At least 33 people were wounded in the attack, according to Ukraine's Emergency Service. The air raid alert remained active into the early morning hours Thursday.

The strikes hit 12 locations across Kyiv’s Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts, damaging residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution. Emergency crews pulled people trapped under the rubble.

Russia has intensified ballistic missile attacks on the capital to constrain Kyiv's air defense stocks. Kyiv has limited systems capable of intercepting ballistic threats, while supplies of missiles for its U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems remain chronically constrained.

U.S. President Donald Trump had authorized Ukraine to obtain licenses to produce Patriot air-defense systems, but later reversed that decision.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has intensified its own campaign of long-range strikes against weapons depots, military facilities and other strategic targets deep inside Russian territory, seeking to degrade Moscow’s ability to sustain its attacks on Ukrainian cities.

In Solomianskyi district, the top two floors of a 9-story residential building were destroyed and fires broke out on other floors. People were also trapped in two residential buildings and a school shelter.

The military said it would not probe three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders. It said it had completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza and made decisions on the five cases.

Chef José Andrés, founder of U.S.-based World Central Kitchen, condemned the decision on X as “wrong and painful.”

The investigations involve killings that drew a heavy international outcry. Hind was trapped in a vehicle with her slain relatives, pleading for help by phone before she too was killed in February 2024. After the shooting of the 15 medics in March 2025, troops bulldozed their bodies into a mass grave.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people, including tens of thousands of women and children, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Rights groups and U.N. commissions have said the campaign amounts to genocide and that Israeli forces have committed a litany of war crimes, including indiscriminate use of force and deliberate killings of civilians.

Israel denies accusations of genocide and war crimes and says it is targeting Hamas after its October 2023 attack on southern Israel. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militant group operates in populated areas in the tiny, overcrowded strip.

Israeli officials contend the country's justice system can address any violations by its troops, but rights groups say soldiers are almost never held accountable.

Wednesday's statement did not mention many other high-profile killings that Israel has pledged to investigate, such as its strikes on a hospital in southern Gaza that killed five journalists in August 2025, including Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who freelanced for The Associated Press and other news organizations.

The 5-year-old was the last alive in a stranded car

Hind's grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, told the AP by phone that the Israeli investigation into her killing is not enough.

“An international investigation is required to uncover the truth and hold all those responsible accountable,” she said. “We call for justice, not only for Hind, but for all Gaza children.”

The military in Wednesday's statement admitted to firing at the car carrying the 5-year-old, four of her cousins and her aunt and uncle as they fled an Israeli invasion of Gaza City.

As gunfire sprayed around them, the girl's cousin, 15-year-old Layan Hamada, called the Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic center, telling staff there her family had been killed. Seconds later, more gunshots were heard, and Layan’s screaming stopped, according to the Red Crescent recording of the call.

Palestinian paramedics dispatched an ambulance to rescue Hind and stayed on the line with her until contact was lost. Hind, her five relatives and two medics from the ambulance were found dead 12 days later.

The military admitted Wednesday that troops had fired toward that ambulance, killing the two medics.

Dyab Abou Jahjah, director of the Belgium-based Hind Rajab foundation, told Al-Jazeera he considered the military investigations a “charade meant to whitewash the culprits instead of convicting them.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent also insists on an international investigation, according to Raed al-Nims, a spokesman for the organization in Gaza. “Israeli measures are not enough,” he told the AP.

A movie docudrama about Hind's death, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” won international awards and was nominated for an Oscar.

The 15 medics had been trying to reach casualties

In the killing of the paramedics, Israeli troops fired on an ambulance driving to retrieve casualties from an Israeli offensive in the southern city of Rafah, then fired on other emergency vehicles that came looking for the first one, according to phone footage and the sole survivor of the shootings. Fifteen medics and emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Gaza's Civil Defense were killed.

Troops then bulldozed over the bodies and vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. U.N. and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to dig out the bodies.

The Israeli military initially said it opened fire because the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” on troops without headlights or emergency signals. But it backtracked after the footage emerged, showing the teams driving slowly with their emergency lights flashing and logos visible. A deputy commander was directed to step down over the killings.

“We are not obligated to prove the truth because it is already proven to the whole world,” Eid Azizi, a Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson, told the AP in a phone call. “We shouldn’t have reached this point if they respected and followed international humanitarian law.”

Israel will not criminally probe World Central Kitchen strike

The military said it had decided against a criminal investigation into April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of World Central Kitchen vehicles, killing seven staffers.

The aid group, which distributes food in Gaza, said at the time it had coordinated with the military over the convoy's movement. The vehicles, which had the group’s logo on their roofs visible from the air, were left incinerated and mangled.

Wednesday's military statement said individuals in the vehicles were mistakenly identified as armed Hamas operatives. But it concluded that the commanders' decisions "did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.” At the time, two officers were removed from their positions and three others reprimanded.

World Central Kitchen responded in a statement saying the military’s account of the strike was untrue, “conflates different timelines and events, muddies the story and shifts the blame.” It called for an independent investigation.

Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong expressed “outrage” at the outcome Thursday, saying the removals and reprimands of officers weren't sufficient accountability for the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom. Wong said unanswered questions remained and her government would continue to pursue the matter.

The military also decided not to take criminal action over the killings of four staffers from Doctors Without Borders in two separate instances in November 2023 and February 2024.

What happens next?

Military investigators will now take up the probes and present their findings to military prosecutors. The military advocate general can then decide to keep investigating, indict any soldiers involved or decline to charge them.

Any action will take a long time, if it comes at all, said Tal Steiner, head of the Israeli rights group HaMoked.

Indictments are very uncommon and convictions even more so, she said, recalling only one soldier who had spent time behind bars since Oct. 7, 2023, for alleged abuse of Palestinian prisoners. That soldier was imprisoned for seven months under a June 2025 plea bargain.

“It’s very rare that soldiers accused of harming Palestinians even go to court ... and even rarer that they get a severe punishment,” Steiner said.

Just 0.17% of all military investigations launched during three Gaza operations from 2014 to 2022 led to prosecution, according to an analysis by Israeli rights group Yesh Din.

The war's toll keeps growing

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel and abducted 251 others.

Israeli strikes have continued in Gaza since a ceasefire deal came into effect in October, killing at least 1,270 people, according to the Health Ministry.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants but says women and children constitute about half of the dead. ___

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Erin Cunningham in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Meanwhile, France announced it will expel two Iranian diplomats in response to the expulsion of French diplomats from the Islamic Republic this week. And the Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator landed in neighboring Iraq for a three-day visit.

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

Israel's military plans criminal investigation into Gaza attacks

The Israeli military said it would investigate the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family members in February 2024, and the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in March 2025. Both drew international attention.

The announcement followed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct during the war in Gaza. The military said it would not launch criminal investigations into three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.

Rajab was killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle that also was carrying her aunt, uncle and four cousins as they tried to flee Gaza City amid an Israeli offensive.

The 15 paramedics were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on their vehicles in the southern city of Rafah, then bulldozed over the bodies and buried them in a mass grave. Troops first shot at an ambulance that was driving to retrieve casualties from an Israeli offensive, then fired on several other emergency vehicles that went out to look for the first one, according to phone footage and the sole survivor.

Australian official angered by move not to probe aid worker’s death

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed “outrage” on Thursday at Israel’s decision not to pursue criminal charges over strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including Australian woman Zomi Frankcom.

Wong said her government was informed of the decision moments before it was announced, leaving officials no time to inform Frankcom’s family before it became public.

“There are still many unanswered questions,” Wong said.

They included why the convoy was struck three times in a humanitarian fire control zone and why a senior brigade officer involved in the strikes was a signatory to a letter urging the restriction of aid to Gaza, Wong added. Australia had yet to receive drone recordings from the attack, despite seeking them multiple times, she said.

“The Australian government does not believe that the removal of two officers from their positions and three officers being reprimanded is sufficient accountability for the deaths of seven people, including an Australian citizen,” Wong said.

The minister hours earlier summoned Israel’s envoy to Canberra Hillel Newman for a meeting. However, she wouldn’t expel the ambassador, she said, citing a need to continue engaging diplomatically with Israel.

Newman told reporters after the meeting that he was “very sorry” for Frankcom’s family, but did not apologize for her killing.

“One cannot attack findings of a court if the findings are not suitable to one’s political agenda,” Newman said. He added that the finding of no criminal liability came “after two years of independent research.”

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill 10 as ceasefire is in doubt

At least 10 people were killed Wednesday in two airstrikes in Gaza, according to local hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The attacks cast further doubt on whether new U.S. efforts can advance a tenuous ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.

Just two days after U.S. negotiators reportedly asked Israel to draw down attacks in Gaza, Israeli troops also crossed the ceasefire line in southern Gaza and detained a Hamas police colonel at dawn, two witnesses and a Hamas official said. They spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety.

— Samy Magdy and Wafaa Shurafa

Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator visits Iraq

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived in Iraq for a three-day visit where he will meet with Iraqi officials and leaders of an Iran-backed political coalition.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias have launched drone attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic targets both within Iraq and abroad, piling pressure on Baghdad, which for years has delicately tried to maintain strong ties with both Washington and Tehran.

Qalibaf praised the country’s Tehran-backed militias, which he called the “resistance in Iraq," describing them as a “key component of the country’s national power.”

His comments came even as the Iraqi government has been trying to disarm the militias that have long operated on their own even though they were nominally under state command.

Iraq is asking Iran to grant special status to Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz because the country has been affected greatly by Iran's war with the U.S. and needs to guard its economic interests, according to a statement from Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi.

Iraq relies on oil revenues for roughly 90% of its budget, and most of its oil is exported through the strait. Since the war erupted and Iran asserted control over the strait, halting most shipping traffic, Iraq has turned to alternate routes, including sending oil over land to Syria, which is less efficient and more expensive.

France and Iran expel diplomats

France announced it will expel two staff members of the Iranian Embassy in France, in response to what the French Foreign Ministry described as an assault by Iranian security forces against two French diplomatic staff in the Islamic Republic last month.

Iran accused the French pair of taking part in a secret meeting with “suspects in a major case involving foreign infiltration and interference,” Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The French diplomats were expelled on Monday.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot slammed the Iranian authorities for not investigating what he called a “premeditated and deliberate attack.” He called the allegations fabricated and said the two Iranians will leave Paris in the coming days.

___

Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.

In a legal victory for Anthony, the judge who presided over his trial was removed from the case Wednesday. Judge Michael Chitty was then assigned to consider the motion from Anthony's attorneys asking for a retrial in killing of Austin Metcalf.

Anthony, now 19, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in the case. He attended Wednesday's hearing wearing a green prison jumpsuit. His parents and Metcalf's also attending the hearing.

Anthony's attorneys had asked for state District Judge John Roach to be removed in part because of a TV interview in which Roach said jurors “got it right” when they delivered a guilty verdict.

In seeking a new trial, Anthony’s attorneys have argued that the June proceedings were marred by strict courtroom rules and improper jury instructions. They have also said Anthony’s decision to not testify came after a dispute with prosecutors over an agreement to focus the trial on the events leading up to the stabbing.

Jurors in the trial had rejected Anthony’s claims he acted in self-defense during a confrontation with Metcalf in the stadium bleachers last year. Students who took the stand described a heated exchange over Anthony’s refusal on a rainy spring day to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf’s team.

The case attracted national attention in part because of a flood of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Lawyers on both sides, however, told jurors the tragedy had nothing to do with race.

During the recusal hearing Wednesday, Anthony's legal team focused on comments Roach made to a Dallas TV station after the trial had ended. In the interview, which was played as the hearing began, Roach was asked if the jury got “it right.”

“Yeah, they did,” Roach said, adding: “Whatever they say, they got it right.”

During the interview, Roach also defended his courtroom rules and spoke about the onslaught of online postings about the case.

As national attention on the killing intensified last year, the families of both Metcalf and Anthony said they had been targets of harassment.

Several schools were competing at the track event when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers. Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.

Prosecutors said Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor.

Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

Last year, they added former O’Connor superstar and two-time NCAA volleyball national champion coach Dominique Gonzalez-Tomlin. Coach “Dom” got her rings from Penn State and used what she learned from the game to give back to the Warriors.

Coach Dom graduated from O’Connor in 2011. She was the libero at Penn State. While she was there, she won two NCAA volleyball championships.

“This is what’s going to help you be successful,” said Gonzalez-Tomlin. “Showing up on time, being disciplined, hard work. Whether you feel like being in the gym or not, you show up and do it anyways.”

“The experience having coached at a high level, in college and obviously winning two national championships as a player,” said Cornerstone head volleyball coach Mike Carter. “She has an experience that I can’t bring to the table that she’s able to share with them.”

Carter knew Gonzalez-Tomlin decades before she joined his coaching staff.

“I was fortunate to coach Dom as a 9-year-old and again as an 18-year-old. I got to go see her win a national championship in Seattle,” Carter said. “I’ve been around her mom for 30 years, who is also a national champion.”

Gonzalez-Tomlin said coaching in San Antonio is a privilege in itself. When she got the call to coach at Cornerstone, her decision was based on more than volleyball. She wanted to impact as many kids as possible.

Cornerstone is an independent school with students from elementary through high school.

“Eleven all the way to 18 and that’s such a big gap and such a big time for them that’s like changes happening in their life,” she said. “How can you continue to transfer that from 11 to 18?”

The Cornerstone Warriors just returned to the Alamo City from a tournament in Hawaii. Their next match is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20, in Plano, Texas, where they will face Prestonwood Christian Volleyball. First serve is set for 5 p.m.

Read also:

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Officers responded to the stabbing around 9:30 p.m. at a 7-Eleven in the 900 block of Fredericksburg Road. Police said they found a man, believed to be around 35 to 40 years old, with multiple stab wounds to his abdomen and back.

The man was taken to a hospital and was initially listed in critical condition, but police said he is now in stable condition.

The man entered the store to make a purchase when the suspect walked in behind him. Police said an altercation ensued, and the suspect stabbed the victim multiple times.

Police believe the two knew each other.

The suspect fled the scene, police said. The investigation is ongoing.

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• Man randomly shot while riding bike on Southwest Side, SAPD says

UTSA said the attempted attack was stopped before reaching its core systems. The university has not said student or university data was stolen, and officials have emphasized that the investigation and security response are ongoing.

The attempted attack has disrupted some online services and forced the university to adjust several deadlines as it works to restore systems and prepare for the delayed start of the fall semester.

But cybersecurity experts say the attempted breach also illustrates a much larger problem facing universities and other large organizations: attackers do not necessarily need days or weeks to find a target.

They may need only minutes.

Richard Hummel, vice president of threat Intelligence at SecurityScorecard, has spent nearly two decades working in cybersecurity, including threat intelligence involving nation-state actors, cybercriminals and other malicious groups.

His team monitors cybercriminal activity worldwide, including claims made on hacker forums, messaging platforms and social media.

When an attacker claims to have breached an organization, Hummel said security researchers initially treat that claim as an allegation. Researchers then look for evidence confirming whether the breach actually occurred.

That can include public disclosures from an organization, evidence that stolen data is being sold or confirmation from other sources.

Hummel said the speed at which attackers scan for vulnerable systems is a separate and increasingly urgent concern. But he said the basic lesson remains the same.

“The moment a device comes online, has a public IP address, it’s available for anything out there to scan,” Hummel said.

For organizations, that means cybersecurity defenses must be in place before a system connects to the internet — not after an attack begins.

Universities face unique challenges

Universities face a particularly complicated cybersecurity environment. Thousands of students, faculty and staff may connect personal computers, phones, tablets and other devices to university networks. Unlike a traditional corporate environment, a university has less control over many of those devices.

That creates more potential entry points for attackers. Hummel said the university’s ability to stop the attempted breach before it reached its most critical systems is an important distinction.

“The fact that they were able to catch this and stop this before it hit critical systems speaks to the fact that they’re doing a lot of the right steps,” he said.

He pointed to network isolation, permissions and other security controls as potential reasons an organization can prevent an intrusion from spreading.

UTSA has not publicly detailed the specific techniques it used to stop the attempted attack.

AI lowering the barrier to entry

Cyberattacks have traditionally required a certain level of technical knowledge. An attacker might have needed to understand networking, identify a target’s systems, conduct reconnaissance and create or modify tools to exploit a vulnerability.

Hummel said artificial intelligence is changing that equation. Cybercriminals have increasingly used automated tools and AI agents to help determine how to attack a target, he said. Some systems can help users move from identifying a target to selecting potential attack methods.

Hummel said unrestricted AI models could make that process even easier.

“There is zero barrier to entry anymore,” he said. “If you have a computer and you have the internet, you have the capability.”

That does not mean every internet user is capable of successfully breaching a major university, but Hummel said the tools have lowered the technical knowledge needed to attempt malicious activity.

What attackers want

So what are attackers after? For many cybercriminals, the answer is money.

Hummel said criminal groups can operate much like businesses, with different participants specializing in areas such as stealing information, hosting infrastructure, moving money or distributing spam.

Ransomware groups, for example, may steal data and encrypt systems before demanding payment.

Some groups use multiple forms of extortion, threatening to keep systems locked, publish stolen information or launch additional attacks if victims refuse to pay. The common factor, Hummel said, is that large organizations have to prepare for multiple types of threats.

Hummel said organizations need to identify the systems they absolutely cannot afford to lose and make sure those systems are protected and capable of continuing to operate even during an attack.

How to protect yourself

Hummel recommends people learn what common cyberattacks look like.

Phishing emails, fraudulent password resets and unexpected multifactor authentication requests can all be used to trick people into giving attackers access. He added that people should not assume they are too smart or too careful to become victims.

Think about which accounts would cause the greatest problems if they were compromised, he said. That could include email, banking, credit cards and other financial accounts.

Using unique passwords, a password manager and multifactor authentication can reduce the risk that one compromised password will provide access to multiple accounts.

For now, the attempted breach at UTSA is still being investigated, and the university has not indicated that its core systems were compromised.

But Hummel said institutions should view incidents like this as a reminder that cyberattacks are no longer unusual events reserved for the largest technology companies.

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“I don’t think we’ve played great,” the two-time reigning NL manager of the year said Wednesday. “We haven’t really jelled. We haven’t really come together."

The Brewers’ results tell a different story.

Milwaukee appears well on its way to earning its eighth playoff berth in the last nine seasons as it chases a fourth consecutive NL Central title. The Brewers won three of four from the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers last weekend and trounced Seattle 22-0 on Tuesday before their four-game winning streak ended with a 7-5 loss to the Mariners on Wednesday.

“There’s so much that I see that needs to improve, yet you look up and everybody’s saying, ‘Wow, I love the way you play,’ “ Murphy said before Wednesday's game. “And I look funny and I look behind me, and I see if they’re talking to someone else. Really? Maybe I’m too critical. Maybe I’m missing something. I don’t know. I do trust the team.”

They’ve been rewarding that trust.

Surviving a 17-day grind

The Brewers just completed a 17-day run that included no days off, one complete West Coast trip and part of another. They went 10-7 during that stretch.

After losing three straight games at San Diego last week, the Brewers responded by winning a series with the Dodgers, who swept them out of the NL Championship Series last year. After finally getting a day off Monday, the Brewers delivered their 22-0 blowout of Seattle that matched the most one-sided shutout in modern MLB history.

“I think it says we’re a good baseball team,” first baseman Jake Bauers said. “I think in tough times it can be easy to lose sight of that, but we have the right people around to bounce back when things get tough, and we have the right people around to continue to play winning baseball.”

Milwaukee has needed to stay hot to remain ahead of the Chicago Cubs, who have won 11 of their last 16 games and are 4 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the NL Central standings. The Brewers and Cubs face off in a four-game series Aug. 31-Sept. 3 at Wrigley Field before meeting again for three games in Milwaukee from Sept. 7-9.

During that grueling 17-day run, the Brewers encountered some criticism for their inability to acquire two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. The Brewers made a strong push to land Skubal, only to see the Detroit Tigers send him to the Dodgers instead.

Having NL Cy Young Award front-runner Jacob Misiorowski and Skubal fronting a starting rotation in a playoff series would have given the Brewers perhaps their best shot at making the postseason breakthrough that has eluded them during the franchise’s longest run of sustained success. The Brewers haven’t reached a World Series since 1982 and have never won it all.

Continuing to win without adding Skubal

Logan Henderson, an outstanding rookie pitcher the Brewers chose to keep rather than including in a trade last month, outdueled Skubal in Sunday’s series finale at Los Angeles. The 6-2 victory improved Henderson’s record to 7-2 with a 2.70 ERA.

The Brewers pivoted after the Skubal trade by acquiring former St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Dustin May, who is seeking to become the latest in a growing list of starting pitchers to improve after joining the Brewers. Left-hander Kyle Harrison, who also is thriving in his first year in Milwaukee, attributes that trend to Milwaukee’s pitching coaching staff of Chris Hook, Jim Henderson and Juan Sandoval.

“They’re so good at just knowing who you are as an individual and knowing what you need,” Harrison said. “Shoot, yeah, they’ve been doing it for a while now, too, so it’s pretty cool to have those guys you can trust and rely on.”

The Brewers believe they have the makings of a quality playoff rotation with Misiorowski, Henderson, Harrison and May. Milwaukee has withstood injuries that knocked two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff out for the season and prevented Quinn Priester from pitching at all this year.

Milwaukee’s lineup has produced the fewest homers in the big leagues, yet the Brewers remain among the top five teams in scoring. Bauers’ breakthrough season has helped the Brewers overcome down years from 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich and three-time All-Star William Contreras.

Without naming names, Murphy said: “I watch some of our leaders that might not be getting the results, but the way they handle everybody else is pretty impressive.” Murphy added that might be one of the keys to this team’s success.

Another is simply the ability to continue competing even when things aren’t going smoothly.

“Maybe that’s the secret,” Murphy said. “Maybe this team still plays well enough to be close when they’re not at their best.”

___

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

May Doi, 93, was found dead Monday after she was reported missing, police said. Neighbors think she was escaping floodwaters in her home and trying to get to a nearby shelter, said ʻĀina Akamu, a former student of Doi's who is now a vice principal at a local school.

She taught for so long at Naalehu Elementary on the island's southern tip that “Mrs. Doi was my dad's kindergarten teacher,” Akamu said Wednesday.

“She taught grandkids of her students,” he said. “She was a fixture in this community.”

Akamu often saw her taking walks around the small, rural, sugar plantation-era town: “She was so strong.”

He recalled how everyone looked forward to having Mrs. Doi as a teacher because she sometimes allowed students to have sleepovers in her classroom. Her deceased husband was a math teacher, Akamu said.

The body of a man in his 60s was located by residents in a pasture on Tuesday, a day after police were asked to conduct a welfare check, police said. Authorities said it was the second death attributed to the storm and have not yet released his identity.

Residents were struggling to clean up after Hurricane Lala tore roofs off houses, uprooted trees, covered roads in mud and rock and left many households without electricity for days. On top of all that, forecasters warned of the likelihood of another tropical cyclone forming southeast of the islands.

‘We just ask the ancestors to protect us’

Akamu also lamented the destruction of two cemeteries, including one where Akamu’s ancestors have been buried since 1850. Caskets were sticking out of the ground through the town, home to about 800 people, and headstones littered the roadway, he said.

“Our graveyard is now scattered all over the community and how do we heal from that?” he said.

He worries crews working to clear roads could inadvertently run over remains.

“Don't clear the road, my grandma could be in there,” he said. "That's what makes me most emotional, it's like you lost them again."

Akamu was trying to focus on helping his community recover by setting up a hub where residents can get donated items. They are in most need of generators, gasoline and propane, he said.

“We just ask the ancestors to protect us,” Akamu said of the threat of an another storm.

Now well west of Hawaii's main islands, Lala has reached major Category 3 strength with top sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) on Wednesday in what the National Hurricane Center called the first major hurricane of 2026 in the Central Pacific Ocean. But Hawaii residents were put on notice for another storm system, located far to the east-southeast.

The hurricane center said conditions appeared conducive for a tropical depression to form within days.

It's too early to tell the exact location or potential wind, rain and storm surge impacts. However, “interests in the Hawaiian Islands should closely monitor the progress of this system,” the hurricane center said, adding it could be a hurricane when it moves near or over the islands by the weekend.

Power repairs could take weeks

Work continued to clear away tons of mud and debris left behind by a torrent of water that inundated buildings, some of whose roofs were sheared off by the winds. Dozens of homes were washed from foundations, bridges were damaged and a collapsed section of a two-lane road had cut off access to the community of Pahala.

The U.S. Department of Transportation approved an initial $6 million in emergency relief to help repair transportation infrastructure damaged by Lala, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said.

The heaviest recorded rainfall, 43.54 inches (1.1 meters), occurred in Laupahoehoe on the northeast coast of the Big Island, the National Weather Service said.

About 17,000 customers on the Big Island remained without power on Wednesday, the Hawaiian Electric utility said. Some customers on the islands of Oahu and Maui were still in the dark. Repairs in the heavily damaged areas of the Big Island, including the southern end, could take at least two weeks, the utility said.

Lala was moving to the northwest at 10 mph (17 kph) and was expected to turn toward the north early Thursday. It was bearing down on a remote area at the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Hurricane warnings were posted for portions of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument from Lisianski Island to Maro Reef.

The weather service said the storm was forecast to veer east of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The population in one of the most remote places on Earth consists entirely of a few dozen U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff, volunteers and contractors. Forecasters said there were no tropical-related advisories for the Midway Atoll and any impact might include some elevated surf with a limited amount of rain.

___

Raby reported from Charleston, West Virginia.

The city has been working to close a projected $158 million budget deficit over the next two years. City’s staff’s plan to fill in the gap involves a mix of $90 million worth of cuts and funding shifts, a pair of tax hikes, and increasing fees.

Not everyone’s on board with the plan, though, and city staff presented a pair of very different alternatives for council members: keep the tax rate flat for the next two years by cutting out another $75 million, or front-loading the tax increases next year.

The latter, which would more than double the size of the proposed FY 2027 tax increase while staving off less than half of the proposed cuts, got little support.

More attention and frustration were focused on the cut-heavy plan, which would affect police and fire overtime, library hours, and parks programming among numerous other areas. Altogether, it would cost another 171 positions on top of the 101 already on the chopping block.

Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), Councilwoman Misty Spears (D9) and Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) retained their anti-tax increase stances during the council discussion, though the rest of the council appeared less convinced.

“These are real cuts, man. These are real things for people’s lives that they rely upon,” said Councilman Ric Galvan (D6).

“I’m really, really exhausted at this like high ground that certain folk are taking where it’s, ‘I cannot fathom that we would increase property taxes for people,’ like, ‘I can’t fathom that we would consider this,’” said Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2).

“That is ridiculous, because the alternative is that we’re — you can fathom that we’re going to cut 171 additional people, and that we’re going to cut all of these programs that my constituents rely on. You can fathom that.”

The current budget proposal calls for raising the tax rate in FY 2027 to 56.288 cents per $100 worth of valuation. That amounts to a 3.9% increase that would cost the average homestead an extra $49 on their tax bill than if the rate stayed the same.

The city’s plan to close the deficit anticipates a second increase for FY 2028.

Whyte said the council needed to “do the hard work and make the tough decisions” to cut the budget and framed a tax increase as one cost of many.

“It’s a couple bucks here and there on property taxes. It’s another $3 a year on the environmental fee that’s going on the CPS bill, right? It’s SAWS next. Then you’re going to want to raise property taxes to get a bigger bond, right? We’ve already heard that. So it’s not — it all adds up,” he said.

While City Manager Erik Walsh said staff tried to stay away from mandated services and council priorities when coming up with the possible additional cuts, Alderete Gavito requested other options that “mostly cut the fat internally.”

“I think it’s interesting that y’all put up these line items that really impact residents and start riling us up against each other,” she said.

Walsh denied tying to “pit” council members against each other and said “we are a rather lean organization administratively, and we are not going to be able to solve our issue with administrative cuts, period.”

Ultimately, the city appeared ready to move ahead with the original budget proposal as its guide — at least generally.

“I think that the council is interested in maybe some additional reductions that we’ll work on. They’re looking for different scenarios in terms of the proposed property tax rate,” Walsh said.

The city is hosting a series of budget halls Aug. 17-25. You can see the list here.

Read also:

• Tax increase part of San Antonio’s $4.4B draft budget
• Could San Antonio’s budget increase Fiesta costs?
• San Antonio City Council bats down second arena funding vote

• NO RECORDS, BUT ABOVE AVERAGE: 100°-102° will be the norm
• HOW LONG?: Triple digits will hold through at least next week
• EL NINO UPDATE: ‘Very strong’ El Nino this winter almost a certainty

FORECAST

SAME SONG, SECOND VERSE

The last two days have given highs at 100°. Today will be no different, with some places a degree or two warmer. It’s possible that temperatures may even climb to around 102° in San Antonio by the weekend. It’ll be steadily hot into next week.

HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO LAST?

This hot streak shows few signs of letting up. As of now, triple digits appear to be a good bet through the end of next week. If you look long-range, there are some indications that the heat high may weaken a bit by the end of the month. Unfortunately, this far out, there’s no guarantee that’ll be the case. We’ll keep you posted.

‘VERY STRONG’ EL NINO IS LIKELY

Farther down the line, we do expect El Nino to have impacts on South Texas this winter. The odds of a ‘very strong’ El Nino have now increased to more than 90%. El Nino winters typically bring a more active pattern to the area.

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.

The order comes a day after Minnesota leaders sued Abbott to force the extradition of 52-year-old Christian Castro, who faces four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime, having also been accused of lying about the circumstance leading up to the shooting.

The federal lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Texas, is the latest step in a monthslong effort by Minnesota officials to take custody of Castro.

Federal law requires states to cooperate on extradition requests, according to the lawsuit.  

“Abbott’s refusal to extradite Castro is unconstitutional and violates federal law and Texas law,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement. “I will not stand for that, so I’m taking Abbott to court.”

Wednesday’s order from U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez requires Abbott to file a response to Minnesota’s request for a restraining order by Aug. 24. A hearing on the order was also scheduled for Aug. 25. Castro could be released on Aug. 26 if the order is not granted, Minnesota’s request warned.

Abbott’s office initially declined to comment on “pending extradition matters.” But when asked about the lawsuit during an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, the governor was dismissive. 

“While they’re making demands, I got a demand of my own and that is: It’s time for Minnesota to step up and repay the United States of America and Americans for all the fraud that they have committed in their state under federal programs,” Abbott said. “I will not respond to them at all until they step up and do what’s right, and they acknowledge their fault in the fraud that took place, and they fully repay the United States of America for the fraud they committed.”  

The Trump administration also justified Operation Metro Surge, a major immigration enforcement crackdown that began in Minnesota in late 2025, by connecting it to a welfare fraud scandal in the state’s social programs. The operation led to several shootings by immigration agents, including two that killed U.S. citizens. 

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced the charges against Castro on May 18, about four months after he allegedly fired into an occupied home during Operation Metro Surge and hit Julio Sosa-Celis in the leg. Castro told federal investigators that Sosa-Celis and another man had attacked him with a shovel and a broom, but surveillance camera footage contradicted the ICE agent’s account, according to court documents. 

The Texas Rangers helped arrest Castro in Cameron County in late May, prompting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to send the extradition request to his Texas counterpart.

Abbott has on average signed a rendition warrant agreeing to Minnesota’s requests in around 30 days but has not done so in this case, Minnesota officials said.

Last week, Ellison sent a letter asking Abbott to sign the legal document for Castro’s extradition by Monday afternoon or face legal action.

“The duty to extradite is ministerial and non-discretionary,” Ellison added in the letter. “Federal courts have the power to enforce a governor’s duty to extradite a fugitive, and a governor ‘has no power to refuse to extradite a fugitive based on the merits of the fugitive’s case.’”

In Tuesday’s lawsuit, the Minnesota attorney general called the decision to not sign the paperwork in Castro’s case “unusual and inconsistent” with typically prompt cooperation between the two states. Ellison said Abbott’s office complied with extradition requests from Minnesota for several other unrelated defendants — including a person with the same charge as Castro — in recent months.

The need for action is growing, the lawsuit said, because Texas cannot hold someone awaiting extradition for longer than 90 days. The lawsuit also named Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino to prevent the South Texas sheriff’s office from releasing Castro before he is turned over to Minnesota’s custody. 

“If Defendants are permitted to release Castro from custody before turning him over to agents of Minnesota for extradition, there is a substantial risk that Castro will flee and avoid prosecution in Minnesota,” the lawsuit said.

Trevino didn’t immediately respond to a comment request.

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, blasted Abbott’s refusal to act on Castro’s case. 

“Abbott is more interested in burnishing his well-known anti-immigrant credentials than following the law,” he said Wednesday. 

Doggett also was part of a letter state congressional Democrats sent to the governor last week urging his “swift review and signature on the extradition paperwork.”

This was not the first time Minnesota officials have filed a legal challenge related to their efforts to prosecute the shooting of Sosa-Celis. 

In March, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and the state of Minnesota sued the federal government for access to evidence related to Sosa-Celis’ case as well as the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in January. 

In addition, when Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare launched an investigation into the July fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE agent in Houston, he said he contacted Hennepin County prosecutors. 

“No one is more familiar with these kinds of situations than them,” Teare said last month.

KSAT followed through on Anthony Carlisle’s concerns about the project after he reached out in the comments of a previous story about VIA Metropolitan Transit’s Green Line.

Carlisle said that while he is excited for the rapid bus service, he did not expect the scale of disruption that the project has caused.

“We never expected to have work crews showing up at 5 o’clock in the morning working,” Carlisle said. “We certainly didn’t expect work crews to stay past 10 o’clock at night.”

The noise and inconsistent schedule have been difficult to manage for people who live in his community, Carlisle said, while neighbors juggle working from home, taking children to school and running their businesses.

Carlisle described crews as “inconsiderate,” and said they have used profanities toward him and his husband and at one point placed a portable restroom “basically outside our front door.”

Carlisle said he tried to bring his concerns to VIA but did not receive a response.

“There is generally a lack of engagement and communication from VIA,” he said.

In an email to KSAT, VIA said some overnight work is done to prevent impacts to traffic and is allowed under city ordinance. VIA also said it is “committed to working with businesses and property owners.”

According to its website, current construction projects on that stretch of the Green Line are expected to be completed by December. The entire project is slated to be complete in April 2028.

Carlisle said he is concerned about whether that timeline is realistic.

“I’m just really concerned about how long this is going to take to actually complete,” he said. “In our opinion, we’ve only seen very little progress in the past seven months.”

A spokesperson for VIA also said not all projects in the Green Line corridor are theirs, and may be managed by other utilities or city departments. Read VIA’s full statement below:

“The City of San Antonio (COSA) permits construction during designated hours under its ordinances, and VIA is adhering to those hours. Activity observed outside that window involves crews removing barriers and traffic control devices. This is done overnight, in accordance with COSA ordinances, specifically to avoid disrupting daytime traffic and to protect the safety of both workers and motorists.

“VIA understands that construction along the corridor can be disruptive and takes concerns seriously. When issues are brought to our attention, our teams work to address them as quickly as possible. Construction staging and traffic control measures follow established agreements, and VIA remains committed to working with affected property and business owners to minimize impacts wherever we can. Anyone with questions or concerns about the Green Line is encouraged to call 210-362-2590, email keepsamoving@viainfo.net or visit VIA’s ART Project Office located at 7067 San Pedro Ave.”

