Discussion

At 300 PM GMT (1500 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Hanna was located near latitude 33.4 North, longitude 43.6 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the east near 5 mph (7 km/h). A turn toward the east-northeast is expected later today with an increase in forward speed on Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. The remnant low should gradually weaken during the next couple of days.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 mb (29.77 inches).

Watches and Warnings

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Land Hazards

None.

While some passengers screamed, the FlyDubai flight issued an emergency alert and abruptly descended thousands of feet (meters). Israel scrambled warplanes amid concerns about a possible hijacking.

As a plane carrying passengers from the flight landed Wednesday evening in Israel, to cheers at the airport, it was not clear what motivated the attack.

“We’re going to die,” passenger Naama Bershadski recalled of the ordeal. She said she closed her eyes and prayed for a good ending.

Video footage circulating on social media and reviewed by The Associated Press showed two men on the plane's floor, bloodied and wounded. Two people appeared to be providing medical treatment, while two others guarded the cockpit.

“We are guarding the pilot,” one person said in Hebrew. In another video, passengers wept and cried out as the aircraft shook.

Those who intervened “saved many lives and prevented a major disaster,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding that Saudi Arabia arrested a pilot whose identity was not immediately shared by authorities. Saudi Arabia had no immediate comment.

The plane’s captain and first officer were injured, according to a statement by Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, carried by state-run Alekhbariya television. Passengers received medical attention from local authorities, according to a regional official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to brief the media.

Netanyahu warned in recent days of unspecified, heightened security threats. The country is a week away from the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which has triggered a series of wars, and is weeks away from an election.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office said around 160 people on the plane were from Israel.

Two pilots fought, and passengers and crew intervened

An Israeli official said a fight broke out between two pilots, one of whom was armed with a knife. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the incident was under investigation.

Around two and a half hours after leaving Dubai, the flight descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet (around 10,000 meters to 5,100 meters) in about a minute, before making an erratic circle close to the Jordanian border and landing in Tabuk about an hour later, according to Flightradar24.

As the plane began to dive, a passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit, Netanyahu said, citing a passenger he spoke to. Other crew members took over flying the plane.

Among the passengers who intervened were members of the Israeli security forces and air marshals, according to a person familiar with a probe by Saudi Arabia and regional partners. The person was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

FlyDubai confirmed that an “altercation occurred in the flight deck” and the aircraft was secured by on-duty crew “who diverted and landed the aircraft safely.”

An official confirmed that Israel had scrambled warplanes, fearing a hijacking. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the incident was under investigation.

Passengers screamed when they heard a fight

Yasmin Abukasis said her daughter, who was on the plane, told her in a phone call that she could hear someone screaming “Help!”

Her daughter said the crew started to lose control of the jet, causing passengers to scream, but eventually two people were able to wrest control of the plane while others attempted to subdue the attacker.

Passengers told Israel’s Channel 12 by phone they heard shouts from those sitting near the front of the plane who heard the altercation between the pilots.

The airport in Tabuk reported that a FlyDubai flight made a distress call at 8:44 a.m. local time, before landing safely at 9:45 a.m.

Former United Airlines pilot and aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said he was surprised that the plane was able to land safely after most of the rudder was ripped off the tail during the extreme descent.

“That was a serious descent and strong aerodynamic forces on that rudder for that to happen. I’m just amazed the aircraft didn’t come apart,” Arroyo said.

Israelis have made emergency landings in Saudi Arabia before

Israelis were targeted in a string of hijackings and airplane attacks by Palestinian militants in the 1960s and 1970s. Israel has not experienced a hijacking in decades but maintains some of the strictest airport security in the world, including on Israel-bound flights.

The emergency landing in Saudi Arabia was not the first for a plane carrying Israelis home. The kingdom does not have formal diplomatic ties with Israel, but ended its longstanding ban on Israeli flights overflying its territory in 2022.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has coordinated emergency landings for Israeli passengers, including in 2023 when a plane experienced an electrical malfunction.

The UAE has become a popular vacation destination for Israeli tourists since the countries normalized ties in 2020. FlyDubai is the lower-cost sister carrier of Emirates airlines.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Scharf from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Sam Metz and Aamer Madhani in Jerusalem, Ami Ben Tov in Tel Aviv, Israel, Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, and Adam Schreck in Bangkok contributed to this report.

The indictment against 36-year-old Ivanna Lisette Ortiz of Orlando was unsealed Wednesday by a judge.

Ortiz, appearing in court wearing yellow jail clothes, spoke only to her attorney, who entered a not guilty plea for her. The judge then ordered her held on $2.6 million bail.

The move came a day after another judge ruled that Ortiz is mentally competent to stand trial. The secret grand jury proceedings were held as the woman was undergoing months of psychiatric evaluation, and the case that appeared stalled — possibly permanently — is now on a fast-track to trial.

Ortiz was previously charged in March with Rihanna’s attempted murder and more than a dozen other felony charges, and she pleaded not guilty. No one was injured, but bullets tore through an Airstream trailer that the singing superstar and A$AP Rocky were in at the time. Shots also struck the wall of their nursery where their three small children were with their nanny.

The grand jury indictment supersedes the original charges. And the secret proceedings allow prosecutors to skip California’s preliminary hearing process, where evidence must be presented publicly to see if a trial is merited.

Ortiz could get life in prison if convicted of all counts.

Reports have been sealed on the psychiatric evaluations that paused the case shortly after it began, and there was no public discussion of the details of her mental state. Prosecutors have not said anything about a motive or cited any connection between Rihanna and Ortiz, a longtime licensed speech pathologist with no prior criminal record.

Authorities allege she drove a Tesla from Orlando to the Beverly Hills-area property of Rihanna and her rapper partner A$AP Rocky on March 8, pointed an AR-15 style rifle out the window and fired at least 20 rounds toward the property and a neighboring house.

Investigators found bullet holes in the trailer and on the exterior wall of the home’s second-floor nursery, where the children and nanny were present. Rihanna’s mother and several staffers also were in the home.

Investigators said that after her arrest later that day, Ortiz told them: “I wasn’t attempting murder.”

A nine-time Grammy Award winner, Rihanna has had 14 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “We Found Love,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and “Disturbia.”

Pike, now 50, and her boyfriend were convicted of the 1995 stabbing and beating of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, their classmate at a job training facility in Knoxville. She would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in at least 200 years.

The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals halted the execution on a 2-1 vote after execution witnesses and others gathered at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

Tennessee’s attorney general immediately appealed the stay to the U.S. Supreme Court. Witnesses and media remained at the prison in case the high court allows the execution to proceed. Media witnesses were brought into the prison about 10:15 a.m. to wait.

More than 30 people, some wearing shirts that said “Love Heals,” gathered in a fenced-in area outside the prison while police on horses watched nearby.

The case garnered widespread attention at the time of the killing in part because a pentagram that was carved on Slemmer’s body and other elements of the crime stoked fears of Satan worship during the “satanic panic” of the 1980s and 1990s.

Pike's case renewed debate on the death penalty for teens

As the execution date drew near, it renewed debate over the death penalty for young offenders.

Pike does not deny committing the killing, but her supporters argue the state should consider Pike’s age at the time, mental illness and a history of severe sexual abuse that included being raped from the time she was a toddler. Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell said Pike’s death sentence is an outlier because other 18-year-olds in Tennessee have had such sentences vacated.

After the killing, Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. In her clemency petition she said she only wanted to fight Slemmer but killed her in a frenzied attack when she couldn’t “put the brakes on.”

“I was a mentally ill 18-year-old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I’d done. Even more to accept how many lives I affected. I took the life of someone’s child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think I had the ability to commit such a crime,” Pike said in a statement.

Victim's mother says she is waiting for death sentence

Slemmer’s mother wants the lethal injection to go forward, saying she has waited decades to see Pike’s sentence carried out.

“Every time I think about it, I think about Colleen feeling that pain and trying to get up and run,” May Martinez told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Saturday.

Martinez said a group helped raise money so she and her husband could travel from Florida to witness the execution. She didn't respond to a message Wednesday after the execution was halted.

Martinez said her daughter's age should matter too in deciding Pike's fate.

“Not a day goes by, or a minute goes by that I do not think about Colleen. Holidays are the worst,” she said, noting that her daughter would have turned 51 earlier in September.

The killing rocked the city of Knoxville. Prosecutors said Pike, fearing Slemmer was trying to steal her boyfriend, lured her to a wooded area on Jan. 12, 1995. Pike cut Slemmer with a box cutter and beat her with a large chunk of asphalt. Shipp, Pike’s boyfriend, has admitted that he was the one who carved a pentagram, a star-shaped symbol associated with Satan, into her body.

Shipp was 17 when the crime happened and received a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. Pike was the only one sentenced to death.

Executions of women are rare in the US

Tennessee has not executed a woman for at least 200 years, according to Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. Older records can be spotty, though, so it’s difficult to know precise details about the last woman who was put to death there.

It's a rarity across the U.S. Since 1976, 18 women have been put to death in the country, representing about 1% of all executions, according to the center.

Most recently, Missouri in 2023 executed Amber McLaughlin for a 2003 killing, in what is believed to be the first execution of a transgender woman in the U.S. In 2021, the federal government executed Lisa Montgomery, marking the first time in nearly seven decades that the U.S. government put a female inmate to death.

Pike would be the 30th person executed in the U.S. this year. Florida carried out its 16th execution of 2026 on Tuesday.

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Associated Press journalists Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

On an Israel-bound flight Wednesday, a pilot stabbed another pilot, then apparently tried to crash the aircraft carrying dozens of Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Passengers and crew subdued the attacker and the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, in Iran, authorities executed two people accused of violence against security forces during the country’s January protests. And the last U.S. forces left Iraq, under a Washington-Baghdad deal from two years ago.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Wednesday. Full coverage is available here.

Israeli strikes kill 5 Palestinians and wound 19 in Gaza

Israeli strikes killed five Palestinians and wounded 19 in Gaza, hospital officials said Wednesday, the latest of almost daily attacks since Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire nearly a year ago, halting the heaviest of the fighting.

Officials at Shifa Hospital said an Israeli strike killed a woman and critically wounded her husband in Gaza City, while another struck a bus, killing four and wounding at least 14. Elsewhere in the territory, a strike in Khan Younis wounded four Palestinians, officials at Nasser Hospital said.

Israel’s military didn’t immediately respond to questions about the bus strike, but said it was reviewing information about the strike in Khan Younis.

Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which maintains detailed records that are generally seen as reliable. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed in militant attacks over the same time period, while two more were killed by friendly fire.

Israel-bound plane makes emergency landing in Saudi Arabia

On an Israel-bound flight Wednesday from the United Arab Emirates, a pilot stabbed another pilot then apparently tried to crash the aircraft carrying dozens of Israelis, Netanyahu said. Passengers and crew staged a dramatic intervention to subdue the attacker and the plane eventually made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The FlyDubai flight landed safely after issuing an emergency alert and abruptly descending thousands of feet (meters). Israel scrambled warplanes over concerns of a possible hijacking.

Netanyahu said that Saudi Arabia had arrested a pilot of the flight.

Yasmin Abukasis said her daughter who was on the flight told her in a phone call that she could hear someone screaming “help!” Abukasis said that her daughter told her that the plane started to lose control, but eventually two people were able to wrest control of the plane, while others attempted to subdue an attacker on the floor of the plane.

— By Samy Magdy in Cairo, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel

Iran hangs 2 men on charges of violence during protests

Iran executed two men on Wednesday over what it said was their role in violence during nationwide anti-government protests in January, state media reported.

IRNA, citing the judiciary, said that the men took part in unrest in the northeastern city of Mashhad that left four security officers dead. The judiciary said that the men confessed to the violence, including setting fires and damaging public property. It also said that one had confessed to stabbing a member of Iran's paramilitary force. Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the sentences before they were carried out Wednesday morning.

The unrest began Dec. 28 amid anger over Iran’s collapsing currency and worsening economy and quickly spread across the country. Iranian authorities responded with a deadly crackdown.

Dozens of Iranians have since been executed in connection with the protests, according to state media in Iran. Executions aren't uncommon in Iran, where rights groups say the accused are often tried in secretive courts based on forced confessions extracted through torture.

Oil and fuel exports near pre-war level with alternate routes

Alternate export routes and a U.S.-protected route through the Strait of Hormuz have helped restore oil and fuel exports from the Gulf to near pre-war levels, according to figures from data firm Kpler.

Exports through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal — along with a pipeline to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman and a U.S.-protected route that guides tankers at night — have been a key workaround after the threat of Iranian attacks disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Kpler said during a Tuesday podcast.

About 21.8 million barrels per day of crude and fuel products made from crude are being shipped weekly, on average, compared to the pre-war baseline of 23.3 million barrels per day, Kpler said.

“We are getting closer to the norm, we are not at pre-conflict levels, but we are getting close to there,” said Matt Smith, Kpler's director of commodity research.

Still, the workarounds are time consuming and expensive.

Egypt's president says Suez Canal revenue down $20 billion

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi says that the Suez Canal has lost a cumulative $20 billion in revenue since the Hamas-led attack on Israel unleashed the war in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, and because of maritime navigation disruptions from the Middle East conflict.

During a televised meeting on Tuesday with Cabinet members, top military leaders and local governors, el-Sissi blamed the government’s tight budget and little spending on education and health on the volatile geopolitical situation that led to increases in food and energy prices.

“Does that affect us? Of course it does affect us severely,” el-Sissi said.

Traffic was significantly disrupted after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels began targeting vessels heading to Israel through the Suez Canal after the start of the war in Gaza. Since then, traffic has remained between 60% and 70% below prewar levels, according to a July report by the Oxford Economics research firm.

American troops leave Iraq

The U.S. military announced on Wednesday that it had completed the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group.

Baghdad touted the move as a sign of the country’s growing strength and sovereignty. It was also celebrated by Iran-backed groups, but raised concerns among some other Iraqis, particularly in the Kurdish region.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, in a statement, called it an “orderly departure” and said that the withdrawal “marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.”

Lebanon blast wounds a soldier and 3 civilians

The Lebanese army said that a soldier was seriously wounded in an explosion in the village of Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa on Wednesday. Three civilians were also wounded, it said.

Initially, the army said the soldier’s vehicle had been targeted by an Israeli strike, but later it said that the explosion was caused by a “suspicious object.” The army was escorting residents of the area in southern Lebanon to visit their houses, it said.

In June, the Lebanese and Israeli governments reached an agreement under which the Israeli military would withdraw gradually from southern Lebanon and allow the Lebanese army to take control, in exchange for disarming the militant Hezbollah group. However, implementation of the deal has stalled.

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

The better-than-expected data helped shorter-term Treasury yields slow their pressure-cranking jumps, a day after the 10-year Treasury yield touched its highest level since 2002. That in turn helped support U.S. stock indexes.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and is close to finishing September with a small gain instead of a loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 45 points, or 0.1%, as of 12:29 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.

Easier Treasury yields help the broad stock market because higher yields slow the overall economy by making borrowing money more expensive for everyone, while undercutting prices for all kinds of investments.

Shorter-term yields eased as traders pared bets that the Federal Reserve will raise its main interest rate next month to get inflation further under control. They now see just a 39% chance of that, down from the coin flip's chance seen a day earlier, according to data from CME Group. That helped the yield on the two-year Treasury fall to 4.88% from 4.89% late Tuesday.

The morning’s report said that U.S. consumers had to pay prices that were 3.4% higher overall in August for the cost of living than a year earlier. That was not as bad as the 3.7% that economists expected, even if it remained worse than the Fed’s 2% target.

The report followed others from earlier in the month about inflation during August, but this is the one that the Federal Reserve prefers to use.

To be sure, worries about high inflation are just one of the reasons yields have jumped in the United States and around the world. The seemingly solid U.S. economy, which continues to chug along despite its many challenges, is also supporting yields, and a report on Wednesday said its growth was even stronger during the spring than earlier estimated.

A separate report, meanwhile, said growth in business activity in the Midwest was better than economists expected.

Other factors sending yields higher are also continuing to churn, including worries about the big debt loads that Washington and other governments worldwide are supporting.

That sent longer-term Treasury yields higher. The 10-year Treasury, which is the centerpiece of the bond market, saw its yield briefly drop as low as 5.20% before rising to 5.29%. That's up from 5.26% late Tuesday.

The 30-year Treasury yield, which takes into account expectations for inflation and economic growth many years down the line, rose to 5.63% from 5.59% late Tuesday.

The bond market also felt upward pressure from another climb for oil prices, which have been swinging on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the flow of crude to be fully restored. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2.9% to $98.99 per barrel.

On Wall Street, Hewlett Packard Enterprise helped drive the market higher after rising 6.1%. It increased its forecast for revenue from its networking business, which is benefiting from the boom in artificial-intelligence technology.

Another AI winner, Nvidia, was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500 after adding 1.4%. It has come under pressure, along with the broad industry, on worries that its stock price shot too high. High interest rates pack a particularly hard punch on stocks seen as the most expensive.

Nvidia also benefits from lower yields because they make it cheaper for customers to borrow money to build AI data centers.

MongoDB climbed 6.1% after saying its board boosted the database company's program to send cash to shareholders through buybacks of its own stock by $1 billion. That helped MongoDB recover some of its sharp loss from earlier in the week, after it said Chirantan “CJ” Desai was stepping down as CEO for a senior role at Meta Platforms.

Such gains helped offset a 3.3% drop for Cal-Maine Foods after the country's largest egg company reported a larger loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. With plenty of eggs available in the market, Cal-Maine Foods saw a sharp drop in prices it could charge, compared with a year earlier.

In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9%, while France’s CAC 40 fell 0.9% for two of the world’s bigger moves.

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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

The Bexar County Constable Office Precinct 2 is looking for Sebastian Martinez Guajardo. The precinct said Guajardo faces a Class A misdemeanor charge of cruelty to non-livestock animals when he is found.

The precinct is accusing Guajardo of abandoning three of his dogs. Investigators said one of the dogs died due to extreme malnourishment.

Anyone with information related to this case is urged to contact the Bexar County Constable’s Office Precinct 2 at 210-334-5480.

Read also:

• 1 killed, 1 injured after woman allegedly drives into them near Northwest Side restaurant, SAPD says
• Murder defendant guilty of lesser charge, will spend 40 years in prison for fatal stabbing, DA says

Noem, who was tasked with leading President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown from January 2025 to March 2026 and previously served as South Dakota's governor, is seeking a divorce from Bryon Noem in their home state. The two married in May 1992 and have three children.

The filing, made in April but posted online on Monday, comes after questions arose earlier this year about the nature of Kristi Noem's relationship with a top adviser. The complaint, filed in Hamlin County, notes “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for the divorce.

In a statement, Kristi Noem's attorney confirmed she has filed for divorce and said she will reserve further comments for the legal process. Lawyers for Bryon Noem did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A day before Noem was ousted from her post in Trump's cabinet, members of Congress questioned her about an alleged extramarital affair with Corey Lewandowski, a special government employee and one of the secretary’s lead advisers. He was Trump’s first campaign manager in 2016 and appeared to play an outsized role in Noem's department, even though his position was supposed to have a limit on days worked.

Noem denied the allegations that they were having an affair, dismissing them as “tabloid garbage.”

Once a close ally to Trump, Noem became a liability for the Republican president as questions arose over her conduct following the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration officers. Noem characterized both Renee Good and Alex Pretti as aggressors, contradicting videos from the scene and descriptions of their deaths from bystanders. She also faced criticism from fellow Republicans for her spending at her department.

Trump nominated Markwayne Mullin, then a U.S. senator from Oklahoma, in Noem's place and made her a special envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a new security initiative focused on the Western Hemisphere.

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Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Consumer prices rose 3.4% in August compared with a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, below the 3.7% economist expectations. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3%, up from 0.1% in July, a sign prices that are still running hot.

Excluding the volatile energy and food categories, inflation also came in lower than expected, rising 3% in August from a year ago. And from July to August, core prices rose just 0.2%, up from 0.1% the previous month. Many economists feared core prices would rise more quickly month-to-month.

U.S. markets bounced higher immediately on the new inflation reading, with investors betting that an expected interest-rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve might be delayed.

Even so, inflation remains above the Federal Reserve's 2% target and the monthly increase in August suggests it isn't moving back toward the target anytime soon. The Fed lifted its key short-term interest rate two weeks ago for the first time in three years to combat inflation and most economists expect it will do so at least once more this year, possibly as soon as late next month.

“Inflation’s trend is lower but still not close to their target and not improving, either,” Bill Adams, chief U.S. economist at Fifth Third Commercial Bank, said in an email.

Wednesday's report covered a key inflation gauge closely watched by the Fed, known as the personal consumption expenditures price index. It is similar to the higher-profile consumer price index, which was released earlier this month.

High prices have cast a pall on the U.S. economy, even as growth is mostly solid and the unemployment rate is low. On Tuesday, the Conference Board's consumer confidence survey fell to its lowest level since 2014, a period that includes both the Great Recession and a global pandemic.

Americans' paychecks are growing but not as quickly as prices.

Inflation for July was previously reported at 3.7% but was revised lower to 3.4% by the government as part of an update in how it measures price changes in several categories, including investment management, computer software and accessories, and legal services.

For example, the government previously put a heavy weight on some computer accessories that have jumped in price because of outsized demand from the AI buildout. The revisions lowered that weight and as a result, the higher prices for some computer equipment are not driving up this measure of inflation as much.

Spending picks up

Despite elevated prices, Americans accelerated their spending last month, the government said, with spending jumping 0.9% from July to August, up from just 0.1% the previous month.

Some of that increase was likely fueled by wealthier Americans cashing in their gains from higher stock prices, a recent report from JPMorgan suggests. Other consumers may be taking on more debt to support their spending.

After-tax incomes, adjusted for inflation, were unchanged on a monthly basis in August, after rising 0.3% in July, the report said.

Healthy consumer spending could fuel a pickup in growth. In a separate report Wednesday, the government said the economy expanded at a 2.2% annual pace in the July-September quarter. Analysts expect that to pick up to a 3% rate in the current quarter.

At a recent fundraiser before a small group of conservative lobbyists and donors, The Times reported, Paxton was asked, “Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?” The recording does not make clear whether the question referred to Trump, though Paxton’s response suggested as much.

“So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers,” Paxton responded in the recording. “Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”

The Texas Tribune did not independently verify The Times’ reporting.

Paxton’s remark comes as he faces mounting pressure to gain ground against Democratic nominee James Talarico, with early voting less than three weeks out and Paxton continuing to narrowly trail in most public polling. Trump, a longtime Paxton ally who has played a key role in boosting the attorney general’s campaign, did not immediately address the report Wednesday morning. The president’s own approval rating in Texas was underwater as of August, according to The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.

Earlier this year, the president helped deliver Paxton the Republican nomination by endorsing him over U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. More recently, Trump has mobilized his political apparatus to help Paxton catch up on ad spending.

Trump pushed the GOP to host a first-of-its-kind midterm convention in Dallas earlier this month, urging voters to “pretend” he was on the ballot this year with the aim of juicing Republican turnout in November. On stage, the president ribbed Paxton for his looks and the way he speaks while praising him as the “greatest attorney general in America.”

“I think the fact that we had such a successful convention really helped Ken Paxton,” Trump told reporters earlier this month. “He was a big part of it.”

In a statement, Paxton senior adviser Nick Maddux called the recording “more manipulated nonsense from the New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist.”

“Every serious pollster will tell you that our numbers have improved since early September,” Maddux said. “Ken Paxton is going to win this race, and he looks forward to closing strong alongside President Trump including when he comes to Texas this week.”

Paxton’s campaign on Tuesday released an internal poll, fielded two weeks after the convention, showing him up three percentage points over Talarico. The attorney general also planned to accompany Trump during a visit to a truck factory in Denton on Thursday.

Vice President JD Vance was also set to appear in Harlingen Wednesday as part of a fall push from the administration to boost Republican candidates in competitive races, including the handful of battleground U.S. House races anchored in South Texas.

With Paxton’s fundraising far lagging Talarico’s, Trump’s super PAC has deployed $22.2 million on a mix of pro-Paxton and anti-Talarico advertising since early September, when the president’s MAGA Inc. group delivered the first major round of outside spending. Texas PAC, a group associated with Senate Republican leadership, was up to $125 million on airtime, according to media tracking firm AdImpact.

Those outlays from national Republicans have helped tilt the spending balance firmly in Paxton’s favor and turned the contest into the ninth-most expensive Senate race on record, according to AdImpact. Talarico, meanwhile, has spent $63.4 million on advertising. Because of a lower rate on airtime offered to candidates, Talarico’s dollars go further than those of national groups and super PACs.

In addition to Paxton’s remarks about the convention, Democrats this week also seized on a clip of him defending his office’s handling of the case of Adam Hoffman, a Waco man who was charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a young boy. Talarico has consistently attacked Paxton over the case, accusing him of offering an overly generous plea deal and labeling him in ads as a “pedophile protector.”

“The criticism has been that I let a child predator out having [served in jail] one day. Well, guess what? They served 60 days. It wasn’t what we wanted, but we did not control that situation,” Paxton said during a conversation with the United States Hispanic Business Council Monday. “We wanted to retry it, and we decided, you know what? We need to protect this kid.”

After Hoffman’s trial ended with a hung jury, and the child victim declined to testify in a second trial, Paxton’s office offered a plea deal that would have let Hoffman plead guilty to two misdemeanors and serve a total of one day in jail. The judge insisted on a 60-day sentence. Paxton’s comment went viral online this week, with critics homing in on the “60 days” snippet and arguing it was little better than a single day behind bars.

Paxton’s latest stumbles also come as Talarico has pressured him to stand for a debate. At The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin last week, Talarico challenged Paxton to a debate hosted by Fox News. He then posted a video on social media that showed him leaving Paxton a voicemail.

“I’ve accepted four local TV debates, but we haven’t heard from you, and we’re running out of time,” Talarico says in the message. “So if Fox News is where you’ll be most comfortable, I’ll be there, because I think it’s that important. Brett Baier can moderate. We can both take questions, and Texans can hear from us directly.”

A Fox News spokesperson suggested to the Huffington Post this week that the network would move forward with a debate if Paxton agreed. Paxton’s campaign previously said “of course” he would debate Talarico. But he has not yet agreed to any debates, with just over two weeks before the start of early voting.

Gabby Birenbaum contributed to this report.

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Brown arrived in a Miami courtroom Wednesday morning and was ready to plead no contest to aggravated assault and be sentenced to probation, his lawyer said. But a Florida judge said she was in the middle of another trial and not ready to go forward. The hearing was pushed back to Oct. 28.

Brown is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer after a celebrity boxing match in Miami on May 16, 2025, and firing two shots at a man he had been in a fistfight with earlier, according to an arrest warrant. Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu told investigators one of the bullets grazed his neck.

Defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh said Brown was looking forward to putting the case behind him. Eiglarsh said the plea deal offered by prosecutors was too good to turn down and that it says Brown would not be considered a convicted felon.

“It’s a setback because it’s another month that my client has an ankle monitor on and doesn’t have closure, which everybody in this case wants,” Eiglarsh said. He said he was “cautiously optimistic” the judge would agree to the terms.

Brown could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the original attempted murder charge. He has said on social media that he was defending himself from an attack and others were trying to steal jewelry from him.

Florida’s Stand Your Ground law allows people who believe they face death or serious injury to use deadly force to defend themselves without a duty to retreat.

Nantambu said after Wednesday’s postponement that he hopes Brown will take advantage of the deal to “become a better person and be there for his family.”

“We want him to get the healing that he needs,” he said.

Richard Cooper, an attorney for Nantambu, said Nantambu forgave Brown and would not cooperate with law enforcement.

At one point in the court’s hallway, Brown slipped on a dark mask while talking to his attorney and then pulled it off before going into the hearing.

Brown, 38, spent 12 years in the NFL and was an All-Pro wide receiver who last played in the 2021-22 season for Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl with quarterback Tom Brady the previous season.

Over the course of his career, much of it spent with Pittsburgh, he had 928 receptions for more than 12,000 yards and accounted for 88 total touchdowns, including punt returns and one pass.

During a January 2022 game with Tampa Bay against the New York Jets, Brown took off his jersey, shoulder pads and gloves and ran off the field, leading to his release by the Buccaneers and effectively ending his career.

Brown has dealt with several legal problems over the years. He previously was accused of battery of a moving truck driver, several domestic violence charges, failure to pay child support and other incidents.

Brown was extradited in November 2025 from Dubai, where he has business interests, after an arrest warrant on the attempted murder charge was issued in June of the same year.

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This story has been corrected to show Brown’s last game against the Jets was in 2022, not 2021.

The crash happened just after 9:00 p.m. in the 9600 block of U.S. Highway 90 West.

When officers arrived, a police preliminary report states they learned the suspect, identified as a 26-year-old man, was traveling westbound on the highway when he crashed his vehicle into the back of a 63-year-old man’s truck.

Police said the impact caused the suspect’s vehicle to catch fire, trapping him inside. Bystanders pulled the suspect out of the vehicle before officers arrived.

Both men were taken to a local hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known.

According to authorities, the man who allegedly caused the crash is expected to face DWI charges.

The investigation is ongoing.

Read also:

• 1 killed, 1 injured after woman allegedly drives into them near Northwest Side restaurant, SAPD says

FORECAST HIGHLIGHTS

• AFTERNOON STORMS: Storms will flare up again this afternoon across the Rio Grande, Edwards Plateau, severe weather possible
• TONIGHT: We’ll be watching storms that may approach San Antonio
• THURSDAY: Widespread rain expected, flooding possible

FORECAST

LATER TODAY

This afternoon, storms are forecast to re-fire along a frontal boundary across the Edwards Plateau and along the Rio Grande. Storms that form this afternoon will have the potential to become strong to severe, with hail and gusty winds being the main threats. It’s possible that these storms may make a run at San Antonio this evening and tonight.

HEAVY RAIN THURSDAY

Thursday still presents our best chance for rain, as the slow-moving front makes it way closer to the I-35 corridor. Moisture is stacked in the atmosphere, meaning any storm that develops will put down very heavy rainfall. Street flooding is a concern in the urban areas, while we will closely monitor creeks and streams.

RAIN LINGERS ON FRIDAY

By Thursday night, the front is forecast to push south and east of San Antonio. Rain still remains possible through the day on Friday. While not as heavy, any additional rainfall may contribute to flooding concerns.

SHOWERS THIS WEEKEND

More scattered activity is expected over the weekend, with rain coming to an end late Sunday. Fall-like weather is in the forecast for next week.

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.

In a notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register, the State Department said it was amending its International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, so that Syria no longer was among the nations subject to a policy of denial for licenses and other approvals needed for the sale of U.S. weapons and munitions.

The change effective Thursday means that arms sales requests from Syria will now be considered on a case-by-case basis.

President Donald Trump acted last year to ease economic sanctions on Syria that had been in place for decades during now-ousted President Bashar Assad’s rule. In August, Secretary of State Marco Rubio rescinded Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, helping paving the way for the latest step in drawing closer to the current government.

The State Department has also announced plans to reopen the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. It has been closed for 14 years.

With Syria’s removal from the ITAR blacklist, only seven countries remain subject to the policy of denial for licenses for U.S. arms exports: Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Venezuela.

Syria’s interim president, former rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, overthrew the Assad government nearly two years ago and has embarked on a policy of change that has impressed the Trump administration. His moves have led to hopes of eventual stability in a country that was wracked by civil war and the Islamic State insurgency that engulfed northeast and western Iraq for years.

Wednesday’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq may mean that the Syrian government plays a greater role in preventing an IS resurgence.

The press conference took place at 10 a.m. in Civic Park to announce the music lineup for five stages of live music and performances.

Organizers will also announce details on the festival’s number of community altars, Día de los Muertos processions, workshops and much more.

Muertos Fest, which honors the traditions of Día de los Muertos through art, live music and more than 80 altars created by community members, draws more than 100,000 attendees each year.

Read also:

• Muertos Fest to bring Día de los Muertos traditions to Hemisfair

The officials did not say what the response contained and whether it was a rejection.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented the U.S. response to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a Cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told the state-run IRNA news agency.

“We will make every effort to bring the agreement to fruition and will firmly stand up for the rights of the Iranian people,” Pezeshkian said. “The agreement must now be based on a win-win strategy.”

The Cabinet meeting followed Araghchi's return to Iran after travelling to New York for last week's U.N. General Assembly, where officials held indirect talks with U.S. officials and also met with Qatari and Pakistani mediators on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders.

Araghchi briefed the Cabinet on his trip to New York and the meetings he held there, including Iran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Mohajerani said had been conveyed through mediators.

Araghchi last week said he floated the proposal to reopen the strait in a week if the U.S. agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions.

Trump swiftly rejected the proposal, saying Iran wanted to make a deal because it was “losing so badly” but that its offer "would not be acceptable.” Despite Trump's public rebuffing, mediators continued working with Iran and the U.S. to try to broker a deal to end the fighting and open the strait, according to officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions on Tuesday targeting people and companies around the globe that it accuses of being financial facilitators or enablers of Iran’s military supply chain.

The latest action is part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign aimed at severing “critical financial lifelines” for the already heavily sanctioned Iranian government.

Ten people and entities based in Iran, Hong Kong and Pakistan now face sanctions over accusations of procuring weapons and weapon components for Iran’s defense ministry as it fights its now seven-month war against the U.S.

Iran's economy is spiraling further

Iran's economy, under heavy strain before the war started, has been in a freefall since the conflict began in late February.

The country's currency fell to a new record low on Tuesday, with traders in Tehran exchanging more than 2.5 million rials to the U.S. dollar in a stark reflection of how the war in the Middle East has steadily eroded the Iranian economy.

The latest decline came just 27 days after the rial hit its previous record low of 2.2 million to the dollar on Sept. 2. The currency has repeatedly reached new lows since the war began in February.

Trump on Tuesday said that Iran is “failing very badly, very badly” and predicted anew that the war will be “over with very, very soon.”

At the onset of the conflict, he predicted that the war would last just weeks. More recently, Trump said he expects it won't end until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections in the U.S.

Iranians face soaring prices for medicine amid US blockade, sanctions

Medication prices are soaring in Iran and some treatments have become hard to find, leaving patients and their families scrambling as a U.S. blockade and stepped-up sanctions squeeze the country’s pharmaceuticals industry.

Some medicines have more than tripled in price, further straining Iranians’ finances seven months into the country’s war with the United States and Israel. Prices for food and other goods have skyrocketed even as unemployment has risen and the currency, which hit a record low this week, has lost half its value.

The war has become an economic endurance test. Iran has tried to push world energy prices higher with attacks on the region’s oil shipping routes; the United States, in turn, has aimed to wreck Iran’s economy by blockading its ports since June and slapping it with increasingly tough sanctions.

Iran executes 2 men on charges of violence during January protests

Also on Wednesday, two men were executed in Iran over their role in violence during nationwide anti-government protests in January, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Citing the country's judiciary, IRNA said the men took part in unrest in the northeastern city of Mashhad that left four members of the security forces dead earlier this year. Their death sentences were upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court before being carried out Wednesday morning.

The unrest began Dec. 28 amid anger over Iran’s collapsing currency and worsening economy and quickly spread across the country, with demonstrators increasingly calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. Iranian authorities responded with a deadly crackdown.

Rights groups say thousands were killed and tens of thousands arrested, while Iranian authorities have reported a substantially lower death toll.

The San Antonio City Council voted 6-5 in mid-June to delay a vote on a set of rate increases that could raise the average residential customer’s bill by roughly $15 to $17 per month by 2029 — an increase of 29.9%.

SAWS has said a rate increase is mainly needed to support billions of dollars worth of capital expenses, including upgrading wastewater treatment plants, replacing pipes and installing backup generators.

On Wednesday, the council will discuss a revised proposal, which is a similar, delayed version to the one they considered three months ago. Under the new plan, rates could bump an average monthly bill by roughly $13 to $17 by 2030.

Instead of raising rates in July under the initial proposal, residential rates would go up 6.9% in January 2027 and be raised again in 6.5% in 2028, between 4.5% and 7% in 2029, and between 4% and 6.6% in 2030.

The range of rates in the latter two years of increases dips slightly lower than what was presented in June, 4.5% and 4% instead of 5.5% and 5%.

Because of the delay, SAWS Chief Financial Officer Cecilia Velasquez said SAWS has had to shrink its $3.2 billion, five-year capital program to $2.6 billion.

That means dropping about $600 million worth of work, she said, including on eliminating dead-end water mains, constructing new water mains, and coordinating work with other governmental projects.

“But that’s what we had to do to fit into the program,” Velasquez said.

Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1) was one of the council members who voted to delay considering the rate increase. She told KSAT on Monday “they do need this money. There is work that needs to be done. There’s not a debate about that.”

