersweet because Ismaël Koné was stretchered off with a broken left leg. Koné was at Wednesday’s game on crutches.

The Swiss opened the World Cup with a lackluster 1-1 draw against Qatar before they routed Bosnia with a flurry of late goals. Considered the favorite in Group B, Switzerland has played at the last five World Cups and advanced to the round of 16 in the past three.

“We needed some time to get really into this tournament, for many nations that was the case,” Yakin said. “There were big teams who won against small countries, so we really needed to get into this tournament fast, and the way we play football now, I’m very happy with that.”

Canada, making its third World Cup appearance, opened the tournament with a 2-2 draw against Bosnia.

“We have to give our team a lot of credit. We’ve had a lot of injuries, we’ve had a lot of adversity, we’ve had a lot of injuries, we’ve had to manage a lot of different situations,” Marsch said. “We still got a really good point in the first game, we had a fantastic performance against Qatar and on another day, even though we go down 2-0, maybe we get a goal and maybe we win the group. It was just a matter of fine margins.”

Bosnia beat Qatar 3-1 in the other Group B match Wednesday and could still advance as a third-place team. Qatar was eliminated.

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

Thapelo Maseko scored in the 63rd minute off a precise cross from Tshepang Moremi and South Africa finished in second place in Group A behind Mexico, which won all three of its group-stage games.

South Africa will take on Canada, the second-place finisher in Group B, in a knockout game Sunday at Inglewood, California.

Maseko had five total shots in the match and leads South Africa with eight shots in the tournament.

When Maseko was asked what he would tell his younger self about his accomplishment, the Mamelodi Sundowns forward said: “The one thing I would say is ‘keep dreaming.’”

South Africa had opened its World Cup with a 2-0 loss to Mexico before using a late goal to earn a 1-1 draw with Czech Republic. It entered its final group-stage needing to defeat South Korea in order to advance. Bafana Bafana had failed to advance from the group stage in 1998, 2002 and as host in 2010.

South Africa head coach Hugo Broos described the faith he had in his team despite the difficult start to the tournament.

“The mentality in this group is amazing,” Broos said. “Everybody is working for everybody. We are not afraid of other teams.”

Sphephelo Sithole, who received a red card in the opening game against Mexico, also earned a start and helped South Africa keep a clean sheet.

“In the first two, three days, it wasn’t easy,” Sithole said. “I needed to pick myself up. I’m very proud of myself because I did.”

Maseko, who plays for South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, missed two big chances early in the match before scoring the winner.

The 22-year-old received the ball from a cross on the right side of the box — cut inside — and struck the ball low with his left foot through a defender’s legs and into the bottom corner.

South Africa’s bench players ran across the sideline to celebrate with Maseko for his first World Cup goal.

When the final whistle was blown, the bench stormed the field and the players embraced each other.

“(The final whistle) for me was a rush of emotions not only because we won the game, but also because it will probably be one of the last games of my career,” the 74-year-old Broos said. “When you can end a career in this way, I think every coach dreams of it.”

South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo raised some eyebrows when he decided not to start Son Heung-min, and instead bring him in as a substitute. He said that he preferred to bring Son onto the field when the South African defenders were lower on energy.

“If I knew the result beforehand, I probably would have made some different choices.” Hong said. “On the world stage like this, the responsibility is ultimately down to the head coach.”

South Korea opened this World Cup with a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Czech Republic and lost to Mexico 1-0 in its second game. The Taegeuk Warriors could still advance in the tournament, pending the results of other games this week.

South Korea became the first Asian team to reach the knockout round in 2002, when it finished fourth overall. The Taegeuk Warriors also advanced out of the group stage in 2010 and 2022, both times reaching the round of 16.

___

Maya Koluder-Ramirez is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday morning he couldn’t rule out a trip to the injured list for Soto, who exited a 9-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs after the fourth inning Tuesday night because of a tight back and did not play Wednesday

Mendoza said Soto, who was shown on SNY wearing a wrap around his back in the dugout Tuesday, was “getting checked out” before Wednesday’s doubleheader, though he said following the opener that Soto hadn't undergone imaging yet.

Mendoza said Wednesday morning he hoped Soto could be available at some point in the day but acknowledged a level of concern for the superstar outfielder, who is in the second season of a 15-year, $765 million deal.

“We’ve got to wait,” Mendoza said. “Obviously not ideal when a player like him comes out of a game. Those guys are tough and they know how important they are, and they take pride on being in the lineup everyday and posting.

“I just didn’t like how he looked yesterday. We’ve got to wait.”

Soto’s injury may delay his reunion with Lindor, who was activated prior to Wednesday’s nightcap, when he went 0 for 5 with an error. The 32-year-old shortstop has been sidelined since suffering a strained left calf while running the bases against the Minnesota Twins on April 22 — the same day Soto returned from an 18-day stint on shelf due to a strained right calf.

Lindor played in his third rehab game Tuesday, when he was 2 for 5 while scoring twice for Triple-A Syracuse. He made the four-hour trip back to New York following the game, which factored into the Mets’ decision to hold off on activating him.

“My job is to play shortstop as best as I can and to be the best version of myself to help the guys and just feed off each other,” Lindor said.

Mendoza said the Mets will proceed cautiously with Lindor following the longest injured stint of his 12-year career. Lindor, who missed just 15 games the previous four years, will likely sit out Thursday’s game and will also see more time than usual at designated hitter.

Lindor and Soto have played just nine games together this season for the last-place Mets, who haven’t recovered from the 12-game losing streak they endured during Soto’s absence. New York, which hasn’t finished in last place since 2003, is nine games behind in the race for the final National League playoff spot.

“I’m just worried about Soto,” Mendoza said. “I’m not thinking about Lindor back, Soto out. It is what it is, right? Hopefully we can get those two in the lineup for a long time here for the rest of the season and we can make a run at it.”

Mendoza also announced beleaguered starter Kodai Senga has been shifted to the bullpen. Senga gave up seven runs over 3 2/3 innings Tuesday as his ERA rose to 10.08. He hasn’t earned a win since June 12, 2025, when he suffered a hamstring injury covering first base against the Washington Nationals.

Senga, a noted creature of habit, has made just one relief appearance for the Mets. He threw the final 1 2/3 innings of Game 6 of the 2024 NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“We’re going to adjust his routine, he’s going to have to adjust his routine,” Mendoza said.

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

Democratic leaders aren't so sure that's a good thing.

As progressives cheered across the nation, some of the most powerful Democrats in the country, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, downplayed the impact of Mamdani's victories on Tuesday, when the 34-year-old democratic socialist mayor's slate of congressional candidates defeated three establishment favorites — including two incumbents — in primary contests. He had even more victories in state legislative races, where he successfully backed five other candidates.

It was a stunning sweep for Mamdani, just six months into his first term, that will expand his influence in Washington and Albany. The mayor said Wednesday that he hopes to export his policies and politics to other states, while demanding major changes across the Democratic Party.

“Working people are struggling across the country," Mamdani said. He added that he hopes to help “write a new chapter in our party’s history, where working people are back at the heart of that struggle. And I I believe that will be key in not just the midterms coming up in November, but also in the years to come."

The mixed reaction from Democratic leaders as they grappled with the fallout from Mamdani's success exposed the depth of the divide between the party’s progressive and establishment wings, who are at odds over how Democrats should govern — and how to win elections — over the final two years of the Donald Trump presidency.

Indeed, Democrats hope to avoid an all-out intraparty civil war ahead of the November midterms, especially with Republicans fighting amongst themselves over Trump's war in Iran, how to address the affordability crunch and the president's costly efforts to build a massive White House ballroom.

Democrats aren't sure which direction to take

The Mamdani resistance from senior Democrats was not subtle.

“The effort to nationalize New York is going to fail,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. “What’s happening in New York will be really irrelevant by the time of the elections in November.”

Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas, a vice chair of the New Democrat Coalition, was similarly dismissive, saying progressives were playing checkers while moderates were playing chess.

“No one in DSA is trying to win in a red-to-blue seat, or in a tough general election matchup,” Veasey said, referring to democratic socialist candidates.

Democrats' left flank said the party's latest nominees should be welcomed with open arms.

“What I would like to see, and what I think would be actually productive and beneficial, is a congratulations to these people, a commitment to welcome them in, to understanding the perspectives that they bring,” said Rep. Summer Lee, a 38-year-old progressive from Pennsylvania.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who campaigned alongside Mamdani and his allies last week, said New York's results sent a clear message.

“The American people, in New York and increasingly all over the country, are sick and tired of status quo establishment politics,” he said. “I think you’re gonna continue to see it.”

Trump saw an opportunity to stir the pot from the Oval Office, telling reporters that the Democrats were “going radical left” and Mamdani's choices are “really communist.”

He marveled at the defeat of Rep. Dan Goldman, a former top lawyer during Democrats' first impeachment of Trump. Goldman was defeated by Brad Lander, an ally of Mamdani.

“When they go more liberal than Dan Goldman, they’re really into Never Neverland,” he said.

‘Voters are just pissed off’

Mamdani backed three anti-establishment congressional challengers in a political gamble that his own team acknowledged was risky. He won them all.

Goldman, a two-term incumbent, was swiftly defeated by Lander, a former city comptroller.

U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was toppled by Mamdani’s most polarizing pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.

Antonio Reynoso, the handpicked successor of U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, lost to another democratic socialist, Assembly Member Claire Valdez.

The entire Mamdani slate promised to “abolish ICE,” condemned Israel's “genocide” in Gaza and vowed to “tax the rich."

“Voters are just pissed off," Lander said in an interview. "They want people who show who they’re fighting for, and really get out and fight for things that matter in the lives of working people.”

Cheering the extent of Mamdani's success, progressive leaders called on the Democratic Party's leadership in Washington — and its next crop of presidential candidates — to adopt meaningful changes in the weeks and months ahead.

Indeed, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a potential presidential candidate, said it would be “silly” for his party not to draw meaningful conclusions from New York's results.

“The voters are clearly telling us they want us to be bolder — bolder in the policies we’re proposing and bolder in the tactics we use to fight authoritarians," he said.

And yet the Mamdani critics within the party were not hard to find.

Jeffries, who is in line to become the next House speaker if Democrats win the House majority this fall, reiterated his opposition to Mamdani’s slate in repeated interviews and media appearances.

“He’s got work to do in terms of the conversations that he’s going to have with members of Congress moving forward,” Jeffries, the No. 1 House Democrat jabbed, even as he said they have a good working relationship.

Republicans are paying attention

Giddy House Republican operatives vowed to weaponize Mamdani and his slate to undercut the Democratic brand in competitive midterm elections across the country, while other Republican officials warned their party to pay attention to this pivotal moment in the nation's politics.

“Republicans need to wake up. What we saw last night in New York can only be called one thing: a socialist uprising sweeping the Democrat Party,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio. “If Republicans don’t act now, we will lose this country as we know it.”

Meanwhile, Trump seemed to worry more about Mamdani’s growing national profile than his democratic socialist policies.

“Mayor Mamdani pulled through 3 solid Communists, and has received loud and universal applause from the Fake News Media. Congratulations Mr. Mayor!” the Republican president wrote on social media. “I went 16-0 last night, helping to elect wonderful American Patriots, and the Media doesn’t say a word.”

Meanwhile, Mamdani dismissed broader concerns that his success would undermine the Democratic Party's fight to win control of Congress this fall.

“We’ve heard from Republicans time and again that they’re going to try and make these candidates the face of the Democratic Party. To them, I say that we are ready for that," he said. “For far too long we have been told that it is not possible to fight for working people and win. These candidates have shown that they can.”

And yet some Democrats were clear-eyed about the work that lies ahead to bring the party together as new divisions flared in the wake of Mamdani's success.

“We have to respect the voters. They made their decision,” said Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont.

“The challenge that we have,” he continued, “is to build the different points of view together, all in service of helping people who are struggling to pay their bills to get more economic security. The challenge of unity is enormous. But that’s our challenge.”

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Brown reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Steven Sloan contributed to this report.

Trump harangued GOP senators face to face earlier in the day for allowing a vote to block his war in Iran on Tuesday, further escalating a feud that has diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year affordability issues and brought much of the chamber’s business to a halt. He exchanged particularly harsh words with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of four Republicans who had voted with Democrats on the measure.

Hours later, though, Cassidy received a personal briefing on the war at the White House from Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff and returned to the Capitol to vote against a separate war powers resolution. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who has repeatedly voted with Democrats to halt the war, voted present this time “to give the President more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace,” he said on X. The measure failed 47-50-1.

“I want to thank Vice President Vance and Special Envoy Witkoff for the thorough briefing this afternoon on Iran. I appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns,” said Cassidy, who lost reelection last month after Trump endorsed his opponent, in a post on X.

It's unclear whether the move will be enough to appease Trump, who had called the Republicans “losers" for voting against his war and had called Cassidy a “lunatic” at the lunch after their tense exchange. But the vote was a clear signal to the president from Republican senators who still want to placate him, despite increasing tensions in recent weeks and his decision Wednesday morning to reverse himself and delay signing a housing bill that received overwhelming bipartisan support.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and a small group of his Senate GOP colleagues called Trump after the vote. Thune said the president was “pleased with the outcome."

Trump later thanked Thune in a social media post and noted that Cassidy and Paul had switched their votes. “This vote puts Iran on notice!” he wrote.

Cassidy had sharp words for Trump

Invited by Florida Sen. Rick Scott to speak at a GOP luncheon in the Capitol, Trump had signaled ahead of time that he would use the closed-door meeting to push senators to pass his proof-of-citizenship voting bill. But the conversation was more focused on Tuesday’s vote on war powers, a mostly symbolic measure that allows Congress to rebuke the administration’s military actions. The House had passed its own version of the resolution earlier this month.

Most Republicans stayed quiet. But Cassidy, who lost reelection in his primary last month after Trump endorsed an opponent, stood up and defended his vote.

“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on,’” Cassidy told reporters after the meeting. “This was supposed to last four weeks, it’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved.”

The two men “went back and forth,” Cassidy said, and he “matched his tone and volume." Cassidy said that he eventually de-escalated, but he did not want to be bullied.

“I am voting for war powers until I get a briefing,” he said afterward.

Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down, according to a person familiar with the private meeting who was not authorized to discuss it. At one point, the president called the senator a “lunatic."

Publicly, Trump said afterward that they had “a really great meeting." But he hinted at the discord.

“We like everyone in the room," Trump told reporters on his way out. "I don’t like a few people, but that’s OK.”

The luncheon capped weeks of friction between Trump and Senate Republicans and added a new layer of frustration as Tuesday's vote was the first time the Senate had adopted a war powers resolution on the Iran war. Trump made clear he was in no mood to compromise before it even started, calling off a scheduled signing ceremony on a housing bill that passed both chambers overwhelmingly this week and that GOP lawmakers were touting as an election-year achievement.

Trump reverses on housing bill

Republican senators were eager for a conciliatory meeting with the president after escalating tensions in recent weeks. But Trump upended their plans when he declared on social media just beforehand that he wouldn't sign the legislation until they send him the SAVE America Act, his bill to require proof of citizenship for all voters.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he doesn't know why Trump is holding the housing bill “hostage” for the voting bill that “will never pass in this Congress.”

“It makes no sense to me,” Tillis said as he walked into the luncheon.

Thune said the housing legislation, which aims to lower costs, is “an affordability issue,” and that ”eventually I hope he finds a way to sign it.”

It's unclear if Trump might veto the legislation or if the late Wednesday night vote will change his outlook. But by rejecting a public bill signing, Republicans worry that Trump is indicating a level of indifference to voters’ affordability concerns heading into November’s midterm elections.

Trump and Senate Republicans have been at odds

Trump's move on the housing bill is his latest reversal after weeks of being at odds with Senate Republicans.

Trump has blocked the Senate from confirming one of his own nominees, asked them to fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition and forced them to defend the Iran war even as they question the strategy and endgame.

Trump has also helped whittle down his own support in the Senate after endorsing primary challengers to two GOP incumbents who were previously reliable votes for his agenda — Cassidy and Texas Sen. John Cornyn. Both men have become more critical of Trump since losing reelection.

“If we’re going to win the midterm elections, we need to get on the same page,” Cornyn said ahead of the meeting. “We’re not on the same page now, and that I think is dangerous.”

Trump pushes Thune on SAVE America Act

Trump has pressed Republicans for months to kill the Senate filibuster and focus on the proof-of-citizenship voting bill, even though Thune has repeatedly told him that neither has the votes.

While Thune remains popular in his conference and cordial with the president, he has spent much of his time lately telling Trump what he doesn’t want to hear. Thune said Tuesday that while Trump and some in their conference want to see the voting bill pass, “it’s just not realistic.”

Thune devoted weeks of floor time to the voting bill earlier this year and has said he supports it. But he has repeatedly said there aren’t enough votes to scrap the filibuster that triggers a 60-vote threshold to pass most bills in the 53-47 Senate. And Democrats are uniformly opposed to the bill.

“I think people at some point have to come to grips with that,” Thune said.

___

Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

The poll, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in February, highlights the obstacle course that U.S. adults navigate daily as they screen calls, ignore messages or try to puzzle out if that urgent request from their cellphone provider is legitimate.

A separate survey conducted by Gallup and the Stop Scams Alliance that was provided exclusively to the AP found that last year alone, about 1 in 10 U.S. adults said they or someone else from their household was deceived by a scammer into losing money or providing access to a financial account, with nearly half saying they lost more than $500.

That leaves many Americans feeling like they’re constantly at risk of falling for a scam, often without a sense of recourse. In both surveys, few victims said they reported the scam to the federal government or local law enforcement. Many victims didn't report the scam, Gallup found, because they didn't think it would make a difference in getting money back.

“You've got to be pretty sophisticated these days,” said Adam Pratter, 42. He has run into problems on dating apps — and once ended up sending money to a person who claimed they were overseas because of a military deployment and needed money to buy food. He realized it was a scam when the requests didn't stop.

Pratter thinks banks and social media companies have a responsibility to help people who have been scammed, but also believes the government needs to do more.

“If federal regulation wanted to step in and make deals with these companies to get these people their money back, they could,” he said.

For many Americans, scam attempts are constant

Americans are flooded with scam attempts, according to both surveys. More than half, 58%, of U.S. adults in the AP-NORC poll said they receive daily text messages, phone calls, emails, online messages or online advertisements that they suspect are scams, while the Gallup survey found last year that about 4 in 10 experienced attempted scams on a daily basis.

Porschel Smith, 22, gets multiple scam calls every day, and receives even more scam emails. Some of the scams are easy for her to identify. “They mention different types of programs that I know are nonexistent,” she said.

But sometimes she ends up engaging with the scammer before realizing that something is wrong. “Some of them hack your account and pretend as if they're someone that you know,” she said. “But then I get to asking questions and realize they're scams.”

Older people are more likely to say they receive scam attempts daily, according to the AP-NORC poll. About 7 in 10 U.S. adults ages 60 and older say they are contacted by a suspected scammer at least once a day, compared to about 4 in 10 Americans under 30.

Among those who have received suspected scam attempts, the AP-NORC poll found that outreach involving package shipments or banking were among the most common methods. About 4 in 10 people who were contacted by scammers say at least one of the attempts they received over the past few years were through Facebook or Facebook Messenger, while about 2 in 10 said they were on WhatsApp, and a similar share said they were on Instagram.

Around 30% of US adults say they've been scammed personally

The impact of scams is far-reaching. About half, 51%, of U.S. adults know someone personally — such as a friend or family member — who has ever lost money as the result of a scam, the AP-NORC poll found, while about 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they have personally been scammed into giving away money or personal information.

The Gallup survey found that about 1 in 10 U.S. adults said they or a member of their household was scammed out of money in 2025, with 6% saying they had been personally scammed.

About half of people whose household experienced scams last year reported losing between $125 and $2,000, according to Gallup.

About 1 in 10 U.S. adults have been scammed multiple times, Gallup found.

“It's not easy. They know what they're doing," said Towonna Harris, 50. Her son was once contacted by scammers who promised to give him money for tuition if he authorized a nominal credit card charge, which quickly spiraled into a much bigger set of charges.

She's experienced other kinds of scams on a smaller scale, too. “I ordered some stuff. I never got it,” she said. “I thought it was a legitimate company. And then I saw all these reviews saying it was a scam.”

Few scam victims report to law enforcement

Virtually all U.S. adults believe that scams pose a “major” or “minor” threat to individuals in the U.S., but few think the government is doing enough to solve the problem. About 8 in 10 Americans say the government is “definitely” or “probably” doing too little to prevent scams, according to the Gallup survey, including large majorities of Republicans and Democrats.

When people are scammed, both surveys found that victims are much likelier to reach out to financial institutions than the federal government or local law enforcement. About half, 55%, of people who were scammed last year reported to a bank, credit union or other financial institution, the Gallup poll found, but only 18% contacted state or local law enforcement, while 13% reported to either federal law enforcement or the Federal Trade Commission.

Many victims don't make a report because they don't think it will help, or don't know where to go, Gallup found. Among people who were scammed in 2025, 75% said they didn't report because they thought it wouldn't make a difference in getting their money back, while 58% were uncertain where to report.

More broadly, Americans express very low confidence that they'd know how to report a scam to the government if they needed to. According to the AP-NORC poll, most Americans, 55%, say they are “extremely” or “very” confident that if they were scammed, they’d know how to report it to banks or credit card companies, but only about one-quarter are similarly confident that they’d know how to report to federal or state law enforcement.

Only about one-third of U.S. adults said they would know where to make a report if they lost $5,000 in a scam today, Gallup found.

Max Anderson, 23, said that his parents are small business owners who were the victims of a costly and complex scam. “A scammer successfully imitated one of their employees and changed their direct deposit information. This went on for about 3 months. It went to $15,000,” he said.

Eventually, Anderson's father got help from the FBI, he said.

“I do like that the government stepped in with my parents, and I feel like that's the way it should be,” he said. “It's a big enough problem at this point that it falls to the government and companies to do something about it.”