VIA Metropolitan Transit

Read also:

• When will San Pedro construction be complete? Here’s what VIA says about progress on the Green Line.
• VIA Metropolitan Transit sees resurgence in San Antonio ridership as agency improves bus routes

The couple's children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have already enrolled at British schools and will start classes in September, according to a person close to the Sussexes who was not authorized to speak publicly. The family plans to live at a private, non-royal residence outside of London, but plans to maintain their home in Montecito, California, and their vacation property in Portugal.

The Daily Telegraph first reported the story. When asked to discuss the reports by the AP at a roundtable event with U.S. veterans in Washington Wednesday night, Harry replied, "Nothing to say.”

Harry and Meghan gave up their royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago to earn their living through lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify. Although relations with the rest of the royal family have soured since then, Harry has recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles III, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Charles was informed of the couple's plans on Sunday. Harry and Meghan visited the U.K. last month.

Buckingham Palace has a policy of not commenting on speculation about non-working members of the royal family. A representative for Harry and Meghan declined to comment.

According to a source close to the Sussexes, Meghan will continue heading her As Ever company from the U.K., while Harry can spend more time working with his U.K.-based charities.

Harry and Meghan have had a stormy relationship with the royal family ever since they decamped to a mansion in the exclusive Southern California enclave of Montecito.

In a series of interviews and Harry's memoir “Spare,” the couple said they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life and criticized palace officials for being insensitive to Meghan's mental health while alleging that at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views when she was pregnant with their first child. Meghan describes herself as biracial.

Those tensions were exacerbated by Harry's long-running legal battle with Britain's tabloid newspapers, which he alleges illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger. The prince has lost a series of lawsuits against the media, including one against the publisher of the Daily Mail, which concluded last month.

The latest trial has left Harry facing a potential bill for millions of pounds after the court ruled he and other plaintiffs in the case were liable for the publisher's legal fees. Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing that its legal costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million).

Harry has also been embroiled in a legal wrangle with the British government after a government committee refused to authorize police protection for the prince and his family when they are in the U.K. The prince says he and his family need armed police protection because they are at risk simply because they are members of the royal family, regardless of whether they are working royals.

After losing a court battle over the security issue last year, Harry said he hoped to rebuild relations with his family.

“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry told the BBC. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”

Last month, Harry returned to the U.K. for a series of charity engagements. Meghan and the children joined Harry for part of the visit and they spent time with the king at his Highgrove estate in western England. It was the first time Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee in 2022.

While Harry has recently met with his father, there are no signs of a warming of relations with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne.

Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, said the surprise announcement would make William “apoplectic.”

“In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father," Hunt told Britain's Press Association. “And his presence back home will make it harder for his brother to duck a reconciliation."

___

Pollard reported from Washington.

In a news release, The Conservation Society of San Antonio said it is reenvisioning NIOSA for future success, streamlining operations and reducing staff to support the redesign.

Betty Bueché, president of the Conservation Society, said two people were laid off: one full-time NIOSA manager and one part-time bookkeeper. Three employees remain on staff.

“There is a financial situation,” Bueché told KSAT in an interview on Wednesday. “We need to retool this so that we can make sure that we have proceeds. We’re being very cautious about this.”

Bueché said that “the city has been working toward the moment when they can redevelop La Villita for public benefit.”

“As a result of that, we no longer have available for NIOSA the use of the Villita Assembly Hall,” she said. ”We will not have Maverick Plaza if their construction continues.”

The Conservation Society’s loss of two major spaces within La Villita for NIOSA results in a 43% loss of space, according to Bueché.

The society said the goal is to build a stronger NIOSA for the future, while honoring the volunteers and workers who helped make it a San Antonio tradition.

“Unfortunately, aligning our resources with this new direction means saying goodbye to some of our valued team members through a staff reduction,” Bueché said in the Wednesday release. “We are immensely grateful to those who have helped sustain this event and appreciate the thousands of volunteers who are committed to making A Night In Old San Antonio even better.”

For more than 70 years, the release states the Fiesta event has helped raise millions of dollars to support the preservation and adaptive reuse of historic structures in the community.

Read also:

• Could San Antonio’s budget increase Fiesta costs?

The Panthers are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and an undefeated run (6-0) to a district championship in 2025. Last season, they advanced to the third round of the playoffs and are looking to build off that success.

Medina Valley has 10 starters returning from last year’s squad that went 10-3, with six of those returners on defense. This season, the Panthers are looking to make even more noise.

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football predicts the Panthers will win the 14-5A-DI championship ahead of John Jay.

Led by head coach Andrew Britt, the Panthers will open the season against the Churchill Chargers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28, at Comalander Stadium.

Read also:

• Harlan football enters season with Matthew McKinney taking over as head coach

General. By submitting an entry to the Texas Eats & Cavender Auto Group Instagram sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”), brought to you by KSAT 12 (“Sponsor”) and Cavender Auto Group (the “Co-Sponsor”), entrant acknowledges and agrees that entrant has read, understands, and agrees to be bound by these official Sweepstakes rules (“Official Rules”). By entering the Sweepstakes, entrants agree to waive any right to claim any ambiguity or error in these Official Rules, or the Sweepstakes itself, and agree to be bound by all decisions of the Sponsor, whose decisions are binding and final in all matters related to the Sweepstakes. Failure to comply with these Official Rules or any Sponsor instructions relating to the Sweepstakes’ Official Rules may result in disqualification from the Sweepstakes.

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The stunning developments came a day after Ukraine’s recently fired defense minister demanded national elections, despite Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion.

Although Zelenskyy was not implicated in the graft investigation, it threatened to pull him into another political crisis and provide another test of his resilience.

Investigators gave few details of the probe. It has identified a group of people alleged to have laundered 150 million hryvnias ($3.4 million) to pay bail for a defendant in a major graft case last year, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau said.

That case, involving the state-owned nuclear power company, brought the resignations of Ukraine’s justice and energy ministers.

The latest suspects include a former lawmaker, the chairperson of a state bank’s board and the head of the bank’s supervisory board, as well as a deputy head of the presidential office, the agency said.

Zelenskyy made no public comment on the investigation but issued a decree dismissing Iryna Mudra as deputy head of the Office of the President. Investigators have not named her as a suspect.

Investigators searched Mudra’s office Wednesday, said lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko.

Zelenskyy remains dogged by high-level graft investigations, although he has never been named as a suspect even as the probes have engulfed officials close to him. Last year, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak resigned and later was named as a suspect in a major graft probe involving a luxury construction project in the biggest threat to Zelenskyy’s government since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The European Union has identified deep-seated corruption as one of the major hurdles to Ukraine's desired membership in the bloc.

Zelenskyy's former aide wants a wartime election

Zelenskyy is already under pressure over his firing last month of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, one of the longest-standing members of his team and a close ally since helping him win the 2019 presidential election.

Zelenskyy, seeking to reconcile tensions between the Defense Ministry's young and tech-savvy innovators and Ukraine's seasoned, Soviet-trained battlefield leaders, risked angering both sides by reshuffling his wartime leadership. He ousted both Fedorov, whose changes to military procurement aimed to stamp out corruption, and commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.

That sparked sustained street protests supporting Fedorov. For Zelenskyy, it was the second time in a year that a move triggered a strong public backlash, after he tried to curb the powers of anti-corruption agencies in 2025.

Fedorov, in an address posted to YouTube late Tuesday, called for elections — appearing to directly confront Zelenskyy, whose term expired in 2024. Ukraine's constitution prohibits such a vote under martial law.

“We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war,” Fedorov said.

He said Ukraine faces a crisis in how it is governed, arguing the current system is oriented toward protecting itself and resisting change. He also condemned corruption among officials without naming anyone, saying it had weakened Ukraine’s ability to fight.

Zelenskyy’s office did not immediately comment on Fedorov’s address. It was not immediately clear whether Fedorov's appeal would resonate with Ukrainians.

Also on Wednesday, lawmakers approved Zelenskyy's candidate, Maj. Gen. Yevhenii Khmara, as the new defense minister, a move that effectively closes the door to Fedorov’s return to the post, which he has sought, anytime soon.

Lawmakers also gave their consent for Andrii Sybiha to stay on as foreign minister after serving in an interim role.

Political disarray follows Ukrainian wartime successes

The political disarray follows recent successes for Ukraine in the war. Using innovative drone technology, it has repeatedly hit Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages. It has also shocked the Russian public by striking warehouses of Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer, and stalled front-line advances by Moscow's bigger army.

But Zelenskyy has been unable to get traction in U.S.-led peace efforts, and Ukraine is at the mercy of Russia's ballistic missiles because more U.S.-made Patriot interceptors aren't available due to low international stockpiles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has balked at negotiating a peace deal directly with Zelenskyy.

In its latest attack, a Ukrainian drone hit an oil refinery in Ufa in Russia's Bashkortostan, its Gov. Radiy Khabirov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. There are three oil refineries in Ufa, and all have been attacked.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 453 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions, as well as Russian-held Crimea and the Black Sea.

It said Russian forces on Tuesday hit a bulk carrier in the Black Sea, southeast of Odesa, that was carrying military equipment. On Wednesday, the Russian military struck what it said were fuel and lubricant storage tanks for the Ukrainian armed forces in the southern port of Chornomorsk.

A Russian drone struck a minibus in Kherson in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing four people, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional military administration, adding that four women were wounded. Another Russian drone struck a civilian car in the regional capital, killing a woman, he said.

Amid the fighting, Russia and Ukraine swapped 103 prisoners of war, according to Zelenskyy and the Russian Defense Ministry.

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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.

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

Graham, a political novice, was asked whether the U.S. has a national security interest in Taiwan and the South China Sea — a longstanding contention of both Democratic and Republican administrations. She struggled to answer before admitting, “National security is not my thing.”

“I’m not that informed on national security,” she added.

Her rival in next week's runoff for the GOP nomination, Rep. Ralph Norman, suggested the answer showed Graham was unqualified for the role.

“By her choice, she’s running for the United States Senate. It’s a six-year term,” Norman said. “You need to get fully versed in what issues you’re going to be dealing with. This isn’t a get training on the job, you can’t do that.”

It was a moment that drew a stark contrast to Graham’s brother, Lindsey, who died unexpectedly on July 11. It also gave Norman, an established conservative politician, a fresh avenue of attack as he tries to overcome President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Graham in her first campaign. The Republican president is set to visit South Carolina on Friday to campaign for her.

During his decades in the Senate, Lindsey Graham was known for his foreign policy involvement, making countless foreign trips, sometimes as part of a group of U.S. lawmakers meeting with international leaders and observing contentious areas firsthand.

There were multiple trips to Taiwan, including in 2022, when he led a delegation for a two-day visit that included meetings with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the island’s defense minister.

Darline Graham had been asked, “Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States and if so, why or how?”

Graham avoided a direct response and instead mentioned her brother's wealth of experience and her desire to lead differently.

“My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military,” said Graham, who often read from a legal pad on which she had notes, its pages draped over the front of her lectern. “My dad was in the Army. I’m not a polished politician up here; national security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military.”

Candidates were not allowed to bring notes into the debate, but Graham spent several minutes before the broadcast began copiously writing on her legal pad. Norman wrote down a few things but not as extensively.

As interim senator, Graham is surrounded by many of her brother's Capitol Hill staff, many of whom worked with him for years on issues foreign and domestic. She's repeatedly thanked them for getting her up to speed on legislative issues and has pointed to her several weeks on the job as a productive time in which she's gotten legislation passed, including a Russia sanctions bill named for her brother.

In the wake of her brother’s death, Graham has been asked multiple times about how she would either further or shift away from his intense focus on national security, an attitude that was at the essence of his Senate portfolio.

Asked after the debate by reporters if she wanted another crack at her answer to moderators' question, she doubled down, saying she was more focused on South Carolinians' everyday concerns.

“They’re worried about their pocketbooks more than they’re worried about the South China Sea, quite honestly,” Graham said. “So that’s going to be my biggest focus.”

Graham added that she had spoken multiple times during the debate about the overall national security threat posed by China.

“I realize national security is very important,” Graham said. “I probably said 10 times up there tonight how bad China is, how they’re a national threat to us.”

Speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, Graham acknowledged her flub but said that she had spoken with voters since the debate who said they appreciated her honesty in expressing her lack of foreign policy expertise.

“I tripped up on one question last night regarding Taiwan, but you know, I’ve said many times, I’m not a politician, certainly not a career politician. I don’t speak politician,” Graham said. “You know, I was just honest, and I think that’s kind of a foreign concept.”

Taiwan has often been a flashpoint for aggression from China and international efforts to support its right to self-rule. The U.S. maintains a policy of strategic ambiguity over whether it would defend Taiwan militarily if the mainland invaded, but has committed to bolstering the island's defense for generations.

Claimed by China as part of its territory, Taiwan sits along a South China Sea global trade route, virtually all of which China claims despite a 2016 arbitration ruling based on the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea that invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims.

During a visit to Manila this week, Adm. Frank Bradley, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, said that American special operations forces are ready to step up warfighting-readiness exercises with counterparts in the Philippines and other countries in Asia to further strengthen a security alliance and help deter a major conflict in the region.

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

Just two days after U.S. negotiators reportedly asked Israel to draw down attacks in the Gaza Strip, at least 10 people were killed Wednesday in two strikes, according to local hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Israeli troops also crossed the ceasefire line in southern Gaza and detained a Hamas police colonel at dawn Wednesday, two witnesses and a Hamas official said.

Israel's military said one of the strikes on Wednesday, in the area of Nuseirat refugee camp, struck a Hamas commander who had participated in the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 251 abducted. A second strike in the Tuffah area of Gaza City struck four Hamas militants gathering in a police station, the military said, claiming they were planning to carry out attacks against Israeli troops.

Israel's military said a strike the day before targeted a meeting of four Hamas commanders and additional militants.

The commanders killed included Muhammad Hamdi Ahmad Al-Masri, Muhammad Attar and Muhammad Fathi Hussein Nasser, all accused of carrying out terrorist attacks against Israeli troops, and Samed Samir Harb Abu Habal, who infiltrated Israeli territory during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, according to a statement from Israel's military.

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said the Wednesday Gaza City strike on the police station killed eight police officers and a 13-year-old girl. Two officers were women, it said. One person was killed in Nuseirat. On Tuesday evening, an Israeli strike on a busy seaside cafe killed seven Palestinians, including a child, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Jared Kushner, a U.S. negotiator and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, held a marathon meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, in which he asked Israel's leader to draw down attacks on Gaza, a person familiar with the meeting said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief journalists.

Also on Wednesday, Israel's military said it had completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct during the war in Gaza and would launch criminal investigations into the 2024 killings of a 5-year-old girl and her family, as well as of 15 Palestinian paramedics in 2025.

At least 17 killed in Israeli strikes

The deadly strikes in Gaza on Tuesday and Wednesday exacted more casualties even as a ceasefire that’s been in place since October has significantly diminished the fighting in the tiny enclave where more than 2 million Palestinians live. Since the ceasefire, Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,273 people, according to health officials in Gaza.

The nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 73,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which was part of the recently dissolved Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It doesn't distinguish between civilians and militants, but says women and children make up around half of the toll.

In the early hours of Wednesday, at least 15 Israeli troops entered the Muwasi coastal area, west of the city of Khan Younis, two residents and a Hamas official said.

Accompanied by armed men, the troops stormed the tent of Sabri Abdel-All, a colonel for the Hamas-led Blue Police in Khan Younis. They also detained another resident identified as Nashat Ezzat Zaarab, they said.

The two residents and the Hamas official spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety.

Latest ceasefire negotiations offer few concrete commitments

On the diplomatic front, the ceasefire also appears stalled. Trump's initial ceasefire plan laid out a broad vision for ending Hamas’ rule in Gaza and rebuilding the territory, much of which was reduced to rubble during the war.

But since last fall, major sticking points have emerged on the conditions of Hamas' disarmament and Israel's withdrawal — and which should come first.

Earlier this month, Trump announced that Hamas had agreed to disarm. But Hamas said it would begin to disarm if Israel halts strikes and withdraws, adding that laying down its heavy weapons would come later and be contingent on the creation of a Palestinian state — something Israel’s government rejects.

Netanyahu also pushed back on the deal, saying Israel won't withdraw from its current lines in Gaza until Hamas has completely disarmed.

After Wednesday's strikes, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem lashed out at the Board of Peace — the body Trump established to oversee the ceasefire — saying it has provided a "cover” for Israel to escalate its attacks in Gaza instead of pressuring it to abide by the ceasefire agreement.

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Associated Press journalists Julia Frankel and Giovanna Dell'Orto in Jerusalem; Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel; and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed.

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made the comments Wednesday night in her country’s first reaction to Trump’s moves to drastically cut back the annual U.S.-South Korean military drills.

“We think it’s not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. “The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced.”

She also cited a series of other military drills carried out by the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year and South Korea’s push to introduce nuclear-powered submarines.

Kim Yo Jong denied that there are any communications between Trump and Kim. Earlier this week, pressed by reporters on whether he had a conversation with Kim Jong Un, Trump said that Kim had responded to his request for a conversation.

Kim Yo Jong's statement did not contain North Korea’s typically harsh rhetoric. She briefly said relations between her brother and Trump are “still excellent," mentioning her brother’s past comments that he still has “good memories” of Trump. This suggests North Korea may be trying to manage relations with Trump, while seeking bigger concessions to restart talks.

When asked by reporters Wednesday if he will meet with Kim Jong Un this year, Trump said that “Yeah, I will be.” He wouldn’t answer a question about whether he is exchanging letters with Kim but said he gets along with him.

US and South Korea confirm drastic slashing of drills

Kim Yo Jong's statement came hours after the South Korean and U.S. militaries confirmed they were scaling back their 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises. Trump earlier ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the exercises, citing what he said was a good relationship with Kim and South Korea’s refusal to support him over Iran.

South Korean officials said Trump’s announcement came without prior notice, baffling many people in the Asian country and raising concerns about joint defense readiness.

South Korea’s military said the allies agreed to adjust the duration and scale of the exercises at the request of the U.S. It said the ongoing drills would end Friday, not Aug. 27 as initially planned. It added that the allies also agreed to downsize some joint field training exercises.

The Pentagon said that it was “continuing training that enhances tactical capability” but certain events have been canceled or converted to simulations. “These adjustments preserve essential readiness and training objectives. There will be no degradation to U.S. training objectives,” a Pentagon statement said.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies’ ability to deal with potential North Korean aggression. The two countries usually hold a set of field training exercises during the command post exercise period.

The drills are a central pillar of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, which dates to the 1950-53 Korean War. But they also are a long-running source of animosities with North Korea, which has denounced the exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion and responded with provocative missile tests. Days before this month's drills began, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the sea.

This month's drills were initially supposed to be held in two phases in simulation of North Korean attacks — the first part until this Friday on defensive operations and the second part until Aug. 27 on counteroffensive operations. North Korea is extremely sensitive to counteroffensive drills, according to South Korean media.

Prospects for Trump-Kim summit unclear

Earlier Wednesday, North Korea's state news agency, KCNA, published a commentary slamming the U.S.-South Korean military drills as “frantic” and “extremely dangerous” and vowing to completely frustrate its rivals’ hostilities.

Many experts said Kim, now emboldened by his advancing nuclear program and expanding military cooperation with Russia, won't likely embrace Trump's overture and return to talks anytime soon unless he's promised bigger concessions. Kim suggested last year that he could only return to talks if the U.S. drops its demand for North Korean denuclearization as a precondition for diplomacy.

Trump claimed Wednesday that North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons. Some experts put the size of the North’s arsenal at more than 100 warheads.

South Korea’s intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea sent about 15,000 troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine. Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said North Korea was preparing to send more troops to Russia. But in her Wednesday statement, Kim Yo Jong flatly denied that, calling it “an ungrounded farce."

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hailed Trump's decision, saying in his X message Wednesday that he hopes it would lead to reopening dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang and promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula. Lee is a liberal who wants better ties with North Korea.

South Korea's main opposition conservative party earlier accused Lee's government of prioritizing the resumption of Kim-Trump diplomacy over security concerns caused by Trump's move.

Trump and Kim met three times from 2018-2019 but their high-stakes diplomacy eventually fell apart over wrangling over a North Korean demand for extensive sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearization steps.

Trump's move may focus on South Korea over Iran

In his social media post, Trump said the drills are not only costly but “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which he said “has been unthreatening and respectful” during his time in the White House. Trump said he asked Lee if South Korea would join the U.S. in the “denuclearization” of Iran, “and they said, ‘No thanks!’”

At separate parliamentary hearings Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said neither South Korean nor U.S. officials were informed of Trump's move before his social media post. Cho said the alliance remains strong, while Ahn said South Korean and U.S. defense officials were maintaining close consultations.

Some experts say Trump's cut of the drills was more likely designed to apply pressure on South Korea to give him substantial support over the Iran war than to reach out to North Korea.

“Trump's message is that if you don’t cooperate with us on Iran, we’re not cooperating with you” on the drills either, said Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “It's like he's asking South Korea to show it's helping him over Iran” by taking steps like sending warships or reinforcing missile defenses in some areas.

South Korean officials said South Korea and the U.S. are closely discussing practical and military contributions that South Korea can make to help restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

It wasn't the first time that the U.S. and South Korea have scaled back or canceled their drills.

In 2018, Trump abruptly announced the cancellation of a major war game with South Korea, after his first summit with Kim. The U.S. and South Korea have since canceled or reduced other joint drills to support diplomacy with North Korea and cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

In a news release Wednesday, city health officials said a Husky mix tested positive for rabies Aug. 18.

The dog’s owner said it killed a baby skunk in late July near the family’s home on the far West Side, inside Loop 1604. The incident was not reported, ACS said.

Several weeks later, the dog began showing “concerning behavioral and neurological symptoms,” according to the release. Rabies treatment was offered to people and pets who may have been exposed.

Health officials said San Antonio and Bexar County are experiencing an outbreak of rabies among wild animals. The county reported 22 rabies cases in wildlife in June and July 2026, compared with two to three cases reported during the same period in 2024 and 2025.

Officials recommend these rabies precautions:

• Keep dogs, cats and other pets up to date on their rabies vaccinations.
• Do not allow dogs to roam freely, which is illegal.
• Never feed, touch or handle wildlife or unknown animals.
• Report animal encounters to 311. Bexar County residents can call Animal Control at 210-335-9000.
• Confine a pet that may have encountered wildlife to prevent additional contact with people or other animals.
• If a potentially rabid animal is inside a home or building, try to confine it only if that can be done safely and without direct contact.
• If you are bitten, scratched or exposed, wash the area with soap and water and contact a healthcare provider immediately.
• Call 311 or use the 311 app to request safe removal of dead animals.

Health officials say the rabies vaccination is the best protection. City and state law require dogs and cats to stay current on their rabies shots.

San Antonio Animal Care Services will offer free vaccinations to the first 100 pets Saturday, Aug. 22, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Monterrey Park, 5919 West Commerce St.

Read also:

• San Antonio-area pet owners urged to vaccinate animals amid rabies season

Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said crews were working nonstop to fix the outages, but 75,000 customers still lacked electricity by late afternoon, mostly in Lake County next to the Illinois border.

They included more than 20,000 customers in Gary, where residents lined up again at community centers for hot meals and a place to charge phones.

The latest news for Gary wasn't good: Full restoration is not expected there until Aug. 25, NIPSCO said.

Roughly 300 poles and 44 power transmission poles need to be repaired or replaced in Gary as a result of the storm, which carried winds of 99 mph (159 kilometers per hour), said Melody Birmingham, an executive at NIPSCO's parent company.

Birmingham acknowledged the “real burden” of losing perishable food and people living for days without air conditioning after a “historic storm” that initially left 300,000 customers in the dark.

“These aren't simple repairs,” Birmingham said at a news conference. “These are systems that are being rebuilt.”

Utility says low-income residents are not ignored

Jeremy Spurrier, 51, said he's fortunate to have a generator at his Portage home, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. But the generator is expensive — it goes through about $75 of gas a day — and Spurrier said his family is relying on nonperishable food like soup. He drives to Illinois to get ice to chill his insulin.

"If I run out of ice, that’s several hundred dollars of insulin just ruined,” he said.

Gary, a majority-Black city, has been especially hit hard, with some residents voicing frustration that they're being ignored. Birmingham denied that low-income residents were being overlooked and blamed posts on social media.

“We have areas that are probably affluent where we still have customers out as well. ... This has nothing to do with race or any type of division,” said Birmingham, who is Black. “It's really a matter of where the storm hit.”

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton acknowledged that locals were “frustrated and exhausted” but said more than 600 linemen were working to restore power in the city.

"I want to reiterate this is clearly not just a Gary situation. It is a northwest Indiana situation,” Melton said.

No storm damage — but no power

A 4-year-old boy, three men and three women were among those who had died since the storms began Aug. 11, said Liz Woods, a spokesperson for the state Department of Homeland Security.

In Whiting, Myra Carden, 74, said her home wasn’t damaged by the storm — “not even a chair was blown over in the yard.” But she was in her second blackout Wednesday.

Carden, her son and three dogs lost power for more than two days last week. Then the electricity went out again Tuesday.

“More than once I have put in an outage report,” she said. ”All I get back is, ‘You already put in a report.’ Well, what do you want me to do? ... This doesn’t make sense. Of course I’m not a lineman; I’m a paralegal.”

Carden uses a generator to keep the refrigerator humming but only when someone’s home to monitor it.

“We have a deep freeze in the garage packed full with beef and chicken. I’m sure everything will be thrown away,” she said.

The color — displayed on bandanas, pins, shirts and dresses — has become the symbol of a grassroots movement dedicated to blocking the buildout of 765-kilovolt transmission lines across the state. A coalition of those groups gathered on the steps of the Capitol building in the morning as testimony got underway for the House Committee on State Affairs’ interim meeting dedicated to the backlash against the transmission lines and data centers.

At the protest and nine-hour hearing that followed, lawmakers heard a variety of recommendations, including from local officials arguing for more local control of data center proposals and more time to reform the process behind approving transmission lines across Texas. Though discussed in separate hearings, landowners and protesters said the issues are connected.

“Data centers need energy … and the fact that there have been so many proposed throughout the state, I think these issues go hand in hand,” said Jada Jo Smith, founder and president of Hill Country Preservation Coalition, the grassroots organization that organized Wednesday’s protest.

The bipartisan coalition made up of Republican legislators, Democratic statewide candidates, landowners from rural Texas and environmentalists is starting to break through on both fronts.

Following a July Senate Business and Commerce Committee interim hearing on both topics, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and committee chair Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, called on the Public Utility Commission to scrap the 765 kv project entirely. Days later, Gov. Greg Abbott announced a pause on approvals for data centers to connect to the electric grid until an audit of data centers seeking to connect was completed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state grid operator.

While neither action spells an end to the debate around either issue — nor a halt to the transmission plans altogether — activists said they believe the tide has turned in their favor.

Mia Sarot, founder of the Hill Country Land and Legacy Alliance, sported a yellow button and bandana tied to her wrist as she spoke to the crowd of 40 people outside the Capitol, lamenting the need for the groups to have organized in the first place while celebrating their impact on the policy decisions made by state officials.

“Yellow means we’re paying attention,” Sarot said. “It isn’t a threat, it isn’t a political party, it doesn’t belong to any one organization and you don’t need anyone’s permission to wear it. It simply says, ‘I’m here, I’m paying attention, I’m asking questions and I’m participating.”

Inside the Capitol, lawmakers on the legislative panel spent hours deliberating the transmission lines, particularly three first-of-their-kind 765-kilovolt lines that would slice through tens of thousands of acres of private property.

For months, landowners have questioned the 180-day administrative window regulators have to approve or reject the proposal, arguing it was not enough time for residents to contest the plans. Most pleaded with lawmakers to halt the plan entirely and give lawmakers more time to reform the administrative process.

Lawmakers appeared receptive.

“When (the transmission plan) was brought to me, the 180 days was suggested, and it was suggested based on the Permian Basin Reliability Plan,” said state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo. “Not y’all deciding that we’ve got to run lines all the way across the state. So that’s where the 180 days came from, and I agree. I think we need to relook at that.”

State Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, questioned transmission service providers, such as Oncor and AEP, about whether the proposed routes were the correct solution. He said most of the opposition stemmed from issues with the routes.

“We’re talking about really a routing issue, and I think everybody in this room is upset about the routes,” King said. “When we’re figuring out if we’re not going to do … 765s, what’s the alternative for transmission?”

Representatives from Oncor, AEP and CPS Energy, which would be tasked with deploying the build-out of the lines, said that if approved, they would work with landowners whose properties are along the proposed routes to make modifications and diminish the impact to the land.

And while they were receptive to a delay, they said that decision would come with a number of ramifications, including disrupting construction schedules already in discussion and the ability to secure necessary equipment on time. Adrian Rodriguez, chief operating officer and president of AEP Texas, said they buy themselves a slot for when equipment becomes available, adding that losing that place in line could result in higher costs.

“If we lose our place in those lines, given the 765 kV transmission line build that is occurring in other grids in this country, there is a high demand for these slots,” he said. “We have the potential to lose those slots, or that equipment could then be utilized for another part of the country … with the current demand that the country is facing for transmission build, those would likely be at a higher cost than we were able to originally procure those.”

Industry leaders rejected the notion that only data centers would benefit from the transmission lines, and that several industries could suffer if regulators decide to halt the proposal.

“We are concerned that putting a halt to these projects will not only affect oil and gas operations, but it’s going to affect new generation currently being built and threaten many planned projects,” said Walt Baum, president of Powering Texans. “We do support future changes to transmission planning to improve transparency and address specific siting and landowner concerns that y’all have heard about today.”

Katie Coleman, representing the Texas Association of Manufacturers, said transmission needs for the business community have not been met for 10 years, and further delays could hinder growth.

“This is not about data centers,” Coleman said. “It is about our planning process systematically under-planning for industrial growth for more than 10 years. We are in a catch-up phase because of extreme restrictions that were put on forecasting of industrial growth.”

The testimony on data centers, which lawmakers cut short to allow time for the transmission line discussion, lasted six hours.

Also at the meeting, ERCOT officials reported on how they intend to carry out Abbott’s ordered audit of data centers, a process CEO Pablo Vegas said he expects to go through in about December.

Abbott ordered ERCOT and the PUC to 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 should be denied connection to the grid, the governor said.

The audit has scrambled the grid operator’s efforts to organize the queue of facilities seeking energization, roughly 90% of which are data centers. Prior to Abbott’s request, ERCOT expected to complete its study by April, when the first batch of data centers would receive approval to connect to the grid.

Vegas said they hope to not delay the entire schedule for connecting projects, but they hadn’t yet determined exactly how long the overall process delay would be. Vegas acknowledged that some of the roughly 250 projects eligible for the first batch of approvals may drop out because of the new timeline.

ERCOT is also surveying all data centers with an electricity demand of 25 megawatts or greater on their impact on the community, as directed by Abbott, Vegas said. PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson equated it to “a fact-finding mission.”

Regulators have already been working through a new way to decide how much of the cost of building new transmission lines needs to be paid for by individuals and how much needs to be paid for by companies such as data centers. Experts said they believe the new system will lower the burden on residential consumers relative to the industrial groups.

Costs for new infrastructure have long been shared because it provides an arguable public benefit, Vegas said. Economic and population growth also contribute to transmission needs.

“Well, it seems like the citizens don’t have a choice in this,” said Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston. “Data centers are being pushed upon them, and they don’t have a choice to say no. But they’ve got to pay. I think that’s unfair. It’s undemocratic.”

Representatives on the committee also mulled potential regulation for the data center industry they’d like to pass in the 2027 session.

Several county officials testified that they need additional authority to manage the buildout of data centers in unincorporated areas of counties. In Texas, counties typically don’t have the power to block development — unlike city officials who wield zoning authority — and a majority of the hundreds of data centers planned for the state are set to be built in unincorporated areas.

King expressed some trepidation that giving counties more authority over data center projects could result in overriding private citizens’ rights.

“I hear a lot about local control and giving the counties or the local elected officials more control over this, but a lot of the ideas that are proposed to me kind of erode private property rights,” King said.

“The intersection is the fundamental issue we’re talking about is it not?” Leon County Commissioner Kyle Workman responded. “I think as a public policy matter, the state of Texas and local communities should be able to work together to establish that line.”

The committee did appear committed to repeal the state sales tax exemption for data centers, which has ballooned in recent years as more data centers are built and apply for the tax break. The exemption totaled an estimated $5.4 million in value during its first year of existence in 2014. In 2026, the Comptroller’s Office estimated the state is forgoing $1.3 billion in uncollected sales taxes.

“It’s a huge number,” said Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth. “I passed the bill to get it done. I’m going to probably carry the one to repeal it. Realistically, that’s going to go away.”

Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, reiterated a call he made earlier this year for the governor to call a special session to address the issues surrounding data centers immediately.

Still, Abbott’s order for ERCOT to audit the data centers in the electric grid connection pipeline represents the strongest action to date that state officials have taken to slow the buildout of data centers in Texas.

Activists have also been skeptical of the audits, urging the governor instead to call a special session of the Legislature to allow their senators and representatives to quickly pass new regulations for the rapidly expanding industry. They also say a special session is needed to rework the approval process for transmission lines, which was shortened in 2023 by the Legislature.

After the protest concluded in the morning, the activists gathered for a photo.

“Special session on three,” Smith said to the other activists gathered in front of the camera. “One, two, three: special session!”

Staff reporter Emily Foxhall contributed to this report.

Disclosure: CPS Energy and Oncor 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.

According to a Department of Justice news release, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons announced guilty verdicts for Joshua Allen and Michael Cox. Allen and Cox were convicted on the following charges:

• Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
• Conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Conspiracy to launder monetary instruments
• Securities fraud

“In the midst of this Ponzi scheme, Allen and Cox collected a handsome fee by telling various egregious lies, even using their self-proclaimed faith and reputation in their community to con the investors they victimized,” Simmons said in the DOJ news release. “This case shows that within the Western District of Texas and across the Department of Justice, we are resolved to prosecute cases like these where individuals have preyed on the innocence and trusting nature of everyday Americans as Michael Cox and Joshua Allen did here.”

Allen and Cox jointly owned and operated four investment companies, evidence presented during their joint trial showed.

Former San Antonio financial advisor Brooklynn Chandler Willy, who pleaded guilty on 10 charges in connection with the scheme in March, worked with Allen and Cox — and others — to solicit victims to invest in their companies.

The trio, the DOJ said, “conspired to mislead the victims concerning the security of the investments and concealed their high commissions.” Altogether, officials said hundreds of victims lost millions of dollars.

Allen and Cox now each face up to 70 years in prison. Their sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled.

Meanwhile, Willy pleaded guilty in March on the following charges:

• Six counts of wire fraud
• One count of wire fraud conspiracy
• One count of money laundering conspiracy
• One count of engaging in monetary transactions associated with the scheme
• One count of aggravated identity theft

Investigators said Willy faces up to 20 years each in federal prison on the wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges. Additionally, she could face additional time in prison for the engagement with monetary transactions (up to 10 years in prison) and aggravated identity theft (mandatory minimum of two years) charges.

