• RAIN: Hit-or-miss showers with some thunder/lightning dissipating quickly
• WEEKEND: Near 100° each day
• NEXT WEEK: Stringing together triple digit days

FORECAST

TRIPLE DIGIT COUNT

The official weather site for San Antonio is the San Antonio International Airport, where we’ve only seen 3 100-degree days this year. However, as you look elsewhere, you can see that that number is much higher!

A SHOT AT A SHOWER THIS AFTERNOON

While it’ll still be hot, expect a few more clouds today. There is a 20-30% chance for you to see a shower in the afternoon. Highs will be in the upper 90s.

WEEKEND

It’ll stay dry and hot over the weekend. Each day, highs will be close to 100°. Good pool and splashpad weather!

NEXT WEEK

With the heat high right overhead, next week will feature a string of triple-digit days, and potentially our hottest weather of the year so far. By next weekend, there are some indications, we could see small rain chances return.

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.

Campuses and districts received their state report cards Friday, providing families a glimpse of how well schools educate students. About one in four schools saw their ratings improve, while a nearly similar number of campuses saw a drop. 

Of the more than 9,000 campuses in the 2025-26 school year, 24% scored an A, 34% scored a B, 23% scored a C, 10% scored a D and 4% scored an F. Some schools did not receive grades.

Schools with high poverty performed worse than more affluent campuses, while campuses with predominantly Black or Hispanic students scored lower than those where white or Asian students make up the majority. 

Still, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath characterized the ratings as a win, pointing to the hundreds of campuses in high-poverty communities that earned an A. 

“We are teaching them handwriting. They are memorizing the timetables. They are thinking through more and more advanced math problems. All children can learn and achieve,” Morath said as he visited a New Braunfels campus Friday morning.

Because two Austin middle schools earned their fifth consecutive failing grades, the threshold for the state’s most severe sanctions, Morath must decide between shuttering the campuses and replacing the district’s locally elected school board with appointees he selects. 

AISD Superintendent Matias Segura told the Austin Current he has not communicated with state officials regarding the commissioner’s plans for the district.

“I understand there is an anxiousness and concern in the community,” Segura told the Current. “We are going to be here tomorrow, the teachers are going to show up, we are going to do the work to ensure their student gets what they need, regardless of what that looks like for that specific family, for that specific school. AISD will continue to be here; we have been here for 145 years.”

The letter grades campuses receive can shape community perceptions. Often, parents use the scores to pick a school for their kids. Businesses may also weigh the ratings when choosing which regions to invest in or move to, as they anticipate that schools labeled high-performing will graduate more students prepared for the workforce. 

Ratings for schools and districts largely depend on three primary metrics: how students perform on STAAR and meet college and career readiness benchmarks; how results on state tests improve over time; and how well schools educate underserved children.

Bridget Worley, the chief of statewide impact at Commit Partnership, said grades stagnated this year partly because of how the Texas Education Agency measures growth. 

“In the districts that are evaluated on growth, we see fluctuations in performance,” Worley said. “It is rare to actually see giant jumps in performance year over year. You can have a really high growth year that is hard to sustain.”

Critics of the state’s accountability system say school ratings fail to account for the challenges facing high-poverty schools, which often work with fewer resources to serve children with higher needs. They say it pressures districts to focus more on improving their letter grades than helping students grow academically.

Proponents of the grades say Texas families deserve transparency about how well schools educate their children. Worley, an advocate for accountability grades, said ratings are a way to help low-income schools access more resources. 

“It is possible for all campuses in Texas to earn an A or B,” Worley said. “But it takes dedicated systemic decisions to bring in those resources and that talent.”

Some districts stave off state takeover. One falls short.

Texas has increasingly leaned on state takeovers as a way to fix chronic academic struggles. But a handful of districts on the brink of intervention this year — Ector County, Greenville, and Ralls — managed to narrowly avoid Austin’s fate with gains at their struggling campuses. 

Waco inched closer to a takeover with a failing grade at one elementary campus this year, but the district’s partnership with charter network Third Future Schools buys them more time before they hit the threshold.

Austin became vulnerable to a state takeover earlier this year after the state rejected the district’s bid to enter a partnership similar to Waco’s move. Agency officials said the nonprofit wanting to step in, Texas Council for International Studies, did not have a proven record of academic turnaround. 

Now, Austin students, parents, educators and local advocates await news on whether the state’s education chief will replace their elected trustees. Districts have until Sept. 11 to appeal their grades to the Texas Education Agency.

Texas schools that trigger state takeovers tend to serve predominantly Black, Latino or low-income students. That remains true for the two Austin campuses that received their fifth F ratings on Friday. 

“We know the state takeover playbook,” Ken Zarifis, the president of Education Austin, a local teachers union, said in a statement. “We just hope they won’t run it in Austin ISD.”

How districts under state control over fared

Two of Texas’ largest school districts, Houston and Fort Worth, have state takeovers well underway. Students are seeing aggressive changes because of the intervention, including teacher departures and scripted classroom lessons.

Three years after Houston’s takeover, the campus that triggered the takeover, Wheatley High School, received an A. 

The state’s largest district, however, slipped in some ratings, going from no F-rated campuses last year to five this year. One of those schools did not previously receive a rating. 

Critics often point to high teacher turnover, declining enrollment and an overemphasis on testing as evidence that the takeover harms students. They express concerns about district officials moving children to less rigorous courses, which some consider proof that letter grade increases do not equate to meaningful learning.

“People should be asking why the scores move up and down all the time,” said Ruth Kravetz, co-founder of the Houston-based Community Voices for Public Education. “Bad things are happening to make the ratings look good.”

Morath replaced Fort Worth ISD’s leadership this spring, about two weeks before most STAAR testing began. Before then, former superintendent Karen Molinar shifted instruction to improve outcomes. The district went from 39 D and F rated campuses last year to 26 campuses this year.

“We are pleased by these results,” said Zach Leonard, a Fort Worth parent who leads a coalition of families organizing against the takeover. “Ratings don’t just define people in a district the way that the state wants to. But these improvements are a direct reflection of Dr. Molinar and her staff.” 

For one district, a long-awaited pay off 

Student cheerleaders and teachers packed the cafeteria in Oak Run Middle School to celebrate the New Braunfels campus’ jump from a C to an A. The wins come even as teachers said they must manage growing class sizes.

“You are one of the few schools that saw this amount of gain in one year,” Morath said. “And this happens because of extraordinary leadership. It happens because of an extraordinary staff that buckles down, that focuses on the fundamentals.”

Jessica White, the former principal of Oak Run Middle, credited the gains in academic achievement to providing additional tutoring to students as often as every six weeks and helping new teachers deliver lessons effectively the first time. 

“We showed students if they could prove themselves, they could move into something fun,” said White, of offering small rewards such as popsicles or recess to students doing intervention work. When educators followed through on their promises of rewards, “they felt more powerful. It really does matter.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The Swiss star, who was given a spot in the final after falling in the semifinal a day earlier, finished in 1 minute, 54.81 seconds at Alexander Stadium.

Hodgkinson closed the gap down the stretch but Werro willed herself across the line for gold ahead of her British rival. Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol took bronze.

Werro, sporting a small bandage on her right hip, took the lead in the first lap and never let up. Werro in late June ran the third-fastest women’s time ever: 1:53.80.

In one of Thursday's semifinal heats, Anais Bourgoin’s left hand made contact with Werro’s right foot and Werro tumbled on the last bend.

Hodgkinson had won the past two 800 titles at the European championships.

Married man ‘Mondo’ Duplantis into pole vault final

Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis is hoping to break the world record — as a married man.

Duplantis, who tied the knot with Desiré Inglander in June, needed just one successful attempt at 5.60 meters to qualify for Sunday night’s final.

The world record is 6.31, which the Louisiana-born Duplantis vaulted in March. That was his 15th world record. He first broke it in 2020 and has eclipsed his mark by 1 centimeter every time since.

The two-time reigning Olympic champion looked fully recovered from a thigh issue that forced him to stop competing at the London Diamond League meet one month ago.

“I’ve worked really hard the past few weeks to try and make sure I am ready for this competition, so I feel good out there. I feel hopeful and confident for Sunday,” he said. "The jump was clean, good. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Now it’s just about going up there and doing what I normally do in the final on Sunday."

After his jump, the world record holder signed autographs and shook hands with fans. Organizers sold special ‘Mondo’ children’s tickets priced at 6.31 pounds — the figure representing his latest world record height — for Friday morning’s session.

Duplantis also revealed on Friday he usually keeps his wedding band “in between my laces (of) my spikes” while he competes.

He said his marriage proposal and wedding day were more nerve-wracking than vaulting himself into rarefied air going for a world record.

“When I attempt a world record, it's just like the cherry on top," he said. "I don’t really even get that nervous, it's more like I won the competition and whatever happens after that is really nice.”

Duplantis competes for his mother’s native Sweden and has won the past three European championship titles.

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See full AP coverage of European sports here

Even as the Israeli army took positions around him and the homes of two other Palestinian families that settlers had blockaded for most of this week, the settlers remained close enough that Abu Rida feared they would again return after the army left and try to take over the home owned by his Palestinian American brother in Ohio.

“I just don’t know when this will end,” he said.

The standoff in Qusra between Palestinian families and Israeli settlers who apparently want to push them out entered a new stage Friday as activists supporting the Palestinians marched toward the besieged homes to replenish their dwindling food and water supply. But Abu Rida said he was growing tired of the pattern, with Israeli forces removing the settlers, only for them to return and reestablish their positions after the troops withdrew.

“It’s like a kids’ game, like cat and mouse,” Ziv Stahl, the executive director of the Israeli rights group Yesh Din, said. “It’s clearly not a matter of capability but a matter of will.”

The siege of the homes is the latest episode in a wave of settler violence convulsing the occupied West Bank, which Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and which would make up the main part of a future Palestinian state. Israel's military said the village — roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Palestinian city of Nablus — was a closed military zone.

More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlements to be illegal and obstacles to peace.

Both Israel’s military and Israel’s police referred questions about the situation in Qusra to the other.

The West Bank has become more dangerous for Palestinians as Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has approved more than 100 new settlements. Extremist settlers routinely enter Palestinian towns, clashing with villagers, burning homes, mosques and cars.

Netanyahu is courting blocs of ultranationalist voters ahead of what’s expected to be a difficult reelection campaign in October. He and members of his cabinet have largely dismissed concerns about settler violence as overblown and attributed it to fringe groups of a few hundred youths. Yet rights groups and Palestinians say the government's policies have made it more difficult to restrain settlers, who are rarely punished for attacks.

Qusra siege reflects broader violence

The standoff in Qusra began on Sunday when dozens of settlers arrived and blocked the doors to the three houses, preventing occupants from leaving, according to the families inside.

Israeli troops intervened multiple times and arrived in large numbers Thursday.

Abu Rida and his teenage son were temporarily moved by the army on Thursday but allowed to return hours later. He told his brother in Toledo, Ohio, that he planned on staying to defend the home.

Loui Ridi, the home's owner who spells the family name differently, has been in constant contact with his brother and watching the siege unfold on security cameras until they went offline Thursday.

He plans to travel to the West Bank next week in hopes of delivering more food and “to do whatever I can to protect my brother and my house," Ridi told The Associated Press on Friday.

“We want it to be resolved and permanent, not just for a couple of days,” he said.

For many, the scene unfolding in Qusra — now in its sixth day — reflected broader failures by Israeli authorities to curb the violence in the West Bank.

Itamar Weil, an Israeli human rights activist from the group Bnei Avraham, said the army had threatened to use tear gas against the activists and forced them to leave, even as settlers remained in the valley below Qusra.

“The army used to prevent settlers from carrying out this kind of violence,” he said. “Now, with a government that fully supports them, they’re not doing their job. They should be protecting both sides from violence, but instead they’re removing activists while barely doing anything about the settlers.”

Palestinian officials have reported 1,476 attacks by Israeli settlers in 2026, including several earlier instances in which settlers staged takeovers of Palestinian homes on the outskirts of other West Bank towns.

A total of 87 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank this year, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry. Israel says some were involved in terrorism, which it defines broadly to include militancy and rock-throwing. Three Israelis were killed by Palestinians, including two in a July clash during which four Palestinians were also killed.

Katz strips army of enforcement power against settlers

Before calm was restored in Qusra, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Friday that he would transfer all enforcement powers against Israeli civilians in the West Bank from the army to Israel’s police.

“The (Israeli military’s) role is to fight Palestinian terrorism, focus on protecting the borders and settlements against threats, deal with the borders and the territory itself and security threats to the settlements and the State of Israel, and not chase after boys on the hills,” Katz said in a statement.

Historically, the army has been able to arrest Palestinians and bring those accused of crimes before military courts. But when it comes to Israeli civilians, in most circumstances it can only use temporary detention for those suspected of crimes, leaving arrests, investigations and prosecutions to police and civilian courts.

Katz’s move comes after he ended the use of administrative detention against Israeli civilians in November 2024. The military had used the policy as a tool to contain settler violence, allowing it to detain suspects without charge and remove them from the West Bank.

Much like with that move, rights groups said transferring all powers to the police was unlikely to restore order or ensure Palestinian safety.

Some 2.8 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule in the West Bank alongside more than 560,000 Israeli civilians who live in settlements that the international community largely considers illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Though the Palestinian Authority exercises limited autonomy and policing power in the territory’s largest cities, agreements that date back to the 1990s give Israel security control over large swaths of the territory, including agricultural areas and communities such as Qusra.

Stahl, Yesh Din's executive director, said Katz's announcement wouldn't change or help stem the violence because police will still require army escorts to operate in Palestinian areas.

“Unless (Katz) means he’s going to apply Israeli law and have the police control the West Bank, the military is still the main body in charge,” she said.

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Associated Press reporter John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

Jason Arday, who was 37 when he became Cambridge's youngest Black professor in 2023, resigned after he came under intense media pressure, with weeks of allegations about plagiarism in his academic work and questions surrounding claims about his athletic and fundraising accomplishments.

The Times and Telegraph newspapers, along with the BBC and Sky News, reported that Arday, 41, was found “unresponsive” inside a home in Battersea, south London, on Friday afternoon.

In a statement issued by his publisher Simon & Schuster U.K., Arday's family said they were “in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son.”

“The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone,” the family said, adding that for three years Arday was “subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse ... by those who would leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him.”

The Metropolitan Police said only that a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead in Battersea, without naming the man, in accordance with its policy.

“At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious," the police statement said.

Cambridge Vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice, who earlier announced that the university will investigate the circumstances around Arday's employment, said she was “desperately saddened” by the news.

“Our heartfelt sympathies go to Jason Arday’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time," she said.

In resigning as professor of sociology of education, Arday wrote in a statement that "the relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love.”

He said his stepping down should not “be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me.” He has denied plagiarism, but admitted to some mistakes when working on his doctorate.

Supporters, including more than two dozen academics and politicians, had described the plagiarism allegations as a “smear campaign” designed to undermine Arday and other Black people who hold “positions of influence.”

Arday’s appointment at Cambridge highlighted his personal story of overcoming dyslexia, developmental delays and autism that he said left him non-verbal until the age of 11 and illiterate until his late teens.

Cambridge has opened investigation into plagiarism accusations

Questions about Arday's qualifications were raised publicly last month by Nathan Cofnas, a one-time Cambridge philosophy researcher who left the university after his critique of diversity, equity and inclusion programs sparked widespread protests.

On July 24, the Times of London published an analysis of Arday’s 2015 Ph.D. thesis highlighting what it said were multiple examples of passages that were “identical or near-identical” to an earlier paper written by another researcher.

British media also raised questions about Arday’s claims that he had raised 5.5 million pounds ($7.4 million) for charity through feats such as running 30 marathons in 35 days and 600 miles in six days.

Dozens of Cambridge academics had signed a letter calling for an independent inquiry into how Arday was appointed. Cambridge initially stood by Arday, saying that the plagiarism allegations had been investigated by Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded Arday’s doctorate.

The university then changed its stance and said it opened an investigation “following new information about Professor Arday’s qualifications and honorary appointments.”

Prentice, the university's vice-chancellor, said this week that Cambridge will run a review of its hiring processes. She stressed that “our staff of color are highly valued, for their scholarship, their achievements and the contributions they make to the institution and the wider academic community.”

“This particular case is an aberration and should not be used to cast aspersions on their work or the legitimacy of their roles at Cambridge," she said Thursday.

Aryssa Leann Torres, of Alice, Texas, was last seen Monday afternoon through Vogel Elementary School’s security video, according to GCSO. Investigators said they confirmed her presence there with school personnel.

On Aug. 8, GCSO deputies responded to a welfare check call involving Torres after she had been walking in the area for several hours.

During Torres’s interaction with deputies, she was seen wearing a blue shirt and black shorts at approximately 7 p.m. on Aug. 8 near the intersection of Curry Road and O’Daniel Road in south Guadalupe County.

Torres told deputies that she was training for a marathon and planned to return to an Airbnb after she finished, GCSO said. Deputies believed Torres did not need further assistance since she told them similar information earlier that same day.

However, on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said Torres’ vehicle, phone and other personal belongings were found abandoned at Amazing Grace Baptist Church, which is located at 14593 State Highway 123 in Seguin.

Though there were no signs of foul play or a disturbance, a GCSO spokesperson said handwritten notes inside Torres’ vehicle suggested that she may have been “experiencing a mental health crisis.”

Family members told investigators Thursday that they had not been able to reach Torres. The relatives told the deputies that was unusual because they communicated with Torres daily.

Relatives said they last heard Torres was attending an education conference in San Antonio, but they had no information about why she was in Guadalupe County.

According to GCSO, Torres normally wears a gold Aggie ring with the year “2010″ engraved in it. She may also be wearing a gold necklace with a rhinestone pendant.

Torres is 5 feet, 2 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes, deputies said.

Anyone with information on Torres’ whereabouts is asked to contact GCSO at 830-379-1224.

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Trump was visiting the Nassau County police academy in suburban Long Island, where he was expected to promote new FBI crime statistics being released Friday showing a decrease in violent crime for 2025. But despite the setting and an array of uniformed local police officers behind him on stage, the event was overwhelmingly a political one, with Trump lashing Democrats and promoting his record and his party's candidates.

Trump's visit aimed at boosting Republicans in closely contested races across his home state, but just how much his presence will help is in question as he faces lagging approval ratings and a deeply unpopular war in Iran with no end in sight.

Trump briefly touched on the new crime statistics, but before long he was returning to familiar attacking lines, calling his opponents “Radical left Democrats” and his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, “Sleepy Joe."

“We call them Dumb-ocrats now because their policies are so dumb. Fighting to defund the police. Does that play well in this room?” Trump said at one point, turning around to look at the officers behind him.

Trump slams Democrats and promotes policies on crime, tariffs and more

He criticized the state’s Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and insulted the state’s Attorney General, Letitia James, as “a real slob” and “a disgrace.”

James successfully sued the president and his companies for financial fraud. The Justice Department last year secured a mortgage fraud indictment against James, but the case was dismissed after a judge concluded that the prosecutor who charged her and another Trump adversary, former FBI Director James Comey, was illegally appointed.

He touted his deployment of the National Guard to cities around the U.S., including in the nation's capital. Trump repeatedly said that “young, beautiful girls in the White House" have thanked him for making Washington safer. It was not clear who he was referring to, but he said, “These young, these gorgeous, beautiful girls are — they want to be safe.”

“Two years ago, we were in a hellhole, and now we have one of the safest cities,” he said.

The new FBI statistics released Friday showed the homicide rate in the United States dropped to the lowest it’s been in 75 years. The report on 2025 crime statistics also showed that overall violent crime dropped 9.3% last year. Experts note that national violent crime rates have been declining since 2022, and pinpointing an exact reason is difficult.

Trump also promoted his tariff policies, along with his tax cuts and spending law passed last year and suggested that the tax breaks on overtime would be popular with police officers. Many of his lines, especially the political attacks, didn’t get as much of a reaction from the uniformed officers as it did from the crowd of regular Trump supporters in the audience, who enthusiastically cheered and booed on cue.

To the side of the stage during his remarks were the new U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, who each spoke to warm up the crowd before the president. Their appearance at an event that in part was designed to help Republican candidates broke longstanding norms in which the nation’s law enforcement generally tried to steer clear of participating in overtly political events.

Also seated among the guests of honor was actor Kelsey Grammer.

Trump narrowly won Nassau County in 2024, flipping the county in the largely Democratic state to Republicans for the first time in more than two decades.

It's home to one of the largest police forces in the nation and two Democratic House seats that Republicans now see as winnable this fall, and it's home turf for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Trump-endorsed Republican challenging Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Crime becoming a theme in New York races

It's the second time this year Trump has visited New York in support of Blakeman and other Republicans. He stopped by the Hudson Valley area in May for a speech in which he said Blakeman would curb “out of control” crime.

Crime has emerged as a significant issue in the governor's race, with both candidates claiming to have the better track record of making New Yorkers safe. Hochul visited a different Long Island police department in July to announce a statewide investment in policing technology.

Blakeman, who briefly took the stage during Trump's remarks, said he was honored Trump was visiting.

In a Fox Business interview on Thursday, Blakeman downplayed concerns that Trump's visit would be unpopular with voters in New York City.

“When the most powerful person in the world comes to visit you and shows that you have a relationship together, I think that’s a very good thing,” Blakeman said, adding that even voters who disagree with Trump might appreciate a governor with a direct line to the president.

Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said the governor “has invested billions in public safety to protect New Yorkers — ‘MAGA all the way’ Bruce Blakeman is bringing Donald Trump to tour the county where he let violent crime spike to decade highs and Trump’s unaccountable ICE agents abuse their power.”

For GOP, safety is seen as a winning issue

Matt Gorman, a Republican strategist, said Trump's visit stands to boost Blakeman along with Republican challengers looking to unseat a pair of Democratic incumbents in Nassau County districts. Michael LiPetri Jr. is challenging Rep. Tom Suozzi in New York's 3rd Congressional District, while Jeanine Driscoll is opposing Rep. Lauren Gillen in the 4th Congressional District.

The focus on crime is seen as a cornerstone issue for Republicans that appeals to Trump's base along with suburban swing voters, Gorman said.

“On the strategic level, crime is an issue that Republicans feel comfortable going on offense with, where the country kind of broadly agrees with them,” he said.

Trump is touting the issue as he faces low approval ratings on a number of other issues, including the economy and the Iran war. An AP-NORC poll from August 2025 found that Trump’s handling of crime was among his strongest issues, though his approval on the issue had fallen by 10 points by December 2025.

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Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from its record set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 107 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.3%.

Stocks gave up modest gains from early in the morning after oil prices swung higher. The price for a barrel of Brent crude rose 1.7% to $88.52 as uncertainty continues about when the war with Iran will allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again.

Also raising uncertainty was a report showing shoppers spent less at U.S. retailers last month than the month before. That surprised economists, who were forecasting another month of growth.

On the bright side for financial markets, such a pullback in spending could take pressure off inflation. Inflation remains much higher than anyone would like, but reports earlier this week suggested the pace of increases in prices is decelerating.

If inflation keeps trending that way, it could encourage the Federal Reserve to hold off on hikes to interest rates. Higher rates would help keep a lid on inflation, but they do so by intentionally slowing the economy and making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money.

The downside of such data, including last week’s surprisingly weak report on the U.S. job market, is that they raise the risk of a slowing economy. The Fed has no good tool to fix both a stagnating economy and high inflation at the same time, which is why what’s called “stagflation” is seen as a worst-case scenario.

Some on Wall Street cautioned against overreacting to the weak data on U.S. retail sales, even if it was broad based. It could simply be a snap back after retail sales in earlier months were boosted by unusual factors such as big tax refunds, the World Cup and even an earlier Prime Day event at Amazon, according to Jennifer Timmerman, senior investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

U.S. consumers nevertheless appear to be getting more discouraged about the economy. A preliminary survey by the University of Michigan suggested sentiment among them is weakening by more than economists expected.

The survey said drops occurred across the political spectrum and showed up particularly among older, lower-income and other groups who can be hurt most by inflation.

On Wall Street, Reddit jumped 12.6% after learning its stock will join the S&P 500 index on Tuesday. Many professional investors and funds closely track the index, either mimicking it or at least measuring their performance against it. That can push many to buy a stock automatically when it enters the index.

Applied Materials fell 5.1% even though the company, whose technology helps make semiconductors, reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Gary Dickerson said global hunger for artificial-intelligence technology helped it deliver another record quarter.

But its stock had already more than doubled this year and built expectations very high, which helped pressure the stock on Friday.

AI stocks in general have been swinging sharply on worries that their prices shot too high because of AI euphoria and that their strong growth in revenue may not be sustainable.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 13.23 points to 7,785.76. Despite the loss, it nevertheless closed out a third straight winning week, its longest such streak since a nine-week run that ended in May.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 107.58 to 53,732.41, and the Nasdaq composite sank 73.86 to 26,729.16.

In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher and followed the price of oil. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.69% from 4.63% late Thursday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia.

London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% after Nigel Farage regained the seat in Parliament he quit a month ago, beating trash-can wearing comic candidate Count Binface in a special election.

South Korea’s Kospi again had one of the world’s sharpest moves and jumped 2.4% for its third straight gain of at least that much. Seoul has been at the center of the world’s swings for AI stocks because its market is dominated by two tech giants, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

___

AP Business Writers Michelle Chapman and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Retail sales fell 0.6% last month, marking the biggest decrease since May 2025, compared with a revised gain of 0.2% in June, according to the Commerce Department data released Friday. Economists were projecting a small increase.

The decline followed a notable bump in spending in both April and May as Americans dipped into their government tax refunds.

The drop in spending for July, however, raised concern among some economists about the resiliency of consumers who have powered the economy forward despite nagging inflation and soaring gasoline prices. Yet, it may be too early to declare a retreat by one of the strongest and most consistent forces in the U.S. economy of late.

Still, the weak sales report follows unexpectedly sluggish jobs figures last week, and both suggest the economy could be slowing after strong consumer and business spending in the first half of the year.

Separately, consumers turned more pessimistic about the economy this month, likely driven by stubbornly high prices, according to the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, released Friday.

While most economists still expect solid economic growth in the July-September quarter, many have lowered their forecasts in the wake of the retail sales report.

Prices in July, which were not adjusted for inflation, were impacted by falling sales at gas stations. Fuel prices remained low until later in the month when evidence of a stalemate between the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz began to grow. Business at gas stations fell 0.9% last month, according to the report.

Gas prices have been rising since the final week of July and ticked higher again overnight to $4.08 per gallon, up from $3.85 a month ago, according to motor club AAA. That's 92 cents more per gallon than Americans were paying last year at this time.

Gas prices typically begin to recede in August as the driving season comes to a close and the AAA said this week that the high cost of fuel for Americans this late in the year is unprecedented.

Excluding sales at gas stations and auto dealers, retail sales in July fell 0.2%.

Business at motor vehicle and parts dealers saw a 1.8% drop from a 1.9% increase in June, which was helped by auto makers' promotion incentives.

Electronics and appliance sales declined 0.5%. Online sales fell 2.2% from June when they were fueled by spending surrounding Amazon’s four-day Prime Day event that began in late June, earlier than previous years.

The drop in online sales weighed heavily on the so-called control group—which excludes food services, autos, building materials and gas station sales and is used to calculate economic growth. That figure fell 0.4% last month.

“American consumers are showing signs of fatigue, “ Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote Friday. “July retail sales were disappointing on all levels.”

But the weak sales seemed to be concentrated in a few areas.

Among some of the bright spots in the report: clothing and accessories stores, furniture and home furnishing stores as well as building material and garden supplies merchants all posted gains last month.

The data offers only a snapshot of consumer spending and doesn’t include activities like travel and hotel stays. But the lone services category – restaurants – registered a healthy 0.5% increase

“Though the latest numbers warrant a downgrade to the spending forecast, it’d be premature to write off the consumer,” Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics said.

He noted the job market is “broadly balanced,” and wealthy households, boosted by strong gains in the stock market, continue to spend.

New data this week showed that inflation declined slightly in July as gas and grocery prices slipped, though it is still rising more quickly than before the Iran war.

Consumer prices increased 3.4% in July from a year ago, down slightly from 3.5% in June, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Inflation had fallen to 2.4% before the Iran war. On a monthly basis, prices rose just 0.1% from June to July.

The modest decline marked the second straight decrease after sharply higher gas prices pushed inflation to 4.2% in May, a three-year high.

Given the volatile economic environment, economists are closely watching how families spend behind Christmas.

Shopping has been steady, though Americans have dialed in on sales as they grow more careful with their money.

Off-price retailers, consumer electronics and office supply retailers have had a “strong early start” to the back-to-school season, said Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at Placer.ai.

“Consumers have looked to take advantage of early deals to check off their lists,” Lafontaine said.

Walmart, Target and other retailers have been pushing discounts for the fall season, seeking to lure inflation-weary shoppers.

Target, for example, says that 95% of prices for school supplies are at or below last year’s levels.

Retailers begin reporting quarterly earnings next week.

Stephen Yalof, CEO of the outlet mall operator Tanger, noted an increase in foot traffic this summer because of the World Cup festivities.

More Americans were shopping too, Yalof said, because more people are vacationing close to home to save money.

“We’re rewarding with value, and we’re getting customers to come in … and shop more frequently,” Yalof told The Associated Press.

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AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report from Washington.

“A People’s History: The American Experiment on Stage” examines how theater artists have interpreted major moments in the nation’s history, from the fight for women’s suffrage to the Vietnam War and its protests.

“It’s this wonderful exhibition looking at how different artists have processed American history and how they have put it on stage,” said Remus Moore, assistant curator for the McNay’s Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts.

The 900-square-foot exhibition is organized around the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness found in the Declaration of Independence.

Moore said the exhibit gives visitors a chance to consider both the past 250 years and what the country’s next 250 years could look like.

Among the works on display is material connected to “The Contrast,” a 1787 production Moore described as the first play written and produced by Americans on an American stage after the country gained independence.

Visitors will also find “Uncle Fatso,” a larger-than-life puppet from Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont, a group known for using theater and puppetry to protest the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons and other issues.

Other highlights include a large portrait of actor Marlon Brando and paper cutout designs by artist Robert Indiana for “The Mother of Us All,” an opera exploring the women’s suffrage movement.

Moore said the variety of works reflects both the diversity of theatrical art and the complexity of American history.

“I hope people just really appreciate the vast array of artwork,” he said.

“A People’s History: The American Experiment on Stage” remains on view at the McNay Art Museum through early November.

More America250 coverage on KSAT:

• San Antonio veterans were on front lines of fight to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
• San Antonio exhibit highlights rancheras’ overlooked role in the American Revolution

The former LSU coach and athletic director passed away in a Baton Rouge hospital, LSU spokesman Michael Bonnette said.

“Few people have had a greater impact on LSU than Skip Bertman,” LSU Athletic Director Verge Ausberry said in a written statement. “As the greatest college baseball coach of all time, and later as our athletics director, Skip developed a championship standard and culture that still guide us today.”

The LSU Tigers, now synonymous with college baseball's elite and known for fielding numerous Major League Baseball prospects, had never won a national title when Bertman, a native of Miami, took over the program in 1983.

The College Baseball Hall of Famer's legacy now includes the current Alex Box Stadium, which opened in 2009, holds about 11,000 and routinely is filled to capacity. The field in the stadium was named for Bertman in 2013. The Tigers also have won three national championships under two of Bertman's successors, most recently in 2025.

“Coach Bertman was so far ahead of his time while leading the LSU Tigers, and as a young coach just starting my journey, I watched, studied, and admired his incredible skills of leading, motivating, teaching, coaching, and ultimately cultivating what became ‘The Powerhouse’ of college baseball," said current LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson, who guided the Tigers to their past two national titles in 2023 and 2025. “The impact he made and legacy he has left on the state of Louisiana and college baseball is beyond remarkable and will never be duplicated.”

Since 2013, the College Baseball Foundation's annual award for the nation's top coach has been named the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award. Bertman won it six times between 1986 and 2000.

Bertman coached a total of 18 seasons, retiring in 2001 with a record of 870-330-3 and 11 College World Series appearances. He then served as athletic director until 2008 and Athletic Director Emeritus after that, continuing to live in Baton Rouge, support the university and attend LSU events for the rest of his life.

Bertman coached the Tigers to their first five NCAA College World Series championships in 1991, ’93, ’96, ’97, ’00. His tenure as coach also included seven Southeastern Conference championships. His NCAA Tournament winning percentage of .754 is the highest in the history of the event.

Bertman also was head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, which at that time included only amateur players and won a bronze medal in Atlanta.

Bertman played baseball at Miami before going into coaching, starting at the high school level in Miami Beach. His final job before taking over at LSU was as an assistant at Miami under then coach Ron Fraser.

Bertman was preceded in death by his wife, Sandy, and daughter, Lisa.

Funeral arrangements were pending Friday.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Superintendent Justin Turner said students can return to classrooms, though some are still in the work phase and may not be completed until winter break.

Crews have been working overtime to replace drywall and flooring after floodwaters entered multiple buildings on campus.

Turner said the agriculture and science building took the worst hit, and some expensive equipment inside may be ruined.

“In here you can see where the water got,” Turner said while showing damage to a laser cutter. “This is a very expensive piece of machinery; all the electrical components are below.”

Twelve school buildings were damaged in total. Turner said five buildings had Category 3 floodwater, meaning the water may have been contaminated, while seven others were damaged by rainwater.

The district told KSAT the flooding was tied to the heavy rain on the week of July 16.

The campus sits on a slight slope, and the agriculture building is next to a retention pond. Turner said the rain overwhelmed the pond, the wall gave out and water rushed into several buildings.

The water then had a direct path toward the athletic facility, which houses the weight room and coaches’ offices.

Five days before school started, there was still significant cleanup and repair work underway. Turner said the district remained committed to opening on time.

“Rest assured, we have school on Aug. 12. That’s going to happen,” Turner said.

Turner said the recovery effort also showed the strength of the Ingram community. After the water receded, about 150 parents and students came to campus to move equipment and pull out carpet.

“The first thing I can think about is what are we going to do as a school district in order to eliminate this from happening in the future?” Turner said.

The district is now pausing other construction projects while engineers determine how to prevent similar flooding from happening again.

Turner said the flood repairs are expected to cost the district less than $2 million, which will likely not be covered due to the insurance deductible.

The district is also waiting on a new administration building after the previous one was destroyed in the 2025 floods. That new building is expected to open next spring.

More Back to School coverage on KSAT:

• Back-to-school start dates for districts in San Antonio, surrounding areas
• What San Antonio drivers need to keep in mind before hitting the roads as children return to school

The Justice Department announced last year that it had issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics that provide gender-affirming care as part of an effort to investigate healthcare fraud. Federal judges have quashed many of the subpoenas as illegitimate efforts to intimidate providers into ending care.

In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the efficacy and long-term risks of the treatments are "uncertain," and the president has the power to align the Justice Department's enforcement priorities with his broader policy goals.

“Every President has law enforcement priorities, just as every President has signature policies (often, the former are components of the latter)," Judge Carlos Bea wrote.

Bea, a nominee of Republican President George W. Bush, was joined in the opinion by Daniel Bress, a Trump nominee. They reversed a ruling that quashed the subpoena against telemedicine provider QueerDoc, sending the case back to the district court to consider other arguments.

The subpoena seeks QueerDoc's personnel files, billing documents, communications with drug manufacturers and records of patients who were prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy, among other information, according to the 9th Circuit decision.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Adrien Leavitt, who represented Washington state-based QueerDoc, said the ACLU would continue fighting the subpoena in district court. QueerDoc has also argued the subpoena is overbroad and burdensome. The Justice Department has said it has reason to believe the company may be misleading people about puberty blockers and hormones.