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Associated Press reporters Mary Rajkumar, Juliet Linderman and Erika Kinetz contributed to this report. Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism student Molly Wallace contributed to this report.

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The AP-NORC poll of 1,133 adults was conducted Feb. 19-23 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

The Stop Scams Alliance-Gallup poll of 5,173 adults was conducted Jan. 8-Feb. 18 using a sample drawn from Gallup's probability-based Gallup Panel. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 1.4 percentage points.

Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye, has sparked controversy over the last week after the San Antonio City Council learned he is expected to perform at the Alamodome on July 4.

Jones initially said she supports canceling the concert. However, she said the council does not have enough votes to cancel the show.

“I think it’s extremely important that we are much more thoughtful about the message that we send when we invest their time, their energy, their resources into providing somebody a platform who has years worth, years worth of hate speech and anti-Semitic rhetoric,” Jones said during a press conference.

Craig Berkowitch, CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, also spoke out against the decision to have Ye perform in San Antonio.

“We believe the wrong choice was made,” Berkowitch said.

The mayor said she only learned the concert was happening after seeing a “reply all” email from Spears accepting three tickets to the concert.

Spears’ office released a statement after Jones brought to light the office’s acceptance of the tickets.

“Councilwoman Spears initially indicated she would accept complimentary tickets for a staff member and a guest,” the councilwoman’s statement read in part. “At the time, she was unaware of Ye’s anti-Semitic comments and hateful rhetoric.”

KSAT tried several times to schedule an interview with the councilwoman, but she was unavailable. Spears’ staff said the councilwoman is on a personal trip to Israel and will not return to San Antonio until after the weekend.

“Councilwoman Spears’ position has been clear and consistent: there is no place for antisemitism or hate speech in San Antonio,” the letter from Spears’ office stated.

Related KSAT coverage:

• San Antonio Councilwoman Misty Spears accepted free tickets to Ye’s Alamodome show, Mayor Jones says
• ‘We don’t have the votes’: Mayor Jones says it’s unlikely city can cancel Ye’s upcoming Alamodome concert
• San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones supports canceling Ye’s July 4 concert at Alamodome

Just hours after refusing to sign a bipartisan housing bill that Republicans hoped would boost their election-year prospects, the president was attending a private lunch Wednesday with the Senate GOP. Trump wondered aloud how anyone could have voted for a war powers resolution a day earlier that seeks to block further U.S. military action against Iran.

Cassidy, one of the four Republicans who backed the measure, was ready with an answer.

“I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what's going on,'” Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, recounted to reporters afterward. “This is supposed to last four weeks. It's lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved.”

Things deteriorated from there.

When Cassidy told Trump he would continue voting for war powers resolutions until there's a congressional briefing on developments in Iran, the senator recalled that Trump “did not particularly care for my comments” and “raised his voice.”

Trump repeatedly told Cassidy to sit down, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private meeting. At one point, the president called the senator a “lunatic," the person said.

Cassidy acknowledged losing his temper, which he said was “not appropriate.”

“But I again matched his tone and volume," Cassidy said, before recalling that he eventually sat down. “And so I sat down and tried to de-escalate. I guess my point is, though, that the American people need to know more than we're being told.”

Within hours, Cassidy was invited to the White House to receive the briefing he had requested with Vice President JD Vance and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. Cassidy then stood down, returning to the Capitol and casting a late-night vote against a similar war powers resolution. This time, Republicans blocked the measure.

“I want to thank Vice President Vance and Special Envoy Witkoff for the thorough briefing this afternoon on Iran,” Cassidy posted on X. “I appreciate the quick invitation to the White House to address many of my concerns.”

A remarkable exchange between a GOP senator and Trump

Still, the back-and-forth was a remarkable exchange between a two-term Republican senator and a president from his own party. It's a departure from the posture many congressional Republicans have adopted during Trump's second term as they mostly avoid criticizing him in public while expressing frustration in private.

And the comments reflected the growing unease among congressional Republicans about the durability of their thin majorities on Capitol Hill in this year's elections, particularly in the turmoil of the Iran war. And it reflected the long-festering enmity between Trump and Cassidy that came to a head this year.

Trump effectively ended Cassidy's political career by backing a Republican rival in Louisiana's Republican primary. Cassidy last month became the first incumbent senator in 14 years to lose a primary, driven largely by his vote to convict Trump in the impeachment trial for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Cassidy said Trump brought up his election defeat as they argued. He described the president's comments as part of “whatever comes to mind as to demean another person.”

Before his losing the primary, Cassidy spent much of his time trying to make amends, largely supporting the president's policies and nominees. He has taken a tougher stance since losing his primary, freed from having to face Republican voters who remain loyal to Trump.

“It does not appear, although I don’t know for sure, that the course of (the Iran war) is going the way that we were told,” Cassidy said. “And so I make no apologies for standing up to the president, if you will, trying to demand that more information be shared with the Senate, and more information be shared with the American people.”

Republicans try to play down the episode

Cassidy's colleagues didn't offer robust support, with Trump in the room, though Cassidy said they didn't have much of a chance.

“The president just kind of talked and talked and talked and talked and talked,” Cassidy said.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on Cassidy’s characterization of the meeting and some Republicans tried to play down the clash.

“Y'all act like no one ever yelled at each other,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, told reporters.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican and former college football coach, described the encounter as “halftime talk” in the aftermath of the senator's defeat.

“Probably needed to be said, end of the day,” he said. “I think they got a lot of — both of them — got a lot off their chests.”

Others noted dryly that the meeting had been advertised as a chance for Trump and the Republicans to get on the same page.

“That was quite a unity message,” said Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Republican who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger just weeks after Cassidy.

Asked if he was being sarcastic, Cornyn stepped into an elevator and let the doors close.

___

Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

Bird has been serving as deputy superintendent for SAISD since 2023.

During his time at SAISD, KSAT Investigates discovered that Bird took 17 trips on the district’s behalf since mid-2024. His trips were part of the more than $46,000 the district spent on travel for Bird and six other members of its executive cabinet.

Records show one of those trips was to a leadership conference at the University of Virginia.

Receipts show the district originally bought Bird a round-trip flight from San Antonio, which cost $1,045.62. However, another receipt showed Bird changed his flight to leave from Houston, then return to Kahului, Hawaii, totaling $1,070.57.

KSAT asked Bird about the trip and why he did not pay for the flight from Virginia to Hawaii.

“You know, you bring up a good point, and I would not,” Bird said. “That’s how I would do it in the future if I was ever going to travel personally after district businesses. That’s exactly what I would do.”

KSAT Investigates looked into the travel records of the cabinet and the district’s superintendent after it was reported that SAISD was facing a $46 million dollar deficit. The district has closed campuses and cut some popular programs from schools.

SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino announced in March he will retire from the district in January 2027.

Gwinnett County Public Schools did not say when Byrd would begin his new role with the district.

Read also:

• San Antonio ISD’s six-figure travel tab: Hawaii, conferences and a district in deficit

They told KSAT they’re worried about the lack of proper lighting along the highway and how that can create dangerous driving conditions.

KSAT has been following details of the crash since it happened around 3 a.m. June 14 near the Military Drive exit. Police said at least one person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

In dashcam video sent to KSAT from an eyewitness, who did not want to be identified, two vehicles can be seen that appear to have initially collided along the shoulder of the highway. In the video, viewers can hear the driver speaking with a 911 dispatcher and describing the crash as it’s happening.

Within a matter of seconds, several other cars slammed right into one of the vehicles flipped over on its side in the middle of the highway.

“People can’t see, it’s really dark out here,” the driver emphasized during the 911 call.

In another part of the clip, one of the vehicle’s occupants is seen carrying a woman out of one of the vehicles. It’s unclear what injuries she suffered.

The eyewitness who captured the video spoke with KSAT, saying it was so dark that he, too, almost hit one of the vehicles as he approached it.

“As I’m getting over this hill, I’m starting to hit a little bit of debris in the road,” he said. “So I start to slow down a little bit. Then, pretty much out of nowhere, there was a flipped car right in front of me.”

He said he immediately began asking some of the drivers involved in the crash if they needed help or were hurt.

Since KSAT first reported on the crash, viewers have shared similar concerns on social media about visibility along that stretch of Northwest Loop 410.

The eyewitness said he drives the route every day for work and often struggles to see farther ahead of him. He believes improvements should be made for drivers’ safety.

“They definitely need to do some upgrades,” he said. “It was so dark, I was going to hit the person as well.”

To find out more about the lighting in that area, KSAT reached out to Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which oversees highway lighting and roadway safety.

TxDOT sent the following statement:

“Safety is TxDOT’s top priority and new illumination has been installed in this area as part of a construction project. In some cases, illumination may not be fully operational due to damaged equipment.”

TxDOT

After receiving the statement, KSAT visited the area after dark and drove the same route where the crash occurred. While there, several highway light fixtures appeared to be inoperable. Nearby lights that appeared to be functioning normally provided a point of comparison, highlighting the difference in visibility along portions of the roadway.

“It’s very dangerous, and obviously stuff like this can happen at any time, and it takes mere seconds for things to go down a dark road,” the eyewitness said.

KSAT notified TxDOT about the lights that appeared to be out and asked if the damaged equipment was reported and when repairs might be made. The agency has not yet responded.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• WATCH: Multiple vehicles collide in chain-reaction crash on Loop 410

According to the alert, Carlos Rubio Jr., 67, was last seen at midnight Wednesday, June 24, in the 100 block of Dallas Street.

Rubio is 5 feet 7 inches tall and has gray hair and brown eyes. The alert said he was last seen wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt and plaid pajama pants.

Anyone with information on Rubio’s whereabouts is urged to call 911.

The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes roiled the region, with buildings evacuated in cities as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Caracas.

In a brief address to the nation late Wednesday, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the earthquakes caused damages in several states, but she did not give any figures on the number of homes and buildings affected, or on injuries or fatalities.

The earthquakes damaged the country’s main airport, Simón Bolívar International Airport, severely enough to lead to its closure, she said, adding that classes were being canceled for several days.

“We urge our population to remain calm,” Rodríguez said. “We urge unity.”

Rodríguez also asked all health care professionals in the country to report to hospitals to assist anyone who was injured. The Ministry of Education late Wednesday said some schools would be used as shelters and donation centers.

In the coastal state of Falcon, Gov. Víctor Clark said 32 people had been hospitalized and more than four hours after the earthquake there were still 15 people trapped.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially said the first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1, later revising that to 7.2. Its epicenter was west of the community of Morón, located along the country’s Caribbean coast, about 168 kilometers (104 miles) west of Caracas. The quake had a depth of 22 kilometers (13.6 miles).

The USGS reported an even larger 7.5-magnitude earthquake just a minute later. The second quake had a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and its epicenter was 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Morón.

The quakes, among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century, struck shortly after 6 p.m. People evacuated swaying buildings in the capital Caracas, many visibly shocked as they saw entire walls that had collapsed, making furniture visible from the street. Dust columns could also be seen in two neighborhoods of the capital, where restaurants and other businesses are typically busy.

‘We all had to leave our houses'

People remained on the streets for hours, even after sunset. Some sat on the ground hugging their pets as dust gathered around them. Collapsed buildings, toppled electric poles and debris blocked streets. Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone signal.

“It started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and gather together,” Caracas resident Hector Ricci said.

Rodríguez, who declared a state of emergency, said subway and natural gas services in Caracas were canceled. She also urged Venezuelans to report any damages through a government app.

The lack of cellphone signal in parts of Venezuela deepened the distress of many families, particularly those among the more than 7.7 million people who have left the country during its protracted crisis.

Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado, in exile after leaving Venezuela in December, took to X to send prayers and wish strength to Venezuelans.

“May strength, serenity, and solidarity prevail among us in the face of this difficult time,” she said on X.

Impact felt throughout Venezuela

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the quake could be felt in several states. The Altamira neighborhood in Caracas had “alarming situations” with collapsed homes and buildings, he said, suggesting people were injured in the earthquake and asking motorists to give way to ambulances and other emergency vehicles.

“We understand that some people may be desperate, but we are acting according to protocols to activate aid and rescue efforts to help those who need it most,” Cabello said on state television. “Be very careful with children and the elderly; call each other and check that no one has been harmed.”

He also urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could further damage some structures.

“The building really shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong,” Caracas resident Roberto Gamas said. “We were walking and it was tossing us around. Everything in the apartment fell. Well, thank God we were able to get out.”

Expressions of support posted on social media

Reaction poured in swiftly on social media, with offers of help from various governments including the United States, Chile and El Salvador.

“The US stands with the Venezuelan people in the aftermath of this evening's devastating earthquakes,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on X. “We're in touch with the authorities and mobilizing assistance.”

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, once diametrically opposed to Venezuela’s government, said he had offered aid Wednesday night on a post on X.

“We send you all our solidarity and our prayers. Stay strong, Venezuela,” Bukele wrote.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people and said he had ordered the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to help respond to the emergency.

“Ecuador will respond with the speed and commitment this moment demands because, despite our enormous differences, humanity must always guide the actions of a leader,” Noboa wrote.

Earthquake impacts the region

Buildings in Manaus, Belem and Macapá in Brazil's Amazon were evacuated, according to reports on TV Globo.

The quakes also were felt in Colombia’s Caribbean and northeast regions, but there were no reports of damages or injuries.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued several tsumani alerts in the wake of the earthquakes that were quickly lifted.

Strong earthquakes are unusual in Venezuela.

While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates make earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.

Along the Pacific coast — in Mexico and Chile, for example — earthquakes are frequent. Those two countries sit along the seismically active tectonic belt known as the Ring of Fire, which is responsible for 90% of earthquakes, according to the USGS.

___

Garcia Cano reported from Bogota, Colombia. Associated Press writers Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Astrid Suarez in Bogota, Colombia, Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo and Anna-Catherine Brigida and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City contributed to this report.

“We basically have passed the point of doing real fundamental LLM research," Castricato said. “Now it’s just applications.”

The researcher quit his doctoral studies at Brown University and started a new company, called Overworld. Its ambition is in its name: AI that can understand and navigate a world, not just words.

There's still plenty of money to be made from AI chatbots — investors are counting on it as they commit trillions of dollars to leading developers like Anthropic and OpenAI. But a growing number of AI entrepreneurs are dedicating themselves to what they see as the next frontier: “world models” that teach AI systems, and sometimes robots, how to react in a physical environment.

They include some of the field's most prominent scientists, such as “Godmother of AI” Fei-Fei Li, who describes the concept of a world model as “one of the most important and most overloaded terms in AI today."

Scientists are applying AI in new dimensions with ‘world models’

At the heart of world model research is the idea that AI can't be truly intelligent if it can only read a book. It also needs to read the room.

“Where language models learn the statistical structure of text, world models learn the statistical structure of space and time: how light falls on a surface, how a garden looks from an angle no camera has captured, how objects respond to force and follow the laws of physics,” wrote Li, founder of the San Francisco startup World Labs, in an essay published this month.

Another proponent is AI pioneer Yann LeCun, who quit his job as Meta's chief AI scientist last year to start Paris-based Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs.

“World model is quickly becoming a buzzword,” LeCun said on a recent “Unsupervised Learning” podcast. He said he views it as something that enables an AI agent "to predict the consequences of its own actions."

There are multiple ways of defining world models, often based on the technologies someone hopes to build with it — be it robots or a more interactive video game.

Robots can't learn much from AI models trained on books

Training on all of humanity's books, news articles and visual media, as AI language models have done, has led to AI assistants that are changing the nature of office-based work and some creative fields. But some proponents see limitations in generative AI models that work by repeatedly predicting the next word or pixel to produce new dialogue, images or lines of code.

Chatbots can't pick up a coffee mug, notes Martial Hebert, dean of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University.

“There’s all the geometry of the world, the dynamic of how I move my hand, the physical interaction of the contact with the cup,” Hebert said. “This is much more complex than just predicting the next word in a sentence.”

For scientists like Hebert, who has spent more than four decades researching robotics, the most useful application for world models is as a faster and cheaper path to “physical AI" — another tech industry buzzword.

“Some people may have different definitions, but physical and embodied AI are kind of the evolution of what we used to call robotics,” Hebert said in an interview. Some of the AI advances that have made chatbots so useful can also be applied to building AI with a broad enough awareness of its environment to work like a robot’s brain, he said.

“In your body and spinal cord you have a very general model of how to balance, how to walk around, and you can adapt to your knee hurting in the morning, so you now walk a little differently," he said. "You don’t need to think about that. You have a general model somewhere in your nervous system and brain that allows your body to adapt very quickly.”

Simulated worlds are drawing interest from investors

Smarter robots aren't the only end game for world models. Castricato started Overworld last year and the tiny Rhode Island-based startup is now building video game worlds where a scene, say, of a spooky forest, can adapt as a virtual character moves through it and interacts with the objects in it.

“There’s no other world model where you can just walk through doors or where you can interact with a detailed environment like this,” he said in an interview. “We optimize for interaction above anything else.”

While the near-term applications aren't as readily apparent as AI coding tools, world model makers are attracting interest from venture capitalists like Steve Jang, co-founder and managing partner at Kindred Ventures.

The firm is investing in Overworld and other world model-focused companies, including Causal Labs, which is building AI models for weather prediction, and Extropic, which is building specialized computer chips suited to world models.

“I think that the future is many different types of models with many different philosophies and architectures," Jang said. "I don’t think that it’ll be one large, dense model to rule them all.”

In her recent essay, Li sought to create a “taxonomy of world models” to help sort out the confusion about the competing visions.

“A video model that produces gorgeous but physically impossible flames, a language model improvising a playable game, and a physics engine that faithfully simulates combustion all go by the same name,” she wrote.

She divided world models into three categories. The most commercially viable today are “renderers” that prioritize the visual fidelity of the virtual worlds they create but can't be trusted to teach robots much.

Then, there are “simulators” that create virtual training grounds that faithfully represent the physical structure of a world; and “planners” that try to predict what an AI agent or robot should do in an unstructured world.

“A robot that can plan is a robot that can work, and the entire industry is racing to be the one that gets there first,” she wrote.

Like Jalen Brunson, the guy marching through Manhattan with the Larry O'Brien Trophy in his arms last week during a joyous championship parade celebration. And Willis Reed, the guy who limped onto the floor before and during the early minutes of Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to lift the Knicks to their first championship.

So when the NBA draft resumed on Wednesday night in Brooklyn with the Knicks on the clock with the No. 31 pick, every team had hope of finding someone who can be a key piece of a title team.

They drafted Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton, but had already agreed to trade the rights to the pick to Houston by the time NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum announced the selection.

Thornton was given a Knicks hat when his name was announced. He was wearing a Rockets one by the time he arrived for his interviews and said he was just happy to get to the NBA, even if it was in Texas and not with the new champions.

“Somebody said I got the wrong hat. I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’” Thornton said. “Then I heard it’s the Houston Rockets. I’m like, no state tax, so that's even better.”

The first round, which began with Washington selecting AJ Dybantsa, finished late Tuesday night.

The end of it and the second round has become a process of wheeling and dealing, with teams like the Knicks, who traded back from the No. 24 spot and eventually out of the first round entirely, sometimes moving multiple times. That was part of the reason teams wanted to stop doing the entire draft in one night and break it into two, given them more time for evaluation.

That makes things hard for players such as Duke's Isaiah Evans, who was in the green room at Barclays Center on Tuesday but wasn't selected. He didn't return Wednesday to hear his name called with the No. 33 pick that is owned by Minnesota after a trade with Brooklyn.

It's not as bad for players who weren't expecting to be selected on the first night or understood patience, something Meleek Thomas said he learned playing for John Calipari at Arkansas.

“The most important lesson I learned from Coach Cal this year was: Your time is coming. Don’t worry about when. Don’t worry about how," said Thomas, who was selected by Sacramento with the No. 34 pick and dealt to Cleveland.

In a much different NBA with a different draft format, Reed was the No. 8 pick in the 1964 draft, which made him the first pick of the second round. The Hall of Famer went on to lead the Knicks to championships in 1970 and 1973 and was the NBA Finals MVP both times.

Brunson was the No. 33 pick in the 2018 draft, taken early in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks. The Knicks signed him as a free agent in 2022 and the franchise has been on the rise ever since, culminating with their five-game victory over the San Antonio Spurs earlier this month when Brunson was MVP of the series.

German guard Jack Kayil, whose rights were acquired by the Knicks with the No. 39 pick, not surprisingly named Brunson as the player he was hoping to learn from.

“We play kind of in a similar position,” Kayil said. “We are also in kind of the same position of the draft. He was also second round. So I think I can learn a lot of stuff, how he started getting into the NBA, into the league, getting in touch with that.”

The Knicks also acquired the rights to Tyler Nickel, the No. 47 pick from Vanderbilt, with their moves.

Among the other well-known names taken in the second round Wednesday were Richie Saunders, Dybantsa's BYU teammate who was selected at No. 32 by Memphis; Purdue's Braden Smith, the NCAA's career assists leader who was taken at No. 38 with a pick belonging to Indiana; Kentucky's Otega Oweh, with the No. 41 pick acquired by Oklahoma City; and Emanuel Sharp from Houston at No. 45 to Sacramento.

The Wizards also had the 60th and final selection of the draft but dealt it to Milwaukee. The Bucks took Malique Lewis, a forward from Trinidad and Tobago who was playing most recently in Australia.

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

“I’m telling the people that are listening to me that they are complete lies and have been fabricated to try to character assassinate me,” Mayor Johnny Rodriguez Jr. told KSAT.

“It’s the same M.O. that they have followed for years to try to prevent me from being in office,” he said.

An administrative investigation by an outside, Austin-based law firm, Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend, P.C., determined multiple allegations against Rodriguez, who was re-elected last month after running unopposed, were “substantiated.”

A report the firm delivered to the Balcones Heights City Council on Monday night states it is “more likely than not” Rodriguez had engaged in unprofessional conduct and comments; created or contributed to a hostile, intimidating and retaliatory work environment for city staff; engaged in retaliatory behavior; and interfered with city matters beyond his scope of duties.