The aggravated identity theft charge, according to the DOJ, would run concurrently with any other punishment.

Willy is set to receive her prison sentence on Dec. 14.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Former San Antonio financial advisor takes guilty plea in Ponzi scheme, DOJ says

On Tuesday, Moodini somehow broke free and wanted to see up close the place that seemed so interesting to him.

Who knew, it would be the Walmart on Southeast Military Drive near Roosevelt Avenue.

“He decided he needed to make a Walmart run that morning and spent quite a bit of time just running around the parking lot trotting around,” said Lisa Norwood, public relations manager for ACS.

Norwood said the San Antonio Police Department officers initially arrived at the store and were able to gently coerce the calf to a green space next to the store.

Norwood said Moodini was not ready to go back home just yet.

“He decided, ‘Hey, maybe too many people and decided to book it over to an underground drainage tunnel and walked for some ways.’”

The green space where the tunnel is located is gated off with a metal fence, and Norwood said officers needed permission to enter.

She said officers were hot on his tail, so he lay down inside the underground tunnel.

“A couple of our officers had to go in to see if they could get the calf safely,” she said.

Norwood said that after Moodini rested for a minute, the officers coaxed him back out into the open air.

She said in all, the whole ordeal lasted about an hour and a half, and Moodini was put into a trailer and taken to the livestock area at ACS.

Moodini’s owner was identified and claimed the calf Wednesday.

Norwood said the owner was reminded of the law and that Moodini is safer at home.

“It is against the law for livestock to roam,” Norwood said. ”Just like it’s against the law for dogs to be out running around, it’s really important when you consider the size of cattle.”

She said the owner will be cited, but said she is glad Moodini’s tale of adventure had a happy ending.

“It’s one of those things that all’s well that ends well,” Norwood said.

Read also:

• Bull calf leads ACS officers on chase through Walmart parking lot, underground drainage tunnel

Scout was donated to the district through the Kellyanne Elizabeth Lytal Memorial Foundation, honoring the 8-year-old AHISD student who died in the 2025 flood at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas.

Scout serves at Alamo Heights Junior School with counselor Lisa Taggart, his handler. Together, they work with students experiencing anxiety or stress.

“Scout and I are a team. We come together to work every day. We counsel as a team,” Taggart said.

Taggart said Scout can help students feel more comfortable opening up during counseling.

“Scout and dogs in general just really help lower those barriers that people might bring into counseling or therapy,” she said.

Kellyanne Lytal’s Girl Scout Troop 5116 helped make Scout’s role possible.

The troop donated $500 from cookie sales to the foundation honoring their friend’s legacy.

At Kellyanne Park in Alamo Heights, troop members met Scout, who is named after their tight-knit group.

“Kellyanne wanted a dog so bad,” Kellyanne’s mother, Malorie Lytal, said. “I feel like this is a way that I can get her a dog from heaven and have it with the purpose behind her foundation — with Scout spreading kindness.”

Taggart and Scout spent 100 hours training together and are now prepared to help students manage difficult emotions.

The Girl Scouts said Scout will continue Kellyanne’s legacy by loving and helping others.

“He’s just going to love people all the way,” one troop member said.

Another added, “I think he’s going to help people a lot.”

“There are just so many ways we can spread kindness and honor her memory,” Malorie Lytal said.

Read also:

• New Alamo Heights park named in honor of Kellyanne Lytal who died in Hill Country floods
• Alamo Heights playground named in honor of Camp Mystic camper who died in Hill Country floods
• Parents of girl killed in July 4 floods share story of grief, unexpected friendship with ex-Navy SEAL

Maj. Gen. Adel Issa is the first military officer to be turned over by Lebanon since Assad’s fall in late 2024.

Lebanon’s judicial authorities decided on Tuesday to deliver Issa to Syria, after questioning him over crimes he allegedly committed during the country’s conflict.

Syria’s Interior Ministry said it had asked authorities in Lebanon to hand over Issa to Syria over alleged crimes including intentional killing of more than two persons, the crime of torture resulting in death, and acts of aggression aimed at inciting civil war and sectarian strife.

The ministry added that Issa was the commander of the Syrian army’s 17th Division and the commander of ground forces in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour until 2016. The ministry posted a photo of Issa wearing a prison uniform.

Officials in Beirut said on Tuesday that Issa was turned over to Syria in accordance with a 1951 agreement between the countries that calls for delivering suspected criminals to face justice.

After Syrian fighters opposed to Assad marched into Damascus to end the Assad family’s five-decade rule in December 2024, a number of military and security officers fled to Lebanon, where some remain.

Dozens of other former members of his security agencies accused of atrocities have been arrested and put on trial in Syria.

Last week, a Syrian court sentenced Assad and his younger brother Maher to death in absentia while their maternal cousin, Brig. Gen. Atef Najib, became the most senior security official to be sentenced to death while in custody. The Assad brothers fled to Russia during the ouster.

Issa was detained on Aug. 8 when he went to the Syrian Embassy in Beirut for some paperwork. Embassy officials contacted Lebanon’s prosecutor’s office to tell them that Issa was wanted in Syria.

Issa had fled to Lebanon by crossing illegally after Assad’s fall, the officials said.

Syria’s conflict, which began with anti-government protests in March 2011 before turning into a civil war, left 500,000 people dead and over 1 million wounded.

CPS Energy says hotter temperatures often lead to increased air-conditioning use, putting additional demand on the electric grid.

“During the summer, if the day’s temperatures will be higher than the month’s average, then a yellow day is called,” said Miguel Vargas, a CPS Energy communications specialist.

While temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit can serve as a rough guideline, Vargas said the utility primarily looks at how temperatures compare with the monthly average when determining a yellow, or peak-demand, day.

The hours to watch are between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. That’s when temperatures are typically at their highest and electricity use can also peak.

CPS Energy recommends shifting some household activities to earlier in the day to help reduce energy use during those afternoon hours. That includes running the dishwasher and doing laundry before the peak period.

Residents can also unplug appliances and electronics that aren’t being used, including items such as air fryers and toasters. Even unplugging unused chargers can make a difference.

“If you have 10 different chargers in your homes that aren’t plugged into anything, it can really add up,” Vargas said.

Another way to reduce energy use is to close blinds or shades during the hottest part of the day. Keeping sunlight and heat out can help an air conditioner work less.

CPS Energy also recommends raising the thermostat by a few degrees when possible.

The utility emphasizes that customers do not need to stop using electricity during a peak-demand period.

“We don’t tell people to just completely stop using energy during these times,” Vargas said. “You’re more than welcome to use as much energy as you need. It’s just the cost of the energy might be a little bit higher during these times.”

To view the current “day” you can click on the CPS link here, as well to find different ways to conserve energy.

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Prosecutors also called into question Comey's account that he had found the seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47” while walking on a beach in North Carolina and suggested that his May 2025 post on Instagram was an effort to generate attention for a forthcoming novel about a social media personality whose words inspire his fans to attack his foes.

The arguments in motions late Tuesday represent the government's most detailed explanation of its indictment and were filed in response to wide-ranging defense efforts to dismiss the case on grounds including that it constitutes a vindictive prosecution and that Comey's post did not amount to a true threat. Comey's lawyers contend that investigators in the case misled judges, submitted documents containing false statements, withheld key facts and repeatedly came up empty in their efforts to prove that Comey intended a physical threat or knew that the number 86 could suggest violence.

The entry for “86” from Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says its meaning is “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” Trump, a Republican, is the 47th president.

The Justice Department maintains that the post constituted a real threat

Federal prosecutors maintain that the photo of the seashells, which Comey said he found on the beach, constituted a threat against Trump. Comey deleted the post shortly after he put it up, saying he did not know that anyone interpreted the numbers as a call to violence. His lawyers have said that the slogan has long meant to “get rid of” or “eject” and has been featured on thousands of items sold online and regularly displayed at protests.

But the department sought in its filings to place the post against the backdrop of assassination plots or attempts against Trump in the months before and after Comey's post. Prosecutors say that two minutes before the post was made, Comey's wife texted him a screenshot of a definition of “86” that said "to get rid of or refuse service.”

"There is no serious dispute that an objective viewer of Comey’s post could read it to mean ‘Kill President Trump,’” prosecutors wrote.

The photo was posted days before Comey was set to release a novel he wrote titled “FDR Drive,” in which a prosecutor pursues a far-right social media personality who has called out his adversaries by name and inspired violence against them by his fans, the department said.

After the Instagram post provoked an outcry, according to the government's filings, Comey's publishing agent observed in a text message to him that he had “gone viral.” Comey responded that that was “not my intention, but I’ll be OK if it sells books.” The agent replied, ”Music to an agent's ears."

Prosecutors also asserted there was “reason to doubt” Comey’s account of having come upon the seashells while on a walk, saying they were located 4 miles (6 kilometers) “down from the beach from beachfront property where Comey was staying, in an area separated from the ocean by a sand dune.” They said there was "no evidence that anyone else arranged, photographed, or even saw the shells.”

Comey has called the case vindictive, but prosecutors deny that

Comey's lawyers have called the indictment, which was filed months after an earlier and unrelated case against him was dismissed, part of a Trump retribution campaign targeting one of the president’s vocal critics. Trump fired Comey as head of the FBI in 2017 as Comey was overseeing an investigation into potential ties between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Trump since then has called for him and other perceived adversaries to be jailed.

But the Justice Department denied allegations of vindictiveness, saying the decision to indict Comey was made by the U.S. attorney in the area and did not stem from a directive from the president or the attorney general.

To bolster their claims that Comey was unjustly targeted, the defense team argued that investigators struggled to develop compelling evidence from witnesses that Comey had intended the post as a threat, but they concealed that from federal magistrates as they applied for warrants to search digital accounts associated with Comey and his wife

For instance, defense lawyers have said that the FBI searched an internal database of information about open and closed investigations for any indication of an association between Comey and the term “86” but found inconclusive results. An FBI agent also requested a review of the FBI file for the case against reputed mobster John Gambino, which Comey worked on as a young prosecutor, but found no references to the term “86.”

Investigators also interviewed a key government cooperator in the case, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, who said he did not recall ever discussing the term “86” with Comey or hearing it in connection with the trial.

The latest filings made clear that the administration was standing behind the premise of the case.

“No Government theory was disproved at that time, or now. No intentionally false omission exists, much less one made with reckless disregard for the truth,” prosecutors wrote.

“The evidence still supports that Defendant acted at least recklessly by consciously disregarding a substantial risk that his coded message of ‘8647’ that he sent to his 200,000 or so Instagram followers, and the millions of secondary social media users who would view this as threatening violence against the President of the United States," they added.

Lynnesh Gonzalez, 36, was arrested and charged with the manufacture and delivery of a Penalty Group 2 controlled substance weighing between 1 and 4 grams, records show. Justin Nathaniel Gonzalez, 35, was also arrested Tuesday on the same charge.

The charge stems from a July 16 sale at Blvck Diamond Smoke Shop in the 1400 block of West Hildebrand Avenue, where Lynnesh Gonzalez allegedly sold 2 grams of THC wax to an undercover officer. The substance tested positive for THC, according to an arrest affidavit.

Justin Gonzalez allegedly sold 2 grams of THC wax to a separate undercover officer at the same location on July 14. That substance also tested positive for THC, the affidavit states.

Investigators identified both suspects by comparing their driver’s license photos with the physical descriptions of the people who made the sales, the affidavit states.

Both suspects were released on bond Wednesday, Bexar County jail records show.

Texas banned several hemp-derived THC cannabis products in July.

Daniel Mehler, the self-proclaimed “dopest lawyer in town,” confirmed that he’s representing Justin Gonzalez. He sent KSAT the following statement:

“I represent Justin Gonzalez and the affidavit for his arrest states that the alleged sale happened on July 16, two weeks before any ban went into effect,” Mehler said. “This is a lawfully permitted hemp business and my clients look forward to their day in court.”

Read also:

• Woman arrested in deadly South Texas human smuggling investigation, records show

That includes what to do with programs like the STAR domestic violence resource program, as grant funds expire at the end of the year.

The possibility of cuts down the line has perked the ears of many survivors who depend on STAR, causing them to reach out to KSAT with their stories.

“It started verbally and then for the little over 2-year marriage, it turned into pretty much any type of abuse you can think of,” said a Bexar County abuse survivor who is remaining anonymous for her safety. “I never thought it would be me.”

She is savoring that safety since the last violent incident six months ago that caused her and her kids to leave her home and husband.

“The following day, I got a phone call after everything had happened,” she said.

The call came from an advocate with Bexar County’s STAR program, which stands for Safety Team Active Response.

In April, KSAT reported about the program, which sends quick help to at-risk and high-risk domestic violence survivors in unincorporated Bexar County.

“They provide you with resources that you don’t even think about in that moment,” the survivor said.

STAR offers necessities like hotels, rides, counselors and food.

“The STAR program was able to help me and my kids get groceries when we had very little food,” she said in tears.

Advocates even connect survivors with other programs, like crime victims’ compensation through the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

“I got reimbursement for relocating, for housing. They help with any medical expenses that have been occurred because of the incident,” the survivor said. “Their advocates truly care.”

That’s why she is so concerned — because when Bexar County presented its budget proposal Tuesday, it was clear that cuts needed to be made. STAR was on a list of programs in question.

ARPA funds from the pandemic still support a handful of county programs, including:

• STAR domestic violence hotline
• Bibliotech navigators
• Domestic violence impact courts
• Pre-indictment court
• Preventative health
• TX Fast Track 2

The grants for those programs end Dec. 31, 2026, and the county manager has put these programs on contingencies after they expire.

“We plan to come forward to commissioners to talk about those programs to allow some more time to discuss,” the county team said during the budget meeting Tuesday.

Though the STAR program staff confirms to KSAT no cuts are set in stone, survivors want to make sure their voices are heard.

“I think it would be a major blow to the victims themselves because if I hadn’t gotten that phone call, I honestly don’t think I’d be in the position that I’m in today,” the survivor said.

She hopes when commissioners meet to discuss cuts, they’ll see worth in the program she said saved her life.

To other survivors, she said, “To whoever hears my words, know that you matter. You matter and you’re not alone.”

“All it takes is that moment of quick courage to think about yourself when it comes to making the decision to leave. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take of the people that depend on you,” she said.

if you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, there is so much help for you. KSAT has a list of resources on its Domestic Violence webpage, which also explains how to identify different types of abuse.

Survivors in unincorporated Bexar County who are not in current emergencies can fill out an online form to get in touch with STAR specialists.

Anyone in immediate danger should call 911.

For wrap-around services, including the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, call Family Violence Prevention Services at (210) 733-8810.

You can also contact the Bexar County Family Justice Center, which also provides wrap-around services at (210) 631-0100.

Read also:

• Survival success story: Mom escapes abuse, publishes book for women in domestic violence recovery

The ruling Wednesday by Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green is a victory for Republicans seeking to hold onto their slim majority in the U.S. House. But the case is likely to end up in the state Supreme Court.

Missouri’s new districts already were used in the August primaries. On that same day, Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a petition with thousands of signatures seeking to force a November referendum on the map. Hoskins asserted that Missouri’s Constitution doesn’t allow a referendum on congressional redistricting.

The judge agreed with Hoskins and other Republicans, who joined in defense of the new map.

“The Missouri Constitution does not supply any statement — let alone a clear one — reallocating authority over congressional redistricting away from the General Assembly to a referendum process,” Green wrote in the ruling.

Opponents of the redistricting plan quickly announced an appeal.

“Everyone knows that Cole County is not the final decision here,” said Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, who sued to try to place the new map on the ballot. “After months of delay, we are pleased to be moving forward to the Missouri Supreme Court to enforce our constitutional rights.”

Missouri’s redistricting targeted Democratic congressman

Missouri's current U.S. House delegation is made up of six Republicans and two Democrats who were elected from districts with boundaries drawn after the 2020 census.

But Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe called the Legislature into a special session on redistricting last year after Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional boundaries to their advantage ahead of the midterms.

Missouri's revised map is designed to help Republicans defeat Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. It reassigns portions of Kansas City to two neighboring districts represented by Republicans and stretches the remainder of Cleaver’s 5th Congressional District far eastward into Republican-heavy rural areas. About 59% of its voters are new to the 5th District, according to an Associated Press estimate.

State Sen. Rick Brattin won a Republican primary in the reshaped district in early August. Cleaver was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Republicans had argued that the new districts should be used in the November elections even if a voter referendum on the map was allowed to occur at the same time.

Lawsuit highlights dispute about referendum rights

The Missouri Constitution does not specifically say that a referendum can be used to decide congressional redistricting, nor does it forbid it, which is why the issue ended up in court.

Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office, which represented the secretary of state in court, argued that congressional redistricting is a legislative duty not subject to referendum without specific constitutional permission.

The attorney general and the Republican Party also argued it was too late to switch district boundaries before the November election. Changing districts after the primary would cause “widespread voter confusion” and an “erosion in confidence in the integrity of the state’s elections,” said John Gore, an attorney for national, congressional and state Republican committees.

The judge agreed, ruling that a district swap after the primary would violate federal law.

It’s been more than 100 years since a Missouri redistricting plan faced a referendum. In 1922, voters rejected a new congressional map passed by the Republican-led Legislature. The legitimacy of that referendum petition was not challenged in court.

Redistricting battle spread to numerous states

Missouri’s mid-decade redistricting effort has been among the most litigated nationally, triggering about a dozen lawsuits over the past year.

The Republican-led state was the second, after Texas, to respond to Trump’s call to redraw congressional districts. Several other states followed. All told, Republicans hope to win as many as 16 additional seats from new House maps enacted in eight states: Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. Democrats, whose counterattack faced several setbacks, think they could win up to six additional seats from new districts in California and Utah.

It remains to be seen whether the redistricting works as intended for Republicans. The president’s party historically has lost congressional seats in the midterms, and Trump’s poor approval ratings could provide an extra hurdle for Republican candidates.

___

Associated Press journalist Hannah Recht contributed from Washington.

If confirmed by the Senate, Overton will have to balance a raft of competing priorities, including Trump’s fixations, the anti-regulatory interests of traditional Republicans and the anti-corporate posture of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Those challenges dogged the tenure of the previous FDA head, Dr. Marty Makary, who resigned in May.

Trump said he’s delaying the 50% U.S. tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian imports. The countries reached a deal less than two hours before the sanctions were to go into effect on Tuesday, buying time for more negotiations and avoiding, for now, another strain in already tense relations.

The Latest:

International Criminal Court criticizes US sanctions on senior staffers

The ICC called the latest sanctions a “flagrant attack” on its independence and vowed to continue seeking justice for atrocities around the world.

The ICC said in a statement that when “judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk.” It said it “will continue to fully discharge its mandate with independence and impartiality.”

The State Department announced Tuesday that it hit ICC president Tomoko Akane and ICC senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye with sanctions that freeze any assets that they have in U.S. jurisdictions or come into contact with the U.S. financial system.

The Trump administration has now sanctioned nine of the ICC’s 18 judges, both its deputy prosecutors, its former chief prosecutor and one other staffer, the court said. The U.S. accuses it of overstepping its mandate by investigating and seeking to prosecute military and political officials from countries, such as Israel and the United States, that are not members.

▶ Read more

FTC proposal would require retailers to be transparent about personalized pricing

Companies that secretly vary prices based on how much they think individual customers will pay could face federal charges under a proposed policy released Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission.

“When consumers see a listed price, they expect it to be (the) same price that everyone else sees, not the retailer’s estimate of how much they are willing to pay based on their personal data,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement.

The FTC has had its eye on personalized pricing for several years. In a preliminary report filed in January 2025, the agency found that grocers, clothing companies and others were using third-party companies to help them individualize online prices based on shoppers’ locations, browsing histories and other factors, including how long they left items in their virtual shopping carts.

▶ Read more

Trump announces ‘MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER’ on Iran

On his social media site, the president promised “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale” but provided few details.

He said other countries that allow their “financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences.”

It was not immediately clear what that meant for major economies with close ties to Iran, including China.

But Trump said his prohibitions would include things like oil smuggling, cash transfers and cooperation through exchange houses and ship registries and front companies.

“It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are,” Trump said, imploring U.S. allies “to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat.”

Canada and the US move closer to finalizing a trade agreement

The agreement would avert threatened 50% U.S. tariffs, and a senior Canadian official called the emerging terms “a very good deal for Canada” while cautioning that negotiations were not complete.

The official said it would provide greater certainty, protect Canada’s dairy sector and jobs threatened by the new tariffs, and preserve what Ottawa considers favorable trade terms with the United States.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly before an agreement is finalized.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked provincial premiers to return U.S. alcohol to store shelves, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said, a step aimed at addressing one of the Trump administration’s key trade complaints.

Houston and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, both conservatives, voiced support for the direction of the talks, though Houston said whether Canadians would actually buy U.S. alcohol again “is a whole other discussion.”

▶ Read more

— Rob Gillies, Paul Wiseman and Seung Min Kim

Longtime publisher of Stars and Stripes to retire, citing differences with Pentagon leadership

Max D. Lederer Jr. is ending a decades-long career with the military newspaper as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon moves to exert editorial control and eliminate what it asserts are “woke distractions.”

Lederer made the announcement in a memo to staff and an interview with Stars and Stripes. In the memo, seen by AP, he said it had “become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction the leadership of the Department of Defense has for the organization.”

The announcement comes less than four months after the Pentagon fired the paper’s ombudsman, whose job was to safeguard editorial independence. The news outlet is partly funded by the Defense Department but has a legacy of independence from military and government leadership.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stars and Stripes has recently been at the forefront of some reporting on conditions for sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln and concerns for their mental health during its long deployment — concerns that Trump has downplayed.

▶ Read more

Missouri court allows new Trump-backed US House districts be used in November election

A Missouri judge has allowed new U.S. House districts backed by the president to be used in the November elections, rejecting a bid to put the Republican-friendly districts to a statewide vote.

Wednesday’s ruling by Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green is a victory for Republicans seeking to hold on to their slim majority in the House, but the court decision is likely to be appealed.

Missouri’s new districts already were used in the August primaries. That same day Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a petition with thousands of signatures seeking to force a November referendum on the map. Hoskins asserted that Missouri’s Constitution does not allow a referendum on congressional redistricting.

The judge agreed with Hoskins.

▶ Read more

Trump says he will attend GOP’s national midterm convention

In a social media post, the president said he plans to attend the Republicans’ first-ever national convention ahead of the midterm elections, an unusual event aimed at boosting turnout in races.

“I will be with you both nights, and rarin’ to go,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Trump used his characteristic hyperbole to build hype around the event, which will be hosted in Dallas on Sept. 9 and 10. He teased it as “THE GREATEST RALLY OF THEM ALL.”

“It will be like nothing else,” he said. “The Music, Excitement, and Importance of this Evening will be at levels never seen at a Convention or Political Event.”

US national debt hits $40 trillion

The national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering milestone as defense costs, social programs like Social Security and Medicare and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending.

The milestone figure was recorded just five months after the U.S. hit a record $39 trillion debt in March. It reached $38 trillion five months before that, in October.

The unprecedented $40 trillion figure highlights competing administration priorities, from boosting the defense spending that the U.S. relies on to carry out Trump’s almost-6-month-old Iran war to lowering the cost of gas and groceries.

▶ Read more

New CDC director acknowledges agency troubles, including ‘zombie’ programs

Dr. Erica Schwartz, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is promising to advocate for the agency while addressing staff burnout and understaffing issues.

In her remarks to staff, Schwartz referenced an AP story this week about CDC programs that have congressional appropriations but functionally are dead or nearly dead because the CDC staffers who did the work were laid off by Trump’s administration or remain on leave.

She did not say exactly what she will do about these dead, or “zombie,” programs and about staffers who feel exhausted and overloaded but said she will meet with CDC staffers to learn more about the situation and what can be done.

Trump tells Congress to pass pro-crypto law — but isn’t waiting to act

At a White House crypto conference Wednesday, Trump urged passage of the Clarity Act before yielding the floor to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Mike Selig, who vowed to “use every tool available” to advance Trump’s agenda.

Selig’s comments came ahead of a CFTC meeting Thursday examining ways the agency can use its existing authority to ease crypto rules. A day earlier, other securities regulators proposed rules, making it easier for crypto to raise money from the public.

Since the self-styled “crypto president” was reelected last year, his administration has also disbanded a Justice Department crypto enforcement unit and pulled back from prosecutions.

The shift comes as Trump’s latest financial disclosure reported he took in more than $1.4 billion in crypto-related income last year.

Trump said he’d welcome a data center. Many Americans aren’t so sure

“If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center,” the president told reporters in the White House. “I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid are just enormous.”

Trump’s review is more optimistic than many Americans, who have pushed back against data centers in their backyard over concerns with the buildings’ use of water, electricity or hefty tax breaks for tech companies. The large edifices — often used for artificial intelligence and cloud computing — have stirred a bipartisan resentment, which Trump nodded toward Wednesday.

“Maybe it can use a little public relations help,” he said, adding that a solution is for companies to produce their own electricity.

US to spend more than $19M to counter Chinese seabed mining, fishing in international waters

The Trump administration has notified Congress of its plans to spend more than $19 million to assist Pacific Island and other countries in countering Chinese attempts to dominate seabed mineral mining as well as crack down on unregulated Chinese fishing in waters far from China.

The State Department told lawmakers this week in separate notices that $14 million would fund ocean mapping and seabed exploration to push back against “aggressive and corrupt practices” by China in 12 Pacific island nations. Another $5.2 million will assist seven countries in boosting inspections of Chinese-flagged fishing vessels that frequently use their ports.

The notices, dated Monday, were obtained by The Associated Press.

The programs are part of a broader effort by the administration to counter China’s growing global influence and power projection.

Trump complains rates are ‘artificially high’

The president criticized a recent spike in borrowing costs and said the U.S. should have lower rates because the economy is doing well, contradicting financial analysts who say steady growth is a reason rates are rising.

“We have interest rates that are artificial — they’re actually artificially high,” Trump said. “When our country is strong, interest rates should go down. When our country is weak, frankly, they should go up.”

Interest rates on long-term Treasury debt have risen steadily for weeks to multiyear highs, lifting mortgage rates and other borrowing costs. The Treasury Department announced steps Wednesday to push rates lower.

Wall Street analysts say borrowing costs have advanced because of expectations that steady economic growth will keep inflation elevated. Most economists also blame ongoing large budget deficits and heavy borrowing by leading tech companies to build AI infrastructure.

Trump reduced joint US-South Korea military exercises

Trump also said he gave the order because he wasn’t happy with South Korea’s refusal to support him over Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“I didn’t like the fact that we were doing these massive military exercises really against North Korea,” Trump said. He added that “I’m friendly with him,” meaning North Korean leader Kim.

Trump said he hadn’t seen anything happening from North Korea “for certainly two and a half years.” The country appears to have slowed its pace of test firing rockets and ballistic missiles in the region in recent years.

“So, I felt that to do a massive, we were doing a massive war exercise, I thought that was very insulting to somebody that, frankly, has been, during my term at least, very well behaved,” Trump said.

Trump says ‘we have things we could sanction’ on Iran

“We have very draconian sanctions and we’ll see what happens,” the president said, without providing details.

Trump also said, “A lot of boats are coming through” the Strait of Hormuz while also acknowledging, “That may slow down a little bit at some point.”

Attempting to shrug off oil prices that have remained high, the president said they’d not reached $350 a barrel. He didn’t say who had suggested they might reach such a catastrophically high price.

Instead, Trump said that ongoing disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz had left the world looking for alternatives. He even offered, “I think the Hormuz Strait’s not going to be as important as it was in the past.”

Before the war, a fifth of the world’s traded oil typically flowed through the strait every day.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer-turned-enemy, says the president will appear on his radio show

Cohen and 77 WABC, the radio network where he hosts a new talk show, confirmed Wednesday that Trump will appear as a guest on the program this week after MS NOW first reported it.

Cohen, Trump’s longtime attorney who later testified against him in a hush money case, seems to have mended fences with the president recently.

Cohen has since criticized prosecutors in the case and said the two have begun to reconcile.

He said in a post on the social platform X that the interview would air during the evening on Thursday and Sunday.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump hosts crypto leaders

The president is holding court on Wednesday with several cryptocurrency and finance leaders for an event on digital assets.

The meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House coincides with one held by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Innovation Advisory Committee, which focuses on matters of technology and finance.

The president kicked off the meeting by listing his administration’s accomplishments on the issue.

“We’re ensuring that America remains the undisputed leader, not only in Bitcoin and crypto but also technologies like prediction markets, artificial intelligence, and much more,” Trump said.

An alarmed bond market gets the Trump administration to act again

Normally quiet, the bond market can occasionally send warning signals loud enough to hit stock markets worldwide and even grab the attention of U.S. presidents and other world leaders.

After the bond market’s alarm bells rose in volume throughout the summer in the form of higher yields, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday a move that could help calm it down.

The U.S. Treasury Department said it will more than double the amount of U.S. government bonds it will buy back. And the move worked to lower longer-term yields, for now at least.

The stakes are high because high yields drag on economies and bring downward pressure on stock markets.

▶ Read more

Trump’s White House renovations don’t stop at driveway’s edge

Trump’s construction tour also revealed that he has replaced the walkway from the diplomatic entrance to the White House and a connecting portion of the asphalt driveway around the South Lawn with white granite.

He asserted that asphalt is “not appropriate for a great house, or a great place like the White House.”

“One thing I know how to do is build,” Trump said.

Clinton’s birthday expands the octogenarian president’s club

Clinton was the last of three baby boomer presidents born within 66 days of each other in 1946. But he was the first to reach the Oval Office, elected in 1992 at the age of 46.

Trump turned 80 on June 14, followed by George W. Bush on July 6. Joe Biden, the only president from the Silent Generation, is 83.

It’s the oldest group of living U.S. presidents ever, with Barack Obama as the only one under 80 — and even the 44th president has reached Medicare eligibility age. He turned 65 earlier this month.

Clinton has slowed down in recent years, more than a decade after major heart surgery that led him to adopt a mostly vegan diet.

At the 2024 Democratic convention, he told delegates, “I have no idea how many more of these I’ll be able to come to.”

Bill Clinton gets birthday wishes as he turns 80

The 42nd president is celebrating a milestone birthday Wednesday.

Hillary Clinton, the former presidential nominee, secretary of state and first lady, led birthday greetings for her husband.

“Happy birthday, dear Bill. Eighty years in to your extraordinary life, I feel very lucky to have spent over 50 of them with you,” she posted on social media. “Here’s to more dancing, talking, and laughing together in the years to come.”

The George and Barbara Bush Foundation noted Clinton and former President George H.W. Bush’s “meaningful friendship … built after their time in office — a friendship grounded in mutual respect, service and a shared commitment to helping others.”

Clinton defeated the elder Bush in 1992 but came to see him as a mentor and sort of father figure. Bush died in 2018.

‘No serious dispute’ that Comey’s seashell post could be read as a Trump threat, prosecutors say

The Justice Department is defending its prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey and says there’s “no serious dispute” that a social media post of seashells he made could be understood as a threat against Trump.

Prosecutors also called into question late Tuesday Comey’s account that he found the seashells in the numerical arrangement “86 47” while walking on a North Carolina beach. Trump is the 47th president.

Prosecutors say Comey intended a physical threat or knew that the number 86 could suggest violence. Comey’s legal team calls it a vindictive prosecution and says Comey’s post didn’t amount to a true threat.

▶ Read more

Trump picks Dr. Heidi Overton, a top White House aide, to lead FDA

Overton is a deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and a trusted figure in the administration. She has worked on several of Trump’s health initiatives.

But the new Food and Drug Administration commissioner will face challenges balancing Trump’s priorities, traditional Republican interests, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-corporate stance. Overton will need Senate confirmation and face questions from the Senate health committee.

The previous FDA head, Dr. Marty Makary, resigned in May, leaving unfinished projects like work on ultra-processed foods, antidepressants, and COVID-19 shots.

Referring to a “Dr. Heidi” in a Truth Social post, Trump called Overton a smart and respected “rockstar” who would deliver on his priorities of faster cures, innovation, lower drug prices and more wins for Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement.

▶ Read more

Trump walks and waxes on white granite and grass

It was planned as a private event, but the president decided otherwise. He wanted the reporters to see him sign a massive stone, which would become part of the new helipad under construction.

So, a gaggle of reporters tailed Trump outside the White House as he noted the prior state of disrepair and now, “look at the columns, how perfect they are.” As for the grass, which he said, “has life like humans have life,” it will now “look so beautiful.” And the white granite, which is a “powerful stone” that “you’ll never see a crack in.”

Trump came to a stop, flanked by construction workers in hi-vis vests, hard hats, and sunglasses, who stood silently as the president complimented them and answered a few questions from reporters about the day’s news. The president signed the stone in sweeping strokes.

“I hope you liked it,” he told the assembled reporters.

Trump says underground portion of ballroom will be 5 stories deep

Trump complained that the lawsuit against his White House ballroom was “very unfortunate” because the filings in the case have made public details that might have been kept secret.

But Trump has also been talking about components of the portion of the ballroom that will be underground. And he has taken to referring to the structure as a “military complex” instead of a ballroom.

Trump said during the press tour that the part of the ballroom will be five stories deep underground. The precise depth of some structures, like the ballroom, is usually treated as a closely guarded secret.

Trump said he may reopen negotiations with Iran ‘at some point’

When asked by a reporter at the White House on Wednesday when he would plan to resume talks with Iran, Trump said, “Right now, I think the situation is so good, but maybe at some point.”

He reiterated that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon but didn’t offer any other details on his thinking.

Cardboard cut-outs of desert animals with slogans like “Don’t fence us in” and “No wall, no wire, no way” lined the walkway leading to TPWD headquarters, mirroring chants from the crowd –– all hoping that the agency that oversees the state park system would finally respond to months of public outcry about the possibility of large-scale federal border wall construction on public land.

Videos of bulldozers tearing into Big Bend National Park have sparked headlines around the world, to the point that Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott personally paused construction until he could conduct an on-the-ground visit to the region.

But the federal government’s plans in neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park and Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, both Texas Parks and Wildlife properties, are still up in the air. Customs and Border Protection has released little information to the public about its plans for border barrier construction on state land beyond an online map that has changed numerous times without warning.

Despite being one of the most pressing issues facing the agency, border barriers were not included in the agenda for the board’s quarterly meeting. The commission only holds one forum for in-person public comment per year, so organizers seized on the opportunity to speak to commissioners directly.

Mike Davidson, a river guide on the Rio Grande since 1977, said that in all of his years in the backcountry in Big Bend, he’d never once felt threatened by crime on the border. “We don’t see people trying to cross the river while we’re paddling,” he said.

David Long, a longtime TPWD employee and former superintendent of the Barton Warnock Center at Big Bend Ranch State Park, talked about the joys of teaching his grandsons how to safely navigate the river and the harsh Chihuahuan Desert backcountry.

“What is the legacy that we want to leave our future generations?” he asked the crowd. “Memories of how we coexist with nature and protect it –– or a scarred landscape?”

Ninety-nine people signed up to speak at Wednesday’s public hearing and the vast majority wanted to talk about border barriers, including a large contingency from the Big Bend region.