"We’re ready to continue defending one of the most fundamental principles of healthcare: every patient’s right to confidential medical care,” Leavitt said in a statement.

He said the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit was the first appeals court to weigh in on the subpoenas.

Trump has signed one executive order defining sex as only male or female — and as unchangeable — and another that seeks to end federal funding of the care for patients under 19. The latter order also directs the Justice Department to “prioritize investigations” into violations of a drug safety law by “any entity that may be misleading the public about long-term side effects of chemical and surgical mutilation.”

Gender-affirming care includes a range of medical and mental health services to support a person’s gender identity, including when it’s different from the sex they were assigned at birth. It encompasses counseling, medications that block puberty and hormone therapy to produce physical changes as well as surgeries to transform chests and genitals, though those are rare for minors.

Most major medical groups say access to the treatment is important for those with gender dysphoria and see gender as existing along a spectrum.

The 9th Circuit majority called discussion around gender-affirming care "an unsettled scientific debate," and said the Trump administration could also justify its opposition to the treatment on ethical or philosophical grounds.

“When you see those red lights flashing, it means stop,” said Tesilia Soliz, the Northside Independent School District’s director of transportation.

Northside ISD Chief of Police Richard Palomo said the district plans to increase traffic enforcement as campuses reopen.

“We will be enforcing traffic laws. We do have units that run radars,” Palomo said.

District officials say drivers must stop before approaching a bus that is loading or unloading students when the stop signs are extended.

Palomo also reminded drivers that pedestrians and students in crosswalks have the right of way.

Drivers should also keep their distance behind buses. Soliz encouraged drivers to stay at least 10 feet back so bus drivers can see vehicles in their mirrors.

On divided highways, the rules change. Palomo said drivers traveling on the opposite side of a road with a median do not have to stop for a bus. However, if the road is not divided, traffic in both directions must stop until the bus moves.

Texas’ standard active school zone speed limit is 20 mph. Palomo said drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus with flashing red lights can face fines of up to $1,250. Repeat violations can carry harsher penalties.

“If you have multiple offenses for disregarding the stop bus sign, you’re gonna possibly lose your license,” Palomo said.

Northside ISD buses are also equipped with cameras that can help document violations. Soliz said the district has eight cameras on buses — four inside and four outside — along with audio and video recording.

More Back to School coverage on KSAT:

• Ingram ISD students return to class as flood repairs continue
• IDEA Public Schools welcomes 18K students on first day
• Viewers share back-to-school photos on KSAT Connect

Pearce was arrested in February following a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend and WNBA player, Rickea Jackson. The incident took place in Doral, Florida.

Pearce's charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing police and resisting arrest, and misdemeanor stalking could be dropped if he cooperates in a pretrial intervention program requiring random drug tests, distance from Jackson and staying out of legal trouble for one year.

Pearce will be available to participate in preseason games and all team activities until the suspension takes effect on Sunday, Aug. 30 — ell

The second-year defensive end can be reinstated on Monday, Nov. 2, following Atlanta's Week 8 road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons are set to play the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid, Spain, the following week.

The Falcons' pass rush has taken a hit recently following Jalon Walker's season-ending ACL tear. The group is left with Christian Harris, JD Bertrand, Samson Ebukam, Kendal Daniels and Bralen Trice. The Falcons also added Cameron Sample after Walker's injury.

Atlanta traded back to the No. 26 pick in the first round of the 2025 draft to select Pearce. The former Tennessee Volunteer has played a substantial role in transforming the Falcons' pass rush, leading the team with 10 1/2 sacks during his rookie season.

Other suspensions

Pearce was one of four suspensions the NFL handed out on Friday.

The NFL also suspended Commanders edge rusher Dorance Armstrong, Tennessee Titans safety Nazeeh Johnson and Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis.

Armstrong was suspended one game for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. He will miss the Commanders season-opening game against Philadelphia on Sept. 13.

Armstrong opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list, but has since been activated to resume practicing. He was limited to playing seven games last season before tearing a knee ligament.

He’s entering his ninth NFL season, and third with Washington.

Johnson was suspended six games for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancers. Mathis was issued a three-game suspension for violating the league’s substances of abuse policy.

Under league rules, the players are allowed to practice and play with their respective teams through Aug. 30, when NFL teams are required to set their 53-player rosters.

Johnson is eligible to return for the Titans’ home game against Cleveland on Oct. 25. Mathis can return for Buffalo’s home game against New England on Oct. 4.

Johnson has three previous seasons of NFL experience, all with the Kansas City Chiefs, and signed with the Titans on July 27, just before the opening of training camp.

The 28-year-old had six starts in 29 NFL games with the Chiefs since being selected by Kansas City in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. A shoulder injury limited Johnson to appearing in just two games last season. He also missed the entire 2023 season with a torn ACL in his right knee.

The 28-year-old Mathis appeared in six games with the Bills last season. He spent his first three NFL seasons appearing in 23 games with Washington.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The main opposition leader claimed he had been questioned by the army, and police said one person was killed at a polling station during Thursday's vote. Police identified the person as a party official and said they had arrested nine suspects.

While the counting was suspended, riot police and soldiers in armored vehicles were deployed to parts of the capital, Lusaka, including the main vote tallying center, though there were no immediate reports of any major unrest.

It was an unusual set of developments for the southern African country of 22 million people, which has held largely peaceful elections since it returned to multiparty democracy in 1991.

“The violence is targeted at poll staff and in some instances has resulted in the theft of marked ballot papers in ballot boxes,” the Electoral Commission of Zambia said in a statement announcing vote counting had been halted.

It did not say who was responsible for the violence or the alleged theft of ballot papers.

Counting restarts after security threat is ‘contained’

Electoral commission head Mwangala Zaloumis later announced counting would start again and said the violence affected a small number of polling stations in Lusaka.

“Following a review of the security situation and consultations with the relevant law enforcement agencies, I’m pleased to inform you and to inform the nation that the security threat to the electoral process has been contained,” she said at a press briefing.

The main opposition candidate, Brian Mundubile, said in a video statement that his alliance of parties had “received deeply troubling reports from several parts of the country” and called into question the credibility of the election.

He later said on social media that he was being interrogated by the army.

The president calls for peace and patience

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, who ran for a second five-year term, called for Zambians to “remain peaceful, patient and patriotic as we await the official outcome from those entrusted with managing the vote” in a statement on X.

Thursday's election was seen as a test of Hichilema's economic recovery plan after the copper-rich nation was plunged into a debt crisis in 2020. Hichilema was elected in 2021 and oversaw the restructuring of Zambia's sovereign debt while reining in inflation and stabilizing the currency.

But critics say that economic stability has not trickled down to many people in Zambia, where poverty is widespread and frustration has grown over the high cost of living and electricity shortages.

The government was under scrutiny before the election

There was also criticism of Hichilema ahead of this election by the opposition and independent rights groups, which said his government was squeezing dissent. Mundubile’s alliance accused the government of being behind a law enforcement agency raid on its offices days before the election and claimed the action was designed to hurt the alliance’s campaign.

Hichilema, 64, was one of 14 candidates in the presidential election, but his biggest challenge was thought to come from Mundubile, a 55-year-old law graduate who emerged this year as the leader of the opposition alliance.

Zambians also voted for members of Parliament and local government councilors. About 8 million people were registered to vote at more than 13,500 polling stations. Final results were expected by Monday, according to the electoral commission.

The opposition claims election interference

Mundubile had said the suspension of the vote counting could lead to “an opportunity for interference with or manipulation of the results.”

“Put the records before the nation and allow every number to be reconciled. The people of Zambia voted. Their decision must be respected,” he said.

Mundubile said he had received information that members of the military had taken control of vote counting stations in at least one town and boxes containing ballots had been taken away from stations in other places, though he did not provide any evidence for those claims.

Zambia gained independence from Britain in 1964 and was a one-party state from 1973 to 1991. It has held largely peaceful votes and transfers of power between parties and political alliances since then.

Hichilema himself was once imprisoned on charges of treason when he was an opposition leader in 2017 during a bitter rivalry with then-President Edgar Lungu. He was held for four months after his motorcade did not give way to Lungu’s on a road and claimed he was tortured during his imprisonment.

Hichilema was released after international condemnation of the arrest and beat Lungu in an election in 2021.

Mundubile served in Lungu's government and rose to lead the opposition alliance challenging Hichilema after Lungu died last year.

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AP video journalist Alfonso Nqunjana contributed to this report.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Mangione, 28, said he made a gun with the aid of a 3D printer, traveled to New York and used a ruse — posing as an investor at a multibillion-dollar firm — to contact the company for details on the event.

"On the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan, and he died,” Mangione told the Manhattan federal court, which he entered shackled at the feet but not handcuffed in his beige jail uniform.

Listening in the audience, Thompson's wife, Paulette, took several deep breaths and repeatedly wiped tears from her eyes.

Prosecutors plan to seek a life prison term at Mangione's sentencing, set for Dec. 18. When U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett asked whether he understood that he could spend the rest of his life behind bars, Mangione answered neutrally: “Yes.”

In a statement, Thompson’s family called the plea “an important step toward justice” and noted that Mangione still faces other cases, including a New York state murder prosecution. It carries the potential for a separate long sentence.

Mangione still faces a state murder case

Federal prosecutors didn’t give Mangione any deal or incentive to plead guilty, they and his lawyers said. Nor did Mangione plead guilty to avoid a potential death sentence. That possibility was taken off the table when a federal murder charge was tossed out this winter.

Mangione’s lawyers didn’t explain why he choose to plead guilty now, but after he entered the plea at Friday’s hastily scheduled hearing, they quickly sought to have the New York case thrown out on double jeopardy grounds. The state’s double jeopardy protections can kick in if a prior prosecution ends in a guilty plea.

“Mr. Mangione has accepted full responsibility for the death of Brian Thompson,” defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said outside court, arguing that her client shouldn’t face two prosecutions over a “single tragic event.”

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is handling the state prosecution, said it remains committed to its case and would contest the defense’s efforts to shut it down.

Mangione alludes to back pain in explaining his actions

Surveillance video of the ambush showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson, 50, from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

That detail — and revelations that Mangione's private writings lambasted health insurers as greedy, according to authorities — made the case a fulcrum for debate about the industry and made Mangione a cause célèbre for some of its critics.

A University of Pennsylvania graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, Mangione told the court Friday that he pursued Thompson “after years of enduring severe pain from a broken back, navigating the obstacles of the health insurance system and witnessing similar experiences of countless others.”

Friedman Agnifilo later said her client “believed that the system had failed him and destroyed his life.”

Authorities say Mangione's grievances are no excuse for killing

Mangione never was a UnitedHealthcare customer, according to police and the company.

“To those who idolize Luigi Mangione, I say this. Violence is not a cause. Murder is not a message. And a killer is certainly not a hero,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said outside court Friday.

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald, whose office handled the federal case, added: “There can be no celebrity in assassination."

Thompson led one of the United States' largest health insurers, but he wasn't well known outside the industry. Trained as an accountant, he worked at parent company UnitedHealth Group Inc. for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare, in 2021. He and his wife had two sons, who were in high school when their father was killed.

Thompson's violent death “devastated everyone who knew and loved him,” the company said in a statement Friday, thanking law enforcement for bringing Mangione to justice.

His defense had lost some disputes over evidence

Mangione was arrested five days after the shooting, when he was spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan. Police had released various images of the suspected shooter, including one showing his face as he checked into a hostel.

Although his lawyers got the federal murder charge dismissed, Garnett also delivered some setbacks to the defense, ruling in January that prosecutors could use items collected from Mangione’s backpack during his arrest as evidence against him. They included a 3D-printed pistol that investigators said matched the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which authorities say Mangione described his intent to kill an insurance executive.

Similarly, the judge in the state case threw out terrorism charges against Mangione but agreed to let the gun and notebook be used as evidence. The case has been heading toward a September trial, but his lawyers' new bid to dismiss it could complicate the timeline.

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Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed.

Audio of the incident shortly after midnight Friday shows how he found a solution to ensure the planes that were both called American 2482 maintained proper separation as one plane arrived from Chicago shortly after the other had taken off in Phoenix.

“I’ve been working air traffic for 25 years. I’ve never seen two aircraft pretty much merge with the same call sign. That’s pretty incredible,” the controller said after the departing plane had safely cleared the area.

If both pilots thought the controller was telling them to fly at the same altitude as they headed toward each other, they might have collided, so it was crucial they knew which plane he was directing.

Quick thinking ensured the controller’s instructions were clear

The audio posted by ATC.com shows how the controller quickly started referring to “American 2482 on the arrival” and “American 2482 on the departure” to keep the two planes straight.

The controller kept the arriving plane safely above the departing plane even as their flight paths converged and made sure that the pilots of both airlines saw each other when they were still miles apart. He also directed the departing plane not to climb too high, so a gap would remain between the planes.

“It could have been disastrous, but I’m glad it worked out,” the controller said afterward.

Expert says airline must have missed that the flights would overlap

Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said it’s likely that someone inside the airline’s dispatch center failed to catch that both planes would be in the air at the same time with identical flight numbers when both the dispatcher and the pilots signed off on the flight plan.

“You can drop the ball and that shouldn’t happen, but it’s nice to see that the system is resilient and we have all the safeguards,” said Arroyo, who has only seen this type of issue a couple times in his four decades with United Airlines. Arroyo started his career as a dispatcher before becoming a pilot.

Flight 2482 is a round-trip route that often flies back and forth between Chicago and Phoenix. Typically the same plane goes back and forth, but the flight out of Chicago was delayed by weather, so American found a second plane in Phoenix and that flight left on time. The result was that both planes briefly shared the same airspace before the arriving flight landed.

The government and airline will determine how this occurred

The Federal Aviation Administration and American Airlines will investigate how this happened, and they both emphasized how glad they were that everyone remained safe.

“The diligence and professionalism of air traffic controllers and our pilots ensured required separation was always maintained and the issue was identified and addressed. Both flights continued safely and without incident,” American Airlines said in a statement.

Joining the S&P 500 is considered an achievement for a company because the index is a widely followed measure of the broader U.S. stock market’s health. A company is selected for the index based on several criteria that demonstrate stability, including market size and consistent profitability.

Reddit's stock surged 12.6% Friday.

Aside from status, inclusion means more investments. The index tracks 500 of the biggest U.S. stocks, and trillions of dollars in investments benchmark themselves against it. Those investments include mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Essentially, those funds will have to buy the stock once it becomes part of the index that the fund is tracking or mimicking.

Investors are depending more than ever on funds that simply mimic indexes such as the S&P 500. It’s a lower-cost way to invest, allowing savers to keep more of their investments. Partly because of that, such index funds have usually proven to be better performers than funds that try to pick and choose individual stocks.

Reddit will join the benchmark index as of Tuesday. A stock must trade publicly for at least 12 months to join the S&P 500. The operator of the index, S&P Dow Jones Indices, stuck to that guideline recently when it declined to fast-track SpaceX into the index after the space exploration company's massive initial public offering in June.

Reddit's inclusion comes weeks after it posted strong financial results for the second quarter. That included its highest-ever quarterly revenue. The company has been posting profits almost every quarter since it went public in 2024.

Wall Street expects profits to more than double overall in 2026 on a surge in revenue.

Tens of thousands of houses were damaged or destroyed, according to the government. Authorities have also reported damage to thousands of schools, medical facilities and community centers in more than 400 cities.

“There is no place to live, we lost everything,” Ebert Jonathan Morales, 38, said Friday in a shelter in Cali, one of the hardest-hit cities along with Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo.

Morales is one of the 102,263 people whose lives have been upended by the 7.4 magnitude quake that struck the South American country Monday. The government says more than 280 people died, nearly 4,000 people were injured and hundreds remain missing. Private groups estimate the number of missing is in the thousands.

Morales said he, his wife and four children are trying to rebuild from scratch.

“The earthquake destroyed several neighborhoods in the city. Many houses were damaged, and buildings collapsed,” he said. “We are going to stay here until the government gives us some help, some support.”

The government focuses on providing shelter

The devastation has tested Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella, who was inaugurated just days before the earthquake shook the country's west. De la Espriella acknowledged Thursday night that “the situation is complex” and announced a plan to partner with private companies to rebuild the nation, as well as subsidies for families who are homeless.

“We will not overcome this tragedy alone as a government,” he said. “We need the private sector to rebuild Colombia together.”

Monday’s earthquake was the most powerful to hit Colombia this century. Government aid has yet to arrive in some areas, where many people are relying on volunteers and neighbors for help.

“A neighbor is giving me shelter,” Olga Castro, a mother of five in Cali, told The Associated Press. “At least we survived, but right now we are practically on the street because we don’t have a home anymore.”

De la Espriella said national and international funds raised in response to the disaster will focus on the reconstruction of hospitals, schools, homes, roads and airports.

Rebuilding the country requires a “serious technical assessment” to determine which buildings can be used, which can be repaired and which must be demolished and rebuilt, said Yezid Alvarado Vargas, a professor in construction engineering at Javeriana University, in Bogota, Colombia.

“Before even discussing reconstruction, we must guarantee temporary housing, food, healthcare, continuity of basic services and economic support for families who lost their homes or livelihoods,” Alvarado said.

In Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, around 500 volunteers gathered at a reception center to sort food, toiletries and pet food before distributing the supplies in the most affected areas. From youngsters to the elderly, everyone diligently participated in the challenging relief efforts.

“We all have to help. Today is for you, tomorrow might be for me,” volunteer Jorge Muñoz, 85, said. One of the oldest helpers at Bogotá's Vive Claro aid collection, Muñoz has witnessed the devastation caused by other earthquakes, including one in 1999 that killed more than 1,180 people.

National and international aid keeps coming

Local authorities opened schools, parks and public buildings as shelters, providing tents, mattresses and food to the displaced. In other parts of the hardest-hit cities, residents improvised shelters in the streets, while hundreds of volunteers rush to help those in greatest need, particularly in less accessible areas.

“These are isolated, neglected territories, historically lacking in institutional support, already plagued by violence, and now they are hit by an earthquake of this magnitude,” said María Mercedes Liévano, director of Save the Children in Colombia.

“It’s a crisis on top of a crisis, leaving the population in a situation of extreme vulnerability,” she added, citing communities including Buenaventura, the country’s main port, and Chocó, the earthquake’s epicenter.

Many buildings in Pereira have limited or no access to electricity and water, and volunteers have been delivering hygiene kits to displaced families in the city's shelters, said Pamela Londoño, a technical adviser with Project HOPE. Of the five or six shelters in the city, at least one is already full and no longer accepting new residents. The nonprofit is also assessing medical supply needs.

Other areas are also suffering, such as the town of Roldanillo, where approximately 60% of residents do not have access to clean water.

“The main concern is the lack of basic services for multiple communities,” Londoño said. “This is a really critical situation.”

De la Espriella visited several cities to track relief efforts and aid distribution, including Quibdó, in the Chocó region, and Pereira. Authorities are still waiting for tons of supplies and humanitarian aid from countries that have pledged their support, including Peru, China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking to reporters in Quibdó, de la Espriella proposed implementing a Marshall Plan — the 1948 U.S. initiative that provided $13.3 billion to help European nations rebuild their economies after World War II.

“My heart, my strength and my spirit are with all the victims and with all these territories that have been forgotten and now devastated by nature,” he said. “We must rebuild them. There is a great task ahead and I am committed to it.”

___

Suarez reported from Bogota, Colombia and Batschke reported from Santiago, Chile.

In a brief exchange with reporters before flying to New York for an event to highlight falling violent crime rates across the U.S., Trump refuted that family members have raised concerns about the deployment's length and even said that the more than 260-day deployment is “not nearly long enough.”

"That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship,” Trump said when asked about the lengthy deployment.

Trump strode into office for a second term vowing to avoid the lengthy and expensive military entanglements. And after launching the Iran war, alongside Israel, Trump and his advisers said the conflict would last a matter of weeks. The war is now more than five months old.

But on Friday, during his crime address in Garden City, New York, acknowledged that he's used the U.S. military “a little bit more than I wanted to," while asserting anew that U.S. operation against Iran is going well. He even said, seemingly in jest, that "pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.

“I’ll never apologize," Trump added about the war and its impact on oil prices. “I did the right thing.”

The Lincoln has been supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and several Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, are pressing for accountability from the Pentagon over conditions aboard the carrier, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said were “completely misrepresented.”

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment before being elected, took to social media to criticize Trump’s comments, saying on X that “President Trump does not care about our servicemembers or their families."

Extended deployments of carriers during the Iran conflict have raised concerns about the impact on service members who are away from home for long periods as well as the increasing strain on the ship and its equipment.

While hostilities between the U.S. and Iran have calmed in recent weeks, the Navy has reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration has offered no clarity on how it intends to wind down the war. Hegseth said that the U.S. military can maintain the blockage of Iranian ports “indefinitely.”

Another aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week, and is expected to replace the USS Lincoln, one of two aircraft carriers currently deployed in the Middle East.

After reports emerged that sailors on the Lincoln are struggling with mental health concerns, the Navy said it has “not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship,” though officials have declined to provide data, citing operational security and patient privacy concerns.

A Navy official said that a sailor aboard the Lincoln went overboard in early August but that the person was quickly recovered, treated by the ship’s medical department and transferred off ship for follow-on care. The official would not say whether it was being considered a suicide attempt.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, has also pushed back on reports about poor conditions.

___

AP writers Collin Binkley in Garden City, New York, and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

Trump’s solicitor general petitioned the high court to suspend last week’s decision by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Chief Justice John Roberts set a deadline of Tuesday for a response by plaintiffs challenging the ballroom project.

The divided appeals court panel ruled last week Trump must stop the White House ballroom’s construction because Congress has not approved the project. The panel’s majority said Trump doesn’t have the unilateral authority to build a 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom where the White House’s East Wing stood before he ordered its demolition last fall.

The lower court suspended its own ruling for two weeks to give Trump's Republican administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the Supreme Court to rule on its stay petition before the appeals court panel’s decision takes effect on Aug. 21.

"This case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex, including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security,” Sauer wrote.

Friday's court filing includes the administration's first confirmation that a threatened missile attack on Air Force One prompted the Secret Service to secretly fly Trump out of Turkey last month on an alternate military aircraft. In arguing for the need for a secure ballroom space, the filing cites “the threat of a missile attack against Air Force One on July 8” in a list of recent assassination attempts against Trump.

The filing also asserts that the project is “on time and under budget” with approximately $400 million in private donations obviating the need for any taxpayer dollars to be spent. However, Democrats in Congress have said it appears that funds from Trump's “ big, beautiful ” tax cuts bill appear to be paying for ballroom work. The administration also has requested additional funding from Congress for the project, but lawmakers haven’t approved it.

In April, a district court judge ordered a stop to aboveground construction of the planned ballroom. But the judge stressed that the White House was free to proceed with underground work, including the construction of any bunkers, military installations and medical facilities.

The D.C. Circuit panel’s 2-1 decision upheld an order to pause aboveground construction on the project, siding with historic preservationists who sued to stop construction of the ballroom.

“Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help,” wrote the majority's two judges, both appointed by Democratic presidents.

A third judge disagreed, finding that the preservationist group that challenged the project had no legal right to sue.

“The district court elevated the aesthetic displeasure of a single passerby over the government’s security interests in the ballroom,” wrote Judge Neomi Rao, who was appointed by Trump.

The Trump administration argues that the president, not Congress or the courts, has unimpeded authority to renovate the White House. The current state of the project, essentially an open construction site, makes it harder to protect the White House, the Justice Department contends.

The administration also says the National Trust for Historic Preservation does not have the legal right, or standing, to sue over the ballroom, which is part of Trump’s plans to quickly remake Washington. The solicitor general said the ballroom project “should be a matter for the President and the political process, not construction-by-injunction.”

In response to the petition, the trust accused the White House of trying to “outrun the courts" by accelerating construction work, pointing to the administration's plans to install 1 million pounds of rebar and pour another 3,000 cubic yards of concrete in the next week alone.

“The Administration’s transparent efforts to evade the rule of law, frustrate judicial review, and limit the availability of meaningful relief in the courts must stop here,” the plaintiffs said in a statement.

During an appeals court hearing in early June, an administration lawyer defended a broad view of presidential control over iconic public facilities. The government could bulldoze the Statue of Liberty and the White House, Justice Department lawyer Yaakov Roth said in response to a hypothetical question, and the descendants of immigrants who came through Ellis Island and the enslaved people who built the White House would not have standing to sue.

The D.C. Circuit panel upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush. Leon concluded that a pause wouldn’t jeopardize national security. He also exempted any construction work that is necessary for the safety and security of the White House.

The ballroom has been under construction for 10 months. The administration says the work is roughly 65% finished.

“Given those developments, the injunction promises chaos in service of nothing,” Sauer wrote.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey, 34, of Killeen, Texas, and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmstead, 25, of Belton, Texas, died when the helicopter crashed in a grassy field Wednesday near Salado, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Fort Hood. They were the only two people on board.

No cause of the crash was released. A safety investigation team from the Army Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama, arrived Thursday and is leading the investigation, the Army said.

Huey entered the Army in 2014 and Olmstead entered in 2023. They were assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

“Our hearts and deepest condolences are with the families of the Soldiers we lost Wednesday,” said Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, III Armored Corps and Fort Hood commanding general. “The Army is a family, and a tragedy like this is felt throughout our formations and our community.”

Fort Hood is a massive base with 214,968 acres (86,995 hectares) that is used to train and deploy heavy forces. In November 2015, four soldiers were killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise. And nine Fort Hood soldiers died in 2016 when a rain-swollen creek swept their vehicle into rushing waters.

The AH-64 Apache attack helicopter has been a key part of the military’s fleet since the first versions were deployed in 1984. The Apache crew sits one behind the other with the pilot in the rear and the co-pilot gunner in the front position.

The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021, after it launched an offensive as the U.S. and other NATO troops withdrew from the country after two decades of war. The withdrawal led to chaotic scenes at and around Kabul’s airport with thousands wanting to leave.

“Thank God, the past five years have passed in safety,” said Mohammad Qasim, 30, reflecting on the anniversary that comes against a backdrop of economic hardship in a conflict-stricken country. “Our wish and hope from the government is to create job opportunities for the youth.”

“We, along with the entire nation, call upon the government to create employment opportunities for the youth and to encourage them to pursue education,” he added.

Taliban curbs women's rights despite pledge

Before the takeover, the Taliban stated that, upon assuming power, it would allow women access to education, employment and public participation, albeit in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic principles.

Soon after it seized power, the Taliban imposed an indefinite ban on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade and, a few months later, also banned higher education for women until “further notice.”

Women also were banned from entering gyms, parks and public baths, from taking part in sports and traveling to distant locations without a “mahram,” or male guardian.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has repeatedly said the administration is working to establish conditions under which girls and women can attend classrooms or university campuses in line with Islamic Sharia laws. The restrictions, nevertheless, remain in force.

While the United Nations has acknowledged that the country has become more stable since the takeover, it has warned that lasting stability cannot be possible unless the Taliban rulers — who remain isolated internationally — lift restrictions on women and girls, protect basic rights and address terrorism concerns.

“A reduction in conflict has brought tangible benefits for many Afghans and created opportunities to focus on recovery, development and regional economic cooperation,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, said in a statement ahead of the anniversary. It added, however, that the restrictions on women and girls impede Afghanistan’s recovery and its reintegration with the international community.

UN says Afghanistan in world's most severe women's rights crisis

In a statement this week, the U.N.'s agency on women’s rights said Afghan women and girls are living under the world’s most severe restrictions, which not only violate their rights but also threaten the country’s social and economic future.

“Half a decade after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan has systematically dismantled the rights of half its population, making it a global outlier with no parallel in the modern world,” U.N. Women said.

“In the past year alone, this exclusion of women and girls from education, employment, public life, justice systems and healthcare has only intensified, entrenching what remains the world’s most severe women’s rights crisis,” it said.

Fazila Soroush, a 39-year-old Kabul-based entrepreneur and an advocate for women’s rights, said the government had “demonstrated its worth to the people through its actions in every area.”

“We consider it essential that the officials of the Islamic Emirate who had announced the closure of schools and universities until further notice, now make a clear and practical decision regarding this matter,” she said.

In the streets of Kabul, preparations for the anniversary celebrations were underway. Vendors sold the Taliban’s white with black scripted flags while painters were busy writing slogans in praise of Islamic laws on walls, including: “The Islamic system has been achieved at the cost of the martyrs’ blood” and “Our commitment stands firm: Consolidation and implementation of Islamic Sharia.”

Taliban says it brought security and stability

Molvi Hayatullah Mahajar Farahi, deputy minister in the Taliban government for broadcasting at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said in the five years the administration has delivered security, stabilized the currency, improved infrastructure and formed industrial parks that have created jobs.

“Naturally, challenges and difficulties exist, yet we can highlight several accomplishments,” Farahi told The Associated Press.

Farahi, when asked, did not address the issue of the education of girls and women but said “the level of investment made in universities surpasses anything seen in the past.

“The Emirate continues its efforts to further organize and improve services for our citizens in the fields of education and other sectors,” he stated.

The deputy minister rejected a U.N. report that documented terrorist networks in Afghanistan, saying “these are merely enemy propaganda, spread to portray the country as unstable.”

Asked to comment about its international isolation, Farahi insisted the Taliban government was engaged with some 40 countries. The Taliban government currently is only formally recognized by Russia.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has fulfilled all the requirements necessary for official recognition. It is now up to the international community and others to step forward and take the appropriate action,” he said.

UN points to broader educational crisis

The bans have left an estimated 2.4 million girls excluded from secondary education, UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said this week — a 200,000 increase from last year. The restrictions have reversed two decades of progress that Afghanistan had made in education, the agency said.

Pointing at a broader educational crisis, the agency said 53% of primary school-aged children are out of school. Schools lack basic infrastructure such as water, sanitation or heating, while natural disasters have also led to hundreds of school closures.

Meanwhile, the U.N. World Food Program said child malnutrition has reached critical levels in a third of Afghanistan’s provinces and is expected to worsen as funding shortfalls force cuts in food distributions and other support.

Speaking Friday from Kabul, the special representative for the U.N. women's agency Sarah Ferguson urged donors not to abandon Afghan women and girls, saying the agency is getting only a quarter of what it needs. She said more than half the 74 women's organizations surveyed in April in Afghanistan said they were close to suspending or halting work because of aid cuts.

In Kabul, Dost Mohammad Khan expressed support for the Taliban administration, saying the past five years have brought stability. He said, however, that the country needs trained professionals such as doctors and engineers, urging the authorities to keep “all sectors operational.”

“We also call upon the Islamic Emirate to permit women to attend school under the sharia dress code and we urge the public to heed the directives of the Emirate also,” said the 38-year-old.

___

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

In a Facebook post, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office announced the addition of Eleazar Alejandro to its team of deputies.

According to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), Alejandro started the position with KCSO on Aug. 3.

Alejandro, Alfred Flores and Nathaniel Villalobos were the three ex-SAPD officers formerly on trial in the death of Melissa Perez, 46, on June 23, 2023, on the Southwest Side.

Alejandro — who was initially charged with murder, aggravated assault and deadly conduct — was found not guilty in November 2025 after a weeklong trial.

It was the first-ever Bexar County case in which multiple on-duty officers faced murder charges in a deadly SAPD police shooting.

The case drew widespread attention and sparked debate over police response protocols.

Back in May 2025, a U.S. magistrate judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against two of the officers — Alejandro and Flores — that Perez’s family filed on her behalf.

On Sept. 29, 2025, the civil lawsuit was dismissed entirely.

The civil suit dismissal means the plaintiffs, who are listed as relatives of Perez, cannot refile the same claims against the former officers. The judge also dismissed any pending motions and closed the case.

More recent news coverage on KSAT:

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• Ex-prosecutor says trafficking allegations like Neil Calfas’ can involve fraud, not just force
• Second woman arrested, accused of robbing Knicks fans at knifepoint after NBA Finals in San Antonio

The attacks caused no casualties but underlined the dangers faced by vessels moving cargo through the critical waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open oceans, as Iran keeps a firm grip on the passage.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

2 oil tankers hit by drones as they transited Strait of Hormuz

Two tankers owned by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil and gas company ADNOC were attacked Thursday evening while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the company said. It added that the attack caused no injuries and that “the situation has been brought under control.”

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said two vessels were reported to have suffered minor damage when attacked by drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. It did not identify them as the ADNOC ships, but it appeared to be the same incident.

The UAE's Foreign Ministry blamed the attacks on Iran and said they were a “flagrant violation” of the United Nations' principles of freedom of navigation.

“Targeting commercial shipping and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail represents acts of piracy by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps,” the Foreign Ministry said.

There was no immediate response from Iran.

Activists bring food and water to Palestinians under siege by Israeli settlers

Activists from Israel and other countries marched through the occupied West Bank, bringing food and water to Palestinians who have been under siege by Israeli settlers for days.

Three Palestinian families in the town of Qusra have been unable to leave their homes for nearly a week after settlers surrounded the area. Israeli troops intervened multiple times, but the settlers have kept returning.

The standoff in the northern West Bank town of Qusra is the latest in a wave of settler violence in the territory, which Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and which would make up part of a future Palestinian state.

Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the army to prepare a plan to transfer power to the police to enforce civilian-related matters, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Yemen says it disrupted a Houthi attack as fighting continues

Yemen’s military said its forces thwarted Houthi attacks early Friday in southwestern Yemen amid ongoing fighting with the Iran-backed rebels.

Forces affiliated with Yemen’s internationally recognized government said in a statement that dozens of Houthis were killed and injured in fighting that disrupted plans to attack military reinforcements in Taiz province with drones, explosives and artillery.

The Associated Press was unable to independently verify that toll.

A fire broke out Friday at the port in Mokha, where Houthis launched missiles targeting the port’s infrastructure, according to a spokesman for Yemen’s joint military forces. The spokesman, Wadah al-Dubaish, could not immediately say if anyone was killed or wounded.

The Houthis said Friday they targeted Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, with a drone strike in the city of Najran near Yemen's border. There was no immediate comment from Aramco or Saudi Arabia.

Recent Houthi attacks on government-held areas across Yemen have raised fears that the country’s civil war could reignite and open another front in the Middle East.

Kushner will head to Middle East for talks on Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and negotiator Jared Kushner will travel to the Middle East next week to try to advance plans for an end to the conflict in Gaza after a deal recently announced by the Trump administration ran into Israeli opposition.

An official with the Board of Peace, the body Trump established to oversee the fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, said Kushner, board high representative Nickolay Mladenov, and executive board member and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would arrive in Israel on Sunday.

The group will then travel to Cairo, where meetings of a Palestinian technocratic group set to assume control of Gaza under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal have been taking place for the past several months, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because planning for details of the trip has not yet been finalized.

The trip was reported earlier by Axios.

— Matthew Lee in Washington

Nathaniel Ramirez, 24, was pronounced dead at approximately 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, records show.

The medical examiner’s office said Ramirez’s manner of death remains under investigation.

SAPD said its officers found Ramirez inside a locked bedroom after responding to the shooting at approximately 7:15 p.m. Aug. 8 in the 1500 block of NW 26th Street.

Officers at the scene told KSAT that no weapon was recovered at the scene.

At this time, it is unclear who might have been involved or if it was self-inflicted, police said.

As of Friday, a SAPD spokesperson said no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.

The department said its investigation is ongoing.

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Begay, one of the last two living Code Talkers, made the eight-hour drive from his home on the Navajo Nation, the vast reservation extends into New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, to the Arizona State Capitol. Dozens of descendants of the Navajo Code Talkers and others gathered to remember the Navajo military recruits who used a code based on their native language to keep military secrets.

