The sources were not authorized to publicly disclose the deal before a formal announcement.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for early June was postponed after the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said the two countries needed more time to resolve “outstanding issues.” The delay followed President Donald Trump’s earlier threats to block the bridge’s opening.

Commercial traffic is now expected to begin before Aug. 1, according to two officials, though a date for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony has not yet been set.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers referenced the deal during an interview Friday.

“I had a conversation with the secretary yesterday, Secretary of Commerce Lutnick, and the deal will be announced in the next few days,” Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers said Friday on WJR radio. “This is getting wrapped up. That bridge is going to get open.”

The delay in opening the Gordie Howe International Bridge became an issue in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races. Democratic candidate Mallory McMorrow, who has since dropped out, tried to turn the controversy into a political liability for Trump and Republicans.

The 1.5-mile-long (2.4-kilometer-long) bridge, which spans the Detroit River and connects the Motor City with Windsor, Ontario, was slated for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 12. It was abruptly postponed after officials said the U.S. and Canada were still working to resolve “outstanding issues.”

The dispute gave Democrats a rare opportunity to tie Trump directly to a project with visible economic consequences in a battleground state.

In February, Trump demanded in a social media post that Canada hand over at least half ownership of the new bridge to the U.S. government and accept other unspecified demands, part of his broader clashes with Canada over trade.

Canada financed the bridge’s construction. The project was negotiated by Rick Snyder, the former Republican governor of Michigan, and work has been underway since 2018 and cost close to $4.4 billion.

Named after the late Canadian hockey great Gordie Howe, who spent 25 seasons leading the Detroit Red Wings, the bridge is expected to be another vital economic artery between Canada and the United States.

The toll bridge, jointly owned by Canada and Michigan, charges up to $10 per automobile and $20 per axel for commercial trucks. It is expected to help ease congestion at the existing Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.

Detroit and Windsor have been neighborly for generations, with residents in both countries frequently crossing the shared river border for entertainment and shopping. Windsor’s population in 2021 was about 230,000. Like Detroit, the Canadian city’s economy has a strong focus on manufacturing and the auto industry.

Commercial trade between the two cities primarily has been across the nearly century-old and privately-owned Ambassador Bridge, which is closer to downtown Detroit than the Gordie Howe Bridge.

Government spokesman Bayo Onanuga did not specify the total number of students rescued, but authorities said at the time of the abductions on May 15 that more than 40 people had been abducted. One of the teachers abducted alongside the students was killed shortly afterward.

Eight militants were arrested as part of the operation, while an unspecified number of the militants were killed, Onanuga said.

The abductions in a southern state had represented an escalation of the country’s security crisis because most such abductions previously had taken place in the north.

“This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular," Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said in a statement.

In the same week as the Oyo abduction, dozens of children were kidnapped in Borno, the epicenter of Nigeria's security crisis.

Abductions at schools are common in Nigeria, where militant groups target them to put pressure on the government and extract ransoms.

Judge Tony Graf will decide if the case should advance to a trial after closing arguments from the two sides scheduled for Sept. 1.

Kirk, 31, was killed as he spoke to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and could face the death penalty.

Friday's hearing brought an emotional moment for Kirk's family, when the court played a surveillance video that prosecutors said showed Robinson on the rooftop where he allegedly fired a single bullet that hit Kirk in the neck.

Kirk's widow, Erika, watched intently as a person said to be Robinson ran across the roof. When the figure dropped to a crawl near the roof's edge, Erika Kirk turned and embraced Charlie Kirk's mother, Kathryn, who was crying. They held each other and looked away until the video was almost over.

Defense questions reliability of evidence

Prosecutors this week presented testimony from a former roommate who said the 23-year-old defendant expressed remorse for the shooting before turning himself in. Lawyers from the Utah County Attorney's Office also offered DNA analysis that investigators said linked Robinson to both the suspected murder weapon and a tool he allegedly used to etch messages onto bullet cartridges.

Robinson's team did not offer any alternative theories for who is responsible for Kirk's death. But one of his attorneys, Michael Burt, repeatedly questioned the reliability of DNA tests and other evidence cited by prosecutors.

Burt used testimony Friday from a government DNA analyst to highlight the limitations of such tests. He noted that government policies don't allow analysts to say that DNA evidence is “infallible” or that it has a “zero error rate.” He also indicated it's possible for DNA to be transported by a third party.

“If you had a lot of DNA on your hand, we shook hands and I went to pick up an exhibit, a gun, and I touched the trigger of it, your DNA could be on that trigger, right?” Burt asked Caitlin Oliver, a forensic biologist with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“It is possible. Yes,” Oliver replied.

Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.

Chief Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander questioned the relevance of bringing in Oliver as a witness. He suggested prosecutors already had met the burden of proof needed to advance the case to trial.

“Your honor's heard four days of testimony now. The evidence is overwhelming. It’s devastating," Grunander said.

Kirk family thanks supporters

Robinson has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the fatal shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.

Kirk’s family released a statement shortly after court ended, expressing gratitude for the support and prayers offered to them. They said the preliminary hearing “marks an important step forward in the pursuit of justice for Charlie.”

“As difficult as these last few days have been, it brings our family comfort to know that the world has witnessed the overwhelming evidence of what occurred to Charlie that day,” the statement said.

The video that prosecutors said showed Robinson allegedly running across the roof at Utah Valley University was played for the court gallery at the request of Kirk's family. Portions of the recording were zoomed in to better show the figure on the roof, and red circles were added to some images. An unaltered version of that video was shown earlier.

Prosecutors also aired portions of a recorded interview with Robinson's roommate, Lance Twiggs, who was Robinson's romantic partner. The day after Kirk was shot in the neck, Robinson allegedly told Twiggs “he wishes he hadn’t done it,” a recording played in court revealed.

Later that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself in — Robinson posted “it was me at UVU yesterday,” in a chat room on the Discord social media platform, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.

Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial.

Roommate: Robinson never talked about Kirk

Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson faces possible sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.

Twiggs said in the April interview with prosecutors and investigators that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about gender issues or LGBTQ rights, Twiggs said.

The weeklong preliminary hearing attracted intense media coverage and spectators who have angled for one of the 14 seats in the courtroom that are reserved for the public.

People have lined up early — sometimes sleeping there overnight — in hopes of getting in.

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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

Harry, Meghan and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, met with the king and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, a country estate west of London, Buckingham Palace confirmed.

The Duke of Sussex had arrived Monday in his homeland for a number of charity events that were overshadowed by speculation of whether he would meet with his father.

British tabloids and news broadcasts were filled with speculation about whether Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, would accompany him and, more importantly, whether they would bring their two children so they can finally get to know Grandpa Charles.

However, the monarch’s schedule is often years in the making, with events penciled in long before they take place. An opportunity to hold such a meeting would have been fleeting, particularly because the children would need to return to school in the fall and because they live in California.

The wish to seize the moment fueled tensions between Harry and royal officials earlier this week. That was highlighted by embarrassing scenes when royal officials first invited Harry to stay at Buckingham Palace, then rescinded the offer after the prince didn’t accept it in a timely manner.

Harry’s visit also coincided with him losing his final lawsuit in his quest to tame the British tabloids. A judge ruled that he failed to prove his privacy invasion claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail.

His legal battles have been a source of friction with his family, however. Harry has said he wants to reconcile with his 77-year-old father, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Harry and Charles met briefly for a cup of tea in September during a short visit in London, the first time they’d seen each other in well over a year.

But the prince has also wanted his children to see the monarch, whom they first met during celebrations for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

The royal children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, are now old enough to remember meeting their grandfather, and will certainly hope for pictures with the king, though the event was deemed private and no images will be publicly released.

Tensions within the House of Windsor have heightened ever since Harry and Meghan gave up their royal duties and moved to California to pursue lucrative media deals, free from the pressures of royal life in London.

They reached a new low after Harry published an explosive memoir that included unflattering depictions of the royal family and damning allegations of a toxic relationship between the monarchy and the press.

Harry’s description of royals leaking information about other family members in exchange for positive coverage of themselves is just one of the tawdry allegations in his book, “Spare.” The prince was especially scathing about Camilla, accusing her of feeding private conversations to the media as she sought to rehabilitate her image after her longtime affair with Charles when he was heir to the throne.

After losing a court battle over his security issue last year, Harry said he hoped to rebuild relations with his family, even as he suggested that the royals had sought to prevent him from receiving police protection to punish him for walking away from royal duties.

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

The visit Friday is a step toward mending those fences.

The shooting Tuesday during an attempted traffic stop by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Houston has revived critical voices deriding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and how ICE operates. Immigration arrests around the country recently surged to 10,000 over a five-day period, fueled in part by massive Congressional funding.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has released no evidence to support the officer's story that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo ignored their commands and rammed into an ICE vehicle with his white van, or that the officer fired in self-defense.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia has said the acting director of ICE told her officers thought someone in the van, but not Salgado Araujo, had a final order of removal but did not share a name,

The officers were not wearing body cameras and neither ICE nor DHS have released photos, videos or other evidence from the scene.

The men tell an attorney that the ICE story is untrue

Salgado Araujo was a 52-year-old homebuilder who was shot and killed as he drove his crew to a construction site. His family said he had lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, had no criminal record and was close to finishing the long process of obtaining legal status when he was killed.

ICE detained the other three men in the van and they all told a lawyer that no officer was in front of the van or even in danger.

“After speaking with these men, I have no doubt that what they’re saying is the truth. I know that these agents — the agency — is going to try to cover it up,” attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra said during a news conference.

Images of the van after the shooting appear to show no damage, he said.

ICE has not released the names of the detained men, but family members said they have been able to briefly talk with them. Salgado Araujo's brother was among those arrested.

Garcia said at the same news conference it was unsurprising that Salgado Araujo drove off when ICE tried to stop his vehicle, given that their vehicles were unmarked and had no lights.

“What would you do if you were being followed by someone and the cars were unmarked?” Garcia said.

The detained men say ICE is pressuring them to self-deport

ICE is pressuring the men to self-deport, which would make it harder for them to share their version of events with investigators or others, said Juana Degollado, who said her stepfather Daniel Tirado Pantoja is among the detained men. She said he has no legal permission to live in the U.S. but has no criminal record.

“It is extremely important that we preserve the integrity of this investigation,” Balderas-Ibarra said. “That will all be out the window if they are deported.”

DHS said allegations that the men have been pressured to leave the country are “categorically false.”

DHS said Thursday that officers investigating a tip weeks earlier saw two white vans at the address of a target. While heading to that address Tuesday, officers saw a white van and someone inside who resembled the person they were looking for, the department said in a statement.

“No one in that van had warrants or any legal problem,” Degollado told the AP in a text message.

ICE refuses to release officer's name or other information

DHS said it will not release the officer’s name because they could face threats and violence and their family could be at risk.

DHS also has not responded to requests for other information, including how long the officer has worked for ICE or whether anyone involved in the shooting is on administrative leave. The department has taken a similar stance after previous fatal shootings involving its officers. Many local and state law enforcement agencies routinely identify and provide biographical details about officers involved in critical incidents.

Unlike some previous deaths involving federal immigration officers, few photos or videos surrounding the shooting have emerged publicly in the days since Salgado Araujo's death.

The League of United Latin American Citizens offered a $5,000 reward for video or other evidence but the positions of the vehicles means surveillance cameras in the area were blocked from recording the shooting, CEO Juan Proaño said.

Local prosecutors are talking to witnesses

Local prosecutors were not invited into the investigation by federal officials but have spent the past three days in the Houston neighborhood looking for surveillance footage and talking to witnesses, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said.

Teare said anyone with video or other information must share it with his office so the truth about the shooting can be determined.

“We will go to the ends of the earth to collect all the evidence, so that we can eventually let the public know what happened,” Teare said.

Salgado Araujo's family said they found out he was dead through the ICE statement instead of directly from the agency. Garcia said officers kept his belongings and sent him to the hospital where he died without including his name.

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Brook reported from New Orleans and Foley from Iowa City, Iowa. Associated Press reporters Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and was on track to close out its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 190 points, or 0.4%, with a little less than an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.

SK Hynix. a giant South Korean maker of memory chips, shone in the debut of its stock trading on the Nasdaq. After raising roughly $26.5 billion by selling American depositary shares at a price of $149 each, it jumped immediately after trading began in the midday hours and was most recently up 13.5%.

SK Hynix’s stock in Seoul has already surged 634% over the last year thanks to euphoria around AI. The boom has created real profits due to surging demand for computer memory. But it’s also raised worries that AI stock prices shot have too high and that all the world’s spending on chips and data centers won’t be able to produce enough productivity and profit growth to make it worth it.

That's led to sharp recent swings for AI stocks, which have grown into some of Wall Street's most influential because of their huge sizes. Nvidia was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500 Friday after rising 3.8%.

Beyond the uncertainty about AI, the focus on Wall Street is shifting to the upcoming reporting season for companies’ profits during the spring.

Delta Air Lines said it was able to absorb higher fuel prices from April through June because of strong demand from customers to fly, including a wide range of corporate travelers. Its profit and revenue topped analysts’ expectations, and it gave a forecasted range for profit in the summer whose midpoint was above analysts’ expectations.

Delta’s stock fell 1.5%, though, after coming into the day with a strong 28.2% rise for the year so far.

Companies across industries will need to produce big growth in profits to justify the big moves for their stock prices, which are broadly near records. Next week will feature earnings reports from many of the biggest U.S. banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo on Tuesday alone.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Circle Internet Group rose 4%. The company behind the USDC cryptocurrency, which is supposed to keep the value of $1, said it won U.S. regulatory approval to establish a bank. It will operate under the name Circle National Trust, and CEO Jeremy Allaire said the move “marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.”

WD-40's stock jumped 9.5% after reporting much stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

In the oil market, prices continued to pare their jumps from earlier in the week on worries about how the war with Iran will affect the global flow of crude.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, dipped 0.4% to $76.01.

That’s above its $72 price from the start of the week, but it’s still well below its wartime peak of nearly $120. The worry is that continued fighting could block oil tankers from the Strait of Hormuz and prevent the delivery of crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

President Donald Trump said on his social-media platform that he agreed to continue talks with Iran but also that the United States told it “in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”

In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.56% from 4.54% late Thursday.

High yields have rattled financial markets worldwide recently. Yields have climbed on worries about expensive oil and high inflation, which could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.5%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% for two of the world’s bigger moves. Stocks fell 1% in Shanghai.

___

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

The strikes Thursday, just as Iran prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran. The country's theocracy hasn't directly blamed anyone, though one lawmaker warned the United Arab Emirates about allegedly providing support to the U.S. campaign against Iran.

Gulf Arab states, which Iran has targeted repeatedly since the war began Feb. 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday about the strikes. The attacks come as those Gulf nations and the U.S. insist that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for world energy markets, must be open and free to ships to transit.

Iran says that the strait must now be under its sole control and that vessels should begin to pay fees to Tehran — even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the waterway before the war.

Iran's grip on the strait during the conflict led to an global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.

Israel, which took part in the Iran war, also has not claimed any recent attacks on Iran.

Unclaimed strikes came after US ended its attacks

The U.S. military's Central Command said Thursday around 6:30 a.m. local Iran time that it had concluded a round of strikes that hit 90 targets. Shortly after that, Iranian news outlets and state media reported a series of airstrikes and explosions targeting the country’s Bushehr and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, the cities of Ahvaz and Chabahar and other areas.

Central Command did not respond to a request for comment about the additional strikes.

Iran responded to the strikes Thursday by launching a wider volley of attacks across the Mideast, targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. Missile alert sirens sounded in the four countries, sending people to seek shelter. One person was reportedly hurt in Kuwait as air defense systems targeted the incoming fire across the region.

The exchange of strikes again tested a shaky ceasefire deal between Tehran and Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated on social media Friday that he views the interim deal as “OVER!” But he said the U.S. would continue talks aimed at putting a permanent end to the war.

U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said there were “no operational updates” after Trump's pronouncement about the ceasefire.

Iran's U.N. envoy told reporters at the world body’s headquarters that his country remains committed to implementing the agreement if the U.S. “fully and faithfully complies with its own obligations.” And if not, “Iran will no longer be bound by its obligations” under the agreement, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said.

The leader of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, traveled to Kuwait immediately after the Iranian attack for a meeting with the small, oil-rich nation's ruling emir. Gulf Arab countries also held calls with Qatar's foreign minister. He has been deeply involved, along with Pakistan, in mediating Iran-U.S. talks.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he spoke separately Friday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and with Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and stressed to both the need for restraint and diplomacy.

During the Iran war, officials said both Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched airstrikes targeting Iran, after Tehran struck energy sites in their countries.

Israel, which under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has engaged in an intense campaign against Iran, has not attacked the Islamic Republic since June. Israel also broadly immediately claims its attacks on Iran.

Israel's government said Netanyahu spoke with Trump Thursday night and got an update “on American moves in the Gulf.”

Israel Katz, Israel's defense minister, also renewed threats that his nation stood ready to confront Iran if needed.

"If we will have to return, we will return with even greater force,” Katz told a military ceremony.

Iran keeps up its threats

On Friday, Iranian state media quoted Esmail Kousari, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security committee and a former commander in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, as warning the UAE would “pay the price for its cooperation with the United States.” He accused the Emirates of having a “behind-the-scenes” role in the recent U.S. attacks.

Iran repeatedly accused Gulf Arab states of actively supporting the U.S. war effort, something they denied during the war. The U.S. since the 1991 Gulf War has maintained military bases across the Gulf Arab states, including in Bahrain, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters.

Meanwhile, Iran insists it must be the sole controller of the Strait of Hormuz. But the U.S. continues to urge mariners to travel on a southern route through Oman's territorial waters to avoid Iran.

The Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational body overseen by the U.S. Navy, issued a new advisory Friday urging ships to travel that route. A similar message sparked an Iranian attack on Tuesday that saw three vessels hit.

“Notwithstanding recent unprovoked attacks on merchant vessels, mariners are reminded that the southern route of the (strait) has been expanded and remains available for all traffic,” the maritime center said.

Twenty-two ships transited the strait Thursday, down from 30 Wednesday and 41 on Tuesday, according to data and analytics company Kpler.

___

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed.

The 23-year-old Robinson decided not to testify in the hearing. He's charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. State District Judge Tony Graf didn't say when he would rule.

Robinson’s lawyers called a final witness in an attempt to raise doubts about DNA evidence in the prosecution’s case. The defense previously challenged the reliability of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body and fought the release of a recorded interview with Robinson’s roommate.

The Latest:

Some emotional final moments in the courtroom for the Kirk family

At the end of the day’s proceedings, the judge allowed Kirk’s family and the rest of those in the courtroom to view an edited, enhanced version of the surveillance video that prosecutors said showed Tyler Robinson at the time of the shooting.

Graf agreed to show the video in court — but out of view of the media camera’s livestream — after Jeffrey Neiman, the Kirk family’s attorney, argued that they had a right to see evidence the judge would consider when deciding whether to send Robinson to trial.

The video then played, showing someone on the rooftop where Robinson allegedly fired a single bullet that hit Kirk in the neck.

Kirk’s widow, Erika, watched intently as the person ran across the roof, but when the figure dropped to a crawl near the roof’s edge, she turned and embraced Kirk’s mother, who was crying. They held each other and looked away until the video was almost over.

Kirk family calls preliminary hearing a ‘step forward in the pursuit of justice’

Kirk’s family released a statement shortly after the court session ended expressing gratitude for the support and prayers offered to them and saying the preliminary hearing “marks an important step forward in the pursuit of justice for Charlie.”

“As difficult as these last few days have been, it brings our family comfort to know that the world has witnessed the overwhelming evidence of what occurred to Charlie that day,” the family wrote.

“Nothing will ever undo the loss of our beloved Charlie. As this case moves into its next phase, we pray that truth will continue to be heard through a process that is fair, transparent, and grounded in the facts.”

Attorney Jeffrey Neiman, who represents the Kirk family, left the courthouse without answering questions.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee says evidence against Robinson is ‘damning’

The Republican senator attended Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing on Thursday, along with far-right influencer Jack Posobiec.

“It’s damning,” Lee said in a video he posted to the social media site X. “It contains multiple confessions by the defendant Tyler Robinson acknowledging not only that he killed Charlie Kirk, but acknowledging that he did so having planned it in advance in great detail and acknowledging at one point that he was motivated by hate.”

Preliminary hearing is done for now, final arguments will be in September

Both sides are done presenting evidence for the preliminary hearing and State District Judge Tony Graf has adjourned.

The hearing won’t resume until Sept. 1, when both sides will make their final arguments to the judge about whether Tyler Robinson should stand trial.

The long break is intended to give the attorneys time to write legal briefs.

Analyst says rifle DNA testing was at least ‘1 trillion times more likely' to support inclusion of Tyler Robinson

The ATFE forensic biologist said under cross-examination that testing on swabs taken from several parts of the rifle and ammunition supports the conclusion that the DNA found was primarily contributed by Tyler Robinson.

DNA from more than person was found on some of the items, Oliver told Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride. The testing also looks for the highest concentration of the DNA found on an item in order to help determine the “major contributor” of that DNA profile.

The DNA samples on some parts of the rifle were at least 1 trillion times more likely to have been contributed by Tyler Robinson and one other unrelated person, than they were to have been contributed by two unknown, unrelated people, Oliver said.

Defense questions forensic biologist about DNA testing techniques

Caitlin Oliver, a forensic biologist at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is testifying about the DNA techniques used in the case.

Items tested for DNA include a towel and rifle found in a wooded area near the Utah Valley University campus after the shooting and a rotary tool that Tyler Robinson’s roommate told investigators the defendant used to engrave messages on bullets.

Prosecutors tried to preemptively strike Oliver’s testimony, saying the evidence is already overwhelming and devastating for the defense, but the judge wanted to hear it.

Defense attorney Richard Novak asked Oliver about industry recommendations for describing DNA results, ways DNA samples are extracted and different testing methods. Oliver said her lab uses “likelihood ratios” and doesn’t definitively conclude that a person’s DNA was on an object.

“So from a scientific standpoint, you couldn’t ... blast a headline in the media, ‘Mr. Robinson’s DNA found on this item,’?” Novak asked.

Correct, Oliver said.

Judge says news media camera can stay, but can’t record video of evidence today

Graf said after reviewing livestream recording that it’s clear the news media camera operator caught the issue first, about 14 seconds before the judge himself spotted it and asked that the exhibit be taken down.

“Compliance with court orders is essential in all proceedings,” Graf says, and protecting the constitutional rights of both defendant Tyler Robinson and Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk is “paramount.”

Transparency for the public is also important, Graf said.

Defense attorney Richard Novak wanted the judge to bar the news media camera from the courtroom for the rest of the preliminary hearing as well as for a Sept. 1 proceeding, when both sides will present final arguments over whether the case should go to trial.

But Graf said the camera can stay, as long as it doesn’t record video of any evidence presented. He later noted that the livestream’s audio can capture discussion about such evidence.

Media attorney says courtroom livestreams are a team effort

Typically, an announcement is made that an exhibit is going to be shown on the courtroom screen. That gives the camera operator a moment to redirect the camera or to wait a beat before focusing in, depending on what the judge has ordered.

But in this case, prosecutors showed the exhibit with no warning, news media attorney Michael Judd said.

Judd said the camera operator quickly realized what had happened and moved the camera away within about two seconds.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride agreed that the image should not have appeared on the livestream, but told the judge the text of the messages — if not the actual image — had already been made public in law enforcement documents.

Graf said he wants to review the livestream recording before deciding how to handle the violation.

Judge is deciding how to handle a violation of an order barring some evidence from public view

Graf is taking a break to review livestream footage from Thursday, because a piece of evidence that was supposed to be kept from public view was briefly shown on camera.

The evidence — an image of written communication between Tyler Robinson and his then-roommate and romantic partner — has been published and is even able to be purchased as photographic prints, defense attorney Richard Novak told the judge. He said the publication violated Robinson’s fair-trial rights, and he wants the judge to issue sanctions, a kind of legal punishment.

The judge allowed prosecutors to display an image of the evidence on Thursday, but said it could only be shown to the courtroom gallery. Later, prosecutors put up a side-by-side comparison of that image with another photo, and the side-by-side view was briefly caught by the news media camera operator, who quickly panned away.

Salt Lake City woman came bearing gifts for the Kirk family

Tiani Shoemaker drove about an hour from her Salt Lake City home bearing gifts for Charlie Kirk’s mother and hoping for a seat in the courtroom. Security turned her away.

Shoemaker said she brought a hat decorated with the words, “love like a mother,” and a note expressing her condolences and admiration for Kathryn Kirk.

The note was to tell Kirk that “the whole world’s hurting because of the loss of your son,” Shoemaker said, adding that she wanted to be “a part of history.”

“This really is like the whole world is focused on little Provo, Utah right now,” she said.

Shoemaker said some of her friends and extended family members witnessed the shooting and were left traumatized. “They couldn’t even be in large crowds for a while. It’s really — it’s upsetting, you know?”

Zoomed-in version of ‘sniper’s perch’ video to be shown in court

The judge said at the close of Thursday’s hearing that at the request of Kirk’s family, he would allow to be shown inside the courtroom an altered version of a campus surveillance video that prosecutors said shows Robinson crawling out to a rooftop “sniper’s perch” before shooting Kirk.

The unaltered video was previously shown. The altered version includes footage that zooms in on a figure that prosecutors said was Robinson and red marks that were added to the video.

Court is in session

Graf is again reminding attendees of his courtroom rules, including restrictions on electronic devices for many attendees.

Court security director says courtroom visitors shouldn’t look at the parents

Chris Palmer, Court Security Director at Utah State Courts, spoke outside the courthouse as people lined up again hoping for a spot in the courtroom. He warned them that people in the gallery should not make the parents of Charlie Kirk or Tyler Robinson feel uncomfortable by looking at them during the hearing.

“These people come here to get justice, and they don’t need to feel like they’re under a microscope from somebody sitting behind them or ahead of them,” Palmer said.

Joshua Carr of Provo, Utah, was among those in the gallery and said “People were pretty respectful.”

“I wasn’t seeing people turning their heads. Again, we have the — the public was there. We had the Robinson family in front of us, we had the Kirk family behind us.”

Would-be court watchers hope persistence will pay off

Billie Webb of Salt Lake City was among the people who slept outside the courthouse all night hoping to get one of the few public seats inside the hearing.

“I’ve tried to go every single day,” Webb said Thursday night. “Today I wasn’t able to get in once again. I did get in yesterday for the first time. I did get in yesterday for the first time and I am absolutely determined to be there tomorrow.”

“Showed up at 3 a.m. Today for this one. Still did not get in. I was 16th and there’s 14 spots. So I will be camping all night here today. Probably 12 hours. 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.,” she said.