Executive Summary Investigation Report - J. Rodriguez_Redacted by gjimenez

The investigation followed multiple employee complaints or reports of the mayor’s behavior since September 2024. Written complaints and witness interviews turned up numerous claims against the mayor, spanning 19 pages of the report.

The claims included the mayor using the “n-word” multiple times when describing how he would talk with people in his work as a private investigator, suggesting the city call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on homeless people who appeared to be undocumented, making homophobic comments, and apparently referring to employees as “rats” in a voicemail.

The report also states, “the evidence reflects repeated instances in which employees associated adverse treatment, threats regarding job security, heightened scrutiny, disciplinary efforts, or termination discussions with protected complaints, public criticism, association activity, or perceived opposition to the Mayor.”

Investigation Report - J. Rodriguez_Redacted by gjimenez

The report includes multiple claims and anecdotes of confrontations with employees, including one with former Police Chief John Jahanara, in which recordings of the incident captured the mayor telling the chief that the then-city administrator would not be at the city much longer and the chief’s days were numbered as well.

The City Council voted 3-2 Monday to accept the report’s findings, which they received during a closed-door session without Rodriguez present. They voted by the same margin to waive the city’s attorney-client privilege and allow a version of the report with most of the names redacted to be publicly released.

The report and an executive summary have been posted on the city website since at least Tuesday morning.

“I think many of us were troubled by what we heard from employees over time, but this investigation wasn’t based on rumors or politics. It was a rigorous, independent process conducted by an outside law firm with written statements, witness interviews and recorded evidence,” Councilman Jimmy Hernandez told KSAT.

Rodriguez had his defenders, too. Councilwoman Molly Weaver said during Monday’s meeting it was a “very good report,” but she couldn’t believe any of it had stuck.

“We got a lot of good information, OK, but I have to tell everybody these were all assumptions. It was all hearsay. It was all interpretation. There was no facts in this report,” Weaver said.

The council resolution accepting the report also notes that the council’s rules and procedures “do not contain express authority for discipline related to Mayor Rodriguez.” So it’s unclear what, if any, consequences he might face as a result.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself on any processes that may be under the way, but you may see something in our next regular meeting,” Hernandez said, while also saying there was nothing official in the works.

‘Organized opposition’

In an interview with KSAT at his office at the Wonderland of the Americas Mall on Wednesday, Rodriguez told KSAT he had not seen the report, had no idea what it contained, who was contacted, or who the complainants had been.

But he called the investigation “biased” and said the allegations were “built-up narratives to prevent me from holding people accountable.”

Asked about some of the specifics in the report, Rodriguez said “(I) categorically deny each and every one of those. It would be ludicrous of me to ever speak like that.”

“They have taken things out of context is what they’ve done,” he told KSAT. “They’ve taken just a little bit of reference to something that I may have said in public forum, in a council meeting, and then they twisted it to their narrative — to fit theirs — because it’s an organized opposition.”

Rodriguez previously served as mayor in the early 2000s and said he was a councilman in the ’90s. He was elected as mayor by one vote in 2024 and ran unopposed for a second term in the May election.

The report states Rodriguez declined to provide an interview during the investigation process, which his attorney, Brandon Grable, said was because they would not provide a document on who had retained them to do the interview or what its scope was.

Lawsuit

In March, council members had restricted Rodriguez’s access to city facilities and his ability to communicate with staff during the course of the investigation, prompting the mayor to sue the city, his fellow council members, and several employees.

Rodriguez told KSAT he plans to continue pushing his case, which has had several defendants dropped from it, in federal court.

A new ordinance, which the council approved 3-2 Monday, appeared to override the previous restrictions with rules on communication for all elected officials, as well as the mayor specifically.

ORD 2026-17 Signed by gjimenez

Grable said the rules, which include a requirement to communicate administrative matters through the city administrator and bars them from unaccompanied access of secured city facilities, make the “temporary” restrictions against the mayor permanent.

The new ordinance also includes a section on the handling of complaints and independent investigations. It also allows the council to punish violations by elected officials with $500 administrative fines for each instance, training by the offending official, and order even more restricted access to city staff and facilities.

The All-Star guard has been dealing with a back issue this season and left with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter. She went back to the locker room and didn't return.

Clark appeared to tweak her back in the second quarter when she was fouled shooting a 3-pointer in the second quarter. She fell to the ground and was rubbing her back as she stood up. In the first quarter she went back to the tunnel and returned to the bench wearing a wrap around her back.

She finished the game with 19 points and eight assists in 20 minutes.

The two teams met Monday night and there were six technical fouls called and one ejection. Clark picked up her fifth technical in that game. The team is petitioning the league to have it rescinded. The physical play continued on Wednesday. On one play in the second quarter, Clark fell to the court as she drove and as players went for the loose ball, Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas appeared on video to put her fist into Clark's neck.

No foul was called on the play, but the league could review it for a flagrant foul.

“It was egregious. The fact that it was a no-call … You got to call it," said Fever coach Stephanie White. "You’re coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago and that (expletive) still happens? Absolutely unacceptable.”

Clark has been listed on the injury report for most of the season with a back injury after she missed one game because of it. The Fever hadn't given her any injury designation for the game she didn't play and were warned by the league for not doing that.

Clark is currently second in All-Star fan voting that was released Wednesday behind teammate Aliyah Boston.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

The president hosted a rally on Washington's National Mall, including a series of booming flyovers by stealth bombers, music from military bands, and Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless the USA.”

“There has never been anything like the United States of America, and together we are making it bigger and better and stronger and far more exceptional than ever before,” Trump said.

He said he'd restored the country to greatness, proclaiming, ”Nobody's laughing at us anymore."

As he does in all rally speeches, Trump championed his crackdown on the U.S.-Mexico border and opposition to transgender rights. However, perhaps in a nod to the anniversary celebrations, he was far less critical of Democrats than usual — at least to a point.

“The American Dream is alive again. It’s something that nobody thought they’d be saying when you went through that last four years of incompetence,” Trump said.

The president also mentioned his tumultuous effort to revamp the Reflecting Pool near the Lincoln Memorial and build a ballroom at the White House.

Surprisingly, Trump wrapped his speech in less than half an hour — making it one of the shortest rally addresses of his second term and perhaps his entire political career. Just Tuesday, while addressing workers at a truck factory in Pennsylvania, Trump spoke for well over an hour.

Still, he found time to note that he'll again be addressing a Washington rally on July Fourth, imploring, “Your favorite president will be speaking so please show up.”

For Wednesday's speech, the crowd was contained to a segment of the National Mall that was nearly full. From the stage, Trump could likely see the neon colors of the giant Ferris wheel erected in front of the Capitol.

Rally comes as midterms begin looming

Trump is working to convince Americans ahead of critical November elections that he's put the unpopular Iran war in the rearview mirror, with oil prices easing as the Strait of Hormuz has started to reopen in the wake of an interim deal to end the war with Tehran.

The rally launched weeks of celebrations about America and its 1776 founding as part of “The Great American State Fair” on the mall, the national park that stretches from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.

But Trump’s appearance was only announced after several musicians — including Young MC, Martina McBride and the Commodores — canceled their concerts because of concerns the event had become politicized.

Instead, among those addressing the crowd was Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who slammed the musicians who backed out while declaring that Trump is “the greatest president that’s ever existed in this country since George Washington.”

The president himself told the crowd, “This is the beginning of the golden age of America." He congratulated himself for ousting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — but made no mention of the earthquakes that rocked that country Wednesday night.

Organizers distributed rectangular cardboard American flags that some attendees used for shade before the sun went down and Trump took the stage.

On the menu for the crowd: burgers, sausages and turkey legs. The program felt like a summer concert, except for the variety of American flag-themed outfits, from overalls to skirts to hats. There were also plenty of “Make America Great Again” hats.

Attendees included Karen and Brian Ontrap, who drove 500-plus miles from northwest Ohio with their children. They planned the trip in January to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary and, for some in the group, see Washington for the first time.

Karen Ontrap said the pair support the president “100%.”

Trump is pressing the case that he's made America better

The president has struggled to deliver the presidency that he advertised to voters — causing his approval rating to dwell at a low 37%, according to the most recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling.

Democrats say his botched repairs to the reflecting pool and the resulting algae outbreak are a sign that he’s spending taxpayer money on vanity projects instead of the nation's legacy.

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said the Trump-affiliated group organizing the 250th anniversary was selling access to special interests and redrafting the nation's founding to the president's liking, based on documents he presented at a congressional hearing earlier this year.

“It should be about bringing us together,” Huffman said. “He's trying to make this 250th celebration all about him.”

Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's economic leadership, with favorability at 40% on immigration and 34% on Iran.

Trump's rallies can only help so much without improvements on inflation

Inflation is still higher than what Trump inherited and it has been outpacing wage growth. The budget deficit remains on a path upward that keeps interest rates high. Investments in artificial intelligence are driving growth, but they come with fears of middle-class job losses such that the construction of data centers needed for America’s tech economy have become controversial politically.

Still, for many, Trump was the main attraction.

Jacob Wankasky and his family, traveling from Buffalo, New York, peeled off a day early from their trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania, when he and his wife, Jennifer, realized they could see Trump before their planned visit Thursday to the State Fair with their children, ages 4 and 6.

“It’s a once in a lifetime chance,” Jacob Wankasky said. In a bright red “America Is Back” cap, the 42-year-old antique mall owner said Trump’s return to the White House was a relief in a time of “insanity.”

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Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Haya Pajwani in Washington and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked the state’s attorney general to examine whether the agency’s actions violated New Mexico law, an extraordinary challenge to a federal law enforcement agency at a time when fentanyl remains one of the country’s deadliest public health threats.

The request follows an AP investigation that found DEA agents repeatedly allowed major fentanyl shipments to continue moving through New Mexico between 2023 and 2025 rather than seize them immediately, as agents sought to build cases against higher-ranking traffickers. The governor’s call for a criminal review turns a debate over drug enforcement tactics into a question of whether federal agents themselves crossed legal lines while pursuing larger trafficking organizations.

Current and former DEA agents told AP the strategy amounted to a gamble with public safety in a state ravaged by the fentanyl epidemic and may have violated U.S. Justice Department rules intended to safeguard the public from a drug the White House last year designated as a “ weapon of mass destruction.”

“There are no words to describe how reckless and dangerous these decisions were,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “Make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities, and the agency let it happen anyway.”

The DEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the governor’s statement. The agency has contended it would not be plausible to seize every drug shipment and previously told AP in a statement “the investigative decisions at issue were lawful, reasonable under the circumstances and consistent with Department guidance.”

“Public descriptions suggesting that DEA knowingly permitted fentanyl to reach communities are false and fundamentally mischaracterize the facts,” DEA spokesperson Amanda Wozniak wrote in an email.

Alex Uballez, who served as U.S. attorney in New Mexico from May 2022 until February 2025, told AP that drugs went unseized at times due to his office’s limited resources and his belief that prosecuting larger organizations has a bigger impact than intercepting every suspected drug transaction.

It is not clear whether any fatal overdoses in the state can be directly attributed to the DEA strategy. While overdose deaths nationwide fell 14% last year, government data show New Mexico tallied a 21% spike.

“New Mexican lives are not the federal government’s cost of doing business,” the governor wrote in her statement. “I plan to hold the federal government accountable for this disaster and will explore every possible avenue of action against the federal government to right these wrongs.”

The AP investigation cited three current and former agents and government records, including an internal report of a 2023 delivery of 74,000 pills the DEA surveilled — but did not seize — at a mobile home park in Albuquerque.

DEA whistleblower David Howell, who filed a complaint drawing attention to the unseized fentanyl, spoke Wednesday with congressional staffers. Empower Oversight, a whistleblower advocacy group representing Howell, has asked the Senate Judiciary Committee and Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the agent's allegations.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Ohio Republican, called Howell's revelations “a scandal of the highest order” and said in a post on X he plans to find out how many American lives were lost due to the DEA's inaction.

Meanwhile, victims groups also spoke out about DEA's inaction, saying its approach in New Mexico contradicts the agency's prominent “One Pill Can Kill” campaign that warns as little as a few milligrams of fentanyl can cause a fatal overdose.

“Knowing the Justice Department had guidelines to seize the opioids whenever practical — and the fact these were ignored — is truly heartbreaking,” said Michael Glownia, who lost his daughter to fentanyl in 2023 and founded a nonprofit organization to support families suffering similar losses.

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Mustian reported from Miami.

The board voted on Wednesday during a special-called meeting.

“We believe Adrian Bustillos is the leader for this moment,” Board President Alicia Sebastian said in the release.

Bustillos began his career at El Paso ISD in 2006 as a science teacher, later serving as Executive Director of the Office of Transformation, according to the release. He also served as a System of Great Schools liaison between El Paso ISD and the Texas Education Agency.

Since 2019, Bustillos has served as chief transformation officer for Aldine ISD, the release states.

Under state law, the district said there is a 21-day waiting period before superintendent finalists can be officially hired.

SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino announced in March he will retire from the district in January 2027.

Chief of Staff Toni Thompson will serve as interim superintendent starting July 1, until the superintendent is confirmed, according to the release.

Read also:

• SAISD deputy superintendent leaving district for position in Georgia

The Americans have already won Group D to lock up a spot in the knockout stage and will face winless Turkey in Inglewood, California, on Thursday.

Christian Pulisic returned to training after missing a 2-0 win over Australia, but coach Mauricio Pochettino has to decide how much to use his star player in a game that's meaningless in the standings and the knockout stage right around the corner.

There are similar decisions to make with Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson. They're all on yellow cards and would miss the first knockout round game if they picked up a second against Turkey.

The U.S. has won consecutive World Cup matches for the first time since 1930. Its six goals in the first two matches are one short of the team record for a World Cup.

Turkey has yet to score a goal in its first World Cup in 24 years and is already eliminated.

Thursday will be the second day with six matches, including Germany looking to win its third straight game, Ivory Coast aiming to make the knockout stage for the first time and Ecuador needing a win to escape the group stage.

What to watch on June 25

— Curacao vs. Ivory Coast , 4 p.m. EDT in Philadelphia (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Ecuador vs. Germany, 4 p.m. EDT in East Rutherford, New Jersey (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Japan vs. Sweden, 7 p.m. EDT in Arlington, Texas (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Tunisia vs. The Netherlands, 7 p.m. EDT in Kansas City, Missouri (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Paraguay vs. Australia, 10 p.m. EDT in Santa Clara, California (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Turkey vs. United States, 10 p.m. EDT in Inglewood, California (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

Ecuador faces must-win against Germany

Ecuador arrived at the World Cup on a 19-game winning streak.

It could face an early exit if it can't find a way to beat Germany in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Ecuador opened the World Cup with a 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast on Amad Diallo's goal in the 90th minute and played to a scoreless draw against Curacao, the smallest nation in the World Cup.

That leaves Ecuador trailing both Germany and Ivory Coast in Group E with one point and needing to beat the Germans, who have already clinched the group but will be without defender Nico Schlotterbeck for the rest of the World Cup because of an ankle injury.

Ivory Coast on the cusp of knockout stage

Ivory Coast has a chance to make history in its fourth World Cup.

With a win already under their belt, the Elephants can clinch a spot in the knockout round for the first time with a win over Curacao in Philadelphia.

Ivory Coast pulled off a 1-0 win over Ecuador and had a halftime lead over Germany before losing 2-1. Ivory Coast's previous best chance to reach the knockout stage came in Brazil in 2014 when it opened with a win over Japan before losing the next two games.

Curacao still has an outside shot of reaching the knockout round, needing a win and some goal-differential help from Ecuador. Curacao has a goal differential of minus-6, thanks to an opening 7-1 loss to Germany.

Group F winner still up in the air

The Netherlands and Japan will be playing for the top spot in Group F on Thursday night — the Dutch play Tunisia, the Japanese face Sweden — but both teams have said they want no updates on each other as their games are progressing.

“You have to focus on making sure you win the match,” said Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman, whose team has a record World Cup unbeaten streak of 14 matches, excluding penalty shootouts. “We would love to be first in the group and of course the result will have an impact on that, but that’s not the most important thing. Playing this game is the most important thing.”

The Netherlands and Japan both have four points and a plus-four goal differential. Sweden is at three points with its 5-1 loss to Dutch.

To finish first in the group, Sweden has to win and have the Netherlands do no better than a draw.

“It’s literally my first rodeo in terms of a World Cup so it’s going to be new to me,” Sweden coach Graham Potter said. “But yeah, it’s best for us to try to get the positive results and focus on that.”

Paraguay, Australia play for second in Group D

There’s plenty at stake in the final Group D match between Australia and Paraguay.

The Australians will clinch second place in the group and a spot in the knockout round with either a win or draw. Paraguay clinches second place with a win and is almost assured advancement as a third-place team with a draw. The situation will be more tenuous with a loss for either team, with goal differential likely deciding the fate.

The game is a bit of a full-circle moment for Socceroos coach Tony Popovic, who played his final international game as a player against Paraguay in a friendly 20 years ago when he scored his eighth international goal.

“I didn’t score many so I have to remind you of that,” Popovic said. “It was a special way to end my international career. To think that all these years later I’ll be the head coach and we’re up against Paraguay is special. That was a great day and hopefully tomorrow will a special day for Australia against Paraguay once more.”

Australia will be without defender Jacob Italiano and forward Mat Leckie, who are dealing with injuries.

Paraguay will be without midfielder Miguel Almiron, who is suspended after getting a red card for covering his mouth during a confrontation against Turkey. Mauricio will start in his place, coach Gustavo Alfaro said.

More World Cup news

— Switzerland wraps up first place in Group B at the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Canada

— Bosnia-Herzegovina boosts chances of advancing at World Cup with 3-1 win over Qatar

— Vinícius Júnior scores 2 goals as Brazil beats Scotland 3-0 to win its World Cup group

— Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine help Morocco rally to beat Haiti 4-2 at the World Cup

— Qatar’s Assim Madibo banned for 5 games after breaking the leg of Canada’s Ismaël Koné at World Cup

— 'Our idol is back': Neymar debuts in this World Cup as a sub for Brazil against Scotland

— Turkey coach Montella says he won’t resign after winless World Cup start, admonishes heckling fans

— Ivory Coast eyes knockout stage of World Cup with striker Elye Wahi expected back amid investigation

— Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha seeks new club after World Cup stardom, doesn’t rule out Brazil move

— Day 14 of the World Cup, in photos

Stats of the day

Switzerland has qualified for the knockout phase for the seventh consecutive time in major tournament football (World Cups and UEFA Euros).

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AP sports writers Dave Skretta, Josh Dubow and Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.

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

The Shincheonji Church has denied the accusations against Lee Man-hee, 95, a self-proclaimed messenger of Jesus who founded the congregation in the 1980s. The church says it has about 200,000 followers.

Since January, a special team of prosecutors and police has been investigating alleged ties between religious groups such as Shincheonji and the Unification Church and politicians. The inquiry is part of broader investigations under South Korea’s current liberal government into the presidency of former conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted from office and convicted of rebellion over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.

Walking with a cane and assisted by a church official, Lee didn't respond to reporters’ questions as he appeared at the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday afternoon for a hearing on whether to grant prosecutors’ request for his arrest.

In issuing the arrest warrant on Wednesday night, the court cited Lee as a threat to destroy evidence. The church in a statement Thursday morning expressed “deep regret” over Lee’s arrest, saying he had fully cooperated with the investigation and raising concerns about his age and health.

Lee has been suspected of using the church’s regional branches to pressure more than 50,000 followers to join the People Power Party, or PPP, from 2021 to 2024 in hopes of influencing the party’s presidential and legislative primaries. Investigators suspect the campaign, which allegedly included efforts to support Yoon’s presidential bid, was aimed at winning favorable treatment for the church, including permits to expand its facilities.

Lee’s arrest came months after the arrest and indictment of Unification Church leader Hak Ja Han over allegations that she instructed church officials to bribe Yoon’s wife and a conservative lawmaker close to him in an effort to secure business favors. Han, widow of the church’s founder Sun Myung Moon, has denied the allegations.

An appeals court in April sentenced Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, to four years in prison after convicting her on various charges, including receiving luxury gifts from a Unification Church official.

Yoon was removed from office in April 2025 after being impeached over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024 following a standoff with the liberal-led legislature. Arrested in July 2025, Yoon is facing multiple trials and has appealed a life sentence for rebellion and a separate 30-year prison term over charges that he ordered drone flights over North Korea’s capital to stoke tensions and justify martial law at home.

Liberal President Lee Jae Myung, who won an early presidential election last year after Yoon’s removal from office, has authorized multiple investigations into Yoon’s martial law imposition and other allegations involving his administration and wife.

Lee Man-hee established Shincheonji in 1984, using a word meaning “new heaven and new earth.” He has been accused by other Christian groups as a false prophet or a cult leader. The church describes Lee as “the Promised Pastor,” an attendant of Jesus sent to testify what he claims are the fulfilled prophecies from the Book of Revelation.

Han is the top leader of the Unification Church, officially called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, which her husband, Moon, founded in 1954.

Moon — a self-proclaimed messiah who preached new interpretations of the Bible and conservative family values — built the church into an international movement with millions of followers and extensive business interests. The church is widely known for mass weddings, pairing thousands of couples who often are from different countries.

On Wednesday, the San Antonio Spurs drafted Ja’Kobi Gillespie with the No. 42 pick. The guard from Tennessee is 6 feet, 183-pounds, and averaged 18.4 points per game in the 2025-26 season.

Just two picks later, the Spurs selected Maliq Brown out of Duke. The forward is 6 feet 9 inches, 225 pounds, and will add another defensive presence. Per the Blue Devils sports information team, Brown was voted ACC Defensive Player of the Year, ACC Sixth Man of the Year and ACC All-Defensive Team for the 2025-26 season.

Brown didn’t spend his entire career at Duke. He played his final two seasons at Duke (2024-26) and first two seasons at Syracuse (2022-24).

The Spurs selected Jayden Quaintance with the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night.