“It’s making sure that they understand what we are — what they are asking us to do and ensuring their operations are at the place we expect from a public utility,” she said. “And so for me, it was always less about the issue and more did I see progress and metrics on things that they were coming to us with or were they just saying ‘rubber stamp this,’ and so that was always my concern.”

Councilman Marc Whye (D10) also voted for the delay. Even if the plan isn’t much different than what it was in June, he says residents are still paying less for their water now by virtue of it being delayed.

But he also doesn’t appear ready to vote for an increase.

“I still do not believe we need to be raising water prices for our citizens, flat out. I want to make sure that that’s clear,” he said. “The citizens are paying enough right now. But in the event any proposal that they put forward was to go through, I think the deal will be better for the citizens than it was two months ago.”

The council is only expected to discuss the rate proposal at its Wednesday meeting, but it could come up for a vote at the Oct. 8 meeting.

Read also:

• 6 breaks in 6 years: Clay soils make NW Side street a challenging environment for water mains, SAWS says

Could he actually start against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium? Maybe.

Washington coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday it’s “too early to call” if Daniels, who was injured in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, would return after missing last week's game against the Seattle Seahawks.

“But as we’re working through the week, he’ll get more reps,” Quinn said at a news conference after the team arrived in the U.K. “As we get into Thursday and Friday, we’ll see what that load looks like.

“By Friday we’ll have a definite determination of where we’re at,” Quinn continued. “Until then, we’ll work and start the process, but it would be too early to call.”

Marcus Mariota started last week and threw three touchdown passes in the 33-31 win over defending champion Seattle.

The Commanders' session Wednesday was described by Quinn as a light “jog-through” not in pads. Were it a regular practice, Daniels would have officially been “limited,” the coach explained.

Daniels did some light footwork and passing drills, as well as taking snaps under center and simulating a handoff with the ball in his left, non-throwing hand — all with a big, restrictive brace holding his elbow at an angle.

It's the second elbow dislocation for Daniels, who missed most of the second half of last season with the same injury.

“Any athlete would probably tell you when you are going through something a second time, there’s a known of what the road looks like," Quinn said. "We just don’t know yet.

“We’re not going to put him out there before he’s ready,” he continued. “Him being back on the field is like, man that’s a good step for us, and then we’ll take it from there.”

The Colts beat the Houston Texans 19-17 on Sunday, ending a nine-game losing streak.

Should I stay or should I go now?

Sunday’s game offers another contrast in the sports science debate about when to arrive in a country for an international game.

The Commanders are in town two days before the Colts — a significant but not huge difference.

A year ago, the Los Angeles Rams landed in London just 30 hours before kickoff against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had arrived Tuesday of that week. The Rams then routed the Jags 35-7 at Wembley Stadium.

The Rams took a similar approach for their season opener in Melbourne, Australia, against the San Francisco 49ers, who choose to go Down Under a week in advance. The Niners prevailed 27-7.

Nice digs

NFL teams typically stay in fancy hotels located far from central London. The Commanders are at The Grove, a luxury hotel 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of the city, and it includes a practice field.

If Quinn or his players get bored with football, they can book horse riding lessons, pumpkin picking or an afternoon tea. Tiger Woods won an event at the hotel's golf course in 2006. They could also do a tour at the nearby Warner Bros. Studio.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The withdrawal, agreed on two years ago, comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war between the United States and Iran that has also sometimes spilled over into Iraq, with Iran-backed militias firing on U.S. troops and the U.S. striking the groups' strongholds.

In recent years, Washington has appeared to seek to shift its focus from the Middle East toward Asia, but that shift has been inconsistent, with the Pentagon alternating between reducing its Mideast presence and then finding itself engaging in new conflicts — including the ongoing war in Iran.

Baghdad touted the end of the U.S. mission as a sign of the country's increasing strength and sovereignty.

The withdrawal was also celebrated by Iran-backed groups but raised concerns among some other Iraqis, particularly in the Kurdish region, where many fear a resurgence of the Islamic State group as well as more attacks by Iran-linked groups, possibly emboldened by the departure of U.S. forces.

Meanwhile, questions loom around the future of the Iraqi militias, which the Baghdad government has sought to disarm, with little success so far.

A new phase in Iraq after decades of US involvement

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that U.S. troops and equipment had completed an “orderly departure” from the air base in Irbil, in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

“This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region,” he said. “It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.”

He added that the U.S. military “will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to our Iraqi partners.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi presided over the handover ceremony and described the U.S. withdrawal as the beginning of a “new phase, one defined by Iraq’s sovereignty, the strength of its institutions, the readiness of its forces, the unity of its decision-making, and balanced partnerships with its friends.”

He said Iraqi security forces will continue the fight against IS and the government will ensure that non-state groups no longer hold weapons.

U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. They departed in 2011, but three years later, Iraqi authorities invited a smaller U.S.-led mission to fight the Islamic State group, which had rampaged across Iraq, seizing large swaths of territory.

With the extremist group reduced to scattered sleeper cells, Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to wind the mission down.

U.S. troops pulled out of bases in most areas of Iraq last year but maintained a small presence of hundreds of troops in the semiautonomous northern Kurdish region. Bases there have regularly come under attack since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran-backed Iraqi militias also have coordinated with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia.

The future of militias remains unclear

The Iraqi government initially linked the Sept. 30 deadline for U.S. withdrawal to the disarmament of non-state armed groups by that date.

While a handful of less-influential militias have agreed to turn over their weapons, powerful groups close to Iran rejected the prospect or set conditions for disarming that the government would be unlikely to meet.

Al-Zaidi has since walked back the deadline. He told The New York Times earlier this month that the deadline for militia disarmament has been pushed to June 2027.

The effects of the U.S. withdrawal may not be immediately visible, particularly since the U.S. military presence had already been scaled down. But officials in Iraq's Kurdish region have expressed anxiety about the departure and particularly about the removal of U.S. air defense systems.

The Kurdish regional government's Peshmerga Ministry said the Kurdish region had faced more than 1,000 drone and ballistic-missile attacks during the recent U.S.-Iran conflict.

“The departure of the United States from the Kurdistan Region under these complex regional circumstances, without the provision of a defense system, is a matter of concern,” the statement said.

Iran-allied groups in Iraq, meanwhile, have celebrated the U.S. withdrawal.

“The expulsion of the occupation forces, defeated, from the land of Iraq is the beginning of full sovereignty,” Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official with the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, said in a statement.

He added a warning to al-Zaidi and his government not to carry out American plans, threatening that “any government that does not work for the benefit of the people will be overthrown by all means.”

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias, said in a statement that negotiations with the government over the regulation of weapons have not resulted in an agreement and that it was “not bound by any timeline or agreement” announced by the government or political entity. The group said it is open to “any dialogue that guarantees Iraq’s sovereignty and dignity.”

___

Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Istanbul contributed to this report.

Suzanne Simpson was last seen in October 2024. Her body has not been found, and a trial date has not been set.

At a hearing in late August, prosecutors told the judge they needed 30 days to turn over evidence to the defense.

Judge Joel Perez suggested a potential pretrial date in February 2027 to “finally put this thing to rest.”

The judge previously said he wants to get the murder trial on the calendar for early 2027.

If that timeline holds, a new district attorney will likely be handling the case by the time it goes to trial.

Read more:

• Judge hopes Brad Simpson murder case goes to trial in ‘early 2027′

Hello parents, teachers and students! If your kiddos are learning about weathering, make sure to do this fun demonstration with them! It speeds up the weathering process by millions of years 😉

Be sure to check out GMSA@9 on Wednesdays when KSAT Meteorologist Sarah Spivey does the demonstrations and explains the science behind it. To view, click on the video player above. Check out our Science with Sarah webpage for more fun science experiments!

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED

FOR THE OOBLECK

• A large container
• 2 cups corn starch
• 1 cup water
• Food dye (optional)

DRY ICE “INSTRUMENT”

• Dry ice (NEVER HANDLE DRY ICE WITHOUT GLOVES!)
• Metal spoon

BILLIONS OF BUBBLES

• Cups/containers of different sizes/shapes
• Water
• Soap

DO THE ACTIVITIES

OOBLECK SLIME

• STEP 1: Measure out 1 cup of water and add the food dye to the water.
• STEP 2: In the large container, place 2 cups of cornstarch.
• STEP 3: Pour the colored water into the large container with the cornstarch and mix using your hands (NOTE: This will be messy! Make sure to have plenty of paper towels nearby and maybe use an apron to cover your clothes!)
• STEP 4: Try compressing the Oobleck in your hands into a ball. Observe how it quickly “melts” into a liquid.
• STEP 5: You can store your Oobleck in the fridge to use for later. When you’re ready to dispose of your Oobleck, throw it away in the trash. Large amounts of cornstarch should not go down the pipes.

DRY ICE “INSTRUMENT”

• STEP 1: Place a small piece of dry ice on the table in front of you.
• STEP 2: Using a spoon, press on the dry ice. It should make a silly sound.

BILLIONS OF BUBBLES

• STEP 1: Fill the containers with water and a little bit of soap.
• STEP 2: Drop some dry ice into the containers and watch as lots and lots of bubbles form.

HOW IT WORKS

OOBLECK

Because cornstarch is not totally soluble in water, it can make a non-Newtonian fluid when combined with water.

A non-Newtonian fluid does not follow Newton’s laws of viscosity. That may be a mouthful, but basically, Oobleck is a fluid that can exist both as a solid and a liquid depending on how much force you use!

DRY ICE

Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide that turns directly into a gas from a solid. That’s called sublimation. It makes the funny noise on the spoon because of the gas bubbles trapped against the metal. You can see the gas in the bubbles that form in the soapy water!

APPLY FOR SCIENCE WITH SARAH

Want Sarah to come out to your school? Here’s how to apply: CLICK HERE.

Salah Sarsour was detained in Milwaukee in March by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. A federal judge ordered Sarsour’s release in June, saying he raised a “substantial” claim that the Trump administration was targeting him for speaking out against Israel and advocating for Palestinian rights.

Sarsour called the ruling “deeply disappointing,” but said he intends to appeal.

“I will continue fighting to defend the right to free speech and to stay in the country I have called home for more than three decades,” Sarsour said in a statement.

Government attorneys say Sarsour’s decades-old convictions in Israel make him a threat to national security and accuse him of lying on his green card application. Judge Jayme Salinardi, with the Chicago Immigration Court, found him removable on foreign-policy grounds but tossed out the government's claim that Sarsour lied to immigration authorities.

Sarsour says he fears for his life if he is deported to the West Bank

Sarsour, who was born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was imprisoned in Israel in 1988 after confessing to throwing a Molotov cocktail and stones at Israeli military personnel. In 1995, he was convicted of attempting to possess weapons. Sarsour denies committing those crimes. His attorneys say he was tortured and coerced into confessing in both instances.

Sarsour, the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, does not have a criminal record in the U.S., where he has lived since 1993. His attorneys say the U.S. government has known about Sarsour’s convictions in Israel since he arrived.

Deportation to the West Bank “means the end of my life,” Sarsour told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

One of his attorneys, Patrick Taurel, told the AP that Sarsour’s earlier treatment by Israeli authorities is “probably a good indicator of what awaits him” if he is deported.

At a status hearing Wednesday, Taurel pressed the judge to specify that Sarsour can only be deported to Israel or the Palestinian territories. Jordan, a country to which Sarsour has no connection, is listed as a possible destination on the order of removal.

Sarsour was instructed by immigration officers to list Jordan as his home country on an immigration form because his preferred entry — “Palestine” — is not a fully independent, unified state. But he “has no right to reside in Jordan,” Taurel said.

Salinardi declined, calling it an issue to be addressed on appeal.

Attorney says Sarsour will fight deportation

Taurel said Wednesday that Sarsour is being unfairly targeted.

“If Salah can be deported for his speech in support of Palestinian rights, anyone can face the same fate,” he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a memo in June 2025 invoking a rarely used immigration provision saying Sarsour could be deported on the same grounds as Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, both advocates for Palestinian rights whom the Trump administration has tried to expel, according to court documents.

Before the judge’s ruling, Taurel said Sarsour would need to demonstrate on appeal that he could be tortured again if he were deported.

“It’s a very high bar, although I think we can meet it in this case, given what Salah has already experienced, and given the government of Israel’s treatment" of others like him, Taurel said.

A notice of appeal is due within 30 days. Salinardi did not schedule a new hearing and announced he is retiring and that Judge Craig Defoe will oversee the case going forward.

Sarsour says he was tortured and coerced into confessions

Jawad Boulos, who represented Sarsour when he was convicted in Israel, testified in August that Sarsour was coerced into confessing and that he wasn’t convicted of any charge tying him to a terrorist organization. He said Sarsour was tortured by Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency.

The Department of Homeland Security challenged Boulos about the torture allegations, questioning how he could know it was true.

Sarsour’s current defense team has asked why U.S. authorities waited until this year to detain him. Taurel said the government has known about Sarsour’s imprisonment in Israel for decades and that he has not concealed that from immigration authorities.

Experts on forced confessions and the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons also testified in Sarsour’s defense. Israeli military courts have faced repeated scrutiny over allegations of limited due process and the high conviction rate of Palestinians. Israel rejects the claims.

In June, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered Sarsour released from ICE custody saying he could have a case arguing the U.S. government detained him in retaliation for protected speech. Further, Hanlon said, government attorneys had not explained why Sarsour was suddenly considered a threat after decades as a lawful permanent resident.

The Trump administration has appealed Hanlon’s ruling.

Sarsour, who has Type 2 diabetes, lost more than 30 pounds (14 kilograms) while detained by ICE, and his blood sugar levels were checked only once a month, putting him at risk of organ failure or death, his attorneys said.

An investigation by KFF Health News and The Associated Press found that hundreds of detainees in at least 33 states have filed federal lawsuits with similar allegations of medical neglect.

___

Mayes-Osterman is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Content used in live performances, including songs and stand-up comedy scripts, must be approved in advance by local authorities, a long-standing requirement that reflects China’s strict censorship of the entertainment industry. Artists who violate the rules can be fined or banned from future performances and even public appearances.

Singer Na Ying’s performance was “a brief, fragmentary performance during an audience interaction segment rather than a full rendition of the song” and therefore did not require additional approval, the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism said in a statement.

Na, one of China’s most influential female singers, performed “Curved Moon” at her concert in Chengdu on Saturday in memory of her friend and singer Liu Huan, a household name who died the previous day.

“I want to sing a song he sang before on this stage, to pay tribute to him,” Na, dressed in black, told the audience, according to videos posted on social media. Her voice trembled as she sang.

Some commenters called the performance an “expensive tribute,” expressing admiration for Na while also voicing concerns that she could be fined.

Liu, one of China’s best-known musicians for nearly four decades, died Friday at age 63, according to an obituary published Sunday by the University of International Business and Economics. A professor of music history, Liu taught at the university for more than three decades before retiring.

Liu performed the theme song for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with soprano Sarah Brightman during the opening ceremony.

Brightman called Liu “an amazing talent and a true gentleman” and said he “will be greatly missed” in posts on Facebook and X on Sunday.

The Chengdu decision came weeks after authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan fined one of the country’s best-known comedians for changing the lyrics of a patriotic song during a performance.

Júnior, 59, is running for Congress for the first time. But until Oct. 4, he is Plínio Trump, channeling U.S. President Donald Trump with his hairstyle, long orange tie, firm handshake and even his stride.

“(Trump) is likeable, iconic," Plínio Trump told The Associated Press late Monday after campaigning in Juiz de Fora, a city of 570,000 residents 180 kilometers (111 miles) west of Rio de Janeiro. "Few people sneered at me. Most people smile and hug me."

Candidates like Plínio Trump are part of a Brazilian tradition that spans nearly eight decades. Whether called protest candidates or joke candidates, they bring a surreal element to congressional elections. To run, they must belong to one of Brazil's 30 political parties and meet the same eligibility requirements as other candidates, including the country's clean-record rules.

This year, a few hundred of those are among more than 7,800 candidates running for a seat in Congress, with even more running for state legislatures.

Paradoxically, while these entertaining figures can attract voters disillusioned with traditional politics, the ballots cast for them also add to their parties' total under Brazil's electoral system. More votes for joke candidates can translate into more seats in Congress — and more public funds for the very apparatus that protest voters are trying to reject.

‘Barack Obama’ and ’Mick Jagger' enter the race

Trump is not the only U.S. politician with admirers in Brazil’s congressional race.

Henrique Barack Obama, born Cláudio Henrique dos Anjos, has even loftier ambitions. After previous runs for office in Rio de Janeiro, he is seeking one of the two Senate seats at stake in the Federal District, home to Brazil’s capital, Brasilia. But even those who have seen him up close acknowledge that the 57-year-old bears little resemblance to the former U.S. president.

“It is more about his posture,” said Claudio Santos, 33, who knows the Brazilian Obama from his time in Rio. “He also likes the attention that the name brings, obviously. When he wasn't running for office, he would pose as Obama during Flamengo soccer games.”

Another novelty candidate, Mick Jagger, whose real name is Walcy Calixto Vieira, is again running for a seat in the legislature of the central state of Goias. He is no rock'n'roll frontman, but a 66-year-old carpenter with shaggy hair and brow-skimming bangs.

Other candidates skip celebrity impersonations and opt instead for catchy aliases. “Tsunami Grandmother,” whose real name is Scheile Aparecida Soares Brandão, is seeking a seat in the Minas Gerais state legislature. “Who Who," born Francisco das Chagas Costa Oliveira, is running for the legislature in the northeastern state of Piaui.

“Lonely Boy,” or Marcelo da Rosa, is a truck driver from Parana state seeking a seat in Congress, and then there is Severino Cardoso Sobrinho, better known as Samurai Taxi Driver, a nunchaku master featured in Instagram videos who is running for the state legislature in Pernambuco, the home state of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

A tradition dating back to the 1950s

Brazil's tradition of novelty candidates dates back to 1959, when roughly 100,000 voters in São Paulo wrote the name of Cacareco, a female rhinoceros from the city zoo, on their paper ballots in a city council election. Electoral authorities later invalidated the votes.

Such political stunts disappeared during Brazil’s military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. But the country's return to national elections in 1989 featured one of its most memorable presidential candidates: Dr. Enéas Carneiro, a respected cardiologist who delivered rapid-fire, complex speeches in 15-second radio and television spots. Many Brazilians found his breathless delivery hilarious.

“My name is Enéas!” he shouted into the camera at the end of every ad. Carneiro pulled in 360,000 votes in Brazil’s first direct presidential election since 1960.

Five years later, with voters still angered with the corruption scandal that led to President Fernando Collor’s impeachment, Carneiro finished third, drawing 4.6 million votes behind Lula and eventual winner Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

The movement reached a new high in 2010, when Tiririca, a circus clown and comedian, won a congressional seat for São Paulo with more than 1.3 million votes. His campaign slogans included, “It can’t get any worse” and, “What does a federal congressman do? I really don’t know. Vote for me and I will find out for you!”

Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, nicknamed Tiririca by his mother for looking perpetually angry as a child, served four consecutive terms. He is seeking a fifth, representing his native Ceara state in Brazil’s northeast. In 2022, he secured 70,000 votes to retain his job.

Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper university in São Paulo, said candidates like Tiririca punch above their weight because of Brazil’s proportional representation system. Votes for candidates go to their party and are then distributed proportionally.

“Some of these candidates have enough votes to win their own seats, but others just add 1,000 or 2,000 votes to their parties. They don’t get seats, but they help their parties secure a bigger slice of Congress and public funds,” Melo said. “Nowadays, we see many more of these bizarre candidates because traditional political leadership is decomposing. People who would normally fill these roles are opting out of institutional politics.”

As Plínio Trump wrapped up campaigning in Juiz de Fora and prepared to return to Varginha — a city 400 kilometers (248 miles) west of Rio de Janeiro nationally famous for its alleged UFO landing site — he acknowledged that his decision to campaign as the U.S. president goes beyond physical resemblance.

“We have few options on the right in Brazil,” he said. “For me, Trump is a right-wing reference.”

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Savarese reported from São Paulo.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Lou Ferrigno, who starred as the Marvel character during its 1977–1982 U.S. television run, met with the American pope and chatted briefly with him at the end of Leo's general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

“I’m here because it’s a lifelong dream for me to meet the pope,” Ferrigno told reporters. Noting that one side of his family hails from the southern Amalfi region, Ferrigno said that he grew up hearing about the pope in a Catholic Italian family and served as an altar boy.

“I’m very, very honored to be here to see Pope Leo, because it’s my whole life, it’s a dream coming true,” he said.

He posed for photographers, mimicking the gesture that made him famous in his onscreen transformation from Bruce Banner into the superhero Hulk — flexing his arm muscles.

Ferrigno, a retired professional bodybuilder, starred as Hulk in the CBS series before going on to other television and film roles. He noted that some had been filmed in Rome, and that he appreciated the pope's message.

“Our world, our country needs someone like him: A great leader about kindness and peace, because there’s so much turmoil happening in this world,” he said.

It's unknown if the former Robert Prevost was a Hulk fan.

By 1977, when the series began, the Chicago-born pope was graduating from Villanova University and entering the Augustinian religious order as a novitiate.

Recently, Leo has acknowledged he and his family were regular watchers of a different television personality: the newly-beatified Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the popular American TV and radio preacher.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Officers initially responded to a fight just before 6 p.m. Monday in the 9700 block of Data Point Drive, near Wurzbach Road.

In an SAPD preliminary report, police said the woman, identified as Dionsiah Kazuko Edwards-Carpeal, 36, began following two people as they walked away from a local restaurant.

Edwards-Carpeal allegedly argued with them from inside her vehicle before driving into both of them, police said.

A 37-year-old woman sustained major injuries and was taken to a local hospital, where she later died. The condition of the second person, a 39-year-old man, was not immediately available.

Edwards-Carpeal was arrested for murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Bexar County court records show.

The investigation is ongoing.

Read also:

• Murder defendant guilty of lesser charge, will spend 40 years in prison for fatal stabbing, DA says

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

FAST FOOD FRIDAY | CHICKEN SANDWICH SHOWDOWN

KFC | POPEYES | CHICK-FIL-A | JOLLIBEE

Fast Food Friday turned into a chicken sandwich showdown as David Elder put regular and spicy chicken sandwiches from KFC, Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, and Jollibee head-to-head. Each restaurant brought its own approach to the fast-food staple, giving the Texas Eats NOW team a chance to compare everything from the chicken and breading to the toppings, sauces, spice, and overall flavor. After tasting all four contenders, Jollibee came out on top in both categories, earning the title of Best Regular Chicken Sandwich and Best Spicy Chicken Sandwich. The taste test highlighted just how different the familiar chicken sandwich can be when four major fast-food restaurants battle for bragging rights.

DAYCATION DESTINATIONS | MISSION MARQUEE PLAZA

3100 Roosevelt Ave., San Antonio, TX 78214

Mission Marquee Plaza on San Antonio’s South Side combines the history of the former Mission Drive-In Theater with free movies, markets, festivals, and other community events. The original drive-in opened in 1948, and its iconic movie screen remains a centerpiece of the 60,000-square-foot plaza, which reopened in its current form in 2014. In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Mission Marquee Plaza will celebrate Latino culture with screenings of “La Bamba” and “Selena.” The pet-friendly venue also hosts outdoor movie nights, farmers and artisans markets, live music, cultural celebrations, and community activities throughout the year. This Daycation Destinations segment was sponsored by Metro Health, the public health agency serving San Antonio and unincorporated areas of Bexar County.

ON THE MENU | TERRY BLACK’S BARBECUE

1310 E. Common St., New Braunfels, TX 78130

Terry Black’s Barbecue has brought its Central Texas-style smoked meats to New Braunfels with a new location that opened Sept. 15 in the former Los Cucos building. The 8,649-square-foot restaurant features market-style ordering, a dedicated 1,400-square-foot pit room, and a two-story covered outdoor deck, giving barbecue fans plenty of room to dig into the Black family’s signature offerings. Diners can order brisket, massive beef ribs, pork ribs, turkey, chopped beef, and original or jalapeño cheese sausage by the pound, along with sandwiches and traditional barbecue sides such as macaroni and cheese. Family packs offer larger spreads for groups, while house-baked peach cobbler provides a sweet finish. The New Braunfels restaurant expands Terry Black’s footprint while keeping the focus on the smoked meats and casual service that have become hallmarks of the Texas barbecue brand.

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The investment would mark the second time this week that the Republican president has sought to highlight the promise of foreign investment made possible by his administration's trade policy in states where Republican Senate candidates are in tight election campaigns. He made a similar announcement on Monday in the Oval Office for a massive steel plant in Iowa.

The Alaska investment comes from pledges made as part of a 2025 trade deal with South Korea, which included promises of $350 billion in U.S. investments in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs on South Korean cars, auto parts and other products.

The announcement, first reported by Bloomberg, was confirmed by the White House on Wednesday.

Sullivan, who has been a persistent advocate for the Alaska natural gas project and has encouraged South Korean investment, is a two-term senator facing a competitive challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman.

The project consists of an 807-mile (1,300-kilometer) natural gas pipeline connecting Alaska's North Slope to a liquefied natural gas export terminal in southern Alaska and eventually will reduce energy costs for the state's residents by providing a reliable and secure supply, the White House said.

Democrats are targeting Alaska and Iowa

Trump on Monday announced plans for a $15 billion steel plant to be built in Iowa by a Minnesota company owned by an Indian industrial conglomerate.

In Iowa, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson is in a close U.S. Senate contest with Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek for the seat being vacated by retiring two-term Republican Joni Ernst. Hinson spoke in the Oval Office during the announcement.

Alaska and Iowa, where Trump won comfortably each time he has run for president, are among the states where Democrats are targeting Republican-held Senate seats in the 2026 midterm elections, less than five weeks away.

Democrats need to gain a net of four seats in the 100-member Senate to overtake Republicans in the majority.

Voters are worried about fuel costs

Trump's announcements come as voters express concern about near-record fuel prices related to the unresolved war with Iran and as majority Republicans in Congress are facing voters dissatisfied with Trump's handling of the economy.

In a late-July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only about one-third of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, and about 7 in 10 described the economy as poor.

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Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

ON THE MENU | PHARM TABLE

611 S Presa St, Ste 106, San Antonio, TX 78210

Pharm Table is an award-winning apothecary kitchen in San Antonio’s Southtown and King William area from chef and founder Elizabeth Johnson, featuring globally inspired dishes built around a health-conscious, anti-inflammatory approach to food. The menu draws inspiration from Latin American, Asian, Mediterranean, and Ayurvedic traditions while emphasizing seasonal, plant-forward ingredients and selectively sourced meats. The restaurant avoids ingredients such as wheat, dairy, refined sugar, and heavily processed foods, and works with local and regenerative farms when possible. Guests can also explore botanical cocktails and mocktails, natural wines, and two outdoor patios with views of the Tower of the Americas. Pharm Table’s focus on food, sustainability, and the natural world made it a fitting partner for the upcoming Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival.

ON THE MENU | MONARCH BUTTERFLY & POLLINATOR FESTIVAL

Brackenridge Park, 3700 N St. Mary’s St, San Antonio, TX 78209

The 11th Annual Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival returns to Brackenridge Park on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering a free, family-friendly celebration centered on monarch butterflies, pollinators, and environmental education. Presented by Project Bloom and Blooming with Birdie, the festival features live monarch tagging with Monarch Watch, the Bizzee BumbleBee life cycle adventure, a Monarch Migration Obstacle Course, and the Lights Out! Bird City Maze. More than 50 education and environmental partners will participate, with additional activities including free plant and tree giveaways, live music, local food vendors, face painting, and a pollinator procession. Shuttle and trolley options will also be available to help attendees travel to and from the event.

TRY IT TUESDAY | THE AMAZING BACON WIZARD

The Amazing Bacon Wizard promises an easier way to prepare up to a pound of bacon in the microwave by hanging strips vertically from a collapsible rack and allowing excess grease to drip into a tray below. On “Try It Tuesday,” David Elder put the kitchen gadget to the test, but the results did not live up to the promise. Cooking the bacon took about 18 minutes, with some portions coming out burnt while others were undercooked, and the process left plenty of grease splattered inside the microwave. While the BPA-free, dishwasher-safe gadget folds flat for storage and eliminates the need for a frying pan, the lengthy cook time, uneven results, and messy cleanup left the Texas Eats NOW team unimpressed.

WILL IT SLUSHY? | PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE

In honor of National Coffee Day, “Will It Slushy?” gave one of fall’s most recognizable drinks an icy makeover as David Elder put pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks and Dutch Bros into the Ninja SLUSHi machine. The recurring Texas Eats NOW challenge pits drinks against each other to find out whether they taste better, worse, or just plain strange after being transformed into frozen slushies. This time, neither pumpkin spice latte survived the experiment particularly well, with the freezing process changing the flavor and leaving the team preferring both drinks in their original form. The verdict was clear: Pumpkin spice may work hot or iced, but turning it into a slushy did not improve either.

TEAM BUILDING TUESDAY | BEANBOOZLED

The Texas Eats NOW crew put their taste buds and teamwork to the test with Jelly Belly’s BeanBoozled, a candy roulette game where identical-looking jelly beans can taste either surprisingly good or spectacularly awful. David Elder, Andre Glover, Alex Mathison, and David Hinojosa took turns choosing beans without knowing whether they would get flavors such as Strawberry Banana Smoothie or Dead Fish, Berry Blue or Toothpaste, Juicy Pear or Booger, and Cappuccino or Liver & Onions. Because each good and bad flavor pair looks virtually identical, there is no way to know what is coming until someone takes a bite. The unpredictable reactions make BeanBoozled equal parts candy challenge and team-building exercise, although some flavors make it considerably harder to be a team player.

Follow Texas Eats and David Elder on Facebook and Instagram for more food info, pictures, videos and giveaways.

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Today on Texas Eats NOW:

ON THE MENU | ALZER’S ROASTERY

9871 I-10, San Antonio, TX 78230

Alzer’s Roastery brings Middle Eastern and Arabian flavors to San Antonio with a combination of freshly roasted coffee, nuts, traditional desserts, and viral sweets. David Elder checks out Turkish coffee ground and prepared in-house, specialty drinks like the Pistachio Latte and Lavender Matcha, and freshly roasted nuts and seeds available in a variety of Middle Eastern-style preparations. The sweets selection ranges from traditional künefe and baklava to Dubai chocolate, mousse cakes, pastries, imported gourmet chocolates, and an expansive selection of halal gummies and candies. By blending traditional flavors with modern dessert trends, Alzer’s Roastery offers plenty to explore beyond the typical coffee shop experience.

FOOD NEWS | SAMURAI BARTENDER

David Elder takes a look at Yuzo Komai, the Japanese master mixologist who has gained attention online as the “Samurai Bartender” for his highly precise and theatrical approach to cocktail making at Bar Centifolia in Tokyo. Komai turns preparing a drink into a performance, using calculated movements to carve large blocks of ice into diamond shapes while incorporating elements such as flames, liquid nitrogen, and smoke. Instead of relying on a fixed cocktail menu, Komai creates bespoke drinks based on each guest’s preferences, mood, and seasonal ingredients. His elaborate presentation and disciplined technique have helped turn the reservation-only Tokyo bar into a viral destination for cocktail enthusiasts.

RAUL IS REAL | RAÚL B. RODRIGUEZ LAW, P.C.

922 S. Alamo St., San Antonio, TX 78205

David Elder sits down with San Antonio attorney Raúl B. Rodriguez for “Raul Is Real,” a conversation series featuring the bilingual personal injury and wrongful death trial attorney behind Raúl B. Rodriguez Law, P.C. A third-generation San Antonio native and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary’s University School of Law, Rodriguez began his legal career working with insurance defense firms before establishing his own practice representing injured clients. Today’s conversation takes place at Anchor Bar, where the menu features its famous Buffalo wings alongside San Antonio favorites and sports bar classics, including chicken tenders, pizza logs, Buffalo mac and cheese, burgers, Chicken on a Stick, and fresh-to-order micheladas.

CHOP IT UP | ESAUL AND GRECIA RAMOS

YouTube.com/@TexasEats

David Elder sits down with Esaul and Grecia Ramos, the husband-and-wife team behind San Antonio’s 2M Smokehouse and Catering, for “Chop It Up.” Esaul handles the pits and smoked meats while Grecia brings her baking and dessert expertise to the restaurant, a partnership they describe as, “He’s the smoke. She’s the sugar.” The couple recently added another achievement to 2M’s growing list of accolades by winning the debut season of Food Network’s “Pitmasters,” earning a $30,000 prize after a week of barbecue challenges. The Texas Eats NOW segment offers a preview of the conversation before the extended “Chop It Up” interview premieres Friday afternoon on the Texas Eats YouTube channel.

MYSTERY BOX MONDAY | LOU MALNATI’S FROZEN PIZZA

David Elder puts one of Chicago’s most recognizable pizza names to the test with Lou Malnati’s frozen pizza for “Mystery Box Monday.” The company ships its Chicago-style pizzas nationwide by flash-freezing handmade pies, giving customers outside Chicago a chance to prepare them at home. Its signature deep-dish pizza features a buttery, pastry-like crust layered with Wisconsin mozzarella, toppings, and chunky vine-ripened tomato sauce, while its sausage version features a distinctive layer of sausage covering the pizza rather than traditional scattered pieces. Lou Malnati’s also offers cheese, pepperoni, spinach, crustless, and thin-crust frozen varieties, giving David plenty to examine before delivering his final verdict.

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“How are you supposed to enjoy the city if you got to pay $40 just to park?” said Johnny Reyes, who works downtown.

Reyes is not alone in his frustration. Parking prices vary widely depending on location, and a difference of just one block can mean significant savings.

A parking lot near the River Walk runs nearly $40 for the day. But the city-owned Houston Street Garage, about a block from the Majestic Theatre, costs just $3 an hour — or $10 for the full day.

For visitors like Sam Abrahamson, that kind of price gap matters.

“I feel like $20 is reasonable for the day,” Abrahamson said. ”Anything really over 30, unless it’s like an event, is just kind of unnecessary.”

The City of San Antonio operates 13 parking lots and garages that it says are the most affordable options downtown. A city map highlights those locations and is available online.

Parking is free in city garages on Thursdays. Special events may impact prices.

Whether heading to a restaurant or catching a show, downtown Operations Director John Jacks said planning ahead is key.

“It’s not like going to the grocery store where you just drive up, and you park in a parking space right in front of the grocery. It should be part of your planning process,” Jacks said.

Project Marvel, future parking plans

With a proposed Sports and Entertainment District coming near the Alamodome, questions remain about how downtown parking will keep up with increased demand.

City officials say additional parking is part of the plan.

“So obviously it will be at times very busy,” Chief Downtown Officer Shanon Miller said. ”Not to mention the fact that it’s in largely in Hemisfair Park, which we want people to use all the time.”

Miller said the city is already looking at the bigger picture of downtown mobility.

“The city is currently in the process of the Downtown Accessibility and Mobility Study,” Miller said. ”That’s really intended to look at overall how people are accessing downtown.”

The Downtown Accessibility and Mobility Study is designed to identify the best ways people can get around downtown, with the goal of improving overall traffic flow on a daily basis.

Results from the study are expected this fall.

Read also:

• VIA to test drive late-night VIA Link, rideshare service for downtown workers

Moscow’s steep escalation of its aerial campaign since the end of August is putting pressure on Ukraine as it braces for winter, when Russia regularly bombards energy facilities to deny Ukrainians heat, power and running water.

The heavy overnight attack caused power outages and prompted questions about whether it marked the start of Russia's anticipated cold weather campaign, which Ukrainian officials describe as an attempt to “weaponize winter.”

“There has been virtually no day since summer when the enemy did not attack energy infrastructure,” Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said on Telegram. “But such a massive and combined attack happened for the first time since the end of the last heating season.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha noted the increase in Russian strikes has brought “days of almost uninterrupted air raid alerts across Ukraine.”

“Russia is intensifying its terror: jet-powered drones during the day, ballistic and cruise missiles at night, constant attacks against our cities and civilian life,” Sybiha said on X.

Ukrainian officials say Moscow is not engaging with U.S. efforts to halt the fighting, 4½ years after Russia invaded its neighbor. Moscow says it wants a comprehensive settlement rather than a temporary truce, but its demand for Ukraine to surrender land is unacceptable for Kyiv.

Russia exploits Ukraine's air defense gaps

Nationwide, the Russian attacks killed seven Ukrainian civilians and wounded 24, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, without providing details.

A boy was killed in an attack on a private home in Vyshhorod, a city in the wider Kyiv region, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration. Three other people were rescued from the rubble, he added.

Three other people were killed by attacks in the capital, with four injured, according to authorities.

Russia fired 2,850 jet-propelled drones at Ukraine in August but by Tuesday it had already launched 3,177 this month, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said.