Score. Friday morning, Webb got the pink wristband she needed for a spot inside.

There are only 14 seats for the public in the courtroom

People have been lining up early — sometimes sleeping outside the doors overnight — in hopes of getting a wristband for a seat in the courthouse this week. Only 14 wristbands are given out each day, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Chris Palmer, the court’s director of security, warned Thursday morning that tents and other camping supplies won’t be allowed as people seek a seat for the final day of the hearing Friday. He also warned against jumping in line or saving spots for someone else.

Earlier in the week, court security said it discovered some people had bought colored wristbands to try to sneak in.

Defense tries to sow doubt about ballistics evidence

One of Tyler Robinson’s attorneys, Michael Burt, tried to inject doubt into the prosecution’s case by challenging the reliability of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body.

Authorities sought to tie the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the results were inconclusive.

“Saying anything but inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha Karner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The defense earlier in the week had questioned the reliability of DNA evidence that investigators said linked Robinson to the scene. Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.

Robinson’s attorneys plan to have a second person from ATF testify Friday.

The prosecution ended its presentation Thursday afternoon.

Testimony in five-day preliminary hearing wraps Friday

After testimony in the preliminary hearing ends Friday, State District Judge Tony Graf will rule whether prosecutors have shown enough evidence to proceed to trial. But a decision from Graf won’t come immediately.

Attorneys on both sides say they’d like the benefit of seeing the court transcript of the preliminary hearing and want to submit written briefs before Graf weighs in.

That will take weeks to play out. Graf set oral arguments on the evidence presented in the preliminary hearing for Sept. 1.

Graf tends not to make immediate rulings.

The housing measure will become law without Trump’s signature because he didn’t veto it. Still, the president’s rejection of the legislation cuts short the GOP’s efforts to address a key voter concern about rising costs, exacerbating tensions with his own party in a midterm election year.

Also, in another move to expand White House influence over the U.S. elections process, Trump ousted members of a bipartisan federal election commission that resisted his efforts to require would-be voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering. The move builds on a recent Supreme Court ruling giving the president new personnel authority to fire members of independent agency boards.

Here's the latest:

US imposes sanctions on Iranian financier

The U.S. on Friday imposed sanctions on Iranian financier Ali Ansari, who Treasury says oversees a global network of assets benefitting Iran’s leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Ansari, who is already under U.K. sanctions, is accused of diverting public funds into real estate holdings outside of Iran to benefit himself and Iranian leadership.

“Treasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system,“ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. ”We will preserve these assets for the Iranian people.”

Prime minister affirms Pakistan’s readiness to broker peace

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday to discuss regional developments.

The conversation came as Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership has been encouraging the United States and Iran to return to the negotiating table and discuss issues covered under the memorandum of understanding that Islamabad helped broker to help end the regional conflict.

In a post on X, Sharif said they discussed the evolving regional situation and stressed the need for restraint, dialogue and diplomacy to preserve the hard-earned peace gains of recent months.

“I reaffirmed Pakistan’s readiness to continue playing its role as an honest and sincere mediator for lasting regional peace,” Sharif wrote.

US lawmakers cite ‘significant progress’ on a Russia sanctions bill

U.S. lawmakers leading an effort to sanction countries purchasing Russian oil say they have reached an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward with an updated bill.

The original bill was unveiled about a year ago and has languished in the Senate as the sponsors worked to win full backing from the White House.

“We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

The original bill called for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. It targeted nations like China and India, which account for roughly 70% of Russia’s energy trade and bankroll much of its war effort.

The four senators announcing the progress on their effort are Republicans Lindsey Graham and Roger Wicker, and Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen.

Reflecting Pool is getting another draining

Crews are again draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as Trump’s problem-plagued efforts to revamp it push well past his goal of having it ready by July Fourth to mark the nation’s 250th birthday.

The president at first suggested his renovations would last a century. But, within weeks of the project originally reaching completion last month, the water was covered by algae and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Trump has blamed the peeling on vandals, though critics contend it’s from shoddy repair work.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a podcast interview released this week that the new round of draining was planned and that the water might contain debris from the Independence Day fireworks over the National Mall.

“Drain the water, clean up the fireworks stuff,” Burgum said. “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.”

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DC calls on Michigan and the US Virgin Islands to bring their troops home

Washington, D.C., council members have added their voices to a chorus of groups asking Michigan and the U.S. Virgin Islands to bring their National Guard units home.

“Temporary, event-specific assistance for a major national celebration is fundamentally different from an open-ended military presence in District neighborhoods,” reads a letter sent Thursday that was signed by all 13 council members.

A coalition of groups previously sent a similar letter to Michigan raising questions about how troops sent to help with the July 4 celebration were diverted to a surge in President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting initiative in the nation’s capital.

“DC residents have been saying for 11 months straight that we need the National Guard and federal surge forces out of our communities immediately,” Keya Chatterjee, executive director of the group Free DC, said in a statement.

No immediate change in US military operations following end of ceasefire

Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said there were “no operational updates at this time” when he was asked about the end of the ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump in a social media post earlier Friday.

Trump said in a post on his social media platform that the United States told Iran “in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”

When asked if the end of the ceasefire would mean a restart to the air bombing that was the mainstay of the conflict, Hawkins said he wouldn’t forecast future operations.

Hawkins did say that U.S. forces in the region “remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to execute operations directed by the Commander in Chief.”

Critics accuse Trump of damaging voters’ trust

On Capitol Hill, the leading Democrats with election oversight responsibility said Trump, rather than bolstering U.S. election integrity, is further politicizing the voting process.

“President Trump is trying to dismantle yet another independent guardrail of our democracy designed to keep elections fair and secure,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-New York. “Purging commissioners just months before the midterm elections and further gutting support for our state and local elections officials is a blatant part of his plan to politicize our elections and enable more unlawful and dangerous election interference.”

Padilla is the ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee and Morelle is ranking member of the House Administration Committee.

A US license could let Ukraine produce Patriot missiles, but it won’t be simple or quick

President Trump’s pledge to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air-defense systems could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv, but experts and Ukrainian officials warn that turning the idea into real weapons would likely take years.

Speaking Wednesday alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to make the U.S.-designed systems Kyiv has long sought to shield its cities and infrastructure from Russian missiles and drones.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

But the statement left open a crucial question: What exactly would Ukraine be allowed to produce?

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Trump says talks with Iran to continue despite ceasefire ending

The president posted Friday on social media that Iran had “asked us to continue ‘talks’” and his administration has agreed to do so.

But Trump added that “in no uncertain terms” that the ceasefire is no longer in place.

It’s unclear how productive talks can be to end the war with Iran so long as the status of the Strait of Hormuz is uncertain and attacks could supersede any commitments made in negotiations.

Trump’s decision on housing bill comes more than a week after he canceled plans to sign it

He announced then that he was using it as leverage in his push for a strict voter ID bill.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to lower the cost of housing and spur more home construction. It’s the broadest federal effort in decades to address America’s housing affordability problems, as state and local regulations have made it difficult to build in many of the communities that are also sources of job growth and economic opportunity. White House economists estimated earlier this year a national shortage of 10 million homes and the bill could help to close a portion of that gap.

But Trump called the bill “a yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.

He surprised Republican lawmakers June 24, when, shortly before a planned signing ceremony at the Capitol, he announced he wouldn’t approve the bill until lawmakers first passed the voting legislation.

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Stocks and oil prices drift as global markets continue to calm

U.S. stocks and oil prices are drifting toward a quiet finish of the week Friday following earlier fireworks on worries about how the war with Iran will affect the global flow of crude.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and was on track to close out a fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 65 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.

Oil prices were holding relatively steady, even after a series of unclaimed airstrikes hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 0.2% to $76.47.

That’s above the $72 it was at the start of the week, when it was back below its level from before the war with Iran, but it’s still well below its wartime peak of nearly $120.

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Trump won’t sign housing bill but will let it become law

Trump has chosen not to sign a sweeping housing affordability bill Friday, in protest of Congress not approving a strict voter ID bill that doesn’t have enough support to pass.

“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump posted on social media.

The housing measure will become law without Trump’s signature. He had 10 days to issue a veto and stop the measure, which he chose not to do.

Trump’s rejection of the bipartisan housing legislation exacerbates tensions with his own party in a midterm election year and cuts short their efforts to address a key voter concern about rising costs.

Trump ousts election commission members in latest push to reshape US voting process

Trump has ousted members of the bipartisan federal election commission that resisted his efforts to require would-be voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering.

The White House on Friday confirmed the executive action against members of the Election Assistance Commission, which distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems and maintains the national voter registration forms.

It’s the latest move in the Republican president’s effort to expand White House influence over how U.S. elections are conducted and comes after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave the president new personnel authority to fire members of independent agency boards.

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Unclaimed airstrikes target Iran after US attacks, raising questions of who launched them

The series of unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.

The strikes Thursday, just as Iran prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran. The country’s theocracy hasn’t directly blamed anyone for the strikes, though one lawmaker issued a warning to the United Arab Emirates over allegedly providing support to the United States in its campaign against Iran.

Gulf Arab states, which repeatedly have been targeted by Iran since the war began Feb. 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday over the strikes. The attacks come as they and the U.S. insist the Strait of Hormuz must be open and free to ships to transit.

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Scheffler missed two key putts in the final three holes Friday in the Scottish Open, the last one from 6 feet for par that gave him a 2-over 72 to miss the 36-hole cut by two shots.

“Got off to a poor start and after that, I didn’t really it close enough to give myself a bunch of looks,” Scheffler said. “That’s how you shoot over par.”

Instead of trying to make up ground on the weekend at The Renaissance Club, Scheffler was making plans to head to Royal Birkdale earlier than he expected to prepare for the British Open.

Scheffler had made 78 consecutive cuts dating to the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. It was the longest streak on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods set the record of 142 cuts in a row from February 1998 to May 2025.

The cut fell at 2-under 138 when the potential for stronger afternoon wind didn't materialize. Scheffler finished at even-par 140 after his early start, and already was looking ahead to his title defense at the British Open at Royal Birkdale, a links course he has not played.

“A little different than I was planning,” Scheffler said. “Figure out how I get down to Birkdale and go from there.”

Scheffler's cut streak included 25 tournaments that had no 36-hole cut. Woods played in 31 such tournaments during his streak. Byron Nelson held the previous record at 113 in a row during an era where players had to finish in the money — typically the top 20 except the majors and a few other events — for it to be considered making the cut.

“It’s a little different now with some of the signature events not having cuts,” Scheffler said. “But I don't think I finished outside of the top 20 or something like that many times this year. I’m definitely proud of the consistency, and wish I had a couple days over the weekend to make up some ground.”

Scheffler was three shots out of the lead when he started Friday morning. He missed a 3 1/2-foot par putt on No. 11, his second hole. On the par-5 12th, his chip out of high grass to a back pin caught a ridge and rolled into a bunker, leading to a second straight bogey.

He holed a 30-foot birdie putt after making the turn at the par-5 first — his only birdie on a par 5 this week — and had one birdie chance inside 20 feet over the next five holes.

His last big hope was the par-5 seventh, when Scheffler said he caught a gust that caused his second shot to come up just short and roll back off the front. He pitched nicely to 7 feet and missed the birdie chance.

Then, his tee shot on the eighth found a divot in the middle of the fairway and he hit a clunker low and to the right into a pot bunker. He splashed that out to 20 feet and holed it for par to keep alive his chances.

“I felt like I needed at least a birdie coming in on my last few holes. I felt like the cut was going to be 2 or 3 under,” Scheffler said. “I know I had to make the putt on 8 and I had to make birdie, I felt, on 9. Just hit a good iron shot just a little short.”

His 7-iron hit the slope in front of the green with a front pin, his chip was weak and came up 6 feet short and he missed the putt.

Scheffler also missed the cut in the Scottish Open in 2022 a week before the Open at St. Andrews. He then missed the cut at the FedEx St. Jude Championship — the last year it had a full field with a 36-hole cut — and had not missed one since.

“For whatever reason, I just haven’t played my best golf on this course," said Scheffler, who has only two top 10s in his five appearances at The Renaissance Club.

“It could be one of those things where you just get over jet lag, get used to new style of golf, new types of grasses, and maybe I just haven’t adjusted as quick, or maybe this golf course just doesn’t suit my eye much,” he said. “I’ll reflect on that at the end of the year and assess what my plans are going into next season.”

Xander Schauffele had his streak of 72 straight cuts end at Torrey Pines in January. The longest active streak now belongs to Matt Fitzpatrick at 29 in a row.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Family Promise of Greater New Braunfels found that to be the case for single mothers living in their shelter who are both escaping a crisis and trying to get back on their feet.

“One of our shelter moms is currently escaping a toxic relationship and has two young children,” Family Promise of Greater New Braunfels executive director Rachelle Garza-Cadena. “She has been great working through our program and working full-time and she is well on her way to signing her lease for permanent housing. But she came to us as it was getting closer to the end of the school year and said she was having a difficult time finding affordable childcare.”

Garza-Cadena said the mom had limited options. The mother’s worst-case scenario was to leave both of her children at home by themselves in order to continue making the needed hourly wages for a home.

“We never want our shelter moms to be in that situation,” Garza-Cadena said. “This is not just a problem in our shelter but also in our community. We knew we had to do something about it and had to find a solution.”

The organization contracted a camp aide caregiver to provide summer fun activities for the shelter children while the mothers worked.

They named the program the Superhope Summer Enrichment Program, inspired by their new mascot: Superhope.

“The children can participate in art classes, library activities, movies, swimming and fun physical activity at the Westside Community Center,” Garza-Cadena said. “We also work with partners and churches to try to get scholarships to provide these children a chance to go to Vacation Bible Schools or things like that.”

They also partner with the local food bank and school districts to offer free lunches throughout the day.

The program is projected to cost approximately $30,000 for this summer to provide the service to their shelter kids.

Garza-Cadena said the goal is to eventually open the program to the entire community across Comal County and Guadalupe County for families struggling to balance work and affordable childcare.

With the help of community partners and donors, Garza-Cadena hopes that the organization will be able to make the goal a reality by summer 2027.

“This is near and dear to my heart because I had hardworking parents, and I was at home in books or playing with my siblings,” said Mia Ramirez, the community impact intern for Family Promise of Greater New Braunfels. “This helps with the children’s development and ensures they are being active and not getting addicted to technology. It allows them to just enjoy being kids. Yes, I know they are currently in a traumatic situation, but that is why we are here to provide hope and light to their lives.”

Garza-Cadena said the organization is still working on the criteria to determine who will qualify for their program before expansion to the entire county.

Anyone who would like to donate directly to their Superhope Summer Enrichment program can click here.

In a June 23 letter sent to the Rampart Vigilance Foundation, Kerr Together announced it is stopping all operations conducted by the foundation as part of the agreement between the two organizations.

The letter came five days after the arrest of Rufino Lopez, 44, for violating his bond in an ongoing Kendall County continuous sex abuse of a child case.

“Kerr Together recognizes that criminal charges constitute allegations and that all individuals are entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process under the law,” the letter said. “Nevertheless, the assignment of an individual facing such charges to activities performed under the Agreement has created significant concerns regarding risk management, organizational oversight, community confidence, reputational harm, and potential liability exposure.”

Lopez was arrested in early January on a first-degree felony charge of continuous sex abuse of a child.

Kendall County Sheriff’s Office investigators claim Lopez sexually assaulted a girl multiple times beginning when she was 11 years old.

Lopez was released on bond Jan. 20 while awaiting indictment in the case, court records show, but was taken back into custody June 18 after Kendall County officials alleged he had “proximity contact” with children.

Lopez, who remains in custody, has a July 23 hearing to contest the bond violation, records show.

His attorney, Bobby Barrera, told KSAT Friday that witness statements dispute the claim that Lopez was near children.

Barrera described his client’s legal situation as an emotional attack on him that caused Kendall County to find a bond violation.

A person familiar with Rampart Vigilance’s cleanup efforts in Kerr County said other members of the group brought their children to work sites without being made aware of Lopez’s pending criminal case.

Rampart Vigilance Foundation founder Aaron Tapley defended Lopez’s role in his organization Friday, telling KSAT Investigates that Lopez had been transparent about his arrest and bond conditions and typically worked on the opposite side of the Guadalupe River in order to satisfy the conditions of his bond.

Lopez was a volunteer who was occasionally given reimbursement gift cards and was not an employee of RVF, Tapley said.

In a character statement submitted in Lopez’s criminal case late last month, Tapley wrote that Lopez typically worked at remote cleanup sites and uninhabited locations.

“On a few occasions, Mr. Lopez returned to our headquarters area to obtain fuel, retrieve equipment from his vehicle, or eat. He immediately maintained an appropriate distance and observed the no-contact order regarding children once he saw children present on the site, even though none had been present previously when he last departed from the command post,” the statement said. “Mr. Lopez did not interact and immediately departed the area upon observing that children had arrived on site, in order to maintain his distance in accordance with his bond conditions. I am unaware of any direct interaction Mr. Lopez may have had with any child on our worksites.”

A second member of the group wrote that Lopez “maintained clear distance” if children were present and did not “engage in any form of communication, show interest in, interact with or go anywhere near any children of team members” that were in the general area of where work was being done.

Kerr Together is a long-term community recovery organization created shortly after the deadly Hill Country Floods.

A spokesman for the group did not respond to an email Friday seeking comment.

Tapley confirmed RVF’s agreement with Kerr Together remains suspended and that he recently submitted a response to Kerr Together disputing the letter.

He said RVF was working to release an official statement to KSAT regarding the ongoing situation.

Read also:

• San Antonio man sentenced to 40 years in prison for sexual exploitation of children, racketeering activity

Sinner blasted his way past seven-time champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday to reach the Wimbledon final — showing off the kind of dominance he displayed before that second-round defeat in Paris.

“I knew mentally," Sinner said, “that today I had to raise my level, which I’ve done.”

For the 39-year-old Djokovic, it marked another chance missed at adding to his record total of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

But Djokovic expressed interest in playing Wimbledon when he's 40: “I would like to, at least one more time,” he said.

“I feel when I’m healthy, I’m still able to play as a top-five player, still able to compete at the highest level,” Djokovic added.

It was a measure of revenge for Sinner after Djokovic won their last meeting in five sets in this year’s Australian Open semifinals.

“Playing against Novak,” Sinner said, “what he’s still showing is true inspiration.”

Aiming to defend his title at the grass-court Grand Slam, the top-ranked Sinner will face second-seeded Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.

Zverev ended the “Ferytale” run of British wild card Arthur Fery with an overpowering 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory earlier as the star-studded crowd on Centre Court witnessed two one-way contests.

Zverev will be playing for another major trophy a month after winning his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

“This Grand Slam has always been the one that I struggled with the most and all of a sudden I’m in the final of Wimbledon,” the 29-year-old German said. “We got one more match to go on Sunday and that’s what the focus is on.”

It was another warm day in southwest London, with the temperature rising to about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius). It was also breezy and a bit cloudier than in recent days.

Still, it felt nothing like the suffocating heat and humidity in Paris when Sinner wasted a big lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56, and had his 30-match winning streak ended in dramatically unexpected fashion.

Djokovic was coming off the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history, when he outlasted Felix Auger-Aliassime after 5 hours, 15 minutes on Tuesday.

Sinner, by contrast, hadn’t lost a set since he was pushed to five by Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round.

From the start, Sinner pushed Djokovic back with his powerful groundstrokes and came up with big serves in big moments.

When Sinner faced his only break point of the match early in the third set, he produced an ace.

Sinner has won 9 straight vs. Zverev

Zverev, whose breakthrough at Roland Garros came in his fourth Grand Slam final, is attempting to become the first man in the professional era (since 1968) to win his second major title at the next event immediately after his first.

Sinner has won his last nine meetings with Zverev and 14 straight sets.

“I have to trust myself and I have to believe that I can win and that’s what I’m going to do,” Zverev said before he knew who his opponent would be.

The 114th-ranked Fery, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club and played at Stanford University, was attempting to become the first wild card to reach the final since Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001.

Zverev did well not to let the pro-Fery crowd get behind the local player too much and a double fault from Fery early in the first-set tiebreaker put Zverev in control.

The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev was also able to dominate with his serve, which he cranked up to 139 mph (224 kph).

The 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Fery, by comparison, was serving closer to 120 mph (193 kph).

British cheering

The British spectators did their best to encourage Fery early on, chanting his name between points as they sipped their Pimm’s under their wide-brimmed hats.

At one point early on, chair umpire Marijana Veljovic had to tell the crowd to pipe down.

“Ladies and gentlemen: Do not react, if possible, until the end of the point,” Veljovic said, before adding later in the first set: “Once again, do not react during the rally. That’s very disturbing for both players,” which was met with a round of applause.

When it was over, Fery walked off to a standing ovation and applauded the crowd in return.

“I know that 99.99% of the stadium was wanting Arthur to win. But it was still such an incredible atmosphere. It was such a fair crowd as well,” Zverev said. “A lot of crowds in the world can take an example of this crowd.”

Becker congratulates Zverev

Zverev had previously never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Now he’s the first German man to reach the final of the grass-court Grand Slam since Boris Becker lost to Pete Sampras in 1995.

The last German man to win Wimbledon was Michael Stich, who beat Becker in the 1991 final.

Becker, the three-time Wimbledon champion, wished Zverev “congratulations” in German on X: tweeting “Glückwunsch Sascha !!!,” using the player’s nickname.

The women’s final on Saturday features two Czech players, Karolina Muchova against Linda Noskova.

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AP Sports Writer Ken Maguire contributed to this report.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who was retained by the family of Nolan Xavier Wells earlier this week, has said the family has concerns about the investigation and planned to conduct an independent autopsy. Wells travelled by boat to Horn Island, Mississippi, on July 4 with a group of friends, but did not make the return trip with them that afternoon. His body was found early Monday morning, more than a day later.

While Jackson County Sheriff’s Office officials said investigators don't suspect foul play in the Black college student's death, the sheriff has asked for any witnesses or people with video from the popular beach island about 10 miles (16 kilometers) off the coast of Mississippi to come forward to help shed light on the moments before Wells' disappearance and death.

Family members have raised concerns, saying they've seen video of a fight allegedly involving their son, and saying as an elite athlete he was able to swim. Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on the football team.

At the news conference Friday attorneys said the friends who left Wells on the island, took his phone and keys when they departed. Crump said Wells' family used an app to track his phone, and a friend went to where it was on land to pick it up.

“What teenager would leave their phone behind if they’re going to stay on this island? What teenager wouldn’t take their phone? It’s not adding up at all," Crump said.

He added that the family believes text messages from social media apps had been deleted from his phone when they got it back, and they plan to employ experts to try to receive all the data they can.

A photo posted to social media, allegedly from the boat ride to the island, shows Wells with his arms around three white, male friends. Speculation and suspicion about the teen’s death have been rampant online, as people grapple with the state’s history of racial tension and what it means to be a Black person in a majority white space.

Wells' mother, Christine Wonsley, looked to the sky several times as lawyers spoke Friday, to hold back tears. When she spoke, she said this was not how she wanted the world to know her son.

Wonsley said they had taught him about history, but he was a peacemaker who didn't like division, and wanted everyone to be included.

“We just wanna know what happened,” she said, through tears. “And why our baby didn't come home.”

Crump called for a thorough investigation, saying to law enforcement, "They want to know that you have not taken the path of least resistance.”

“If the roles were reversed and you had three young Black men on a boat with a young white man and that young white man ended up dead, what kind of investigation would be conducted by the Mississippi law enforcement officials? How many times would those three young Black men be interrogated?” he added.

It's the second case that Crump has taken on in the state in recent months. He also was recently retained by the family of a Mississippi 1-year-old who was killed when police fired into a moving car.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said earlier this week that Wells' mother had called to report him missing around midnight into the morning of July 5. Crews from multiple local and state agencies began an extensive search Sunday of the island and surrounding waters. His body was recovered early Monday, family members confirmed.

An official autopsy was conducted Tuesday, though officials have said it could be weeks before results are released. Ledbetter said Wells’ friends were cooperating with the investigation.

“From the people we’ve talked to, it sounds like he chose to stay on the island with the assumption that he was going to ride back to the mainland with someone else,” Ledbetter told The Associated Press earlier this week.

Crump and Wells' family said some of those details didn't seem to add up either, saying from the videos they had seen Wells was one of, if not the only, Black person on the island where there were around 200 people celebrating the holiday. They said the girl the friends said Wells was speaking to gave a different story about him leaving with those friends. They raised questions about why no one would have given him a ride home if he chose to stay.

“If he’s drowning, nobody sees him drown? Nobody offers assistance? Nobody tries to help? I mean, obviously he stands out. I think he’s the only Black person I saw when I’m looking at the videos,” Crump said.

___

AP reporter Jake Offenhartz contributed to this report.

Federal agents were attempting to stop the vehicle as part of an unspecified “targeted enforcement operation” in a predominantly Latino neighborhood when Lorenzo Salgado Araujo — whom ICE identified as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico — attempted to evade arrest, according to the ICE statement.  

Salgado Araujo allegedly attempted to ram an ICE vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands and tried to run over the ICE agent before the federal officer fired his weapon in self-defense, the statement said.

The shooting comes after federal immigration agents have faced scrutiny for a series of fatal shootings of American citizens in the past year and a half, some of which roiled the nation and led to fierce criticism of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration enforcement.

Trump and his administration have routinely said they are targeting immigrants who have a criminal history, but the federal government’s data shows that a majority of the people ICE has arrested under the second Trump administration don’t have criminal convictions. 

ICE’s description of the Houston shooting is similar to claims in other cases which were later contradicted by video evidence or eyewitness statements. In Texas last year, an agent shot and killed a man on South Padre Island. The agent said the man’s car slightly struck him and he feared for his life. Lawyers for the man’s family and a witness disputed the official account.

By late Tuesday, no law enforcement or bystander videos had been released or emerged to corroborate or contradict ICE’s description of the Houston incident.

The Houston Police Department said Tuesday its officers were not part of the ICE operation and they only showed up afterward to help with directing traffic. 

FBI Houston spokesperson Connor Hagan said the office is leading an investigation into the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General is leading an investigation into the fatal shooting of the man, according to Hagan. DHS, which oversees all immigration agents, has not identified the immigration officer who shot Salgado Araujo, while Hagan referred questions about the agent back to ICE.  

Democratic lawmakers and civil rights groups quickly demanded an independent investigation. 

“ICE’s actions across the country have caused them to lose the faith and confidence of communities,” said  U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Houston. “We must ensure transparency in this investigation. My heart is with everyone impacted by this fatal shooting.”