Quaintance, the former Kentucky forward, brings height that the Spurs could use, if healthy. The 6-foot-9-inch, 253-pound forward averaged five points and five rebounds and shot 57.1% from the field.

With the 26th pick, the Silver and Black added UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr., a 6-foot-11, 263-pound center.

Now, the Spurs have an opportunity to move forward with new talent that can elevate the squad. Height? Check.

The addition of Quaintance can provide some relief in the post for Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs while the French star hits the bench.

During the postseason, Wembanyama led the team in points, rebounds and blocks, while Stephon Castle led in assists, and Julian Champagnie led in steals. The team’s gaps in production and flexibility were exposed in the postseason, especially during the NBA Finals.

Below are the players who are currently under contract with the Spurs:

• Stephon Castle - Guard
• De’Aaron Fox - Guard
• Dylan Harper - Guard
• Devin Vassell - Guard
• Carter Bryant - Forward
• Harrison Ingram - Forward
• Keldon Johnson - Forward
• David Jones Garcia - Forward
• Emmanuel Miller - Forward
• Lindy Waters III - Forward
• Luke Kornet - Center
• Victor Wembanyama - Center

Here are the players from the 2025-26 roster who are now free agents:

• Jordan McLaughlin - Guard
• Harrison Barnes - Forward
• Julian Champagnie - Forward
• Kelly Olynyk - Forward/Center
• Mason Plumlee - Forward/Center
• Bismack Biyombo - Center

More 2026 NBA Draft coverage on KSAT:

• San Antonio’s Kingston Flemings becomes Atlanta Hawks’ No. 8 pick in first round of NBA draft

After competing around the country in regional tournaments, the SA Lady Dolphins 10U team qualified for the third annual NFL Flag Championships in Westfield, Indiana, taking place July 24-26.

The team also earned the No. 1 seed in the Gold Division bracket at the AAU Junior Olympic Games in Des Moines, Iowa, with the girls’ flag football tournament running July 27 through Aug. 2.

It’s a success story that’s only been about a year in the making. The team started with only a couple of girls, coaches’ daughters, and has quickly formed into one of the best 10U teams in the country.

“We were like, ‘Hey, we see these girls playing football all the time at their brothers’ practice. Why not give them a shot and let them play?’” said Jacob Lorensy, the team’s head coach. “These girls, they’ve taken that opportunity, and they’ve ran with it.”

Girls’ flag football is considered the fastest-growing youth sport in America and is currently sanctioned by the UIL in 23 states. Texas is working to do the same.

In fact, Lorensy envisions the Lady Dolphins expanding by the fall.

“We want all girls to play, from all age levels,” Lorensy said. “It’s gonna be a feeder into the UIL so these girls can be ready for middle school and high school flag football and then, eventually, the Olympics.”

Lorensy already oversees an 8U, 12U, high school, and 6U team in the Lady Dolphins program, along with the 10U team, with a handful of assistant coaches. He said he is looking for more coaches to join the fight as more young girls look to play flag football.

Lorensy also said he would like to start his own girls’ flag football league and expand the program.

“These girls come out here, and they play one time, and they get hooked,” he said. “... I have girls that are cheerleaders, basketball players, volleyball players, and they stick with flag football. They just love it.”

With two national tournaments already on tap for the Lady Dolphins’ 10U squad — made up of 10 girls between the ages of 9 and 10 — these girls have an opportunity to make their talents known on the big stage.

Even though they are early on in their athletic journey, their success this summer could serve as a stepping stone to the U.S. national team, with flag football making its Olympic debut in 2028.

“It’s actually, really, a lot of fun because I get to celebrate with my team and I actually get to play and we actually get to do cool things,” said Ariana Hill, a safety on the 10U team.

The Lady Dolphins 10U practice at least once a week at Brandeis High School.

For more information on the Lady Dolphins, follow the team on Instagram and Facebook and see their website to explore playing opportunities.

Read also:

• San Antonio’s basketball reputation keeps rising, fueled by Wagner’s newly crowned NBA champions

The event comes after a day of tense meetings between Trump and Republicans in Congress over the Iran war, and a decision by a federal judge that sets back Trump’s agenda to overhaul U.S. elections. Trump’s role as the anniversary event’s headliner emerged after several musicians canceled their appearances, citing concerns the event had become politicized.

Also Wednesday, a federal judge permanently barred the Trump from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote. The judge agreed that the states and Congress have constitutional authority over elections, deeming Trump’s requirements a violation of the separation of powers.

And at a luncheon, Trump met with GOP senators who have grown increasingly frustrated by his diversions from the party’s agenda and his unclear Iran war strategy. Republican senators had hoped to use the housing bill Trump abandoned to show voters they care about affordability ahead of the November midterm elections.

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It was just like a Trump rally — except it was much shorter

There was Christopher Macchio, the American tenor who has sung at a number of Trump’s events across the country. And Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the U.S.A.” as the president took the stage, a Trump staple.

But the president himself spoke for only 28 minutes, a mere fraction of his political rally speeches, which often go on for 90 minutes or more.

Unlike “the weave,” a speech style Trump has said he uses to intersperse anecdotes into policy pronouncements, Trump stuck mostly to a script that bookended second-term accomplishments with a bit of American history.

Earlier Wednesday as he met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump held forth for 45 minutes — talking for 12 minutes alone about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s problems and crime-related issues.

Trump gives rundown of what’s to come for summer’s celebrations

Promising that the multiple flyovers seen Wednesday are only a “little tiny” bit of what’s to come in terms of military aircraft display, the president previewed other events coming to Washington this summer.

The showpiece, he said, will be a Fourth of July fireworks display “10 times larger than any that we’ve ever done in Washington or in the United States.”

Trump said he will speak that day as well and asked the crowd to “please show up.”

He also mentioned a rodeo — adding, “I love rodeo, I don’t know how they do it” — the Patriot Games and a Grand Prix race through Washington.

Trump highlights US raid in Venezuela, doesn’t mention earthquakes

Praising the U.S. military, the president described a “flawless and breathtaking” operation that led to the capture and arrest of President Nicolás Maduro in January.

He didn’t immediately mention the back-to-back earthquakes that hit Venezuela on Wednesday, including a 7.5-magnitude quake that collapsed buildings in Caracas.

The earthquakes hit roughly three hours before Trump took the stage for his rally.

Trump describes his ballroom project as new monument for 250th anniversary

The president has tried out a number of arguments to make the case for his proposed ballroom at the White House. Now he’s describing it as a monument to honor the country’s founding.

He put it in a lineage of other U.S. monuments created around national anniversaries, including the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument and the National Air and Space Museum.

“We are likewise building new monuments to American greatness to serve every future president and first lady,” Trump said at his rally on the National Mall. “We’re building the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world, right at the White House.”

Near the Reflecting Pool, Trump tells National Mall how it was ‘gruesomely vandalized’

Ten minutes into his National Mall remarks, the president was back on one of his favorite topics of late: the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

“It’s been gruesomely vandalized by thugs, bad people,” he said, adding that suspects had “largely been caught and are being prosecuted.”

Earlier in the day, he took a 12-minute detour during an Oval Office meeting with NATO’s secretary general to talk about the “sick people” he said sliced portions of the lining.

Trump’s troubled $14-million-plus rehabilitation project for the century-old pool has become a visceral flashpoint over law enforcement, aesthetics and environmental concerns ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

The Reflecting Pool has been drained, painted and plagued with algae bloom, with pieces of the new coating appearing to peel off the bottom.

Trump swiftly pivots to Iran war

After a brief introduction honoring America’s founding, Trump quickly turned the topic to the Iran war.

Trump brought up an agreement last week that will extend a ceasefire while the U.S. and Iran negotiate over how to end the war.

Even as important details remain unsolved, Trump framed it as a victory.

“We signed a historic agreement to end the conflict with Iran, fully open the Strait of Hormuz and accomplish what no president has ever been able to accomplish before,” Trump said to cheers.

Trump gives ‘a very big hello to America’ in National Mall remarks

The president took the stage as Lee Greenwood, a staple at his political rallies and other events, sang his signature song, “God Bless the U.S.A.” He shook hands with the president as he hit the closing portion.

Trump greeted the crowd by recalling how the Founding Fathers “changed the world forever and ever with a thing called the Declaration of Independence.”

The president swiftly moved into recounting the strengths of the American economy and military.

Before Trump takes the stage, the lawn is almost full

From where Trump will stand on stage, he may be able to see the giant Ferris wheel alit in neon colors in front of the Capitol.

People are standing shoulder to shoulder filling up most of the lawn as the sun starts to set. Most have their phones out to record.

Retired Navy SEAL recounts American ‘will to win’ its freedom

Author and podcaster Jocko Willink walked attendees on the National Mall through the colonies’ underdog fight against the British during the American Revolution.

That victory, he said, “unleashed a force which to this day has been completely unmatched in the world.” He went on to enumerate hard-fought privileges including “the freedom to speak, to protest, to worship, the freedom to protect ourselves, our families and our property.”

Something Willink didn’t mention was the contribution of the French, whose military forces and funds helped make significant strides toward Britain’s defeat.

All about the flyovers

Hattie Harris was visiting her uncle in northern Virginia when her niece who works on Capitol Hill told her of Wednesday’s event.

Harris, a Montessori teacher from Mesa, Arizona, had no idea what the program included — besides one thing.

“I came for the flyovers,” she said. “I will drop everything for flyovers.” The military aircraft buff didn’t even know Trump was expected to speak.

At that moment, she pointed overhead and cried, “Look!” The stealth B-2 bomber cruised overhead, drowning out the U.S. Marine Corps Band.

Asked her thoughts about the evening’s featured speaker — after she learned it was Trump — Harris shrugged.

First responders and victims of 9/11 are remembered at rally

The rally shifted from up-tempo pop performances to a more somber moment as Frank Siller, CEO of Tunnel to Towers, asked the crowd to remember firefighters and other first responders who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.

Siller’s nonprofit was founded in honor of his brother, Stephen Siller, a New York firefighter who died on 9/11.

“As I look out at this incredible gathering of families celebrating everything that makes this country so great, we must remember the extraordinary sacrifices of ordinary people,” Frank Siller said.

It was one of the first moments of the rally focused on important events in U.S. history.

Trump is frustrated gasoline prices don’t mirror oil’s decline. Experts say it’s not that simple

U.S. gasoline prices decreased an average of 49 cents a gallon in the last month as expectations rose for an end to the war with Iran. But they’re not falling fast enough for Trump.

Trump, who wants to stave off the economic fallout of the war ahead of midterm elections, is now pointing at oil companies as the culprit. The president said on social media early Wednesday that he had tasked the Justice Department with investigating whether “customers are being ’gouged.’”

“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post published just after midnight. “Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”

Crude oil is the main ingredient in gasoline, and its cost makes up the bulk of what consumers pay. Even after crude prices come down, it can take weeks or longer for market changes to reach consumers, experts said.

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The grassy area is starting to fill in

About an hour before Trump’s speech, the grassy area on the National Mall was about half full.

The crowd cheered as the U.S. Marine Corps Band was drowned out temporarily as two fighter jets roared overhead.

A chance to see the president

Jacob Wankasky and his family, from Buffalo, New York, peeled off a day early from a trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania, when he and his wife Jennifer realized they could see Trump before a planned visit Thursday to the State Fair with their children, ages 4 and 6.

“The fact that we can be here with our kids. It’s a once in a lifetime chance,” Wankasky said as his wife and children sat in the sun-splashed grass of the National Mall listening to the Marine Corps Band’s rendition of “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

“It’s unpurchasable,” he said.

Wearing a bright red “America Is Back” cap, Wankasky, a 42-year-old antique mall owner, said Trump’s return to the White House was a relief in a time of “insanity.”

“I don’t know if our country could have taken another four years of Biden or whoever,” he said. Trump “stopped a freight train.”

Some see the event as a chance for the country to come together

While some on the National Mall traveled many hours to get there, Joe and Natalie Cox took the metro from Arlington, Virginia. They came “out of curiosity and to mark an historic occasion,” Joe said.

The couple said the event was an opportunity to take stock of “the necessary sea change” that Trump’s return to the White House represents.

“We could hardly skip it,” Natalie said. “We live 4 miles away.”

Joe, a retired Army officer and military contractor, and Natalie, who worked for 30 years at the Red Cross, suggested the events were a time for the country to come together.

With Frankie Valli pouring from the stage speakers, Joe, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he approved of the war against Iran.

“It had to be done,” he said. “I’ll be glad to no longer hear ‘Death to America.’”

VIPs are on chairs near the stage

The lead-up to the program had very much the feel of an outdoor summer concert.

The rows of chairs nearest to the stage filled up with VIPs, as the grass slowly populated with attendees sitting on blankets.

All sorts of flag-themed outfits, from overalls to skirts and hats, were common, as well as the “Make America Great” hats that have become the unofficial uniform of Trump’s political rallies going back a decade

The scene at the National Mall ahead of Trump’s rally

Karen and Brian Ontrap drove more than 500 miles from northwest Ohio with their children, having planned the trip in January to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary and, for some in the group, see Washington for the first time.

The rally on the mall “was a bonus,” said Karen Ontrap, a 51-year-old customer service representative for an aluminum casting company.

Standing in the shade near the stage where Trump was to speak, she said the pair support the president “100 percent.”

They were among the early arrivals to the section of the National Mall that was cordoned off, with a concert-style stage festooned in U.S. flags at one end and a mock White House exterior at the other.

Trump refuses to sign bipartisan housing bill into law. What does that mean for homebuyers, renters?

A sprawling legislative package aimed at lowering the cost of housing and spurring more home construction won bipartisan approval from Congress this week. But it hit a major roadblock in becoming law: President Donald Trump.

The White House supported the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, but on Wednesday Trump canceled the signing ceremony for the bill, saying he would not sign the measure until Congress passes legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.

The measure is the culmination of months of negotiations by lawmakers who combined dozens of bills meant to address how housing affordability for both renters and aspiring homeowners in the U.S. has grown increasingly out of reach for many Americans.

The bill would reduce federal regulations, streamline environmental reviews, speed up the construction process and curb the influence of corporate landlords by limiting their ability to purchase single-family homes.

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Pentagon restores mandatory flu shots for all recruits as boot camp outbreak sickens nearly 300

The Pentagon said Wednesday that boot camps for all the military services are once again requiring the flu vaccination for all recruits after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the shot optional for the military at the end of April.

The development, confirmed to The Associated Press by a Pentagon official, comes amid a growing, weekslong, flu outbreak at the U.S. Air Force’s boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base that has sickened nearly 300 people. However, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not cleared for public release, maintained that the permission to mandate the vaccinations was unrelated to the outbreak.

When Hegseth first announced the repeal of the flu vaccine mandate in April, citing “medical autonomy” and religious freedom, he allowed the services to ask for exceptions — or permission to keep the vaccine mandatory — within 15 days of the rollout.

— Konstantin Toropin and Mike Stobbe

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Showing off the Trump flattery he’s famous for, Rutte praises the president as tough on defense contactors

The NATO chief said of the contractors: “You have been very harsh with them a couple of weeks ago.”

“I had one of them over in my office. He was still trembling,” Rutte said. “And I said, this is good. This is exactly what I need.”

The president has held a series of meetings with Pentagon officials and leading military contractors at the White House in recent days, discussing ways to increase munitions production after the war in Iran raised concerns about the U.S. eating into its stocks of missiles.

Rutte met with Trump in the Oval Office and, as he usually does, praised Trump in hopes that he won’t make good on threats to pull the U.S. out of NATO.

Vance says he’s working with the Pentagon to ensure Turkey can legally get F-35 jets

“There are certain things that we have to certify have happened that have happened in order to comply with American law,” the vice president said.

“We’re running the traps and confirming that it’s happened. This is really a congressional thing and ensuring that Turkey has complied with American law so they can get the F-35s.”

On the Iran school strike, Trump says, ‘I don’t think it’s gonna be us’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that the findings of a Pentagon investigation into a missile strike on an Iranian primary school on Feb. 28, the first day of the war with Iran, would be released “when the appropriate time is right.”

But Trump said he’s “seen nothing to lead me to believe it was us.”

Trump called the incident “horrible” but said: “I don’t know that they’re ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it, because there were missiles flying all over the place.”

Trump says major oil companies are ‘possibly gouging’ on prices

The president fleshed out his plans for a Justice Department investigation into why gasoline prices have not fallen as quickly as oil futures after the signing of an interim deal for talks to end the Iran war.

“The oil companies are possibly gouging,” Trump said. “I hope they’re not. Otherwise they’re going to be in big trouble. They’re going to be in big trouble. We’re not going to play games.”

The president indicated that his targets for any inquiry would be some of the world’s leading energy companies, including firms he has hosted at the White House.

“So it’s ExxonMobil, it’s Chevron, it’s Shell, it’s BP,” he said. “It’s a lot of them.”

Pressed on what he wants NATO allies to do, Trump says: ‘Just be loyal’

“We don’t need their money we don’t need anything,” the president said during his meeting with NATO’s chief. “We have the most powerful military in the world by far. But I just want loyalty.”

He added: “We’re always fighting for them.”

Trump has sharply criticized NATO and renewed his threats to leave the alliance after complaining that its members did not do enough to support the U.S. during the war with Iran.

Trump says Zelenskyy is ‘doing pretty well’

Calling Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy “courageous,” the president also acknowledged ongoing losses among both Ukrainian and Russian forces in the war, now in its fifth year.

“He’s holding his own at least,” Trump said. “A lot of people dying on both sides, but I think he’s doing pretty well.”

Ukraine’s General Staff said Wednesday that its forces struck a major natural gas processing plant and two key satellite communications centers in the latest nighttime attacks on Russia.

Ukraine’s aerial campaign targeting energy facilities and military industries has intensified as Kyiv builds bigger and better long-range weapons to fight Russia’s invasion.

In response, Zelenskyy has said Moscow has ordered redeployment of some air defense systems from Russian regions to the capital and to Crimea’s Kerch Bridge, a crucial link for supplying Russian troops.

Trump says he’s only going to NATO summit in Turkey ‘out of respect’ for its host

He said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan phoned him and asked him to attend the defense alliance summit in the capital of Ankara in July.

“He said, ‘Please, I have it in Turkey. You got to be there. The United States has to be there,’” Trump told reporters. “And so I’m going out of respect to President Erdogan.”

Trump said of Erdogan: “I like him. He’s a friend of mine.”

He said he was glad Turkey stayed out of the war with Iran.

A reporter asked Trump if he would come to Turkey with a “gift bag” of fighter jets for Erdogan.

“I think so,” Trump responded. “I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy.”

White House asks Congress for $87.6 billion for Iran war, aid to US farmers and responding to Ebola crisis

The White House has formally requested the funding mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the war against Iran.

It submitted the request to Congress at a politically difficult time, as a majority of lawmakers have objected to any further military action.

The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request Wednesday.

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Trump suggests that, until recently, visiting NATO chief would have been mugged in Washington

Talking up his deployment of National Guard troops in the city, the president pointed to Rutte and said that had the NATO chief come two years ago, “you had a good chance of being mugged, although you’re a very big guy.”

“They would have mugged him up. They would have beaten the hell out of him,” Trump said to laughs.

He further suggested that going to dinner two years ago, Rutte might have been “robbed when he got into the restaurant.”

The president has bragged for months about troops dramatically lowering Washington’s crime. Their presence has had little demonstrable effect on reducing the kinds of violent crime Trump warned Rutte about, however.

As Rutte looks on, Trump takes 12-minute detour to talk about Reflecting Pool and crime

Saying “sick people” used razors and box cutters to slice portions of the lining, Trump said Wednesday that part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool would be drained again for repairs.

He wasn’t sure if that would come before or after the July 4 holiday, during which thousands of people will be in the area.

Trump said six people have been arrested over damage, which he characterized as a “350-foot gash” in the lining.

The troubled $14-million-plus rehabilitation project has become a visceral flashpoint over law enforcement, aesthetics and environmental concerns ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

The century-old Reflecting Pool has been drained, painted and plagued with algae bloom, with pieces of the new coating appearing to peel off the bottom.

Trump asked about cancellation of housing bill signing

Asked on Wednesday if he’d be willing to work out a deal to get the housing bill signed, Trump pushed for the lowering of interest rates and also reiterated his push for a measure to introduce new voter identification requirements.

“Lower the interest rates, you can have all the housing you want,” Trump said.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump said he had called off a planned signing for a bipartisan measure to increase home construction until passage of the SAVE America Act.

The cancellation was awkward for Capitol Hill Republicans, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who had just described the measure as a “really important bill to lower housing costs” before Trump called off the signing.

Sanders says election results show voters reject ‘establishment politics’

Bernie Sanders recently campaigned in New York alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The Vermont senator said Tuesday’s victories by Mamdani-backed candidates prove Americans are “saying enough is enough.”

“You want a government that represents ordinary people, not just the rich,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. “That’s what last night was about. That’s what we’ve seen for the last number of months. I think you’re going to continue to see it.”

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from neighboring Connecticut, said voters are “clearly telling us they want us to be bolder,” but also cautioned against reading too much into the results.

“Obviously, in New York, the mayor and AOC have enormous power inside the Democratic Party today,” he said. “I’m not sure that election would reproduce itself; those results would reproduce themselves in every other state.”

Vinícius scored two goals — one of them practically into an empty net to open the scoring — and five-time World Cup champion Brazil beat Scotland 3-0 on Wednesday, advancing to the knockout stage as the Group C winner.

Vinícius — who has a goal in all three of Brazil's group matches — scored in the seventh minute and again just before halftime, tying Norway's Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé with of France with four goals, one behind Lionel Messi of Argentina.

Matheus Cunha also scored for the Seleção, who reached the knockout rounds for the 15th consecutive World Cup. Morocco finished second in the group and also advanced, rallying to beat Haiti 4-2.

After a lackluster 1-1 draw against Morocco in its opener, Brazil — facing pressure to win its first World Cup title since 2002 — followed with a 3-0 win over Haiti, and coach Carlo Ancelotti said he saw gradual improvement from his team during the group stage.