“I am so damn proud,” said Begay, in a wheelchair and wearing a Navajo Code Talkers cap dotted with pins and a golden shirt showing emblems he earned. “We used our language in World War II and won the battles.”

The Marine Corps recruited over 400 Navajos during World War II to communicate confidential information using their then-unwritten language. It was the largest code-talking program in the military at the time. In 2021, Arizona became the first state adopting Navajo Code Talker Day as a state holiday.

Between 1942 and 1945, they sent thousands of secret messages on battle tactics and enemy troop movements and ultimately helped save the lives of thousands of Allied soldiers.

The program remained secret for decades and in 1982, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation designating Aug. 14 as the official day to honor the Navajo Code Talkers and all Native Americans who served in the war.

“The U.S. was being defeated. Without that code, that war could have been different," said Dawn Manuelito, a granddaughter of one of the first 29 Navajo Code Talkers who developed the code. “Our language saved this country."

Navajo soldiers were sworn to secrecy

When the Code Talkers were discharged after the war, they couldn't tell anyone — even family members — about their secret mission. The program remained classified until 1968 and then efforts began to formally recognize the soldiers for their contributions.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon sent a letter of appreciation to the Navajo Tribal Council. Code Talker veterans participated in the bicentennial parade in Washington in 1976 and then Begay and other Code Talkers made a written request for recognition that resulted in a 1982 joint congressional resolution and Reagan's proclamation.

In the proclamation, Reagan also acknowledged that members of the Choctaw, Chippewa, Creek, Sioux, and other tribes used their tribal languages as effective battlefield codes in the two world wars.

At least 20 tribes have had members participate in the code talking programs, according to the National Museum of the American Indian.

During World War II, over 40,000 Native American men and women enlisted in the U.S. armed forces. Of the hundreds of Code Talkers deployed, the Comanches participated in operations in Europe, including the D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

Advocates work to keep the legacy alive

Following President Donald Trump’s executive order to end federal diversity and equity programs, the Defense Department deleted thousands of pages honoring contributions by women and minority groups, including the Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans.

Tribes condemned the action. The Pentagon restored some webpages, saying the Navajo Code Talker material was erroneously removed.

“They left their home, their sheep, their loved ones, to serve a country. They came back home and most of them have PTSD, like my dad. But they continued to do the best they can — and the Trump administration wiped them out of the map,” Ronald Begay, 70, the oldest son of Thomas H. Begay, said. “It just makes your blood boil."

Laura Tohe, the Arizona poet laureate and daughter of a Navajo Code Talker, said her father went to a boarding school where students were punished for using their native languages. But when he joined the Army, Tohe said, he and other men were told that the military would use their language to devise a code.

“It's a huge contradiction,” Tohe said. “Despite the complicated and dark history and relationship that we have with the U.S., these men were willing to step up because many of them felt like it was their responsibility to serve."

There's no dedicated museum to honor the group. Attempts to build one on the Navajo Nation haven't come to fruition.

New Mexico officials announced on Friday that the state would invest $20 million in a museum in Farmington.

Only two Navajo Code Talkers remain

Thomas H. Begay grew up speaking only the Navajo language with his parents. At 13, like many Native American Code Talkers, he first learned English when he was sent to boarding school.

Begay left the Marines in 1946 but joined the U.S. Army a year later. He worked as a communication specialist and was a paratrooper during the Korean War. The experience in Korea convinced him to leave the military in 1953.

The other surviving Navajo Code Talker is Peter MacDonald. He joined the Marine Corps at 15. He was two years too young, so he lied about his age.

After the war, MacDonald worked as an engineer at a defense contractor company and eventually became a powerful and controversial politician on the Navajo Nation. In November 2017, MacDonald, along with other World War II veterans, met Trump in the Oval Office and shared the history of the Navajo Code Talkers.

——

Associated Press writer Savannah Peters contributed from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Whether they get the chance may no longer be up to them.

Burnet and Webb middle schools received their fifth consecutive F ratings from the Texas Education Agency, triggering a state law that requires the agency to intervene. What that intervention ultimately looks like remains unclear.

Under the new statewide ratings released Friday, it is the only Texas district to trigger a potential state takeover.

But the ratings also left the district with an argument that it is making progress. The district overall earned a B grade, up from a C last year, said Superintendent Matias Segura. And Dobie Middle School, which was teetering on its fifth failing score, earned a D this year.

The district has an opportunity to appeal any school rating this year. And it likely will do so, Segura said, but would not detail what action it might take or for which schools. TEA will finalize the accountability ratings in December.

Segura says he won’t speculate on TEA’s next move and, as of Wednesday, had not spoken to the agency about the pending state intervention. Instead, he said, educators remain focused on improving all the schools, including Webb, Burnet and Dobie.

“I’ve spent time at those three schools last week, even prior to that,” Segura said. “We have two new leaders at those schools. The system is now better positioned to move the outcomes based on what we went through last year.”

What happens next?

The ratings answered one question. They also created another.

How much control, if any, will Austin ISD lose?

State intervention can range from targeted oversight to replacing an elected school board and superintendent altogether.

One possibility is TEA orders the closures of Webb and Burnet while leaving the district in the hands of local leadership.

At the other end of spectrum is a full state takeover, removing the superintendent and replacing the entire school board with a state-appointed superintendent and board of managers. Multiple school districts are currently operating under this system.

Or TEA could land somewhere in between. In Wichita Falls ISD, TEA and the district agreed to close a failing school, but allowed the superintendent and the elected school board to remain in place. TEA did, however, appoint a state-empowered conservator to monitor the district’s progress.

Austin educators worry about how any coming changes will affect kids, classrooms and the community. But they also know the district needs to substantially improve schools that have struggled for years.

“Part of ourselves is preparing for a takeover,” said Ken Zarifis, president of Education Austin, AISD’s labor union. “Regardless of what happens, we have to take action.”

For many educators, the greatest concern isn’t simply that the state may intervene. It’s that Austin could become the next Houston ISD.

Houston ISD shows the highest stakes

Houston offers the clearest example of how sweeping state intervention can become. In 2023, after years of litigation, TEA took control of HISD. One failing school triggered the takeover, but the state also cited broader problems, including violations of the Open Meetings Act and Texas procurement law.

TEA installed Mike Miles as superintendent and appointed a nine-member board of managers to run the district. Over the last three years, Miles has ushered in the New Education System model, which standardized lessons and reduced individual schools’ autonomy; slashed the number of librarians; overhauled its high school career programs; and added travel programs.

Academically, the district improved by several measures. The STAAR test scores improved. Before the 2023 takeover, the HISD had 56 failing schools. This year, four elementary schools received failing grades while the number of A and B-rated campuses grew, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“We’re pleased with the results in Houston,” TEA spokesman Jake Kobersky said about HISD’s progress. “They represent real opportunity, real progress for thousands upon thousands of kids.”

Some Houston families and educators view those gains with skepticism, suggesting they may reflect population changes, a narrow focus on standardized testing instead of critical thinking and decisions to keep advanced students in lower-level classes to ensure higher scores.

Toni Templeton, a research scientist at the University of Houston Education Research Center, says the group is currently studying how the takeover affected student performance.

The center’s research earlier this year showed 13,000 students left the HISD in the first two years after the state takeover.

Researchers expected to see an enrollment decline, Templeton said. Like many other urban school districts, she said, HISD has been hit by factors including declining birth rates, more educational options and gentrification that pushes families toward more affordable homes elsewhere.

Before the takeover, HISD enrollment declined 1% to 2% each year, Templeton said. After, the annual decline jumped 3% to 4%.

“What we saw was really a mass exodus,” Templeton said.

Students primarily left to attend nearby school districts and charter schools, the January study found. The changes also extended to HISD’s workforce: Teacher retention declined, more seasoned teachers left and the number of teachers with less experience increased.

The share of uncertified teachers grew from 0.3% in the 2016-17 school year to 19.8% in 2024-25.

In the two years after the takeover, Templeton said, students also began changing schools in unexpected ways. Ninth grade enrollment fell 15% in two years. Traditionally, enrollment increases at that grade level as students transition into HISD from charter or private schools.

“So these are changes that are signaling to us that parents are being motivated to make choices that they wouldn’t normally make as a result of the takeover,” Templeton said.

If TEA takes over Austin ISD, the community can expect the district to follow the same path as Houston, said Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers.

“They have the playbook,” she said. “That’s what they do.”

A different path in Wichita Falls ISD

Wichita Falls ISD offers a very different example of what state intervention can look like.

Earlier this year, TEA decided against a total takeover of Wichita Falls. Instead, the state appointed a conservator to monitor the district’s progress and guide it through decisions while allowing the district to keep its superintendent and elected school board.

This year, the school that triggered state action improved from an F to a C, said Superintendent Donny Lee.

The improvement followed years of attempts to turn the school around.

For years, the district struggled with failing scores and discipline problems at Kirby Middle School. In 2024, the board voluntarily closed the campus and moved its students to Hirschi Middle School, then turned operations to Third Future Schools, a network of nonprofit charter schools founded by Mike Miles.

Because accountability ratings measure performance from the previous school year, Kirby, received its fifth failing rating in 2025 even though the campus had already closed. When TEA intervened in March, the agency allowed Wichita Falls ISD to continue running its own district, with oversight from the conservator.

“When we first partnered with Third Future, there was a lot of pushback because of the uncertainty,” Lee said. “Who is Third Future? Why are they coming to our district? You know all of the questions that surround an unknown.”

But as academic performances improved, the community grew more supportive, he said.

The district has since handed over two more struggling schools to Third Future and is hoping to see similar improvements, Lee said. With some schools still flagging, he said, it’s not time to ease up.

“We are going to celebrate the fact that we are improving,” he said. “But we still have some work to do, and we know that. So we’re going to keep putting our nose to the grindstone and work hard.”

Whether Austin ISD follows a path closer to Houston’s sweeping takeover or Wichita Falls’ more limited oversight will ultimately be decided by TEA in the months ahead. Until then, district leaders, teachers and families remain in limbo, waiting to learn how much of the district’s future will remain in local hands.

Catania’s airport will remain closed until Saturday afternoon, which falls on the Ferragosto holiday that marks the height of the Italian summer holiday season when millions flock to the sea and mountains, deserting Italian cities.

While Etna’s activity often interrupts flights at the airport, located 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of the volcano, this is the longest emergency since 2002.

“Volcanic ash can be a great risk for aircraft,” said Boris Behncke, a researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology’s Etna Observatory. “It can be sucked into the motors, and force them to stall. This is why everyone is so very cautious with aircraft when there is a volcanic ash emission."

Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. The latest activity has been unusual for its persistence and sustained ash emissions. Northerly winds have spread light amounts of ash to Malta and northern Africa.

“There have been many shorter interruptions — and stronger eruptions — over the past few decades, but this event is different because the ash emission from Etna’s summit has been much more persistent,” Behncke said.

The closure has forced planes to be rerouted to other airports on the island, which has pushed up taxi fares and car rental prices, according to the Corriere della Sera daily. The Codacons consumer association has announced it will file a complaint with Italy’s competition authority following complaints about price gouging.

The SAC airport operator said 36% of nearly 2,000 flights scheduled to arrive in Catania from Aug. 6-12 had been canceled, while more than 600 were diverted to Palermo, Trapani and Comiso in Sicily and Lamezia Terme in Calabria. Flights were able to depart Catania over the weekend, but the airport was officially closed to both incoming and outgoing flights Monday. Comiso also was briefly closed.

The Italian train company Trenitalia has added six trains along the Palermo-Messina-Catania route to help ease the travel pressure.

Italy's federation of travel agencies and tour operators has called for a task force to coordinate responses to disruptions caused by Mount Etna and said it would ask for a review of how airlines handled the cancellations and passenger assistance.

“Operators are working around the clock to provide assistance, cancellations and alternative travel arrangements, but they cannot bear the burden of structural shortcomings and the management responsibilities of others," FIAVET President Gian Mario Pilieri said in a statement.

Officers responded to the crash around 11:45 a.m. in the 7400 block of West Military Drive, which is located near Marbach Road.

Upon arrival, officers said they found the woman, 52, and the dog injured.

The woman had attempted to cross Marbach Road without using a crosswalk when an eastbound driver struck her and the dog, SAPD said.

Police said the woman was rushed to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she was later pronounced dead.

The dog, which suffered unknown injuries, was fatally shot by police officers due to its condition, police said.

It’s unclear if the driver, a man in his 60s, suffered any injuries. Police told KSAT he isn’t facing any charges at this time.

SAPD said its investigation is ongoing.

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While discussions between Iran and Oman, as well as between Iran and Pakistan, Turkey and Qatar, persist at an uneven and unpredictable pace, the U.S. administration quietly has expanded its outreach to include perhaps unlikely interlocutors in Europe.

Just this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in person in Washington with the foreign minister of Austria on Tuesday and held a call with the foreign minister of Greece on Wednesday.

Those interactions were not notable beyond the normal course of relations between the U.S. and two close European allies. The official State Department readouts of the discussions were bland and vague and did not mention Iran by name as a topic of conversation.

But it then emerged that both foreign ministers — almost immediately after their talks with Rubio — spoke Thursday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The apparent new tack to break the negotiation logjam comes as the U.S. and Iran are both pushing for control of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial oil shipping corridor. President Donald Trump faces little wiggle room in his next steps as the economic fallout from the war and dwindling stockpiles of key weapons pose political problems for Republicans ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections.

A desperate push is on to break the diplomatic logjam between the US and Iran

The entry by Austria and Greece is likely less of a formal mediation attempt, analysts say, and more reflective of a desperate push to halt the conflict because of the impact it has on an increasing number of countries, beyond those in the Middle East.

“Everyone is just urging both sides to stop this reckless game of chicken,” said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group.

It also shows how much Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced countries, which otherwise were neutral bystanders to the larger conflict, to exercise any diplomatic sway they may have on their Iranian and American counterparts to kick-start a lasting resolution.

Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned that any efforts by Greece, Austria or any other non-mediating country could prove to be futile.

“While the calls to both sides may entail encouraging both Iran and the U.S. back to the negotiating table, such efforts fall short of mediation, which is a very complex endeavor and requires trust to be built by the mediator with both sides," Yacoubian said.

She added that it’s not something that any country can “just jump into.”

Rubio discussed Iran with his Austrian and Greek counterparts

The State Department said Friday that it could not comment on the timing of calls by other countries' foreign ministers and maintained that Rubio had made no requests of either to get in touch with Iran or pass messages to Araghchi.

One European diplomat, who was briefed on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive diplomatic conversations, said the timing of the calls was not an accident.

The State Department did allow, however, that Iran had been a topic of conversation in Rubio's discussions, which occurred as Trump is facing serious political headwinds over a war for which he has offered shifting objectives.

No longer purely about making Iran incapable of producing a nuclear weapon, the immediate goal has become reopening the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil usually passes through and which was open before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

“That’s goal number one: keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country,” Vice President JD Vance said in an interview Thursday on Fox News Channel. But he did not say anything about the strait being open and toll-free for transiting ships, as he had in the past.

The second goal, Vance said, is to ensure that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon.

The two European countries have key connections to the war's fallout

Austria and Greece may not be obvious choices to assist on the Iran portfolio, but Vienna is home to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which will play a key role in any resolution to the Iran’s nuclear program, and hosted the final negotiations that resulted in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Greece is a major maritime nation in the Mediterranean and has significant shipping interests in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

In statements from the Austrian, Greek and Iranian foreign ministries, it was clear that Iran had been a top topic in all of the conversations this week.

The Greek foreign ministry said Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis had been briefed by Araghchi on “regional developments, and in particular on the ongoing talks regarding the Strait of Hormuz.” It said Gerapetritis “underlined the importance of freedom of navigation and maritime security.”

The Austrian foreign ministry offered Austria’s services as a venue for further potential talks with Iran and said Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger had stressed to Araghchi “the urgency of restoring stability in the region through serious diplomatic efforts.”

“There can be no military solution,” it said. “A diplomatic solution remains possible. Our priority is to safeguard freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Iran’s foreign ministry, expectedly, took a different tack in explaining the calls.

It said Friday that in Araghchi’s calls with his European counterparts they discussed “mechanisms for the future management of the Strait of Hormuz,” which he said had been disrupted by the “unlawful aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran.”

In both calls, he accused the U.S. of violating the interim deal signed by both sides in June to end the immediate hostilities and begin broader talks to end the war.

___

Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writers Derek Gatopolous in Athens and Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.

Club owner Fenway Sports Group (FSG) said in a statement it entered into a “definitive agreement” for the sale to 1892 Holdings.

The investor group is led by Amit Bhatia, who is married to a daughter of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, and has taken a stake of more than 30% in the 20-time English champion, according to Sky News. The deal reportedly values Liverpool at around $6 billion.

Boston-based FSG paid 300 million pounds ($400 million) to take over Liverpool in 2010 and also owns the Boston Red Sox. FSG said in July that it had been approached by the Bhatia-led consortium regarding a “strategic minority investment” in the club.

“As we considered this opportunity, it became clear that Amit and the consortium shared our long-term philosophy and appreciation for what makes Liverpool special,” FSG president Mike Gordon said in the statement.

It marks the first foray into soccer by Bezos, who, according to Forbes, is the fourth richest person in the world with a net worth of around $280 billion. He founded Amazon in 1994 and has been executive chairman since 2021.

Saverin is a Brazilian businessman worth around $36 billion, according to Forbes.

Bhatia, a British-Indian entrepreneur, was the co-owner of second-tier English team Queens Park Rangers for 18 years before stepping down recently.

“We are making this investment because we believe deeply in Liverpool and its leadership, and we look forward to supporting the club’s continued success for years to come,” Bhatia said in the statement.

Under the leadership of FSG and its principal owner John Henry, Liverpool ended a 30-year wait to be English champion in 2020 and added another Premier League title last year. That tied Manchester United on 20 English top-flight league championships.

The club was European champion for a sixth time — a record for an English team — in 2019.

The Premier League is one of the biggest competitions in sports, with its teams now largely owned by oil-rich gulf states or private equity.

Can Liverpool now start spending heavily?

Liverpool now has three of the richest people in the world as minority owners.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the club can simply start spending recklessly in the transfer market on new players.

That’s because the Premier League has financial rules in place to protect the competitive balance of the competition and ensure the financial sustainability of clubs.

In broad terms, a club’s on-pitch spending is related to 85% of its “football-related revenue and net profit/loss from player sales,” the Premier League says.

Instead, the difference will come in how Liverpool — already one of the top teams in world soccer — is marketed more around the world under Bezos and Saverin, especially.

The deal is likely to bring more commercial revenue into the club, thereby improving its profits.

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Thompson, 50, was shot outside a New York City hotel on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City.

Here is a timeline of key events:

2024

Nov. 24: A man prosecutors say is Mangione arrives in New York City on a Greyhound bus. He takes a taxi to the area of the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson is later shot, then goes to a hostel where he stays until the morning of the shooting. While checking in, prosecutors say, the man presents a fake New Jersey driver’s license bearing the name Mark Rosario.

Dec. 2: Thompson arrives in New York. He is staying at a hotel across the street from the Hilton.

Dec. 4: Thompson is shot and killed. The shooter, later identified by prosecutors as Mangione, waits in the area for about an hour before ambushing Thompson. He then flees through Central Park to upper Manhattan before taking the subway to Penn Station and boarding an Amtrak train to Philadelphia, police say. The shooting is captured on surveillance video.

Dec. 5: In the days after the shooting, police release various images of the suspected shooter, including one showing his face as he checked into the hostel.

Dec. 6: Police find a backpack in Central Park that they say the shooter discarded as he fled. It contains Monopoly money and a black Tommy Hilfiger jacket.

Dec. 9: Altoona police are dispatched to a McDonald’s for a report of a man matching the description of the suspect in Thompson's killing. The man provides a fake ID and name, Mark Rosario, before identifying himself as Luigi Mangione. He is arrested. In his backpack, police find a 3D-printed pistol prosecutors say matches the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook that describes wanting to “wack” a health insurance executive.

Dec. 11: Mangione shouts about an “insult to the intelligence of the American people” and writhes in the grip of sheriff’s deputies as they lead him into an Altoona courthouse.

Dec. 17: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announces that Mangione has been indicted on state charges including murder as an act of terrorism, calling the killing “a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation.”

Dec. 19: Mangione is extradited from Pennsylvania and flown to New York. He is led up a Manhattan pier by armed officers in a highly choreographed perp walk in front of news cameras. The mayor at the time, Eric Adams, and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch look on. Mangione is taken to federal court, where he is charged with stalking and murder.

Dec. 23: Mangione is arraigned on state murder and terror charges. He pleads not guilty while his lawyer complains that the dueling federal and state prosecutions had turned him into a “human ping-pong ball.”

2025

April 1: Then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says she has directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Mangione, calling Thompson's killing “a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America” and “an act of political violence.”

April 25: Mangione pleads not guilty to a federal murder charge as prosecutors formally declared their intent to seek the death penalty against him.

Sept. 16: The judge in the state case, Gregory Carro, throws out Mangione's terrorism charges, rejecting the prosecution’s theory that the killing was “intended to evoke terror.” The ruling eliminated the top two charges in Mangione’s state case, sparing him the possibility of a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Carro keeps other charges in place, including second-degree murder.

Dec. 1: A three-week evidentiary hearing kicks off in Mangione’s state case. Prosecutors call 17 witnesses, many of them police officers and other personnel involved in his arrest, and play body-camera footage of officers arresting Mangione and a 911 call from the McDonald's manager about a man resembling “the CEO shooter.” They also reveal notes about a “survival kit” and “intel checkin” and possible escape plans that they say Mangione had with him.

2026

Jan. 30: U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett bars federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against Mangione, dismissing a federal murder charge that enabled them to seek capital punishment. Garnett also rules that prosecutors can use evidence collected from Mangione’s backpack during his arrest.

Feb. 6: Mangione speaks out in court against the prospect of back-to-back trials, telling Carro: “It’s the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition.”

May 18: Carro rules that prosecutors in the state case can use the gun, notebook and other items that police found in Mangione’s backpack after his arrest. However, the judge bars items that officers took from the bag before Mangione was taken into custody, including a loaded gun magazine, cellphone, passport and wallet.

June 17: Carro discloses that Mangione plans to assert a psychiatric defense at his state murder trial, claiming he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance when he killed Thompson. The next day, Mangione's lawyers reverse course and tell Carro he wouldn't be pursuing a psychiatric defense.

Aug. 14: Mangione pleads guilty to federal stalking charges and admits he targeted and killed Thompson. Prosecutors say they intend to seek a sentence of life in prison. Mangione's lawyers immediately file paperwork seeking to have the state murder case dismissed on double jeopardy grounds.

The strike came a day after the United Nations said July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the weeks following Moscow's all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago.

At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 wounded last month, the U.N. monitoring mission in Kyiv said, as Russia escalated its bombing of Ukrainian towns and cities. That was 70% higher than in July last year and 30% up on June of this year.

Overall, since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, U.N. human rights monitors say the war has killed at least 16,874 civilians, including 820 children, and wounded 51,273, including 3,126 children.

“Every month this year the number of killed and injured civilians has increased. That trend accelerated sharply in July,” said Danielle Bell, head of the U.N. human rights monitoring mission in Kyiv. “The number of civilian casualties in July was the highest we documented in a single month since March 2022.”

The Russian strike in northern Ukraine’s Sumy region early Friday also wounded four other people, including the dead boy’s father and grandmother, who were hospitalized with severe burns, the regional military administration chief Oleh Hryhorov said.

Russia's top diplomat says Moscow will intensify its aerial attacks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Moscow is planning to escalate its strikes on Ukraine, even as U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the war are set to continue.

“We will use much harsher methods to destroy everything that feeds Kyiv’s war machine from the West,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russian state TV broadcast Friday, referring to military aid Kyiv receives from abroad.

Officials in Washington said last month that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s main envoys, would travel to Kyiv sometime in the future. No date for the trip is publicly known, as the U.S. focuses on the Iran war.

Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by Trump, but Putin has refused, demanding a comprehensive peace agreement first, and Lavrov said that position hasn’t changed.

“We will only stop when there’s a long-term, reliable and sustainable settlement,” he said.

Russian glide bombs hit residential areas near front line

In Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, a Russian glide bomb demolished six floors of a 10-story apartment block, killing one person and wounding 16 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Russia is launching around 220 glide bombs every day against settlements near the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in a social media post Friday.

Russian forces crush settlements with the brute force of 3,000-pound (1,300-kilo) glide bombs, artillery, missiles and drones, then send in infantry units to attack the exposed defenders. The tactic has rendered many towns and villages uninhabitable.

In addition, Russian forces struck two tugboats in the Black Sea that were escorting cargo ships carrying Western weapons for Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said.

It also said that its drones overnight hit the railway station in Ukraine’s southern port of Izmail that it said is used for transporting military cargo and fuel for the Ukrainian armed forces.

In all, Russia attacked 12 Ukrainian regions overnight, wounding dozens of people, Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian drones strike a major port north of Moscow

Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, extended their long-range strike campaign against Russian infrastructure, hitting the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region north of Moscow and starting a brief fire, its governor Alexander Drozdenko said.

Ust-Luga is one of Russia’s largest oil and gas export terminals located more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Ukraine.

It has been a frequent target of Ukrainian drone attacks this summer, as Kyiv seeks to undermine Russian oil exports that provide Moscow with vital revenue for its war effort.

Ukraine also launched another attack on the premises of Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer, which Kyiv says helps supply the Russian military.

The attack damaged a wall of a Wildberries warehouse in the Tver region north of Moscow, the region’s acting governor, Vitaly Korolyov, said.

Wildberries reported “insignificant damage” and said the goods stored at the site were not damaged.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday its air defenses overnight intercepted 553 Ukrainian drones over 18 Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the waters of the Azov and the Black seas.

NATO warplanes shoot down a drone over Latvia

NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace in the early hours of Friday, the Latvian army and an official for the military alliance said.

Latvian authorities did not say what the origin of the drone was, but said it had entered Latvia “as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare.”

Several drones have previously crossed the border into Latvia. Most of them are thought to be Ukrainian drones that strayed off course due to Russian electronic jamming.

Two Italian Eurofighter jets were scrambled to tackle the drone and one of them shot it down, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said.

Two Turkish fighter jets were also deployed, she said.

Residents in five municipalities in eastern Latvia were warned about the threat to airspace and told to take shelter.

Another drone crashed in woodland in Romania 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the border with Ukraine, the NATO member’s Defense Ministry said Friday.

Military radars did not detect the drone, which landed in eastern Tulcea County, because it was flying at a “very low” altitude, it said without providing details about the drone’s origin.

The ministry said later that another drone was found Friday in the village of Plauru, also in Tulcea County, which is situated across the Danube River from Ukraine’s port of Izmail. A specialist team was deployed to the area, which was secured, it added.

___

Associated Press reporters Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland, Lorne Cook in Brussels and Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England contributed to this report.

___

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

A statement from the Italian Carabinieri’s art recovery squad said the artworks were discovered in the possession of one of the suspects during searches ordered by prosecutors in the Parma province and neighboring provinces. The five suspects detained are believed to belong to an organized crime group responsible for numerous thefts of homes, businesses and other properties. Police also recovered stolen goods worth tens of thousands of euros.

Meanwhile, Brazilian police said late Thursday they located eight stolen works by Matisse following an apartment raid outside Sao Paulo. There were no apparent links between the two thefts.

The three artworks recovered in Italy are “Fish,” a painting by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries,” a pencil and watercolor by Paul Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace,” a color aqatint by Henri Matisse. Authorities said the Cézanne was valued at 6 million euros ($7 million), the Renoir at 3 million euros ($3.5 million), and the Matisse at 20,000 euros ($23,000).

The heist at the Magnani Rocca Foundation, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Parma, took place on the night of March 22-23, police said. Video distributed by authorities showed the thieves entering through a broken door window and then taking the three artworks down from adjacent walls before exiting and escaping through the gardens in a matter of minutes.

Investigators said they retrieved important evidence at the scene, including a pickaxe and fire extinguisher with their serial numbers removed. Forensic officers were able to reconstruct the serial numbers, which linked them to an apartment building accessible to one of the alleged members of the criminal gang.

The suspects were all born in Moldova and resided in the Parma area, authorities said.

Established in 1977, the foundation hosts the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani and includes works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet.

The museum believes a structured and organized gang was responsible for the theft, which the alarm interrupted, local media reported.

The crime followed a series of high-profile heists at major European museums, including the theft in October of French crown jewels and other items valued at 88 million euros ($101 million) from the Louvre in Paris.

Brazilian police said the eight stolen works by Matisse were valued at more than 1 million reais ($193,000) and found in the city of São Bernardo do Campo, outside Sao Paulo.

Sao Paulo police said in a statement they arrested one man at the scene for allegedly holding the prints for another person who was taken into custody in April during an unrelated art theft probe.

The recovery of the artwork marks a major breakthrough in a case dating back to December 2025, when two intruders broke into São Paulo’s Mário de Andrade library. A total of 13 pieces of art and history were stolen. Five works by Brazilian artist Cândido Portinari are still missing.

Matisse (1869-1954) is one of the most celebrated artists of the colorful expressive style. Brazilian police recovered eight prints which are named “Le Clown,” “Le Cirque,” “Monsieur Loyal,” “Cauchemar de L’Eléphant Blanc,” “Le Codomas,” “La Nageuse Dans L’Aquarium,” “L’Avaleur de Sabres” and “Le Cowboy.” They were made for an artbook named “Jazz.”

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

CHUZZ! BURGERS

13480 San Pedro Ave, San Antonio, TX 78216

Chuzz! Burgers in San Antonio brings a bold, playful approach to the classic smash burger, with double and triple patties, creative toppings, loaded fries, and hand-spun milkshakes. The menu features favorites such as The O.G., made with two smashed beef patties, sharp cheddar, fresh vegetables, and Chuzz sauce, along with the massive StackZilla and the spicy Snake Bite. One of the restaurant’s most memorable creations is Da Dip, a bacon cheeseburger served with queso and crushed Cool Ranch Doritos or Takis for an over-the-top combination of crunch, cheese, and flavor.

The restaurant’s high-energy atmosphere matches its creative menu, with a retro-pop aesthetic and plenty of customizable options. Guests can also order Chaos Fries topped with beef, queso, bacon, and Snake Bite sauce, or hand-battered Fuzz Rings served with dipping sauces. Sweet-seasoned fries and milkshakes, including Oreo and birthday cake flavors, round out the menu for a full fast-casual burger experience.

RAVELLO ITALIAN CUISINE

4272 TPC Pkwy, Ste 110, San Antonio, TX 78261

Ravello Italian Cuisine in North San Antonio offers an upscale Italian dining experience featuring handmade pastas, fresh seafood, classic appetizers, and craft cocktails. Located near the JW Marriott, the restaurant’s menu includes favorites such as Rigatoni Piccante, Short Rib Gnocchi, Ravioli alla Vodka, and fresh weekly fish selections such as halibut. Starters include calamari fritti with Calabrese peppers, grilled octopus, beef and pork meatballs, and roasted bone marrow.

The sophisticated setting makes Ravello a popular choice for date nights, special occasions, and elevated dinners. Guests can pair their meal with selections from the restaurant’s curated wine list and craft cocktail menu before finishing with traditional Italian desserts such as tiramisu. The combination of house-made pasta, coastal seafood, and polished service gives Ravello a refined take on classic Italian cuisine.

MAUI’S ON MAIN

1022 N Main Ave, San Antonio, TX 78212

Maui’s on Main brings Hawaiian-inspired comfort food to San Antonio with generous plate lunches, island-style bowls, burgers, tacos, burritos, and tropical drinks. Popular dishes include Kalua Pig, Garlic Shrimp, Hawaiian Fried Chicken, and Teriyaki Chicken served with white rice or Spam fried rice and macaroni salad. The menu also features the Loco Moco, a Hawaiian comfort food favorite made with rice, beef patties, brown gravy, and sunny-side-up eggs.

Guests can also choose from burgers, Baja-style tacos and burritos, and tropical beverages. One of the restaurant’s standout treats is its Ube Milkshake, made with purple yam for a vibrant color and sweet, creamy flavor. Specialty juices such as the Maui Sunrise and Kawai Omao add a refreshing tropical touch to the menu.

NOLA BRUNCH & BEIGNETS

1101 Broadway, Ste 120, San Antonio, TX 78215

NOLA Brunch & Beignets brings the flavors of New Orleans to San Antonio with a daytime menu centered around fresh beignets, Creole favorites, po’boys, and creative brunch dishes. The restaurant serves its signature beignets classic with powdered sugar or stuffed with rotating fillings such as lemon curd and mango custard. Other favorites include Chicken & Beignets, featuring crispy chicken strips glazed with Sriracha cane syrup, as well as shrimp and grits prepared barbecue-style.

Sweet brunch options include bread pudding French toast with Steen’s syrup, Bananas Foster pancakes, and chocolate chip cookie dough pancakes. Guests can pair their meal with authentic chicory café au lait or other breakfast beverages. With its New Orleans-inspired menu and focus on fresh, small-batch beignets, NOLA Brunch & Beignets offers a taste of the Crescent City in the heart of San Antonio.

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Fry finished third in a special primary held Tuesday, when Graham and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman advanced to the Aug. 25 runoff. His backing follows that of other powerful Republicans who have supported Graham, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Trump, whose early endorsement helped propel his own congressional career.

“President Trump needs fighters and allies in the Senate who will show up every day and get results,” Fry said in a news release. “I believe Darline Graham will be exactly that.”

Graham's brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, died suddenly last month. Darline Graham, was appointed to serve out the remainder of his current term, then opted to run for the seat, winning the biggest share of votes but not the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

The special primary, which took place just a month after Lindsey Graham's death, meant a compressed and sometimes chaotic campaign for the 10 candidates who ran to replace him.

Much of the most heated rhetoric volleyed back and forth between Fry and a political action committee supporting Darline Graham, which ran ads pointing out that Trump — who initially said Fry would be an “outstanding” pick for the seat — passed him over to back Graham instead.

Graham's brother was a top Senate ally for Trump, to whom she has also closely tied herself in her campaign. Both Fry and Graham have often mentioned their humble origins as a touchpoint for understanding kitchen table issues, something Fry noted he had in common with Graham.

“Darline knows what it means to struggle, persevere, and keep fighting when life deals you a difficult hand," Fry said of the 62-year-old Graham, who had a hardscrabble upbringing and was ultimately adopted by her older brother after their parents died when she was young. “Those experiences shaped her, and I believe they give her a real understanding of the challenges families across South Carolina face.”

Trump had stumped for Fry in his first House campaign in 2022, when the state lawmaker ousted a five-term GOP congressman who had voted to impeach Trump a year earlier.

Matt Gorman, a GOP strategist and former senior adviser to Scott, suggested that Fry's endorsement of Graham was a political calculation for the 41-year-old, two-term congressman, who has seen the ramifications for some Republicans who have crossed Trump.

“Russell is a smart guy with a long career ahead of him," Gorman said. "It makes zero sense to get crosswise with either President Trump or Tim Scott. If he wants to, Fry will get another shot at the seat because Graham or Norman won’t be there multiple decades.”

The GOP runoff’s winner will face Democratic nominee Dr. Annie Andrews in November’s general election. No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades.

___

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

TxDOT said the weekend nightly closures are scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, weather permitting. The work will affect the Loop 1604 and Interstate 10 interchange area.