DHS didn’t immediately answer The Texas Tribune’s questions about why ICE agents were trying to pull over Salgado Araujo or how he came onto ICE’s radar. According to a public records search, the only Texas resident by that name was a 52-year-old Houston man who has no criminal convictions in Texas. 

Ronaldo Salgado identified himself as Salgado Araujo’s son on Facebook in a post that said his father lived in the United States for nearly 35 years and worked in construction to help provide for his family. Salgado did not respond to requests for an interview.

In the Facebook post, he said his father was in the “process of obtaining his work permit through the legal process” and “was on his way to work, picking up his workers” when the shooting happened.

The Houston Fire Department said dispatched medical responders found Salgado Araujo with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. He died at a local hospital, according to ICE. 

“My father did not deserve this,” Salgado wrote. 

The block where the incident took place is a mix of homes and businesses, such as a La Michoacana Meat Market and a local snack stand. The shooting occurred between a barbershop and a psychic reading shop, right by Houston’s Second Ward neighborhood where the average annual income, according to a 2022 report from the city, is around $52,000.

The predominantly Hispanic area of the city is a target of revitalization due to its proximity to downtown and the Port of Houston, and is the beneficiary of the 2026 FIFA World Cup upgrades being implemented across one of the country’s largest cities. As new development spills over from Houston’s downtown area into the East End, the region is becoming more residential, creating a mix of new buildings and old homes of Hispanic families who have lived there for decades.

Mildred Guerra, 23, an insurance agent who lives and works in the east Houston neighborhood, said recent ICE operations concern her.

“I’m very worried about our customers,” she said, adding that many of their customers have started calling in payments by phone rather than coming in person.

Calls for independent investigation 

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said the man’s family and her constituents “deserve a complete and transparent accounting” of the fatal shooting. 

“ICE has released an initial account, but the facts must be independently and thoroughly investigated, including the circumstances that led to the use of deadly force,” Garcia said in a post on X. “All available footage, communications, and other evidence should be preserved and reviewed as part of a full and impartial investigation.”

Alejandra Salinas, a progressive Houston City Council member, echoed that call along with Menefee, the Houston Democrat. 

LULAC, the country’s largest Latino civil rights organization, started a petition demanding an independent investigation and requesting that “every piece of evidence” be released to the public. 

The petition cites an unrelated case in Chicago in which a Border Patrol agent’s statements of firing in self-defense was disputed by video footage and his own text messages.

The Harris County District Attorney’s office said in a statement that the case was an “active federal investigation” but did not answer questions about whether its office was investigating the shooting or planned on presenting the case to a grand jury. It also did not answer a question about whether its civil rights division, which typically reviews police shootings in the county, has any staff assigned to investigate it.

“Our office will collaborate with federal authorities to ensure a thorough local review of the evidence,” the district attorney’s spokesperson Courtney Fischer said in a statement.

The Texas Department of Public Safety, which investigates police shootings around the state, did not immediately respond to questions about whether it is doing its own probe into Tuesday’s shooting.

Other immigration agents’ shootings

Salgado Araujo is the latest fatal shooting by an immigration agent in Texas and across the country since President Trump ordered his administration to crack down on immigration, following through with a vow that was at the centerpiece of his successful 2024 campaign. 

On March 15, 2025, an ICE agent helping local police route traffic around an accident shot and killed 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island, where the San Antonio resident was celebrating his birthday with friends. ICE’s involvement in the shooting only became public knowledge after watchdog group American Oversight received documents about the incident as part of a public records request. DHS said agents shot Martinez after he tried to run over ICE agents. But video footage didn’t definitively show Martinez attempting to run over the agents. Lawyers for his family argue footage refutes the Trump administration’s claims. 

A Cameron County grand jury in February chose not to indict the ICE officer who shot Martinez after the local district attorney presented evidence from the shooting. 

Most notably, immigration agents in January fatally shot 37-year-old Renée Good and 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis during separate protests against immigration enforcement operations. 

DHS claimed Good tried to run over ICE agents, but video footage of that incident caused some people to question whether Good attempted to run over the agents. 

In Pretti’s killing, video footage showed Border Patrol agents had already restrained the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs nurse, who was armed with a handgun holstered on his hip, before two Border Patrol agents shot him 10 times. 

Prosecutors have not criminally charged any of the immigration agents in connection to those Minneapolis shootings.

In October 2025, a Border Patrol agent shot Marimar Martinez five times during an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago. 

DHS initially said that Marimar Martinez tried to ram agents with her vehicle before the Border Patrol agent exited his vehicle and fired his weapon. The federal government had originally charged Martinez with assaulting officers. But federal prosecutors later dropped the charges after evidence, including the agents text messages and video footage, showed that Martinez didn’t ram her vehicle into the agents. 

Historically, it is rare for federal and local police officers to face criminal charges after shooting someone while on duty. But in May, Minnesota prosecutors charged Christian Castro, a 52-year-old ICE officer, in connection with the wounding of a Venezuelan man during an immigration operation in that state. 

Many of the previous shootings have spurred backlash to Trump’s immigration enforcement and demands that federal agents scale down their presence and operations in U.S. cities.

Ayden Runnels and Lomi Kriel contributed to this story.

The site TickPick listed the lowest price for the Spain-Belgium game on Friday at Inglewood, California, at $1,381, down from $3,261 before the U.S. lost to Belgium in the round of 16.

The lowest price for the England-Norway match at Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday was $2,049, down from $3,866 before England defeated Mexico to reach the quarterfinals. It listed the lowest price for the Argentina-Switzerland game at Kansas City, Missouri, at $1,142, down from $2,381 before the round of 16.

Standing outside SoFi Stadium on Friday, Jake van Baarsel said he bought tickets two days earlier. The 65-year-old from Riverside, California, said he hadn’t previously planned on attending because he knew ticket prices were so high. But when his son called to tell him he obtained seats at a lower price, he decided to pay for two at $1,000 each to share the moment with his 13-year-old grandson.

“It’s one of those things — it’s a memory maker for my grandson and me,” he said. “So how much money do you put on a memory?

“So yeah, it’s steep for a game, but we enjoy.”

Others who bought tickets well ahead of Friday’s quarterfinal match paid far more.

Lisandro Pineda, 70, of East Los Angeles, said he paid about $2,200 a month ago.

“The price was too high, I think, but it’s a resale, remember,” he said. “I didn’t want to be left out. I’ve never been to a World Cup. I didn’t go to the one we had before. So I figured, I have the money, I have the time, what the heck, buy the ticket, so here we are.”

Kourosh Modarress, 68, of Los Angeles, said his family bought hospitality tickets at $7,000 each after they failed to obtain other tickets in one of FIFA's sales rounds.

“I think it’s highway robbery,” he said.

FIFA had nearly 1,200 category two tickets priced at $7,380 on sale Friday for the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The governing body's last-minute tickets sales site, which at times had listed the game as sold out, had 1,178 seats available across five sections of the top deck along the sidelines: 282 in section 344, 299 in section 343, 139 in section 335, 443 in section 334 and 15 in section 333.

FIFA also was selling 68 front category one tickets in the lower deck at prices ranging from $19,995 to $32,970 and had remaining hospitality tickets in its Trophy Lounge and Trophy Lounge+ sections priced at $34,500 and $32,500, including food and drinks.

Soccer's governing body did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why the additional tickets had become available.

Resale tickets for the final were available on FIFA's marketplace at prices from $7,440.50 to $11,499,998.85.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Councilmember Susan Street was elected last year. The councilmembers represent about 8,000 residents.

During the July 9 meeting, council discussed an agenda item about the Texas Water Development Board.

Street asked City Manager Brian Rowland why an application did not have an amount listed for how much financial assistance the city was requesting to extend water lines.

“Resolutions come through all the time with empty spaces on them,” Street said. “I’ve just never called it out before. I’m doing it now.”

Rowland explained if the resolution did not pass, the city would not be able to apply for the grant.

“I’m just asking if you can fill these in next time; would that be possible?” Street responded. “Would it be possible to give us the appropriate information prior to the meeting?”

Mayor Janeshia Grider asked Street if she was finished.

“Not if you’re about to come after me, no,” Street said.

Grider told Street that she was on her second warning.

“You just seem to be rushing me because you sounded like you were about to tell me I was being inappropriate or something,” Street replied. “I’m pointing out the actions that are not getting taken to fill in the information for councilmembers who do not have access to [Rowland’s] office on a daily basis.”

Street said her questions to Rowland often go unanswered.

Off camera, a man suggested council could bring forward a motion to expel Street from the meeting.

Grider gave Street a third warning, but did not make it clear what the warning was for.

In a 3-4 vote, council voted to expel Street from the meeting, but did not give a reason why.

According to footage from the meeting, Grider asks a Kirby police officer to escort Street out of the meeting. Video posted by the city shows a Kirby police officer walking up to the platform next to Street, but the footage stops before she leaves.

KSAT Investigates emailed Grider and councilmembers Sylvia Apodaca, Joe Molina, and Dawn McCormick on Friday to ask why they voted to expel Street, and we reached out to Street for comment. This story will be updated once a response has been received.

This is not the first time Street has been targeted by her fellow councilmembers.

In March, city council was set to talk about and possibly take action on removing Street from Kirby’s city council.

Records obtained by KSAT Investigates show Rowland made a formal complaint against Street, accusing her of creating a hostile work environment, which she denies.

“They’re coming after me because I ask a lot of questions that they don’t want to answer,” Street said at the time. “I ask them in council, I email the city manager and ask questions, and I don’t get the answers.”

However, questions remain about whether the council has the authority to remove an elected official.

While the city manager declined to comment, UTSA political science professor Jon Taylor told KSAT Investigates that removing a councilmember in a city with Kirby’s form of government is not a simple process.

Under the Kirby City Charter, a removal would require a recall election — triggered by a petition signed by registered voters. If enough valid signatures are collected, the issue would then go before voters for a final decision.

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

Ward, 28, who starred in the Netflix crime drama “Top Boy,” sobbed after a jury in Snaresbrook Crown Court found him not guilty of two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault.

Ward has appeared in films including “Blue Story,” “The Book of Clarence” and last year's American political satire “Eddington,” alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal.

In 2020, he won the Rising Star award at the British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs. He was nominated for an acting BAFTA for Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light” and for a BAFTA television award for the Steve McQueen-directed series “Small Axe.”

Ward had denied the charges and said he had “full faith” he’d be cleared of the charges. He testified at trial that he met the woman at a party and that they had consensual sex.

Defense lawyer Humzah Ilyas said Ward had put his life on hold for more than three years and was “looking forward to getting back to doing the work he loves.”

According to a preliminary report, the San Antonio Police Department responded to a burglary call at approximately 6:15 a.m. at a barbershop in the 2300 block of Quintana Road.

An SAPD sergeant on scene told KSAT that at least two individuals were caught on surveillance video breaking into the barbershop using “high-powered tools.”

The two put a “chain-link” object around the ATM before driving away from the scene with the machine in a dark-colored truck, the sergeant said.

In the report, witnesses also told police they saw two suspects attempting to take the ATM. No description of the suspects is known at this time.

SAPD said its investigation is ongoing.

More recent crime coverage on KSAT:

• Man convicted on felony narcotics charge sentenced to 42 years in prison
• East Side woman accused of murder takes plea deal on reduced charge, sentenced to 15 years in prison
• Man records arrest of 2 murder suspects in Del Rio, later learns victim was his relative

A man driving a Chevrolet Camaro crashed into a woman driving a Chevrolet Cruze just before 11 a.m. as she turned onto Zarzamora Street from Elmo Avenue, according to police who cited surveillance video from a nearby business.

The driver of each vehicle was transported to local hospitals for further treatment. Each of them described experiencing abdominal pain, police said.

A 2-year-old boy was in a car seat in the woman’s vehicle. Police said the child was not visibly injured, but he was taken to a hospital with his mother as a precaution.

An SAPD sergeant on scene said speed was likely a contributing factor to the crash.

This story is developing. Check back later for updates.

Read also:

• ‘Everything is gone’: Family shares heartbreak after driver drag racing hits, kills 17-year-old girl

The blaze, one of Spain's deadliest wildfires, broke out late Thursday in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almeria province, as the country has been dealing with soaring temperatures.

Most of the victims died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, said Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia’s emergency services. Some tried to escape via a dry riverbed that “turned into a death trap,” he said.

Four victims were believed to be British nationals because the steering wheel of their burned-out car was on the right side, as with British vehicles, regional authorities said. Other unspecified nationals also were believed to be among the dead, and the death toll was expected to rise, authorities said.

Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars, Sanz said, adding that most of the deceased were believed to be foreign nationals.

Dean Taylor, a resident who divides his time between Spain and the U.K., said he managed to just barely escape the neighborhood by using back roads to get out.

“It was quite terrifying,” Taylor said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It's a very sad day, isn’t it? It’s devastating, really."

The blaze is a challenge for firefighters

The fire was still burning as of Friday afternoon. Some 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers from Spain’s military emergency unit were battling the blaze, which had consumed more than 3,200 hectares (7,900 acres) of forest and farmland.

Moreno, the Andalusian regional leader, said containing the fire was difficult because of the steep, dry terrain.

“It consists mainly of scrubland and esparto grass,” Moreno said. “Everything is extremely dry due to the heat waves, making it the perfect fuel; combined with the wind, it’s a ticking time bomb.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his condolences. “Immense sadness and desolation in the face of the terrible consequences of the fire affecting the province of Almeria,” he wrote on X.

Europe battles intense heat again

Spain has battled frequent and severe heat waves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40 C (104 F). Wind, high temperatures and little rainfall help small wildfires grow into unchecked blazes.

In June, Spain experienced several days of record-setting heat, with over 1,000 excess deaths attributed to heat.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Parts of Western Europe are facing their third heat wave in six weeks. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing several intense heat waves across Europe.

France also at risk of wildfires

France is experiencing the peak of its third heat wave of the summer, with temperatures reaching 40 C (104 F) across western and central areas and around 37 C (98 F) in Paris.

French authorities have also warned of a very high wildfire risk, as large fires in the south have already scorched thousands of hectares this week, disrupting the Tour de France cycling race and stretching firefighting resources.

The largest wildfire, in the eastern Pyrenees near the Spanish border, had decreased in intensity by Friday, authorities said. But it has burned about 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) and forced the temporary evacuation of more than 10,000 people from nearly villages.

Last month was France’s hottest June on record, with deaths surging by nearly a third during the hottest week.

Scientists warn that climate change caused in part by the burning of fuels like gasoline, oil and coal is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making certain regions more vulnerable to wildfires.

Spain and Portugal have faced deadly fires before

Spain is no stranger to wildfires, with last year's fire season burning more than 393,000 hectares (almost 1,520 square miles), according to the European Forest Fire Information System, an area twice as large as London. Four people died.

Spain's deadliest wildfire was in 1979 when 21 people perished in Lloret de Mar, a coastal town about an hour north of Barcelona.

In 2017, a wildfire in neighboring Portugal left 66 people dead in Pedrogao Grande, located 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Lisbon. In that blaze, 47 people died on one road while similarly attempting to flee in their cars.

———

Associated Press journalist Sylvie Corbet, in Paris, contributed.

“This case was always about two courageous young girls who simply wanted the same opportunities as their peers to participate in school life,” their lawyer, Chris Erchull of GLAD Law, said in a statement Thursday. “Their willingness to stand up to extraordinary hostility made clear the human cost of laws that target transgender youth.”

The teenagers, Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle, took on Trump’s executive order last year, amending their 2024 complaint against New Hampshire's law on banning transgender girls from school sports. A federal judge had granted a court order allowing them to play as the case proceeded.

For Tirrell, it meant being able to keep playing on her high school girls’ soccer team. For Turmelle, it was having a chance to try out for different sports.

Both sides agreed to pause the case and wait for a ruling from the Supreme Court as it considered similar state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school and college athletic teams in Idaho and West Virginia. Last month, the court upheld the laws. It also said that barring transgender girls and women doesn’t run afoul of the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education.

One teen and her family decided to move from New Hampshire

Turmelle and her family moved out of New Hampshire last summer following proposed legislation against transgender people. One measure signed into law by Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte last year prohibits medical professionals from providing puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy to new transgender patients under age 18.

“Though there may be a carve-out for people already receiving gender-affirming care, that is way too close a call for us to risk staying,” Turmelle's mother, Amy Manzetti, wrote in an op-ed piece at the time. “Other New Hampshire laws also seek to erase her.”

Most Republican-controlled states in the past five years have adopted laws or policies limiting gender-affirming care for transgender minors and limiting which school bathrooms transgender people can use, as well as sports restrictions. The Williams Institute at UCLA estimates that about 3% of youth ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender.

“The challenges with relocation are significant and burdensome — this includes having to find new employment, buying and selling homes, packing and moving possessions, integrating kids with a new school system, losing access to longstanding family and friends, and potential loss of income,” Corinne Goodwin, the executive director of Eastern PA Trans Equality Project in Pennsylvania, said in an email.

"But these families do so because they love their kids and know that supporting them with the care and opportunities they need is critical to their long-term success and happiness.”

The other teen gave up playing soccer at high school

Tirrell, 17, began her junior year last fall on the girls' junior varsity soccer team. Things were fine at first, and each time she scored a goal, she got a round of ice cream from her parents. But a few weeks into the season, she decided to stop playing.

“With all of the political stuff going on, soccer wasn't just about the game anymore,” her mother, Sara Tirrell, told The Associated Press in an interview.

It became more about preparing for the possibility of conflict.

“Were there any local Facebook groups where they were sort of agitating about potential protests and how do we prepare, and what are we walking into, and we never kind of knew,” she said. “We were on a lot of pins and needles, especially after the previous season."

She was referring to a controversy at an away game where two dads from an opposing team were banned from school grounds for wearing pink wristbands marked “XX” to represent female chromosomes. They sued the school district and a judge ruled against them. They have appealed their case.

Last fall, there was an increased presence of school administrators at the games and bus drivers pulled in closer to the field so the students weren’t in the parking lot, she said.

“Parker didn’t talk about it a lot, but I think she could see that stress for everybody — for her, for her teammates, for her coaches,” Sara Tirrell said. "She felt kind of bad about pulling them all into that circus again. And so she ultimately said, ‘This isn’t fun anymore and I don’t want to do it.’”

Parker’s father described the atmosphere as “palpable tension.”

Even playing on her own turf, “there would typically be a couple of police officers at the home games where there weren’t previously,” Zach Tirrell said.

In the past, Parker also played soccer in a recreation league and could still do so.

“But I think it all kind of still sort of weighs on her,” her mother said. "It's the same group of kids that she plays with who, honestly, have been very supportive and love to have her on the team and have expressed that to her many times over. But I think she still has that worry in her brain around, ‘What are other people going to say and do if I show up at a game?’”

Parker's parents hope she'll return to playing soccer some day. In the meantime, “she plans to be around and use her voice to continue standing up to discrimination,” her mother said. “In some ways she’s had to grow up a lot faster than some of her peers.”

___

Associated Press reporter Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey, contributed to this article.

In courthouses and public squares, they marked the nation's 250th anniversary with a dire warning: The rule of law in America is in grave danger. They delivered a similar message at a library in Grosse Pointe just outside Detroit — the last stop on an extraordinary tour to defend judicial independence and bolster trust in courts.

Americans' confidence in the court system and democracy has dipped in recent years. The country is more polarized, and President Donald Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the fairness of the judicial system.

Some judges on the tour said in phone interviews this week that the United States was at a precipice.

“Looking back in history, we have teetered," former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Michael Donnelly said. "This is a moment where we can decide to reinstill those beliefs that we are a country of laws and not of men.”

Judges step off the bench

The four-day tour through the Rust Belt is a sharp departure for a typically reserved and insular branch of government. Federal judges in particular largely limit their comments to the courtroom and written decisions, focusing on the facts of individual cases.

But that restraint is loosening amid a barrage of attacks by Trump and other White House officials, the administration's rampant defiance of U.S. district court orders and its expansive view of executive power. Trump has called a district judge who ruled against one of his immigration moves “crooked” and suggested with no evidence that Supreme Court justices who struck down his tariffs were motivated by foreign interests.

More federal judges have recently begun talking about receiving death threats and profane messages, though they have not blamed Trump or any other officials. Some have blasted administration policies in sharply worded opinions that strayed beyond the legal dispute before them. Even U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has weighed in.

In an appearance in March, Roberts said personal criticism of federal judges was dangerous and had to stop. The rare rebuke from the head of the nation's top court came two days after Trump's remark about a “crooked” judge, though Roberts didn't mention Trump or anyone else by name.

The U.S. Marshals Service reported 564 threats against federal judges in the government fiscal year that ended in September, up from 509 the year before.

“I don’t want to say we have moved into an era of lawlessness, but it sometimes feels that way,” said former U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts, who joined the bus tour in Michigan.

Timothy Lewis, another former federal judge on the tour, said his concerns about the politicization of the judicial branch reached a tipping point a decade ago, when Senate Republicans thwarted President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Today, the rule of law is facing an "existential threat" from an ongoing breakdown of norms, according to Lewis, who spent seven years on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“I have fundamental concerns," he said, “about where we are headed as a nation.”

Their route has been varied

The tour started Tuesday in the western Pennsylvania town of Greensburg — once the hub of a thriving coal industry that now lures visitors from nearby Pittsburgh for highland recreation and a historic downtown.

Judges mingled with customers at a coffee shop before speaking at the domed, ornate Westmoreland County Courthouse. Then it was off to Washington, also in western Pennsylvania. The town of 13,000 people, where about 15% of the population is Black, was a key stop on the Underground Railroad and a regional base for the Civil Rights Movement.

From there, the bus headed west for events Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, and the city of Wooster in Amish country. The judges stopped at a Cracker Barrel restaurant on the way. They spent Thursday in Cleveland before circling Lake Erie north to Michigan.

The two groups that planned the tour — dubbed “Justice in Motion” — say they were inspired by a similar campaign in Poland in 2021 after that country's governing party took control of key judicial institutions.

Independent Polish judges visited scores of towns to promote the rule of law and teach voters about the country's constitution. The U.S. tour also aims to educate people.

An effort to combat misinformation about what they do

Maureen O'Connor, a former chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, said judges risk ceding the narrative about their roles and motives to “voices of misinformation” if they don't speak up.

A letter she received years ago, and still keeps, reminds her of that danger. The writer accused O'Connor, a Republican, of betraying her party when she repeatedly struck down Republican-drawn legislative maps as illegal gerrymanders. “There was just a basic misunderstanding of what my role was as a judge,” O'Connor said.

O'Connor is among roughly 30 judges, including two former federal judges and two current federal judges, who participated in the tour. One of the federal judges was nominated by a Democrat, the other three by Republicans. The state judges, some of whom are also still on the bench, represented both parties.

They were joined by former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, former Ohio attorneys general and a few lawyers. The event was put together by the Democracy Rising Collaborative and Keep Our Republic, nonpartisan advocacy groups.

Organizers say they chose stops that would get the judges in front of as many people as possible to build connections and trust. The judges embraced that mission.

“The lifeblood of the judiciary is public confidence,” Donnelly, the former Ohio Supreme Court justice, said. “If you lose that, it’s very difficult to get it back.”

British actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugh Laurie and Damian Lewis watched from the Royal Box, as did fashion designer Tom Ford and Anna Wintour.

Tendulkar, considered one of the greatest cricketers ever, retired in 2013 after playing in his 200th test match. Wimbledon called him “ cricket royalty.” Another former cricket star, Brian Lara of the West Indies, was also in the Royal Box, an area reserved for special guests invited by the All England Club.

Netherlands defender and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was also a guest. The Dutch were eliminated at the World Cup in the round of 32.

The 88-year-old Hoffman wasn't in the Royal Box, though he was a guest there in 2024.

Earlier on Centre Court, Alexander Zverev advanced to Sunday's final by beating British wild card Arthur Fery.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The president at first suggested his renovations would last a century. But, within weeks of the project originally reaching completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Trump has blamed the peeling on vandals, though critics allege it's from shoddy repair work.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, told conservative podcaster Katie Miller in an interview released earlier this week that the new round of draining was planned. He also said that the water might still contain debris from an extensive Independence Day fireworks display over the National Mall.

“Drain the water, clean up the fireworks stuff,” Burgum told Miller, who is the wife of deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller. “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.”

The work on the Reflecting Pool is just one of a number of projects Trump has spearheaded across the nation's capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House’s East Wing to build a $400 million ballroom and plans to build a towering arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

He initially announced his intentions to beautify the Reflecting Pool this spring, saying he wanted it completed before the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations.

Water was drained and Trump directed that the bottom be painted what he called “American flag blue.” In May, the president posted on his social media site of the pool: “The goal is to have it done, at this higher level, prior to July 4th — We are ahead of schedule!”

But problems began quickly after the initial work was finished. Trump blamed vandals, and court documents later showed that the National Park Service reported to the U.S. Park Police a June 9 incident in which a sharp knife or razor cut the pool’s new liner.

On Thursday, former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker.

His attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power and maintain he is being scapegoated for the poor job done fixing up the Reflecting Pool.

At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool, according to online court records. All three pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearances Wednesday.

The pool was closed for the Independence Day celebration, which featured what Trump said was the largest fireworks display in the world. The president had said that the pool would have to be drained anew as part of the new round of repairs.

Burgum has also said that the Trump administration won't seek bids for the new rounds of repairs. He told CNN's “State of the Union” last weekend: “We’ll use the same company because they did a fantastic job."

Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.

Democratic senators and House members are investigating the pool project, including seeking answers about how much taxpayer funding is involved.

Dahl moved to Live Oak in 2003, according to his city bio. He joined the planning and zoning board in 2010 before his May 2011 election to Place 5.

He founded his own architecture firm, where he remained its owner and operator while on council. Dahl graduated with a master’s degree from Texas A&M.

The city said he was a leading voice in paving the way for the Live Oak Conference Center and Live Oak Town Center.

Dahl was reelected six times unopposed and served alongside four different city managers.

“Council Member Dahl exemplified what it means to serve with honor, compassion, and integrity,” Mayor Mary M. Dennis said. “His dedication to our residents and commitment to making our city a better place will not be forgotten.”

The City of Live Oak said information regarding memorial services or opportunities to pay their respects will be shared as it becomes available.

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But eight months after its first mention and after repeated promises it was being drafted, the so-called MAHA agenda is nowhere to be found. When asked for a status update this week, an EPA spokesperson said MAHA is an ongoing effort, not a single report.

The apparent reversal on the release of a formal environmental health agenda is the latest in a cascade of disappointments for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA movement, who say they've lost faith that the Trump administration will take any significant action on pesticides, chemicals or other issues they view as key to address America's chronic disease epidemic. It also reflects the EPA's relentless rollback of environmental regulations even in the face of pressure from an important voting bloc that has supported President Donald Trump.