“We are working to play the best that we can,” he said. “But the goal is not to play well. We know that playing well is easier to win, but the goal is to win. ... If we win the World Cup, we played well. If we don't win the World Cup, we played really bad.”

Taking advantage of an early Scotland mistake on Wednesday, Vinícius received a pass from 19-year-old striker Rayan and took a quick touch to get by goalkeeper Angus Gunn for an easy finish and a 1-0 lead. He capitalized on another miscue by the Scots later in the first half with a header from close range.

“It’s always important to be scoring goals,” Vinícius said in Portuguese. “It’s important to be playing great matches, and I managed to do that. I was able to perform very well and improve. Throughout my years with the national team, there were times when I couldn’t quite show my true game.”

Neymar entered as a substitute in the 76th, making his debut after a right calf injury sidelined him for Brazil's first two matches. The majority-Brazilian crowd at Hard Rock Stadium began chanting his name midway through the second half as he got off the bench and began doing warmup sprints on the sideline — and fans roared as he trotted onto the pitch.

“I think he deserved the opportunity to play, which is why I gave him the opportunity to play,” Ancelotti said through an interpreter. “I think he did well even though he played for just a few minutes.”

Neymar is Brazil’s career scoring leader with 79 goals in 130 international appearances. The 34-year-old forward appeared in each of the past three World Cups for Brazil, scoring eight goals.

Scotland is playing in its first World Cup since 1998 and has become one of the more interesting teams of the tournament. Its dedicated fans, known as the Tartan Army, brought a party atmosphere to the Boston and Miami areas ahead of their team's matches.

Scotland hasn't advanced past the group stage in nine tries.

“We knew they were a top side,” Scotland’s Nathan Patterson said. “They have massive threats. We were trying to nullify the threats — and obviously giving them easy goals is not what you need.”

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

According to a notification ICE officials sent congressional members late Wednesday, Felix Alcorta-Rodriguez died about an hour after being rushed to the emergency room from the Webb County Detention Center on June 19. His death has not previously been reported. It is not yet listed on ICE’s website and spokespeople for the agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did congressional representatives who oversee the agency.

Dr. Corinne Stern, Webb County’s medical examiner, said in a brief interview that although the autopsy and notification of family is ongoing, Alcorta died from “natural causes.”

“It’s not in any way related to his incarceration,” she said, without providing more details.

According to the email from ICE notifying Congress, which the agency is required to do so under federal law, Alcorta entered the U.S. without inspection at an “unknown date and time.” ICE arrested Alcorta following his release from Webb County Jail on June 16. The Laredo Police Department had detained him the previous month on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court for a 2018 driving while intoxicated charge. Alcorta has previous arrests for unauthorized use of a vehicle, unauthorized disposal of a lead acid battery and drunken driving.

The email sent to Congressional representatives Wednesday said that Alcorta was found “unresponsive at 9:13 p.m” on June 19. Detention staff called medical emergency providers and began “lifesaving measures.” He was rushed by an ambulance to the Laredo Medical Center and pronounced dead at 10:02 p.m. His official cause of death is currently pending an autopsy.

“While in custody he received medical care and was seen by medical professionals,” according to the notification ICE sent congress.

A Laredo police department spokesperson confirmed Alcorta’s previous arrests. His recent arrest was the result of an outstanding warrant from the sheriff’s office for drunken driving in 2018. Webb County Judge Tino Tijerina said he was not familiar with the case.

A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, wrote in an email that the congressman had been advised of the death and was concerned.

“It’s critical that we get the facts and investigate what happened,” said the statement from Cuellar, who is in a heated election battle against Tijerina, the former Democrat turned Republican. “Any death in federal custody is a serious matter and transparency is important.”

Cuellar is ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which helps oversee billions in annual federal spending for the agency that Congress recently ballooned. He was absent from some important votes last year due to his federal indictment on bribery and money laundering allegations. As he and his wife, who were accused of accepting some $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank, were preparing to go to trial, President Trump pardoned the couple.

Earlier this year, Cuellar was one of a handful of Democrats to vote to fund DHS and prevent a partial government shutdown in the face of mass protests after ICE’s Minnesota operation. ICE agents killed two U.S. citizens in that surge.

Alcorta’s death in Laredo marks the latest in ICE detention in Texas, which has been home to at least a quarter of the deaths in ICE custody since Trump took office last year.

It also unfolds as the Webb County Detention Center, where Alcorta was detained, has come under some recent criticism. An ICE report this February found that the facility had at least nine violations for providing proper care in the span of the three-day visit. The facility is operated by CoreCivic, which did not immediately respond to questions. About a third of those complaints related to concerns of improper medical care. Among the allegations was that staff did not properly check on inmates for concerns about suicide or sufficiently care for pregnant women.

Such complaints have ramped up in Texas this year. In the span of six weeks between December and January, for example, six people died while detained by ICE in Texas — three of them at El Paso’s Camp East Montana.

The deadly period began with a 48-year-old Guatemalan, Francisco Gaspar-Andres, who ICE said died last December of liver and kidney failure after being hospitalized for more than two weeks following detention. His relatives have disputed ICE’s characterization that he died of natural causes. But the most controversial case has been that of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban with a criminal history, who died earlier this year at that sprawling and troubled tent camp at the U.S. Army’s Fort Bliss.

Initially, ICE officials said it was a suicide. The local medical examiner later ruled it a homicide involving staff. Lunas Campos’ death remains under federal investigation.

Thirty-two people died in ICE custody nationwide last year, surpassing the previous high of 20 in 2005, according to federal data.

Detention facilities are seeing more overcrowding and understaffing as the Trump administration ramps up enforcement in the interior of the country, experts said. Unlawful border crossings have plummeted due to the administration’s restrictions. Federal data shows that most current ICE detainees are not accused of crimes beyond civil immigration offenses.

The government last fall also temporarily stopped paying many medical providers due to bureaucratic changes under the administration. As a result, ICE for months has been unable to reimburse health care officials, including for prescription medication, dialysis and chemotherapy.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate demanded answers about the saga that's been highlighted in the news cycle for weeks, even as the White House has repeatedly blamed — without evidence — unidentified vandals for peeling paint and other problems. Six people have been arrested, President Donald Trump said, without providing details, and a local wildlife nonprofit conducted necropsies on dead ducks found near the Reflecting Pool. The president has said the pool may need to be drained once again for additional repairs.

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, challenged the Trump administration over no-bid contracts for work on the Reflecting Pool, saying they were awarded to vendors with previous relationships to Trump.

National Park Service projects undertaken at Trump’s behest in the Washington area “have been marked by blatant corruption, a shocking lack of transparency, disregard for legal requirements and apparent incompetence,” Blumenthal wrote Wednesday in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Jessica Bowron, the acting Park Service director.

“Rushed no-bid contracts given to unqualified vendors with previous relationships to the president resulted in a reflecting pool more covered with algae than before, with freshly painted chunks of paint peeling from the bottom to float on the pool’s surface,” Blumenthal said.

The nation's capital “will now celebrate America's 250th birthday with an empty reflecting pool, a testament to incompetence and corruption,” he added.

Two contracts for Reflecting Pool repairs

Ohio-based Green Water Solutions was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.

Both contractors have ties to Trump entities, said California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

“Donald Trump’s disastrous renovation of our national reflecting pool is his latest failed vanity project,” Garcia said, calling the projects a waste of taxpayer money.

Trump pledged to beautify the century-old Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation's 250th birthday celebrations, draining its water and directing the bottom to be painted a color he dubbed “American flag blue.” But since the site was restored, its water has been plagued by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating have appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Without evidence, Trump has repeatedly blamed the peeling paint on vandalism, including a “350-foot gash” in the liner, as the administration faces a self-imposed deadline to complete the renovation before July 4th. Trump also has said the federal government would release images to substantiate his claim.

Trump said Wednesday that “sick people” had used razors and box cutters to slice portions of the lining. He wasn’t sure if the pool draining would come before or after the July 4 holiday, during which tens of thousands of people will be at the National Mall.

The U.S. Park Police posted surveillance footage Wednesday evening and asked for help “identifying the individual depicted here in connection with a Destruction of Government Property investigation.” The grainy, 30-second video appears to show a person kneeling down, reaching into the reflecting pool and removing something from the water. Police said it was taken Friday afternoon.

A White House spokeswoman it’s “a shame that Democrats do not think the capital of the greatest nation in the history of the world deserves to be safe and beautiful.”

Trump “generously spearheaded the restoration of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which has long been plagued with algae and leaked 16 million gallons of water per year. The president’s efforts to beautify our nation’s capital are supported by Americans across the country and should be praised by both Republicans and Democrats,″ spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.

A spokeswoman for Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, said Wednesday the company uses devices called nanobubblers to infuse ozone into the water to kill algae and bacteria. The process is “functioning perfectly” and the water looked clear and blue Wednesday, after rain muddled it Tuesday, spokeswoman Erin Kramer said.

“The water is clear. What is visible is the sediment on the pool floor, a natural part of the remediation process when the algae dies,” she said. In a lake or river, that sediment is absorbed, but in a pool it needs to be vacuumed, she said.

The company is owned by John Cafaro, a Trump donor who lives near Mar-a-Lago, the president’s private club in Florida.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which spread blue sealant across the pool’s concrete floor, is owned by Curtis “Eddie” Wood. The company said this week it has identified some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs, adding that the work will done once the pool is drained. It was unclear when that will happen.

What's next for Reflecting Pool remains murky

Amid the calls for investigations, Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado called for Trump to personally reimburse American taxpayers for the pool renovations, which he called “a national embarrassment.”

Americans expect their tax dollars “to fix roads, support schools and protect our public lands,” Hickenlooper wrote in a letter to Trump. “They do not expect to bankroll failed presidential vanity projects. The bill for this fiasco should only belong to you, Mr. President.”

___

Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this story.

Camp Mystic has been under increasing pressure since the July 4 disaster. Owners had planned to reopen a separate campus of the Texas Hill Country camp this summer for its 100th anniversary, but reversed course in April amid outrage from victims’ families and lawmakers. Victims’ families filed lawsuits accusing the camp of failing to protect the girls as the powerful floodwaters approached.

Camp Mystic’s owner, Dick Eastland, also died in the flood.

The camp listed its debt at more than $10 million, according to the filing made in federal bankruptcy court in Houston. An attorney for Camp Mystic has not responded to an email and a phone message seeking comment.

“Bankruptcy will not stop all responsible parties from being held accountable,” Paul Yetter, a lawyer who represents multiple families of campers and counselors who died at Camp Mystic, said in a statement. “These innocent girls deserve justice.”

The case was filed as a complex re-organization case, and those types of cases can take years to sort out.

Generally speaking, Chapter 11 typically halts any current legal action against the company filing for bankruptcy. Experts told KSAT that pause can be temporary only if the suing parties have to get permission from the federal bankruptcy court to continue the lawsuits.

Kyle Findley is an attorney representing six Mystic campers’ families, and he told KSAT on Wednesday this bankruptcy filing will cause delays but, “The firm is evaluating our options, but the case will continue to be pursued.”

He continued in his statement, saying, “The bankruptcy filing is not accountability. It is simply a financial reorganization that could allow the same people and entities to remain in control of Camp Mystic while attempting to circumvent the justice of the Court. After 27 girls died, this filing is just another attempt to delay taking responsibility.”

KSAT has reached out to Camp Mystic for a comment about the bankruptcy filing but has not heard back yet.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Eastland family spent months determined to reopen the camp this summer, pointing to enhanced safety measures that included flood warning river monitors and putting two-way radios enabled with national weather alerts in every cabin.

By the spring, Camp Mystic’s attorney said it was ready to reopen for business for nearly 900 campers.

But assurances of safety did not convince victims’ families and some Texas lawmakers. State regulators found nearly two dozen deficiencies in the emergency operations plan submitted by the owners, including in proposals for flood warning evacuations and safety training.

The decision not to reopen followed weeks of testimony in court hearings and legislative investigations that laid bare the camp’s lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency and its reliance on poorly trained staff.

Families of the victims packed the hearings, some wearing “Heaven’s 27” pins with photographs of their daughters. They listened to the details of missed flood warning signs, the descriptions of the flood and the decision to leave the girls in their cabins until it was too late. Testimony included video of the raging floodwaters as a girl repeatedly screamed “help!” somewhere in the distance.

Before halting the reopening plans, Camp Mystic invited journalists and lawmakers to review safety improvements at the camp and promised that no camp activities would take place in the low-lying area that was devastated by the flood. The Eastland family also stressed that hundreds of families wanted to return.

___

McCormack contributed to this report from Concord, New Hampshire.

Kevin Singh, 48, faces felony charges for stalking and intimidation, as well as a misdemeanor harassment charge. He was arrested Tuesday, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.

Cunningham, a player with the Indiana Fever, told investigators she had been staying at home more and having nightmares because of Singh’s continued messages, according to the affidavit. She was first made aware of Singh’s alleged online conduct in February, she said.

Singh's online behavior escalated that month and his conduct “became increasingly threatening after he was contacted by team security," the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.

According to an affidavit, Singh allegedly sent numerous messages — including explicit messages — on the social media platform X in April. One of the messages featured the text, “You're literally down the street from me!” After Cunnigham's team sent Singh a cease-and-desist letter on April 30, Singh sent more messages on X, making explicit and threatening comments, according to the affidavit.

In September 2025, Singh hand-delivered a package addressed to “Sophie” at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indiana Fever’s home arena, containing a letter and a Guns N' Roses T-shirt sprayed with men's cologne, according the affidavit.

“The internet has made it easier than ever to target, harass and intimidate others. Threats of violence, whether face-to-face or behind a keyboard, will be taken seriously,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement. “Coming forward is never easy, regardless of a person’s position or public profile. The victim is setting an example by speaking out."

A phone call to a number listed for Singh wasn't answered. It wasn't clear if he had an attorney yet.

Singh is currently on probation in Hendricks County, Indiana, after he pleaded guilty in July 2025 to two felony counts of invasion of privacy, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office said.

The incident comes after Cunningham's teammate, WNBA star Caitlin Clark, was the victim of stalking and harassing by a different man from Texas who was sentenced last year to 2 1/2 years in prison.

Several longtime businesses have closed, while new developments and renovations are reshaping the corridor.

At Broadway and Mulberry, the former Half Price Books building has been partially demolished after closing last year. Next door, Antiquarian Book Mart closed in May after owner Bob Kellel sold the property. Both properties were purchased by local developer Harper/Huddleston Inc. So far, there is no word yet on what will be built there.

Nearby, the former Tomatillos building remains boarded up. The restaurant closed in 2021, though customers can still visit its Southwest Military Drive location.

One of Broadway’s biggest transformations happened at the former Ranch Motel, which reopened in 2023 as a boutique hotel and leisure club with several pickleball courts.

Another change came after Jim’s on Broadway closed in 2024. A new restaurant, Adair Kitchen, opened in the space in March.

Farther down Broadway, UIW is preparing to open its new Founders Hall to students this fall. The building was originally USAA’s first headquarters in the 1950s before AT&T later owned it. UIW purchased the property in 2019.

The building now includes eight floors of classrooms, gathering spaces and student resources.

With so much still changing along Broadway, this only covers about a mile of the corridor — meaning a part three may be coming soon.

Read also:

• Broadway is changing fast: What’s happening now along San Antonio’s most recognizable corridor

The Capitals got Tuch in a sign-and-trade Wednesday, getting him after the Sabres inked him to an eight-year $84 million contract and dealt him for a 2027 third-round pick and the rights to pending free agent forward David Kampf. Tuch will count $10.5 million against the salary cap through the 2033-34 NHL season.

“Alex was a highly coveted player, and we are pleased that he chose to come to Washington,” Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said. “Alex is a top-six offensive forward who brings size, versatility and the ability to contribute in all situations.”

Tuch, 30, essentially orchestrated the deal by agreeing to go and benefited from the way the trade went down by getting an eight-year contract, as opposed to the limit of seven had he hit the open market next week.

It is Washington's second big addition in two days after acquiring winger Jordan Kyrou from St. Louis for the No. 16 pick in the draft, prospect Milton Gastrin and forward Connor McMichael. It is also Buffalo's second subtraction from its roster after sending defenseman Bo Byram to Chicago in a trade the Sabres acquired the No. 4 pick in the draft they're hosting this weekend.

The Sabres locked up an important player for the long term by signing Zach Benson to a seven-year contract worth $52.5 million. GM Jarmo Kekalainen called getting a deal done with Benson a priority after the 21-year-old agitating winger's productive playoff performance.

Also Wednesday, Nashville and Colorado made another swap, with the Predators getting Jack Drury, prospect Chase Bradley and a 2029 third-round pick for fellow forwards Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov. It's the second trade between the teams since Chris MacFarland left his post as Avalanche GM to take over control of the Preds' hockey operations department in early June.

“Jack Drury is a hard-working, reliable, full-sheet of the ice center who can handle the tough assignments while being elite in the faceoff circle,” MacFarland said. “His addition to our forward group bolsters our depth in the middle of the ice, and we’re thrilled to have him."

More moves are expected in the leadup to the first round of the draft Friday and with free agency on the horizon next week.

“Sunday, the ball started to roll and now everybody’s on the treadmill,” Blue general manager Doug Armstrong said on a call with reporters. “It’s gone from a nice leisurely 2.5 walk (to) probably a 4.5 walk today and there’ll probably be a 6 jog tomorrow and an 8 run on Friday.”

San Jose GM Mike Grier, whose trading of young forward William Eklund to Ottawa for the No. 9 pick suggests the Sharks are not done dealing, observed that there is a lot of movement happening around the league. The salary cap is increasing to $104 million.

“The cap's going up: Teams have money to spend, for the most part, for the first time in a while,” Grier said. “On top of that, I think free agent market, the free agent class, this year might not excite a lot of people, so I think that’s leading to a lot trades and people being open to trying to improve their teams in different ways. There’s some good players out there, but prices are high."

Kekalainen said there had been no progress in contract talks with Tuch, who is coming off a season with 33 goals and 33 assists. The sign-and-trade allowed Tuch to get an eight-year deal, whereas he would have been limited to seven in free agency.

Like Tuch, Kekalainen said there was no movement with Byram, who he said expressed no interest in wanting to remain with the Sabres after his current contract expired next summer.

___

Whyno reported from New York.

___

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

New details emerged Tuesday as Jones said Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, will not be allowed to sell certain merchandise associated with antisemitic messaging or perform certain songs tied to previous controversies during the concert.

The mayor’s comments come as the event continues to draw national attention and criticism from members of San Antonio’s Jewish community, interfaith leaders and some elected officials. While the concert is still expected to move forward, the controversy has reignited debate over how the city reviews events booked at publicly funded facilities.

In an exclusive interview with KSAT, Jones said all City Council members were sent an email offering tickets to the concert. She said District 9 Councilwoman Misty Spears accepted, requesting three tickets.

>> San Antonio Councilwoman Misty Spears accepted free tickets to Ye’s Alamodome show, Mayor Jones says

Scrutiny has increased over how city leaders are responding to the event, with some questioning how officials can publicly oppose the concert while others accepted tickets.

KSAT reached out to Councilwoman Misty Spears’ office regarding the tickets. We received the following statement:

“Councilwoman Spears initially indicated she would accept complimentary tickets for a staff member and a guest. At that time, she was unaware of Ye’s antisemitic comments and hateful rhetoric.

As soon as she became aware of those statements, Councilwoman Spears immediately and unequivocally condemned them and declined the tickets. The tickets were never received, and no one from her office will attend the event.

Councilwoman Spears’ position has been clear and consistent: there is no place for antisemitism or hate speech in San Antonio. She unequivocally condemns both and remains committed to standing against hatred in all its forms."

Office of Councilwoman Spears

Jones said her concerns are specifically tied to the venue itself, not the ability of a private company or venue to host the performance.

“This is a city-funded venue. We’re talking about city tax dollars,” Jones said. “If this were happening at SeaWorld, if this were happening at Fiesta Texas, I would not have weighed in the way that I did.”

Earlier Tuesday, Jones joined members of San Antonio’s Jewish community and other interfaith organizations calling on the city to reconsider allowing the concert at the Alamodome.

The controversy stems from Ye’s history of antisemitic comments made in interviews, public appearances and on social media. The artist has faced widespread backlash in recent years for statements involving Jewish people and comments praising Adolf Hitler.

Craig Berkowitch, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio, said even if the concert continues as planned, the broader conversation should continue.

“While it appears unlikely that this decision will be reversed, this moment cannot simply end with the concert moving forward,” Berkowitch said.

Despite calls for cancellation, Jones acknowledged that stopping the concert would require formal action from City Council. She said there are currently not enough votes to cancel the event.

The mayor also pointed to the controversy as an example of what she believes is a gap in the city’s event review process.

“I think what this whole kerfuffle has shown is a real deficiency in the city’s process by which we review these things,” Jones said. “We’re going to have a better process moving forward.”

As part of ongoing discussions surrounding the event, officials have outlined restrictions for the concert, including limits on certain merchandise and content.

Jones said those restrictions highlight the concerns raised by critics.

“Certainly not having to ask somebody to not sell antisemitic merchandise is a very, very low standard,” she added.

Supporters of the concert have pointed to the potential economic impact, with estimates suggesting more than 60,000 people could attend and generate revenue for local businesses. The discussion comes as the city faces ongoing budget challenges.

However, critics said financial benefits should not outweigh community concerns.

“It’s not good money, and we shouldn’t be desperate to take money,” community member Abigayl Tobias told KSAT. “I think we should be representing our community better.”

Another community member, Carl Brown, said Ye’s past comments are the reason he believes the city should take a stand.

“When you cross a line and start spewing out antisemitic comments and things like that and not come back and correct it and apologize to the people that he’s hurt, that’s where you draw the line,” Brown said.

Jones said she has received more than 100 letters from residents expressing concerns about holding the concert at a city-owned facility.

Although the mayor believes the concert sends the wrong message, she acknowledged that without council action, the event is expected to proceed.

