The man, Pedro Hernandez, 65, has been behind bars since his 2012 arrest. He is due back in court in June for a status update. A trial date has not yet been set.

Etan vanished on a two-block walk to his school bus stop on the first day his mom let him go unaccompanied. He was among the first vanished kids to be pictured on milk cartons, and the May 25 anniversary of his disappearance became National Missing Children’s Day.

New York Judge Michele Rodney turned away his lawyers' arguments that prosecutors waited too long to charge Hernandez and that he can’t get a fair trial now, after decades of media coverage.

“The court will carefully work, together with the parties, to ensure that jurors are selected who promise to be fair and to consider only the evidence and the law, despite what they have learned about the case from the media,” Rodney wrote.

Hernandez's lawyers declined to comment afterward. Prosecutors had no immediate comment.

Hernandez was a 19-year-old corner store clerk in Etan’s neighborhood, but the man didn't become a suspect until investigators got a 2012 tip that he had told various people in his life years ago that he’d killed a child or young man in New York.

Hernandez then told police — after seven hours of questioning and before being told he had a right to remain silent — that he had strangled Etan in the shop basement after enticing him there with the offer of a soda. Hernandez later was read his rights and recapped his statement on video, telling authorities: “Something just took over me.”

Defense lawyers said all of Hernandez’ admissions amounted to the imaginings of a mentally ill and intellectually limited man, haunted and confused by a highly publicized tragedy that had happened near his workplace.

Hernandez' 2015 trial ended in a jury deadlock, a 2017 retrial yielded a conviction, and then a federal appeals court overturned the verdict. The court said the 2017 trial judge mishandled a jury question about determining the validity of Hernandez’ confessions.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office pledged to retry the case but also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to restore Hernandez’ conviction. The high court isn’t obliged to hear the case and hasn’t yet said whether it will.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that the crucial waterway, through which about 20% of the world's oil is shipped, was now fully open to commercial vessels, as a 10-day truce between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon appeared to hold.

Araghchi said ships will use routes designated by the Islamic Republic in coordination with Iranian authorities, suggesting Iran planned to retain some level of control over the channel. It was not clear if vessels would have to pay tolls.

Trump initially celebrated the Iranian announcement, posting on social media that the strait was "fully open and ready for full passage.” But minutes later, he issued another post saying the U.S. Navy's blockade would continue “UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.”

Iran protests continued blockade

A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the blockade was a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

In comments published by Iranian state media, Esmail Baghaei said the strait is still under the supervision of Iran, which is serious about its commitments. But if the U.S. violates its own commitments, then Iran "will take the necessary reciprocal measures."

“No leniency will be shown in this regard,” Baghaei said.

The president also said Iran, with help from the U.S., is working to remove all mines from the strait.

Trump imposed the blockade earlier this week after Iran restricted traffic through the strait due to fighting in Lebanon, which Iran claimed was a breach of the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire reached between the U.S., Israel and Iran.

The president's decision to continue the blockade despite Iran’s announcement appeared aimed at sustaining pressure on Tehran as the fate of the two-week ceasefire reached last week remained uncertain. The ceasefire paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.

Direct talks between the U.S. and Iran last weekend were inconclusive, as the two nations could not agree about Iran’s nuclear program and other points.

Trump says new talks could happen soon

Trump suggested a second round of talks could happen this weekend.

“The Iranians want to meet,” he said in a brief telephone interview with the news outlet Axios. “They want to make a deal. I think a meeting will probably take place over the weekend.”

Oil prices fell Friday on hopes the U.S. and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement . The head of the International Energy Agency had warned that the energy crisis could get worse if the strait did not reopen.

Two Iranian semiofficial news agencies seemed to challenge Araghchi's announcement about the strait.

Considered close with Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, the Fars news agency issued a series of posts on X criticizing what it said was a lack of clarity over the decision to reopen the waterway and a “strange silence from the Supreme National Security Council and the negotiating team.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has recently acted as the country's de facto top decision-making body, amid doubts over the status of the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly wounded early in the war.

The Mehr news agency also said the decision to reopen the strait needed “clarification” and required the supreme leader’s approval.

Truce in Lebanon could help US-Iran peace efforts

The ceasefire in Lebanon could clear one major obstacle to an agreement between Iran, the United States and Israel to end weeks of devastating war. But it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a deal it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.

Trump said in another post that Israel is “prohibited” by the U.S. from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defense.

Shortly before Trump's post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the ceasefire in Lebanon “at the request of my friend President Trump,” but that the campaign against Hezbollah is not complete.

He claimed Israel had destroyed about 90% of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket stockpiles and added that Israeli forces “have not finished yet” with the dismantling of the group.

Celebrations in Beirut

In Beirut, celebratory gunshots rang out at the start of the truce. Displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

The Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon had reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.

An Israeli strike in the area of Kounine hit a car and a motorcycle, killing one person and wounding three, including a Syrian citizen, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Friday. It was the first airstrike and first fatality reported since the truce took effect.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli army or Hezbollah.

An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking the current ceasefire with strikes on Lebanon. Israel said that deal did not cover Lebanon.

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Israel says it will keep troops in Lebanon

Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone.”

Israel’s hard-line Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue to hold all the places it is currently stationed, including a buffer zone extending 10 kilometers (6 miles) into southern Lebanon. He said many homes in the area would be destroyed and Lebanese residents will not return.

Hezbollah has said Lebanese people have “the right to resist” Israeli occupation and that their actions “will be determined based on how developments unfold.”

Israel and Hezbollah have fought several wars and have been fighting on and off since the day after the start of the Gaza war. Israel and Lebanon reached a deal to end that war in November 2024, but Israel has kept up near-daily strikes in what it says is an effort to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from regrouping. That escalated into another invasion after Hezbollah again began firing missiles at Israel in response to its war on Iran.

Mediators seek compromise on three points

In the Iran war, mediators are pushing for compromise on three main points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

Trump on Friday suggested Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium.

“The U.S.A. will get all Nuclear ‘Dust,’ created by our great B2 Bombers — No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” he said in a post. Nuclear dust is the shorthand Trump frequently uses to refer to the highly enriched uranium that is believed buried under nuclear sites the U.S. bombed during last year’s 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

If true, it would be a major concession from Iran and would lock in a key demand of the U.S. to end the conflict. Neither Iran nor countries acting as intermediaries in the conflict have said Tehran has made such an agreement.

___

Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Ben Finley in Washington, Samy Magdy and Amir Rajdy in Cairo, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Abby Sewell in Beirut and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

The decision could have broad implications in one of the nation’s most prominent battleground states, which will have several high-profile races this fall. Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, has been roiled by election conspiracy theorists ever since President Donald Trump lost the state to Democrat Joe Biden during his bid for reelection in 2020.

Justin Heap, the Republican recorder in Maricopa County, sued the predominantly Republican county board of supervisors last summer alleging it had illegally taken control of certain aspects of election administration. Heap claimed the board transferred funding, IT staff and some key functions — including management of ballot drop boxes and establishing early voting sites — away from his office through an agreement negotiated with his predecessor, whom he had recently defeated in a GOP primary.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney mostly sided with Heap's office in his ruling, which was filed Thursday but appeared on the public docket Friday. The board of supervisors “acted unlawfully and exceeded its statutory authority by seizing the Recorder's personnel, systems and equipment and refusing to return them” to the recorder, he wrote.

Blaney also ruled that the recorder's office is responsible for overseeing in-person early voting, among other duties, while the board is responsible for other operations, such as selecting Election Day voting locations, supplying polling locations and hiring poll workers.

“The Board's assertion of plenary authority over election administration through its general supervisory powers is inconsistent with Arizona law,” the judge wrote.

Board Chairwoman Kate Brophy McGee said the board will consider an appeal.

“I disagree with other portions of the ruling, and I will explore all options with the Board of Supervisors, including an expeditious appeal,” McGee, a Republican, said in a statement. "From day one, the Board of Supervisors has provided Recorder Heap the resources and staffing needed to fulfill his statutory duties. We will continue to do so because voters always come first.”

In a statement, Heap praised the ruling as a “clear and decisive victory for the rule of law and for the voters of Maricopa County.”

“The court confirmed that the Board cannot override state law, use funding as leverage, or take control of election duties assigned to the Recorder,” Heap said. "This ruling restores both the authority and the resources necessary for my office to do its job.”

Heap, a former Republican state lawmaker, was elected in 2024 after unseating incumbent Stephen Richer in the GOP primary and defeating a Democratic candidate in the general election. In the past, Heap has stopped short of repeating false claims that the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen, but has said voters don’t trust the state’s voting system and that it’s poorly run.

False claims of fraud since the 2020 presidential election led to threats of violence against Richer and others in the Maricopa County elections office. Richer blamed Heap for contributing to an atmosphere of distrust and vitriol directed toward the office.

“He catered to the really ugly stuff that the people in that office had to live through,” Richer said of Heap, in an interview last month. “And he allied with people who were very much in the eye of the storm in terms of creating it.”

Once he took office, Heap terminated a previous agreement that was reached between Richer and the board that had revised how election operations were divided between the two offices. Heap filed his lawsuit with the backing of America First Legal, a conservative public interest group founded by Stephen Miller, now a deputy chief of staff in the White House.

• HOT & HUMID: Highs near 90 today
• 10AM SATURDAY COLD FRONT: Gusty winds, falling temps, and showers
• BEST RAIN CHANCES: Saturday afternoon & night, again on Monday

FORECAST

TODAY

An overcast morning will give way to afternoon sunshine. Expect a hot day, with a high near 90.

SATURDAY

After a mild morning in the 70s, a cold front will slide through San Antonio around 10am. With the front you can expect:

• Gusts of up to 35-40 mph out of the north
• Falling temperatures (low-60s by the afternoon)
• Rain, especially Saturday afternoon and evening

A few rumbles of thunder are also possible with Saturday afternoon’s activity. Showers should wind down by sunrise Sunday.

SUNDAY

Sunday should be drier, with some peeks of sun during the afternoon. It’ll stay mild, with highs in the low-70s. Clouds will thicken Sunday night, with a few sprinkles possible.

MONDAY

An upper-level disturbance will bring another round of showers. While the rain won’t be heavy, off and on showers are possible throughout the day. This will keep temperatures cool, with highs only in the low-60s. Showers may try to wind down a bit in time for the Texas Cavaliers River Parade, but plan for cool & damp conditions.

EXTENDED FORECAST

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However, Trump added that the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ships and ports “will remain in full force” until Iran reaches a deal with Washington to end the war.

Oil prices fell 10%, and the Dow soared 1,020 points after Iran said the strait is open, allowing tankers to resume shipments from the Persian Gulf. Stocks are heading for a third straight weekly gain, up 12% since late March on hopes the U.S. and Iran can avoid a worst-case economic scenario.

A 10-day ceasefire in Israel and Lebanon began at midnight and appears to be holding after more than a month of war between Israel and Hezbollah, although the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group is not a party to the deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is “not yet finished” with Hezbollah. The militant group said its response will depend on how events unfold.

The fragile calm has prompted thousands of displaced Lebanese families to head home, with vehicles piled high with mattresses and salvaged belongings backed up for kilometers on a route leading to southern Lebanon. The war displaced over a million people in the tiny country.

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Here is the latest:

Iran’s navy chief says Trump’s naval blockade is ‘piracy and maritime theft’

The commander of the Iranian navy, Shahram Irani, said Friday evening that Trump “has blockaded his friends” and not Iran, as the U.S. said its blockade will remain in place after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial traffic.

In a statement carried by Mizan, Iran’s official judiciary news agency, the navy chief said Trump’s blockade is just “empty words” and that no one is listening to him.

The U.S. military says it has turned 19 ships back to Iran since imposing the blockade earlier this week.

Lebanese president says negotiations are ‘not a weakness’ and the country has reclaimed its sovereignty

President Joseph Aoun struck a defiant tone in his first address since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took hold, saying he wants Lebanon to chart its own course after weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The president said he wants to see Lebanon “flourishing, not committing suicide.” He condemned Hezbollah’s rocket fire into northern Israel that triggered the latest round of fighting, and criticized Iran’s role in arming and backing the group.

He framed both as violations of Lebanese sovereignty, and again vowed to disarm non-state groups, including Hezbollah.

In a pointed response to Hezbollah’s criticism of Lebanon’s direct talks with Israel and claims that Beirut lacks leverage, Aoun said the country will make its own decisions and stand by demands shared across Lebanese society, not ones dictated by Iran or its allies.

“There will be no concessions to any principle, no infringement of the sovereignty of this country,” he said.

Aoun also reiterated calls for Israel to halt attacks, withdraw troops, release detainees and allow displaced people to return.

US Treasury sanctions Iraqi militias backed by Iran

The U.S. imposed sanctions on seven senior commanders of Iraqi militias that are supported by Iran, including groups like Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, for allegedly planning and carrying out attacks on U.S. personnel and coalition forces in the region.

Officials have said the move is part of a broader effort to counter Iran’s influence in Iraq and deter further violence against U.S. interests.

The action also signifies a U.S. strategy of using economic pressure, not just military force, to target Iran’s network of allies, while warning global banks and firms to stop doing business with anyone tied to these groups.

“We will not allow Iraq’s terrorist militias, backed by Iran, to threaten American lives or interests,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said Friday. “Those who enable these militias’ violence will be held accountable.”

Head of US Central Command says ships are moving through the Strait of Hormuz

“We’ll see what this looks like going forward. But I think we should all remain optimistic,” Adm. Brad Cooper told reporters Friday after Iran announced the vital waterway was open to commercial vessels.

US Central Command leader says military will clear mines in Strait of Hormuz

The top commander in the Middle East confirmed that the U.S. military will be working to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz but would offer no details on the scope of the task.

“It’s a mission that we’ve undertaken,” Cooper told reporters on a call Friday before adding that he wouldn’t want to “characterize” the extent to which the critical waterway has been mined by Iran as part of a weekslong conflict with the U.S. and Israel.

Cooper said that it was “well within our ability to remove mines.”

Earlier on Friday Trump said in a social media post that “Iran, with the help of the U.S.A., has removed, or is removing, all sea mines!”

US Central Command chief says military still has ‘eyes on every Iranian port’

The top U.S. military leader in the Middle East said Friday that the American naval blockade of ships tied to Iran will remain in place for as long as Trump “says it will remain in effect.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads Central Command, told reporters on a phone call that “U.S. forces have eyes on every Iranian port.”

“We are watching every Iranian ship in every port. Period. Full stop,” Cooper said, adding that the U.S. military presence can stay in the region indefinitely.

“We’re well-provisioned. We’re well-manned. We have all the forces necessary to sustain this for as long as necessary,” Cooper said.

Iran threatens ‘reciprocal measures’ if US blockade continues

In comments published by Iranian state media Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei slammed the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

He said the Strait of Hormuz remains under the supervision of Iran, which is serious about its commitments. But if the U.S. violates its own commitments, then “Iran will take the necessary reciprocal measures.’’

“No leniency will be shown in this regard,” he said.

First cruise ship transits the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war began

The vessel-tracker MarineTraffic said the Malta-flagged passenger vessel, reportedly sailing without passengers and bound for Oman, departed Dubai on Friday after remaining docked for 47 days.

It said the Celestial Discovery ship is expected to arrive in Oman on Saturday.

Hours earlier, Iran and the U.S. said the strategic waterway, which has been effectively closed since the beginning of the conflict, will be fully open to commercial traffic.

UN chief says opening the Strait of Hormuz is ‘a step in the right direction’

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated the United Nations’ position: “We need the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz to be respected by all parties,” his spokesman said.

Guterres supports diplomatic efforts “to find a peaceful path forward out of the current conflict in the Middle East,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

“He also hopes that, together with the ceasefire, this measure will contribute to creating confidence between the parties and strengthen the ongoing dialogue facilitated by Pakistan,” the spokesman said.

What exactly did Trump ‘prohibit’ Israel from striking in Lebanon?

The State Department said Trump’s announced prohibition on Israeli strikes inside Lebanon applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defense, and referred to the third point of Wednesday’s agreement by Israel and Lebanon.

That point says “Israel shall preserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” It adds that Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets, in the territory of Lebanon by land, air, and sea.”

With the ceasefire only a few hours old, Israel has already launched at least one deadly drone strike in southern Lebanon, according to the health ministry there. During the previous ceasefire, Israel struck what it said were Hezbollah targets almost daily.

Trump suggests a second round of direct US-Iran talks could happen this weekend

“The Iranians want to meet,” Trump said in a brief telephone interview with the news outlet Axios. “They want to make a deal. I think a meeting will probably take place over the weekend.”

Despite the ceasefire, an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon kills 1 person

An Israeli strike in the area of Kounine hit a car and a motorcycle, killing one person and wounding three, including a Syrian citizen, Lebanon’s health ministry said Friday. It was the first airstrike and first fatality reported since a 10-day truce between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah took effect overnight.

The Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon had reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of the south in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has maintained that it still has the right to strike in Lebanon in response to perceived threats despite the ceasefire. There was no immediate response from Hezbollah.

Thousands head home as US-brokered truce holds in Lebanon

A fragile calm settled over parts of Lebanon on Friday as a 10-day ceasefire brokered by the United States took hold between Israel and Hezbollah, prompting thousands of displaced families to begin the journey home — even as uncertainty, destruction and Israeli warnings against going back to parts of southern Lebanon clouded their return.

By early morning, cars were backed up for kilometers on the route leading south to the damaged Qasmiyeh bridge over the Litani River, a key crossing linking the southern coastal city of Tyre to the north. Vehicles piled high with mattresses, suitcases and salvaged belongings crept forward through a single reopened lane, hastily repaired after an Israeli airstrike just a day earlier.

Drivers heading back to their villages along coastal highways cheered each other, flashed victory signs and exchanged blessings.

▶ Read more

Iranian media reports a challenge to the FM’s post declaring Strait of Hormuz open

Two semiofficial news agencies in Iran are casting doubt on an earlier announcement from Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, that the Strait of Hormuz was being opened to global traffic.

Considered close with the powerful Revolutionary Guard, Fars news agency appeared to challenge Iran’s reported decision to open the strait in a series of posts on its X account.

The posts condemned a “strange silence from the Supreme National Security Council and the negotiating team.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has recently acted as the de facto top decision-making body in the country, as doubts swirl over the status of the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly injured early in the war.

Mehr news agency also has said that the reported decision to reopen the strategic waterway needed “clarification” and “requires the (Supreme) Leader’s approval.”

Netanyahu says Israel is ‘not yet finished’ with Hezbollah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon “at the request of my friend President Trump,” but said the campaign against Hezbollah is not yet complete.

Netanyahu claimed Israel had destroyed about “90%” of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket stockpiles, but added “we have not yet finished” dismantling the group.

His statement came shortly before Trump said, in a social media post, that Israel was prohibited by the U.S. from bombing Lebanon any longer, adding: “Enough is enough!!!”

Trump claims Iran agrees to ‘never close the Strait of Hormuz again’

Iran has not made any public comment suggesting it has offered such assurances.

The blocking of most tankers that use the critical waterway, through which about 20% of the world’s crude flows on a typical day, has led to a global surge in fuel prices and has impacted other facets of the global economy.

The U.S. is far less reliant than Asia and Europe on Persian Gulf energy.

Still, the closure of the strait contributed to the largest monthly inflation increase in the U.S. in four years last month.

Oil tumbles 10% and the Dow soars more than 1,000 points

Oil prices fell by 10%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,020 points after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz is fully open, which would allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf again and carry crude to customers worldwide.

The S&P 500 jumped 1.3% in morning trading Friday as U.S. stocks race toward the finish of a third straight week of big gains. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5%. Stocks have rallied 12% since late March on hopes that the United States and Iran can avoid a worst-case scenario for the global economy.

Lebanese army to secure south as Lebanon pushes Israeli withdrawal, Aoun says

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the Lebanese army will play a “fundamental role” after the Israeli pullout, deploying in southern Lebanon and ending non-state armed presence.

Speaking to a delegation of Beirut members of parliament on Friday, Aoun said among the state’s priorities are consolidating the ceasefire, pushing for the withdrawal of Israeli forces, recovering Lebanese detainees and addressing pending border disputes with Israel.

Aoun cited Thursday’s phone call in which Trump expressed “support for Lebanon, its sovereignty, independence and the integrity of its territories,” describing it as one of the ceasefire’s most prominent signals of external support as negotiations advance.

Death toll of Lebanese killed in Israeli strikes increases to 2,294

Intense Israeli strikes on Thursday, one day before a 10-day U.S.-brokered ceasefire, killed 98 people, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

Since the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted on March 2, at least 2,294 people have been killed, including 274 women and 177 children, according to the ministry. Another 7,185 people have been wounded, it added.

Trump again suggests Iran has agreed to hand over enriched uranium

“The U.S.A. will get all Nuclear ‘Dust,’ created by our great B2 Bombers - No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” Trump said in a social media post.

“Nuclear dust” is shorthand that Trump frequently uses to refer to the highly-enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites that the U.S. bombed during last year’s 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

If true, it would be a major concession from Iran and would lock in a key U.S. demand to end the conflict. But neither Iran nor countries acting as intermediaries in the conflict have said that Tehran has made such an agreement.

Trump on Thursday also asserted that Iran has “agreed to give us back the nuclear dust.”

German chancellor seeks US involvement in mission to secure Strait of Hormuz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday he wants U.S. involvement in a Europe-led mission to secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking after an international conference in Paris on securing the strait, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany could contribute mine clearance and maritime intelligence capabilities to such a mission, but would need parliamentary support and a ″secure legal basis″ such as a U.N. Security Council resolution.

He said Germany, ″if possible, would also like to see the United States of America participate; we believe this would be desirable.″

Trump says Iran, US, working to remove sea mines from Strait of Hormuz

“Iran, with the help of the U.S.A., has removed, or is removing, all sea mines!” Trump said in one of a barrage of social media postings announcing that Iran has agreed to reopen the strait.

Removing any mines will be critical to regain the confidence of commercial vessels that use the vital waterway to deliver oil and other products.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has dropped sea mines in the strait, according to the U.S. and Iranian news agencies.

The U.S. Navy has one littoral combat ship built for mine clearing, as well as other military assets in the region capable of doing that work. The Navy has dispatched two additional mine-clearing ships from Japan that are heading to the region.

Trump says Is

rael is ‘prohibited’ from further strikes on Lebanon

The U.S. leader offered the unusually blunt statement demanding restraint from Israel, the day after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

“Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer,” Trump said in the social media posting. “They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the prohibition on Israel spans both offensive and defensive strikes.

Macron and Starmer welcome Strait of Hormuz opening but say it must be permanent

The leaders of France and the U.K. have welcomed the announced reopening of the Strait of Hormuz but say it must become permanent.

President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer say they will keep planning an international mission to restore maritime security, with a meeting of military planners in London next week.

Speaking after a gathering of some 50 countries, Macron said, “We all demand the full, immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by all parties.”

Starmer said the announcement by Iran and the U.S. that the waterway is open must become “both lasting and a workable proposal.”

He said France and the U.K. will lead a multinational mission to safeguard shipping “as soon as conditions allow.”

Quiet returns to northern Israel, but residents remain divided

After hours of sirens sounded across northern Israel late Thursday night, residents described a rare sense of quiet on Friday after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect.

Alerts across border communities stopped around 2 a.m., and in Kiryat Shmona, residents were seen at shopping malls and restaurants, with opinions divided over whether the 10-day ceasefire will hold.

“I live 100 meters from the border. The ceasefire is a mistake,” said resident Asaf Oakil, reflecting skepticism among some who say the fighting should continue until Hezbollah is defeated.

Another resident, expressing frustration after weeks of cross-border fire, said Israel should “strike harder” if attacks resume, adding that if rockets continue, “the whole area needs to be flattened.”

US military says it turned 19 ships back to Iran during blockade

U.S. Central Command said in a post on the social platform X on Friday that zero vessels have evaded American naval forces during the blockade of Iran-linked ships, and 19 vessels “complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return to Iran.”

The post from Central Command came shortly before Trump thanked Iran for opening up the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump said was “completely open and ready for business.”

Trump, however, stressed that the blockade against Iranian shipping outside the Strait of Hormuz was still in place until negotiations were complete.

The narrow passageway into the Persian Gulf was effectively closed by Iran during the war with the U.S. and Israel, cutting off the flow of oil and natural gas through the gulf.

Trump says US blockade ‘will remain in full force’ until war ends

The president, in an all-caps social media post, said that the U.S. Navy’s blockade on Iranian ships and ports would remain in force “UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.”

“THIS PROCESS SHOULD GO VERY QUICKLY IN THAT MOST OF THE POINTS ARE ALREADY NEGOTIATED,” Trump added.

Crude oil slumps 10% and Wall Street rallies toward another record

Oil prices are falling by more than 10%, and Wall Street is rallying toward another record after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz is fully open, which would allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf again and carry crude to customers worldwide.

The S&P 500 rallied 0.7% as U.S. stocks sprinted toward the finish of a third straight week of big gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%, and the Nasdaq composite added 1%.

Stocks have rallied more than 11% since late March on hopes that the United States and Iran can avoid a worst-case scenario for the global economy.

Trump and Iranian foreign minister say Strait of Hormuz is fully open

U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister said Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is now fully open to commercial vessels.

In a social media post, Trump said Iran announced that the strait “is fully open and ready for full passage.”

Minutes earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on the social platform X that the passage for all commercial vessels through the strait “is declared completely open” in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon.

He said it would stay open for the remaining period of the ceasefire.

It was not immediately clear what that meant for the U.S. blockade of the strait.

The pardon order applied to more than 4,500 prisoners, but it was not immediately clear how many people imprisoned for opposing military rule were included and there was no sign that 80-year-old former leader Aung San Suu Kyi would be freed.

Win Myint is Suu Kyi’s longtime loyalist and was elected as president in 2018. He served as president while Suu Kyi led the government as state counsellor because the military-drafted constitution barred her from holding the presidency.

He was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021, the same day the military seized power and detained Suu Kyi. He was later given 12-year combined prison sentences for several offenses, which were reduced to eight years in 2023.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres took note of the amnesty and underscored "the need for meaningful efforts to ensure the swift release of all those arbitrarily detained” including Suu Kyi, his spokesperson said.

The U.N. chief stressed that a political solution must be found, based on an immediate cessation of violence and "a genuine commitment to inclusive dialogue,” U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, adding that this requires an environment where the people of Myanmar can “freely and peacefully exercise their political rights.”

State-run MRTV television reported that Win Myint, who was in a prison in Taungoo township in Bago region, had received amnesty.

Outside Insein Prison in Yangon, buses carrying prisoners were welcomed by relatives and friends who had been waiting since early morning. Among those released was filmmaker and journalist Shin Daewe, who was sentenced to life imprisonment under a counterterrorism law in January 2024.

The amnesty comes a week after Min Aung Hlaing was sworn into office following an election that critics say was neither free nor fair and was orchestrated to keep the military's iron grip on power.

Suu Kyi expected to be transferred under house arrest

State media said in addition to the 4,335 Myanmar prisoners pardoned, nearly 180 foreigners would be released and deported.

If the freed prisoners reoffend, they will have to serve the rest of their original sentences in addition to any new sentence, according to the terms of their release. A separate report said death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment, life sentences were reduced to 40 years and prison terms of less than 40 years were cut by one-sixth.

Under that measure, Suu Kyi’s 27-year sentence would be reduced by 4 1/2 years, leaving her with 22 1/2 years still to serve.

A senior military officer from the capital, Naypyitaw, told The Associated Press on Friday that Suu Kyi will be transferred to house arrest as part of the clemency. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release information.

Suu Kyi has been serving a prison term on a variety of criminal convictions at an undisclosed location in Naypyitaw and has been moved to house arrest at least once in April 2024.

In his inauguration speech last week, Min Aung Hlaing said his government would implement amnesties that contribute to social reconciliation, justice and peace and support the country’s overall development.

Prisoner releases are common on holidays and other significant occasions in Myanmar.

Since the 2021 army takeover, nearly 8,000 civilians have been killed and some 22,170 political detainees, including Suu Kyi, remain jailed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights monitoring group. Total deaths in the ongoing conflict are estimated to be much higher.

Many political detainees have been held on incitement charges, a law widely used to arrest critics of the government or military and punishable by up to three years in prison. Others have been prosecuted under a counterterrorism law that carries a potential death penalty and has been used to target political and armed opponents, journalists and other dissenters.

The human rights advocacy group Burma Campaign UK said in its statement on Friday that the slow, staged release of political prisoners is designed to gain positive publicity while making no real reforms.

“These people should not have been arrested in the first place," the group said. "The Burmese military could stop arresting activists and could repeal all repressive laws. They haven’t done that.”

Fans trying to get to MetLife Stadium from New York City can expect to shell out $150 for a round-trip train fare for each match, transportation officials confirmed Friday.

That’s nearly 12 times the regular $12.90 fare for the roughly 15-minute, 9-mile (14-kilometer) ride from Manhattan’s Penn Station to the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. On-site parking won’t be available for most fans, so New Jersey officials anticipate that around 40,000 fans will use mass transit for each match.

The home stadium for both the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets is set to host eight World Cup matches, including the tournament final on July 19. Group stage matches for soccer powerhouses Brazil, France, Germany and England, along with other nations, begin June 13.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has suggested the upcharge was necessary to ensure that her state’s commuters weren’t stuck with a “tab for years to come” for hosting the World Cup on its return to the U.S. for the first time since 1994.

NJ Transit officials said it would cost $62 million to transport fans to and from the stadium over the duration of the tournament, and that outside grants had defrayed only $14 million of those anticipated expenses.

Charging $150 to each of the estimated 40,000 fans expected to take the rails before each game essentially offsets the Garden State’s projected $48 million transit bill, according to NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri.

“This isn’t price gouging,” he told reporters Friday. “We’re literally trying to recoup our costs.”

Transit prices in Boston also will be high

Taking public transit to World Cup matches in Boston's suburbs will also be costly.

Express buses from various locations to Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots, will cost $95, officials announced this week.

And thousands of fans have already snapped up $80 round-trip train tickets from Boston to the commuter rail station near the stadium. That’s four times the $20 riders are normally charged for a round-trip ticket during game days and other special events. Unlike MetLife, Gillette isn’t a short hop from downtown. The stadium is located in Foxborough, a town some 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Boston.

Other cities are keeping fares the same

Other World Cup host cities have pledged to keep their transit fares unchanged, noting that the U.S. government has provided some $100 million in transit grants to host cities to provide enhanced bus and rail service.

In Los Angeles, one-way fares will remain $1.75; in Atlanta, they’re locked at $2.50; in Houston, a single ride will still cost $1.25 and in Philadelphia the base fare for the subway will remain $2.90.

Kansas City is running shuttles from locations around the city to Arrowhead Stadium that cost just $15 roundtrip. It’s also offering a free bus from the airport to downtown.

Kolluri said the fundamental difference with some of those cities is that their stadiums are located within city limits with more transit options than MetLife’s more suburban surroundings.

New Jersey’s governor, a Democrat who took office in January, said her administration also inherited an agreement where FIFA, international soccer’s governing body, contributed “$0 for transportation” while leaving the state’s perpetually cash-strapped transit agency “stuck with a $48 million bill.”

“As I have said repeatedly, FIFA should cover the cost of transporting its fans,” Sherrill said Friday. “If it won’t, we will not be subsidizing World Cup ticket holders on the backs of New Jerseyans who rely on NJ TRANSIT every day.”

FIFA says it shouldn't pay

FIFA has bristled at the suggestion, noting that the agreements signed with World Cup host cities back in 2018 called for free transportation for fans to all matches. It also argued that no other major event held at MetLife has been required to pay for fan transportation.

“We are quite surprised by the NJ Governor’s approach today on fan transportation,” the organization said in a statement Thursday, as news reports of the reported fare began to circulate. “FIFA worked for years with host cities on transportation and mobility plans, including advocating for millions of dollars in federal funding to support host cities for transportation.”

The huge increase in the fare to MetLife also drew an objection from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“Charging over $100 for a short train ride sounds awfully high to me,” the Democrat posted on X earlier this week. The surge pricing was first reported by sports outlet The Athletic.

Alternatives to taking the train to MetLife Stadium will be almost as pricey.

A shuttle bus fleet with a capacity for about 10,000 riders will set off from the midtown Manhattan bus terminal and other locations for $80 roundtrip. Some 5,000 parking spots at the nearby American Dream Mall are also being sold in advance, currently priced at $225.

———

Associated Press reporter Mark Long in Gainesville, Florida, contributed to this story.

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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

The S&P 500 leaped 1.1% as Wall Street rallied toward the finish of a third straight week of big gains, its longest streak since Halloween. A freer flow of oil could take pressure off prices not only for gasoline but also for groceries and all kinds of other products that get moved by vehicles. It could even ultimately help people pay less on credit-card interest and mortgage bills.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged as many as 1,100 points before paring its gain to 872, or 1.8%. The Nasdaq composite was 1.3% higher, with an hour remaining in trading.

The U.S. stock market has jumped more than 12% since hitting a bottom in late March on hopes the United States and Iran can avoid a worst-case scenario for the global economy despite their war. Friday’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which may only be temporary, is the clearest signal yet for optimism, and President Donald Trump said late Thursday that the war “should be ending pretty soon.”

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude plunged immediately after Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, posted on X that passage for all commercial vessels through the strait “is declared completely open” as a ceasefire appears to be holding in Lebanon. He said it would stay open for the remaining period of the ceasefire, and U.S. oil dropped 9.4% to settle at $82.59 per barrel.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 9.1% to settle at $90.38 per barrel. To be sure, it remains above its $70 price from before the war, indicating some caution is still embedded in financial markets.