Hillary Pierce, an organizer for No Big Bend Wall, a group dedicated to stopping the construction of border barriers in Customs and Border Protection’s largest and least busy sector, said the pre-meeting tailgate was an attempt to make the gathering feel more like a celebration of Texas parks than a tense confrontation between the public and the commission.

“A lot of people don’t realize that the commission consists of people who are appointed directly by Gov. Abbott himself,” she explained. “In many cases, they are some of his biggest supporters, some of his biggest donors, and have a direct line to him. We’re hoping that they’ll advocate for us and amplify our voices in his ear.”

Former Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who has been trying to rally fellow Republicans to the cause, said opposing federal barriers in far West Texas has become a bipartisan cause. “I have yet to encounter anybody in the Big Bend area who does not oppose a wall,” he said

Jake Walker, a board member of the Texas chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said that federal border projects could affect 20% of all publicly available hunting land in the state. “Any changes in the landscape could have an impact on our access to that wildlife,” he said.

While most of the commenters were concerned with TPWD holdings in Presidio and Brewster Counties, they are not the only properties that could be affected by the barrier project. Seminole Canyon State Park — home to the Lower Pecos style of rock art –– preserves a storytelling and design tradition thousands of years old.

There are 80 recorded archeological sites in the park spanning 10,000 years of human history, earning it a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Amanda Castañeda, archeology director at Shumla, a nonprofit aimed at preserving the Lower Pecos rock art tradition, explained that CBP’s current plan would effectively cut the park in half with a six-foot fence that would cut off hiking trails and interpretive sites.

“This park contains a deep and varied history that Texans are proud of,” Castañeda said.

Though the TPWD commission is not obligated to respond to public comments, Chair Paul Foster did address the volume of comments related to border barriers.

“I think we agree with most of you, and are working with the governor’s office and the federal government,” he said. “Our goal is to minimize damage to the ecosystem and the natural beauty of not only the parks, but the whole area.”

Disclosure: Paul L. Foster has been a financial supporter 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 removal was a legal victory for Anthony, now 19, whose attorneys wanted the judge off the case following the June trial, in part because of a TV interview in which the judge said jurors “got it right” when they delivered a guilty verdict in the killing of Austin Metcalf.

Anthony, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison, wore a green prison jumpsuit in a suburban Dallas courtroom when a visiting judge ordered state District Judge John Roach's recusal. Judge Michael Chitty was later assigned to the case.

Outside the courtroom in McKinney, cheers erupted in the hallway while some Anthony supporters chanted “Free Karmelo!” in the parking lot.

“Today’s ruling answers a fundamental question: whether a reasonable fully informed observer would see Judge Roach’s conduct and believe that he could fairly and impartially consider a motion for new trial,” Anthony’s lawyers said in a statement.

On Thursday, Anthony was expected back in court for a hearing that will determine whether a retrial is warranted.

Jurors this summer had rejected Anthony's claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Metcalf in the stadium bleachers last year. Anthony did not testify during the trial. Other students who took the stand described a heated exchange over Anthony’s refusal on a rainy spring day to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf’s team.

The case attracted national attention in part because of a flood of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Lawyers on both sides, however, told jurors the tragedy had nothing to do with race.

Anthony’s legal team has argued that a retrial is needed, in part, because Roach enforced strict courtroom rules that they said limited the public's access to the proceedings. They also zeroed in Wednesday on comments Roach made to a Dallas TV station after the trial ended.

In the interview, which was played as the hearing began, Roach was asked if the jury got “it right.”

“Yeah, they did,” Roach said, adding: “Whatever they say, they got it right.”

During the interview, Roach also defended his courtroom rules and spoke about the onslaught of online postings about the case.

Visiting Judge Sid Harle said he did not know Roach and he believed Roach would be fair in a hearing for a retrial, but was granting the defense's request for a recusal because of how it might look to others. In his written order, Harle said the evidence was such that the judge's “impartiality might reasonably be questioned” and ordered another judge to “preside over all further proceedings.”

Roach did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the ruling.

Prosecutor Bill Wirskye had urged the court to keep Roach. He said the judge “didn’t do anything wrong” and that his courtroom rules were meant to protect the integrity of the trial, which brought demonstrators outside the courthouse. Wirskye did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the ruling.

As national attention on the killing intensified last year, the families of both Metcalf and Anthony said they had been targets of harassment.

“We were all getting death threats,” Wirskye said.

Several schools were competing when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers. Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.

Prosecutors said Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor.

Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

___

Associated Press writer Jim Vertuno contributed to this report from Austin.

On Wednesday, students reported they do not have access to campus resources and online services. UTSA officials said there was an “attempted unauthorized activity of technology systems” and took services offline out of an abundance of caution.

Officials also said they do not believe any information was accessed or stolen.

Some students said they were not surprised. They remember a similar disruption involving Canvas during finals in May that affected students at public schools and universities across the state.

For freshmen Santiago Barron and Sean Infante, it marks a strange way to start their college experience.

“I think it’s shocking how it happens my first semester, my first day of school,” Barron said.

Infante said he had hoped to browse student organizations and activities but could not access the websites.

“There’s nothing I can do because all the websites are down,” he said. “So it’s kind of annoying.”

Barron said other in-person activities allowed them to explore campus extracurriculars.

Meanwhile, students like sophomore Christian Ruszkiewicz said they were a little relieved to receive the notification, adding that it gives students some extra time before school starts.

“I was kind of happy because I don’t have the stuff prepared,” he said. “It is what it is.”

Maria Wence, a UTSA senior and KSAT intern, showed us how she was locked out of her accounts.

“Canvas is the only way to get to my classes, and I just can’t,” Wence said. “Even if you go to the One Stop website and you try to go into your personal information, it’ll do the exact same thing, just not let you in.”

For Infante, the situation is especially ironic as he is majoring in cybersecurity. According to the university website, UTSA has one of the top programs in the nation.

“The fact that it’s only UTSA that it happened to is pretty weird,” he said. “But it’s good that they took everything down so none of our information gets stolen.”

KSAT reached out to a spokesperson with the university to learn what systems were impacted and how it affects students, but KSAT was referred to UTSA’s news link.

The link shares that schedules for the school year — including fall break and the end of the semester — remain the same, but some deadlines for tuition have been delayed.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• UTSA delays start of fall classes after attempted cybersecurity breach

The milestone figure was recorded just five months after the U.S. hit a record $39 trillion debt in March. It reached $38 trillion five months before that, in October.

The unprecedented $40 trillion figure highlights competing administration priorities, from boosting defense spending that the U.S. relies on to carry out President Donald Trump's almost-6-month-old war in Iran to lowering the cost of gas and groceries.

Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said the Trump administration “has been focused on slashing waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending while accelerating economic growth to get America’s debt-to-GDP ratio trending in the right direction.”

However, experts say the exploding debt and the latest record milestone are already affecting Americans' pocketbooks by raising borrowing costs for things like mortgages and cars, lowering wages from businesses that have less money available to invest, and creating more expensive goods and services.

“If we want to improve our living standards, today and for the next generation, now is the time for lawmakers to put our nation on a more affordable and sustainable path," says Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a think tank focused on U.S. fiscal challenges.

The debt has exploded over several presidential administrations, as the nation's leaders spend more money than it collects in taxes. In recent memory, the multi-year COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the U.S. economy, where the federal government borrowed heavily during President Trump's first term and under former President Joe Biden to stabilize the economy and support a recovery.

More government spending was approved after Trump signed Republicans’ tax cut and spending legislation into law last year.

Advocates for a balanced budget also warn that the long-term trend of borrowing more and paying more in interest will force Americans to face tougher fiscal tradeoffs ahead.

"The federal debt is already raising the cost of living and choking out other spending and investment, threatening our economy and Americans’ long-term prosperity,” said Margaret Spellings, president and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“Our current fiscal trajectory is plainly unsustainable, and that’s the best-case scenario. AI disruption, a recession, global war, or any number of other events could quickly push us over the edge from a challenge into a full-blown crisis," Spellings said in a statement.

The U.S. is subject to a statutory debt limit, or a limit to federal borrowing, which Congress has the authority to set, adjust or abolish. The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates that the U.S. will most likely reach the $41.1 trillion debt limit sometime between late winter and mid-summer of 2027, requiring Congress to again vote on whether to raise or suspend it.

The U.S.' fiscal position stands as the worst among other developed countries, according to recent data analysis from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

Max D. Lederer Jr. announced his retirement, effective at the end of September, in a memo to staff on Tuesday, as well as in an interview with Stars and Stripes. In the memo, seen by The Associated Press, Lederer, the second full-time civilian in the position, wrote that it had “become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction the leadership of the Department of Defense has for the organization.”

The announcement comes less than four months after the Pentagon fired Jacqueline Smith, ombudsman for the newspaper, whose job was to safeguard editorial independence. The news outlet is partly funded by the Defense Department, but has a legacy of independence from military and government leadership. “No one should be surprised that they’re kicking out the one person charged by Congress with protecting Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence," Smith wrote in a column.

Stars and Stripes has recently been at the forefront of some of the reporting on conditions for sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln and concerns for their mental health during the aircraft carrier’s long deployment — concerns that President Donald Trump has downplayed.

It's part of larger, government-driven changes to the military publication

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Lederer’s retirement, which comes seven months after the department announced in a social media post that it would essentially overhaul the newspaper to align with its current messaging.

Hegseth's spokesman, Sean Parnell, wrote on on X in January that the Pentagon “is returning Stars and Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.” He said the department will “refocus its content away from woke distractions.”

“Stars and Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters,” Parnell wrote. “It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”

More broadly, the developments at Stars and Stripes come against a backdrop of increased efforts by Hegseth to control media coverage of the department.

Last year, officials attempted to impose restrictions on journalists working inside the Pentagon, which, in turn, led most news outlets to turn in their access badges and walk out.

Then this summer, the Pentagon took another step and declared its press office a classified space — instituting a policy that journalists must be accompanied by an escort on Pentagon grounds. That policy is being challenged in court. In mid-July, a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the policy could stand, overturning a lower court decision.

In her April column titled “The Pentagon is trying to silence me,” Smith, the former ombudsman, expressed concern over increasing restrictions on the media.

“For nearly a year, Pentagon leadership has placed more and more restrictions on the mainstream media,” she wrote. “The New York Times sued and when the Defense/War Department lost in court, instead of following the judge’s ruling Secretary Hegseth and company pivoted, finding another way to restrict journalists.”

Of Stars and Stripes, Smith wrote: “This newspaper has a long history of commitment to the military community and to journalistic values. Please don’t let it be controlled by Pentagon brass.”

The departing publisher objected to certain changes

Lederer was not made available for an interview with the AP. In the interview with Stars and Stripes, he said he did not feel the modernization efforts the Pentagon announced in March were appropriate, in particular a transitioning of print products to digital — a move he feared would limit accessibility for troops.

“I don’t feel that there’s a full recognition of the value of multiple platforms versus only a digital platform,” Lederer was quoted as saying.

In another development, Stars and Stripes said it could not confirm an account that, in recent weeks, a new deputy had been installed by the Pentagon under Lederer without the publisher’s prior knowledge.

In a letter seen by the AP, Rufus Friday, the chair of Stars and Stripes’ advisory board of publishers, wrote to congressional leaders about the arrival of the new deputy, a development he said “threatens Stripes’s editorial independence.”

Roughly half of Stars and Stripes' budget comes from the Pentagon, and its staff members are considered Defense Department employees.

The outlet’s mission statement emphasizes that it is “editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command” and that it is unique among news organizations tied to the Defense Department in being “governed by the principles of the First Amendment.”

The newspaper has been reporting about the military steadily since World War II, to an audience mainly of service members stationed overseas.

Lederer told Stars and Stripes that while his retirement is effective Sept. 30, he does not know whether the Pentagon will keep him as publisher until then or name an acting publisher.

___

Jocelyn Noveck writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP.

County officials estimate the deal will reduce the company’s county property-tax bill by more than $15 million over the life of the agreement.

The agreement applies to new, qualifying property value tied to the project at H-E-B’s Super Regional Center near Foster Road and East Houston Street.

Under the deal, H-E-B’s county property taxes on that new value would be cut by 85% for 10 years, while the company would still pay the remaining 15%.

The abatement affects Bexar County’s portion of the tax bill and does not automatically change what H-E-B owes other taxing entities.

H-E-B has said it plans to invest $636.5 million into the East Side facility as part of a broader supply-chain expansion described as roughly a $700 million project. The company has projected the expansion will create 720 new jobs.

In public discussions about the project, H-E-B has described early phases that include adding a bakery plant, a refrigerated warehouse and a returned-goods center at the campus. The company has said the facility already employs about 1,400 workers.

County leaders supporting the incentive said the agreement is meant to encourage long-term industrial investment and job growth on the East Side. However, the deal has also raised questions about whether the promised jobs and investment will materialize as projected, and what safeguards are in place for taxpayers if the company falls short.

Read also:

• Bexar County moves forward on $15M incentive package for H-E-B’s East Side expansion

Officer Rafael Perez is accused of fatally shooting Gregory Boaz, 56, according to a San Antonio Police Department preliminary report.

Officers responded to a call for a disturbance involving a gun just before midnight Monday in the 6700 block of Spring Front Drive.

SAPD Acting Chief Jesse Salame said Boaz called 911 to report people in his backyard, including one allegedly armed with a gun.

Upon arrival, the report states Perez contacted a woman who was later identified as Boaz’s girlfriend.

While talking with the woman, the report said Perez saw Boaz carrying two large knives.

Salame said Boaz refused Perez’s commands to put the knives down.

At some point, Boaz “aggressively advanced” toward Perez, police said.

SAPD said Perez then fired multiple gunshots, striking Boaz four times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No other injuries were reported.

The police department believes Boaz may have been experiencing a mental episode, as there was no one armed in his backyard.

Perez has been with SAPD for one year, according to the report.

The investigation is ongoing.

Read also:

• SAPD officer shoots, kills man who ‘aggressively advanced’ at him with large knives, police say

Lucero Tetrazzi, 18, is facing the following charges:

• Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (second-degree felony)
• Assault of a family or household member by impeding their breath/circulation (third-degree felony)

After her Tuesday arrest, jail records show Tetrazzi was officially booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center just after 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Court documents show a judge set Tetrazzi’s bond at $100,000. As of Wednesday afternoon, Tetrazzi remains in custody at the jail.

San Antonio Police Department officers responded Tuesday to the 400 block of Redcliff Drive for a disturbance involving two women who are dating. SAPD said the unidentified 19-year-old victim left before officers arrived and was located at another residence.

The victim told officers she and Tetrazzi had been arguing over cash when Tetrazzi demanded money from her. Tetrazzi then displayed a handgun and fired a round, police said.

The victim attempted to leave, but Tetrazzi prevented her from doing so by choking her and striking her with the handgun before firing additional rounds, police said. The victim was not struck by any bullets.

The victim later received help from a family member and escaped the home, SAPD said.

Officers set up a quadrant and took Tetrazzi into custody without incident, police said.

Tetrazzi’s next court appearance has been tentatively set for Nov. 23, records indicate.

SAPD said its investigation is ongoing.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, there is so much help for you. KSAT has a list of resources on its Domestic Violence webpage, which also explains how to identify different types of abuse.

If it’s an emergency, text or call 911. For wrap-around services, including the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, call Family Violence Prevention Services at (210) 733-8810.

You can also contact the Bexar County Family Justice Center, which also provides wrap-around services at (210) 631-0100.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• SAPD: Woman in custody after firing shots, pistol-whipping girlfriend during North Side money dispute

Officers responded to the shooting around 11:45 a.m. in the 5400 block of Godek Drive, located east of Old Pearsall Road.

Upon arrival, SAPD said the officers found a man with a gunshot wound in his lower leg.

Authorities provided treatment to the man and took him to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, SAPD said.

After further investigation, officers learned the man was traveling a block over when a gray SUV drove past him, and he heard a gunshot.

Police said the man realized shortly later that he was shot. He then traveled over to Godek Drive, where a homeowner called 911.

At this time, it’s unclear what prompted the shooting. Police said it’s an active investigation.

The incident happened around 6:45 a.m. at the intersection of South Acme Road and Old Highway 90.

According to a preliminary report, the man had attempted to cross the Southeast Side of the intersection while the driver was traveling westbound on Old Highway 90.

The pedestrian, who’s believed to be in his 30s, was unconscious and breathing when he was put into an ambulance, SAPD said.

Officers said the driver of the pickup truck remained at the scene and assisted the man after the collision.

Police believe the man attempted to cross the street when it was not his turn. He also wasn’t paying attention, an officer at the scene told KSAT.

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Overton is a medical doctor and deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council who has worked on several of Trump’s second-term health initiatives. She has become a trusted administration figure and a champion of the Republican president’s goals.

If confirmed by the Senate, she would have to balance a raft of competing priorities, including Trump’s fixations, the anti-regulatory interests of traditional Republicans and the anti-corporate posture of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Those challenges dogged the tenure of the previous FDA head, Dr. Marty Makary. He resigned in May, leaving behind unfinished projects such as work on ultraprocessed foods, antidepressants and COVID-19 shots.

Referring to her as “Dr. Heidi” in a Truth Social post, Trump said Overton was a smart and respected “rockstar” who would deliver on his priorities of faster cures, innovation, lower drug prices and more wins for Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

Kennedy posted on X that Overton has “exceptional judgment, professionalism, discipline and an unwavering commitment to the American people.”

Overton has promoted Trump’s health priorities

Overton attended medical school at the University of New Mexico and has a doctoral degree in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins University, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before joining Trump’s second administration, she was the chief policy officer at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank.

In recent months, she has appeared with the president to announce major projects, including some of his “most favored nation” deals with drug companies to lower prices to those of other developed countries and his recent vaccine order that sought to split the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate immunizations — against the advice of medical groups.

At an Oval Office event to promote that order, she stood by Trump as he falsely suggested the number or timing of vaccines could play a role in rising rates of autism spectrum disorder. Scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link.

Overton has been critical of abortion pills and, if confirmed, would be positioned to roll back FDA rules that made them more accessible. U.S. abortion opponents have expressed frustration that the administration has not acted to stem the flow of such pills prescribed online, a situation they view as undermining state abortion bans.

Mifepristone is typically used with misoprostol in medication abortions that make up close to two-thirds of abortions in the U.S. Medical professionals call it “among the safest medications” ever approved by the FDA.

To be confirmed, Overton must seek approval from a narrowly Republican-led Senate and face questions from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Its chair, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician from Louisiana, has been a vocal critic of some of Trump’s actions to sow doubt in vaccinations, including the MMR order.

Cassidy posted Wednesday that while he respects Overton's medical background, he has “strong concerns” about the nomination, mentioning her lack of managerial experience and her participation in the recent vaccine order, which he called “almost disqualifying.”

Democratic senators slammed the nomination.

“Heidi Overton is a far-right, anti-abortion extremist who has no business leading the FDA,” posted Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a committee member.

Makary’s replacement will face challenges he left behind

Before he left the FDA, Makary had drawn complaints from health industry executives and anti-abortion activists. The frustration with him came to a head over the agency’s lack of movement on flavored e-cigarettes. Companies such as R.J. Reynolds are seeking to market to adult smokers, but sweet-flavored vapes have long been blamed for the trend of teenage vaping. FDA scientists have hesitated to endorse those products to curb adult smoking.

Days before Makary's departure, the agency opened the door to allowing more unauthorized electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto the U.S. market, in a policy change that essentially bypassed FDA experts.

Pharmaceutical companies will be looking for changes at the agency, too, after rejections or reversals of biotech drugs intended for rare diseases. Complaints from biotech companies, investors and patient groups have grown and been taken up by conservative lawmakers.

Makary tried to assuage industry grievances, in part by announcing new programs designed to streamline or accelerate drug approvals. Some of those initiatives, however, have meant new headaches for the agency.

Several of Makary’s deputies also exited the agency.

Dr. Vinay Prasad, the vaccine and biotech chief, stepped down in April following intense criticism from drugmakers, patients and investors. Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, who was involved in scrutinizing the safety of antidepressants, COVID-19 vaccines and other widely used therapies, was replaced as FDA’s acting drug center director.

MAHA has high expectations of FDA's next head

Overton would also need to tend to the priorities of Kennedy’s health movement, some members of which are already skeptical of her.

Kelly Ryerson, an activist critical of pesticides who is known to her supporters as “Glyphosate Girl,” told The Associated Press that Overton parroted pesticide manufacturer Bayer's talking points in a MAHA roundtable at the White House in April.

“I was stunned by the blatant, undisguised corruption,” Ryerson said.

One major decision for the next commissioner is what to do about peptide regulation. A panel of federal health advisers selected by Kennedy recently recommended easing access to several peptides that are popular with wellness influencers and celebrities, despite warnings from FDA scientists that the chemicals have not been shown to be safe or effective.

The agency recently proposed a rule change that would require food manufacturers to notify regulators before introducing new ingredients or additives into processed or packaged foods. But it is still working with the White House to finalize a first-of-its-kind definition of ultraprocessed foods, which Kennedy blames for elevated rates of diabetes, obesity and other chronic conditions.

Under Kennedy, the FDA has set up extra hurdles for vaccine testing and blocked the publication of research into the effectiveness of COVID-19 shots. Kennedy stood by Trump recently as the president signed the executive order aimed at upending childhood vaccinations in the U.S. despite unprecedented financial and logistical challenges.

The FDA also has an ongoing review of widely used antidepressants, including whether they may increase the risk of autism and other disorders when used during pregnancy. The medicines have long been a target of Kennedy, who was a leader in the anti-vaccine movement before joining the government.

In recent weeks, the agency has been investigating two summertime foodborne illness outbreaks: a cyclospora outbreak linked to tainted iceberg lettuce that has sickened thousands of people and a multistate salmonella outbreak linked to jalapeño peppers.

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Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press journalist Laura Ungar contributed from Louisville, Kentucky.

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

Democrats have hoped to mount a comeback in the diverse, populous and economically dynamic state but have struggled to craft a message that resonates in the Sunshine State's political climate. Nixon's upset sets up a long-shot challenge to U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, a former state attorney general selected by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the seat after Marco Rubio vacated it when Trump chose him as secretary of state.

The race has already inflamed tensions within the Democratic Party over how to energize liberal voters eager for unapologetic, combative candidates without alienating independents and moderates who have been key to winning in battleground states.

“If you’re surprised by tonight’s election results, you haven’t been paying enough attention to what’s happening in the South,” said Britney Whaley, the southeast regional director of the Working Families Party, which backs populist candidates. “Tonight’s election results must be a wake-up call to a political establishment that believes a populist message can’t win in the South. Angie’s campaign proves voters will respond to a bold economic vision that meets their basic needs.”

A proud progressive who campaigned with new tactics

A spirited progressive who had the backing of Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Nixon is a longtime labor organizer who recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America. She championed policies like universal healthcare and childcare and has been an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy and the war in Gaza.

In May, Nixon protested the Republican-controlled Florida legislature’s redistricting of the state’s congressional maps by shouting through a megaphone on the state House floor. She was later reprimanded by an ethics committee but earned plaudits from Democratic allies and voting rights groups for her demonstration.

Vindman raised about $16 million in his race and had spent more than $9 million by the end of July. Nixon, by contrast, had raised just shy of $1 million. Nixon eschewed broadcast television advertising, instead focusing on targeting voters on social media. She was backed by prominent online figures like children’s education influencer Ms. Rachel.

In contrast to other high-profile statewide democratic socialist bids this year, Nixon received little opposition from national Democratic figures or major political action committees. That didn't stop progressives from immediately touting her win as a sign of greater momentum for the region.

Florida's Senate race was widely considered out of reach for Democrats and not central to the party's efforts to retake the upper chamber. Nevertheless, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin issued a statement praising Nixon as a “proven leader,” adding that the DNC “is ready to help elect Angie and work together to flip this seat.”

A defeat for ‘resistance’ Democratic politics

Vindman served on the White House's National Security Council during Trump's first term. His testimony was central to Trump's first impeachment over a phone call in which the president pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden and his family. Vindman became a national Democratic star and target of Trump's ire for his actions, a dynamic that garnered him millions in small-dollar donations.

His twin brother Eugene, who also served on the council, is a Democratic congressman from Virginia.

“Rep. Nixon ran a strong campaign. I will be standing by her side in the fight against Ashley Moody. I hope you’ll join me,” Vindman said in a statement after he conceded the race.

Trump gleefully hailed Vindman's defeat to Nixon.

“The most gratifying loss last night was that of a real treasonous creep, Alexander Vindman, to a Radical Left Lunatic, who can’t speak or think properly, and who will go down to certain defeat at the hands of Ashley Moody, a truly Fantastic Senator, from the Great State Florida,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. Trump added that Vindman “should be prosecuted for what he’d did!”

Democratic leaders like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had hoped Vindman's reputation and campaign war chest would turn what election analysts considered a solidly Republican seat into a more competitive race. Nixon’s upset victory has now buoyed already high Republican confidence in the state and raised progressive confidence about the strength of their message.

Vindman's defeat mirrors that of others who rose to prominence opposing Trump during his first administration, when Democrats embraced “resistance” as a moniker for that opposition and for standing up for the rule of law. Their defeats may show how rank-and-file voters have shifted toward more strident and affirmative visions of politics.

In May, Rep. Al Green of Texas, a longtime Trump opponent and civil rights icon, lost a runoff race to Rep. Christian Menefee, a freshman progressive representative less than half Green's age.

Rep. Dan Goldman, who served as counsel for House Democrats during Trump's first impeachment, lost his primary in June to progressive challenger Brad Lander, who had the backing of New York City's democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani. George Conway, a liberal lawyer who has garnered Trump's ire, came in fifth place in another New York Democratic primary for U.S. House.

And earlier this month, Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan, who last year introduced articles of impeachment against Trump, lost his primary to a democratic socialist in a Detroit-area congressional race.

Nixon's win headlined mixed results for progressives

In multiple southern Florida congressional primaries Tuesday, left-flank candidates lost to more moderate ones. While the state has shifted rightward in recent election cycles, Florida has long been a refuge for Latino communities who had fled left-wing authoritarian regimes in Latin America. Many of those Floridians have consequently reacted negatively to anything or anyone labeled as socialist.

Elijah Manley, who finished third in a Broward County U.S. House primary won by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, acknowledged the tightrope. He got about 14% of the vote in a five-way race. In neighboring districts, Rep. Jared Moskowitz and political newcomer Pia Dandiya ran as moderates and won 64% and 69% of the vote, respectively, over more progressive opponents.

“I’m a proud moderate. We need more moderates,” Dandiya said in an interview.

The Senate returns showed similar trends. Nixon carried most of the state but was weakest in southern Florida, which includes some of the state's largest Latino communities.

Still, Manley insisted the broader electorate wants a more aggressive, left-leaning party.

“They have looked at the Democratic establishment for the past four years, even 10 years, and it’s something that just isn’t working for them,” he said.

“Say what you will about the DSA. They’re organizing. They’re bringing people into the party. They’re exciting people, and they’re getting people. We should be happy that that’s happening,” Manley added.

Nixon's allies view her voter base, which includes some of the most working-class and majority-Black counties in the state, as another path to power when coupled with the broader Democratic coalition. But they caution intraparty divisions and an inauthentic message could hamper a candidate from any wing of the party.

“I think people are looking for change. They’re looking for leadership who they can trust and who listens,” said Moné Holder, a liberal activist and urban planning committee chair who defeated a Republican for an at-large seat on Jacksonville’s city council.

“They’re looking for people to serve who aren’t wrapped up in political drama, but are about people. And I think voters came out to show that, and it proved itself in my election, and Angie’s, and a few others,” Holder said.

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Associated Press writer Bill Barrow contributed to this report.

“When consumers see a listed price, they expect it to be (the) same price that everyone else sees, not the retailer’s estimate of how much they are willing to pay based on their personal data,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement.

The FTC has had its eye on personalized pricing for several years. In a preliminary report filed in January 2025, the agency found that grocers, clothing companies and others were using third-party companies to help them individualize online prices based on shoppers' locations, browsing histories and other factors, including how long they left items in their virtual shopping carts.

In one hypothetical example, the FTC said a consumer profiled as a new parent might be shown higher-priced baby thermometers on the first page of their search results.

Ferguson said the FTC doesn't have the legal authority to ban personalized pricing in all circumstances. But under the proposed policy, businesses would have to “clearly and conspicuously disclose” if they are engaging in personalized pricing and share the types of data they're using to set those prices.

The proposed policy states that companies engaged in personalized pricing without revealing the practice and the data behind it could violate the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive practices in the marketplace.

The FTC is seeking comment on the policy for 30 days.

Several retail trade groups didn't comment directly on the FTC's proposal Wednesday.

The National Retail Federation, which represents big companies like Walmart, Target and Macy's as well as smaller stores, said retailers want to continue to offer incentives like loyalty and rewards programs, which collect personal data and provide offers tailored to individuals.

“NRF has and will continue to aggressively advocate to protect these programs that deliver timely savings and personalized offers that are relevant to each shopper's interests,” said David French, NRF's executive vice president of government relations.

FMI, a trade group for the U.S. grocery industry, said Wednesday it was reviewing the proposal and didn’t have immediate comment. But in a letter FMI sent to U.S. senators this month after a subcommittee hearing on personalized pricing, FMI also said it hoped to preserve shopper loyalty programs.

In the letter, FMI also noted that electronic shelf labels, which are becoming increasingly common at grocers and retailers like Walmart, don't automatically change prices based on individual shoppers.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association, a trade group that represents Best Buy, Home Depot, Dollar General and 200 other retailers, didn't comment on the new proposal Wednesday but cited its own letter sent to U.S. senators earlier this month.

In the letter, the association said retailers don't use consumers' personal data to increase prices because that would jeopardize customer loyalty.

“As shoppers demonstrate an increased willingness to seek out lower prices, competition among retailers intensifies to meet customers' needs, creating a strong and continuous incentive for retailers to offer attractive prices, discounts and value,” the letter said.

The FTC's action comes amid consumer unease about pricing tactics. Wendy's faced a backlash in 2024 after it said it was considering charging more for its menu items during peak times. Uber and Lyft have also been in lawmakers' crosshairs for their surge-pricing practices.

Several states, including Maryland, Connecticut and New Jersey, have already passed laws prohibiting personalized pricing at grocery stores. California and New York are also considering legislation that would ban personalized pricing.

New Jersey also placed a one-year moratorium on new electronic shelf labels despite retailers' assurances that the labels aren't used for personalized pricing and can actually help consumers by, say, automatically lowering prices for foods that are about to expire.

The consumer advocacy organization Consumer Reports said Wednesday that the FTC's proposal was encouraging but might still require consumers to read detailed disclosures on pricing while shopping online.

The group said the FTC and Congress should instead follow the states' lead and ban companies from using customer data to personalize prices in the first place.

During his second day of testimony, Arturo Béjar said Meta consistently prioritized profits over safety in designing its products, focusing on how often and for how long people used them, even if it was detrimental to their mental well-being.

“If you step away from the product, they are not going to make any money,” he said.

The trial that began Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, pits Meta against the states of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey and is expected to last about six weeks. The four states were among 29 that sued the tech giant in 2023 over child safety and privacy — the other 25 will go to trial later. The company also faces lawsuits in state courts, including one underway in Tennessee.

The lawsuit accuses Meta of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms and hide these harms from the public. It also argues that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law.

Meta says users must be at least 13 years old to create an account, in line with the law, called the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.

“The attitude in particular on Instagram was ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell,’” Béjar said in response to a question about his perception of the company’s attitude towards users under 13.

The company has rejected the claims and said evidence at the trial will show its commitment to safety.

“You will hear over the course of this case a lot of important issues, issues like teen mental health, issues like social media, issues like how teens use social media,” Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt said Tuesday. “Those are important issues, and they’re issues where Meta believes that it has a responsibility. It has a responsibility to act on its own. It has a responsibility to try to work with teens and parents in partnership to try to address those questions.”

Plaintiffs' witness says safety was an ‘afterthought’

Béjar worked at Facebook from 2009 to 2015, attracting wide attention for his work to combat cyberbullying. He returned from 2019 to 2021 as a contractor to work on safety issues. He testified before Congress in 2023 about social media and the teen mental health crisis, saying that Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, knew about harms Instagram was causing but chose not to make meaningful changes to address them.

In his testimony Wednesday, Béjar said employee performance reviews and compensation for those who worked on user-facing products were mostly focused on user numbers and how long they spend with those products.

“In that context, safety was an afterthought,” he said.

The states are seeking changes to user experiences for Facebook and Instagram as well as financial damages, which could include billions of dollars in penalties. In a written statement, the office of California's attorney general said if Meta loses, the amount of any damages would be set by the court.

“This case is about stopping Meta from offering a dangerous product to teens, and from lying to teens, families, and the public about the dangerousness of their platforms. The primary remedy under our state consumer protection law is an injunction,” the statement said.

Béjar walked through Meta features he said were designed for adults and are “inherently unsafe for teenagers.”

This includes video autoplay, which can mean teens see videos that may cause them harm even if they don't click on them; as well as various counters that track how many people liked, viewed or commented on your content or how many followers you have.

Child development experts have noted teenagers are more susceptible to social comparison than adults, so products that reward popularity can be more harmful to their mental health.

Age verification has been criticized for not going far enough

Despite Meta's statements that it works to find kids under 13 on its platforms and ban them, Béjar testified that he found “tens of thousands” of kids under 13 on Instagram through his research. He said it was “common knowledge” at the company that such young children were on Instagram.

“Meta has one of the most sophisticated infrastructures in the world to detect fake accounts,” he said. But despite that, he added, there were “no goals, no metrics” to detect and check kids’ ages who were suspected to be under 13.

Over the years, Meta has introduced features it says are designed to make the experience safer for young people. But Béjar said these did not work.

For instance, a tool called “Take a Break," introduced in 2021, is a feature that is "designed to fail,” he said. First, it is a setting that people have to turn on if they want to use it. Béjar said that in his experience building settings, very few users actually go through the trouble of turning them on. He compared it to an airbag that drivers have to turn on every time they get in a car.

“A safety tool has to be on by default,” he said.

The feature can also be dismissed with a tap of a finger. If Meta was serious about wanting users to take a break, Béjar said, it would not be so easily swiped away.

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AP Technology Writer Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this story from Los Angeles.

A person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press the contract is expected to be a one-year deal. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the terms hadn't been announced.

Diggs is a two-time Pro Bowler coming off a season in which he was waived by the Dallas Cowboys and released by the Green Bay Packers. In joining the Super Bowl champions, the 27-year-old hopes to more closely resemble the player who had an NFL-leading 11 interceptions and earned All-Pro honors in 2021.

“I’m looking to show that I’m still the best,” Diggs said. “I’m looking to show that I just want to win and be there for my teammates and be a great teammate and be a great player.”

The Seahawks brought in Diggs less than a week after the team entered an agreement with cornerback Terrion Arnold, whose status for the 2026 season is uncertain.

Arnold is facing eight felony charges stemming from allegations he orchestrated the abduction and beating of three men in February. He became a free agent in June, when the Detroit Lions released him a few days after the kidnapping, armed robbery and conspiracy charges were levied.

Arnold will be placed on the commissioner's exempt list when he signs. He will not be permitted to play or practice while the league investigates his case but can be paid and attend team meetings.