Russia has exploited gaps in Ukrainian air defenses by firing ballistic missiles and new jet-powered drones, both of which are hard to stop. Air raid alerts are disrupting daily life, sending people running for shelter and denting economic output.

The attacks come in waves, Ihnat told Ukrainian television late Tuesday, mostly aimed at Kyiv and the surrounding region. Ukraine needs more missiles for U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to counter ballistic missiles and for other ground-based air defenses, he said.

The main Russian targets were energy infrastructure in Kyiv and the surrounding region, Zelenskyy said on social media, describing it as “a difficult attack” as Moscow stretches Ukraine's air defenses.

Zelenskyy thanked foreign countries supporting Ukraine for recent deliveries of air defense help. “And the closer we get to winter, the more of this protection we need," he said. "We must do everything to ensure that Russia’s bet on ballistic missile and drone terror does not pay off.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said its overnight attack hit a hydroelectric and a thermal power plant, an electrical substation, an energy storage facility and a data center.

Ukrainian officials didn’t specifically confirm those strikes, as Kyiv wants to deny Moscow intelligence about the effectiveness of its attacks. Authorities reported hits on civilian areas of at least four Kyiv districts.

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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

Growth in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of a goods and services — decelerated from a 2.5% pace from January through March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The second-quarter growth was an improvement on the department’s previous estimate of 1.5% — a surprise to economists who had expected little or no change in the GDP number.

Consumer spending — which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity — increased at a healthy 3.8% annual pace, up from 0.7% in the January-March period. Spending has been helped by a strong stock market, which reflects enthusiasm over the prospects for artificial intelligence and which enriches wealthy investors and gives them more money to buy things with.

The overall growth number was dragged down by imports. They are subtracted from growth because GDP is only supposed to count domestic production. Imports rose at a 12.6% annual pace from April through June, partly due to a surge in shipments of computer chips and other products that support artificial intelligence investment, and slashed nearly 1.7 percentage points off second-quarter growth.

The U.S. economy has proven surprisingly resilient in the face of fighting with Iran and the energy price spike it caused.

Business investment, excluding housing, rose at a 9% clip in the second quarter, reflecting the AI investment boom. And a measure of the economy’s underlying strength — which strips out volatile government spending and trade numbers — grew at a strong 4.6% rate, up from 1.8% in the first quarter.

“The economy is increasingly reliant on AI gains and the corresponding wealth effects boosting higher-income households’ spending power to fuel recent growth,” said Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. "The economy remains sensitive to a sudden reversal of optimism on AI.''

Investment in housing rose 2.8% ticking up for the first time since the end of 2024. The housing market has been depressed by high mortgage rates.

Wednesday’s report was the last of three Commerce Department estimates of second-quarter GDP growth. The first look at third-quarter growth is due Oct. 29.

Dr. Isabel Basaldu-Prado, a NICU doctor at St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital, lost her son, Roel, to suicide in 2020.

He was a junior at Texas A&M University.

“If it saves one life, then I’ll feel like my son’s death would not have been in vain,” Basaldu-Prado said.

Basaldu-Prado provides care for sick and premature babies in San Antonio.

“I love what I do because it’s saving lives,” she said. “I get to see that first breath. I get to hear that first heartbeat. I get to help parents take their bundle of joy home.”

Basaldu-Prado is also a mother of five. Her children range in age from 15 to 34. Roel was her third child.

She said Roel struggled with his mental health for years and was open with his family about what he was experiencing.

“He came to us his junior year in high school and told us that he was having suicidal ideations,” Basaldu-Prado said.

His mental health care journey included medication, therapy and hospitalization, she said.

Through it all, Basaldu-Prado said she and her husband worked to create a home where difficult conversations were welcomed.

“I’ve always told my kids that there’s nothing that we can’t talk about, that there is nothing that we cannot fix,” she said. “I always tell them that I would be more upset if they lied to me than if they tell me the truth, that we will always try to figure it out.”

As Suicide Prevention Month comes to a close, Basaldu-Prado said she hopes her family’s experience encourages other parents and caregivers to listen closely when children talk about anxiety, sadness or suicidal thoughts.

“If your child comes up to you and says that they’re having issues with anxiety, they’re having issues with sadness, pay attention,” she said. “Listen.”

In 2021, the year after Roel died, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported suicide was the third-leading cause of death among high school students.

Basaldu-Prado said families should approach mental health struggles with compassion, even when they are difficult to understand.

“I would say to parents, just be open, be accepting, be understanding,” she said. “Mental health does not make sense.”

Anyone facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or anyone who needs someone to talk to can call or text 988 or use the 988 Lifeline chat. The service is free and available 24/7.

Read also:

• ‘The system failed us’: Families say lack of SAPD mental health response left loved ones in crisis

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District is expected to transfer the property to the City of Uvalde in the coming months. Once that happens, city leaders will oversee the next steps in developing the memorial.

The memorial would honor the 19 students and two teachers killed in the May 2022 school shooting. Plans also call for the site to include a community park with indoor and outdoor recreation areas.

The city said it will seek community input as the project moves forward. A timeline for construction and details of the property sale have not yet been released.

Read also: Uvalde CISD board names lone finalist for superintendent

Notably, Talarico has enjoyed larger leads in recent polling than Democrat Beto O’Rourke ever did in 2018 when he nearly beat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Talarico is dominating Paxton in fundraising.

How to read a poll

The quality of polls and pollsters can be measured by several metrics, including how well their polls have performed in the past and how transparent they are about their methodology.  Here are a few things to pay attention to when navigating different polls.

Partisan sponsors: Polls sponsored by a candidate or party should be taken with a grain of salt, according to the American Association for Public Opinion Research. While nonpartisan polling organizations typically release all of their polling results regardless of who is ahead, candidate-sponsored or party-affiliated surveys can choose to only release results that benefit their campaigns.

Sample size: In general, the more people an election poll surveys the more reliable its results are. As sample sizes increase, the results of a survey are more likely to reflect the real attitudes of those who will vote in an election.

Sample type: Election polls usually survey three kinds of populations: adults, registered voters and those they deem to be “likely voters,” based on their voting history and gauged interest.

Polls that survey adults are able to increase their sample sizes, but can be less reflective of the opinions of those who will actually make it to the polls to vote on Election Day. During an election year, polls using samples of registered voters are common as they are a concrete group and more likely to vote than unregistered adults.

Closer to election day, polls with “likely voter” samples are often considered more representative of those who will actually vote. Different pollsters use different methodologies to determine who is a likely voter, using factors such as past voting behavior and interest in the election.

Sampling method: The methods by which pollsters select who participates in their surveys usually fall into two categories: probability and non-probability samples.

In a probability-based sample, every person of the full population has a chance of being selected for the survey, whereas in a non-probability based sample, such as an internet panel or a self-selected sample, the chance of any one person being selected is unknown. As a result, the samples can be skewed toward characteristics that may not be as reflective of the whole population. 

Although probability based sampling has been the preferred method for many decades, its rising cost has led researchers to turn to non-probability based sampling. The results of some non-probability based surveys have been shown to be comparable to and sometimes more accurate than probability based surveys.

Margin of error: While polls conducted with probability samples allow for the calculation of the margin of error, non-probability polls have no simple way of calculating the same error metric. They must instead use statistical models to produce estimates of their sampling error.

Methodology for our tracker

Where the polls come from

The New York Times collects polls and manages a database of election polling. This tracker pulls data from their collection, and estimates the average of every poll conducted since Paxton won his  Republican runoff election in May. 

Which polls we include

We included every public poll of the Texas U.S. Senate that asked voters to choose who they would vote for if the election occurred that day and included James Talarico and Ken Paxton as options. Polls that ended before the May runoff election are not included in the average, but are listed in the table. 

How the average works

The average is calculated by weighting every poll by three factors: recency, sample size and whether the poll’s sponsor has a partisan affiliation. We then averaged them. 

• Recent polls count more than older ones as they are more reflective of current sentiment. 
• Polls with larger sample sizes count more than those with smaller samples. 
• Polls sponsored by a political party count half as much as ones without a partisan sponsor.

Limits

The average is not a forecast of the election and who will eventually win. Additionally, early in the race, the number of polls that have been released can be relatively low, meaning the average can shift meaningfully when a single new poll is added. As a result, individual outlier polls carry more weight early on.

Apurva Mahajan contributed to this report.

Disclosure: The New York Times 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 penalty stems from a post McKee-Rodriguez made in May. The board found two ethics-code violations connected to the post and assessed the maximum fine of $500 for each violation.

The fine will be paid to the city’s general fund. No payment deadline was specified.

On June 1, San Antonio resident Juan Rider Mireles II filed the sworn ethics complaint against McKee-Rodriguez, alleging he misused official city resources and violated the city’s ethics rules by publicly exposing a constituent’s private information on Facebook.

According to the complaint, a constituent posted a comment on social media that used a racial slur against McKee-Rodriguez.

McKee-Rodriguez, who is Black, then published three images on his Facebook page in response — including a screenshot of the constituent’s comment, her profile picture and a screenshot of an email from the Council District 2 office sent to her on Sept. 12, 2024.

The complaint states the email screenshot appeared to have been accessed through a Microsoft Outlook application on an iPhone and exposed the constituent’s full email address, which the complaint said McKee-Rodriguez obtained through official council channels.

About 8 in 10 rural voters — an important voting bloc for Trump and fellow Republicans — said the Trump administration’s policies have had a negative effect or no impact on the health of people where they live. Most MAHA supporters, 68%, also feel this way, according to the national survey of more than 2,000 rural registered voters.

The findings signal an apparent disconnect between the Trump administration’s MAHA-branded policy priorities and rural America’s perception of their reach and effectiveness.

Iowa pastor Mike Jager, 58, is a registered Republican and considers himself part of the MAHA movement. The Trump administration’s health policies have had “minimal” impact on the health of his community, Jager said, but he added that Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is moving the needle “in the right direction.”

“It’s a beginning,” Jager said. “It’s a big ship to try and turn around and course-correct.”

Kennedy has used the MAHA label to support various agendas, including abandoning long-standing vaccine guidance, researching ultraprocessed foods and investing in regenerative agriculture.

Jager lives in Sumner, Iowa, “less than a quarter mile from where the corn ends and the city begins.” He’s seen family members and neighbors develop diseases that he believes resulted in part from exposure to agricultural chemicals and consumption of unhealthy, processed foods.

In the June Republican primary for governor, Jager voted for Zach Lahn, a businessman and farmer who ran on a MAHA platform and beat out Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra. He plans to vote for him again in November.

Many rural voters are prioritizing health issues

About two-thirds of rural voters who support MAHA said it’s “extremely” or “very” important to them to vote for a candidate who does, too, while only 4 in 10 rural voters overall said the same.

Trump sought to seize on MAHA support during his campaign for another term two years ago. Now, amid tight midterm races, Kennedy has campaigned to galvanize the movement’s support. In May, he attended a MAHA bill signing with Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, and in August, he went fishing with Lahn, posting about it on social media.

Yet the survey indicates voters are noticing “this weird split in the Trump administration” between what Kennedy messages and what Trump says and does, said David Peterson, a political science professor at Iowa State University.

In Iowa, concerns about what’s causing rising cancer rates are “a big deal,” he said. For many people who identify with MAHA, being healthy includes taking on corporate agriculture and pharmaceutical companies that they think cause cancer, he added.

In the poll, views on healthcare access and costs largely diverged along party lines. Most Democratic and independent voters said the Trump administration’s healthcare policies have had a negative impact on their healthcare costs and the health and well-being of people in their communities. Republicans were likelier to say there hasn’t been an impact.

Talking on the phone from her 200-acre farm in Carroll County, Iowa, 71-year-old Donna Klocke said that her husband had died from cancer and that she has neighbors who also have cancer.

“It’s just very prevalent,” Klocke said. “We’re in a farming community. We use chemicals and pesticides and all kinds of things that aren’t necessarily good for us.”

Klocke, a Democrat, said the MAHA movement is a good idea because she cares about being healthy, but she does not consider herself part of it and will not be voting for a candidate who represents the movement.

Kennedy, who was an anti-vaccine activist before entering politics and has sent mixed messages to Americans about getting the measles vaccine, scares her.

“Measles are coming back and polio,” Klocke said. “It’s the measles that really gets me. It’s like, do you not understand how dangerous it is?”

Survey reflects angst over healthcare

Nearly half of rural voters said their communities don’t have enough doctors or other healthcare providers, and even more said there aren’t enough mental health workers specifically. The share of rural voters who said their community does not have enough hospitals increased to 35% from 21% in a similar question asked in a KFF-Washington Post survey in 2017.

And as with the general population, healthcare, gas and grocery costs are top pain points. At least 6 in 10 rural voters said they were worried about healthcare costs.

The level of worry varied based on coverage, with rural voters enrolled in employer plans or Medicare less likely to be worried. The survey found that 80% of working-age rural voters on Medicaid were very or somewhat worried about healthcare costs. Last year, Republicans passed a tax and spending bill that cut over $900 billion in projected Medicaid spending over a decade and mandated new eligibility requirements.

In the tiny community of Lipan, Texas, west of Dallas, Kim Solis and her husband have a handyman-and-home-remodel business and get their insurance on the marketplace. Since Trump returned to office, their premium payment jumped from zero to $166 a month. Their copays went up, and their deductibles each increased by $2,000.

Solis, 62, said she worries what will happen if they get a big medical bill.

“Certainly, we’d be in a world of hurt trying to take money out of savings or getting it out of our 401(k) just to be able to do something about it,” she said.

Most MAHA voters are also MAGA — but not all

Like the general population, rural voters said they trust their own doctors and healthcare providers for health information over government agencies or officials, according to the poll.

Trust in Kennedy and Trump fell largely along partisan lines. About 10% of rural Democratic voters reported having a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in Kennedy, compared with 74% of rural Republican voters. About 5% of rural Democrats and 69% of rural Republicans said they trust Trump a “great deal” or “fair amount” for reliable health information.

While Make America Great Again and MAHA identities are “linked in a lot of ways,” the rising costs of healthcare and groceries pose a challenge for those committed to the MAHA principles that Kennedy promotes, said Peterson, the Iowa State professor.

Buying healthy food “becomes, ‘I can’t afford to do that because of Trump’s policies,’” he said.

In Stamping Ground, Kentucky, Alma Johnson, 65, works night security at a horse farm.

Johnson voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024 and said she “pretty much” likes how Trump is running the country. But she said she is not a MAGA devotee, preferring to “think for myself.”

MAHA, however, is an easy sell for Johnson because, she said, she doesn’t think people should be able to buy junk food in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Still, she said she hasn’t seen much impact from the Trump administration’s healthcare policies, including the new food pyramid.

“It takes a long time to change people, their habits, their thoughts or the things they do,” Johnson said.

___

The poll of 2,241 U.S. adults registered to vote in rural areas of the country was conducted Aug. 12-24, 2026, using a sample drawn from the probability-based SSRS Opinion Panel. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In collaboration with AP, KFF researchers worked to design the survey sample and questionnaire, analyze and report findings.

___

This report is a collaboration between The Associated Press and KFF Health News. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.

Councilmembers will review a revised proposal, which is a similar, delayed version of the one they considered three months ago. Under the new plan, rates could bump an average monthly bill by roughly $13 to $17 by 2030.

Instead of raising rates in July under the initial proposal, residential rates would go up 6.9% in January 2027 and be raised again by 6.5% in 2028, between 4.5% and 7% in 2029, and between 4% and 6.6% in 2030.

The range of rates in the latter two years of increases dips slightly lower than what was presented in June, 4.5% and 4% instead of 5.5% and 5%.

A livestream of the meeting will be available in this article at 2 p.m. Delays are possible; if no livestream is available, check back at a later time.

Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said she supports a potential SAWS rate increase, citing the need to replace aging infrastructure and protect the city’s drinking water.

During KSAT Q&A on the 6 p.m. newscast, Jones said SAWS needs additional money for major upgrades, including work on pipes that are more than 100 years old.

“I think it is an appropriate time for us to invest in the infrastructure,” Jones said. “It will require a rate increase. The SAWS team has worked very hard to make sure that it’s as small as it can be. But at the end of the day, some of these projects are over $200 million.”

SAWS officials have said the money would help fund critical infrastructure projects as the utility works to maintain reliable service and keep drinking water clean.

Read more: SAWS is back with a new rate proposal; what’s changed?

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was charged Tuesday with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer, according to a criminal complaint. A detention hearing is set for Friday, October 2.

>> Austin man shot by ICE agent charged with assault, resisting arrest

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The charges stem from a Sept. 20 traffic stop in north Austin. According to the criminal complaint, ICE officers were attempting to detain Garces Perez after confirming an immigration judge had issued a final order of removal.

The complaint alleges Garces Perez ignored orders to put his vehicle in park and get out. It says he drove away, striking one ICE officer in the torso with the driver’s-side mirror. The complaint further alleges officers pursued him through commercial and residential areas and that Garces Perez later attempted to strike another officer with his vehicle. That officer then fired his gun.

Garces Perez was shot and hospitalized. His attorney has said the bullet remained lodged in his back after he was released from the hospital and transferred to ICE custody. He later returned to the hospital for additional treatment.

Before the shooting, Garces Perez was working as a DoorDash driver, according to his attorney. His legal team has said he entered the United States through a parole program, was seeking asylum and had no criminal history.

Garces Perez has disputed the officers’ account, saying he tried to pull over and that the agents shot him as he drove away.

The preliminary detention hearing will address whether Garces Perez remains in custody while the criminal case proceeds.

Read also:

• Protesters rally outside ICE Processing Center in Pearsall

KSAT’s Japhanie Gray caught up with Tremell Brown, deputy CEO and chief safety officer, and he answered a few questions residents have during wet weather events.

How have you prepared for weather events like this in the past?

“With our buses, you know you are in a much heavier vehicle and much taller vehicle,” Brown said, “But we have procedures our operators follow so that they can detour while communicating with a dispatcher. The dispatcher also lets them know where there is a low-water crossing, but everything is about safety. We have an internal emergency operations command team that helps monitor the things that happen for our maintenance team, our operators and all of our employees.”

How does your maintenance team prepare the buses during rain events?

“Believe it or not, when buses go through rising water there is a lot of water that may splash underneath and sometimes there needs to be some augmentation for the frame so that water doesn’t remain inside,” Brown said. “The water can tread out easily so that way it can keep everything dry to keep the bus functional. They check the seals and make sure the windshield wipers work. Operators are required to go through inspection every single day.”

Is there a resource for your passengers to use if their bus routes are detoured because of low-water crossings?

“On our website and our app, you can check for detours specific to your route on your trip or destination for where you are going to,” he said. “So, if you happen to know that you normally ride a certain route, go on our website, look at service disruptions, take a look on the app and it will tell you exactly where the detours are at. If they have any other questions that that, they can call 210-362-2020 and someone will coach you through what you need.”

Based on what you have dealt with in the past, what are your usual trouble spots when it rains?

“There are a lot of places underneath overpasses where the road dips down so we see things that happen on I-35,” Brown said. “If you take a look at the South Side where St. Roosevelt and St. Marys are, there is a bridge there that has low water crossing. We have long-standing detours, even when it starts to rain, we will put that bus on detour, so there is no risk to the customer or the safety of the operator. Those buses will automatically go on a detour around that concerning spot which is why it is important to check the app or the website.”

For detours or to sign up for service alerts, visit viainfo.net. VIA said another good resource of information can be found on their social media pages.

“We always want our customers to be safe and feel safe,” Brown said. “We understand they have to get to work, to school or different situations they need to be. We want to get them there safely and we want to be there safely for you. Take your time getting to wherever that bus stop is. You can double check our website again or the app to find out where we are with that bus if it is on time or late. Just communicate with us and we will be there for you day or night.”

Read also:

• Storms possible as early as Wednesday, heavy rain expected Thursday
• After $16K in damage, West Side homeowner prepares for another storm

The recipients of the international award are a Pakistani lawyer, an Ethiopian-born AI researcher, a Georgian legal rights group and a network of women farmers across Southern Africa.

The annual prize was created in 1980 by Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull, who wanted to honor work that contributes to a more just and peaceful world. It is traditionally announced shortly before the Nobel Prizes, which will be announced starting next Monday.

Right Livelihood said this year's recipients were being awarded for their “resistance to systems that push people to the margins, and a shared insistence on putting people back at the center.” They were chosen from 200 nominations from 72 countries.

“A system built to serve the few was never going to hold. This year, we honor women who refused to wait for permission,” Ole von Uexkull, the nephew of the prize founder and the organization’s executive director, said. “They are rewriting the rules that autocrats, patriarchs and Silicon Valley’s most powerful men assumed were theirs to write alone.”

“With the 2026 laureates we honor four shining examples of building power on cooperation, not on violence, so that everyone’s rights are respected and every voice is heard,” von Uexkull said as he presented the awards to the recipients. “We believe that this kind of collective power is the key to averting global crises, that a few ultra rich people profit from, while everybody else stands to lose.”

Here is a look at the recipients:

A Pakistani lawyer who works to protect vulnerable communities

Jalila Haider, a human rights lawyer who defends some of Pakistan’s most vulnerable communities from state repression, discrimination against women and ethnic violence, was awarded the prize “for breaking barriers, as the first female lawyer from her Hazara community, to challenge ethnic, state and patriarchal persecution, guided by the conviction that no human being is illegal.”

By combining legal work with efforts to help communities advocate for themselves, “Haider has secured justice for thousands targeted or ignored by those in power, specifically ethnic, gender and religious minorities, as well as refugees,” the organization said. Haider's law firm has also helped more than 600 political activists and human rights defenders regain the right to travel freely.

A Southern African women farmers’ group defending land rights

Also awarded was the Rural Women’s Assembly “for organizing rural women across Southern Africa into a united force defending land, seed and bodily autonomy against corporate and patriarchal dispossession.”

The Rural Women’s Assembly is a self-organized, movement of more than 178,000 small-scale farmers across 11 Southern African nations. It has established 24 sites where farmers reproduce and preserve seeds for future planting and documented hundreds of local seed varieties, helping protect the practice of saving and exchanging traditional seeds, the Swedish foundation said.

A Georgian human rights group working to safeguard democracy

The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association won the prize “for building and safeguarding Georgian democracy and sustaining civic power in the face of an autocratic crackdown.”

The group was founded in 1994 by volunteer lawyers who helped draft the country’s first postindependence constitution.

According to Right Livelihood, it has secured major legal victories that reshaped national policy, including protections for people with disabilities, free education for all children and compensation for victims of Soviet-era repression.

A researcher who exposes harms that AI is already causing

Right Livelihood also honored AI researcher Timnit Gebru “for challenging concentrated power in artificial intelligence and pioneering digital technology rooted in justice, lived experience and human agency.”

Gebru, who was born in Ethiopia to a family of Eritrean origin, is the founder of the Distributed AI Research Institute.

Right Livelihood said her work challenges the control that a small number of powerful companies exercise over AI and exposes harms that AI systems are already causing, particularly to communities facing discrimination and exclusion.

Police Chief David Gonzalez said the cameras were placed strategically at intersections based on the types of cases officers investigate.

It was a group of community advisors and the police chief who began discussing the technology in 2024, and the first cameras were installed earlier this year.

>> Flock cameras explained: How automated plate readers work and their impact in South Texas

He says the committee saw this as an opportunity to help police have more eyes on a growing community when they are limited on funds to hire more officers.

“I was asked whether I had any ideas or if I had solutions to our staffing problems that they perceived because of the new additions to Leon Valley,” he said. “We have former complexes that we didn’t have 10 years ago. We have new residential areas that we didn’t one year ago. So, the city is not growing in space, but it’s growing in population. So population will bring more calls. So that is their concern.”

The cameras do not record video, Gonzalez said. Instead, they take still images of license plates. The data is erased after seven days unless it is tied to an active investigation.

Gonzalez said a group of Leon Valley community members worked with police to research the technology and help shape policies for its use.

He said the department is continuing to work with community advisers to improve transparency, update policies and audit the cameras.

“We’re still having discussions on it. And right now, the committee is still OK with the way I am managing it,” he said. “If they change their mind it is their prerogative. They are the citizens of Leon Valley.”

Leon Valley contracts with Flock Safety, one of several companies that provide license plate reader systems. Other companies in the industry include Axon and Motorola Solutions.

Gonzalez said the department has stopped allowing all law enforcement agencies in Texas to access its cameras.

Access is now limited to local agencies between Hondo and Seguin, and Gonzalez said searches must be tied to an active case number with specific information about a vehicle.

“Fishing with a wide net in the ocean, that’s what some agencies are doing. We’re not doing that,” Gonzalez said. “We have to have something that we are looking for before we go searching the system.”

He said investigators may start with limited details, such as a vehicle’s color or type, and narrow the search as part of an investigation.

Since the cameras were installed, Gonzalez said Leon Valley police have not solved any crimes using the system, and he does not believe partner agencies have either.

The city still has seven cameras left to install under the grant.

He said the contract with Flock can be stopped 30 days prior to the contract renewal date, which is in February. So far, there’s no intent to do that, he said.

Republicans significantly redrew five blue seats with the goal of making them winnable for their party. But the fast-moving politics of South Texas and falling approval rates for President Donald Trump among Texas Latinos — among other demographic blocs — have given Democrats a better chance than expected to blunt the GOP gerrymander.

All six of the districts highlighted in this voter guide have a majority-Hispanic population of eligible voters, or citizens who are old enough to vote. Four of them touch the U.S.-Mexico border. And four were redrawn with the explicit purpose of electing Republicans.

The stakes for these U.S. House races extend beyond Texas. Republicans’ continued control of the lower chamber, where they’re defending a wafer-thin majority, likely depends on the GOP both holding its existing seats in Texas and flipping the redrawn districts. 

For Democrats, thwarting GOP gains in Texas — or even picking some seats up themselves — would put the party in a strong position to flip the U.S. House, as well as indicating a significant shift in the Latino vote just two years after Trump reached a high-water mark with Latino voters.

Here’s a look at the main districts in play in the Lone Star State, including who is running and where they stand on key issues.

Texas’ key U.S. House seats in 2026

• 9th Congressional District
• 15th Congressional District
• 23rd Congressional District
• 28th Congressional District
• 34th Congressional District
• 35th Congressional District

9th Congressional District

Texas’ 9th Congressional District was among the seats that got a makeover in the state’s mid-decade redistricting, shifting from one of Texas’ bluest districts to one that significantly favors Republicans. The redrawn 9th — anchored in east Harris County and the petrochemical corridor along the Houston Ship Channel — is majority Hispanic, and it covers almost entirely new ground, with fewer than 3% of its voters coming over from the old 9th District.

The change led to the ouster of Rep. Al Green, the longtime progressive Democratic incumbent, who ran instead in the nearby 18th District and lost the Democratic primary.

In the new 9th District, Republican Alex Mealer, an Army veteran and former Houston oil and gas investment banker who narrowly lost the 2022 race for Harris County judge, is the heavy favorite in November. She won the May runoff over state Rep. Briscoe Cain by nearly 40 points after President Donald Trump endorsed her.

She faces Democrat Leticia Gutierrez, an environmental advocate from Houston’s East End who won the six-way March primary with 54% of the vote. Gutierrez is running a shoestring, neighborhood-level campaign, raising about $55,000 to Mealer’s $2 million, and is hoping that deep local roots and anger over the district’s redrawing can bridge the gap to overcome Mealer’s financial and partisan advantages.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the seat “Likely Republican.”

• Population race/ethnicity: 62% Hispanic, 25% white, 10% Black, 2% Asian
• 2024 presidential results in district: Trump + 20
• Counties in district: Harris, Liberty
• Cities in district: Houston (including the East End), Pasadena, Baytown, Deer Park, La Porte, Cleveland, among others

Campaign site

Alex Mealer

Republican

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $2.1 million
• Total spent: $1.7 million
• Cash on hand: $362,000

💰 Notable donors and outside spending support this cycle:

• More than $4.8 million in support from outside groups, nearly all during the primary
• Club for Growth Action, a super PAC: $1.1 million
• Veterans Duty Fund, a super PAC: $750,000
• Defending Our Values PAC, a super PAC: $636,000
• Win It Back PAC, a super pac: $616,000

Experience:

• Former U.S. Army captain
• West Point and Harvard MBA/JD graduate
• 2022 Republican nominee for Harris County judge
• Former public safety chair for Harris County METRO

Endorsements:

• President Donald Trump
• House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer
• U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville
• National Border Patrol Council and the Texas Municipal Police Association
• Briscoe Cain, Mealer’s primary opponent

Policy stances:

• Protect the Houston Ship Channel and Port Houston
• Strengthen border security and back law enforcement
• Secure federal funding for Lake Houston-area flood mitigation
• Ensure the U.S., “not China,” sets the rules for artificial intelligence
• Authoring election integrity legislation

In the news:

• After the Houston ICE shooting, Sylvia Garcia demanded answers. Alex Mealer urges patience.
• Texas could send a record four GOP women to Congress — if they make it through November
• Alex Mealer wins GOP nomination for new Houston congressional district, defeating state Rep. Briscoe Cain

How to contact or learn more:

info@alexandramealer.com

Alex Mealer for Congress

P.O. Box 1007

Pasadena, TX 77501

Campaign site

Leticia Gutierrez

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $55,000
• Total spent: $37,000
• Cash on hand: $19,000

💰Notable donors and outside spending support this cycle:

• Funded almost entirely by small individual donations through ActBlue
• Attorney and former Texas state representative Domingo Garcia: $3,500

Experience:

• Government relations and community outreach director at Air Alliance Houston, an environmental advocacy nonprofit, for more than a decade
• Former chief of staff at the Houston City Council

Endorsements:

• Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez
• State Reps. Christina Morales, Jolanda Jones, Ron Reynolds and Harold Dutton Jr.
• Houston City Council members Joaquin Martinez, Mario Castillo, Letitia Plummer and Alejandra Salinas
• Latinas United PAC

Policy stances:

• Focus on “raising wages, creating quality local jobs, expanding access to health and childcare, and ensuring residents near the port and industrial corridor can access higher-paying positions.”
• Rebuild aging infrastructure to better prepare the district for future natural disasters
• Sees immigrants such as those in the 9th District being targeted by “false narratives” that “they are criminals or a drain on the economy,” while her “lived experience tells a different story” — they “work hard, pay taxes, start businesses, and keep critical industries running.”

In the news:

• Christian Menefee, Alex Mealer lead Houston-area congressional runoffs, new poll finds
• Leticia Gutierrez gains ground in new CD-9 congress race

How to contact or learn more:

info@leticiaforcongress.com

P.O. Box 262027

Houston, TX 77207

— Samanta Habashy

15th Congressional District

Texas’ 15th Congressional District was very Trump-friendly before last summer’s redistricting, and it remains so under the new map. The former president won the Rio Grande Valley-based seat by 18 points in both the former and current iteration of the district.

But much of the district, represented by Edinburg Republican Monica De La Cruz since 2023, is new territory for the former insurance agent. Still anchored in Hidalgo County, the district has taken on the southeastern portion of the county, trading in parts of McAllen for cities like Donna and Weslaco.

And instead of running up to Floresville and Seguin, the district now incorporates parts of the Coastal Bend, including Beeville, and stretches to rural areas between San Antonio and Houston. 

De La Cruz is running against Tejano musician Bobby Pulido, a moderate Democrat and Latin Grammy Award winner. Despite the heavily pro-Trump result in 2024, Democrats believe a combination of their candidate’s star power and crossover appeal, and an expected leftward shift by Latino voters, makes the seat flippable.

• Population race/ethnicity: 81% Hispanic, 15% Anglo, 2% Black, 1% Asian
• 2024 presidential results in district: Trump +18 (Trump 58.5%, Harris 40.6%)
• Counties in district: Aransas, Bee, Brooks, DeWitt, Goliad, Gonzales, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Lavaca, Refugio, San Patricio
• Cities in district: Edinburg, McAllen, Weslaco, Pharr, San Juan, Mercedes, Alice, Beeville, Donna, Portland, Hidalgo, Alamo, among others

Campaign site

Monica De La Cruz

Republican , incumbent

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $5.27 million
• Total spent: $3.42 million
• Cash on hand: $2.46 million

💰 Major donors this cycle:

• Congressional Leadership Fund
• Choose Freedom Inc.
• American Action Network
• Americans for Prosperity

Experience:

• U.S. Congresswoman since 2023
• Former insurance agent
• Owned an insurance agency

Endorsements:

• President Donald Trump
• Speaker of the House Mike Johnson

Policy stances:

• Complete infrastructure along the southern border and reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy for migrants
• Support oil and natural gas jobs, cut regulations that increase the cost of energy and support the safe use of nuclear energy
• Protect Medicare and Social Security

In the news:

• With costs up, healthcare a defining issue in South Texas’ battleground House races
• After Monica De La Cruz helps migrant teen in ICE custody, Texas man seeks similar aid for fiancee
• Texas GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz joins Democrats in vote to pass three-year ACA subsidy extension

How to contact or learn more:

877-469-1210

info@monicaforcongress.com

Monica De La Cruz for Congress

P.O. Box 4603

McAllen, TX 78502

Campaign site

Bobby Pulido

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $ 2.96 million
• Total spent: $1.8 million
• Cash on hand: $1.16 million

💰 Major donors and outside spending support this cycle:

• House Majority PAC
• Unrig Our Economy

Experience:

• Tejano musician and actor

Endorsements:

• Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico
• Blue Dog PAC
• Latino Victory Fund

Policy stances:

• Take on corporations that have raised prices and cut red tape for small businesses
• Secure the border through attacking the drug trade and expanding vetting hubs in Central America, while creating a reasonable path to legalization for people who want to contribute to the U.S.
• Hold Mexico accountable for water treaty obligations

In the news:

• South Texas Republican builders warn of voter backlash in November if aggressive ICE tactics continue
• As Democrats eye South Texas upset, Bobby Pulido faces scrutiny over ex-bandmate’s child sex offense
• In South Texas, quinceanera dig becomes campaign fuel for Tejano musician Bobby Pulido

How to contact or learn more:

Bobby Pulido for Texas

PO Box 1604, Edinburg, TX 78540

info@bobbypulidofortexas.com

— Gabby Birenbaum

23rd Congressional District

With the tumultuous fall from grace of former Rep. Tony Gonzales, Texas’ 23rd Congressional District became the state’s sole vacant seat. Now, a tight race is in store between a Democratic hopeful and Gonzales’ two-time primary challenger. 

Gonzales resigned from the U.S. House in April after revealing he had an affair with an aide who later died by suicide. But public outcry over the tragic saga wasn’t the only thing threatening an end to his five-year congressional career. Gun rights activist and YouTuber Brandon Herrera came just 400 votes shy of ousting Gonzales in the 2024 primary runoff. This year, he finished ahead of the incumbent in the March Republican primary by less than 1,000 votes, and Gonzales dropped his reelection bid days later before the runoff could take place. 

But Democrats hope the nomination of Herrera, a candidate much further to the right with controversies of his own, like edgy jokes about the Holocaust and derogatory comments about women, will come back to bite the GOP.

This November, Herrera will face San Antonio attorney and former teacher Katy Padilla Stout, a first-time candidate who triumphed in the Democratic primary with a majority of votes against three contenders. The district voted for President Donald Trump by a 15-point margin in 2024, and it was largely unchanged by the state’s redistricting the following year. Democrats have set their sights on flipping the seat in lieu of Herrera’s history and Hispanic voters’ apparent leftward shift since Trump began his second term. 

Polls show Herrera just two points ahead of Padilla Stout. The two candidates will offer District 23 Texans the choice between two starkly different platforms, diverging especially on gun control, immigration and abortion rights.