The planned closures include:

• The right lane on eastbound Loop 1604 main lanes from La Cantera Parkway to the entrance ramp before Valero Way.
• The eastbound Loop 1604 exit to Valero Way/Vance Jackson Road.
• Eastbound and westbound I-10 main lanes at the interchange.
• Eastbound and westbound I-10 frontage roads at the interchange.
• All flyovers at the Loop 1604 and I-10 interchange will remain open, TxDOT said. Drivers should follow detour signs.

Work on Interstate 35

Additional impacts are expected on the Northeast Side as part of the Interstate 35 Northeast Expansion Program with lane reductions planned this weekend and into next week.

TxDOT said I-35 northbound will be reduced to two lanes between the southbound Loop 410 exit ramp and the Brooke Army Medical Center exit ramp continuously from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday.

Further nightly reductions are planned 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Monday, Aug. 17, through Friday, Aug. 21:

• I-35 northbound reduced to one lane between North Walters Street and Petroleum Drive.
• I-35 southbound reduced to one lane between Petroleum Drive and North Walters Street.

Motorists should expect delays and allow extra travel time, TxDOT said. All closures are subject to change and weather conditions.

Pirro announced on X that her office was filing two felony charges against Melissa L. Farris. Pirro said the felony charges are “Depredation Against Property of the United States and Destruction of Veterans’ Memorials.” The offenses carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

On Thursday, the words “Clean hands dirty $” were found painted on the monument and bubbles filled a fountain.

“Vandalizing our World War II Memorial is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom. Those Americans include my father and grandfather,” Pirro wrote.

A woman identified on her Facebook page as Melissa Lovewell posted a video Thursday in which she is seen taking cans of spray paint from her bag and then painting the monument.

“I will wait here to be arrested for spraying our veterans’ fountain,” she says. “It was me, I’m doing it, it’s on camera."

In a video posted Friday, the woman, who in a separate post said she had been in Washington for three weeks, said she was turning herself in.

The arrest warrant filed in the case indicated that witnesses took pictures of the vandalism occurring, which were circulated among U.S. Park Police officers.

One officer recognized the suspect as someone they arrested Aug. 10 “for unlawfully camping on federal property” just blocks away. She livestreamed that arrest, the warrant said.

The suspect was identified by her Kentucky driver's license as Melissa L. Farris, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Farris was expected to be arraigned Friday. The Public Defender’s office said she was not yet listed in the system and had not been assigned an attorney.

The incident sparked harsh rebukes from both Pirro and President Donald Trump and comes after the president blamed damage to the nearby Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on vandals, without providing evidence. That case prompted charges against multiple people which were dropped when Pirro said evidence showed the damage came from botched repairs after Trump's renovation at the site.

“Our beautiful World War II Memorial was just hit by Spray Painting Vandals,” Trump said on Friday on his Truth Social site. “First the Reflecting Pool, now this.”

The Interior Department said that the U.S. Park Police were on the scene following the Thursday vandalism and an investigation was ongoing. "The public should know we will find the person responsible for this disgusting act,” the department said.

The Friends of the National World War II Memorial, a nonprofit organization that helps maintain the site, said: “There are many places in our country for expression, debate, and disagreement. A national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”

The Veterans of Foreign Wars called the vandalism “an act of profound disrespect, a slap in the face to the veterans who served and sacrificed and to the families who carried that burden at home.”

A former Olympian was charged in late July with deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool, but the Justice Department later moved to dismiss that case, saying evidence prosecutors had received refuted the idea that vandals were to blame.

Trump sharply criticized Pirro’s assessment that damage to the Reflecting Pool was the result of shoddy construction and not the work of vandals, as he claimed.

The case dismissal was an embarrassing setback for a Justice Department that had previously echoed Trump’s claims and billed the prosecution as accountability for damage at a Washington landmark, a pet project of Trump. Pirro’s decision to drop the case was also a rare moment during Trump’s second term of an aide or political appointee openly defying him.

Gun rights activists and Republican lawmakers called the change a historic win for the Second Amendment, while gun control groups said the ruling will leave Americans less safe.

In 1934, following high-profile shootings, Congress used its taxing power to enact the National Firearms Act. The law required individuals to pay a $200 fee before transferring or making certain firearms — on top of registering them — in an effort to curtail these activities. But last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill ended that tax for some categories, including short-barrel shotguns, short-barrel rifles and silencers.

The same day President Donald Trump signed the bill into law in July 2025, firearms trade groups, gun businesses and a San Angelo gun owner sued to overturn parts of the NFA. Just over a month later, Texas and 14 other Republican-led states joined the lawsuit.

On Aug. 5, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in Lubbock ruled that the regulations, enacted under lawmakers’ authority to impose taxes, could not continue after the tax was revoked.

“The challenged NFA provisions are unconstitutional,” the Trump-appointed judge wrote. “Congress’s choice to eliminate the transfer and making taxes matters, and the defendants cannot save the NFA’s regulatory scheme by referring to a power that Congress never invoked. Efforts to render the NFA constitutional must come from Congress, not this Court.”

Hendrix limited the effect of his order to the individual and groups that were part of the lawsuit, as well as their current and future customers or members. In addition, the injunction covers state agencies and political subdivisions in the 15 states that joined the lawsuit. 

The DOJ could still appeal within 60 days of Hendrix’s decision, but its plans are unclear.

“The Department respects Americans’ Second Amendment rights and is currently assessing the impact of the court’s ruling,” the DOJ said in a Thursday statement.

The lack of an emergency appeal also came after a group of Republicans in Congress, including nine from Texas, urged newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche not to fight the court decision. On Thursday, they cheered the win.

“The Trump administration has delivered a decisive victory for the Second Amendment,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, said in a post on X.

Others — including state Rep. Wes Virdell, R-Brady, and Brandon Herrera, a Republican candidate running for 23rd Congressional District who is known as “The AK Guy” — celebrated by making a purchase after the ruling took effect at midnight.

“Last night was an amazing experience to be a part of history in the making,” Virdell said in a Thursday post on X.

Gun control groups blasted the DOJ’s decision, saying short-barrel rifles and shotguns are powerful weapons that have been used in mass shootings, while silencers can make it difficult for bystanders and law enforcement to detect if and where a gun has been fired.

“Today, our government is failing us,” Brady President Kris Brown said in a statement. “Today, the gun industry and silencer dealers are celebrating, while Americans are left less safe.”

This story has been updated to clarify the scope of the ruling.

The Department of Defense Education Activity operates about 160 schools across 11 countries and educates roughly 70,000 students who are children of active-duty military or civilian service members. Conservatives have eyed the schools — which, unlike most public schools, are run by the federal government — as a testing ground for reshaping education.

The Western civilization course planned for this fall will use a textbook published by Encounter Books, a conservative publishing house. Titled "The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom," it includes suggested lesson plans created in partnership with Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school in Michigan.

Historians and educators who reviewed excerpts of the text told The Associated Press it depicts points throughout history in misleading ways, representing Western civilization and Christianity as one and the same and casting Islam as a threat to both.

“You’ve got to wonder a bit whether Western civilization is a Trojan horse for classical Christian education,” said Phil Gorski, a historical sociology professor at Yale University.

The course is part of a wider reshaping of the Defense Department's schools. They have begun hiring classical learning teachers, and the department has brought in new academic chiefs with ties to classical learning charter schools and to Republican-led efforts to promote more patriotic and civic education.

In a written statement, the Pentagon said it “remains committed to providing all of its military-connected students with the best possible education and opportunities.” It did not respond directly to a series of questions about the textbook and the broader push for classical learning.

Classical education broadly refers to a teaching style built on the liberal arts, with an emphasis on critical thinking and citizenship. Students are taught to imitate the rhetoric and style of great thinkers and writers. Critics have argued the movement focuses too heavily on foundational texts from Greek, Roman and other Western writers.

Conservatives see classical learning as an antidote to unflattering depictions of US history

Conservative politicians have embraced classical learning, especially as the Trump administration and Republican-led states have pushed schools to emphasize patriotism and put boundaries around how they teach unflattering parts of American history.

In his writing and public remarks since before becoming defense secretary, Hegseth has advocated for parents to embrace classical Christian education.

In his 2022 book “Battle for the American Mind,” Hegseth, a former Fox News host, describes a history of progressives working to remove God and religion from public and private schools.

Many classical Christian schools focus on reclaiming Western civilization from external threats. But across the broader field of classical education — including secular private schools — the field is increasingly split on this point, said Susan Wise Bauer, the author of a popular classical homeschooling program.

“Whenever you have a system of education where that is the impulse, ... 'This is us, and they are them over there,'” she said, “then the idea of a shared literary heritage becomes a weapon.”

Textbook casts Western civilization as under threat

In the Pentagon's system, high school students can take the new course, Western Civilization to 1500, to fulfill a world history graduation requirement, according to a news release. The course is offered through the department's virtual school.

In the textbook’s introduction, the authors write: “When citizens of Western countries are utterly ignorant of history, as most now are, they are left unarmed against the general hostility to their own tradition that has become so destructive a force in contemporary culture."

The book describes Islam as inherently more violent than Christianity.

In a section titled “Holy War and Martyrdom in Battle,” the book describes wars fought by Christians, such as the Crusades, as intended to defend and protect other Christians. Islam, in contrast, glorifies violence and war, the book says, invoking the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and 9/11.

Matthew Gabriele, a history and religion professor at Virginia Tech, said the book's description of the Crusades and the conflicts with the Islamic world strips out important details and context to depict Islam as an aggressive religious tradition and downplays the religious motivations and violence of the Christian church.

The book's publisher, Roger Kimball, said it was peer-reviewed by 15 experts. “As the proud publisher of this incomparable work, I stand behind it in every detail,” he said.

One of the book's co-authors, Harvard emeritus professor James Hankins, said the text does not attempt to characterize Christianity and Western civilization as one. Segments of the book acknowledge the West’s cultural debts to the Islamic world, said Hankins, who now teaches at the University of Florida's Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education, a conservative-backed project to teach Western civilization.

The Trump administration aligned the military’s education system with its political vision

President Donald Trump's administration also has moved to align the military's education apparatus with its broader vision for American schools. Admissions offices at U.S. military academies now accept the Classical Learning Test, a college entrance exam that positions itself as a classical alternative to the SAT. And last year, the ACLU sued the defense school system over its decision to ban hundreds of books that covered topics like race, gender and democracy.

In March, the department abruptly changed the leadership of Department of Defense Education Activity schools, replacing Beth Schiavino-Narvaez with Paul Craft as director. In a news release at the time, Hegseth described Craft as the right leader to reorient the school system "toward patriotic values and classical learning.”

The Pentagon also replaced the education activity's chief academic officer, hiring Tiffany Hoben, who previously worked in the Florida Department of Education under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. In Florida, she oversaw the rollout of a civics curriculum that was criticized for claiming America's founders did not intend for a full separation of church and state.

___

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

The Department of Defense Education Activity operates about 160 schools across 11 countries and educates roughly 70,000 students who are children of active-duty military or civilian service members. Conservatives have eyed the schools — which, unlike most public schools, are run by the federal government — as a testing ground for reshaping education.

The Western civilization course planned for this fall will use a textbook published by Encounter Books, a conservative publishing house. Titled "The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom," it includes suggested lesson plans created in partnership with Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school in Michigan that has also developed influential materials for K-12 schools.

Historians and educators who reviewed excerpts of the text told The Associated Press it depicts points throughout history in misleading ways, representing Western civilization and Christianity as one and the same and casting Islam as a threat to both.

“You’ve got to wonder a bit whether Western civilization is a Trojan horse for classical Christian education,” said Phil Gorski, a historical sociology professor at Yale University.

The course is part of a wider reshaping of the Defense Department's schools. They have begun hiring classical learning teachers, and the department has brought in new academic chiefs with ties to classical learning charter schools and to Republican-led efforts to promote more patriotic education.

In a written statement, the Pentagon said it “remains committed to providing all of its military-connected students with the best possible education and opportunities.” It did not respond directly to a series of questions about the textbook and the broader push for classical learning.

Classical education broadly refers to a teaching style built on the liberal arts, with an emphasis on critical thinking and citizenship. Students are taught to imitate the rhetoric and style of great thinkers and writers. While some classical educators have pushed to incorporate diverse scholars, critics have argued the movement focuses too heavily on foundational texts from Greek, Roman and other Western writers and gives short shrift to achievements in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Conservatives see classical learning as an antidote to unflattering depictions of US history

Conservative politicians have embraced classical learning, especially as the Trump administration and Republican-led states have pushed schools to emphasize patriotism and put boundaries around how they teach unflattering parts of American history.

In his writing and public remarks since before becoming defense secretary, Hegseth has advocated for parents to embrace classical Christian education.

In his 2022 book “Battle for the American Mind,” Hegseth, a former Fox News host, describes a history of progressives working to remove God and religion from public and private schools. For parents, he writes, not sending their children to classical Christian schools would be to admit defeat.

“It is certainly not sustainable, merely passing the same losing hand to the next generation,” Hegseth writes. “With this approach, we lose. We lose America — and Western Civilization.”

Many classical Christian schools focus on reclaiming Western civilization from external threats. But across the broader field of classical education — including secular private schools — the field is increasingly split on this point, said Susan Wise Bauer, the author of a popular classical homeschooling program. She said there is a range of approaches on which texts are worth studying.

“Whenever you have a system of education where that is the impulse, ... 'This is us, and they are them over there,'” she said, “then the idea of a shared literary heritage becomes a weapon.”

Textbook casts Western civilization as under threat

In the Pentagon's system, high school students can take the new course, Western Civilization to 1500, to fulfill a world history graduation requirement, according to a news release. The course is offered through the department's virtual school.

In the textbook’s introduction, the authors write: “The dangers presented by the neglect of Western history are not trivial.”

“When citizens of Western countries are utterly ignorant of history, as most now are, they are left unarmed against the general hostility to their own tradition that has become so destructive a force in contemporary culture,” they write.

The idea that external forces will displace the dominant culture is a common right-wing political narrative, said Curtis Dozier, a professor of Greek and Roman studies at Vassar College.

"It’s this right-wing idea that when immigrants come to a country, they care more about their own traditions and history and seek to replace the tradition of the place,” he said.

The textbook's authors credit early Christianity with promoting the idea that all people must be treated humanely. It argues that “Christian faith also supported a humane cosmopolitanism."

The book describes Islam as inherently more violent than Christianity. In a chapter on the Middle Ages, the text describes Arabs as resentful or bitter toward Christians and Jews.

In a section titled “Holy War and Martyrdom in Battle,” the book describes wars fought by Christians, such as the Crusades, as intended to defend and protect other Christians. Islam, in contrast, glorifies violence and war, the book says, invoking the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and 9/11.

“In recent decades, Islam as a religion has, understandably, aroused acute hostility from a great many non-Muslims around the world thanks to the behavior of radical Muslim terrorists. Sometimes referred to as Islamists, their atrocities have been applauded by depressingly large numbers of ordinary Muslims,” the book says.

Matthew Gabriele, a history and religion professor at Virginia Tech, said the book's description of the Crusades and the conflicts with the Islamic world strips out important details and context to depict Islam as an aggressive religious tradition and downplays the religious motivations and violence of the Christian church.

“It’s trying to make a contemporary political point by continuously referencing things that happened in the 21st century,” Gabriele said. “The fact that (the book) does this very selectively and only when it suits a particular political project suggests to me that this is not a scholarly history in any kind of real sense.”

The book's publisher, Roger Kimball, said it was peer-reviewed by 15 experts. “As the proud publisher of this incomparable work, I stand behind it in every detail,” he said.

One of the book's co-authors, Harvard emeritus professor James Hankins, said the text does not attempt to characterize Christianity and Western civilization as one. Segments of the book acknowledge the West’s cultural debts to the Islamic world, said Hankins, who now teaches at the University of Florida's Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education, a conservative-backed project to teach Western civilization.

An emphasis on the study of Western civilization was standard until the 1970s, Hankins said. He criticized the move away from teaching it, noting that other countries such as China study their own civilization.

“Abandoning it has been foolish in my view, and is one cause of the growing cultural disorientation of the last couple of generations,” he said in an email. “People no longer know where they come from or where they belong in the story of our civilization.”

The Trump administration aligned the military’s education system with its political vision

In speeches and interviews, Hegseth has drawn a line from the country's founding to Western civilization and early Christianity, a religion he describes as under attack by outside forces. He often argues the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation and troops should embrace God.

At an event last September recognizing a civics education initiative, Hegseth emphasized the need to teach these values to children early on.

“That type of brilliance didn’t come out of thin air," he said of the Founding Fathers. “It was first inspired by God (and) inspired by an understanding of human history, an understanding of biblical history (and) an understanding of Western civilization philosophy and theology and civics poured into a generation of men and poured into an American experiment — it wasn’t an accident.”

President Donald Trump's administration also has moved to align the military's education apparatus with its broader vision for American schools. Admissions offices at U.S. military academies now accept the Classical Learning Test, a college entrance exam that positions itself as a classical alternative to the SAT. And last year, the ACLU sued the defense school system over its decision to ban hundreds of books that covered topics like race, gender and democracy.

In March, the department abruptly changed the leadership of Department of Defense Education Activity schools, replacing Beth Schiavino-Narvaez with Paul Craft as director. In a news release at the time, Hegseth described Craft as the right leader to reorient the school system "toward patriotic values and classical learning.”

The Pentagon also replaced the education activity's chief academic officer, hiring Tiffany Hoben, who previously worked in the Florida Department of Education under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. In Florida, she oversaw the rollout of a civics curriculum that was criticized for claiming America's founders did not intend for a full separation of church and state.

This summer, the department announced the hiring of Matthew Kirby as the system's Americas regional director. Kirby is the CEO of Liberty Classical Schools, an Atlanta-based network of charter schools.

In an all-hands meeting after his appointment, Craft described classical learning as a priority that came directly from Hegseth.

“He has tasked us with taking the best that we can from the lessons learned from classical learning in a private school setting to say, ‘How do we expose our kids to that in a public school setting like us?’” Craft said.

___

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

Shippers including FedEx and UPS that acted as customs brokers for imported packages and received tariff refunds from the U.S. government have started to pass on those refunds to the customers that originally paid the tariffs.

The refunds to consumers are the last step in a monthslong process that kicked off in February when the Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs implemented by President Donald Trumpin March 2025 under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act on goods from almost every country. The court ordered the government to return the tariffs it collected.

So far, about $100 billion in tariffs have been refunded to companies who paid them under a system set up by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

That doesn't mean Americans will get anywhere close to what they paid in tariffs, since most were paid indirectly. In 2025, the Trump tariffs amounted to an average tax increase of $1,000 per U.S. household, according to the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., group that studies taxes.

But some consumers are getting some of what they paid directly back from shippers including UPS, DHL and FedEx. The refunds are being rolled out in phases based on what date they were paid. Shippers have said they'll return the refunds on a rolling basis as they receive them.

Tariff refunds from shippers will be directly refunded to credit cards or bank accounts

Most big overseas retailers paid the tariffs themselves and passed them along to retailers with a line item in their invoice that was part of the total bill, or indirectly by raising prices. But some smaller sellers left the tariff to be paid when it reached the U.S. In those cases, shippers paid the bill and charged the recipient of the package.

FedEx said it has begun the process of issuing $800 million in tariff refunds it received from the government back to the customers that paid them. Customers don’t need to apply to receive their refund, but they can enter tracking numbers for purchased items into a portal on the FedEx website to see whether or not they are due a refund.

UPS said in April it had paid $5 billion in tariffs on behalf of clients and would begin the process of applying to the government for refunds. In the first phase, it applied for $500 million in refunds and said customers should get refunds one to three months after it receives reimbursement from the Treasury.

DHL similarly said that it has filed claims for almost all eligible shipments where it served as the importer of record and is returning the refunds it has received.

“The volume and pace of refunds continue to depend on CBP’s processing of claims,” DHL said in a statement.

Major retailers say they could give back some refunds but mostly will use them to lower prices

Unlike shippers who collected tariffs directly from customers, most big retailers passed on tariffs in indirect ways, changing their product lineups or partly absorbing higher costs, making a consumer refund unlikely.

Amazon executives said last week the company received $600 million in tariff refunds in the second quarter.

In a call with investors, Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said the company isn't the importer of record on most of the goods it sells and that it has absorbed some tariff costs. But he said the company has “identified a limited set of circumstances where we can trace that we pass specific import charges on to customers.” In those circumstances, he added, “we will proactively contact affected customers and automatically issue refunds to them.”

Otherwise, he said, Amazon will use tariff refunds to lower prices for customers.

That echoes what other large retailers have said. In May, Corie Barry, outgoing CEO of Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain, said the retailer is an importer of record of only about 2% to 3% of what it sells and that the company would use any refund it gets to “deliver value back to our customers.”

And Costco CEO Ron Vachris said the company planned to return “in some form” the tariffs that were passed on to consumers.

“How much we return and when depends on a variety of factors, including how much refund money we receive and when it arrives as well as developments in the lawsuit filed against the company regarding the return process,” he said in a quarterly earnings call in May.

Dozens of class-action lawsuits have been filed

Some shoppers are suing to get the tariffs they paid in the form of higher prices back from companies. More than 80 class-action lawsuits have been filed by customers across the country against retailers including Costco, Nike, Amazon, Walmart and others.

The lawsuits will face difficulty because plaintiffs will have to prove they paid for price increases that were specifically tied to the tariffs, according to Lori Leskin, partner and co-chair of law firm Arnold & Porter’s Consumer Products Practice Group. None of the lawsuits have yet been certified as class action, which would mean they apply to all customers.

“It’s going to be very hard for anyone to establish that the price increase they paid was due to tariffs and not some other market force,” she said. “Most of them are just talking about price increases, and to be able to trace a price increase due to a single factor is going to be really difficult given the multifactorial approach that most companies take.”

The cluster mailboxes along Sunlit Trail Drive in the Spring Meadows Ventura neighborhood show the damage: bent metal panels, crowbar marks, doors that no longer close and handwritten dates scrawled on the side — a makeshift log of every time thieves showed up.

Ashley, a renter in the neighborhood, said the problem has escalated sharply.

“It’s been really, really bad the last six months,” she said. “I’m talking about like weekly bad.”

She said thieves have become calculated, leaving junk mail behind while taking everything else.

“Everything — from bank cards to Social Security papers,” Ashley said. “They leave the junk mail. If there’s one piece that everybody has, they leave that in there.”

One neighbor lost nearly $10,000 after his debit card was stolen from the mailbox and used to drain his bank account, according to Ashley. The bank ultimately reimbursed him. Another neighbor had a backpack filled with school supplies for her children stolen last weekend, she said.

Emmanuel Zamora, who has lived in the neighborhood for 26 years, said the mailboxes have never had their locks changed.

A few months ago, he said the post office posted a notice directly on the mailbox with a blunt message.

“It said, ‘Check your mail every day — get there before the thieves do,’” Zamora said. “And that was it. Nothing’s been done.”

Zamora said the threat goes beyond stolen packages.

“Whoever’s doing this knows where you live,” he said. “They know specifically what house you’re at. Who’s to say they don’t know when you’re not home, and they’re just going to go in and break your house open?”

When KSAT reached out to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, a spokesperson said the agency is “not aware of any mail theft occurring near Sunlit Trail Drive in San Antonio.”

A Bexar County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told KSAT Friday that they have received reports of 119 mailbox-related thefts countywide over the last three months.

BCSO also said two thefts were reported within the neighborhood since June:

• 06/06/2026: (8000 block of Copper Trail Drive)
• 06/19/2026: (8100 block of Easy Meadow Drive)

Ashley said she has documentation showing otherwise.

“I reached out to the post office multiple times,” she said. “They have to send you an email confirmation after you do a service request. I got a lot of email confirmations stating all the mail theft.”

Mail theft is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison and substantial fines.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said anyone who believes they are a victim of mail theft should report it to their local police department and to the Postal Inspection Service by calling 1-877-876-2455 or clicking here.

Read also:

• BCSO: Confession over jail phone call leads to murder charge for suspect in NE Bexar County shooting

The forest gave way to giant holes gouged into the earth and filled with opaque, muddy water, gasoline and other chemicals glistening on the surface. Makeshift wooden mining platforms straddled the pools, surrounded by pumps and thick plastic tubes used to suck up and sift through sediment for tiny particles of gold.

As the troops closed in, several miners stood watching from a distance. The officer leading the patrol fired a warning shot into the air. Within seconds, they vanished into the forest.

The raid over several days this week was part of an intensified government campaign against illegal gold mining in Madre de Dios, one of Peru’s most biodiverse regions, as authorities try to stop the activity from advancing into protected areas of the Amazon. Mining has stripped away vast areas of rainforest, leaving behind a scarred landscape of contaminated pools and altered rivers in the hunt for lucrative gold. Mercury used to separate gold from sediment has contaminated waterways, wildlife and people, including Indigenous communities that depend heavily on fish.

Behind them was a camp abandoned in haste. Crushed beer cans and empty liquor bottles littered the ground alongside mattresses, clothes and tools. That day’s lunch — rice and plantain — still sat in plastic containers. Freezers and fuel containers dotted the camp, alongside live chickens and guinea pigs kept for food.

The troops were one of eight patrols, flown by helicopter to separate points along the Malinowski River. The aircraft touched down only long enough to drop each group before lifting off and moving to the next site.

Illegal mining is advancing toward protected areas of the Amazon

Edy Reynaldo Dariquebe, an official with FENAMAD, an Indigenous federation representing communities in Peru’s Madre de Dios region, said criminal groups linked to illegal mining have been operating near or inside protected Indigenous communities. He said mining is destroying forests and contaminating rivers with mercury that accumulates in fish, spreading the impact to communities far from the mining sites.

Ronald Flores Yáñez, a deputy prosecutor for Peru’s Office of the Attorney General, said illegal mining has advanced close to military monitoring points and into protected areas.

“We can attest today that they have already entered the Tambopata National Reserve,” Flores told The Associated Press. “We are inside the reserve and around us we see dredges numbering in the hundreds.”

Illegal mining declined in parts of Madre de Dios after Peru launched a major military and police crackdown known as Operation Mercury in 2019. But miners have since moved back toward protected areas, prompting authorities to intensify operations.

Global Conservation, a U.S.-based nonprofit working with Peruvian authorities, said ongoing operations will combine satellite monitoring, aerial reconnaissance and law enforcement raids over the coming year to identify and dismantle illegal gold mining camps and equipment.

Destroying the motors hits miners where it hurts most

Before setting out Tuesday, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Renato Miranda told troops at a briefing that the mission’s objective was to “neutralize and dismantle” illegal mining activities. Once on the ground, that meant searching for anything that allowed the mines to function: pumps, batteries, fuel, dredging equipment and makeshift infrastructure.

“The most important thing is to destroy the main machinery,” Miranda said. “And the main machinery is the motors.”

The powerful engines are among the most valuable pieces of equipment at a mining site and a key economic pressure point for authorities trying to make it more expensive for miners to restart operations. Miranda said larger engines can cost around $30,000 to $45,000. He estimated that motors targeted in the raids can extract 30 to 50 grams of gold a day. At current gold prices, that would be worth about $4,000 to $7,000.

Miranda told AP the three-day operation destroyed 56 motors, 78 mining rafts and 13,751 gallons (52,050 liters) of fuel, with the destroyed material valued at more than 15 million soles ($4 million). On the ground, soldiers said they had destroyed around 115 motors over the previous three months during operations carried out nearly every week.

The remote sites give miners time to hear approaching boats or helicopters and flee, often hiding motors in sand, behind trees or in muddy pools to recover later. Specialized navy divers search the murky pools for submerged engines, entering water where mercury and other chemicals may be present. When they find one, they attach explosive charges and destroy it.

At one site, as troops prepared to leave, a soldier spotted disturbed sand and began digging. He uncovered a motor, threw it onto a pile with a mattress and chainsaw, doused it with gasoline and set it alight. A dog abandoned at the site fared better: soldiers took a liking to it, bringing it along for the rest of the day’s mission and eventually back to their military base.

Elsewhere, troops used dynamite-like explosives to destroy equipment and burned structures and supplies that could be used to keep the mining camps running.

A 10-minute boat ride away, another, larger camp offered a glimpse of daily life at the mining sites. A chest freezer was packed with meat, while wooden shelves held plates and coffee mugs. Several separate sleeping areas were strewn with personal belongings: a ledger filled with lists of needed supplies, freshly washed underwear hanging from string to dry, bottles of vitamins and even pills marketed as increasing penis size and sexual endurance. All was set alight by the troops. Before moving on, some of the soldiers cooked and ate food they found in the abandoned camp.

The expensive machinery and valuable gold contrasts with the precarious conditions of many living and working in the camps.

During the operation, another patrol encountered a woman with her 1-year-old child at a mining site. Flores told AP she had come to Madre de Dios from Cusco after failing to gain admission to university and, after being left by the father of her child, needed work. She responded to an advertisement seeking a cook and ended up preparing food for illegal miners.

Authorities say raids alone will not stop the mining

The destruction of machinery is intended to hit miners where it hurts most: the cost of restarting. But authorities themselves acknowledge that raids alone are not enough.

Miranda said that with gold prices high and mining highly profitable, operators can acquire another engine, rebuild their equipment and return to the same location or move elsewhere.

“Every day they are advancing more and more and more, and we are being very slow," said Flores, adding that their strategy needs to change.

Prosecutors, he said, are now pursuing two fronts: continuing operations against dredges, motors and other equipment while also following the money behind the mines — identifying the financiers who provide the capital for expensive machinery and tracing the profits generated by the gold.

That approach could be critical to breaking the cycle visible along the Malinowski River: authorities destroy equipment, leave and miners find the money and machinery to start again.

“These operations have to be permanent,” Flores said. ___

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

Earlier this month, The Associated Press highlighted Maisa Lopes Eliaser as one of dozens of spouses or parents of U.S. troops who had been detained after President Donald Trump’s administration rolled back protections for military families amid its push for mass deportations. Following the AP’s reporting, a group of Congressional Democrats launched an investigation into deportations of military service members and their families.

Eliaser was placed on a deportation flight Wednesday to her native Brazil when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on the plane received a phone call about her mid-flight, she told the AP. She said she was then asked by an ICE officer whether she wanted to continue on to Brazil or go back to the U.S.

“Who made the call? We don’t know,” said Eliaser’s husband, Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo. “But someone made the phone call, and then she came back.”

While other detainees were led off the plane in Brazil, Eliaser stayed on board and returned to Louisiana. ICE officers told her that she was “famous” because there were videos about her case, she said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DHS previously told AP that Eliaser, 32, had been issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on April 15, after overstaying the tourist visa she used to enter the U.S. in 2019.

Jaramillo, a 43-year-old aviation operations specialist who has served in the Army for more than a decade, took leave of his duties training soldiers in Fort Polk, Louisiana, to care for Eliaser's 5-year-old son after she was detained on July 8.

Jaramillo said Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy officer, also looked into his wife’s case. Kelly’s office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

“This family’s reunion is proof of what’s possible when people set politics aside and do right by those who serve,” Danitza James, who heads Repatriate Our Patriots, a nonprofit that supports military families facing deportation and helped with Eliaser’s case, said at a news conference. “We won’t stop until every military family facing detention gets the same chance at justice.”

Eliaser, who was detained in July while at an immigration appointment, has another appointment scheduled for Monday in an effort to reopen her case and advance her green card application. Jaramillo is a U.S. citizen and the couple have been married since 2024.

Jaramillo said he has been told that there will be no further issues with Eliaser’s case, but the couple is still concerned.

“We are really, really, really scared about it, but you know, we have to go,” Jaramillo said. “I told the person who gave me the appointment, ‘Hey sir, don’t play with me, I’ve been through a lot.’”

Eliaser said she is still struggling to sleep and is afraid she will be sent back to the detention facility, where she said she was treated like “an animal.”

“It felt like I was in a nightmare,” Eliaser said. “I could not believe what was happening until I returned to my house. Day by day, I’m trying to recover from this trauma.”

There have been similar interventions in other high-profile cases over the past year. Annie Ramos, 22, was detained by immigration authorities as her husband, an Army staff sergeant, was preparing to deploy. She was released after a public outcry. Around the same time, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and combat veteran, told the AP that she personally contacted DHS to call for the release of Deisy Rivera Ortega, the immigrant wife of an Army sergeant who did three tours in Afghanistan, after learning about her case from advocacy groups. She was eventually released from custody.

___

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

General admission is $16. Tickets are $14 for seniors 65 and older, retired and veteran military personnel, students ages 13-18 and college students. Active-duty military dependents pay $8, and children 12 and younger are admitted free.

There is also an opportunity for San Antonio-area residents to visit the museum for free. On the first Sunday of every month, San Antonio and Bexar County residents can take advantage of the museum’s monthly “Locals Day” and receive free admission.

The Briscoe also provides year-round free admission to active-duty military members. Their families can receive a discount when the service member is present, and retired military personnel also receive discounted admission.

One of the museum’s more unusual attractions is the home office desk of the late Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe. And visitors named “Dolph” can receive free admission into the museum.

The Briscoe’s current landmark bilingual exhibition, “Tejano Legacy: Another American Origin Story,” explores nearly 400 years of Tejano history, culture, identity and the enduring influence of Tejanos on Texas and the American West.

The exhibit is scheduled to remain on display through Jan. 18.

Visitors can also see “Selena Forever: Siempre Selena,” a collection of photos taken by photographer John Dyer. The exhibition captures Selena in the rising star stages of her career.

There is no additional charge to view the Selena collection. It will remain on display through Jan. 4.

Beyond the galleries, visitors can also browse the Hendler Family Museum Store, which features a variety of gifts and souvenirs, with some items priced as low as $6.

Outside the museum, the McNutt Sculpture Garden offers another free attraction. Visitors can stroll through the courtyard and view its collection of bronze Western sculptures.

The Briscoe is open Thursday through Monday. Regular hours are generally 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

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Kevin Rideout “is in good health in the care of U.S. officials,” SIM International, an Evangelical mission organization, said in a statement.

He will soon be reunited with his extended family, the statement added.

Rideout was back in U.S. custody on Friday, the country’s President Donald Trump said in a post on social media.

“Kevin, the United States of America looks forward to welcoming you HOME. Glad to have helped!” Trump wrote.

Rideout was kidnapped in the West African country's capital, Niamey, on Oct. 21 by three armed individuals and was probably driven out of town, according to information provided by a security official at the time.

No armed group claimed responsibility for the abduction.

Niger has long faced attacks from armed groups including jihadis linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State organization.

The U.S. Embassy in Niamey issued a security alert a day after Rideout's kidnapping, warning that U.S. citizens “remain at a heightened risk of kidnapping throughout Niger, including in the capital city.”

Niger is ruled by a military junta that took power in 2023 after deposing the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. The new authorities ousted Western partners including the United States, which had soldiers in Niger, and forged a new security and diplomatic alliance with Russia.

In June, more than 30 people were killed when gunmen attacked the main airport in Niamey. It was the second attack this year at the airport, a strategic hub that serves as the ruling military’s command, hosting its air force base and most of its drones and aircraft. It’s also the headquarters of the regional alliance that brings together troops from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

The violence is the latest sign of armed groups increasingly targeting cities and urban centers in Africa’s Sahel region.

The northbound I-35 access road near New Laredo Highway is closed as of 7:50 a.m. Friday, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

Officers had responded to the scene around 12:50 p.m. Thursday for a white trailer with a “foul odor,” according to an SAPD preliminary report.

Upon arrival, the officers noticed that the 18-wheeler was abandoned with food inside. The report said the food had started to rot.

A private hazmat company, Lone Star Hazmat, was seen responding to the truck to clean it.

Witnesses said the truck appeared to be a refrigerated trailer and may have been carrying beef.