“I had really hoped that there would be specific steps that were taken through a MAHA agenda,” said activist Kelly Ryerson, whose social media account “Glyphosate Girl” focuses on nontoxic food systems. “We haven’t had any of the wins that we were requesting.”

Many in the diverse coalition of MAHA activists that Trump credits for helping him win back the White House say they plan to vote on issues over party in November's congressional elections, raising the political stakes of their increasingly public tensions with the Republican administration.

“People are done with the profits of corporations being prioritized over public health,” said Alexandra Muñoz, a molecular toxicologist who collaborates with activists on certain issues. “And I think that will have an important role in the midterms.”

MAHA is frustrated with EPA's actions

“Trump’s EPA,” as Zeldin frequently calls the agency, has vigorously pursued a deregulatory agenda. Earlier this year, Zeldin proposed overturning the landmark finding that climate change is a threat to human health. He moved to roll back dozens of environmental regulations in what he called “the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen,” froze billions of dollars for clean energy and upended agency research.

At the same time, Zeldin has touted multiple “MAHA wins," some of which activists say are anything but. For example, he said the agency intends to regulate some chemicals called phthalates for environmental and workplace risks, but didn’t address the thousands of consumer products that contain the ingredients.

This week, the EPA diverted from past assurances that the MAHA report was in its “final stages,” telling The Associated Press in an email that the EPA’s actions should speak for themselves.

“The notion that MAHA is a single document waiting to be unveiled fundamentally misrepresents how we operate,” an agency spokesperson said, adding that work on MAHA priorities is “active and expanding every day.”

Ryerson and other MAHA activists said they've engaged with agency officials about changes they'd like to see, and occasionally succeeded. Her network of farmers worked with the administration on a recent executive order to advance regenerative agriculture. But she said EPA then used the order to justify new proposed uses for various herbicides, a move she called a “slap in the face.”

The same week, the Supreme Court dealt another blow to the MAHA cause in siding with pesticide maker Bayer in a ruling related to its legal liability for alleged harm caused by its Roundup weedkiller. The Trump administration had backed the company in the case.

Environmental activists say the rise of Kennedy and his MAHA mission has rippled across the administration, raising the public's awareness of pesticides — and expectations that Trump's administration would act.

“If RFK and the MAHA movement hadn’t put that issue in the center of the public spotlight, no one would be scrutinizing this nearly as closely," said Sarah Starman, a senior food and agriculture campaigner at the nonprofit Friends of the Earth.

EPA says getting microplastics out of drinking water is complicated

In a well-publicized gesture aimed in part at the MAHA movement, Zeldin in April included microplastics and pharmaceuticals on a list of contaminants that could be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Activists had pressured Zeldin for months to crack down on microplastics and other environmental contaminants.

But in a reversal in late June, the EPA did not include microplastics or pharmaceuticals on a list of chemicals it plans to test for under a mandatory program used to collect information about concerning chemicals in drinking water that could be harming human health.

The move rendered the EPA's earlier public health promises "functionally toothless,'' said Betsy Southerland, a former senior official in EPA’s water office.

Zeldin said on social media that “the technology to test and treat for microplastics in drinking water is still in development.” The EPA said in a Federal Register notice that it was “not feasible to develop a drinking water analytical method within the statutory timeframe.”

After making “a big splash in the press” on microplastics, "EPA has quietly stalled that momentum," said Southerland.

A White House Make America Healthy Again Report, released a few months into Trump’s second term, identified long-term exposure to environmental chemicals — including those widely found in plastics — as a leading cause of chronic disease in children.

Former industry lobbyists now have leading roles at EPA

Jeremy Symons, a senior adviser at the Environmental Protection Network, a group of former EPA employees and political appointees who are critical of the Trump administration, said Zeldin “pays lip service to MAHA, but sadly he is actually making Americans less safe from toxic chemicals.''

Alongside MAHA's influence on the Trump administration, industry lobbyists have made inroads at the EPA.

Kyle Kunkler, a former lobbyist for the soybean industry, leads pesticide policy at the EPA. The agency recently allowed continued use of dicamba, a weedkiller that has been linked to increased risk for some cancers.

Zen Honeycutt, a MAHA activist and founding executive director of Moms Across America, said the move is “what happens when the EPA allows itself to be pressured by corporations and by business.”

EPA also employs other former industry insiders. Nancy Beck, a former executive at the chemical lobbying group the American Chemistry Council, is a top official in EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. Lynn Dekleva, another former chemistry council executive, serves as a Beck deputy.

The EPA said Kunkler and other political appointees have consulted with agency ethics officials to resolve any potential conflicts of interest. The MAHA movement has “driven this agency's work since President Trump's first day in office," a spokesperson said in an email, citing various initiatives including $945 million in grants to help states and communities cut “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in drinking water and identifying 30 drinking water contaminants proposed for nationwide monitoring.

On Thursday, the agency announced it was teaming up with Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect consumers from heavy metals and other contaminants in food.

But for Ryerson and others, the lack of a promised MAHA agenda reads as a tactic to escape accountability.

“It absolves them of any failures, especially when it comes to midterms,” Ryerson said. “They won’t have to point to some list that they haven’t been able to achieve really anything on.”

The heat wave will start this weekend and last at least a week, with some areas feeling its effects until the end of the month, meteorologists said. Temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 14 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal in many areas, including at night, they said. Hotter nighttime temperatures are especially bad for both human health and efforts to tamp down an already active wildfire season.

“This upcoming heat wave does look pretty remarkable,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This is going to be a long duration, widespread and high-intensity heat event that’s going to affect millions of people for over a week.”

Trapping hot air, threatening records

A dome of high pressure — which traps hot air like a pot lid while blocking cooling winds and rain — will initially park over the Northern Plains, but it will be so big that it will trap sweltering temperatures across as much as two-thirds of the continental United States, three meteorologists told The Associated Press. While it will initially miss the East Coast, the heat dome will shift and wobble, maybe even spreading from coast-to-coast over the next 10 days or more, they said.

Forecasters are expecting record triple-digit highs this weekend in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

The weather service is predicting more than 90 U.S. local temperature records will be tied or broken through Wednesday, with two-thirds being overnight heat records that can hinder how the human body recovers from broiling days.

“Nights can be just as dangerous as days. If you don’t get heat relief at night, that’s going to spill out into your daytime experience and become extremely dangerous,” said meteorologist Bob Henson with Yale Climate Connections. “Heat is not to be played with. It’s just as dangerous as a tornado or hurricane that can kill you just as easily, just in a quiet and different way.”

Heat wave will be bigger, longer-lasting and stronger than most

Swain said what makes this heat wave so different is how big a warm shadow it will cast and how long it will persist.

In the past couple of weeks, major heat waves have caused extensive suffering in Europe, the U.S. East Coast and most recently the U.S. Southeast. Now any place in the United States that escaped the earlier July heat waves will get this one, Swain said.

Rain is likely to sneak below the southern edge of the heat dome and douse the U.S. Southeast during the daytime, setting up something strange, Climate Central meteorologist Shel Winkley said. Because of the added moisture and humidity, the Southeast could get record-shattering nighttime heat but below-normal daytime warmth, he said.

The weather service is predicting record nighttime heat in a number of locations from Texas to Florida to North Carolina on Saturday. Temperatures won't drop below 80 degrees (27 degrees Celsius) at night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami; Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Charleston, South Carolina, according to the forecast.

While heat domes are not unusual in the summer, Winkley said this one stands out because of how strong it is, likely to set records for the amount of high pressure that it will contain. It's especially unusual for being so far north, he said.

It’s likely to persist so long because drought-stricken areas have less soil and air moisture that would normally slow the warming of the air, Swain said. The drier, hotter air then worsens the drought conditions and stokes more heat in a vicious cycle, he said.

This will add to wildfire risk, already bad because of the drought, he said.

Climate change is worsening the heat

The El Nino that recently formed is too young to have a pronounced impact on this heat wave, but climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas clearly does, the three meteorologists said.

“We know that heat waves are becoming more intense, they’re lasting longer, they’re covering larger areas than they used to because of human-caused climate change,” Swain said. “And so when we see an event like this, we know there is at least a partial contribution by the long-term warming trend.”

Climate Central uses 20 different computer models to compare what's forecast to what would be expected in a world without greenhouse gas-caused warming as part of its Climate Shift Index. A 20,000-square-mile (52,000-square-kilometer) swath of the country from Southern California to northern Minnesota where 24 million people live this weekend will have warmth reaching the highest level on that index, meaning the heat is at least five times more likely because of climate change. Their analysis produced similar readings for the East Coast heat wave over the July 4 weekend and the recent Southeast heat wave.

“Using attribution science we know that those temperatures would be virtually impossible without the influence of climate change,” Winkley said.

___

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

FORECAST HIGHLIGHTS

• 2PM to 7PM: Isolated to scattered rain, (30-40%)
• HIGHER ODDS TOMORROW: Scattered downpours on Saturday, mainly in the afternoon
• SUNDAY: Quieter, 20% chance
• MORE CHANCES NEXT WEEK: Pattern lends itself to more downpours

FORECAST

TODAY

After a stretch of dry weather, our situation looks to improves starting today. A surge of moisture is sliding into South Central Texas today, it should be enough to stir up isolated to scattered downpours. Rain chances sit at 30-40%, with the best odds from 2PM to 7PM.

SCATTERED RAIN SATURDAY

Rain returns on Saturday. Random, scattered downpours will develop area-wide, mainly in the afternoon (once again from 2pm to 7pm). While it’s not a guarantee you’ll see rain, those who do could receive a quick half inch to an inch. Street flooding is possible. Lightning and gusty winds could accompany some of the heavier downpours. Otherwise, expect periods of sun, too, along with humid conditions. Don’t cancel your outdoor plans: just have the radar handy, and a way to duck inside if you happen upon a downpour.

SUNDAY

While a spotty shower is possible (20%), Sunday should be quieter and a little warmer. Highs will be in the low-90s

MORE CHANCES NEXT WEEK

The heat high shifts far to the north by early next week, opening the door for additional rain chances late Monday into Tuesday. Like this weekend, it’ll be in the form of scattered downpours. In this pattern, temperatures should stay below average.

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The White House on Friday confirmed the executive action against members of the Election Assistance Commission, which distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems and maintains the national voter registration form.

Though the move likely won't have major effects on the November midterms, it's the latest instance of the Republican president trying to exert White House influence over how U.S. elections are conducted, and it's the first test of his newly expanded presidential power after the Supreme Court ruled recently that the president can fire members of independent agency boards without cause.

“The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted. The Slaughter decision gives the President precedence to do so,” said a White House statement to AP.

The president removed the four-seat commission's two Democratic members, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland. The panel's Republican member, Christy McCormick resigned. Former Republican commissioner Donald Palmer already had left his post voluntarily earlier this year. The changes were first reported by VoteBeat, a news outlet that covers elections and voting across the U.S,

Trump has repeatedly tried to reshape voting regulations, even though the U.S. Constitution grants control of elections to the states and not the president. Citing that separation of powers, courtshaveblocked most of Trump's two executive orders that sought to reshape voting. Trump has also launched an investigation of his 2020 loss, which he continues to falsely insist was due to fraud, and this week his administration threatened states if they did not try to purge what federal officials believe are noncitizens from their voter rolls.

Still, Trump has largely been powerless to change election processes through executive fiat and David Becker, a former Department of Justice attorney who runs the Center for Election Innovation & Research, said his purge of the EAC wouldn't alter that.

“This doesn't really change anything about how our elections will be run, and how states are successfully ensuring secure, convenient, safe elections,” Becker wrote on the social media site BlueSky Friday morning.

Critics accuse Trump of damaging voters' trust

On Capitol Hill, the leading Democrats with election oversight responsibility said Trump, rather than bolstering U.S. election integrity, is further politicizing the voting process.

“President Trump is trying to dismantle yet another independent guardrail of our democracy designed to keep elections fair and secure,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-New York. “Purging commissioners just months before the midterm elections and further gutting support for our state and local elections officials is a blatant part of his plan to politicize our elections and enable more unlawful and dangerous election interference.”

Padilla is the ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee, and Morelle is ranking member of the House Administration Committee.

The lawmakers noted that the Supreme Court's conservative majority enabled Trump's move with its decision to “upend decades of executive power to appease the President.”

Staff at the Election Assistance Commission did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on the agency's operations moving forward.

While the White House statement did not offer a specific reason for Trump's action, the commission has previously declined to change the national voter registration form to require documentation of an applicant's U.S. citizenship, as Trump's urged in a sweeping March 2025 executive order on U.S. elections. Though the form itself does not require citizenship documents, voter registration materials from the agency do state clearly that it already is illegal to falsely claim U.S. citizenship to vote.

A federal judge blocked the order, ruling it exceeded the president's authority since the U.S. Constitution grants authority over elections management and oversight to Congress and the states. The administration has indicated it will appeal.

Trump hasn't said whether he'll pick new members

It was not clear whether Trump planned to nominate new members immediately or leave the positions vacant — a move that, months ahead of midterm elections, could prevent the agency from distributing new grants to state or local elections offices and perhaps complicate its role in overseeing testing and certification of voting systems around the country.

“The Administration from the start has been working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse, and investing in a strong infrastructure to sustain that mission especially in the midterm elections,” the White House said.

Congress created the commission as part of the Help America Vote Act, a bipartisan law signed by Republican President George W. Bush in 2002. The act requires the commission to include two Democrats and two Republicans, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Hicks and McCormick were appointed by President Barack Obama. Trump appointed Hovland during his first presidency.

According to VoteBeat, Hicks and Hovland were notified of their removal by an email signed by Morgan DeWitt Snow, the deputy director of presidential personnel in the Executive Office of the President.

More court fights are always possible

Hicks and Hovland could challenge their dismissals, but that ultimately could require the Supreme Court to revisit two decisions it just issued on the president's power over independent agencies.

The court ruled 6-3 last month in the case of former Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter that Trump had wide executive authority to fire political appointees of independent executive agencies. Trump had fired Slaughter without cause despite a provision of federal law that required a reason and a nearly century-old Supreme Court precedent insulating independent agency heads from presidential whims.

The court's six conservatives said that the previous restrictions on presidential prerogatives violated the Constitution's separation of powers. The logic extends to other agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, where Trump also has fired board members.

In the separate case of Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook, whom Trump had tried to fire, a 5-4 majority deviated from the Slaughter decision and ruled that the president could not fire central bank governors without cause. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the court's three liberals in the Cook case. They justified their exception to their Slaughter reasoning by citing the central bank's unique structure as congressionally chartered but independent, quasi-private institution whose “appearance of independence is key to the Federal Reserve’s design” and its role in setting monetary policy that shapes the U.S. and world economy.

Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

Officers said they were dispatched to the incident just before 10 p.m. in the 8600 block of Five Palms Drive, located near Old Pearsall Road.

The pedestrian attempted to cross the street “in an area not available for pedestrians,” according to an SAPD preliminary report. Police said the person was then hit and struck by a Buick Enclave.

Authorities said the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Buick remained on scene and cooperated with SAPD’s investigation.

The pedestrian has yet to be identified.

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The company is already one of the largest in South Korea, along with Samsung Electronics, and is a member of the Kospi index. Even with a recent pullback, the country's Kospi index is up 77% so far this year and SK Hynix shares have more than tripled.

SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts, or ADRs, at $149 each Thursday and they opened Friday at $170 on the Nasdaq. The offering of 177.9 million ADRs raised proceeds of $26.5 billion, making it the biggest-ever initial share sale in the U.S. by a foreign company. An ADR is issued by a bank or broker and is a simplified way for U.S. investors to own foreign stocks through the U.S. markets.

SK Hynix is going public in the U.S. amid a surge in IPO proceeds. There were 48 IPOs raising a total of $104.8 billion during the second quarter, according to Renaissance Capital. It is the biggest quarter for deal proceeds in five years, in large part because of SpaceX raising $75 billion. Many of the companies going public are capitalizing on the demand for all things AI.

SK Hynix has a dominant position globally for high bandwidth memory, which is essential for the development of advanced AI technology. The company recently entered a partnership with Wall Street’s most valuable company, Nvidia, for advanced memory chips as AI infrastructure expands globally.

Increasing demand for AI has been driving a surge in profits for chipmakers. Memory chips have become more expensive as demand outpaces supply along with the advancement of artificial intelligence technology. Technology giant Apple recently announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads because of the jump in price for memory chips.

The U.S. is SK Hynix’s largest market, accounting for 68.8% of its revenue last year. It is planning an expansion that includes building its first U.S. production facility, located in Indiana. Overall, the company had revenue of just under $65 billion in 2025. That helped profits double to about $28 billion.

The company recently joined with Samsung and the government in announcing plans to invest a combined 800 trillion won ($518 billion) in building a new computer chipmaking hub in South Korea’s southwest region, part of national efforts to expand investment beyond the greater Seoul metropolitan area, the country’s economic center and heart of its semiconductor sector.

The promise of growing profits has catapulted stock prices within the tech sector, particularly for chipmakers. Micron Technology's stock value more than tripled in 2025 and is on pace to more than triple again in 2026. Nvidia's stock had similar growth several years ago and notched more relatively modest gains in 2025.

Big chipmakers have become the most valuable and influential companies on Wall Street. Their high stock values give them outsized influence over Wall Street and major indexes have been setting records mostly because of the tech sector.

Shares in SK Hynix traded in Seoul slipped 0.3% on Friday.

Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, an immigration attorney representing the three men who were passengers in the van driven by Salgado Araujo, talked to the men, who are in immigration custody, on Thursday afternoon, according to his office.

Balderas-Ibarra also received written statements from the men and shared them with the Washington Post.

According to a statement on Tuesday from an ICE spokesperson, federal agents attempted to stop Salgado Araujo’s van as part of a “targeted enforcement” operation. The statement said Salgado Araujo “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense.”

“That is a lie,” Jose Trinidad Rojas, 51, wrote in a handwritten statement. “It is impossible for them to say that they were going to get run over … there were no officers in front of or behind the vehicle. They were on the sides.”

The men told Balderas-Ibarra that they were on their way to a construction job site after buying ice and water about 6:30 a.m. When they pulled up to a stoplight they noticed an unmarked vehicle following them, the newspaper reported.

As Salgado Araujo began to accelerate at a green light, the other vehicle got onto the shoulder, accelerated and cut in front of the van, the men said, according to Balderas-Ibarra’s account.

Salgado Araujo then made a U-turn and that’s when agents turned on the police lights on their unmarked vehicle, the Post reported. At that point Salgado Araujo, according to the newspaper, was not driving more than 5 miles per hour when agents rammed their vehicles into his work van.

“Lorenzo thought we had lost them but suddenly they surrounded us,” Rojas wrote by hand on a legal pad viewed by The Post.

That’s when an ICE agent got out of the unmarked vehicle and yelled “Stop.” He then fired his weapon from the van’s passenger side, hitting Salgado Araujo in the abdomen, according to the newspaper.

Salgado Araujo stopped and put the van in park when officers fired repeatedly into the van, the Washington Post reported.

“When he shot my brother, the gun was in front of my face,” wrote Victor Salgado, the driver’s brother, according to Balderas-Ibarra readout of his notes to the Washington Post.

Rojas described the ICE agents violently pulling Salgado Araujo out of the van and throwing him to the ground, the Post reported. They put handcuffs on the other men’s wrists and feet and put them on the ground as Salgado Araujo yelled for help as he bled out.

“It just happened so fast,” Salgado told the attorney, according to the Washington Post.

“They’re good people who didn’t deserve this,” Balderas-Ibarra told the Washington Post. “They were cooperating and not resisting.”

“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump posted on social media.

Trump had 10 days until the Friday deadline to sign the bill, issue a veto, or allow the measure to take effect without his signature. He has chosen to let the measure become law without his express approval, undercutting his administration's claims that he considers it a priority to combat inflation.

Trump’s rejection of the bipartisan housing legislation exacerbates tensions with his own party in a midterm election year and cuts short their efforts to address a key voter concern about rising costs. His post comes more than a week after he canceled plans to sign the bipartisan legislation, announcing he was using it as leverage in his push for a strict voter ID bill.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to lower the cost of housing and spur more home construction. It’s the broadest federal effort in decades to address America’s housing affordability problems, as state and local regulations have made it difficult to build in many of the communities that are also sources of job growth and economic opportunity. White House economists estimated earlier this year a national shortage of 10 million homes and the bill could help to close a portion of that gap.

But Trump called the bill “a yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.

He surprised Republican lawmakers on June 24, when, shortly before a planned signing ceremony at the Capitol, he announced he would not approve the bill until lawmakers first passed the voting legislation.

That bill, the SAVE America Act, doesn’t have enough Republican support to pass.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after submitting the housing bill to the White House that he told Trump he should get the “fattest black marker you have, and sign your name really big on that.”

“I hope he does sign it,” Johnson told reporters at the time. “If he doesn’t, it’s still law. We’ll still celebrate it.”

He said he also understood Trump was trying to make a point that the elections bill is the top priority. “And I think he’s making it very effectively,” Johnson said.

Still, Trump’s decision not to sign the bill gave Democrats an opening to criticize him on the issue of affordability.

“His priorities couldn’t be clearer: higher cost for families and more power for himself,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on X.

The housing bill passed the Senate on an 85-5 vote and the House approved it with an 358-32 vote.

That legislation seeks to cut federal housing rules, slim-down environmental reviews, make it faster to build homes and limit the ability of corporations to buy single-family homes.

The bill does not address all of the causes of the country’s housing woes, including a shortage of construction workers, climbing insurance costs and wages that have not risen fast enough for renters and buyers.

But the bill has drawn support from the real estate industry and housing advocates.

The U.S. housing market has been a driver of recent affordability challenges as skyrocketing prices have kept aspiring buyers out of the market. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that the median sales price increased 1.8% in June from a year earlier to $440,600, an all-time high on data going back to 1999.

___

Associated Press reporter Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Over the last five years, the area’s population has increased by nearly 21,000 people, along with the creation of approximately 20,000 new jobs, according to greater: SATX.

That growth is driving more infrastructure projects and new businesses, which some residents believe are welcome additions.

“There are already plenty of options, but it doesn’t hurt to have more, I think,” west Bexar County resident Fred Layser said.

A new Sam’s Club is expected to open in 2027 near U.S. Highway 90 and Loop 1604, according to records from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

In the Loop 1604 and Marbach Road area, a Target store is already under construction. The project is expected to be completed next March.

Leonard Jonas, who lives across the highway from the two developments, said he and his wife have lived in the area for more than 20 years and are looking forward to having more stores close to home.

“My wife’s a big fan,” Jonas said. “We’re members of Sam’s Club. She likes Target, so anything closer — anything with less traffic.”

State licensing records also show another retail project planned near State Highway 211 and West Grosenbacher Road. That project is expected to be completed in October.

Also expected to be completed in October is a Methodist Blue Skies freestanding emergency room along U.S. Highway 90. Blue Skies officials said the facility will expand access to high-quality emergency care for the community.

“The growth has been beneficial, new schools and other things in the areas,” Jonas said.

More growth is expected in the years ahead. Greater: SATX projects the population in the area (ZIP code 78245) alone could grow by nearly 9,000 people over the next four years.

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• New Target location to break ground next year on far West Side, TDLR says

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research points to how Jewish adults’ attitudes toward their own personal safety have changed over a relatively short period as more Americans became critical of the United States' close alliance with Israel. The war in Gaza sparked U.S. protests over Israel’s military actions against the Palestinians in Gaza, and coincided with an increase in violent attacks against U.S. Jewish communities.

The findings highlight the vulnerability that many Jewish adults in the U.S. feel as bipartisan support for Israel erodes and significant divides emerge within the Jewish community about what constitutes antisemitism — particularly when it comes to protesting Israel.

A significant share of Jewish adults, about 3 in 10, say they or someone in their household has experienced physical assault, verbal abuse, online harassment or damaged property because of their Jewish background over the last year, according to the survey.

Hal Guberman, a 30-year-old in New Jersey, wears a kippah with some trepidation ever since a stranger in a passing car yelled a slur at him when he was walking down the street last year.

“That person, they don’t know anything about me. They don’t know my politics. They don’t know my beliefs. They don’t know my viewpoints,” Guberman said. “But they saw me being visibly Jewish, and they made an opinion about me.”

Jewish adults see prejudice against Jews as a serious problem, and many feel unsafe

About 6 in 10 Jewish adults say that prejudice against Jewish people is an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the United States today, a view that is heightened among Jewish adults who say they are “extremely” or “very” emotionally attached to Israel.

About one-third of Jewish adults say they feel “very” or “somewhat” safe as a Jewish person in the U.S. today, while about one-third feel “very” or “somewhat” unsafe. The remaining roughly 3 in 10 say they feel neither safe nor unsafe. Those with a close connection to Israel or who identify as Jewish by religion — instead of saying they are religiously unaffiliated with a cultural, ethnic or family connection to Judaism — are more likely to feel threatened in the current environment.

About 6 in 10 Jewish adults say they feel “less safe” as a Jewish person in the U.S. than they did before Hamas' 2023 attack, including about 7 in 10 of those who are religiously Jewish. About one-third of Jewish adults say they feel “about as safe” and very few feel safer.

Erin Baskin, a 36-year-old in Pennsylvania, said the Oct. 7 attacks didn't change how safe she feels because she had her own experiences with prejudice before then.

“I’ve always grown up with antisemitism,” she said. “Among the rural community I’m in, they conflate Judaism with Zionism all the time. Unfortunately, that’s kind of been my experience. It’s nothing new.”

Some Jewish adults have grown wary of outwardly identifying themselves as Jewish following the Oct. 7 attacks, the survey found.

About 4 in 10 Jewish adults say they are “less likely” to wear, carry or display things that might identify them as a Jewish person than they were before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. About half say they are “about as likely” and about 1 in 10 say they are “more likely.”

Caitlin Rosendorn, a 24-year-old in Illinois, said they used to wear a Star of David necklace, but now worries that wearing it could give people the incorrect impression that they support Israel's attacks against the Palestinian people.

“I don't want to wear a Star of David to work if that's going to alienate somebody who sees the Star of David as a symbol of Israel as opposed to a symbol of Judaism,” Rosendorn said. “I don't want people to get the wrong idea about my views.”

Many Jews report physical assault, property damage or harassment

About 1 in 10 Jewish adults say that in the past year, they or someone in their household has been physically assaulted. A similar share had property damaged or destroyed specifically because of their Jewish background.

About 2 in 10 Jewish adults say they or someone in their household has been called a slur, threatened, verbally harassed or verbally abused. Similarly, about 2 in 10 say they experienced online harassment or cyberbullying. Overall, about 3 in 10 of Jewish adults say that they or someone in their household has experienced at least one of these incidents because of their Jewish background.