Population race/ethnicity: 60% Hispanic, 30.5% white, 6% Black, 4% Asian

2024 presidential results in district: Trump +15 (56.8% Trump, 42.0% Harris)

Counties in district: Bexar, Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Edwards, El Paso, Frio, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Loving, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler, Zavala

Cities in district: San Antonio, El Paso, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Horizon City, Uvalde, Pecos, among others

Campaign site

Brandon Herrera

Republican

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $1.96 million
• Total spent: $1.64 million
• Cash on hand: $309,000

💰 Major donors and outside spending support this cycle:

• Herrera loaned his own committee $420,000
• No Going Back PAC, Trump-affiliated super PAC that registered with the FEC Sept. 1 – $46,000
• Freedom Caucus Fund, a hybrid PAC – $39,724 (in outside spending, separate $5,000 individual contribution also made)
• Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz – $19,000

Experience:

• Runs a YouTube channel about guns, internet memes and politics
• Owns a small arms manufacturing company near San Antonio
• Worked with President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign

Endorsements:

• President Donald Trump
• House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer. Also Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Pat Harrigan, Eli Crane, Lauren Boebert, Mary Miller and Chip Roy
• Texas State Reps. Brooks Landgraf, Brent Money, Mitch Little, Matt Morgan, Valoree Swanson, Carrie Isaac, Keresa Richardson, Ben Bumgarner, Helen Kerwin, Joanne Shofner, Wes Virdell
• The Freedom Caucus Fund, Gun Owners of America, Texas College Republicans

Policy stances:

• Strengthen border security by opposing spending bills that reduce funding for Border Patrol and immigration enforcement. Would seek to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy and limit asylum opportunities
• Cut taxes, spending and regulation. Herrera signed on to the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, created by the group Americans for Tax Reform during the Ronald Reagan administration with the former president’s support in 1985
• Defend gun rights, especially national concealed carry reciprocity, which is the policy of recognizing individuals’ permits from other states. Would oppose new firearms restrictions and red flag laws that allow a judge to order the temporary removal of firearms from individuals deemed dangerous
• Protect unborn life by opposing government funding for abortion access. Upon being sworn in, would sponsor a bill requiring medical practitioners to provide life-saving care to babies who survived abortion attempts
• Enact term limits. Plans to co-sponsor a constitutional amendment limiting members of the House to three terms and members of the Senate to two
• Protect homeschooling rights and distribute funding to students at parochial and private, as well as public schools
• Oppose spending on foreign wars. Would vote to return troops from Syria, Iraq and other places where the U.S. is militarily involved
• Protect Social Security and Medicare by opposing cuts and supporting the expansion of investment options for younger workers

In the news:

• Brandon Herrera gets Trump endorsement for 23rd Congressional District
• U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales forced into runoff by Brandon Herrera amid affair scandal
• Gun rights YouTuber Brandon Herrera to challenge U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales again in GOP primary

How to contact or learn more:

info@brandonherreraforcongress.com

Brandon Herrera for Congress

11844 Bandera Road

Box 499

Helotes, TX 78023

Campaign site

Katy Padilla Stout

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $485,000
• Total spent: $314,000
• Cash on hand: $171,400

💰 Major donors and outside spending support this cycle:

• American Bridge 21st Century, also known as AB PAC – $268,000 against Herrera
• Emily’s List, a PAC supporting pro-choice, Democratic women – $16,000
• Fair Shot PAC, affiliated with House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Massachusetts – $9,500
• Rory Gates, prolific political donor and middle child of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates

Experience:

• Former teacher who taught elementary school students at Northside ISD
• Became an attorney and built a practice focused on child welfare and education law. Currently works at her family firm in Carrizo Springs
• Member since 2017 of the Bexar County Child Welfare Board, which aims to strengthen protections for vulnerable children

Endorsements:

• Texas U.S. Reps. Greg Casar, Joaquin Castro, and former Reps. Beto O’Rourke and Sylvestre Reyes
• Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. secretary of transportation under President Joe Biden
• Texas State Teachers Association and Texas American Federation of Teachers
• Texas AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union Texas

Policy stances:

• Oppose building the Big Bend border wall to preserve the natural beauty of the region and demand transparency from the Department of Homeland Security
• Reduce cost of living by implementing a tax code that empowers the middle class, reduces poverty and doesn’t cut taxes on billionaires
• Expand Medicare to all Americans, strengthen the Affordable Care Act and invest in federal community health centers to improve access for rural and urban families
• Create universal pre-Kindergarten education and support families by raising the minimum wage and requiring paid parental leave
• Fight climate change by rejoining the Paris Climate Accord and centering policies on established climate science
• Restore and expand the Voting Rights Act and create measures to promote voter registration and accessibility. Encourage regulation on voter intimidation and last-minute changes to voting procedures
• Provide reasonable pathways to citizenship and establish humane and fair vetting practices for immigrants
• Curb gun violence by establishing universal background checks, banning bump stocks and implementing red flag laws
• Protect reproductive rights and limit government intervention in women’s health and medical procedures

In the news:

• National Democrats add former GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales’ district to Texas congressional target list
• Pete Buttigieg endorses Democrat Katy Padilla Stout in race to fill former Rep. Tony Gonzales’ seat
• National gun safety group dives into San Antonio’s gun-centric congressional race

How to contact or learn more:

info@katyforcongress.com

Katy Padilla Stout for Congress

24165 IH-10 West

Ste. 217-509

San Antonio, TX 78257

— Will Hammann

28th Congressional District

Democrat Henry Cuellar has represented the 28th Congressional District, anchored in his hometown of Laredo, for over 20 years, from its days as a blue stronghold where Republicans sometimes failed to field a candidate to its recent conversion to a swing seat that both Donald Trump and Cuellar won in 2024.

Such are the politics at the southern border, where political coalitions are changing quickly and voters’ politics remain fluid. Cuellar held on to his seat in 2024, winning the district by a 6-point margin even as Trump carried it by 7 percentage points. But Republicans redrew it to incorporate more of the McAllen area and drop the San Antonio area, which brought in more Trump voters — but, Cuellar says, also slightly increased the percentage of voters who cast a ballot for a House Democrat in 2024.

Cuellar has worked this territory for decades, and believes his style of retail politics and Trump’s falling approval rating among Latino voters will keep the district in Democratic hands. But Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, a former Democrat who switched parties after the 2024 election, believes voters in all parties are ready for change, especially given Cuellar’s 2024 federal indictment for bribery and money laundering. Cuellar has denied the allegations against him, and his legal case was resolved when Trump granted him a pardon last year. 

The election pits two longtime elected officials — well known to people in Webb County — with lengthy records against one another in a district Republicans are eager to flip.

Population race/ethnicity: 91% Hispanic, 7% white, 1% Black, 1% Asian

2024 presidential results in district: Trump +10 (Trump 54.8%, Harris 44.4%)

Counties in district: Atascosa, Dimmit, Duval, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, La Salle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Starr, Webb, Zapata

Cities in district: Laredo, Mission, McAllen, Pharr, Palmview, Rio Grande City, Roma, among others

Campaign site

Henry Cuellar

Democrat, incumbent

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $2.23 million
• Total spent: $1.15 million
• Cash on hand: $1.13 million

💰 Major donors and outside spending support this cycle:

• House Majority PAC
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC

Experience:

• U.S. congressman since 2005
• Former Texas secretary of state and Texas state representative

Endorsements:

• Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
• LUPE Votes (“Endorsed with conditions”)

Policy stances:

• Issue direct refund payments to individuals to offset tariff-induced inflation and tax burden
• Secure the border and deport violent criminals without spending billions on detention facilities and detaining children and longtime residents with families
• Eliminate provisions and loopholes that reduce individuals’ Social Security benefits

In the news:

• Cuellar and Tijerina spar over who delivers for a South Texas district redrawn to favor the GOP
• Cuellar and progressives form tenuous alliance amid Trump’s immigration crackdown
• After Trump pardon, Rep. Henry Cuellar restored to homeland security funding post

How to contact or learn more:

info@henrycuellar.com

P.O. Box 6147

Laredo, TX 78042

Campaign site

Tano Tijerina

Republican

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $1.28 million
• Total spent: $510,000
• Cash on hand: $765,000

💰 MajNational Republican Congressional Committee

Congressional Leadership Fund

American Action Networkor donors and outside spending support this cycle:

• National Republican Congressional Committee
• Congressional Leadership Fund
• American Action Network

Experience:

• Webb County judge (county executive) since 2015

Endorsements:

• President Donald Trump
• House Speaker Mike Johnson
• Sen. Ted Cruz
• Gov. Greg Abbott

Policy stances:

• Securing the border by stopping illegal crossings and supporting law enforcement, while pursuing bipartisan immigration reform
• Lower taxes for families and small businesses and cut regulations
• Position South Texas as a leader for AI and technology while protecting water, land and rural communities

In the news:

• Cuellar and Tijerina spar over who delivers for a South Texas district redrawn to favor the GOP
• Flores, Tijerina go hard on border politics at convention
• Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina launches run for Congress, seeking to flip South Texas district red

How to contact or learn more:

info@tanoforcongress.com

P.O. Box 450170

Laredo, TX 78045

— Gabby Birenbaum

34th Congressional District

The GOP is again eyeing the seat of Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, this time after Republicans redrew his district to be more GOP-friendly. South Texas lawyer Eric Flores has his party’s full support to take it.

The district has been highly contested since the resignation of former Rep. Filemon Vela in March 2022. After the seat was briefly flipped in a special election that summer, Gonzalez won it back in November and narrowly held on the following cycle. He’ll have to work harder yet this year, as the 2025 redistricting dyed Texas’ 34th Congressional District redder by trading Democratic-leaning areas near McAllen for Republican turf around Corpus Christi.

In the Democratic primary, Gonzalez stood firm against a democratic socialist challenger in Etienne Rosas, besting him by 25 points. Gonzalez, who served three terms out of the 15th District before switching to the 34th, has established himself as a staunch moderate, and explicitly distanced himself from democratic socialists who’ve made notable electoral gains in congressional primaries this cycle, especially in New York. 

Eric Flores, formerly an assistant U.S. attorney in the region, came out strong in his first election with a landslide win in the GOP primary against Gonzalez’s rival from the last two cycles, former Rep. Mayra Flores (no relation), who briefly held office after winning the 2022 special election. Republicans see favorable odds for Eric Flores heading into November against Gonzalez in a district that, based on its new borders, voted for President Donald Trump by 10 points in 2024. 

Flores also has the full support of his party. He’s endorsed by Trump, top GOP House leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The two South Texas candidates have proven to be robust fundraisers in what is expected to be a tight race.

Population race/ethnicity: 77% Hispanic, 19% White, 2.5% Black, 2% Asian

2024 presidential results in district: Trump +10 (54.6% Trump, 44.5% Harris)

Counties in district: Cameron, Kenedy, Kleberg, Wallacy, Nueces

Cities in district: Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito, Kingsville, among others

Campaign site

Vicente Gonzalez

Democrat, incumbent

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $3.8 million
• Total spent: $2.34 million ($925,000 of which was used to repay himself for loans to his previous campaigns)
• Cash on hand: $2.53 million

💰 Major donors this cycle:

• House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC — $55,850 against Flores
• Billionaire financiers Steve Mandel, Joshua Bekenstein and Louis Bacon
• Roger Altman, former United States deputy secretary of the treasury

Experience:

• Earned his GED after dropping out of high school, and went on to eventually receive his law degree from Texas A&M University School of Law
• Served as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C., while in law school
• Founded his own law firm where he carries out litigation against corporate abuse

Endorsements:

• Former Rep. Filemon Vela
• LUPE Votes (“Endorsed with conditions”)
• Texas AFL-CIO 
• Texas AFT, the National Education Association
• Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND

Policy stances:

• Safeguard senior benefits and programs providing financial security and healthcare access 
• Defend women’s rights by improving workplace protections, healthcare access and equal opportunity initiatives
• Invest in education by supporting educators and expanding access to resources for students
• Protect veterans’ access to benefits, healthcare and other resources
• Strengthen rural and urban access to healthcare, including prevention, mental health services and long-term care
• Spur job growth by investing in growing industries, protecting local businesses and supporting workforce development initiatives

In the news:

• This South Texas Democrat won big in the primary. But November is going to be a lot tougher.
• “Somebody needs to get fired”: Vicente Gonzalez blasts Dem strategy on abortion, trans issues
• Vicente Gonzalez defeats Mayra Flores to hold onto South Texas congressional district

How to contact or learn more:

vgonzalezforcongress@gmail.com

Vicente Gonzalez for Congress

PO Box 6270

Brownsville, TX 78523

Campaign site

Eric Flores

Republican

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $2.75 million
• Total spent: $2.07 million
• Cash on hand: $683,000

💰 Major donors this cycle:

• Flores loaned $576,500 to his campaign
• No Going Back PAC, Trump-affiliated super PAC that registered with the FEC Sept. 1 – $273,785 against Gonzalez
• Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC – $273,785 against Gonzalez
• Americans for Prosperity Action – $276,308 for Flores, $53,362 against Gonzalez
• Billionaire and prolific GOP donor Paul Singer

Experience:

• Former Texas Army National Guard infantry captain who took part in logistical operations supporting border patrol
• Served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, McAllen Criminal Division
• Currently a partner of a statewide law firm leading litigation for Texas municipalities and school districts

Endorsements:

• President Donald Trump
• Gov. Greg Abbott
• Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both R-Louisiana, and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota
• U.S. Reps. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, and Jake Ellzey, R-Waxahachie

Policy stances:

• Support energy, agriculture and shipping developments in South Texas and the Coastal Bend by opposing federal regulations that slow projects and by drawing federal funds to the region
• Lower the cost of living. Would limit federal spending to curb inflation and support affordable housing development
• Improve infrastructure by securing federal funding for roads, bridges, ports and broadband in rural communities
• Defend water resources by seeking federal investments in South Texas water infrastructure and pushing for long-term regional water planning
• Advocate for veterans by reducing Veterans’ Affairs wait times, expanding access to medical and mental healthcare and supporting funding for veterans’ benefits and disability claims
• Safeguard seniors’ benefits. Would oppose taxing or cutting benefits and would support expanding access to prescription drugs and protections against financial exploitation
• Protect South Texas farmers and ranchers. Would push for crop insurance and disaster relief and oppose trade policy that hurts agricultural markets
• Invest in small businesses by seeking tax relief, cutting regulation and supporting workforce development

In the news:

• Flores vs. Flores: GOP primary for South Texas congressional seat hinges on who can beat the Democrats
• Eric Flores trounces Mayra Flores in District 34 Republican primary
• GOP Army veteran announces challenge to Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in South Texas congressional district

How to contact or learn more:

info@ericflores.com

Eric Flores for Congress

PO Box 84

San Benito, TX 78586

— Will Hammann

35th Congressional District

When Texas Republicans redrew the state’s congressional map last year to carve out more seats for the GOP, they turned the San Antonio-based 35th Congressional District from a safe Democratic seat, which U.S. Rep. Greg Casar currently represents, into one Trump would have carried by 10 points in 2024. Democrats have decided to fight for it anyway, with hopes to turn the House blue, making the new 35th one of the most closely watched midterm races in the state this fall.

With no incumbent on the scene — Casar is running in the 37th District — the race will yield a new voice in the Texas delegation. Republican Carlos De La Cruz, an Air Force veteran, San Antonio gym owner and brother of U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, faces Democrat Johnny Garcia, a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy and self-described old-school moderate. De La Cruz won his May runoff over state Rep. John Lujan by 15 points after Trump endorsed him; Garcia, backed by the Blue Dog Coalition, cruised past educator Maureen Galindo by nearly a 28-point margin.

The race, which the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates as “Lean Republican,” is a bellwether for the durability of Trump’s 2024 gains with Hispanic voters — who make up a majority of the district — in a midterm without him on the ballot. Leaders from both parties are watching intently from Washington: National Democrats are bullish on Garcia, while House Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned for De La Cruz in the district in late August and called the seat “the whole enchilada.”

Population race/ethnicity: 57% Hispanic, 31% white, 9% Black, 3% Asian

2024 presidential results in district: Trump +10 (Trump 54.6%, Harris 44.2%)

Counties in district: Bexar, Guadalupe, Karnes, Wilson

Cities in district: San Antonio, Cibolo, Converse, New Braunfels, Schertz, Seguin, Universal City, among others

Campaign site

Carlos De La Cruz

Republican

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $1.05 million
• Total spent: $776,000
• Cash on hand: $272,000

💰 Notable donors and outside spending support this cycle:

• Defending Our Values PAC, a super PAC: 1.5 million
• Defend American Jobs, a super PAC: $572,000
• Strong PAC, funded by Club for Growth Action: $486,000
• Ross Perot Jr.
• Roger Penske

Experience:

• Served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and conducted drug-interdiction/counter-narcotics operations against cartels at the Texas-Mexico border
• Operates a San Antonio kickboxing gym with his wife

Endorsements:

• President Donald Trump
• House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Whip Tom Emmer
• Sister and U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, along with other GOP members from Texas: Lance Gooden, Michael McCaul, Brandon Gill, August Pfluger
• National Border Patrol Council

Policy stances:

• Secure the border by giving Border Patrol “the tools, manpower, and support they deserve,” while at the same time welcoming legal immigration
• Ban members of Congress from trading stocks while they legislate
• Protect Social Security and Medicare for seniors by opposing wasteful spending cuts to the programs
• Expand U.S. energy production by rolling back “radical green regulations” to boost oil and gas output, framing it as a path to lower prices, energy independence and job growth
• Support agriculture workers by pressing Mexico to meet water-treaty obligations to agricultural communities and cutting regulations he says let foreign competitors undercut U.S. producers
• Use Texas energy to power AI growth by tapping into Texas’s oil, gas and power production

In the news:

• Democrat Johnny Garcia to face Republican Carlos De La Cruz for redrawn Texas district
• San Antonio Democrat outraises Trump-backed opponent in red-leaning district
• ​​Republican Carlos De La Cruz announces run for redrawn 35th Congressional District

How to contact or learn more:

info@carlosforcongress.com

Carlos De La Cruz for Congress

Attn: Legal Counsel

P.O. Box 2072

Universal City, TX 78148

Campaign site

Johnny Garcia

Democrat

💰 Campaign finance:

• Total raised: $932,000
• Total spent: $609,000
• Cash on hand: $323,000

💰 Major donors this cycle:

• Project 218, a super PAC affiliated with the progressive American Bridge 21st Century: $1.4 million
• BDA PAC, a super PAC aligned with the moderate Blue Dog Coalition: $775,000 supporting Garcia and $475,000 opposing primary foe Galindo
• SD 2026, the super PAC behind Save Democracy 2026: $270,000 supporting Garcia, $210,000 opposing Galindo
• Longtime Texas state Sen. Judith Zaffirini , D-Laredo
• Texas personal injury attorney Adam Loewy

Experience:

• Bexar County Sheriff’s Office public information officer
• Nearly two decades at BCSO, with positions including jail guard, patrol deputy and hostage negotiator on the SWAT crisis negotiation team
• Led the Inmate Worker Program, a second-chance initiative for rehabilitation, as a corrections officer

Endorsements:

• Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
• U.S. Reps. Greg Casar, Joaquin Castro and Lloyd Doggett
• Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico
• Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar and former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg

Policy stances:

• Lower costs by ending the “Trump tariffs,” which he ties to grocery and gas prices and says are threatening San Antonio manufacturing jobs at Toyota and other plants
• Strengthen the Affordable Care Act and expand Medicaid in Texas
• Expand apprenticeships and workforce training that “pay while you learn” for skilled trades, nursing and manufacturing
• Boost local law enforcement funding, drug treatment and mental health resources, and support gun violence prevention legislation
• Ban congressional stock trading

In the news:

• Outside spending blitz defined the close of Texas’ District 35 Democratic runoff
• How Johnny Garcia rose from sheriff’s deputy to a high-profile congressional candidate
• ‘The whole enchilada’: House Speaker Mike Johnson says all eyes are on San Antonio’s new congressional district

How to contact or learn more:

info@votejohnnygarcia.com

P.O. Box 14117

San Antonio, TX 78214

— Samanta Habashy

Disclosure: Adam Loewy, Domingo Garcia, Shelby & Brooks Landgraf, Texas AFT and Texas State Teachers Association have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune within the past five years. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.

For the 72-year-old, the cost of everything — from gas and groceries to homeowners insurance and healthcare — have gone up. So it was a welcome surprise when Lindsley, a retired bookkeeper, received her tax bill last fall to find the property taxes on her home in an unincorporated part of Hays County had shrunk by more than 40%.

The chief reason: the amount in school property taxes she owed fell to $0.

“I was ecstatic,” Lindsley said. “I’m like, ‘this is the only thing in my life that’s going down.’ I can actually afford to pay.”

As Texas Republicans vow on the campaign trail to once again wage war on the state’s high property taxes, among the highest in the nation, a clear victor has already emerged: older homeowners. In the wake of additional cuts the Legislature passed last year, some 60% of Texas homeowners age 65 and up no longer pay school property taxes, the largest portion of property owners’ tax bills, according to an analysis by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt’s office.

“People have paid a lifetime of taxes,” Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who authored many of the state’s property tax cuts, said at a Senate committee hearing earlier this month. “When they finally pay zero, and they realize it’s not a mistake, it’s a great day for them.”

In recent years, state lawmakers have sent billions of dollars to school districts to drive down their tax rates, put tight limits on how much cities and counties can raise property taxes without asking voters and boosted tax breaks for homeowners. Now, nearly 2.4 million Texans no longer pay school property taxes.

Lawmakers last year boosted the state’s homestead exemption on school district taxes — or the amount of a homeowner’s primary homestead value that can’t be taxed to pay for public schools — to $140,000. Coupled with a boost in the state’s senior homestead exemption, which also applies to homeowners with qualifying disabilities, homeowners age 65 and up can get $200,000 shaved off their home’s taxable value.

Those efforts resulted in the statewide average school tax bill for general homesteads dropping by 13.6% to $896 last year, according to Bettencourt’s office. For seniors, it fell some 33% to $380. Some 40% of the state’s homeowners no longer pay property taxes, per his office’s estimates.

As Texas voters feel pressure from the rising cost of living, Texas Republicans appear eager to pursue more property tax breaks. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said last year he wants to extend the senior homestead exemption on school property taxes to people age 55 and up, while boosting the exemption offered to every homeowner. Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott has proposed eliminating school property taxes for all homeowners, which has sparked fairness questions over who will ultimately be on the hook for Texas property taxes.

Some already see the existing tax-cut scheme as unfair. Younger conservatives, in particular, have argued the state’s tax-cut hawks have focused enough on providing tax relief for older homeowners — as younger folks have struggled to buy homes in Texas — and now should focus on providing relief to other kinds of taxpayers. 

“We don’t begrudge older generations for not wanting to be taxed out of their homes,” said Derrick Wilson, chairman of the Texas Young Republican Federation. “But it does seem foundationally unfair to grant tax relief to an older generation that’s been voting for bonds and things that we still have to pay for.”

Tax policy experts on both sides of the aisle agree and view the disproportionate benefit to senior homeowners, who tend to have more wealth than younger generations, as a wealth transfer from younger Texans to older Texans. 

That transfer occurs because to pay for school property tax cuts, Texas lawmakers have used surpluses of state revenue funded by other taxes everyone else — including working-age adults struggling to make ends meet — is paying.

“There are a lot of younger people that maybe would need the relief more than those who are retired and have a lot of savings,” said Janelle Fritts, senior policy analyst with the conservative Tax Foundation’s Center for State Tax Policy.

No one whom The Texas Tribune spoke to wants to take away tax breaks for older homeowners, whose fixed incomes and lack of access to affordable housing to downsize has made it harder for them to pay for everyday expenses. 

Seniors also wield considerable political influence, giving politicians more impetus to deliver benefits to them. Lawmakers and advocates for older adults have long fretted about the possibility of taxing older adults out of their homes.

But, it’s not clear how much more in tax breaks lawmakers can pay for. Already, state budget watchers have warned that lawmakers’ overall approach to property taxes may be unsustainable amid a slower economy. State lawmakers put $51 billion toward cutting school property taxes last year — an amount they’ve committed to every two years going forward that has made even some Republicans nervous.

The population of older Texans is expected to nearly double in the coming decades, from about 3.9 million in 2020 to 7.5 million in 2050, according to population projections from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. As Texas ages, the cost of property tax breaks for older homeowners will grow even faster than breaks all homeowners receive, according to the Texas comptroller’s office.

“Nobody likes taxes,” said Spencer Banzhaf, a professor at North Carolina State University who has studied age-based property tax exemptions. “Anyone would like to get out of their taxes if they can. And I think seniors have been very successful at that in this case.”

The case for older homeowners getting breaks

The cost of virtually everything Lindsley spends money on has gone up.

Her homeowners insurance premium more than doubled because her roof is more than a decade old. She found a cheaper plan, though it was still more expensive than the rate she paid before her previous insurer raised her premium. It’s also gotten more expensive to insure her 2014 Toyota Corolla and to fill up its gas tank, and she now takes fewer errand trips to save on gas. Lindsley stopped buying beef as prices surged, but just one bag of groceries can still add up to more than $100, she said. Her health care costs, too, have grown.

Between Social Security and an annuity, Lindsley brings in about $4,400 a month. She’s able to make ends meet now, but she said she worries costs could eventually grow beyond what she’s able to comfortably afford. 

“I just hope it doesn’t get much worse,” said Lindsley, who, despite having no school property tax bill, still paid more than $1,000 in other property taxes on her $546,000 home last year.

Many seniors are on fixed incomes and rely heavily on Social Security, which often doesn’t fully cover the cost of essentials like housing, healthcare, food and transportation. They might have more wealth given higher home values, but that wealth isn’t liquid. And not everyone is able to save for retirement.

More than half of older adults in Texas live below the Elder Index, a calculation by the Gerontology Institute to measure the income older adults need to cover basic expenses. 

Of those Texans, 28% are below the federal poverty line, said Caitlin Covey, director of the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Gerontology Institute. The rest are too well off financially to qualify for additional public assistance, but not well off enough to make ends meet.

“They’re making it, but they’re making it in a really fragile set of circumstances,” Covey said.

Many Texas seniors are “cost-burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on keeping a roof over their head. Across Texas’ major urban areas, at least 30% of Texans age 65 and up are considered cost-burdened, regardless of whether they own or rent their home, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Even if they’ve paid off their mortgage, homeowners still face housing costs like utilities, property taxes and insurance. A homeowner in Travis County, for example, who has paid off their home still faces about $904 a month in those kinds of costs, according to the Elder Index. 

“Just because you own your home and it looks like you’re wealthy on paper doesn’t mean you have the cash flow to absorb” increases in other costs, Covey said.

In the past, lawmakers have argued they need to target breaks toward older homeowners to help insulate them from rising property values, which can often translate into higher tax bills, as the state has grown. Lawmakers have pitched breaks as a reward for older homeowners who have spent a lifetime paying property taxes.

To some extent, homestead exemptions as a way to cut property taxes will always benefit older people. Homeowners skew wealthier and older, so if the state only offered the general homestead exemption without an additional break for seniors, seniors will still benefit. 

In rural areas, that benefit is compounded because of lower property values. Many rural counties are seeing more than three quarters of their senior homeowners no longer paying school property taxes, owing to lower property values, according to Bettencourt’s office. Smaller but still considerable shares of older homeowners in urban and suburban counties no longer pay school property taxes.

“People who have paid property taxes in the same community for 45 years have contributed quite a bit financially,” Covey said. “Some would argue that this is giving them a break that they’ve earned, and not just giving them a break because of their age.”

Are senior tax breaks fair? 

Tax policy experts across the political spectrum note that older homeowners tend to be better off financially, and government spending at the federal level is heavily tilted toward helping seniors, so tax breaks are just a further leg up. While many seniors struggle to afford property taxes, many are wealthy enough to afford them, they argued.

“We want folks who have trouble paying their property taxes to get some sort of help,” said Shannon Halbrook, a fiscal policy expert at Every Texan, a left-leaning think tank. “But at the same time, if you can comfortably afford to pay your property taxes, then you should.”

Texas’ property tax-cut regime constitutes a generational wealth transfer because the burden of propping up the property tax cuts falls on younger generations, who are paying state sales tax that then gets passed along to older homeowners in the form of tax cuts, experts said.

More broadly, the state’s tax-cut regime has largely favored homeowners, though lawmakers have also pursued other cuts they argue also benefit businesses and renters. Policy experts fret that renters and business owners will increasingly be on the hook to pay the state’s property taxes.

“If that homestead exemption is so effective, and a lot of homeowners aren’t paying school property taxes, that means that mostly other classes of property are going to be taking up that burden, whether that’s commercial property or that’s renters,” said Fritts, the Tax Foundation analyst.

Bettencourt contests that framing, arguing that everyone pays property taxes, whether they know it or not. The cost of property taxes is baked into the cost of paying rent or a bag of groceries.

Lawmakers’ goal has often been to ensure that older Texans can remain in their homes and aren’t forced to sell and uproot from their community, leaving behind social bonds. But that comes with side effects. Research shows the more in tax cuts a homeowner receives, the less likely they’ll sell that home. That means fewer homes on the market, which drives up overall home prices, making it harder for younger would-be homebuyers to gain a foothold and find a home they can afford.

Meanwhile, seniors might be saddled with a home — and the associated costs — that no longer serves their needs.

Lindsley may sell her home sometime in the next five years, she said. It’s a two-story house with a spiral staircase, and she’s getting older, she said. It might eventually make sense for her to sell and find a one-story house or condominium in the Dallas area, closer to her family, she said.

“I’m thinking about it, but I love that house so much,” Lindsley said.

Policy experts and advocates for older adults argue city officials and state lawmakers need to legalize housing types other than single-family homes on large detached lots and large apartment buildings. That includes making it easier to build more accessory dwelling units, duplexes and smaller apartment buildings that would give seniors downsizing options. Texas lawmakers last year passed laws aimed at allowing more homes to be built, including homes on smaller lots. Abbott wants state lawmakers to make it easier to build accessory dwelling units when they convene next year. 

Allowing more housing options would enable family members or caregivers to live closer to their older relatives, said Jessica Lemann, manager of advocacy for AARP Texas. 

“There are a lot of people out there that would be happy to downsize, but they still want to stay in their community,” Lemann said. “They may be willing to leave their 2,000, 3,000 square-foot home to go to something smaller, but they don’t want to have to leave their community.”

Potential solutions

If lawmakers want to deliver more in tax breaks to seniors, there are more targeted ways to go about it that don’t depend on payors reaching a certain age, tax policy experts from both sides of the aisle said. 

Texas could enact a “circuit breaker” that essentially caps someone’s property tax bill when that bill exceeds a certain percentage of their income, regardless of whether they own or rent. That would ensure that tax relief flows to older homeowners who really need the help while also providing direct relief for older Texans who rent, something Texas’ current tax-cut approach doesn’t do.

State legislators have occasionally flirted with the idea, but abandoned it because Texas doesn’t have a way to administer the benefit — chiefly an income tax, which is used in other states that have such programs to verify a person’s income and deliver the benefit. However, some states like Washington and New Hampshire don’t have an income tax but still provide “circuit breaker” tax programs. 

Texas lawmakers have argued that renters benefit from lower school tax rates made possible by $38 billion in state spending to drive down local tax rates, but it’s unclear just how much landlords pass off those benefits to renters. 

“If you want to really focus on the folks who need tax relief the most, I think using income is a very appropriate way to do that,” Halbrook said.

As part of his reelection platform, Abbott has proposed getting rid of school property taxes for all homeowners. Some young conservatives, including Wilson, see that as a way to get rid of gaps between younger and older homeowners. But doing so would be highly expensive, detractors have noted, and would likely require the lawmakers to raise the state sales tax rate to pay for it. And under Abbott’s plan owners of other property like apartments, stores, factories and warehouses would still have to pay school property taxes.

In the meantime, homeowners aren’t going to turn down a tax cut. But some acknowledge how important their share can be to paying for services.

Steven Klinek, a Pharr homeowner, turned 65 in June and hopes to see savings on his tax bill he can use to pay for groceries and other expenses.

But Klinek, who retired from United Parcel Service in 2020, said he’s never minded paying property taxes even as his tax bill rose in previous years. Klinek cites the fact that his youngest son earned two years of college credit through the local district’s dual-credit program with South Texas College, partially funded by property taxes. That saved Klinek substantial tuition costs for his son, who’s now a senior at the University of Texas at El Paso owing to the program.

“I see what my community does with their tax dollars,” Klinek said. “I see it on paper, I see it in my pocketbook, and I see what happens to kids. So that’s why I don’t have a problem paying my property taxes.”

Disclosure: AARP Texas has been a major financial supporter of The Texas Tribune. Every Texan has been a financial supporter within the past five years. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.

In what is widely viewed as the biggest scandal in Premier League history, the independent panel determined that the United Arab Emirates-backed team committed almost all of the 115-plus violations it was accused of during a period in which City changed the landscape of the world’s most popular soccer league. That included 80 from 2009-18 for alleged financial misdeeds and another 35 from 2018-23 for allegedly not cooperating with the investigation.

City’s alleged financial wrongdoing — made possible in part through what the league said were “sham” commercial deals — was worth more than 900 million pounds ($1.19 billion). Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the ruling showed City “systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade.”

“This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history,” Masters said.

City now faces severe sanctions that could include a huge points deduction or even expulsion from the league, causing heavy reputational damage to its Abu Dhabi ownership.

The Premier League said sanctions will be decided during a separate hearing held by the independent commission at an unspecified date.

The club plans to appeal

City has always denied wrongdoing and said in a statement that it was “disappointed and surprised” by the ruling. It plans to appeal the verdict and said it would be “relentless” in its fight to clear its name, which would further drag out a case that has already run for more than three years.

Any appeal by City would have to be made by Friday, the league said.

In an internal video to City staff — obtained by broadcaster Sky News — the club's CEO, Ferran Soriano, went into detail about why he felt the verdict was wrong.

“This has gone on for so long that it is important to remind ourselves that the whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation: that the owner's personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi,” he said. “This is just not true. Irrefutable evidence has been provided to the Premier League commission that shows it could not happen and that it did not happen."

A drawn out investigation

The allegations first arose in 2018 from leaked club emails and documents, and the Premier League initiated its case more than three years ago. Tuesday’s findings come after it emerged last week that the accusations against City were expected to be upheld following an exhaustive process.

City is accused of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period from 2009-18 — a span in which it emerged from the shadow of its crosstown rival, Manchester United, won three titles and signed some of the world’s best players, including Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne.

The violations included failing to provide accurate financial information and submitting inflated figures for sponsorship deals out of Abu Dhabi, hiding payments and breaching financial rules established by the Premier League and UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, intended to keep clubs financially stable by not spending beyond their means.

On top of that, City faced many other charges of failing to cooperate with the investigation between 2018-23.

"An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period,” the league said, “and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the league’s investigation.”

Regarding the sponsorship deals, the league said: “Manchester City arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on ‘sham’ agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs.

“The club,” the league added, “filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators.”

The purpose of City's “schemes” was to “artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900 million ($1.19 billion) during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules,” the league said.

The finding suggests that City’s rise to the top of the English game, fueled by investments from Abu Dhabi that delivered by its expensively assembled, star-studded squads, was achieved at least in part by evading the league’s financial regulations.

An outpouring of anger

The panel's findings have plunged English soccer into chaos, with rival clubs calling for compensation for lost earnings and threatening to sue, and fans and even some other teams' players wondering whether City should be stripped of titles.

There’s also the question of whether City’s top stars, like Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki, will stay at the club and what the future holds for Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family who bought City in 2008 and has gone on to own a group of worldwide teams — under the City Football Group banner — including New York City FC and Melbourne City.

City has always maintained its innocence, saying in 2023 when the charges were laid that there was a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.”

Even over the weekend, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said there remained a ”confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence.”

The appeal could end up in the High Court in London if City feels the process in the case was unfair.

Melbourne City FC reaction

On Wednesday league officials in Australia said they’d wait to see how the fallout from Manchester City’s financial situation develops, believing it’s too early to raise concern around A-League club Melbourne City FC, which has been owned by the City Football Group since 2014. Since then Melbourne City has won the league in 2021 and 2025.

Australian Professional League chief executive Steve Rosich said the APL, which operates the top domestic men’s and women’s competitions, had never investigated Melbourne City regarding its financial matters.

“No it doesn’t concern us,” Rosich said. “There is further work to follow and findings to follow in the legal process, so we’ll consider that. The international football economy is intertwined, so all parties will be reviewing that.”

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The alliance could be well positioned to threaten the dominance of President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party over the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority — but only if the first national elections in 20 years actually happen, which is very much in doubt.

Abbas has said parliamentary elections will be held Nov. 28 in Gaza and the West Bank. But he has repeatedly delayed elections, most recently in 2021, when Fatah appeared headed for defeat. When Hamas won the last elections, in 2006, Israel and Western countries boycotted its government, fueling months of unrest that led to its takeover of Gaza the following year.

Islamic Jihad deputy Secretary General Mohammed al-Hindi confirmed the formation of the electoral alliance in a rare interview with The Associated Press in Istanbul on Monday. He said it would support “a unified national list” that could be made up of independent figures rather than members of the groups.

It would include a bloc led by Mohammed Dahlan, a former Fatah security chief who was exiled in 2010 after a bitter falling-out with Abbas and had previously been driven from Gaza by Hamas. Dahlan has since cultivated close ties with the UAE, where he serves as an adviser to the ruler.

The UAE was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords, and Dahlan himself has extensive contacts with U.S. and Israeli officials, making him an unlikely ally for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have fought Israel for decades. The alliance appears to be rooted in shared frustration with Abbas.

New alliance takes aim at Abbas

Abbas’ leadership of the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy over parts of the occupied West Bank, is deeply unpopular among Palestinians who see it as autocratic, corrupt and ineffective.