Wide receiver Julian Hicks was waived to make room for Diggs on the 90-man roster.

Diggs should add depth to a secondary that lost cornerback Riq Woolen to free agency and has been without second-year safety Nick Emannwori, who had offseason ankle surgery, during training camp.

In 2025, Diggs played six games for Dallas before sustaining a concussion in an accident at home on Oct. 16. He didn’t explain the cause of the injury to reporters until two months later, when he said he got hit in the head when he was mounting a pole while trying to install a TV.

“It was tough, but just keeping good people around you (helps),” Diggs said of his recovery. “My family is a great support system for me, keeping my mental straight. Just keep going.”

Even after Diggs cleared the concussion protocol, he remained off the field with what the Cowboys described as lingering knee issues. Diggs then returned for two games before getting waived in late December.

He joined the Packers just before their final regular-season game. He played nearly half of Green Bay’s defensive snaps in his Packers debut as the team rested its starters in a 16-3 loss at Minnesota. But he was on the field for only one snap when the Packers lost 31-27 at Chicago in an NFC wild-card playoff game.

Diggs made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2022 but his performance has declined since, in part because of two major knee surgeries. He declared himself healthy on Wednesday.

“It’s my first offseason that I’ve been able to just not rehab and actually do offseason training,” Diggs said. “So, a lot of trainers put the work in, helped me put the work in to get to where I’m at today.”

Diggs has played in 71 NFL games, including playoffs, since the Cowboys took him with the 51st pick in the 2020 draft out of Alabama.

The Seahawks fielded arguably the NFL’s best defense last season. No team allowed fewer points per game (17.2), and Seattle finished in the top seven in the league in sacks and interceptions.

Diggs has been teammates previously with Seattle cornerback Josh Jobe and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.

“It was just finding somewhere that felt like home,” Diggs said. “Finding somewhere that I’ll have the opportunity to compete, have the opportunity to play. It felt right.”

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Join Stephanie Serna, Dr. Amy Cobb, ambulatory pediatric medical director at University Health, and Maria Hoenigman, director of programs at NAMI Greater San Antonio, at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, for a conversation that shifts the focus from supplies to the whole child, including physical health, mental well-being, a sense of belonging and the everyday stress that can build long before the first quiz.

Experts and community voices will discuss what “success” really looks like when grades are only one part of the picture. From spotting signs, a child is overwhelmed to helping them feel connected and supported, the town hall will explore how adults can create safe spaces for kids to speak up and how to teach children when it’s time to reach out to a trusted adult for help.

At the heart of it all is one guiding question: What do kids need from the adults around them to truly thrive this school year?

RESOURCES

Here is a list of resources from the show:

NAMI Greater San Antonio

• 210.734.3349
• NAMI-SAT.ORG
• NAMI Warm Line: 210.939.9999

University Health Behavioral Health Resources for Children, Adolescents & Teens

University Health Pediatric Primary Care

• Appointment line: 210.358.5437

Crisis Support

• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988
• For immediate danger or in an emergency: 911

KSAT Community operates in partnership with University Health and Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union. Click here to read about other KSAT Community efforts. Interested in partnering with KSAT Community? Get in touch by filling out this form.

The testimony of Paul Zeizel is the strongest evidence yet to support the defense contentions that Clancy should not be held legally responsible for murder because she has bipolar disorder and was in the grip of a rare mental illness called postpartum psychosis when she killed her three children before trying to kill herself. Zeizel began seeing Clancy as a patient at a hospital after the deaths.

“She was unable to conform her behavior to the rule of law. She had no appreciation for the wrongfulness of her act,” Zeizel said, adding that she had “a mental disease or a defect.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged from 8 months to 5 years old. Postpartum psychosis is linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth. Researchers estimate that the condition — which is more serious and less common than postpartum depression — afflicts 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery.

Prosecutors say the former labor and delivery nurse planned the January 2023 killings and contrived to get her husband out of the house by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family.

Clancy was not getting better

Zeizel, who said he spent more than 35 hours with Clancy over dozens of visits and reviewed her medical records, said she went to a perinatal clinic in December 2022 because she felt her “brain was damaged,” “she should kill herself” and that she “is never going to get any better.” She also showed signs of psychosis, was paranoid and feared that people could hear her thoughts and that she would lose her children.

“She was worried that her children would be removed from her and that she would never see them again,” he said.

But just because she was in a psychotic state, Zeizel said, that didn't mean she couldn't do “everyday tasks of living” like driving and searching the internet, a reference to the fact that the day of the killings she took her daughter to the doctor, played with the children in the snow and searched online for a pharmacy and a restaurant.

“So the fact she is not talking about the unicorns in the corner, she is not slurring her words and she is not unable to walk, to your opinion to a degree of medical certainty, does that mean she is not in a psychotic state?” Clancy's attorney Kevin Reddington asked.

Zeizel responded: “It does not.”

Prosecution challenges Zeizel's credibility

On cross-examination, prosecutors pointed out mistakes Zeizel made in his report about Clancy and questioned whether he could be objective about her diagnosis when he was seeing her as a patient and working with the defense including appearing with Reddington at a news conference.

Zeizel acknowledged that there was nothing in Clancy's medical records in which she reports hearing voices telling her to kill herself, only that she told her caregivers that “she wanted to die.”

Prosecutors have questioned the seriousness of Clancy’s suicide attempt. After strangling her children, Clancy jumped from a second-story window and remains paralyzed from the waist down.

Prosecution brings up the children's birthdays

Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham also read from daily reports from Tewksbury Hospital, the state psychiatric hospital where Clancy stays, that included the anniversary of the killings and what would have been her children's birthdays. Those reports mentioned her parents sometimes visiting or her talking with other patients. But they never mentioned anything she did to remember her children.

Reddington asked Zeizel if he saw anything in the record from the hospital about her “laughing, and partying and having a good time” while in the hospital.

“Lindsay Clancy has bad days and worse days,” Zeizel said.

Zeizel also said Clancy often talks about her children, aiming to dispel prosecutors' contention that she never mentions them. “She really loves them and misses them and thinks of them every single day, almost every moment of the day,” Zeizel said.

If convicted of murder, Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If found not guilty because of a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

With control of the chamber on the line, Sullivan stepped up his attack against Peltola in the days leading to the primary, questioning her effectiveness while in Congress and seeking to align her with Lower 48 “liberals.” Peltola positioned herself as someone who would represent “regular” people and push back against special interests and wealthy politicians.

Both are seen as the leading candidates in November because of their fundraising and name recognition.

The Senate race was one of several being decided in the primary, which also featured Alaska's only U.S. House seat and an open governor's race. Under the state’s open primary system, all candidates appeared on the same ballot. The four top vote-getters qualify for the ranked vote general election. But it remained too early Wednesday to call all the candidates advancing in the top races.

In the House race, Republican Rep. Nick Begich advanced, along with independent Bill Hill. Two Democrats, former lawmakers Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Tom Begich, Nick Begich's uncle, advanced in the race for governor.

Voters Tuesday also approved a ballot measure that would reimpose campaign contribution limits, five years after a divided federal appeals court struck down a number of caps.

Senate race features 2 widely known candidates

Sullivan and Peltola were the highest-profile candidates among a field of 16 and vastly outraised the other competitors. The race, among a handful that could help determine control of the Senate, has drawn significant attention from outside groups, with Republican and Democratic campaign organizations identifying it as a top target.

Peltola, who in 2022 became the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, has tried to steer a centrist path and revived the “fish, family, freedom” slogan that first propelled her to office. But in the days before the primary, she shook up her campaign leadership. The campaign described the changes as “staffing updates as we transition into the general election.”

Sullivan, a veteran and ally of President Donald Trump who is seeking a third term, campaigned on supporting the military, opening more land for oil and gas extraction, and voting for Trump’s signature tax and spending law. He told supporters Tuesday in Anchorage that his office is “getting big things done.”

He criticized Peltola, who lost her bid for reelection in 2024, as ineffective during her time in Congress. He said “D.C. Democrats” don't have a vision for the state but instead have placed a target on Alaska, such as opposing opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

Peltola said the Trump administration has brought challenges to Alaska, including cuts to the federal workforce, and criticized Sullivan's support of Trump’s tax and spending bill. She said the bill has not brought opportunity to Alaskans and accused Sullivan of voting for “corporate greed.”

She released an ad Wednesday saying she's willing to take on anyone — “including Democrats, anyone in the Lower 48 who doesn't understand what Alaska needs.” She expressed support for resource development, Second Amendment rights and border security.

A second Dan Sullivan garnered attention

A third candidate, a Republican also named Dan Sullivan, stole much of the attention ahead of the primary.

Dan J. Sullivan won a legal fight to appear on the ballot despite claims by the senator and GOP allies that he was a sham candidate running at the behest of Democrats with the intent of causing confusion. Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from the island community of Petersburg, denied that and said frustration with the incumbent prompted him to run.

He appeared on the ballot as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation — a decision that a state elections official said was intended to minimize possible confusion. The senator was listed as Dan S. Sullivan, Republican and incumbent.

Dan J. Sullivan, the challenger, expressed gratitude Wednesday for the support he'd received, while awaiting election results that would determine if he would be among the four advancing to November.

Matchups in House, governor's races still taking shape

Nick Begich, who was endorsed by Trump, cast himself as hardworking and effective in his role in the U.S. House. He said results from the primary show that Alaskans are ready to return him to Congress.

Hill, a fisherman and former educator from a small southwestern village, has made affordability a key issue in his campaign. He said Alaskans are tired of paying high costs for healthcare, gas and groceries.

“Begich and his buddies think they can play by a different set of rules than we do,” he said after advancing Tuesday. “The Alaskans I know don’t think that’s right.”

The governor's race was wide open with Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy barred by term limits from seeking a third consecutive stint. The crowded field was mostly led by Republican tickets. A Democrat hasn't served as governor in Alaska since Tony Knowles left office in 2002.

Republicans in the race included Bernadette Wilson, a business owner and conservative activist; Click Bishop, a former lawmaker; Dave Bronson, a former mayor of Anchorage; and Adam Crum and Treg Taylor, two former members of Dunleavy’s Cabinet.

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Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage contributed to this report.

KSAT 12 News first reported on the problem at the intersection of Toepperwein Road and Lookout Road in March.

At that time, Texas Department of Transportation data showed only a handful of crashes in 2026, though about three dozen had occurred at the same corner the previous year. Since that report, TXDOT records show an additional 12 crashes so far this year.

“You can sit here, and it’s very entertaining sometimes, but then it’s really scary,” Robert Cavazos told KSAT 12 News in March.

Cavazos lives nearby and said he regularly sees the collisions from his home.

“There was one accident one time where that railroad crossing arm is. The guy took it completely out of the ground when he hit it,” he said.

While records show the majority of the crashes so far this year involved relatively minor injuries or no injuries at all, some residents fear it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed.

The intersection features stop signs for drivers traveling on Lookout Road.

Drivers on Toepperwein Road have no signals at all and have the right of way.

Observers like Omar Maldonado said that’s part of the confusion that leads to the crashes.

“I think because it’s not a four-way stop, everybody’s stopping, and that’s what’s starting to cause a chain reaction,” he said.

Maldonado was working in the area Wednesday, supporting a road crew installing underground fiber systems. The crew’s presence led some people on social media to speculate the workers might be installing the traffic signal.

However, their work was unrelated to that upcoming project.

KSAT 12 News made several appeals dating back to March for an interview with someone from the City of Live Oak’s administrative office.

Instead, the city emailed a statement each time, saying that TXDOT was overseeing the traffic signal project,

TXDOT, in turn, said in a statement it is only assisting with the project, which is under the direction of the City of Live Oak.

Union Pacific Railroad is also involved because the traffic light would affect the railroad tracks at that intersection.

A TXDOT spokeswoman said work on the traffic light could begin in early 2027, though the date is subject to change.

Read also:

• Troubling North Side intersection could get traffic light soon, San Antonio city councilman says

Rumi, who is a week old, has undergone heart surgery under the care of his biological parents and is in critical condition at a Dallas area hospital, as of Monday, said Lee Budner, the couple’s attorney. 

Their surrogate McKenna West, who gave Rumi a different name, Gabriel, had challenged the couple’s parental rights after she said they were going to refuse medical care for the baby upon birth and were forcing her to get an abortion, the latter of which the parents deny. In a statement released by West’s attorneys on Tuesday, she confirmed that she is still pursuing custody to give Rumi continued care despite his parents’ already approving his first surgery.

“I don’t understand how they can be trusted,” said Lila Rose, founder of Live Action, an anti-abortion group working with West. “I think their actions so far have shown that they do not have the best interests of this baby at heart.”

Budner disputes Rose’s characterization of his clients, telling the Tribune that they immediately agreed to surgery for Rumi who has and will have to undergo multiple surgeries in the first several years of his life to address the underdeveloped heart he was born with. 

“Ms. West continues to assert baseless claims for custody of Rumi, in violation of multiple courts orders out of both Alaska and California,” Budner said. “We look forward to quickly defeating those claims as Rumi’s parents continue to focus on his health and safety above all else.”

If the courts side with West, the decision could reshape surrogacy for couples wanting to use this method to have a child  and for the women who offer to carry these babies. Surrogacy experts say the case threatens to erode the parental rights of birth parents, water down pregnancy termination clauses in surrogacy contracts, and discourage couples from using surrogacy to grow a family in Texas. 

“This poses the question, how much power do we give the state over our private families?” said Christine Andresen, an attorney with Austin-based CHA Law Group specializing in surrogacy law.

The case has captured the attention of conservative groups, including the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents West, Texas Alliance for Life, and Texas Right for Life because it touches three conservative priorities: eliminating abortions, upholding traditional parental rights and their latest focus — restricting commercial surrogacy.

West sought support from anti-abortion groups that helped move her fight to Texas, Rose said. Live Action paid for West to travel to Texas from Alaska where she was connected with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group representing her in the case. In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton also intervened on her behalf, but withdrew from the case on Wednesday following confirmation that the baby had received medical care.

West’s case comes as conservative state lawmakers are considering restrictions on commercial surrogacy and IVF, the method that makes gestational surrogacy possible. Earlier this year, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued interim charges that directed senators to examine foreign nationals “exploiting” Texas surrogates and the Texas Republican Party adopted a platform calling for a ban on the practice. 

Surrogacy is an exploitative practice that reduces women to their ability to bear children and treats children as commodities subject to negotiation, said Texas Right to Life president John Seago, who supports banning commercial surrogacy. Paying for or creating a contract around a pregnancy can turn a child into something purchased, some conservatives say. 

“I think this case really highlights the concerns that pro-lifers and conservatives have been raising about surrogacy, especially about commercial surrogacy,” Seago said.

Surrogacy experts say the case is unusual and does not reflect most gestational surrogacy agreements. However, it could fuel legislative changes in Texas.

“I think it’s being teed up for something much larger,” said Rachel Rebouché, University of Texas School of Law professor who specializes in reproductive law.

Allowing surrogates to claim parental rights

Created before any medical process, a surrogacy agreement protects the rights of intended parents and the surrogate, who both hire their own lawyers to spell out their respective terms, said Rebouché. It defines each party’s responsibilities, the financial terms of the agreement and typically, states that the intended parents will have parental rights, including in making medical decisions for the fetus. 

West is contesting the entirety of the surrogacy agreement — which was executed in Alaska with the birth parents Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, who are from California —

to assert that she should have parental rights over the baby. The Tribune has not been able to obtain a copy of West’s surrogacy agreement with Ahmed and Gilkar. 

West has tried to dispute the surrogacy agreement in Alaska and California, but the Alaska court deferred it to the California court to decide since that was where the birth was supposed to take place, and the California court ruled in Ahmed and Gilkar’s favor. Last week, a Dallas County family district court judge also rejected West’s request for a temporary restraining order in the case, recognizing Ahmed and Gilkar’s parental rights and giving them custody once the child was born.  

“Surrogacy arrangements are designed to get people to get to a meeting of the minds and to get on the same page, so that conflict doesn’t erupt later in the pregnancy,” Rebouché said. 

West hopes that Texas law will still give her parental rights now that she gave birth because Texas family law recognizes the woman who gives birth in Texas as the legal mother of that child, Rebouché said. 

If the court does not recognize the surrogacy agreement and Gilkar and Ahmed’s parental rights, the court would have to apply default parentage rules that generally recognize the person who gives birth as the legal parent, Rebouché said. In this case, that would be West. 

Andresen says this ruling would instill fear in couples who want to use a surrogate to have a child because they wouldn’t automatically have rights to their biological child. 

“I imagine that it would be scary for Texas’ intended parents if the AG got to decide whether or not they could keep a child that was biologically theirs,” Andresen said. 

Pregnancy termination clauses

When West signed a gestational surrogacy agreement, she agreed to an abortion clause commonly found in surrogacy agreements, Ahmed and Gilkar’s attorney said in Dallas court filings. 

The clause typically clarifies situations where an abortion could be requested – if the pregnancy threatens the surrogate’s health or prenatal testing identifies a severe fetal condition that is expected to be fatal or require extensive medical care after birth. The clause might allow the intended parents to ask for an abortion or a surrogate to ask for one. In Texas, abortion clauses were sometimes  included in surrogacy agreements until abortions were banned statewide in 2022, said Andresen.

An abortion clause does not mean that intended parents can force a surrogate to undergo an abortion, said Rebouché. But, it could establish financial consequences if either party does not follow the surrogacy agreement. For example, the biological parents can take the surrogate to court to pay financial penalties for refusing the terms of the surrogacy contract, they could end compensation for the surrogate, or stop paying for pregnancy-related expenses.

West is challenging the validity of the agreement in Texas court by saying that judicially enforcing the abortion clause or penalizing her financially for refusing the abortion violates her fundamental right to “privacy and bodily autonomy,” according to Dallas court records. 

“No woman should be forced to kill the baby she is carrying,” said Alliance Defending Freedom in a statement released last week.

Experts say the dispute is unusual because courts have rarely been asked to enforce financial penalties when a surrogate declines an intended parents’ requested abortion. This could provide a precedent for others to challenge such contracts with similar language.

Surrogacy laws can differ from state to state, but where the surrogate physically is will ultimately dictate which state’s laws are triggered, said Marla Neufeld, a family attorney with Florida-based Greenspoon Marder LLP. This is why West sought out Texas where laws are friendlier to her circumstances. 

“If the delivery doesn’t occur in the state where it’s anticipated, with the parentage process that’s been planned for before anyone was pregnant, it creates a lot of confusion and legal challenges,” Neufeld said.

Some conservatives see surrogacy as an inherently coercive practice and the abortion clause is an example of one of the ways the agreement can violate a woman’s rights as well as promote a pro-abortion framework. They fear that surrogacy contracts can be used as a way to control decision making for people around abortion, said Rebouché. 

Texas Right to Life and Live Action want to see an end to surrogacy but at the very least they want to see abortion clauses eliminated from surrogacy contracts. They say this clause is inherently pro-abortion and only works to encourage designer babies. Conservative advocates say no contract should be allowed to violate a surrogate’s decision about her body and violate her constitutional rights.

“No legal contract can cancel the value of a woman who is the mother opposing the abortion of her child,” Seago said. Just because something is in a contract does not make it ethical, and definitely doesn’t make it something the state of Texas should enforce.”

Andresen said removing the abortion clause could hurt surrogates, leaving them financially on the hook for medical complications related to the surrogacy. 

Banning commercial surrogacy

No matter the outcome in West’s case, experts say that the fight to limit and eventually ban commercial surrogacy will continue with conservative groups in the state legislative session that starts in January. 

“If the intermediate appellate court or Texas Supreme Court doesn’t take (West’s case) up, we might well see it pop up as a bill in the next legislative session,” Andresen said.

West’s lawyers have said they will take the case to national courts if needed to appeal the California decision that sided with the intended parents and gave them parental rights. The next hearing in Dallas county court is scheduled for Aug. 25.

Andresen fears that if Texas restricts surrogacy, some families will have to give up their dreams of having a child that is biologically theirs.  In 2025, Texas was home to 657 births from surrogacy, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. 

“Hard cases make bad law,” Andresen said, quoting a common legal principle.

Wealthier intended parents could pursue arrangements in other states, Andresen said, while middle-class families struggling with infertility would be hurting the most. 

“If this goes up to the Texas Supreme Court and they somehow modify Texas’s family code, it’s likely to make surrogacy more cumbersome in some way and less accessible to middle class people,” Andresen said.

The Jaguars gave up a sixth-round draft pick in 2027 for Faalele, a 6-foot-8, 380-pound lineman, with the trade conditional upon him passing a physical.

“Just continuing to bring depth and guys that have played meaningful reps in this league," coach Liam Coen said after a joint practice with Carolina. "That’s something that you can’t have enough of. We came into camp with 16 (offensive linemen) and got down to about nine the other day.

"When you have some of those things occur, you want to continue to find guys that have done it, guys that have played in this league at a high level. He’s got some big size, and I’m looking forward to getting to know him. But the experience is really what matters.”

Jacksonville is down two starting linemen, and each could miss games early in the season.

Right guard Patrick Mekari recently had back surgery to alleviate a lingering issue and could start the season on short-term injured reserve, and starting right tackle Cole Van Lanen (knee) has missed all of training camp while on the physically unable to perform list. Backups Chuma Edoga, Walker Little and rookie Emmanuel Pregnon also have missed time recently in camp, although Pregnon has since returned to practice.

To make room for Faalele, the Jaguars waived offensive lineman Timothy McKay. The Giants filled their opening by claiming defensive tackle Ben Barten off waivers from the Jets.

Faalele had been taking second-team snaps at Giants training camp but lost his best chance at a starting role when the team selected Francis “Sisi” Mauigoa with the 10th pick and planned to make him a guard.

Faalele, 26, started all 17 games for now-Giants coach John Harbaugh with Baltimore each of the past two seasons. He played in 71 NFL games, all with the Ravens, since debuting in 2022, and was one of several players who followed Harbaugh to New York.

Trading Faalele could open the door for tackle-turned-guard Evan Neal to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Neal, the seventh pick in 2022, surprisingly returned for a fresh start with a new coaching staff after not playing at all last season.

“I’ve seen great growth from Evan in his ability to take coaching and his ability try to understand not just how things look on paper but what certain alignments mean to him,” offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren said last week. “He’s playing with more confidence.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% for its first gain in four days after setting its all-time high last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 119 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite ticked 0.2% higher.

Financial markets have come under growing strain as Treasury yields charged higher through the summer on worries about inflation, big government debts and other factors. That makes borrowing money more expensive for everyone, which slows the economy and undercuts prices for stocks and other investments.

But Treasury yields fell in the morning after the U.S. Treasury Department said it will at least double the size of its planned purchases of longer-term Treasurys from Sept. 9 through Nov. 4. The department said it’s doing so “to provide greater liquidity support in longer-dated nominal sectors where there is consistent strong sponsorship from market participants.”

These longer-term 10- and 30-year Treasurys are less beholden to the Federal Reserve, which can raise or lower very short-term interest rates for overnight loans. President Donald Trump has lobbied for the Fed to lower interest rates to help the economy.

Longer-term yields are set instead by investors in the bond market, who decide how much interest they need to get paid by the U.S. government in exchange for lending it money. And recently, they have been demanding more in interest to make up for the growing risks of high inflation, continued government deficits and other factors.

After the Treasury department’s announcement, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.64% from 4.71% late Tuesday. It, though, remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran sent oil prices and worries about inflation much higher.

The 30-year Treasury yield, which recently touched its highest level since 2007, fell more sharply to 5.18% from 5.28% late Tuesday.

The relief could be short lived, some analysts warn. The amount of bonds the U.S. Treasury is proposing to repurchase is a fraction of the overall total.

“The boost to buybacks is also happening in a world of challenged Fed credibility,” according to strategists at BNP Paribas. Investors are questioning whether the Federal Reserve will raise the federal funds rate soon to match the tough talk its chairman, Kevin Warsh, has been offering on getting inflation down toward its 2% target.

“We do not believe buybacks will be enough to offset a continued loss in Fed credibility,” the BNP Paribas strategists wrote in a report, calling them “necessary, but not sufficient.”

On Wall Street, Moderna and Merck helped lead the market after they announced encouraging initial results from a study of a cancer vaccine they co-developed. The new drug showed better recurrence-free survival in melanoma patients who had a combination of it and Keytruda, a prescription immunotherapy drug made by Merck, than with Keytruda alone.

Moderna soared 177%, while Merck jumped 12.6%.

The continuing parade of U.S. companies reporting bigger profits for the spring than analysts expected, meanwhile, continues to support stocks.

Estee Lauder rallied 16.3% after CEO Stéphane de La Faverie said a key measure of its revenue growth accelerated for a fourth straight quarter. It reported growth in revenue around the world, with the strongest in mainland China.

The skin care company reported earnings per share of 39 cents, after excluding some restructuring and other one-time expenses. That’s up from just 9 cents a year earlier and was better than the 32 cents that analysts expected, according to FactSet.

Such growth is imperative because stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term. And strong growth helps allay criticism that stock prices shot too high in their runs to records.

Target rose 4.3%, Lowe’s added 2% and homebuilder Toll Brothers climbed 4% after they all reported better profits for the latest quarter than expected.

They helped offset drops for some Big Tech stocks, which restrained the overall market.

Broadcom fell 4.6% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. It and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom have been swinging sharply through the summer on worries that their stocks may have shot too high and that the AI frenzy may not be sustainable if it doesn’t produce big-enough profits.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 16.22 points to 7,707.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 119.65 to 53,463.05, and the Nasdaq composite added 41.38 to 26,331.09.

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

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 sank 3.2%. South Korea’s Kospi, which has been home to some of the world’s sharpest swings because of its heavy reliance on AI stocks, slumped 5.8%.

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AP Writers Michelle Chapman, Chan Ho-him, Mike Stobbe and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

During a stretch of seemingly never-ending triple-digit days, you might be wondering, “What’s the hottest it’s ever been in the Alamo City?”

San Antonio’s hottest temperature

On Sept. 5, 2000, the temperature reached a whopping 111° at San Antonio International Airport — the official weather site. This is the highest temperature ever in San Antonio’s weather record, which dates back to 1885.

Here’s a look at the 10 hottest recorded days in the Alamo City:

These numbers may come as a surprise. Perhaps, the temperatures are not as high as you might think.

The reason San Antonio very rarely sees a temperature above 110° is because of our high humidity and proximity to the Gulf. The air doesn’t warm up very easily when more water present.

Places with less humidity, like the Desert Southwest, the Great Plains, or valleys in the Pacific Northwest will occasionally record highs equal to or even hotter than San Antonio’s record of 111°.

In 2021, Portland, Oregon saw 116°. Redding, California recorded 119° in 2024. During the Dust Bowl of 1936, Fargo, North Dakota experienced 114°.

Take a look at some of the other places around the nation that have *technically* been hotter than San Antonio at some point:

San Antonio’s Hottest Heat Index

This is common sense, but just because the places above have seen an occasional temperature hotter than San Antonio, doesn’t mean that these places are on average hotter than San Antonio. The Alamo City consistently see highs at or above 100° each summer, averaging 22 triple-digit days each year.

The humidity makes things worse, which is reflected in the heat index, or what it feels like outside. Check out my video explaining the heat index here:

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A post shared by KSAT News (@ksatnews)

What’s the hottest the heat index has been for San Antonio? That’s 117° on June 4, 2024. The heat index has been monitored since 1940 at San Antonio International Airport.

Here’s a look at other places around the metro area that day ⬇️

• Read more from the meteorologists on the Whatever the Weather page
• Download KSAT’s weather app for customized, accurate forecasts in San Antonio, South Texas or wherever you are
• Find the latest forecasts, radar and alerts on the KSAT Weather Authority page

The crash happened around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday in the 100 block of Dorsey Drive, near East Ashley Road.

A San Antonio Police Department sergeant at the scene told KSAT a 58-year-old man accidentally put the vehicle into drive when he intended to reverse.

On Tuesday afternoon, SAPD said in its preliminary report that the driver got distracted and put the vehicle in drive, causing the woman to be pinned under the vehicle.

According to a San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson, the vehicle struck a fence and trapped the 59-year-old woman underneath the car.

The woman was later extricated, and authorities attempted to save her life. However, authorities said she died at the scene.

Investigators do not believe the incident had any criminal elements. The man is not expected to face charges.

SAPD said its investigation is ongoing.

Read also:

• DOJ announces guilty verdict for New Braunfels man accused of smuggling guns from US to Mexico

Officers responded Tuesday evening to the 400 block of Redcliff Drive for a disturbance involving two women who are dating. SAPD said the 19-year-old victim left before officers arrived and was located at another residence.

The victim told officers she and her girlfriend had been arguing over cash when her girlfriend demanded money from her. The girlfriend then displayed a handgun and fired a round, police said.

The victim attempted to leave, but her girlfriend prevented her from doing so, choking her and striking her with the handgun before firing additional rounds, police said. The victim was not struck by any bullets.

The victim later received help from a family member and escaped the home, SAPD said.

Officers set up a quadrant and took the suspect into custody without incident, police said. She faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault by strangulation.

SAPD said its investigation is ongoing.

Read also:

• Woman dies after man accidentally drives into fence on South Side, authorities say

Trump gushed for several uninterrupted minutes about granite being laid and said the chopper landing area would leave visiting foreign leaders “very impressed” — including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is coming next month.

At times, he sounded almost like a construction manager, singing the praises of granite over asphalt in painstaking detail and noting for reporters he brought out for the show that the stone could withstand 35,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.

“That's stone that, if you took a hammer and you started hammering right now — all day long — you wouldn't see a mark on it, literally, that's the kind of power it is,” Trump said, at times straining to be heard over the thrum of ongoing work behind him.

The president also revealed for the first time that he has replaced the walkway from the White House's diplomatic entrance along with a portion of the asphalt driveway around the South Lawn with white granite.

“One thing I know how to do is build,” he said, asserting that asphalt is “not appropriate for a great house, or a great place like the White House.” He said that, had he instead merely used “really powerful concrete," it would have supported ”just a tiny fraction of that in terms of strength.”

Trump relishes being the builder-in-chief

The president is called upon to fill many roles as president, but embraces none with as much zeal as managing various building projects to mold the White House and large swatches of Washington in his own image, seeming happiest recalling his days as a real estate developer.

Trump also likes to show off his handiwork and having the White House press pool on hand at all times gives him a readymade audience. Last year, he made an appearance on the roof of the briefing room to survey a future work site, and earlier this summer, he took reporters for a closer look at the ballroom construction site.

It suggests Trump remains focused on such projects, even as his war in Iran nears the six-month mark, his approval ratings sink with just 2 1/2 months to go before critical midterm elections, and as voters are increasingly worried about a weakening economy.

Trump drove home just how important the construction projects are to him, calling the work “very exciting.”

“This will be here long after we’re gone,” Trump said of the projects. “No matter what happens with the world.”

But whether it will endure after he leaves office remains to be seen. Trump once suggested that his refurbishing of the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool would last a century, only for the paint to fade and its liner to peel away in chunks just days after it was laid.

Trump again says his ballroom will have security value

The president has increasingly insisted that the $400 million ballroom will add security to the White House and include things like anti-drone technology. His administration even unsuccessfully sought $1 billion in congressional funding to make military improvements to the structure.

“This will be the greatest military complex slash ballroom anywhere in the world,” he said.

Trump also scoffed at court orders seeking to block its construction without congressional approval, saying work is continuing regardless and predicting that the Supreme Court will eventually side with him and allow the project to be completed.

The president found time to talk again about one of his favorite subjects of late — grass — and praised at length Scotts-Miracle Gro. The company's former CEO is a Trump supporter, and it donated $1 million to repair the grass on the White House lawn after it was damaged by Trump's UFC fight marking his 80th birthday in June and by the helipad construction.

At one point on Wednesday, Trump signed the back of one of the granite stones that was marked “Donald Trump 45-47 president” for the occasion. Its front is shaped like an eagle and will be laid into the helipad's presidential seal once work is completed.

“I thought this would be a little different kind of a news conference,” the president said. “We were going to sign this privately and just put it in. I said, ‘This is something I think the press should see,’ and I hope you liked it.”

Trump had some of the construction workers sign the granite, too, and joked about leaving it upside-down so that his signature would be visible for future generations.

“Nice job, fellas,” he told the workers. “Does anybody know the word media?”

Trump also confirmed Wednesday that he'd delayed ongoing work on the helipad to ensure the project could be regraded to lay flatter.

He said that the granite used “has a million-year life” and predicted that it “will never break. It will never leak. It will never do anything" — which would mark a departure from the problem-plagued Reflecting Pool project.

“Nature is stronger than what the human can produce,” Trump said of the granite. “It’s really pretty amazing.”

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies announced the news more than a month after the startup's Link spacecraft rocketed away to the telescope's rescue.

Katalyst said Link will not attempt to capture Swift and boost it to a higher orbit because of problems with controlling the spacecraft. NASA said this means the telescope will plunge through the atmosphere after more than 20 years of tracking some of the biggest explosions in the universe like gamma ray bursts and exploding stars. Its demise is not expected before October.

NASA paid $30 million to Katalyst in an attempt to raise the telescope to a safer, longer-lasting orbit. Intense solar activity caused it to lose altitude faster than expected. The rescue spacecraft went into an uncontrollable spin a few weeks after its liftoff in early July. While flight controllers managed to slow Link's tumble, issues continued to plague its pointing and positioning in orbit.

“This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement.

As a consolation prize, Katalyst will continue to operate Link in proximity with the telescope to demonstrate capabilities for future rescue operations.

Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee said it was an ambitious mission on an aggressive timeline that was thrown together in under a year .

“We took on this high-risk, high-reward challenge and are proud of the milestones we reached along the way,” Lee said in a statement. “We have already learned a tremendous amount."

Launched in 2004, Swift's science instruments were turned off earlier this year to slow its descent. It was orbiting 214 miles (345 kilometers) high as of Wednesday. Katalyst had hoped to lift the telescope back to its original orbit of 373 miles (600 kilometers), allowing for many more years of cosmic observations.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope could benefit from an orbital boost and had been next in line for a rescue attempt had this mission gone well. The 36-year-old Hubble is also dropping in orbit because of all the sun's recent outbursts. It wasn't immediately known whether Hubble is now out of luck.

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

Moderna and Merck are developing a treatment using an mRNA-based cancer vaccine called intismeran that is designed to be tailored to individual patients based on unique mutations within their tumors. In current studies, they are pairing it with Keytruda, a immunotherapy drug made by Merck.

The study compared using intismeran and Keytruda together on melanoma patients against using Keytruda alone. The companies said patients who received the combination lived longer without cancer returning or metastasizing than patients who got Keytruda alone.

The companies did not say how long patients survived without cancer returning or whether patients lived longer overall. They said they plan to present the study results at an upcoming international medical meeting.

Moderna shares rose more than 120% to $140.12 a share. Merck shares rose about 11%.

Among those killed were an executive with Telemundo, the U.S.-based Spanish-language network owned by NBCUniversal, and the director of Ecuador’s national intelligence service.

The helicopter crashed at 9:13 a.m. while flying from the Loisaba Conservancy to the Ewaso Nyiro area in Samburu County, according to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, which said in a statement that an investigation was underway. It said there were seven people on board — six passengers and the pilot.