Several times since the war began, optimism on Wall Street has quickly swung to doubt about a possible end to the fighting. That in turn has caused vicious and sudden swings of prices for everything from stocks to bonds to oil.

Minutes after the Iranian foreign minister’s announcement of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said on his social media network that the U.S. Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports remains “in full force” until both sides reach a deal on the war. He, though, also suggested that “should go very quickly in that most of the points are already negotiated” and emphasized it by using all capital letters.

Companies with big fuel bills soared to some of Wall Street’s biggest gains following the easing of oil prices.

United Airlines soared 7%. A day earlier, the head of the International Energy Agency had said that Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of remaining jet fuel supplies.

Operators of cruise ships, which guzzle fuel, also steamed higher. Norwegian Cruise Line jumped 6.1%, and Royal Caribbean Group gained 7.9%.

Housing and auto-related companies likewise got some relief from the drop in oil prices.

With less threat of high inflation hurting the economy, a sustained drop in oil prices could convince the Federal Reserve to resume its cuts to interest rates to invigorate the economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.24% from 4.32% late Thursday, and lower yields can bring down rates for mortgages and other loans going to U.S. households and businesses.

Builders FirstSource, a supplier of windows and other products, rose 5.6%, and homebuilder Lennar gained 4.4% on hopes that lower mortgage rates will spur more people to buy houses. Carvana climbed 6.6% because lower loan rates can get more customers into new autos.

A strong start to the earnings reporting season for big U.S. companies has also helped support the U.S. stock market, and more financial companies joined the list of companies delivering bigger profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected.

State Street rose 2.9%, and Fifth Third Bancorp added 1.5% after both reported better results for the latest quarter than expected.

They helped offset a 10.1% slide for Netflix, which fell even though it delivered a better profit than expected. It did not raise its forecast for revenue growth for the full year, which analysts said may have disappointed some investors.

It also said Reed Hastings, cofounder and chairman of the streaming company, will step down from its board of directors in June when his term expires.

In stock markets abroad, stock indexes leaped in Europe following Iran’s announcement about the Strait of Hormuz. France’s CAC 40 jumped 2%, and Germany’s DAX returned 2.3%.

In Asia, where trading finished for the day before the announcement, indexes were weaker. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.8%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9% for two of the bigger losses.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Mike Ramirez, the owner of Game Changers Barber Academy, started offering the free service in 2023.

Three years later, he has no intention of stopping. But the nonprofit did want to acknowledge the service he’s provided with a certificate of appreciation.

Ramirez said his volunteer work started when he worked for a different company years back.

Once he got his own barber school, he decided he wanted to partner with Haven for Hope. The partnership allows his students to receive more hands-on experience as they finish their training.

It also helps the community.

“They always thank us,” said Ramirez, who explained that many of them have important events or interviews that they need to look good for.

DJ Jackson, the senior manager of volunteer services, said these free haircuts help clients feel sgood, look good and gain confidence.

Most importantly, Jackson said it’s the consistency that the barbershop has shown. Clients know they will be there on Wednesdays and Fridays.

The barber students only work on short hair, so Haven for Hope would welcome volunteer work from a beauty school that works with longer hair.

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Marie-Thérèse Ross entered the U.S. last June to begin a new life with a retired U.S. soldier she had met decades ago when he was stationed in France, court records show. But after her husband's death, Ross' stepson — a U.S. federal employee — allegedly intervened to have her taken into immigration custody earlier this month amid a dispute over the estate, an Alabama judge found.

“She returned to France this morning. This is a satisfaction for us,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters during a visit to the southern city of Montpellier on Friday. Barrot said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement methods are “not in line” with French standards and are “not acceptable to us.”

Federal immigration agents detained Ross in Alabama on April 1 after she overstayed her 90-day visa, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She was then held at a detention facility in Louisiana as French officials expressed concern about her well-being.

Ross' son, Herve Goix, told The Associated Press that she had been in the process of applying for a green card when she was taken into custody.

“She’s very tired, she’s not very good, but it’s difficult for her,” Goix said. “We are very, very happy, but we are tired.”

Ross was not given the medication she needed while being held in the Louisiana detention facility, according to her attorney Kim Willingham.

“She does not feel she or other inmates are being treated well within the facility,” Willingham told the AP. “She did everything she was supposed to do with regard to obtaining her green card.”

Ross gave up her pension and moved to Alabama last year to marry William B. Ross, a retired U.S. soldier she had met when he was stationed in France in the 1960s, Calhoun County court records show. But after William B. Ross died in January, his two sons became embroiled in a dispute with their stepmother over the modest estate, including the home in Anniston, Alabama, where she resided.

The sons rerouted mail from the residence, leading their stepmother to miss an immigration-related appointment, Calhoun County Probate Judge Shirley A. Millwood noted in a court order earlier this month. Millwood accused one son of using his position as a federal employee to prompt the detention of his stepmother days before a hearing over the estate.

Marie-Thérèse Ross was taken into custody in her nightgown and unable to bring her phone, passport and other identification with her, records show.

The stepson denied involvement in his stepmother's arrest in court, but Millwood said evidence indicated he knew in advance of the arrest and received a text message confirming it shortly afterward. His brother then arrived at the home to change the locks two hours after federal immigration agents removed their stepmother.

In an April 10 ruling, Millwood ordered the stepsons to allow Ross to retrieve her clothes, phone, documents and other possessions from her late husband's home.

Millwood also urged the federal government to investigate the circumstances of Ross' arrest “in light of the ongoing national events surrounding the distrust of federal law enforcement officers and the many investigations ongoing of corruption within our government.”

The office of attorney Megan Huizinga, who is representing the two stepsons in the estate dispute, declined to comment.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an emailed statement, the city of Anniston said its police department had “no involvement” in Ross’ arrest.

___

Riddle reported from Anniston, AL. Brook reported from New Orleans.

___

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

The measure cleared the Senate by voice vote Friday, without a formal roll call — the same way it was approved hours earlier in the House — as Congress raced to meet a Monday deadline and send it to President Donald Trump for his signature.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune gave a nod to the political difficulty ahead as they assess options when the temporary extension expires at the end of the month. “We’ll be preparing accordingly,” the South Dakota Republican said.

It’s all setting up another showdown, in a matter of weeks, as Congress dives into the surveillance tool that pits Americans’ privacy rights against what U.S. officials have long said is a uniquely effective program for the security of the country.

The stopgap came after House Republican leaders hurriedly unveiled an ambitious five-year extension late Thursday with revisions to appease skeptics of the surveillance program — a sharp pivot from the clean 18-month renewal Trump and GOP leaders had pushed all week. But both those Republican bills collapsed, failing to advance, forcing leaders to pivot.

Early Friday, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a longtime critic of the surveillance system, stalled further action in the Senate as he pressed for changes.

Wyden said he has never seen this level of support on both sides of the political aisle — and in both chambers of Congress — for real revisions to the surveillance tool, although he did not stand in the way of a short-term extension, for now.

“It’s not making a choice between security and liberty. That’s garbage,” Wyden said. “We’re going to show that the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Chaotic, late-night House votes end in failure

Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the White House had spent the week trying to line up support for an 18-month renewal of the spy tool with no changes. But holdouts held firm, forcing a late-night scramble.

GOP leaders in the House rushed lawmakers back into session late Thursday for a series of back-to-back votes that fell apart before pivoting to a stopgap to keep the program from expiring Monday.

First, they came out with a new plan that would have extended the program for five years, with revisions. Among the changes were new provisions to ensure that only FBI attorneys could authorize queries on U.S. people, and to require the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to review such cases, said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., during the debate.

That plan also would enhance criminal penalties on those who unlawfully conduct such inquiries or disclose the surveillance information, Scott said. It provides a way for members of Congress and certain staff to access the proceedings of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court, which handles such requests.

But the final product, a 14-page amendment, did not go far enough for some holdouts in either party.

GOP leaders then tried to salvage a shorter 18-month renewal that Trump had demanded and Johnson had previously backed. It failed as well, with some 20 Republicans joining most Democrats in blocking its advance.

Shortly after 2 a.m., they quickly agreed to the 10-day extension.

“We were very close tonight,” Johnson said after the late-night action.

But Democrats assailed the middle-of-the-night voting as amateur hour. “Are you kidding me? Who the hell is running this place?” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., during a fiery floor debate.

Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles, a member of the House Freedom Caucus that helped stall votes throughout the week, said the outcome was predictable after the procedural votes fell short.

“We warned them that this was gonna happen,” Ogles said. “Unfortunately, here we are at 2 in the morning.”

Surveillance program fight is a debate over privacy and security

At the center of the standoff is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. In doing so, they can incidentally sweep up communications involving Americans who interact with foreign targets.

U.S. officials say the authority is critical to disrupting terrorist plots, cyber intrusions and foreign espionage.

Extending the program is a recurring fight, as lawmakers weigh civil liberties concerns against intelligence officials’ warnings about national security risks.

“There are a lot of opinions,” Johnson said Thursday. “We want to make sure that we have this very important tool for national security, but we also do it in a way that jealously guards constitutional rights.”

Opponents of the surveillance tool point to past misuses. FBI officials repeatedly violated their own standards when searching intelligence related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and racial justice protests in 2020, according to a 2024 court order.

Trump and his allies had lobbied aggressively all week for a clean renewal of the program, without changes.

A group of Republicans traveled to the White House on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe spoke directly with GOP lawmakers. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Thursday there had “been negotiations late into the night with the White House and some of our members.”

“I am asking Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean Bill to the floor,” Trump wrote on Truth Social this week. “We need to stick together.” They didn't.

KSAT will livestream the event at 5 p.m. in this article. Delays are possible; if there is no livestream available, check back at a later time.

KSAT 12 anchor and Rey Feo Consejo member Ernie Zuniga will emcee the event held at the San Fernando Cathedral.

Enjoy the sounds of mariachis while learning the history of the Rey Feo tradition during the public crowning of Rey Feo LXXVII.

Find more Fiesta events here.

Tyler Robinson was back in state court in Utah Friday as his attorneys asked to delay his May preliminary hearing and pressed their claims that biased coverage is tainting potential jurors in his aggravated murder case.

Among numerous examples cited was a New York Post story they say suggested Robinson confessed to Kirk's killing during a courtroom conversation on Dec. 11, in his first appearance after being charged. The conversation with his attorneys was inaudible, but the story cited a “lip reading analysis” to support its claim that Robinson said, “I think about the shooting daily.”

“The predominant purpose being served by the live stream coverage has not been the educational reporting of the court proceedings, but rather advertising profit, sensationalism, political agendas, and, most prominently, the vilification of Mr. Robinson,” his attorneys wrote in their request to bar cameras.

Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for Robinson should he be convicted in the Sept. 10 shooting of the conservative activist, who was addressing a crowd of thousands on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem.

Robinson, who turned 23 on Thursday, has not yet entered a plea. A trial date has not been set.

Cameras moved to the back of the room

Media sensationalism around the case has cut both ways. In a March 30 headline, the U.K.-based Daily Mail reported the bullet that killed Kirk “did NOT match” a rifle allegedly used by Robinson. The story was based on an inconclusive, preliminary finding by ballistics experts and led to speculation about Robinson's possible exoneration. The FBI is running additional tests, according to court documents.

Media organizations, prosecutors and Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, want the court to allow cameras. They argue the best way to guard against the misinformation and conspiracy theories that concern Robinson's defense team is to make the process transparent.

Yet livestreaming by media outlets already has tested the patience of Judge Tony Graf.

During the December hearing, Graf temporarily stopped the livestream after it showed the defendant’s shackles in violation of a courtroom decorum order.

A January hearing was interrupted when Robinson's attorneys said close-up shots of Robinson being livestreamed by a local television station could again lead to claims based on lip reading. That, too, was a violation of Graf's decorum order. The judge ordered the camera operator not to film Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.

In recent hearings and again Friday, pool cameras for the media were stationed at the rear of the courtroom, behind Robinson. Graf also made camera operators come before him to acknowledge they understand the rules.

Mike Judd, a lawyer for a coalition of media organizations including The Associated Press that are fighting to preserve access, said Graf so far has focused on whether his rules inside the courtroom are being followed, not what the media is saying outside of court.

“The court can do all of that in order to try to control what gets fed into that media ecosystem,” Judd said. “You reduce the likelihood of somebody publishing things that you think may be of potentially biasing concern later on.”

Policies on cameras and livestreaming vary among states. Cameras are generally prohibited in federal courts.

“There's Supreme Court precedent that says courts generally need to be open to the public, but that's not an absolute right,” said University of Utah law professor Teneille Brown. “Even if they allow public access, that does not equal a right to broadcast or record.”

Surveillance video and a handwritten confession

The preliminary hearing scheduled for May is for prosecutors to show they have enough evidence to proceed to trial. Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle.

But the defense argued Friday it cannot move forward with the hearing until law enforcement agencies turn over more details about their DNA analysis of evidence.

Prosecutors responded that they have sufficient proof beyond DNA to tie Robinson to Kirk's killing. That includes surveillance video of Robinson near the university from the morning of the shooting wearing the same clothes as when he turned himself in. Robinson left a handwritten note for his romantic partner confessing to the crime before it happened, and also confessed to friends on the chatroom platform Discord, prosecutors said.

Rescheduling the preliminary hearing could delay the proceedings six months, Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride said.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” he added.

___

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

KSAT 12 joined Centro San Antonio Clean and Safe Ambassadors on Thursday while they were preparing for “Fiesta Fiesta.”

“We are the eyes and the ears of downtown,” said Nicholas Valdez. “If somebody sees something, they say something.”

For those downtown, the ambassadors can be spotted by their shirts. Ambassador Josh Moreno said a significant aspect of the job is hospitality, which includes helping tourists, residents and people experiencing homelessness.

Valdez and Moreno work around the clock to maintain San Antonio’s downtown spaces.

“We make it look like the party never happened,” he said, describing everything from trash to bodily fluids and human waste.

Moreno and Valdez said many ambassadors came to Centro San Antonio looking for a second chance.

“A good number of us were either in recovery, or you know coming out of a lifestyle that wasn’t too great,” Moreno said.

“When I got sober, I wanted to continue working in that field, working with the homeless, working with people who are on drugs, working with people who are just lost,” Valdez said.

The ambassadors are more than just a cleanup crew; they’re a downtown resource. During and after the party, Centro San Antonio ambassadors work to ensure that downtown remains welcoming for everyone.

More Fiesta 2026 coverage on KSAT:

• Share your Fiesta pictures on KSAT Connect!
• 🎊 ¡Viva! Your guide to Fiesta 2026 in San Antonio
• How SAPD bike patrol will respond to calls, navigate crowds during Fiesta 2026

The Angels announced Anderson's death Friday morning without immediately disclosing the cause or location.

Anderson reached the majors with the then-California Angels in 1994 and played for the club until 2008, primarily as a left fielder. He was a fixture in the heart of their batting order for his entire tenure, becoming the franchise's career leader in games played (2,013), hits (2,368), RBIs (1,292), total bases (3,743), extra-base hits (796), doubles (489) and grand slams (8).

“The Angels organization is mourning the loss of one of our franchise’s most beloved icons, Garret Anderson,” Angels owner Arte Moreno said in a statement. “Garret was a cornerstone of our organization throughout his 15 seasons, and his stoic presence in the outfield and our clubhouse elevated the Angels into an era of continued success, highlighted by the 2002 World Series championship. Garret will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Angels fans for his professionalism, class and loyalty throughout his career and beyond. His admiration and respect for the game was immeasurable.”

The Angels will wear a memorial patch this season bearing Anderson's initials, the team announced. They will hold a moment of silence Friday before the Angels host the San Diego Padres.

Anderson was a three-time AL All-Star who finished as high as fourth in the AL MVP balloting during his 17-year major league career. He won two Silver Slugger awards, and he memorably won both the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game MVP award in 2003 in Chicago.

His 272 career homers are third in Angels history behind Mike Trout and Tim Salmon. Only Trout has scored more runs in an Angels uniform than Anderson.

“Garret Anderson was a huge part of Angels history and inspired so many of us who wear this uniform,” Trout wrote on social media. “Keeping his family in my thoughts and prayers.”

In 2002, Anderson batted .306 and drove in a team-leading 123 runs for the then-Anaheim Angels, who won 99 games and earned a wild-card playoff berth. The Halos stormed through the playoffs to this franchise's only championship, overcoming a 3-2 series deficit to Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants to win the World Series.

Anderson was a key factor in the Fall Classic, batting 9 of 32 with six RBIs. He drove in the final three runs of the series with a tiebreaking three-run double in the third inning of the Angels' 4-1 victory over the Giants in Game 7.

Anderson's other baseball accomplishments included a 10-RBI game on Aug. 21, 2007.

Anderson finished his career with Atlanta and the Los Angeles Dodgers before his retirement in 2011. He batted .293 with 2,529 hits, 287 homers and 1,365 RBIs in the majors.

Anderson was inducted into the Angels' Hall of Fame in 2016, and he had regularly worked for the team as a television broadcaster on its pregame and postgame shows over the ensuing decade. He lived in coastal Newport Beach with his family.

Anderson was born in Los Angeles on June 30, 1972. He attended Granada Hills High School in the suburban San Fernando Valley before the Angels drafted him in the fourth round in 1990.

The Angels said Anderson is survived by his wife, Teresa, daughters Brianne and Bailey, and son Garret "Trey" Anderson III.

___

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

Before diving into the fun, there’s one thing to consider: parking. While parking around town is usually a big concern, it’s manageable at the Pearl with a little planning. Parking is generally free Monday through Friday before 3 p.m., and 30-minute parking is always free — including in the Pullman Market lot and the Koehler Garage.

Once you’re parked, there’s plenty to explore.

The Pearl hosts several recurring free events each week. Movie lovers can enjoy Free Movie Mondays, while dancers can kick up their boots during Free Two-Step Tuesdays at Stable Hall.

At Two-Step Tuesdays at Stable Hall (7-9 p.m.), there are free country dance lessons from professional instructors followed by live music. No experience is needed here.

Midweek brings another community favorite: the Wednesday Night Market, where visitors can stroll, browse local vendors, and soak in the lively atmosphere for free.

Looking to beat the Texas heat? The Pearl’s splash pad is a popular free stop for families. It’s open daily starting at 9 a.m. and runs until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., offering a refreshing break during warmer days.

Of course, no visit is complete without food. While not free, a quick bite won’t cost too much. At one Pearl favorite, WonderSlice, a slice of pizza runs about $6.50, and bottled water is priced at $3.50 — a relatively affordable option for a casual meal.

And if live music is more your vibe, there’s good news. Visitors can catch free live performances on the patio at Otto’s Ice House from Thursday through Sunday.

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The unanimous procedural decision gives the companies a new day in federal court after a state jury ordered Chevron to pay upward of $740 million to clean up damage to the state’s coastline, one of multiple similar lawsuits.

Backed by the Trump administration, the companies said the work in Louisiana started as an effort to quickly increase the supply of aviation gasoline for the U.S. government during World War II and so should be heard in federal court.

The justices agreed. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the 8-0 court, noted Congress has long allowed lawsuits against the government and its contractors to be heard in federal court. This suit, he wrote, is clearly related to Chevron’s wartime efforts to bolster the U.S. aviation fuel supply. Federal courts are seen as a friendlier venue for the companies.

Louisiana’s coastal parishes have lost more than 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) of land over the past century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which has also identified oil and gas infrastructure as a significant cause. The state could lose an additional 3,000 square miles (7,770 square kilometers) in the coming decades, its coastal protection agency has warned.

The litigation over the role of oil and gas companies has crossed typical political lines in Louisiana. The hefty jury award came from a community in one of the most conservative, pro-energy parts of the state, said Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, a longtime oil and gas industry supporter, also backed the lawsuits when he was attorney general. Local Louisiana leaders remain determined to keep the litigation alive despite the setback, said attorney John Carmouche.

“Simply changing where the case will be heard, as has happened, will not deter our efforts to have Big Oil held accountable for the damages they caused and the enormous restoration they owe the people of Louisiana,” Carmouche said.

Anne Rolfes, the director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade environmental group, said the decision is a “bump in the road” in efforts to hold the industry accountable for pipelines and canals carving up the natural coastline that have left residents more vulnerable to hurricanes.

Chevron, on the other hand, applauded the Supreme Court’s decision, saying the claims are related to work that the companies did under federal supervision. “Chevron looks forward to litigating these cases in federal court, where they belong,” the company said in a statement.

The company denies responsibility for land loss in Louisiana and argues it’s wrong to sue over work done before state environmental regulations were in place.

The companies appealed to the high court after jurors in Plaquemines Parish — a sliver of land straddling the Mississippi River into the Gulf — found that energy giant Texaco, acquired by Chevron in 2001, had for decades violated Louisiana regulations governing coastal resources by failing to restore wetlands impacted by dredging canals, drilling wells and billions of gallons of wastewater dumped into the marsh.

The case is one of dozens of lawsuits filed in 2013 alleging oil giants, including Chevron and Exxon, violated state environmental laws for decades. Friday’s ruling overturns a 2024 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. It will affect about a quarter of the dozens of lawsuits filed against various oil companies, Carmouche said.

The energy industry group Grow Louisiana said the decision should spell the end of the litigation. “These lawsuits have cost Louisiana billions, killed jobs and padded trial lawyers’ pockets," Executive Director Marc Ehrhardt said. “Enough is enough. Stop these lawsuits.”

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry called the decision “an important win for legal clarity.”

Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the case, pointing to financial ties to ConocoPhillips. He's previously recused himself from other cases due to his stock holdings.

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Brook reported from New Orleans.

Attorneys for the family of Charles Adair renewed their demand Friday that video of what happened be released publicly in announcing the wrongful death lawsuit.

Filed earlier this month, the lawsuit names the Wyandotte County sheriff, the unified government for the county and Kansas City, Kansas, and Richard Fatherley, who was charged last year with second-degree murder in Adair's death.

“The public has a right to transparency when someone dies in custody in this manner,” Ben Crump, an attorney who is representing the family, said in a news release.

Crump and another civil rights attorney, Harry Daniels, were allowed to view video of what happened. But the sheriff’s office has declined a records request from The Associated Press seeking the video.

Adair was arrested last July on misdemeanor warrants for failure to appear on multiple traffic violations. At the time, Adair’s leg needed to be amputated and was so badly infected that he was taken straight to the hospital, a Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent wrote in the affidavit.

Before Adair was cleared to return to the jail, he was diagnosed with a type of bone infection that sometimes develops in people with diabetes. A medical screening also found he was schizophrenic, the affidavit said.

The lawsuit said was incoherent and that deputies believed Adair’s medical condition “was affecting his brain.”

After having his leg rewrapped the following evening, he got into an argument with the deputy who was wheeling him back his cell. Adair ultimately threw himself out of the wheelchair, the affidavit said.

Once he was back in his cell, he was placed on his stomach on the bottom bunk, with his legs and knees on the ground.

The lawsuit noted that Adair was complying with commands but that Fatherley “pressed his body weight onto Mr. Adair's back.” Other deputies then removed Adair's handcuffs while Fatherley shifted his weight forward.

The lawsuit said none of the other law enforcement officers who were present intervened.

The lawsuit said the deputies failed to modify their tactics to account for Adair's apparent mental health impairment and weren't trained properly.

The lawsuit also said that Fatherely was allowed to continue using his sheriff's office email after he was charged, allowing him to communicate with other members of the sheriff's office and employees that he knew were witnesses.

Capt. Michael Kroening said Fatherely is on administrative leave and that his email was deactivated on April 13 after the litigation was filed.

Fatherley is free on bond with a status conference in the case set for next month. His attorney, James Spies, has said that Adair’s death was “a tragic accident” but it was not a result of Fatherley’s actions.

Police found both dead in their home in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale, Virginia, early Thursday. They believe Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife and then killed himself. They were going through a divorce and Justin Fairfax had been ordered by a judge to move out of the house by the end of the month.

Cerina Fairfax, 49, ran a thriving family dentistry practice in the nearby city of Fairfax. A profile page on its website described her as an avid reader who liked to travel, practice yoga, go on trail runs with her Vizsla-breed dogs and “spend time with her wonderful family.”

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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. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

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Virginia Rep. Jennifer McClellan, who knew Fairfax through her husband's campaign and the time he spent in office, said their two teenaged children were “the people she cherished most.”

“Cerina Fairfax was a loving and dedicated mother and the rock at the center of her large family," McClellan wrote in a statement.

Terron Sims II, a friend and patient, remembered her as a quiet and caring friend, whose dentistry was more than a profession.

“It was an expression of love and compassion,” Sims told WUSA-TV. “It was her way of service to others.”

Fairfax was recognized in 2015 as the Outstanding Graduate of the Last Decade by the Virginia Commonwealth School of Dentistry. Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, the interim dean of the dental school, wrote that her loss is deeply felt by many who knew her.

“As a clinician and alumna, Dr. Fairfax embodied the ideals of our profession — dedication to her patients, commitment to growth, and a deep sense of purpose in her work each day," Johnson wrote. "I know she was a mentor, role model, and friend to many in our school.”

Leaders in the state’s dental community also praised her accomplishments and commitment to patients.

“In addition to being a beloved practitioner in her community, Dr. Fairfax loved giving back through volunteer work and contributions to local charities focused on helping those in need,” said Ryan Dunn, CEO of the Virginia Dental Association, in a statement. “As we remember Dr. Fairfax, we honor the impact she made and the connections she helped build within the VDA and her community.”

Cerina and Justin Fairfax met as undergraduates at Duke University and married in 2006.

Justin Fairfax unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 2013, then won the race for lieutenant governor in 2017. He was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party until two women came forward accusing him of sexually assaulting them years earlier, before he and Cerina were married. He left office at the end of his term in 2022, following an unsuccessful run for governor.

Cerina Fairfax said in court filings that they separated nearly two years ago. But they were still living in the same house with their children, who police said were both home at the time of their deaths.

The judge overseeing the divorce had told Justin Fairfax to move out by the end of April, writing “it is clear tensions in the Fairfax home have been extremely high for an extended period of time.”

Amy Spain, Cerina Fairfax’s attorney, said her client’s death “leaves an immeasurable void in the lives of all who knew and loved her.”

“Above all else, Cerina was a devoted mother to her beautiful children, who were the very center of her world,” Spain said. “She embodied the true meaning of motherhood through her unconditional and unwavering devotion to her children, providing a constant source of love, protection, and guidance.”

___

Associated Press writer John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.

Luther Davis had convinced investors the money was for a player in the NFL, and he used the wig and make up to impersonate the athlete. The ruse worked.

The detailed allegations are included in a criminal complaint filed against Davis last month by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta.

Federal prosecutors say Davis would go on to don disguises — a wig once, and a do-rag-style head covering another time — again in March and July to impersonate two other NFL players on video calls and bilk millions more in loans. The complaint does not say exactly how the wigs and do-rag helped Davis assume the three different players' identities.

It also only identifies the NFL players by their initials.

Davis and CJ Evins, who prosecutors say executed the scheme with Davis, are charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. They both pleaded not guilty in March, but they are scheduled to return to court on April 27 to enter a guilty plea, according to court filings.

An email and call to Davis' attorney, Gabe Banks, were not immediately returned. Evins' attorney, Benjamin Alper, confirmed his client is scheduled to plead guilty, but he said he had no additional comment.

The complaint says none of the NFL players had authorized Davis and Evins to obtain loans. In addition to wearing disguises, prosecutors say Davis used fake driver's licenses with photos of the players that could be found online.

The scheme brought in nearly $20 million from at least 13 fraudulent loans that Davis and Evins used to buy real estate, jewelry and cars, according to the complaint.

Davis was a national champion with the Crimson Tide in 2010.

The averaged increase has sparked plenty of conversation among taxpayers comparing notes on whether they saw a noticeable bump in their bank accounts.

KSAT asked people on Facebook and at Thursday’s Fiesta Fiesta kickoff if they received larger-than-expected refunds or no refund at all.

“Is that $340 in the room with us?” Noel Martinez commented on Facebook.

“I got a WHOPPING $185 back,” Mark Muniz also commented.

At Thursday’s Fiesta Fiesta, Angie Gonzalez said she received more than expected.

“It was worth the wait,” Gonzalez said. “So, I was crossing my fingers that I didn’t have to pay, and I didn’t have to pay. But everybody, I hope you all got taxes back, extra money to spend at Fiesta.”

So, what’s behind the difference between the tax returns?

Why some refunds increased

The most common reason people receive a refund is simple: they paid more in taxes throughout the year than they ultimately owed, according to Walt Tilleman with Tammy’s Tax Service in San Antonio.

This happens when too much money is withheld from paychecks.

This year, perks from President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” also played a role in boosting refund amounts:

• Expanded standard deductions for seniors: Older taxpayers benefited from an additional $6,000 added to their standard deduction, reducing taxable income and increasing potential refunds.
• Tax relief on overtime and tips: Workers who earned income through overtime or tips saw relief. Some of that income was no longer taxed, which led to larger refunds.
• Enhanced credits for families: Low-to moderate income families, especially those with multiple children, saw significant gains. The Child Tax Credit increased to $2,200 per child. When combined with the Earned Income Tax Credit, many families received sizable refunds.

Who didn’t see much change?

Not everyone saw a windfall. Tilleman said single filers earning moderate to higher incomes were more likely to break even. That’s because:

• They typically fall into higher tax brackets
• They may not qualify for income-based credits
• Their withholdings are often more closely aligned with what they actually owe

The bottom line

A bigger refund doesn’t necessarily mean a better financial outcome. It often reflects how much tax was prepaid during the year, Tilleman said.

For many households, especially families and lower-income workers, this year’s changes delivered a meaningful boost.

Whether your refund was large, small or nonexistent, the variation comes down to income level, tax credits and how much was withheld in the first place.

Read also:

• San Antonio among US cities with most residents in financial distress
• FOMO is costing Americans big time, survey shows

But as more and more cities turn to groundwater instead of surface water, experts warn that they risk exhausting the area’s aquifers and should only use wells as a temporary solution.

Alice is working on getting a second well online by May. Mathis is currently drilling two. And Beeville, which already has four, finished drilling a new well this week and is expected to begin pulling water from it by the end of the year. It also has two offline wells ready to use as backups.

The rural cities are following in the footsteps of Corpus Christi, the region’s largest city and its biggest water supplier, which recently scrambled to drill around a dozen wells to meet demand.

The city is under pressure to find new sources of water for its 300,000 residents, as well as 200,000 other customers that its water system serves across seven counties — and that doesn’t count one of the nation’s largest petrochemical corridors and the country’s top port for crude oil exports.

Alice, Beeville and Mathis are among Corpus Christi’s water customers.

The city’s main reservoirs — Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir — have shriveled to 8% capacity during the drought and the city is depending on a patchwork of temporary solutions to meet demand, including the wells. City Manager Peter Zanoni has said the city is within months of declaring a water emergency, the point at which it has just 180 days’ worth of supply left.

As cities turn to groundwater, water experts are warning that the aquifers won’t be able to adequately recharge during a deepening drought.

“If what goes in is less than what goes out through pumping, then you are going to see that resource depleting,” said Dorina Murglet, a professor of hydrogeology at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. She said cities should turn to groundwater only in an emergency.

Corpus Christi and Mathis’ wells tap into the Evangeline Aquifer. Alice’s wells draw water from the Jasper Aquifer, which sits below the Evangeline. Beeville has wells drilled into both.

It’s difficult to measure how much water is safe to pull from aquifers before depleting them, Murglet said, which is why it’s important for the cities to communicate with each other.

“Remember that political boundaries are not hydrologic boundaries,” she added. “It’s all interconnected.”

Beeville Mayor Pro Tem Benny Puente said the drought has not only pushed cities to drill their own wells, but it’s eroded their trust in Corpus Christi.

“They are a regional water supplier and for them to get to this point, to where we are running out of surface water, that’s pretty concerning,” he said.

Robert Gonzalez, a Corpus Christi spokesperson, said city leaders are ”committed to working with our regional cities, including Alice, Beeville and Mathis, to address the current water challenge. We have been actively involved and communicating with them.”

Beeville has 13,000 residents and also has to supply water to a state correctional facility, one of its biggest consumers. The state has three units in Beeville, two pull water from their own wells while the McConnell Unit, with 400 employees and the capacity to hold around 2,300 inmates, uses city water. About a quarter of the city’s water supply goes to that unit.

Beeville has been purchasing water from Corpus Christi for decades, but if they don’t find new water sources, Puente said Corpus Christi may lose Beeville and other cities as customers.

“They’re not going to have our money anymore, so how are they going to pay for all of these upgrades that they had planned?” Puente said.

Cities that aren’t Corpus Christi water customers are also seeing the impacts of the dwindling reservoirs. In Three Rivers, which draws its water from Choke Canyon, Mayor Felipe Martinez issued a drought disaster declaration last week.

Orange Grove, west of Corpus Christi, which gets its water from the Evangeline Aquifer, and City Manager Todd Wright said that water has become saltier since Corpus Christi began pumping from the same aquifer.

“We are inching closer and closer to hitting that threshold to where we’re no longer technically quality drinking water, it becomes unsafe to drink,” Wright said.

Wright said Orange Grove is trying to purchase water from Alice, which has a reverse osmosis system that can turn salty groundwater into drinkable water.

Gonzalez, the Corpus Christi spokesperson, said the city has been communicating with Orange Grove leaders to “discuss their concerns about their community water supply. We have offered our assistance and committed to sharing data with their team. Our hydrogeologists will be working alongside Orange Grove going forward, and we will continue to support that community as the situation develops.”

The cities that have been depending on Corpus Christi for water say that they’ve been put in a tough position — and Puente said Corpus leaders could have prevented the shortage by imposing drought restrictions sooner.