Jewish adults who attend religious services at least once a month are much likelier than Jewish adults overall to say they or someone in their household has experienced attacks or harassment over their Jewish background — a finding that comes as there have been several targeted attacks on Jewish religious spaces in recent years.

Slightly less than half of Jewish adults who frequently attend religious services say they or someone in their household has faced verbal harassment. A similar share experienced online harassment, and about one-quarter have dealt with physical attacks or property damage.

Jon Kessler, 38, of California, who grew up in the Conservative tradition of Judaism, believes non-Jews might be surprised at the extent to which Jewish adults have to consider security at community events.

“Most people when they go to church don’t have armed security, but every synagogue has an armed security guard," Kessler said. "My son’s Jewish daycare has an armed security guard.”

Jews are divided over whether protesting Israel is a form of antisemitism

Protests surrounding speakers tied to Israel — whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanahyu’s address to Congress or college speakers seen as either too supportive or too critical of the country — became more common following the backlash over Israel’s war in Gaza.

Jewish adults, in particular, are divided over whether protesting an event related to Israel is an act of prejudice against Jewish people generally. About half of Jewish adults say anti-Israel protests are not a form of antisemitism, but roughly 4 in 10 say they are.

Many anti-Israel protests have been tied to criticism of Israel’s military action in Gaza. More than 73,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel retaliated against Hamas’ attack in 2023, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilian and militant deaths.

About two-thirds of Jewish adults say criticizing Israel for its military actions is not a form of antisemitism, but Jewish adults with a close emotional connection to Israel are more likely to say that criticism of Israel’s military actions is antisemitic. That said, relatively few Jewish adults say it’s antisemitic just to criticize Israel for “any reason.”

Americans overall are less likely to say it’s antisemitic to protest an event that is supportive of Israel, or to criticize Israel’s military actions — but they are also much less likely to have an opinion.

Jewish adults are more unified in deeming some actions as definitively antisemitic. The overwhelming majority say vandalizing synagogues or Jewish-owned businesses because of Israel’s actions is antisemitism. The same goes for denying the reality or scope of the Holocaust, putting responsibility for Israel’s actions on Jewish people in the United States, saying Israel shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state or claiming American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S.

There is less consensus among non-Jewish U.S. adults on whether some of these actions constitute antisemitism, with many saying they’re not sure.

Amanda Goldsmith, 53, who lives in Chicago, believes people have become too comfortable expressing antisemitic views online — something that she previously thought only existed in extremist spaces.

“Now, it seems like there was an undercurrent, and it’s a free-for-all, and everyone is free to say what they want,” she said. “The freedom with which people say horrible things about Jewish people is appalling.”

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This story has been corrected to show that Caitlin Rosendorn uses they/them pronouns.

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Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Peter Smith in Pittsburgh 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.

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The AP-NORC poll of 3,040 adults was conducted June 11-17 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The poll included interviews with 1,022 Jewish adults. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points and the margin of sampling error for Jewish adults is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points.

The unconventional gift from the host of this week's NATO summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was meant to showcase his country's growing defense industry.

But it left officials across the alliance scratching their heads. Some were forced to leave their gifts behind due to gun laws in their countries, while others donated theirs to museums.

“It struck me that ⁠my gift of maple syrup kind of undermatched,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters, adding that the firearm was now in police possession. “I would like to reassure Canadians, they keep guns away from me.”

The revolvers were engraved with leaders' names

“An unusual gift from President @RTErdogan at the NATO Summit: a Magnum revolver with ammunition, engraved with my name,” Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on X, posting a photograph of a display box containing the revolver and six cartridges.

It was not immediately clear what he did with the gift.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union commission president, thanked Erdogan for the gift, which will be decommissioned and donated to a military museum, her spokesperson said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters that the gift bag included a note waiving export controls. Still, he left his behind to be decommissioned, because it would be illegal to import it into Britain.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed his revolver to airport police upon arrival. The revolvers gifted to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten were left at their countries’ embassies in Ankara and would also be taken out of service, officials said.

“My first reaction was, this is something a bit different to the box of syrup waffles that we gave out at the NATO summit in The Hague,” Jetten said Friday. “I think the Turkish president wanted to underscore what we saw during the NATO summit, namely that the Turkish defense industry is among the best in the world.”

Croatian President Zoran Milanović said he only found out after his return from the summit that Erdogan had given him a gun. His office said it would probably be handed over to a police museum.

“I didn’t take it. I shoot from different weapons,” Milanovic said, referring to his political style.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Erdogan's gifts.

On a visit to New Zealand last year, FBI Director Kash Patel gave the country’s police and spy bosses gifts of inoperable pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws and had to be destroyed.

The gift was aimed at highlighting Turkey's growing defense prowess

Erdogan's office has not commented on the gift. Turkish media reports identified the revolvers as the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a vintage six‑shot revolver produced by the Turkish state arms manufacturer, MKE.

Reports said the gun aimed to highlight Turkey's defense industry, which in recent decades has transformed from a major importer into an increasingly self‑reliant producer of advanced military systems, including drones and warships. It is in the process of developing its own next‑generation fighter jet.

Gun culture is deeply rooted in Turkey, and the gift hardly triggered any reaction in the country. Umut Vakfi, a foundation campaigning for gun control, says incidents of armed violence have reached alarming levels, reporting more than 2,700 last year in the country of 86 million people.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said participants at the summit were also given a more conventional gift: a copy of Erdogan's biography, titled: “The politics of courage: Erdogan and the rise of Türkiye.”

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Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Stefania Dazio in Berlin, Mike Corder in The Hague, Sylvain Plazy in Brussels and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed.

"Effective immediately, the suspension of all involved South Carolina pilots has been lifted," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote Friday morning on social media. “Carry on Patriots.”

The suspension followed "Salute from the Shore," a July 4 tradition honoring servicemembers in South Carolina since 2010 that features vintage and modern military aircraft flying along the 187-mile length of the state’s shoreline, with the intent of sparking patriotism among thousands of beachgoers gathered for the holiday.

This year’s salute included F-16s with the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing out of McEntire Joint Base, as well as a C-17 from the 437th Airlift Wing based at Joint Base Charleston. For the first time, Apache helicopters joined the air parade, which also featured civilian-owned vintage planes like T-34s and T-6s.

Numerous attendees often post video on social media of the display, but this year, online images of the Apaches flying at what appeared to be a low height over crowded beaches sparked concern with the South Carolina National Guard, which launched a review of the event and temporarily suspended the eight pilots from flying duties while that was ongoing, later clarifying the suspension was “a routine, non-punitive safety measure, not a disciplinary action.”

Late Thursday night, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted on social media that the Pentagon was getting involved, writing, “We’ll fix this. Carry on, Patriots.”

The message was similar to one issued by Hegseth in March, after the lifting of a suspension for a pair of Army pilots who hovered two AH-64 Apache helicopters near Kid Rock’s Tennessee home during a training run while he clapped and saluted.

“No punishment. No Investigation. Carry on, patriots,” Hegseth said then in a social media post, less than three hours after the Army announced its review. Kid Rock, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, said he thought it was “really cool” that the pilots stopped to hover at his house.

South Carolina Republicans rebuked the suspension of its Guard pilots. Rep. Russell Fry, who represents the Myrtle Beach area, said Thursday that the pilots "should be celebrated, not sanctioned.”

Ahead of Parnell's post noting the suspension had been lifted, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster — who serves as commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard — said he trusted the pilots' acumen, writing in a social media post that Guardsmen fly in wartime.

“Surely, they know how to safely navigate the coast of South Carolina — and her scores of cheering residents and tourists on our 250th anniversary," McMaster wrote.

McMaster's office said Friday the governor was pleased the suspension had been lifted. Asked whether the governor — a longtime Trump ally — had directly intervened, a spokesperson said the office “remains in regular communication with state and federal partners as part of its routine operations.”

The Pentagon declined to comment beyond Parnell's statement. Maj. Lisa Allen of the South Carolina National Guard confirmed in an email Friday that the suspension had been lifted but did not respond to a question over whether the Guard were still conducting an internal review.

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

Houston-based real estate firm Boomerang Industrial broke ground on a 325,274-square-foot cold storage project in Schertz, the company announced Monday. The project, a speculative development, is a joint venture with Houston investment firm Marble Capital. Dubbed “STX Frio,” the structure will rise at 22218 FM 2252.

Boomerang acquired the property in 2022, according to Comal County property records. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the 25-acre tract was last appraised at about $2.6 million, per the Comal County Appraisal District.

Read more of this story at the San Antonio Business Journal website.

Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.

More recent SABJ coverage on KSAT:

• San Antonio closes on $30M land deal to advance Project Marvel
• Terry Black’s BBQ family sets timeline for Broadway hotel project
• The Merc announces first wave of retail tenants
• Bexar County moves forward on $15M incentive package for H-E-B’s East Side expansion

The General Services Administration (GSA) and the city of San Antonio announced Monday the closing of a $30 million deal for three parcels to support the proposed sports and entertainment district known as Project Marvel. The city now owns the federal office building near Hemisfair at 727 E. César E. Chávez Blvd. and two parking lots at 610 and 611 Indianola St.

Government occupants in the federal building will lease back the property for up to five years. City Manager Erik Walsh said the sale is a step in the right direction for downtown.

“This $30 million purchase, funded by the Spurs, gives the City a chance to help guide future growth and redevelopment in the heart of our city as we work toward a downtown Sports and Entertainment District and a new Spurs arena,” he said in a statement. ”We appreciate the U.S. General Services Administration’s partnership in getting this done.”

Read more of this story at the San Antonio Business Journal website.

Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.

More recent SABJ coverage on KSAT:

• Terry Black’s BBQ family sets timeline for Broadway hotel project
• The Merc announces first wave of retail tenants
• Bexar County moves forward on $15M incentive package for H-E-B’s East Side expansion

It also highlighted the complex engineering behind adaptive reuse projects, which have become increasingly popular as officials try to tackle a nationwide housing shortage by transforming offices that have sat underused since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plans call for turning two office buildings — one built in 1909, the other in the 1960s — into about 1,600 apartments by adding more than a dozen stories atop the older structure and redesigning and expanding the other. The buckling occurred on the 21st floor of the newer structure, and crews have installed temporary supports as officials investigate.

Engineering experts said the conversion project is complex and poses many challenges, which include making sure older buildings can safely support new loads and carving up office floors to accommodate residential living.

But none said the high-profile setback should make people doubt the ability of engineers to complete such projects.

“I don’t think it really brings into question our understanding of how to do something like this,” said Ben Schafer, a structural engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University.

How do you build a new tower on top of an old one?

On its website highlighting the midtown project, adaptive reuse firm Collaborative Construction Management says the nine-story building from 1909 will be “threaded through” with a new addition of about 30 stories of poured concrete.

Schafer, who is not involved with the undertaking, said the likely approach is to have the century-old building continue to carry its own weight while building a new structural system to support additions.

“My interpretation would be that they’re going to leave that building carrying its own load, and they’re just going to poke holes in it so that they can take the load from the building that they’ve put above it and bring it all the way down to the foundation,” Schafer said.

Schafer said construction on the other tower presents a different challenge: punching holes in the existing floor plate to bring light into apartments, while also ensuring that the steel frame can support the newly added loads.

City officials have not determined what caused the columns to buckle. But both Schafer and Emily Guglielmo, a San Francisco-based structural engineer, believe the failure likely resulted from the added load.

Spokespersons for MetroLoft, the project developer, didn’t respond to requests for comment Thursday. But Nathan Berman, the firm’s founder, acknowledged in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the added weight from widening the top 15 or so floors of the building likely caused the damage.

Guglielmo thinks that either the original design assumptions were misunderstood, something went wrong during the design or construction process, or construction crews overloaded or weakened the structure.

Adding stories to existing buildings is common in dense urban areas where land is scarce, she said, but it requires reviewing original construction documents and inspecting the building before determining how additional floors will affect the structure.

“In cities and towns that don’t have that available geography, you’re going to see a lot more of this type of a design where there’s an adaptive reuse to an existing building,” Guglielmo said.

Why not just create a new building from scratch?

To many structural engineers, demolition should occur only as a last resort.

“Tearing buildings down is a terrible waste,” Schafer said, pointing out that buildings and the construction sector are responsible for about 40% of the world’s energy-related carbon emissions. “From a sustainability standpoint, that’s a disaster.”

Beyond the environmental costs, demolishing and hauling away the remnants of huge buildings is especially expensive in dense cities such as New York.

If an existing structure can safely be reused, engineers generally prefer that.

James LaFave, a structural engineering professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said a steel-framed building from the 1960s, like the former Pfizer structure, would typically be a “very good” starting point for a conversion.

Does the scare in New York call into question other adaptive reuse projects?

In recent years, officials across the country have embraced office-to-housing conversions as a potential lifeline for downtown business districts that have struggled since the pandemic.

New York, especially, has embraced this push, as officials have made zoning changes and enacted tax incentives to spur housing production. A report from the New York City comptroller's office last year noted there are 44 adaptive reuse projects in the city that, as of early 2025, had either been completed, were underway or could move forward.

Pfizer moved out of the building in 2023 after opening a new office near Penn Station, leaving the property vacant. Construction on the property began in 2024.

Joshua Harris, director of Fordham University’s Real Estate Institute, said office-to-residential conversions are a key part of solving the housing shortages in New York and other cities, even if they come with risk.

“In a certain sense, it’s not terribly surprising that this happened, and we should have a little bit of grace,” he said. “These are very, very complicated surgical procedures being done to very old buildings.”

“This is part of the reality of fixing the housing crisis,” Harris continued. “Things like this can happen. It doesn’t look as complex as putting a rocket into space, but, in a real estate sense, construction in an environment like Manhattan on 42nd Street and Second Avenue is very complex.”

Guglielmo, the California engineer, said a combination of building codes, inspections and experienced construction crews makes failures like this rare.

“We’re very fortunate here in the United States that we are not seeing these types of failures on a day-to-day basis,” she said. “We’re privileged to have really robust building codes that explain to us as engineers how to do our designs in a way that’s safe.”

Still, Harris said it is likely a gut check for the industry, as office conversions transform once sleepy business districts across the city into 24/7 neighborhoods, like parts of Wall Street in recent years.

“If this building has a problem, all the other projects that have been sort of greenlit, they’re going to want to review to make sure that it’s not something similar,” Harris said.

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Rico reported from Atlanta and Hill reported from Las Vegas.

A small fly has the potential to impart a big impact on Texas’ beef and agricultural industry.

On June 3, the New World screwworm was detected in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since then, the agency reported more screwworm infestations in Texas.

The fly poses a multibillion-dollar crisis for the state’s cattle industry, which generates $41 billion a year. It could also increase already record-high beef prices nationwide.

It’s unclear how many cases could hit Texas. Nearly 28,000 cases have been detected in Mexico since November 2024, according to Mexican officials.

State and federal officials are working together to stop the northern migration, which they have tracked since 2023. In response to the cases, USDA and the Texas Animal Health Commission have ramped up animal surveillance of animals near the confirmed detections by setting up zones around each infestation. Animals are not allowed to leave infested areas without being properly inspected.

Officials are also increasing fly traps, surveillance of wildlife and releasing sterile flies, which are used to break the reproduction cycle of the parasitic screwworm fly.

What is New World Screwworm?

New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly that is attracted to living tissue, burrowing their larvae into open wounds. After they hatch, the maggots then feed off that living flesh, causing damage to the animal. If untreated, the damage can even cause the animal to die.

Screwworm can also burrow through openings in the skin, such as the corner of an eye or through the nose.

From a biological standpoint, all mammals are vulnerable to screwworm, including pets and humans. However, livestock and wildlife tend to be the most susceptible because they spend their entire lives outdoors.

Dogs and cats are vulnerable through small wounds or scratches that break the skin. Health officials recommend pets be medicated for fleas and ticks year-round, said Casey Locklear, veterinarian and parasiticides lead for Elanco Animal Health.

“As a pet owner, if you were to notice that your dog or cat had a wound, especially if it’s foul smelling, it’s enlarging, you may actually see the maggots,” Locklear said. “If you see a wound, get treatment early. Whether that’s for yourself or your pet, early treatment is key.”

Read more about the screwworm here.

Speaking Wednesday alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to make the U.S.-designed systems that Kyiv has long sought to shield its cities and infrastructure from Russian missiles and drones.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

But the statement left open a crucial question: What exactly would Ukraine be allowed to produce?

“America has recognized Ukraine as a country that is ready to do this,” Zelenskyy told reporters Thursday, adding that Ukrainian and U.S. diplomats and defense officials must now work “without pauses” to finalize the licensing arrangements.

A license might not cover the complete Patriot system

Patriot interceptor missiles, which are fired to shoot down incoming missiles, drones and aircraft, are produced by U.S. defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, part of RTX.

A production license would not automatically allow Ukraine to manufacture complete Patriot batteries — including launchers, radar systems, command posts and missiles — from scratch. It could instead cover narrower parts of the system, such as interceptor missiles, final assembly from imported component kits or production of selected components.

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, said a U.S. license would typically come with technical documentation, training for specialists, supplier contacts and foreign consultants to help launch manufacturing.

Other experts say the first step would likely be more limited than full domestic production.

Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, development director of the Fly Group Ukraine defense company, said Trump’s wording was ambiguous because he referred broadly to producing “Patriots,” without specifying whether he meant missiles, launchers, radar systems, command centers or components.

Missile production alone involves a vast supply chain, Khrapchynskyi said, with hundreds of companies making parts such as control surfaces, engines, guidance systems and communications equipment.

The Trump administration has not offered details about the Ukraine license, but an administration official said the U.S. is significantly accelerating and expanding Patriot production to meet growing demand and is forming industrial partnerships with allies and partners globally to deliver Patriots. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Any additional Patriot systems would enter a war that has shown how quickly weapons production can expand when a country receives designs, technical support and access to components. Ukraine has become a leader in the manufacture of cheap, expendable drone systems. Russia has scaled up domestic production of Iranian-designed Shahed-type attack drones, known in Russia as Gerans, at a factory in Tatarstan.

But experts say Patriot interceptors are far more complex, requiring precision guidance, advanced radar technology, solid-fuel rocket motors, military-grade electronics and strict certification standards.

Full production could take years

Yehor Chernev, deputy chairman of Ukraine’s parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, said the legal and bureaucratic process could be launched within months, but implementing production would take years.

Even if Ukraine received complete component kits from abroad, Chernev said, it would likely need at least 18 to 24 months to launch its first pilot production line, followed by more time to complete the first weapons.

The PAC-3 missile, designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles, is among the most sophisticated parts of the Patriot family. Producing a PAC-3 MSE missile in the United States takes about 24 months, and producing its solid-fuel rocket motor requires around 30 months, he said.

Chernev said some technology, especially the missile’s active radar seeker, is so sensitive that Washington would be unlikely to transfer full documentation for Ukraine to manufacture them from scratch. That means Ukraine might have to import some of the most complex components and focus first on assembly, integration or less sensitive parts of the supply chain.

Dr. Thomas Withington, an analyst specializing in electronic warfare, radar and military communications at the Royal United Services Institute, said expectations should be managed.

Ukraine’s existing defense industry could help, Withington said, but the country would still need time to set up facilities, train workers and secure the necessary supply chains.

“This is not going to be a fix for the air-defense threats Ukraine is going to face tomorrow.”

Other countries have produced Patriot systems

The United States has allowed Patriot-related production abroad before, and experts say those examples show that licensed production is possible but slow.

Japan has produced Patriot missiles under license for decades. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has assembled PAC-3 missiles under a licensed agreement with Lockheed Martin, and Japan later loosened its postwar arms export restrictions to allow the sale of U.S.-designed Patriot missiles back to the United States — a move that could indirectly help replenish stocks used to support Ukraine.

Germany offers a more recent example. Raytheon and MBDA Deutschland announced in 2022 a plan to produce Patriot GEM-T missiles in Germany. A major NATO procurement contract followed in 2024 for up to 1,000 missiles, and a new production facility in Schrobenhausen is expected to play a role in supplying Ukraine and replenishing European inventories.

But Ukraine would face an additional challenge that Japan and Germany did not: Russian strikes.

Khrapchynskyi said any facility helping Ukraine defend its airspace would become a priority target for Moscow. Production would have to be placed in protected locations, potentially underground or inside shelters, he said.

That makes the license more of a long-term strategic step than an immediate battlefield solution. If implemented, it could help Ukraine become a future producer of air-defense weapons and reduce dependence on allies whose own stockpiles are under strain.

“It would not solve the current missile shortage in 2026,” he said, “but it would lay the foundation for Ukraine to become one of Europe’s leading producers of air-defense systems in the future.”

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Associated Press journalists Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine; Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo; Stefanie Dazio in Berlin; and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said advocacy groups, Austin Community College and a student could not step into the case to defend the Texas Dream Act because federal law bars states from giving undocumented students a tuition benefit based on residency unless the same benefit is available to all U.S. citizens, regardless of where they live.

The law allowed students who graduated from a Texas high school or earned an equivalent diploma in the state, lived in Texas and pledged to seek permanent residency when eligible to pay in-state tuition, even if they did not have legal immigration status.

Gov. Greg Abbott praised the 2-1 ruling on X, saying Texas and the Trump administration’s Justice Department “just secured another major victory for the rule of law.”

La Unión del Pueblo Entero and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund called the ruling a disappointment.

“Education is a human right, no matter someone’s immigration status or background,” said Tania Chavez Camacho, LUPE’s president and executive director.

Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF, which represents Students for Affordable Tuition, said the organization would seek further review in federal court after consulting with its clients.

Saenz said the panel majority was “now complicit in one of the greatest juridical travesties in recent history,” referring to the swift end of the Texas Dream Act after Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office and the Trump administration agreed the law should be blocked.

Austin Community College said in a statement that it “remains focused on supporting all students and the community we serve” and would follow the law while continuing its mission to provide “accessible, high-quality education and opportunities for all.”

Marco Julian Gonzalez, a University of Texas at Austin business student whose fraternity and sister sorority backed the students in court, said the ruling was disheartening.

“We know who these people are and we know who they are not, and when you have politicians go on the airwaves and call our friends criminal illegal aliens we take offense and that kept us motivated to keep going,” Gonzalez said.

Judge Jerry E. Smith wrote the majority opinion for the 5th Circuit Court, joined by Judge Don Willett. Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez dissented.

Smith was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Willett by President Donald Trump, and Ramirez by President Joe Biden.

The background

Texas was the first state to let certain undocumented students pay in-state tuition when lawmakers passed the Texas Dream Act in 2001 with little debate and broad, bipartisan support.

The law, signed by the Republican former Gov. Rick Perry, allowed certain students without legal status to qualify if they graduated from a Texas high school or earned an equivalent diploma here, lived in the state for at least three years before graduating and signed an affidavit saying they would seek permanent residency as soon as they were eligible.

Supporters said Texas benefited from students educated in its K-12 schools by making college more affordable and moving them into the workforce. But as Republican politics shifted on immigration, the law became a target. 

After multiple failed efforts from state lawmakers to change the law, U.S. Justice Department lawyers sued Texas last year. Paxton’s office quickly agreed the law conflicted with federal immigration law and asked a judge to block it. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor approved the agreement and blocked the law the same day.

Students for Affordable Tuition, La Unión del Pueblo Entero, Austin Community College and student Oscar Silva asked the court to let them defend the Texas Dream Act themselves.

Students for Affordable Tuition is a group of students who say they were harmed by the ruling. La Unión del Pueblo Entero, or LUPE, is an immigrant-rights group. They asked to intervene along with Austin Community College and Silva, a University of North Texas graduate student who qualified for in-state tuition under the Texas Dream Act. 

O’Connor, a President George W. Bush appointee who sits in the Northern District of Texas’ Wichita Falls division, rejected their request, so they appealed to the 5th Circuit.

What the students and immigrant advocates say

Advocacy groups Students for Affordable Tuition and LUPE, Austin Community College and Silva argued they have the legal right to intervene. They urged the court to apply a more lenient standard for intervention instead of requiring proof that their defense of the Texas Dream Act would ultimately succeed. 

Students for Affordable Tuition said the stakes are concrete for its members, who “face significant increases in their higher education costs, putting college out of reach for many of them, some of whom have already spent years in college and will not be able to complete their specific program.”

“The people of Texas are entitled to genuine litigation before a federal court invalidates their democratically enacted statute,” lawyers said in a legal brief to the 5th Circuit. 

Thomas Saenz, the lead lawyer for Students for Affordable Tuition, also stressed that affected students did not get due process because of how quickly the Texas Dream Act was overturned. 

It is “important to emphasize here how extraordinary that it all occurred as quickly as it did,” Saenz told the 5th Circuit during oral arguments on June 4. “The court needs to look at whether this extraordinary situation violated due process rights held by students for affordable tuition and the other students who benefited or would benefit in the future.”

The groups believed the Texas Dream Act did not conflict with federal law because eligibility was not based solely on residency. Students also had to graduate from a Texas high school or earn an equivalent diploma here, live in the state for at least three years before graduating and sign an affidavit saying they would seek permanent residency as soon as they were eligible.

What the federal government says

Justice Department lawyers sued Texas, saying the Texas Dream Act violated a 1996 federal immigration law. That federal law says states cannot give people who are not lawfully present a higher education benefit unless U.S. citizens can get the same benefit, no matter where they live. 

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys argued that the Texas Dream Act so clearly conflicted with federal immigration law that allowing others to intervene and defend it would be futile.

“We opposed intervention … only on the grounds that it’s legally futile because the statutes are preempted,” Andrew Marshall Bernie, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, told the appeals court during oral arguments last month.

Responding to concerns over due process, Bernie argued courts are not constitutionally required to hear from outside groups when a state law is challenged for violating a federal statute. In the end, he said, the outside groups did get due process because their arguments have been heard by the trial court and the 5th Circuit.

Broader impact

The Texas Dream Act opened higher education to more than 57,000 students, lawyers for LUPE, ACC and Silva told the court. The end of the law could cost Texas hundreds of millions of dollars a year through reduced wages, earnings and consumer spending, lawyers for LUPE, ACC and Silva told the court. ACC said it expected lost revenue, administrative burdens and negative effects on programs and services if the ruling remains in place.

Since O’Connor blocked the Texas Dream Act last year, students and colleges across the state have faced confusion over who still qualifies for in-state tuition.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board told colleges to identify and reclassify students who are not lawfully present as nonresidents but did not provide clarity on how to do so. That uncertainty led at least one student with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to be initially charged out-of-state tuition, The Texas Tribune previously reported. 

Students for Affordable Tuition told the 5th Circuit that several Texas colleges had charged DACA recipients out-of-state rates, even though Texas lawyers said they should still qualify for in-state tuition.