It was not immediately clear how long the truck had been parked along the road. When the owner is located, SAPD said they could be charged with illegal dumping.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Read also:

• 2 hospitalized in critical condition after single-vehicle crash on Northeast Side, SAPD says

Officers responded to the crash around 1:45 a.m. in the 5300 block of Rittiman Road, which is located near Thornwood.

A man and a 26-year-old woman were in a sedan that jumped a curb, crashed through a fence onto H-E-B warehouse property and hit a tree, police said.

According to an SAPD preliminary report, the sedan driver was traveling westbound at a high rate of speed before the crash and lost control of the vehicle.

Upon arrival, officers said they found the man unconscious on the ground. The woman was in the front seat area of the sedan with her legs stuck under the dash.

Firefighters were eventually able to remove the woman from the vehicle, SAPD said.

Further information was not readily available. Check back later for updates.

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• Woman, 19, charged with manslaughter in connection with Stone Oak crash, affidavit says

The state ratings, released Friday morning, are intended to measure how districts and campuses are performing across three areas: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps.

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath attended New Braunfels ISD’s Oak Run Middle School for a news conference on the release of the ratings.

Morath discussed the reason why the agency releases public accountability ratings.

“Why do we give kids grades in school? This is the ability for us to monitor progress, to have a signal so that we know exactly how well our schools are doing,” Morath said.

Morath also said the public rating system has had a positive impact on students.

“The system has actually been studied,” Morath said. “Researchers looked at Texas schools and Texas schoolchildren, and they found that because we provide public ratings of our schools, our students do better.”

>> Driving to school for the first time? What teens and parents need to know to stay safe

The categories look at factors such as academic outcomes, year-to-year growth and how well schools are serving different student groups.

Here’s how the top districts in the San Antonio area performed in the 2025-26 ratings:

• San Antonio ISD:
• • Overall: C
  • Student achievement: C
  • School progress: C
  • Closing the gaps: C
  • 2024-25: C
• North East ISD:
• • Overall: B
  • Student achievement: C
  • School progress: B
  • Closing the gaps: B
  • 2024-25: C
• Northside ISD:
• • Overall: C
  • Student achievement: C
  • School progress: C
  • Closing the gaps: C
  • 2024-25: C
• Alamo Heights ISD
• • Overall: B
  • Student achievement: A
  • School progress: B
  • Closing the gaps: B
  • 2024-25: B
• Boerne ISD:
• • Overall: A
  • Student achievement: A
  • School progress: B
  • Closing the gaps: A
  • 2024-25: A
• Comal ISD:
• • Overall: B
  • Student achievement: B
  • School progress: B
  • Closing the gaps: B
  • 2024-25: B
• East Central ISD:
• • Overall: C
  • Student achievement: C
  • School progress: C
  • Closing the gaps: C
  • 2024-25: C
• Harlandale ISD:
• • Overall: C
  • Student achievement: D
  • School progress: C
  • Closing the gaps: C
  • 2024-25: D
• Judson ISD:
• • Overall: C
  • Student achievement: C
  • School progress: C
  • Closing the gaps: D
  • 2024-25: D
• Somerset ISD:
• • Overall: B
  • Student achievement: B
  • School progress: A
  • Closing the gaps: B
  • 2024-25: B
• South San Antonio ISD:
• • Overall: C
  • Student achievement: D
  • School progress: C
  • Closing the gaps: C
  • 2024-25: D

The ratings offer one snapshot of school performance and are used by the state to identify campuses and districts that may need additional support or intervention.

Click here to see more rankings.

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Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement Friday that the 2028 Midsummer Classic will be at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. The 2007 game was played in the picturesque waterfront ballpark, featuring Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki's famous inside-the-park home run that bounced off the tricky wall in right-center field.

“With its passionate fanbase, world-class ballpark, and rich baseball history, San Francisco will be an outstanding host for All-Star Week, which culminates in one of Major League Baseball’s best traditions, the Midsummer Classic,” Manfred said in a statement. "We look forward to bringing the excitement of All-Star Week and the celebration of baseball to the Bay Area.”

This will mark another major sporting event for the Bay Area recently after the Super Bowl and World Cup this year and the NBA All-Star Game in February 2025.

The Giants will host the Midsummer Classic for a fourth time overall after Candlestick Park held the first All-Star Game of the 1961 season and also baseball's summer showcase in 1984.

Oracle Park is set to become the eighth active ballpark to hold the All-Star Game multiple times, joining Fenway Park in 1946, 1961 and 1999, Wrigley Field (1947, 1962, 1990), Angel Stadium (1967, 1989, 2010), Dodger Stadium (1980, 2022), Progressive Field (1997, 2019), Coors Field (1998, 2021) and T-Mobile Park (2001, 2023).

Giants President and CEO Larry Baer said the club is “incredibly honored” and expressed his gratitude.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our organization, our city, and the incredible passion of our fans on baseball’s biggest summer stage,” he said in a statement.

“Hosting the All-Star Game is more than celebrating the game’s brightest stars, it’s a chance to highlight the people, neighborhoods, and culture that make our community so special. Few cities offer the unique combination of sports, culture, innovation, entertainment, and natural beauty that defines San Francisco. We look forward to welcoming players, families, fans, and visitors from around the world for a week that will create lasting memories and have a meaningful impact throughout our region.”

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

And thus, “A Very Laufey Day” was born. Each year, the Grammy-winning singer curates itineraries for different locations across the globe for her listeners to follow. It's “anywhere I have been and loved,” she says. It allows them to live what she refers to as “a perfect day,” but also to connect with their community offline and in person. And as she approaches its fourth edition, it has only grown larger.

“It became much bigger than I anticipated, really,” she says. She sought to inspire her audience to find “third spaces,” and explore some of her favorite locales: museums, bookstores, cafes, concerts and the like, and foster community in the process. And each year, it has only grown bigger, with fans dressing up in their favorite Laufey-themed vintage fashions to celebrate the unofficial holiday.

And Aug. 23 will mark the fourth annual “A Very Laufey Day.”

“It is a fun puzzle every year,” she says.

‘A Very Laufey Day’ 2026

This year, “A Very Laufey Day” will include experiences in 75 cities across 25 countries, centering on the theme of “A Celebration of the Arts.”

Those include performances spanning symphony orchestras, ballet, jazz, opera and theater as well as events with libraries, bookstores, coffee shops, yogurt/ice cream shops and more. Her concert film “A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl” will be screened at select theaters. And she's partnered with many museums around the world, including New York City's Guggenheim, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, London's Tate Modern and National Gallery, Chile's Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Seoul's Daelim Museum and more. At some participating businesses, fans will be able to acquire limited edition merchandise and Laufey-themed specialty drinks.

“This year it was really about focusing on the arts and culture and finding ways to bring this barrier of entry down between my audience — which is mostly Gen Z and Gen A — and these kind of so-called high cultural experiences,” she says. “Whether it’s going to see an orchestra show … museums or galleries, we really want to find ways to connect with those institutions.”

Some of these spaces can be intimidating for younger fans, and Laufey says this year was all about making these rooms, some of her favorites, inviting to her audience.

“It doesn’t have to be this scary thing. And so, I’ve kind of made it my life’s mission to make spaces like that fun and accessible,” she says.

State education officials grade districts and campuses each year largely based on how well students perform on STAAR, the state’s standardized test. The A-F ratings are designed to provide families a tool to evaluate how well schools educate their children.

Of more than 9,000 campuses, 24% scored an A, 34% scored a B, 23% scored a C, 10% scored a D and 4% scored an F.

Schools with five consecutive F ratings trigger a state law requiring Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to either close the campus or replace the entire district’s elected trustees and superintendent.

Last year, such takeovers occurred in the Fort Worth, Beaumont, Connally and Lake Worth districts.

In addition to helping parents decide where to send their kids to school, the ratings can help businesses choose which communities to invest in or move to.

Critics say that often comes at a cost to predominantly low-income, Hispanic and Black schools, which receive failing grades at disproportionate rates and trigger district takeovers most often. Supporters of the accountability system say the ratings help state officials hold district leaders accountable for not concentrating enough on student learning.

Texas grades districts and campuses on an A-F scale based on three categories:

• Student achievement: How well students perform on state tests and whether they are prepared for life after high school.
• School progress: How much students improve on state tests.
• Closing the gaps: How much progress schools make in boosting scores for specific groups of children, such as those with disabilities and English learners.

The season itself is in no danger; climate change, mainly caused by the burning of oil, gas and coal, is warming the weather year-round. Viewed this way, summer-like weather is ascendant. It's setting records across the globe — melting Arctic ice, driving droughts, intensifyingwildfires, spinning up storms and endangering millions of people who can't affordair conditioning, time off work or “coolcations.” The heat is so extreme in Asia that Japan has coined a new meteorological category for the danger: kokusho-bi — or “cruelly hot day.”

What seems as dead as the grass in England this year is the summertime ideal — lazy days, warm nights and escape, however temporary, from classes or parents or work or rules. During the Summer of '26, people are grieving that freedom. And perhaps, the versions of ourselves we become when our senses tell us that we are safe.

“I mourn for the way summer used to be,” author Debra Denker, who writes “cli-fi,” or climate fiction, wrote in an essay last month recalling leisurely days and July Fourth block parties of the 1960s. “Unless we change the trajectory we're on, today's children will never know the gentle and balmy summers of my childhood ... I feel sad that they may never know the truly carefree summers that the more privileged among us enjoyed.”

In 2026, summertime is a different kind of blast

No one needs meteorologists to confirm that this summer is different and our rituals are changing. Downwind from wildfires in North AmericaandEurope, the sky turns orange and the air tastes gritty. Life under Paris' famous gray rooftops can be deadly. Nights can be a sullen cycle of sleep, showering and opening a window — only to close it later to block out the urban noise.

Everywhere, life-giving sun hurts during much of the day. Checking the air quality index has become part of the act of stepping outside. We get things done earlier in the day and stay up later at night. And a full day at the beach — or an August holiday in Europe — is more a matter of risk management than it used to be.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that Americans are more likely to say extreme heat has had either a “major impact” or “minor impact” on their travel or vacation plans, electricity bills, their sleep, their family’s outdoor activities and more parts of their day-to-day life than in July 2024. Research at Oxford University published in July found that the intense heat influences daily behavior globally, with such “everyday adaptations” to daily activities occurring across seven of the countries most at risk of heat waves: Brazil, France, India, Nigeria, Turkey, the U.S. and China.

For some, it's a summer of discontent

Amber Risebrow, a teacher in Britain’s Channel Islands, said she yearned for England’s idyllic warm season — that period when the sunlight lingers.

“I wanted the long light evenings and the sunshine and the not-dark-at-4pm of it all,” she posted recently on Instagram. “What I did not want was to feel like a rotisserie chicken every single time I stepped outside. Slowly rotating. Gently basting. Questioning my life choices by 10am.”

For those who care to look, the data is plentiful and the weight of it is moving toward hotter and stormier summers. This week alone, intense heat hammered the U.K. and France as temperatures soared toward 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). It was the fifth heat wave of the year in a region where air conditioning is sporadic at best. And the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the contiguous United States sizzled to its hottest month ever in July.

Globally so far, this is the third-hottest year, behind 2024 and 2025, climate statistics show.

But 2026 still has time to catch up. Thanks to the one-two punch of accelerated human-caused global warming and a supersized El Nino — a periodic warming of parts of the Pacific that leads to temperature variations around the globe — there’s an increasing chance that by the end of the year, 2026 could become the hottest year on record, scientists said.

“And it’s not just extreme heat,” the World Meteorological Organization’s Clare Nullis told reporters in Geneva. “We’re also seeing extreme rainfall, tropical cyclones. So we’re not in holiday mode at all.”

Is summer an ‘outdated sham’?

Somewhere deep, there's a sense of acceptance that life-threatening, trip-canceling heat waves and their rippling effects aren't a one-off fluke. So management has ensued, with the hope that escaping hot weather might somehow allow the return of that summertime feeling — for now.

Advisories urging tourists to limit outdoor activity during peak heat hours have become a standard part of trip planning from Cambodia to Cambridge, England. Dog walking is becoming a dawn-or-dusk activity, with governments in high heat zones advising owners against midday walks. Employers and workers are adapting, with work hours especially for agricultural and construction workers shifting to the morning, and policies in some places allowing employees to work from home when the heat becomes extreme.

But home doesn't offer much solace for workers with no air conditioning. Only about 4% of British homes have “air-con,” compared to about 90% of American homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

So achieving old-fashioned summertime bliss is, and perhaps always has been, mostly a matter of privilege.

In “An Open Letter to the Person Who Asked Me What I'm Doing For The Summer As If I Didn't Have to Work,” comedy writer Elizabeth Simone addressed the issue in the Weekly Humorist last year.

“You do know that summer vacation is an outdated sham, right?” she wrote. “Obviously it's because of what summer meant back when we were kids.”

___

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed from Tokyo.

Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party who some see as a possible next prime minister, abruptly quit his seat in July amid an investigation into whether he failed to report a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) gift from an overseas crypto billionaire.

He denied wrongdoing and ran again for the seat to prove he had voters’ support, regaining it with 63% of Thursday’s vote in an unusual election on the hottest day of the year. Binface, a serial candidate who has challenged prime ministers past and present, represented a protest vote and finished second in a field of 34 candidates — many of them also jokers — with about 27%, according to the results announced Friday.

Farage hailed the result as an “overwhelming win” that increased his vote share over the last election, but it’s hard to draw broad conclusions from the election given the lack of genuine rivals and the fact that Farage has long been popular in the conservative constituency on the east coast of England.

“Today the voters in Clacton have stuck up two fingers to the entire political establishment,” Farage said, referring to the British equivalent of a crude gesture that employs the middle finger in other cultures.

The result will send him back to the House of Commons, but an investigation by a parliamentary watchdog that was suspended when he stepped down was resumed hours after the result was announced. That means Farage could be forced out of Parliament — and face yet another election.

Farage reshaped UK politics

Farage, the chief cheerleader in getting Britain to vote to leave the European Union a decade ago, has shattered the country's longstanding two-party system by positioning himself to the right of the Conservative Party.

With Farage’s win, Reform has just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, but he has made the party a major political force by drawing on a mix of cultural grievances and a vow to stop what he has called an invasion of migrants crossing the English Channel in inflatable rafts. The party has frequently changed the national conversation and forced the governing center-left Labour Party and the Conservatives, long the dominant parties, to address Reform’s key issues.

But with Farage under scrutiny and a Labour leadership shake-up that installed Andy Burnham as prime minister, there’s room for Labour to regain some ground.

Farage still faces investigation over an undeclared donation

Pressure will continue to mount on Farage as Parliament’s standards watchdog investigates an undeclared donation he got in 2024 from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. Farage says he didn’t need to declare the money because it was a personal gift he used to fund his security and was made before he was elected.

When he resigned on July 7, he complained of an “establishment hit job” and a media-driven “witch-hunt.”

Farage also faces an investigation into his financial relationship with George Cottrell, an aristocratic crypto-gambling entrepreneur who served eight months in a U.S. prison for fraud a decade ago after offering to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers.

Cottrell remains close to Farage and has reportedly given him money for security and staff. Farage has denied wrongdoing and stood by the man he calls “Posh George.”

Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said the election was no victory for Farage, and he needs to come clean over his finances and relationship with Cottrell.

“The mountain of sleaze and scandal he and Reform are now engulfed in has grown and grown while he’s been trying to distract the public by fighting a by-election against a bin,” Phillipson said.

Farage was a no-show at the vote count

Farage’s gambit to resign and run again backfired when other parties refused to participate and he was left facing a massive field of independent and small-party candidates, including novelty acts such as Howling Laud Hope of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and Marcus White from the Everyone is God Party.

Farage declared victory in the early morning and blew off the official declaration where he would have had to stand alongside the other candidates — a time-honored tradition in British politics.

“I’m damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory ... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies,” Farage told supporters at a victory party.

Farage also said he didn’t attend because police told him about an “organized campaign to disrupt and degrade the result.” A spokesperson for Reform said there was a credible threat against him, though police disputed that.

Fiona Byrne, who wouldn’t say who she voted for, said Farage shouldn’t have called the election, which she said was an expensive joke.

“It’s just been a complete waste of money and time for everybody here, and he just needs to face the music,” she said.

But John Fairclough said he was happy Farage won because he’s what the country needs.

“To my mind he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Fairclough said. “He’s a threat to the main media and government who want to just control us and control everything.”

Binface, who ran on a wacky platform that included a vow to “cut your taxes, and raise everyone else’s,” build one affordable home, and nationalize singer Adele, declared himself the "winning candidate of the candidates who bothered to turn up for the results."

Under the black cape, trash can helmet and ample body armor straight out of a low-budget sci-fi film, Binface’s alter-ego is Jon Harvey, a middle-aged comedian who spent most of the campaign doing media interviews and trying to stay cool in the costume during a sweltering summer.

Binface has hinted that if Farage faces another election, he could return to run again.

“Over one in four people in this constituency would rather have Count Binface as their MP than the leader of Reform UK,” Binface said in a video on X. “Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Clacton by-election.” ___

Melley reported from London.

Continued construction of the wall and related projects — including roads, drainage structures, erosion controls, safety features, lighting, cameras and sensors — will cause irreplaceable damage to archaeological sites within the park, including areas associated with indigenous peoples, the lawsuit said.

“Once an archaeological site is excavated by heavy machinery, once the physical context of artifacts is destroyed, or once a sacred or culturally significant landscape is permanently altered, the injury is irreparable,” said the lawsuit, filed in San Antonio federal court.

The People of La Junta for Preservation, a nonprofit associated with the Lipan Apache community, sued the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to halt work begun under a June 9 order from Secretary Markwayne Mullin that waived federal and state requirements to allow construction along 62 miles of the border with Mexico. The action, however, did not waive a law that made the secretary of the interior and the National Park Service responsible to protect and develop the park, the lawsuit said.

Christina Hernandez, founder and director of the organization, said construction threatens areas of cultural and religious significance in a region where Lipan Apache lived, hunted and worshiped for generations.

“We are fighting the wall in court because our ancestors did not survive on this land for thousands of years for us to stand by and wait for someone else to come save it —we are here, we are responsible for it, and we will fight for it ourselves,” Hernandez said in a statement.

Other plaintiffs include Far Flung Outdoor Center, a Terlingua business that provides guided river trips and related recreational services in the Big Bend area, and two Texans who practice religious and historical observances in the park.

The Trump administration has moved forward with plans to build vehicle barriers and a patrol road inside the national park as part of its border wall amid bipartisan outcry, including waiving environmental laws earlier this year to expedite construction.

The outcry against building structures in the region, especially in the state and national parks, has increased as visible signs of construction like bulldozers have begun to appear. On Thursday, a bipartisan coalition of 46 state House representatives sent a letter urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call for construction in the region to immediately cease.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn sent a letter asking Mullin to meet with area residents before continuing with any further construction.

Cornyn’s request followed a cease and desist letter sent to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and a federal contractor in July by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham for “illegally” clearing land in the Big Bend region.

Despite the bipartisan concern, efforts to halt the construction have largely failed. A proposed ban on a wall in the region failed to pass a U.S. House funding panel in June, and a separate lawsuit from an economic development organization in the region has not hindered DHS’ plans.

Federal officials had until recently been unclear about the extent of construction and whether it would cut through the two parks or wildlife area. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, who initially denied construction would occur in the region, defended the current work in a statement on Wednesday and said CBP would work to preserve local access to the region.

“We are NOT building a 30-foot wall or stadium lighting through Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, or the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area,” Scott said. “What people are seeing right now is survey and design work — NOT construction of a wall through the park.”

A statement posted on social media Thursday evening prior to the lawsuit’s filing from DHS echoed Scott’s statement and described reports about construction in Big Bend as “fear mongering.”

In early July, a public map outlining plans for wall construction was updated to indicate that 2 miles of 30-foot wall segments would be built in two parts of Big Bend Ranch State Park.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat and a lawyer in Friday’s lawsuit with Dick DeGuerin and Martin Golando, said the goal is to preserve the park “for generations to come.”

“The Trump administration wants DHS to bulldoze over the law just as badly as they have bulldozed America. We will not stay silent as the federal government continues to trample over the liberties of everyday people,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

And probably more than anything when it comes to time, most of us try to manage it — in our everyday lives and on a global scale, from the biology of our circadian rhythms to what constitutes a work day. Clocks. Calendars. Pendulums. Hourglasses. Sundials. Time zones.

For something that's been a pretty universal impulse to mark the shift of light and dark, the movement of the stars and the rhythms of the tides, the cycles of summer heat and winter cold, one might assume there's been a universal way of measuring time. That assumption would be wrong.

Take the shifting of the clock twice a year in most of the United States, once forward and then back again, a system that “moves” the time to let people enjoy daylight hours later into the evening.

While people love the light, a lot of them loathe having to make the change. So much so that the House of Representatives last month overwhelmingly passed legislation calling for the shift to become permanent year-round. Its prospects for passage in the Senate aren’t high, and when the country tried it in the 1970s it was wildly unpopular and short-lived. But it continues to be brought up, an indication that the way we keep the clock counts.

The methods different peoples and communities have used to track their lives haven't existed in a vacuum. They've been impacted by culture, by religion, by economics and technology, by the governing principles both within nations and among them.

Turns out, like pretty much anything where people are involved, there’s a politics to time.

Measurements of time are made up, but they matter

“Every measurement of time is arbitrary,” says Elizabeth Cohen, a political science professor at Boston University who has written about how we chronicle time and how it impacts the way people relate to each other. “Every deadline could have been a fraction of a second or a large increment of time different than it was,” she says. “None of it is natural.”

Take calendars. We use them to give a structure to our lives, but the spectrum of what that has looked like is vast through human existence. Some followed the sun, others the moon, and others still a combination of both. Maybe all the months were the same length, maybe they weren’t. What we call a seven-day week might have had four, or six, or some other number of days in other timekeeping systems.

Even today, when the main calendar in use globally is what we know as the Gregorian calendar, with its 12 months and leap years, other calendars are still consulted for religious or cultural purposes in places from Israel to Thailand. And daylight saving time? With its connection to our perceptions of what hours of light become available to us, it reflects “a desire for natural time,” says Michael O’Malley, professor of history at George Mason University.

People “are outside longer, so they feel it as a connection to nature,” he says. “But it only makes sense in a society that’s completely hypnotized by clocks so you think the clock is time.”

The culture of the clock is evolving

It's not just about the how. When we think about how culture evolved around time, there's also the why.

For most of human history, there were ties to the rhythms of the natural world: the phases of the moon, the rising and setting of the sun, the ebb and flow of the tides. And in agricultural societies, the importance of when to plant and when to harvest.

Tracking the sun's journey across the sky was a local endeavor. While the idea of a day broken down into 24 equal segments was important to groups like astronomers or seafarers, daily life was broken into “systems that tended to expand and contract based on the time of year and the location,” says Kevin Birth, a professor of anthropology at Queens College.

“But since people weren’t really traveling back and forth with any great rapidity back," he says, "then it really didn’t matter.”

Industrialization — in the form of the Industrial Revolution that started in 18th-century England and spread — pushed people to shift notions of time. No longer was it about the sun's cycle or the turn of the seasons. Industrial production meant schedules — people paying attention to the clock because they were due for specific shifts.

“It was one of the goals of industrialization to instill in people this regular, unvarying sense of time,” O'Malley says.

Contrast that to a preindustrial farmer, he says. “You could have an ethic of hard work, but that work is not going to be governed by a clock. It’s typically going to be governed by natural cues. The clock establishes this external authority that’s not you."

In the United States, by the mid-1800s, another issue arose: time zones. There were more than 40 based around cities, which O'Malley says forced railroad companies to switch dynamically as trains traveled.

Worried that other entities would standardize the zones and disrupt their businesses, the companies acted. “The American Railway Association got all the American railroads to agree that on Nov. 18, 1883, they would declare a four-zone system in effect in America,” O'Malley says. “And they just announced it.”

Time can be a cudgel

It's hardly the only occasion where the perception of time has involved national or global concerns.

Take the Prime Meridian, the entirely made-up longitude line running from the North Pole to the South Pole, that divides Earth into eastern and western hemispheres and is used as the basis for global timekeeping as well as navigation.

It runs through Greenwich, England, and was selected at an international conference in 1884. Was that because Greenwich was the ideal place? No, Birth says — it simply was established during “a period when the British Empire was one of the dominant empires in the world.”

Time zones themselves “are about politics,” he says, pointing out that they are not divided in a standard format. Countries decide their own, and in the U.S., the individual states can decide if they observe Daylight Saving or not.

A prime example is China, which stretches more than 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometers) across Asia. It has one official time zone for the country, instituted when the Communist Party took power in 1949 as a form of national unity.

The entire country runs officially on Beijing time, but the reality on the ground when the sun rises in eastern China hours before it rises in western China is people adjust with their own local times for daily life, Birth says.

Time can also be a tool used in a society to manage dissent and protest, Cohen says. She pointed to examples like governments instituting curfews or protesters engaging in slowdowns or strikes.

“Time has a lot of power," she says, “and people are battling over it to try and impose themselves on others or remove the yoke that has been imposed on them.”

The historic temperatures are linked to human-caused climate change, and are hitting countries more used to long cold seasons and ill-equipped for this sort of heat, with limited air conditioning.

More evacuations in France as fire affects more regions

With France experiencing its driest year ever, a new fire raced through woodlands overnight in the Landes region on the southwest coast. The blaze forced more than 500 people to evacuate their homes in the town of Luglon as hundreds of firefighters deployed to the area, the regional administration said Friday.

It’s one of several fires scorching forests around France this week, including in normally cooler and wetter regions in the north and Brittany. A historic fire devoured forests near Bordeaux last month and pushed a quarter of a million people from their homes.

France also has shut down six nuclear reactors in recent days because of extreme heat and drought — and because a mass of jellyfish washed up outside one power plant on the English Channel coast, utility company EDF said. Large numbers of jellyfish are appearing on many French beaches in connection with unusually warm sea temperatures.

In a statement, the company said the shutdowns had minimal impact on France’s electricity production. It said extreme weather poses no safety risks to the reactors themselves.

UK wildfires come as London records its hottest day of the year

In the central English town of Stourbridge, where a huge blaze started Thursday, TV footage showed the fires consuming houses, with many left without roofs as flames burned inside the charred walls. About 20 to 30 homes were completely destroyed, Stourbridge lawmaker Cat Eccles told the BBC.

A woman who was evacuated from her Stourbridge home said police knocked on her door and urged her to leave immediately.

“They thought the fire was changing directions, and they didn’t know which direction it was going in,” Jane Baxter told BBC Radio. “So, it was literally ‘grab what you need and get out.’”

Simon Tuhill, chief fire officer of West Midlands Fire Service, said an investigation will be launched but the fire was believed to have started in the grassland before spreading to homes nearby.

Nineteen people and six firefighters were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and other injuries from multiple wildfires in the West Midlands region. In nearby Stoke-on-Trent, a 23-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were arrested Friday on suspicion of arson over a large grass fire that spread quickly.

The Met Office, the official weather agency, said 38.1C (100.6 F) was recorded in west London on Thursday, marking the hottest day of the year. While temperatures cooled slightly on Friday, many parts of the country have seen little to no rain for weeks. This July has been the driest in England and Wales since records began in 1836.

Spain moves kings' remains to avoid fire

Spanish authorities on Thursday night transferred the remains of three 11th Century kings from a monastery in the northeastern Aragón region near an active wildfire.

The remains were taken to a museum about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the 10th-century San Juan de la Peña monastery, which remained unharmed Friday, according to regional authorities.

Paintings, liturgical objects and the clothes of a notable 18th-century Spanish count were among the other items removed from the monastery.

The wildfire was not yet contained midday Friday with some 800 residents evacuated. Temperatures were expected to cool slightly Saturday.

A separate, much larger wildfire in southern Spain has burned more than 300 square kilometers (120 square miles) in the province of Huelva, also forcing evacuations.

Firefighters battle forest fire in Germany

All 1,800 residents of the village of Gey in western Germany were evacuated after a wildfire with shifting winds in the nearby Hürtgen forest threatened to reach their homes. Nearly 300 hectares (1.16 square miles) of forest were ablaze on Friday morning, local authorities said.

Unexploded ordnance from World War II in the forest hampered firefighting efforts, German news agency dpa reported.

The fire advanced to within 300 meters (1,000 feet) of Gey, which sits on the edge of the forest near the Belgian border. The cause of the blaze remains unknown.

Germany has set a new record for heat-related deaths so far this year, surpassing the 2018 level for the entire year, the Robert Koch Institute said Thursday. An estimated 12,500 people died from heat-related causes between Jan. 1 and Aug. 2.

Fire in Croatia leaves 1 dead, 14 hospitalized

In Croatia, one person was killed and 14 people were hospitalized, of whom seven remained in life-threatening condition early Friday, from a fire that raged overnight by the coastal town of Omis and forced more than 1,000 people to evacuate their homes. The person's body was found as police combed through the burned-out area.

The fire erupted late Thursday in an Omis suburb and quickly spread because of strong wind. The regional maritime authorities said 194 people, including children, were plucked from the sea and from various boats as they tried to flee the fire.

Firefighters put out the blaze by Friday morning as other crews in planes headed further south toward the Peljesac peninsula, where another wildfire broke out overnight.

Firefighters keep Albania's largest wildfire from spreading to homes

Albania has been battling dozens of wildfires in recent weeks, with 11 active fires reported across the country Friday.

The largest fire is in the Gure-Lure area, where the perimeter near residential homes has been brought under control.

Three people have been prosecuted over that fire, which engulfed Lura National Park. They are suspected of failing to take measures to protect the territory from fire, authorities said.

Meanwhile, in northern Greece, more than 300 vacationers and residents were evacuated by sea Thursday after a wildfire swept through a pine forest and threatened seaside homes, authorities said.

Belgium expected to set another heat record

Belgium was expecting to hit its highest temperature of the summer on Friday, climbing to 37 C (98.6 F) in the capital, Brussels.

The mercury was also set to hit 37 C (98.6 F) in the neighboring Netherlands. The country is suffering from severe drought, with water shortages in some areas, but Dutch authorities have held off declaring a water crisis as rain is expected in the coming days.

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Hui reported from London. Stefanie Dazio in Berlin; Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland; Zana Cimili in Pristina, Kosovo; Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia; Lorne Cook in Brussels; and Suman Naishadham in Madrid contributed to this report.

The 7.4 magnitude earthquake affected a large swath of western Colombia, from urban centers like Cali and Pereira to remote and rugged areas in the department of Chocó. As of Friday morning, authorities had confirmed more than 280 dead, thousands injured and over 12,000 dwellings destroyed. Responders have managed to rescue about 350 people, but hundreds remain missing.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has promised a robust governmental response. But with so much need spread across a large area, aid groups will also play important roles helping those needing shelter, supplies and economic assistance.

“Institutional capacity does not remove the humanitarian need,” said Catalina Vargas, Colombia country director for the humanitarian group CARE. “The most severely affected area, Chocó, is also one of the most isolated and underserved parts of the country, so access remains the binding constraint regardless of the strength of national institutions.”

For those who can help, giving cash is often ideal to give groups flexibility and agility, said Abe Diaz, head of disaster relief for Amazon, which is providing requested supplies to partners.

"Unrequested product donations overwhelm communities and force responders to divert resources from life-saving work just to sort and store unwanted supplies,” Diaz said.

Here are some organizations collecting donations for Colombia earthquake recovery, including U.S. groups responding on the ground and some local organizations accepting outside funds.

U.S.-based groups already on the ground

All Hands and Hearts has provided search and rescue tools like jackhammers and pickaxes to the Pereira fire department as well as blankets and rehydration supplies for those affected. Link to donate.

CARE has a longtime presence in Colombia. Its immediate support will focus on food assistance through cash and vouchers, emergency supply care packages, and protection and emotional support for affected families. Link to donate.

Direct Relief is funding medical responders on the ground and preparing to deliver requested medications and healthcare supplies. Link to donate.

GEM is joining with local partners to provide essential kits with food, water, and hygiene necessities. Link to donate.

Operation Blessing is focusing its initial response on providing food and water, as well as solar lanterns, to displaced people. Link to donate.

Save the Children has worked in Colombia for over 40 years and has begun psychosocial support activities and set up multiple child-friendly spaces in affected areas. Link to donate.

World Central Kitchen is providing food and water for displaced people, first responders and volunteers, including in more remote mountain communities. Link to donate.

Marc Anthony leads Sunday benefit concert for Colombia and Venezuela

Latin music stars Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Chayanne, Feid, Jay Wheeler and many more will perform at an international benefit concert for Venezuela and Colombia on Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. EDT at Miami’s Kaseya Center. It will be carried live on Univision, ViX, WAPA and TelevisaUnivision radio stations, iHeartLatino and Venevision Play in Venezuela.

Viewers can donate by scanning onscreen QR codes, texting UNIDOS to 707070 or visiting univision.org during the broadcast. Proceeds will go to All Hands and Hearts, CARE, GEM, TECHO and World Central Kitchen.

Colombia-based groups accepting outside donations

Abaco Colombia, an association of 26 food banks across Colombia, is distributing food to affected families across the impacted regions. They accept online donations, though the payment processor requires a passport number.

Cruz Roja Colombiana teams are doing search and rescue, offering medical attention and psychosocial support, and filling other needs. They accept online donations, though the payment processor requires a passport number.

Fundación Solidaridad por Colombia supports youth initiatives, nutrition and health, and community building. It's helping deliver relief supplies and food to displaced people in Pereira and other locations. They accept PayPal.

Fundación Semillas de Oportunidades supports youth through art and sport from its base in Quibdó, Chocó. They are supporting families of young people across Chocó. They accept PayPal.

Manos Visibles, a network of organizations dedicated to racial and territorial equity, is collaborating with a local trade school with a goal to restore at least 100 homes in the city of Buenaventura. They accept online donations, though the payment processor requires a passport number.

Presentes Corporation, a 43-year-old organization in Colombia focused on community resilience, is partnering with the Miami-based nonprofit Give to Colombia to facilitate donations from the U.S. Their Colombia Se Levanta fund accepts online donations.

Refugio Huellas de Amor in Pereira is supporting rescue animals already in their care as well as other impacted animals. Huellitas Callejeras Barranquilla is sending vets and medical supplies to affected areas. Both accept PayPal.

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Associated Press staff writer Megan Janetsky contributed reporting from Mexico City.

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

The conservative voter from northeast Iowa said he didn't know Zach Lahn before the political newcomer “came out of nowhere" with a surprise GOP primary win over the candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump. So when Lahn came to his farm last week, Burrack questioned him on his approach to agriculture.

“I hit him pretty hard,” said Burrack, who was considering whether to vote for Lahn in November or not vote at all.

It wasn't the first skeptical audience for the self-described “change candidate” in the state led by Republicans.

Lahn won the June primary even though an “entire establishment was set up against me,” he said. He criticizes politicians in both parties, accusing them of being bought by corporate interests. His bid for governor will test how an anti-establishment conservative fares with a general electorate — and with traditional Republicans — a decade after Trump’s own brand of populism reshaped the GOP.

While Iowa Republicans have an electoral advantage, Lahn entered the general election with a lower public profile than his Democratic opponent, state Auditor Rob Sand. Democrats see an opportunity to win this cycle in once-competitive Iowa, where high costs, health clinic closures, manufacturing job losses and a struggling agricultural economy weigh on voters.

Lahn talks about bringing a “different message” to Iowans who aren't satisfied with the trajectory of Iowa's small towns, public education or cancer rates, even after years of Republican control of state government. But only three months before Election Day, Lahn acknowledged he needs to keep getting out in front of people to address their questions and concerns.