Late on Wednesday, David Nkoroi, the police commander for Samburu, told reporters that all seven people on board had died.

The U.S. State Department said five of those killed were U.S. citizens.

“The U.S. Embassy is in touch with local authorities and is providing consular assistance,” it said. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones on their loss.”

The identities of the victims were not revealed but a local television station in Miami, Florida, said that José Suárez, 55, president and general manager of several Telemundo stations in Florida, was among those killed.

“We are heartbroken to learn the tragic news that José was killed in a helicopter accident in Kenya," the NBC affiliate in Miami quoted from a joint statement from NBC Universal and Telemundo leadership.

The helicopter crashed in a rugged area in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe, a popular tourist destination in the country, local media reported. The helicopter, owned by local company Lady Lori Helicopters, was carrying guests with travel company &Beyond. Lady Lori Helicopters said in a statement that the aircraft was operating a charter flight when it crashed.

Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said in a statement that it dispatched two of its helicopters to aid search and rescue operations.

The aviation authority said the aircraft was a Eurocopter EC130 B4.

Ecuador confirmed later Wednesday that Michele Sensi-Contugi, director of the country’s National Intelligence Center, died in the crash.

“In this moment of deep sorrow, the government extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, loved ones and close associates,” Ecuador’s presidency said in a statement posted on X.

Sensi-Contugi, a friend and close associate of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, was visiting Kenya as a tourist with his wife, Stephany Hollihan, who also died in the crash. She was a U.S. and Ecuadorian citizen. They are survived by their two children.

Helicopter crashes have happened with increasing regularity in Kenya, which has a vibrant tourism industry that depends on domestic carriers to ferry visitors to distant places like Mount Ololokwe.

In February, a legislator was among six people who died after a helicopter crash in a hilly area of western Kenya.

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This story has been corrected after a previous version erroneously said that local safari company Tropic Air operated the helicopter.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the Texans haven’t announced the severity of his injury.

Higgins fell awkwardly while running a route during a joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday in Houston. Coach DeMeco Ryans said at the time that Higgins was being evaluated for a leg injury.

The second-year receiver was expected to team up with No. 1 wideout Nico Collins in the Texans offense led by quarterback C.J. Stroud. A second-round pick in the 2025 draft, Higgins made 41 catches for 525 yards and six touchdowns in his rookie year.

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AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The mass-market discount retailer also benefited from a tariff refund of $994 million after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this year that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority when he imposed double-digit import taxes on goods from most other countries.

There is a lot of interest in how tariff refunds from the U.S. government will impact retailers and whether those refunds will be used to lower prices for customers.

Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee, when asked about tariff refunds this week, said the company continues to invest in lowering prices. Target reduced the prices of more than 10,000 items over the past year and “there’s more to come even as we’re facing headwinds overall,” Lee said.

Comparable sales, those coming from stores and digital channels operating for at least 12 months, rose 3.8% in the second quarter. The company also upgraded its annual profit and sales outlook, citing the solid performance during the first half of the year.

Target is emerging from more than a year of weak comparable sales. It started off 2025 with a 3.8% decline, but recorded a 5.6% jump in the first quarter of this year. The second-quarter gain offset a 1.9% drop during the same three months last year.

Target CEO Michael Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran who became chief executive in February, said the latest quarter was “an important step forward in the plan we laid out earlier this year to open a new chapter of growth for Target.”

Target also reported an increase in the number of customers going to its stores and shopping on its website from May through July.

“We’re encouraged by the progress made so far, and we’re also clear-eyed about the important work still ahead,” Fiddelke said.

In March, Fiddelke unveiled a $6 billion plan to reverse Target’s sales slump and to reclaim the retailer’s reputation as a place to go for affordable yet stylish apparel and home goods.

More than half of Target’s back-to-school merchandise is new, the company said.

That includes a limited-time collection of teen and tween clothes, school supplies and accessories in pastel colors and floral prints from the women’s lifestyle brand LoveShack Fancy. Target also collaborated with Hollister on a dorm decor collection.

Target recruited fashion designer and TV personality Isaac Mizrahi this summer to fill the newly created role of creative director at large. Mizrahi has been brought in to mentor Target designers, advise on product design and innovation, and forge new partnerships.

It is Mizrahi's second partnership with Target. He became the first major fashion designer to collaborate with the retailer in 2003 for a successful run.

Fiddelke is also remodeling Target stores and improving staffing. The company has more than 100 full-scale remodels underway, with a goal of reaching 130 this year, Fiddelke said Tuesday.

During the second quarter, comparable store sales — sales from established physical stores — increased 2.7%, while increased same-day deliveries pushed digital comparable sales up 8.7%.

Target is one of the first big retailers to report second-quarter financial results, which could give industry analysts and economists another read on whether ongoing price pressures from the conflict in Iran impacted consumer behavior.

The Commerce Department released a report Friday showing weak retail sales in July. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, also released Friday, showed greater pessimism about the economy this month, likely driven by stubbornly high prices.

Target's overall sales increased in all six of its main merchandising categories, led by double-digit growth in what the company calls Fun 101 — a division that includes consumer electronics, toys, trading cards, sports paraphernalia, books and gaming items.

Target's beauty and food and beverage sales were also standouts. Target plans to roll out a new Target Beauty Studio concept next month in more than 600 locations. The new area, which will offer upscale beauty products and enhanced product expertise from staff, will partly replace its in-store shops with Ulta, which ended its partnership with Target this month, the company said.

Target executives said the company still was working to improve the assortment in its clothing and home goods departments, where sales hardly grew during the latest quarter.

Net income was $1.87 billion, or $4.11 per share, for the three months ended Aug. 1, easily beating the $2.34 per share that Wall Street had expected, according to a survey by FactSet. It also outpaced last year's $935 million, or $2.05 per share. Yet this year also included millions from tariff refunds, which amounted to $1.65 in earnings per share, Target said.

Net sales rose 5.3% to $26.54 billion for the period.

Target now expects sales to increase 5%, up from its earlier predictions for a 4% gain. It also expects earnings per share for the full year to be in the range of $9.90 to $10.90. Analysts expect $8.52 per share for the year, according to FactSet.

In May, Target reiterated its guidance from March for earnings per share to be near the high end of $7.50 to $8.50.

“I mean, I’d argue have they brought value to LIV?” McIlroy said at the BMW Championship.

LIV Golf's future is under scrutiny with the Indianapolis event this week being the last one of the year for a league that no longer will get funding from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

LIV CEO Scott O'Neil remained bullish about plans for 2027 and beyond, saying players would be equity owners and have their commercial rights restored. O'Neil said the plan was to have five team championships overseas and five individual tournaments in the United States scheduled close to the majors for those who qualify for them.

He did not name the lead investor with whom LIV has reached an agreement. Several outlets have identified him as Ted Goldthorpe of BC Partners, who met with players on Tuesday. O'Neil said there was a deadline for players to commit to LIV 2.0 without saying when it is. He also has not mentioned the size of the proposed investment. LIV Golf spent more than $5 billion in five years.

“The entirety of our focus is to get to this transaction and get through it,” O'Neil said. "Without the players, that becomes very difficult. I have a good level of confidence in my conversation that we’ll have a critical mass of the right players to move this league forward.”

The critical players for LIV are Jon Rahm, whose contract end after 2027, and Bryson DeChambeau, whose contract is up this year. Both are two-time major champions and the biggest two names left on LIV Golf.

Brooks Koepka was the first player to return to the PGA Tour this year, with stipulations that he could not play $20 million signature events unless he earned his way, paid $5 million to charity and had no access to equity. The tour put the penalty value at $50 million and upward.

The tour then offered the same deal — and two weeks to decide on it — to Rahm, DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, all major champions dating to the launch of LIV in 2022.

“When we talk about the best players, LIV has a few players that are really good,” Scheffler said. "I think the depth that we have on our tour is unmatched, but I think when you look at the higher levels of LIV Golf there’s definitely some players that would provide a lot of value to the tour, and guys that I love competing against as well.

“So I think going forward there obviously has to be, I think, some sort of penalties.”

What those penalties are he said would be up to PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.

McIlroy has been the biggest critic of LIV from the start. He has toned down his rhetoric over the years, though he suggested in February 2025 that players “have to get over it” when it comes to finding a way to bring defectors back.

He sounded more reluctant Wednesday, noting that top players had their chances to return at the start of the year and whatever offer likely would not be as good as it was for Koepka.

“I’m not part of these discussions, but I’m pretty sure they’re not going to be welcomed back straight away,” McIlroy said. "I think it was said at the time that the deal that they might get going forward — if they do decide to come back — isn’t going to be as good as the one that Brooks got.

“So, yeah, I would say it’s going to be a tough, tough road back.”

And it's going to be tough on LIV, particularly with at least two lawsuits pending from vendors.

Canadian-based Mobbi Systems Group field a lawsuit in Miami last month. The technology company that supplied LIV's “Any Shot, Any Time” feature on broadcasts is asking more than $1 million for outstanding invoices and lost revenue.

In another lawsuit filed last month in New York, Colorado-based Fresh Tape Media is asking for more than $1.2 million LIV owes for the company to produce its preseason media preview days.

“What I would say to them is we’re doing everything we can to make sure we can do right by them and the work they committed, and I hope we can,” O'Neil said. “For the next generation, it will certainly be a different business with a different process.”

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See AP’s full golf coverage here

Customers could receive the drone deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes, Amazon said in a news release. The drones can carry packages up to 5 pounds.

The plan will intensify the battle between Amazon and Walmart to provide consumers with the fastest delivery times. Both giants rely on a mix of drones and drivers to deliver everything consumers have ordered.

The goal is not necessarily about cutting costs by replacing drivers and trucks — and drones that can only carry one package at a time would have a hard time doing that. But instead, these companies are using drones as one tool to help keep customers happy with quicker deliveries, banking on a faster delivery system attracting more shoppers.

Amazon’s plan would expand its drone delivery operation more than sixfold nationwide into hundreds of new communities, including the Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland and Boise metro areas. The drones will primarily fly in the suburbs well away from skyscrapers and major airports that could cause problems. Each drone site serves multiple cities in a metro area, and Amazon would not say exactly how many new sites it is planning to begin flying from.

Drone delivery is growing fast but remains a small factor

Hundreds of thousands of packages have already been delivered by Amazon drones this year, but even after this expansion drones will still only handle a fraction of the hundreds of millions of package deliveries each year. In addition to only being able to carry 5 pounds, the drones Amazon builds face countless challenges from tree cover to landscaping and inflatable pools that can make it hard to find a good drop zone.

There are also regulatory hurdles to overcome in every community where Amazon wants to set up operations. Noise concerns also pose a potential challenge.

“It’s still an experiment. It’s still in test and learn mode,” said Sucharita Kodali, who is a retail analyst with Forrester.

More than two decades have passed since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos first described his vision for drone deliveries in an interview on “60 Minutes,” which shows how hard it has been to develop the service, get all the needed approvals and prove the concept works.

Kodali said Amazon's expansion plan “does seem aggressive but remember that lots of the 500 may be small towns located close to one another. The coming soon list is actually only a handful of metro areas. Also ‘launching’ in a town doesn’t mean they are getting any meaningful sales.”

Walmart already offers drone delivery at more than 75 stores across Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas, but the core part of its network relies on drivers to bring orders directly from its stores to customers. The retail giant said earlier this year that it planned to expand drone delivery service to 150 more stores in partnership with Wing, a division of Alphabet, to give it 270 drone delivery locations by 2027.

Walmart declined to comment on Amazon's announcement Wednesday because it came one day before the company was scheduled to report earnings.

The novelty of drone delivery may attract orders at first

Initially, consumers might order something delivered by drone because they are curious about it, but it’s not clear how often they will continue to use the service, and Amazon is still working out the economics, Kodali said.

The service will be free for Amazon Prime members who are ordering more than $50 worth of goods, but smaller orders will cost members $2.99. Non-members will pay $4.99 for drone delivery.

Prime members get free deliveries while non-members pay a flat fee if the shipment is under $35 for standard delivery or up to $12.99 for same‑day shipments when available.

Kodali said drones could prove more useful for certain lightweight deliveries that are needed urgently like prescription medications.

DoorDash and other delivery companies also are experimenting with using drones to deliver foods and other goods.

Amazon CEO believes drone delivery will be part of the mix

Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy told shareholders in his annual letter in April that the company has learned a great deal by flying drones in 11 sites across Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas. In each location, the drones launch from an Amazon warehouse and cover about 175 square miles, so it takes multiple drone launching locations to serve a large metro area.

“Prime Air now has a design that’ll scale, plans to serve communities with 30 million customers by year-end, and expects to deliver half a billion packages by the end of this decade (with an aim to deliver inside 30 minutes),” Jassy wrote.

Amazon is also continuing to invest in its warehouses, smaller fulfillment centers closer to customers and its fleet of trucks as the company competes to deliver packages within minutes or hours instead of just days.

It's not clear that drone delivery is cheaper than trucks at this point because a team of people is needed to make drone delivery possible and those people might even earn more than a truck driver since they may have to be licensed drone pilots.

Amazon is already certified by the Federal Aviation Administration and the company has been awarded waivers to fly drones beyond the line of sight of the pilots. Amazon has invested in safety measures to help drones avoid collisions with anything else in the sky while they are making deliveries.

The federal government has proposed a rule that would allow more drone operators to fly beyond the horizon, but that hasn’t been finalized yet.

The minutes of the July 28-29 meeting, released Wednesday, don't provide specifics on how many of the 19 officials supported higher rates. Only 12 of the 19 policymakers vote on the outcome. Officials voted 9-3 at the meeting to keep their key rate unchanged at about 3.6%.

Inflation has since showed some signs of cooling, though gas prices have rebounded this month on renewed hostilities in the Middle East. Wall Street investors now expect the Fed to remain on hold at its next meeting in September and potentially lift rates in December, though that outlook could change.

At last month's meeting, Fed officials were heavily focused on the threat of stubbornly elevated inflation. Fed officials worried that the Iran war, tariffs, and heavy investment in AI infrastructure were all boosting prices of a range of goods and services.

“Participants judged that their inflation outlooks were highly uncertain and that inflation risks were skewed to the upside,” the minutes said. “Many participants assessed that (higher rates) would likely be necessary if inflation did not decline."

Some Fed officials pointed out that “even after excluding prices of items most directly affected by tariffs and energy prices, underlying inflation appeared to be elevated,” the minutes said.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called “core” prices have cooled, with annual core inflation falling to 2.5% in July, the government said last week, according to the consumer price index. Yet the Fed pays more attention to a separate gauge, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is running hotter than the CPI. Core PCE prices are expected to have risen 3.3% in July from a year ago, a much higher reading than CPI. Those figures will be reported Aug. 26.

According to the minutes, "Most participants anticipated that inflation would step down over the rest of the year as the effects of tariffs and earlier energy price increases wane, but many participants noted the possibility that inflation might be more persistently elevated.”

New Fed chair Kevin Warsh also unnerved Wall Street investors last month by providing little guidance at a July 29 news conference on what the Fed's next steps might be, threatening the Fed's inflation-fighting credibility. Interest rates, or yields, on longer-term Treasury securities, which had already risen before the meeting, moved higher.

Warsh has said he will provide less of what he calls “forward guidance” about the Fed's plans, which he sees as limiting the central bank's policy options even if economic circumstances change. At the news conference, Warsh didn't fully commit to boosting the Fed's key rate even if inflation stayed persistently high.

The yield on the key 10-year Treasury note touched its highest point more than a year Tuesday, topping 4.7%, before falling back Wednesday. Mortgage rates have followed the 10-year higher, lifting borrowing costs for potential buyers. The yield on 30-year bonds reached the highest level since 2007.

In response, earlier Wednesday the Treasury Department said it would buy back more longer-term Treasury bonds, which helped to lower yields on the 10-year and 30-year Treasurys. But the move highlighted the government’s concerns that rising borrowing costs could weigh on the economy, particularly as U.S. tech companies are stepping up their own borrowing to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The officer was informed that the Buffaloes coach was “unavailable at the time to receive receipt of the papers,” a spokesperson with the sheriff's office said Wednesday. Sanders is being subpoenaed to testify as part of a bankruptcy trial involving his son, Shilo, that begins on Aug. 31, according to USA Today.

The Colorado athletic department had no additional information. The Buffaloes open the season on Sept. 3 at Georgia Tech.

The deputy arrived on campus at 10:22 a.m. on Aug. 11 with civil papers. It was the day the Buffaloes held an open practice with specific rules in place that nothing observed could be reported, published or shared.

Carrie Haverfield, a senior communications specialist for the sheriff’s office, wrote in an email to The Associated Press that it's not uncommon for civil papers to take several attempts to serve.

“While working with university staff to find a better time to complete the process, we heard from Mr. Sanders’ legal counsel who indicated that they were able to receive receipt of the papers on behalf of Mr. Sanders, however, they were not located in Boulder County, so we transferred the paperwork to Denver to be served,” Haverfield wrote. “We did not find any university staff to be attempting to block the civil service, on the contrary, they were attempting to help our deputy find a better time to do so. We do not disclose the specific contents of civil papers that we serve.”

Shilo Sanders remains in litigation over a lawsuit stemming from an incident with a security guard when he was in high school. The guard filed a lawsuit against Sanders and was issued a default judgment when Sanders didn’t show for his court date.

The hard-hitting safety who played for his dad at Colorado was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last August.

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Karina Garcia was one of 11 people indicted last month in connection with an investigation linked to the death of seven immigrants.

Records show U.S. Marshals arrested Karina Garcia on Aug. 16 in Del Rio, Texas.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice news release, Garcia surrendered to authorities at a port of entry following an investigation by the U.S. Border Patrol Intelligence Division, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals.

Federal officials said Garcia allegedly “played a key role” in the smuggling operation that spanned around three years and illegally used cargo trains to bring immigrants further into the U.S. after crossing the border from Mexico.

“Each smuggled immigrant, or their families and friends, paid smugglers in Honduras, Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere between $1,500 and $10,000,” the DOJ said.

During a July press conference announcing the indictments, federal authorities said they have been actively searching for Garcia and another suspect, Seferino Huerta-Casillas.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 19, Huerta-Casillas is the only indicted co-defendant not in federal custody.

The identities of those indicted are:

• Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera
• Jonas Ulloa-Aguilera
• Damian Huerta Analucas
• Karina Garcia
• Eric Hernandez
• Mayra Alejandra Huerta
• Seferino Huerta-Casillas
• Pascual Raymundo Loarca
• Rosario Cristal Lopez-Saldana
• Maria Norma Neri de Moran
• Edson Alejandro Perez

Last month, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said five suspects are non-U.S. citizens, four are U.S. citizens, and two are “lawful permanent” U.S. residents.

All 11 suspects are facing the following charges:

• Conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death
• Aiding and abetting the transportation of aliens resulting in death

If convicted, each charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The train’s path

The bodies of six immigrants were found just after 3:30 p.m. on May 10, 2026, at a rail yard in the 12000 block of Jim Young Way, which is located about 15 miles north of downtown Laredo.

>> What we know about 6 people found dead in a Laredo boxcar, another found near Bexar County railroad

In a previous news release, the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office identified five of the six immigrants found in Laredo:

• A 56-year-old man from Mexico
• A 45-year-old man from Mexico
• A 29-year-old woman from Mexico
• A 24-year-old man from Honduras
• A 14-year-old boy from Honduras

The Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the woman from Mexico died due to hyperthermia. Officials believe it is likely they all suffered the same cause of death.

A seventh person, a Mexican resident believed to be connected to those found in Laredo, was discovered on May 11, 2026, along railroad tracks in southwest Bexar County, Sheriff Javier Salazar previously said.

During the July news conference, Simmons said the immigrants were in a shipping container carried on a train from Del Rio to Laredo. As the train arrived in San Antonio, the U.S. attorney said the body of that seventh person “fell out of the (train) car” and “left for dead.” The train then continued its trek to Laredo.

>>Boxcar where 6 immigrants found dead in Laredo traveled from California, police say

The seventh immigrant, a man, was later identified as Nereo Aguilar Garcia, 49, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.

According to Simmons, individuals paid the human smuggling organization between $1,500 and $10,000 to get them across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Pasciucco credited the Homeland Security Task Force’s “critical role” in July’s federal indictments.

“By leveraging the expertise and resources of our HSTF partners, we have coordinated efforts across agencies, shared vital intelligence and enhance the effectiveness of our enforcement actions in a short period of time,” Pasciucco said in July.

In addition to the DOJ and HSI, Pasciucco said the U.S. Border Patrol and Laredo Police Department contributed to the federal investigation.

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

“We are making this decision to ensure the university systems, technology and services our students, faculty and staff rely upon are operating optimally as we begin the semester,” UTSA President Taylor Eighmy said in a message to the school community Tuesday.

“Starting classes on Monday gives our teams the necessary time to restore services carefully and position our university community for a strong start,” he said.

Classes were originally set to start Wednesday, Aug. 19.

Eighmy said information on the revised academic schedule and student services will be made available on the university website.

ORIGINAL STORY: The University of Texas at San Antonio says it detected unauthorized activity targeting its technology systems over the weekend, prompting the school to take some services offline just days before classes begin Wednesday.

In a news release online, UTSA said the activity was caught before it reached the university’s core systems. The university said it does not believe any university data was accessed or stolen.

As a precaution, UTSA took some services offline while it responded to the attempted breach.

“With classes beginning this Wednesday, we recognize how important reliable access to university systems and services is for our students, faculty and staff. Our teams are working with great care to ensure that our technology environment is both available and secure as we begin the new academic year,” the release states.

The university also announced changes to some student deadlines ahead of the start of classes:

• Payment is now due by 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21.
• Waitlisting will end at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19. “Students who received a waitlist notification to register on Friday, August 14 or Saturday, August 15 are automatically being readded to the waitlist in the original order. Students will receive an email notification when a seat becomes available, and they can register,” the release states.
• Registration remains open through myUTSA.

UTSA said it is continuing to monitor its systems as classes get underway this week.

De la Espriella took office earlier this month just days before the 7.4 magnitude quake struck. He was backed by Trump in Colombia's closely contested presidential election, which was decided in a runoff on June 21, and has sought to emphasize his connections with the U.S. leader.

On Saturday night, de la Espriella wrote on X that he spoke with Trump and thanked him for aid sent by the U.S. in response to the earthquake. He added that he “asked him to consider the temporary suspension of the high tariffs that affect Colombian products, in order to provide relief to our businesspeople, who are facing very difficult times due to the effects of the earthquake.”

There has been no immediate response from the Trump administration to de la Espriella's request. The U.S. has offered a total of $26.5 million in earthquake aid, including food, shelters and health supplies, according to the U.S. State Department.

The earthquake that struck Monday morning devastated parts of western Colombia, hitting cities including Pereira, Cali and Quibdo. Cities along the country's Pacific coast were hit particularly hard. The president declared the quake a national disaster.

The government has said that 143 people are missing, while other civilian-run databases put the number in the thousands.

The natural disaster, whose epicenter was in one of the poorest regions of the country, Choco, has so far left 3,937 people injured, according to the government. In addition, it destroyed 14,705 homes and damaged another 81,536.

In Cali, Colombia's third biggest city, workers searched for the more than 70 people reported missing in that city. Hope remained alive even after the key 48 to 72 hour window to find survivors beneath the rubble has long passed.

“Miracles do happen” even though more than 120 hours have passed since the earthquake struck, said Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder from the unified command post. "We are working where we know there are still victims; we are working in the hope of rescuing people alive.”

In a status report filed late Tuesday, opponents of the move said members of the Kennedy Center's Trump-aligned board “seem intent” on defying an earlier court order requiring the Republican president's name to be removed from the building. The Kennedy Center said it would not move forward with the plans until after Labor Day “at the earliest” to allow time for legal arguments.

Lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat who is an ex officio member of the board, pressed U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper for an earlier ruling, arguing there is “every reason to believe that Defendants will attempt to effectuate some or part of this latest unlawful resolution at the earliest opportunity after September 8."

A board meeting this month that was expected to largely focus on options to close the Kennedy Center for renovations instead transformed into another push to attach Trump's name to the building, part of a broader move by the president and his supporters to leave a physical mark on the nation's capital.

The board passed a resolution to name the plaza in front of the building after Trump and add his name to the venue's facade so it would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” In the filing, Beatty said the board also agreed to add an additional reference to the president if the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million.

In that event, the facade would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”

The board also voted to back a two-year closure for renovations, while some of the institution's signature programming, including the Kennedy Center Honors and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, would take place at off-site locations. The National Symphony Orchestra announced this week it would split its upcoming season between six venues in and around Washington.

Cooper ruled in May that letters affixed to the building spelling out Trump’s name were added illegally and he ordered their removal, a decision that the administration failed to persuade courts to overturn. Since then, a tarp has covered the area where the letters were once installed, frustrating those who sought to remove the president's name from the building.

Kennedy Center makes no commitment to removing tarp

In the latest filing, the Kennedy Center made no commitment to remove the tarp, saying the covering was in place to facilitate the removal of Trump's name and is part of a broader system needed for “water testing and structural repairs to the roof overhang.”

More broadly, Beatty's lawyers, Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, questioned the integrity of the board's vote this month, echoing concerns Cooper raised when he called a March vote to shutter the building “ill-informed and seemingly preordained.”

Heading into the August meeting, the Kennedy Center's management said it would provide the board with three options, including a complete closure or a partial closure that would allow “some continued public access and limited programming in spaces unaffected” by the work. A third option would “consider a highly limited series of phased closures to address only the Center’s most serious infrastructure needs while scheduling and maintaining a full slate of programming.”

In Tuesday's filing, the Kennedy Center said a Delta Consulting Group analyst concluded that a partial closure that would play out over four years “would increase the length and cost of construction and lead to substantial safety concerns.”

The analyst "recommended that the Board proceed with a full closure for two years, which would minimize total cost, minimize the amount of time that programming would be subject to disruptions from construction, and best preserve the Center’s reputation as world-class performing-arts venue,” the Kennedy Center said.

Eisen and Zelinsky, however, noted that materials were provided to the board just two days before the meeting. They said some documents appeared to have been created before Cooper's May ruling and referred to the Kennedy Center's closure that was initially set to take effect on July 6.

The August vote to close the Kennedy Center, Beatty's lawyers argued, “exhibits the same flaws as the first vote.”

That’s the word Wednesday from a pair of NASA astronauts living aboard the International Space Station for the past six months.

Astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway told The Associated Press that the space station’s position prevented them from seeing totality during last week’s solar eclipse, but they still enjoyed a partial eclipse. They said they’ll try to catch next week’s lunar eclipse, too.

“We're hoping for the best. It should be pretty awesome,” Hathaway said.

Meir said the best cosmic shows are auroras. The sun is coming off its busy season, making the northern and southern lights more dramatic and brilliant, she noted.

After one especially large blast of plasma from the sun, “the green dancing aurora” appeared right beneath them instead of off in the distance near the poles, she added.

“It looked like a snake making its way right beneath us and that was a really extraordinary one,” said Meir, the space station's commander. “You could see the green light bouncing off the white outside exterior of the space station.”

Meir has also taken special pleasure in whipping up culinary delights in orbit, donning a space cat-adorned apron while sampling some of the station-grown mustard greens and kale. She joined crewmate Anil Menon, wearing a chef's toque, for his first cooking episode of “Chez ISS” this week.

Arriving last month in a Russian capsule, Menon packed the apron and toque for his more-to-come cooking show. Meir's luggage included a piccolo: She performed John Philip Sousa's “The Stars and Stripes Forever” with the Boston Pops on July 4. Her part was prerecorded in space.

Meir also took up a fancy scarf and glittery violet bell bottoms, considerably more casual than the dress she flew on her last station trip that saw her take part in the first all-female spacewalk.

While Hathaway's culinary and musical talents may be lacking, he said he's never bored. “There's always something to do,” he said, including weekend karaoke nights featuring the guitar and other musical instruments.

Launched in February, Meir, a marine biologist, and Hathaway, a Navy captain, are due to return to Earth via SpaceX once their replacements arrive next month. The current crew includes three Americans, three Russians and one French astronaut.

___

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

That warning matters because water projects can take years — sometimes decades — to plan, finance and build.

For Corpus Christi and the rest of the Coastal Bend, it never came.

That’s because the planning process is built largely around past droughts — in fact, some regional plans still rely on the epic 1950s drought of record, the longest statewide dry spell in history. But some experts now say using historical droughts isn’t working because climate change is making droughts more frequent, longer and severe — raising doubts that yesterday’s worst-case scenario is also tomorrow’s.

That means the models that help secure money and political will for new water projects may be dramatically underestimating both future water needs and how quickly communities could face shortages.

“We need to be planning and developing infrastructure for the climate of 2050, the climate of 2100,” said Benjamin Cook, a climate scientist at Columbia University who studies drought in North America.

Nowhere were the weaknesses more evident than in Corpus Christi. A report released Wednesday by Texas 2036, a nonpartisan think tank that researches the state’s long-term infrastructure, population and economic needs, found that five state water plans adopted over 25 years sent conflicting signals about whether the Coastal Bend region, which includes Corpus Christi, could face shortages in the 2020s.

Some projected surpluses and others deficits. None provided a clear warning that the Coastal Bend needed to expand its water supply — which relies almost completely on drought-sensitive rivers and lakes — before the current crisis emerged.

This spring, years of drought threatened to leave Corpus Christi and surrounding communities without enough water to meet demand as critical reservoirs fell to historic lows. Businesses and residents were asked to conserve water. Industry threatened to leave. Cities issued disaster declarations and the governor threatened to take over.

Before summer rains eased the crisis, city leaders in March estimated that by May they could have to declare a water emergency — the point when the city has six months before demand exceeds supply.

“That’s a massive planning miscue from the water plans,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of natural resources and infrastructure policy at Texas 2036, and the author behind the report. “What would have been the impetus to do anything to prepare for worsening conditions in the 2020s?”

Sarah Kirkle, director of policy and legislative affairs at the Texas Water Association, added that many of the state’s water models aren’t taking into account more recent drought data. “Worse than the 1950s” doesn’t always equal the “worst they’ve ever seen locally,” she said.

A 2023 law allowed regional planning groups to evaluate scenarios worse than the historical drought of record. But it didn’t provide money specifically to pay for updating the models at the heart of these water plans.

Voters last year approved $1 billion on water projects over the next 20 years, but none of it is earmarked specifically to update water supply modeling. Meanwhile, half of the state’s surface water models, which drive decisions about managing river and reservoir supplies, haven’t been updated since they were created in the 1990s — updating them would cost an estimated $4.7 million.

“To really be resilient to future droughts it is necessary to consider how climate change is affecting the vulnerability of particularly water supplies, and there’s no blanket answer to that,” said Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon.

The Texas Water Development Board, which oversees the state’s water planning process and folds 16 regional plans into the state water plan, follows state rules that require the use of historical drought assumptions and says they provide the best available benchmark for engineers and planners designing reservoirs, pipelines and other infrastructure.

The board recognizes that the existing models may not capture more recent or severe droughts, but the agency does allow groups to use more recent hydrological data the board provides to inform their planning, Kaci Woodrome, the board’s chief communications officer, said in an email.

“Predicting the likelihood or conditions of new hydrological droughts that are more severe than the drought of record remains challenging, especially at the scale of local water supply sources,” Woodrome said. She added that water planning regions may use a more recent drought than the 1950s and that the TWDB is currently working with the state climatologist to identify regions of the state that are likely to experience severe drought or excessive rainfall.

Coastal Bend planners wrote last year that they suspected the region was facing a new drought of record and that they needed to update their modeling for the 2026 regional water plan, but “there was insufficient funding allocated” to do so as they faced a state deadline to submit the plan.

The state granted more than $637,000 for the Coastal Bend’s 2026 regional plan. It’s unclear if any of that money was used to update the plan’s modeling. Regional planners who deal with the funding did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

As a result, this year’s plan likely understates the region’s future water shortages, according to the Texas 2036 report.

Rain eventually arrived in May, then massive upstream flooding in July eased the immediate threat, delaying the projected water emergency until the fall of 2028. The combined capacity of Corpus Christi’s two main reservoirs — Choke Canyon and Lake Corpus Christi — jumped from below 8% in April to 42.9% this week.

A state legislative interim hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24, where lawmakers are expected to discuss regional water planning and make recommendations to improve the water planning process.

For Mazur, Corpus Christi’s near-crisis this year is a wake-up call to state leaders: Texas’ planning process could fail to give communities enough warning before their water supplies reach a breaking point.

“We can’t have our policy predicated on plans that are not right,” Mazur said.

Relying on historical droughts

The state water plan is built using a bottom-up approach that starts with those 16 regional water planning groups, which divide the state based on river basins and produce their plans that try to look 50 years into the future.

In the Coastal Bend region, by the time planners realized the drought unfolding across South Texas had become more severe than the one they were using as their benchmark — a regional drought from 2007 to 2013 — they were already deep in planning and up against a deadline to submit their plan for inclusion in the state’s water plan.

Starting over wasn’t possible.

The Water Development Board adopted the Coastal Bend’s new regional plan in January, despite concerns by planners that the region had already entered what could be an even deeper drought.

Esteban Ramos, Corpus Christi’s water resource manager and a member of the regional group, said the group didn’t have enough data about the ongoing drought to work with — typically droughts are only fully analyzed after they end.

The region ended up with a plan based on modeling for a drought that it already believes has been surpassed.

The state appropriated $12.6 million between 1998 and 2004 to produce water availability models around the state. They’ve undergone some updates since being created — most recently in 2019 for four river basins, at a cost of $2.1 million.

But half of the state’s regions still haven’t updated their models in decades — the cost to do so is estimated at $4.7 million.

“Why is it so hard to update them? Because the state does not invest. Period. End of story,” said Carlos Rubinstein, chair of the TWDB from 2013 to 2015.

Rubinstein said that the reason the state has not consistently reinvested in modeling is because of budget cuts to state agencies like the board.

While the state gives regional groups planning and research grants each cycle, which can go toward updating models, some planners say that pot of money is not enough to update their models fast enough. They add that spending the state money on modernizing drought models would divert it from other important work like data analysis, forecasts, evaluating water projects and their costs, and reaching out to communities.

Kirkle of the Texas Water Association said regional groups have limited pots of money that they have to stretch across a lot of competing priorities, so updating models often doesn’t rise to the top.

Inconsistent water shortage signals

Over more than two decades of state water planning, the Texas 2036 report found that the plans failed to give the Coastal Bend a clear, timely and actionable warning about the 2020s water crisis — even though that was exactly what the system was created to do.

Mazur, the report’s author, said the state’s premier planning tool instead behaved like a faulty alarm for the Coastal Bend, producing an inconsistent, “on/off” warning signal.

None of the plans projected a significant surface water shortage in the Coastal Bend similar to what cities like Corpus Christi and surrounding communities confronted this year. One plan projected shortages for groundwater users and water treatment capacity in the Coastal Bend, but did not predict shortages of surface water, which makes up more than 90% of Corpus Christi’s supply.

To someone reading the plans in sequence, the result was a kind of planning “hokey pokey,” Mazur said, because water shortages appeared, disappeared and reappeared, as did the proposed water projects intended to address them.