For Jones, the debate extends beyond a single performance.

“I’m proud to stand, frankly, on what I would argue is the right side of this,” she said.

Read also:

• ‘We don’t have the votes’: Mayor Jones says it’s unlikely city can cancel Ye’s upcoming Alamodome concert
• Bexar County leaders denounce Ye’s previous antisemitic comments ahead of July 4 concert
• Ye’s Fourth of July concert at Alamodome expected to draw another record crowd

On Wednesday, ICE said a judge sentenced Giannys Alexandra Ramirez-Fernandez, 21, and Nelson Adrian Perez-Martinez, 23, for trafficking the 16-year-old, who is from Venezuela.

Ramirez-Fernandez and Perez-Martinez were also in the country illegally, according to ICE.

Ramirez-Fernandez was sentenced to 12 and a half years in federal prison, while Perez-Martinez received a 20-year sentence in federal prison and lifetime supervised release, ICE said.

According to the release, Ramirez-Fernandez began a relationship with the teen when she was 13 years old and living with adopted parents in Colombia. Ramirez-Fernandez was 17 years old at that time.

The two crossed illegally into the United States in December 2022, ICE said, and Perez-Martinez crossed illegally into the U.S. in December 2023 and joined them.

Perez-Martinez and Ramirez-Fernandez traveled with the teen from Richmond, Kentucky, to San Antonio, the release states.

In 2024, investigators found Perez-Martinez and Ramirez-Fernandez accompanied the teen to around six different San Antonio motels from July 19 to July 30, ICE said.

Authorities arrested Ramirez-Fernandez and Perez-Martinez on July 30, 2024, as part of an ongoing investigation into sex trafficking, ICE said.

On Sept. 17, 2025, Ramirez-Fernandez pleaded guilty to three counts: aiding and abetting sex trafficking of children, conspiracy to sex traffic children and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Perez-Martinez was initially tried in October 2025, resulting in a hung jury. Federal prosecutors filed a five-count superseding indictment, and a jury found Perez-Martinez guilty on all counts on Feb. 23, 2026.

Read also:

• Murder trial begins for man accused of driving the wrong way in 2024 crash along Interstate 35

• HAZY SKY: Light concentrations of smoke & Saharan dust
• HOT, BUT NO 100S: Temps will stay steady in mid-90s
• ANY HOPE?: Nothing substantial over next 7 days

FORECAST

NOTICING A HAZE?

It’s not particularly thick, but there is a haze to the sky these days. It’s a common occurrence around here in the summers. In this case, it’s a mixture of smoke from fires in Mexico and a light plume of Saharan dust. Most won’t even notice it, but expect the haze to stick around through the weekend.

HOT, BUT NO TRIPLE DIGITS

It will be steadily hot through the foreseeable future. But, it should be noted that we’ve yet to hit 100°. In fact, today marks San Antonio’s average first 100 degree day. And while triple digits stay out of the forecast, do know that it’ll feel like it’s above 100 during the afternoon thanks to humidity.

ANY HOPE FOR RAIN?

Besides a very small chance of a shower on Sunday, the prospects for any rainfall are dim to finish out June and to start July.

QUICK WEATHER LINKS

• WATCH LIVE: Doppler Radar
• Hourly and 10-Day Forecast
• Download FREE KSAT Weather Authority App: Up-to-date forecast information and livestreams from trusted local meteorologists.
• KSAT Connect: Share your weather photos.

Pulisic played a dynamic first half in the Americans' historic 4-1 victory over Paraguay to open their home World Cup nearly two weeks ago, but the AC Milan midfielder came off at halftime after an injury from training stiffened up.

Pulisic said he nearly played in the U.S.' 2-0 victory over Australia last Friday but was held out to get closer to full fitness for the games ahead. He has returned to practice with his teammates this week after working out on his own last week before the trip to Seattle.

“I'm hoping to play a part in (the match against Turkey), for sure,” Pulisic said before the U.S. training session Wednesday at Great Park. “I’ll discuss that with my coaches and the medical staff. Obviously not a good chance I’ll probably go and play 90 (minutes) right away after you come back and miss a game, but we’ll see.”

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino didn't reveal his plan Wednesday for Pulisic in the match against Turkey, which is meaningless for both teams. The Americans are locked into first place in their group, while Turkey has been eliminated from knockout-round contention.

"Pulisic is talking with the medical (staff)," Pochettino said in an afternoon news conference at SoFi Stadium. “We have to decide if it’s possible to play from the beginning, or maybe play from the bench and play the second half.”

Pochettino did indicate that his players who have already received yellow cards — Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson and Tyler Adams — are unlikely to play, at least as starters.

“For the guys that have yellow cards, it’s not necessary to take another yellow card and not be available for the next stage,” Pochettino said. “It’s a normal, easy answer not to play with them from the beginning.”

Pulisic hopes the plan includes at least some playing time for him as the U.S. ramps up for its Round-of-32 match in Santa Clara, California, on July 1. While Pulisic's calf injury robbed him of one chance on the World Cup stage, he felt certain he wouldn't be out for long.

“I never feared anything worse,” Pulisic said. “I was pushing, and I was really close to trying to be available for the last game, for sure. I did feel a little something (against Paraguay), but I definitely was able to push through in the first half and just get me through. But yeah, it wasn’t quite ready, but it wasn’t anything where I feared anything worse than what it was.”

With no stakes for the U.S. against Turkey, Pochettino seems likely to provide some rest to key players in his starting lineup while giving a few of his reserves possibly their only opportunity to hit the field. That sounds great to Richards, who thinks some time off wouldn't be a hindrance.

“Our trainings are pretty intense," Richards said. "I think fitness won't be an issue. I don't think sharpness will be, either. Obviously it's good to keep into some sort of rhythm, but I think these guys deserve it if they get the chance (Thursday). I think we'll be fine when it comes to the next game.”

Pulisic was visibly excited as a spectator during the Americans' win in Seattle, celebrating along with his teammates as they capably handled a second straight opponent for their team's first consecutive World Cup victories since 1930. The U.S. offensive performance without its most accomplished attacking player, particularly in the first half against Australia, pleased Pulisic greatly.

“It’s not surprising to me,” Pulisic said. “I see what this team can do. We have depth. We have really strong players in a lot of positions. I don’t need to do everything. It’s such a strong team. These guys, everyone has each other’s backs. That’s what so fun about it, and to see the way the team performance that we’ve put in, especially the way we’ve started the games, has been fun to watch.”

___

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup

The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request on Wednesday. It arrived just hours after President Donald Trump assailed Republican senators during a private lunch — engaging in a shouting match with one — over their votes to approve a war powers resolution that would halt further hostilities.

The request is mostly for expenses incurred by the Defense Department as part of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led attack on Iran. But it also includes a range of other items, including $11.1 billion toward economic assistance for American farmers, $1.4 billion for the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa and $500 million to support ongoing efforts “to complete restoration and construction projects in and around Washington, D.C.”

“I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible,” said OMB Director Russ Vought in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, “President Trump is asking taxpayers to clean up his messes, to the tune of $87.6 billion.”

“After dragging America into a reckless war, he now wants Congress to hand him tens of billions more to paper over the damage — while families are still paying higher prices.”

There may not be enough support in Congress to pass war funds

It’s unclear how quickly the House and Senate could act on the White House’s request, or if Congress takes up the matter at all. The funding faces a difficult path because many lawmakers could view any votes as a reflection of test of their support for the war effort.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday briefing House GOP lawmakers from the conservative Republican Study Committee on the Pentagon’s budgetary needs. The White House is seeking as much as $1.5 trillion in defense spending in this year’s budget, a nearly 50% increase over previous levels.

But many lawmakers have complained they have yet to receive any formal briefing from the administration on the Iran war, nearly four months after it was launched, and as Trump’s team is now working to secure a fragile ceasefire and bring an end to the conflict.

Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the request is not merely to pay for “the president’s disastrous war, but an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional dollars for unrelated Pentagon priorities.”

Murray said she would review to ensure servicemembers are taken care of, “but I will not rubberstamp tens of billions more for this disastrous war of choice.”

Yet the White House was clear to include provisions to interest lawmakers from various regions, including $1 billion to assist “the final design and construction of a modernized Penn Station in New York City,” which would be of interest to Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Ca., who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on Defense, said in a joint statement, "President Trump’s request reflects the reality that our defense strength must be maintained, not merely demonstrated.”

Money for farmers, the Ebola outbreak and other needs included

The bulk of the request, $67 billion, is to replenish the Pentagon from the Iran war. The largest portion of that defense funding, $21 billion, would go to weapons and munitions, with another $17.3 billion for operational costs and $12.1 billion for other classified programs. Funds are also requested to cover fuel costs, drone manufacturing and cybersecurity.

The money for farmers would provide $10 billion in economic assistance to row and specialty crop farmers and $1.1 billion specifically to Florida agriculture producers who suffered losses from this past year’s winter storms.

The package also includes a collection of policy proposals that the administration strongly supports, and which are certain to raise interest among lawmakers.

Among them, the package proposes revisions to federal regulations of hemp products that have long been in dispute, changes to the year-round sales of renewable fuels and lifting of restrictions around federal investment support in Venezuela.

The administration is also requesting $550 million to prevent and detect the Ebola virus in Congo, where an outbreak has killed more than 250 people. Another $800 million would go to provide humanitarian assistance to the region.

Now, at 85, the musician known as the “King of the Brown Sound” is focused not only on celebrating his career but also on creating opportunities for future generations.

Little Joe officially announced an upcoming legacy show that will celebrate his decades-long music career, along with the launch of the Little Joe and Cris Hernandez Legacy Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to support students pursuing higher education.

“I’ve had people suggest that I start a foundation, and I’m talking 20, 25 years,” Little Joe said. “But I was not ready. I didn’t feel it.”

The idea gained momentum last year after a conversation with a friend and foundation development leader, Lupita Gutierrez.

“When you think Little Joe, you think big words — legendary icon, a trailblazer for the industry,” Gutierrez said. “My role in this is as head of development, just to put everything together, create the foundation, and make partnerships.”

The foundation is named in honor of Little Joe’s late wife, Cris Hernandez, who died almost two years ago.

“She passed away in October of 2024, and it’s been real hard and difficult without her,” Little Joe said. “But when the foundation really became a reality, I knew that I wanted to have her name on it.”

The organization will provide scholarships to students pursuing careers in medicine, law, education and the arts.

According to organizers, the first scholarships will be awarded next year to students from San Antonio’s West Side and Little Joe’s hometown of Temple. The program is expected to expand nationwide in future years.

As part of the foundation’s launch, organizers also announced the Tejanitos Got Talent competition, scheduled for July. The winner will perform during Little Joe’s Legacy Show on Aug. 1 at Woodlawn Theatre.

The event will feature Little Joe alongside several guest performers and artists celebrating his contributions to Tejano music.

“I’m calling it the show of the year of 2026,” Gutierrez said. “Not only are we honoring this icon right here, but the whole experience. I want people to walk in and be like, ‘Little Joe everywhere.’”

While preparing for the milestone event, Little Joe said he has found himself reflecting on his life and career, including the meaning behind one of his best-known songs, “Las Nubes.”

Little Joe said he hopes his legacy extends beyond music as he looks toward the future.

“That even in death, I continue to help kids get ahead because I know the importance of an education,” he said.

Read also:

• Our Lady of the Lake University launches three-year bachelor’s degree program

“Taxpayers who required assistance from the IRS often struggled to get it," said Erin M. Collins, who leads the independent watchdog agency of the IRS.

Collins earlier this year warned that the 2026 tax filing season was likely to present challenges for taxpayers who encounter problems with filing their taxes given the exodus of IRS workers since the start of the Trump administration.

The IRS started 2025 with about 102,000 employees and finished with about 74,000 after a series of firings and layoffs brought on by the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk. Last year, IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season were not allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until after the taxpayer filing deadline. This year, many of those customer service workers have left.

Collins in a report released Wednesday, said that overall, the IRS performed better than she expected. “The vast majority of taxpayers filed their returns successfully and received their refunds without significant delay.”

Technology improvements and automation helped prevent a total meltdown during the tax season, according to the report. The IRS said in a statement that expanded self-service options and other tech improvements allowed IRS staff to assist taxpayers with more complex cases.

However, the agency fell short in answering phones, the report said. Some 59% of calls on major accounts management lines were answered, but taxpayers on compliance lines got through only 34% of the time, and the line that handles identity theft victims got through only 19% of the time.

Identity theft victims overall have to wait nearly two years for help from the IRS, the report said. This is a long-standing issue at the agency.

The taxpayer advocate report says more than 500,000 identity-theft victims continue to face average case resolution times of roughly 20 months, with average processing times approaching 600 days.

The body was discovered Monday near the intersection of Gross Lane and Mechler Road, which is located just north of the Medina River in southwest Bexar County.

An SAPD spokesperson said the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office notified police about a vehicle fire in the area. Officers responded to the scene and the department has since taken the lead on the death investigation.

The person found inside has not been identified, police said.

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• Man accused in Stone Oak murder-suicide faced additional domestic violence charges, records show
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What is a high pressure system?

A high pressure system can cover Texas or the entire southwestern United States. Air pressures are highest at the center, and wind speeds flow clockwise around the system.

Cloud cover is prevented within an area of high pressure because air is sent downward. Thus, sinking air does not allow clouds and therefore prevents rain from developing.

Highs are known to trap heat, which can spike temperatures and easily result in streaks of above-average temperatures.

Why is high pressure always around?

High pressure systems are moving and developing all over the world. We always talk about it in the summer because our wind patterns become lax, and the jet stream doesn’t constantly drive weather systems into Texas or the southern United States. As a result, temperatures rise, pressure builds and our weather can stay pretty quiet until the next low pressure system arrives.

The longest-lasting high pressure system

In San Antonio, the longest stretch without rain was 63 days in 1993, from June 26 to August 28. A high pressure system dominated our area the entire time!

If you want to get more technical about the development of a high pressure system, check out the explanation below.

How does air move?

The best way to determine the weather is to understand what happens above controls our experience at the surface. The troposphere is the layer in our atmosphere where all weather occurs. At the equator, the troposphere can extend up to 12 miles above the surface. In all that “space,” air is constantly moving around as wind.

The movement of air is caused by the Sun’s radiation heating the Earth’s surface. The air will rise as it warms, but the Earth’s rotation causes the air to be turned to the right in the Northern Hemisphere. At the same time, the air will cool as it travels higher in the troposphere. Altogether, this creates circulations that we know as the Hadley, Ferrel and Polar cells.

Where does a high pressure system develop?

In the troposphere above 30° latitude, there is a convergence of air from the Hadley and Ferrel cells. This accumulation of air results in higher pressure, which also happens to occur over southern areas of the United States. Thus, having a high pressure system over Texas is almost a natural phenomenon. Air always wants to move from areas of high pressure to low pressure. Over time, this would balance out pressure levels, but that’s never the case.

Conditions under high pressure

As the air is moving in the form of wind, it also has a temperature. In the case of a high pressure system, air is typically warmer because clouds are prevented from forming, and allows the air to be heated efficiently. Warmer air essentially creates a feedback loop for a high pressure system because the warm, energized air molecules can also increase air pressure.

When do we get a break?

We might say a high pressure system is parked over us, but the occurrence is usually temporary. What helps steer all our weather is the jet stream. This stream of fast-moving air drives high and low pressure systems and their resulting temperature and weather phenomena across the world.

QUICK WEATHER LINKS

• WATCH LIVE: Doppler Radar
• Hourly and 10-Day Forecast
• Download FREE KSAT Weather Authority App: Up-to-date forecast information and livestreams from trusted local meteorologists.
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The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.

Casper rejected the Republican administration’s argument that the lawsuit to block the changes brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be put in place. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump’s requirements violated the separation of powers.

The Constitution "does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” wrote Casper, who was nominated by former Democratic President Barack Obama.

Among other proposed changes, Trump’s order would have required people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, prevented mail ballots from being counted if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by then, and punished states that failed to comply by withholding certain federal grants, including those intended to beef up election security.

Democrats see order as a constitutional overstep

In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was grateful the court had blocked Trump's "unconstitutional attempt to seize control of our elections" and would continue to defend voting rights in this year's midterm elections.

“Generations of Americans fought tirelessly for the right to vote, and we honor their legacy by protecting that right against anyone who tries to undermine it," said James, a Democrat.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose state was the lead plaintiff in the case, said the ruling reaffirmed the constitutional principle that it's up to the states and Congress to set election rules.

“While we are proud of this result, we are clear-eyed that President Trump’s attacks on voting rights and our elections show no signs of slowing down,” Bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement. "So let me be clear: we will keep fighting back every step of the way.”

In a statement, a White House spokeswoman said the Republican president wants to ensure that Americans are confident in the way elections are administered. The administration can appeal Wednesday's ruling if it chooses.

“The President’s executive order lawfully protects our elections, and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail in its implementation,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.

Trump also is trying to enact voting changes through Congress

The ruling was the latest in a series against the elections executive order Trump signed just months after taking office for his second term. He has since signed another executive order on elections that seeks to create a national voter list and limit mail balloting. That directive also faces multiple legal challenges.

Last fall, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., overseeing a separate challenge to the first election executive order by civil rights and Democratic Party-aligned groups blocked the government from taking steps to include the proof-of-citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form. That judge later barred Trump's defense secretary from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots.

In an apparent nod to the difficulty of implementing a proof-of-citizen requirement by executive order, Trump is pushing legislation in the Republican-controlled Congress to create such a mandate. The SAVE America Act has passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, leading Trump to advocate for eliminating the filibuster that is blocking the legislation.

On Wednesday, he abruptly canceled the expected signing of a bipartisan housing bill, saying he would not sign legislation until Congress passes his proof of citizenship requirement for voting.

Documents need to prove citizenship not always easy to obtain

Enacting a proof-of-citizenship requirement to vote can be complicated, especially if it's done on the eve of a major election with little time for states or voters to adjust.

A 2025 University of Maryland study estimates that 21.3 million Americans who are eligible to vote do not have — or don't have easy access to — documents to prove their citizenship. That includes nearly 10% of Democrats, 7% of Republicans and 14% of people unaffiliated with either major party.

Only about half of Americans have a passport, which can take four to six weeks to obtain and cost around $165. And the processing time for an online birth certificate can take anywhere from a few days to 12 weeks. Married women who have changed their names might need additional documentation, such as a marriage certificate.

A proof-of-citizenship requirement that passed in Kansas 15 years ago ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote before the law was halted by the courts.

The president and many of his Republican allies have been promoting the narrative that voting by noncitizens is a major problem, when in fact it's quite rare. The federal voter registration form already requires people to attest that they are U.S. citizens. Violating that is punishable as a felony that can lead to prison or deportation.

In another major voting case, the U.S. Supreme Court is due to issue an opinion soon on whether mail ballots must arrive by Election Day. That could immediately change the rules in 14 states that allow grace periods ranging from days to weeks if the ballots are postmarked by Election Day.

According to an SAPD preliminary report, officers were dispatched on a shooting call just before 6:30 p.m. in the 9100 block of Excellence Drive, which is located near Southwest Loop 410 and Old Pearsall Road.

Upon arrival, an SAPD spokesperson said a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were both found with apparent gunshot wounds.

The 16-year-old, who police described as the first of three suspects, was pronounced dead at the scene. The 14-year-old was transported to a local hospital, where he also died, SAPD said.

According to officials, a 29-year-old man and a 19-year-old man were later detained for questioning in connection with Tuesday’s shooting. At this time, no charges have been filed against the two men.

In the report, investigators said the three male suspects (29-year-old, 19-year-old and 16-year-old) attempted to rob the 14-year-old boy before gunfire broke out.

SAPD said its investigation remains ongoing.

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According to court records, Ryan Pena, 35, is charged with aggravated assault of a public servant and prohibited weapons.

The shooting happened around 5 p.m. on June 16 at an apartment complex near the 12000 block of Jones Maltsberger Road.

Four SWAT officers attempted to arrest Pena for an active felony warrant, according to an SAPD preliminary report.

The warrant was for the prohibited weapons charge, which stemmed from an incident on June 15.

When officers approached Pena, SAPD said that he pulled out a gun.

A SWAT officer and Pena were both shot, police said. They were taken to a local hospital for further treatment, SAPD stated.

San Antonio Police Chief McManus previously said he doesn’t believe either suffered life-threatening injuries.

SAPD identified the SWAT officer who was shot as Adel Mokrane. Police said Mokrane has been with the department for nine years.

Three other officers, identified as Nathan Bundy, Jose Sahagun and Brandon Pratt also shot back at Pena, according to police.

The officer’s years of service with the San Antonio Police Department range from eight to nine years.

As of Wednesday morning, Pena remains behind bars. Both charges combined for a total bond of $325,000, jail records show.

Read also:

• SAPD officer shot while serving warrant on North Side, police chief says

The NCAA will now allow athletes five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. The move will all but eliminate waivers or redshirt years for extended eligibility except for religious missions, pregnancy or active-duty military service. No longer will extensions be considered for athletes who are injured.

Athletes whose eligibility expired by spring 2026 under the traditional model — four years of competition over five years — will not be allowed a fifth year of competition under the new rules that go into effect this fall.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Cincinnati (Hamilton County) sought temporary and permanent injunctive relief that would allow a fifth year of competition for athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and began their college sports careers that fall and never redshirted. A judge denied a temporary restraining order hours after the lawsuit was filed and scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday on the request for a preliminary injunction.

The new eligibility rule “unjustifiably restrains their ability to earn money through use of their name, image, and likeness (‘NIL’) connected to their work as Division I athletes,” attorneys Ryan Downton and Charles Rittgers wrote in the complaint.

Similar lawsuits are expected to be filed in other states.

The Division I Cabinet said in a statement posted on X that it was aware of legal action challenging its decision and that "we do not intend to change course.”

The Cabinet said while age-based eligibility was under consideration, the Division I Board of Directors made clear any rule change would apply going forward and not retroactively to athletes whose eligibility was completed by the spring of 2026.