Correction, June 8, 2026: An earlier version of this story stated that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board provided clarity to colleges on how to identify and reclassify certain students as nonresidents. The board did not provide that clarity.

The first stage of a Long March-10B rocket separated from the second stage after liftoff and returned to a platform in the sea, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

It was the first time China recovered the first stage of a rocket. America's SpaceX has been doing so for several years to drive down launch costs by reusing the booster that helps lift the satellites or whatever the rocket is carrying into space.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have been recovering their rockets since 2015, saving vast amounts of money by recycling them rather than ditching them after liftoff. SpaceX leads the pack with more than 600 landings of its first-stage Falcon boosters, steering them to ocean barges as well as landing zones near the launch pads. Just this week, SpaceX launched a booster for the 36th time, a new record.

For SpaceX’s bigger and more powerful Starships making test flights out of Texas and soon to expand to Florida, the company is working to capture the returning rockets with giant mechanical arms at the launch pad.

Blue Origin started out by landing its New Shepard boosters in Texas following short flights to the edge of space, and has since recovered its bigger New Glenn boosters on a floating platform off the Florida coast.

Now that China has joined the rocket recycling boom, Japan is up next with a launch and landing attempt this weekend.

The Long March rocket was launched from China's Hainan Island, a popular beach destination off the country's southern coast.

The rocket's reusable configuration can launch a payload of up to 16,000 kilograms (35,275 pounds) into what is called low Earth orbit, Xinhua said.

The maximum payload of the SpaceX Falcon 9 is 22,800 kilograms (50,265 pounds), according to the SpaceX website. The Falcon rockets transport astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station.

Court records show Ceasar Gonzalez, 45, was convicted Wednesday and received his sentence Thursday before Judge Joel Perez in Bexar County’s 437th Criminal District Court.

DA’s office officials said Gonzalez was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over by law enforcement due to the driver’s “outstanding warrants.”

During the traffic stop, officers said they found approximately 17 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale and “evidence consistent with the distribution of narcotics” inside his backpack.

Prosecutors also noted Gonzalez’s previous conviction and sentencing on a child sexual assault charge.

“Drug trafficking poses a serious threat to the safety and well-being of our community and habitual offenders who continue to engage in criminal activity must be held accountable,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said in a news release. “Today’s sentence reflects our commitment to working alongside law enforcement to keep dangerous offenders off our streets and protect the people of Bexar County.”

More recent courts coverage on KSAT:

• East Side woman accused of murder takes plea deal on reduced charge, sentenced to 15 years in prison
• San Antonio man sentenced to 40 years in prison for sexual exploitation of children, racketeering activity
• Man records arrest of 2 murder suspects in Del Rio, later learns victim was his relative

For her, this World Cup couldn't make more sense.

Hallam is among a sizable number of English-speaking people in the U.S. who are doing something these days that might be considered a bit surprising: They're watching broadcasts of World Cup matches in Spanish on Telemundo, even though they have little idea — or in some cases, no idea — what the announcers are saying.

“I can’t really understand everything they’re saying on Telemundo because they’re speaking in Spanish,” Hallam said. “But you understand what’s going on.”

The math is simple. Census figures show that about 20% of the U.S. is Hispanic, yet Telemundo points to Nielsen ratings to show that roughly half the World Cup viewers in the U.S. have watched at least some portion of some matches in Spanish. Every match of the tournament has been available for U.S. viewers in English on Fox or FS1, on Telemundo or Universo in Spanish, and there are streaming options such as Fox One or Peacock.

Among the reasons commonly cited by viewers who spoke with The Associated Press in recent days: A fascination with famed broadcaster Andrés Cantor's “¡goooooool!” call. Telemundo doesn't cut away for commercials (as Fox does) during the much-maligned hydration breaks. The broadcasts, some simply find, are more entertaining. And in other cases, it's a cost-based decision: Peacock, which includes Telemundo, is lower-priced than Fox One.

Soccer as a global language, transcending a limited vocabulary

Jackson Braunius is a Michigan native who watched a U.S. game last week from a bar seat at a steakhouse in Miami Lakes, Florida. He said he speaks almost no Spanish — “I know ‘cerveza,’” he said, tapping his beer glass — but didn't mind watching on Telemundo whatsoever.

“I figured out the science here,” Braunius said. “When they’re not talking too loud, nothing is happening. When they get loud, there’s a chance. When they get real loud, it’s probably going to be a goal.”

Comedian Trevor Noah has been hosting World Cup watch parties on YouTube. He's made the switch to Spanish-language feeds, and the hydration break issue was a huge part of that decision.

“We’re seeing the players on the pitch discussing what’s happening. You see which coach is more stressed. Some players are tapping each other on the back. This is part of the game,” Noah said on one of his YouTube streams. “I feel like when you cut to ads, you lose this — you lose the stress, you lose the joy, the anticipation. So, shout out again, Telemundo: Really, really amazing coverage.”

Telemundo is hearing the praise, and has thanked English-speakers — as well as Noah directly — for lauding its coverage.

The good news for everyone is this: There seems to be more than enough viewers to go around right now. And the success of this tournament could lead to a bidding war for the 2030 World Cup, with some reporting the rights for English-speaking and Spanish-speaking television will be packaged together in that deal. That wasn't the case for this World Cup.

Fox Sports said that Monday night's Belgium-U.S. match saw a peak viewership total of around 41 million at one point, making it the “most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history,” the network said. In other words, the final U.S. game in this World Cup had more viewers than anything in this country since the Super Bowl — with at least 45 million viewers, on average, between Fox (33 million) and Telemundo (an estimated 12 million). The most recent Super Bowl drew an average of about 125 million viewers, according to Nielsen data.

Anglophones become hooked on Telemundo

William Kennedy of Miami is married to a Colombian woman, whose native language is Spanish. He says he knows only enough Spanish to be able to order meals in restaurants. And yet, he finds himself often watching World Cup matches on Telemundo.

If Colombia was on, the Kennedy house was watching Telemundo. If Colombia — which was ousted in penalty kicks by Switzerland on Tuesday — isn't on, Kennedy finds himself usually making his way to Telemundo anyway.

“When the American commentators are doing the game, I don’t know what game they’re watching. I just don’t,” Kennedy said. “I’d rather get the excitement in Spanish because essentially what happens is they’re talking, and then they’re talking really, really fast, and then they’re getting loud and your brain is just like, ‘Oh, something’s happening — even if I don’t know what’s happening.’”

Hallam — who finds the World Cup has been a great way to bond further with her Spanish-speaking students — only became a big soccer fan a few years ago, when her daughter decided she wanted to play in a recreational league for elementary kids. The league needed coaches, so Hallam literally checked out a “coaching for dummies” book and began teaching herself the game.

She kept coaching her daughter all the way through high school. Now, she's hooked on soccer and hooked on Spanish-speaking broadcasts — and plans to keep watching, even when the World Cup ends.

“It’s just very comforting,” Hallam said. “We're really enjoyed it and I hope we get to continue. The next World Cup, we’re going to watch it just like this.”

___

Lamy reported from Indianapolis.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Then, Jada satisfies her sweet tooth at The Milkshake Factory, a brand-new retro-inspired dessert shop serving handcrafted milkshakes, chocolates and nostalgic treats. She samples some of the shop’s best-selling creations and gets a look inside San Antonio’s newest sweet spot.

Jen also stops by Flaming Wok, where fresh ingredients and bold flavors come together for delicious Asian-inspired dishes that are quickly becoming a local favorite.

Then, Jen visits Unko Maui’s for authentic Hawaiian comfort food before cooling off with a stop at Hokalani Ice, where colorful Hawaiian shave ice makes the perfect summertime treat.

Don’t forget, it’s time to cast your vote in SA Picks. Voting is now underway, giving the community the opportunity to support their favorite local restaurants, businesses and services. The voting period runs through July 22, and winners in each category will be announced during the week of August 10.

The union wants biannual raises to pump up officer pay by 20.5% over the course of a new three-year contract. The city has now gone as high as 14.8% while proposing a similar series of raises.

The gap amounts to a more than $3,700 difference in the potential yearly pay for a rookie officer at the end of the contract, and a more than $7,900 difference for the most senior captains.

Pay has been a sticking point in the current negotiations. At one point, the union paused the talks because of a previous city offer the union’s former president described as a “slap in the face.”

The union said it needs bigger raises to compete with other large police departments in Texas.

“These are the people you call when you need assistance. You want the highest caliber individual that you can get,” Sgt. Christopher Lutton with the San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) negotiating team told KSAT. “We just don’t want to check a box with individuals coming in.”

However, the city said San Antonio Police Department officers are already competitively compensated when total pay and benefits are factored in.

“Compensation is not just the base pay, but we’re also looking at some of the incentive pays and, of course, healthcare, as well,” Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez said. “So all that combined will make that final compensation packet.”

The city is also heading into a tough budget year, which is expected to involve cuts and possibly a property tax increase. City staff hope to negotiate a deal before they present a draft budget to the council on Aug. 13.

The city and union began negotiating a new contract in late January and have settled a number of other matters in the contract, such as hours of work.

Pay and other issues, including health benefits, still need to be nailed down, but both sides expressed cautious optimism that they could be closing in on a deal soon.

Any deal reached at the negotiating table would need to be accepted by both the union membership and City Council.

Even if a new deal isn’t reached by the end of the existing contract at the end of September, an evergreen clause would keep the current terms in place for up to eight years.

They are scheduled to meet next on July 16.

Read also:

• City of San Antonio names Jesse Salame as SAPD’s acting police chief

Jessica Ruiz said she bought the bus about four-and-a-half years ago after recognizing it as the same bus used in the movie about Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla-Pérez.

Ruiz, who said she was once a Selena impersonator in Arizona, said she purchased the bus because of its significance to fans.

“When I saw it, I immediately was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s the one,’” Ruiz said.

According to Ruiz, the bus had been stored on a property on Churchill Avenue west of Kirby while she arranged to have it moved. Because the bus is not operational, she said it has to be transported by tow truck.

Someone checked on the bus July 5 and confirmed it was still at the property, Ruiz said. A towing company arrived to move it two days later, and the bus was gone.

“They were like, ‘Your bus is not here. It’s gone,’” Ruiz said. “My heart just dropped.”

The man who had given her permission to store the bus at the property has since moved to Oklahoma, Ruiz said.

Ruiz said he told her he would return to help locate the bus, but she has not been able to reach him.

Ruiz said she has contacted towing companies and local impound lots but has been unable to locate the vehicle.

The San Antonio Police Department generated an information report documenting Ruiz’s complaint.

According to SAPD, the reports were filed after Ruiz reported the bus missing. No criminal offense has been confirmed, and Ruiz said officers advised her that additional documentation would be needed if she wanted to pursue a theft report.

Ruiz estimates she has invested more than $20,000 in the bus, including the purchase price, storage and towing costs.

Ruiz said her goal was to restore the bus and eventually create a destination where Selena fans could experience a piece of movie history, possibly as an Airbnb-style attraction.

“It’s iconic,” Ruiz said. “It’s part of our culture.”

Now, Ruiz hopes someone recognizes the distinctive bus and comes forward with information about its whereabouts.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact SAPD.

Read also:

• Jacob Tobey out as Spurs TV voice after cheating allegation becomes public
• San Antonio woman behind viral ‘Where we roll’ rap song set to be released from prison next week

City Manager Erik Walsh tapped SAPD Assistant Chief Jesse Salame as acting San Antonio Police Chief on Wednesday after longtime SAPD Chief William McManus moved his planned retirement up by more than two months.

Salame, a 26-year veteran of the department, will be at the helm until the next chief is chosen, which is likely to be in September.

McManus endorsed Salame to be his permanent successor. Salame confirmed to KSAT he has applied for the job.

Salame said he was “extremely grateful” for McManus’ support and “would certainly hope” that being chosen as his temporary replacement means he’s on an early shortlist for the permanent job.

In the meantime, Salame said he feels like a “steward” of the department and doesn’t plan on any major changes or restructuring.

“If I was selected to do that, that’s the time to do all those things,” Salame said. “Again, my focus right now is really on just being that stable, steady leader that we need during this transition.”

Salame graduated from the SAPD Academy in 1999 and has been a homicide detective, a spokesman for the department, chief of staff and an assistant chief overseeing the operations support bureau since November 2024.

For most of that time, Salame and the other 2,900 San Antonio police officers have had the same chief: William McManus.

McManus was hired to lead SAPD in 2006. Apart from a nine-month period in 2015 when he led security at CPS Energy, McManus has been at the head of the department.

McManus’ last day as chief is Friday, and he plans to become the vice president of security for Silver Ventures, which manages Pearl.

“It’s a transition for all of us,” Salame said. “A lot of departments go through this regularly, within three to five years. I think it’s just a little bit different for us because most of the officers on this department don’t know another — have never had another — police chief.”

Though Salame declined to go into detail on what should change or remain with the next chief, he said “if something’s working, we will keep it.”

“Of course, I’ve got a lot of ideas,” Salame said. “We all have a lot ideas. But I would like input, not just from our officers, our professional staff, but from the community.”

The application window for the chief job closes Wednesday, July 15. The city anticipates conducting in-person interviews with candidates in August with several panels that represent the community.

Though Walsh will be the one to appoint the next chief, the mayor and city council will vote to confirm his choice.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• City of San Antonio names Jesse Salame as SAPD’s acting police chief
• SAPD Chief William McManus reflects on 20-year tenure, successor, possible future in politics

There are hundreds of data centers built and proposed across Texas, according the Texas Tribune’s data center map. Thirty-one of which are currently up and running.

Several counties around Bexar County could have data centers soon, as well.

Despite Atascosa County not having any active proposals for data centers, the county had a public meeting Tuesday to explain what role the county plays with developers building data centers in the area.

Westover Hills, located on the West Side, has several data centers run by multiple companies.

Vantage Data Centers has a building in Westover Hills. In May, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality held a public hearing about the data center that hoped to acquire an operating permit because of its needs to add diesel generators.

“The purpose of a federal operating permit is to improve overall compliance with the rules governing air pollution control by clearly listing all applicable requirements,” TCEQ’s notice of hearing stated.

District 6 council member Ric Galvan said his office has received complaints about data centers, particularly because his district has several within its boundaries.

“They’re looking at doing the ‘hyperscaler,’” Galvan said. “Less data collection, more focused on how AIs can be used here for different companies. ... They’re looking for 32 on-site diesel generators, which would impact our air quality significantly.”

“Hyperscaler” are data centers significantly larger than traditional on-premises facilities, according to IBM.

KSAT reached out to Vantage for an interview on July 2 but have yet to hear back.

“District 6 has the highest concentration of data centers in Bexar County,” Galvan said. “A lot of residents have reached out to our office about it, as well. Ultimately, it comes down to the state, who oversees air quality here in our community through TCEQ.”

Hundreds of people have shared their concerns and support for data centers on social media.

One person shared with KSAT via a social media comment, “The one in Westover Hills is down the street from me. It’s huge, but I don’t hear or see it. Nothing odd. It’s fine.”

Several people simply said they disagree with the centers with one person saying “they’re loud as hell.”

“I know we have several data centers over here,” one KSAT viewer named Meg said. “I disagree with them. I don’t hear anything different, but worry heavily on their energy and water consumption.”

Galvan said all of the data centers in San Antonio use less than 0.3% of the city’s water.

“For CPS Energy, they try to make sure that we’re not having too many all spread out because that requires more transmission connecting to them,” Galvan said. “So, if they’re co-located, the energy infrastructure gets to stay in that one central location for the most part.”

Galvan also shared the positive financial impact of data centers.

“There is a significant taxable value here in our city where a significant portion of our CPS Energy revenues and our property tax revenues come from data centers here in the community,” Galvan said.

Vantage will still need a Federal Operating Permit from TCEQ to operate dozens of diesel generators due to the potential for significant air quality impacts.

“We already have, in Bexar County, a significant impact of air quality issues here,” Galvan said. “So, they have to go to the state-level TCEQ.”

Read also:

• Atascosa County residents voice concerns over potential data centers
• Cases involving violent extremists targeting kids online rose 300% in San Antonio in 2 years, FBI says

Cameron Joseph Grady, 17, faces two counts of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, court records show.

According to the affidavit, Grady and a suspect known only as “Reuben” ripped chains from two victims’ neck during a June 28 party in the 2000 block of Creek Knoll. The alleged robbery happened 10 days after Grady committed to play football at UTSA.

First and foremost, I want to thank God, my family, coaches, and everyone who has supported me throughout this journey. After much thought and prayer, I am blessed and excited to announce my commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at UTSA.
Thank you to all the… pic.twitter.com/CooB1Z0zTF

— Cam (@CamGradyy) June 18, 2026

As Grady and “Reuben” left the party, the two victims followed them with the intent of recovering their chains, the affidavit states. “Reuben,” then pulled out a gun and pointed it at one of the victims. Police said Grady then punched the second victim in the face, leaving them with a black eye.

Both victims later identified Grady as one of the suspects and told investigators they recognized him from “playing high school football,” the affidavit stated. The victims identified Grady in a photo lineup.

The second victim also told investigators that they were “struck multiple times from behind” by several “unidentified males.”

Grady was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on June 8 on a $100,000 bond. Jail records show he was released the following day.

KSAT reached out to UTSA for a comment.

“NCAA bylaws expressly prohibit universities from providing public comment on high school students, as the NCAA considers them a prospective student-athlete once they enter the ninth grade,” a UTSA spokesperson told KSAT.

Grady is entering his senior year at Sotomayor High School.

Read also:

• Jacob Tobey out as Spurs TV voice after cheating allegation becomes public

As a part of the deal, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office elected to waive Julie Marie Lopez’s murder charge in favor of an aggravated robbery charge that carries a 15-year prison sentence.

Lopez, 20, has already earned credit for 499 days of time served behind bars.

Judge Christine Del Prado presided over Lopez’s case in Bexar County’s 227th Criminal District Court.

SAPD’s initial report

San Antonio police officers were dispatched on a shooting call just after 4 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2024, to the Villas of Oak Creste apartments in the 5300 block of Fredericksburg Road.

The 911 caller told authorities they heard gunshots coming from a nearby apartment and that multiple rounds went through the caller’s walls.

While the San Antonio Police Department said the 911 caller was uninjured, officers arrived at the scene and later determined that the gunshots came from an adjacent apartment.

When the officers gained entry into the apartment, police said the officers found a man, later identified as Isaiah Guevara, inside the apartment with an apparent gunshot wound.

How police discovered Lopez and Guevara’s connection

In a January 2025 warrant for Lopez’s arrest obtained by KSAT, investigators found Instagram messages between Guevara and Lopez on the night of the shooting, including plans to meet.

Police said Lopez, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, initially sent Guevara her address to pick her up with a rideshare driver, but Lopez later said she found a ride.

Surveillance video from a QuikTrip near Guevara’s apartment showed Lopez and Guevara inside the convenience store. Lopez was seen drinking from a QuikTrip cup with a straw, black lid and red liquid, the affidavit states.

Police said a witness was driving the vehicle that Guevara, 20, and Lopez exited and returned from the convenience store and then back to the apartment complex, according to the affidavit.

Lopez sent a voice message to the second witness at 3:42 a.m. on the day of the incident, indicating the group was “hiding,” the affidavit states.

The witness said they did not remember the voice message sent by Lopez and denied picking up anyone else, according to the affidavit.

An anonymous tipster told police on Jan. 6, 2025, that they had heard Lopez talking with a relative after a Crime Stoppers bulletin was posted in which she admitted to being at the victim’s apartment that night and described the event as a setup, court documents show.

Lopez told police the next day that she was at Guevara’s apartment on the night of the shooting. She refused to identify the other two people she had been with that day and who she referenced in the voice message, according to the affidavit.

Lopez then told officers, “It’s my choice,” and “It’s my mistake,” when she was asked about taking responsibility for the murder while the other suspects remained free.

On Jan. 15, 2025, a separate witness told police Lopez had been part of the setup for Guevara to be robbed. One of her friends allegedly killed Guevara while they were in his apartment, the affidavit states.

In March 2026, San Antonio police initially arrested and charged Felix Brandon Garcia, 24, in connection with Guevara’s murder.

However, due to insufficient evidence, court records show Garcia’s murder case was dismissed on June 3.

‘It’s just not fair’

After proceedings concluded Thursday, Denise Villarreal, Guevara’s mother, and Christina Rodriguez, Guevara’s aunt, criticized Lopez’s plea deal.

“Them (the Bexar County DA’s Office) changing it from, truly, a murder charge to a robbery charge is upsetting,” Rodriguez said. “And that’s why we keep fighting. We’re going to keep coming for the hearings because it’s just not fair.”

Villarreal and Rodriguez accused Lopez of being untruthful during Thursday’s court proceedings.

“She’s a lying little girl,” Villarreal said. “She tried to lie again in court.”

“She did try to lie, but they (the prosecution) had enough sufficient evidence to question her. ... Even though she says that she’s sorry, she is not sorry,” Rodriguez said. “She set this up for him (Guevara) to be taken away from us.”

“Still, I don’t feel sorry for her at all,” Villarreal said.

The sisters said they are hopeful for new developments regarding possible suspects connected to the case.

Despite his dismissed murder charge, they singled out Garcia by name.

“The one that shot my Isaiah, my nephew, is free walking the streets, gets to see his family, wake up every morning and see his mom,” Rodriguez said. “Isaiah can’t do that. Isaiah’s gone.”

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Affidavit: Man arrested in connection with fatal 2024 shooting at NW Side apartment complex
• Affidavit: Woman arrested in Northwest Side murder of 20-year-old man
• ‘We’re not at peace right now’: Family mourns nephew shot, killed
• Man shot, killed in Northwest Side apartment complex shooting, SAPD says

The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said group sales fell 8.6% in the second quarter to just under 2.1 million vehicles, with sales in China alone plummeted by more than one-third.

After a board meeting on Thursday, Volkswagen said its “fundamental realignment” over the last three years had reached its next phase, announcing plans to streamline the model lineup by up to half, without providing specifics.

CEO Oliver Blume laid out plans to make VW faster and more competitive through less complexity, focused technologies, better alignment across regional markets and reduction of overcapacities, among other things, citing an “increasingly demanding environment.”

Among its main brands, the core Volkswagen unit saw deliveries of slightly over 1 million vehicles in the second quarter, a drop of 14% from a year earlier. Deliveries at Audi declined 8% and those at Porsche fell 18%.

Lamborghini, Skoda and the trucks unit reported upticks, and sales grew in the Americas and Europe.

Volkswagen cited dramatic change over the last year, including geopolitical tensions, rising costs mainly through tariffs, and increasing regulatory requirements alongside growing competition.

As recently as December, Volkswagen was betting big on China, where electric cars have been taking a greater market share and competition is stiff.

Research firm BernsteinSG, in a note after Thursday's announcement, expressed skepticism. “VW stated that it is extending its technology leadership, a claim that will likely raise eyebrows given the pace of innovation among its Chinese competitors,” it said.

Also Thursday, hundreds of employees led a protest outside the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau to demand protections for jobs and voice opposition to plans to close the site. The factory has fully switched to making electric cars.

The EU's executive arm issued a fresh set of charges against Meta Platforms as part of its investigation under the 27-nation bloc's strict digital rule book known as the Digital Services Act. The sweeping set of regulations from Brussels requires tech platforms to protect internet users under threat of hefty fines.

The European Commission said Meta failed to properly assess the risks its design features pose to the physical and mental health of users, including minors. And while the company has tools and controls to help manage Facebook and Instagram use, it said they were easily overridden, dismissed, or technically challenging to use.

Meta “needs to implement design changes” to Instagram and Facebook, such as disabling “key addictive features” like autoplay of videos and infinite scroll so they’re not turned on by default, the commission said in its preliminary findings.

Meta now has the chance to respond and defend itself before the commission issues its final decision, which could result in a fine worth up to 6% of the company’s global annual revenue.

Meta said Friday that the preliminary findings do not recognize the steps that the company has already taken to protect teens.

“Since this investigation began, we rolled out Teen Accounts that automatically protect teens and put parents in control - allowing them to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at just 15 minutes,” Meta said in a prepared statement. "We share the European Commission’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive online experiences and will continue to engage constructively with them.”

Europe is committed to enforcing its legislation that holds platforms accountable for addictive design features, said Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice-president at the commission overseeing tech.

“Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms,” Virkkunen said in a written statement.

Facebook and Instagram design features, including personalized recommendations and push notifications, serve up an endless stream of content, putting users' brains on “autopilot” and fueling compulsive use, the commission said.

Meanwhile, screen time controls that parents can impose on their teens' devices can be “easily dismissed” and don't result in a meaningful reduction of use, the commission said. And the controls are undermined by the technical expertise, time and effort that parents need to understand and use them, it said.

The commission's proposed design changes also included finding better ways to encourage screen time breaks, and changing the content recommendation system so that it’s less “engagement-oriented.”

The preliminary findings are the latest charges since Brussels opened its investigation in 2024 over concerns that the social media giant wasn't doing enough to protect children online.

The EU said earlier this year that Meta had failed to prevent children under 13, the company's minimum age to use Facebook and Instagram, from signing up. It also said Meta was not doing enough to identify and remove underage users after they had opened accounts.

The video, shared exclusively with KSAT by a neighbor who asked not to be identified, shows Danh Thanh Dinh, 38, walking through a neighborhood along Knapp Rise near Culebra Road on June 23.

According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched after receiving reports of a man, later identified as Dinh, armed with multiple knives allegedly trying to get into a home.

The surveillance footage appears to show Dinh crossing the street and walking up a driveway. Moments later, he was seen holding what sheriff’s office officials described as two samurai-like swords as he approached one home’s front door.

The neighbor who provided the video said it shows Dinh attempting to enter the home before deputies arrived.

>>Bodycam video shows man approaching BCSO deputies with knives moments before far West Side shooting

Body camera video previously released by BCSO shows deputies finding Dinh hiding behind a pillar on the front porch. Deputies repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapons while telling him they were there to help.

According to investigators, Dinh refused to comply and instead advanced toward deputies while holding the knives. A deputy then opened fire on Dinh.

Dinh survived the shooting, was treated at a hospital and later booked into the Bexar County jail. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault against a public servant before he was released on a combined $200,000 bond.

Residents who spoke to KSAT said the incident has left many in the neighborhood concerned about their safety. They also questioned why no additional charges have been filed related to what they described as an attempted break-in at a nearby home.

KSAT reached out to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office for information regarding the charges and whether additional charges are being considered. The request was made after normal business hours, and KSAT did not receive a response as of publication.

Information was also requested about whether Dinh had previous interactions with law enforcement before the June 23 shooting.

KSAT will update this story if additional information becomes available.