Out of the 50 recommended strategies for this decade recommended in the 2021-22 plan, only one — a brackish groundwater desalination plant in Alice — had been built by 2025.

“If you’re like a city council member, a chamber of commerce member, hospital director, school board member, member of the committee,” Mazur said, “you would look at these plans, and there was no consistent signal across these plans about what was going to happen in the region.”

Now, the city is scrambling to find new water sources wherever it can as quickly as it can, drilling groundwater wells and reviving discussion of a hugely expensive seawater desalination plant — a drought-proof way to turn millions of gallons of seawater into fresh water — the City Council had killed last year. That project is scheduled for a vote Sept. 1.

The city is also working on a project to recycle and reuse wastewater. But it’s unclear whether it will all be enough water to ward off an emergency down the road.

“Day zero is still imminent,” Mazur said, referring to when Corpus Christi could run out of water.

The Texas 2036 report doesn’t blame any single plan or planner. The Texas Water Development Board and the Coastal Bend planning group followed the state’s rules and used the drought assumptions those rules required, the report says.

The report recommends that lawmakers pass legislation requiring a “readiness phase” before each water planning cycle so regional groups can update outdated hydrological data; incorporate planning for droughts worse than historical droughts; and consider longer timelines for when water plans are produced and submitted.

Climate change’s role

For all of its modeling and all of its new spending to expand its water supply, Texas still doesn’t openly account for the impacts of climate change in its water planning, some experts said. In a Republican-run state, the phrase itself is highly politicized and skirted around in government documents.

Rubinstein, the former TWDB chair, said this is where water planning gets tricky.

“If you don’t then take into account how technology has improved and how conditions have changed — and here’s where we get into the words nobody likes to use: climate variability and the changing climate — and you do not plug that in, then you get into trouble,” he said.

Evgenia Spears, water program coordinator for the Lone Star Sierra Club Chapter, noted that local water planning already considers factors such as population growth, industrial growth, infrastructure and land use. Climate change research, she argues, should receive the same consideration.

“Why would we ignore the best available science as we plan for our most precious resource?” she said.

Texas has experienced hotter temperatures in recent years, including 2023, the hottest ever recorded in Texas based on average temperature, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Cook, the Columbia University climate scientist, said Texas increasingly experiences “hydroclimate whiplash,” which he describes as rapid swings between extremely dry and extremely wet conditions.

Nielsen-Gammon said hotter temperatures particularly impact the surface water supplies like lakes and rivers that form the backbone of the state’s water supply. That was underscored in Corpus Christi, which gets more than 96% of its supply from surface water, according to the 2022 state water plan.

This year, Rubinstein said, he saw another failure in the modeling playing out. Corpus Christi draws from three major river basins — the Colorado, Nueces and Lavaca-Navidad — but he said planners had not modeled a drought that hammered all three at the same time.

So even though Corpus Christi had diversified its surface water sources — pulling water from three reservoirs in three different river basins — the drought was so broad and long that it didn’t matter.

It’s not that the models are useless, Rubinstein said, but a model can only address the conditions it is designed to simulate.

Nielsen-Gammon said that if he could change one aspect of Texas water planning, he would like to see a worst-case drought scenario that all regional planners could incorporate into future plans. But he recognizes that it’s a hard thing to do. Climate projections carry uncertainty, and large water infrastructure projects often cost billions of dollars, he said.

“It becomes hard to tell whether you’re providing enough additional capacity or too much and wasting money — or not enough and leaving yourself more vulnerable,” he said.

Spears, the Lone Star Sierra Club coordinator, said Corpus Christi’s dilemma “shows that communities may need a larger margin of safety as we plan for water.”

Disclosure: Texas 2036 has been a financial supporter 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.

Leaving home early that day likely saved his life, he says — the two-story home he had spent years building with his modest wages collapsed during the quake.

“The house is completely destroyed,” said the 66-year-old math teacher in Quibdo, the regional capital.

At least 312 people were killed by the Aug. 10 quake, according to figures published Wednesday by the central government, and 29,000 homes were destroyed.

Recovery will be particularly challenging for Choco, which was already struggling with high poverty rates, poor infrastructure and underfunded health and education services.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 69,000 people in Choco were affected or displaced by the earthquake — about 10% of its population.

The regional government says more than 200 schools were damaged, and poor internet access will make it difficult for children to take online lessons. With around 600,000 inhabitants, mostly Afro-Colombian or Indigenous people, Choco has long been one of the country's most neglected regions.

Largely covered by mountains and rainforests, only two precarious roads connect Choco to the rest of Colombia. Many towns are only reachable by plane or boats, and the rivers can be dangerous. There are no roads linking communities along the more than 650 kilometers (406 miles) of Choco's coastline hugging the Pacific Ocean to the interior.

In large swaths of the region, rebel groups fight over the control of illegal mines and drug trafficking routes, displacing civilians or imposing lockdowns that prevent villagers from working their fields for days at a time.

“We are facing a triple crisis,” said Luis Mora, the United Nations Population Fund's representative in Colombia. “You have the humanitarian crisis caused by the earthquake, now joining the under development crisis and the crisis caused by armed conflict in this territory.”

The agency has been supplying kits with personal hygiene products to women affected by the earthquake and working to create safe spaces for women within shelters.

The regional capital's only public hospital is ill-equipped for the disaster

Cristian Maturana, a doctor at Quibdo’s only public hospital, said that after the earthquake hit, the emergency room overflowed with patients with broken bones and other injuries.

In the days that followed, 36 patients with multiple fractures were flown to a hospital in the city of Medellin, in the neighboring region of Antioquia — because his hospital lacked enough personnel and equipment to treat them, Maturana said.

The hospital’s only refrigerator capable of storing blood donations was also damaged by a power surge following the quake, rendering transfusions impossible. It was replaced over the weekend with a fridge donated by a group of oncologists in Bogota, the country's capital.

“These have been tough days,” Maturana said, adding that support from elsewhere in Colombia and abroad "has been crucial.”

The emergency room is currently operating at twice its capacity, with patients being treated in chairs or on stretchers in the hospital’s hallways, Maturana said.

Donations of antibiotics, bandages, blood pressure monitors and other equipment have been helpful, but the hospital still needs wheelchairs and more beds.

“These seem like basic things,” Maturana said. “But they are items we have long had shortages of.”

Camilo Prieto, a doctor with the Colombian Environmental Movement, a humanitarian group, said his organization brought in more than 2 tons of medical supplies, including electrocardiogram and ultrasound machines last week. The group also flew some of the aid to remote towns with helicopters and small planes.

“By land it would be very difficult,” Prieto said. “But some companies and owners of private planes have given us flight hours.”

The region has a history of neglect

Wiston Mosquera, the Roman Catholic bishop of the Quibdo diocese, said he hopes the quake brings attention to many of Choco’s structural problems, like poor healthcare facilities, the lack of roads or the permanent problems with the power supply.

“We are decades behind the rest of Colombia’s regions,” said Mosquera, who was born and raised in Choco.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has visited Choco twice since the earthquake, and promised a plan that will include billions of dollars in infrastructure investment and programs to generate jobs.

Choco’s unemployment rate was the highest in Colombia last year, according to DANE, the nation’s statistics agency. The region’s GDP per capita was 14.3 million Colombian pesos in 2025, or about $3,500 dollars, a quarter of Bogota’s per capita income.

De la Espriella said he will designate a government official to oversee Choco’s recovery, and provide subsidies to families left homeless by the earthquake so that they can rent new homes.

Arias, the math teacher who lost his home, said he’s skeptical of such promises because of the region's history of neglect. He said he spent around $32,000 building his home, taking out loans from banks, and will be hard pressed to raise those kinds of funds with his current teacher's salary.

“Even if I am helped, I don’t think I will get enough,” Arias said. He and his partner are for now staying at a relative's home.

“It's not the same,” he says. “You don’t have the freedom there that you get in your own house.”

Flanked by easels displaying printed covers of books he found obscene, the lieutenant governor said school boards and administrators have not been following a 2025 law aimed at weeding out lewd books from the shelves in Texas’ more than 9,000 campuses attended by some 5.5 million schoolchildren.

“It’s the law and we expect you to follow the law. So we’re coming for the books,” Patrick said during a news conference at the Texas Capitol. “We ask that you do it on your own and remove these books.”

The law from last year, Senate Bill 13, granted school boards the authority to approve and remove books based on complaints they receive, such as those from parents and activist groups. Before, those powers largely belonged to school librarians. But Patrick said an overwhelming majority of school boards have not taken any action, as the law nears one year in effect.

Patrick said the books on display at his news conference — which he said are on the shelves of some Texas schools despite being prohibited in state prisons — were “so filthy, so dirty, so vulgar, so pornographic” that he refused to open them out of respect for the women in the room.

He insisted the state was not banning books.

“There are no books banned in America. You can buy any book you want to buy if you want it,” he said. “But we do not take taxpayer money and buy these books for our schools. “

As lieutenant governor, Patrick presides over the Texas Senate, a position that gives him immense power to set the chamber’s agenda and ensure the passage of his preferred bills. He confirmed that, under his proposal, schools could be docked an entire letter grade — going from an “A” to a “B” rating, for example — if they were found to have a single book on their library shelves that should not be there.

Such a law, which could streamline state takeovers, would be the newest frontier in a yearslong battle wielded by Texas Republicans against books that often explore LGBTQ+ and race issues.

Librarians and childhood literacy advocates have contended, throughout fights at the Capitol and in school board rooms across the state, that some of those books are important for students who may not see their lived experience reflected in other literature — and can’t afford to buy them.

Patrick noted at his press conference, however, that more than 90% of parents and grandparents would not want their kids seeing the books he was highlighting, some of which depicted masturbation and graphic images of genitalia.

Patrick is up for reelection and will face state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, in November.

The 36-year-old eight-time All-WNBA forward announced Wednesday in an interview with Boardroom Talks that she’ll retire at the end of the season.

“I feel very fulfilled with the 15 years that I’ve been able to play and compete at such a high level,” the Los Angeles Sparks star said. “Even though I didn’t know what kind of player that I could be in this league, I never thought that I would play this long. Never thought that would be the type of player that I’d play this long.”

The No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft out of Stanford, Ogwumike earned Rookie of the Year honors that season with Los Angeles. She was voted league MVP in 2016 when she helped lead the Sparks to the WNBA championship, hitting the title-winning shot in Game 5 with 3.1 seconds left.

“Nneka will retire at the end of this season leaving the WNBA much better than she found it — a testament not only to the player she has been, but to the person and leader she is," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “I have been fortunate to work closely with Nneka over the years and have been inspired by her passion and unwavering commitment to the players.

"It has been a privilege to watch her remarkable journey, and while there is still more basketball to be played this season, we congratulate her on an extraordinary career and look forward to celebrating her in the months ahead.”

Ogwumike isn’t ending her basketball career entirely. She still plans on playing in Project B, the new basketball venture that will begin this winter and play all its games outside of the U.S. She was the first player signed with the organization that former Sparks teammate Alana Beard co-founded.

“Nneka has always led with a rare combination of strength, purpose and grace," Beard said in a statement. “For 15 seasons, we’ve watched her give everything to this game, not only as an elite competitor but as a leader who has helped shape the league and lift up the people around her.”

Ogwumike this year made the All-Star Game for an 11th time and is averaging nearly 17 points a game.

“It is a little bit my body: I still feel very good,” Ogwumike said. “But I also feel the comfort of slowing down a little bit. I just feel content. I feel very content with where I’ve left my career.”

Ogwumike expressed pride in playing at the same time as the likes of Maya Moore and Tina Thompson, as well as Angel Reese and A'ja Wilson. Along the way, she was named one of the 25 players in the first 25 years of the WNBA and was a seven-time All-Defensive Team selection.

“I just feel like I have poured as much as I could into this game, and the last bit is this year of playing,” Ogwumike said. “I’m proud of what I’ve done.”

Ogwumike in the interview also expressed contentment with the state of women's basketball. WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson credited Ogwumike for extraordinary leadership as president of the union, which earlier this year negotiated a transformative collective bargaining agreement.

“She has served this union with a level of commitment, courage, integrity and purpose that is truly unparalleled,” Carmichael Jackson said in a text message. “Nneka understood that leadership was not simply about having a seat at the table: It was about using that seat to move the game and the business of the game forward for every player — today and for generations to come.”

Ogwumike was reelected for her fourth term as president in June. It’s unclear who will succeed her after she retires.

___

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

But Moore could soon have company.

With Florida Republicans nominating U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds on Tuesday, there are seven Black major party gubernatorial nominees in addition to Moore — men and women, Democrats and Republicans — on November ballots.

“We do have a unique moment here,” said Moore, who recently became chair of the National Governors Association. He often says that his historic status is “not an applause line” but instead represents a bigger challenge that this country is still looking to overcome.

The Black nominees typically do not focus on the history at stake, instead emphasizing their experience and policy proposals.

“Florida is a great meritocracy in America,” Donalds told reporters Tuesday night after not mentioning his race at all in his victory speech. “I’ll let you guys write about that,” he added.

But many said that more reflective representation matters given the nation’s history, from slavery to Jim Crow and the lingering effects.

“It’s not a secret that some issues in the African American community get ignored and don’t have a voice,” said Aaron Ford, Nevada’s first Black attorney general and now the Democratic nominee for governor. Ford said he brings a focus to issues ranging from voting rights and civil rights to the economy.

Republican Lisa Demuth said she “has never led with any type of identity politics” as Minnesota's first Black House speaker and now her party's nominee for governor. “But I recognize the historic state we are in right now,” she said. Michigan Republicans also chose U.S. Rep. John James, who is Black, as their gubernatorial nominee.

Former New York Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat who was not elected but ascended when Eliot Spitzer resigned in 2008, celebrated that the slate crosses party lines. “This is one day when maybe the Democrats and Republicans could stand in front of a statue of George Washington and let him know that we’re finally getting it right,” he said.

Democrats, meanwhile, emphasized that their Black candidates – who also include Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Jermaine Johnson in South Carolina and David Crowley in Wisconsin – are especially important after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to redraw legislative districts that are majority or plurality nonwhite. That was compounded by President Donald Trump’s attacks on diversity initiatives and push to rewrite how the U.S. tells its history of the slave trade and Jim Crow segregation.

“Governors, in many ways, are becoming the last lines of defense against what we’re seeing in Washington,” Moore said.

A challenge for Black politicians, even more so than reaching the US Senate

Karen Finney, who helped push Democrat Joe Biden to select a Black woman as his vice presidential running mate, said Black politicians often are the first and loudest advocates on issues that acutely affect Black constituents. She and others cited health disparities such as maternal and infant mortality and sickle cell disease, and Finney noted that an inflationary economy hits harder in Black communities that, on average, have lower income and net worth than the wider population.

She said it is important for legislators to raise those matters and even more impactful when it is an executive.

“These are people who have the power to shape our lives, and they shape the agenda," Finney said.

But the governor's seat has been notoriously hard for Black politicians to reach, even more difficult than the U.S. Senate. Democrat Douglas Wilder of Virginia took office in 1990 as the nation's first elected Black governor.

“I didn’t become Maryland’s first Black governor because the Democratic Party said, ‘I think it’s time for us to put Wes Moore up in the seat’,” Moore said. “I had to run against the party.”

“I don’t think that the party is doing enough,” Moore added, specifically bemoaning a “negligence” in Southern states where Black voters anchor Democrats' base.

Stacey Abrams, who lost two Georgia governor’s races, recalled white Democratic power players raising money for her primary opponent in 2018, although she disputed that explicit racism was the issue.

“We do what we’ve done because it’s what we did,” she said. “Black women have not been executives, and the absence of that proof point becomes a self-reinforcing philosophy.”

This time, she noted, Bottoms already has been an executive as mayor of Atlanta.

Democrats and Republicans talk about ‘identity politics’ differently

In Minnesota, history will be made in November when the state elects its first female governor as Demuth competes against Democrat Amy Klobuchar, a U.S. senator. Demuth said she looks forward to a day when such distinctions seem less notable.

"One of the things that I really do look forward to is where it’s already done, where it no longer makes history,” she said. “So I think of young women, little girls that are looking at you, could I ever be governor of Minnesota? I hope when I win, they’re able to look at, point to that and say she’s already done it.”

In Georgia, Bottoms told the National Association of Black Journalists last week that she does not “give a lot of talk … about the historical nature” of her campaign. Yet she notes her family's Georgia ties go “back at least five generations through a plantation in Crawfordville” and that her grandfather had to “walk through these back doors” when he moved to Atlanta. She never mentioned slavery or segregation but said her ancestry “is always present with me.”

Abrams, who has campaigned for Bottoms and other Democrats this year, was more direct, arguing that all politics is identity politics of some kind — and that Republicans’ version is simply more coded.

“When your Constitution specifically strips a race of its humanity, you cannot then later on say identity doesn’t matter and has no effect, and we've spent 250 years trying to reckon with that identity” with social, political and legal fights, she continued. “So, it’s deeply disingenuous, if not woefully naive, to say that identity does not matter.”

Race shapes many decisions, but not all of them

Deval Patrick, whose tenure in Massachusetts overlapped with Paterson's in New York, said his race mattered especially to his Black constituents and what they wanted from him. It was “just different than the expectations of my predecessors,” he said, recalling criticism after he did not visit a Boston neighborhood where a teenager had been killed by gun violence.

“His mother was on the news grieving, and at some point she said while the cameras were rolling, where is Gov. Patrick?” he said. “Nobody had ever asked one of my predecessors to come to a crime scene in a neighborhood. Never.”

In Nevada, Ford said being governor still means recognizing how many core issues – jobs, housing and healthcare – cross demographic lines.

“It could be a white man, a Latino woman. It could be a person urban, suburban or rural Nevada. It could be someone from northern Nevada, southern Nevada. These are the issues that are important to them,” he said.

Patrick, who talks regularly with Ford and Moore, agreed, saying that is not just how a governor does the job, but how a candidate wins it in the first place.

“The successful candidates are the ones who present themselves as candidates for everyone,” he said, “and not candidates for just some.”

___

Sloan reported from Washington.

The organization released its latest Point-in-Time Count on Wednesday. The annual count is part of a national effort by cities and nonprofits to track the number of people living in shelters and on the streets.

Close to Home said the findings show housing affordability remains limited in Bexar County, while demand for homelessness assistance continues to exceed available resources.

The report found low-income families spend about 30% of their income on housing. Close to Home said that leaves many vulnerable households one emergency away from losing their homes.

“Rising costs are going to push more people to homelessness,” said Katie Wilson, president and CEO of Close to Home. “But if we don’t have the resources, the treatment, the affordable housing with support services, people who are outside, their condition worsens and it becomes harder to address. That’s what we are starting to see.”

Close to Home, which coordinates local nonprofits working to help people experiencing homelessness, is launching a five-year strategic plan in response to the trends.

Watch the video above for key takeaways from the Close to Home report.

Three years later, after weeks of news stories presenting evidence that he was a plagiarist and fabulist, Arday, 41, was found dead on Friday at his apartment in south London.

His death quickly led to a blame game. Cambridge has been criticized for elevating Arday in a rush to promote diversity, despite red flags about his qualifications, and the news media has been targeted for driving him to despair when his credentials and life story began to unravel under intense scrutiny.

Universities are being criticized over ‘due diligence’

James Cleverly, a Black member of Parliament and former Cabinet minister, said some universities “failed to do the proper due diligence.”

“We see now that he was not completely honest and he clearly did have frailties and failings,” Cleverly told Times Radio. “But he was teed up by a number of academic institutions because they desperately wanted a wunderkind. They desperately wanted to play on the fact he was young and Black and good-looking, and they wanted him to be their poster child.”

But Patrick Vernon, who was recently knighted for his work on racial equality, focused on the media.

Coverage of the Arday story was out of proportion to his position in society, reflecting a higher standard for people of color, Vernon said.

“He’s not the prime minister of this country. He’s not a current secretary of the civil service or local government or the (National Health Service) or a chief executive of a major PLC. … But he was treated at the same standard, which is outrageous,” Vernon said.

Cambridge trumpeted Arday's arrival in 2023

Cambridge hired Arday as a professor of sociology of education in February 2023, when he was 37.

In announcing the appointment, Cambridge highlighted his place as the youngest Black professor in the university’s history and described him as a “respected scholar” focused on increasing the representation of Black, Asian and other minorities in higher education. Arday achieved this stature, the university said, even though he was born with a form of autism spectrum disorder that left him unable to speak until he was 11 and unable to read or write until his late teens — aspects of his biography that have since been questioned in news stories.

British universities have been working to hire more academics from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds so that their faculties better reflect the broader society.

There were 270 Black professors at U.K. universities during the 2024-25 academic year, up from 120 in 2016-17, according to data published by the Society for Research into Higher Education. Black scholars still represent just 1% of all U.K. professors, even though Black people make up about 4% of the working age population, the data shows.

Questions about Arday's qualifications became public last month

Nathan Cofnas, a one-time Cambridge researcher who left the university after his vitriolic comments about diversity programs and minorities sparked widespread protests, said he had found evidence of plagiarism in Arday’s Ph.D. thesis. The Times of London and other newspapers picked up the story, publishing an analysis of the thesis and highlighting multiple passages they said were “identical or near-identical” to an earlier paper by another academic.

The news media also questioned Arday’s claims about astounding personal accomplishments, such as running 30 marathons in 35 days, and raising 5.5 million pounds ($7.4 million) for charity.

The public scrutiny was partly fueled by the impending publication of Arday’s memoir, “Great and Unfortunate Things.” Simon & Schuster published the book last week in the U.S., and it is scheduled to be published in the U.K. on Aug. 27.

Cambridge initially stood by Arday

After initially standing by Arday, Cambridge said Aug. 5 that it was opening an investigation after receiving “new information” about his qualifications. Arday resigned later that day.

The ceremonial head of Cambridge on Sunday defended the university’s decision and criticized media coverage of Arday.

“I do believe it is possible to hold to two principles at the same time: To believe in the importance of academic integrity, and, where criticisms of plagiarism arise about any academic, whoever they are, ensure that they are rigorously investigated, and also to refuse to join in a racist feeding frenzy over a particular academic,” Chancellor Chris Smith told the BBC.

An open letter demands an investigation of media coverage

By Wednesday afternoon, more than 120,668 people had signed an open letter calling on the government to commission a public inquiry into media coverage of Arday.

The letter alleges that media organizations kept up their coverage of Arday even after Simon Baron-Cohen, director of Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre, publicly warned that their focus on a “vulnerable autistic man” raised “safeguarding issues.” Circulated by the Good Law Project, a campaign group, the letter says Arday and other prominent Black people have been subject to “press harassment with racist overtones.”

Steven Barnett, a professor of communications at the University of Westminster, put the onus on British newspapers, not social media. The mainstream press published 289 stories about Arday in 22 days, almost two-thirds of them after he resigned, he said.

No one should doubt that he was overwhelmed by the scrutiny because Arday himself said it was more than anyone could bear, Barnett said. “I don’t think it’s possible to overestimate the impact that those newspapers, those publishers, have had in this particular case,” he said.

The news media reject criticism of the Arday story

Charles Moore, a former editor of the Daily Telegraph who writes about education, rejected that criticism in a column on Monday.

If Cambridge had properly investigated concerns about Arday that surfaced as early as 2023, he wouldn’t have suffered the shame caused by widespread media coverage, Moore wrote.

Rather than trumpeting Arday’s position as the university’s youngest ever Black professor, Cambridge “could quietly have nurtured his talents and sorted out his problems, which were surely those of a young man out of his depth rather than a brazen impostor,” he said.

“It was the university, not the press, which was obsessed with the color of Dr. Arday’s skin,” Moore wrote.

Columnist Sarah Ditum, writing in the Times of London, said Arday was a legitimate news story because his actions hurt the academics he plagiarized, public confidence in the rigor of his discipline and other early-career lecturers against whom he competed. But she acknowledged that the story was given extra oxygen because it broke during the summer, when Parliament is closed and journalists are desperate for something to write about.

“Academic plagiarists don’t usually make headlines, but Arday was not any old academic,” Ditum wrote.

“He was publishing a high-profile memoir with celebrity blurbs,” she added. “He had chosen the spotlight.”

Vernon, meanwhile, encouraged people to remember there was a man, a husband and father behind the headlines. He has created a GoFundMe campaign to help Arday’s family that has already raised more than 211,805 pounds ($288,489).

“This tells you that Britain still cares about justice, they care about inequalities,” he said. “And more importantly they really want to support Jason and his family in their hour of need.”

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This story has been updated to correct that Wednesday was the most recent tally of signatures on an open letter calling for the government to look into media coverage of Arday.

The flesh-eating parasite threatens the nation's $113 billion beef industry, prompting federal officials to close the border to cattle movements. Because the screwworm also can infect pets, most states have restricted the movement of animals from infested areas of Texas, leading to crowded conditions in state shelters that rely on adoptions to other regions of the country.

“It’s thrown a wrench into things, for small rescues as well as the bigger shelters,” said Mia Bendixsen, executive director of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, which promotes animal welfare laws.

The screwworm can lay eggs that hatch into flesh-eating larvae in the wounds or mucous of any mammal, and of the dozens of infections in southern Texas and southeastern New Mexico, several have been in dogs. Forty-four states have restricted the movements of pets from infested areas, creating a hardship for shelters from Texas that typically send thousands of animals to other states each year.

In Corpus Christi, the Gulf Coast Humane Society couldn't get rescued dogs into New York state for weeks, causing the shelter's animal population to climb from around 325 to nearly 450.

The shelter, which sends about 500 dogs a year outside Texas, created more space in outdoor exercise areas until New York again allowed dogs from Texas — if a veterinarian first certified that each one wasn't infected with the screwworm.

She added that if her shelter doesn't have space to take animals from municipal shelters, “then they have to euthanize more animals.”

Texas has a surplus of dogs and cats for adoption

Moving dogs and cats from Texas to other states, particularly in the Northeast or Great Lakes region, has become crucial to saving stray and abandoned animals.

In 2025, Texas had more unadopted dogs transferred out of its shelters than any other state — nearly 89,000, according to the American Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals. Texas also euthanized about 45,000 dogs — more dogs than any other state, according to the data.

And Texas led in the number of cats transferred out of its shelters — nearly 53,000 — and was second to California in those euthanized, with almost 29,000.

Texas has more stray dogs and cats than any state other than California — about 439,000 in 2025 — largely because of its high population and size. Warm weather also allows stray animals to survive longer and breed more, said veterinarians and animal welfare advocates. They added that Texas pet owners seem less willing to spay or neuter their dogs.

“There are people with working ranch and farm dogs, both male and female, who feel like the animal will lose some of its drive," said veterinarian Lori Teller, executive director of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association.

Both shelters and animals are stressed

In Houston, Humane Society shelter Director Aaron Grady said an inability to send animals out of state has left them more stressed.

“If an adopter comes through and they’re going from kennel to kennel and they see one dog who may be sitting calmly and contentedly in one kennel and then in the next kennel, there’s one dog who’s bouncing off of the walls and barking because of how stressed they are, first one may be looking more desirable,” Grady said.

The Houston shelter has worked to keep its animal population — mostly cats and dogs — at about 200 by tapping a network of foster homes for up to 300 more and by helping pet owners keep their animals even a little longer.

Most states have tightened rules for importing animals

Restrictions on animal transports followed efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep the New World screwworm fly from crossing the border with Mexico.

Those efforts include construction of a $750 million fly factory in southern Texas that's set to open in April 2027 for breeding billions of sterile males. The U.S. had largely eradicated the fly by the early 1970s by breeding sterile males and releasing them from planes to mate with females, who laid eggs that wouldn't hatch.

Smaller facilities in Texas and southern Mexico have been dispersing sterile flies bred in Panama, and another is planned for Arizona.

Florida — where the screwworm fly can thrive — banned imports of rescued dogs and cats from Texas and New Mexico just a week after the first reported case in Texas this year. Other states required veterinarians to inspect animals and declare them free of the parasite. Many shortened the period that a certification was valid from the typical 30 days to as little as three days.

Shelters worried about space long before the return of the screwworm

State restrictions hit an animal welfare system that's long been short of the money and other resources, said Delcianna Winders, director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at the Vermont Law and Graduate School.

She said shelters need more money and space, but communities also should require animals to be spayed or neutered — and have programs to provide those services if people cannot afford them.

“If we could provide them just with some basic support, they might be able to keep those animals in their homes, and that’s one less animal in a shelter, one less animal being killed,” she said.

COVID-19 stressed the system, too, in part because pandemic restrictions put spaying and neutering on hold. Cost-of-living increases are another reason people turn animals over to shelters.

“A lot of them are just saying, ‘I just can’t, I just can’t do it anymore,’” said Brandon Krodle, animal control supervisor in Greenville, Texas, a fast-growing city northeast of Dallas.

A trip from Texas to Indiana saved her dog's life

Mills, the Corpus Christi shelter director, has a dog who would have died in 2015 but for a nearly 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) trip from Paris, Texas, to Angola, Indiana, where Mills was working at the time. Zuri, a young female Shepherd-pit bull mix, was on a list of dogs set to be euthanized, and Mills' counterpart in Texas asked Mills to add Zuri to a transport.

Zuri's right ear doesn't fully straighten up, and the puppy had “the cutest face,” Mills said, but she was sold on Zuri because Zuri looked as if she “was actually thinking things through” as Mills spoke to her. Mills broke a personal rule against taking her shelter's animals home.

When Mills moved to Corpus Christi in 2020, Zuri returned to Texas.

“The shelter that I was at in Indiana, we transported from Texas and Southern states every week," Mills said.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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“Lindsay was struggling — we were all concerned,” said Susan Clancy. Her son, Patrick Clancy, found the Massachusetts couple's children after they had been strangled in the family basement in January 2023. Lindsay Clancy also attempted to take her own life that night and was left paralyzed. Lindsay and Patrick Clancy are now divorced.

The trial centers not on whether Lindsay Clancy killed her children on Jan. 24, 2023, which her lawyers do not dispute, but on her state of mind at the time. Her attorney argues she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth.

Former mother-in-law says Lindsay was open about her struggles

Susan Clancy’s testimony echoed emotional accounts the day before from Lindsay Clancy’s mother and sister, who recounted for jurors how they saw her become increasingly anxious, paranoid and suicidal starting in the fall of 2022.

Susan Clancy, who, like Lindsay, worked as a labor and delivery nurse, said in Plymouth Superior Court that she and her former daughter-in-law were close and described Lindsay as a “wonderful mother” who was “very nurturing, very loving.”

Susan Clancy said that Lindsay was open with her about struggling and asked for her mother-in-law's support. The jury was shown texts between Lindsay and Susan Clancy in which Lindsay spoke about fears that she had developed a dependence on benzodiazepines, but couldn't sleep without taking them.

“I'm not okay and I'm terrified of taking meds tonight,” Lindsay texted her mother-in-law on Nov. 30, 2022, two months before the killings.

On Monday, Lindsay Clancy’s mother, Paula Musgrove, said her daughter was scared of sleeping alone, became increasingly paranoid and believed the medications she was taking “were destroying her mind.”

That December, Lindsay Clancy told her mother and her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, that "she had thoughts of harming the children,” Musgrove said. Lindsay Clancy’s sister Allison Ozga testified that at the end of December, Lindsay told her she had experienced suicidal thoughts every day for a month.

Psychologist who visited Lindsay in the hospital said there's no evidence she's lying

Prosecutors argue that Lindsay Clancy planned the killings and contrived to get her husband out of the house by sending him out on errands. They have pointed to normal activities she performed that day, including taking her children to the doctor and playing with them in the snow.

Lindsay Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, has argued that in addition to suffering from postpartum psychosis, she had bipolar disorder and that antidepressants prescribed after the birth of her third child worsened her condition.

Dr. Paul Zeizel, a clinical and forensic psychologist who visited Lindsay Clancy in the hospital in early February 2023, described seeing her handcuffed to a hospital bed and unable to move below her sternum. Her memory of what had happened was “fuzzy and foggy,” he said, and she was taking medication for significant pain following surgery.

Zeizel said Clancy knew who she was but didn’t know where she was and wasn’t sure of the time. She asked about Patrick, how he was doing and whether she could speak to him. Two days later, she spoke to Patrick using Zeizel’s cellphone.

“She told Patrick that she loved him very much,” Zeizel testified. He said Lindsay Clancy then told Patrick “that she heard a male voice ordering her,” telling her she had no choice but to kill her children and then herself.

Zeizel has met with Lindsay Clancy dozens of times since then. He testified that psychological testing administered by a government doctor found no evidence she was faking or exaggerating psychiatric symptoms.

Zeizel also testified that before the killings, Lindsay Clancy described having “horrible thoughts” and believing her thoughts were so loud other people could hear them.

He testified that psychotic symptoms can come and go, and that a person experiencing psychosis can still perform ordinary activities such as making a phone call or driving a car.

If convicted of murder, Lindsay faces life without parole

Clancy’s livestreamed trial has generated intense public interest. Over the prior weeks, jurors visited the home where she killed her children, and heard emotional testimony from Patrick Clancy.

At the start of the trial, Patrick Clancy described the horror of returning home to find his dead children. Prosecutors played a seven-minute 911 call in which he can be heard finding the bodies and telling a dispatcher, “She killed the kids!”

If convicted of murder, Lindsay Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If found not guilty because of a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

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This story was first published on Aug. 18, 2026. It was updated on Aug. 19, 2026 to correct the spelling of the name of a clinical and forensic psychologist who testified for the defense. The correct spelling is Dr. Paul Zeizel, not Zeisel.

Incoming ballistic missile fire triggered nationwide warnings Tuesday night for UAE residents to seek shelter, the first time in weeks such an alarm had sounded.

Early in the conflict, the UAE regularly came under intense fire from Iran, and most trade between the countries, which had once been important trading partners, ground to a halt. In late June, as hostilities eased, some maritime trade resumed, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Beyond the trade in domestically produced goods, “the UAE has been very important for Iran as a re-export hub and has helped the country absorb some of the shocks caused by sanctions,” Mohammad Farzanegan, a professor of Middle Eastern economics at Germany’s University of Marburg, told The Associated Press.

“Iran therefore depends heavily on the UAE, not because the UAE itself produces one-third of Iran’s imports, but because it serves as a major gateway for Iran to access third-country goods and commercial infrastructure.”

The UAE accuses Iran of firing missiles. Tehran denies it

Following the announcement that two ballistic missiles had been fired toward the UAE, both of which splashed down in the Persian Gulf late Tuesday, the Emirati Foreign Ministry said it decided to impose the punitive measures, while also saying it remained committed to “dialogue, cooperation and regional integration.”

The step halted all trade and financial transactions “until further notice,” the ministry said in a statement.

The UAE Defense Ministry said assessments showed that the missiles targeted maritime traffic. It was not clear whether they targeted Emirati ships or the country’s territorial waters.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei denied that Iran had launched any missiles toward the UAE.

As part of Iran's efforts to maintain a stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz, it has regularly attacked ships attempting to use the waterway, including four tankers owned by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned ADNOC oil and gas company over the past two weeks. None of the attacks caused injuries, but they brought harsh condemnation from the UAE and others in the region, including Kuwait and Bahrain.

Since the beginning of the conflict, nearly 20 ADNOC vessels have been attacked by missiles and drones in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and wounding another 20.