Corpus Christi in December ordered residents to limit nonessential outdoor watering. Beeville’s mayor declared a water emergency two months earlier, in October. At that point, Puente said the city estimated it had 180 days until its water supply wouldn’t meet demand, but conservation efforts have pushed that back until the end of the year.

Seven months ago, Corpus Christi leaders scrapped a seawater desalination plant project after years of planning and investing tens of millions of dollars. Puente said the plant was critical for the region’s water supply.

“The failure of Corpus Christi’s City Council has affected not only their city, but it has affected our entire region,” Puente said. “I am disappointed in the way that they’ve handled this water situation, and things need to change fast. Desalination needs to happen right now.”

Mathis City Manager Cedric Davis has a different take.

“You can’t blame it all on Corpus,” he said, adding that there’s a lesson in this drought for cities like his: “the smallest cities have to diversify their water portfolio.”

Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036, agreed.

“Corpus Christi can only take you so far,” Mazur said. “If you want to have reliable water, you basically need to develop your own water supply.”

Cities’ water shortages are also having economic impacts.

Mathis, which is near Lake Corpus Christi, attracts thousands of Winter Texans every year who rent homes and RVs around the lake. Davis, the city manager, said many told him earlier this year that they’re reluctant to return.

Davis said a small city like Mathis, with around 4,000 residents, feels the loss of sales tax revenue and economic losses from fewer tourists.

“Some of them are saying they’re not coming back because they think the lake is going to dry up,” Davis said. “They come to live by the lake, which is not too much of a lake anymore. Now, it’s more of a pond.”

Disclosure: Texas 2036 has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services took action against Laurel Ridge Treatment Center, citing repeated health and safety violations.

According to a notice obtained by KSAT, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says it will not pay for services for patients admitted on or after April 30.

For patients who were admitted before April 30, payment will be provided for services up to 30 days after April 30.

Months of concerns

KSAT has followed through on the situation for months. A November report described staffing shortages that left mental health patients waiting up to six hours to be checked in, as well as a self-harm incident involving a smuggled razor blade.

>> State investigators find multiple violations at San Antonio mental health treatment center

That same report cited unsecured items that could be used for self-injury, ligatures or fire — raising serious questions about patient safety at the facility.

Facility says it remains open, committed to compliance

Laurel Ridge’s leadership is pushing back, saying the facility remains open and fully operational.

“CMS has informed Laurel Ridge Treatment Center that, in their opinion, the facility does not currently meet the requirements for participation in the Medicare program,” said Ashley Sacriste, DHA, chief executive officer of Laurel Ridge, in part. “We are hopeful that we can work collaboratively with CMS to clarify the basis for its findings and to demonstrate the facility’s ongoing compliance.”

Sacriste says the facility is committed to resolving any outstanding issues.

“We are deeply committed to providing high-quality care to each patient we serve and are determined to address any areas of concern in order to successfully participate in the Medicare program,” she said. “We are taking all efforts to remain a provider of choice and fulfill all obligations.”

Sacriste also emphasized that patient care continues uninterrupted.

“At present, the facility is open and fully functional, and we will continue to provide care for all patients currently with us,” she said. “For nearly 40 years, Laurel Ridge Treatment Center has provided lifesaving and life-improving care to the individuals we are privileged to serve.”

Read also:

• Ex-Laurel Ridge Treatment Center CEO faces 6 child sex charges in North Carolina, records indicate

In a Facebook post, the Cibolo Police Department said the crash on the FM 465 bridge overhead has caused the I-10 eastbound lanes to “completely shut down.”

A Cibolo police officer told KSAT that no injuries were reported in the crash.

At this time, the shutdown is impacting the I-10 eastbound lanes between South Santa Clara Road and FM 465. Police said all eastbound traffic is being diverted onto the frontage road and can reenter I-10 after passing the FM 465 bridge.

Officials from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) are assessing bridge damage at the scene.

In a TxDOT social media post, the agency said those eastbound lanes will be closed until 5 p.m.

If drivers can’t avoid the area, Cibolo police said travelers can expect “significant delays.”

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.

More recent news coverage on KSAT:

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• OSHA investigating second Northeast Side H-E-B warehouse employee death in less than 6 months

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Padres aren't commenting publicly on the process.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the imminent deal with private equity billionaire Jose E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones. The team is expected to be sold for $3.9 billion in a record deal for a Major League Baseball team, easily topping the approximately $2.4 billion paid by Steven Cohen for the New York Mets in 2020.

The 53-year-old Feliciano is the co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm based in Santa Monica, California. The firm was part of an investment group that purchased Premier League club Chelsea in 2022, with Los Angeles Dodgers minority owner Todd Boehly becoming the Blues' chairman.

Seidler's family began to explore a sale of the Padres last November, two years after the death of the popular Peter Seidler. His brother, John Seidler, has served as the Padres' chairman since then.

Peter Seidler was part of a group that bought the Padres in 2012, and he became the team's primary owner in 2020. He enthralled San Diego's baseball fans with his free-spending eagerness to win the Padres' first World Series, and general manager A.J. Preller built a series of exciting teams that have reached the MLB playoffs in four of the last six seasons — a first in team history.

The Padres' potential sale price reflects their value as San Diego's only franchise in North America's four traditional major sports leagues, leading to a passionate fan base in their attractive home at downtown Petco Park. The team has set attendance records in each of the past three seasons, capped last season by drawing a whopping 3,437,201 fans — the second-most in the majors to the Dodgers, who play in their much larger stadium in Chavez Ravine.

Feliciano was born and raised in Puerto Rico before attending Princeton and Stanford. He co-founded Clearlake Capital two decades ago.

___

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

James Brennand, 31, has been charged with aggravated assault by a public servant, a first-degree felony. In October 2022, police records showed Brennand fired multiple shots at a BMW driven by Erik Cantu, who was 17 at the time.

A trial date has been scheduled for this summer. Jury selection is tentatively scheduled for July 21.

Brennand appeared before Judge Joel Perez in Bexar County’s 437th Criminal District Court on Friday morning.

During the pre-trial motions hearing, the prosecution asked Perez not to consider previous testimony from Emily Proulx, Cantu’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of their child.

Proulx was also in the BMW with Cantu at the time of the shooting. She later testified in court for charges related to Cantu but not related to the October 2022 shooting.

Jay Norton, Brennand’s attorney, told the court he believed her testimony would be “relevant” at some point in the trial but did not object to the prosecution’s request.

The state also asked Perez for a venue change to a different courtroom within the Bexar County Courthouse. Prosecutors said a portion of their case will include an expert witness’ presentation that the state hopes each juror can view on their own screen.

“I’m hesitant to move the trial to another courtroom,” Perez told the state. “That’s my opinion.”

Perez, however, did not make a final ruling on the state’s request.

Before jury selection starts, Brennand is expected to appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on May 11.

Watch Brennand’s full Friday morning court appearance in the video player below.

Background

Brennand, who was fired from the department three days after the shooting, was captured on body camera footage opening the door of Cantu’s vehicle and shooting at him as Cantu attempted to drive away.

He made his most recent court appearance in September 2025.

The shooting drew national attention. Cantu suffered serious injuries and spent months recovering.

In unrelated developments, Cantu, now 21, was sentenced to two years in prison on April 1 after he violated his probation multiple times.

If found guilty of the charge, Brennand could face up to life in prison.

More recent related coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Erik Cantu sentenced to 2 years in prison following probation violations
• High-profile court cases set to dominate 2026 in Bexar County, South Texas
• Judge denies request to delay trial of former SAPD officer accused of shooting teen in 2022

The dog bite happened at approximately 4 p.m. Thursday in the 5000 block of Leonhardt Road.

According to an SAPD preliminary report, the 24-year-old man was dropping off a motorcycle at the motorcycle shop on Leonhardt Road when the dog ran up to him and bit him on his arm.

Police said another person, the dog’s owner, was able to get the dog off of the victim.

The man was taken to a hospital for further treatment.

Animal Care Services (ACS) later took custody of the dog. The dog’s owner was also given a citation by ACS, police said.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• 24-year-old hospitalized after dog bite on Northeast Side, ACS says

Her focus is simple. Whether it’s trying to improve on a third-place finish at last year’s West Virginia state track meet or ignoring naysayers who don’t want a transgender girl on a girls' sports team, the Bridgeport High School sophomore just wants to enjoy time with her friends.

Anything else that might deflect her attention gets set aside. And, for now, that means not worrying about what the U.S. Supreme Court will decide by early summer in a case where she's the centerpiece over whether trans girls can compete.

“I’m not here to get an advantage,” Pepper-Jackson said. “I’ve been like pushed down and have people that just look at me nasty my whole life. And I’ve learned that that’s just something I’m going to have to deal with."

A plaintiff at age 11

In 2021, Pepper-Jackson took a stand by challenging a newly signed law in West Virginia banning trans athletes from competing in female sports in middle and high schools and colleges. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 allowed Pepper-Jackson to continue competing in middle school while the lawsuit continued.

Now she's in high school, and the lawsuit is nearing the finish line. In January, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, which has repeatedly ruled against transgender Americans in the past year, signaled it would rule the state bans don’t violate either the Constitution or the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education.

The justices heard arguments in a second case from Idaho, where Lindsay Hecox sued over the state’s first-in-the-nation ban for the chance to try out for the women’s track and cross-country teams at Boise State University. She didn’t make either squad.

Pepper-Jackson is the only trans person who has sought to compete in girls sports in West Virginia. If the court rules that state bans are legal, her current track season will be her farewell tour. It’s not something she thinks about.

“I can’t make their decisions for them, so I just have to wait and see what they’ll say,” she said. “I try not to look at it if this could be my last season."

West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey said he's confident the state will prevail.

"West Virginia’s law does not exclude anyone; it simply says biological boys will compete against boys, and biological girls will compete against girls," McCuskey said in a statement. "On the athletic field, biological sex matters — gender identity does not."

She identified as a girl from an early age

Pepper-Jackson has publicly identified as a girl since she was 8 years old and long before that at home.

Her mother, Heather Jackson, said Becky wasn’t like her two older brothers.

“I noticed immediately that Becky was different,” Jackson said. “When she was old enough to say what she wanted, toys or clothing or anything, she was very profound in her opinion.”

It started with her asking for — and getting — a makeup kit for Christmas at age 3. She also started wearing her mom’s shirts as dresses.

“She would be very opinionated on what she wanted to wear,” Jackson said. “I just followed her lead from the very beginning.”

At the onset of puberty, Pepper-Jackson started taking puberty-blocking medication.

“Becky did not undergo male puberty,” said Aubrey Sparks, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union’s West Virginia chapter. “And so when you hear, 'Well, this is unfair. Trans kids have an advantage.’ That’s just not the case here.”

In sixth grade, Pepper-Jackson heeded her girls' track coach’s advice to switch from highly competitive distance running to field events. As a high school freshman last year, she took third place in the discus and eighth in the shot put at the state meet.

Detractors have followed her closely, including Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey.

In 2024, five athletes from a rival school refused to compete alongside Pepper-Jackson. The five received a standing ovation at a news conference a week later in Charleston, where Morrisey, then as the state's attorney general, announced the state would challenge a federal appeals court ruling favoring Pepper-Jackson.

At the 2025 state meet, a female sprinter stood victorious on the podium wearing a T-shirt that read, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports."

It’s been quieter so far this season. Pepper-Jackson has won both the discus and shot put in her first two meets and has cheered on teammates competing in other events.

“There’s a lot of core lessons you learn from being in sports that you don’t get anywhere else, like teamwork, sportsmanship,” she said.

Off the field, she plans to pursue music in college and a career as a band director.

Others before her

Pepper-Jackson has paid attention to other trans girls who have excelled nationally in high school track.

AB Hernandez won gold in the girls high jump and triple jump at last year’s California state high school meet. Hernandez is now a senior at Jurupa Valley High School. Verónica Garcia won back-to-back 400-meter titles in Washington state in 2024 and 2025, and Ada Gallagher won the 200 meters at the Oregon state meet in 2024.

“I think it’s very inspiring,” Pepper-Jackson said.

The success of Hernandez renewed calls by some parents’ groups and conservatives, including President Donald Trump, for the state to ban trans girls from competing against other female athletes. California has a law on the books allowing students to participate on sports teams consistent with their gender identity, regardless of their sex assigned at birth.

When Hernandez qualified for three events last year, it sparked backlash that led the meet's governing body to let an additional girl compete and medal in events in which Hernandez was participating. It may have been the first of its kind rule-change in the nation.

A solid support system

Pepper-Jackson's biggest supporter is, of course, her mom. After a recent practice, the pair danced together, and Heather Jackson scooted across the grass to retrieve the discus after some of the athlete's throws.

Jackson said her daughter has handled the attention and scrutiny of her case “with astounding grace and intelligence and education, which is more than I would have been able to do at that age."

Pepper-Jackson said others have told her they look up to her, a notion she doesn’t understand because “I don’t see the gravity of this court case. I think it’s just common knowledge: Transgender girls should be able to be on the girls' sports team. I think that’s simple.”

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Associated Press writer Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California, and AP videojournalist Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos in Clarksburg, West Virginia, contributed to this report.

The two women runners swapped their bibs with the two men, who both finished within the top 10 in the women’s half-marathon at the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town last Sunday, initially denying those slots to two female runners.

But the cheating was discovered by a marathon board member, and the men were disqualified from their 7th and 10th place finishes. Two women were belatedly recognized instead.

Larissa Parekh was accused of having Luke Jacobs run on her behalf, and Tegan Garvey was accused of having Nic Bradfield run on her behalf, marathon board member Stuart Mann said. All four runners face disciplinary action that could include two-year bans from the event, Mann said.

The annual Two Oceans race is one of South Africa’s iconic marathons and includes a 56-kilometer (34.7-mile) ultramarathon and a 21.1-kilometer (13.1-mile) half-marathon. The event attracts over 16,000 participants and finishing among the top 10 is a significant achievement for most runners.

Race board member calls swapping bibs unethical

Mann said exchanging bibs has become more common, and can be risky, “Not only is it considered unethical, but it also poses health and medicals risks in case of an emergency, as wrong medication may be administered to a wrong person,” Mann said.

Various motivations are at play, Mann explained. Some runners give their bib to a stand-in if they have a last-minute injury or some other unexpected reason why they can't run in a race they have registered for. Others do so to deceptively earn faster times than they otherwise could achieve, to qualify for future races, he said.

Online photos led to the discovery

Mann was tipped off to one of the swaps after Jacobs posted pictures of himself at the race on social media and people noticed that his bib displayed the name “Larissa.”

Jacobs said in a written apology: “I made an error in judgment and did not consider the consequences. I should not have taken part."

Parekh did not provide any clear explanation of how Jacobs ended up with her bib, Mann said. But Garvey admitted she gave hers to Bradfield, saying in a written statement that she had suffered a hip problem before the race.

“The day before, my hip gave in completely, leaving me unable to even walk. I felt bad as to give up my race entry so my friend ran in my place,” Garvey said.

Mann said both women have apologized.

Jones is scheduled for back-to-back plea change hearings on April 28 in separate cases charging him with profiting from rigged poker games and providing sports bettors with non-public information about injuries to stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, according to court filings.

On Friday, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn provided the judge with a copy of Jones’ proposed plea agreement, including information on his possible punishment. It has yet to be made public. Jones remains free on bail.

Jones, 49, previously pleaded not guilty in both cases to charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Both charges carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.

Messages seeking comment were left for his lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery. He told a judge at Jones’ arraignments in November that they “may be engaging in plea negotiations.”

Jones, a onetime teammate of James, was arrested last October along with Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and others, including a sports bettor accused of cashing in on injury information.

Jones was one of three people charged in both the poker and sports betting schemes. He remains free on bail.

A native of Galveston, Texas, Jones earned more than $20 million playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to 2009. He and James played together in Cleveland from 2005 to 2008 and Jones served as an unofficial assistant coach for James’ Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-2023 season.

According to prosecutors, Jones sold or attempted to sell non-public information to bettors that James was injured and wouldn’t be playing in a Feb. 9, 2023, game against the Milwaukee Bucks, texting an unnamed co-conspirator: “Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out.”

James wasn’t listed on the Lakers’ injury report at the time of the text message, but the NBA’s all-time scoring leader was later ruled out of the game because of a lower body injury, according to prosecutors, and the Lakers lost the game 115-106.

On Jan. 15, 2024, prosecutors said, sports bettor Marves Fairley paid Jones approximately $2,500 for a tip that Davis, the Lakers’ forward and center at the time, would see limited playing time against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of an injury.

Fairley then placed a $100,000 bet on the Thunder to win, prosecutors said, but the tip was wrong. Davis played his usual minutes, scored 27 points and collected 15 rebounds in a 112-105 Lakers win, prompting Fairley to demand a refund of his $2,500 fee, prosecutors said.

In the poker scheme, according to prosecutors, Jones was among former NBA players used to lure unwitting players into poker games that were rigged using altered shuffling machines, hidden cameras, special sunglasses and even X-ray equipment built into the table.

According to the indictment, Jones was paid $2,500 for a game in the Hamptons where he was instructed to cheat by paying close attention to others involved in the scheme. His instructor likened those people to James and NBA All-Star Steph Curry, prosecutors said. When in doubt, Jones was told to fold his hand, prosecutors said.

In response, according to prosecutors, Jones texted: “y’all know I know what I’m doing!!”

The poker scheme often made use of illegal poker games run by New York crime families that required them to share a portion of their proceeds with the Gambino, Genovese and Bonnano crime families, according to prosecutors.

Members of those families, in turn, also helped commit violent acts, including assault, extortion and robbery, to ensure repayment of debts and the continued success of the operation, officials said in court documents.

A hot hand from outside the three-point arc, Jones once proclaimed himself in an interview with insidehoops.com as “the best shooter in the world.” He played in every regular season game for three consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2006.

After his playing days, he worked as a “shooting consultant” for the Cavaliers and was an assistant coach when the team, led by James, won the NBA championship in 2016.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the employee as Austin Lewis Flores, 27.

According to the ME’s office, Flores died on April 8 due to pulmonary thromboembolism by a recent blunt force injury and obesity. His death was ruled an accident.

H-E-B acknowledged the employee’s death in a statement to KSAT.

“On Saturday, April 4, he was involved in an accident at work where he was treated on site, then selected to be taken to a clinic,” an H-E-B spokesperson said. “He was released from the clinic the same day with limited restrictions, went home, and also had follow-up appointments scheduled.”

In a follow-up statement on Friday, the company said it is “working directly with the family and the funeral home to cover expenses.”

Flores is the second H-E-B warehouse employee in less than six months who has died following a workplace incident at the same warehouse located near Interstate 35 and Rittiman Road.

In October 2025, a 27-year-old woman died after sustaining injuries possibly caused by a forklift at an H-E-B warehouse, according to San Antonio police.

The woman was operating her forklift when she came to a stop, a company spokesperson said. Another employee noticed she was showing signs of distress and called EMS.

She was taken to a hospital and was later pronounced dead. SAPD identified the woman as Teresa Dominguez.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s investigation into Dominguez’s death remains open, according to the agency’s online entry.

OSHA confirmed to KSAT that it is investigating Flores’ death, as well. In its online filing, the agency officially opened its investigation into Flores’ death on April 13.

More related coverage on KSAT:

• H-E-B warehouse employee dies after suffering possible forklift-related injuries, SAPD says

San Antonio police confirmed to KSAT that officers received responded at approximately 8:15 a.m. in the 1000 block of East Mitchell Street near the East Mitchell Street bridge.

According to an SAPD report, a witness called 911 after they saw a body “submerged” in the San Antonio River. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the man, believed to be 50-60 years old, had no signs of trauma to his body.

Additionally, there are no signs of foul play, but homicide detectives are investigating.

It’s unclear if the man was fishing or swimming, police said.

No further details were released.

Read also:

• Woman hit by vehicle, killed along US Highway 281 on North Side
• San Antonio police officer holds suspects at gunpoint after crash into patrol car

The late Wednesday morning pursuit began when the victim reported the theft. The officer — whose name has not been released — and his horse quickly took up the chase that was captured on his bodycam and also by a television news crew that happened to be in the area for an unrelated story.

The officer repeatedly screamed at the suspect to stop running, but she refused while denying she had taken the purse. The brief hoof chase went along sidewalks, under scaffolding, between parked cars and across streets before the woman was stopped by a pedestrian and then detained by the officer.

The woman was charged with larceny and providing false information. Authorities said she had been convicted of murder in the April 2000 fatal shooting of a cab driver and had served time in prison before being released. She is currently on lifetime parole.

No injuries were reported in the chase.

The filing by parent company QVC Group, which also owns HSN, formerly the Home Shopping Network, arrives as long-running TV shopping networks struggle to adapt to the rapid shift by consumers now tuning in to livestreams on TikTok, or online marketplaces like Shein.

QVC Group, which filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, said that its international operations are not included in the process. It has more than $1 billion in cash on hand and said that it has ample liquidity to meet its business obligations.

QVC Group added that all of its brands are operating as usual, including customer-facing operations in the UK, Germany, Japan, and Italy. It will continue to serve its customers across all channels and platforms for QVC, HSN, and Cornerstone Brands.

“Bankruptcy may allow the necessary restructuring to give QVC the room to operate with better financials. However, it does not solve the need to reinvent and become relevant,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in a statement.

QVC Group has attempted to revive flagging sales for some time, which in 2024 were down almost 30% compared with its peak of more than $14 billion in 2020. Shares in QVC Group, which went for over $900 a decade ago, were trading for less than $3 earlier this week.

The company is looking to emerge from bankruptcy protection in about 90 days.

Leo highlighted two of the big problems facing the continent during a Mass and a meeting with students and faculty at the Catholic University of Central Africa: the corruption that keeps countries in poverty and the brain drain of their brightest children who leave rather than fight the corruption at home.

They’re themes Leo has highlighted during his visit to Cameroon, a mineral-rich Central African nation which has been ruled since 1982 by 93-year-old President Paul Biya, who last year secured an eighth consecutive term with a disputed election.

Friday marked the half-way point in Leo’s 11-day tour of four African nations. He leaves Saturday for Angola, another country blessed with oil and other natural resources, but where a third of the population lives on less than $2.15 a day.

“Africa, indeed, must be freed from the scourge of corruption,” Leo told the university students and their teachers in the capital Yaounde.

“The greatness of a nation cannot be measured solely by the abundance of its natural resources, nor even by the material wealth of its institutions,” he said. “No society, in fact, can flourish unless it is grounded in upright consciences, formed in the truth.”

A big Mass to start the day

Leo began the day celebrating Mass in the port city of Douala, Cameroon’s financial and economic hub on its western coast. The Vatican had expected as many as 600,000 would attend, but only around 120,000 made it.

Cameroonian organizers suggested that security limitations and closed roads may have prevented many people from getting to the field, which was located well outside of town next to the Japoma sports stadium.

Some of those who did make it had spent the night on the ground, battling mosquitoes. But they said they were willing to make the sacrifice for the pope.

“I wanted to offer this effort to the pope, to show him that what he is doing and what he wants to accomplish should truly come to life,” said Alex Nzumo, who arrived at the Mass on crutches.

The field was nevertheless buzzing with people singing, swaying and dancing as an announcer shouted “Habemus Papam!” (We have a pope!). The Latin phrase is used to announce the election of a new pope but in this case joyfully announced Leo’s arrival at the field, where young people ran to keep up with his popemobile as he looped through the crowds.

In his homily, delivered in French and English, Leo urged young people to look beyond the poverty and disillusionment many experience and instead look to the future with hope.

“Do not give in to distrust and discouragement,” he said. “Do not forget that your people are even richer than this land, for your treasure lies in your values: faith, family, hospitality and work.”

With a population of 29 million, Cameroon is an overwhelmingly young country, where the median age is 18. Catholics represent about 29% of the population, and the country is a major source of growth and priestly vocations for the church.

An attention to young people

Leo had already offered words of encouragement to Cameroon’s youth, including in his opening speech to Biya, in which he demanded the “chains of corruption” in Cameroon be broken. But with Biya entrenched in power, Cameroon perhaps represents the most dramatic example of the tension between Africa’s youth and the continent’s many aging leaders.

Despite being an oil-producing country experiencing modest economic growth, young people say the benefits have not trickled down beyond the elites.

According to World Bank data, the unemployment rate in Cameroon stands at 3.5%, but 57% of the labor force aged 18 to 35 works in informal employment.

The dire economic outlook in Cameroon has led to significant brain drain and has strained an already understaffed health sector, as many doctors and nurses are leaving the country for more lucrative jobs in Europe and North America.

In 2023, about a third of trained doctors who graduate from medical school in Cameroon leave the country, according to the Ministry of Higher Education.

Pope urges young people to stay, and humanize artificial intelligence

In his remarks at the university, Leo urged the students to resist the temptation to leave and to instead use their educations to improve life for themselves and their fellow citizens at home. Africa, he said, needs them.

“In the face of the understandable tendency to migrate — which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found — I invite you, first and foremost, to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens,” he said.

Among the most pressing issues they must address, he warned, is the advance of artificial intelligence and how it is altering the very relationship of people with the truth. As digital environments replace human encounters, people resort to self-referential bubbles where polarization, conflict and fear can spread.

“What is at stake is not merely the risk of error, but a transformation in our very relationship with truth," he warned.

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Associated Press writer Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

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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.

History’s first American pope is visiting the continent against the backdrop of his calls for peace that have sparked a feud with U.S. President Donald Trump over the war in Iran.

Currently in Cameroon after first visiting Algeria, Leo’s visit to the continent is so dizzying in its complexity it recalls some of the globe-trotting odysseys of St. John Paul II in his early years.

In meeting with leaders and with Africa's young population, which is set to double by 2050, the pope has also focused on themes including Christian-Muslim coexistence, the overexploitation of the region’s natural and human resources, corruption and migration.

Here’s a country-by-country look at each destination and highlights of the itinerary:

ALGERIA: April 13-15

In Algeria, Leo walked in the footsteps of his spiritual father, St. Augustine, making a pilgrimage to the archaeological ruins in Algeria where the fifth-century titan of early Christianity lived, died and wrote some of the most important works in Western thought.

The Algeria stop clearly carried the most personal importance for Leo, given his ties to St. Augustine, the inspiration of his Augustinian religious order.

Migration and Christian-Muslim coexistence were other top themes in Algeria, a former French colony which is a majority Sunni Muslim nation on North Africa’s Mediterranean coast. Leo also paid homage to migrants killed in shipwrecks trying to reach Europe and also visited the Great Mosque in Algiers.

In Annaba, the modern-day Hippo, Leo met with a small community of Augustinians and celebrated Mass at the Basilica of St. Augustine, the 19th century basilica overlooking the ruins of Hippo where thousands of pilgrims including Muslims visit every year.

CAMEROON: April 15-18

A major highlight of Leo's visit to Cameroon were his remarks at a “peace meeting” in the western city of Bamenda, the epicenter of Cameroon's separatist conflict. There, he blasted the “handful of tyrants” who are ravaging Earth with war and exploitation.

Although the remarks were directed at the separatist conflict, considered one of the world’s most neglected crises, Vatican officials have said the pope's Gospel-mandated message of peace on this trip transcends borders and is meant for all those responsible for the wars and exploitation ravaging Earth.

On Wednesday, his first day in Cameroon, Leo met with both religious and political leaders including Cameroon's 93-year-old president, Paul Biya, the world's oldest leader. He called for an end to the “chains of corruption” and for upright leadership.

Biya has been accused of using corrupt means and the targeting of critics and the opposition to remain in power.

Cameroon sits atop significant reserves of oil, natural gas, cobalt, bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamonds. The extractive sector accounts for nearly a third of the country’s exports, according to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. But revenues from extraction rarely reach rural and Indigenous communities and mostly benefit only foreign companies and a small national elite, activists say.

The pope also visited an orphanage that caters to children taken off the streets after suffering abandonment or maltreatment from their parents.

On Friday, he met with students at the Catholic University of Central Africa. And he celebrated a Mass before thousands of people in the economic hub of Douala, where he urged youths to resist temptation of corruption that has stifled their country's development.

ANGOLA: April 18-21

In Angola, where around 58% of the population is Catholic, Leo will pray at the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima, a Marian shrine that has become one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in Angola.

The church was first built around the end of the 16th century by the Portuguese after they established a fortress at Muxima. It became a key point in the Portuguese trans-Atlantic human trade as a place where enslaved people were baptized before they were sent on ships to the Americas.

Angola today is the fourth largest oil producer in Africa and among the world’s top 20 producers, according to the International Energy Agency. It’s also the world’s third biggest diamond producer and has significant deposits of gold and highly sought after critical minerals.

But despite its varied natural resources, the World Bank estimated in 2023 that more than 30% of the population lived on less than $2.15 a day.

The country of around 38 million gained independence from Portugal in 1975, but still bears the scars of a devastating civil war that began straight after independence and raged on and off for 27 years before finally ending in 2002. More than half a million people are believed to have been killed.

In Angola, Leo will address young people especially to offer a message of hope and healing, the Vatican said.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: April 21-23

The discovery of offshore oil in the mid-1990s transformed Equatorial Guinea’s economy virtually overnight, with oil now accounting for almost half of its GDP and more than 90% of exports, according to the African Development Bank.

Yet more than half of the authoritarian petrostate’s population still live in poverty, the World Bank reported last year.

The former Spanish colony is run by Africa’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in power since 1979 and is accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism.

Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have documented how revenues have enriched the ruling Obiang family rather than the broader population, where at least 70% of the country’s nearly 2 million people live in poverty.

The country’s government also faces rampant accusations of harassment, arrest and intimidation of political opponents, critics and journalists.

In addition to the negative impacts of the extraction industries, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Leo would raise issues of corruption and the proper role of governing authorities during the trip.

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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.

Starmer says he was not informed that the Foreign Office had overruled the recommendation of security officials in early 2025 not to give Peter Mandelson the job. Many considered Mandelson a risky appointment because of his past friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and alleged business links to Russia and China.

Starmer said he was “absolutely furious” that he had been kept in the dark, calling it staggering” and “unforgivable.” He said he would “set out all the relevant facts in true transparency” to Parliament on Monday.

The top Foreign Office civil servant, Olly Robbins, took the fall for the decision and resigned.

The PM's job is in peril

The prime minister's job has been endangered by his fateful decision to appoint Mandelson, a trade expert and elder statesman of the governing Labour Party, as envoy to the Trump administration. It was a calculated risk that backfired spectacularly, and could bring down the prime minister.

Opposition politicians expressed disbelief that Starmer could have been unaware Mandelson had failed security vetting. Starmer said he only found out on Tuesday of this week.

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, said Friday that “the recommendation was to not appoint Peter Mandelson to the role,” and that the Foreign Office ignored it. He said that was “astonishing,” but within the rules.

He said no government minister had been told of the security assessment. People familiar with the process said that is standard practice because of the sensitive personal information involved.

Jones said the checks, carried out by a department known as U.K. Security Vetting, “go through financial, personal, sexual, religious and other types of background information, and that is why it is kept extremely private on a portal that only a few people have access to.”

Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said claims the prime minister didn’t know were “completely preposterous.”

“This story does not stack up. The prime minister is taking us for fools,” she told the BBC. “All roads lead to a resignation.”

Ed Davey, the leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said Starmer “must go” if he misled Parliament and lied to the British public. The Lib Dems asked the prime minister's ethics adviser to investigate whether Starmer broke the government code of conduct by misleading Parliament.

Starmer has repeatedly insisted that “due process” was followed in the appointment, which was announced in December 2024. Mandelson took up the Washington post in February 2025, after undergoing security vetting.

Mandelson had known Epstein links

Mandelson’s expertise as a former European Union trade chief was considered a major asset in trying to persuade the Trump administration not to slap heavy tariffs on British goods, and seemed to pay off when the countries struck a trade deal in May 2025.

But documents released by the government in March, after being forced to by Parliament, showed Starmer ignored red flags raised by his staff about the appointment. He was warned that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, exposed the government to “reputational risk.”

Starmer fired Mandelson in September 2025 after evidence emerged that he had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein.

The release of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents by the U.S. Department of Justice in January reveled more and showed Mandelson’s relationship with the financier continued even after Epstein’s conviction in 2008 for sexual offenses involving a minor.

Emails suggested Mandelson had passed on sensitive, and potentially market-moving, government information to Epstein in 2009 after the global financial crisis.

British police subsequently launched a criminal probe. Mandelson was arrested on Feb. 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

He has been released without bail conditions as the police investigation continues. Mandelson has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.

King Charles III’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, is also under police investigation over his friendship with Epstein. He, too, has been arrested but not charged.

Starmer's recent setbacks

The prime minister has apologized to the British public and to Epstein’s victims for believing what he has termed “Mandelson’s lies.”

The Mandelson revelations are among a string of setbacks Starmer has faced since he led the Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024. He has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and has been beset by missteps and U-turns.

The prime minister defused a potential crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers called for him to resign over the Mandelson appointment. But he could face a leadership challenge after local and regional elections on May 7, in which Labour is expected to do badly.

Despite his struggles on the homefront, Starmer has been praised for his work on the world stage. He has played a key role in maintaining European support for Ukraine, and was in Paris on Friday to host a summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the oil shipping route choked off by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

But there is little of that energy so far in 2026. Even though Democrats may have a better shot at winning, there is far less attention and money as their candidates compete for the nomination in next month's primary.

Their struggles raise the possibility that the Democrats could miss another chance to win the Georgia governor's office for the first time since 1998.

National Democrats say they are not going to let that happen. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who leads the Democratic Governors Association, said Georgia is “in play” and the money will be there for the party's eventual nominee.

“We’re going to make sure the Democratic candidate in Georgia has the funding they need to compete,” Beshear told The Associated Press on Saturday as he visited Atlanta to keynote a party dinner.