The 90-year-old Abbas has clung to power since his own mandate expired in 2009, while Hamas continues to control parts of Gaza three years into a brutal war with Israel.

Dimitri Diliani, spokesperson for Dahlan’s Reformist Democratic Faction, stopped short of declaring a formal alliance but confirmed the factions are assembling a list that would transcend their political differences. The Palestinian Authority under Abbas “has failed Gaza and the Palestinian people everywhere,” he said.

He said several other Palestinian groups are also part of the initiative and there are efforts to bring “all other factions and independent professionals into uniting around one national rebuilding program.”

Hamas said in August that Dahlan and Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya had met in Cairo and discussed ways to “end the monopolization of national decision-making and formulate a comprehensive national strategy.”

Hamas and Fatah officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Past attempts at Palestinian unity have failed

Al-Hindi said the decision to launch the alliance came after attempts to bring together all factions in a “dialogue for internal consensus on the overall Palestinian issue” failed to bear fruit.

There have been multiple attempts over the years to bring Hamas and Islamic Jihad into the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization, the highest body representing the Palestinian cause internationally, but all have foundered.

A main sticking point has been the PLO’s recognition of Israel. While Hamas officials have said they are willing to accept a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem — territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war — they have stopped short of recognizing Israel, while Islamic Jihad takes a harder line.

Both are considered terrorist groups by the U.S. and other Western countries, which have voiced support for Palestinian democracy over the years while rejecting any government that includes Hamas. Fatah and Hamas are the most popular factions by far, though many Palestinians are frustrated with both.

Al-Hindi said his group — which has historically not participated in elections run by the Palestinian Authority — will not directly run any candidates but will “support a national list that is agreed upon.”

Violence is ongoing in Gaza and the West Bank

The scheduled elections come at a precarious time.

In the West Bank, attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians have intensified. In Gaza, a ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 has halted the heaviest fighting, but the Israeli military has seized control of more of the territory and continued strikes, which it says are in response to threats.

More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage.

Under a U.S. plan for implementing the ceasefire, armed Palestinian groups were to give up their weapons while Israel would withdraw from the enclave. Al-Hindi said his group, along with Hamas, had agreed to the plan and blamed Israel for blocking it.

“When Israel’s obligations in the first phase (of the agreement) are achieved, we will move on to talk about the second phase, which includes the issue of weapons,” al-Hindi said.

Islamic Jihad official says Oct. 7 came as a surprise

Islamic Jihad took part in the Oct. 7 attack and held Israeli hostages, but al-Hindi said the group was not involved in planning the attack or given forewarning by Hamas. The night before, he said, Islamic Jihad members held a commemoration of the group’s founding and many stayed up late.

“In the morning, we were surprised by the media reporting what happened, but as a resistance movement, we were quick to participate in these confrontations,” he said.

With tens of thousands dead, Gaza largely reduced to rubble, and most of its population displaced, al-Hindi acknowledged that “some voices began to express doubts and say, ’What has the resistance brought down on the Palestinian people?'”

But he insisted that the Oct. 7 attack had been necessary to prevent the plight of the Palestinians from being completely sidelined as the UAE and other Arab countries had moved to normalize relations with Israel.

He also acknowledged that Iran — long a main source of support for Palestinian militant groups — is now preoccupied by the ongoing war and a U.S. economic blockade. But al-Hindi said his group will continue with or without Iranian support.

“As long as there is no political horizon to solve the Palestinian issue and attempts continue to flee from the Palestinian cause in the region, the future will be resistance,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guard urged Americans in a message ahead of U.S. midterm elections to take to the streets and rally against Donald Trump, claiming the U.S. president's war in the Middle East has failed.

Pakistan vowed to defend Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed Houthis by “whatever means,” and in the occupied West Bank, settlers rioted to prevent a Palestinian man escorted by the Israeli military from returning to his home.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Tuesday. Full coverage is available here.

US targets Iran’s military supply chain with new sanctions

The United States is targeting people and companies around the globe that it accuses of being financial facilitators or enablers of Iran’s military supply chain.

The Trump administration is pushing forward with economic warfare against Tehran at a time when renewed diplomacy between the two countries remains uncertain.

The Treasury Department action Tuesday is part of the administration’s “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign, aimed at severing “critical financial lifelines” for the already heavily sanctioned Iranian government.

Ten individuals and entities based in Iran, Hong Kong and Pakistan now face sanctions over accusations of procuring weapons and weapon components for Iran as it fights its now seven-month war against the U.S.

By Farnoush Amiri

An Iranian spokesman advises Americans to reconsider their leaders

Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said that the only way for the war in Iran to end is for Washington to admit defeat and leave.

He spoke at a news conference Tuesday in Tehran, reading from what he called a “letter to the American people.” The message was apparently meant for the U.S. public just weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections for the U.S. Senate and Congress — a vote in which Trump’s Republican Party faces fierce headwinds as it looks to maintain control of Congress.

Later, in remarks to The Associated Press, Mohebbi urged Americans to reconsider their leadership and take to the streets and protest Trump's policies to denounce what he called the U.S. government’s warmongering policies.

He accused the United States of using Iran’s nuclear program as a ruse to “plunder Iran’s wealth” and to turn the country “back into a colony.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s currency fell to a new record low Tuesday, with traders in Tehran exchanging more than 2.5 million rials to the U.S. dollar. The currency has repeatedly reached new lows since the war began in February.

Major Saudi pipeline is once again operating

A crucial oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia that was shuttered by the kingdom earlier this month after coming under attack is once again operating, a Saudi government official said.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said operations are near pre-attack levels and that the East-West pipeline should be running at full capacity within a few weeks. The kingdom relies on the pipeline to move its crude from oil processing facilities on the Gulf to ports on its western, Red Sea coast.

Saudi Arabia blamed an Iran-backed militia in Iraq for the drone attack that forced the temporary shutdown of the 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) pipeline.

Satellite imagery indicated tankers on Sunday loaded some 12.5 million barrels of oil at the Yanbu export terminal, which is supplied by the East-West Pipeline, and the nearby terminal at Al Muajjiz, the data and analytical firm Kpler said in a report.

Pakistan vows to defend Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed Houthis by ‘whatever means’

Pakistan will use “whatever means are available” to defend Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the country’s defense minister said Tuesday, offering one of Islamabad’s clearest indications yet that it could become directly involved in the widening regional conflict.

Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif declined to say whether Pakistani forces had already participated in airstrikes. He said, however, that Pakistan’s military capabilities would be available to Saudi Arabia under a new mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

“I’m not going into detail, but obviously when I say that we are bound by this arrangement to defend Saudi Arabia, that means whatever means are available at our disposal, they’ll be available to Saudi Arabia also. I think that’s a categoric statement,” Asif told reporters during a visit to Rome when asked whether Pakistan had been involved in airstrikes against Iranian operators in Yemen.

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces hit the Houthi homebase of Saada with intense airstrikes

Airstrikes by Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces on Tuesday pounded Yemen’s northwestern province of Saada. They were the most intense daily attacks on the homebase of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in recent weeks.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the government forces had launched a total of 35 airstrikes on Houthi positions in the last 24 hours.

Earlier, Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported that at least 20 airstrikes had targeted different districts in Saada alone.

Settlers block a Palestinian man from returning to his West Bank home

Over a hundred Israeli settlers scuffled with Israeli soldiers who were trying to escort a Palestinian man to his home in the West Bank village of Jalud.

The homeowner, Mahmoud Tubasi, told the AP that the soldiers initially brought him to his home but rioting settlers forced him to leave with his family in a military vehicle. He said he still can't access the house, which settlers have besieged for two months.

Israel’s military acknowledged that the overnight mission to return the family “was not completed” and said three officers were injured by settlers who threw rocks, blocked roads and set Palestinian property on fire.

Israeli police said they arrested three settlers suspected of participating in the riot, which was condemned by Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gidon Saar and President Isaac Herzog.

The Israeli military has struggled to quell the latest wave of settler violence. Rights groups have accused the military of colluding with the settlers.

Four killed in separate Israeli airstrikes, Hamas commander dead

Israeli strikes Tuesday in the Gaza Strip killed four people, including a Hamas commander, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.

A strike early Tuesday on an apartment west of Gaza City killed two people and wounded five others, officials at Shifa Hospital said.

Israel said the overnight strike targeted Izz al-Din Bik, a commander in the Hamas militant group. Israel Defense Forces said Bik was involved in plotting attacks and recruiting new members. Hamas released a statement confirming the death of al-Bik, claiming he was one of the main overseers of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, which killed over 1,200 people.

On Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli airstrike in the Jabaliya refugee camp north of the Gaza Strip killed one and injured several others, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. A separate strike at around the same time east of Gaza City killed another, officials at Shifa Hospital said.

Israel’s military did not immediately respond for comment on the afternoon strikes.

The deaths were the latest since a ceasefire took effect nearly a year ago.

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, or PMI, climbed to 50.1 from 49.8 in August, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The index reading, based on an official monthly survey of companies, was in line with what economists had expected.

PMI is measured on a scale of between 0 and 100 and a reading above 50 reflects an expansion.

Several subindexes remained in expansion territory. The subindex on production rose to 51.7 from 50.4 in August. The subindex on new orders was at 50.5, down slightly from 50.6, while new export orders eased to 50.0 from 50.1.

A separate private survey, the RatingDog PMI, also showed China’s manufacturing PMI advanced to 52.1 in September from 51.5 in August, indicating improvements in the manufacturing sector.

Wednesday’s reports came ahead of China’s weeklong October national holiday in which domestic consumption and spending are closely watched by policymakers.

They also followed new key measures announced in China on Tuesday to support its economy, including new subsidies for Chinese homebuyers’ mortgage interest payments.

China’s economy has been under growing pressure of a slowdown as domestic demand and investment remained sluggish, in part hit by weaknesses in the property sector, even as the global artificial intelligence boom has buoyed Chinese exports of high-tech goods.

“Manufacturing has been a relative strength this year, though it has mostly been driven by external demand as domestic consumption and investment lag,” Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING Bank, wrote in a commentary.

Some economists believe China is on track to surpass last year’s record $1.2 trillion trade surplus. Recent improvements in U.S.-China relationships, including a two-month extension of a trade truce between the two superpowers until January, are likely to help improve bilateral trade.

Polo had struck the Mexican state of Baja California Sur in the morning with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph). It crossed the Gulf of California and weakened to become a tropical storm as it moved inland to the northeast.

By Tuesday evening, the New Mexico Department of Transportation reported flooded roads and debris on highways across the state, while parts of Arizona had become especially drenched, leading to several water rescues.

That is after storms rolled through parts of the U.S. Southwest overnight Monday, saturating the ground, which can make flooding worse.

Later in the week, the flood risk is expected to move into parts of the central U.S., according to the National Weather Service.

Southwest US sees heavy rains and floods

Bands of rain continued to sweep across the U.S. Southwest, causing desert rivers to surge and usually dry arroyos to rage with floodwater.

The potential failure of the dam in south central New Mexico prompted evacuations in three small communities with hundreds of residents along the Rio Grande. People in Rincon, Salem and Garfield were told to seek higher ground immediately “before conditions worsen.” Residents were later told to evacuate from nearby Hatch, home to prized green chile crops, and farther north in Placitas.

Wide swaths of the U.S. Southwest were under flood watches as the complex system of tropical weather spread northeast from Mexico, with Polo as the main event.

“Definitely looking at the chances for urban flooding,” weather service meteorologist Carter Greulich in Albuquerque said. “Don’t drive through flooded roadways. Remain out of the arroyos, especially in our urban areas.”

A person stranded on top of a vehicle in floodwaters west of Phoenix was rescued Tuesday morning. Video taken by Arizona Fire and Medical Services showed a helicopter lowering a rescuer to a person clinging to their overturned car. And in Zion National Park, in Utah, a helicopter rescued three people in Heaps Canyon after flash flooding hit.

North of Phoenix, a truck was swept away in a wash. The driver got out safely, Maricopa County sheriff’s officials said.

The rocky, desert area typically gets less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain annually with little vegetation to soak it up, making flash flooding a perpetual risk.

The Bureau of Land Management in Arizona also reported significant flooding and damage to access roads in a national conservation area and a sand dunes recreation area in the southeastern part of the state.

Back in Utah, the East Fork of the Virgin River near Zion raged with chocolate floodwater and a shipping container floated downstream.

In the small town of Orderville, Utah, where flooding began Monday night, Sabrina Dubay was driving home when her partner called and told her to stay away.

“The river came in and swept around the entirety of our house,” Dubay said.

A camper, snowmobile trailer, and other items from Dubay’s yard were swept away by the river. Neighbors and friends arrived to dig a trench around the house as the water rose around their home.

“It was coming in through our front doors,” she said.

An unusually soggy September across the region set the stage: When the ground is saturated, rainfall has nowhere to go but run off.

“Runoff is likely going to start much quicker and lead to those flooding impacts quicker,” Greulich said.

By late Tuesday, rain had started in parts of the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles. Parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa were under flood watches, with flooding possible through at least Thursday.

Baja California residents were ‘lucky’

Hurricane Polo pummeled Baja California Sur with powerful winds and rain as it made landfall.

After Polo passed over the small fishing town of Puerto San Carlos on the Baja California peninsula, residents waded among downed trees through ankle-high water that flooded some homes. Seeing their roughened community largely intact brought relief to those who had prepared for the worst.

Shopkeeper Elbia María Bachomo, 40, picked through furniture strewn through her home. She and her three children had gathered their clothes quickly and left for a shelter Monday as water began flooding into their home. Her husband was out on the water fishing for sardines when Polo hit. Bachomo said he was fortunate to escape alive.

“I thought, ‘Oh no, what are we going to come back to? We will be left with nothing.’ But we were lucky,” she said.

Hundreds of people were in shelters Tuesday in Baja California Sur, but they were expected to return to their homes.

Meanwhile, the hurricane center reported Tropical Storm Rachel was moving parallel to Mexico’s coast Tuesday and was expected to become a hurricane soon. The storm was about 300 miles (482.8 kilometers) west-southwest of Lazaro Cardenos with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (112.6 kph). It was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

In the central Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Nolo was starting to slow Tuesday but still threatened dangerous conditions for parts of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a marine conservation area. The storm moved northward after drenching parts of the Big Island over the weekend.

Pacific storm activity has been above average this year. That is consistent with El Niño years.

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Hill reported from Las Vegas and Brown reported from Billings, Montana. Martin Silva Rey and Eduardo Verdugo in Puerto San Carlos, Mexico, Megan Janetsky in Mexico City, Hallie Golden in Seattle, Julie Walker in New York, Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colorado, Mikella Schuettler in Phoenix, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Eugene Garcia and Gregory Bull in Hilo, Hawaii, contributed to this report.

Cam Schlittler pitched another playoff gem against the Red Sox, and Ben Rice also burned their hometown team with a late grand slam and six RBIs as the New York Yankees opened this Wild Card Series rematch by romping to a 9-0 victory Tuesday night.

With the Yankees minus star slugger Aaron Judge because of a calf injury, Rice homered twice, doubled and had four hits to power the offense. Schlittler, a clear frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award, struck out 10 in a dominant performance reminiscent of the one that ended Boston's season last year.

Rice and Schlittler were both raised among Red Sox fans in Massachusetts and went to college in New England before getting plucked by the Yankees out of Boston's backyard in baseball's amateur draft.

“Pretty remarkable,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously that’s been a storyline for a couple of years now. For them to go out and have that kind of night together to start this postseason, pretty amazing and kind of hard to grasp a little bit, frankly, but I’m certainly glad we have those two.”

Rice was actually a Yankees fan while growing up outside Boston.

“Wearing the Yankees jersey to the first-grade picture day probably got some weird looks,” he said.

“Definitely adds, like, a cool little layer to it, and for Cam, too. It’s always fun playing against them. And having a solid game against them is pretty cool.”

No. 9 batter Austin Wells drove in two runs and 21-year-old rookie George Lombard Jr. had three hits for New York in his postseason debut.

Schlittler, who led the American League with a 1.95 ERA, allowed only two singles and one walk in 6 1/3 innings without letting a runner reach second base. He threw 117 pitches — 10 more than his previous career high and most by a Yankees postseason starter since Hall of Fame lefty CC Sabathia threw 121 in the 2012 AL Division Series against Baltimore.

“I got a little greedy,” Boone said.

The major league high this season was 120 by Dylan Cease for Toronto at Boston in July.

The 25-year-old Schlittler retired 13 straight batters before a two-out walk in the fifth, bringing several chants of “MVP! MVP!” from the sellout crowd of 48,437 in the Bronx. He walked off the mound to a standing ovation after yielding a one-out single in the seventh, and Paul Blackburn promptly got Ceddanne Rafaela to ground into an inning-ending double play that preserved a 2-0 lead.

New York outhit Boston 12-3 in the fifth postseason shutout since 2002 for the Yankees, who led the majors in ERA this year for the first time since 1957.

Game 2 in the best-of-three series at Yankee Stadium is Wednesday night, when a victory would send New York into a best-of-five Division Series against AL East champion Tampa Bay.

Going into this postseason, Game 1 winners had advanced 15 times in the 16 best-of-three Wild Card Series since the format was implemented in 2022. The only exception was the Red Sox last year.

Boston and New York have split six previous postseason matchups. The Yankees took last year’s Wild Card Series between the longtime rivals on the strength of Schlittler’s dominant performance in Game 3, when the rookie struck out 12 over eight innings in a 4-0 win.

Schlittler has said he received on-line abuse before some of his outings against Boston. He’s used it as motivation.

The right-hander is 4-1 with a 0.47 ERA and 49 strikeouts in six career starts against the Red Sox — including the playoffs.

“It's very well known that if you want to be a legend, which is obviously the goal, you’ve got to do it in the postseason,” Schlittler said.

Rice gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead with a 423-foot solo homer into Monument Park in straightaway center field on the third pitch from left-handed reliever Erik Miller, who replaced Payton Tolle with two outs in the fifth after the rookie starter threw 83 pitches.

The 27-year-old Rice added a run-scoring single with the bases loaded in the seventh and a grand slam to right-center that capped a five-run eighth.

The 16th slam in Yankees postseason history gave Rice six RBIs, matching the franchise record for a postseason game accomplished by four other players.

Rice also homered in Game 2 of last year's Wild Card Series. He led New York with 41 homers, 97 RBIs and an .897 OPS this year in his third major league season.

“I’ll remember getting a W versus the Red Sox. There’s nothing better than that,” Rice said. “I’ll remember Cam going out there and just being lights out, like he always is. I’ll remember the atmosphere. It was just an awesome night. Great way to kick off the series.”

Up next

Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray (18-5, 2.72 ERA) faces one of his former teams Wednesday night when he makes his seventh postseason start and first since 2023 with Minnesota.

LHP Max Fried (5-5, 2.80 ERA) pitches for New York. The three-time All-Star was limited to 20 starts this season because of two stints on the injured list with a bruised left elbow. He threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the Wild Card Series opener last year.

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Large swaths of seats, especially in the upper deck, sat empty while right-hander AJ Blumbaugh delivered the game’s first pitch at 4:10 p.m. The bottom two levels were much fuller than the upper deck, but many seats in the lower two decks were also empty.

The announced attendance was 34,011, in a park with a capacity of 40,963.

All those empty seats are a rare sight in a stadium that is normally packed for the postseason. And some of the fans that did show up weren’t too happy with the performance of the home team with boos raining down on the Astros in the first and second innings as they fell behind 3-0.

“It’s extremely frustrating as a home player,” first baseman Christian Walker told The Athletic. “We’re here, playing at home; we need cheers. We need energy. We don’t need boos. What purpose does that serve in that moment? Whatever fans are feeling, we’re feeling it tenfold. We’re the ones out there. We’re the ones in the fight. We worked our butts off this whole season to put ourselves in this spot, and for guys to get booed, it’s frustrating.”

Reliever Bennett Sousa was subjected to some boos after spiking two breaking pitches in the seventh inning.

“This team has laid a lot on the line to be in this position to give the fans a playoff game — a playoff series," Sousa told The Athletic. “We want their support.”

Major League Baseball has previously had trouble filling stadiums for some afternoon games in the wild-card round. When Cleveland hosted Detroit last year, the series opener started at 1:08 p.m. with 26,186 in attendance. All three games in that series were played in front of fewer than 30,000 fans. The Tampa Bay Rays drew just 19,704 for an ALWCS opener against Texas in 2023 that started at 3:08 p.m., the lowest attendance for a non-COVID MLB postseason game since the 1919 World Series.

Houston returned to the playoffs after missing out last year despite finishing 81-81. It's the first time a team made the postseason without a winning record in a non-shortened season.

The Astros averaged 30,519 fans per game during the regular season, which ranked 14th in the majors.

Houston fought through an injury-plagued season to reach the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years. The Astros reached the American League Championship Series seven straight times from 2017-23 and advanced to the World Series four times, winning championships in 2017 and 2022.

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Discussion

At 500 PM AST (2100 UTC), the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Fay was located near latitude 23.7 North, longitude 48.2 West. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the west-southwest near 12 mph (19 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days.

Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast, and Fay is forecast to dissipate in a day or so.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1011 mb (29.86 inches).

Watches and Warnings

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Land Hazards

None.

The incident could further inflame tensions between the Koreas, which have no working military hotlines or other emergency communications channels as North Korea hardens its stance toward Seoul while expanding its military nuclear program.

Three South Korean soldiers were injured in two explosions on Sept. 21 near the military demarcation line in the western section of the Demilitarized Zone, a heavily fortified border buffer zone between the Koreas that's commonly known as the DMZ.

The statement by Kim Yo Jong came after South Korea’s military on Monday announced a preliminary assessment that the blasts were caused by North Korean mines following a joint inspection of the site with the U.S.-led United Nations Command.

UN Command says North Korea violated armistice agreement

The South Korean joint chiefs said South Korean and U.N. investigators discovered another North Korean mine Tuesday during a follow-up inspection. The U.N. Command said Wednesday that North Korea had violated the armistice agreement that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. The agreement prohibits both sides from committing any hostile act “within, from, or against” the DMZ and bans military or civilian personnel from crossing the military demarcation line without authorization from the armistice commission.

The U.N. Command said it was addressing the violation through established mechanisms but didn’t elaborate.

Kang Hyunwoo, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff’s director of operations, said the military “strongly urges” North Korea to apologize for the blasts and take “responsible measures” to prevent a recurrence. South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said the South would consider unspecified “corresponding measures” if a complete investigation confirms the North was responsible.

Kim calls Seoul's claims a ‘farce’

Kim Yo Jong, who is considered possibly the second most powerful figure in Pyongyang, called the South Korean assessment a “conspiratorial farce,” accusing Seoul of making groundless claims to create a pretext for provocation against the North.

North Korea in recent years has added mines, anti-tank barriers and other front-line fortifications, raising concerns in the South about the growing presence of North Korean soldiers near the border. Kim criticized the South for broadcasting warnings and firing warning shots at North Korean troops conducting front-line fortification work, insisting “our soldiers have never crossed the border.”

“If the (South Korean) military gangsters fire at our soldiers carrying on the permanent project for the southern border, not warning shots, our border units will take immediate and merciless retaliatory action,” she said.

The recent explosions, which took place about 10 meters (yards) south of the military demarcation line, came during an operation to establish a patrol route through a densely vegetated area. The route was intended to allow future inspections with the U.N. Command after South Korea since last year detected “terrain changes” that may have resulted from North Korean minelaying.

The DMZ is a 248-kilometer (155-mile) strip and one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders, with an estimated 2 million land mines, barbed-wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides.

In August 2015, another spate of land mine blasts that maimed two South Korean soldiers and sharply raised tensions between the Koreas.

The Koreas then traded threats, staged weapons demonstrations and resumed border propaganda broadcasts before days of marathon talks eventually pulled them back from the brink. North Korea issued a vague expression of regret over the soldiers’ injuries at the time but has never clearly accepted responsibility.

With the Red Sox trailing after losing the opener of the best-of-three Wild Card Series against the Yankees 9-0, Gray will face a fan base on Wednesday night that gave him the Bronx brush-off in 2017 and 2018.

“There’s a lot of people and a lot of players that can have one bump in the road and not get back on the tracks,” he said Tuesday. “And for me, there’s been bumps along the way and that may have been a little bit of a bigger bump than others.”

Approaching his 37th birthday, Gray tied for the major league lead with 18 wins this year along with a 2.72 ERA, his best in a full season. He took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning against the Yankees at Fenway Park in June as the Red Sox completed a four-game sweep that sparked their turnaround from a 32-46 start to an 87-75 record and a playoff berth.

Gray has pitched at Yankee Stadium twice since leaving the team and done well both times. Most recently, he pitched three-run ball over 6 1/3 innings in Boston’s 5-3 win in the Bronx on June 5.

“He’s had a great career, and someone who I was never super comfortable facing,” Red Sox teammate Trevor Story said. “He’s a pitcher to its finest degree.”

Gray reached a nadir in New York before rebounding. He's been an All-Star twice since and has 143 wins over 14 seasons.

“Anytime he’s out there, we feel good about it," Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. “But having him out there tomorrow, obviously the season’s on the line for us, and he can handle that.”

He was 15-16 with a 4.52 ERA for the Yankees, who acquired him from Oakland in July 2017. He notoriously was dropped from the rotation in August 2018 after he smirked when fans booed as he walked off the Yankee Stadium mound in the third inning of a 7-5 loss to Baltimore.

Gray had a 6.98 ERA at Yankee Stadium in 2018 and a 3.17 ERA on the road.

“It’s kind of like one of those things that you have a snowball or whatever, right?” Gray said. “There’s a snowball that kind of starts rolling down a hill. If you don’t ever stop it, then the snowball just gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and it picks up traction and it just gets more snow. And it just continues to go down this thing. And then the bigger the snowball gets, the harder it is to stop it or take a step back.

"And for me, it just took me to get away and get myself into a different environment and then reflect on those things.”

Pitching for Cincinnati (2019-21), Minnesota (2022-23) and St. Louis (2024-25) revived his career. Then he was traded to the Red Sox last November, putting him in position to pitch for the Yankees' biggest rival.

"New York was, it just wasn’t a good situation for me, wasn’t a great setup for me and my family,” he said during a December Zoom news conference. “I never wanted to go there in the first place.”

Now he'll be back, trying to outpitch the Yankees' Max Fried and extend the first-round series to a decisive third game.

“I do know that playing here made me a stronger person, made me a better man, a better husband," he said. “Ultimately, it made me a better pitcher, a better baseball player.”

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“My independence will always be paramount,” said Raman, a city council member who is trying to oust her fellow Democrat, Mayor Karen Bass. If elected, “My focus will be on what I believe is best for Angelenos.”

Her comments came during a forum co-hosted by the Jewish Federation Los Angeles at a time when the party has been deeply divided over the war in Gaza and aid to Israel. Raman also faced questions about her interview with progressive commentator Hasan Piker last spring in which she responded “I do, yes,” when asked by Piker if she believed Israel had committed genocide. In contrast, when Bass was asked whether using genocide was appropriate, she said, “No, I don’t.”

Raman defended her appearance with the Piker, saying it was important to connect with voters across the political spectrum “who might not see you in other places,” such as TV news programs. She said she recognized genocide is “a deeply painful word” but said she was compelled to speak out after seeing images of "the targeting of hospitals, the deaths of children,” prompting murmurs in the audience.

Raman and Bass fielded questions separately on stage on issues from homelessness to police staffing, with mail ballots heading to homes in early October. Voters are weighing whether to stick with the unpopular incumbent or turn to the little-known city council member as the city contends with a housing shortage and the long-running homeless crisis with the 2028 Olympics on the horizon.

The contest has raised the possibility that the nation’s second most populous city could follow New York’s lead, where democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor, capping a stunning ascent for the far-left state lawmaker who promised to transform city government to restore power to the working class. Yet in LA, no celebrity swirl has gathered around Raman in her first run for citywide office.

Raman — who is backed by DSA's Los Angeles chapter — noted that the group had been critical of her approach to housing and some of her votes on policing matters. "I've proven myself to be an independent voice," she said.

Appearing before a heavily Jewish audience, both candidates promised to use the post to work against antisemitism.

Bass speaks about deadly wildfire

Bass, the first Black woman to hold the post, is fighting to keep her job after a rough first term in which she suffered sustained fallout from the deadly Palisades Fire, the most destructive in Los Angeles history that ignited when she was out of the country. In June, a fire east of downtown in a massive frozen-food warehouse left neighbors to endure weeks of foul smells and frustration.

Bass reflected on her travails during the Palisades fire, saying that not being in the city was “very, very painful.”

She called it “one of the worst moments I have experienced,” adding later, “Lesson learned.”

Raman, who endorsed Bass before reversing course and entering the race herself, is testing if voters in the heavily Democratic city want to move further to the political left to address long-running problems of homelessness, buckled streets and climbing rent and home prices. She's railed against “the broken status quo.”

The race earlier garnered national attention for the candidacy of Spencer Pratt, a Republican who starred on “The Hills” and had lost his home in the Palisades Fire. His campaign was lifted by videos that supporters generated with artificial intelligence, though he failed to qualify for the November election.

In a city known to shrug at local politics, the race to take charge at City Hall has been overshadowed by ongoing turmoil in Washington, the fight for Congress, two wars, anxiety over inflation and the Los Angeles Dodgers gearing up for another playoff run.

After the fires, “There are a bunch of people who don’t want to vote for Karen (Bass) and they are wrestling with what to do,” said veteran Democratic strategist Bill Carrick. As a council member, Raman is not widely known and “the decibel level of this campaign is unbelievably low.”

The fall campaign has been lowkey

With mail ballots scheduled to arrive at homes in early October, typical markers of election season — yard signs, TV ads, billboards and bumper stickers — are rarely seen. Data compiled by AdImpact shows the campaigns have spent or booked only a sprinkle of airtime and digital messaging so far through Election Day.

Bass took office in 2022 promising to contend with an out-of-control homeless crisis, but the problem remains in plain view in most neighborhoods. Figures released in July showed homelessness increased over the previous year, after taking a dip. Bass faulted the Trump administration for cuts and policies “that pushed more people onto the streets.”

During her time in office, the city has weathered federal immigration raids and witnessed a continuing exit of Hollywood jobs, while residents complain about dirty, crumbling streets and homeless encampments.

Raman, who could be the first South Asian woman in the job, says that while City Hall has favored powerful insiders, “working people pay the price in higher rents, depleted services and a city that has stopped working for them.” She has promised to speed up housing construction, bring back entertainment industry jobs and improve services in a city known for an unresponsive City Hall.

One of the unknowns in the race is where Pratt's supporters will go, if they vote at all. Pratt finished with about 25% of the vote, several points behind Raman. He's continued to criticize both candidates on social media.

“Truly the Dumb and Dumber election. So sad for LA. Dark times ahead, folks,” he recently posted on X.

Nancy Ninette Mutoni said Burundi would accept only people who were not facing prosecution and had no links to terrorism. She spoke during an event attended by government officials in Ngozi.

Mutoni did not say when the deportees would arrive or how many people Burundi had agreed to receive. She said preparations were underway to provide accommodations and help the deportees live in local communities.

“Receiving them requires serious planning — where they will stay, what they will eat and how they will live alongside the local population,” Mutoni said.

The Trump administration has expanded third-country deportations as part of its immigration crackdown, sending people to countries where they are not citizens and may never have lived. The United States has sent deportees to several African countries, including Eswatini and South Sudan.

A U.S. appeals court ruling last week threw the program into question. Lawyers for immigrants said a flight carrying about 70 people had been scheduled to travel from Louisiana to Burundi, Rwanda and the Central African Republic but was canceled.

The ruling did not prohibit third-country deportations but required that people facing removal have a meaningful opportunity to raise concerns about possible persecution or torture. The Trump administration has defended the policy as necessary when deportees’ home countries refuse to accept them.

With Republicans struggling to overcome President Donald Trump's low standing, Democrats are on the offensive in Republican strongholds like Texas and Florida, and even eyeing contests in deeper-red Kansas and Mississippi. Many Democratic leaders predict that the House majority is all but theirs, and that the Senate majority, almost unthinkable a year ago, is nearly in their grasp as well.

In the midst of such confidence, however, Democrats are ignoring glaring vulnerabilities that threaten to undermine the unstoppable blue wave they say is coming.

Look no further than swing-state New Hampshire, where Democratic leaders are sounding the alarm about political challenges that could jeopardize Rep. Chris Pappas' campaign for an open Senate seat and undermine the party's ability to win races around the country.

Democrats point to Republicans' overwhelming financial advantage that is allowing them to dominate the airwaves in the closing days of the campaign. At the same time, the Democrats' brand remains deeply unpopular, and they have virtually no margin for error in midterm races that are playing out largely in Republican-leaning states.

New Hampshire Democratic Chairman Ray Buckley says that national Democratic leaders “have consistently been overly optimistic” as they look to expand the midterm map. He's particularly worried about his state's Senate contest, where Republicans are investing far more resources than Democrats.

“There is reason for concern,” Buckley said. “We don’t want to let this one slip away because they were sending resources to some other unicorns — some other state that’s just not possible.”

Despite such warnings, there is little sign of concern among senior Democratic officials, who point to Trump's poor standing with voters who are frustrated by the war with Iran and surging costs with Republicans in control of Washington.

“It’s nothing we’re doing. We’re winning because they’re losing," said Democratic pollster John Anzalone. “And they’re losing dramatically with every action the president has taken.”

There is almost no state where Democrats cannot compete in November, he said: “America is the battleground state.”

Democrats are short on cash and goodwill

For all the Democrats' confidence, the party's brand remains deeply unpopular and fundraising is lagging.

More than half of voters, 55%, have a “strongly” or “somewhat” unfavorable view of the Democrats, according to a Fox News poll from September. A similar share, 58%, say the same about the Republican Party, while about 6 in 10 voters have a negative view of Trump (62%).

At the same time, about half of registered voters say the Democratic Party is “too far to the left,” according to a recent New York Times/Siena poll.

As the election approaches, few Democratic leaders acknowledge there is a problem.

In an interview, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., pointed the finger at Republicans when asked about issues with the Democratic brand.

“We’ve made a much better case than them, and that’s why it looks like we’re going to win a bunch of House seats and probably win back the Senate,” Kelly said. “Right now, I think the Republican brand is the one that’s damaged.”

And yet Democrats are struggling to keep up with Republican fundraising.

Flush with campaign cash, Republicans are dominating the airwaves over the final weeks of the campaign. There isn’t a single state that features a top-tier Senate contest in which Democrats are spending more than Republicans.

Nationwide, Republicans are spending $1.63 billion on campaign advertising between Sept. 1 and Election Day compared to $1.19 billion for Democrats, according to data compiled by AdImpact as of Monday. The Republican advantage, nearly 40% nationwide, is actually larger in some key states.

In Texas, for example, which features competitive races for the Senate, House and governor, Republicans are spending $262.4 million statewide between Sept. 1 and Election Day compared to $76.9 million for Democrats, AdImpact found. In Ohio, which also hosts pivotal elections for Senate and governor, Republicans are outspending Democrats $258.8 million to $160.4 million. And in Florida, which features competitive races for governor and the House, Republicans are spending $99.3 million against the Democrats’ $47.9 million.

The Republican advantage isn’t as egregious in New Hampshire as some other states, but it is significant. AdImpact finds that Republicans are outspending Democrats in New Hampshire $41.2 million to $35.4 million statewide.

Pappas, the Democrat in the New Hampshire Senate race, acknowledged the Republican spending advantage and warned that his state must remain a priority for his national party.

“The majority won’t be flipped if we don’t hold this seat in New Hampshire, so it’s really critical to the overall map,” he said during a campaign stop.

Democrats

face ‘an identity crisis’

Pappas met on Tuesday with small business owners, including Amber Morgan, who owns Fortin Gage Flowers in Nashua. She said the uncertainty created by the Trump administration’s tariffs have been hard for her business.

But Morgan, a Democrat, is not surprised that New Hampshire's Senate race is close, given that Republicans are running the well-known former Sen. John E. Sununu. She said the Democratic Party has its faults as well.

“I think that the message for so long has just been, ‘We’re not Trump,’ and we’ve had a bit of an identity crisis in terms of what we actually stand for," Morgan said.

She is not alone.

Nationwide, the NYT/Siena poll found that about 6 in 10 registered voters who identify as Democrats say their party is divided, while only about 4 in 10 Republicans (37%) say the same about the GOP. Roughly 6 in 10 Republicans (61%) describe their party as united, compared to about 4 in 10 Democrats (40%).

But money remains the Democrats' dominant concern as the Republican spending advantage grows.

Steve Marchand, a Democratic consultant and former New Hampshire gubernatorial candidate, said Sununu has benefited from national money that got redirected from other states that are no longer seen as top targets, while Democrats were slower to invest.