Iran's ability to control traffic through the strait, through which a fifth of traded oil and natural gas passed during peacetime, has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war. While the U.S. and Israel — which launched the war on Feb. 28 — have given various aims, including toppling Tehran's government and ending its nuclear program, the conflict has devolved into a fight over the strait.

U.S. President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that the strait was “open and operating” and posted a map depicting it as a U.S. territory. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi called him a “deluded man.”

Ten vessels transited the strait Tuesday, according to the MarineTraffic website, fewer than a tenth the number that typically sailed through before the war began, when there were no restrictions.

During the war, Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones in strikes that Tehran said were targeting U.S. assets but hit buildings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Dubai’s commercial airport, ports and energy infrastructure.

Iran has accused the UAE and other U.S. allies in the Gulf of facilitating American military attacks on Iran, and Iran's chief of staff, Gen. Ali Abdollahi, issued a new warning Wednesday to “countries on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.”

“Any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor U.S. military amounts to participation alongside U.S. military forces,” he said in a statement distributed by Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency.

The UAE embargo could put new pressure on Iran

Before the war, the UAE was one of Iran's biggest trade partners, providing more than 30% of its imports valued at some $21 billion, according to the World Trade Organization's latest figures from 2024. It was the destination for nearly 13% of its exports worth some $7 billion.

The embargo carries its own risks, however, Farzanegan said.

“As a relatively small country seeking to remain a regional hub for business and finance while attracting tourists and investors, the UAE depends heavily on regional stability,” he said. “Any major conflict with Iran can therefore cause substantial damage to its economy.”

The Emirati announcement comes as the U.S. prepares to apply new economic pressure on Iran. Speaking last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures would be a combination of economic isolation and the continued blockade of Iranian ports.

The economic pressure follows the intense bombing campaign that targeted industrial and civilian infrastructure in addition to military targets. Already the International Monetary Fund forecasts inflation of nearly 70% this year in Iran and an economic contraction of 5.4%. Meanwhile, its rial currency has hit record lows.

China kicked off the 2026 World Robot Conference on Wednesday, with companies showcasing the country’s expanding robotics industry as it looks to move the technology beyond demonstrations and into factories and other real-world applications.

Organizers say around 3,000 products will be showcased during the five-day event. Despite the conference's name, there was no sign of other countries exhibiting.

One of the main attractions on Wednesday was the booth of Unitree, one of China’s leading humanoid robot makers, where some of its models boxed and danced. One even played ping pong with a human opponent.

The opening of the conference coincided with Unitree’s stock market debut in Shanghai.

The conference comes weeks after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced a ban on imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters, citing national security risks, in a move targeting China. The prohibition also covers new imports of quadruped robots, often referred to as four-legged robot dogs. The agency said advanced robots could pose cybersecurity and other national security risks.

UBTECH, another of China’s leading robotics companies, brought several industrial models to the conference. Some demonstrated tasks such as moving components around as they might on a factory floor.

But among those drawing the most attention were humanoid robots with lifelike faces, promoted for emotional care.

Jiao Jichao, deputy president of UBTECH Robotics, said one of its emotional-care humanoids can talk, make various facial expressions, rotate its neck and move its hands. And it is available to individual buyers. The price: 168,000 yuan (more than $24,000).

But despite the increasingly sophisticated displays, experts say many humanoid robots remain more impressive as performers than as practical workers.

Several companies showcased helper robots equipped with mechanical arms and hands. At one booth, a robot attempted a seemingly simple household chore: folding a shirt. After several minutes of trying, it couldn’t do it.

The private Jellyfish Museum in Pompano Beach, Florida, just north of Fort Lauderdale, is believed to be the first museum in the United States dedicated solely to the translucent invertebrates, and one of the few such spaces in the world, according to the city and the museum’s founders.

It was created by Alex and Yana Yanovsky, who previously developed successful aquariums in Ukraine, including their first jellyfish museum in Kyiv. The couple left those facilities behind when they fled Ukraine following the 2022 Russian invasion, operations manager Jessica Eisenbarth said.

The space, which opened this past spring, is the couple's first aquatic attraction since immigrating to the U.S., but they'd like to expand.

“When they left Ukraine, they moved to Florida, and then they immediately wanted to share their passion here,” Eisenbarth said.

Jellyfish have survived for over 500 million years, making them older than dinosaurs and even trees. Their ancient origins are part of their allure, along with their hypnotic, pulsing movements. They have no heart or brain, and are made up primarily of water, giving them a translucent look.

Yana Yanovsky came up with the idea for the jellyfish museum after noticing how popular the jellyfish were at their other aquariums.

“Jellyfish are some of the most resilient creatures on Earth. While they lack a brain, they maintain a simple nerve net that allows them to respond to their environment,” Yana said in a statement provided by the city. “Their movement is mesmerizing, almost meditative, and they play an important role in marine ecosystems.”

Monty Graham, director of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, said he’s not surprised someone made a space dedicated specifically to jellyfish. He credits the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California with kicking off the popularity of jellyfish exhibits at aquariums all over the world. Monterey Bay Aquarium began displaying jellyfish in temporary exhibits in 1985 and opened a permanent gallery in 1996.

“Jellyfish are cool, they’re things that people don’t get to see up close unless they’re scuba diving,” Graham said. “So here was this opportunity, in a controlled environment, very beautiful settings. It clicked all the buttons and checked all the boxes, and it was a very good, positive thing.”

The nearly 10,000-square-foot (900 square meters) Jellyfish Museum houses roughly 20 unique species of jellyfish found in Florida waters and other parts of the world. Different species can be rotated through the museum's 21 tanks. Some current occupants include Japanese sea nettles, moon jellyfish, spotted jellies and upside-down jellyfish, the last of which can be found among Florida's mangrove swamps.

The jellyfish are acquired through licensed aquaculture partners, according to the city.

The space is designed to exude calm and tranquility, general manager Iryna Pelypkanych said. It was converted from a former Wells Fargo bank branch with about $100,000 in community redevelopment grants from the city of Pompano Beach. Guides teach people about the role jellyfish play in marine ecosystems and the importance of protecting them.

“The biggest idea here is to leave people with the feeling that they know something more about the population of jellyfish,” Pelypkanych said. “Because so far, we know around 4,000 different species that can be called jellyfish.”

The star is zipping around the black hole, reaching speeds of about 15,534 miles per second (25,000 kilometers per second). That's 100,000 times faster than a commercial plane.

“That star is really, extremely fast,” said astronomer Stefan Gillessen with the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics.

The newly discovered star also orbits the black hole at closer range than scientists have ever seen before, taking just 8.7 years to complete a revolution. It harnesses the black hole's gravity to fly faster without falling in.

Gillessen and colleagues uncovered the star in data collected by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Their findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

There are several hundred stars that closely orbit this giant black hole and are sensitive to its gravity. Scientists have mapped the orbits of around 50 of them. The new star is 10 times closer than the previous record holder, meaning that it also feels the effects of the black hole's rotation.

There are supermassive black holes lurking in the center of almost every large galaxy. But nothing can escape them — not even light — so it’s notoriously difficult for scientists to figure out what’s going on inside.

Studying stars like this one could help scientists measure those mysterious properties, including how fast the supermassive black hole spins. Advanced telescopes are helping to pinpoint fainter stars that previously eluded detection, so there could be even speedier ones waiting to be found.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said astronomer Tuan Do with the University of California, Los Angeles, who had no role in the study. “As we get fainter, there should be many more stars like this.”

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

The German prosecutors said that the suspect was a “trained scuba diver” who belonged to a group of people who “planted explosives” on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm.

The undersea explosions on Sept. 26, 2022, damaged the pipelines, which had been built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. The damage added to tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources after the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

The suspect was “strongly suspected of jointly causing explosions, anti-constitutional sabotage, and destruction of buildings and structures," the prosecutors' statement said. It said he was arrested in the Croatian seaside city of Pula and would be brought before an investigating judge at Germany’s federal court of justice after his extradition.

The German prosecutor's office identified the suspect only as Vladimir Z. in its statement announcing his arrest. A spokesperson, however, confirmed to The Associated Press that it was the same man who was arrested in Poland last year but was later released when a Polish court refused to extradite him to Germany. Polish authorities identified him as Volodymyr Zhuravlov.

Poland has long opposed the Nord Stream pipelines, viewing them as an attempt by Russia to use its vast energy resources to gain leverage across Europe. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at the time of Zhuravlov's extradition hearing that it would not be in Poland’s interest to hand him over.

It was not immediately clear why Zhuravlov left Poland given the arrest warrant that was out for him.

“Volodymyr knew that the ruling applies only on the territory of Poland,” his Polish lawyer, Tymoteusz Paprocki, told the AP, adding that Zhuravlov's wife was also surprised that her husband was detained in Croatia.

The German government welcomed the arrest on Wednesday.

“We’re simply glad that the federal prosecutor’s office is making progress in these investigations, because it’s important that the bombing of the pipelines be clarified as well,” Justice Ministry spokesman Nicholas Limmer told reporters in Berlin.

Last month, German federal prosecutors filed charges against a former Ukrainian army officer in connection with the same explosions.

The suspect, identified only as Serhii K., faces charges of causing an explosion, damaging property, disrupting public service and being an “accomplice to war crimes” by attacking civilian objects.

Serhii K. was detained in August 2025 in an Italian village, where officers raided a bungalow where he was staying with his family. Police said he surrendered without resistance. He was extradited to Germany in November.

The suspects allegedly used a yacht that set off from the German port of Rostock. The yacht had been rented from a German company using forged IDs and intermediaries.

The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was Russia’s main natural gas supply route to Germany until Moscow cut off supplies in August 2022. They also damaged Nord Stream 2, which never entered service because Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia’s invasion.

Initially some officials in the West suspected that Russia might have carried out the explosions. But German investigators later pointed to suspected Ukrainian involvement.

Russia has accused the U.S. of staging the explosions, a charge Washington has denied. The pipelines were long a target of criticism by the U.S. and some of its allies, which warned that they increased dependence on Russian gas.

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Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland, and Fanny Brodersen in Berlin contributed reporting.

The district identified the coach to KSAT as Steve Barlow. Barlow leads the cross country program at Holmes High School.

According to an SAPD preliminary report, officers were dispatched just before 6:15 a.m. in the 7100 block of Alamo Downs Parkway, which is located east of the Loop 410 access road.

Upon arrival, authorities found a woman rendering aid to a man, later identified as Barlow, after he was struck by her car.

Investigators said the driver was turning onto Alamo Downs Parkway when Barlow was hit. The area of the collision was “not lit up,” the report states.

Northside ISD said Barlow was taken to a local hospital for further treatment. Police said he suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

It is also unclear if the driver is facing any charges.

This is a developing story. The article will updated once more information becomes available.

___ EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org ___

“Say So,” with its big-hearted and hopeful chorus, is about suicide prevention. It was written in tribute to Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney's late mentor Ben Vaughn, head of Warner Chappell Music Publishing, who died by suicide a year before.

“If you’re going through hell, you’re not alone,” Mooney sings. “If you need somebody, say so.”

“For one of the first times in our career, I was like, ‘I’m not like sure if we should tackle this,’” Smyers told The Associated Press.

But in the studio, it became an inevitability — even though they were uncertain. “We were just sharing stories about our friend. And it just fell out of us. A verse and a chorus in, and I think we were all just like, ‘I don’t know, man. Is this too heavy to tackle?'” Smyers continued.

Creating the demo together, alongside co-writers David Hodges and Jimmy Robbins, became therapeutic.

“We owed it to our friend Ben,” he said. “We owe it to the community, who he meant so much to. And I feel like we owed it to ourselves to at least see that one through to the finish line.”

What they didn't realize is that the day they started work on the song was also what would've been Vaughn's 50th birthday. “It was more than a coincidence,” he said. “That was the sign that this song could help somebody.”

“Say So” may be the heaviest song off “Young,” but it is also a thematic center for the record — 10 autobiographical tracks of crossover country that reflect their lives, now, with new emotional vulnerability — what Mooney labels “a very life-giving thing.”

The heart of 'Young'

The album opens with its title track, the stripped-back acoustic arpeggio “Young,” what Smyers describes as “a message from your future self to your present and past self, about the passage of time and appreciating the moment.”

But there's an additional, gendered resonance. “Men — I just think, maybe I’m generalizing — don’t do as good of a job of sharing their feelings and emotions. And I’m saying that because that’s me,” he said.

“You’re tough. You bottle it up. But when I finally broke down that wall, it changed my life. And I think that song just talks about aging as a man.”

That's yet another difficult subject, which might also explain why, before creating the 10 songs that make up “Young,” Dan + Shay wrote and scrapped an entire album's worth of material. The tracks that made up the final collection took time, open and honest conversation, and a hearty dose of self-reflection.

It's why there may be more religiosity to this album than in the previous works — from the single “Her, The Kids and Jesus” to the album's two mentions of a King James Bible.

“'Her, the kids and Jesus,' that’s kind of a snapshot at what my life looks like right now,” Mooney said.

Growing into 'The Old Guys'

Grief — and affection — take on many forms across “Young." From the ode to a young adult's first pet (“Dogs in Our Twenties”) to a twist on the traditional love song format and praying your partner dies after you (the ‘90s country-channeling “The Old Guys"), the songs are delivered with tenderness. The latter includes the album's sole feature, Cody Johnson — a neo-traditionalist in country music that, on paper, may seem at odds with Dan + Shay's genre-hybridity. After all, these are the same guys who recorded the multiplatinum crossover hit “10,000 Hours” featuring Justin Bieber in 2019.

“We occupy a very different space in country music,” agrees Smyers. Even vocally — Mooney's got a high register, Johnson sings low, and when they're all singing together, “It's, like, perfectly meeting in the middle.”

It also highlights the range of this album. “There’s kind of a song for everybody, for whatever you’re going through,” says Mooney. “Whatever people need to get out of this album, I hope that they get that.”

Just a few days later, the truth emerged: The poll was fabricated.

The California results were among at least three “polls” across three states posted online this month by Median Strategies, a previously unknown organization that admitted to the Los Angeles Times on Monday that the purported results were fake. The company wrote before shuttering its website this week that it “was created as a short-term social experiment examining how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification.”

The post offered no explanation of who was behind the “experiment” or for what purpose.

The trajectory of the California poll offers a cautionary tale about the perils of trusting unvetted polling. While high-quality independent polls still exist, they appear amid a slew of other surveys produced by outside groups, campaigns or super PACs or using undisclosed or questionable methodologies. It can be a struggle to make sense of the findings — and as the latest episode shows, even campaigns may end up falling for falsified data.

“This is much bigger than one fake poll,” said Chris Wilson, a veteran Republican pollster who now leads the public opinion firm EyesOver. “It’s never been easier to make invented numbers look legitimate, and campaigns and outside groups have every incentive to amplify anything favorable before anyone verifies it.”

The Median Strategies fake polls, none of which appeared in Associated Press coverage, claimed to evaluate support in the Democratic primary for governor in Wisconsin, the gubernatorial race in Nevada, and the mayoral race in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles poll, which purported to show Bass, an incumbent Democrat, leading councilmember Nithya Raman, a progressive Democrat, by about 12 percentage points in the mayoral race, was shared by the Bass campaign on social media and covered by the California Post before it was revealed to be bogus.

The Bass campaign has since deleted its social media post promoting the poll, but defended itself by saying that it “was reported on by multiple news outlets.”

"Any bad faith attempts to influence elections should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Bass campaign spokesman Alex Stack said.

Transparency is critical for evaluating poll findings

Median's “findings” were shared by polling aggregation accounts on social media. They were not, however, included in the databases of major independent aggregators, including The New York Times, Real Clear Politics or FiftyPlusOne.

The New York Times and FiftyPlusOne noted that the polls were released without basic information that was needed for vetting, such as who was running the firm. When they reached out, Median Strategies did not respond to requests for more information.

“When the poll was released, it lacked basic information about how it was conducted and who was behind it,” Will Davis, director of Election Data Analytics at The New York Times, wrote in an email to the AP. “Releasing this type of information is standard practice for pollsters, and because that information was not provided, we did not include it.”

Mary Radcliffe, Head of Research at FiftyPlusOne, also thought the methodology statement for the Wisconsin poll was missing key details, including the source for the voter file the company claimed to have used and the vendor who fielded part of the sample.

Median did not respond to her questions, so the polls were not included in FiftyPlusOne’s database. But Radcliffe noted that her method for screening polls is not infallible.

“There is a universe where they could have come up with plausible answers to my questions,” she said. “This is an industry built on trust. I have to trust that people are answering my questions in good faith.”

While admissions of falsified polling data are rare, they are not without precedent.

In 2010, for instance, the left-leaning blog Daily Kos said that polling for its website, conducted by a firm called Research 2000, was fraudulent.

But it’s common for pollsters to release polls with minimal information about how the survey was conducted, what questions were asked, or who was behind it. Higher-quality polls rely on expensive methodologies, such as randomized sampling, so many pollsters opt for cheaper solutions. In addition, many election polls are conducted by campaigns or super political action committees with a stake in the outcome of the race. This can leave few — if any — reliable and independent polls to evaluate in contests like midterm primaries.

Before writing about any poll, AP verifies that it meets high standards of transparency and methodological rigor. But even high-quality polls have some amount of error, which underscores the importance of examining each finding with caution.

Prediction markets introduce more complexity

The introduction of prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket gives polls a different significance for people betting on election outcomes.

The posts about Wisconsin and Nevada drew little reaction and were not accompanied by any discernible movement on the two prediction markets when they were released, but there were some shifts on both platforms after Bass shared the false Median Strategies numbers.

On Kalshi, the price of a “yes” contract on Bass winning the Los Angeles mayoral election rose two cents, from about 63 cents to about 65 cents, within fifteen minutes of Median’s post. On Polymarket, roughly twenty separate accounts traded thousands of contracts in Bass’s favor six minutes after the tweet.

In the days leading up to Bass's post about Median, trading on the LA mayoral election had been thin, with a typical trade over that week being under $10.

While the price movements were small, the concentration of trading on both platforms shortly after the release of Median’s fake poll was not.

Before it was taken down, the Median Strategies website included a statement claiming that “no individual involved held or traded any position in an election prediction market, betting market, or other financial instrument tied to the races covered by Median Strategies.”

Motivations for the fake data remain unclear

More than a week after the firm began sharing “results,” it remains unclear who is behind Median Strategies.

No one responded to AP's questions sent to an email address listed on its website, which was created little more than a week ago. Before it was taken offline, the only content on the site was a statement indicating that the firm “has concluded its polling project and will not publish additional polls.”

“All previously published polling releases have been withdrawn and should not be cited or treated as genuine polling data,” it wrote.

The firm highlighted what it called “a credibility problem” in its first social media post earlier in the month.

“Polling has a credibility problem. Ours is the fix: no partisan clients, no campaign or party money, numbers that go wherever the data takes them even when it’s inconvenient. Trustworthy polling, rebuilt,” it wrote.

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Associated Press writers Linley Sanders and Michael Reo in Washington, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., and Michael Blood in Los Angeles contributed.

The rebuilt campus replaces a building more than 75 years old that lacked modern safety features and spaces designed for collaborative learning.

District leaders say the new school is built for the next generation of students while still preserving pieces of its history.

“So much has been done to bring our new campus into a place where we’re ready for the next generation of Mules and learning,” Principal Cory Smith said.

During construction, students spent the past two years learning in portable buildings while waiting to return to a permanent campus.

“It’s really relieving,” senior Conrad Rocha shared. “I’m really glad that we’re back in what feels more like a school setting.”

Smith said the new three-story building adds 33,000 square feet of interior space. The rebuild also expanded outdoor areas, including a student lawn and four outdoor classroom spaces that teachers can reserve.

Inside, the campus includes collaborative areas outside classrooms for group projects.

Administrators said safety was also a major focus of the design, including improved visibility and features that allow certain areas to be secured during an emergency.

“We now have a safe and secure single point of entry,” Smith said.

Visitors will be required to check in through the lobby before being buzzed in to enter the campus.

Smith also shared details about the new library that now sits at the center of campus.

“So it’s accessible both from the inside of the building and from the outside courtyard, which was wonderful. We’ve added four independent study rooms into our library, similar to a college. And I think that’s one really special thing about our campus is it has such a collegiate feel to it now,” she noted.

Teachers are just as thrilled to move into the new space.

“This is top-notch,” social studies teacher Zane Reinhard stated.

Reinhard compared the experience to moving into a new home.

“Everything is just perfect and pristine, and I don’t want to scratch anything or hurt anything, but it is absolutely beautiful,” he said.

While the building is new, school leaders worked to preserve reminders of the old campus. Murals were replicated throughout the school, old signage was moved into the library and class photos from past years line the walls.

Construction continues elsewhere in the district. Across the street from the high school, a new district community center is being built and is expected to be completed in August 2027.

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The State Department announced Tuesday that it had hit ICC president Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and ICC senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, who is from Senegal, with sanctions that freeze any assets they have in U.S. jurisdictions or come into contact with the U.S. financial system.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the move “very unfortunate” when asked about the sanctions by a reporter. “Japan will respond as we continue to maintain communication with related countries including the United States,” she added.

The Trump administration has now slapped sanctions on nine of the ICC's 18 judges, both of its deputy prosecutors, its former chief prosecutor and one other prosecution office staffer, the court said. The U.S. accuses the court of overstepping its mandate by investigating and seeking to prosecute senior military and political officials from countries, such as Israel and the United States, that are not members of the court.

In a statement, the court said that when “judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk.” It said the court “will continue to fully discharge its mandate with independence and impartiality.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday branded the ICC “a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate.”

The move came weeks after Rubio announced that the U.S. was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

Rubio said he will pressure the court’s 125 member states to withdraw from the institution, sanction organizations that work with the court and ban staff from traveling to the United States.

Since then, Venezuela and Chad have announced they plan to leave the court, bringing the number of countries to pull out of the court in the past year to five. It takes a year for a country's decision to quit the court to be formalized.

The sanctions can impact the daily lives of court officials. They prevent the ICC officials and their families from entering the United States, block their access to even basic financial services making even going to a grocery store difficult.

Canadian judge Kimberly Prost, who was sanctioned last year, lost access to her credit cards, and Amazon’s Alexa stopped responding to her. “Your whole world is restricted,” she told The Associated Press after she was targeted.

The court's oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, called the sanctions an “escalation” that “risks undermining ongoing investigations and impeding global efforts” to ensure justice reaches victims of global atrocities.

While Japan calls its alliance with the United States the cornerstone of its postwar foreign and security policies, Tokyo has had difficulty managing the relationship under Trump’s trade and security policies. Takaichi has been portrayed as weak for avoiding any criticism of Trump as her administration navigates weakened U.S. commitment in the region and deteriorating ties with China.

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Japanese opposition Democratic Party for the People, wrote on X that Trump’s sanctions were “outrageous and intolerable.” He urged Takaichi’s government to show its support for the ICC and reach out to the U.S. government to “have it retract this unjust sanction.”

ICC host nation the Netherlands and European powerhouse Germany both threw their weight behind the court.

German foreign office spokesman Martin Giese told reporters in Berlin that the ICC is “fulfilling its mission exactly as intended,” by holding to account perpetrators of grave crimes. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said he had invited Akane for talks “to discuss our continued support.”

Balkees Jarrah, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, called the sanctions “the latest example of the Trump administration’s utter contempt for international law and a naked attempt to shield American and Israeli officials implicated in serious crimes from justice.”

Human Rights Watch and three other advocacy groups sued the Trump administration in a New York court last week to challenge its campaign against the ICC.

___

Associated Press journalists Matthew Lee in Washington, D.C., Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.

Although this marks China’s first successful recovery on land, it is the second time the country has recovered a rocket stage, following a successful recovery on a sea platform in July.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua said the reusable rocket, Zhuque-3, developed by private aerospace company LandSpace, was launched Wednesday morning and that the rocket's first stage was recovered afterward.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have been recovering rockets since 2015, helping drive down launch costs by reusing hardware that would otherwise be discarded after carrying satellites and other payloads toward space.

Xinhua said that Wednesday's recovery also marked China's first use of deployable landing legs and deemed the result “a major breakthrough in the country’s reusable rocket technology.”

On July 10, the first stage of a Long March-10B rocket separated from the second stage after liftoff and returned to a platform at sea. That time, it was recovered using a net-capture system.

The next day, Japan conducted the first test flight of an experimental reusable rocket, which took off and safely landed.

Japan is also trying to catch up with the technology needed to cut launch costs and compete in the global space market.

The Hill Country city is the only Texas community selected as a finalist.

City officials said the recognition highlights Boerne’s holiday traditions, locally owned businesses and festive atmosphere along the Hill Country Mile.

Boerne’s Christmas season includes Dickens on Main, the Weihnachts Parade, holiday markets, twinkling lights and shopping at local stores. These events draw visitors to the city each year and showcase the community’s holiday spirit.

The contest recognizes communities across the country that embrace holiday traditions and community spirit.

Boerne is now asking residents and supporters across Texas to vote and help the city earn the title.

More information about the contest and how to vote is available through the city’s news website, My Boerne News.

Voting is underway, and Boerne residents are hoping the Hill Country city can bring the Hallmark holiday title home to Texas. Click here to vote.

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Rodri officially signed with Madrid rival Barcelona after a transfer from Manchester City on Tuesday.

Mourinho, back with Madrid for a second stint, said he spoke twice with Rodri as Madrid considered adding the World Cup's best player to its squad, but felt the midfielder didn't seem certain about his future.

“The club contacted him but he had some doubts,” Mourinho said in an interview to TV show ”El Chiringuito" late Tuesday. "What I think happened is that his doubts have created doubts for me. He’s an extraordinary player and was very correct with us. But I think Real Madrid is of such a stature that it can’t have players who think twice about being with the club.”

Just hours before Rodri's signing was made official by Barcelona on Tuesday, Mourinho was officially presented by Madrid in an unusual ceremony closed to the media and fans.

Mourinho, who was hired in June and took over in July at the start of the preseason, downplayed the importance of Rodri to Madrid.

“I don't need Rodri. We have solutions, quality players," Mourinho said, adding that he didn't think Barcelona got the best of Madrid by signing the midfielder. “Victories are won on the field, they are won with titles.”

After a second consecutive season without a major title, the club has bought players such as Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Denzel Dumfries, Bernardo Silva and Yan Diomande.

Mourinho said the club does not intend to make new signings.

“I’m not saying there won’t be any more signings because the market is still open, but if you ask me directly if it's closed (for Madrid), yes, it’s closed,” he said.

Madrid opens in La Liga on Saturday at Espanyol.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Matthew McKinney, who served as Harlan’s offensive coordinator beginning in 2017, was promoted to head coach in February.

He takes over a program coming off a strong 2025 campaign, when the Hawks went 8-0 in district play and finished 10-2 overall.

“All the players know him; all the players are used to how he coaches, how he runs things, how he runs practices, weight room, film session. It’s very important, and we’re all very grateful to have our head coach already be in this program,” said Hawks senior quarterback Aiden Pitchford.

McKinney has been a regular presence on the Harlan sideline on Friday nights, helping guide the offense as the Hawks built one of the area’s top programs.

Now, he steps into the head coaching role with the goal of maintaining the team’s consistent approach.

“I interviewed a lot of our players and want to know how they felt about our schemes and how they felt about what we’re doing,” said McKinney. “A unanimous report from all of our players said (they) want to keep our same system.”

Harlan opens its season on the field next Friday when they host East Central. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

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First stop is Longneck Manor, it’s a mix of wildlife conservation & a boutique hotel. You can have an unforgettable giraffe encounter, meet their rhinos or have a safari sleepover in their luxurious overnight rooms.

You can step back in time at Hangar Hotel. It’s a stylish adult-only hotel featuring airplane memorabilia, USO history and the romance of the 1940s. Keep up with their social media to catch upcoming air shows.

The 1940’s theme continues right next door is the Airport Diner. It features a classic diner menu & stunning views of the airport runway.

Barbecue lovers this one’s for you. People from around the world travel to Blanco to get a taste of Old 300 BBQ. We get a taste of the menu & their signature BBQ sauce.

If you would like to help the Hill Country town of Boerne become the backdrop for a Hallmark Christmas Movie, you can vote here. The Texas destination is up for the Merriest Christmas town. Voting is now through September 4.

Beard was in hospice care when he died Tuesday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side, according to publicist Bob Merlis. Band co-founder and guitarist Billy Gibbons, on tour with bassist Elwood Francis, hailed Beard in a statement.

“Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas. His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top. The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished,” Gibbons said.

ZZ Top sold more than 50 million records and had six singles that reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. Seven of their albums have been in the Billboard 200’s Top 10 and they earned three Grammy Award nominations.

“I’ve found the people I was meant to play with,” Beard says in the 2019 documentary “ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas.” “I never wanted to quit, and never wanted to get fired.”

Drummers went to social media to pay tribute to Beard's influence, including Rage Against the Machine's Brad Wilk, who wrote his mind was blown seeing Beard's two-hand shuffle live in high school. Former Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum called Beard “a very special and unique man behind the kit.”

How the band came together

Beard, from Frankston, Texas, met Gibbons in a band called The Moving Sidewalks and later introduced bassist and vocalist Dusty Hill who had been in several bands with Beard.

The trio formed ZZ Top in 1969, naming themselves in part after blues singer Z.Z. Hill and influenced by the British power trio Cream and Jimmy Reed. They maintained their original lineup for more than five decades. Their signature look — long, bushy beards on Gibbons and Hill, and dark sunglasses for all — didn’t change much, either.

When Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards helped induct the trio into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, he joked: “These cats know their blues and they know how to dress it up. When I first saw them, I thought, ‘I hope these guys are not on the run, because that disguise is not going to work.’ ”

ZZ Top songs — with their sly and humorous lyrics — were popular in Hollywood, which used “Gimme All Your Lovin’” in “Happy Feet,” “Sharp Dressed Man” in “Evan Almighty,” “Legs” in “Air,” “Sleeping Bag” in “I, Tonya,” “Tush” in “Dazed and Confused,” “Mexican Blackbird” in “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “La Grange” in “Armageddon.”

“The best way to describe ZZ Top is we’re interpreters of a great American art form,” Gibbons told The Dallas Morning News.

Their debut release, “ZZ Top’s First Album,” came out in 1970. Their sound was described as a hybrid mixing elements of rock, blues and funk into a steaming-hot Houston stew. They called themselves a “Little Ol’ Band From Texas.”

Breaking through

Three years later, they broke through commercially with “La Grange,” a funky blues song on the album “Tres Hombres” that paid tribute to the Chicken Ranch, a brothel outside of the Texas town of La Grange that operated from 1905 until 1973 and was immortalized in the Broadway show and the film “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” Gibbons has ascribed the power of “La Grange" to its simplicity — just two chords and a Robert Johnson-inspired guitar solo.

The band went on to have such hits as “Tush” and “Cheap Sunglasses.” But their 1983 “Eliminator” — named after one of Gibbons’ custom cars — added more production elements, synthesizers and drum machines to their stripped-down sound and yielded the hits “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Legs” and “Sharp-Dressed Man.” The band toured with a Texas-shaped stage, live rattlesnakes and a longhorn steer.

Long beards weren’t always part of the band’s look. Gibbons said it happened by accident: In 1976, the trio took a long break and scattered. Beard went to Jamaica, Hill went to Mexico and Gibbons went to France.

“Although we were speaking by phone, this was pre-video phone. And Dusty and I did not know that we had gotten so lazy that we had decided to forget to shave,” Gibbons told The Tribune in San Luis Obispo in 2010. “So after three years we returned and showed up, and lo and behold here was this sort of wacky-looking image. And it just kind of stuck with us.”

A boost from MTV

The band’s rock-chic cool played well on the nascent MTV crowd and their videos, featuring models in short skirts emerging from one of Gibbons’ custom roadsters, became a mainstay.

They kept the beards, hats and cheap sunglasses in the video trilogy of “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Legs,” made with director Tim Newman.

“ZZ Top reveled in the humor and ridiculousness of it all, busting their synchronized dance moves and spinning their white-fur guitars. These guys always got the joke, at a time when other bands were still just nervously lip-syncing in front of brick walls,” Rolling Stone said in 2021.

In 2012, superstar producer Rick Rubin helped update the trio’s sound with the band’s comeback album, “La Futura.” The album landed at No. 6 on the Billboard chart, their highest position since 1990's “Recycler,” some 22 years previously.

Hill died in 2021.

In March 2025, the band announced via Instagram that Beard would temporarily step away from the band’s tour to tend to foot and ankle problems. Beard died weeks after ZZ Top called off its Aug. 5 concert at the Hollywood Bowl due to his health issues.

Beard is survived by his wife, Debbie Meredith, and three children.

Data from Congo’s Ministry of Health showed the outbreak had so far recorded 5,021 cases, including 2,378 deaths as of Sunday, as it rages in some of the most challenging conditions imaginable fueled by insecurity, displacement and intense population movements.

The outbreak has infected and killed more people at a greater speed than any other outbreak in history. The World Health Organization estimates it will likely surpass the outbreak of 2014 to 2016 across West Africa, which was the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record with more than 11,000 deaths.

Starting from the first detected case, the current outbreak has spread about three times faster than the deadliest on record.

The outbreak “has spread rapidly and the risk of further national and international spread remains high,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday at a meeting convened by the agency.

“We must be frank: the epidemic is far from being under control,” he said.

Thérèse Anyiya, a nurse working in Ituri’s capital Bunia, said she is exhausted by the work demands and poor working conditions. Some health workers have gone on strike after not being paid.

“If the managers don’t take things seriously, we too will end up withdrawing. The way this epidemic is being managed is exhausting,” Anyiya told The Associated Press.

A key challenge has been the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo virus, which is responsible for the current outbreak. Most new cases are being reported outside of the people being monitored, showing it has spread quickly and left surveillance teams racing to catch up.

Lack of information in Ituri causes attacks on health workers

Ituri, the province that has been hit the worst by the outbreak, has become a primary location for violence that has limited the response as health workers are targeted.

Residents on Monday attacked a health team in the territory of Aru after a suspected case was reported there. A mob set fire to an ambulance and damaged two other vehicles, according to Michael Wani, president of the Union of Cultural Associations for the Development of Ituri.

Dr. Martin Cwinyay, who is involved in the Ituri response efforts, explained it is “essential to bring the response closer to the people, particularly in rural, mining and displacement areas.”

Trish Newport, an emergency coordinator with Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said not all the people in the impacted areas have the essential information they need.

“The community needs to be aware about the outbreak. They need to be involved in the response. They need to know what the signs and symptoms are and what to do if they get sick,” Newport said.

Limited care is resulting in more deaths

Experts believe the virus began spreading from the mining town of Mongbwalu as early as February, months before authorities declared the outbreak on May 15.

Responders racing to catch up are also battling several other challenges including threats by rebel groups, anger from communities that have been traumatized for years and bad roads into the affected territories.

Although the 2014-2016 outbreak is considered the deadliest among the virus types that causes Ebola disease, government data shows this Bundibugyo outbreak has killed a higher percentage of people as care and support are not getting to patients quickly enough, while many are not reporting symptoms or doing so late.

The situation also varies across the six affected provinces. While the case fatality rate is so far 47.4%, it is far worse in some places where response efforts are more challenging, such as in North Kivu province where the fatality rate is 70%.