While Republicans have flooded the state with nearly $100 million in advertising, Democrats have spent only $1.24 million. Most observers believe no Democrat will win a majority in the rapidly approaching May 19 primary, prolonging the party's uncertainty.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms could be headed toward a June 16 runoff, thanks to superior name identification and being the only Black woman running in a party that has historically relied on support from Black women. But the scramble for a second spot appears wide-open, with likely contenders including former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves and former state labor commissioner and CEO of suburban DeKalb County Mike Thurmond.

Democrat could face big Republican money

On the Republican side, health care billionaire Rick Jackson has already spent or pledged $50 million toward his bid, twice as much as any previous primary candidate for Georgia governor. There is also Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump; Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger; and Attorney General Chris Carr.

It is a contrast to 2022, when Abrams outraised Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. She ended up losing the race, her second defeat to Kemp.

But Democrats say they are not worried this year even if they are outspent.

“I'll still win,” Bottoms said after a campaign event Monday, echoing other Democrats who say money can't paper over voter discontent with Republicans.

She argues that she is a “battle-tested leader” who gained national experience in President Joe Biden's administration. Like other Democrats, she cites expanding health care, affordable housing and better education as among her top issues.

“When given the opportunity to lead, I led on behalf of not just the city of Atlanta, but people across the state, and I am ready to go and fight for all of our communities to make Georgia a better place for our children,” Bottoms said Wednesday.

The Democratic race doesn’t feature notable policy splits along the lines of the progressive-moderate fissures that have opened around the country. It is not even a clear-cut contrast on style like in the Texas Senate primary that James Talarico won over Jasmine Crockett. Only Esteves, who started nearly unknown statewide, has been willing to attack the other candidates.

The noncombative nature of the other candidates was on display Wednesday night in a televised debate that included only Bottoms, Duncan and Thurmond. Duncan made only the most oblique criticisms of Bottoms' record as mayor. After Thurmond blamed Duncan for supporting a bill allowing people to carry guns more widely, he said in a postdebate interview that the criticism wasn't aimed at Duncan directly.

Esteves tries to go from unknown to contender

Esteves is banking on a late surge to propel him to the runoff. He has spent about $1 million on a burst of advertising, the only significant spending by any Democrat thus far. The 42-year-old, who is Black and Puerto Rican, argues he can build the “multiracial, multigenerational coalition" needed to win the young and diverse electorate in Georgia.

He often references his experience as a middle school teacher and small business owner in addition to his time as a lawyer, school board member and state senator.

“A lot of the challenges that Georgians are facing, I am facing in real time,” Esteves said in a Wednesday interview. “They’re looking for someone who not only wants to solve their issues, but can identify personally with their issues.”

Esteves is the only Democrat attacking Bottoms on how she managed crime, disorder and the COVID pandemic as mayor before her surprise decision not to seek a second term.

“The fact that she did not run for reelection confirmed people’s belief that when the going gets tough, she stepped out on the city,” Esteves said.

Bottoms defends her stewardship and says she declined to run again “based on what was best for me personally and my family."

Esteves has also repeatedly taken aim at Duncan, saying Duncan “oversaw some of the passage of the worst bills” while lieutenant governor, including Georgia’s ban on abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected. Although dozens of state lawmakers are backing Esteves, his top surrogate has been Shanette Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, a woman who died in a suburban Atlanta hospital in 2022 after taking abortion pills and developing an infection.

New Democrat Duncan seeks ‘trust’

Duncan is best known for opposing Trump's attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. He has spent the past year apologizing for his Republican past and argues he is the only Democrat who can win over enough moderate voters to give his new party a win. In recent weeks, Duncan has begun to pick up some endorsements from moderate Democrats and unions.

“I don’t want to only earn your vote, I want to earn your trust,” Duncan said in Wednesday night's debate.

Thurmond calls himself a “throwback” and says his experience in state and local government, including leading the state child welfare agency, serving as labor commissioner and helping to bail out the DeKalb County school district as superintendent, would let him move quickly to enact Democratic priorities.

“I have a track record of service to the people of Georgia, and I believe this election would turn not on promises, but on performance,” Thurmond said in an interview after Wednesday's debate.

He has been trying to knit together a coalition of rural voters and older Democrats. Among those backing him are Roy Barnes, the last Democratic governor, and Andrew Young, the former mayor of Atlanta and one of the last surviving leaders of the 1960s Civil Rights movement. ___ A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Jason Esteves' father is Puerto Rican and his mother was Black. His father is Puerto Rican and Black, while his mother was Puerto Rican.

President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they would keep planning an international mission to restore maritime security, which Starmer said will be deployed “as soon as conditions allow.” They said military planners will meet in London next week.

Speaking after a gathering of some 50 countries and international organizations, Macron said “we all demand the full, immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by all parties.”

As the meeting was underway, U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister declared the strait open to commercial vessels. Oil prices plunged after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that passage for commercial vessels would remain “completely open” for the duration of a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon.

Trump in an all-caps social media post said that the U.S. Navy’s blockade of Iranian ships and ports would remain in force “UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.”

Starmer cautiously welcomed the announcement, but said it must become “both lasting and a workable proposal.”

The Paris meeting is part of attempts by sidelined nations to ease the impact of a conflict they didn’t start and haven’t joined, but that has sent the global economy reeling. Petroleum prices soared after the war started on Feb. 28, when Iran effectively shut the narrow strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

The U.S. is not part of the planning for what has been branded the Strait of Hormuz Maritime Freedom of Navigation Initiative, which Macron said would be “a neutral mission, entirely separate from the belligerents to escort and secure the merchant ships transiting the Gulf.”

Starmer, facing political troubles at home, was greeted by Macron in the courtyard of the Elysee presidential palace on Friday afternoon. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni also attended in person. Others, including the prime ministers of Australia and Canada, the South Korean and Ukrainian presidents and representatives of China and India, joined by video.

Military planning underway

In an echo of the “coalition of the willing” assembled to provide security for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire in that war, Starmer said that along with France, the U.K. will lead a multinational mission to protect freedom of navigation as soon as conditions allow.

“This will be strictly peaceful and defensive, as a mission to reassure commercial shipping and support mine clearance," he said.

He said more than a dozen countries had agreed to contribute assets, far fewer than in the wider Hormuz coalition.

Britain has discussed using mine-hunting drones, deployed from the ship RFA Lyme Bay.

The war has highlighted the shrunken state of the Royal Navy, which has deployed just one major warship, the destroyer HMS Dragon, to the eastern Mediterranean. France, which has the EU’s most powerful military, has sent its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the region, alongside a helicopter carrier and several frigates.

Meloni said she had expressed Italy’s “willingness to make its naval units available," while Merz said Germany could contribute mine clearance and maritime intelligence capabilities to such a mission, but would need parliamentary support and a ″secure legal basis″ such as a U.N. Security Council resolution.

He said Germany, ″if possible, would also like to see the United States of America participate; we believe this would be desirable.″

That's a departure from Macron, who has said the mission will involve countries not involved in the conflict.

Macron's office said roles for members of the coalition could include “intelligence, mine-clearing capabilities, military escorts (and) communication procedures with coastal states.”

Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow in sea power at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said mine-clearing and creating a warning system for maritime threats were more likely roles for the coalition than warships escorting commercial tankers through the strait.

“You need huge numbers of vessels for that sort of thing, which nobody has,” he said.

Trump dismisses NATO as ‘paper tiger’

Iran expert Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said mine-clearing is an area where European countries and their partners could play a role.

“They would be a better party to do this than the United States, because once you have U.S. military doing this and lingering on Iranian shores, it creates a potential arena for Iran and the U.S. to have miscalculations and get back into a sort of military tension,” she said.

The operation is partly a response to Trump, who has berated allies for failing to join the war. The president has called allies “cowards,” said NATO “wasn’t there when we needed them” and telling Britain: “You don’t even have a navy.”

Kaushal said European countries were likely trying “to demonstrate the ability to provide security in a way that’s distinct from, if not completely separate from, the U.S. and which also demonstrates a capacity for independent action.”

“How many states actually have spare capacity to offer to this is a pretty open question.”

Trump appeared dismissive of European offers of help, though he referred to NATO rather than the Franco-British-led coalition.

“Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL," he posted on social media.

“They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!”

___

Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writer John Leicester in Paris contributed to this report.

The cause of death was not immediately known. A press release from the Grand Ole Opry described it as a sudden illness.

The two-time Grammy Award winner was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. “I will never be able to believe that I deserve this, unless I receive it as a representative of my family, my mentors, my collaborators, my promoters and my friends,” Schlitz said in 2017, when he learned of the Country Music Hall of Fame honor. “That’s the only way I can deal with this.”

Schlitz made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2017 and was later inducted in 2022. He is the only non-artist to receive the honor in the Opry’s 100 years. The historic venue's Saturday night show will be dedicated in his honor.

He was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year for four consecutive years, from 1988 through 1991. He also wrote music and lyrics for “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” the 1999 Broadway musical.

Schlitz's songs are widely considered some of the most unwavering in country music, and have been recorded by such hitmakers as Kenny Rogers (“The Gambler,” “The Greatest”), Randy Travis (“On the Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever, Amen”), The Judds (“I Know Where I’m Going”), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (“I Love Only You,”) Tanya Tucker (“I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love,”) Mary Chapin Carpenter (“He Thinks He’ll Keep Her”) and many others.

He also wrote “You Can’t Make Old Friends” for Rogers and Dolly Parton; their first duet since 1983's “Islands in the Stream.”

Schlitz, a North Carolina native, was born in 1952 and raised in Durham before packing his bags and heading to Nashville. His first recorded song, “The Gambler,” is perhaps his most enduring hit and the tent-pole of his legacy. The song, which was recorded by Rogers in 1978 and certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), opened doors for country music in the '70s, a track that was not only a huge genre hit but also a pop crossover one.

As Rogers said when he inducted Schlitz into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, “Don doesn’t just write songs. He writes careers.”

“We are heartbroken by the news of the passing of Don Schlitz. Don loved his family, his home state of North Carolina, and above all, songs and songwriters. He carried that love into every room, every stage and every lyric he ever wrote,” Sarah Trahern, Country Music Association CEO, wrote in a statement Friday. “Not long ago, we shared a dinner, and as we were leaving, Don picked up a guitar and began to play. That is how I will always remember him, smiling and with a guitar in his hand. His legacy lives on through his music and the many artists and writers he inspired. He will be deeply missed.”

“Don Schlitz’s place as a songwriting great would be secure had he never written ‘The Gambler’ or had he only written ‘The Gambler,’” Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, wrote in a statement Friday. “Nashville was richer for his presence and is lesser for his absence.”

Schlitz is survived by his wife Stacey, daughter Cory Dixon and her husband Matt Dixon, son Pete Schlitz and his wife Christian Webb Schlitz, grandchildren Roman, Gia, Isla and Lilah, brother Brad Schlitz and sister Kathy Hinkley.

By early morning, cars were backed up for kilometers on the route leading south to the damaged Qasmiyeh bridge over the Litani River, a key crossing linking the southern coastal city of Tyre to the north. Vehicles piled high with mattresses, suitcases and salvaged belongings crept forward through a single reopened lane, hastily repaired after an Israeli airstrike just a day earlier.

Drivers heading back to their villages along coastal highways cheered each other, flashed victory signs and exchanged blessings.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war displaced more than a million people. Despite warnings from Lebanese officials that they should not immediately attempt to return to their homes, many began moving toward southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire was declared. The truce appeared to be largely holding overnight.

Israel and Hezbollah have fought several wars and have been fighting on and off since the day after the start of the Gaza war. Israel and Lebanon reached a deal to end that war in November 2024, but Israel had kept up near-daily strikes in what it says is an effort to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from regrouping. That escalated into another invasion after Hezbollah again began firing missiles at Israel in response to its war on Iran.

Lebanese return to rubble after intense strikes

In southern villages like Jibsheet, a trickle of residents returned to flattened apartment blocks and streets littered with chunks of concrete, twisted aluminum shutters and dangling electrical wires.

“I feel free being back,” said Zainab Fahas, 23. “But look, they destroyed everything — the square, the houses, the shops, everything.”

Many did not believe that their ordeal was really over.

“Israel doesn’t want peace,” said Ali Wahdan, 27, a medic walking on crutches over the rubble of the emergency services’ headquarters in Jibsheet. He was badly wounded in an Israeli airstrike that hit the building without warning during the first week of the war.

“I wish it were different," he said. “But this war will continue.”

In the neighborhood of Haret Hreik in Beirut’s southern suburb, entire buildings had been reduced to rubble after weeks of intense Israeli strikes. Ahmad Lahham, 48, waved the yellow Hezbollah flag standing on a mountain of rubble that used to be his apartment building, which had also housed a branch of Hezbollah’s financial arm, Al-Qard Al-Hassan.

“We are at the service of the fighters," said Lahham, pledging his loyalty to the group.

He praised Iran, saying Tehran's pressure in its talks with the U.S. led to the truce, and condemned Lebanon’s direct talks with Israel.

“Only the Iranians stood with us, no one else,” he said, calling Lebanon’s leaders “the leadership of shame.”

A local government official in Haret Hreik said Israel struck the neighborhood 62 times over the last six weeks.

“We’ve been able to clear up the rubble of the partially damaged buildings, but for those destroyed, we will need special equipment,” Sadek Slim, the neighborhood’s deputy mayor, told a press briefing.

The area was gridlocked with traffic, with people coming back to check on their homes and Hezbollah supporters zooming on scooters, waving the group’s flag. Cars packed with families, with their possessions strapped to the roof or bursting from open trunks, were sitting in traffic for hours Friday afternoon on the highway south as a dust storm filled the air. Aid workers passed out much-needed bottles of water to those stuck in traffic.

Wounded continued to arrive at a hospital

Meanwhile, in Al-Najda al Shaabiya Hospital in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh, officials said Thursday was one of the heaviest days of Israeli strikes since this latest Israel-Hezbollah war began.

Hospital Director Mona Abou Zeid said the wounded continued arriving from nearby Israeli strikes until around an hour after the ceasefire took effect at midnight.

Among those wounded in the bombardment on Nabatiyeh Thursday was 33-year-old Mahmoud Sahmarani, who said he stepped outside his home to buy some charcoal for his shisha water pipe when an Israeli strike hit his five-story building, killing his father and cousin as they were peeling potatoes for lunch. All that remains of his apartment is rubble, leaving him and the rest of his family homeless.

“Israel should have withdrawn from Lebanon,” he said from his hospital bed, his left eye swollen shut and his head swaddled in bandages. “If we don’t get them out, they will continue to kill us.”

Many still hesitant to go home

In downtown Beirut, tents still line some areas as some families begin to leave, while others wait, weighing the risks of returning south.

A tricycle piled with mattresses weaves through the camp, signaling the first departures after a fragile ceasefire.

“Our homes in the south are gone, destroyed,” said Ali Balhas, from Siddiqeen town in the Tyre province. “Israel is deceptive. You never really know its policies or how it will act toward people."

“I have six children here, and I can’t leave that quickly. Once there is more safety, we will try to take the children and go back" to our village he said.

Amira Ayyash, a woman from Qaaqaiat al-Jisr in the Nabatiyeh province, decided to wait and assess the situation before returning home.

“We do not know at what hour they might strike us, for they are treacherous. So we decided to take it slowly,” she said.

Ahmad Ramadan, 42, a father of three stuck in the bottleneck, said he initially planned to wait out the ceasefire at his cousin’s now-crowded apartment in Beirut. But the desire to see what had become of his house in the southern city of Tyre overcame him.

“We are going to check on our house, just quickly, and come back. We just need to know if there’s damage,” he said. “Even if we’re waiting for hours here it’s worth knowing what happened.”

It wasn’t the Iran war, nor the partial government shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding. He was focused on a monumental issue of a different kind, hoisting artist renderings of the $400 million White House ballroom he’s building, complete with hand-carved “top-of-the-line” Corinthian columns.

“I’m so busy that I don’t have time to do this. I’m fighting wars and other things,” Trump said before extensively detailing plans for “the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.”

His divided attention has become a Democratic point of attack and a concern for some Republicans who worry he’s not spending enough time on issues that voters care most about ahead of November’s midterm races.

The contrast was on full display Thursday, when, as Trump flew to Las Vegas to discuss tax cuts for Americans earning tips, his administration was pushing ahead with another of his splashy projects: Plans to build a 250-foot Triumphal Arch near the Lincoln Memorial replete with a Lady Liberty-like statue and a pair of golden eagles.

The president’s ability to speak to the concerns of working people has always seemed incongruous with his biography as a billionaire real estate developer. Yet his populist policies and emphasis on the economy during his 2024 campaign helped catapult him back to the White House.

Republican strategist Rick Tyler noted that, when Trump first ran for president in 2016, his wealth was a selling point.

“While other people, like Mitt Romney, played down how rich he was, Trump was giving free helicopter rides at the Iowa State Fair,” Tyler said. “People loved it.”

Still, Trump’s preoccupation with some of the gilded trappings of the presidency, as more Americans worry about bills, has drawn accusations that he’s a modern-day Marie Antoinette.

“‘Fighting wars’ and surging gas prices, yet Trump has time to brag about his billionaire backed ballroom,” Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, responded on X to Trump’s Air Force One presentation.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential hopeful, has been more direct in comparing Trump to the last queen before the French Revolution, who has come to embody extravagant opulence — even posting an AI-generated image of Trump's face on her body on social media.

“TRUMP ‘MARIE ANTOINETTE’ SAYS, ‘NO HEALTH CARE FOR YOU PEASANTS, BUT A BALLROOM FOR THE QUEEN!’” Newsom wrote in October 2025, at the start of last fall's 43-day government shutdown.

White House says Trump's success benefits all Americans

Asked about opponents invoking Marie Antoinette, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump “is going to go down in history as the most successful and consequential president in our lifetime.”

“His successes on behalf of the American people will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and will be felt by every other White House that comes after him," Ingle said in a statement.

The president faced similar critiques during his first term. But lately he's been unabashed about accusations he’s disconnected from Americans' worries about high costs, which could leave Republicans with an uphill battle to retain control of Congress.

Republicans have been loath to question Trump, though notably there has been little criticism of a federal judge’s ruling that work on the project must stop until it has congressional approval. The GOP-controlled House and Senate also haven’t prioritized legislation to move the ballroom project forward.

“I’m not much into architecture,” Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said last fall.

About two-thirds of Americans said Trump is “out of touch” with the concerns of most people in the United States today, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll from February, though the same percentage said the same about the Democratic Party.

Presidents are usually removed from voters, separated by layers of security and surrounded by adoring subordinates. In her book “Why Presidents Fail And How They Can Succeed Again,” Elaine Kamarck argues that presidents get too focused on their own political narratives rather than the public's concerns. Yet, when it comes to Trump, “All of this stuff is frankly unique to him.”

She pointed to the ballroom as well as Trump's other White House renovations, soon adding his signature to paper currency and renaming the Kennedy Center after himself.

“It's a reflection, I think, of his own background as a businessman and somebody who made his fortune selling his name," said Kamarck, who worked in Bill Clinton’s White House.

While Trump focuses on the ballroom and other Washington projects, some public work projects in other parts of the country have languished.

Joe Meyer, the former mayor of Covington, Kentucky, spent years pushing for critical improvements to the Brent Spence Bridge connecting his town with Cincinnati, a project listed as a top federal priority dating back to Trump's first administration.

Federal funds for improvements were approved under President Joe Biden but held up by a Trump-ordered review. Work is now finally set to begin later this year, though delays will likely limit design options and slow the project, Meyer said.

“The ballroom is Washington inside-baseball,” Meyer said. “The bridge is just a wreck. It’s frustration that we’ve been dealing with forever.”

A $100 tip and a golden tractor

Trumpeting new tax deductions for tips, Trump staged ordering McDonald's to the Oval Office — which he has adorned with gold flourishes — and tipped the grandmother making the delivery $100. When she described large medical bills from her husband’s cancer treatments, Trump said she should bring him to an upcoming UFC fight on the White House lawn.

When hundreds of farmers were invited to the White House for an agricultural policy speech, they stood on the South Lawn beside a tractor that had been painted gold. It drizzled, but Trump stayed dry, addressing them from a covered second-floor balcony.

“You don’t mind rain,” the president told the farmers below.

He then flew to Miami for a conference of Saudi investors who, the president noted, were too rich to be impressed by U.S. families scrounging to save up $5,000.

“I know they’re looking like, ‘What the hell is $5,000?’" Trump joked. "Their shoes cost them more than $5,000."

When asked in February, meanwhile, for his message to young people wanting to buy a home, Trump replied: “Save a little longer. Wait a little longer."

Members of the Cabinet have also fed the perception that Trump's promised “ Golden Age ” may not be arriving for everyone. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. advised Americans to buy liver instead of beef.

“If you go and buy a steak, it’s still pretty expensive. But if you buy the cheaper cuts, it’s great meat. And it is very, very affordable. Or liver, or, you know, all these alternatives,” he told podcast host Joe Rogan.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said people could still afford meals consisting of “a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn tortilla and one other thing.”

Texas-based Republican consultant Brendan Steinhauser said he thinks that Trump “can kind of get away with" building a ballroom because voters have come to expect that from him as a brash dealmaker and businessman.

But Steinhauser said he worries that dramatic increases in gas prices and a potentially weakening economy could resonate with voters. Ahead of the midterms, Steinhauser said, Democrats could score points “trying to make it more about Trump and his oligarch friends.”

___

Associated Press writers Linley Sanders in Washington and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.

Sánchez and Lula have been outspoken in their criticism of the decision by the U.S. and Israel to attack Iran that has caused energy prices to soar. Both spoke in favor of peace, while not naming U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened both with punitive tariffs in the past, during a one-hour news conference after their summit.

“We want to double our efforts to work for peace and for a reinforced multilateral order. While others open wounds, we want to mend them and cure them,” Sánchez told reporters.

Sánchez’s government declared its airspace closed to U.S. planes being used in the Iran war, and said it is not allowing the U.S. to use jointly operated military bases in southern Spain for actions related to the war. Earlier this week, Lula released a video message expressing “deep solidarity” with Pope Leo XIV following public criticisms made by Trump after the pontiff slammed the Iran war.

Lula and Sánchez are among the few progressive leaders who have withstood a shift to the right and remain popular in their countries while defending multilateral agreements, human rights, environmental protections and gender equality — all bugaboos of Trump, Lula's neighbor in Argentina, Javier Milei, and Europe's far right.

The meetings come amid a busy week for Sánchez, who just returned from meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, his fourth trip to Beijing in just over three years.

Lula and Sánchez, along with ministers from their cabinets, signed 15 agreements ranging from trade and satellite connections to the exploitation of rare earths needed for industry when they met inside a former royal palace in Barcelona.

Their bilateral meeting was a prelude for Saturday's double dose of gatherings when Lula and Sánchez confer with other leaders inside a sprawling conference center in Spain’s second city.

“Brazil and Spain are side by side in the trenches together,” Lula said. “We are an example that it is possible to find solutions to problems without giving into the empty promises of extremism.”

In that vein, Lula said that the aim for Saturday was to discuss how “democracy must go beyond just voting and bring real benefits to people’s lives.”

A growing group

The first gathering on Saturday is the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy. The event was launched by Brazil and Spain in 2024 as a forum to exchange ideas aimed at combating the “extremism, polarization and misinformation” that undermines participatory democracy, the organizers say. The first two editions of this event were held at the United Nations and the previous one was in Santiago, Chile, last year.

This edition will include the presence of European Council President António Costa, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and the leaders of other countries from Uruguay and Lithuania to Ghana and Albania.

“If the president of Mexico and South Africa are coming, that means our group is growing,¨ Lula said about how he sees the tide could be turning to favor progressive and middle-of-the-road political parties.

Sheinbaum’s participation comes after Spain’s King Felipe VI ironed out a longstanding diplomatic dispute regarding Spain’s colonial past when he recently acknowledged the Spanish conquest of the Americas had led to the “abuse” of native peoples.

Rallying the Left

Many of the leaders from the first event will stay put for the inaugural Global Progressive Mobilization, a gathering of left-leaning politicians and policymakers, being held at the same venue later on Saturday. The format was launched after Sánchez and former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, who is now president of the Party of European Socialists political grouping, discussed the idea at a meeting of European Socialists last year.

Sánchez and Lula will both give speeches at the event, which is expected to have 3,000 attendees, including U.S. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, and feature round tables dedicated to issues ranging from wage inequality to how to improve election results for progressives.

Middle powers mingle

Pol Morillas, director of the Barcelona-based foreign affairs think tank CIDOB, said that the gatherings are meant to be a show of force by traditional democratic leaders who have seen how the populist far-right has successfully forwarded its messages of anti-migration and economic nationalism through international gatherings.

Morillas also sees the meetings in the context of the speech by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that shook the Davos economic forum in January on the importance of so-called “middle powers” seeking out new strategies to deal with a world of aggressive superpowers.

Lula, Sánchez and other leaders at the events “share the understanding that the world is not just for the great powers,” Morillas told The Associated Press.

____

AP writers Megan Janetsky in Mexico City and Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo, Brazil, contributed.

Kosovo's Parliament on Friday overwhelmingly approved in a 89-0 vote an earlier government decision to send the troops to the International Stabilization Force under a U.S.-backed initiative following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas last year.

The ISF is yet to deploy to help maintain peace and assist in rebuilding Gaza under U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, which Kosovo has joined. Indonesia, Albania and Kazakhstan are among other countries that have promised to participate in ISF.

In Kosovo, contributing to the international force is seen as proof of how far the country has come after declaring independence from Serbia in 2008, a split which Belgrade still does not recognize.

Belgrade's brutal crackdown on Kosovo's separatist rebels prompted a NATO intervention in 1999 that forced the Serb troops out of the territory and paved the way for the peacekeepers' deployment under a KFOR mission.

"Our country has been a security consumer, meaning NATO countries have contributed to the security of the Republic of Kosovo," Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci told The Associated Press. “Today we are entering a phase where we are becoming a provider, or exporter, of security.”

Maqedonci said the Kosovo contingent will consist of several dozen officers, including from demining units. The troops will be tasked with providing humanitarian support, security assistance and other duties determined by the mandate of the Gaza force, Maqedonci added.

“We are currently in the final preparations phase," Maqedonci said. He said a U.S. representative has helped with the preparation, including vaccination of troops, issuing of visas and other technical arrangements.

Kosovo currently has a security force of some 4,000 personnel that is being trained to become a small, professional military aligned with NATO.

Musician Milot Hoxha, 43, hailed the plan to participate in the Gaza mission.

“We ourselves have gone through such a transition and every small help for us has been very significant,” he said. "I believe it will be the same for them, that any kind of help will be positive. I strongly support this decision.”

Tensions with Serbia have been simmering ever since the war, with occasional violent incidents. The European Union has mediated negotiations aimed at normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina but these efforts have stalled recently.

The United States and most EU countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent state, while Russia and China have backed Serbia's claim on the territory.

Officers were dispatched to the crash just before 11:45 p.m. on Interstate 35 southbound at Cibolo Valley Drive.

Upon their arrival, officers said they found a driver who was seriously injured.

While the specifics of those injuries are unclear, police said the driver was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash scene remained closed for approximately five hours.

In a social media post, Schertz police said the roadway reopened just before 5 a.m. on Friday.

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.

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The Oyster Bake, Fiesta De Los Reyes and Taste Of New Orleans officially kick off for all of San Antonio to enjoy. Click here to learn more about the new gate fee for Fiesta De Los Reyes.

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Want to know what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the second day of Fiesta 2026 on April 17:

• A Taste of New Orleans: Savor New Orleans-style cuisine while enjoying a variety of jazz and blues music from 5:30-11 p.m. at the Sunken Garden Theatre, 3875 N. St. Mary’s St. Admission costs $22 per person, while children 12 and younger get in for free. A two-day pass costs $40 per person.
• Children’s History Forum at Casa Navarro: The free Fiesta event is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Casa Navarro, 228 S. Laredo St. Guests will have a chance to participate in a hands-on experience and learn how rangers lived during the 1800s at the historic site.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta-goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway St. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. The carnival is scheduled from 5-11:30 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C, 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: The event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Historic Market Square, 514 W. Commerce St. Click here to learn more about the new gate fee. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 17 includes Jay Perez and Jase Martin Band.
• Fiesta Oyster Bake: April 17 marks the first day of Oyster Bake at St. Mary’s University. The festival attracts more than 70,000 patrons to help raise money for St. Mary’s students. The music lineup for April 17 includes Switchfoot and Drake Milligan. The event will be from 5-11 p.m. at 1 Camino Santa Maria. Click here to purchase tickets.
• Fiesta Show & Shine Dinner & Dance: The annual event will take place from 7:30 p.m. to midnight at the Westin San Antonio North, 9821 Colonnade Blvd. The dinner and dance, which takes place on April 17, costs $95 per person. The event will also feature the 2026 Show & Shine sound competition, which will display bikes of all brands and highlight custom modifications. This Fiesta event helps fund and sustain the scholarship program, which supports dozens of college-bound high school students.
• King’s Crowning Celebration: The celebration will be the crowning of Rey Feo 77, Damaso Andres Oliva Jr. The King’s Crowning Celebration will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight at the San Antonio Convention Center Grotto, Convention Way. Tickets for the celebration can be found here.
• Rey Feo Public Crowning: Enjoy the sounds of mariachis while learning the history of the Rey Feo tradition during the public crowning from 5:30-7 p.m. at Main Plaza, 115 Main Ave. The free, family-friendly event is a tradition that supports fundraising efforts to further the educational mission of the Rey Feo Scholarship Program.
• The Fiesta Flower Show: The Woman’s Club of San Antonio has hosted the annual show since 1913. Floral arrangements based on the year’s theme and horticultural displays will be featured at the Fiesta event. The free show will take place from 2-5 p.m. at 1717 San Pedro Ave.
• UTSA Dia En La Sombrilla: The 48th annual event, formerly Fiesta UTSA, began in 1978. Dia En La Sombrilla allows student organizations to raise funds by selling food and drinks, hosting games and providing services. Funds raised are used for tournaments, conferences, events and more. The free fiesta event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza at UTSA’s Main Campus.
• WEBB Party: Step into the Sunset Strip’s golden era during the WEBB Party from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at 110 Broadway. The party “honors the places that gave the LGBTQ+ community joy, safety, and celebration,” according to the San Antonio AIDS Foundation. Admission to the party costs between $175 to $250.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned and viva Fiesta!

Our question of the day: Show us your Spurs spirit here then look it this morning on the show.

We are live at the Frost Bank Center, getting hyped before the playoffs start.

We also have a list of events you won’t want to miss this Fiesta.

We meet dog royalty El Rey Feo and his royal court. A tradition every Fiesta, the SAHS crowns one lucky pup to carry the prestigious mantle.

Colon cancer is on the rise in young people, and University Health shares with us important signs to watch out for.

Post pregnancy recovery for the mom is important. Popped is here to talk about their product to help women that is now available at H-E-B

With that, the Lanier High School softball team is headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

Talk about a special group. At practice on Thursday, KSAT caught up with the Lady Voks, who said this year is “the new standard.”

“It’s something that we’ve been working toward these last four years,” said Mady Barrera, Lanier’s head softball coach.

“Everything that we’ve heard people say — ‘It’s Lanier, it’s Lanier’ — that really brought us an advantage,” said Serenity Vega, first baseman and catcher.

Before the playoffs, they’ll face a strong Burbank Bulldogs team at 7 p.m. on Friday. Both teams have their spots secured in the postseason.

Read also:

• Where to score free food, coffee after each Spurs playoff win
• Burbank softball standout signs commitment to Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Tusk was speaking on Friday in the Polish parliament, before a parliamentary vote to overrule Nawrocki who had rejected regulations of the Polish crypto-asset market. Nawrocki has vetoed two separate attempts by the liberal government to regulate this market in the past six months.

Tusk claimed that the blocking of regulations by some Polish politicians indicated they were serving the interests of a specific company, Zondacrypto, which had in the past provided them with financial support and which had links with Russia.

“The source of this company’s financial success is not only Russian money linked to the so-called Bratva, one of the most important mafia groups in Russia, but also to Russian secret services,” Tusk said in his parliament speech.

Tusk said Zondacrypto at the same time “sponsors political and social events in Poland and promotes very specific political forces,” including by financing politicians of the formerly governing Law and Justice as well as of the far-right Confederation.

Tusk also said that Zondacrypto had been a strategic sponsor of a meeting of The Conservative Political Action Conference, the United States’ premier conservative gathering, in Rzeszow, eastern Poland, in March 2025. That meeting took place just five days before presidential elections in Poland which were a tight confrontation between a candidate of Tusk's liberal camp and Nawrocki, backed by Law and Justice.

During that meeting, Kristi Noem, then the U.S. homeland secretary, described the liberal candidate as “an absolute train wreck of a leader” and Nawrocki, who was attending the CPAC meeting, as someone who would lead Poland in a style similar to Trump.

“We need you to elect the right leader,” Noem, a prominent Trump ally, said in a speech at the event. “You will be the leaders that will turn Europe back to conservative values.”

Tusk also said that, when deciding to veto the new crypto regulations, Nawrocki was “fully aware” of all the details concerning Zondacrypto.

In response to Tusk's accusations, Zbigniew Bogucki, the head of the president's office, said Nawrocki was not opposed to the need to regulate the crypto-assets market but just to the “flawed regulatory model” proposed by the government.

Confederation leader Sławomir Mentzen said the new legislation would have “destroyed the Polish cryptocurrency market."

The government says the new regulations are meant to bring Poland in compliance with European Union rules on crypto-assets.