Related coverage on KSAT:

• San Antonio man shot by BCSO deputy after waving knives ‘in a threatening manner’ identified
• Man shot by BCSO deputy after advancing with ‘large knives’ on far West Side, sheriff says

Stephen F. Austin State University will phase out its Early Childhood Laboratory over the next few years because the program has become too expensive to maintain.

Stephen F. Austin University opened the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, also known as the child care lab, in 1975. The program accepts children from 8 weeks to 5 years old. The center, which has five classrooms, focuses its curriculum on autonomy, integrity, openness, problem solving and academics, according to the center’s website.

The center, which is open to the public, is funded through fees paid by parents who use the center for child care, but it wasn’t enough to sustain operations. Over the last five years, the university has paid an additional $750,000 — a little over $100,000 annually — to make ends meet, according to a statement by the university. And as universities like SFA tighten their belts to cope with increasing inflation costs, they’re looking for places to trim spending.

“Everybody’s budgets are so tight as it is,” said Korbin Pate, executive director of marketing and communications for Stephen F. Austin State University. “We, the institution itself, or anyone in the state for that matter, can’t raise university tuition. We’re not able to keep up with inflation and the different things that are going on. Everybody across the state is looking at how to cut down on costs.”

The center didn’t want to raise tuition owed by parents because the cost of care is already high, Pate said. Tuition for the 2026-27 school year for full-time students ranges from $885 for the Pre-K II classroom, which teaches 4 and 5-year-olds, to $1,070 a month for infant care.

The university will phase out child care operations annually starting with the infant room in the 2027-28 academic year. From there, it will close classrooms one-by-one.

Child care centers, while critical for the Texas economy, require significant operating costs, such as insurance, food and payroll, causing many to shut down because they can’t sustain the expenses. Over the last year, the number of child care deserts — areas that lack sufficient child care facilities where there aren’t enough spots for kids in the community to go to child care — has grown, according to Children At Risk, a child care nonprofit advocacy and research group focused on children’s well-being.

SFA’s recent announcement highlights the growing difficulty in providing child care in rural Texas even for organizations with significant backing, like the University of Texas system, which SFA joined in 2023.

“If a university can’t make it, what does that mean for the rest of the child care centers in the community and across the state?” said Kim Kofron, director of early childhood education for Children at Risk.

Programs like these exist across the state and have not only provided child care for their communities, but also created a training ground for up and coming child care professionals.

It’s how Rebecca Boyett, the lead teacher in the infant room at SFA, started her career in 2014. She began as the assistant and was promoted to lead the infant room in 2016, which is where she has stayed and cared for numerous Nacogdoches infants since.

“The opportunity for students to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world experiences is an irreplaceable part of their education,” she said.

However, the number of early childhood education and students in related tracts who use the lab for real-world training has declined by 30% over the last five years, Pate said. The degree fields that used the lab as a proving ground have lost enrollment, or those students are seeking field experience with other organizations, he said.

“So there’s not the academic component there that you could kind of justify offsetting the deficit with tuition dollars from SFA,” Pate said.

Boyett can’t see how this closure is going to be good for the community, which already has shortages in child care facilities. The Early Childhood Lab is consistently full with a wait list for families who want their children enrolled in a high quality preschool.

“The dedication, expertise, and passion of the teachers here create an educational experience that is truly exceptional and unlike any other early childhood program in our area,” Boyett said.

She began ringing the alarm bells earlier this week and community members started a petition to keep the program going. The loss of this program, even over the course of years, will cut 72 high-quality child care seats for East Texas’ youngest residents.

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

Typhoon Bavi, with maximum sustained winds of 155 kph (96 mph), was first expected to pass north of Taiwan, bringing heavy rains to the island of 23 million people from Friday night into Saturday.

Schools were closed Friday in Taipei, the island's capital, and fishing boats have been tied up close together in ports in northern Taiwan. Many flights to Japan, Hong Kong and other destinations have been canceled through Saturday, though some were still scheduled, Taiwan's Central News Agency said.

The typhoon's current northwest track would take it over some remote Japanese islands before passing north of Taiwan on Saturday. It is forecast to make landfall in China on Saturday night south of Shanghai, near the border between Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.

More than 17,000 people have been evacuated in Zhejiang and 170,000 rescue workers placed on standby, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Fujian has suspended some ferry routes because of strong winds and rough seas and called for fishing boats to return to port.

Bavi has weakened from supertyphoon strength earlier this week, when it brought violent winds to Saipan and other U.S. territories in the Pacific.

In southern China, authorities announced Thursday that 39 people had died in flooding from Tropical Storm Maysak, which drenched parts of the Guangxi region for days with record rainfall.

The rains breached reservoirs, including the dramatic collapse of part of a dam in Hengzhou that inundated a wide area with fast-flowing muddy water. The floods stranded people on the second and higher floors of buildings for days, many without power, until rescuers could reach them.

Another 11 people died in central China when severe thunderstorms and tornadoes wreaked havoc in Hubei province on Monday night.

Separately, a landslide killed 21 forestry workers in western China's Gansu province on Tuesday in a disaster that was not storm-related.

The ship, the Mayuree Naree, was hit by a projectile north of Oman on March 11, killing three people. The remaining 20 crew members were rescued and returned to Thailand about a week later.

Former crew members Panithi Tumkaew, Noppadon Wongsuvan and Surades Manpuen filed the lawsuit against Precious Shipping Co. as well as two affiliated companies and the ship’s captain.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants endangered their lives by sailing through the strait despite the security risks, according to their lawyer Kunpat Singhathong.

Kunpat said the three men were also dismissed before the completion of their nine-month employment contracts after the attack rendered the ship inoperable. He said they received compensation equivalent to two months’ salary.

The compensation was inadequate because they have since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, leaving them unable to continue working as sailors for the foreseeable future, he said.

“We tried to negotiate with the company, but it denied responsibility, so we believe the matter should be brought to the court,” Kunpat said before filing the case with the Central Labor Court in Bangkok.

He declined to identify the amount of compensation they are seeking, only that it would be over a million baht ($30,000) per person.

Panithi, who said he had worked for Precious Shipping for more than a decade, said his wife encouraged him to seek medical treatment after noticing changes in his behavior.

“When there are loud noises, I’ll get startled," he said. “I can’t work now, and I have to take medication.”

Precious Shipping did not respond to requests for comment.

The remains of the three crew members killed in the attack were repatriated to Thailand earlier this month.

In a statement on July 3, Precious Shipping thanked everyone involved in the repatriation process and expressed its condolences to the victims’ families. The company said it “remains committed to providing full assistance, care, and support to bereaved families throughout this difficult time.”

On Thursday, the United States launched new airstrikes against Iran, which responded by targeting American allies in the Middle East. The exchange of fire threatens an interim deal intended to help end the Iran war.

The conflict has choked off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for about a fifth of global trade in crude oil and liquefied natural gas. Most of this was bound for Asia, which has struggled with a continentwide energy shock since the war began on Feb. 28.

The safety of stranded seafarers in the Persian Gulf has been a source of concern among Asian nations — like India, the Philippines and Thailand — whose citizens make up a significant portion of ship crews.

“This is not simply a matter of shipping statistics,” said Arsenio Dominguez, the secretary-general of the United Nations' International Maritime Organization in a statement Wednesday. “Behind the figures are seafarers, and in some cases their families, who continue to bear the human cost of this conflict.”

In scenes like a heist movie in reverse, the priceless medieval artwork was spirited into the British Museum on Friday in the dead of night, after a high-tech, tight-security operation where any slip-up could have spelled disaster.

On loan from its home in France, the tapestry will go on display at the London museum from Sept. 10 until July 2027. It's a public homecoming for a vivid visual record of the 1066 Norman invasion, the last successful conquest of England.

The tapestry's arrival in London has been widely anticipated, but due to security concerns all details of when and how it would arrive were kept under wraps.

“It feels extraordinary that after so much work and planning and care and thought that it’s actually happening,” British Museum Director Nicholas Cullinan said as he waited outside the museum in the dark.

“It’s the first time in 1,000 years that such an important piece of British — French too — history is going to be on these shores,” he said. “It’s incredibly exciting.”

The 70-meter (230-foot) tapestry was folded accordion-style in a climate-controlled case that was placed inside a shock-absorbing cradle. That went into a truck that crossed from France on a vehicle shuttle train through the Channel Tunnel.

After an 11-hour, 350-mile (560-kilometer) trip, escorted by police, the truck backed slowly into a loading bay at the museum, where workers gingerly eased the container, the size of a small car, to the ground. Museum staff and British and French diplomats who had been watching in hushed silence broke into applause.

The priceless cargo will spend several days acclimatizing before it is carefully unpacked and unfolded for an exhibition that the museum expects to be one of the most popular in its 267-year history. Some 100,000 tickets were sold in their first day on sale this month.

“It was like trying to get tickets to Glastonbury,” Cullinan said. “I don’t take for granted that people care that much about a 1,000-year-old embroidery. I think that’s an amazing thing.”

The tapestry is a symbol of Anglo-French relations

Stitched in wool thread on linen fabric — technically an embroidery, rather than a tapestry — the artwork depicts events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, when William, Duke of Normandy defeated King Harold’s Anglo-Saxon army. The invasion ended Saxon rule, made William the Conqueror the first Norman king of England and bound Britain and France more closely together.

Historians believe the tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William’s half brother, and was probably sewn by women in England — possibly nuns — before being taken across the Channel. It has spent most of the last millennium in the town of Bayeux in northwest France, apart from two short periods at the Louvre in Paris.

The tapestry symbolizes the sometimes fractious, intertwined histories of France and Britain, and securing the loan was a high-stakes diplomatic mission. It was announced during a state visit to the U.K. by French President Emmanuel Macron in July 2025.

The loan coincides with renovations at the museum in Bayeux that houses it.

In return, the British Museum will loan treasures from the Sutton Hoo hoard — artifacts from a 7th-century Anglo Saxon ship burial — and other items to museums in Normandy.

Macron said in an article for Friday's Times of London that “our two countries are not merely lending each other artworks: they are sharing the great narratives of European history’s origins.”

Retired British diplomat Peter Ricketts, who helped cement the deal as the U.K.’s special envoy for the tapestry, said “it’s an extraordinary mark of friendship and confidence in the U.K. to entrust this object to us for a year.”

“Macron, when he offered us the tapestry, I think he understood that it would have far more impact in the U.K. than it does in France, because it’s more fundamental to our national story,” he said. "Everybody (in Britain) knows 1066.”

It's a vivid record of 11th-century life and death

The tapestry features more than 620 people and 737 animals and tells its story in 58 scenes brimming with vivid and sometimes gory detail. There are scenes of hand-to-hand combat, mutilated bodies and the unlucky Harold, felled by an arrow through his eye.

“It has an emotional richness that is really difficult to get from written sources,” said Millie Horton-Insch, project curator for the British Museum exhibition. “It just brings people closer to this history than any other object can. It’s not the same as reading a text. You are looking at something that was handled by the people who lived through it and felt compelled to record these events in this way.”

She said the document’s survival for 10 centuries despite myriad dangers — “moths, mice, mold, damp, fire” — is miraculous, and may be partly due to its humble materials.

“It’s not really made of any blingy fabric,” she said. “It’s not gold, it’s not silver. There wasn’t the same temptation to cut it up and make it into vestments or repurpose it for anything.”

Some French cultural figures opposed the loan, arguing that moving the tapestry was too risky. Cullinan said the expert teams went to great lengths to ensure its safety, including making two trial runs of the journey to show it would not cause the fragile item too much stress.

“Such care has gone into it. I can’t think of a level of care for any other museum loan,” he said.

He said he understands why there are concerns.

“The tapestry arouses great interest and passion,” he said. “Which is a wonderful thing.”

“Satluj” tells the true tale of a human rights activist who investigated thousands of disappearances and extrajudicial killings during a government crackdown on a separatist insurgency in India's Punjab state in the 1980s and early 1990s.

At the screening in Gurdaspur, elderly survivors of the insurgency sat beside teenagers born years after it ended. When the screen flickered to life and “Satluj” movie began, the crowd fell silent.

Originally titled “Punjab 95,” the movie was stalled for three years after India’s censor board demanded more than 120 cuts. After failing to secure a theatrical release, it debuted on the ZEE5 streaming platform last week, but was removed in India two days later.

The takedown had an unintended consequence.

Across villages in Punjab, Sikh organizations, local activists and residents have begun organizing community screenings using copies that have circulated online. The screenings have transformed Sikh temple compounds and village halls into makeshift cinemas where audiences watch not just a film but a retelling of memories of one of India’s bloodiest internal conflicts.

Spotlight on Punjab’s insurgency

“Satluj” draws on the life of rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, whose investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings exposed one of the darkest episodes of Punjab’s insurgency. The conflict pitted Sikh militant groups seeking an independent Khalistan against Indian security forces and claimed thousands of civilian, militant and police lives.

During the insurgency, rights groups documented allegations of enforced disappearances, custodial killings and secret cremations. Khalra’s investigation alleged that thousands of people who had disappeared were cremated anonymously by police without informing their families or maintaining official records.

Khalra was abducted in 1995 and later killed. Several police officers were convicted in connection with his murder.

Although the insurgency was crushed and support for Khalistan waned within Punjab, the Indian government continues to view separatist sentiment as a national security concern. It has not publicly explained why the film was removed, but officials told local media they ordered it taken down on security grounds.

Local organized screenings

The public screenings take shape through grassroots cooperation. Residents arrange for projectors, audio speakers and power generators, Sikh temples and village community spaces become open-air theaters for an evening, and volunteers spread the word from one household to the next.

Inderjeet Singh Bains, who helps coordinate screenings in Gurdaspur district, said the initiative aimed to create spaces where people can watch together and reflect on a period of Punjab’s history that continues to resonate across generations.

“When we screen the film, we see our elders and mothers, many of them 60 or 70 years old, crying because they have lost their sons. Our people have endured immense suffering,” Bains said.

Gurmukh Singh, who attended a screening, said the film gave voice to stories the young in Punjab had heard only in fragments. For families in his village, he said, the insurgency was not history but lived experience, with many losing loved ones in the violence.

“After watching the movie, there is a feeling of the grief our earlier generations had to bear,” Singh said.

Movie fuels censorship debate

The takedown of “Satluj” has reopened a debate over artistic freedom in India, where films have increasingly run into censorship battles under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. Critics have said such cases have become more frequent and accuse Modi’s government of promoting films that align with its nationalist narrative.

“Everything happened right before our eyes, so what is there to oppose? The truth is coming to light, and people should be allowed to see it,” said Balwinder Singh, a Sikh religious leader.

The government says movie certification decisions are made independently under the law.

In a statement, ZEE5 said the film would no longer be available for viewing in India “in light of current developments.” It added that it would explore “every appropriate avenue through due process” to restore it.

Audiences revisit painful memories

Diljit Dosanjh, the lead actor who plays Khalra, said he was unconcerned about whether the film remained online because once audiences had seen it, “it cannot be erased.”

That sentiment appears to be playing out in Punjab’s villages.

Inside the temple compound in Gurdaspur, the audience watched scenes of police killings, crackdowns and families searching for answers. Afterwards, many lingered in conversation, comparing the film with the real-life memories they had carried for decades.

Pawan Deep Kaur described the film as a heartbreaking portrayal of the suffering endured by the older generation.

“It made us cry endlessly,” she said.

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Saaliq reported from New Delhi.

But after hours of combing the Mediterranean seabed in search of yellow-painted mock mortar shells, the divers surfaced empty-handed.

It was the team's fifth diving trip in the yearslong experiment to help prepare Israel to clear part of the sea from unexploded grenades and other munitions in order to return beach area to residents. But on this day in June, the divers couldn't find the dummy mortar and artillery shells they'd planted months prior, foreshadowing the challenges that lie ahead.

“It’s really hard to find things in the sea,” said Roy Jaijel, a researcher in the marine geology and geophysics department at Israel’s National Institute of Oceanography, as he emerged from a dive.

Jaijel co-leads a project aimed at returning some 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of shoreline to people living in Israel's central city of Rishon LeZion, an area that's been used as a firing range for decades. The initiative, the first of its kind in Israel, coincides with a global push to better protect the world's waters as demand increases for the use of seas and oceans for shipping, energy and recreation.

Experts say the clearance of underwater munitions has received more attention in recent years in part because of the boom in artificial intelligence, which requires millions of kilometers of underwater fiber-optic cables to allow for global connectivity.

Munitions can end up dumped into waters after wars, fall into seas during conflict or, in the case of Rishon LeZion, accumulate from firing practice. Erosion from seawater can lead toxic and explosive chemicals, along with heavy metals, to seep from the munitions, causing environmental contamination. There's also the risk of objects exploding if people step on them or children play with them, thinking they're toys.

Two years ago, Europe launched a project to better detect and clear non-military unexploded ordnance, such as from industrial or commercial sites. In a separate initiative in 2024, Germany piloted a program to recover and dispose of military waste from the North and Baltic seas, where some 1.6 million tonnes of unexploded munitions from two world wars lie, according to the German government.

Still, there's been less focus on clearing waters in the Middle East, such as the Mediterranean, which historically hasn't been the site of large dumps compared with Europe.

Leaders of the Israeli project say it's one of the first to focus on clearing smaller munitions in complicated underwater terrain, which is why many countries have avoided it.

“It's like looking for a needle in a haystack,” said Israel Faintuch, head of the Maritime Division at Israel's Ministry of Defense National Mine Action Authority as he checked his oxygen tank and suited up to go underwater.

Limited beach space in Israel is the driving force behind the clearing effort

The government says nearly half the country's 194-kilometer (120-mile) coastline is off limits to civilians, used for commercial ports, power plants, desalination facilities, military bases and firing zones.

Since the country's founding nearly 80 years ago, 7 kilometers (4.3 miles), nearly the entire length of Rishon LeZion's shoreline, has been used as a firing range, launching grenades as well as small and large mortars, leaving hundreds of thousands of people crammed into a narrow strip of beach.

Launched last year, the joint research project funded by Rishon LeZion's municipality is being led by Israel’s National Mine Action Authority and researchers from the National Institute of Oceanography. It aims to localize the most impacted areas, mapping the pattern of munitions to determine how far offshore and how deep to go before the clearance team steps in.

In order to gather data, divers place various sizes of fake munitions — some equipped with motion sensors — at depths of 5, 10 and 15 meters (16, 33 and 59 feet) and up to 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) offshore. After several months, they retrieve the munitions, analyze the data and plant new ones.

In June, Associated Press journalists accompanied the team underwater as they placed new munitions for the next round of tests and attempted to find ones they'd left in January. Divers descended using a string, or measuring tape, to navigate the seabed. Tapping each other under the water, they'd point in different directions to search, rubbing their hands over the seafloor.

“You have limited air supply when you go with the divers and you have limited time in the water," said Dafna Eliahu, a graduate student at the University of Haifa working on the project. "So with actual live munition I expect it to be very difficult, very hard to locate and to actually be able to find them,” she said.

While the information, including from the sensors, is still being processed, preliminary findings show that the munitions moved less than expected, which means there might be less area that needs clearing, she said.

Israel's Defense Ministry wants to have enough data to start clearing by the end of next year and expand the shoreline by an initial 150 meters (492 feet) within a few months. Completing the project will take years and cost tens of millions of dollars. It's already been delayed due to Israel's multiple wars with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran as divers can't work when missiles are falling and could land in the sea.

During the current war that the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran as well as the 12-day war last June between Israel and Iran, the army said missiles aimed at larger cities like Rishon LeZion fell into the sea but wouldn’t specify how many.

Israel says no one has been injured or killed by unexploded sea ordnance, but there have been about a dozen sightings of devices in the last 20 years where the police and army were called. Most have been found on or near shore.

What's learned during the project could be useful beyond Israel

While the goal of the project is to expand parts of the shoreline, Israel also hopes its findings will yield new insights on clearing munitions from this part of the world, where there are threats but overall less is known.

According to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, more than half of global incidents related to unexploded ordnance, such as sightings or drifting mines, were recorded in the Middle East between 2014 and 2023, with most occurring in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, largely a result of Yemen's civil war.

Pedro Basto, research and innovation program manager with the group, said it is important to keep interest high in removing underwater explosives given the increasing dependence on the seas.

“Both renewable energies based on the sea (wind turbines and harnessing water currents) and the global connectivity that most of the world relies on every minute of every day, depend massively on underwater cable laying,” he said.

As Israel's project advances, residents in Rishon LeZion say they're looking forward to being able to use more land.

Moria Malka, head spokesperson for the city's municipality, said the clearance will triple the area’s coastline and much of it will become a nature reserve as well as a residential area near the sea. For beachgoers like Mark Kostman, that is great news.

“Holidays and Saturdays, all of this place is completely crowded and too dense to even have fun,” said Kostman as he played volleyball with his children next to the firing zone. “Having it as public space for leisure and sport ... it's wonderful."

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Associated Press reporter Natalie Melzer contributed from Nahariya, Israel.

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Back-and-forth attacks, including a day earlier, have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire. But Thursday’s appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least three times in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters, and missiles targeting Kuwait and Qatar.

Sirens sounded Thursday afternoon in Jordan as well, where the U.S. has stationed troops and aircraft.

An Iranian official accused the U.S. of launching an airstrike later Thursday targeting the area around Iran’s sole nuclear power plant, and other explosions were reported elsewhere in the country during the afternoon.

Early Friday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad after days of public mourning. Khamenei was killed in the opening salvos of the Iran war.

The strikes came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of a fragile ceasefire and threatened to escalate the conflict if they didn't stop. That raised concerns that the region could tip back into a war that would engulf several countries and could halt energy shipments through the strait that are crucial for the global economy.

In Iran, the two days of American airstrikes have killed at least 14 people and wounded another 78, Iran’s Health Ministry said Thursday. Most were reportedly members of the armed forces.

In Kuwait, the military said falling debris wounded one person as the nation shot down three ballistic missiles, a cruise missile and 10 drones. Bahrain said it shot down incoming fire, without elaborating, and Jordanian government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani said all incoming fire from Iran had been intercepted. Iranian state TV said the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan.

There was no immediate word of damage in Qatar.

US strikes hit more targets

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit 90 targets across Iran, releasing black-and-white footage of what appeared to be strikes on an airport runway and missile launchers.

The U.S. said the strikes were intended to “further degrade” Iran’s ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Traffic has picked up somewhat since a tentative deal last month included opening the waterway. Maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence said Thursday that preliminary data showed at least 576 ships passed through the strait in June, compared with 233 in May. More than 3,100 transited the strait in June 2025.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex, and southern port cities. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Ehsan Jahanian, a local official in Bushehr, as accusing the U.S. of striking near the plant around noon, hours after Central Command said it had ended its latest round of strikes. Asked for comment on Bushehr, Central Command referred to a press release that detailed targets but made no mention of the nuclear power plant.

Streets are jammed for Khamenei’s final funeral procession

For the first time since April, U.S. strikes also appeared to target Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Iran’s northeastern Golestan province, and the Revolutionary Guard said two bridges were attacked on the route to Mashhad, where tens of thousands of mourners thronged wide boulevards during the final funeral procession for Khamenei on Thursday.

People pressed forward to touch a vehicle carrying Khamenei's body. Many carried Iranian flags and images of the late leader or banners evoking Shiite Islam’s long history of martyrs. Some signs called for the death of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Khamenei ruled Iran for nearly 37 years before being killed in the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that started the war. The funeral processions began last Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran and other cities as throngs commemorated the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.

Trump issues another warning to Iran if attacks on shipping happen again

After leaving a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran and issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote Wednesday, a day after three tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric and desalination plants, and to seize Kharg Island, through which some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X on Thursday morning: “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: If you strike, you’ll get hit.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on Telegram that he spoke by phone with his Saudi, Turkish and Omani counterparts and with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been one of the main mediators in the war. The outreach suggested efforts may be underway to reduce tensions.

Talks on reaching a final deal were to begin after Khamenei's funeral

Trump said Wednesday that the interim ceasefire agreement was “over.” He said he would allow negotiations to continue but thought negotiators were “wasting their time.”

Negotiations to reach a final deal were due to start after the funeral for Khamenei.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Harper and Walker join Boston’s Willson Contreras, Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero and the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice in the competition at Citizens Bank Park. The other two participants haven’t been announced.

Harper, hitting .261 with 20 homers and 57 RBIs, was selected for his ninth All-Star Game as a Legend Pick for baseball's midsummer showcase. The 33-year-old slugger will try to become the fifth player to win multiple derby competitions. And Harper will try to do it in front of home fans — again. He last won it in 2018 in Washington while a member of the Nationals.

The 24-year-old Walker is a first-time All-Star who is having a breakout season. He hit his 22nd homer on Thursday night. The 2020 first-round draft pick is batting .294 with an .893 OPS and an MLB-leading 73 RBIs.

He'll be the eighth Cardinals player to compete in the competition, joining Jack Clark (1985), Ray Lankford (1997), Mark McGwire (1998-99), Jim Edmonds (2003), Albert Pujols (2003, 2007, 2009, 2022), Matt Holliday (2010-11) and Carlos Beltran (2012).

A Cardinals player has never won the derby. The Phillies have had two winners: Bobby Abreu in 2005 and Ryan Howard the next year.

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

The Democratic congresswoman, whose district includes the Houston neighborhood where the shooting occurred, said acting ICE Director David Venturella told her the agency has confirmed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo “was not a target.”

Salgado Araujo was a homebuilder who had lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, had no criminal record and was close to finishing the long process of obtaining legal status when he was killed early Tuesday morning, according to his family.

“We’ve got to do something. This is just one more death too many,” Garcia said in an interview with MS Now. “And if we’ve got to bring outside, independent folks to come in and look at it, we should do that."

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return an email seeking comment late Thursday.

DHS, which oversees ICE, previously said that federal officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest a person in the country without legal status when they attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Salgado Araujo. The agency has said Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle and that a federal officer fired a weapon in self-defense.

Asked whether ICE agents had been specifically targeting Salgado Araujo, DHS said earlier Thursday that officers had been surveilling a property where they had previously observed two white vans.

“On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop,” the department said.

The federal agents weren't wearing body-worn cameras, DHS said, and few photos or videos surrounding the shooting have emerged publicly in the days since the encounter, unlike other deaths involving federal immigration officers.

In a statement, DHS said the agents at the scene in Houston had not yet been issued body cameras, which it blamed on Democrats and a record government shutdown that was fueled by President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, a Democrat who also represents Houston, said if the agents didn't have the devices, it was because Trump and Republican lawmakers did not want them to be carrying them.

"Houston is done accepting excuses from an agency that has more money than it knows what to do with and still can’t manage basic accountability,” he said in a statement.