“I think, for the most part, a lot of people just have never heard my message,” Lahn said after the event at Burrack's farm in Arlington. “The more we’ve met with people, the more they understand where our priorities lie, the more they say, ‘We are with you.’”

In farm country, Lahn has to answer for his positions on ‘big ag’

Some of Lahn's ideas challenge the Republican Party's status quo. Among them is his approach to agriculture and embrace of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, which has prompted questions in the state that's among the nation's top producers of corn, soybeans, red meat and ethanol. Lahn promotes regenerative farming; emphasizes a link between high nitrate-loaded water and cancer; and questions the safety of agrochemicals.

Before Lahn took the stage in Arlington to talk agriculture, farmer Lance Lillibridge, a former president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, told the couple hundred Iowans there that the goal was to “get the air clear."

In front of a huge American flag and sandwiched between two freshly washed John Deere tractors, Lahn said, “We farm a bit weird” on his own Iowa acres, growing oats, alfalfa and einkorn along with corn and beans.

But he told the crowd he wants to fund farmers’ efforts to diversify their operations, not force Iowans to farm like him. He said targeting “big ag” means filing antitrust lawsuits against corporate conglomerates that sell seed and fertilizer and taxing out-of-state investors consolidating Iowa acres, not stepping on family farms. He wants to see more incentives to improve water quality but wouldn’t try to outright ban agrochemicals.

Burrack, like Lahn, says that they won’t agree on everything. But after talking with Lahn, he called himself a supporter.

Lahn pushes back on claims that he's a ‘part-time Iowan’

At another stop, a few dozen faces crowded at the back of a coffee shop in Hampton, Iowa, just after the lunch rush. Many of them were familiar with each other but less so with the candidate they came to see. Among them were Jay and Sally Van Wert, retired farmer and teacher, who said Lahn seemed like a nice guy, but they didn't know much else.

Several Iowans attending some of Lahn's first publicly advertised events since the primary said they only knew what they’ve seen in advertisements from Sand's campaign. The ads call Lahn a “part-time Iowan" and reference dozens of occasions where Lahn piloted his private plane to and from Kansas since launching his campaign.

“Is he going all the time to Kansas?” asked Larry Streicher, 84, a Republican farmer in the front row in Arlington. “We don’t know anything about him.”

Lahn said he left Iowa for college like so many others but wanted to come home, amplifying a nostalgia for Iowa culture and heritage that resonated with voters, not unlike Trump's “Make America Great Again” message.

He left Iowa again to start a private school funded by the Koch family, which opened in Kansas in 2018. He co-founded the school with his now-wife, Annie, who had been married to Chase Koch, son of conservative billionaire Charles Koch.

Lahn told the crowds he and Annie moved into their Belle Plaine, Iowa, homestead in 2023 after finishing renovations. Lahn bought the farm that had been in his family for a century but sold it after his great-grandmother died.

Douglas Puffett, a farmer from Strawberry Point and member of his county’s GOP central committee, said Lahn's story is like so many other Iowans’ and his vision for Iowa is driven by what drew him back.

“That’s how you inspire the next generation,” said the 40-year-old, who appreciates that Lahn, also 40, is young and has young kids.

Lahn has explained that trips to Kansas are due to his blended family, which includes children from his and Annie’s previous marriages. He doesn't comment on whether he would travel or use taxpayer resources to do so if elected governor, saying it would not impact his ability to govern.

Puffett, who attended Lahn’s Arlington event, thinks 10 years of Republican trifecta have given Sand an opening to appeal to people who might be unhappy with the “Republican establishment,” he said, but Lahn “stacks up really nice” with his calls for reform.

“I think it’s time to kind of roll over the leadership of the Republican Party here in Iowa," he said.

A grassroots campaign receives ‘full embrace’ from the establishment

Gov. Kim Reynolds’ decision to not seek a third term gave Republicans their first wide-open primary since 2010, and five candidates were on the ballot. Lahn overtook U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra by less than a percentage point, or about 1,650 more votes.

Lahn told crowds that he only met Reynolds after the primary, a signal of his distance from Iowa politics. Speaking at the state party’s fundraiser in July, he joked about all the donors who “haven’t been returning my calls” all being in one room.

Since his primary win, Lahn has met with party leaders and Iowa's prominent industry groups. His campaign spent the summer ramping up fundraising, staff and organizing infrastructure.

State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, who is the majority leader of House Republicans, said there may be some differences of opinion or “curiosities, not concerns" about Lahn's positions, but added that's always the case.

Kaufmann met Lahn earlier this year, voted for him in June and said there's been a “full embrace” of the nominee. He said Lahn is not a traditional candidate, but that's what makes his campaign energizing for Republicans who are “constantly craving new leadership."

“I think it began back in 2016 with President Trump,” Kaufmann said. “Republicans don’t rest on our laurels."

It is just one way officials across the country are trying to tackle the growing issue, while families navigate a patchwork of local laws and guidance on what kind of souped-up cycles and scooters are safe or even legal for their kids to ride.

New York City’s mayor recently sent cease-and-desist notices to dozens of online retailers for selling products marketed as “e-bikes” that aren’t street legal after a 17-year-old died in a crash on an illicit vehicle. In neighboring New Jersey, new regulations require e-bike riders to be at least 15 and obtain a license and vehicle registration.

But do the measures hit the mark? Cycling advocates worry regulations might be too broad — demonizing low-powered e-bikes instead of speedier motos — while some parents question whether localized, piecemeal strategies are enough.

Monica Stafford, a San Francisco-area mother whose teen daughter fractured her skull falling off an e-bike, said officials are “missing the mark” if they’re seeking to lay the blame solely on parents. The San Rafael resident said a unified, national set of rules is needed.

“We’re in a total Wild West of laws,” Stafford said. “Being for common sense laws doesn’t mean that you’re against e-bikes, just like you can be for cars but not think that it’s safe to put keys in the hands of a 10-year-old.”

E-bike injuries disproportionately impact children, experts say

The two-wheeled machines have become nearly ubiquitous in recent years, from packs of teens zipping around California beach towns to the army of delivery drivers dodging traffic on the congested streets of Manhattan.

Hospital visits for injuries from e-bike, e-scooter and other motorized rides have, as expected, soared as they have grown in popularity, study after study has shown. But researchers stress that the more concerning trends are the severity of the injuries and the fact that they’re especially pronounced among children.

“The big takeaway is that people are generally more severely injured than they would be if they were on a traditional, pedal bicycle,” said Dr. John Austin, a doctor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine who led a recently published statewide study. “Overall, these patients tend to be younger, they tend to be unhelmeted and, in turn, be more severely injured.”

Recent youth deaths prompt officials to take action

Most e-bikes are classified as nonmotorized vehicles akin to traditional bicycles under federal law, meaning riders don’t need a license, insurance or to even wear a helmet. Most states, though, have enacted additional requirements for higher powered machines, including minimum age and helmet requirements.

In New York City, the death of the 17-year-old just steps from City Hall has spurred renewed debate about the bikes. Gabriel Nacato had been riding a vehicle advertised as an “e-bike” but wasn't legal on city streets.

Earlier this month, Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned more than 40 online retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Target, that they could face fines of up to $2,000 for each sale of an e-bike that exceeds city regulations.

New York state requires riders of all forms of e-bikes to be at least 16, and New York City imposes additional restrictions, including a 15 mph (24 kph) speed limit. California, in contrast, has no statewide minimum age for lower-powered bikes, though riders must be at least 16 to use e-bikes that can go up to 28 mph (45 kph).

New Jersey and Illinois are among the states that have enacted statewide regulations recently, and Massachusetts is weighing measures. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in June vetoed a 10 mph (16 kph) speed limit and other e-bike regulations, saying the measures would lead to “enhanced surveillance” of citizens.

Other jurisdictions seek to hold parents accountable

In Southern California, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer says his office has more than two dozen open investigations against parents after launching a new unit focused on e-bike and e-motorcycle cases involving children.

The office has already brought charges against four, including the mother of a 14-year-old boy accused of killing an elderly pedestrian while riding an e-motorcycle.

That mother’s attorney declined to comment, but Mitchell Krems, the lawyer for another parent, dismissed the charges against his client as “absurd,” suggesting his client was being made a “scapegoat.”

Richard Eyssallenne pleaded not guilty to child endangerment charges after prosecutors say he bought his 12-year-old son an e-motorcycle and helped him illegally modify it to make it go faster. The boy ran through a red light and was injured by a car.

Other jurisdictions have also taken steps to hold parents liable. In Ohio, a Columbus suburb recently issued new e-bike rules making it clear that parents who knowingly allow their children to break the rules are subject to the same penalties as the rider.

Cycling advocates blame electronic motorcycles

PeopleForBikes, a national bicycle advocacy group that tracks state e-bike regulations, stressed that many of the problematic vehicles are actually electronic motorcycles with heavy frames, sturdy tires and sizable motors that are falsely marketed as e-bikes.

Lower-powered and pedal-assisted e-bikes have been used safely for decades on U.S. streets and are key to reducing society's reliance on cars, advocates argue.

“Many of the dangerous behaviors people cite — running red lights, riding on sidewalks, not wearing helmets — are already illegal,” added Chloé Lauer, executive director of the San Diego County Bike Coalition. “We’d rather see those laws enforced than add new restrictions that limit mobility for kids who are riding responsibly.”

Anya Dalal, a San Francisco-area high school senior who has been advocating for better safety measures, believes the problem requires multiple solutions, including setting age limits.

“It should be a mix of parental accountability, accountability from the manufacturers and retailers and also education for kids to understand e-bike laws and road rules,” said the 17-year-old Hillsborough resident.

Sharon Franke, a San Diego-area mother, agreed, though she said the first step starts at home, with parents doing their research, accompanying their children on rides and reinforcing safety once they set off on their own.

“We want them to have fun, but we also want them to come back safe and we don’t want them to hurt anybody,” she said as her 15- and 12-year-old sons prepared to attend a safety training last weekend. “How do you balance all of it? It’s just overwhelming right now.”

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Associated Press reporters Amy Taxin and Christopher Weber in California and Anthony Izaguirre in New York contributed to this story.

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

The 3.9% proposed increase to the tax rate is lower than the city had previously discussed, but a vocal minority of council has shown it’s already dead set against the idea.

Tens of millions of dollars and more than 100 city jobs were also on the chopping block in the city’s $4.4 billion FY 2027 budget proposal and two-year plan, which they presented to City Council on Thursday morning.

San Antonio is also looking to raise millions more in various new or increased fees, permits and other revenue sources — from charging short-term rentals more expensive permits to recovering a share of city expenses at major Fiesta events.

The city has been projecting a $158 million deficit in FY 2028 as projected expenses outpace revenue. The city balances its budget over two years, though, so the course-correcting starts now.

The deficit is within the city’s $1.76 billion general fund, the largest part of its budget, which covers services such as police, fire, parks, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, Animal Care Services and regular street maintenance.

Between the assorted tax hike, new revenues, budget cuts and updated projections, city staff actually expect to end FY 2028 with an extra $49 million to be used for FY 2029.

Tax hike

Property taxes are one of the main contributing factors to the city’s projected deficit.

Unlike previous years when soaring property values and new construction helped fuel budget growth, the city’s taxable base will actually shrink this year.

Raising the city’s current tax rate by 2.129 cents per $100 of valuation would raise close to $29 million in FY 2027, staff said.

That would mean the average homestead, with a taxable value of $231,356, would pay $49 more than if the rate stayed the same.

However, because the average homestead value has also declined from $233,909 in 2025, city staff said the actual difference in their tax bill compared to last year would be closer to $35.

Additionally, senior and disabled homeowners with a tax freeze — roughly 47% of all homesteads in the city — would be unaffected.

The city last raised its property tax rate in 1992, and has either cut or kept it flat every year since. The proposed increase to 56.288 cents would be the highest the rate has been since 2014.

The city’s plans to balance the budget also rely on an additional, 4.4% tax increase in FY 2028.

“We went through 9/11. We went through the financial crash in the early 2000s. We went through COVID. Yet somehow we didn’t raise taxes on the citizens,” Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) said. “Yet somehow today we think that this is something that should be considered.”

Whyte, Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) and Councilwoman Misty Spears (D9) all voted against a procedural item in an attempt to take the tax increase off the table.

Though their effort failed, an increase isn’t a done deal yet.

City Manager Erik Walsh confirmed staff would prepare alternate scenarios, without a tax rate increase, for council to consider.

On the other side, though, some would like to see what would be possible if the city were to take the tax rate further.

“I would definitely appreciate the different scenarios, not only without a property tax increase in any form, but also any other kinds of scenarios we could look at, even with the larger increase — just to see where that money could go towards improvements in services,” Councilman Ric Galvan (D6) said.

Cuts

City staff plans nearly $90 million worth of cuts to the general fund over the next two years, though a portion of it will just be shifting it to different areas of the budget.

Walsh said the cuts include cutting 101 city positions in FY 2027, more than half of which are currently filled.

However, Walsh said the city would work with those employees to find other vacant positions within the city for them to go into.

Walsh also said he didn’t think “there’s any major reductions to services that people will feel.”

However, avoiding a tax rate increase this year would require finding roughly $29 million in cuts, Walsh said.

If the city were to try and avoid raising the tax rate in FY 2028 as well, it would take about $65 million worth of cuts, which he believes would be “significant.”

Other revenue

The proposed budget lists more than 100 new or increased fees, permits, rental costs or other revenue sources in the general fund alone over the next two years, which the city expects it will bring in more than $30 million in that time frame.

Some, like increasing the EMS transport fee from $1,500 to $1,700, are expected to bring in millions of extra dollars. Others, like a $5 increase to the price of a city-provided dangerous dog collar, are only expected to bring in a few hundred dollars.

Mayor’s proposals

Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has also thrown out ideas of her own, including diverting dollars dedicated to the voter-approved Ready to Work program and sending a letter to business and philanthropic leaders to chip in to help pay for certain items.

Walsh told reporters diverting money from the Ready to Work program had not been included in the proposed budget.

At least one of the programs Jones had solicited business leaders to fund, a hiring program for military spouses, was set to be cut, as was the scholarship portion of an education partnership program.

Jones had also previously highlighted the San Antonio Botanical Garden as an example of a group that could have its entire $1.2 million in annual funding trimmed. However, the proposed budget had only the $200,000 pruning, as city staff had originally planned.

The mayor pointed to the group again Thursday, as she talked about the choices among the proposed cuts.

“If we are looking at, again, reducing the tuition reimbursement — eliminating the tuition reimbursement program for our citizens, why would we still be giving the San Antonio Botanical Garden $1 million?” she said.

• 101 positions eliminated — More than half of the positions are currently filled, but the city plans to try and move them into other vacant positions.
• Citywide hiring freeze — For non-essential support positions in FY 2027 and FY 2028.
• 49 new SAPD officers — The officers are split between filling 22 vacant Park Police positions with new SAPD officers and 27 new positions for the new airport terminal.
• No additional patrol officers — There are no extra positions included toward the city’s multi-year goal of adding 360 cops to the street.
• New veterinary hospital — Animal Care Services expects to open a new facility at its campus in 2027. The project includes the renovation of the existing clinic.
• Non-San Antonio resident library card fee — $20 fee for library card holders who don’t live in San Antonio.
• Street maintenance — $129.8 million for the street maintenance program, up $7.4 million this year.
• 3% raise for civilian employees — Effective Oct. 1.
• 4% raise for SAPD —Effective Oct. 1 under a tentative union contract.
• 5% raise for SAFD — Effective Oct. 1 under a union contract.
• Short-term rental permits — Fees increasing from $300 to $450 for Type 1 permits and from $450 to $1,000 for Type 2 permits.
• Fiesta event recovery — City is aiming to recover 50% of police expenses from major Fiesta events.

Community Input Sessions

The city has at least 11 budget town halls scheduled between Monday, Aug. 17 and Tuesday, Aug. 25. More details can be found here.

More City Hall coverage on KSAT:

• Cuts, tax hikes, and ballot measures: San Antonio set for messy budget conversations
• San Antonio City Council to discuss putting second Spurs arena vote on November ballot
• San Antonio arena debate heats up as City Council faces $158 million budget shortfall

“This investigation was all started because of a complaint that had been given to the DA’s office, who then referred it to law enforcement,” Meredith Chacon said. “Which is an unusual way that a case can be referred.”

Arrest affidavits accuse the San Antonio attorney Calfas of offering legal services in exchange for sex and paying women for sex, according to documents tied to a Texas Department of Public Safety investigation.

Chacon, who is now a defense attorney, handled a human trafficking case against a lawyer, Mark Benavides. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison, convicted of exchanging legal services for sex.

Chacon said her experience with Benavides’ case taught her these allegations reflect a sobering reality: criminal conduct like this can turn up in unexpected places.

“This does happen at that level,” Chacon said. “You’re not shielded from those things happening just because you reach a certain socioeconomic status or because you have a certain profession.”

Human trafficking charge

One affidavit outlines the evidence investigators used to allege the human trafficking charge, including jail phone calls between a woman and an inmate from March to May of 2024.

Those phone calls show a woman reached out to Calfas for help for her brother, who was in Guadalupe County jail, documents show.

Prosecutors allege Calfas offered two ways to pay for legal services — in cash or, as the document quotes, “the other way.”

Authorities allege Calfas never ultimately provided the legal services discussed in the calls, the affidavit states.

Chacon said people often have a certain image of what human trafficking looks like, but explained it can mean many things.

“Trafficking is anytime someone is forced by physical force, by fraud or by covert coercion,” Chacon said.

Based on the allegations laid out in the documents, Chacon said it appears the case may center on fraud.

Specifically, she said, by taking the allegations from the document at face value, it appears the woman was tricked into sexual acts, believing she would get help from Calfas for her brother.

“It looks like it’s a fraud-based human trafficking,” she said.

Solicitation of prostitution charge

A second affidavit alleges a Snapchat video shows two women and Calfas in his downtown office. Prosecutors allege the video shows Calfas having sex with a woman, and then paying in what appears to be cash.

The Snapchat video showing the alleged transaction was labeled with the caption ‘the deed is done,’ documents state. The video is dated May 31, 2024, the documents state.

The affidavit also cites evidence that the women shown in the Snapchat video were alleged sex workers, including Cash App payments labeled “for (victim)’s love” and “investments,” OnlyFans accounts and mentions of strip clubs in Las Vegas.

Chacon said social media and digital evidence can be compelling for jurors.

“There is tangible evidence that law enforcement can get. And then that makes it very illustrative for a jury later,” she said.

KSAT has reached out to Calfas for comment but has not heard back.

Read more:

• Affidavit: Attorney Neil Calfas accused of coercing woman for sex in exchange for legal help

ORIGINAL STORY: The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a Silver Alert for a 68-year-old man last seen on the West Side.

Ovidio Chojolan, 68, was last seen at 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to DPS, in the 5500 block of Harefield Drive.

DPS said Chojolan was last seen wearing a light blue T-shirt with “Florida” on it and blue jeans. He is 5 feet, 3 inches tall.

Authorities asked anyone who sees Chojolan to call 911.

Read also:

• Lake Travis High School football player dies after medical emergency at practice, superintendent says

A rescue operation was launched after a sudden rush of water and debris entered the tunnel at the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Chamoli district later Thursday night, said top district official Gaurav Kumar.

Of 22 people who were working in the tunnel, 12 have been rescued alive and another three are still missing, the chief minister of Uttarakhand state Pushkar Singh Dhami told reporters.

Rescue teams from the national and state Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and fire services are fighting rising water and debris with as they search for the remaining workers, officials said.

“When our team reached the site and started the operation, there was a lot of water inside the tunnel and water was also seeping from the sides. Since then, the water level has increased considerably,” said the commander of the National Disaster Response Force team, Amrit Lal Meena.

Construction accidents are common in India, where rapid infrastructure growth often collides with fragile geology, construction lapses, extreme weather and safety standards.

In the Himalayan region, fragile mountains, seismic activity and unpredictable underground conditions make tunnel projects especially risky. An explosion inside a coal mine in neighboring Meghalaya state in February killed at least 18 workers. In 2023, a tunnel section in northern Uttarakhand state collapsed, trapping 41 workers for 17 days before they were rescued.

Since the Aug. 3 announcement, at least 43 companies — including juggernauts like Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services — have issued public statements expressing support for Abbott’s audit, despite the governor ordering regulators to not approve any new grid connections until the audit is completed. The governor has similarly touted their endorsement of his plan.

“We share your commitment to ensuring data centers are true partners in every Texas community where we operate — protecting residential ratepayers, strengthening grid reliability and promoting responsible water stewardship,” read a letter to the governor sent Tuesday by the Data Center Coalition, a trade association representing many of the largest tech companies in the world.

Abbott directed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s power grid, to conduct the audit, but it’s unknown how long the audit will take, how long the moratorium on grid connections will last, how many data centers will be audited and how the information gathered in the audit will be used by regulators and legislators.

Without these questions answered, it’s unclear how much of this audit will address the public’s concerns about data centers, particularly their impact on energy access, water use and the environment.

Citing polling data that shows growing discontent among rural Texans toward the buildout of data centers and competitive General Election contests for governor and U.S. Senate, Texas Politics Project Director Jim Henson said the moves by Abbott and the companies raise questions about how impactful the audit and freeze of approvals will actually be.

“It’s all very performative, it’s performative on everybody’s part,” Henson said.

Abbott’s office has largely directed questions about the audit to his public statements on the topic since Aug. 3. The PUCT and ERCOT have also remained largely silent on the matter, and the PUCT scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday morning to discuss the issue.

ERCOT did say in a Monday filing it expects the audit will last “several months” and is expected to begin shortly after Aug. 20.

Navigating the politics of data centers

Michael Jewell, an attorney who has represented large industrial companies on energy issues and policy, said it’s no surprise the companies are willing to play along because they were already working to address many of these issues in response to public backlash.

“I think the data centers are going to comply with it, and they’re absolutely willing to comply with it,” Jewell said. “They want to be sure they understand what the requirements are and how this is going to develop, and that’s still a work in progress. I’m hoping that what we’ll do is on Friday, start to get a better understanding of what the process is going to be.”

Many of the companies have planned projects in the ERCOT large-load queue, or the line to receive approval for energization, which Abbott said no data centers may advance from until the audit is completed. While the ERCOT grid does not include the entirety of the state, Abbott said the pause on grid connections is statewide because the PUCT authority extends beyond the ERCOT grid.

This attempt to rein in data centers is a reversal for the governor, who called Texas the “epicenter of AI development” in November.

Abbott has touted many of these company announcements of compliance with statements of his own, each arguing that both his audit and previous directives to the PUCT and ERCOT have established clear guardrails that will prevent the data centers from passing costs on to the residents living near them.

“What Governor Abbott is doing is working,” wrote Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary. “Data centers across the state have announced their full compliance with those standards, which provide guardrails that protect our communities.”

Fox News’ July 30 poll showed Abbott leading Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa by one percentage point in his bid for reelection. The poll’s crosstabs found a narrower margin of support among rural Texans, a group that typically supports Republican candidates in large numbers and live where many data centers are cropping up.

A Texas Tribune analysis found more than half of all data centers planned to be built in Texas are planned for unincorporated areas only governed by a county government, which typically have little power to block development.

Henson described Abbott’s audit and the data center companies’ support for it as a “political balancing act” as both parties work to maintain public support — Abbott for his upcoming reelection bid and data center companies for their plans to keep building the facilities in large numbers.

“These kinds of pronouncements and maneuvers will look differently and get different kinds of coverage after the election and once we get into the legislative part of the policy response process.”

Is Abbott’s plan enough?

Abbott’s letter said the audit should ensure data center developers provide information on tax breaks they will receive; power use and generation; water use and cooling operations; efforts to reduce impacts on local communities; and ownership of the facility. Any projects that fail Abbott’s ordered “comprehensive verification and audit” should be denied connection to the grid, the governor said.

A June 10 letter by Abbott directed the PUCT to ensure data center interconnections to the grid will result in reduced residential electricity bills and data centers will pay for all of their electrical infrastructure costs.

Abbott has already called on the Legislature to repeal the state sales tax break for data centers, which has ballooned to more than $1 billion a year in value as more data centers were built in the state. Officials from the Comptroller’s Office said in late July that at least 10 new data centers a month are expected to be certified to receive the sales tax break through the end of the year.

It is also unclear how effectively the pause on interconnection approvals will slow the data center buildout. While companies will not be able to be energized by the ERCOT grid, a March paper by law firm Troutman Pepper Locke highlighted the growing trend of data centers partnering with energy companies to build power plants connected directly to data centers, circumnavigating the need for broader energy grid connection.

Hinojosa has argued the governor should immediately call a special session so the Legislature can quickly pass regulations, or a total moratorium on the construction of data centers until the Legislature’s regular session begins in January.

“When the companies being regulated are cheering for the rules, you know the rules were written for them, not for Texans,” Hinojosa wrote in a statement.

Disclosure: Fox News, Meta and Microsoft have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in The Texas Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The storm is forecast to bring rain to the Hawaiian Islands starting late Friday as well as high winds and dangerous surf, the National Hurricane Center said.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Hawaii County and a tropical storm watch is in place for Maui County including the islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe, forecasters said.

Lala was about 455 miles (735 kilometers) east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, and about 670 miles (1,075 kilometers) east-southeast of Honolulu with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph) while moving west-northwest, the Miami-based center said.

Lala is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the Big Island. It's expected to be near the island Saturday. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected, and it is typically issued 36 hours before potential tropical-storm-force winds.

The system could bring rainfall totals of 8 inches to a foot (up to about 30 centimeters) across Maui and the Big Island, with as much as 25 inches (nearly 64 centimeters) possible across the Big Island, forecasters said. That could produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, the center said.

Also in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Hernan formed Thursday but wasn't threatening land and was weakening while moving south.

Hernan was about 1,505 miles (2,420 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico with maximum sustained winds around 40 mph (65 kph), the center said.

In the Atlantic Ocean, former Tropical Storm Cristobal weakened and degenerated into a post-tropical remnant low on Thursday, the center said. It was about 500 miles (805 kilometers) west of the Azores and didn't threaten land.

The backing came from 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Mauritania, Lebanon and Sudan, with four of the signatories being FIFA council members.

“We, the undersigned leaders of our respective football associations, express our full support for Mr. Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, and reaffirm our confidence in his leadership and continued commitment to the development of football worldwide,” the statement read.

“We deeply appreciate Mr. Infantino’s sustained efforts to advance football globally, expand opportunities across all regions and strengthen the game’s role in bringing people and communities together.”

The statement said the signatories “look forward to continuing our close cooperation with him towards a stronger and more prosperous future for world football, expanding opportunities and further enhancing Arab football’s contribution to the global game.”

Infantino is facing a revolt after his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors. He withdrew the $20 billion proposal after a furious backlash by global soccer officials, including European body UEFA, which has warned of a boycott of all FIFA games and events.

UEFA teamed up with CONCACAF — the confederation for North, Central America and the Caribbean — and the Asian Football Confederation — and issued an open letter Monday saying Infantino’s plan was a “fundamental breach of trust” and described it as “deception.”

And on Thursday, the Football Association of Ireland said in a statement it has withdrawn its support for Infantino to be re-elected as FIFA president in March, saying “recent events have raised significant concerns regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation.”

The soccer federations in England and Wales did the same last week, while Northern Ireland said it was backing UEFA's stance.

New Zealand Football issued a statement Friday local time saying it had withdrawn its support for the candidature of Infantino and was seeking an independent review of steps taken to develop the FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme.

New Zealand Football broke ranks with its Oceania confederation, saying it “formed the view that decisions and actions within FIFA have contributed to a breakdown in trust and increased division within international football, and that an independent review is required to restore confidence and trust.”

Without commenting on Infantino's position, the OFC said it welcomed FIFA’s decision to withdraw the FFE proposal and its commitment to review the issues surrounding the project.

“OFC recognizes the progress achieved over the last decade in advancing football development in Oceania under FIFA’s leadership and encourages FIFA to use the review as an opportunity to identify and implement any changes that may be necessary," the statement said.

Schism in Asian bloc over Infantino support

By expressing support for Infantino, Qatar and Lebanon aligned against the Asian Football Confederation. Infantino’s official Instagram account previously has posted letters of support from several member federations, including Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The four FIFA council members among the signatories were Qatar Football Association president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abo Rida, Moroccan Football Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa and Mauritanian Football Federation president Ahmed Yahya.

The other two were Lebanese Football Association president Hashem Haidar and Moatasem Gafar, president of the Sudan Football Association.

Infantino has been FIFA president since 2016 and seemed sure to be re-elected unopposed next year in Morocco.

FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for challengers to come forward.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Many Christians in Israel, who make up less than 2% of the country’s population, are worried visible signs of their faith will draw harassment, which has increased as multiple conflicts grip the region.

“I’m scared after the sister was beat up,” said Sister Mayela, a Mexican nun who’s lived in Jerusalem on and off for more than two decades. “Before, one could live with more confidence. Some people spat, some said hi. Now we have to live trusting in God.”

She finds resilience in her faith — and in support from Israelis like the volunteers. Even that, though, didn’t prevent a teen from spitting right behind her as they passed a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews recently. The teen said she was only clearing her throat, but the volunteer reported it to police.

Incidents like that are among the challenges for Christians in Israel, particularly since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, plunged the country back into war and polarization. But interfaith leaders and researchers are encouraged by better policing and prosecution as well as the recent appointment of a government envoy to the Christian world, who is Greek Orthodox.

In northern Israel, many Christians say they feel the state isn’t doing enough to protect them from crime because they’re not Jewish. But those concerns didn’t stop groups of Catholics from joining a recent joyous pilgrimage on Mount Tabor, where the Gospels say Jesus appeared transfigured alongside the Jewish prophets Moses and Elijah.

“In a world where darkness is filling the hearts of people, we need to diffuse God’s light to other people,” said Sister Muna, the nun who led one youth group.

For many Christians and Jews, protecting coexistence in the Holy Land is a moral imperative after their own long histories of religious persecution.

“I don’t want Christians to go out of their house in Jerusalem … and have fear,” said Yisca Harani, the Jewish Israeli educator and activist who escorted Sister Mayela. “I’ve gone through this 2,000 years in my Jewish history. I’m not going to let that happen.”

Occasional flare-ups occur in multifaith Old City

In the Old City, Jewish men in black hats and tzitzit tassels, Muslim women in hijabs and Christian priests in flowing robes walk past each other daily in the maze of stone alleyways. Many are headed to pray at the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. These are some of the most sacred sites respectively for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and they are close to each other.

“If you stroll around in your habit, sooner or later you’ll get some spitting next to you,” said the Rev. Alberto Pari, who leads interfaith dialogue and Christian-Jewish relations as secretary to the Custody of the Holy Land, the Catholic order ministering to holy sites across the region. “But it’s important not to generalize, because that unleashes antisemitism.”

Religious Freedom Data Center, the organization that Harani founded to track harassment of Christians, has recorded a near-tripling of incidents in Jerusalem from four years ago to the last three months recorded — about one a day now — virtually all by Jewish religious nationalists.

A Jewish man from a settlement in the occupied West Bank was indicted in the violent attack on the nun in April. The French Biblical and Archeological School of Jerusalem where the nun is a researcher expects “effective prosecution at the criminal and civil levels,” said the school’s director, Friar Olivier Poquillon.

Israel's government tackles anti-Christian incidents

Among those reaching out to Catholic leaders to denounce the attack and offer support was Ambassador George Deek, Israel's new envoy tasked with building what he calls the “special relationship” between Christians and the country, to both keep Christians safe and partner on issues like fighting antisemitism.

“We believe that every incident against Christians is immoral, illegal and should be prosecuted. That’s exactly what we are going to do,” Deek told The Associated Press. “We want to make sure that Israel continues to prosper and grow as a place where Christians can not only survive, but they can thrive.”

Around the time that the nun was attacked, two other incidents drew global condemnation. An Israeli soldier smashed a crucifix in a family garden and another stuck a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon, where the military is fighting Hezbollah militants. The soldiers involved received military prison sentences.

Most Israelis find harassment unacceptable. But Jewish religious nationalists, particularly uneducated young men, remain a threat, said John Munayer of the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, an interreligious organization in Jerusalem.

Their hostility to Christians is grounded in the history of persecution of Jews in Christian-majority European countries, in faith practices they see as idol-worshipping, and in a “general intolerance” for anyone who’s not Jewish near sacred areas like the Western Wall, Munayer said.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict spills over in Christian-Jewish tensions

Then there’s the overhanging trauma of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, since most local Christians in Israel and the occupied West Bank are Palestinian.

In Taybeh, the last entirely Christian village in the West Bank, Jewish settlers recently cut through house fences and destroyed fruit and vegetable gardens, said the Rev. Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church.

“All the people here are afraid,” he said. “Settlers come and go every day.”

Israel’s army declared the village a closed military zone earlier this week to curb the attacks. But concerns about Israel’s ability and willingness to rein in the settlers remain even among evangelicals, who are among the staunchest Christian supporters of Israel.

“What happens in Taybeh is really troubling,” said David Parsons, spokesperson for International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. “Israeli leaders have realized for some time that Christian support for their nation is not only vital, it’s a strategic interest.”

And yet since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, “generalized fear and skepticism” pervaded all interreligious work, Pari said. The interfaith music institute he directs, Magnificat, was invited to play at a peace march in Jerusalem. But when the Palestinian members saw that the stage had been set up by an Old City gate flanked by Israeli flags, they refused to play.

“I felt a real failure,” Pari said. “We think that as Christians, we have a very important role to patch things back together. ... It will be difficult, but we can do it.”

Israeli Christians hold tight to faith and identity

That faith-grounded resilience prevailed among the Mount Tabor pilgrims, who gathered on the mountain to celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration last week. Rising interfaith tensions and crime have driven many of the area’s Christians to emigrate, several said.

“It’s very difficult that we keep our identity as Christians in the Middle East, but it’s the most important,” said John Akleh, 20, who came with Sister Muna’s group.

Ten pilgrims from nearby Nazareth — where Jesus grew up — started the climb at 4:15 a.m. led by the Rev. Fadi Shallufi in a yearly tradition they’ve maintained even in wartime.

“We will have a lot of sacrifice, but you will be sure in this land something will change,” Shallufi told them as he celebrated Mass in the mountaintop basilica.

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Associated Press journalists Ibrahim Hazboun and Moshe Edri contributed from Jerusalem.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

“I’m not too concerned,” deGrom said following a 7-0 loss to the Angels. “I mean, hopefully I’ll make my next (start). We’ll see. It was tight in the second inning, and it just didn’t want to loosen up,
so I don’t know, I haven’t really had this before.”

The 38-year-old right-hander, who has been dealing with a left hip and glute injury since the All-Star break, escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the first but gave up two runs and five hits during a 32-pitch second. He was replaced by right-hander Peyton Gray to begin the third with the Angels leading 2-0.

It was the first time deGrom permitted five hits in an inning since Sept. 5, 2017, with the New York Mets.

“I wasn’t going to risk it once I heard (it was) the triceps,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “Obviously, you don’t want to hear anything arm-related. You pull a guy out in the second inning, it’s concerning. But we’ll figure it out when he gets some imaging. We won’t know until they get in there.”

This seven-game road trip began with the Rangers placing pitcher Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day injured list because of elbow inflammation Monday. Texas beat the Angels 4-1 that night but lost the next three games to fall to 60-62 and two games behind first-place Houston in the AL West.

Now, the Rangers might have to navigate the next few weeks without their two best starting pitchers.