Zondacrypto did not reply to questions from AP about Tusk's accusations but it told Polish media earlier this week it was cooperating with Polish authorities investigating accusations against it.

“For me, it didn't make sense to think about it or waste time thinking about,” Rahm said Thursday after opening with seven birdies in his round of 6-under 65 at LIV Golf Mexico, leaving him three shots behind Victor Perez of France at Chapultepec Golf Club.

“Since everything happened so suddenly and so quickly, I wasn’t very worried about it because normally, before the rumors start, we already know something — there’s always someone within the league who knows something,” he said. “It happened so fast that I really didn’t worry about it.”

Speculation was running rampant on Wednesday the main source of funding — Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund — was on the verge of drying up. The LIV chief executive, Scott O'Neil, sent a memo to staff the 2026 season would proceed without interruption and at “full throttle.”

Questions remained whether that would last beyond the end of the year.

There was a power outage at the course on Tuesday, fueling speculation about the league's future. And then the streaming of the first round went out for about two hours.

O'Neil sat down with LIV's broadcast team and remained bullish about the future.

“Given the momentum of this business, we’re really excited about where we are and the position where we are,” O'Neil said.

He said he met with 50 people at the Masters and rolled out a plan that “might surprise people.” LIV Golf has said some of its metrics such as ticket sales and team sponsorships have increased, and O'Neil is projecting 10 of the 13 teams and four of the 14 events will be profitable.

But there is a substantial cost involved with prize funds ($30 million for each tournament) and operations. The newsletter Money in Sport reported in February that LIV Golf already had spent $5.3 billion and was projected to surpass $6 billion by the end of the year.

“This notion of bringing teams to market, I had two calls this morning,” O'Neil said on the LIV broadcast. “This notion of, ‘Do you have to raise money?’ Probably this is business. But if we keep the trajectory going the way we are and the revenue growth going, this is going to be a really good business for a really long time.”

___

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

Friday, April 17

The Texas Department of Transportation has reported a major crash on the southbound lanes of Highway 281 near St. Mary’s Street.

The entrance from St. Mary’s Street to southbound Highway 281 is closed, according to TxDOT. The incident was deadly, and the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office is at the scene.

Drivers are asked to use an alternate route.

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

Click the links below for current road closures.

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

The male wolf, named Neukgu, burrowed out of his enclosure at the O-World zoo in Daejeon on April 8, prompting a search that gripped the nation and raised fears about his safety. Animal rights activists questioned whether the wolf could survive outside the zoo and also worried it might be killed during capture, something that happened to a puma that escaped from the same zoo in 2018.

Intense national concern even prompted President Lee Jae Myung to make a statement reassuring the public police, fire officials and the military were doing their best to capture the wolf alive.

At one point, authorities nearly captured Neukgu after spotting him on a mountain near the zoo earlier this week, but he broke away from a perimeter set by rescue workers. A driver also spotted the wolf and shared a video of him trotting along a dark mountain road, lit by the headlights of the vehicle trailing behind.

Neukgu was finally found and tranquilized on a hill near an expressway early Friday, after an hours-long search involving drones, police and emergency workers and veterinarians, according to city and zoo officials. He was in stable condition after being taken back to the zoo, where veterinarians used a scope to remove a fishing hook from his stomach but found no other significant health issues.

Daejeon officials released social media videos showing rescuers pulling the limp wolf from a ditch and placing it in a carrier, and the animal undergoing medical examinations at the zoo.

Social media was flooded with celebratory posts, including messages like “welcome back” and “Neukgu, it’s dangerous outside the house.” Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo in a Facebook post expressed his “deepest gratitude to citizens of Daejeon and also the entire nation for your support in ensuring Neukgu’s safe return.”

Born at the zoo in 2024, Neukgu is a third-generation descendent of a group of wolves brought from Russia in 2008 as part of a project to reintroduce wolves resembling those that lived in the Korean wild before going extinct in the 1960s.

Lee Kwan Jong, director of O-World, said Neukgu will be kept in a separate area from other animals and receive care until he has fully recovered and stabilized.

The zoo’s management, which has been criticized over a series of animal escapes, closed the facility following Neukgu’s escape and says it has not decided when it will reopen.

Lee Kwan Jong said the zoo, which is reviewing its security measures, will prioritize Neukgu’s recovery.

He's expected to be a huge attraction when the zoo reopens.

The incident happened at 4 a.m. outside a hotel on Jones Maltsberger Road and Northern Boulevard, not far from Loop 410.

According to a lieutenant at the scene, an officer was driving through the hotel parking lot due to recent car burglaries.

The officer spotted a vehicle matching the description of an earlier incident, with two people sitting inside.

The officer activated their emergency lights and got out of the patrol car. That’s when, police say, the suspect vehicle drove in reverse and crashed into the patrol car.

The officer held the two suspects at gunpoint until backup arrived, police said. The two suspects were detained.

Read also:

• 1-year-old in critical condition after being stepped on by horse in south Bexar County, BCSO says
• Woman in critical condition after being hit by vehicle on South Side

Users on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market, could place bets on when the airman would be rescued. When Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., shared a screenshot of the activity on social media, an April 3 rescue was trading at 15% compared with 63% who were betting on April 4.

After Moulton posted the screenshot and blasted this “dystopian death market,” Polymarket stopped the betting, saying the market “does not meet our integrity standards.”

A former Marine who served four tours in Iraq, Moulton said he was “absolutely not satisfied with Polymarket's response” and blamed the site for being “completely unwilling to self-regulate when it comes to betting on the lives of our service members.”

“This is war profiteering and Congress needs to step in and stop it,” he said.

A confrontation is brewing in Washington over prediction markets, the online exchanges that allow users to bet on the outcome of everything from a baseball game to when Jesus Christ will return.

In a highly polarized Congress, the need to guard against the prediction markets being used for insider trading has become rare common ground. Members of both parties pressed the leader of a typically low-profile regulatory agency on the issue during a hearing on Thursday. The market debate is also drawing in the White House, potential presidential candidates and state leaders.

“It's a national conversation about what it means to have market integrity,” said Kristin Johnson, a former commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates prediction markets in the U.S.

In a capital that was slow to respond to the perils of tobacco, opioids and social media, the push to put guardrails on prediction markets has been uncommonly swift.

The markets, which include Polymarket and its chief rival Kalshi, have been criticized for everything from undermining the integrity of sports to contributing to an online betting addiction crisis among young men. Polymarket has come under particular scrutiny as a venue for offshore trades that are beyond the reach of U.S. regulators.

Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, is on Polymarket's advisory board and is a paid adviser for Kalshi. 1789 Capital, the venture capital firm where Trump Jr. is a partner, has invested in Polymarket.

Well-timed trades catch Washington's attention

The Associated Press reported this month that a group of new accounts on Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers.

On the same day the report was published, the White House warned staff against using private information to trade on prediction markets.

Earlier this year, an anonymous Polymarket user collected more than $400,000 on a January bet predicting the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, prompting concerns that someone with access to private U.S. government information may have engaged in insider trading.

Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican and former Marine, said he had been concerned about trading in the sports market, “but I became especially concerned about market distortions, improper decision making, and undermining of public trust through self-enrichment after the news broke about Venezuela.”

Young and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have introduced a bill that would bar federal employees from using nonpublic information to make bets on prediction markets. Their bill is among several bipartisan efforts in Congress to regulate prediction markets.

As he eyes a potential presidential campaign, Democrat Rahm Emanuel proposed a ban on prediction market bets by all federal employees and their families. On Wednesday, he suggested a 10% fee on those markets and online gambling to fund science and health research.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another potential Democratic presidential candidate, issued an executive order barring his appointees from using nonpublic information to trade on prediction markets.

For now, there's no immediate path to passage for any of the bills. But the scrutiny has drawn focus to the differing approaches of the main prediction markets.

Polymarket officials say little publicly and didn't comment for this story. The market, founded in 2020, operates largely offshore with limited functions in the U.S. that were allowed only after President Donald Trump returned to office.

Kalshi, meanwhile, says it already bans many of the most extreme betting markets and welcomes regulation.

“We support Congress and regulators taking action to police insider trading, keep prediction markets onshore and under federal regulation," said Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana. "Not all prediction markets are the same.”

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump has been clear that "members of Congress and other government officials should be prohibited from using nonpublic information for financial benefit.”

Prediction markets bring CFTC into the spotlight

The bet-the-event activity is drawing attention to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees the vast trading contracts industry, including prediction markets.

Dennis Kelleher, the president and chief executive of Better Markets, a Washington nonprofit that has pressed for stronger oversight of prediction markets, said the agency "certainly has no experience, expertise, budget, technology to actually in any way supervise, regulate or police gambling on everything from whether it’s Iran, Venezuela, whether it’s reality TV, whether Christ is going to come back before the end of the year.”

The agency, which by law is supposed to have a five-member board including representatives of both political parties, is served now by only one member, Michael Selig, a former CFTC law clerk who went on to represent cryptocurrency clients before Trump appointed him to lead the agency.

That's sparked concern among congressional Democrats. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., sent Selig a letter in February noting that the number of enforcement attorneys at the agency's Chicago office had declined from 20 to zero.

During a Thursday hearing of the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, Selig said the agency was hiring new staff and operating more efficiently. He refused to hold off on completing new regulations until new members were added to the board but insisted he was taking the potential of insider trading seriously.

“Nothing is more important than protecting market integrity,” he said.

Still, the agency's enforcement authority extends only to prediction markets regulated in the U.S.

For now, that distinction largely applies to Kalshi, which was established in 2018 and promotes its status as a regulated prediction market. Eager to reach American customers, Polymarket has introduced a U.S.-only prediction market platform to conform with U.S. regulations, but that platform currently has a waitlist to participate and is a small fraction of the size of its offshore counterpart.

CFTC's leadership criticizes Biden and takes on states

Asked at a recent Vanderbilt University forum about the CFTC's approach to insider trading in unregulated offshore prediction markets, Selig blamed the Biden administration for creating a regulatory environment that he said discouraged companies from operating in the U.S.

As the debate plays out in Washington, multiple states have tried to curtail prediction markets, arguing they are essentially operating as unlicensed gambling platforms. But the CFTC has responded forcefully to assert itself as the sole regulator, suing Connecticut, Arizona and Illinois this month.

That leaves Washington at a strange juncture, with widespread agreement among lawmakers that something should be done to address the issue of prediction markets. But there are differing thoughts on the scope of a solution.

Young acknowledged his proposal is just a first step, and said lawmakers have a lot to learn about prediction markets.

“But I think we can all agree at this early stage, as usage of these platforms grows and real money is put at stake, that this is a measure that should be taken immediately,” he said.

___

Sweet reported from New York. Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

In a twist of fate, national LGBTQ+ advocates and law experts say the decision proves Texas can’t ban gender affirming care from the therapy room, but local mental health providers are pessimistic.

Last month, an 8-1 court sided with Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional Christian counselor in Colorado Springs, who argued her state’s ban on conversion therapy, a controversial treatment aimed at changing a LGBTQ+ minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, violated her right to free speech. The justices ruled the Colorado law censors the speech of mental health providers and that the First Amendment prohibits states from limiting the topics licensed therapists can discuss with their clients.

LGBTQ+ advocates and legal experts say this ruling means any treatment that licensed mental health providers in Texas give to clients that affirms their gender identities is constitutionally protected free speech. The high court’s decision runs counter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s recent opinion that licensed Texas therapists can’t provide gender-affirming care to LGBTQ+ youth clients, advocates and experts say.

“If the Supreme Court sets this precedent that what happens in a therapist’s office is sort of per se protected First Amendment speech, then I think we have to take them at their word and say, ‘Okay, well then that applies to all regardless of ideological implications,’” said Shawn Meerkamper, a managing attorney for the California-based Transgender Law Center.

Texas mental health providers say in theory, the Supreme Court’s ruling should protect gender-affirming therapy for LGBTQ+ people, too, but gender-affirming care providers don’t trust Republican lawmakers and the conservative Supreme Court to apply free speech principles equally. They fear the state will investigate and villainize licensed therapists who provide gender-affirming care while allowing conversion therapy to proliferate without fear of regulations. Texas has 104 conversion therapy providers, the second highest number in the country, according to the Trevor Project, the largest suicide and crisis prevention organization for LGBTQ youth.

While the state hasn’t made any attempts to ban conversion therapy, which all major health associations in the country, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and American Psychiatric Association, have panned as harmful, Texas has blocked gender-affirming care, which those same groups have supported as evidence-based care.

Gender-affirming health care is a range of services that help align a person’s physical and mental characteristics with their preferred gender identity.

“If speech in the therapy room is completely unregulated and states are not allowed to step in, then where does it stop? If a therapist is a white nationalist, are they allowed to say certain things in that room about other races? Where is the limit?” said Johnathan Gooch, deputy director for public affairs for Equality Texas.

Can the ruling help LGBTQ+ therapy?

Chiles, with support from President Donald Trump’s administration, argued a ban on conversion therapy is an unfair restriction on faith-based practices in mental health.

She said allowing states to ban conversion therapy permits interfering in all conversations between providers and their clients, including, for example, prohibiting doctors from discussing birth control or counselors from encouraging or discouraging divorce.

Various religious organizations, such as the Catholic Medical Association, applauded the Supreme Court’s decision siding with Chiles, saying it allows for the “free exchange of ideas” in mental health.

Steven D. Schwinn, a professor of law at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School, who has analyzed Supreme Court decisions over the past few years, said the ruling on conversion therapy is the latest example of the country’s highest court using the First Amendment to push a conservative policy.

“The Court has recently championed religious freedom under the guise of free speech,” he said.

Meerkamper said the silver lining of the Supreme Court’s decision is that it takes away from states like Texas the ability to ban LGBTQ+-friendly treatments, such as gender-affirming care, because free speech protections apply across the board.

“If the act of therapy and engaging in therapy is considered free speech, then it’s certainly hard to see how a prohibition on conversion therapy survives,” they said. “But on the other side of the coin is that if that doesn’t survive, then how can prohibitions on gender-affirming health care services survive?”

Mental health professionals who provide gender-affirming care defend their field as legitimate health care that helps a population vulnerable to some of the most serious mental illnesses. Providers often help diagnose and recommend treatment to adults and minors with gender dysphoria, a psychological diagnosis widely accepted in the medical and mental health communities for someone whose gender identity doesn’t match their gender assigned at birth. The treatment can include depression and anxiety, assessments for readiness for hormone therapy or surgeries, and support for families.

“We do not pass judgment and that we provide care that is evidence-based and ethical, and we try to reduce harm,” said Michael Lesher, director of the Texas Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities. “We are supposed to provide client-centered care that’s not coercing our clients into anything that is going to be harmful to them.”

Gender affirming care providers in Texas say that while the Supreme Court has ruled to protect conversion therapy, history proves it won’t do the same for LGBTQ+ treatments.

The Supreme Court ruled last year that states have a right to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors, like puberty blockers and hormones, because the state has a right to protect children, despite multiple medical studies citing its usefulness. Texas banned gender-affirming care for minors in 2023.

“As an affirming therapist in this state, I work to undo the harm conversion therapy perpetrates every single day. So with this ruling? I’m worried we’ll see an increase in the availability of conversion therapy, and I’m worried about the precedent it sets going forward,” said Abi Smith, a licensed professional counselor for Southlake-based AltNarratives LLC.

Conversion therapy proliferation

When Guy Felder came out in the 1990s as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, his parents promptly placed him in a conversion therapy program. The unlicensed counselor often told his parents and members of his religious community about their sessions, and the entire experience, which lasted a year until he turned 18, did permanent damage to the relationship with his family.

“The theory in conversion therapy is that the cause of homosexuality is a dysfunctional relationship with a parental figure. They kept telling my dad he was in some way responsible for me living my life as a gay man,” said Felder, who is now a Houston-based licensed professional counselor associate, providing LGBTQ+ mental health treatment.

Conversion therapy attempts to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender to heterosexual or cisgender norms. The most common way to achieve this is through talk therapy, but some extreme methods include shame-based practices, religious-based treatments, and aversion therapy.

Twenty seven states have laws that either restrict or prohibit licensed professionals from practicing conversion therapy on minors, but Texas isn’t one of them. The Trevor Project identified more than 1,320 conversion therapy providers across 48 states, with Pennsylvania having the most.

“A lot of them went underground, but they never went away,” Felder said about the recent restrictions on conversion therapies.

The Texas Tribune contacted multiple conversion therapists in Texas to discuss their reactions to the recent Supreme Court ruling, but they did not respond.

LGBTQ+ advocates are concerned that with Texas already not regulating conversion therapy, the recent ruling by the Supreme Court will turn the state into a breeding ground for this kind of treatment.

“Around 15% of LGBTQ+ youth, according to the Trevor Project, cited fear of conversion therapy as a reason not to seek out mental health support,” said Rox Sayde, community support and operations manager for Equality Texas, adding that many conversion therapists in Texas hide under the guise of LGBTQ+ friendly care.

By protecting conversion therapy, the Supreme Court ruling delegitimizes therapy as a valid medical treatment, according to some mental health providers.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the lone dissenting voice, wrote that the decision made by her fellow justices “opens a dangerous can of worms” because it will impair the state’s ability to regulate the mental health profession.

Studies have shown that conversion therapy can cause harm — and if a state can’t regulate it, what therapy can the state regulate, LGBTQ advocates question.

“My take on the ruling is that it fundamentally misunderstands what therapy is,” Gooch said. “Words, in this case, are a tool that is used to treat a patient, which is a different type of relationship. The court is now saying speaking to a client is essentially the same as someone just giving their gut instinct reaction to a friend seeking advice.”

For mental health support for LGBTQ youth, call the Trevor Project’s 24/7 toll-free support line at 866-488-7386. For trans peer support, call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

Disclosure: Equality Texas 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 Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

KSAT helped kick off the 11-day party with a purpose on Thursday, April 16, with live coverage from Fiesta Fiesta.

Myra Arthur and Ernie Zuniga were at Travis Park for the official kickoff. Watch the 2-hour special in the video player above.

KSAT has everything you need to know about the 11-day celebration and day-by-day guides on our Fiesta page!

Also, be sure to check the weather forecast from the KSAT Weather Authority team before heading out to Fiesta events so you can dress appropriately.

If you’re planning to head to Fiesta, submit your photos and videos on KSAT Connect!

Watch more Fiesta coverage live on KSAT

Here’s when you can watch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, coverage starts at 7 p.m., followed by the SA Live River Parade After Party. — Watch on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, coverage starts at 7 p.m. at the Alamo Stadium. — Watch on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, coverage begins at 10 a.m. — Watch on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. at Heights Pool in Alamo Heights. — Watch on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Fair Parade, coverage begins at 8 a.m. — Watch on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2-5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — Watch on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, coverage starts at 7 p.m. — Watch on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

You can get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free here.

Find more news on KSAT’s Fiesta page. You can also sign up for our free Things To Do and Fiesta newsletters.

Read also:

• Fiesta’s biggest event no longer free; city council approves $5 gate fee for Fiesta de los Reyes
• Cone zones may not disappear even after ‘completion’ of downtown street project, city says

The annual event, held under this year’s “Fiesta Together” theme, has outgrown multiple venues over the years — from Traders Village to Palo Alto College to the Frost Bank Center.

This year, the walk moves to Retama Park, with overflow parking available at IKEA and River City Church. Accessible shuttles will also be on-site.

The event kicks off at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 18.

A space made by the community, for the community

For Percy De La Luna, community engagement manager for ABC of Southwest Texas, the Walk for Autism is personal.

“I myself am on the autism spectrum, and there is nothing quite like getting to love my community every day,” De La Luna said.

Having been diagnosed later in life, De La Luna had never experienced an event like this growing up, and attending for the first time was emotional.

“I didn’t grow up getting to go to these walks,” De La Luna said. “I got diagnosed much later on in life. And so there was like a 10-year-old me partying alongside the other 10 year olds.”

One moment from the event stuck with him.

“I got to talk to a mom and she said that this was one of those events where her kid was the normal one because everyone’s kid was just like hers,” he said. “This was a space made by this community for this community.”

Chelsea Steele, with ABC of Southwest Texas, said the event is open to everyone, not just families with a direct connection to autism.

“Our walk for autism is aimed to get in front of parents, caretakers, grandparents, anyone that has somebody that’s on the spectrum or has a diagnosis or, you know, suspected diagnosis, but it can be for anybody that feels like they want to be part of a community,” Steele said. “So I think that’s what ABC celebrates and represents — that every child is unique and different and we’re going to celebrate that child."

‘Little posses,’ big love

One of the most visible — and heartwarming — sights at the walk is the sea of custom shirts families wear to honor their loved ones.

“There are families that are all wearing these incredible shirts with their loved one’s face on it and I call them little posses because you see the child who inspired it all and just a whole family of neighbors, teachers, of their friends, all decked out just for them. What a beautiful way to say I love you,” De La Luna said.

Steele said that visible show of solidarity is at the heart of what the walk represents.

“That’s the beauty in it is that it’s not just families that have a child that is on the spectrum or has a diagnosis,” Steele said. “It’s everybody in the community showing up. It’s very symbolic saying, ‘Hey, you’re not walking alone. We’re walking right there with you.’”

A national anthem, a moment of inspiration

For Jonathan Cazares, the walk is where his two worlds — family and friends — come together in the most unexpected, meaningful way.

“Having my family and friends meet at my walk is really crazy thinking that they would never meet and that they would never ever wear a shirt I made for them and it’s just awesome. It’s a really special feeling,” Cazares said.

Cazares, who is on the autism spectrum, also performs the national anthem to kick off the event each year — a moment that inspires others in the community.

“They get to look at Jonathan singing and go, ‘Well, if he can do that, I can do it,’” De La Luna said. “It is truly an inspiration.”

Even after years of performing, the nerves don’t fully go away.

“I still get really nervous to this day,” Cazares said. “But I also pretend that there’s just a little bit of people.”

Last year, 12,000 people attended the walk.

Free programs, funded by the community

Beyond the celebration, the walk serves a critical purpose: keeping ABC of Southwest Texas’ programs running — all of which are free to families.

“We don’t ever charge any money. All of our programs are free,” Steele said. “So that’s how we keep our programs alive is through events like our walk.”

Donations and participation fund a wide range of services, including an autism support program, bereavement care and support groups, home fire safety programs, toilet training classes and case management connecting families to resources.

“If they have a child that has a suspected diagnosis or they’ve been diagnosed with something on the spectrum, we can help them break down disabilities, how to navigate life with that,” Steele said.

The organization also provides support for families who have lost a child.

“Any family that’s lost a child, zero to 17, we could help them with counseling,” Steele said. “We could help with cremation, burial plots, all of that stuff, and that’s free, of course.”

Party with a purpose

De La Luna puts it simply: this event is about fun, family and leaving with more than you came with.

“You know the phrase is party with a purpose — come party with a purpose,“ he said. ”This is a space for families to create a community like no other.”

“The goal is for families to leave this space with a pretzel in hand and flyers of all these incredible resources for their families and a smile on their face,” De La Luna said.

How to support ABC of Southwest Texas

🗓️ April 18, 2026

📍Retama Park

🎟️ Free admission

Fiesta Youth, San Antonio’s premier LGBTQ+ youth program, has been offering weekly programming and a safe, welcoming environment since opening its doors in September 2013.

“And throughout the year, we just provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth to come be themselves, hang out, have fun,” organization co-founding board member Darrell Parsons said.

Parsons remembers the night Fiesta Youth first opened its doors.

“We were waiting around waiting for youth to show up, and the first one came through the door. And 10 more came through the door that night,” Parsons said. “And since then, we probably have between 30 and 50 youth attending weekly programming.”

Organizational growth has been more than just numbers.

“So to see it go from just a small organization to what it is now, it’s been heartwarming. It’s been really nice,” Parsons said. “I wish I would have had this when I was a kid, but you know, we have it now, and that’s what matters.”

Crystafer Stone, a volunteer who has been involved with Fiesta Youth for eight years, echoed that sentiment.

“To see that there’s something now for the kids that are out there today, it’s a life-saving place for these kids to be,” Stone said.

Midnight in Garden of Good and Evil: A party with a purpose

One of Fiesta Youth’s biggest annual moments is its signature fundraising event with humble beginnings.

“This event actually started in the backyard of two of our supporters,” Parsons said. “They wanted to have a Fiesta event. We wanted a Fiesta event that was a fundraiser. So, we got together, and we said, ‘Let’s do it at your house.’”

The Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil masquerade extravaganza has outgrown a simple backyard entirely. Now in its 12th year, the event takes over The DoSeum, a popular San Antonio children’s museum, and transforms it into an adults-only playground for the night.

“We get to play around on everything that’s open out here at the museum, so we get to bring out our inner child,” Stone said.

The event — open to guests 21 and older — includes dancing, drag performances, food and drinks all covered in the total price of admission. Every dollar raised goes directly back to supporting LGBTQ+ youth programming.

“We raise close to about $80,000 every year, and that has a huge impact when it comes to programming,” Parsons said.

Scholarships, community and Fiesta spirit

The fundraiser also serves as the platform for another cornerstone of Fiesta Youth’s mission: scholarships.

To date, $86,000 in scholarship money has been given to LGBTQ+ and allied youth.

For Parsons, the event — and Fiesta itself — represents something bigger than a party.

“You know, we’re a diverse community here in San Antonio, but we have a cause that brings us all together with Fiesta,” Parsons said. “Fiesta Together means we’re going to do this together. We’re in this together.”

“These nonprofit organizations — they depend on the community. They depend on Fiesta San Antonio to survive and thrive and Fiesta Together means that we’re all in this together and we support each other,” Parsons added.

How to get tickets and support Fiesta Youth:

🗓️ April 18, 2026

📍The DoSeum

🎟️ $100+ includes food, drink, parking and more

To make any purchases or get more information, click here.

Judge Greg Grogin granted Roberts-Smith bail in a Sydney court around five hours earlier, ruling the former Special Air Service Regiment corporal had established exceptional circumstances to justify his release from custody. Prosecutors had opposed bail and argued there was a risk that Roberts-Smith would flee Australia or interfere with witnesses and evidence.

Roberts-Smith, 47, was arrested on April 7 and charged with five counts of war crime murder involving the deaths of five Afghans in Uruzgan province in 2009 and 2012.

Australian law defines war crime murder as the intentional killing in a context of armed conflict of a person who is not taking an active part in the hostilities, such as a civilian, prisoner of war or a wounded soldier.

Roberts-Smith was driven away from Sydney's Silverwater Correctional Complex late Friday apparently wearing the same clothes he wore when police escorted him from a commercial airliner at Sydney Airport last week, news media images showed.

Roberts-Smith was awarded both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan and is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.

The charges follow a military report released in 2020 that found evidence elite SAS and commando regiment troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and other noncombatants. Around 40,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, of whom 41 were killed.

Similar allegations against Roberts-Smith were found credible in a civil court case in 2023 when a judge rejected his claims that newspaper articles defamed him.

At that trial, Roberts-Smith testified he had never killed an unarmed Afghan and denied ever committing a war crime. He claimed he has the victim of spiteful fellow soldiers’ lies and of others’ envy of his medals.

But while the civil court found the war crimes allegations were mostly proven on a balance of probabilities, the war crime murder charges would have to be proved in a criminal court to a higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

Roberts-Smith is accused of personally shooting dead two victims. He allegedly ordered subordinates to shoot the other three victims.

In opposing bail, prosecutor Simon Buchen described the charges against Roberts-Smith as “among the most serious known to the criminal law.”

Buchen said Roberts-Smith had been ”on the cusp of relocating overseas” without telling authorities when he became aware that prosectors were considering charges.

Roberts-Smith had made “advanced plans to relocate overseas. Consideration was being given to moving to various destinations overseas,” Buchen told the court.

Roberts-Smith faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison on each conviction. He has yet to enter pleas.

Defense lawyer Slade Howell told the bail hearing Roberts-Smith’s case “may properly be described as exceptional in the sense that it is out of the ordinary.”

“The use of domestic courts to prosecute alleged war crimes committed by a highly decorated Australian soldier deployed overseas repeatedly by the Australian government to fight a war on its behalf is unprecedented and is uncharted legal territory of the common law of this country,” Howell said.

Howell also said Roberts-Smith’s “proceedings will be beset by a multitude of delays, many of which are peculiar to these proceeding.”

Potential delays could arise if prosecutors decide to charge one or more of Roberts-Smith’s fellow veterans, some of whom now live overseas, Howell said.

Roberts-Smith took part in the bail hearing by video link from prison and spoke only when asked by the judge to confirm that he could see and hear proceedings.

“I’ve spent more than two decades guiding on the river, and if a border wall cuts off access, that’s the end of my career,” said Danny William Miller, Jr., a professional river guide and Terlingua resident who is one of the plaintiffs. “No one comes to Big Bend to see steel walls and razor wire. If they build this, they’re not just destroying a landscape, they’re wiping out our way of life.”

Miller, along with the Friends of the Ruidosa Church — a preservation group in the area — and the Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit organization, filed the lawsuit in the Western District of Texas in El Paso.

“While we fully support thoughtful, effective approaches to border safety, building a permanent wall in this unique landscape does nothing to solve local realities,” the group said in a statement. “The rugged terrain, steep canyons, and the Rio Grande itself already serve as natural deterrents and have for generations.”

The lawsuit argues the Trump administration needs Congress’ approval to proceed with its plan because its efforts to build a barrier have “vast economic and political significance.”

Bypassing Congress to waive environmental laws to build a barrier along the Rio Grande, the lawsuit says, violates the “major questions doctrine,” which requires the White House to seek congressional approval before taking sweeping economic actions.

The U.S. Supreme Court cited the doctrine in its rulings against the Trump administration’s tariffs on imports and the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program.

In February, the Trump administration waived over two dozen environmental laws to clear the way for a 150-mile-long border barrier through West Texas, including Big Bend National Park and the adjoining state park, a rugged and scenic stretch with unscalable canyons along the Rio Grande.

The Border Patrol’s Big Bend Sector, which encompasses 517 miles of the 1,950-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border, has historically been the least busy of the nine sectors. In fiscal year 2025, Border Patrol recorded 3,096 apprehensions in the Big Bend sector — accounting for just 1.3% of the 237,538 apprehensions recorded across the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

The move angered residents and has bipartisan opposition, including from local sheriffs who say the federal government should listen to the needs of local law enforcement officials if it wants to help prevent illegal immigration in the area.

After strong public opposition, the Trump administration has given conflicting messages about whether it plans to build a physical barrier in the area.

As of April 16, a map on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website no longer indicates that a border wall will be constructed in the Big Bend region from Big Bend Ranch State Park — which borders the national park to the west — to the Amistad National Recreation Area in Del Rio. The website indicates the Trump administration plans to install “detection technology” in that area.

A spokesperson for the Border Patrol’s Big Bend Sector previously told Marfa Public Radio that there are “currently no plans for border wall construction” in the state park. But emails obtained by the radio station from Paul Enriquez, an infrastructure director for Border Patrol, say the administration may still build barriers along the Big Bend region in the future.

Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., lawmakers and advocates spoke against the Trump administration’s efforts to erect barriers all along the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday during a news conference.

“Something we don’t have to fight over in Texas is that we love Big Bend. Who the hell came up with this is really my question,” said U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin. “Just leave it alone, or protect it and cherish it, instead of trying to screw something up that people of all political stripes agree on.”

Gabby Birenbaum contributed to this report

The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said.

The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.

In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.

“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”

The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.

The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.

The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic

damages in 2030.

The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.

“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”

Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.

“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.

Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.

“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“

The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.

“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”

Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.

“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”

Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.

Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.

Disclosure: Texas 2036 has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

He went camping. He jammed with local musicians. He drank root beer delivered on roller skates. He shopped for records. He bought a guitar. Then he went home.

The next time people in Benton saw George Harrison, it was with 73 million others who tuned in to watch his band, the Beatles, make their U.S. debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show" about four months later. The British Invasion, which changed popular music and American culture, was underway.

Now, the house where Harrison and his brother Peter stayed in Benton, 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis, is for sale.

You’ll forgive Beatles fans if they’re worried about its future. In 1995, the house at 113 McCann Street had a date with the wrecking ball. Activists, including Harrison’s sister, Louise Harrison Caldwell, who had moved away in the late 1960s, stepped in to save it.

Coal mining brought the family of Harrison's sister to Benton

Previously known for hosting the state's last public hanging in 1928, Benton, population 6,700, was built on Southern Illinois' rich veins of coal. Louise Caldwell moved to town when her husband, a mining engineer, got a job in what was then a thriving industry.

The house they chose is a five-bedroom bungalow built in 1935 with a brick facade across its wide front porch.

In the mid-1990s, a state agency bought the house from a subsequent owner with plans to flatten it for parking. Mega-fan Robert Bartel of Springfield, a Beatles author and documentarian, alerted the media and Fab Four loyalists.

Local investors repurchased it from the state and opened the Hard Day's Nite Bed and Breakfast, featuring the couch Harrison traded guitar licks on and stacks of other loaned Beatles memorabilia, including a bevy from Bartel.

The bed-and-breakfast closed in 2010. Benton resident Grady Adams has since operated it as regular bed-and-bath apartments but now wants to sell, listing it for $105,000. Brian Calcaterra, Benton’s director of economic development, suggested the city draft an ordinance to protect the house from demolition by a new owner, but Benton Mayor Lee Messersmith said the city council has not discussed the matter.

“Of course, if it doesn't get demo'd, I would prefer that,” Adams said.

Interest in reviving the bed-and-breakfast is unclear

Whether there's interest — or energy — to return the McCann Street house to its Beatles glory is up for debate.

Jim Kirkpatrick of Creal Springs, author of “Before He Was Fab,” a recollection of Harrison's visit which has been optioned for a movie, has had at least one encouraging conversation with someone considering purchase.