“Democrats, including Pappas, became increasingly frustrated that national Democrats treated it like a fait accompli, like ‘you guys have it up there, we’re going to other states,'" Marchand said. "And a lot of us Democrats were saying, ’Hey, Sununu is going to be formidable, and New Hampshire is not a right-down-the-ticket kind of state.'”

Fred Osterholtz, a sales engineer at one of the businesses Pappas visited, said he’s worried about the huge amounts of money being poured into the race on Sununu’s behalf as well. But he was impressed with Pappas' focus.

“I think he’s starting to find some of the messages that will resonate," Osterholtz said. "I didn’t feel that way six months ago, but with the world stage the way it is — the costs, the inflation — they’re latching onto the right things I think.”

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Peoples reported from New York and Sloan reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed.

Now he's one of several candidates locked in a tougher race than originally envisioned as Republican-run states heeded Trump's call to begin an unusual round of redistricting to help retain control of the U.S. House.

Republicans hoped to pick up as many as nine seats between Texas and Florida. However, even though the districts were redrawn to make them easier to win, the party remains weighed down by dissatisfaction with Trump, the economy, the war with Iran and the president's deportation agenda.

The political landscape remains competitive enough that Vice President JD Vance is traveling to Texas on Wednesday, where he'll appear with Flores, and then visit Florida on Thursday.

House Democrats' national campaign chair, Rep. Suzan DelBene, recently circulated through Florida districts that Republicans were hoping to claim for themselves.

“Republicans arrogantly thought they were going to redistrict seats to pick up more,” DelBene said in an interview during her trip. “Instead, what they have is people across the state souring on the Republican agenda.”

Mike Marinella, House Republicans’ campaign spokesman, said the party can still capitalize this year “with a more favorable map, historic fundraising and spending advantages, stronger candidates and a common-sense agenda.”

House seats are up for grabs in Texas

Republicans won 25 of Texas’ 38 seats in the U.S. House as Trump returned to power two years ago. Partially using that election as a baseline, the redrawn map was intended to help Republicans win up to 30 seats.

Key to this plan was the Rio Grande Valley, a heavily Latino region on the southern tip of Texas, which had shifted toward Trump.

Texas’ 34th Congressional District, where Flores is running, includes some of the valley, and it opted for Trump by 10 points over Democrat Kamala Harris. But Flores said he expected his race to be close, which he credits to his opponent's five terms in office.

Flores received Trump's endorsement, still pinned to his X account, and spoke at his unusual midterm convention in Dallas. But he also removed from his website a promise to “SUPPORT PRESIDENT TRUMP’S AGENDA" as he looked toward general election voters and widening his base of support.

“If I tell them the red meat issues or I tell them, you know, oh, Republican, Democrat, or anything like that, you lose them,” he told The Associated Press. “I just sell them myself, sell them what I stand for.”

Republicans in Washington acknowledge that inflation, Trump's tariffs and the war in Iran have made their path harder. Latino voters’ discontent with Trump’s immigration agenda further scrambles their efforts.

Republicans are also facing the potential loss of an incumbent who represents a redrawn district. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who is running for a third term, faces a strong challenge from musician Bobby Pulido. A Latin Grammy winner whose top song on Spotify has 619 million streams, Pulido doesn’t face the usual first-time candidates’ challenge of establishing name ID.

“I want a picture!” Eloise Ibarra, 42, exclaimed as Pulido walked through the crowd at a high school football game. Ibarra later said she'd “probably” vote for Pulido after sitting out the last presidential race.

“I don’t really like his policies,” she said about Trump. “It’s very expensive, I go to the grocery store and buy $50 worth of stuff and it’s like five items.”

Democrats argue that Republicans miscalculated this year.

“I think Republicans counted on Hispanics, and they counted on rural Texas, to deliver votes for them, and these are the two places that are hurting the most,” said Terri Burke of the Texas Democratic Party. Speaking of redistricting, she said, "this is really no longer such a slam dunk for the Republicans anywhere.”

Democrats see opportunity in Florida

Republicans already had 20 out of 28 seats in Florida, and they wanted to boost that to 24 with their new congressional map. But much like in Texas, their plan was based on 2024 results, when voters, including many Latinos, were dissatisfied with Democratic President Joe Biden on the economy and immigration.

Republicans targeted Rep. Kathy Castor in metro Tampa and Rep. Darren Soto in the Orlando area, while putting south Florida Reps. Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz into the same district.

Moskowitz shifted to a nearby Republican-leaning district, and Wasserman Schultz ran for another term in a separate, heavily Democratic district. Castor and Soto face longer odds in their redrawn districts, though DelBene believes they have a shot in the current environment.

The new map didn’t stop Pia Dandiya, an Ivy League-educated school principal whose parents immigrated from India, from mounting her first House campaign for Congress.

She’s running in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, where Trump won by double digits in 2024 and where Republicans had hoped to pit Moskowitz against Wasserman Schultz.

But Dandiya notes that Biden outpaced Trump in the same collection of precincts in 2020, and she calls herself “a happy road warrior” as she travels 150-plus miles between campaign stops.

“The way this district has been drawn just shows yet again that we are living in a world where elected officials are choosing voters instead of voters choosing elected officials, and it should never be that way,” she said. DelBene and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee tapped her as one of their “Red to Blue” priority candidates.

Dandiya said voters' current circumstances matter more than how they voted two years ago.

“Cost of living is not an issue that is exclusively impacting Democrats. It is an issue that is ubiquitous,” she said, adding that she hears the same concerns even in her district's more conservative communities.

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Barrow reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Atlanta.

San Antonio’s District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan filed a council consideration request (CCR) almost a year ago to have city staff look into the impact data centers have on city resources and look at the possibility of requiring data centers to use recycled water.

Water is used to cool down the industrial servers that data centers use for extended periods of time.

Water is also used to produce power for the facilities.

KSAT attempted to speak to Galvan about the recycled water proposal, but his office sent a statement.

In it, Galvan said he wants to keep data centers from using any drinking water, and in order for a mandate on recycled water usage by data centers can move forward, San Antonio Water System (SAWS) must adopt a policy first, specifically outlining that that is what data centers must do.

Donovan Burton, the senior vice president of water resources and governmental relations for SAWS, said when talking about data centers in the city, there must be a distinction made between existing data centers and future AI data centers and their water consumption.

He said 23 of the existing data centers in the city account for a very small amount of the water pulled from the city’s water supply.

“The existing data centers are very small (and have a) very, very small footprint. In fact, they’re using about .1% of our potable water supply,” Burton said.

He said it is the future AI data centers that could potentially use a lot more water, and added SAWS’ Recycled Water Network could help data centers comply if the recycled water use became an official requirement.

“Our Recycle Water Network has been in place for over 20 years,” he said.

He explained that it is 130 miles of purple pipeline that specifically carries recycled water that is used and paid for by contracted, non-residential customers.

“The recycle water programs, after (water) has been used, we treat it and put it into a purple pipe network that goes around ... a good portion of the entire city,” Burton said. “That network then takes it from three different plants, and we can move water back and forth.”

SAWS headquarters, CPS Energy, Toyota, the San Antonio Zoo and the River Walk are among the multiple big entities and attractions that are connected in part or entirely to SAWS’ Recycled Water Network, and you can tell by the designated purple pipes present on or near the respective properties.

Burton said if a recycled water use restriction is implemented, data center owners would have to choose to obtain a permit from SAWS and enter into a contract for a specific amount of water to connect to the purple pipeline.

But he shared there is another option data centers have that can be a conservative measure.

“Some of them are going to a closed loop (water) system, which will end up using a lot less water,” Burton said.

An internet search on what a closed loop water system is yielded a general definition, describing how data center use the same water or a cooling liquid through sealed pipes to absorb heat and as it moves along the pipe path it removes heat from servers over and over again without pulling in or using fresh water.

Until further notice, Burton said SAWS will continue its forward strategy.

“It’s a matter of making sure that that works for all future customers, not just a very few one or two or five data centers or anything else,” he said.

In the statement sent to KSAT, Galvan said he asked SAWS leadership to come up with a possible plan to move forward with the water usage restriction for new data centers.

The statement went on to say he is interested in hearing from SAWS this week as to whether or not the board has made any movement on the proposal over the summer.

Jonquel Jones had 21 points and 13 rebounds and the No. 8 seed Liberty beat the top-seeded Lynx 87-71 in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series Tuesday night. New York became the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the league’s 30-year history.

The WNBA has undergone a number of different playoff formats. And in many of the formats, it wasn’t possible for those seeds to match up. However, in 2022 the league changed to the current format in which the top eight teams play in the quarterfinals.

“It feels good, we understand who we are as a team,” Jones said. “We're not listening to outside noise, we understand that we can do a lot of great things. We feel like we can play with anybody and beat anybody. That’s the mindset we have moving forward. It feels good to make history. It had to be done for us to advance. It’s nice to say it’s been accomplished, but we have a lot of work to do."

Breanna Stewart added 21 points and Sabrina Ionescu had 18 for the Liberty, who await the winner of the Atlanta-Washington series. The Dream are up 1-0 and play at Washington on Wednesday night. The semifinals begin Sunday.

A year after losing in the first round to Phoenix after going up 1-0 in that series, New York was determined not to have that happen again.

The Liberty were up five points after one quarter and led 40-35 with 2:39 left in the half. New York scored nine of the final 11 points in the second quarter to go up 49-37 at the break.

New York was up 52-39 with 6:26 left in the third when Stewart drove to the basket and was hit in the face by Olivia Miles as she tried to block the shot. Stewart was down for a minute as the officials reviewed the play and upgraded the play to a Flagrant-1 foul.

As Stewart walked off the court, she raised her hands to the sellout crowd of 17,593, who serenaded her with M-V-P! chants. Stewart hit both free throws.

Minnesota couldn't get closer than seven points the rest of the way.

“New York is a great basketball team,” said Courtney Williams, who led Minnesota with 18 points. “You dig a hole for yourself and try to get out of it. We wanted to go on a run, but they had answers for everything.”

The Lynx's season ended in disappointment again. The Lynx had the best regular-season record, but just couldn't put it together against New York. On Monday, Cheryl Reeve won the league's Coach of the Year and Miles was a unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year.

Miles struggled in both games against New York. She had five points, missing seven of her eight shots in 17 minutes, on Tuesday night. The Liberty's size and ability to protect the rim bothered the stellar first-year player.

Reeve said she offered encouragement to her star rookie after the game.

“As I told her. When was the last time a rookie led the first place team? Never happened before,” Reeve said. “That's what we shared with her. This hurts for her.”

Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride each added 14 to for the Lynx.

___

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

The 1,476 people being sent back are among 5,000 Myanmar nationals who will be repatriated in stages from Malaysia, where 10,388 Myanmar nationals were being held at immigration detention depots nationwide as of Aug. 15, according to Malaysia’s Home Ministry.

Buses believed to be carrying Myanmar returnees arrived at a stadium in Manjung town in Malaysia’s central Perak state early Tuesday, amid tight security. Ships believed to be from Myanmar were docked at the nearby Lumut naval base.

Home Ministry official Makhzan Mahyuddin was quoted by national Bernama news agency as saying the returnees included 1,370 men, 79 women, 20 boys and seven girls, and were aged between eight and 60.

The ministry said they would be sent back safely on two Myanmar navy warships and a hospital ship. It is unclear if any of the returnees were minority Muslim Rohingya, who are rejected by the Myanmar government. The ministry didn't provide further details of their identities and circumstances, but stressed that their return was voluntary, although this wasn't verified by any party.

“This move also sends a clear signal that the government is serious about addressing irregular migration and the issue of undocumented foreign nationals through law enforcement, repatriation and more systematic management and data collection,” the ministry said in a statement.

Many refugees in Malaysia come from Myanmar's Rohingya minority

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and rights groups slammed the repatriation, saying the security and humanitarian situation in parts of Myanmar remains volatile and returnees could face serious risks such as persecution and forced military conscription in an active war zone.

Myanmar is involved in an armed conflict and political instability following the military’s seizure of power in 2021.

Malaysia is home to about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, including about 126,000 Rohingya who make up one of Southeast Asia’s largest refugee communities. Despite hosting them, Malaysia is not a party to the U.N. Refugee Convention and treats refugees as undocumented migrants.

The government recently launched a system to register refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia and to build a biometric database, as it seeks to manage and regulate the population independently from the UNHCR.

Rohingya have faced growing public hostility in Malaysia due to their growing numbers, fueled by concerns over jobs, public services and security.

Malaysia says Myanmar must accept the refugees' return

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has defended the repatriation policy as a diplomatic effort to find a long-term solution, saying Malaysia cannot host refugees indefinitely and Myanmar must take responsibility for its citizens.

Anwar said he plans to invite Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing to Malaysia to discuss the long-running refugee and undocumented migrant issue that has dragged on for decades.

“I am inviting him to say that we can be friends and trade, we can accept Myanmar, but Myanmar must accept them back,” he said in a podcast posted online Sept. 16. “To me, that’s better diplomacy than just shouting angrily at Myanmar.”

The Burmese Rohingya Organization UK, based in London, slammed plans to negotiate with the junta.

"Anwar Ibrahim is making a deal with the devil. Refugees’ lives are being used as currency in a deal with the same military responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,” said the group's president Tun Khin.

Myanmar Foreign Ministry official Han Win Aung has said the plan follows repatriation operations in 2021 and 2022, when Myanmar received more than 1,100 of its nationals stranded in Malaysia.

He said the repatriation involves genuine citizens and is not about bringing back the Rohingya people, who are not recognized as an ethnic group in Myanmar and denied citizenship.

Malaysia's Home Ministry said in the statement that subsequent repatriations would proceed once identity verification, documentation, logistics and operational coordination between the two countries are finalized.

Two advocacy groups, Amnesty International and Asylum Access, in a joint statement urged the government to halt repatriations, saying the government's new system must not be used to fast-track unlawful deportations. Rights groups have also urged the government to restore the UNHCR’s access to detention centers to screen vulnerable refugees.

Maria Salazar, who lives on the city’s West Side, said the storm left her neighborhood looking like “a war zone” after trees were uprooted and fell through her roof.

Weeks later, Salazar is still waiting for repairs to be completed. She said she hopes the work will be finished within the next few weeks, barring any setbacks.

With more rain in the forecast, Salazar said her first concern was whether the unfinished portions of her home could withstand the weather.

Her carpenter told her the repairs should be able to handle the rain, but Salazar said she remains nervous, particularly because of a tree near her home.

“My neighbor has a tree; I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said.

The latest storm threat is expected to be driven more by heavy, widespread rain than destructive winds, according to KSAT’s Weather Authority. The rainfall could create a risk for flooding in parts of the area.

For Salazar, the possibility of more rain brings back memories of the damage she experienced last month.

“I’m hoping we don’t get any water, but I have PTSD, so I have towels ready and candles going,” she said.

Salazar said the storm uprooted trees that fell onto her home and caused significant damage. The repairs have cost her more than $16,000, not including cosmetic improvements.

She is now focused on protecting what she can, including items with sentimental value that remain inside the damaged portion of her home.

Among those belongings are her daughter’s quinceañera items from about 15 years ago, along with photographs and photo albums.

Because the damaged area is not safe to enter, Salazar said she cannot retrieve the belongings unless she can reach them from outside.

With another storm approaching, she is considering getting a tarp to help protect the area.

Read also:

• Gov. Greg Abbott discusses how Texas will prepare for this week’s flood threat
• How school districts plan for inclement weather during athletic events

Earn-a-Bike serves children ages 7 to 12 and is offered at four locations, through six programs, across San Antonio. Two programs are held at University Health’s Vida location, while two others are hosted at the YMCA Najim on Roosevelt and another two are held at SAISD schools.

The programs at University Health Vida and at the YMCA are free to the community, while the programs at Irving Dual Language and Mission Academy are exclusive to students who attend those schools.

The program is one of the community partnerships supported through University Health’s Institute for Public Health.

“It’s an incentive-based program to help educate youth between ages 7 and 12 on health and wellness and being active,” Trish Menchaca, Earn-a-Bike’s program manager, said.

Menchaca said the program is designed to keep children engaged while teaching them about their health and environment.

Each week, participants attend a lesson focused on topics such as nutrition, mental health, physical health, bike safety, air quality and more. The children also receive healthy snacks and take part in activities connected to the lesson.

“We have experts in their field teaching diabetes prevention, teaching air quality,” Menchaca said. “There is a lot of need for some type of inclusion of activities for kids after school that is free and available.”

For parent Jake Lemeron, the program offers his children a chance to learn about healthier choices in a setting that is accessible to families. One of his children has already completed the program, and his 7-year-old is now participating.

“We want them to learn more about healthy habits,” Lemeron said. “In this day and age, we do eat a lot of fast food and everything, so they might think that’s the normal, so we want them to understand that there’s other options out there.”

The program being completely free is a major factor for families participating.

“For us, having it free, it’s the difference between doing it or not doing it,” he said.

The need for programs like Earn-a-Bike is underscored by University Health’s 2023 South Bexar County Community Health Needs Assessment. The report found that south Bexar County faces higher poverty rates along with lower food access, less accredited childcare capacity, fewer healthcare providers, lower insurance rates and less broadband access than Bexar County overall.

The assessment also found that residents identified food security and exercise, affordable healthcare, finances, education and housing stability as key community priorities.

University Health said its Institute for Public Health is using the findings to guide partnerships with community organizations. The goal is to make it easier for nonprofits and other groups to reach residents in areas with the greatest needs.

Earn-a-Bike’s final incentive is designed to keep children active beyond the classroom. At the end of the program, each participant earns a bicycle, helmet, light and lock.

The children do not simply receive the bicycles, they build them with help from volunteer mechanics, learning how the parts work and how to care for the bikes.

“When they get their bike, they build it from scratch,” Menchaca said. “It comes out of the box, and a mechanic comes and works with them, and they build every screw, tire, brakes, everything. So, it’s that sense of ownership that really gets them excited and motivated to use their bike.”

This year, 90 children are expected to receive free bikes. About 100 volunteer mechanics and community members are expected to help the children build them before their first group ride through the Mission area on Oct. 24 at the YMCA on Roosevelt.

“That’s a great motivation for the child to want to show up every week,” Lemeron said.

Organizers said they are looking for additional community partners and volunteers as they work to expand access to the program across San Antonio and, eventually, south Bexar County.

Read also:

• New pre-school opens for far West Side families
• Boys & Girls Club says East Side clubhouse will remain open; up to $350K in TIRZ money secured
• Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides $500,000 to UTSA pediatric cancer research group

Kimberley Winn said she first started noticing problems within the last year. Her home was built in 2021.

The floor is uneven enough that visitors have tripped, she said.

“I started noticing when people were coming over and they were walking, their shoe would get stuck and they would trip. It started out with one or two places and now as you can see it’s the whole floor,” Winn said.

She said she also has a shower that isn’t draining properly, and doors that became so misaligned she had to hire someone to fix them so they would close.

“I had to have someone come in, and they had to readjust the frame because I couldn’t get it to lock. I couldn’t get the deadbolt to lock anymore,” she said.

Winn said she asked for her floor to be sealed and was told it could not be done.

“I had asked them to come out and seal my floor, but they said that was impossible with all the shifting,” she said.

The work across the street is part of a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) project, with Jordan Foster Construction serving as the subcontractor. Whether that work has anything to do with the problems at Winn’s home has not been determined.

“I feel like someone should be held responsible for the money and damages to my house. The house is not old and we’re looking at several thousands of dollars of damages,” Winn said.

Winn said she has documented the changes, taken pictures and hired an attorney. After trying to get answers herself, she reached out to KSAT.

While a crew was at her home, the project manager for Jordan Foster Construction walked over and asked what was going on, then connected KSAT with the company’s risk and safety team. She said that in cases like this, the company would send a third party to Winn’s home to help determine what is happening and who, if anyone, is responsible for the damage.

Read also:

• ‘Driving on I-35 is absolutely terrifying’: San Antonio drivers say highway debris is a constant hazard
• 6 breaks in 6 years: Clay soils make NW Side street a challenging environment for water mains, SAWS says

The Southern California theme park said it is permanently shuttering the ride after nearly 20 years. Six Flags recently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022, and three more lawsuits alleging traumatic brain injuries were filed last week.

“While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do,” park President Brian Oerding said in an online announcement. “Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously.”

The ride has been closed since the evening of July 12, after two women who rode the coaster less than a week apart both needed to be rushed to the hospital after they exited.

One of them, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, collapsed shortly after the ride ended and was found to have massive brain bleeding inside her skull that required emergency brain surgery. She remains in a vegetative state in the hospital, unable to speak or move and dependent on a ventilator. Her family filed a lawsuit against Six Flags on her behalf.

Her attorneys said more than 100 people have claimed they got brain injuries from the roller coaster in the past two years and that the closure of X2 would not keep them from continuing to file lawsuits.

“Closing the ride protects future guests, and we welcome that. But it does nothing for the people who have already been hurt,” attorney Gary Dordick said. “Six Flags must now take responsibility for them.”

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health opened an investigation into the ride after the July incidents and said it remains ongoing.

According to the Six Flags Magic Mountain website, the X2 roller coaster reaches a top speed of 76 mph (122 kph) and has a total length of 3,610 feet (1,100 meters). The seats rotate 360 degrees “so your body will be flipping around the entire time,” and the ride features two “raven turns” — half loops that turn into sheer drops midway.

It debuted at the park in 2002 under the name X as the world’s first “fourth-dimension” roller coaster and reopened in 2008 as X2 with new trains and special effects. The uniqueness of the ride drew thrill-seekers from around the world and garnered a fervent fanbase.

The park settled a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old who died the day after he rode X2. He was taken to the hospital after the ride with severe brain bleeding. The medical examiner’s office said his death was from blunt head trauma. The case was settled at the end of August, a few days before the trial was scheduled to start.

The nonprofit running the longstanding contest announced that the bear, known for his pacifist nature, was the winner Tuesday with more than 100,000 votes, giving him a close win over Bear 910 with just over 50% of the poll.

The contest, which is in its 12th year, celebrates the resilience of the 2,200 brown bears that live in the preserve on the Alaska Peninsula, which extends from the state’s southwest corner toward the Aleutian Islands. Fat Bear Week was started in 2014 as an interactive way to inform the public about brown bears, the coastal cousins of grizzlies.

Last year’s winner, Chunk — known officially as Bear 32 — clinched his victory at an estimated 1,200 pounds. He was handily defeated in the first round of competition this year by Bucky, who went on to lose a faceoff against Backpack, known officially as Bear 89.

The event this year featured 16 bears vying for the heavyweight title in a single-elimination, bracket-style tournament. All voting is done online at www.fatbearweek.org, and the winner was declared Tuesday evening after the final poll closed. The public could watch the bears on explore.org’s livestream cameras before deciding on their favorite.

“Fat bears are successful bears,” the nonprofit says on its website. This group gorges itself on the abundant salmon that return to the Brooks River starting in late June. It's there that they can stuff themselves to accumulate the fat reserves they will need to survive the winter. To be featured in the contest, the bears must frequent the area around the river.

Backpack is the son of former Fat Bear Week champion Holly, who introduced him to the Brooks River when he was a first-year cub in 2006. His name was inspired by his habit of climbing onto his mother’s back when they swam the river. This year’s fans cheered on Backpack in the contest’s Instagram comments, noting his lineage and reputation as a gentle giant.

“Unlike many large adult male bears, Backpack hasn’t shown much aggression toward his competitors,” his contestant profile reads.

Backpack uses his “quiet strength” rather than brawling and is often seen in wildlife cameras sitting on a rock downstream, appearing to take in the scenery around him.

He defeated Bear 910, who is also the daughter of a former champion: 409 Beadnose.

Adult male brown bears typically weigh 600 to 900 pounds (about 270 to 410 kilograms) in midsummer. By the time they are ready to hibernate after feasting on migrating and spawning salmon, large males can weigh well over 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms). Females are about one-third smaller. The bears may each eat as many as 30 fish a day this time of year, working hard to eat a year’s worth of food in about six months.

During winter hibernation, the bears do not eat or drink and can lose one-third of their body weight.

Fat Bear Week's contestants also included five bear families, in recognition of the record high number of families and cubs at the river this summer. A mother must feed and protect her cubs while also eating enough calories to sustain herself through hibernation. Cubs often face the risk of attack by other bears due to territorialism or food scarcity.

Bear 132 and her three spring cubs advanced to the semifinals, but lost out to Bear 910.

Bear 132 has become one of the largest and most experienced mother bears at Brooks River, according to her contestant profile. In mid-July, one of her cubs became separated from the family for several days, wandering the river corridor alone. They were reunited a few days later. ___

Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle contributed from Dallas.

• WEDNESDAY: Warm with spotty afternoon storms (40%)
• THURSDAY & THURSDAY NIGHT: Highest chance for rain (90%)
• • RAINFALL: 2-5″ possible, however, isolated spots could see 8+"
  • • RISKS: Street, creek, river flooding
• FRIDAY & WEEKEND: Lingering rain at times, but it will be lighter in nature

FORECAST

FLOOD WATCH

An upper level low, the remnants of Hurricane Polo, and a slow-moving cool front will bring beneficial rain to Texas, but will come with the risk for pockets of flooding.

Many Texans, including San Antonio, are under a Flood Watch until Friday. Remember: A “watch” means the ingredients for flooding are there, and we need to be alert until the Watch is discontinued. If you get a flood “warning” that is more serious, and means that flooding is happening or will begin soon.

Here’s what you need to know:

WEDNESDAY

While there could be some storms nearer to the Rio Grande, San Antonio will be mostly quiet -- except for the afternoon hours. Tomorrow afternoon, there will be a few spotty storms (40%). Some could be strong, so we’ll monitor carefully.

THURSDAY & THURSDAY NIGHT

The front will slowly make its way toward San Antonio on Thursday, with storms almost a sure bet by Thursday afternoon. Heavy rainfall and street flooding is a risk. Abundant moisture and training of storms could create isolated rainfall of 8″+ somewhere across South Central Texas. However, most will see beneficial rain totals in the 1-4″ range.

If you happen to get a bullseye of 6″+, street and creek flooding is likely. Be careful on the roads Thursday! We’re on standby to see how the rain impacts after-school activities.

FRIDAY (10/2) -- RAIN LIKELY, BUT NOT AS INTENSE

The front should slowly move south and east, pushing the threat for the heaviest rainfall south of San Antonio on Friday. However, showers and a storm or two is still possible during the day on Friday

THIS WEEKEND -- LIGHTER RAIN, LOWER CHANCES

Lighter rainfall is expected over the weekend, before chances come to an end early next week. Temperatures will benefit from the rain and give us a decent cool down. Next week, humidity will drop and it will actually feel like fall!

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.

Police confirmed Tuesday that no explosives were found in three vans linked to the suspects, and said the decision to grant bail was grounded in “experience and strategy."

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday he was surprised that the five young British men who were arrested Sunday on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offenses near the RAF Fairford base were freed a day later.

“I wouldn’t have done that,” Trump said.

The base has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including this year’s war with Iran. Counterterror detectives have said they were investigating “multiple lines of inquiry,” including whether the suspects had a link to Iran. Iran has denied involvement.

The head of U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing, Laurence Taylor, stressed that the suspects — all British nationals in their 20s — face stringent conditions and “absolutely remain under investigation.”

“Now I understand why this development was surprising to some, but I would like to reiterate that this is an investigative decision, and one which is grounded in experience and strategy,” he said.

Taylor said people’s concerns about the incident were being “heightened by the international commentary that we are seeing.”

In an interview with Fox News, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the case "clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” but did not name a specific country or give more details.

“I know a lot of people are disturbed by the news that some of these people have been released on bail, as some of the people are being investigated,” he added.

Police found no explosives in suspicious vehicles

A police cordon remained in place around three vans found close to the Fairford base on Tuesday, as armed police and counterterrorism officers continued to examine the scene.

A local farmer said she called police after seeing the vans blocking a road near the air base as she drove home in the early hours of Sunday. She said she came across a group of men, some with their faces covered, nearby, and that the men ran away when they saw her vehicle.

Earlier, army bomb-disposal experts used a robot to examine the vans. Taylor said “a quantity of petrol was recovered” from the vans, but no explosives.

Officials hint at possible Iran role

Taylor, the counterterror police chief, said lines of inquiry include whether the suspected offenses were committed by “proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.”

Investigators haven't concluded whether the incident was state-backed or what the motive was, but authorities have strongly hinted that Iran is possibly involved. They are also investigating a possible link to Russia or non-state militant groups. RAF Fairford has also been the focus of protests by anti-war campaigners.

Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said the U.K. “shouldn’t be cowed by saber rattling from Iran,” adding that “the Iranian regime is one that wishes harm to our country, our allies, and the freedom and democracy that we enjoy.”

The Iranian embassy denied the country's involvement in the suspected plot.

Iran and allied militant groups have been accused of plotting or carrying out attacks on U.S., British and Jewish targets in the past, allegedly acting through local proxies while denying responsibility.

The air base houses the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and is a forward operating location for the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command. Fairford was used during the 1990 Gulf War, the 2003 Iraq war and the U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran this year.

British officials have said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states, including Iran, increased by 50% in the six months to December 2025.

Questions about possible security or intelligence failures

It was unclear whether the arrested men had been on the security services' radars. Local residents described seeing heightened security around RAF Fairford in recent days, with heavy vehicles parked across entrance gates.

Trump said the suspects were detained following cooperation between the U.S. and Britain, and had been “under view” for some time. Police, however, said the arrests were triggered by a late-night call about the suspicious vehicles near the base.

The farmer who called the police, who didn't want to be named, alleged that her call to police may have foiled the suspected plot. She added that several hours passed between her call and when police “suddenly decided to evacuate people” in the area.

“But meanwhile, those vans were right in the middle of the village next to everyone’s houses and no one did anything,” she said.

Streeting, the defense secretary, said Monday that the farmer only had a “partial picture” of the operation.

Local lawmaker Roz Savage said there was “anger and anxiety” from residents, especially those who were evacuated from their homes and still haven’t been able to return.

“I have so many questions right now, more questions than answers," she said in a video message on X. “This should not have been allowed to happen.”

___

Associated Press photographer Grant reported from Fairford, England.

The White Sox, in the postseason for the first time since 2021, made a remarkable turnaround this year to become the only team in major league history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth. They had lost 100 games three straight seasons, including 121 defeats in 2024, setting the record for most losses since 1899.

“We came here to win the series and the first part of that is getting this first win, which is great,” manager Will Venable said.

He added that he was impressed with the poise his young team showed.

“A bunch of young guys that haven’t been in this situation before, they didn’t back down at all,” he said. “So really good stuff to come out and have an early win.”

The White Sox got a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, prior to the game and got to work immediately to show off for the pontiff.

They led 3-0 after two innings and held on for their first playoff win since Oct. 10, 2021 in the ALDS against Houston.

The AL West-winning Astros eked out a playoff spot with an 81-81 record to become the first team to reach the postseason without a winning record. Houston lost its eighth straight home playoff game in its ninth trip to the postseason in the last 10 years.

Game 2 in the best-of-three series is Wednesday in Houston.

Manager Joe Espada is confident his team will respond Wednesday to force a Game 3.

“Our backs have been against the corner before and I think that’s when we are our best, when we fight back,” he said. “We know it’s a do or die and we’ve been here before, so I really admire how they bounce back and they react to challenges. I expect them to go out there and bounce back and our offense to get going.”

MVP-favorite Yordan Alvarez said they're ready for the challenge.

“Tomorrow we have to come out here and win or there’s no tomorrow after that,” he said in Spanish through a translator.

Houston had runners on first and third with two outs in the eighth after singles by Jeremy Peña and Alvarez when Jose Altuve reached and Peña scored on an error by third baseman Miguel Vargas to cut the lead to 6-3.

The Astros' tough day came in front of a surprisingly thin crowd. The announced attendance was 34,011 in a park with a capacity of 40,963. The home fans peppered the team with some boos when it fell behind early.

Both teams went with a bullpen game and combined to use 13 pitchers. Chicago opened with rookie left-hander Hagen Smith, and he allowed two hits in three scoreless innings.

“It was cool just to get the opportunity to go out there and do that,” he said. “And, yeah, just try to go out there and compete the best I can for the team and give us the best chance to win.”

Houston’s rookie opener AJ Blubaugh gave up two walks, and an error by Christian Walker left runners on first and third with one out in the first. The White Sox took an early lead on a sacrifice fly by Murakami.

Bryan King plunked Montgomery to load the bases with no outs in the second before Antonacci’s single pushed the lead to 3-0.

Espada said having to use two pitchers so early made piecing together the game difficult.

“It puts you in a tough spot for sure,” he said.

Montgomery, who Venable dropped to ninth in the order Tuesday, opened the fourth with a 432-foot homer to straightaway center field to make it 4-0. He hit 31 home runs in the regular season but also set the single-season record with 227 strikeouts.

Chicago made it 5-0 on a bases-loaded RBI single by Chase Meidroth with one out in the fifth.

Pinch-hitter Nelson Velázquez hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 5-2 with two outs in the fifth.

The White Sox tacked on another run on a wild pitch by Bennett Sousa in the seventh.

Up next

Ace Hunter Brown (6-4, 3.19 ERA) will start Game 2 as the Astros try to avoid elimination against RHP Sean Burke (11-7, 3.34 ERA).

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

The mayor said the approaching weather, unlike an extreme weather event a couple of weeks ago, was not a surprise, so the focus is on proactive messaging. She urged residents to stay off the roads, heed alerts and prepare with charged devices, flashlights and batteries. She said CPS Energy and city staff are working to keep communications ahead of the storm.

On the proposed SAWS rate increase, Jones said she will support it. She said some of the system’s pipes are more than 100 years old and that delayed projects should not be delayed further because costs rise over time. Single projects, such as a wastewater treatment plant, can cost more than $200 million, she said. She said the risks of failure include unsafe drinking water and fines from regulators, and that the SAWS team worked to keep the increase as small as possible.

Asked about Methodist Hospital’s push to become a Level II trauma center, the mayor said she sees it as a win for the community. She said Brooke Army Medical Center remains important to the military medical training mission, and that the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC) is devising an approach that would preserve sufficient throughput for that training while Methodist pursues its certification. She said she does not see negative effects for BAMC based on what is known now.

Jones also encouraged residents to check their voter registration status and said anyone on the suspense list should call Bexar County Elections to correct an address issue rather than wait.

The registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 5. Early voting begins Oct. 19, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

Watch the full interview in the video player above.

Read also:

• 50K Bexar County voter registrations in backlog. 159,000 voters on suspense list. Here’s what you need to know.

“I'm particularly grateful to the men and women of the Oakland Police Department ... for achieving substantial compliance,” San Francisco judge William Orrick said. “May it ever be thus.”

The police department made national news in 2000 after a rookie officer came forward to report abuse of power by a group of officers known as the Oakland “Riders.” The four officers were charged with making false arrests, planting evidence, using excessive force, falsifying police reports and assaulting people in west Oakland, a predominantly Black area. Three of the officers were acquitted after two separate juries deadlocked on most of the charges. The fourth officer is a fugitive and is believed to have fled the country.

The case resulted in the department coming under federal oversight in 2003 and being required to enact dozens of reform measures and report its progress to an outside monitor and a federal judge. That same year, the city of about 400,000 people settled a class-action police abuse lawsuit involving 119 people for $11 million.

The Oakland Police Department has had constant leadership turnover over the years. In 2023, police chief LeRonne Armstrong was fired after a probe found that he covered up officer misconduct. The current chief, James Beere, took office in July, making him the 16th head of the department over two decades of federal oversight.

The department’s federal monitor in May issued a report saying that the Oakland Police Department had complied with all 51 court-mandated reforms stemming from the 2000 police brutality and corruption case.

“This is the first time in 23 years that OPD has achieved each of the 51 tasks in the (settlement agreement.) No one can say, ‘mission accomplished.’ But I do congratulate the city and OPD for getting this far,” Orrick said during a hearing in May.

Some civil rights organizations had asked Orrick to delay releasing the department from federal oversight for at least a year after court-appointed monitor Robert S. Warshaw said in a progress report this month that he had found that the Oakland Police Department had again fallen below the threshold for timely investigations into severe misconduct violations.

But Orrick noted Tuesday it was important for the court to “get out of the way.”

While plaintiff attorneys at the hearing noted the department fell short of completing 85% of its serious misconduct investigations within 180 days, they did not oppose the ending of federal oversight.

Oakland Police Chief Beere acknowledged those cases to the judge, explaining that many were complex officer-involved shootings.

“We did slip a little bit,” said Beere, KTVU reported. “But we own our mistakes.”

The Oakland police union said the decision was an “important new beginning” for the department and reflects years of hard work by officers.