“Our starting pitching has taken a hit, that is reality,” Schumaker said. “With two guys going down, we’ll see what it looks like, but it’s never easy when you’re No. 1 and No. 2 guys are down.”

A two-time Cy Young Award winner, deGrom allowed six hits, struck out three and walked one. He needs two strikeouts to become the ninth active pitcher and 94th in major league history to reach 2,000.

In three starts against the Angels this season, deGrom has yielded 10 earned runs in 10 innings.

“It was very disappointing,” he said of Thursday night's start. “I needed to go out there and give us some length and wasn’t able to do it. I said I could probably keep going, and they said, ‘Well, we’re not going to risk this right now,’ so we’ll just see how it is tomorrow and I’ll go from there.”

One of baseball’s best pitchers when healthy, deGrom made at least 31 starts per season and pitched to a 2.53 ERA across 622 1/3 innings from 2017-19 with the Mets.

He won NL Cy Young Awards with New York in 2018 and 2019 and led the National League with 255 strikeouts in 2019 and 104 strikeouts during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

But deGrom made only 35 starts because of injuries from 2021-24 and underwent his second Tommy John surgery in June 2023, which sidelined him for much of his first two seasons with Texas in 2023 and 2024.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Australia led all but 150 meters of the women's 4 x 200 freestyle relay, with the team of Inez Miller, Lani Pallister, Hannah Casey and Milla Jansen winning in 7 minutes, 42.40 seconds to lower the country's championship mark of 7:44.12 set at the 2018 Pan Pacs.

Katie Ledecky swam the anchor leg for the U.S., but couldn't overhaul Jansen although she got within a body length in the closing meters. Erin Gemmell, Anna Peplowski, Rylee Erisman and Ledecky took silver in 7:43.10, also going under the old championship mark.

“I've kind of struggled with the 200 individually from a flat start over the last couple years, but I always know I'll have something in me for the relay and I'll pull out a good split,” Ledecky said. “I love swimming that anchor leg.”

McIntosh helped Canada earn the relay bronze.

The U.S. team of Luke Hobson, Aaron Shackell, Patrick Sammon and Gabriel Jett won the men's 4 x 200 free relay in a championship record of 6:59.37. The Americans led the entire race, with Jett's explosive turn off the final wall helping him hold off a charging Sam Short of Australia on the anchor leg.

“I just kind of poured everything on,” Jett said. “I swim with my eyes closed, so I didn't know where I was.”

McIntosh briefly dipped under her own world-record pace early in the 400 IM. McIntosh finished in a championship record time of 4:28.01 after qualifying second-quickest for the eight-woman final at the outdoor pool.

McIntosh was disappointed with her time in the 200 free after losing to Pallister of Australia on opening night of the four-day international meet.

“Just trying to forget about it,” McIntosh said.

Jenna Forrester of Australia was second in 4:31.50. Agostina Hein, an 18-year-old from Argentina, took bronze after coming into the final with the fastest time in preliminaries.

Meg Harris of Australia surprised herself with a victory in the women's 100 freestyle from Lane 6. She touched in 52.60 seconds, beating American Gretchen Walsh, who was second in 52.78 after being 0.01 seconds under world-record pace at the turn. Olivia Wunsch of Australia was third.

American Simon Manuel, the 2016 Olympic champion, finished fourth.

The U.S. went 1-2 in the men's 100. Jack Alexy won in 47.14, lowering his championship-record time of 47.40 from the preliminaries. Teammate Patrick Sammon was second at 47.62. Guilherme Caribe of Brazil was third.

American McKenzie Siroky won the 100 breaststroke for her first international medal. She outdueled Tang Qianting of China down the stretch to touch first in 1:05.32. Tang was second in 1:05.46.

The U.S. swept the 50 backstroke events.

Quintin McCarty won the men's race in 24.51, lowering the championship record set by Isaac Cooper of Australia in the prelims. Cooper took silver.

Katharine Berkoff won the women's race in a career-best 26.90, bettering her championship mark set in the prelims. Teammate Regan Smith was second in 27.14.

American Van Mathias earned his third medal of the meet, winning the 100 breaststroke in 58.02, lowering his championship record from the prelims. He took silver in the 50 butterfly and gold in the world record-setting 4 x 100 mixed medley relay Wednesday.

The men's 400 IM was won by Tomoyuki Matsushita of Japan in 4:06.75. His time erased American Ryan Lochte's championship mark of 4:07.59 set at the 2010 Pan Pacs, also in Irvine.

“Next time I come back to the U.S. I'm going to get gold again,” a smiling Matsushita said through a translator.

American Carson Foster was second.

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The Heisman Trophy winner led one touchdown drive for the Raiders (0-1) in four series — not including a kneel-down at the end of the first half — and finished 10 of 16 for 97 yards and a 6-yard TD pass to Jack Bech.

“I thought he led a good scoring drive as far as getting in and out of the huddle and commanding the group and getting the play calls down,” Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said. “I saw the same guy that we’ve seen in practice. I see an ascending player.”

Mendoza was more critical in his self-evaluation.

“Unfortunately, I let my teammates down today,” Mendoza said. “But it's a growing experience, and I feel like we're all growing. It showed me that I need to grow a lot.”

Mendoza became the first top overall draft selection to throw a touchdown pass in his first preseason game since 2018, when Baker Mayfield had two for Cleveland against the New York Giants.

Mendoza just missed a second touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, throwing beyond the reach of Deven Thompkins. He was sharp at times, threading a 19-yard pass in the second quarter between three defenders to fellow rookie Malik Benson.

While noting that everything came together on that play, including his timing with the receiver, Mendoza said some of his throws were a bit off.

“There's other passes I made that did not have great timing and anticipation,” Mendoza said. “But that was one that was a good connection. You see (starter) Kirk (Cousins) is timing and anticipation — boom, boom, boom. So that's an area I've got to grow in.”

The expected rematch of college football national championship quarterbacks didn't happen because the Cardinals (1-1) decided not to play Carson Beck, who has sore ribs. Mendoza led Indiana to a 27-21 victory over Beck and Miami in the title game in January.

“Being the preseason, we just didn't want to risk it,” Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur said. “It was kind of a bummer for our fan base and (media) and me and all us because we want to see these guys out there.”

Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby also did not play, which wasn't completely unexpected after Kubiak said Tuesday that his playing status was to be determined. Crosby, who underwent knee surgery in January, has participated in training camp.

Teammate Jermod McCoy, who hasn't played in nearly two years because of a torn ACL, played with the second-team defense at cornerback. He was the primary defender on two Cardinals touchdowns.

Each team's starting quarterback played one series, both resulting in touchdowns.

Las Vegas' Cousins was 5 of 6 for 50 yards and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Michael Mayer. Arizona's Jacoby Brissett completed all five passes for 44 yards and a 7-yard TD to Marvin Harrison Jr.

Brissett and former Raider Gardner Minshew combined to go 15 of 15 for 123 yards and three touchdowns in the first half to build a 21-14 lead. That string of completions extended 16 early in the second half before Minshew finally threw an incomplete pass on a rollout to the right.

Rookie Jeremiyah Love, drafted third overall by the Cardinals, made his preseason debut and rushed for 58 yards on 11 carries.

Injury report

Cardinals: Rookie right guard Chase Bisontis, who was drafted in the second round, injured his left knee. LaFleur said the injury appears serious. ... LaFleur said he didn't think Love's ankle injury was a major concern.

Up next

Cardinals: Host Dallas on Aug. 22.

Raiders: At Houston next Thursday.

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“I commented a week ago on that,” Kiffin said after practice in Baton Rouge. “That's the comment that I had and we're moving forward.”

LSU's official online store has removed replica Daniels jerseys from the menu of those for sale, which include the No. 9 of 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and the No. 3 of former star receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Meanwhile, Pickett showed no interest in relinquishing the No. 5 when he spoke with reporters after Thursday's practice.

“I’ve been wearing the number my whole life, since I was 4 years old,” Pickett said. “That was the number I was promised. I wish Jayden the best. Good player — he did real good here.”

Daniels, drafted second overall by the Washington Commanders in 2024, said in a social media post on Thursday that the matter would not affect his preparation for the NFL season.

“I have been locked in on training camp and that has been my No. 1 focus,” Daniels said in the post. “I have a lot of gratitude for my time at LSU and I'm proud of what my teammates and I accomplished there.

“Obviously there are issues to get worked out” with LSU, Daniels continued. “My hope is that it will get done privately. ... I realize the business of football is unique and I trust that this can all be resolved.”

Daniels' statement came in the wake of reports about a letter in which his Miami-based attorney, Adam Kenner, demanded that LSU no longer use his client's name, image or likeness to promote the university or its athletic programs.

Pickett wore a No. 3 jersey as a freshman last year but was wearing No. 5 when August camp opened last week. The 6-foot-5 cornerback is a former five-star recruit who had three interceptions in 2025.

Kiffin said last week that Pickett was promised the opportunity to wear No. 5 when he signed with LSU in December 2024, when Brian Kelly was coaching the Tigers. Kelly was fired in October 2025, and Kiffin was hired at the end of the regular season.

“When a kid’s promised something to come to a school, he should wear it,” Kiffin said during an Aug. 5 media session. “So at that point, I don’t think it’s really my decision. We should honor what he was told.”

Pickett is the first player to wear No. 5 since Daniels left LSU. Under LSU policy, the only number football players cannot wear is No. 20, worn by the late Billy Cannon, who was the Tigers' first Heisman winner in 1959.

Top LSU officials, including athletic director Verge Ausberry, have declined to comment on the matter.

A number of images of Daniels that are on display at LSU would be considered in the public domain, and not subject to any contractual agreements between the university and the quarterback. But LSU has in the past featured Daniels in promotional videos shown in Tiger Stadium or and elsewhere, and it remains to be seen whether LSU might edit some of those out should the dispute become protracted.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow — who won the 2019 Heisman Trophy and led LSU to a national title — declined to comment on the specifics of Daniels' situation after Thursday night’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions. But he said he's had conversations about his No. 9 not being issued to another player.

“They told me that they wouldn’t use it again, but you never know what happens,” he said.

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AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

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In all, three ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthis struck the ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, just off Yemen’s coast, as it was coming into port, killing six people and injuring at least nine others, according to Yemeni authorities.

It was part of an escalating campaign by the Houthis and their first deadly attack this year on a vessel navigating the strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and accounts for roughly 12% of global trade.

“People were burning ... it was a strange scene of doomsday,” said Zaheer Ahmed, a Pakistani crew member recovering at a hospital in the port city of Mokha.

“I shouted for help and a Yemeni soldier came to my aid,” said Ahmed, who was injured in both legs.

All three of the crew members The Associated Press interviewed Wednesday at the hospital described intense fire, panic and damage aboard the ship, which was struck before dawn on Tuesday.

Muhammad Alteno, an Indonesian crew member, said he was in “complete shock” after witnessing another Indonesian crew member — a friend — die in the attack. Alteno said he had tried to rescue his friend, who was trapped inside the room they shared, after the first missile strike.

“But the flames were so intense that I couldn't breathe,” Alteno said. “I managed to escape with some of the (other) crew members.”

Two members of Yemen's government-allied National Resistance Forces were killed in the attack, as were three crew members from Pakistan.

The attack was one of many in recent weeks by the Houthis, who have killed government forces and civilians in an escalating campaign on the government-held city of Mokha and other areas, according to the Yemeni military. The rebel group has also intensified its attacks on troops and oil facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government.

The attacks risk reigniting Yemen’s civil war following a 2022 U.N.-brokered truce, and could open a new front in the Middle East war.

The Houthis declared a blockade several weeks ago on Saudi-linked ships leaving the Bab al-Mandeb strait in retaliation for a yearslong Saudi siege on Yemen and recent attacks on the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa. The Houthis had said they would only stop vessels connected to Saudi Arabia or going in and out of its Red Sea ports.

During a similar blockade it announced during the war in Gaza, the Houthis attacked over 100 vessels before a punishing U.S. and Israeli air campaign put an end to the attacks in early 2025.

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Ezzidin reported from Cairo.

The wildfires across the West Midlands, which saw several houses burned to the ground, have been “one of the most significant” incidents the region’s fire service has ever dealt with, chief fire officer Simon Tuhill said.

A child and three firefighters were taken to the hospital following the wildfire in Stourbridge.

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker described the “multiple fires across our region” as an “extremely worrying and fast-moving situation."

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been kept abreast of the situation and has, according to Parker, pledged to support fire and rescue services in the West Midlands with any additional resources they need.

The fires, the cause of which has yet to be determined and which could take days to put out, came on the hottest day of the year, when the mercury struck 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in west London, a tenth of a degree higher than the previous high set on June 28.

Britain is experiencing its fifth heat wave of the year, with the first recorded in May. The latest extreme heat means 2026 has now had a record four days with temperatures of 36 C (96.8 F) or higher. It also has matched 2022 with two days reaching 38 C.

These are historic temperatures as a result of human-caused climate change.

Nearby France has also endured its fifth heat wave this year and, if anything, the situation is worse. Temperatures in France approached 41 C (106 F) in several areas, from Aquitaine in the southwest to the Rhone River valley in the east, according to the national weather service.

Britain and France ill-equipped for this sort of heat

This summer has shown that both Britain and France are ill-equipped to deal with these levels of heat. Air conditioning is a rarity outside of shops and offices, for example.

In Britain, nurses have collapsed from heat exhaustion while working in hospitals, many housed in aging buildings that lack adequate cooling, the Royal College of Nursing said Thursday.

“When nursing staff are collapsing, feeling dizzy, sick or even being admitted to the very hospitals they work in because their workplaces cannot handle the heat, it shows just how badly they are being failed,” said Nicola Ranger, the college’s chief executive and general secretary.

Wildfire fears remain a clear and present danger

With the land parched and no sign of any meaningful rain coming, authorities across Europe remain on high alert for wildfires.

French firefighters were back in action after a desperate summer and are threatening to go on strike to demand more staff and resources to cope with increasingly extreme weather events.

One broke out late Wednesday in the northern Pas-de-Calais region, and another in Brittany, far from the hotter, drier and more fire-prone regions in southern France. A historic fire devoured forests near Bordeaux last month and pushed a quarter of a million people from their homes.

In northern Greece, more than 300 vacationers and residents were evacuated by sea Thursday after a wildfire swept through a pine forest and threatened seaside homes, authorities said.

The Fire Service said nine water-dropping planes and seven helicopters were assisting 250 firefighters around the Siviri resort on the popular Halkidiki peninsula. There were no initial reports of injuries or serious property damage.

In Britain, which is increasingly looking sandy brown rather than its traditional luscious green, firefighters have been out in force this week trying to contain a wildfire in the New Forest in southern England.

Some 1,017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales this year, according to data from the National Fire Chiefs Council, the same as last year’s record-breaking total.

Though not on the same level as those witnessed in France, Greece and Spain, they provide ample evidence of the need for the U.K. to adjust to a new reality.

Unsurprisingly, drought conditions are spreading

Like many parts of Europe, Britain and France are facing widespread drought conditions that have shriveled crops and drained rivers, heaping pressure on water resources for households, agriculture and the environment, and forcing all parts of society to seek both short- and long-term measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Britain’s Southern Water, which oversees supplies in the south of England, has applied for a rare drought order which would ban businesses from nonessential water use, including cleaning cars and filling nondomestic swimming pools, saying an “exceptional” lack of rain is threatening supplies. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will decide on the application, which would be the first such ban since May 2006.

With temperatures soaring, many people headed to beaches and outdoor pools or found other ways to cool off. In Bordeaux in southwestern France, children and adults sought relief in the city’s iconic “water mirror.” Some frolicked in fountains, splashed their faces and filled up water bottles. Birds too quenched their thirst.

The most intense heat is forecast to move eastward away from Britain and France on Friday and then recede over the weekend.

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Charlton reported from Paris. Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece contributed.

The pregame pomp before the Minnesota Twins played the Philadelphia Phillies — adjacent to the farmland where the 1989 fantasy was filmed — featured 26 members of the Hall of Fame emerging from the outfield corn just as the ghost players did in the movie.

With some of the loudest cheers saved for former Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt and former Twins catcher Joe Mauer, the capacity crowd of about 8,000 at the newly constructed ballpark in northeast Iowa soaked up the surreal atmosphere as the aged stars strolled into the infield for proper introductions.

Fireworks were launched from the cornfield during the national anthem, and Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber followed with his own big bang — a stalk shot to right on Twins starter Taj Bradley's third pitch of the game that set the tone for a 7-1 win on Thursday night.

After stealing the show at the inaugural 2021 event, which was played on the same footprint at a temporary setup that also hosted the 2022 game, Kevin Costner did not appear.

But the star of the film — as the restless farmer Ray Kinsella who reconnects with his late father by playing catch on his front-yard ballfield — narrated the pregame video that helped pump some old-guard nostalgia through the new-school broadcast on global streaming giant Netflix.

Both teams emerged from the corn together to take their places along the lines like on opening day, and Twins All-Star Byron Buxton — who came off the injured list in the afternoon to play — took the microphone to evoke a line from James Earl Jones, who played the author Terence Mann in the movie.

“The one constant through all the years has been baseball," Buxton said before Schwarber followed with a brief script on an idyllic late-summer night after heavy rain moved through the area earlier in the day.

Then came the legends, and living ones at that, unlike those wool-clad lads in the movie.

Schmidt and Steve Carlton wore Phillies uniforms along with Jim Kaat, who played for both teams. Mauer and Bert Blyleven donned Twins jerseys. The others — Andruw Jones, Harold Baines, Fred McGriff, Adrián Beltré, Andre Dawson, Larry Walker, Cal Ripken Jr., Iván Rodríguez, Jim Thome, Scott Rolen, Tony Pérez, Tony La Russa, Jeff Kent, Fergie Jenkins, Joe Torre, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Rollie Fingers, Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman — helped form a half-ring around the diamond to represent about one-third of the Cooperstown contingent that's still alive.

This was the largest such gathering at a ballpark, not including the annual ceremonies at the Hall of Fame in upstate New York, since the All-Star Game in 2008 that feted the final season at old Yankee Stadium.

Phillies manager Don Mattingly relished the brief pregame mingle before the grand entrance, with many in the group contemporaries of his as a player in the 1980s and 1990s and a few others in Jones and Kent he was able to coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“It was definitely good to see the boys,” Mattingly said.

No place evokes baseball and family nostalgia like the Field of Dreams

Before the game, Buxton played catch with his 12-year-old son on the nearby movie site that remains open to the public for no cost on non-event days. Twins manager Derek Shelton did the same with his 78-year-old father, a former educator who coached him on his high school baseball team. Shelton later complained that his arm was in weaker shape.

“You don’t get old enough that an experience like that is not emotional to be able to do something with your father,” Shelton said.

Mattingly, whose son just happens to be the club's general manager, found himself harkening back to Indiana childhood ballgames with his brothers upon arrival on the team bus.

“This place reminds me of when I was a kid,” Mattingly said. "You’d go down a dirt road, and all of sudden you’d see a cornfield and then there’d be a field there."

Both teams wore throwback uniforms — the Twins in home threads from their first season in 1961 and the Phillies in road jerseys circa 1940 — in step with the hand-operated scoreboard in right field.

The permanent ballpark built for all kinds of events — including the opportunity to host MLB games on a recurring basis — also has plenty of amenities with the video board in left field, a state-of-the-art sound system and, of course, indoor plumbing.

The feel of the farm was just as strong as the buzz of the ballpark, with natural sponsor John Deere pledging $100,000 per home run hit to hunger-relief organization Feeding America.

The special environment didn't erase the circumstance of the stretch run of the regular season, though, with both the Twins and Phillies in the thick of their respective wild-card races.

“We’re not in Minnesota for three days," Phillies star Bryce Harper said, "but we’re still playing the Twins three times and we've still got to win some games."

Even in defeat, the Twins enjoyed taking part in something bigger than simply the 123rd game on their schedule.

“As you grow in this game and get older and play more games, the shine of being in the big leagues and walking out on a big league field starts to wear off,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “Moments like this kind of bring that excitement and that energy and the goosebumps similar to your debut day.”

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Qusai Abu Rida was holed up inside with his teenage son when settlers cut the water and electricity, leaving them to drink well water as dozens of Israeli settlers erected tents outside. His Palestinian American brother in Ohio, who owns the house, watched the siege unfold on security cameras and called for updates.

The standoff in the northern West Bank town of Qusra is the latest in a wave of settler violence convulsing the territory, which Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and which would make up the main part of a future Palestinian state.

On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee referred to the settlers as “terrorists” — a word American officials usually reserve for Palestinian militants. It was an unusually sharp rebuke from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has given unprecedented support to Israeli settlement over the years.

Mounting criticism of Israel from the United States could pose a challenge for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is trying to maintain good relations with his country's closest ally as he mobilizes ultranationalist voters ahead of a tough battle for reelection in October.

Settlers have remained in the area despite the army intervening

On Sunday, dozens of settlers arrived at the homes in Qusra, blocking doors and preventing occupants from leaving, according to the families.

Israeli troops have intervened multiple times, but the settlers keep returning, said Loui Ridi, the homeowner in Ohio who spells the family name differently. Rights groups have long accused Israeli forces of turning a blind eye to settler violence or of intervening to protect the settlers.

“It's a cycle,” Ridi said. “They need to be prevented from the entire area, not just removed and moved 100 feet away so when the (Israeli military) leaves, they come back.”

On Tuesday, Israel’s military condemned the siege as “illegal, reprehensible, and unacceptable,” and declared Qusra a closed military zone. The next day, dozens of settlers returned, tried to block the road with rocks and clashed with Israeli soldiers, according to video shot by village residents.

On Thursday, the military said troops dismantled “two illegal outposts” in Qusra and a nearby village, and detained one Israeli. It said more soldiers were sent to “carry out defensive missions and patrols.”

Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi said that Israeli forces evacuated more than a dozen homes to take up positions in the village. The settlers, though removed from their outposts, remain in other parts of the village, he added.

Abu Rida said soldiers gave the occupants of all the homes 30 minutes to evacuate and move into one of the besieged houses. The military said the soldiers have been told to allow families to remain in their homes and not to operate in them, but families have not yet returned, Abu Rida said.

It's still not clear when families in the besieged area will be able to get basic supplies and what would happen to their homes. Israel’s military said the families had basic supplies like food and water when it checked in on them on Wednesday.

But Ridi said Thursday that after water and electricity lines had been reconnected, settlers cut them again.

Settler violence has surged in recent years

Netanyahu's government, the most ultranationalist and religious in Israel's history, has presided over a surge of settlement construction in the West Bank. It views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

On Thursday, members of Netanyahu's Cabinet joined in celebrating the rebuilding of a settlement elsewhere in the West Bank that had been dismantled in 2005. "The era of withdrawals and expulsions has ended. The era of construction and Zionism begins,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said at the ceremony.

During Trump's first term, he signaled broad acceptance of the settlements, which most of the international community views as illegal and an obstacle to peace. At the start of his second term, he lifted sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on settlers accused of violence.

Huckabee, a longtime supporter of the settlements, has condemned the rising violence.

“Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting,” Huckabee said in his post about the events in Qusra. He said the embassy has been coordinating with the Israeli military and police.

Qusra has been a focus of settler attacks

The U.N. humanitarian office in April said it had recorded more settler attacks in Qusra than in any other West Bank community in 2026. A 25-year-old resident was shot and killed by an off-duty Israeli reservist in March, and eight others have been wounded in the attacks, according to the U.N.

Violence between settlers and Palestinians last month left two Israelis and four Palestinians dead in a nearby northern West Bank village. In the aftermath, a mosque in Qusra was set on fire and the word “revenge” was graffitied on its wall in Hebrew.

A total of 87 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers this year, according to the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry. Israel says some were involved in terrorism, which it defines broadly to include militant attacks and rock-throwing. Palestinian authorities do not distinguish between militants and civilians when recording deaths in the conflict.

Palestinian officials have reported 1,476 attacks by Israeli settlers in 2026, including several instances in which settlers seized Palestinian homes and property.

The military says it works to maintain law and order in the territory, and Israeli Cabinet ministers have blamed the attacks on a small group of young extremists acting outside the law.

Some 2.8 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule in the West Bank, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited autonomy in population centers. The settlers, who now number over 560,000, are Israeli citizens. There have been no Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in over a decade.

“This is not a life that can continue this way,” said Wadi, the mayor of Qusra. “Too much pressure eventually causes an explosion.”

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This story has been updated to correct the first name of the homeowner to Loui.

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Metz reported from Jerusalem.

The slowdown Thursday for people in the capital, Taipei, and six other cities and localities was part of the last phase of the island's annual Han Kuang exercises, military drills that began last week and aim to model a response to a possible Chinese military invasion.

Telecommunication operators slowed mobile web traffic to 256 Kbps, making it difficult to exchange anything other than texts. Usually, residents can access 5G in major cities.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te apologized to the public for the inconvenience, “We ask for your understanding and support, as this is a necessary drill,” he said.

Taiwan has stepped up the intensity of the Han Kuang drills, incorporating reservists and more civilians into the exercises with a focus on real-world scenarios. Previously, urban resilience drills in Taipei went largely unnoticed as they were not disruptive. For example, air raid drills in the metro station didn’t stem the flow of passengers.

This year, integrating civilians and coordinating with local governments was a key part of the exercises, according to the Taipei Times.

At a Taipei metro station Thursday afternoon, passengers waited to be released after the station's gates were shut for the simulation as part of air raid drills.

Allen Hsieh, a tourist from Hong Kong who was among the passengers who waited 30 minutes to be let out of the station, said he found the exercises to be convincing.

“The exercise did not cause me any inconvenience. I know that Taiwan needs to conduct exercises, given the current situation. I can understand that,” he said. “I did not expect it to be so real. I thought I would only receive text messages.”

Lai also visited a hospital as it simulated how to relocate its critical operations to underground facilities as part of the drills.

Taiwan is ramping up its defense exercises and purchases in response to heightened tensions with China, which claims the island as its own. China sends military planes, as well as Coast Guard ships and other vessels towards Taiwan on a daily basis and carries out large-scale military exercises from time to time.

Between Wednesday to Thursday morning, 18 Chinese warplanes and 11 navy ships operated around Taiwan, the island's Defense Ministry said.

The warning is typical of the harsh rhetoric that North Korea often deploys ahead of major U.S.-South Korean military exercises and suggests the country could conduct more missile tests in coming days. Experts say North Korea has often used its rivals' drills as a pretext to ramp up its testing activities to expand its weapons arsenals and promote public support for leader Kim Jong Un.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries are to start their major summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises Monday and have described their scope as similar to past years. The allies have said the 11-day exercises are meant to strengthen their readiness against North Korean threats and reiterated that they are defensive in nature.

In a statement carried by state media Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the U.S.-South Korean training “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” that is triggering a different level of instability in the region.

“It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent,” the statement said. North Korea “will more clearly express its stance on the enemies to cope with any threats and challenges through the responsible and decisive exercise of the right to legitimate self-defense.”

North Korea also said the drills would be of a “more serious provocative nature and dangerousness than last year” and involve all the military assets and war-fighting modes of the U.S. and South Korea, a claim that those countries haven’t said.

A U.S. military statement issued Friday said U.S. and South Korean forces will practice joint operations in complex scenarios, including a live-fire exercise to test joint precision targeting and maneuver, a wet gap crossing, and distribution of prepositioned military equipment.

North Korea's neighbors detected two ballistic missile launches off the North's east coast in the past week. North Korea hasn’t commented on the launches, but outside experts assess they were likely meant to protest the U.S.-South Korean drills or upgrade its weapons systems.

Kim has ignored the U.S. and South Korea’s offers to resume diplomacy and focused on taking steps to bolster his nuclear arsenal since his diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump broke down in 2019. Experts say Kim will likely eventually aim to use his advancing nuclear program to win greater U.S. concessions such as extensive sanctions relief.

North Korea has expanded cooperation with Russia in recent years by supplying troops and ammunition to support its war against Ukraine in return for economic and military assistance. North Korea has also recently pushed to deepen ties with China, its biggest trading partner.

The bridge — known as Nero's Bridge, named for the former Roman emperor — once connected Rome’s city center with the Tiber’s right bank.

“Nero is the most famous person linked to this area, because precisely in Nero’s circus, where the Vatican is now located, the Apostle Peter was martyred,” said Antonella Bonini, an archaeologist at Rome’s cultural heritage superintendency.

“However, scholars consider the bridge to be older (than Nero’s era) — built by Caligula, Nero’s uncle,” she said, adding that it existed as early as 39 AD.

The Tiber’s flow has fallen below 80 cubic meters (2,825 cubic feet) per second, about half the historic average for the month of July, according to Giovanni Giganti, coordinator of the Rome civil protection service’s center for water management.

“We are facing a major water crisis. And it is a crisis that is also due to the fact that this winter we did have quite abundant rainfall, but then the dry periods ... were quite long,” Giganti said.

It was the program’s sixth state championship — and fifth under McClure. But the 2025 title was especially sweet after Antonian had fallen in the state final each of the previous two seasons.

“A lot of people thought like it was like a rebuilding year — but all of us, we were like, ‘No, this is our year’,” said Antonian senior right side Lucy Rote.

One of the ways the Apaches finally got over the hump was through McClure’s motivational tactics.

It started with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and has now shifted to scenes from the show “Ted Lasso,” where the team’s “Believe” sign originated.

“We have a lot of Ted Lasso in this gym,” said Rote. “I think it’s I think it is really inspiring, because a lot of the clips are very relevant to what we’re going through, especially last year.”

To that same tune, Antonian believes it can defend its title in 2026.

“If you’re having a bad day, it’s OK, because you still have that belief that it’s going to get better,” McClure said. “Even if you’re having a great day, there’s still that belief that it can still get better.”

The Apaches continued their winning ways, opening their season the same way they ended it in November — with a victory — defeating Davenport 3-0.

“We’re definitely meshing and becoming more friends,” said Apaches senior middle blocker Maci Cantu. ”I feel like we definitely, like, push each other to become the best version of ourselves.”

“Humble but hungry; that’s what I see with this team,” McClure said. “They’re still very humble, even though they’re reigning state champions. It was great winning, but we’re not done yet.”

Read more reporting and watch highlights and full games on the Big Game Coverage page.

They’re headed to the LLWS for the second time in the last three years. In the past, they finished the Little League World Series tournament as the fourth-best team in the world. Flash forward to now, they told KSAT how they plan on taking this program further.

“Our defense is going to be one of the best in the USA,” said Kase Yarbough, who plays shortstop for the team.

“We are a power defense team,” he added.

“We don’t crack under pressure. We exceed over pressure,” said Walker Yost, another shortstop star.

Yost also plays second and outfield.

“If we face really good players, we could probably beat them if we’re doing good.”

Head coach Greg Yost has been coaching for a decade. He knows how to win. Yost said the goal isn’t a world title. It’s making sure his team is having fun in the wins and learning from the losses.

Even being this far is something Yost is proud of.

“There’s a lot of good baseball in Texas,” said Yost.

“I do think they’re battle-tested and they’re ready to take on the United States and whatever teams we see domestically,” he added. “Just winning the regional tournament is a big win. Do I think they can have success in Williamsport? Absolutely.”

Boerne will play on Aug. 21. Their opponent is TBD.

Read also:

• Boerne heads to Little League World Series after judge dissolves temporary restraining order

The 18-year-old woman said the man rushed into the vehicle after she left it running to make the delivery in the 10000 block of Prescott Drive, according to the preliminary report.

Officers responded around 12:15 p.m., the report said, and later deployed its helicopter to locate the vehicle.

The SUV was found roughly three miles down the road in the 7200 block of Leafwood Drive, SAPD said. Police were not authorized to pursue an arrest at the time, so they said they surrounded the vehicle instead.

An 18-year-old man bailed out of the SUV and ran about a block away from police on foot, according to police at the scene. He was later detained for questioning.

The man’s identity and charges are unclear at this time.

SAPD said the investigation is ongoing.

Read also:

• San Antonio Spurs’ full 2026-27 regular season schedule release reflects resurgence in popularity

The dismissal marks the latest setback in swing states’ efforts to prosecute fake electors who tried to keep Trump in the White House after he lost to Joe Biden in 2020.

Three other fake elector cases in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia have been dismissed. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes recently dismissed her office’s criminal case but vowed to bring it back to a grand jury in hopes of securing another indictment. The dismissal was a legal maneuver aimed at getting around a deadline for starting new grand jury proceedings after Mayes lost an appeal earlier in June.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is also running for governor as a Democrat, brought charges relating to forgery and “offering a false instrument for filing or record” against the six Nevada Republicans, who pleaded not guilty.

His office plans to appeal the ruling.

The defendants included Michael McDonald, the chair of the Nevada Republican Party, and Jesse Law, the former chair of the Clark County Republican Party.

In a Thursday statement, McDonald’s defense attorney Richard Wright called the attorney general’s plans to appeal “hasty” and “premature” and said continuing the case was politically motivated.

After the 2020 election, the six Republican electors gathered outside of the Nevada Legislature to sign a certificate giving the state’s six electoral votes to Trump, despite Biden winning the state by more than 30,000 votes. The ceremony was broadcast online, and the video footage was used as evidence in the case.

The case has revolved around the defendants’ intent behind submitting the certificate.

Prosecutors argue the defendants intended for their documents to be mistaken for actual electoral votes that then-Vice President Mike Pence would count on Jan. 6, 2021.

The defendants say submitting the certificate was an act of “political theater” designed to publicize their concerns about the election. They were preserving their rights to challenge the official election results and had no intent to deceive a government agency into accepting the GOP certificate as real, their attorneys argued.

Nevada Judge Mary Kay Holthus agreed.

She found there was a lack of evidence that showed the electors intended to deceive government officials, and she determined that the state failed to disclose exculpatory evidence to the grand jury.

“The fact that Defendants openly announced both their actions and their asserted purpose, rather than concealing their conduct or attempting to secretly induce governmental reliance, weighs against a reasonable inference that they acted with fraudulent intent,” Holthus wrote in her ruling.

Jurisdiction had also been an issue, but the case eventually landed in Clark County, which is home to Las Vegas and leans Democratic.

The case was originally scheduled for a trial in Nevada's capital of Carson City, but the attorney general's office voluntarily dismissed the case to pursue it instead in Southern Nevada, which leans more Democratic.

Courts have dismissed similar cases in Michigan and Georgia, and a special prosecutor dropped a federal case in late 2024 that charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Those cases ended after Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. A fake electors case is ongoing in Wisconsin.

At the World Athletics U20 Championships last week in Eugene, Oregon, Taylor put sprinters everywhere on notice.

He won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m races, becoming the first male to win gold in those three events at the U20 Championships.

Taylor’s 9.94 in the 100m is a personal best. His 19.83 in the 200m is a championship record. His 38.16 in the 4x100m is a U20 world record. His anchor leg time of 8.75 seconds is the stuff of legends.

KSAT 12 Sports anchor Larry Ramirez sat down with Taylor before he left San Antonio for Texas Tech to join the Red Raiders track and field program.

Read also:

• San Antonio’s Tate Taylor completes sprint double with 200-meter gold at World U20 Championships
• Harlan High School product Tate Taylor continues rapid ascension using coach’s guidance

Discussion

At 300 PM GMT (1500 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Cristobal was located near latitude 39.4 North, longitude 36.8 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the northeast near 16 mph (26 km/h) and this motion is expected to continue today.

Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. Cristobal is expected to dissipate later tonight.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1018 mb (30.06 inches).

Watches and Warnings

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Land Hazards

None.

The vote was 7-2, with Councilmembers Misty Spears and Marc Whyte voting against the measure.