Benton business owner Robert Rea, a historian who helped save the Beatles house three decades ago, said the obsession has faded.

“When we did this (in 1995), the world went crazy because they thought, ‘George is going to come, he’s going to save the house,'” Rea said. “And I’m just being honest with you, maybe I’m missing it or something, but that momentum is not here.”

Harrison's last chance to walk the streets in anonymity

Harrison's trip was perhaps the last time the musician could enjoy obscurity. He camped in Shawnee National Forest. He sat in with a popular local group when they played a nearby Veterans of Foreign Wars hall. The band’s leader took him to a drive-in restaurant with carhops on skates, where he guzzled root beer for the first time.

At a record store on Benton's downtown square, Harrison bought a pile of vinyl. Included was James Ray’s R&B single, “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You,” Harrison’s 1987 cover of which went to No. 1.

He also bought a Rickenbacker 425 guitar like the one bandmate John Lennon had. Harrison played the guitar a month later when the Beatles recorded “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” It sold at auction in 2014 for $675,000.

One day during Harrison's visit, he and Caldwell dropped by WFRX radio, where then-17-year-old Marcia Schafer Raubach had a Saturday afternoon teen program. Harrison gave her a copy of “She Loves You,” which he told her had just hit the top of the British charts.

Raubach interviewed Harrison on the air, the first for a Beatle in America, and played the 45, which she still has. She said it sounded different than the songs American teens were then punching up on jukeboxes. But it didn't make an impression on her audience.

Despite his longish hair in a land of crew cuts, Raubach found Harrison, dressed in a crisp white shirt, jeans and sandals, “very clean cut, he was personable and mannerly and they call him the ‘quiet Beatle’ — well, he was.”

“If I had known what they were going to become, I would have handled that differently,” Raubach, now 79, said. “It’s still amazing that he even came here and that I met him. I think he really liked Southern Illinois.”

Harrison never returned to Benton, though, dying in 2001 at 58. Caldwell was 91 when she died in 2023.

The airline will soon open bookings for four-hour stints in the Skynest sleep pods and says they will be the first lie-flat beds for budget air travelers. Fliers will get cozy with their fellow passengers, however, so crumbs, strong perfumes and bedsharing are forbidden.

The curtained berths will be available to economy and premium economy fliers on the airline’s new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft from November. The planes will service the Auckland to New York route, which is one of the world’s longest commercial flights and leaves economy passengers sitting upright for a marathon 16 to 18 hours.

Instead, travelers will have the option of a pre-booked four-hour spot in a curtained pod, with costs starting from 495 New Zealand dollars ($291) on top of the price of their economy tickets. But use of the six pods, arranged in a triple-bunk style layout between cabins, will put fliers in close proximity to others, prompting the airline to publish etiquette notes.

Passengers must refrain from snacking in the pods, which can’t be used by children or any additional visitors.

“That means solo snoozes only please, no musical nests or tag-teaming,” Air New Zealand’s website says. For those worried about cleanliness, the airline assures travelers that the pillows, blankets and sheets supplied “are all refreshed” between four-hour naps.

Fliers are also required to change into specially provided socks to enter the pod, fasten their seatbelts over their blankets and forgo dousing themselves in any smelly “perfumes or potions.” Passengers will be woken by a gentle change in lighting at the end of their four-hour stint in the bunk – or by a flight attendant, possibly less gently, if they don’t rouse in time.

Each berth is about the length of a regular bed — 80 inches or 203 cm — but the pods don’t leave headroom for sitting up and access “requires bending, kneeling, crawling, or climbing into the space,” the aircraft’s website says. The bunks are 25 inches (64 cm) wide at shoulder height, tapering to 16 inches (41 cm) at the foot of the beds.

Seats or couches that convert into beds in the sky aren’t a new offering for business and first class travelers, but Air New Zealand believes its lie-flat bunks for economy travelers will be a world first.

The offering from New Zealand’s national carrier is the latest from airlines seeking to sell seat upgrades and other add-ons to economy travelers. Air New Zealand first announced the economy beds were in development in 2020.

The airline has increased fares and cut some domestic flights from its schedule in response to increased jet fuel costs during the war in the Middle East. In March, it suspended its earnings outlook due to fuel price volatility and warned that more changes to its routes were possible.

But on one of its longest flights, travelers might finally get some shut-eye — although they should expect snoring, for which earplugs are provided, the airline said.

“Statistically, someone’s going to do it,” Air New Zealand’s website reads. “It might be you.”

Instead, he became the second Guardians pitcher in eight months to fall short in the ninth inning.

“I did my best. Maybe next time,” Messick said after Cleveland's 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.

Leody Taveras led off the ninth with a grounder that just eluded diving second baseman Juan Brito and went into right field for a single to break up Messick's no-hit bid.

Cleveland still has the longest current gap between no-hitters of any major league franchise. The team’s most recent one was Len Barker’s perfect game on May 15, 1981, against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Up to that point, Messick had faced only one batter over the minimum and silenced a Baltimore lineup that came into the game third in the American League in on-base percentage (.334).

Blaze Alexander followed with a line-drive single to center that ended Messick's night. The 25-year-old Messick was removed to a standing ovation from the crowd of 14,748.

“That was very special what we got to watch tonight. That’s an unbelievably talented lineup that he took a no-hitter into the ninth against and just continued to attack,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He and (catcher Austin) Hedges were magnificent with their sequencing. With that arsenal, that was a beautiful game.”

It was the first time in 11 career starts that Messick went more than seven innings. He was the 54th overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft out of Florida State and made his big league debut last year.

Messick threw 112 pitches, 78 for strikes. The 69.6% strike rate was the third-highest of his career. He walked two and equaled a career best with nine strikeouts. He was charged with two runs in eight-plus innings.

Messick got ahead of hitters early with 21 first-pitch strikes to the 27 batters he faced. The 18 swings and misses also tied a career high.

Out of Messick's six-pitch repertoire, the most effective was the changeup. He threw it 29 times and got 22 strikes, including nine whiffs. His most-used pitch was his four-seam fastball, which he threw 43 times.

“I know they were looking for it. It's just, the bottom falls out of it when you've got late movement like that, especially when you’ve set it up with other pitches, the heaters and the curveballs and cutters — you have to take an outlier swing to it,” Hedges said of the changeup. “You could tell they were trying to, but it’s just that good of a pitch.”

The sinker was Messick's third-most frequent pitch in his first three starts this season, but he threw it only twice against the Orioles.

Hedges said he had the feeling it might be a special night when center fielder Steven Kwan caught Taylor Ward's deep flyball at the wall to end the third inning. José Ramírez — who had a two-run homer in the first — made a nice stop on a grounder by Coby Mayo deep in the hole at third to end the fifth.

“The crowd got pretty loud and that’s an awesome feeling when everybody gets into it. I was really trying to lock in every pitch,” Messick said. “Pretty much about the sixth inning on, I prayed between pretty much every inning and I just was telling myself to execute.”

Baltimore averted a shutout when Gunnar Henderson’s sacrifice fly against closer Cade Smith drove in Taveras. Pete Alonso hit an RBI double before Smith retired the final two batters with runners at second and third for his fourth save.

“The boys were into it the whole game. Once Leody got that hit, I equate it to a sniper in the NBA, where it only takes one to go in for everything to change," said Orioles first-year manager Craig Albernaz, who was Cleveland's bench coach in 2024 and associate manager last season. “Messick was on. He had all his pitches dialed in the strike zone. He did a great job changing speeds in all counts, (getting) weak contact. He was on tonight.”

It was the fourth time since Barker's gem that a single Cleveland pitcher carried a no-hitter into the ninth. John Farrell went eight innings on May 4, 1989, against Kansas City before Kevin Seitzer broke it up with a single after Willie Wilson reached on an error.

Carlos Carrasco went 8 2/3 innings against Tampa Bay on July 1, 2015, and Gavin Williams had a no-hitter for 8 1/3 innings last season on Aug. 6 against the New York Mets.

Carrasco came within one strike of a no-hitter when Rays left fielder Joey Butler lined a slider on an 0-2 count that just eluded the glove of leaping Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis.

Juan Soto broke up Williams’ no-hit bid with a home run to center.

Messick is one of five American League pitchers with at least three wins. He improved to 3-0 this season and is third in the AL with a 1.05 ERA.

“I mean it (stinks), but it is baseball. I’ll have plenty more years to pitch a baseball game, so it might happen again,” he said.

___

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

Admission was free and open to the public, drawing a lively crowd eager to see the three-time NBA champion up close. With the San Antonio Spurs back in the playoffs, organizers described the event as a homecoming for Green, who played a key role in the team’s 2014 championship run.

Former Spur George Hill also made an appearance, adding to the excitement and giving fans another familiar face to cheer for.

Fans in attendance had the opportunity to share what the event meant to them, as well as their thoughts on the Spurs’ playoff return and their enduring support for the team.

The Spurs will host the Trailblazers in Game 1 of the first round at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Frost Bank Center.

Read also:

• Where to score free food, coffee after each Spurs playoff win

Israel has not been fighting with Lebanon itself, but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group inside Lebanon. Hezbollah said in a statement that “any ceasefire must be comprehensive across all Lebanese territory and must not allow the Israeli enemy any freedom of movement.”

Nearly 2,200 people in Lebanon have been killed by Israeli air strikes.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief met with Iranian officials in Tehran on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war.

The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports continued as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would ramp up economic pain on Iran with new economic sanctions on countries doing business with it, calling the move the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign.

The White House said any further talks with Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator after it hosted direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad.

Here is the latest:

Trump hails Israel-Lebanon ceasefire as ‘historic day’

In two social media posts Thursday night, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Thursday could have been “a historic day for Lebanon.” In a separate Truth Social message after the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect, Trump added that he hoped the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group “acts nicely and well.” “It will be an GREAT moment for them if they do,” Trump added.

Australia strikes deal with BP to underwrite fuel imports

BP has become a fifth company to strike a deal with the Australian government to underwrite fuel imports at prices inflated by the Iran war.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the BP deal on Friday at Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery, southwest of Melbourne, that was damaged by fire over Wednesday night. Viva on Thursday secured 570,000 barrels of diesel underwritten by the government in shipments from Brunei and South Korea at prices that might otherwise be commercially unviable.

Albanese said the damaged Geelong refinery continued to produce diesel and jet fuel at 80% capacity and gasoline as 60% capacity.

Viva chief executive Scott Wyatt expected to import fuel to make up for the shortfall in the refinery’s production.

Australia has sufficient fuel supplies contracted into May, but there are concerns that shortages could emerge in the months ahead.

Sri Lanka repatriates Iranian sailors, including torpedo attack survivors

Sri Lanka has sent home 238 Iranian sailors, including 32 who were injured in a U.S torpedo attack which sank their warship in early March.

Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Franklin Joseph said everyone except a few crew members from a second ship which later anchored in Sri Lanka were repatriated earlier this week.

A U.S submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena on March 4 as it returned home after taking part in am Indian naval exercise..

Sri Lankan navy recovered 87 bodies while 32 sailors wounded in the torpedo attack were hospitalized. The second ship was brought to a southern Sri Lankan port after the crew reported technical problems.

Trump says Iran

war ‘going along swimmingly’

The president said in a Las Vegas speech he was feeling pretty positive about the Iran war, despite the energy price spikes, the death and destruction and the anxiety about the future of NATO and the Middle East.

“I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” Trump said. “It should be ending pretty soon.”

Trump added that the war was “was perfect” as he praised the power of the U.S. military.

Reports of shelling in Lebanon continue after ceasefire goes into effect

Lebanon’s state-run National News agency reported that Israeli shelling continued in the villages of Khiam and Dibbine about a half hour after the truce began.

The Lebanese Army also repeated its warning to people displaced from southern Lebanon about returning home because of intermittent shelling.

Israel’s military told The Associated Press very early Friday that it was looking into reports of shelling and artillery fire in southern Lebanon.

The terms of the ceasefire, as provided by the U.S. State Department, prohibit Israel from offensive military actions in Lebanon. But they appear to leave more room for “self-defense,” including “against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”

UN chief welcomes Israel and Lebanon ceasefire and calls on all parties to observe it

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes the ceasefire will pave the way for negotiations toward a long-term solution to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Guterres commends the United States for facilitating the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, he said.

The secretary-general reaffirms U.N. support for all efforts to end hostilities and the suffering of people on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border, Dujarric said.

A 10-day ceasefire agreed on by Israel and Lebanon has gone into effect

A 10-day ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed on by Lebanon and Israel started at midnight.

The two neighboring countries held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington after more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group.

Hezbollah started firing on Israel right after the start of the Iran war. It kept up attacks focused on northern Israel communities through Thursday night, with at least eight people injured, including two seriously, according to Israel’s emergency services.

Air raid sirens were sounding in a few northern Israeli communities just minutes before the ceasefire was going into effect. Israel’s military also said late Thursday it was striking Hezbollah rocket launchers.

Trump claims Iran has ‘agreed to give us back the nuclear dust’

The president made the assertion in an exchange with reporters before departing for an event in Las Vegas on Thursday.

If true, it would be a major concession from Iran, and would lock in a key demand of the U.S. to end the conflict.

“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust that’s way underground because of the attack we made with the B-2 bombers,” said Trump, using a term he’s adopted as shorthand for the roughly 970 pounds of enriched uranium buried under Iranian nuclear sites damaged by U.S. strikes on the country last year.

Iran has repeatedly insisted that it doesn’t seek a nuclear weapon and that its program is for peaceful proposes. Neither Iran nor countries acting as intermediaries in the conflict have talked about what would be a major breakthrough.

Pressed by a reporter on what is he waiting for to move forward, Trump offered that it was “very complicated.”

He added, “I don’t think we’re waiting. I think we’re moving very fast. It could happen pretty quickly.”

The White House did not respond to follow-up queries about whether Iran has agreed to give up its enriched uranium, under what terms and to whom it would be surrendered. Trump has previously made claims about Iran’s nuclear program that have turned out to be imprecise.

UN envoy says Israel will react to any Hezbollah threats and hold its positions southern Lebanon during ceasefire

Ambassador Danny Danon told U.N. reporters Thursday that the 10-day ceasefire will be “challenging” because of Hezbollah, which said after the ceasefire announcement that continuing Israeli occupation grants Lebanon the right to resist.

Danon said Israel believes in direct negotiations with Lebanon, but knows this is a complex issue for the Lebanese government because of Hezbollah.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered to go to Washington — where the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon met earlier this week — for negotiations, the ambassador said.

“We will come to any meeting to promote peace, but I cannot speak for the Lebanese government. We know that they are under pressure and threats from Iran,” Danon said.

Iran remains ‘cautiously optimistic’ about negotiations with the US, its UN envoy says

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the Islamic Republic welcomes and supports diplomatic efforts to bring a “sustainable end to this unlawful and unwarranted war,” including by Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia.

“Despite our deep mistrust of the United States, stemming from its repeated betrayal of diplomacy, we nevertheless enter the negotiation in good faith and remain cautiously optimistic,” he told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.

“We believe that should the United States adopt a rational and constructive approach and refrain from advancing demands that are inconsistent with international law, this negotiation can lead to a meaningful outcome,” Iravani said.

He spoke at an assembly meeting in support of vetoes by Beijing and Moscow of a U.N. Security Council resolution backed by the U.S. and Gulf nations aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Hezbollah warns displaced people not to rush back home

The Lebanese militant group called on people to exercise restraint and refrain from returning to areas in south and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs that have been hit hard by Israeli strikes “until the situation becomes fully clear.”

The Lebanese army issued similar warnings, urging people not to rush back to those areas after the 10-day ceasefire kicks in at midnight Beirut time.

Previous ceasefires saw tens of thousands of people clogging roads as they attempted to drive back to check on homes and belongings in the first hours of the truce.

More than 1 million Lebanese people have been displaced during the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.

UAE official says Iran is viewed as the ‘main enemy’

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the UAE’s president, said Gulf states have a different view of Iran, seeing it as the “main enemy”, citing its missile and drone attacks despite.

“We are fully aware of the position of many Arab societies in viewing Israel as the primary enemy, but the view in the Gulf states may be different... Iran is the one that attacked the Gulf states with thousands of missiles and drones, and for this reason we do not trust it, and we view it as a primary enemy,” he said during a media briefing Thursday at Dubai Press Club.

Gargash added that the UAE has questions over Iran’s nuclear program as well as its ballistic missiles and drones, and said that just as Tehran is seeking guarantees and reparations for war damage, the UAE also wants assurances that such “cowardly” attacks will not happen again.

Flurry of diplomacy to get to ceasefire in Lebanon

The 10-day ceasefire that Israel and Lebanon agreed to came about following a meeting between the nations’ ambassadors and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.

After the talks Tuesday in Washington that included Rubio, Trump spoke Wednesday evening with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who agreed to a ceasefire with certain terms, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rubio then called Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, who got on board. Trump then spoke with Aoun, and again with Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, the State Department worked with both governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the truce.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker says Lebanon ‘integral part’ of regional ceasefire

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made these remarks on Iranian state television after meeting Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Asim Munir in Tehran. U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10-day truce between Lebanon and Israel in a bid to end the war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.

Iran, Hezbollah’s key patron and ally, has included ending the war in Lebanon as one of its conditions in its talks with Washington, mediated by Pakistan.

There was no mention about resuming in-person talks with Washington, as both sides gear up for a second round of talks.

US details ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon

The 10-day halt to the fighting that will begin later Thursday can be extended if there’s progress in talks to reach a lasting peace agreement and Lebanon “effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty,” the State Department said.

President Donald Trump announced the truce following talks held in Washington this week. Israel hasn’t been fighting with Lebanon itself but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group inside Lebanon.

In the statement that the U.S. says was agreed to by Lebanon and Israel, there is a provision to allow Israel to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” Hezbollah has said it will respond to any strikes by Israel.

But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets,” the statement says.

Trump says he could go to Pakistan to sign deal if agreement is reached with Iran

The president once again claimed progress is being made in talks with Iran and suggested he could be involved in the signing of a peace agreement, if one is reached.

“If the deal is signed in Islamabad, I might go,” said Trump, who heaped praise on Pakistani Prime Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani Army Gen. Asim Munir for their role as mediators in the U.S.-Iran talks.

“The field marshal has been great. The prime minister has been really great in Pakistan, so I might go. They want me.”

Foreign minister says Portugal is open to ensuring maritime navigation remains free in the Strait of Hormuz

Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said on Thursday his country’s prime minister will participate in a conference on Friday co-hosted by the French and British leaders on setting up a mission to ensure freedom of navigation through the strait after the Iran war ends.

But Rangel said a decision on Portugal’s contribution to such a mission won’t be taken “before we know exactly what is at stake” because the mission plan is still unclear.

He said the Portuguese “fully understand the value of freedom of navigation” because they have been “navigators for centuries.”

“So let’s go to the meeting, let’s see what are the plans,” Rangel said after talks with Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos.

Trump says he has ‘to do what’s right’ as he pushes back against Pope Leo XIV on Iran war

Trump isn’t worried that his taunting of Pope Leo XIV might offend his voters.

“I have to do what’s right — the pope has to understand that,” Trump told reporters. “I have nothing against the pope. His brother is MAGA all the way.”

The U.S. president has maintained that the Iran war is about stopping that country from developing a nuclear weapon and he criticized that country’s leadership for killing its own people as he objected to the papal emphasis on peace.

The president added that he’s “sure the pope is a great guy,” yet he suggested Pope Leo XIV was naive about geopolitics.

“The pope has to understand that this is the real world,” Trump said.

Trump suggest he’s open to extending Iran ceasefire

The 14-day ceasefire is set to expire April 22, but Trump said it’s possible that the deadline to make a deal could be pushed out further.

“If we’re close to a deal would I extend?” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “Yeah, I would do that”

Netanyahu says Israeli troops will remain in an expanded security zone in south Lebanon despite ceasefire

Israel’s Netanyahu says Israeli troops will remain in an expanded security zone in south Lebanon despite a ceasefire.

He said troops will remain in a10-kilometer deep zone, “much stronger, more extensive and more continuous than before.”

“That is where we are, and we are not leaving.”

Hezbollah, in commenting on the ceasefire, had said continuing Israeli occupation grants Lebanon the right to resist.

Trump calls Israel-Lebanon ceasefire ‘very exciting’ opportunity

“I had a great talk with both of them today,” Trump said of this conversations with Aoun and Netanyahu. “They’re going to be having a ceasefire, and that’ll include Hezbollah.”

Trump in an extended exchange with reporters said also that he expected that Aoun and Netanyahu would meet in the next week or two, before saying the White House meeting between the Mideast leaders could happen in the next four or five days.

The president added that he was open to visiting Lebanon “at the right time.”

Trump says $4 a gallon gas ‘not very high’ given importance of stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon

The U.S. president played down prices at the pump averaging $4.09 a gallon nationwide, saying the cost wasn’t so great relative to the risk of evening higher prices tied to keeping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

“Well, they’re not very high, if you look at what they were supposed to be in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters about gas prices before a planned trip to Las Vegas.

The president repeated a past claim that he thought the war with Iran would have driven energy costs much higher.

Gas prices are up roughly 29% from a year ago, according to AAA.

Netanyahu says he has agreed to 10-day ceasefire in bid ‘to advance’ peace efforts with Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has agreed to a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon.

In a video statement, Netanyahu said he was taking the step in an attempt “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon.

Israel and Lebanon opened negotiations this week in Washington aimed at forging a peace agreement. The Hezbollah militant group, which has been fighting Israel for six weeks, has said it opposes the dialogue.

“We have an opportunity to make a historic peace agreement with Lebanon,” Netanyahu said.

Italian premier hails Israel-Lebanon ceasefire as ‘excellent news’

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni greeted the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon as “excellent news,” achieved “thanks to the mediation of the United States.”

She added that the ceasefire must be fully respected, singling out Hezbollah “for having started this conflict,” and expressed hope that it would create conditions for talks leading “to a full and lasting peace” between Israel and Lebanon.

Italy has the second-largest contingent of U.N. peacekeepers serving in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah reacts to ceasefire announcement

Hezbollah said in a statement that “any ceasefire must be comprehensive across all Lebanese territory and must not allow the Israeli enemy any freedom of movement.”

Israel offered no official comment on Trump’s announcement.

Hezbollah added that “Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it, and this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold,” a stance that could complicate the ceasefire.

Israel has staged a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, where its forces have been engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah militants in the border area. It is unclear whether Israel would withdraw some or all of its forces as part of the truce.

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Northern Israeli leaders criticize proposed Lebanon ceasefire

Two local leaders in northern Israel criticized a proposed ceasefire with Lebanon, warning it would leave communities vulnerable.

Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council, said agreements may be signed in Washington but “the price is paid here in blood, in destroyed homes and shattered communities.”

He warned that a ceasefire without strict enforcement against Hezbollah and a buffer zone up to the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (18.64 miles) north of the Israeli border, would amount to “waiting for the next massacre.”

Eitan Davidi, head of the Margaliot moshav, called the move “a surrender” and “a political defeat.” He told the N12 news site it was made without coordination with northern residents and contradicts the stated goal of dismantling Hezbollah’s capabilities.

China’s UN envoy calls US blockade of Strait of Hormuz ‘a dangerous and irresponsible move’

Ambassador Fu Cong said the strait “should be safeguarded” for international navigation and called on Iran to take ‘proactive measures’ to open the waterway, used to ship about 20% of the world’s oil.

“The issue of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is a spillover effect of the conflict in Iran,” he said. “Only a complete ceasefire can fundamentally create conditions for easing the situation.”

Fu told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that Beijing is engaged “in intensive mediation with all parties to actively promote talks for peace”’ and an end to the war in Iran.

The 193-member world body was meeting to hear China and Russia explain why they vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by the U.S. and Gulf nations aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Fu claimed the resolution would have given “a carte blanche for the continuation of aggressive actions and further escalation” rather than de-escalate the conflict and promote negotiations.

Eva Davidson, a student at Northeast Lakeview College, was named this year’s winner of the annual Fiesta poster contest — a competition that, for the first time, was open exclusively to Alamo Colleges students.

While Davidson’s academic focus is geology, art has been a lifelong passion.

“I have been doing art probably my entire life. I would draw the covers of books that I was reading, I would try to draw the characters from movies, anything that I thought was interesting,” Davidson said.

A professor’s push, a deep dive into history

It was a professor who recognized Davidson’s artistic potential and encouraged her to enter the contest. Once she committed, Davidson approached the project with the same rigor she might apply to a research paper.

“I realized I need to do a lot of research if I want to do this correctly and make it good, make it interesting, make it a valuable piece of art. So for the Fiesta poster this year, I spent a lot of time looking into previous Fiesta years,” she said.

“It was understanding why people throw Fiesta,” she added.

What she found was that while the celebration has deep roots, it has also always been about joy and community.

“Over the many years that Fiesta has been going, it’s become this celebration of fun, of partying. People love to party. It brings joy. It lets you express who you are, what you want,” she said.

A painting that puts people first

Davidson’s winning design features eight people, each representing the diversity and spirit of Fiesta and San Antonio’s rich culture. The figures take center stage in the piece, rendered in a monochromatic palette that allows them to stand out and shine.

Her design won’t just hang on walls — it will also be featured on an official Fiesta medal, which Davidson said may be her greatest prize yet.

“I think the medal’s the coolest thing ever. I haven’t collected many medals over my years, but I think I’ve already got the best one,” she said.

Her design is also available for purchase as a poster, T-shirt and more at the Fiesta store and AMOLS’ Party Supplies.

An opportunity she hopes others get, too

Davidson expressed gratitude for the Fiesta Commission’s decision to limit this year’s contest to Alamo Colleges students, calling it a meaningful connection between young artists and the city they call home.

“It’s a great way to feel, personally as a young person, as a young artist, feel connected to the place around me that has given me so much. So I’d love that opportunity for more young artists in the future,” Davidson said.

Mercy Dubon, 31, faces charges for engaging in organized criminal activity and theft, records show.

The sheriff’s office said Dubon is the third suspect arrested and is the wife of the alleged “ringleader.”

Rodrin Garcia Rivera, 31, and Pedro Moreno, 68, were arrested in March for their involvement in the large-scale material theft that targeted construction sites across Bexar County.

A search warrant was issued at a residence associated with Garcia Rivera on March 24 after deputies watching the home witnessed him moving equipment to a storage unit. They also saw Moreno giving Rivera money for copper wire.

Deputies found a large number of stolen materials, including circuit breakers valued at $420,000, copper wiring valued at $143,000, and three vehicles.

The sheriff’s office said on April 15 an arrest warrant was executed for Dubon at her home.

Dubon told investigators that she handled prices and coordinated drop-off locations for the stolen construction materials. She also managed the finances.

Dubon said people were hired to work at new home construction sites, where they would steal copper wire and electrical materials.

The sheriff’s office said Garcia Rivera sold the stolen material.

More people are expected to face charges in connection with the theft operation, according to the sheriff’s office.

Dubon is currently booked in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.

Read also:

• SAPD requests public’s help to locate suspect accused in Northwest Side murder investigation
• Woman arrested after standoff at Northwest Side apartment complex, police say

The dog bite happened around 4 p.m. Thursday in the 5000 block of Leonhardt Road.

The man was taken to a hospital for treatment.

ACS said the dog was surrendered to the agency and charges are pending.

No additional information was immediately released.

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• Nearly a dozen dogs rescued at West Side home with ‘unsanitary living conditions,’ ACS says

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Lyons' departure, calling him a great leader of ICE who helped to make American communities safer. Mullin said Lyons' last day will be May 31.

“We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector,” Mullin said in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press asking why he is resigning.

Lyons, who was named acting director in March 2025, led the agency at the center of President Donald Trump’s plans to reshape immigration to the U.S.

Under his leadership, the agency was granted a massive infusion of cash through Congress, which it used to expand hiring and detention capabilities, and it ramped up arrests to meet demand from the administration.

ICE was also central to a series of high-profile immigration enforcement operations in American cities, including Chicago and Minneapolis, a deployment that ended after backlash erupted over the deaths of two American protesters at the hands of federal immigration officers.

Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff and the main architect of his immigration policy, called Lyons a "dedicated leader."

“His courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans,” Miller said in a statement.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson described Lyons in a post on X as “an American patriot who made our country safer.”

It’s not clear who might replace Lyons. But whoever does will take over an agency flush with cash while still a flashpoint for controversy. ICE is at the center of a battle in Congress, with Democratic lawmakers demanding restraints on immigration officers before agreeing to restore routine funding for DHS.

On Thursday, Lyons, along with two other top immigration officials, appeared before a House subcommittee to argue for his agency’s budget and faced continued scrutiny from lawmakers of ICE’s actions.

Lyons' departure also comes as DHS is under new leadership after Trump fired former Secretary Kristi Noem, who led the department through the administration’s major immigration policy changes.

Mullin, who took over as secretary last month, is likely to continue to advance the president’s agenda but has struck a softer tone on some of the administration’s most contentious policies.

Public perceptions of ICE during Lyons' tenure were low. In a February AP-NORC poll, most U.S. adults, including independents, said they have an unfavorable view of the agency.

Lyons faced questions in Congress over the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and was asked if he would apologize for the way some Trump administration officials characterized Good as an agitator. He declined to do so.

“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private. But I’m not going to comment on any active investigation,” Lyons said.

Lyons said he had seen video that captured Pretti’s shooting but said he could not comment, citing an active investigation.

Lyons, who joined ICE in 2007 as an immigration enforcement agent in Texas, signed off on a memo, first obtained by The Associated Press, that granted federal immigration officers sweeping powers to forcibly enter homes and make arrests without a judge’s warrant.

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan described Lyons as serving selflessly and “a highly respected and effective acting Director of ICE.”

__

Golden reported from Seattle.

It happened around 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the 3000 block of Horse Ranch Road.

The sheriff’s office said the child was taken to a trauma center where they are stable but still considered critical.

According to the sheriff’s office, it is too early to determine any criminal elements.

The Criminal Investigations Division is conducting the investigation.

Read also:

• 24-year-old hospitalized after dog bite on Northeast Side, ACS says

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. However, Israel has not been fighting with Lebanon itself, but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants inside the country, who were not formally part of the agreement.

Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce.

Displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but said Israeli troops would not withdraw.

Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone.” Netanyahu, in his video address, said it will extend 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanon.

“That is where we are, and we are not leaving,” he said.

Hezbollah said that “Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it, and this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold” — a stance that could complicate the ceasefire.

Israel reserves right to defend itself

The U.S. State Department said that according to the agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets.”

The wording suggested Israel would maintain the freedom to strike at will, as it did in the months following the ceasefire that ended the previous war. This time, Hezbollah said it would respond to any strikes by Israel.

It's unclear when the 1 million people displaced by the war will be able to safely return.

Lebanon’s state-run National News agency reported that Israeli shelling continued in the villages of Khiam and Dibbine about a half hour after the truce went into effect. Israel’s military said it was looking into reports of shelling and artillery fire in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah kept firing rockets at northern Israeli towns and communities right up to the start of the ceasefire. Air raid sirens went off in some often-targeted border towns less than 10 minutes before midnight.

Flurry of diplomacy

The agreement came after a meeting between Israel's and Lebanon’s ambassadors in Washington and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.

They were the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades. Hezbollah had opposed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.

Trump spoke Wednesday evening with Netanyahu, who agreed to a ceasefire with certain terms, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rubio then called Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, who got on board. Trump then spoke with Aoun, and again with Netanyahu.

The State Department worked with both governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the truce.

“May have been a historic day for Lebanon. Good things are happening!!!” Trump said in a social media post.

Trump extends White House invitation

Lebanon has insisted on a ceasefire to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah before engaging in more talks, while vowing to commit to disarming the group.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.

Trump also invited the leaders of Israel and Lebanon to the White House for what he said would be “the first meaningful talks" between the countries since 1983.

“Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly,” Trump wrote on social media.

Lebanon and Israel signed an agreement in 1983 saying Lebanon would formally recognize Israel, and Israel would withdraw from Lebanon. The deal fell apart during Lebanon’s civil war and was formally rescinded a year later.

A Hezbollah official said the ceasefire was a result of Iran’s negotiations with the U.S., in which Iran had insisted Lebanon be included in its own ceasefire, and came about through efforts by mediator Pakistan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Pakistan army chief meets with Iranian parliament speaker

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.

It was unclear whether the frantic diplomacy could lead to a lasting deal before the ceasefire ends next week. The Iran war has killed thousands of people and upended global markets by disrupting the flow of oil.

Iranian state television did not provide details on the meeting between Pakistani Army Gen. Asim Munir and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, his country’s chief negotiator.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, a key mediator after hosting the talks between the U.S. and Iran that authorities said helped narrow differences between the sides.

The White House said any further talks regarding Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. The fragile ceasefire is holding despite a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian counter-threats to target regional ports across the Red Sea.

Trump suggested the ceasefire could be extended.

“If we’re close to a deal, would I extend?” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “Yeah, I would do that.”

The war has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have pounded military and civilian infrastructure. Oil prices have fallen amid hopes for an end to fighting, and U.S. stocks on Wednesday surpassed records set in January.

Officials say US and Iran are making progress

Even as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire, regional officials reported progress, telling AP the United States and Iran had an “in-principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

But tensions simmered.

The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the U.S. does not lift its naval blockade, and a newly appointed military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he does not support extending the ceasefire.

Mediators seek compromise on sticking points

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

Since the war began, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic through the strait, which a fifth of global oil transited through in peacetime. Tehran’s effective closure of the strait sent oil prices skyrocketing, raising the cost of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.