“The next chapter for the City and OPD must be about recruiting officers, rebuilding staffing levels and giving the men and women of OPD the resources they need to keep Oakland safe,” said Cesar Leyva, interim president of the Oakland Police Officers Association.

Civil rights attorney John Burris reflected at the hearing on the progress made over the past two decades and the importance of continuing that progress under the leadership of the city of Oakland.

“For me, it’s not today that’s important, it’s tomorrow … whether or not what’s been put in place here stands the test of time,” Burris said.

Some local groups urged the importance of strengthening civilian oversight of the police department through the Oakland Police Commission, established by voters in 2016.

“We need more independent oversight, more transparency, and more accountability, not less,” said Cat Brooks, executive director of the Anti Police-Terror Project.

The Sept. 9 letter was addressed to White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and the team said it arrived at Chicago's Rate Field on Tuesday ahead of Game 1 of its AL Wild Card Series against the Astros.

The White Sox won Game 1 of the best-of-three series 6-3.

Leo is a White Sox fan dating to his days growing up in Chicago. He was known as Robert Prevost or Father Bob when he went to the World Series opener 21 years ago, a 5-3 White Sox victory over the Astros.

“The Pope having our back and supporting us means a lot," White Sox manager Will Venable said.

The pontiff began his note by thanking Reinsdorf for the letter he sent after the team paid tribute to Leo during an Aug. 11 game against Cincinnati.

“It is my hope that the White Sox will continue to foster bonds of friendship and solidarity among people, and thus bear hopeful witness to the possibility of living and working together in peace,” Leo wrote.

“With these sentiments, I willingly invoke the Almighty's abundant blessings upon you and your loved ones.”

The White Sox earned an AL wild card this year by finishing with an 84-78 record. They lost at least 101 games in each of the previous three seasons.

Asked recently if he had a hand in the team's surprising turnaround, the smiling pontiff responded “No comment.”

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

The contradiction isn’t lost on UN Women, the agency facing an uphill struggle pressing for the rights of women and girls — and for women to be at the top in international organizations, governments, business, technology and the escalating debate over artificial intelligence.

According to the U.N. agency’s recent “gender snapshot,” at the current rate of progress it will take 171 years to achieve gender equality, a U.N. goal initially set for 2015 and then moved to 2030. Other findings are also grim: Nearly one in three women globally have experienced sexual violence. Nearly one in five girls is married before age 18. And at the pace of the last five years, gender parity in parliament won’t be reached until 2089.

After years of upward movement, women’s political leadership is also losing momentum, with six in seven countries still led by men.

Sarah Hendriks, a high-ranking official in UN Women, said the just-ended annual gathering of world leaders in the U.N. General Assembly hall “very much reflected a male-dominated world, both in terms of representation as well as content.”

She welcomed the “disproportionate reinforcement” of the potential for a woman to be the next U.N. chief, which she said cut across regions of the world and political divides, and was “energizing.”

“This is not just a question simply of symbolism,” she told The Associated Press. “It’s a question of whether the U.N. actually reflects the equality it asks the world to uphold.”

“We can’t ask governments to dismantle barriers to women’s leadership while accepting those barriers in its own institutions,” she said. “We can’t tell companies to break glass ceilings while the U.N. leaves our own ceilings intact.”

Lots of talk about women and opportunity, but what is the reality?

During the weeklong high-level meeting that ended Monday, Hendriks said leaders said women “must have an equal opportunity to hold the most powerful positions in the world including this one – and, in fact, especially this one.”

Among those speaking out was East Timor’s President José Ramos-Horta, co-winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. He said that after more than 80 years, “we ought to have enough wisdom and elect a woman with unquestionable integrity." And Botswana's president, Duma Boko, lamented “an unfinished chapter in the history of this organization” — that after eight decades “the United Nations has yet to be led by a woman as secretary-general.”

There are currently seven candidates to replace Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose second five-year term ends Dec. 31. The slate consists of four women and three men; former Chilean president Michele Bachelet dropped out.

Two women – U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica and Guyana’s U.N. ambassador, Caroline Rodrigues Birkett, topped the latest straw poll in the 15-member Security Council, on Tuesday with U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi a close third. Grynspan had 10 “encourage” votes and three “discourage” votes, while Rodrigues-Birkett had six “discourage” votes and Grossi had seven, according to two diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity because the poll was private. Some diplomats said the results could encourage new candidates.

By tradition, the job of secretary-general rotates by region; this is Latin America’s turn, though there are two African contenders. While the General Assembly has the final say, decision-making rests with the five veto-wielding members on the Security Council — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France. They have been mum about their choices, though Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday that Grynspan and Rodrigues-Birkett “meet the criteria."

‘When women lead, peace agreements last longer’

Hendriks, UN Women’s director of policy, programs and its intergovernmental division, said the choice, for her, is really about the kind of multilateralism the United Nations wants for the next 80 years.

During the high-level meeting, she said there was a reduction in the focus on gender equality in speeches by the U.N.’s 193 member nations. Leaders spoke extensively about conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere; about peace and security; about U.N. reform; and, in some cases, about climate change, development, finance, and artificial intelligence. “But gender equality was much less prominent as a political priority.”

Hendriks said the gender dimension of the technological transformation taking place today, including the use of AI, received far less attention. She called this a serious concern because “if we build a future of technology without women,” inequality will be embedded. Right now, she said, women hold only 22% of the AI professional positions globally and only 14% of leadership positions, “but nobody was talking about that.”

Still, there were some champions. Liberian President Joseph Boakai told the assembly that “gender equality is essential. When women lead, peace agreements last longer, economies grow faster and government becomes more accountable.”

In his farewell “state of the world” speech opening the meeting, Guterres called gender inequality the most universal form of inequality.

“Everywhere, women and girls continue to face discrimination, violence, exclusion and abuse,” he said. “Around the world, their rights are being rolled back. Their voices silenced. Their bodies turned into battlegrounds. And their freedoms treated as bargaining chips.”

Calling this “a profound waste for humanity,” the U.N. chief said women make peace more durable, economies more dynamic and institutions more effective.

Over his 10 years as secretary-general, Guterres said the United Nations has achieved gender parity for the first time in its history in its senior leadership and all headquarters and professional staff.

“Equality is not a dream. It is a decision,” he said. “If the United Nations can change, so can governments. So can parliaments. So can businesses. So can peace processes. And so can this General Assembly.”

___

Edith M. Lederer has covered international affairs for The Associated Press for more than a half century.

“I think I’m seeing tremendous self-policing. And they understand that they have to self-police,” Trump told reporters during an impromptu press conference outside the West Wing.

Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson met with leading executives from top tech firms that are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build out AI infrastructure, including data centers in communities across the country, which have sparked grassroots, bipartisan opposition.

The accord was signed by Trump, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Elon Musk, founder of xAI, which is now part of SpaceX.

The accord, which Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social, late Tuesday, opened the door to future regulation but focused on four voluntary steps for the companies to take.

The accord said the companies would implement “robust internal controls,” partner with an “independent external auditor” to assess whether the controls were working, and establish a committee within each company's board of directors to evaluate reports from internal and external auditors.

“Over time, it may make sense to codify these steps into laws and regulations,” the accord said.

Trump repeatedly praised the business executives for developing a technology that he said would produce “unbelievable growth." Investment in data centers and the accompanying computer equipment has accelerated the economy and boosted the stock market, which has swelled investment accounts for higher-income Americans and lifted their spending.

Yet there were some notes of caution Tuesday. Amodei, who has been one of the most outspoken voicescalling for a slowdown in AI development, said, “The technology has very real risks.”

"And, you know, the mechanism, how we address those risks is still under discussion,” Amodei said.

Putting faith in ‘self-policing’ AI

Trump suggested that about 10 people would be named to a committee to “watch over the whole enterprise” and said the accord would be “morally binding.” He also said he would name someone to oversee the agreement in coming days after consulting with industry.

Some of the actions outlined in the accord are measures these companies are already taking in some form or have previously committed to doing.

The intention of the accord balances the latitude needed for innovation with regulation, said Shri Narayanan, a university professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Southern California. That innovation is not just limited to improving the capabilities of these AI models, Narayanan said, but also to efforts to improve model safety and security.

Other experts are skeptical of putting “so much faith in self-policing,” like Robin Jia, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Southern California. Jia said it’s crucial to ensure the leading labs’ intentions are “well-aligned with the broader interest of the American public.” He pointed to the recent disclosures of hacking incidents and said: “As the models get better, the consequences of such things are only going to get greater.”

Some also took issue with the accord’s vague, broad language. Alex Pascal, executive director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, said: “The only way to reduce the risks and harms of AI to Americans is through robust legal liability, regulation and fundamentally changing the race dynamics that are driving unsafe decision-making by frontier AI developers whose costs are borne by the American people.”

Trump unveils chatbot to help Americans navigate government services

Huang sat to Trump’s right during a White House luncheon meeting, according to a seating chart the president posted on Truth Social. Musk sat to Trump’s left.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump promised that the U.S. government wouldn't limit the development of artificial intelligence or support calls for “guardrails” or other restrictions.

“I will never stifle the growth of a technology that will be bigger than the industrial revolution,” Trump said at the unveiling of an AI chatbot, America.gov, intended to help Americans navigate government services. “We can’t stifle it, and we’re leading by a lot.”

The unveiling of the AI government chatbot occurred at a daylong event in Washington during which multiple Trump administration officials celebrated a “Golden Age” fueled by what Trump insists on calling “super intelligence," rather than artificial intelligence. Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted that the chatbot at America.gov could soon be used to apply for a first-time passport fully online, without the in-person visit to a processing center currently required.

Trump thinks data centers are going to become ‘very popular’

Trump also said the executives had agreed to assuage the bipartisan opposition to data centers cropping up in local communities across the country by providing more financial support to local schools or taking steps to reduce energy costs.

“You’re going to see, data centers are going to be very popular," Trump said. If the opposition continued, Trump suggested, “they’ll be forced to go overseas or other locations.”

Also Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a television interview that the company is increasingly focused on safety. The day before, his company halted the rollout of a new model over safety concerns.

“We are pacing our progress, which includes sometimes not training a model,” he said on CNBC. “We have to do these in a way where we can make very confident safety cases and claims, so that people don’t have a bunch of anxiety.”

For his part, Trump on Tuesday portrayed the race to develop AI as largely a global competition between the United States and China. He said there would be a winner and a loser, with no “second place.”

The two countries agreed last week to establish a channel for handling AI-related incidents during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington. But Trump underscored Tuesday that he didn't want to cooperate too much with China: "I didn’t want to do anything, because we’re leading. Why would I want to do anything?”

___

Associated Press journalist Kaitlyn Huamani contributed from Los Angeles.

“The White House’s words and actions leave little doubt that it will immediately reinstitute a complete ban of CNN, MS NOW, and POLITICO if allowed the opportunity,” lawyers for CNN, MS NOW and Politico wrote in a filing late Monday.

”Because the ban is an unlawful assault on the most fundamental First Amendment freedoms and will inflict irreparable harm on Plaintiffs and the public if not restrained, this Court should preliminarily enjoin its enforcement pending the resolution of this case,” the filing said.

It was the latest development in the back-and-forth saga of the Trump administration and the news media during the second term of his presidency. It has been a contentious relationship that has raised multiple First Amendment questions, produced sanctions and restrictions on White House and Pentagon reporters and led to several lawsuits that are winding their ways through the federal court system.

A two-week temporary restraining order on Trump's ban of the three organizations, issued by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly last week, restored the outlets’ White House access, but expires Oct. 8. The preliminary injunction requested in Monday’s filing would extend the White House access until the case is finally resolved.

In a statement emailed to The Associated Press immediately after the filing, the lead attorney for the three news outlets called the ban “a blatant violation of the First Amendment and due process.”

“The president and his administration have continued to make clear that this ban has only one purpose: to punish reporting he doesn’t like,” said the lawyer, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr.

“That’s retaliation and viewpoint discrimination, pure and simple,” Boutrous said. “With the district court’s temporary restraining order expiring next week, it is critical to ensure that the White House continues to be prevented from implementing this unconstitutional ban on the free press.”

On Tuesday, the ACLU of the District of Columbia filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the news outlets and suggesting the president's residence is different from a private property.

“The White House is the people’s house, not the president’s private golf club,” wrote Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel for the ACLU of D.C.

The White House still says access is a privilege, not a right

The filing came a day after the Trump administration made clear it was not backing down from its contention that the sudden ban, which began Sept. 19, was justified.

“When it comes to the White House, it is the people’s house,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said on ABC on Sunday, invoking an argument the administration has made since the beginning. “It is a privilege, and not a right, to be there.”

Monday's 42-page filing reiterated many of the arguments that the news outlets made in their original lawsuit against Trump and the White House, filed two days after the reporters were banned.

It also added mention of the White House broadcast pool rotation, which has become a battleground in the last few days in the standoff between Trump and the media.

The White House, it said, “has persisted in unpredictably and inconsistently implementing its ban, including by barring CNN from fulfilling its role as designated television network pooler on Sept. 26 — to the detriment of CNN, its fellow pool members and, ultimately, the American public.”

When the ban was implemented, CNN was removed from its duties as part of the broadcast pool, which consists of the five main networks: CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News. In solidarity, the other networks decided to suspend the pool until CNN was allowed back in.

On Friday, CNN was allowed to cover the president with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the National Archives. But in a new setback Saturday, the White House banned the network from Air Force One, preventing it from covering Trump’s trip to a college football game in Tennessee. The rest of the pool declined to provide a replacement, in solidarity with CNN.

Blanche defended that decision, too. “The president has every right to decide who gets to fly on his plane,” he said in the Sunday interview. He added that Trump was “sick and tired of certain media outlets just refusing to report accurate news.” He added that news coverage he described as “misinformation” amounted to a national security issue.

“That is what is a national security problem, when you have complete misinformation coming out of the White House,” he said.

Kelly threw cold water on that argument in his ruling last week granting the temporary restraining order against the White House ban. “The court is skeptical … that defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation” for removal of access, Kelly wrote.

His ruling did not directly address the TV pool rotation. In the new filing, the plaintiffs describe the important function the pool provides and makes the case that it's an important part of the regular access to the president, and his activities, that the media has traditionally had — and must be restored.

It singles out the Air Force One case. “CNN received no official communication from the White House explaining its exclusion,” the filing says. “Because CNN was excluded and no replacement designated, no primary television network pooler accompanied the President on the trip.”

Pool access issue has presented networks with tough choices

For now, networks in the pool have decided to address the ongoing standoff on a case-by-case basis, according to a person familiar with the pool’s operation, speaking on condition of anonymity to give details of ongoing discussions.

On Sunday, Fox covered a pool event; on Monday, NBC was covering the president in the Oval Office. CNN is not in the rotation until Thursday. If the network is again barred from a pool event, the networks will decide together, presumably based on the newsworthiness of the situation, whether to provide a replacement or to refrain from coverage as they did previously.

The issues at stake are difficult. On the one hand, the networks want to take a stand on behalf of press freedom and against efforts to intimidate coverage. On the other, media outlets have an obvious purpose of providing news to their audiences.

“There are not a lot of good options,” said David A. Schulz, director of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School.

Should the White House continue to bar CNN, Schulz said, networks may choose “to exert their market power and say, ‘We’re not going to play ball with you.’”

The question, Schulz added, is: “Who’s going to back down first?”

The networks “may well feel like they’re between a rock and a hard place,” noted RonNell Andersen Jones, a law professor at the University of Utah.

“Capitulation might be perceived as abandonment of core components of press freedom,” Andersen Jones said. “But the practicalities of lengthy White House news blackouts are also complicated, and refusing to cover major news at the highest levels of government might itself feel like a failure to serve the goals of democracy.”

___

Laurie Kellman contributed. This report corrects the expiration date of the temporary restraining order mentioned by the plaintiffs' attorney to next week.

Council members discussed whether a Level II trauma center could affect the volume of trauma patients transported to Brooke Army Medical Center, or BAMC. They also discussed the effect on University Healthcare’s system, which also has a Level I trauma facility like BAMC.

The resolution would ask the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council, or STRAC, to prioritize BAMC’s patient volume.

Supporters of the resolution, including District 9 Councilwoman Misty Spears and Bexar County Commissioner Grant Moody, both of whom are on the Joint Military Task Force, said San Antonio is unique because BAMC is the only military hospital with Level I trauma care.

They said protecting its trauma volume is important to the hospital’s military medical readiness.

“We do know is that it’s extremely important to the decision makers up at the federal government and at the Pentagon to know how supportive the community is for military missions,” Spears said. “They have made that very clear.”

Moody said the county is looking at a similar resolution.

“It’s very important that we have that military training, it’s important that the UT Health has educational training there with UHS and trying to navigate that to ensure that both of those aren’t damaged,” Moody said.

District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia, who is on the Intergovernmental Relations Council, said he wanted more information before taking a position at Tuesday’s meeting.

“I just want to make sure I see more numbers and understand this, because I don’t want to be in a position where we say we don’t want medical care,” Mungia said.

District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito said she also wants to consider Methodist’s ability to operate as a business.

“I’m also trying to balance that with a concern of blocking a new hospital from doing what they need to do to serve their patients as well,” she said.

BAMC said in a statement that the volume and complexity of trauma cases are tied to both exceptional patient care and military medical readiness.

University Hospital said it supports the resolution to protect BAMC and said an additional trauma center could put patient care and military readiness at risk.

Methodist has not provided comment, and neither has STRAC.

Methodist currently has a Level III trauma center and wants to upgrade to Level II. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the hospital has not filed that paperwork.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• As Methodist Healthcare seeks new trauma center, city leaders want to protect BAMC military mission

Both teams won their District 13-4A-I openers last week. Tivy crushed LBJ Austin 70-14. Davenport topped Canyon Lake 56-41.

>> 12’s Top 12: Week 6, 2026

In Tivy’s win, starting quarterback Cohen Stehling set a new school record for passing yards in a single game with 515 yards and eight touchdowns. The sophomore topped the previous mark of 503 yards set by Johnny Manziel in 2010.

Manziel would later star at Texas A&M, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2012.

Davenport quarterback Tristan Torrez was stellar as well, passing for 319 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for another score. The junior is a dynamic dual-threat quarterback.

Tivy is averaging 65.0 points per game while Davenport is putting up 43 points per contest this season. This matchup has the makings of a high-scoring affair, and both defenses will certainly be tested.

Davenport hosts Tivy on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Davenport High School.

Read also:

• How school districts plan for inclement weather during athletic events

Giancarlo Stanton, out since April 24 because of strained calf muscles in both legs, was included. So was center fielder Trent Grisham. Both were on the bench for Game 1 in the best-of-three series.

Sidelined since Sept. 16 by a strained right calf, Judge took live batting practice on the field Monday in an effort to persuade manager Aaron Boone and the medical staff that he could play. Judge walked twice, hit a comebacker to the mound and took a called third strike against teammates Ryan Weathers and Elmer Rodríguez.

Judge did not join the pregame introductions Tuesday.

The three-time AL MVP had a platelet-poor plasma injection Sept. 21. The 34-year-old slugger was sidelined by a fractured rib from May 31 to Sept. 8 and played in just seven games before the latest injury.

“He’s had a good couple of weeks of obviously really grinding and doing everything he possibly can to be an option. Just felt like he’s not quite there yet,” Boone said Tuesday. “We’ll see about being an option moving forward.”

He was limited to 66 games this season. He hit .241 with 18 homers, 41 RBIs and an .871 OPS, including .174 with one homer and three RBIs in September.

Boone met with Judge and the athletic training staff after Monday's workout to inform him of the decision.

“Hopefully these next several days for him are beneficial and he continues to move the needle,” Boone said.

Stanton started the season with a .256 batting average, three homers and 14 RBIs in 24 games. The 36-year-old designated hitter, acquired after winning the NL MVP award in 2017 with Miami, had 38 homers and 100 RBIs in his first season with New York but has missed 500 of 1,194 games since (41.9%).

Stanton is viewed as a right-handed pinch-hitting option against a Boston pitching staff with seven left-handers on the roster.

“He’s never stopped going and stopped grinding even through some tough moments and some tough setbacks, and so he’s put himself in a position," Boone said.

Grisham had been sidelined since straining his right hamstring on Sept. 4. He was among New York’s 16 position players.

Boston Red Sox

Ace left-hander Garrett Crochet, who won last season’s Wild Card Series opener at Yankee Stadium by allowing one run and four hits in 7 2/3 innings, was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and will be available in the bullpen.

“That could be a big arm for us,” manager Chad Tracy said.

The two-time All-Star has not pitched since April 25 because of left shoulder inflammation.

“I don’t think it was an overly difficult decision,” Tracy said. “Obviously, he’s very available tonight. It will be read and react after that. But not closing the doors on anything."

Philadelphia Phillies

Second baseman Luis Arraez, a three-time batting champion, is out for the series against Atlanta after spraining his left ankle last Thursday.

Left-hander Brooks Raley, like Arraez acquired ahead of the trade deadline, also was left off.

Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan and infielder Otto Kemp were included as the Phillies went with 14 position players.

Philadelphia did not include any players it acquired at the trade deadline.

Atlanta Braves

Infielders Rowdy Tellez and Luke Williams were included on the roster by Atlanta, which has 15 position players.

Chicago White Sox

Tommy Pham, a 38-year-old outfielder acquired from Philadelphia on Aug. 31, was among 14 position players picked by Chicago for its series at Houston in a rematch of the 2005 World Series — the Astros moved to the AL for the 2013 season.

Pham hit .429 for Arizona in the 2023 World Series against Texas.

Houston Astros

Right-hander Ethan Pecko, 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA in eight starts from mid-August through the end of the regular season, is injured and was not among the Astros’ 12 pitchers. Steven Okert (hamstring) also was left off.

Houston included Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who struggled to a 6-4 record and 4.93 ERA in 15 starts and eight relief appearances after coming to Major League Baseball with a $54 million, three-year contract.

Infielder Reynal Delgado, who played in just three games for the Astros after July 19, was included along with outfielder Joey Loperfido, chosen over LaMonte Wade Jr.

San Diego Padres

Joe Musgrove was among 11 pitchers on the Padres' roster against the Cubs, and the 33-year-old right-hander could make his first big league appearance since the 2024 wild card game.

He left that game against Atlanta after 3 2/3 innings because of elbow tightness and had Tommy John surgery that Oct. 11. He made four minor league appearances this past August but then experienced soreness. In 2021, he threw San Diego's first no-hitter.

“What we’ve seen from him the last week or 10 days has been good, impressive,” manager Craig Stammen said.

Designated hitter Miguel Andujar was included. Right-hander Randy Vásquez and infielder Sung-Mun Song were left off.

Chicago Cubs

Right-hander Kevin Gausman was included despite a left shoulder that was sore after he made a sliding tag at third base on Sept. 23.

Left-hander Caleb Thielbar, who had a 4.86 ERA this year, was not among the Cubs’ 12 pitchers.

Right-handed-hitting Gabriel Arias was among the position players.

___

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

The hearing offered a forum for Republicans to try to paint Smith as a political operative and assail him anew for what they contend were politicized prosecutions that unfolded during the 2024 presidential race. Democrats rallied in his defense, eliciting testimony on the legal and factual basis for the criminal cases against the then-candidate and decrying the Trump administration's firing of prosecutors involved in the investigations.

Smith, for his part, defended his work in an hours-long Senate Judiciary Committee hearing — the latest congressional effort to revisit federal cases that accused Trump of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 race and of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

“Anybody who has worked with me and knows me during the course of my career knows that I would not let politics play a role. And I would just add that if you knew the people I worked with, they would not either," Smith said. He lamented what he called an unprecedented assault on the rule of law by the Trump administration, along with terminations of his team that he said had deprived the government of crucial expertise and made the country less safe.

“That has never happened in my career. I have never seen anything remotely like it in any Republican or Democratic administration,” he said.

An effort to accuse Smith of perjury backfires

The testimony did nothing to appease Smith's Republican critics, including Sen. Eric Schmitt, who called Smith a “dirtbag" and a “villain" as he addressed him.

The Missouri senator was also at the center of the hearing's most memorable moment and gaffe, when he asked Smith whether he recalled attending a professional basketball game in Atlanta in February 2024, around the time Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was facing scrutiny for her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special state prosecutor she hired for the county’s election-interference case against Trump.

Smith appeared perplexed by the question, which tried to make an unsubstantiated link between federal and state prosecutions of Trump.

“I do not have a recollection of going to Atlanta," Smith said. “I definitely did not go to a Hawks game. I'm sure of that.”

At that point, staffers held up posterboard displaying text messages that, according to Schmitt, purported to show communications about Smith's attendance at an NBA game between the hometown Atlanta Hawks and the Golden State Warriors.

“I think you've already perjured yourself,” Schmitt said.

The confusion appeared resolved minutes later when Smith volunteered that he indeed had gone to a basketball game in February 2024 — an Iowa Hawkeyes women's matchup at the University of Maryland that had nothing to do with the Atlanta Hawks.

“Could it then be that the University of Iowa is the Hawkeyes? Could that be it?” Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said as she chided Schmitt. “That might be the confusion over the names of the team. But perhaps you should have looked at it more carefully.”

The hearing focused heavily on subpoenas for lawmakers' phone records

Smith was pressed by Republican senators about his access to the phone records of GOP lawmakers as he investigated Trump’s efforts to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Prosecutors issued subpoenas for toll records of numerous Republican members of Congress who were contacted by Trump or his aides on Jan. 6, 2021, the day supporters of the president rioted inside the U.S. Capitol. Smith has said such subpoenas are common in investigations and were necessary in this instance to understand the “scope of the conspiracy” between Trump and his Republican allies.

The subpoenas, he said Tuesday, provided corroborating evidence that Trump and his alleged co-conspirators sought to exploit the violence of the day by invoking it to try to further delay the congressional certification of Biden's win.

“They were taking the fact that law enforcement officers had been brutally assaulted at this institution and using that to seek to delay the proceedings further in violation of the law,” Smith said.

Toll records reveal the date, time and duration of phone calls between two parties but not the content of the communications.

There is no legal prohibition against obtaining the toll records of members of Congress, and Democrats noted that the first Trump administration Justice Department had sought records for representatives of their party during an investigation.

Nonetheless, the revelation that Smith’s team secretly obtained the records has animated Republican lawmakers, who consider it proof of overreach by the Biden administration Justice Department and the hard-charging prosecutor it picked as special counsel. Smith pointed out that he had consulted with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.

In July, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, referred Smith to the Justice Department for potential prosecution on allegations he lied at a previous hearing about the records collection — something Smith and his attorneys vigorously dispute.

“I stand by my testimony before the House of Representatives,” Smith said Tuesday. “I will not be silenced by the continued threats of prosecution from the president or others.”

Smith faced bitingly personal criticism from Republicans

Smith was appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead investigations into Trump's efforts to reverse his election loss and Trump's retention of classified documents. Smith abandoned the prosecutions after Trump's 2024 win, citing Justice Department opinions that sitting presidents cannot be federally indicted.

Smith has remained a top target of retribution for Trump. Republicans on the committee followed that lead, confronting him in a hearing that frequently devolved into partisan sniping and name-calling. They sought to cast the prosecutions as a political fishing expedition, accusing Smith of bending procedures in pursuit of Trump.

“The Smith election case ultimately wasn’t just about Trump,” said Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the committee chairman. “It was about partisan agents and prosecutors mapping out the Republican apparatus.”

During one tense exchange, Republican Sen. John Kennedy grew exasperated as he asked whether the Biden White House instructed the Justice Department to prosecute Trump. Smith said he had “no idea about that,” and that the decision to prosecute Trump was his own.

In an effort to depict Smith as evasive, Kennedy asked him if he believed in the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny. Smith said no.

“You make me want to throw up in my mouth,” Kennedy said.

Democrats, by contrast, used the hearing to affirm the legitimacy of the Trump investigations and produce testimony on the scope of criminal conduct that Smith says he and his team found.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee's top Democrat, accused Republicans of spreading “baseless conspiracy theories” about Smith’s investigations in an effort to “whitewash” the history of Trump’s election loss and the subsequent Capitol attack.

“The aspersions cast on Mr. Smith, nonstop, are petty, personal and political. They are nothing but a smoke screen to distract from the president’s own clear, unlawful conduct," Durbin said.

Staff members at the North East Independent School District campus told KSAT about the rodents and their concerns about a potential lingering issue earlier this month.

The rodents appear to be attracted to the science building because several pets — including fish, snakes and gerbils — are housed inside classrooms, NEISD said.

“Food for those animals is sometimes not stored correctly, which needs to be corrected,” a NEISD spokesperson said.

The district said this isn’t the first time the school has dealt with the issue. A separate rodent issue occurred last spring, according to NEISD, but it “was resolved and eradicated.”

“Teachers have been given classroom expectations to help, and pest control continues to make routine visits,” NEISD said.

The district said Roosevelt staff filed multiple work orders to fix the rodent issue, and pest control units had made prior visits to the campus.

Read also:

• Stevens HS graduate, basketball co-captain killed in West Texas rollover crash, DPS says
• SAWS crews respond to water main break on North Side after street flooding reported

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan national, was shot by an ICE officer in Austin on Sept. 20. He was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center, where he was released and taken into ICE custody three hours later with the bullet remaining in his back. He has since remained at a detention center in Pearsall.

Federal prosecutors say that Garces Perez was first pulled over by ICE officers after they had observed him exiting a restaurant and identified him as having a final order of removal.

The officers identified themselves as immigration agents and Garces Perez handed them his Texas driver license, the court documents say. One officer was wearing a body worn camera that captured the incident. The other officer, the one that eventually shot Garces Perez, was not wearing a camera. The court documents do not name the two agents.

According to Garces Perez’s statement to investigators, he knew that he would be detained, so he asked to park in a different location. The officers and Garces Perez give conflicting statements over when emergency lights were activated and if the officers struck Garces Perez’s vehicle.

Garces Perez disregarded the officers’ commands to exit the vehicle and he fled the scene. As he pulled away from the scene, his driver’s side mirror hit one of the officers in the torso, according to the criminal complaint.

After a brief vehicle chase, one ICE officer claims that Garces Perez attempted to strike him with his car, which is when the officer shot Garces Perez in the back.

Several members of Congress and advocacy groups have called for Garces Perez’s release from detention due to his medical needs, which they claim are not being adequately addressed by ICE. U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, visited Garces Perez last Wednesday and described him as in high spirits but in pain and in need of surgery.

“This person needs a doctor, not a deportation or a detention center,” Casar said in a news conference last week.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

With scattered activity expected Thursday and Friday, the decision affects not only athletes, but everyone who turns out for a game.

“We’ve got student athletes, we got coaches, we’ve got the band, concessions, police, nurses. And so when we’re trying to make these decisions, we got to be very slow with it,” said Jay Govan, North East ISD executive director of athletics. “But we’ve got heed on the advice that you give us to make sure that we’re keeping kids safe, we’re keeping parents and everybody that’s coming to the game safe.”

>> Click here for the latest forecast

Govan said the district is watching conditions and expects to have more information the closer it gets to game time, at which point it can decide whether to keep events where they are or adjust them.

“We’re just watching it, seeing what’s going to happen,” Govan said. “Hopefully the closer we get to it, the more information we have, we’ll be able to make a decision to decide if we’re going to stay where we are or if we have to adjust games according to what’s out there.”

Rain alone is not the main obstacle, Govan said.

“It’s the lightning that really bothers us, but when it’s raining it’s really not a big deal,” Govan said.

There are several games scheduled for Thursday night in the San Antonio area, but no decisions have been made on the status of those games as of Tuesday evening.

Read also:

• Gov. Greg Abbott discusses how Texas will prepare for this week’s flood threat

John and Christina Mayich, parents of 21-year-old Matthew Mayich, released a statement through the family attorney on Tuesday, concurring with a letter sent by seven Arizona State hockey players to university president Michael Crow on Monday. The players asked the university to place the coaches involved in the Aug. 20 workout to be placed on administrative leave until an investigation by an outside agency is completed.

The letter was sent anonymously through an attorney because the players feared retribution from the coaching staff.

“We’ve heard some things about what our family wants that aren’t right, so we want to be clear: we want this team to have a great season and we’ll be cheering for you,” the Mayichs said through attorney Rob Carey. “But the coaches who ran that workout on August 20 need to be removed while an independent investigation gets to the truth. The players shouldn’t have to worry about retaliation from the people they report to every day."

Mayich, a 21-year-old defenseman who was drafted by the St. Louis Blues, collapsed during an outdoor workout on the first day the NCAA allows official activities. He suffered from external heat stroke that reduced flow of oxygen to his brain and is unlikely to recover, Carey said.

The letter sent by the players called out discrepancies from an initial probe by Arizona State and asked for an interim coaching staff be put in place if the coaches involved are placed on leave.

“Nobody should keep quiet about what they think should happen because they believe that’s what we want. It isn’t,” the Mayichs said. "If anyone wants to know what we want, ask us. We want the truth, and we want it done in a way that lets the boys focus on hockey instead of wondering whether their coaches think they talked. Mostly, we want accountability for what happened to our son, and we want his teammates to be safe.”

The Arizona State police department is investigating the incident and a report will be sent to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for independent review when completed.

Arizona’s House and Senate education committee chairs called for an independent investigation of Arizona State’s hockey workout after reading the letter from the players.

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See AP’s full sports coverage here

A jury determined Israel Anthony Cortez, 28, killed his friend Robert Neaves, 25, in a fatal 2023 stabbing. Cortez was sentenced to 40 years in state prison and is guilty of second-degree manslaughter, the DA’s office said.

Three years ago, KSAT reported Cortez called 911 to tell police that his friend showed up to his house with a stab wound in his chest and injuries to his face. Neaves was taken to a local hospital where he would later be pronounced dead.

In 2023, Police said Cortez denied being with Neaves before the incident.

That evening and the following day, San Antonio police said two people called the authorities and said Cortez admitted to stabbing Neaves during a fight. The DA’s office said he confessed to his mother about the stabbing.

A witness told investigators that Cortez described the stabbing as accidental, the DA’s office said.

Read also:

• Man arrested following fatal stabbing after initially telling police he wasn’t involved, SAPD says

Velasquez is the founder and CEO of Nopalera, a modern Mexican beauty and lifestyle brand built around the nopal cactus. She says the brand offers a full line of bath and body products, including shower gels, body scrubs, creams and fragrances, all rooted in Mexican botanical ingredients.

She launched the company in November 2020 from her Brooklyn apartment, with no outside funding, no savings and no business background. She was working three jobs and raising her daughter at the time.

“There were just no premium Latina beauty brands,” Velasquez said. “If you look at food and beverage — plenty of tequilas, plenty of salsas — but in beauty, there were just no Latina premium beauty brands. And so to me, it was a massive gap, an opportunity to speak to today’s consumer, which is me.”

That first year, Nopalera brought in $600,000 in sales. The brand has since grown to $2 million, then $4 million, and is on track to close this year at around $7 million in revenue. It is now carried in Nordstrom, Kohl’s, Credo Beauty and more than 400 boutiques nationwide, and is sold in four countries.

Before launching Nopalera, Velasquez spent 15 years as the lead singer of the Latin alternative band Pistolera, which toured internationally and had its music featured on “Breaking Bad” and “Sons of Anarchy.” She says the music industry prepared her for entrepreneurship in ways she didn’t expect.

“What music taught me is resilience — because it’s one rejection after the other,” Velasquez said. “You have to be able to deal with rejection. And I think most people give up because they can’t.”

In January 2023, Velasquez appeared on Season 14 of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” where she received two offers — one from Kevin O’Leary and one from Kind Bar founder Daniel Lubetzky. She turned both down, saying the equity stakes were too high.

“My ancestors are whispering in my ear,” she said on the show, “and they’re saying, ‘mija, no te desprecias.’ Don’t undervalue yourself.”

After the episode aired, she raised $4 million in a Series A round — a quarter of which came from San Antonio investors. She moved to the city just over a year ago and says the support she found here was unlike anything she experienced during her 26 years in New York City.

“I was in the middle of a Series A raise when I moved here, and a quarter of that money came from San Antonio,” Velasquez said. “So that just goes to show you the amount of people that are excited to support small businesses.”

Velasquez was a keynote speaker Tuesday at Texas Public Radio as part of SA Startup + Tech Week. She said the city’s small business ecosystem is something entrepreneurs elsewhere simply don’t have access to.

“What San Antonio has here in terms of supporting small businesses is very unique,” she said. “And everyone that has an idea or a desire to start a small business should take full advantage of all of the resources that exist.”

SA Startup and Tech Week runs through the end of this week. A full schedule of events is available at the link here.

Read also:

• San Antonio’s small business economy is booming — here’s what the numbers actually show
• This San Antonio veteran is building a tech company — and she wants other vets to do the same
• Thinking about starting a business in San Antonio? Here’s what it actually takes

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was charged with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer, according to a criminal complaint. Garces Perez, whose attorney has said he still has a bullet lodged in his back from the Sept. 20 shooting, made an initial court appearance in an Austin federal court on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Texas.