“Student-athletes who will exhaust their eligibility this year have received the full period of eligibility permitted by NCAA bylaws and the life-changing benefits college sports provides,” the Cabinet said. “Giving those student-athletes another season would destabilize rosters just ahead of the coming season by disrupting settled expectations of countless student-athletes regarding their expected roster spots and playing time next year, including incoming freshmen who are eager to participate in the life-changing experience of college athletics.”

Nine of the plaintiffs in the Ohio case have played or planned to play next season at Ohio schools. The rest, according to the complaint, have played multiple games in the state.

The complaint said class of 2022 athletes competed for playing time against older athletes who had eligibility extended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also noted the NCAA allowed 2022 high school graduates to play a full professional season before enrolling in 2023 and that they are not excluded from playing in 2026-27.

“NCAA athletes have a reasonable expectation that they will be treated fairly by the NCAA and that NCAA rules will be applied consistently, regardless of the athlete’s background before they attend an NCAA school and regardless of the year in which they graduated from high school,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit points out that the plaintiffs don't challenge the concept of a defined eligibility period or the five-for-five rule itself.

“Rather, they challenge the NCAA’s application of the rule” that allows players they competed against from the high school class of 2017-20 and 2023-25 an additional year of competition while denying plaintiffs the same opportunity," the attorneys wrote. “The NCAA then compounded the problem by allowing former professional players to compete in their fifth year following high school graduation regardless of the number of professional games they had played, while denying plaintiffs the same opportunity for a fifth year of competition.”

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

David Verdecanna, 60, was found dead from gunshot wounds Sunday evening inside his south Bexar County business.

Sheriff Javier Salazar spoke about the case during an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, making it clear that investigators do not believe the wounds were self-inflicted.

“At this time, we are considering this a homicide, but we don’t have much information on who he may have been with,” he said.

Salazar said Verdecanna’s wife called deputies to the business, located on U.S. Highway 181 South, not far from South Foster Road.

They quickly determined he was dead from gunshot wounds and also noticed bullet holes in the walls of the building, he said.

“We believe there were several shots fired within,” Salazar said. “There was also a firearm found not too far from his body, but that firearm was still in a holster, and it was lying across the room.”

What investigators have not found yet is the person who shot him or the reason for the shooting.

“It very well could have been some sort of a ripoff, some sort of a robbery, but we just don’t know at this point,” Salazar said.

Either way, the news of Verdecanna’s murder has hit hard among his family members.

In an email, his daughter told KSAT 12 News Verdecanna was a “father, a brother, a son, a grandfather, a friend, and above all, a man of God.”

Cassie Verdecanna also wrote that her father “lived his life with kindness and compassion.”

She said her family is at a loss to explain why someone would kill her father.

People in the neighborhood were equally as perplexed.

One neighbor told KSAT 12 News off camera that although she did not know much about Verdecanna, he seemed like a nice person.

She said he leased the space where he conducted his business, renting out U-Haul trucks and selling items through an online site.

Whether any of that had any ties to his murder is still unknown.

During the Tuesday news conference, Salazar encouraged anyone with information about the case to come forward and call the sheriff’s office at 210-335-6000.

Read also:

• BCSO seeks leads from public in connection with homicide investigation

The records show Albert Nixon Richter IV, 44, was arrested in April and accused of the following charges:

• aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (second-degree felony in February)
• assaulting a family member by impeding their breath (third-degree felony in April)

The charges were not initially reflected in publicly available online court records, but KSAT later located the cases after receiving information from a source familiar with the investigation.

‘You’re going to see your mom tonight’

According to an arrest affidavit, Brianna Richter, 40, contacted police in April and reported that her husband of eleven-and-a-half years, Albert, had assaulted her. She also told officers he attacked her during a separate incident in February.

During the February incident, the affidavit alleges Albert got into an argument with his wife at a home in the 800 block of Fawnway after she returned home late from a work trip.

According to investigators, Brianna told Albert that night that she didn’t want to be with him anymore.

Albert allegedly became angry with her. Documents show he shoved her into a closet, pointed a firearm at her and told Brianna, “You’re going to see your mom tonight.”

Brianna Richter told detectives that Albert was referring to her mother, who was no longer living.

While Albert stood over Brianna with a weapon pointed at her, the affidavit alleges he struck her “multiple times” in her face with the firearm and continued to threaten her life.

Eventually, Brianna convinced Albert to let her out of the closet. However, according to records, Albert warned that if she ran away, “It’s a bullet.”

Brianna also told investigators if she divorced Albert, he “would find her and kill her.” She didn’t report the alleged aggravated assault because she feared for her life and the safety of their two children, SAPD said.

Online records show Albert’s third-degree felony charge stems from an incident on April 3.

Following his April 16 arrest, Richter was released two days later on a combined $90,000 bond for both charges. Court records show the bond conditions prohibited him from contacting his estranged wife, possessing firearms and required him to remain under partial GPS-monitored house arrest.

At the time of last week’s deadly shooting, sources told KSAT that Richter was not wearing a GPS monitor.

While the felony charges are now public information, county records now consider both cases closed following the murder-suicide.

KSAT is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the case, including whether any breakdowns occurred in the monitoring or enforcement of Richter’s bond conditions.

Background

The violence escalated Friday when San Antonio police responded to a disturbance call in the 100 block of Red Hawk Ridge, which is located near Hardy Oak Boulevard.

Police said Richter opened fire on responding officers. One of them was struck by gunfire.

SAPD Chief William McManus identified the injured officer as Hunter Albrecht, a seven-year veteran of the department. Albrecht was shot in the lower abdomen and is expected to recover from his injuries.

Following a standoff, officers entered the home and found Albert and Brianna Richter dead.

Additionally, investigators have not publicly released additional details about what led up to Friday’s shooting.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, there is so much help for you. KSAT has a list of resources on its Domestic Violence webpage, which also explains how to identify different types of abuse.

If it’s an emergency, text or call 911. For wrap-around services, including the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, call Family Violence Prevention Services at (210) 733-8810.

You can also contact the Bexar County Family Justice Center, which also provides wrap-around services at (210) 631-0100.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or thoughts of suicide, call 988 or text TALK to 741-741.

You can also reach out to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) or the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) at 210-223-7233 (SAFE) or 800-316-9241. You can also text NAMI to 741-741.

More related coverage of this story on KSAT:

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• Man kills wife, shoots SAPD officer before turning gun on himself at Stone Oak home, police chief says

Trump has repeatedly slammed NATO, arguing the U.S. carries more than its fair share of military spending. But his grievances have been louder since the Iran war, as he fumed over the fact that some member countries ignored his call to help him restart oil trade through the shuttered Strait of Hormuz.

“They weren’t too nice to us in our recent little military skirmish,” Trump said of NATO allies as he introduced Rutte during their Oval Office meeting.

Subsequently pressed on what key U.S. allies could do to get back on his good side, Trump responded, “Just be loyal."

“We don’t need their money — we don’t need anything,” the president added. “We have the most powerful military in the world by far. But I just want loyalty.”

Trump has renewed his threats to leave the 77-year-old alliance, raising the stakes before the NATO leaders' summit in Turkey next month. But Rutte, who has become known as a Trump whisperer for his ability to charm the president, took on the now-familiar role of attempting to appease him anew.

Rutte pushed back gently against Trump's complaints, saying, “I know there have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking, your European allies have been there with you."

He also noted that 4,000 to 5,000 U.S. planes took off from bases in Europe before Iran and the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire.

Rutte gushed about Trump having been “very harsh” with defense contractors, saying, “I had one of them over in my office. He was still trembling.”

That was a reference to Trump having held a series of meetings with Pentagon officials and leading military contractors at the White House recently, discussing ways to increase munitions production after the Iran war raised concerns about the U.S. eating into its stocks of missiles.

“This is your president, but also the leader of the free world, taking the leadership role, as is necessary," Rutte told reporters in the Oval.

The U.S. Defense Department is conducting a review

The visit, Rutte's fifth since Trump returned to power last year, comes after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week lashed out at allies during a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels. His department is in the midst of a six-month review of U.S. forces in Europe.

Hegseth echoed some of Trump’s critiques, faulting European allies for not letting the U.S. use bases in Europe to attack Iran. NATO allies were not consulted about the war before the U.S. launched it with Israel on Feb. 28, and some have been openly critical of Trump's strategy.

Trump argues that NATO allies were not there for the U.S. and suggested leaving the alliance, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Cold War threat posed to European security by the Soviet Union. At the heart of their treaty is a mutual defense agreement in which an attack on one is considered an attack on all. The only time it has been invoked was in 2001, to support the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

The Pentagon’s warning that it will reduce its military presence in Europe to focus on threats elsewhere was the latest upheaval for the 32-member alliance since Trump returned to office.

The Republican leader stunned European allies last year when he threatened to annex Greenland, a semiautonomous island that is part of ally Denmark.

Earlier Wednesday, the leaders of five big European NATO allies — Germany, France, the U.K., Italy and Poland – met in Berlin to prepare for next month's summit in Ankara, and Rutte joined them remotely.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in remarks to reporters that the Ankara summit also should send the message that “we will do our part when the conditions are in place” to support an Iran peace deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron said, “We are in a moment of reconvergence between the Europeans and the Americans,” and indicated that he hopes this will continue at the summit.

Flattering Trump was a key objective

During the meeting, Rutte gave a presentation using three boards on easels, touting U.S.-NATO ties. Joining Trump were Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and other top administration officials.

After he was done, however, Trump spent long stretches not talking about NATO but instead boasting about his effort to beautify Washington. He even suggested that, two years ago, before he deployed the National Guard, the NATO chief might have "had a good chance of being mugged, although you’re a very big guy.”

“They would have mugged him up. They would have beaten the hell out of him,” Trump said to laughs. He further suggested that, previously, “nobody wanted to go out” in the nation's capital and "even if you got into the restaurant, they'd rob when you were in.”

Nevertheless, a chief part of Rutte’s mission these days is keeping the U.S. in NATO, and he’s proven himself adept in the past at subduing Trump’s frustrations.

Rutte frequently credits Trump with getting NATO members to increase their defense spending. The president last year pressured leaders to agree to invest 5% of their GDP annually in defense by 2035.

“He is completely committed” to the NATO alliance, Rutte said after leaving the White House, though he added, “I expect allies to spend more to equalize with the United States.”

The lengths to which Rutte is willing to go in praising Trump have at times raised eyebrows, such as when he referred to the president as “daddy” during the alliance’s summit last year.

He then sent him a fawning text message that employed one of Trump’s favorite flourishes, capitalizing random words. “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win,” Rutte said.

Trump shared the private message on social media for the world to see.

He did it again in January, blasting out another Rutte message that closed with: “Can’t wait to see you. Yours, Mark.”

___

Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

The businessman and lawyer, whose ventures include a clothing line, wine and rum brands, and a restaurant, earned U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement despite never having run for office. He defeated progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda by 1 percentage point, or more than 251,000 votes.

The result effectively was an indictment of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s government, whose policies Cepeda had promised to continue, including a largely failed effort to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups.

Electoral authorities published all but a fraction of the vote count hours after polls closed Sunday. Petro and Cepeda did not accept those results, with the latter saying he would wait for a recount to do so. Authorities finished the recount before declaring de la Espriella’s victory.

De la Espriella’s win adds Colombia to a growing list of countries that have turned to political outsiders in search for solutions to complex social, security and economic challenges.

The self-proclaimed representative of “the never-before-seen” promised voters fearful of renewed internal conflict to take a heavy-handed approach to combating violent crime with strategies borrowed from Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s playbook, including building mega-prisons. Those tactics have lowered homicide rates in the Central American country but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.

Earlier Wednesday, Cepeda conceded the election to de la Espriella and accepted a Senate seat reserved for the runner-up in the presidential contest.

“We assume with serenity, responsibility and absolute resolve — and let there be no doubt about it — the role that circumstances demand of us,” Cepeda said in an address to the nation. “We will exercise a democratic, vigilant and constructive opposition.”

De la Espriella, 47, will begin a four-year term Aug. 7.

In a statement on Wednesday, his campaign said the president-elect's “purpose is to work for national unity, with the people and for the people.” The campaign also stated his government will be committed to guaranteeing “the right to political opposition and peaceful protest, within the framework of the Constitution, the law and respect for democratic institutions.”

A day earlier, de la Espriella announced he was putting together his cabinet. He also said he plans to add Colombia to the Trump-dubbed “Shield of the Americas,” a coalition of countries purportedly aimed at cracking down on criminal groups in Latin America.

More than 26 million people voted in the polarizing runoff, setting a historic record. Of those, over 426,000 people chose a third, no-name option on the ballot that allows voters to express dislike of both candidates. About 29,000 people cast blank ballots.

___

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

The White House supported the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, but on Wednesday Trump canceled the signing ceremony for the bill, saying he would not sign the measure until Congress passes legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.

Here’s what to know.

How significant is this housing legislation?

The measure is the culmination of months of negotiations by lawmakers who combined dozens of bills meant to address how housing affordability for both renters and aspiring homeowners in the U.S. has grown increasingly out of reach for many Americans.

The bill would reduce federal regulations, streamline environmental reviews, speed up the construction process and curb the influence of corporate landlords by limiting their ability to purchase single-family homes.

Still, it's not a silver bullet for all the factors that contribute to reduced housing affordability, including lack of construction labor, rising insurance costs and years of subdued wage growth relative to sharply rising rents and home prices.

Even so, the bill has drawn broad support from the real estate industry, including organizations representing homebuilders and apartment complex owners, as well as housing advocates.

“We need more homes built, and legislation that removes construction barriers is exactly what the market needs right now,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. "Homebuyers who were hoping for relief may have to wait even longer, and in a market already starved for inventory, that’s a tough pill to swallow.”

What led lawmakers to pass the first major housing legislation in decades?

Housing has grown into a hot-button issue among voters in recent years as homeownership and rents in many areas have become less affordable for many Americans.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low. While sales accelerated in May to their fastest pace since December, they continue to hover close to a 4 million annual pace, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2 million, limited partly by elevated mortgage rates.

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

Home prices have increased 54% nationwide since 2020, and last year the median existing single-family sales price was nearly five times the median household income, according to researchers at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Renters, meanwhile, have seen little improvement in affordability. While the median U.S. monthly rent has been declining for nearly three years, it was still 17.2% higher in May than before the pandemic, according to data from Realtor.com.

What if the bill doesn't become law?

One of the biggest hurdles to homeownership has been an imbalance between supply and demand in many parts of the country.

When there are fewer homes on the market, that helps prop up home prices even during a slowdown. Conversely, during times when mortgage rates are low, buyers end up competing for fewer homes, which drives up prices.

The housing bill would help increase the supply of housing, particularly when it comes to smaller, more affordable starter homes.

It amends existing regulations to boost construction of manufactured homes, which tend to be more affordable than other types of newly built homes, and expand access to government-backed loans to include construction of standalone dwellings a homeowner can rent out.

The bill also provides new dollars for communities to turn abandoned infrastructure into housing, and provides guidelines for communities that want to reform outdated zoning regulations, which often limit larger housing developments.

“It won’t make housing more affordable overnight, but in the coming years we will see more construction of town homes, multifamily housing, and ADUs,” notes Fairweather, saying the additional supply "will relieve the pressure on home prices, and make it easier for homebuyers to break into the market.”

What about renters?

The legislation includes a broad set of provisions, including an expansion of government rental assistance and affordable housing construction programs , and measures aimed at encouraging state and local governments to make it easier to build new homes and apartments, including federal funding to places exceeding the median rate of homebuilding.

In addition, the bill would raise limits on the number of public housing units that can receive financing for renovations and codify a recovery program to help expedite funds to communities rebuilding after disaster.

It also requires new renter protections.

“Families are struggling under the heavy weight of housing costs that have climbed for decades,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. "There’s no time to waste. Without federal action, America’s housing shortfall will continue to grow, falling another 2 million units behind in the next five years.”

What happens if the bill signing is held up for weeks or longer?

While hailed as a significant step, the federal government's power to dictate things like how many homes are built or rents is limited, given that most of the regulations on construction, such as zoning laws, and other facets of real estate are determined by local and state governments.

So, even if the bill is delayed, it's not like it would have had an immediate impact on local house prices, for example. But it would set back the clock on new construction projects that might not otherwise get the go-ahead.

“The sooner this bill becomes law, the sooner builders and homebuyers will benefit from its downstream effects,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “Even if the president were to sign this bill immediately, many of the provisions will take time to impact builder planning and projects in the pipeline, so there is going to be a delay before consumers feel the impacts of this legislation either way.”

What happens next?

Trump's decision to not sign the legislation into law Wednesday could end up just temporarily delaying the measure from taking effect.

The House passed the bill in a 358-32 vote on Tuesday and the Senate passed it 85-5 on Monday. That level of support is what's colloquially called a veto-proof majority.

Still, if Trump were to veto the measure, the Senate and the House would have to vote again to override the veto.

It may not come to that.

Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that he had spoken with Trump earlier in the day and was confident the president would sign the bill.

“The president, when we go through the details of the bill, he’s going to understand that it’s a good product,” Johnson said.

Agility Robotics, based in Salem, Oregon, announced Wednesday a planned merger with an investment firm that will value the company at $2.5 billion as it becomes the first publicly traded company entirely devoted to building and selling humanoids.

Its competitors include Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk has pitched its humanoid prototype Optimus as the future of the carmaker; and Chinese robotics company Unitree, which recently moved toward going public on Shanghai's stock exchange.

Designed to pick up and move heavy bins and totes, Agility's flagship product, called Digit, is the “first humanoid robot employed and commercially operational in warehouse and industrial facilities,” said Michael Klein, co-founder and chairman of Churchill Capital Group, which runs the special-purpose acquisition company that intends to merge with Agility by the end of the year.

Klein said on an investor call Wednesday that the company has backing from Amazon, Nvidia, SoftBank and Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn. Its early customers include Toyota, industrial parts supplier Schaeffler, and Mercado Libre, the Latin American e-commerce giant.

While Agility describes its fully autonomous robot as a humanoid, the company's co-founder and chief robot officer Jonathan Hurst told investors Wednesday that “we’ve never set out to build a machine that looks like a person.” Unlike other humanoids, like Tesla's Optimus, Digit's legs are more birdlike than human in a design that is meant to better fit the work they do. Its hands are more like grippers or claws.

Agility CEO Peggy Johnson said Digit specializes in manual labor that for humans would be repetitive, dirty and prone to injury.

“The demand here is large and increasing,” she said on the investor call. “We have companies reshoring production, older workers retiring, and younger generations just not opting for these types of menial jobs.”

While earlier generations of industrial robots are typically so large and fast-moving that they must be fenced off from human workers, Hurst said upcoming versions of Digit will be able to work alongside humans in warehouses and manufacturing facilities. In the years to come, they could eventually find their way into hospitality, home services and elder care, he said.

Agility's plan to merge with Churchill's special-purpose acquisition company, known as a SPAC, provides a quicker timeline for going public and fewer disclosure requirements.

Johnson said the company will use the capital it raises to expand commercial deployments and scale production of its next robot model, Digit V5. It will be the fifth generation in a line of two-legged robots Agility first unveiled nearly a decade ago after spinning off from a robotics laboratory at Oregon State University.

The company is predicting a more than $1 trillion market for the types of robots it is building, though it is far from the only one trying to make them.

The surprise news of its planned public debut attracted a crowd of well-wishers to Agility’s booth Wednesday at the sprawling Automate robotics trade show in Chicago, said Aaron Prather, director of market intelligence at the Association for Advancing Automation, which helped organize the event.

Prather said the race between Agility and China's Unitree to go public also underscored the different approaches of companies designing humanoids, with Agility narrowing its focus on “worker bee” robots and Unitree frequently showing off machines that dance on two or four legs and do backflips and other entertaining gimmicks.

“Maybe it’s just maturing of the marketplace and these manufacturers are trying to find where their sweet spot is,” Prather said. “They’ll probably compete in some areas. But the space is so wide open, and everyone I think is trying to find where they fit.”

Camp Mystic has been under increasing pressure since the July 4 disaster. Owners had planned to reopen the Texas Hill Country camp this summer for its 100th anniversary but reversed course in April amid outrage from victims’ families and lawmakers. Victims’ families filed lawsuits accusing the camp of failing to protect the girls as the powerful floodwaters approached.

Camp Mystic’s owner, Richard Eastland, also died in the flood.

The camp listed its debt at more than $10 million, according to the filing made in federal bankruptcy court in Houston. An attorney for Camp Mystic has not responded to an email and a phone message seeking comment.

“Bankruptcy will not stop all responsible parties from being held accountable,” Paul Yetter, a lawyer who represents multiple families of campers and counselors who died at Camp Mystic, said in a statement. “These innocent girls deserve justice.”

For decades, Camp Mystic was a summer staple and an institution for generations of families who dropped off their girls at the sleepaway camp to ride horses, canoe, fish and attend Bible studies. Other summer camps in Kerr County, west of Austin, did not take on such devastating flooding and in some cases have reopened.

All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Eastland family spent months determined to reopen the camp this summer, pointing to enhanced safety measures that included flood warning river monitors and putting two-way radios enabled with national weather alerts in every cabin.

By the spring, Camp Mystic’s attorney said it was ready to reopen for business for nearly 900 campers.

But assurances of safety did not convince victims’ families and some Texas lawmakers. State regulators found nearly two dozen deficiencies in the emergency operations plan submitted by the owners, including in proposals for flood warning evacuations and safety training.

The decision not to reopen followed weeks of testimony in court hearings and legislative investigations that laid bare the camp’s lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency and its reliance on poorly trained staff.

Families of the victims packed the hearings, some wearing “Heaven’s 27” pins with photographs of their daughters. They listened to the details of missed flood warning signs, the descriptions of the flood and the decision to leave girls in their cabins until it was too late. Testimony included video of the raging floodwaters as a girl repeatedly screamed “help!” somewhere in the distance.