___

Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece. Matthew Lee and Ben Finley in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Court records in Bexar County are public, and finding them online can take less time than you think.

Here’s everything you need to know to search for a Bexar County court case from your phone or computer:

• Open the Bexar County Justice Information Portal
• Click “Smart Search” on the left to search for court records
• Enter the case number or search by name (format: last name, first name and middle name)
• Scroll to find the case you are looking for and click the case number

The court case page has the entire case summary and includes bond information, assigned court and attorney, date and notes for every hearing and upcoming hearing dates.

Read more court coverage on KSAT’s Open Court page.

Cuevas was followed by a group of boys after leaving San Antonio Independent School District’s Brewer Academy on April 16, 2025. Shortly after leaving the school, Cuevas was killed.

“It’s been rough,” Alejandra Cuevas said. “It really has been, it’s been exhausting.”

Investigators identified five suspects connected to the death of Simon Cuevas. One suspect, Caesar Tijerina, died by suicide during the investigation.

Two of the suspects, who are siblings, are minors, so there are not as many details available about their status. However, one of the juveniles was 14 years old at the time and the other was 16 years old.

They were initially charged with capital murder, but that charge was downgraded to assault causing bodily injury.

The last two suspects are Andrew Cantu and Fernando Flores, who both face the charge of injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury.

“When I hear an injury to a child and my child is not even alive — It’s hard, it’s just hard,” Alejandra Cuevas said. “My child was only 14, he was loved, he is still loved and very missed.”

Several other mothers attended a balloon release in honor of the one-year mark since Simon Cuevas’ death.

“It’s a slap in our face, and I say our face, as a community,” Sylvia Zapata said. “Most of all, what is sad is that we’re giving an impression to our younger generation that it’s OK to do these things because you have a district attorney who doesn’t care about us.”

Alejandra Cuevas said she plans to be in court for all the sentencing dates in the future for Cantu and Flores.

Previous coverage of this story on KSAT.com:

• Attorney explains possible reasons why charges for suspects in Simon Cuevas case were downgraded
• SAISD student Simon Cuevas’ murder case remains unsolved as new school year starts
• ‘I wish that I could’ve been there’: Mother of teen shot, killed near SAISD campus seeks justice

Mejía, 48, a former head of the Working Families Alliance who had support from Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, will fill the seat previously held by Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill and serve until January.

Her victory is a win for progressives and means Democrats hold on to the 11th District seat in the House, where Republicans hold a thin majority. It also adds to a string of victories for Democrats heading into this year’s midterm elections.

The Associated Press called the race for Mejía minutes after the polls closed.

Mejía later spoke in Montclair to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters who called out in unison with her that she was an “unbought, unbossed, sassy new member of Congress.”

Republicans criticized her throughout the campaign as too far to the left. She pushed back against those arguments, calling for better health care and education and attacking billionaires for having a “stranglehold” on the economy.

“It is not radical to say that a worker who toils every day cannot make ends meet, that they deserve justice, that they deserve higher wages,” Mejía said Thursday night. “That is not radical, that is good conscience. That is a good economy.”

Her speech echoed Sanders, who congratulated her in a social media post and said she would be a “great progressive addition” to Congress.

Mejía emerged from a crowded primary in February and cast the race as a test of Trump’s leadership. She criticized his pardons of people convicted of Jan. 6-related crimes and faulted him for freezing funds authorized by Congress.

She campaigned on populist economic policies and pushing to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has criticized the Israeli government and said she stands with Palestinian communities in their “pursuit of peace and dignity.”

Hathaway, 38, tried to use Mejía's progressive credentials to his advantage, as national Republicans cast her as a socialist. After her victory he congratulated Mejía and wished her well. He added that he still believes the district is looking for “balanced, pragmatic” leadership, not “far-left policies.”

The two could go head to head again in November’s election for a full two-year term.

The 11th District, which covers parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties in northern New Jersey’s wealthy suburbs, was long a Republican stronghold but has become increasingly Democratic since Trump’s first term.

Sherrill first won the seat in 2018’s midterm elections, when Democrats flipped dozens of seats to take control of Congress. In 2024 she won reelection by about 15 points, while Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, carried the district by nearly 9 points.

Mejía's margin of victory was greater. With more than 90% of votes counted late Thursday, she led Hathaway by about 20 percentage points. Additional mail-in ballots — which have favored Mejía by an even larger margin — will be counted in the coming days as they can arrive as late as Wednesday.

Saran Cunningham, an 86-year-old retired special educator, said she was initially reluctant to support Mejía, worried that her views were too far to the left. She backed another candidate in the primary. But recently, outside the Morristown early polling location, she said she would now vote for Mejía.

“I think we’ve been tilting a little bit more to the right lately, which worries me,” Cunningham said. “I think that we need people in Congress who will fight for things that will help people as opposed to hurting them.”

Rob Berkowitz, 62, cast his early vote for Hathaway at the Denville polling station. Describing himself as a conservative, Berkowitz gave Trump high marks on immigration, the economy and the war in Iran, comparing him to Winston Churchill. He criticized the Democratic Party for moving away from leaders in the style of Harry Truman, whom he praised.

“They want borders wide open. They don’t want to enforce existing immigration laws,” Berkowitz said.

The February Democratic primary pitted Mejía against former Rep. Tom Malinowski and others in a race where the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was a key player. The group’s affiliated super PAC tried to thwart Malinowski after he questioned unconditional aid to the Israeli government. That effort appeared to backfire as Mejía, who said she agreed that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, came out on top.

Over the years she has been a regular presence in the state Capitol, advocating for progressive causes, and was Sanders’ political director during his 2020 presidential run. During the Biden administration, she was deputy director of the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau.

In addition to winning Sanders’ endorsement, she was backed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Hathaway, a former Yale University football player, has worked in health care and finance as well as in politics as an aide for former GOP Gov. Chris Christie.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s latest ruling comes in response to an appeals court’s instruction to clarify an earlier decision on the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom planned for the site where it demolished the East Wing of the White House.

Trump on social media called Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, a “Trump Hating” judge who “has gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, or doesn’t get built.”

The administration filed a notice that it will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review Leon's latest decision, too.

National Trust for Historic Preservation president and CEO Carol Quillen, whose group sued to challenge the project, said in a statement that the group is pleased with the court's ruling.

Leon said that below-ground work on security measures is exempt from his order suspending above-ground construction. Government lawyers have argued that the project includes critical security features to guard against a range of possible threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards.

Leon's latest ruling comes several days after a three-judge panel from the D.C. appeals court instructed him to reconsider the possible national security implications of stopping construction.

In his previous order, Leon barred above-ground work on the ballroom from proceeding without congressional approval. The judge also ruled on March 31 that any construction work that’s necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House is exempt from the scope of the injunction. Leon said he reviewed material that the government privately submitted to him before concluding that halting construction wouldn’t jeopardize national security.

Leon had suspended his March 31 order for two weeks. He stayed his latest decision for another week, which gives the administration more time to seek Supreme Court review.

Leon said he is ordering a stop only to the above-ground construction of the planned ballroom, apart from any work needed to cover or secure that part of the project. Otherwise, the Trump administration is free to proceed with the construction of any excavations, bunkers, military installations, and medical facilities below the ballroom.

“Defendants argue that the entire ballroom construction project, from tip to tail, falls within the safety-and-security exception and therefore may proceed unabated," the judge wrote. “That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!”

On Saturday, the appeals court panel said it didn't have enough information to decide how much of the project can be suspended without jeopardizing the safety of the president, his family or the White House staff.

Leon said he recognizes the safety implications of the case, but stressed that “national security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity.” He also said he has “no desire or intention to be dragooned into the role of construction manager.”

On April 2, two days after Leon's previous ruling, Trump’s ballroom won final approval from the 12-member National Capital Planning Commission, which is charged with approving construction on federal property in the Washington region.

The preservation group sued in December, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people. Trump says the project is funded by private donations, although public money is paying for the bunker construction and security upgrades.

• FRIDAY: Temps near 90, heat index
• SATURDAY: Mid-morning cold front, windy, 60s by afternoon; plus scattered rain
• SUNDAY: A small temp rebound, some peeks of sunshine
• MONDAY: Showers likely, cool temps

FORECAST

Brace yourselves. Fiesta is always an interesting weather stretch, but 2026 may be more interesting than most. Don’t cancel your plans, but do be prepared to face various kinds of weather. VIVA!🎉

FRIDAY

After a cloudy morning, temperatures will reach to near 90 this afternoon. It may feel a few degrees warmer due to thick humidity. While a stray storm along the Rio Grande can’t be ruled out, any rain will stay west of San Antonio.

SATURDAY

A mid-morning to midday cold front will take temperatures from the 70s in the morning into the low-60s by the afternoon. Here’s what you’ll want to plan for:

• Gusty north winds of up to 30mph
• Chilly temperatures (low-60s by the afternoon)
• Scattered rain. Mostly light showers, but a few rumbles of thunder are possible.

SUNDAY

Cool temperatures in the morning will give way to a mild day. Some sunshine is possible late in the day, which should get us into the 70s. Any rain appears to stay to our west of San Antonio until Sunday night.

MONDAY

A disturbance will roll through, giving us good chances for light rain. Because it’ll be cloudy and damp, temperatures will struggle to warm. Low-60s are a good bet most of the day. It’s possible that the rain could wind down a bit in time for the River Parade, but you’ll still want to plan for cool and damp conditions.

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He returned to the piano only after a mentor told him about a large number of piano pieces for the left hand alone.

After exhaustive practice he made a comeback, playing recitals as South Korea's only known professional left-hand-only pianist.

He is now preparing for a new challenge: his first joint performance with an orchestra at an international music festival next month.

“I’m so, so nervous I could die,” Lee, 54, said with a smile during a recent interview with The Associated Press at his Seoul home. “It’s just one concerto but working with an orchestra has its own difficulties.”

Thrown into despair

In August 2012, Lee, then a doctorate candidate at the music school at the University of Cincinnati, abruptly collapsed at his home.

He survived after extensive surgery, but the stroke damaged about 60% of his brain’s left hemisphere. He couldn’t move his right arm and leg and suffered temporary aphasia.

Lee was later brought back to South Korea in a wheelchair. His father, Lee Hae Chang, a baseball legend in South Korea, said his son couldn’t recognize him upon arrival.

“After the stroke, I didn’t even imagine playing the piano. I only thought about whether I could stand on my feet again,” Lee Hun said.

Performing with five fingers

Lee’s condition was also hard on his family, who had to care for him daily. His mother Poong Ok Hee recalled she had fought a lot with her son because of his mood swings. He often resisted her advice and assistance.

Things began changing after he dined with his former piano teacher, Chun Yung Hae, in 2013. Chun encouraged him to play the piano again, saying there were more than 1,000 pieces for the left hand alone. That rekindled his passion for the piano, and Lee began practicing immediately that night.

In 2016, Lee made a formal debut as a one-handed pianist at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, where he received treatment and rehabilitation. After performing Camille Saint-Saens’ “6 Etudes for the Left Hand Alone,” Lee played “Amazing Grace” with Chun, with Lee using his left hand and Chun her right hand. At least one spectator cried.

“He is a pianist so he must play the piano. He was completely hopeless and in despair, so I tried to give him some hope. But I didn’t expect him to play as well as this,” said Chun, who served as dean of the College of Music at Seoul’s Kyung Hee University.

Performing a masterpiece with orchestra

Lee has steadily given recitals, appeared on TV programs and written a memoir. He now walks without assistance and communicates relatively smoothly in Korean.

Local media dub him as “Korea’s Paul Wittgenstein,” an acclaimed Austrian pianist who is considered a pioneer in one-handed piano music. He lost his right arm in World War I and commissioned left-hand repertories by famed composers, including Ravel, Strauss, Prokofiev and Britten. His brother was philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.

On May 2, Lee is to appear at the annual Icheon Young-Artist International Music Festival in South Korea, performing with a festival orchestra. They’ll play Ravel’s “Piano Concerto for the Left Hand,” which was also commissioned by Wittgenstein.

It’s a highly difficult piece for a pianist, Lee said, but it’s something he’s been eager to play.

Chung Eun-hyon, head of Lee’s agency, Tool Music, said Lee has told him it’s his dream to play the concerto. Chung said he feels deeply emotional as he helps “make his dream come true.”

Dreams of a two-handed comeback

Before becoming a one-handed pianist, Lee said he focused on how to perfect skills to wow audiences. Now, he agonizes over how to convey his emotions and interpretation of music to people.

“He plays a sort of music that truly touches the heart of people and it’s not about finger dexterity,” said Lee Eungkwang, head of a cultural foundation responsible for the Icheon festival.

“I’m really curious what it was like when he played with both hands,” Lee said.

Lee Hun said he hopes to make a two-handed comeback one day, saying he succeeded in pressing a piano key once with his right hand at a concert in November 2024.

Medically speaking, prospects for Lee regaining the use of his right hand and performing with both hands are dim, according to his doctor at St. Mary’s Hospital, Koo Jaseong.

“I still would like to give him a round of applause to his efforts. Though rare, there have been reports of miraculous recoveries too,” Koo said.

“If you book a ticket, we want you and your family to have the certainty that you’ll fly without endless delays and cancellations,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.

O’Hare has the most number of flights of any U.S. airport, and it already had one of the worst records for flight delays nationwide last year.

More than 3,080 flights were planned on peak days this summer, which represented a 14.9% increase from the summer before, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration. That increase comes as air traffic controllers deal with taxiway closures for construction projects.

In its draft order, the federal government said both American and United announced expansion plans at O’Hare that could lead to significant delays this summer and limit the airfield’s ability to handle the expected amount of traffic.

Duffy said that the schedule was unrealistic and would have exceeded what the airport could handle. So the number of flights at the airport will be limited to a maximum of 2,708, which is still slightly higher than maximum of 2,680 flights that were scheduled at the peak of last summer. He said that “will reduce delays and make this busy summer travel season a little easier."

On slower days of the week, fewer flights will have to be cut because a smaller number was scheduled in the first place. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are typically slower days of the week for flights.

The flight limits will take effect May 17 and last through Oct. 24.

Airlines will go through the details of the order to figure out how many flights they have to cancel and then will notify customers.

American Airlines said that once implemented, the FAA’s order will improve reliability and reduce delays for customers traveling through O’Hare this summer.

“We are grateful to Secretary Duffy, Administrator Bedford, and their leadership teams for acting swiftly to ensure that Chicagoans and all consumers continue to benefit from sensible competition and to help minimize flight disruptions during the busy summer season,” American said in a statement.

American told employees in a memo that it estimates that it will have to cut no more than 40 arrivals and departures per day, but it estimates that United might have to cut more than 200 arrivals and departures based on the published schedules. United did not provide an estimate of how many flights it will have to cut.

United said the airline appreciates that the government came up with “a solution that makes sense for everyone who cares about O'Hare's success.”

Both airlines will review the order and their scheduled to determine where to make cuts and then notify travelers who are affected.

___

Associated Press Transportation Writer Josh Funk contributed to this report from Omaha, Nebraska.

Hamilton was FEMA’s temporary leader from January to May of last year but was fired one day after testifying on Capitol Hill that he did not agree with proposals to dismantle the organization charged with coordinating the federal government's response to disasters, an idea Trump had repeatedly floated.

“I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” he told members of a House Appropriations subcommittee.

FEMA has lacked a permanent administrator throughout Trump's second term and is currently on its third temporary leader, something critics have said undermines the agency's effectiveness.

Trump offered Hamilton the job Wednesday, according to the person, who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Times first reported Trump's intent to nominate Hamilton.

Hamilton’s nomination would come at a crucial time for FEMA and as its future remains uncertain. Trump has said he wants to shift more responsibility for disasters to states and has created a FEMA Review Council, expected to propose sweeping reforms to how the agency supports disaster-impacted communities.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has expressed support for FEMA while calling for reforms, striking a stark contrast from his predecessor Kristi Noem, who vowed to "eliminate FEMA as it exists today” and whose dealings with the review council grew fraught.

It’s unclear how Hamilton would lead FEMA or what Trump expects from his leadership.

Hamilton's relationship with DHS officials became “very hostile” during his short tenure at FEMA, he said in a September episode of the podcast “Disaster Tough.” He wanted to cut “wasteful spending” and “downsize the agency,” he said, but not dismantle it.

Trump has not officially announced the nomination and could change his mind. Hamilton could also face headwinds during the Senate confirmation process over never having served as a state emergency management director.

Federal law requires FEMA’s administrator to have “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” and no less than five years of executive leadership and management experience. If confirmed, he would become the principal advisor to the president and the Homeland Security secretary for all matters related to emergency management.

Hamilton spent a decade in the U.S. Navy Seals, serving on Seal Team Eight for four overseas deployments between 2005 and 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile and a Congressional bio.

He then served as a supervisory emergency management specialist at the U.S. State Department and as the Department of Homeland Security’s director of emergency services for several years.

Hamilton ran for Congress in Virginia’s 7th district in 2024 but lost in the Republican primary.

In a LinkedIn post earlier this month marking 47 years since FEMA’s establishment, Hamilton said he was grateful to have served under Trump and alongside FEMA colleagues. “I wish my tenure had been longer,” he wrote, “as there is still much more work to do for reform.”

New facilities will now be required to have industrial zoning, get a specific use authorization from the city council, and be at least 1,000 feet away from schools, public parks, churches, and residential areas.

The changes, passed in a 9-2 vote, were prompted by the federal government’s acquisition of an East Side warehouse, which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly wants to use as a detention facility.

While the city’s new restrictions don’t appear likely to apply to the planned ICE facility, a member of the city‘s legal staff left the possibility open during exclusive interviews with KSAT, saying it’s not a completely black-and-white issue.

The warehouse at 542 SE Loop 410 is owned by federal government, which does not have to follow local zoning rules.

Deputy City Attorney Susan Guinn said the changes will not have any effect on ICE’s plans for the East Side property “at this point, with the current facts.”

However, the head of the regulatory division was less definitive when KSAT asked what would happen if the government were to bring in a private contractor to operate the facility.

“That is something we definitely would be looking at,” Guinn said, “who then has control of the facility?”

Guinn stressed it would be “fact-specific,” though, and the city doesn’t have the details.

“We would just be speculating right now,” Guinn said, “So I’m not going to close that off either way.”

Guinn said the newly adopted ordinance might not impact ICE because the government made the plans known, though it has not notified the city directly.

The changes also include new requirements for detention facilities to notify city officials 30 days ahead of renovating, building, or operating a detention facility.

Guinn said no matter who ends up running the East Side facility, they would still have to notify the city of these changes moving forward.

Posturing or preparation?

The council’s two conservative members, Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) and Councilwoman Misty Spears (D9), were the only votes against the new restrictions.

Whyte, who pulled the item for discussion, also asked city legal staff to confirm the ordinance wouldn’t have any effect on the planned ICE facility.

“As we understand it, councilman, that’s correct,” First Assistant City Attorney Liz Provencio told him.

City staff also told Whyte they were unaware of any private detention facilities currently operating in the city.

“This new ordinance here doesn’t do anything,” Whyte told his colleagues. “This is a political statement that you want to make.”

District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said many detained immigrants are held in privately operated facilities, “and ICE often turns to (a) privately operated facility when their own facilities exceed capacity.”

McKee-Rodriguez said that he believes this might happen because the warehouse “will not have the sewage capacity that they’re looking for."

“It would be foolish to think that just because there aren’t any facilities now,” McKee-Rodriguez said, “that there won’t be in the future.”

KSAT asked ICE questions Thursday afternoon about its timeline, plans, who would operate the facility and whether it would hire contractors to open or run other facilities. We have not yet heard back on that request.

KSAT has been following through on potential detention facilities in San Antonio. Read more of our reporting below:

• ICE confirms purchase of East Side warehouse, plans to hold immigrant detainees inside
• Neighbors concerned about ICE potentially buying East Side warehouse
• State, local lawmakers push back against East Side ICE facility in new letter to DHS
• Why is San Antonio trying to crack down on detention centers if changes won’t include East Side ICE facility?
• As Mayor Jones asks DHS to back off ICE facility plans, city looks at legal options

San Antonio police arrested Alyssa Herrera, 36, on Tuesday, jail records show. She is accused of tampering with physical evidence, a third-degree felony.

Herrera was officially booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center just after 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday. County court records show a judge set her bond at $150,000.

Herrera is married to Daniel Sebastian Ordonez, 31, and was the daughter-in-law of Daniel Antonio Ordonez, 54. The elder Ordonez’s body was found in a bloody bag in the backyard of his home located in the 3100 block of Vera Cruz.

SAPD first took the younger Ordonez into custody on an evidence tampering charge on April 9 before Herrera was arrested and charged this week.

Daniel Antonio Ordonez reported missing

According to police, a relative — who does not live in San Antonio — reported the elder Ordonez as missing on April 4. The relative, who had access to his cellphone and smartwatch, noticed unusual activity on those devices and called police.

Officers and the victim’s girlfriend met at the cellphone’s location: a property the elder Ordonez owned in the 300 block of West Theo Avenue near Interstate 35, SAPD said.

Investigators later found a truck belonging to Ordonez in the back of the Theo Avenue property. Upon its discovery, officers said they discovered the truck had an “apparent bullet hole” through the driver side’s “rear window.”

Ordonez’s daughter asked her brother (Sebastian Ordonez) and Herrera to meet police at the Theo Avenue location.

Herrera and her husband lived with Ordonez’s father at the home on Vera Cruz. The younger Ordonez gave police permission to search the Vera Cruz home, which included a structure behind the primary home. Sebastian Ordonez warned officers that the rear structure’s door was locked, according to Herrera’s arrest affidavit.

Investigators said they later located a large black trash bag in the rear structure of the property with “blood” leaking from the bag. According to the affidavit, officers poked a hole in the bag and saw what was inside: a dead male later identified as Daniel Antonio Ordonez.

At the time, police said Sebastian Ordonez and Herrera were detained for questioning.

CSI arrives on scene

SAPD’s crime scene investigative (CSI) unit were soon called to the scene.

The unit, while using a substance that exposes the presence of blood if it has been cleaned or not, discovered blood was scattered in and around the home on Vera Cruz, court documents state.

Police noted several security camera mounts around the home no longer had security cameras mounted on them. Investigators said two other vehicles belonging to the elder Ordonez were also moved to separate locations.

The victim’s truck

Sebastian Ordonez and Herrera told officers that they were with the elder Ordonez throughout Easter weekend. Herrera denied any involvement in connection with Antonio Ordonez’s death.

However, further police investigation determined a red Toyota Prius was following a person driving the victim’s truck just before 2 p.m. on April 7 along South Zarzamora Street. The truck was in the process of being moved to the victim’s property on West Theo Avenue.

Approximately 48 minutes later, investigators said Sebastian Ordonez called 911 and requested a welfare check at the property. A neighbor to the West Theo Avenue later told police they saw a male near the victim’s truck “banging” on the property’s fence on April 7 before he entered the Toyota Prius and drove away.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said Antonio Ordonez died from a gunshot wound to the head and ruled his death as a homicide. Police said no shell casings were recovered from the home on Vera Cruz.

Purchases surface on victim’s bank account

After a search warrant was executed, police gained access to the victim’s cellphone and his most recent bank purchases via an application.

According to his banking app, multiple purchases were made in the three days (April 4-6) leading up to the April 7 welfare check call to SAPD.

On April 4, investigators said purchases were made with the victim’s debit card at a Walmart location. Among the items purchased were black duct tape, towels and a “mummy-style sleeping bag.” Police also obtained surveillance video from the Walmart, which indicated Sebastian Ordonez used the debit card to make those purchases.

A series of purchases at a Home Depot location also appeared to link Sebastian Ordonez, as well. According to the affidavit, the younger Ordonez was seen on Home Depot surveillance video buying gloves, a shovel, a sledgehammer, acrylic sheets and 100 pounds of concrete mix, among other items that were discovered at the home in the 3100 block of Vera Cruz.

The relative, who reported Antonio Ordonez missing, told officers that the victim wasn’t known to share his bank account information or purchases with anyone else.

Herrera is expected back in court for a pre-indictment hearing on July 13.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• ‘It’s mind-blowing’: Man, 31, charged with tampering his father’s dead body, SAPD says

Milenko Faria was interviewed at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices near Los Angeles, while his wife, Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar, entered her sixth day in immigration custody in Texas and was unable to attend the appointment they had been waiting for for more than 10 years.

Bolivar, who worked as a doctor in an area federally designated as medically underserved, was arrested by Border Patrol agents at McAllen International Airport on Saturday. She was with their American-born daughter, preparing to board a flight to join her husband and attend their asylum interview together.

Bolivar, 33, was the second Venezuelan physician arrested in the area within the span of a week. On April 6, Dr. Ezequiel Veliz was detained by Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint in South Texas. After spending about ten days in detention, his attorney, Victor Badell, said he was able to successfully request a bond hearing and secure his release on Thursday after paying a bond of $8,000.

The arrests are part of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Following an enforcement surge in Minnesota in January, in which two U.S. citizens died, the Department of Homeland Security has focused on less visible arrests.

Bolívar worked in the emergency room of a hospital in McAllen, city of about 150,000 in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border, starting in June 2025, when she was accepted into her medical residency program.

“She was always focused on the community, and when she was accepted, it was an immense joy,” Faria, 36, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “We have never done anything outside the law. We have done everything by following the steps in accordance with the law to obtain permanent residency."

The husband said that she arrived at the U.S. with a tourist visa in 2016, after graduating from medical school in her native Venezuela.

Before her authorized period of stay expired, she was included in the asylum application filed by her husband, he said. Both are also seeking a green card through an application for skilled workers, processed by Faria’s employer, a California company where he has worked as an information systems technician since 2019.

The couple was beneficiary of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela that shielded more than 600,000 Venezuelans from deportation. Trump terminated the protections for Venezuela, Haiti, Syria, Afghanistan, Nicaragua and other countries, a decision that has been challenged in federal court.

The Department of Homeland Security said that Bolivar was arrested because she was in the country illegally.

“She has overstayed her visa since 2017, nearly a decade, and had no legal status,” said DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis.

Jodi Goodwin, an immigration attorney in South Texas, noted that around September or October 2025, she observed a change in policy regarding travel of individuals with pending applications before USCIS.

”It just became a very apparent trend where anyone that had some kind of application pending with USCIS, whether it was an adjustment of status or asylum, anything like that, they were going to be arrested,” said Goodwin.

Faria and Bolivar lived together in Santa Maria, California, until she moved to Texas in the summer of 2025 for her medical residency. He said he traveled every two months to visit his wife and daughter. The day of her arrest was the first time Bolívar had traveled since moving to Texas.

Bolivar was arrested by Customs and Border Protection officers before passing through transportation security screening, where she was asked to show her identification. She showed her driver’s license — bearing the “Real ID” endorsement required to domestic flights — and a work authorization valid until 2030.

She told them that she was adjusting status to a green card and was traveling to California for an asylum interview but the officer detained her after asking for her nationality and demanding that she provide proof of legal permanent residency, said Faria. He received text messages from his wife at the time she was being arrested.

Their 5-year-old daughter, a U.S. citizen, was also arrested and handed over to her grandfather 19 hours later. The girl is currently in California with her father.

The doctor was transferred to ICE custody on Sunday and is being held at El Valle Detention Facility in Texas.

She has asked several times why she was detained but has not received any response yet, Faria said.

Ezequiel Veliz, the other Venezuelan physician, came to the United States to become a doctor in 2018 under a tourist visa. His friend, Hector Ruiz, described him as a kind-hearted doctor who loves his pet cats and is devoted to his work.

Veliz adjusted his immigration status as a student and later as a doctor at a South Texas hospital in the Rio Grande Valley working under TPS. The pause in the protection status had immediate consequences on his two-year residency.

“He was one year and four months into that. He couldn’t continue working legally. He had to stop,” said Badell, his attorney.

He was waiting for a visa requested by the hospital when he was detained at a Border Patrol checkpoint traveling to Houston with his husband on April 6.

___

Associated Press writer Valerie Gonzalez contributed.

Owner David Blitzer announced the hire less than 48 hours after the team’s regular season ended without a playoff appearance. Mehta was an assistant when the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup each of the past two years.

“We quickly realized this job was in high demand and were incredibly fortunate to meet with many qualified candidates," Blitzer said. "Sunny’s familiarity with our organization and experience with a two-time Stanley Cup-winning team are characteristics that will serve as a foundation for future success. Our expectations are to be a perennial playoff team and compete for the Stanley Cup, and I look forward to Sunny leading us there.”

Mehta, 48, established the NHL's first full-fledged analytics department when he joined his home-state Devils in 2014 and worked for them through 2018. He spent time with Washington before going to Florida.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, who also had a vacancy after firing Brad Treliving late last month, also showed interest in Mehta, given their interest in a numbers-driven GM. The Devils beat Toronto the punch.

Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, Mehta grew up a Devils fan. He had a career as a professional poker player and worked in finance before getting into hockey.

“I knew this was the place I wanted to be,” Mehta said, thanking the Panthers for the chance to take the next step in his career. “New Jersey has a tremendous young core that will be looking to get back to being a contender, a complement of young assets and draft picks, and a passionate fan base hungry for success.”

The Devils parted ways with longtime GM Tom Fitzgerald late in the season. The future of coach Sheldon Keefe is not clear, though he guided the team to the playoffs in his first year in charge.

Mehta takes over at an important time for the franchise, with U.S. Olympic hero Jack Hughes at the center of a young core and captain Nico Hischier eligible to sign an extension as soon as July 1.

“I’m focusing on playing hockey here,” Hischier said about it the morning after Fitzgerald left. "I still have one more year. I’m with the Devils right now, and then we’ll see what happens."

If he is able to trade defenseman Dougie Hamilton this summer after his $7.4 million roster bonus is paid, it will clear up valuable salary cap space to use to improve the forward group.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

In his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, kicking off an expected sprint of seven budget hearings he'll attend across congressional committees and subcommittees over the next week, Kennedy emphasized the administration's work to reform dietary guidelines and crack down on waste, fraud and abuse.

Republicans on the committee praised Kennedy as a “breath of fresh air” and asked him to promote his department's recent actions. Democrats, who have been furious over Kennedy's sweeping overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, largely had a different agenda.

They needled Kennedy on what they viewed as the Trump administration’s hypocrisy on fraud, demanded to know why he was cutting budgets for various programs and slammed his efforts to pull back vaccine recommendations and messaging, which they said have caused unnecessary deaths.

Kennedy fired back, often raising his voice as he accused the Democrats of misrepresenting his work and past statements.

Here are three standout moments from Thursday's hearing:

A standoff over measles

One heated exchange early in the hearing came between Kennedy and Rep. Linda Sanchez. The California Democrat decried recent measles outbreaks across the U.S. and asked Kennedy to answer for the fact that under his leadership, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pulled back public health messaging supporting vaccination.

“As a mother, this horrifies me,” Sanchez said. “Did President Trump approve your decision to end CDC’s pro-vaccine public messaging campaign?”

Kennedy repeatedly refused to answer, saying first he wanted to respond to the “misstatements that you've made” and later praising the Trump administration's record on preventing measles, although protections against the disease have eroded in some parts of the country as vaccination rates have dropped.

“That's not answering my question,” Sanchez said as the two talked over each other.

But Sanchez also got Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist before he entered politics, to acknowledge that a 6-year-old who died of measles last year in West Texas could have potentially been saved with vaccination.

“Do you agree with the majority of doctors that the measles vaccine could have saved that child’s life in Texas?” she asked.

“It's possible, certainly,” Kennedy said.

RFK Jr. denies talking about Black children being ‘re-parented’

A fight erupted between Kennedy and Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat from Alabama, when Kennedy vehemently denied making remarks he'd said in 2024.

The comments dated back to when Kennedy was a presidential candidate. On the “High Level Conversations” podcast in 2024, he said, “Psychiatric drugs — which every Black kid is now just standard put on Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence, and those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented to live in a community where there'll be no cellphones, no screens, you'll actually have to talk to people."

“Have you ever re-parented, or parented, I should say, a Black child?” Sewell asked, as her staff held up a poster featuring an abbreviated version of the quote.

“I don't even know what that phrase means,” Kennedy said. “I'm not going to answer something I didn't say.”

“You're making stuff up,” he later claimed.

A recording of the podcast shows he made the comments during a conversation about free rehabilitation facilities he was proposing opening at the time in rural areas around the country.

HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard said Kennedy before joining the administration was referring to spaces where young people facing alienation, mental health challenges and despair could get re-parented, which she said was a psychotherapy term for “developing the emotional regulation, discipline, boundaries, and self-worth that may not have been established in childhood.”

For Kennedy and his former party, civility is the exception

Kennedy spent most of his life as a Democrat, the scion of one of the nation's most famous political families. Both Republicans and Democrats during the hearing began their remarks by expressing their admiration of Kennedy's relatives, among them former President John F. Kennedy.

But again and again throughout Thursday's hearing, the fraying of bonds between Kennedy and his former party was on full display as spiteful comments were passed back and forth.

The health secretary grew defensive and visibly agitated. He repeatedly criticized Democratic lawmakers for not giving him a word in edgewise.

“They've all shut me up,” Kennedy said at one point. “They give a little speech that they can go and market, you know, for fundraising, and they don't allow me to answer the question.”

On a few rare occasions, the exchanges were civil. One representative, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, used humor to make that happen.

“I promise to give you easy, comfortable questions if you don't yell at me and hurt my feelings,” she told Kennedy. He promised he wouldn't.

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An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Kennedy's remarks about Black children were made last year. He made the remarks in 2024.

Around $200 million in public safety funding is at risk for Houston, Dallas and Austin, with Houston facing the biggest potential loss of state funding.