A nine-page affidavit from a Department of Homeland Security agent amounts to the government's fullest public account to date of the shooting in the Texas capital, which has set off protests and outrage from Democrats over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The document includes photos taken from body-worn cameras but no video was released, and the complaint did not say whether the agent allegedly struck by the side mirror sustained any injuries.

The accusations against Garces Perez are reminiscent of previous claims made by immigration agents after high-profile shootings, in which officers have similarly accused drivers of weaponizing their vehicles. In a handful of cases, those allegations have been undermined or walked back after the release of body-worn camera footage, and have renewed scrutiny about the DHS's reliance on vehicular stops to execute arrests.

Garces Perez was in the custody of U.S. Marshals after being removed from a federal detention center in South Texas, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors. Separately, Garces Perez's attorneys have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop his removal from the U.S.

During the federal court hearing Tuesday, Garces Perez was in “extremely bad medical condition,” his lawyer Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said, describing him as light-headed, nauseated and confused about what was happening. For the nine days since he has been incarcerated, Lincoln-Goldfinch said, Garces Perez has not stopped pleading for surgery to remove the bullet, which is preventing him from moving his arm without pain. DHS did not immediately respond to questions on Tuesday afternoon about Garces Perez's medical treatment.

If convicted, Garces Perez faces up to 20 years in prison.

Affidavit says agent was struck in torso by side mirror

According to an affidavit signed by a DHS agent, officers first saw Garces Perez's car parked outside of a restaurant with its emergency flashers on. They decided to pull him over after conducting a database check that showed the car was registered to Garces Perez who had a final order of removal from the U.S.

The agents said that they turned on their lights to execute the stop, but in the same filing, Garces Perez told investigators that an unmarked SUV followed him and then abruptly cut him off on the side of the road.

Garces Perez, who was making a DoorDash delivery, provided his driver's license through a crack in the window, but ignored agents' requests to step out of the car, the complaint said. Garces Perez told investigators that he declined to exit because he had asked for officers to wait to apprehend him until his wife could come retrieve his car. Court documents describe the interaction as initially conversational, with a tone that was “pleasant and not aggressive.”

About a minute later, according to court records, Garces Perez “abruptly” closed the window and drove off. One of the officers, who is referred to only by his initials, was struck in his torso with the driver’s side view mirror when Garces Perez tried to drive away, the documents say.

Officer who fired wasn't wearing body camera

The unnamed officer who shot Garces Perez wasn’t wearing a body camera. The other officer involved in the chase was wearing a camera, but only caught up to the chase after Garces Perez had been shot, according to the affidavit.

ICE has previously said its field officers nationwide will have body-worn cameras by the end of September.

The affidavit included screenshots from previously unreleased body-worn camera footage of the officer’s initial interactions with ICE agents. The first of three photos appears to show the officer standing in front of Garces Perez’s driver’s door mirror; the second shows the officer resting his hands on the hood and side of Garces Perez’s car, with the mirror close to or touching the officer’s abdomen; and the third appears to show the car pulling away.

Lincoln-Goldfinch called on DHS to release the full body-worn camera footage, rather than screenshots that she said could be misleading.

“This is an example of the government playing games with my client’s life and safety,” she said.

The Austin Police Department last week released video from its officers. But that footage did not show the shooting or the moment that Garces Perez allegedly tried driving away.

Conflicting accounts of lead-up to shooting

The affidavit includes Garces Perez providing his account to federal investigators, which paints a contrasting picture of the lead-up to the shooting than what federal prosecutors described.

According to the affidavit, Garces Perez said that a law enforcement SUV struck his car after a brief chase and caused it to spin before an agent opened fire, shooting him in the back. By contrast, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said in a statement that Garces Perez tried to strike an officer with his car, “causing the officer to fire his pistol."

Garces Perez entered the U.S. in 2024 using CBP One, a program begun under President Joe Biden that allowed migrants to make appointments with U.S. authorities to be considered for asylum. President Trump ended the program on his first day in office.

Garces Perez was an asylum seeker and had a valid work permit, according to his lawyer. She said a judge issued a deportation order after Garces Perez missed an immigration court hearing because the notice was sent to a former address.

Others have faced charges following ICE shootings

The shooting occurred amid a surge in ICE enforcement across the U.S. during President Donald Trump’s second term. ICE reported more than 50,000 monthly arrests in July and August — a first for the agency.

Immigration officers have come under intense scrutiny for shootings that have occurred since Trump took office in January 2025 — at least 10 of which have been fatal. On a few occasions, federal law enforcement has charged the person shot by immigration officers with assault.

A woman shot several times by Border Patrol officers in Chicago and a man shot in the leg by an ICE agent in Minneapolis were both accused of assaulting officers, but in both cases the charges were dropped. The ICE officer in Minneapolis has since been charged with lying about getting assaulted before shooting the man in the leg.

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Riddle reported from Los Angeles.

Curtis Wilkie Beasley was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery and grand theft auto in the 1995 killing of Carolyn Monfort at her home south of Orlando.

The death chamber curtain opened at 6 p.m. with Beasley already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm. A spiritual adviser sat at his feet, remaining there throughout the execution.

When a warden asked whether he wished to make a final statement, Beasley said, “I want to apologize for all the mistakes I made.”

The execution began immediately afterward. Beasley breathed heavily as the drugs began flowing. His labored breathing eventually subsided, and the warden checked Beasley’s eyes and shouted his name, but he did not respond.

A medic entered the chamber at 6:11 p.m. and declared Beasley dead soon afterward.

No relatives issued any public statements afterward and it was not apparent whether any of the victim's family had witnessed the execution.

Last week, the Florida Supreme Court rejected arguments that executing a man of Beasley's age who was suffering from cognitive decline would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene Tuesday. Beasley was the seventh Florida prisoner over 70 to be executed this year.

Beasley also was the 29th person — all of them men — executed in the U.S. this year. On Wednesday Tennessee plans to execute a woman for the first time in 200 years. Christa Pike, 50, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection for killing a classmate in a jealous rage when both were teenagers.

Arrested while working under a fake name

Court records show Beasley had been staying at Monfort’s home in Dundee in August 1995 while he was pressure-washing and painting nearby apartments owned by her son-in-law. Monfort's daughter went to the woman's home after being unable to reach her for two days and found her body in a blood-splattered laundry room.

Monfort had suffered multiple blunt-force injuries to the head. Investigators found a bloody hammer head wrapped in a towel nearby.

Authorities began searching for Beasley after a witness reported seeing him driving what turned out to be Monfort's car. Investigators determined that he had traveled to Miami and later moved to Alabama, where he was arrested while working under a false name for an electrical company. In 1998, Beasley was convicted and sentenced to death.

Florida has conducted more than half of all U.S. executions this year

Florida is approaching last year's total of 19 executions, a record in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first state in nearly a decade to do so.

Two more executions are scheduled this year although Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who leaves office in January, has temporarily paused the next one.

William Lee Thompson, 74, is scheduled to be executed Oct. 13 for raping and fatally beating a woman at a Florida motel in 1976. After a doctor recently determined Thompson might have dementia, DeSantis ordered a panel of three psychiatrists to examine him and advise if he is competent to be executed.

DeSantis issued similar stays in 2023 and 2025 though both executions proceeded after evaluations.

William Reaves, 77, is scheduled to be executed on Oct. 20. He was convicted of fatally shooting a deputy outside a convenience store in 1986.

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

Officers responded to the shooting just before 5 a.m. Aug. 30 in the 600 block of Hemisfair Plaza Way.

When they arrived, police said they found Jonathan Alderete, 35, with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

In the 40-second surveillance video released Tuesday, the person of interest is seen an hour before the shooting entering and leaving the Denny’s on East Commerce Street. Police said the man is around 20 to 24 years old and about 5 feet 10 inches tall. In the video, he is wearing red shorts and a black hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with information on the person of interest is asked to contact SAPD’s homicide unit at 210-207-7635.

Suspect in custody

Days after the shooting, police arrested Isean Hardeman, 23, at a South Side apartment.

Police said there was a physical confrontation between Hardeman and Alderete before he was shot and killed.

According to his arrest affidavit, surveillance video showed Hardeman and three other people taking a basketball that belonged to Alderete.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Affidavit: Man arrested, charged with murder in connection with shooting at Hemisfair Park
• Man shot, killed during fight over property in Hemisfair, police say

Speaking on his radio show Tuesday, Jones was asked what explanations there were for leaving enough seconds on the clock after a tying field goal for a defensive breakdown to put the Ravens in position for the winning kick in Rio de Janeiro.

“There is no explanation you're satisfied with. None,” Jones said. “Let's be sure that we all understand that. They (coaches) don't have one that they're satisfied with. We made mistakes during that time. There's no question about it. So there is no explanation. But there's an evaluation of how not to make the same mistakes again.”

Trailing 31-28, the Cowboys had a first down at the Baltimore 2-yard line with 23 seconds left when Dak Prescott threw incomplete into the end zone.

After a false start penalty against tight end Luke Schoonmaker, Prescott scrambled to the Baltimore 5, and coach Brian Schottenheimer called his final timeout with 14 seconds remaining.

The coach who is also the play-caller instructed Prescott to either throw a quick out to receiver George Pickens or throw the ball away, based on the amount of time left, with no ability to stop the clock. Prescott didn't wait long to choose the throwaway, and the play lasted just four seconds.

There were seven seconds remaining after Brandon Aubrey's field goal, and the Dallas defense left a gap at just about the exact spot of the target line for a Baltimore field goal. Lamar Jackson completed a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers, got the timeout called with a second to go and Tyler Loop made the 56-yard field goal.

“I hurt our chances to win that game,” Schottenheimer said later Tuesday. “I’ll be better, and I’m better than that. I’m better than I performed in the last 28 seconds.”

Schottenheimer is in his second season as a head coach after 25 years as an NFL assistant. Christian Parker is a 34-year-old making his debut as a defensive coordinator. Both will be under considerable scrutiny from fans and pundits going forward, and perhaps from their own front office.

“We will be better from this experience that we had with Baltimore and what happened to us at the end of the game,” Jones said. “A win would have given you another way of couching it as far as having growth and enthusiasm for having won a game like that because we did come back and we came back in an impressive way. All of that makes us realize we really are just at the beginning of what I hope is an exciting year for us.”

The Cowboys also made a dubious decision to kick deep after the tying field goal, giving Baltimore the ball at the 35 without any time running off the clock.

Schottenheimer took responsibility for that decision, saying he was still upset with himself over the third down play call before the field goal, for what he called overcoaching Prescott.

Schottenheimer said he didn’t communicate properly with special teams coach Nick Sorensen or his game management coordinator, Ryan Feder, on the decision to kick deep.

“My dad had a rule, one play at a time,” said Schottenheimer, whose father, the late Marty Schottenheimer, was a 200-game winner in the NFL. “He talked a lot about it, because it happened to him. He made a decision on a play. It didn’t go good. He was (mad) about it, and it affected another decision. I think that’s kind of what happened to me.”

The Cowboys (1-2) got a break in the NFC East when two-time defending champion Philadelphia lost to Chicago and backup quarterback Case Keenum on Monday night.

Dallas visits Houston (0-3) on Sunday. The New York Giants, who will be without quarterback Jaxson Dart for the rest of the regular season because of a knee injury, are tied with the Eagles atop the division at 2-1.

“We are very much in the hunt, and I say that principally based upon the way I feel about our team, as much or more than what’s happening with the other teams,” Jones said. “Philadelphia has things that they want to work on just as the Giants do, just as we do. It makes you see how health is a factor. Availability is a factor. And we're just getting started.”

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

At the company’s annual developer conference, Altman made a slew of product announcements and updates, including OpenAI's new agents, called Dots. The agents, designed to complete ongoing tasks proactively on behalf of users, are a competitor of Meta's personal agent Muse, which exploded in popularity after Meta's own conference last week.

Dot agents will be “like an AI helper that always has your back, inspired by the cool versions of what we all watched in movies growing up," Altman said.

On Monday, OpenAI said it was holding off on releasing the other model because of concerns raised by its researchers. That followed broader calls within the industry to decelerate the pace of the technology’s advance to let safety measures catch up.

Altman avoided making references to concerns around the shelved model during his keynote address, but said during a question-and-answer session that the company was investing more in safety, security and monitoring of AI agents.

The AI boom should be considered more like a period of renaissance than an industrial revolution, he said.

“The best version of AI is not about making people cogs in a giant machine, ever whirring faster and faster. There are some parts of life that we cannot and should not automate,” Altman said. “AI should be about giving people more power over their own lives, more tools to create, learn, discover, expand knowledge.”

The company also announced the release of GPT-6.1 Sol, an upgraded version of its model GPT-6 Sol, and a premium speed tier called “Ultrafast," among other launches and updates.

Open AI's announcements came just before leaders from six of the leading AI companies, including OpenAI, signed a voluntary accord with President Donald Trump Tuesday to “self-police” development. The accord said the companies would implement “robust internal controls,” partner with an “independent external auditor” to assess whether the controls were working, and set up a committee among each company’s board of directors to evaluate reports from internal and external auditors.

While many in Silicon Valley have called for the government to help establish guardrails for the technology, Trump has pushed back against the idea of greater government oversight of AI.

While Altman didn't attend, OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman was at the White House, along with Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that Altman discussed security concerns during a question-and-answer session.

Yamal scored twice and set up another goal as Spain beat Croatia 4-1 at home to reach 40 matches unbeaten. It was Spain's first home game since it won its second world title in July.

Before the match, captain Rodri lifted the World Cup trophy in front of a raucous home crowd at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in Seville.

England needed second-half goals by Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane to defeat the Czechs 2-0, with the hosts playing a man down from the 23rd minute after Pavel Sulc was shown a red card.

Spain wins again behind red-hot Yamal

Spain got past Croatia in its second game since beating Argentina in the World Cup final, with Yamal scoring two minutes into the match and again in the 63rd.

Marc Pubill also scored, finding the net in the 31st for his first goal with Spain, two minutes after Dion Drena Beljo had equalized for the visitors, also with his first international goal. Substitute Nico Williams sealed the Spain victory in the 89th.

Yamal, who also found the net against England, gave the assist for Pubill's goal. He has scored 11 goals in his last eight matches for country and club Barcelona.

“He is a very generous footballer who puts all that talent at the service of the team," Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. "We are fortunate to have him with us. He is someone who is truly loved within the squad. We are very happy with him.”

La Roja had extended its unbeaten streak to 39 games by rallying to a 3-2 win over England at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Spain has lost only one of its last 16 Nations League group matches, winning seven straight.

“We know Spain are the best. There is no debate about that," Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said. "We knew that before kickoff. They have been the best side for several years. Against England, we did not see them play quite like this, but tonight there was simply too much space.”

Spain leads Group A3 with six points, three more than both England and Croatia.

Croatia won 2-1 at Czechia, formerly known as the Czech Republic, on Saturday, with veteran midfielder Luka Modric scoring his nation’s opening goal. Modric started on the bench against Spain on Tuesday, entering the match in the 81st.

Spain will still host Czechia on Saturday and visit Croatia next Tuesday.

England back to winning

England played with an extra man for most of the match and needed goals by Gordon in the 47th and Kane in the 69th to win its first match in the Nations League this season.

Sulc was sent off for a foul in the first half, with video review changing a yellow card into a red.

“We played very professionally in the second half," England coach Thomas Tuchel said. “We stepped up, we needed to be a bit more dynamic and bring a bit more urgency into our play, which we did, but we kept the intensity going, and the effort was still there. We deserved victory. We got an important win, and that’s what counts.”

In the lower-tiered League B, Switzerland won 3-0 at Scotland, which played a man down from about the 10th minute after a red card to Jack Hendry. It was Sebastien Pocognoli's first home game as Scotland's coach.

Slovenia beat visiting North Macedonia 2-0.

In League C, host Moldova and Faroe Islands drew 1-1, while Finland and Belarus played to a scoreless draw in Helsinki.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Jurors on Monday deadlocked on the charge against former Mississippi Capitol Police officer Michael Rhinewalt and acquitted a second former Capitol Police officer, Steven Frederick, who was also charged with manslaughter in the September 2022 shooting of 25-year-old Jaylen Lewis.

The case has raised questions about policing in the majority-Black city of Jackson and prompted a lawsuit from Lewis' mom. Frederick and Rhinewalt, who are white, were officers when they shot Lewis.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch's office, which prosecuted the two former officers, said in a statement that it “followed the process” and will not pursue a new trial against Rhinewalt.

“In the case of a tie, the benefit of the doubt goes to our law enforcement officers,” the statement said, adding that the “men and women who wear the uniform have earned that.”

The two former officers testified that they opened fire on Lewis in self-defense after he rammed a police vehicle and drove toward them.

“Both of them were in fear for their life and each other’s safety,” Merrida Coxwell, an attorney for Frederick, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. “It was horrible and it was tragic. All he had to do was stop.”

Prosecutors said Lewis and his passenger did not know they were being stopped by police. The officers were driving unmarked cars and were in plain clothes with vests.

Rhinewalt is also charged with aggravated assault in another police shooting in 2022. Sherita Harris says she was shot in the head by Rhinewalt during a pursuit after a traffic stop.

Rhinewalt and another Capitol Police officer charged in that case say Harris fled after they exited their patrol vehicle, and they heard gunshots from the car as they gave chase. Both officers have pleaded not guilty.

Rhinewalt’s lawyers did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails from the AP.

The ban on shock gloves will take effect next year and remain in place until 2030. It comes weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved to equip its officers with the gloves, which are designed to gain compliance from combative individuals. Last month, the agency awarded a nearly $17 million contract to buy 6,000 pairs.

“Trump has put his political interests above the health, safety and livelihood of American families,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in our state.”

The law is the latest example of how Democratic-led states have been pushing back against President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts since he took office last year. In California, lawmakers passed at least two dozen bills this year seeking to fortify immigrants' rights, restrict cooperation with federal immigration agents and tighten regulations on immigrant detention facilities, among other things. Newsom signed many of them Tuesday.

Nationwide, 17 states with Democratic-led legislatures have passed a total of more than 100 pro-immigrant bills this year, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill tracking software Plural. The most common purpose is to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agents.

Democratic California Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins said she introduced the shock-gloves legislation to “put a pause” on law enforcement's use of the devices while the state examines their potential risks. The law requires the state's Justice Department to study their safety and report to lawmakers by 2029.

“There's a lot of unrest and a lot of uncertainty,” she said in an interview. “A lot of people are scared.”

The law will again test the state's authority to restrict federal agents amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. A federal judge earlier this year blocked the state's first-in-the-nation law barring federal officers from wearing face coverings, deeming it too selective because it applied to local and federal law enforcement but exempted state officers.

Lawmakers passed a new bill this year to make the ban apply to all officers. Newsom signed that legislation.

Kevin Johnson, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis, School of Law, said courts ultimately are likely to rule that the state cannot bar federal officers from wearing shock gloves or face coverings. The laws are well-intentioned, he said, but likely conflict with the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which generally sets federal law as supreme over conflicting state law.

“The state has very limited, if any, powers in dictating to the federal government how its officers are armed,” he said.

California law enforcement groups broadly opposed the ban, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, a Trump appointee, said the state didn't have the authority to limit which weapons federal officers use.

“Governor, we’ve been through this already,” he wrote on X. “If you want to regulate federal agents, you have to win a federal election. Until then, you have no jurisdiction.”

Essayli also suggested federal officers would defy a law Newsom signed restricting them from using flash-bang grenades during protests and immigration enforcement.

“Or what? You’re going to write us a ticket,” Essayli posted.

Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper, a Democrat and former state lawmaker, said banning shock gloves “really makes no sense" because they are among the nonlethal tools officers can use if necessary.

“When the federal government does something, the state Legislature wants to ban it,” he said at a news conference. “They're making our job harder.”

Sharp-Collins said ICE's plan to use shock gloves was the catalyst for the ban. But she cited their use by other officers, including a case in which a Kentucky family alleges a man died after being tased and shocked with the gloves dozens of times while in law enforcement custody in 2024.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who wrote last year's mask ban, also authored this year's measure to expand it to state officers.

“California must use every available tool to stand up for our communities under attack from ICE’s secret police terror campaign,” he said in a statement after it passed the Legislature.

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Associated Press writer David A. Lieb contributed to this report from Jefferson City, Missouri.

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan national, was shot by an ICE officer in Austin on Sept. 20. He was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center, where he was released and taken into ICE custody three hours later with the bullet remaining in his back. He had been held at a detention center in Pearsall.

Garces Perez appeared before a federal court in Austin on Tuesday morning to be formally charged. Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, his lead attorney, said she saw him at the courthouse and he “was clearly very confused and distraught. He was in a lot of pain. He had not been given pain medication and he did not understand what was happening.”

In a sworn affidavit, federal prosecutors say that Garces Perez was first pulled over by ICE officers after they had observed him exiting a restaurant and identified him as having a final order of removal.

The officers identified themselves as immigration agents and Garces Perez handed them his Texas driver license, the court documents say. One officer was wearing a body worn camera that captured the incident. The other officer, the one that eventually shot Garces Perez, was not wearing a camera.

According to Garces Perez’s statement to investigators, he knew that he would be detained, so he asked to park in a different location. The officers and Garces Perez give conflicting statements over when emergency lights were activated and if the officers struck Garces Perez’s vehicle.

Garces Perez disregarded the officers’ commands to exit the vehicle and he fled the scene. As he pulled away from the scene, his driver’s side mirror hit one of the officers in the torso, according to the criminal complaint.

After a brief vehicle chase, one ICE officer claims that Garces Perez attempted to strike him with his car, which is when the officer, standing outside the vehicle, shot into the car and struck Garces Perez in the back.

Garces Perez is now in custody of the U.S. Marshals and has been taken for a medical review, according to Lincoln-Goldfinch. She said she has received no updates about his medical status or location.

“There’s a lot moving very quickly and this is because the government has refused to cooperate and inform the other side which is, in my experience, not a professional way to litigate,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said. “We believe that the government is playing games with Wilber’s life … we still have concerns about sepsis and long-term immobility, and that is backed up by medical professionals.”

President Donald Trump won a second term in 2024 vowing to crack down on immigration. During his second administration, immigration agents, who often are masked, have shot at least two dozen people. At least six, including three U.S. citizens, have died. Many of the shootings involved agents firing at people in moving vehicles, which law enforcement experts said is typically prohibited or discouraged by local police.

The court documents outlining the criminal case against Garces Perez do not name the two agents involved, but refer to them by the initials “L.G.” and “D.F.”

The federal government has withheld the identification for most immigration agents involved in shootings since Trump returned to office. The growing tally of deaths at the hands of anonymous federal agents has ignited outcries by Democrats, the victims’ relatives and residents to identify them. On Monday, The Texas Tribune identified the federal immigration agent who witnesses say fired through an open van window and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston in July.

Since the Austin shooting, several members of Congress and advocacy groups have called for Garces Perez’s release from detention due to his medical needs, which they claim are not being adequately addressed by ICE. U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, visited Garces Perez last Wednesday and described him as in high spirits but in pain and in need of surgery.

“This person needs a doctor, not a deportation or a detention center,” Casar said in a news conference last week.

Lincoln-Goldfinch has previously said he entered the U.S. legally in 2024 via the CBP One app and applied for asylum. Records show that he had received a removal order in August 2025, which Lincoln-Goldfinch says was sent to the wrong address. A motion to reconsider was denied in July 2026. The attorney added that his work permit expired in December 2025.

Garces Perez is scheduled to appear at a detention hearing on Wednesday in Austin regarding the new criminal charges. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice.

A separate hearing was originally set for Wednesday in San Antonio to address his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging the legality of his detention. That hearing was canceled after Garces Perez was criminally charged, which takes precedence over his immigration case.

“Wilber finds himself inside a web of legal challenges,” said Rochelle Garza, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project and a part of Garces Perez’s legal team. “Our team, along with a number of other lawyers, were working on getting him released, whichever avenue we still had available to us. The takeaway here is that it was very clear that the timing of this (criminal charge) was intended to thwart his ability to be released.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment beyond a press release announcing the charges.

“This entire case is based on speculation,” attorney Kevin Reddington said during the first hearing since Clancy's trial ended Sept. 4 with a deadlocked jury. They were split 11 to 1 in her favor.

During that trial, Reddington didn't dispute that Clancy killed the children at the family's home in 2023. Instead, the defense sought to persuade the jury that the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse was not criminally responsible because of mental disease, a rare condition called postpartum psychosis.

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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's lawyer now says there is not enough evidence to prove she did it

But at Tuesday's hearing, Reddington sought to persuade Judge William Sullivan — the same judge who presided over the first trial — to acquit Clancy.

There is, Reddington contended, not enough evidence “that this woman killed those children.” He pointed to matters ranging from her condition when she was found badly injured and bleeding in the yard outside her home, to her lack of memory of what happened when she woke up in a hospital. At the first trial, her now ex-husband and first responders testified that they arrived at the house and discovered she had tried to kill herself right after killing the children.

“Where is the admission? Where does she say that she did this?” Reddington said, going on to recap his arguments that she also was psychotic and delusional at the time of the children's deaths. He didn’t offer alternative theories or evidence about who might be responsible.

Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham called his argument “laughable.”

At the trial, jurors heard testimony that Clancy said she heard voices instructing her to kill her children. Her DNA was found on exercise bands used to strangle them. Before the trial, Reddington himself filed a motion in which he said Clancy was willing to stipulate, in writing, to her involvement in the children’s deaths.

“For the first time, the defendant is arguing that there is no evidence she did this,” Buckingham told the judge. “I’d suggest to you the entire record is voluminous as to information supporting the fact that she did this.”

The judge didn’t immediately rule and no trial date was set.

The prosecution maintains that Clancy knew her actions were wrong when she used exercise bands to strangle 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy. They said she contrived to get her husband out of the house that evening by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family.

It's still unknown whether Clancy will face a second trial

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to retry Clancy, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said after the hearing. They could choose to retry her on first-degree murder charges or pursue lesser charges, including second-degree murder or manslaughter, or drop the case entirely.

“We are going to do what we can for the children,” Cruz told reporters outside court. “That is what this case is about.”

Legal wrangling over the holdout juror is also unresolved

Clancy's attorneys have asked the judge to dismiss the criminal case. Among other things, they have argued that the judge should have ousted the one juror who favored a murder conviction after the jury foreperson complained he was refusing to listen to the law on reasonable doubt.

The juror, Michael Desronvil, has said through his lawyer that he had no doubts about his stance. Desronvil told Fox News’ “Hannity” in a brief video statement Monday that “the whole focus has been on me, but we want to reel everything back and put the focus on the three angels,” meaning the children.

The case is still capturing attention

The livestreamed trial generated intense public interest and drew attention to maternal mental health after childbirth. About a dozen Clancy supporters, most dressed in pink, stood outside court Tuesday waiting for her.

Clancy remains charged with murder and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.

She could have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted of murder. If acquitted, the judge could have ordered her confined to a mental health facility.

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Peltz reported from New York.

The memo describes the decision to stop granting tenure to civilian faculty as part of an effort to refocus the military academies on warfighting.

“To ensure our educational institutions remain firmly focused on this warfighting mission, we must address the structural mechanisms that have allowed civilian academic norms to dilute our focus on lethality,” the memo said.

The tenure designation generally comes with a career-long academic appointment at a college. Advocates say the job security is a crucial component of academic freedom. Hegseth's directive apparently would not remove the designation from faculty members who are currently tenured.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy all did not immediately respond to questions, and officials at the Pentagon did not offer further details on the plan when reached for comment.

The percentage of faculty who are civilians varies by military academy. It is highest at the United States Naval Academy, where roughly half of the 600 faculty members are civilians. The academies hire civilian faculty to offer expertise in topics and disciplines that military officers don't study as part of their careers, such as English and the humanities.

Hegseth’s decision follows broader conservative attacks on tenured faculty appointments in higher education. Those efforts to rein in tenure are often presented as bids to rein in academics with liberal views.

Civilian faculty members often have more teaching experience and credentials than their military counterparts at the service academies, said Eric Merriam, a legal studies and political science professor at the University of Central Florida and a former professor at the Air Force Academy.

The academies have long served a dual role — training the next generation of officers, while providing a traditional, prestigious, four-year college experience, Merriam said. The schools offer a broad, liberal arts education, in recognition that senior leadership must be critical thinkers who can understand different points of view.

Hegseth's actions signal a shift toward a narrower focus, Merriam said.

“It does seem to me as though it’s a retrenchment,” he said. “It's a retreat from what I think was positive progress in ensuring that these elite educational academies actually have elite education as part of the program.”

In Hegseth's memo Tuesday, tenure was described as a factor that contributed to “academic stagnation, faculty complacency, and institutional inability to adapt to emerging needs. Additionally, it contributes to curriculum that drifts from the mission of educating our warfighters to the research priorities of the tenured academics.”

Traditionally, tenured professors can be terminated only under extreme circumstances, such as professional misconduct or a financial emergency. Advocates say it's especially important to maintain tenure as controversy grows over scholarly discussions about history, race, gender and sexuality.

The decision Tuesday is part of a broader push from Hegseth to remake the military's education apparatus. Earlier this year, the Pentagon severed longstanding ties with prestigious universities that had been a pipeline for military leadership, forging new relationships with Christian schools and public universities.

The Pentagon has also attempted to reorient the K-12 schools it operates for military families. It introduced a course centered on Western civilization and Christianity, part of an effort to redirect the education system toward patriotic values and classical learning.

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

Prosecutors said Caleb Flynn, 40, staged a home invasion in February after shooting his wife, Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach.

Flynn, who claimed his wife was killed by a burglar, could get up to life in prison without the chance of parole when he's sentenced on Monday.

Flynn closed his eyes, shook his head to the side and fought to maintain his composure as the judge read the guilty verdicts on charges of murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence. He began sobbing while the judge dismissed the jury. His attorney called the verdicts “disappointing” and said he expects to file an appeal.

Flynn appeared on “American Idol” in 2013, telling TV viewers about how his wife had encouraged him to chase his dreams on the singing competition. He sang before judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj but did not advance to the main competition in Hollywood.

Prosecutors told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday that Flynn wanted out of his marriage when he shot his wife at their home in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton. Flynn and the couple’s two daughters were home when police arrived.

The night before the fatal shooting, he sent a text to his lover saying: “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow," said Matthew Joseph, an assistant Miami County prosecutor.

Flynn didn’t want to lose his daughters, his high-paying job at his wife’s family business or his position in the church, prosecutors said.

“He wanted to keep his mistress and have his daughters all to himself,” Joseph said.

Prosecutors didn’t find the gun used to kill Ashley Flynn, but they said his fingerprints and DNA were all over the scene. They also said his devices showed that he was moving about the house even though he told investigators he was sleeping when his wife was shot.

During the trial, the woman who said she was having an affair with Flynn testified that he said he hated his wife and had thoughts of killing her.

Flynn’s attorney told the jury Tuesday that investigators never found evidence that Flynn fired a gun that day.

“His being unfaithful doesn’t equal murder,” said Patrick Mulligan. “The issue here isn’t, ‘Was he a good husband?’”

Text messages Flynn sent to his lover complaining about his wife were meant to make her feel good, Mulligan said.

Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. Botner read some of her text messages with Flynn.

About six months before the killing, Flynn wrote: “I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”

According to Pentagon officials, Hegseth will direct all the military services to double the 10% reduction that he ordered last spring to the roughly 800 flag and general officer positions, making it a 20% total decrease to be completed by Jan. 1, 2027.

President Donald Trump or Hegseth already have fired or pushed to retire more than two dozen military leaders since taking office, including the Army's top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, in April. They also have fired the only two women serving as four-star officers, as well as a disproportionate number of other senior female officers.

Hegseth plans to make the announcement in a speech to troops at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, the second year in a row he will deliver what the Pentagon is calling his “State of the Force” address. Fox News earlier reported the new reductions, which could include any one-star general or above or officer of equivalent Navy rank.

As part of last year's cuts, Hegseth also ordered the active duty military to shed 20% of its four-star general officers — the highest-level leader — and the National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions, but it is unclear if all those cuts have been made.

Hegseth gathered all the military's generals and admirals at the same time last year for an address in which he declared an end to “woke” culture and announced new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness.

However, that speech was overshadowed by the attendance of President Donald Trump, who proposed using American cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of needing U.S. military might to combat what he called the “invasion from within.”

When Hegseth first announced the effort to trim the highest levels of the military ranks, he argued it was intended to remove “redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership.” In a memo released in May 2025, he said the aim was to free the military from “unnecessary bureaucratic layers.”

The number of general officer positions in the military is set by law, but it is possible to let positions remain unfilled by not submitting replacements to Congress.

Hegseth's relationship with Congress is already strained, and he faces articles of impeachment from a Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, over his leadership of the Pentagon and management of the Iran war.

Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said eliminating senior leadership positions must be done in consultation with Congress and warned that the planned cuts “should alarm every American.”

“Congress has been clear with the Secretary that he must consult this body and explain his reasoning for senior officer removals and promotion holds. To date, we have not received satisfactory answers," Reed said in a statement.

“Our military is conducting major operations around the world, and the force is already under strain," he added. "Eliminating senior positions and leaders now will add to that strain and disrupt command when continuity matters most."

Duran (0-1), who allowed just two homers in 61 regular-season games, gave up a single to Michael Harris II before hitting Ozzie Albies with a pitch. Riley drove the go-ahead blast over the wall in right-center field. Harris had three hits.

The Braves can clinch the series on Wednesday and end the Phillies’ history of postseason success in the NL East rivalry. Philadelphia beat Atlanta in the 1993 NLCS and the 2022 and 2023 NLDS.

Riley's go-ahead homer was especially satisfying after he hit only .219 with 19 homers in a frustrating regular season.

“Especially knowing how my season was not the way I wanted it, that's why the postseason is a clean slate,” Riley said, adding he was “trying to do something good” for his teammates.

Braves ace Chris Sale said Riley never let his struggles affect his approach to the game during the regular season.

“You couldn't tell if he was the leading MVP candidate or if he was struggling,” Sale said. "I really mean that. He's the same guy. He kept doing the work and had a great moment."

Sale dueled early against Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo, who was sharp after missing time down the stretch with left shoulder inflammation. Luzardo was expected to make an abbreviated start, but he pitched one-run ball over five innings with 77 pitches.

“In my mind if we got 75 pitches from him today we would be in a pretty good spot,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said of Luzardo. “... He kind of gave us more than we thought honestly.”

Atlanta pounced when Philadelphia went to the bullpen — a common theme for the Phillies as they slumped into the postseason. Their relievers had a 5.79 ERA in September, worst in the majors.

Albies hit a tiebreaking triple off Alex McFarlane in the sixth for a 2-1 lead. Center fielder Derek Hill had an opportunity to make a leaping catch of Albies’ drive at the wall, but he appeared to jump too high. The ball hit Hill’s wrist below his glove.

J.T. Realmuto put Philadelphia ahead 3-2 with a two-run triple in the seventh inning — right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. bobbled the ball near the wall, but he wasn't charged with an error.

Mattingly handed the ball over to Duran in the seventh, perhaps hoping the 28-year-old had three innings in him to close things out. Duran made just one multi-inning appearance this season.

Sale gave up three runs as he faded in the seventh in his effort to deliver as the ace of Atlanta’s depleted rotation.

Sale hit Bryan De La Cruz with a pitch with one out in the seventh before giving up a single to Bryson Stott. Right-hander Didier Fuentes then gave up Realmuto’s two-run triple to the right-field corner.

Alec Bohm hit a high fastball from Sale for a run-scoring double over Harris in center in the first inning. Sale didn’t give up another hit until Edmundo Sosa doubled with two outs in the fifth.

Luzardo gave up three hits with six strikeouts. He pitched longer than many expected after throwing a scoreless eighth inning in Sunday’s 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays that clinched the wild-card berth.

Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for the save after Dylan Lee (1-0) threw a scoreless eighth.

100 at 37

The 37-year-old Sale threw a 100 mph fastball to Bryce Harper in the first inning. He joined Aroldis Chapman for Boston last season as the only pitchers 37 or older to throw a 100 mph pitch in the postseason since tracking began in 2008.

No sellout

The 2:15 p.m. first pitch, with potential fans in school and at work, hurt the attendance. The announced attendance was 30,127 with gaps of empty seats throughout Truist Park, especially in left field.

The Braves ranked 10th in the major leagues in attendance with a total of 2,800,446 and an average of 34,573 with 25 sellouts.

Up next

Braves RHP Tyler Mahle (7-10, 3.99 ERA) is expected to face Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (18-7, 2.91) in Wednesday’s second game of the series. Mahle was 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA in nine games with Atlanta.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here