Councilwomen Marina Alderete Gavito and Phyllis Viagran were absent from Thursday’s vote. Viagran later said she would have voted against it, citing concerns over the speed of the election process.

The proposal would continue the ⅛ cent sales tax dedicated to Pre-K 4 SA for another 20 years. The current authorization was approved by voters in 2020 and runs through June 2029. Voters first approved the dedicated tax in 2012.

The 20-year proposal is the longest funding authorization Pre-K 4 SA has sought. Previous authorizations have been eight years at a time.

District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, a former educator, has been one of the proposal’s strongest advocates.

He said the current eight-year funding structure doesn’t give the program enough financial certainty to make major long-term investments.

“The problem with the 8 years is that an 8-year authorization, is that it doesn’t leave a lot of financial stability or certainty for financial institutions,” said the councilman.

McKee-Rodriguez added that certainty could allow Pre-K 4 SA to make larger investments in its facilities and programs and ultimately expand access to more San Antonio families.

Other city leaders who support Pre-K 4 SA believe the longer authorization could help the program address changing community needs, including expanding infant and toddler care, growing Pre-K 3 sites, strengthening partnerships with childcare providers and supporting the early-childhood workforce.

McKee-Rodriguez also argued that families are struggling with the cost of childcare, making access to affordable early childhood education an economic issue as well as an educational one.

He said the long-term commitment could give families and the program more certainty.

He pushed back on concerns about locking in funding for 20 years, arguing that voters and future leaders would still have options.

“Even though this is reauthorizing Pre-K for SA for 20 years, there’s always the power of the vote,” said McKee-Rodriguez. “And in 10, 15 years, we find that the program is not necessary, or it’s achieved all of its goals, we can then begin to transition out of that.”

The program’s Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Baray, told City Council on Thursday the program has directly served more than 14,000 students at its own centers and supports an additional 13,000 children through 119 local schools and child development centers.

The first cohort of the program, which started in 2013, had roughly 650 4-year-olds who are now beginning their senior year of high school.

The program now operates four education centers and serves about 2,000 students each year. It has also expanded beyond its traditional focus on 3- and 4-year-olds, recently adding infant and toddler classrooms at its South Education Center. That expansion comes as demand for childcare remains high.

Spears, who represents District 9, said her vote was not a rejection of Pre-K 4 SA itself. Her concern is the length and timing of the proposed funding commitment and whether the city has enough information about how the money would be spent over 20 years.

“They were asking for funding without producing a strategic plan for how they would use the extension or reauthorization that would go for 20 years,” Spears told KSAT.

She added she wants to see a clear plan before asking taxpayers to commit to the funding for two decades. She also questioned how the needs of education and San Antonio families could change over that amount of time.

“You need to be able to make sure what you’re doing is effective and where you want to continue spending that taxpayer money,” Spears said.

Her concerns were echoed by Whyte, who also voted against putting the measure on the ballot. He shared Spears’ concerns about the length of the proposed tax commitment and the lack of details about how the additional funding would be used, factors that ultimately swayed his vote.

One of the biggest questions surrounding Thursday’s vote is why voters are being asked to make the decision now when the current authorization doesn’t expire until 2029. Some argue waiting would make long-term planning more difficult.

McKee-Rodriguez told KSAT that Pre-K 4 SA currently leases two of its four education centers and would like to eventually move into buildings it owns. He reiterated that a 20-year funding horizon could make those kinds of investments more financially realistic.

However, those on the opposite end said that reason is precisely why voters need more information before committing to 20 years of funding.

For families, supporters say the long-term investment could mean more access to early childhood education and childcare. For taxpayers, the decision represents a commitment to continue dedicating a portion of local sales-tax revenue to the program for two decades.

City Council has until Monday to officially order the November election. They will discuss further details of the program again on Sept. 1.

After that, San Antonio voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to approve the 20-year Pre-K 4 SA funding reauthorization.

Read also:

• Tax increase part of San Antonio’s $4.4B draft budget

The document states Angel Jacinta Hernandez, 31, was wanted since June 29 on two counts of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony. She additionally faces a charge of failure to identify fugitive from justice by refusing or giving false information, a Class-B misdemeanor.

On June 14, Hernandez and several other people allegedly approached two people wearing Knicks clothing as they walked in the 600 block of Market Street the night after their team beat the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals, according to the affidavit.

Details in the document describe Hernandez, with a knife in hand, demanding the Knicks fans to surrender their clothing.

The affidavit said Hernandez and the group she was with allegedly assaulted the New York fans and robbed them of their merchandise.

Among the group was Abcdee Rodriguez, 30, who was arrested weeks later on the same felony charges as Hernandez.

The assaulted pair snapped a photo of the vehicle Hernandez was in before she fled from the scene. The San Antonio Police Department said that information helped narrow down potential suspects.

On June 29, the pair selected Hernandez in a lineup of potential suspect photos, the affidavit said.

SAPD took Hernandez into custody Wednesday night and booked her into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center just after midnight Thursday. Her bond is set at $172,500, jail records show.

Read also:

• Affidavit: South Side woman accused of robbing two Knicks fans at knifepoint after NBA Finals game
• Knicks fan says father was ‘lying in a pool of his own blood’ after assault outside River Walk hotel
• ‘An unprovoked attack’: Knicks fan assaulted after NBA Finals in San Antonio speaks out for first time

The Tennessee man was executed for killing a motel maid in 1985 and the Oklahoma man for killing his girlfriend in 2003. In Alabama, a man was put to death for killing a 5-year-old girl he had offered to pay her mother to abuse.

Having three executions in one day was a coincidence in scheduling, but reflected a trend of increased executions in the U.S. Eleven states executed a total of 47 people in 2025, the highest number since 2009. With Thursday's injections, 22 executions have been carried out this year in the U.S. with nearly a dozen more scheduled.

The last time three executions were carried out on the same day was on Jan. 7, 2010, when Louisiana, Ohio and Texas put inmates to death. Three executions were scheduled on the same day in 2018, but only one went forward after a Texas man was reprieved and Alabama prison officials had problems with the IV line.

Florida executed two men the same day in July and has executed 31 overall since the start of 2025.

Oklahoma prisoner said he regretted killing his girlfriend

Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, 70, received an injection at the state penitentiary in McAlester in Oklahoma's third execution this year.

Cuesta-Rodriguez turned his head toward two relatives watching and mouthed “I love you” but had no last statement. He was declared dead at 10:13 a.m. after several minutes of labored breathing.

Convicted of murdering his girlfriend at their Oklahoma City home in 2003, Cuesta-Rodriguez had said he regretted killing Olimpia Fisher and told a board he didn’t want clemency. Fisher, 43, planned to leave Cuesta-Rodriguez when he shot her.

Fisher’s daughters, Cinthya Allen and Katya Wallis, said in a statement they hoped the execution brings awareness to preventing domestic violence, adding they are “raising our families to reflect the love and faith in God that she taught us.”

Tennessee man challenged execution after previous one was halted

Anthony Darrell Hines was executed in Tennessee for the 1985 stabbing death of Catherine Jean Jenkins, 54, as she worked as a motel maid in Kingston Springs.

Hines said “not right now, thank you” when asked if he had final words, then said, “Tell my son hello."

Hines' son witnessed the execution. He reconnected with his father four days earlier after not seeing him since he was 3 years old.

Minutes after the execution chamber curtain opened, Hines asked his spiritual adviser: “How long do I have?” Soon afterward, witnesses heard groans and heavy breathing while the adviser put her hands on his shoulders and prayed. Hines was pronounced dead at 10:43 a.m.

Afterward, Jenkins’ son said his mother had only a plastic spray bottle to defend against Hines' knife.

“I hope he felt severe pain because what he did to my mother is nothing compared to what he may have just gone through,” Dennis Jenkins said.

Hines' execution comes three months after another man's attempted lethal injection was stopped after medical staff couldn’t establish a backup IV line for over an hour.

Hines, 66, appealed unsuccessfully, saying the doctor who oversaw the May execution was unqualified and likely to botch his execution as well.

Alabama man asked to be executed swiftly

Alabama executed Jeremy Williams for the 2021 rape and murder of the young Georgia girl.

“I want to thank God for forgiving me for my sins so I can meet him in peace,” Williams said on the gurney. He rocked his head back and forth, smiled and appeared to sing or speak before becoming still. A member of his family cried quietly throughout, and Williams was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m.

Williams, who pleaded guilty to killing Kamarie Holland, had written the Alabama attorney general’s office seeking an immediate execution date so his victim’s family “may have some type of closure.”

The 42-year-old raped and strangled Holland after offering her mother $2,500 for the child to perform a sex act, prosecutors said, adding he filmed his attack.

“The unspeakable nature of this crime is exactly why we have the death penalty statute,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement afterward.

The mother is serving a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to sex trafficking.

Russell County District Attorney Richard Chancey described Kamarie’s final moments as “horrific.”

"That baby didn’t die in peace,” he said at a later news conference, recalling Williams' last words about dying in peace.

Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor, who called the case the worst he'd investigated in 39 years of law enforcement, said he believed Williams sought swift execution over worries about how he would be treated in prison.

"He didn’t want to look over his shoulder for 30 years, in my opinion,” Taylor said.

It was Alabama’s first execution this year. A nitrogen gas execution was blocked in June after a federal judge ruled the method unconstitutional.

Williams also was a suspect in the 2005 death of his infant daughter in Alaska, but charges weren't filed until 2022.

Corey Holland, Kamarie’s father, had said she was an exuberant child who loved princesses and made people laugh.

“She loved playing dress-up, all her little Halloween costumes and her princess stuff I got her,” he said.

___

This story has been revised to correct that the Alabama man offered to pay the mother, but didn't actually do so. It also was updated to correct the name of the Russell County Sheriff. He is Heath Taylor, not Heather Taylor.

___

Associated Press writers Jeffrey Collins and Hallie Golden contributed.

The use of uncertified teachers comes as districts across Texas struggle to fill classrooms.

As part of KSAT Investigates’ “Dangerous Lessons” investigation earlier this year, we found Texas lost over 4,600 teachers between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.

That shortage forced districts to compete for a limited pool of certified educators, particularly in hard-to-fill subjects.

“We’re all competing for that one or two math teachers amongst 15 or 16 districts,” South San Antonio ISD Superintendent Saul Hinojosa said.

South San ISD is among the districts that hired uncertified teachers, but Hinojosa said the district spent the past several years working to reduce that number.

“If we were to go to a doctor’s office, I don’t think anybody would be wanting to be operated on by a physician who doesn’t have that credential,” Hinojosa said.

Since the district has worked to decrease the number of uncertified teachers in classrooms, Hinojosa said the district has already seen improvements in subjects such as reading and math.

“We have already seen the impact of having better qualified staff this past year,” Hinojosa said. “It means that we’re on the right track. It means we’re making the right decisions.”

Requirements for Texas teacher certification

There are five requirements to become a certified teacher in Texas, according to the Texas Education Agency.

• Obtain a Bachelor’s Degree 
• Complete an educator preparation program 
• Pass certification exams
• Submit a state application after all requirements are met
• Complete fingerprinting and national background check

Where are uncertified teachers working?

The numbers show uncertified teachers made up about 3% of the more than 127,000 people who taught in Bexar County during the school year.

Data shows the reliance on uncertified teachers varied significantly from district to district.

Edgewood ISD had the highest rate of uncertified teachers in Bexar County during the last school year, with about one out of every five teachers lacking a state certification.

“We’ve been taking lots of measures to be proactive about it, but it’s nothing we didn’t foresee happening,” Edgewood ISD Superintendent Dr. Eduardo Hernandez said.

Hernandez said the district’s focus is on ensuring students still have quality educators in their classrooms.

“My attitude towards it is we still need a quality teacher in every classroom,” Hernandez said, “so how do we develop from within and then, of course, attract and retain teachers as usual.”

The use of uncertified teachers comes as districts across Texas struggle to fill classrooms.

Uncertified teachers lead to learning loss, research shows

Jacob Kirksey, an associate professor of education policy at Texas Tech University, has spent years researching the impact of uncertified teachers on Texas students.

“My research shows, on average, it links to learning loss of about three months in math and four months in reading for students,” Kirksey said.

He also raised concerns about what the increasing use of uncertified teachers could mean for the profession.

“If we legitimize the hiring of uncertified teachers,” Kirksey said, “what we’re doing is we’re essentially saying that just anyone from off the street can go in and lead a classroom of kids.”

“Is there a place in Texas schools for uncertified teachers?” asked KSAT Investigates reporter Daniela Ibarra.

“Yes, there is a place in Texas schools for uncertified teachers, but it is not in elementary classrooms,” said Kirksey. “It is not special education classrooms. It is not in kindergarten classrooms.”

Parents divided over uncertified teachers

KSAT asked viewers on social media to share their experiences with uncertified teachers and received hundreds of responses.

Some parents said they appreciate people who are willing to step into classrooms amid the teacher shortage, but believe educators teaching core subjects should be certified.

“I appreciate those willing to step into the classroom, but I believe educators teaching core subjects like math and science--especially in STEM schools-- should be certified,” commented Michele Rosales Resurez, who shared that her own daughter had an uncertified math teacher in middle school.

“To [the teacher’s] credit, my daughter liked the teacher,” Rosales Resurez added, “but many students struggled to meet expectations, likely due in part to the lack of consistency.”

Other parents defended the practice.

“A certification doesn’t define the teacher’s ability to teach,” commented Kirstin Butterworth. “Some ‘uncertified’ teachers even have higher test scores than seasoned ‘certified’ teachers.”

New certification requirements take effect

Texas law requires those teaching core classes to be certified by the start of the 2029-30 school year.

Starting this school year, Texas requires K-5 teachers who teach reading or math to be certified, unless their school district received an extension.

KSAT Investigates checked the state data and found that more than half of the school districts with schools in Bexar County received an extension.

• Boerne ISD
• Comal ISD
• East Central ISD
• Edgewood ISD
• Judson ISD
• Northside ISD
• San Antonio ISD
• Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD
• Somerset ISD
• South San Antonio ISD
• Southwest ISD

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

Yemeni soldier killed in clashes with Houthis

At least one government soldier was killed and another critically wounded in clashes with the Houthis in the mountainous province of Taiz, Yemeni military officials told The Associated Press.

The fighting came as part of a spate of recent Houthi attacks on government-held areas across the country. Dozens of government troops have been killed since last week, the Yemeni military said.

The Houthis also said they launched another drone attack on an Aramco oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials did not immediately comment on the reported attack in the city of Jazan. Last weekend, the Houthis fired drones at the refinery, where the Saudi Energy Ministry reported a fire but no casualties.

Last month, the Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi shipping, threatening another key trade route in the region.

US carrier heads toward Middle East after issues reported on long-deployed USS Lincoln

The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln.

The Lincoln has been supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and its deployment has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 260 days.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Thursday that reports of trouble on the carrier were “completely misrepresented.”

Speaking during a trip to Panama, he said the U.S. military could maintain the blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely, “because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have and we’ll continue to.”

The USS George Washington left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week, a Navy statement said. The carrier, along with a cruiser and a destroyer, have since been spotted crossing the Singapore Strait.

A Navy official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail sensitive ship details, confirmed that the Washington was in the Strait of Malacca, which links the Pacific and Indian oceans and puts the carrier on a course to head into the Indian Ocean. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the Washington would replace the Lincoln as one of the two aircraft carriers now stationed in the Middle East.

The move would leave the waters of the Pacific without a U.S. carrier presence for an unknown period of time.

— Konstantin Toropin in Washington

Peace laureate calls for UN pressure to resolve Yemen conflict

Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, told the U.N. Security Council in a video briefing Thursday that Yemen is at greater risk of returning to large-scale conflict than at any time since a 2022 truce paused the fighting.

Yemen faces “catastrophe” from rising hunger and from health services crumbling amid the fighting, said U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher. He said 6 million people in Yemen face emergency levels of food insecurity bordering on famine, “the highest number globally.”

Yemeni Nobel peace laureate Tawakkol Karman told reporters outside the chamber that Houthi rebels bear the primary responsibility for the “collapse of the state” in her home country.

But the human rights campaigner also blamed Iran for backing the Houthis, Saudi Arabia for its intervention on behalf of the government ousted by the Houthis, the United Arab Emirates for its involvement in the conflict and the international community for its failure to do enough to protect civilians.

Karman was invited to brief the U.N. Security Council as an independent civil society voice on Yemen, but was blocked from speaking because of “strong opposition,” Danish Deputy Ambassador Sandra Jensen Landi said. Instead, Karman spoke to reporters outside the council chamber.

Iran and Oman working to clean oil spills off their coasts

Oil spills spreading off the coasts of Iran and Oman are raising concerns about environmental damage as oil shipments have come under fire in the Iran war.

Iran said Thursday it's working to clean up an oil spill off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Images distributed by Iran’s semiofficial news agency ISNA showed oil fouling the island's beaches.

While Iran hasn't said what caused the spill, the firm TankerTrackers.com says it appears to have started with an Iranian attack on a bulk carrier off Oman. Iran has repeatedly attacked shipping in the strait since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

Oman is responding to another spill in the Arabian Sea, coming from a tanker grounded off its southern coast. The tanker Caroline Bezengi — a sanctioned vessel believed to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” — has been grounded since reporting an explosion in June. No party has claimed responsibility and the cause is unknown.

A British maritime risk and response company said Thursday it has been hired to salvage the tanker and stop the oil leak off Oman. Oil from the ship has been spreading for weeks, reaching shores hundreds of kilometers (miles) north of the vessel.

JD Vance says Iran war will end with US in stronger position

Vice President JD Vance appeared to be lowering expectations for the Strait of Hormuz to return to the way it was before the war. He predicted in an interview on Fox News Channel that the war will end with the U.S. in a stronger position, with Iran not having a nuclear weapon, and with the Strait of Hormuz “returned to a place where oil and gas prices are stable for the American people.”

He did not say anything about the strait being open and toll-free for transiting ships, as he had in the past.

Vance’s comments also seemed to suggest that the administration was more acutely focused on the economic impact of the war than the original aims of the war itself.

“That’s goal number one: keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country,” he said.

The second goal, according to Vance, is to ensure that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon.

Kushner will head to Middle East for talks on Gaza

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and negotiator Jared Kushner will travel to the Middle East next week to try to advance plans for an end to the conflict in Gaza after a deal recently announced by the Trump administration ran into Israeli opposition.

An official with the Board of Peace, the body Trump established to oversee the fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, said Kushner, board high representative Nickolay Mladenov, and executive board member and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would arrive in Israel on Sunday.

The group will then travel to Cairo, where meetings of a Palestinian technocratic group set to assume control of Gaza under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal have been taking place for the past several months, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because planning for details of the trip has not yet been finalized,

The trip was reported earlier by Axios.

— Matthew Lee in Washington

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Click here for full AP coverage on developments in the West Bank.

The call for quiet was part of last-ditch efforts to find anyone else alive in the aftermath of the 7.4 magnitude quake that struck the South American country Monday, killing more than 280 people and leaving hundreds more missing.

“Unfortunately, we are reaching a point where the probability of finding survivors is dwindling,” said David Santiago Tamayo, director of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, in a press conference Thursday night. “But the mission is to never stop searching and find all those reported missing.”

Aid agencies consider the first two to three days after a quake to be the prime window for retrieving survivors. People trapped in debris can live longer if they have access to food and water.

The death toll rose Thursday to 281, authorities said, with another 348 people rescued.

As time runs out, rescuers, families and volunteers across the country continue to hold on to hope.

“There might be two more people alive here, and I’m hopeful,” rescuer Daiana Rojas told The Associated Press. “We have been hearing sounds since 2:30 a.m., so our hope remains.”

Rojas and her family were unharmed by the quake, the most powerful to hit Colombia in this century. She has been volunteering to help search for survivors in Cali, one of the most heavily damaged cities, along with Pereira, Manizales and Quibdó.

“I thought that was going to be my last moment alive,” she said, recalling the terror of the quake. “Seeing this situation in my city breaks my heart.”

Rojas has witnessed two people being pulled alive from the debris, as well as the recovery of bodies.

“They are not a relative or a friend of mine, but it feels as they were,” she said of the survivors who have been found. “Whenever rescuers ask for silence, everyone stays still and tries not to move, speak or whisper. But when signs of life are found, all the teams start to applaud.”

Critical hours

The devastation has tested Colombia’s new President Abelardo de la Espriella and his government as they scramble to respond while aid groups seek to help the hardest-hit communities.

“The situation is complex, but we are using all our capacity and the capacity that has come from other countries,” de la Espriella said.

The president added nearly 400 people remain missing, though civilian-run databases put the number at more than 4,200. More than 3,900 people were reported injured, while nearly 10,600 homes were destroyed and more than 65,800 damaged. In total, more than 44,900 families have been affected, he said.

Authorities recognize that the rescue effort has entered a grim phase as search teams begin shifting toward recovering bodies. But as the government moves forward with plans to help those affected and rebuild the country, finding potential survivors remains a priority. “Our priority is saving lives,” de la Espriella said. “These are human beings who are trapped under the rubble.”

In other developments, a 4.2 magnitude aftershock struck Thursday in San José del Palmar, in the Chocó region — the epicenter of the earthquake. More than 160 aftershocks have rocked the country, according to the Colombian Geological Survey.

“We’re pretty shaken up, but we’re in good spirits. We can see everyone working hard to get through this very complex situation,” volunteer helper Jairo Galán said in Cali, where food and donation centers were set up.

Colombia, with a population of 54 million people, experiences an average of 2,500 earthquakes each month, most of them small. That's equivalent to about 80 tremors per day, according to the geological survey.

More international aid arrives

Meanwhile, international aid continues to arrive.

Speaking to reporters in Quibdó, in the Chocó region, Colombian Vice President José Manuel Restrepo said rescuers had concluded the search for survivors and bodies in the area and would now shift their focus to the “humanitarian phase.”

The region has received some 7 tons of humanitarian aid, with another 10 tons expected to arrive late Thursday night. An additional 20 tons of supplies are expected to arrive on Friday. “That’s almost 40 tons of humanitarian aid, containing everything people will need at this moment,” Restrepo said.

Earlier today, a group of rescuers from the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived to help with search efforts and structural engineering assessments. Other countries, including Peru, El Salvador, Mexico and Brazil, have also offered assistance.

De la Espriella announced on X that Colombia will receive a $10 million donation from the United Arab Emirates.

The Chinese ambassador to Colombia said China will provide $1 million in financial aid and more than $2 million in humanitarian assistance.

The South American Football Confederation and the Colombian Football Federation also jointly announced a $1 million donation to support reconstruction efforts.

“Soccer transcends the pitch and remains close to its people, especially in the most difficult times,” they said in a statement.

The Colombia disaster unfolded less than two months after neighboring Venezuela endured back-to-back earthquakes. The contrast between the two countries' responses was stark.

In Venezuela, acting President Delcy Rodríguez waited nearly four hours before addressing the nation. In Colombia, de la Espriella announced an emergency command post to oversee rescue efforts barely an hour after the earthquake. For weeks, Venezuelan civilians were clawing through rubble by hand. Hours after the earthquake in Colombia, rescue teams were searching for survivors with cranes and excavators.

The contrast was a reminder of the differences between the nations — their political systems, resources and the strength of their institutions — and a demonstration of how those can take on life-or-death importance.

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Suarez reported from Bogota, Colombia. Batschke reported from Santiago, Chile.

A Louisiana grand jury in June declined to indict Christopher Gillum on a state terrorism charge that could have carried up to a 15-year sentence, court records show.

Gillum, who had been held without bond, was released shortly after the grand jury’s decision and is not facing charges in any other jurisdictions, according to his attorney, Dylan Utley. He declined to comment further.

Gillum's release has not previously been reported.

The 45-year-old ex-police officer, who is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, had been arrested in Florida in April with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a handgun while on his way to Louisiana to commit a mass shooting, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation had involved the FBI and authorities across Louisiana, North Carolina and Florida.

Authorities did not name the event Gillum was allegedly targeting, but his arrest came on the eve of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which attracts hundreds of thousands of festivalgoers annually.

Gillum, who is white, had “expressed recent threats to harm ‘Black people’ ”, according to authorities. His family had reported him missing in North Carolina and said he had a history of self-harm.

Lester Duhe, a spokesperson for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, said in a statement that Gillum’s family had taken him “to a treatment facility out of the state” and that he is not facing additional criminal charges.

Duhe said there were “several jurisdictional issues” that complicated the case after Gillum was extradited to Louisiana following his arrest.

“The threat relayed to a family member actually occurred in North Carolina,” Duhe said. “The defendant never entered the State of Louisiana until after his arrest.”

Gillum had been planning to travel to the Florida Keys “during the same period he would have been suspected to travel to Louisiana,” Duhe added.

Gillum was charged under a Louisiana statute for the crime of “terrorizing,” which requires that “a crime of violence is imminent or in progress or that a circumstance dangerous to human life exists or is about to exist.”

Jonathan Guidry, the foreperson for the grand jury, declined to comment on the decision to not indict Gillum.

Katherine Schweit, a former Chicago prosecutor and FBI executive who ran the agency’s active shooter program, said that thwarted acts of mass violence do not always lead to indictments, but prosecutors often seek an array of criminal charges when possible.

“It’s very difficult to convince a jury, or to convince a grand jury, that something might have happened,” Schweit told The Associated Press.

Law enforcement authorities in North Carolina, where Louisiana court records list Gillum as residing, told the AP that they were not aware he had been released from custody.

“If we’ve got an individual that was accused of such an action, we would want to know if in fact he did return to Alamance County,” said Byron Tucker, a spokesperson for the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.

Nazneen Ahmed, a spokesperson for North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, said their office is not involved and that criminal prosecution authority in the state generally belongs to local district attorneys.

The office of the Florida Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment about whether Gillum may face additional criminal charges in its jurisdiction. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana also did not return messages seeking comment.

In a statement, the FBI New Orleans office said the decision whether to charge Gillum rested with prosecutors.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival declined to comment.

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This story was first published on Aug. 12, 2026. It was updated on Aug. 13, 2026, to correct that Nazneen Ahmed, a spokesperson for North Carolina’s attorney general, said their office is not involved in legal proceedings surrounding Christopher Gillum and that criminal prosecution authority in the state generally belongs to local district attorneys, not that there are no plans for the state to pursue charges.

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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

An official with the Board of Peace, the body Trump established to oversee the fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, said Kushner, board high representative Nickolay Mladenov, and executive board member and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would arrive in Israel on Sunday.

The group will then travel to Cairo, where meetings of a Palestinian technocratic group set to assume control of Gaza under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal have been taking place for the past several months, the official said. The trip was reported earlier by Axios.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because planning for details of the trip has not yet been finalized, said the meetings would demonstrate the determination of Trump and the Board of Peace to “see peace, prosperity and sustainable security emerge” in a demilitarized Gaza where Hamas has ceded control to allow reconstruction of the devastated territory.

But Israel has dismissed a recent deal announced by Trump for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its forces from the Palestinian territory, marking a rare public display of friction with the Trump administration. Though Hamas accepted the plan to decommission its weapons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in recent days that Israel would not withdraw until Hamas has completely disarmed.

The deal had been seen as a potential breakthrough for ending the war in Gaza. The agreement was based on an October ceasefire that ended major military operations and brought about the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, but it has stalled on other fronts.

The new mandate would likely cost billions of dollars and revert the Navy’s most advanced ships to a system that takes more sailors to operate and is more difficult to maintain.

The memo directs the Pentagon and the Navy to present Trump with plans to remove the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, also known as EMALS, within two months. It also says the Ford-class carrier's electromagnetic weapons elevators should be replaced.

The move comes after years of Trump railing against the new, magnetically powered catapult system that shoots fighter jets off the deck of the carriers. It also comes at a time when the U.S. military is trying to find funding from Congress for all its desired equipment and as the Navy is struggling to fill its ships with enough sailors.

Trump's ire with the new technology goes back to at least 2017 in his first term, when he claimed the new system is “not good” and “doesn't have the power” of the older, steam systems in an interview with Time magazine.

“You're going to goddamned steam,” Trump said at the time. The topic has frequently come up since then at rallies and other events.

While Trump is looking to roll back the latest technology, the newest Chinese aircraft carriers employ electromagnetic catapults and France said it plans to use the system on its new carrier.

Trump's memo directs the fourth Ford-class carrier, the USS Doris Miller, to be the first ship to include the new changes. That will leave the USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as the forthcoming USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise, untouched.

However, redesigning an already finalized ship for such a major system change will not be an easy task.

General Atomics, the company that makes EMALS, told The Associated Press in an email that the decision not to proceed with the system on the USS Doris Miller “warrants careful reconsideration.”

Trump's memo that mandates the removal of the system also noted that one of the issues facing shipbuilding is the Navy's constant design changes, “which have resulted in cost growth, delays, and cancellations.”

General Atomics said the work on the Doris Miller's catapults and arresting gear was already halfway complete and said “changing course now would introduce significant cost, schedule, and integration risks."

The move comes as Congress will weigh the necessary budget and funding bills that the Trump administration has said they need to fund the Pentagon and the Iran war.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated last month that the war's cost grew to $37.5 billion as Republicans prepared a $95 billion package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities.

Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an “urgent, necessary” injection of money, and with Trump's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget a generational investment in the military.

The House narrowly adopted both but the Senate still must act when it returns in September.

Some of the key advantages to the electromagnetic system are its ability to launch aircraft at faster speeds while being easier to maintain, requiring fewer sailors to operate and using less space aboard the ship.

EMALS aboard the USS Ford cut the number of sailors need to operate the catapults from about a dozen to two.

Reverting to a system that requires more people to operate it comes as the Navy has struggled to translate its recruiting successes in the past year to actually filling jobs on warships. At the start of the year, the Navy had about 20,000 unfilled posts across the fleet.

In February, the Navy touted the system in a press release that said it allowed the USS Ford to launch and recover aircraft at a higher rate than its predecessor, the Nimitz-class ships.

In a letter to families, Lake Travis ISD superintendent Curtis Null identified the student as Odin Hensley.

“Odin had been part of the Lake Travis ISD family for many years, beginning at Lake Pointe Elementary School,” Null wrote in the letter. “At Lake Travis High School, he was a dedicated two-sport athlete who excelled in wrestling and football.”

According to the letter, Null described Hensley as a “valued teammate, classmate and friend” who “touched many lives.”

“During this difficult time, we ask that you keep Odin’s family, teammates and classmates, coaches, athletic trainers, teachers and all those who knew and loved him in your thoughts and prayers,” Null wrote.

Lake Travis High School counselors will be available at the campus counseling center for students, staff and families, the superintendent said. Additional counselors will also be on standby.

Hensley suffered the medical emergency at approximately 8 a.m. Monday. The Lake Travis High School football team said in a Facebook post that the incident required the response of Travis County STAR Flight.

The team canceled football activities for the rest of Monday “out of an abundance of caution.”

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The full schedule release highlighted the revival of the Spurs as one of the league’s top teams to watch. At least 34 of their regular season games will air across five national networks and streaming services — compared to 22 national games during the 2025-26 season.

Five of San Antonio’s games will air on ABC and KSAT 12:

• Friday, Dec. 25, 2026 (Christmas Day) at New York Knicks, 11 a.m.
• Saturday, Jan. 30, 2027 at Golden State Warriors, 4:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027 vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 28, 2027 vs. Denver Nuggets, Noon
• Sunday, March 14, 2027 at Oklahoma City Thunder, 1:30 p.m.

As previously announced, the Spurs will open the season at home Oct. 20 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a rematch of their epic, seven-game Western Conference Finals series last season.

Three days later, the Spurs will face the Houston Rockets at the Moody Center in Austin, the first I-35 series game outside the “Rodeo Road Trip” in February.

Kevin Durant, a former men’s basketball star at The University of Texas at Austin, is entering his second season with the Rockets and is set to square off with San Antonio in the new home of the Longhorns.

Chase for the Cup

San Antonio will be in Group C during the fourth annual NBA Cup this fall alongside the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings. Each team in the group will play four games — one against each Group C opponent.

NBA Cup Group Play games will be held on seven different dates throughout the fall. Below are the Spurs’ Group C matchups (all times are Central):

• Friday, Nov. 6: at Sacramento Kings, 9 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 13: vs. Golden State Warriors, 8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 25: at Portland Trail Blazers, 9 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 27: vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 8:30 p.m.

ESPN said Wednesday the Spurs-Trail Blazers game will air on the network as part of a triple-header on the day before Thanksgiving. The Lakers-Spurs game will be the second game of a Black Friday doubleheader on Amazon Prime Video.

The NBA Cup quarterfinal (Dec. 4-5) and semifinal rounds (Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9) will be held in the days leading up to the championship game. The NBA Cup title game will take place Dec. 11 at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

All NBA Cup quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games will air exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

Euro-steppin’

The league also announced Wednesday the tipoff times for San Antonio’s international games against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Spurs are scheduled to face the New Orleans Pelicans, a fellow Southwest Division opponent, for two games: one in Paris (Jan. 14, 2027) and another in Manchester, England (Jan. 17, 2027).

The Paris game will tip off at 1 p.m. while the England game will start at approximately 9:30 a.m. Central Time. Both games will air on Amazon Prime Video.

The ‘Rodeo Road Trip’

The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo will take over the Frost Bank Center and Freeman Coliseum next February and force the Spurs out on the road again for the team’s annual “Rodeo Road Trip.”

According to Visit San Antonio’s website, the stock show and rodeo will take place Feb. 11-28, 2027.

The Spurs’ first game on the eight-game trip will be Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2027, against the Dallas Mavericks (7 p.m. tipoff). The game will air on NBC and Peacock.

The next five on the road will be as follows (all times Central):

• Thursday, Feb. 11, 2027 at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8:30 p.m. (Amazon Prime Video)
• Saturday, Feb. 13, 2027 at Orlando Magic, 6 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 15, 2027 (Presidents Day) at Miami Heat, 4 p.m. (NBC)
• Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2027 at Memphis Grizzlies, 7 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 18, 2027 at Minnesota Timberwolves, 6:30 p.m. (Amazon Prime Video)

The Spurs will return to the Moody Center in Austin for the final two games of the road trip.

San Antonio will face Memphis at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, 2027, and Denver at noon on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2027. The game against the Nuggets will air live at noon on ABC and KSAT 12.

The TV breakdown

San Antonio’s 34 national TV/streaming games this season will be broadcast across ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.

Below is how many times each broadcaster will air the Spurs:

• 10 (Amazon Prime Video)
• 9 (NBC)
• 8 (ESPN)
• 5 (ABC/KSAT 12)
• 2 (Peacock)

San Antonio joins teams like the Knicks, the new-look Philadelphia 76ers and the Lakers who will have 34 of their games air on national TV.

“The energy around Spurs basketball continues to grow, and the 2026-27 season gives us another opportunity to build on that momentum,” Spurs Sports & Entertainment CEO R.C. Buford said in a Thursday news release.

“San Antonio is home, and we’re looking forward to bringing our community together while reaching audiences in Austin, Paris and Manchester,” Buford continued. “We’re excited for what this season will bring to our fans and proud to represent San Antonio and share the spirit, culture and community that make our city special everywhere the Spurs take the court.”

In the release, the team said regular season single-game tickets will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Friday on Ticketmaster. Tickets can also be accessed through the team’s website and mobile app.

Members of the official Spurs Fan Club can now purchase tickets through exclusive presale access.

For a link to the full schedule, click here and scroll down to the San Antonio Spurs page.

More San Antonio Spurs coverage on KSAT:

• NBA announces 2026 Emirates NBA Cup groupings; Spurs receive more national television exposure
• Spurs schedule sneak peek: San Antonio to face Thunder on Opening Night, Knicks on Christmas Day