On Monday, Abbott’s office told the state’s largest city that the state will withdraw around $110 million in public safety grants, if it does not repeal an ordinance limiting coordination between police and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.

Abbott’s office followed that on Thursday with similar letters to Austin — warning the city that around $2.5 million in similar funding could be at risk — and Dallas, which stands to lose more than $32 million in grants, as well as more than $55 million in World Cup public safety funding.

Some cities have also been under legal scrutiny from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, which said their policies violate Senate Bill 4, a state law that bans local governments from adopting measures that “materially limit” immigration enforcement.

“Cities in Texas are expected to make the streets safer, not more deadly,” Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

Mahaleris didn’t immediately respond to the Tribune’s questions about whether the governor’s office has sent similar letters to any other local governments.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson pushed back against Abbott’s threat in a public statement, saying that the city’s policy is consistent with SB 4 and only provides clarity for officers when they interact with immigration officers.

“The City of Austin has made great progress on public safety — but our APD officers do not have the capacity — and should not be asked — to do the jobs of other entities,” Watson said. “There is great irony that the state would try to punish the City for providing services that keep Austinites safe by threatening grants that keep Austin safe.”

The Austin Current reported that Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into the Austin Police Department’s immigration policy, which it revised after the January detention and alleged deportation of a Honduran woman and her 5-year-old child sparked community backlash.

Meanwhile, it’s not clear whether Dallas is also being investigated by Paxton’s office, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In response to Abbott’s letter, Dallas spokesperson Rick Ericson said: “We remain committed to complying with all applicable state and federal laws while continuing to prioritize public safety for the residents of Dallas, and ensuring our officers have the resources and support necessary to effectively serve the community.”

Meanwhile, Houston Mayor John Whitmire — who voted for the ordinance targeted by Abbott — called the governor’s threat a “crisis situation” and immediately pushed for a special city council meeting to reconsider the measure. But while Whitmire received an extended deadline from the governor’s office, Houston was also slapped with a lawsuit from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office Thursday over the same issue.

Whitmire’s office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request about Paxton’s lawsuit.

Councilmember Alejandra Salinas, who spearheaded Houston’s ordinance, called on city leaders to “vigorously defend” the ordinance and residents’ constitutional rights. Prior to Paxton’s lawsuit, she had already been calling on the city to challenge Abbott’s threat in court.

“It’s no longer a question about whether the City should go to court. We’re already there,” Salinas said. “The Mayor and City Council must vigorously defend the law we voted for and that the City Attorney deemed legal. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to defend our laws and protect Houstonians’ constitutional rights.”

Workers who earn tips and overtime are seeing bigger returns this tax season, but those savings and others resulting from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that Trump signed last year have been eaten away by higher gas pricesdriven by the Iran war.

The president recalled in his remarks how a woman in Las Vegas gave him the idea to make tips tax-free, a move that he said is now helping “thousands of Nevada waiters and waitresses, casino dealers, bartenders, bellmen, barbers, caddies."

“Every single American at every income level has more money in their pockets this week because of the Republican tax policies,” Trump said. “And we got to win the midterms. If we don't, these policies are going to be taken away from you.”

The president’s rare trip out West comes as Trump faces growing political pressure to wrap up the war and focus on a message that helps his party as they try to defend their congressional majorities in November’s elections. Trump insisted before departing from the White House for Las Vegas that gas prices were “not very high” compared with what he thought they would be because of the Iran war.

On Friday, Trump will hold an event in Phoenix with conservative political group Turning Point USA. But his first stop is in Las Vegas where he will hold a roundtable with several police officers who have benefited from new tax breaks on overtime, along with a barber and a casino pit supervisor, who got to claim the new tax breaks on tips.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the average tax refund this year has been over $3,400, up about $340 from a year ago.

Vegas, once known for affordable living, feels economic pain

In Las Vegas, the entertainment industry has been the city's financial lifeblood and many workers depend on gratuities from visitors.

But it’s also a city of commuters, including the tipped workers who drive to their jobs at glitzy casinos. Gasoline is averaging $5 a gallon in Las Vegas, up 28% from a year ago, according to AAA.

Nicholas Delaney, an airline attendant who lives in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson and said he did not vote for the president in 2024, said he thinks Trump is doing a “terrible” job when it comes to the cost of living. He thought the tax break for tips was a good policy, but is concerned about the cost of groceries and gas.

“I gotta spend over $100 for a full tank of gas, 13 gallons? Crazy,” Delaney said.

Paula Goodman, a bartender in a Henderson casino, said the cost of living is her biggest concern right now, adding that she spends more than $400 a week on groceries for her family.

But Goodman, who voted for the president, said she thought he is “doing a pretty good damn job,” and doesn’t blame him for high gas prices, which she portrayed as just a fluctuation. As a bartender, she said she personally appreciated the tax savings on tips she brings home.

“Every little penny nowadays is, like, huge,” she said. “You’ve seen diesel, right? $6.11.”

Tax refunds are offset by gas prices

The White House said Trump is focused on tax cuts, deregulation and boosting U.S. energy production to drive down prices, and describes high gas prices as a temporary disruption from the war in Iran.

“Tens of millions of Americans are benefiting this tax season from the president’s signature provisions” in the tax law, said White House spokesman Kush Desai, saying that shows “how the administration hasn’t lost focus on delivering on our affordability agenda at home.”

Even so, the conflict has made things less affordable. The Bank of America Institute looked at its deposit and spending data and in a Tuesday analysis concluded that “the average increase in tax refunds could cover the average increase in gasoline spending for at least five months.”

Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, the insurance and financial services company, said last week in an analysis that “the steep rise in gasoline prices looks likely to completely offset the increased tax funds windfall with households,” stressing that the money back would likely prevent a sharper drop in consumer spending.

Trump's economic message focusing on the tax breaks has also been drowned out this week by distractions from the president himself, who angered even some of his own supporters when he got into a public fight with the pope and posted a now-deleted image on social media depicting himself as Jesus.

GOP strategist Ron Bonjean said among Republicans, “the frustration and concern is growing every week about whether or not we will be able to hold onto the House this November.”

It takes a lot of repetition for a message like promoting the tax bill to break through to voters, but Trump’s tendency to drift into other subjects can dilute that, Bonjean said. Trump, who has at times dismissed affordability concerns as “a hoax,” and “con job” from Democrats, has to acknowledge the economic realities people are facing now if he wants to help his party this November, Bonjean said.

“He absolutely has to talk about his plan to bring down high gasoline costs, or else he’s lost his own message. It won’t be credible just to talk about no taxes on tips,” Bonjean said.

When will gas prices come down?

While the president has said he thinks the war with Iran will end soon, a deal to resolve it has not yet emerged, with the U.S. and Iran still proffering stances that are far apart.

Trump on Sunday said in a Fox News Channel interview that gas prices “could be the same or maybe a little bit higher” by the November midterms.

By Wednesday, in another Fox News interview, Trump walked back that comment. “I think they'll be much lower” before the election, on the assumption the war will be long over.

“When that’s settled, gas prices are going to go down tremendously,” Trump said.

Hours later at the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was less rosy, predicting that gas prices will fall sometime this summer, depending on how the negotiations with Iran go.

“I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th, that we can have $3 gas again,” Bessent told reporters.

Joe Spica, a Democratic candidate for the state legislature and a steward of The Culinary Workers Union, which represents about 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno, said Las Vegas workers are feeling belt-tightening that is happening all over, because that means fewer visitors to Las Vegas, and fewer tips for workers.

“Something has to change, and it has to change fast,” Spica, a bellman at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, said at a news conference Thursday organized by the union and the Nevada Democratic Party.

“The policies of this administration are hurting Las Vegas,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

Robert Downey Jr. was there to introduce the trailer for the film, which brings together the Avengers and the X-Men together in a Marvel Studios film for the first time.

“What I want to do is give away like 30,000 spoilers right now,” Downey said.

He’s returning to the franchise not as Iron Man, but as the main antagonist Victor Von Doom, or Doctor Doom.

Kevin Feige said they’ll be re-releasing “Avengers: Endgame” in September in the lead up to “Doomsday,” which, he said, “picks up where ‘Endgame’ left off.” It opens on Dec. 18.

“I think we might have nailed it,” Downey said.

Evans said he’d only come back if there was a good reason, and Doctor Doom was a good reason.

Grogu and Mando hunt warlords

“The Mandalorian and Grogu” director Jon Favreau showed the audience the opening of the first Star Wars movie in seven years. The film, which opens on May 22, begins with a title card saying the Galactic Empire has fallen and ex-warlords remain scattered throughout and, in the Outer Rim, the Mandalorian and Grogu hunt them down.

The sequence shows a one man, and child, battle against one such ex-warlord, with a big fight on a snowy cliff as they attempt to take down what looks like AT-AT walkers. Later, Sigourney Weaver’s character scolds the bounty hunter for his messy job, which left the target dead and them with no new information.

She also proposes a new mission, which would put him back in the orbit of the Hutts, with Jabba’s heir Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White).

“’Star Wars’ made me fall in love with movies,” Favreau said. “I hope that our excitement and love and joy of Star Wars translates to a new generation of fans.”

He said that there are over 49 minutes of sequences filmed for large format screens.

Woody and Buzz make their CinemaCon debut

Tom Hanks and Tim Allen made an appearance on behalf of “Toy Story 5,” in what is apparently their first time ever at CinemaCon. The two actors joked about seeing footage of them voicing Woody and Buzz for the original film, which came out in 1995, and saying they look like their grandkids.

Hanks said one of his iconic lines, “you are a toy” and Allen responded with one of his, “you are a sad, strange little man.”

They also showed a new scene showing Woody’s arrival back to Bonnie’s house after his adventures with Bo Peep. The film opens on June 19.

Dwayne Johnson introduces the new Moana

Dwane Johnson helped close out the presentation to promote the live-action “Moana,” in which he reprises his role as Maui.

He said his character was inspired by his grandfather, holding up a picture of him on his phone, describing him as charismatic with a “wicked sense of humor” and a “one of a kind spirit.” He also loved to sing. Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” he said, was a favorite.

The new Moana, Catherine Laga’aia, also appeared on stage with Johnson.

“I grew up watching ‘Moana’ with my family,” she said. “I can’t believe I had this experience.”

A powerhouse studio at the box office

Disney releases dominated the box office in 2025 with nearly $2.5 billion in domestic ticket sales and $6.6 billion globally with hits like “Lilo & Stitch,”“Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” A box office driver for many years, it's fitting that Disney is closing CinemaCon.

Already this year, Disney has boosted the box office with its original Pixar hit “Hoppers,” which has made over $355 million globally to date. Kicking off the summer movie season, which begins the first weekend in May, is not a Marvel movie, however. It’s a legacy sequel from their 20th Century Studios: “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” Gird your loins.

Disney's impact on the exhibition industry cannot be understated. Last year its releases made up over 27.5% of the annual domestic box office alone. The studio also has a 60-day exclusive theatrical window, the most robust in Hollywood.

The Walt Disney Co. is facing its own challenges too. On Tuesday, the company began mass layoffs in its ranks, expected to total around 1,000 with some of the cuts coming from the movie studio and its marketing department.

Orson Welles once said, “if you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” And, so, for an exhibition industry that operates on small margins, and with the box office still down around 20% from its pre-pandemic norms, Disney is about as close as the conference can get to going out on a high note.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a federal court filing Thursday that it has completed its review of the Second Avenue subway line project, and will begin reimbursing state transit officials again for construction costs.

Janno Lieber, MTA's CEO, said the reversal means “long-awaited transit justice” will soon come to neighborhoods in upper reaches of Manhattan. The Second Avenue subway project is building new stations northward along Manhattan’s Upper East Side, bringing subway service to parts of the Harlem neighborhood.

“It shouldn’t have taken seven months and a lawsuit to get here," he said in a statement.

The federal Department of Transportation said the agreement means taxpayers' “hard-earned dollars will not fund unconstitutional DEI initiatives,” referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion principles. The administration argued that use of DEI principles has led to soaring costs on federal projects and is unconstitutional.

“This has always been about securing the best deal for the American taxpayer and ensuring their dollars are spent efficiently and fairly,” the agency said in a statement.

Lieber, addressing reporters later Thursday, called the dispute "an “unnecessary waste of the public's time and money” since the state agency was complying with the administration's new rules regarding minority and women-owned businesses in federal projects.

“The whole point was they sent us a letter saying we didn't make the standards of the new rules before they even issued the new rules,” he said. “It was just a bunch of gamesmanship.”

The USDOT had withheld roughly $60 million from the Second Avenue project as it launched its review. Overall, the project is supposed to cost $7.7 billion, with the federal government covering around $3.4 billion.

The dispute over the Second Avenue subway was among a number of major transportation projects in New York and New Jersey that Trump has sought to scuttle as he feuded with Democratic leaders in those states.

The administration in October also halted billions of dollars in funding for a massive new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey. A federal judge in February, however, ordered federal officials to resume payments for the tunnel project under the Hudson River.

Last year, the USDOT rescinded approval for New York's first-in-the-nation congestion fee and threatened to pull funding from the state if it did not abandon the toll, which is imposed on drivers entering the busiest part of Manhattan.

But a federal judge ruled last month that the agency lacked the authority to unilaterally rescind approval of the $9 fee.

Moses Johnson said his family has grown increasingly frustrated over the lack of progress in prosecuting the person who shot and killed his son, also named Moses Johnson, in June 2020.

Nearly six years later, the case has yet to go to trial.

“I’ve been waiting and waiting, going on six years — nothing,“ Johnson said. ”It’s frustrating. I don’t know what’s going on, but somebody needs to do something about it.”

Court records show the case has faced a series of legal setbacks and delays. In 2023, a judge suppressed key evidence. An appeals court overturned that ruling in 2024, allowing the evidence to be used.

The defense then appealed to the state’s highest criminal court, which agreed in January 2025 to review the case. More than a year later, that review is still pending.

The family said the teen left home that day to pick up a pair of shoes from a friend who lived nearby. The friend had prior issues with a man identified by police as Gilberto Perez.

Johnson said the group was walking along a street when Perez got into a vehicle, turned around and approached them. An argument followed, and shots were fired.

The teen died at the scene.

Johnson said the lack of communication from prosecutors has added to the family’s frustration.

“My question is, why can’t you sit down and talk to us, give us that kind of information?” he said. “Why can’t we just pick up the phone and know what’s going on?”

Despite the delays, the family said they will continue pushing for answers and accountability.

“We’re still waiting,” Johnson said. “We want answers. We want justice.”

The DA’s office said it has been in contact with the Johnson family and empathizes with the family for the frustrations about the lengthy process, in a statement to KSAT, but said it remains committed to supporting the family.

The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has kept Moses’ next of kin informed about our team’s filing of the appeal, why it was being filed, and its pending status through both in-person notifications and text messages. Once a case enters the appeals process, the scheduling and review are at the discretion of the appellate court, which is beyond our control.

“Currently, the case is under review by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and we remain hopeful for a favorable outcome when the opinion is issued.

“We understand that this process can take a significant amount of time, and we empathize with the frustration that Moses’ family may be feeling. However, our commitment to supporting the family during this challenging period remains strong, and we will provide them with updates as soon as they become available.”

Bexar County District Attorney's Office

The Johnson family said it has not heard from the office since 2023, and when they went last week to get answers, they weren’t given any.

Perez has been in the Bexar County jail since his July 2020 arrest. If he goes to trial and is convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Read also:

• Second suspect arrested in West Side murder case after victim’s body found in trash bag
• Family of San Antonio woman killed in 2022 says DA’s silence, repeated delays deepens their grief

Juan R. Gonzalez, 52, received a 37-month prison sentence for tax evasion on Wednesday.

Gonzalez owned and operated a San Antonio residential construction business called Gonzalez Construction, working as a subcontractor for other entities.

In 2020 and 2021, the DOJ said Gonzalez “organized his personal and business financial activities so as to evade the assessment of his federal income taxes.”

Gonzalez used tactics including commingling funds, dealing extensively in cash, using a nominee name and more in an effort to “mislead or conceal,” the DOJ said.

He did not file tax returns for 2020 or 2021, when he earned around $1,030,079 in taxable income, resulting in a tax liability of around $370,752.64.

The DOJ said Gonzalez was previously convicted of tax evasion in 2011 and was indicted in May 2025 on 22 counts, including two counts of tax evasion, 18 counts of structuring currency transactions and two counts of identity theft.

He pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on Jan. 7. A judge also ordered Gonzalez to pay the owed money in restitution to the IRS.

Read also:

• San Antonio tax preparing business owner convicted of filing false returns, DOJ says
• Bexar County misdemeanor judge accused of having attorney handcuffed attends hearing; return set for June
• Balcones Heights mayor sues city over alleged retaliation

Aberg moved ahead of Harris English and Viktor Hovland with an 8-iron to about 15 feet on the back corner of the green on the par-3 17th and made the birdie. He closed with a par, pleasing because he felt that 8-iron confirmed how well he was swinging the club.

Houston Open champion Gary Woodland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler were in the group of players at 65.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy skipped this $20 million signature event for the second straight year, having said Harbour Town doesn’t suit him.

Scottie Scheffler, the runner-up last week at Augusta after a 65-68 finish, had a shocking start. His first tee shot was out-of-bounds on the right. He didn't know out-of-bounds was over there.

“It was looking like it was going to hit those trees and I guess it flew right through them and then hit path and went out-of-bounds,” Scheffler said. “Thumbs up for the start. It was a good bogey.”

That it was, a 12-foot putt to limit the damage, followed by a par save on the next hole and then it was business as usual in the tougher afternoon conditions for a 68.

Aberg had a disappointing week at Augusta National by his standards — a tie for 21st, his first time out of the top 10 in three appearances at the Masters.

“I felt like I was playing well but made some silly mistakes that prevented me from having a real chance,” Aberg said. “But I also felt like in the grand scheme of things, I was swinging it nice, I was moving it nice, so I didn’t have to prepare that much in terms of my golf swing on Monday through Wednesday, and I felt like good golf was in there.”

The challenge for Aberg and the other 52 players who were in the Masters was to stay sharp inside the ropes on an island that makes this tournament feel like a working vacation.

Hovland is feeling less stressful more because of his swing, instead of the week at the Masters when he made a big run up the leaderboard on Sunday only to catch the wrong gust at the wrong time that led to double bogey on the 15th hole. He still shot 67.

Hovland doesn't feel he's all the way back with his swing, but he found enough signs of progress to believe he is getting close. He played bogey-free for a 64 that featured no birdies on the three par 5s.

“The whole year I've been working really hard, and I think now that I’m seeing my game progress and get closer to where I want it to be, I can start to relax a little bit more and focus on kind of the recovery aspect of things,” Hovland said.

English also played bogey-free for his 64, finishing with a birdie to a front pin over the bunker.

Davis Love III refurbished the fabled course to restore greens to their original design, but players felt it looked the same. And it played the same — opportunity from the fairway, trouble otherwise as Scheffler and others discovered.

Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood each opened with a 76.

The toughest day belonged to someone who didn't even play. Brooks Koepka was the first alternate and showed up at Hilton Head in case someone withdrew. That typically means a two-hour wait in the morning, taking a break, and waiting some two hours during the afternoon wave.

Bad news for Brooks — this signature event has players in twosomes off the first tee, one right after the other. He was at the course about 6:45 a.m. (the first tee time was 7 a.m.) and could not leave until the last group teed off at 2:10 p.m.

There were three alternates on property — Keith Mitchell and Taylor Moore — because if Koepka got in, the stipulation for his return from LIV Golf was two additional players added to the field.

Morikawa seemed to be the best hope with his back that first went bad at The Players Championship. But he played the Masters with some trepidation and tied for seventh, and he played bogey-free at Harbour Town for a 66.

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This version corrects the two other alternates were Keith Mitchell and Taylor Moore.

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

In their first news conference since returning to Earth, the three Americans and one Canadian said their lunar flyby puts NASA in a much better position for a moon landing by a crew in two years and an eventual moon base. They spoke from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, their home base.

Commander Reid Wiseman later told The Associated Press that he’s been so busy since getting back that he hasn’t had time to gaze up at the moon, let alone Carroll Crater, the name suggested by the crew for a bright lunar crater in honor of his late wife. They shared two daughters whose anxieties and fears over their father’s journey ended with his safe splashdown late last week.

“Being 252,000 miles away from home was the most majestic, gorgeous thing that human eyes will ever witness,” he said in an interview with the AP. But hurtling back through the atmosphere at 39 times the speed of sound, “that is scary and that is risky.” That’s why he yearned for home midway through his flight. “You just want to hold your kids and you just want them to know that you’re safe.”

Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen launched to the moon from Florida on April 1, NASA’s first lunar crew in more than a half-century and by far the most diverse.

They became the most distant travelers ever — breaking Apollo 13's record — as they whipped around the lunar far side, illuminated enough to reveal features never viewed before by the human eye. The sight of a total lunar eclipse added to the wonderment.

Their Orion capsule, which they named Integrity, parachuted into the Pacific last Friday to close out the nearly 10-day voyage. Artemis II's Houston homecoming the next day coincided with the 56th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13.

Wiseman said he and Glover “maybe saw two moments of a touch of char loss” to the heat shield as Integrity plunged through the fastest, hottest part of reentry. Once aboard the recovery ship, they peered at the bottom of the capsule as best they could, leaning over to view any signs of damage. They spotted a little loss of charred material on the shoulder, where the heat shield meets the capsule.

“For four humans just looking at the heat shield, it looked wonderful to us. It looked great, and that ride in was really amazing,” Wiseman said.

He cautioned that detailed analyses still need to be conducted. “We are going to fine-tooth comb every single, not even every molecule, probably every atom on this heat shield," he said.

The heat shield on the first Artemis test flight in 2022 — with no one aboard — came back so pockmarked and gouged that it pushed Artemis II back by months if not years. Instead of redoing it, NASA opted to change the capsule's entry path to minimize heating. Future capsules will sport a new design.

As the parachutes released right before splashdown, Glover said he felt like he was in freefall — like diving backward off a skyscraper. “That’s what it felt like for five seconds,” he said, adding when the ride smoothed out: “It was glorious.”

Since their return, the four astronauts have endured round after round of medical testing to check their balance, vision, muscle strength and coordination, and overall health. They even put on spacewalking suits for exercises under conditions simulating the moon’s one-sixth gravity of Earth to see how much endurance and dexterity future moonwalkers might have upon lunar touchdown.

NASA already is working on Artemis III, the next step in its grand moon base-building plans. The platform from which the rocket launches headed back Thursday to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepped for next year’s Artemis launch.

Still awaiting an assigned crew, Artemis III will remain in orbit around Earth as astronauts practice docking their Orion capsule with one or two lunar landers in development by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.

Artemis IV will follow in 2028 under NASA’s latest schedule, with two astronauts landing near the moon’s south pole.

NASA is aiming for a sustainable moon presence this time around. During the Apollo moonshots, astronauts kept their visits short. Twelve astronauts explored the lunar surface, beginning with Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and ending with Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in 1972.

Koch said that since returning, she and her crewmates are “feeling even more excited and just ready to take that on as an agency.”

“We made it happen,” she added.

Everyone will need to accept extra risk to achieve all this and trust that any future problems can be figured out in real time, Hansen noted. “We’re not going to be able to pound everything flat before we go. We're going to have to trust each other," he said.

While everything went smoothly for them, “it was also very clear to us that it can get pretty bumpy,” he said. Future crews will have to "understand it can get real bumpy real fast.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

For veterans in San Antonio, the post is more than just a historic building. It is a place where generations come together to remember, heal and support one another.

For Monica Morris, that mission is personal.

Morris is the first female commander of the historic post. She is also a survivor of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.

She said those memories are still difficult to revisit.

“It was just a really traumatic experience. Helped a couple people get out of the Pentagon. Was just a really bad day,” Morris said.

Morris said experiences like that are exactly why VFW posts remain important.

“The VFW posts are a safe haven for our combat veterans … it’s a place where you can feel comfortable because you’re with people that have experienced similar events,” Morris said.

Veterans say that support system is especially meaningful because it allows people from different backgrounds and generations to connect through shared experiences.

“There are people that look like me that come to places like this,” said Ann Rebollar, U.S. Army Medical Service Corps officer veteran.

“We also supporting each other as veteran communities,” Rebollar said.

For retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Trujillo, the post reflects something much bigger about the American story.

“Freedom isn’t free,” Trujillo said. “We lost a lot of veterans. We have a lot veterans that are ill. We have lot of aging veterans. We have young veterans. Everybody brings something to the plate, and we can’t forget.”

As America approaches its 250th birthday, veterans at VFW Post 76 say places like this ensure the sacrifices behind that freedom are never forgotten.

Read also:

• San Antonio flag company helping America celebrate 250 years of pride, patriotism
• They established Texas’ first civilian government. How San Antonians are keeping those ancestors’ memories alive.

No one was arrested after more than a half dozen drone sightings around Coors Field April 3 to April 5, but it is possible the drone pilots could still face a fine later. Still the Federal Aviation Administration and FBI issued a warning Thursday to try to keep drones away from the stadium during the Rockies' next home games because they are concerned about the potential threat they pose.

“The illegal drone activity did not jeopardize anyone’s safety, but there were enough violations that the teams on the ground were concerned about the number of operators that did not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. Thus the proactive messaging,” FBI spokeswoman Vikki Migoya said.

The FAA routinely restricts the airspace around major sporting events to protect the crowds and make sure the game can be played without interruptions.

The greatest fear is that someone could use a drone in a terrorist attack that could be just as deadly as the drone attacks that have become common on the battlefields of the Ukraine and Iran wars. That is why the federal government and World Cup host cities are investing hundreds of millions in drone defenses ahead of those games.

But even without a threat like that, Migoya said the problem is that illegal drone activity distracts law enforcement.

“Every instance of illegal drone activity requires a law enforcement intervention to ensure the intent is not nefarious; the fewer violations there are, the more law enforcement can focus on what might be a true threat,” she said.

All the airspace within 3 miles of Coors Field is restricted starting one hour before a game and continuing for one hour after a baseball or football game. Pilots are responsible for checking those restrictions before they fly.

The FAA said that drone operators who violated the restrictions could face fines up to $75,000 per violation and even lose their licenses.

Drones are also required to broadcast their locations. But authorities have other methods available to track down the operators.

A new survey from CouponCabin reveals that 63% of consumers admit to spending money they didn’t have just to attend social events.

Even more concerning, 15% say they’ve accumulated more than $2,000 in debt trying to keep up with friends, parties and experiences.

“FOMO, or as you may know, the fear of missing out, is super common in today’s world,” said CouponCabin Chief Savings Expert Melanie Lowe. “And it doesn’t come without a price tag.”

Lowe said social media is only fueling the problem.

The survey found that 86% of Americans have spent money directly due to social pressure.

“I think because we can see what people are doing, we can see the events, we could see, you know, this person’s wedding, person’s birthday party,” Lowe said, “it almost makes you feel more obligated to attend the event.”

While 42% of respondents admit to splurging on trips they couldn’t afford, the real budget-buster may be those everyday outings.

“It’s not really necessarily these large events, these big vacations that we’re going on,” Lowe said. “It could be something as simple as buying a gift for a friend’s party. And, when you have multiple events like that throughout the year, it can really add up.”

Lowe recommends prioritizing the people and events that matter most, while looking for ways to save where possible.

The goal isn’t to miss out entirely, but to participate in a way that doesn’t jeopardize your financial health.

“It is OK to say no to some of these events,” Lowe said. “If you know that you cannot afford something, you can say no and you don’t need to feel guilty about it.”

She also suggests proposing alternatives, like lower-cost get-togethers, instead of skipping social time altogether.

For a look at the CouponCabin survey, click here.

Read also:

• ‘Buy now, pay later’ borrowers falling behind on payments, report shows
• Many Americans exercise for free, but spend on workout gear, survey shows

The arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his lasting imprint on Washington.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump, approved the design concept for three projects: the arch, a plan to paint the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and construction of an underground facility to conduct security screenings of tourists and other guests.

It's the first step in the commission's process. The federal agency next will review updated designs for all three projects at a future meeting before taking any final votes.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said the action by the commission is "another step in accomplishing President Trump’s promise to the American people from the campaign trail — to Make America Safe and Beautiful Again.”

Triumphal Arch

The arch itself would stand 250 feet tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure atop the structure. That figure would be flanked up top by two eagles and guarded at the base by four lions — all gilded. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All" would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

A public observation deck on top would provide 360-degree views of the surroundings.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum pitched the arch in a statement he personally delivered at the meeting, saying that long-ago plans for Columbia Island, the federal land where the arch would rise, called for a monument to be built there. But those plans fell by the wayside, he said, allowing the plot to become a “barren" and “grass-covered” traffic circle in need of adornment.

His department oversees the National Park Service, which manages the land where the arch would be built. Burgum said Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch.

But at 250 feet tall, the arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, an obelisk that is about 555 feet (169 meters) tall. Three of four people who delivered public comment at the meeting opposed the arch, largely because of its size. The commission received about 1,000 written comments, all opposing the project, according to its secretary Thomas Luebke.

The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said he preferred the arch without the figure and eagles on top, which would significantly reduce its height by about 80 feet (24.4 meters). McCrery also objected to the lions on the base, saying they are “not a beast natural to the North American continent." He also sounded opposed to a planned underground tunnel for pedestrian access to the arch.

A group of veterans and a historian has sued in federal court to block construction on the grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

Eisenhower Executive Office Building paint job

Trump dislikes the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

“It’s one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in Washington," he said last year. “I think it’s just incredible, but you have to get past the color because the stone they used was a really bad color.”

The White House presented two proposals to the commission: paint the entire building bright white, or paint most of it white while leaving the granite on the exposed basement and subbasement.

Josh Fisher, a White House official, said the administration prefers painting the entire building, which opened in 1888. He said the exterior is in “great disrepair” and that experts who were consulted could not guarantee that a cleaning would improve the condition.

Public comment, both written and in person, was 100% against the proposed paint job, with opponents arguing that it would harm the granite and fail to solve the problem. Other opponents asserted that the building is beautiful as is.

White House officials have to return at a future date with the results of paint testing, the commission said.

Commissioner Chamberlain Harris, who also is Trump's deputy director of Oval Office Operations, noted that most White House staff work out of the EEOB. She said painting the building white to match the White House would create a “homogenous environment" and help foster a “sense of belonging” for the staff.

The office building sits across a driveway from the West Wing and its granite, slate, and cast iron exterior makes it one of America’s best examples of the French Second Empire style of architecture. It originally housed the departments of State, War and Navy, and currently is home to ceremonial offices for the vice president, offices for the second lady, the National Security Council and other White House offices.

The building is a National Historic Landmark and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the proposed paint job is also the subject of litigation in federal court.

Underground screening center for White House visitors

The U.S. Secret Service, the Interior Department, the National Park Service, and the Executive Office of the President want to start construction in August on a 33,000-square-foot (3,066-square-meter) center to screen tourists and other visitors to the White House.

It would be built beneath Sherman Park, federal land southwest of the White House, to provide a more secure place to screen those going on White House tours or attending events. The new facility would have modern technology and seven lanes to ease processing and reduce wait times.

Officials want it operating by July 2028, six months before Trump’s term ends.

Preston Henry Tolth, 26, could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in federal prison, with credit for three years already served, under the conditions of the proposed agreement.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes asked Tolth during a hearing in Phoenix if he was entering the plea because he was, in fact, guilty.

“Yes, your honor,” Tolth said.

Ella Mae Begay was 62 when she vanished in 2021 from Sweetwater, Arizona, a community in the northern part of the Navajo Nation where she spent her days visiting with relatives and weaving rugs that she sold to nearby trading posts.

In 2022, Begay's niece Seraphine Warren walked from the Navajo Nation to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about her aunt's disappearance and the high rate of homicides and missing persons cases in Indian Country. Begay's case has drawn national media attention and provided fuel for tribal leaders and victim advocates as they push for more law enforcement resources and cooperation between tribal and federal investigators.

Navajo Nation police identified Tolth, whose father was dating Begay's sister, as a suspect within days of her disappearance.

Under the conditions of the agreement, Tolth acknowledged using force to take Ella Mae Begay’s pickup truck, striking her in the face several times and leaving her on the side of the road before driving away and eventually selling the truck for money and methamphetamine.

Rayes is scheduled in May to review the latest plea agreement, which also protects Tolth from future murder or manslaughter charges in relation to Begay's case.

Members of Begay’s family say prosecutors negotiated the agreement against their wishes and without their input.

Begay’s son, Gerald Begay, took a break from his construction job in Denver to listen to Thursday’s hearing by phone. He told The Associated Press that he plans to attend the next court hearing and ask the judge to reject the plea agreement in hopes that Tolth can be put on trial.

“The prosecutors aren’t thinking about our rights or what we need as a family,” he said.

In an emailed statement, Lennea Montandon, a spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district of Arizona, said the office has complied with federal victims' rights law while prosecuting Tolth and will continue to do so. Tolth's public defender declined to comment on the new agreement.

In a 2021 FBI interrogation, Tolth confessed to attacking Begay in a fit of anger and leaving her for dead. But Rayes dealt prosecutors a major blow by ruling that confession inadmissible in court, saying the FBI agent had unlawfully coerced Tolth into waiving his right to remain silent. In court filings, prosecutors acknowledged that weakened the government’s case significantly.

At a hearing earlier this month, Rayes rejected an earlier agreement that would have released Tolth from federal custody on a sentence of three years of time served in exchange for a guilty plea. The judge's rare move came after Begay's grieving family members testified that Tolth should not walk free without leading investigators to her remains.

“Accountability is not time served,” Begay's niece Seraphine Warren had told the judge. “It’s about truth, and we still don’t have the truth.”

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Peters reported from Edgewood, New Mexico.