Before halting the reopening plans, Camp Mystic invited journalists and lawmakers to review safety improvements at the camp and promised that no camp activities would take place in the low-lying area that was devastated by the flood. The Eastland family also stressed that hundreds of families wanted to return.

Albert Nixon Richter IV, 44, shot and killed his estranged wife Brianna Richter, 40, before turning the gun on himself last Friday in the 100 block of Red Hawk Ridge, near Hardy Oak Boulevard. A medical examiner ruled Brianna’s death a homicide and Albert’s death a suicide.

Albert shot his way through the North Side home’s glass doors around noon last Friday and made his way towards Brianna, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said during a news conference on Friday.

SAPD believed Albert did not live at the residence.

Albert also shot Hunter Albrecht, a seven-year SAPD officer, in the lower abdomen during the early hours of the barricade, McManus said. He was sent to a local hospital and is in good condition, a hospital spokesperson told KSAT.

After a SWAT team’s multiple attempts to contact Albert, tear gas was used inside the home, a SAPD preliminary report said.

SAPD deployed a drone around 3 p.m. and flew it inside the home to find both Albert and Brianna dead. McManus said Albert had a pistol and turned the gun on himself.

The chief said there were two children inside the house who lived with Brianna. The children are OK, according to McManus. He could not confirm if Albert was the father of the two children.

Neighbors in the Stone Oak neighborhood came home on the Juneteenth holiday to SWAT and SAPD vehicles that closed off streets.

Multiple residents in the neighborhood were evacuated from their homes.

“The home is supposed to be a safe space, so the fact that this happened, it’s a heinous crime and it’s unacceptable and it’s absolutely devastating,” neighbor Erica Kennedy-Garcia said.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, there is help for you. KSAT has a list of resources on its Domestic Violence webpage, which also explains how to identify different types of abuse.

If it’s an emergency, text or call 911. For wrap-around services, including the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, call Family Violence Prevention Services at (210) 733-8810.

You can also contact the Bexar County Family Justice Center, which also provides wrap-around services at (210) 631-0100.

Read also:

• Man kills wife, shoots SAPD officer before turning gun on himself at Stone Oak home, police chief says
• ‘Absolutely devastating’: Neighbors react to deadly domestic dispute in Stone Oak

The campaign will engage 64 RBFCU branches with a goal of collecting 25,000 pounds of nonperishable food for the North Texas Food Bank, Central Texas Food Bank, San Antonio Food Bank and Coastal Bend Food Bank. RBFCU will match each pound donated with a $4 contribution, up to $100,000, to support local hunger-relief work in the same regions.

How to donate

Community members can drop off nonperishable items at participating RBFCU branches during the drive, with donations routed to food banks serving each branch’s area. Organizers estimate the 25,000-pound target equals about 391 pounds per branch.

RBFCU will close the campaign with a check presentation on July 31 at the San Antonio Food Bank to recognize the total food and funding generated by the effort.

Established in 1952, Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union (RBFCU) is a full-service financial cooperative dedicated to improving its members’ economic well-being and quality of life. With more than $19 billion in assets, RBFCU serves over 1.1 million members through 65 branches across Texas, as well as online at rbfcu.org and via the RBFCU Mobile app.

KSAT Community operates in partnership with University Health and Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union. Click here to read about other KSAT Community efforts. Interested in partnering with KSAT Community? Get in touch by filling out this form.

Gracie, who is about 3 years old, has been missing for nearly two weeks after escaping her enclosure at Cedar Hollow Ranch in the Texas Hill Country, said Vic Jones, who owns the remote property about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of San Antonio. He said Wednesday that Gracie had wandered into a part of the privately owned preserve that other giraffes previously avoided.

Jones said he has sent up helicopters to look for Gracie, a few sightings have trickled in, and a $5,000 reward is on the table.

But the giraffe, which stands roughly the height of a tree, hasn’t turned up.

“She wound up going up and feeding in an area on the hillside and the rocky ledges that none of the other giraffes had ever gone on before,” Jones said. “And when she came down off of there, she came down on the wrong side of the gate.”

The ranch is in rural Real County, where its roughly 2,700 residents were put on alert to be on the lookout for a missing giraffe. Jones said the search area is extremely remote, and the likelihood of Gracie encountering any humans is low.

“People are not in danger of her because she’s not around people,” Jones said. ‘She’s out in very, very rough, heavily wooded lands."

The Texas Hill Country has one of the largest concentrations of exotic captive animals in the country. Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson said the mild climate and rugged terrain seems to serve as a good stand-in for most of the animals’ native African environments.

He rattled off a list of animals that have gone missing over the years, especially after floods, but said this was his first giraffe.

“I’ve had wildebeests, I’ve had water buffalo, I’ve had monkeys, I’ve had zebras, all go missing,” Johnson said. “Sometimes we recover them, and sometimes we don’t.”

While the middle of Texas is not a giraffe’s native environment, Jones said Gracie should be able to find plenty of leaves and other vegetation to eat. He said other animals were not likely to bother her.

Jones said he initially had helicopters searching an area of about 7,500 acres (3,000 hectares) with no luck. A few days later, there was a report that Gracie was spotted to the south.

But by the time they could search the area, Jones said, she was already gone.

“We’re always two three days late for where the information is coming from, so that makes it tough,” Jones said.

Declines for several influential tech heavyweights, including Microsoft, pulled the broader market lower even though most stocks in the S&P 500 gained ground. That was also the case on Tuesday, when tech stocks pulled the market lower despite broader gains elsewhere.

The S&P 500 fell 7.24 points, or 0.1%, to 7,358.22, despite nearly 2 out of every 3 stocks gaining ground. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is less weighted with tech stocks, rose 182.06 points, or 0.4%, to 51,848.90.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 110.40 points, or 0.4%, to 25,476.64.

A 2.3% drop in Microsoft was the heaviest weight on the market. Oracle slumped 4.6%.

Many large tech companies have been behind Wall Street’s record-setting run throughout the year, but analysts have warned their valuations may have become stretched.

“The next phase of the AI investment cycle is beginning to collide with market discipline,” said Jason Vaillancourt, chief portfolio strategist at Columbia Threadneedle, in a research note.

Google’s parent company Alphabet slipped 0.2%. The company is replacing Verizon in the Dow on Monday. The company’s inclusion in the S&P 500 means more to investors, however, because 401(k) accounts are much more likely to include an S&P 500 index fund than anything tied to the Dow.

Alphabet will become the fifth Magnificent 7 company to join the Dow. The others are Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Nvidia.

Oil prices continued slipping as the U.S. and Iran negotiate a possible end to their war. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 3.8% to $73.87 a barrel. It has been trading below $80 in recent days but is still above the roughly $70 per barrel it was trading at in late February before the war began. U.S. crude prices fell 3.9% to $70.34 a barrel.

Oil companies had some of the biggest losses. Exxon Mobil fell 2% and Chevron lost 2.6%.

Some of the bigger winners on Wall Street included homebuilders following approval of legislation beneficial to the industry. KB Home surged 16.7% and D.R. Horton jumped 6.7%.

Treasury yields mostly fell, removing some pressure from stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.40% from 4.50% late Tuesday. The yield on the 2-year Treasury eased to 4.15% from 4.16%.

Treasury yields are still elevated from earlier in the year, especially the 2-year Treasury, which more closely tracks anticipated action from the Federal Reserve. The central bank has signaled that it is considering raising its benchmark interest rate by the end of the year. Wall Street is forecasting at least one hike to interest rates by December, according to data from CME Group.

The Fed is worried about stubborn inflation, which had been rising throughout the year as tariffs raised the costs for a wide range of goods. A shock to energy prices because of the U.S. war with Iran worsened inflation. Gasoline prices surged and shipping costs rose. The impact is expected to linger even as oil and gasoline prices fall.

The central bank will get an update on inflation Thursday, when its preferred measure for prices is released. Economists expect the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, or PCE, to show that prices rose 4.1% in May. That would be the highest level in three years.

“Thursday’s PCE is set to take on greater importance for markets, especially since Federal Reserve Chair (Kevin) Warsh was emphatic in last week’s meeting about the central bank’s desire to achieve price stability,” wrote Rick Gardner, chief investment officer at RGA Investments, in a research note.

Gold prices fell 3.4% to settle at $4,008.80 an ounce. Earlier in the day, gold briefly traded below $4,000, and hasn't settled below that level since November. Gold was above $5,000 an ounce earlier in the year. The precious metal is often seen as a barometer of the appetite for risk among investors, with more buying at times of increased anxiety and more selling as anxiety eases.

Markets were mixed in Europe.

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

The charges against Frank Carone are the latest in a string of corruption allegations leveled at the former mayor — who was himself indicted on bribery and other charges that were later dismissed — and key aides. Separately, federal authorities searched the homes of current and former New York Police Department leaders Wednesday in connection with a different bribery investigation.

Adams was not accused of wrongdoing in Carone’s indictment. It alleges the ex-chief of staff exploited his position to get more than $100,000 in payoffs for steering a migrant shelter contract to a hotel that social service officials had deemed unsuitable.

“Frank Carone was entrusted to run our city government and instead put his own wealth and status above duty,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Winik told a court.

Carone and his brother, Anthony Carone; hotel owner Yan Po Zhu, and hotel employee Crystal Chen pleaded not guilty to various charges. The brothers sat across from each other at a defense table, where Anthony Carone rubbed his face and Frank Carone appeared to read along during the proceedings.

Frank Carone’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said outside court that the case was based on “assumption after assumption after assumption.”

“There is not one fact that indicates Frank Carone did anything specific to influence anything in our government,” Aidala said. The other defendants and their attorneys declined to comment.

Frank Carone and the Sabrina Carpenter church video

Carone, a former Brooklyn Democratic Party lawyer and longtime political power broker, is widely credited as one of the architects of Adams’ political rise. He also drew attention for his financial dealings with a Roman Catholic priest who let pop star Sabrina Carpenter film scenes for a provocative music video in a church.

Federal investigators later subpoenaed the church. “They found nothing,” Aidala said Wednesday, contending that the government first targeted Carone, then looked for a case.

Carone played a key role in Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign, was chief of staff in 2022, then left and formed a political consulting firm.

He “dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York,” Adams spokesperson Todd Shapiro said in a statement.

Indictment focuses on how the hotel became a shelter

Starting in 2022, the city scrambled to expand its shelter capacity amid an influx of migrants. Zhu's hotel got $6.8 million to shelter some of the new arrivals, though the city’s Social Services Department had repeatedly rejected the facility, which was small and in a Queens neighborhood where residents objected to more shelters, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said in court papers that Frank Carone accepted around $120,000 in bribes from Zhu and Chen to intercede on the hotel's behalf. The money was passed through Anthony Carone’s law firm, according to the indictment.

In a September 2022 text message, Zhu asked Frank Carone for help getting the hotel an immediate one-year contract, according to the indictment. It said Carone replied by asking for the address, and Zhu gave it, adding: “Thank you my big guy.”

In December 2023, Zhu texted Carone: “I asked my partners to pay you for a year,” according to the document. Carone, who is also charged with obstruction of justice, deleted the message after learning he was under investigation, prosecutors said.

Zhu “is anxious to establish his innocence,” lawyer Stephen Scaring said before the arraignments. All four defendants later were released on bond, ranging from $100,000 for Chen to $8 million for Zhu.

Police officials' homes searched in unrelated probe

Separately Wednesday, the FBI and the NYPD executed search warrants at the homes of NYPD Chief of Manhattan South James McCarthy and former Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard, and federal agents also searched former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey's home, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the searches. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the searches were part of a bribery investigation that grew out of an inquiry into Maddrey.

There was no immediate response to an inquiry to Maddrey's attorney. Attorney information for Sheppard and McCarthy was not immediately available.

There is no public indication of any arrests as part of those searches.

They were not related to Frank Carone's arrest, according to another person familiar with the matter who also was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Once the NYPD's highest-ranking uniformed officer, Maddrey resigned in 2024 over allegations that he demanded sex from a subordinate in exchange for opportunities to earn extra pay. Maddrey denied the claims of a quid pro quo.

Adams was indicted in 2024 on charges of accepting illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials and others in exchange for political favors. The case was tossed by federal Justice Department leaders who said it was distracting Adams from assisting in Republican President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Adams has denied wrongdoing.

After skipping last year’s Democratic primary, Adams mounted but eventually abandoned an independent campaign for a second term.

___

Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut, and Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report.

Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said evidence from a neighbor’s doorbell camera, ballistics and analysis of cellphone records have left investigators certain Michelle Zajko is at least partly responsible for the deaths of her parents, Rita and Richard. They were shot in her childhood playroom on New Year’s Eve 2022, surrounded by her old dolls and toys.

"At this time we do not know who her co-conspirators were, but we are very certain that Michelle Zajko was in the home and arranged for the death of her parents,” Rouse said.

The new charges against Zajko, who has been jailed in Maryland on other charges since February 2025, include murder, burglary and conspiracy charges in her parents’ deaths. She has denied killing them, and in court filings suggested her father might have killed her mother and himself.

“I didn’t murder my parents,” she wrote in an April 2025 “ Open Letter to the World” that her attorney sent to The Associated Press.

Authorities had long described Zajko as a person of interest.

The two deaths are among six linked to the Zizians, a group of young, highly intelligent computer scientists who appear to share radical beliefs about veganism, animal rights, gender identity and artificial intelligence. Since 2022, members have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord, the landlord’s subsequent killing, the Zajkos’ deaths in Pennsylvania, and a highway shootout in Vermont that left a border agent and another Zizian dead.

Ballistics and list of mistakes provided links to Zajko

In the Pennsylvania case, investigators spent years painstakingly collecting evidence, Rouse said, including video from a neighbor's doorbell camera that captured two people getting out of a car outside the Zajkos' home in Chester Heights, a voice shouting “Mom!” and another voice exclaiming, “Oh my God! Oh, God, God!”

Authorities haven't found a weapon, but Zajko made a list describing mistakes such as leaving shell casings behind, he said. Those casings matched ammunition from Zajko's home in Vermont and from a firing range in her backyard, Rouse said.

“If she wasn’t the one who actually pulled the trigger, she was certainly aligned with those who did,” he said.

Online court records didn't indicate whether Zajko had an attorney in the Pennsylvania case as of Wednesday. An attorney representing her in Maryland did not respond to a message seeking comment, and the Delaware County Public Defender’s office declined to comment.

Zizians face charges in multiple states

Zajko, now 33, also is charged with providing the gun used to kill U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in January 2025, though nothing has happened in that case. She was arrested in Maryland a few weeks later along with Daniel Blank and Jack “Ziz” LaSota, whom authorities describe as the group’s leader. Police who responded to a landowner's complaint about suspicious people parked in box trucks on his property described them as having “ties with the Zizians Cult” and said they would be questioned about crimes across the country.

All three have pleaded not guilty to charges of trespassing and illegal gun and drug possession, while LaSota also has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of illegal gun possession by a fugitive. A judge recently granted a defense request for a competency evaluation in the federal case.

In court filings, LaSota’s attorneys said their client eschews the term Zizian and denies that she and her friends have formed a cult. Zajko has claimed authorities arrested the group in Maryland to prevent them from exonerating Teresa Youngblut, who has pleaded not guilty to murder in the Vermont shooting and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Zajko was living with Blank in Vermont at the time of her parents’ deaths and was questioned there by police shortly after they died. A few weeks later, officers briefly took her into custody at a hotel while she was in Pennsylvania for the funeral but released her without charges. LaSota, staying at the same hotel, was charged with obstructing the homicide investigation and disorderly conduct. Her attorney at the time has said she is innocent of those charges.

Family questions remain unanswered in the Pennsylvania killings

Zajko had been estranged from her parents in the year leading up to their deaths, the prosecutor said. In a January 2022 text message to her father, she complained that her mother had “assumed the worst” about her since she was a child.

“Every time I interact with mom in a nonsuperficial way she spends the time insulting a life she knows nothing about,” Zajko wrote. Hours before her death, Rita Zajko apologized to her daughter and wished her a happy birthday.

“That text went unanswered,” Rouse said.

Richard Zajko's sister-in-law, Roseanne Zajko, thanked police and prosecutors Wednesday, saying that her family has endured “countless days of darkness and despair" waiting for justice.

“We don't know yet if the trial will begin to heal the void in our lives and the ache in our hearts, but we do know that the detectives, the DA's office, and we, the family, have done everything possible to achieve justice for Rick and Rita.”

The prosecutor described their deaths as a crime that “goes beyond comprehension.”

“I can’t wrap my mind around or figure out what led to this point," he said. "We are clearly talking about someone that has gone down an unimaginably dark road and has led to a tragedy that just defies any sort of description.”

____

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

The Cardinals also announced the promotion of Anuk Karunaratne to president of business operations as part of a restructuring following Chaim Bloom’s appointment as president of baseball operations last September.

“In some ways, it’s not that big of a change, as all of us up here have been working together closely for a couple years now,” DeWitt III said. “But in formalizing these roles, we’re just firming up the leadership structure that will lay the foundation for the next wave of organizational and team success.”

DeWitt III, 58, oversaw the opening of Busch Stadium in 2006 and the development and launch of Ballpark Village Phase I in 2014 and Phase II in 2020.

Bill DeWitt Jr. continues as chairman and principal owner and will continue his involvement in team baseball and business matters.

“Nothing’s really changed,” DeWitt Jr. said. “I stay in touch with obviously Bill III. Baseball (operations) stays in touch with me. I talk all the time, so I may or may not be here, but I’m here in spirit and available 24/7 so I’m tightly in touch with all the things we’re looking to do.”

Karunaratne joined the Cardinals in 2024 as senior vice president of business operations. He previously was the Toronto Blue Jays’ executive vice president of business operations.

“We all know what the Cardinals can be at their best,” Karunaratne said. “That’s what we’re building towards, and ultimately that matters. It matters to this organization, it matters to this city, and it matters to every one of our fans. We’re ready, and we’re going to get after it.”

The Cardinals qualified for postseason play 17 times in DeWitt Jr.’s first 27 seasons at the helm of the franchise and drew at least 2.9 million fans in every full season from 1998 through 2023.

The club, however, has not having made the postseason since 2022. Attendance has dropped to 30-year lows.

“Like the business, there’s been a lot of change, and it’s change that has been accelerating, probably over the last five years, and I think right now baseball organization is in good shape with Chaim and some of the changes he’s made,” DeWitt III said. “I come at it more as somebody that is ready and sort of willing to go a little deeper into the organization on the baseball side than perhaps I have in the past and just really learn. When you’re in this role for 18 years, you know everybody in the business side, so when issues come up, what people’s opinions are, you’re collecting them where people are coming from. I want to get to that point on the baseball side.”

DeWitt III’s promotion continues a family legacy in the game of baseball that dates back to his grandfather.

“I love pointing out my grandfather’s role here, he was here about 20 years as treasurer, worked with Branch Rickey, and that’s a point of pride for me,” DeWitt III said. “It’s pretty cool. It isn’t too often that you see, particularly in an organization like this, have that much heritage in one family.”

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

The women's tournament is set to start June 24, 2027, hosted by a South American country for the first time. Brazil hosted the men's World Cup in 1950 and 2014.

“I think that the host country, it sleeps and breathes football. So, I think just the energy you’re going to see from the public, the general public, and obviously the teams touching down in Brazil, I mean, it’s such a unique, special country,” FIFA chief football officer Jill Ellis said at an event Wednesday in Miami. “I think the same energy you’re going to feel right now when you bring the world together, and you have an incredible product in women’s football, I mean, the level of quality the players is so extraordinary that I think, honestly, it will be an epic showcase of football and fandom.”

In addition to Miami, a countdown event was also held in Rio de Janeiro. Even in Vancouver, British Columbia, at Wednesday's World Cup match between Switzerland and co-host Canada, video signage flashed with ads for the upcoming women's tournament.

All eight cities that will host women's matches next year also hosted men's games in 2014: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife and Salvador.

Qualification for the tournament has already begun. Brazil, which has an automatic spot as host, has never won the women's tournament and it remains to be seen whether Marta, the six-time FIFA world player of the year, will be on the national team. The 40-year-old Marta has never won a major international tournament.

Thirteen other teams have also qualified, including Australia, Philippines, Japan, North Korea, China, South Korea, Argentina, Colombia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Spain and Denmark.

“There is only one year left until the moment that will be marked in the history of our country. For the CBF (Brazilian soccer confederation) and for all Brazilians, it is a source of great pride to host the Women’s World Cup," federation president Samir Xaud said in a statement. “It will be an opportunity to show the world our passion for football and, above all, the strength of Brazilian women’s football. We are certain that this will be a transformative World Cup, capable of inspiring girls in all regions of Brazil and leaving a lasting legacy.”

The first Women's World Cup was hosted by China in 1991. The United States has won the most titles with four. Spain won the last title in 2023 at the tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Women's soccer has experienced exponential growth in the past decade, with new leagues, increasing viewership and revenues. The Women's World Cup in Brazil will be the last with 32 teams. In 2031 the event will include 48 teams, like the men's tournament.

The 2031 World Cup is expected to be hosted by the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. The formal decision will likely be announced in November.

“I think when we went to 32 there was some noise, are we’re ready, are there going to be blowouts? We saw an incredibly competitive landscape. We saw debutantes making the knockout rounds. I think the global game is accelerating so fast that countries are closing the gap a lot faster," Ellis said. “Our job is to make sure teams come in there as prepared and ready as they can, so we have the most competitive World Cup. So I think the growth of the game is accelerating rapidly, and I think by 2031 we certainly will have a very competitive World Cup.”

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

Just before 3 p.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to a report of a deceased person at Helton Nature Park in the 15600 block of FM 775.

The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office said when deputies arrived, they found the woman lying on the bank of the San Antonio River with a fatal gunshot wound.

There is no threat to the public, according to the sheriff’s office.

Authorities said the woman’s identity is being withheld pending further investigation.

The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with the Texas Rangers to investigate the circumstances and the woman’s manner of death.

Additional information was not immediately available.

Read also:

• Man’s body found along Interstate 35 service road in Schertz, police say