The Harris County District Attorney's office said it would conduct an investigation into the shooting. The office is consulting with local prosecutors in Minneapolis, where federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens, to learn how they have navigated investigations into federal immigration agents, spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre said.

“Although access to key evidence remains under federal control, we are pursuing investigative avenues available to us and will conduct a review of any information we collect within our reach,” Lemaitre said in an emailed statement.

Three men, including Salgado Araujo’s brother, were detained by ICE during the fatal traffic stop, according to Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, who has been communicating with their families.

LULAC has yet to obtain video footage that clearly shows what happened during the moments of the shooting and has offered a reward of $5,000 for information from witnesses, Proaño told The Associated Press. The position of Salgado Araujo’s van and ICE vehicles has obstructed security camera footage LULAC has reviewed, he added.

“It’s going to make it even more difficult to find the truth in all this,” he said.

DHS said the ICE agents involved in the incident were expected to receive body-worn cameras in the next 60 days.

In the aftermath of the fatal Minneapolis shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Democrats had refused to fund ICE and the Border Patrol without changes to those operations designed to increase accountability and transparency. Republicans in Congress eventually passed legislation funding just ICE and CBP for three years.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturns a lower court decision that found the ban unconstitutional. The 2-1 appellate decision found that the Illinois law does not violate the Second Amendment, and its restrictions are “consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation.”

“Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse,” the appeals court said.

The majority opinion also pushes back on claims made by the plaintiffs that semiautomatic weapons are not at fault for mass shootings.

“The undisputed record evidence undercuts that claim, showing that the presence of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines is strongly correlated with the severity of the societal problem,” the opinion states.

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said in a post on X that the decision is “a victory in the fight to end gun violence that helps keep our communities safe.”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association seeking to stop the ban, said that it is disappointed with the decision and plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

The gun trade group said it agrees with Chief Judge Michael Brennan’s dissent in which he wrote that the country prohibits governments from banning “firearms commonly owned for self-defense.”

“Because the people have overwhelmingly chosen the AR-15 rifle and its magazine as their weapon of choice, they are protected by the Second Amendment,” the judge's dissent states.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act was signed into law in 2023 by Pritzker and bans AR-15 rifles and similar guns, large-capacity magazines and an assortment of attachments.

It came six months after a 2022 shooting in which a gunman on a rooftop in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park opened fire on a parade, killing seven people and injuring more than three dozen.

The law prompted immediate pushback from county sheriffs who said they refused to enforce what they considered an unconstitutional law, while gun owners and advocates sued.

In 2024, a federal judge overturned the ban, leaning on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that strictly interpret the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms.

The injunction was set to take effect 30 days after the judge's decision. But that same day, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a notice of appeal, which ultimately led to a stay in the injunction.

Raoul said Thursday's decision enhances public safety. “We have seen the damage that assault weapons and large-capacity magazines can inflict, and these weapons of war have no place in our communities,” he said in a statement.

Last month, the Supreme Court announced it will consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles, often called assault weapons, violate the Second Amendment. In the fall, the court, which has expanded gun rights, is expected to hear appeals challenging a ban in the Chicago area, which predates the statewide law.

BCSO deputies responded to a report of animal cruelty around 9:30 a.m. in 11700 block of Culebra Road, near Roft Road. According to the sheriff’s office, a small dog was found inside a crate with its muzzle taped shut.

BCSO said after taking the dog out of the crate, it was found to be in stable condition.

The dog, along with a separate dog on the woman’s property, were seized by Bexar County Animal Control, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies arrested Kenyatta Smith, 51, and BCSO said she was charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals – torture, a state jail felony.

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Lance Twiggs, who was also defendant Tyler Robinson’s romantic partner, said in an interview with law enforcement that the teary interaction with Robinson happened in their apartment in southern Utah, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from where Kirk was shot.

Later that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself in — Robinson posted "it was me at UVU yesterday,” in a chat room on the Discord instant messaging platform, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.

Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.

Ammunition found in the gun used to kill Kirk had engravings that included “Hey Facist! CATCH!” and “If you Read This, You Are GAY,” according to prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty.

Robinson appeared to furrow his brow and smirk when text messages he sent to Twiggs about the engraved bullets were displayed in the courtroom Thursday.

Robinson's family sat behind him, and his mom cried as the Discord messages were read aloud. She rubbed the shoulder of one of Robinson’s brothers, who listened with his head bowed.

Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial.

After prolonged debate that included an attorney for Kirk’s family arguing for the material to be publicly released, state District Judge Tony Graf allowed a redacted version of Twiggs' video interview to be played. Some parts were blacked out, with only audio.

Graf is weighing whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial. He won’t rule until after both sides present arguments on Sept. 1.

Notes and text exchanges were shown in court

Robinson’s attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence but have sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.

Defense attorney Michael Burt tried to inject doubt into the prosecution’s case by challenging the reliability of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body. Authorities sought to tie the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the results were inconclusive.

“Saying anything but inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha Karner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a federal law enforcement agency.

The defense earlier in the week had questioned the reliability of DNA evidence that investigators said linked Robinson to the scene. Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.

Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a handwritten note to Twiggs that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.” The note, shown in full for the first time Thursday, continued, “I wish we could have lived in a world where this did not feel necessary."

Robinson also allegedly sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis recounted the messages exchanged between Twiggs and Robinson under questioning by a prosecutor Thursday. Included were texts from Robinson worrying about leaving fingerprints on a rifle that belonged to his grandfather, which authorities believe he used to shoot Kirk.

Twiggs spoke to authorities on Sept. 12 — two days after Kirk was assassinated while speaking to a crowd of thousands — and again on April 20, Davis said. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case.

Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.

Twiggs said in the April interview that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about LGBTQ rights, Twiggs testified.

Kirk's friends react to new evidence

Kirk’s parents and widow, Erika, sat a few rows back from Robinson's family on Thursday. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, also was in attendance.

Brandon Tatum, a conservative media personality and close friend of Kirk, said he was “shocked at how much relevant evidence" Twiggs' shared in his interview. He left court Thursday feeling confident about prosecutors' case but had mixed feelings about the judge's decision to hold off ruling until after a September hearing.

"I think the family's waited long enough, but I'd rather it be done right and done in confidence than for it to be hastily done the next day without being thoroughly, I guess, bulletproof," Tatum said.

Another conservative activist, Jack Posobiec, said he got emotional seeing photos of the bullet fragments that hit his friend. "But you have to push through that pain and push through all of that to be able to get justice,” he said.

Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once in the neck while the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk, 31, was declared dead after being taken to a hospital.

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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

Democrats need to pick a candidate to replace Platner on the ballot by July 27, according to state law. Whoever is selected will have less than four months before facing longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. Potential candidates had already been teasing their interest before Platner, who denies the allegation, announced he intends to drop out. Platner is expected to file paperwork to formally withdraw on Monday, the deadline to do so.

But a growing number began formally launching their campaigns Thursday.

The Maine Democratic Party has said it will hold a nominating convention to choose the replacement. The party says the convention will involve hundreds of delegates from across the state, but how and when that’ll take place remains unknown.

Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats are desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Collins while President Donald Trump is broadly unpopular.

Gov. Janet Mills, who sought the nomination during the primary campaign and suspended her campaign in late April, has not indicated if she's interested in running.

These are some of the people who have shown interest in the Maine Senate race:

Troy Jackson

Jackson is Maine’s former state Senate president. He unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for governor earlier this year with the backing of Platner and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Shortly after Platner said he would quit the Senate race, Jackson launched his campaign, arguing that Mainers want “a progressive fighter." Our Revolution, the organization founded by Sanders, has since said it would back Jackson, 58.

Jackson released a statement with dozens of endorsements, many from current and former state and local officials, on Thursday.

Nirav Shah

Shah, former director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced Thursday he was vying to be the next Democratic Senate candidate. He came in second in this year’s Maine Democratic governor's primary and was seen as more of a moderate candidate compared with Jackson while running for governor. Shah held a news conference Thursday in which he encouraged Platner supporters to join him.

“You have an important place in this campaign and we welcome your voices,” Shah said. “This campaign represents the values that we all care about.”

Dan Kleban

The co-founder of Maine Beer Company, Kleban also confirmed his candidacy on Wednesday after Platner's announcement. Kleban briefly entered the Senate race last year before dropping out when Mills announced her candidacy. Kleban, 49, endorsed Mills, who later dropped out of the Democratic primary.

“I'm ready to fight for Mainers and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington,” Kleban said.

Shenna Bellows

Bellows is Maine's secretary of state. She announced Thursday that she's running for the seat, saying she's spent her career “taking on tough fights and doing the right thing," where she's served as a former civil liberties advocate and sparred with President-elect Donald Trump over ballot access.

This wouldn't be her first time running for political office. Bellows, 51, placed fourth in the state’s Democratic governor's primary in June. And in 2014, Bellows ran against Collins as the Senate Democratic nominee and lost in a landslide.

Jordan Wood

Wood, 36, initially attempted to run in the Maine Democratic Senate primary last year but dropped out to run in the state's 2nd District. He lost that race, coming in third to state Auditor Matt Dunlap. He's since said he's interested in running for the Senate again, and announced on Thursday.

“To beat Susan Collins, we need a candidate who can provide a true contrast and run an unapologetically progressive campaign: Passing Medicare for All. Stopping ICE terrorizing our streets,” Wood wrote on social media on Tuesday.

Paige Loud

Loud filed paperwork to run for the Senate seat earlier this week. The 29-year-old social worker also ran in the state's 2nd District Democratic primary, but came in last during the state's first round of ranked choice voting.

Valli Geiger

Geiger, a previous Platner supporter and a state Democratic lawmaker, is another potential candidate. She hasn't announced her candidacy, but in an interview with MS NOW on Wednesday, Geiger, 70, said she would hire Platner's staff, whom she described as “deeply impassioned and confident young people.”

David Costello

Costello ran in the June primary and finished third behind Platner, who won, and Mills, who was still on the ballot despite having suspended her campaign. Costello announced Thursday that he is back in the race. He said in a social media post that he believes he is the right candidate because his “lived experiences are rooted in the same challenges countless Mainers face every day.”

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Kruesi reported from Providence, R.I.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

The conceptual artist, who died at the age of 83, first created the Pindakaasvloer, or peanut butter floor, in 1969. The work was unveiled on Thursday at the Depot offshoot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam for a two-month show.

Schippers was a beloved non-conformist character in the Netherlands, where he also voiced Ernie and Kermit the Frog in the Dutch version of “Sesame Street,” and created absurdist and silly works that challenged conventional ideas about the meaning of art.

“Isn’t it fantastic that we are all standing here looking at peanut butter?” Schippers told journalists gathered at the Central Museum in Utrecht in 1997 where Pindakaasvloer was on display for the second time.

Schippers created the work as part of a Floor Covering Series, which also included floors covered with glass shards and salt.

The aroma, redolent of breakfasts and lunch boxes, is what lingers with many who experience the work first hand. Museum staff directed visitors for the opening to “follow the smell” which was wafting by the ticket counter, three floors below where the artwork is laid out.

“The thing I remember is the smell,” Mieke Weismann told The Associated Press. The food photographer and writer saw the 1997 exhibition as a teenager.

The art installation may not be for everybody. A sign at the museum's entrance warns visitors with peanut allergies that they might not want to enter the space.

It took two employees of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen several days to spread 40 buckets of peanut butter across a 25-square-meter (270-square-foot) hexagon last week.

“It was a lot of work,” Leon Duenk, one of the two men who installed the artwork, told AP.

The pair used drywall trowels to smear the peanut butter to a thickness of 2 centimeters (0.8 inch).

Prior to his death the museum and Schippers discussed how to recreate the work in the future, producing a 20-point plan that included the requirement to apply the peanut butter “as smoothly and boringly as possible” and that “no one is supposed to stand in, or lie down on the peanut butter.”

Schippers did not specify the size or shape of the work, but he did say it needed to be smooth peanut butter and that he preferred the Dutch peanut butter brand Calvé. The company donated 40 tubs of peanut butter for the work.

Multiple visitors stepped into the sticky artwork when it was on display in 2011. In 1997, the work was “vandalized” when a group of people placed 12 slices of bread and several bags of hagelslag — chocolate sprinkles commonly eaten on bread at breakfast in the Netherlands — on the floor.

“It doesn’t look bad,” Schippers told Dutch newspaper Volkskrant at the time. “The sprinkles have been applied with a sense of proportion and a skillful hand.”

———

Associated Press writer Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Ozana Cisneros was last seen at 6 p.m. June 10 in the 300 block of Roosevelt Avenue.

DPS said Ozana Cisneros was last seen with Maximina Cisneros, 19, who is wanted in connection with the alert. Maximina Cisneros was last seen on July 3 in San Antonio.

Ozana Cisneros is 2 feet tall, has black hair and brown eyes. Maximina Cisneros is 5 feet 1 inch tall, has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to call 911.

Garcia told The Texas Tribune that acting ICE Director David Venturella informed her in a call Thursday afternoon that ICE agents didn’t have any body-worn cameras or dashboard cameras during the shooting.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Thursday that it had received a tip from an unspecified law enforcement agency that led ICE agents to surveil a Houston residence and subsequently Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s van.

“After receiving a credible tip from our law enforcement partners, our officers conducted surveillance on a target’s address,” the DHS statement said. “Weeks prior to the incident, they noted two white vans at the property. On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop.”

Agents had an administrative warrant for someone other than Salgado Araujo or his brother, who was also in the van, Garcia said Venturella told her.

According to the New York Times, ICE agents had administrative warrants for two Guatemalan immigrants. According to Salgado Araujo’s sons, their father, uncle and two other men in the vehicle are from Mexico. An administrative warrant does not have the same legal power as a criminal warrant, which must be reviewed and signed by a judge.

According to ICE intake information, two of the three men are from Mexico and were being held at the Montgomery ICE Processing Center in Conroe as of Thursday afternoon.

Garcia said she got a commitment from Venturella that all officers in the field would have a body cam by the end of the month.

A DHS spokesperson confirmed that the officers involved in the shooting didn’t wear body-worn cameras, saying that they had not been issued that equipment and blamed Democrats for holding them up. After Congress recently provided “historic funding,” the spokesperson said they would be provided.

“Body cameras have been deployed to more than half the field offices with the remaining half to receive them in the next 60 days,” the department’s statement said.

According to a previous statement from an ICE spokesperson, federal agents attempted to stop Salgado Araujo’s van as part of a “targeted enforcement”” operation. The statement said Salgado Araujo “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense.”

DHS didn’t respond to additional questions from the Tribune asking if Salgado Araujo was the target or if it was someone in the van he was driving.

Salgado Araujo’s family has said the father of three, who has lived in the U.S. for more than three decades, was on his way to work with his brother and two other workers riding in the van early Tuesday morning when he was killed.

It’s unclear which law enforcement agency gave ICE the tip that led to the shooting. The Houston Police Department said Thursday that it had no involvement in the shooting of Salgado Araujo. A spokesperson for the department directed questions to Homeland Security.

The Texas Department of Public Safety didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Both Houston and state police have collaborated with ICE to identify and arrest undocumented immigrants during the Trump administration’s mass deportation push. The administration has asked local law enforcement nationally to assist ICE in finding and detaining undocumented immigrants.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office, South Houston Police Department and Harris County Constable’s Precinct 6 did not immediately respond to questions about whether they communicated the tip to ICE.

The shooting has roiled the country, with Democratic leaders and advocates in Houston and across the country calling for an independent investigation. Many have said the Trump administration can’t be trusted to provide a full and accurate account of what happened, given that the federal government’s initial narratives of fatal shootings by immigration agents have been called into question after footage and other evidence came to light.

The FBI has said it is investigating DHS’s claim that the ICE agent was assaulted. And the Homeland Security Office of Inspector General is leading an investigation into the shooting. Neither agency has said whether these are criminal or administrative investigations.

Garcia added that ICE said it would respond to a demand letter the congresswoman issued Thursday with other Democratic lawmakers after DHS’s Office of Inspector General completed its investigation, but didn’t provide a timeline for that investigation.

The Harris County District Attorney’s office has also launched its own probe of the shooting.

Ayden Runnels, Colleen DeGuzman and Lomi Kriel contributed to this report.

The indictment, returned in Ohio, charges all eight in two separate conspiracies, one to provide material support to terrorists and a second to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.

It remains unclear from the court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to being able to carry out the plan had it not been thwarted.

According to the new indictment, the plot began in May, when the group began amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items.

It was on June 10 that law enforcement officials learned about a possible threat to President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting show, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza was scheduled to take place.

The Justice Department last month announced a series of criminal complaints in different districts across the country in connection with the UFC plot, including from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and California.

The indictment announced Thursday represents an effort by the government to streamline the case and knit the defendants together into a single conspiracy prosecution in Ohio. Officials have said the group members harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.

One of the defendants told investigators that they planned to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and then shoot panicked crowd members as they fled, according to a federal affidavit.

They communicated through online chat groups and forums and classified participants into tiers, with tier 1 participants committing “to put themselves in harm’s way, break the law, and potentially go into hiding," according to the federal indictment. Members of the group also engaged in marksmanship and combat training.

Tycen C. Proper 19, of Danville, Ohio, and four others were arrested and charged in Missouri, Nebraska and California the weekend of the cage-fighting event, called Freedom 250. Two more defendants were charged and arrested by the FBI about a week later in Washington and Missouri.

The Justice Department said an eighth man was charged this week. He is 21-year-old Chandler D. Scaggs, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, who was taken into custody in that state. Scaggs was allegedly assigned to be one of the snipers in the plotted attack, according to an affidavit.

The affidavit said Scaggs was apparently to be picked up by Proper and taken to Washington but lost contact with him after Proper was arrested, the same as the others. Scaggs allegedly signaled to the group that he was still willing to participate in the attack and arranged to travel to the event with another co-conspirator.

Scaggs' attorney, Eric Brehm, said his office was thoroughly reviewing the allegations and declined to comment further.

Conspiring to provide material support to terrorists is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and conspiring to commit murder carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

Federal prosecutors allege that the group planned to murder Trump, Vice President JD Vance, other federal officials, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trillionaire businessman Elon Musk and “other high value targets” at the event.

___

Tucker reported from Washington.

But delivering soybean curd in all shapes and textures is only a small slice of her mission.

And it’s just that. A mission.

More than simply a vendor of healthy food, she’s also a social conduit who checks on elderly customers as she guides her pink cart, wearing a straw hat and tooting a small brass bugle to signal her arrival.

She knows the habits of many of her customers like family, and they know hers. She’s lost some elderly customers over the years who’ve died alone, which is becoming more common in Japan, which has one of the world's oldest populations.

“More than once I was the first one to find their bodies,” Sugaya explained, seated in a small store she also runs on a busy shopping street in Tokyo's Ojima neighborhood.

It's a largely residential area of small dwellings, layered with occasional strips of sprawling apartment blocks.

“In an area like this, some people just leave their doors unlocked," Sugaya said. “Or I can get access by asking the landlords.”

Uncollected newspapers and unattended laundry are telltale signs of trouble, easily seen in small houses on the street. But large apartment buildings hide these signs of possible distress.

Sugaya is a savior for many, and the job — she’s been at it for 23 years — has also strengthened her own self-worth. She feels that the job saved her.

She says she was bullied in school and fired from several jobs until she found that delivering high-quality, healthy food also nourished her own mental health and offered value to others.

“Selling tofu on a cart made me think I am OK to be myself," Sugaya explained. “I used to be repeatedly put down, but through cart-selling I built up my self-esteem.”

“I was still nervous with women around my ages,” she added. “But I felt safe when surrounded by the elderly whose smiles are warm and kind.”

Shinji Saito comes by Sugaya's shop daily. Saito, who has epilepsy, calls her accepting personality “magical.”

She’s also a link to a time when vendors walked through neighborhoods selling ramen, sweet potatoes, vegetables and other items.

“Delivery of newspapers or tofu, what used to be part of our daily lives, have been replaced by delivery apps or smart phones,” Sugaya said. “One can easily spend a day without having any verbal conversation with others.”

"When you go to a convenience store, you hit a button on a screen and don’t even say hello to anyone. It leaves you empty.”

Sugaya makes her rounds three days per week, a three-hour walk in the afternoon.

Her route twists through maze-like streets, and there are sporadic sales — and frequent conversations. A woman walks from her house to buy tofu, chats about her unruly cat and shows off a strand of wild vine growing in her garden. Another woman reminds Sugaya that cart-selling is a disappearing craft.

“Even when I'm in need of tofu, I tell myself I'd better wait for Ako-chan,” said customer Toshi Niiyama, using Sugaya's nickname. “We used to have someone coming to sell vegetables, but he stopped coming.”

Sugaya has no such plans to stop.

“I go this way on Mondays, that way on Saturdays and that way on Thursdays,” she explained. “I go even if it's raining because my customers expect to see me — or just because they want to have a talk."

Now Les Bleus have to hope he can overcome an injury that had him summoning for help and leaving the game in the 77th minute. Mbappé said the injury was minor, and he showed no ill effects while celebrating with his team after the whistle.

“I took a knock to the ankle, but I’m fine," said Mbappé, who was replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta. “At that point, JP was in better shape than I was to play the final minutes.”

The reigning Golden Boot winner and only the second teenager — after Pele — ever to score in a World Cup final, Mbappé made up for his miss on a first-half penalty by scoring in the 60th minute. It was his 20th goal in 20 World Cup games and his eighth in 2026, equaling Argentina captain Lionel Messi for the tournament lead.

Mbappé also assisted on Ousmane Dembélé’s goal six minutes later to help the two-time champions reach the semifinals, where they will play either Spain or Belgium. France has never failed to make a World Cup final in two previous tournaments with Mbappé.

“There’s only one way to relax, and that’s by winning,” Mbappé said. “Until we’ve done that, we don’t let up. We’re in the semifinals and we’re very happy, but there’s still a long way to go. We realize that what lies ahead is even tougher than what we’ve been through, but we’re ready to face anything.”

Asked if this was his strongest France team yet, Mbappé said it has the most potential — “for the time being.”

“But I always say that the strongest teams are the ones that win,” he said. "I don’t see a World Cup next to me, so for now, we’re not the strongest team.”

Mbappé gave France fans a scare when he went to the field in pain after he was stepped on by Morocco defender Issa Diop in the 63rd minute. He remained in the game until the 76th minute, when he dropped to the turf and waved to the sideline.

After the training staff checked on him, Mbappé was subbed off — waving to the Gillette Stadium crowd as he left — and watched the end of the match from the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle.

“It's a slight pain in the ankle,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “Nothing serious.”

Mbappé had a chance from the penalty spot in the first half after drawing a foul from Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui in the box in the 28th minute. But goalkeeper Yassine Bounou guessed correctly, diving to his left to stop the attempt.

Mbappé said the long delay while the play was being reviewed left him wondering if he would be attempting the shot at all.

“It’s complicated, because there’s some kind of imbroglio," he said. "I let myself be de-concentrated. That’s a scenario I hadn’t experienced yet.”

But Mbappé delivered in the second half when he dribbled into the area and let loose a rocket that went just inside the post.

Messi also has scored eight goals at the tournament and Norway forward Erling Haaland has seven heading into their quarterfinal matches on Saturday. (Mbappé technically holds the Golden Boot lead because he has more assists, which is the tiebreaker.)

Mbappé's 20th goal put him one behind Messi on the all-time World Cup scoring list. Messi has 21 goals in 31 career World Cup matches over six tournaments, breaking the record of 16 that had been held by Germany striker Miroslav Klose.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Signs for the Palm Beach International Airport have been removed, while new signage goes up.

“Because an entire airport transformation doesn’t happen overnight, you’ll notice a combination of both our classic look and our new brand elements coexisting while traveling through the terminal over the next several weeks,” airport officials said in a Facebook post.

“Trump Force One," a Boeing 757 owned by The Trump Organization, was the first plane to arrive at the airport under its new name, shortly after 5 a.m. The president's son, Eric Trump, was one of the passengers. The Trump family regularly uses the West Palm Beach airport when they visit President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in nearby Palm Beach. A stretch of road from the airport to Trump’s estate was renamed Donald J. Trump Boulevard earlier this year.

“There is no person who has done more for Florida and our country, and no one more deserving of this incredible honor,” Eric Trump posted on X. “As a son, and someone who flies out of this airport nearly every day, I will forever be proud to see the initials ‘DJT’ on my boarding pass.”

While the name change took effect Thursday, the three-letter airport code will change from PBI to DJT on Aug. 18.

President Trump later praised the renaming of the airport in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

“A very big day in Palm Beach, Florida, where it was my Great Honor to have the Palm Beach International Airport be renamed, by a spectacular vote, The President Donald J. Trump International Airport. The Area is HOT, the Location is GREAT, and the Renovation will be SPECTACULAR. Thank you to all in Palm Beach for your Vote and your Confidence,” he wrote in part, calling it “one of the Greatest and Most Spectacular Airports anywhere in the World!”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation earlier this year that made the name change possible. Changing the airport’s name is expected to cost as much as $5.5 million for new signs, branding and other updates.

Keegan Collett, who was departing the airport Thursday morning on his way to Cincinnati, said he was surprised to see the new name. He said he doesn't think Trump deserves to have an airport named after him but isn't necessarily bothered by it.

“At the end of the day, it’s just the name of an airport,” Collett said. "There’s bigger things. I feel like it’s just more of a distraction. Why even worry about it?"

In Dandridge, Tennessee, on Thursday morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty and Representative Tim Burchett attended a ceremony to rename the I-40 Bridge in East Tennessee to the Donald J. Trump Bridge.

Bessent said ahead of the ceremony that “no one is more deserving” of the honor of a bridge renaming than Trump.

Trump received 82% of the vote in Jefferson County, where Dandridge is located, in the 2024 general election.

Hartman shared his unlikely journey with KSAT’s Ernie Zuniga during an appearance on “Pickup Lines,” tracing his path from a Catholic seminary to becoming one of San Antonio’s most successful developers before dedicating his life to serving people with special needs.

The youngest of five boys, Hartman attended Blessed Sacrament School before spending four years at St. Anthony’s Seminary. He credits the experience with giving him the discipline that shaped his career.

“I needed that,” Hartman said. “It helped really discipline me, which allowed me then to go straight from the seminary into business.”

While his brothers pursued college degrees, Hartman had different plans.

“I don’t want to go to college. I want to build homes,” he recalled telling his parents.

At 19, he completed his first house despite having little construction experience. One early mistake still makes him laugh: He thought a foundation crew had forgotten to pour the front of a home’s slab before learning it had intentionally been left open for plumbing work.

Hartman grew his business quickly, building two homes, then seven, then 20, before expanding into real estate development. His career nearly unraveled after buying his first lot, only to discover it flooded after heavy rain. A local governing board granted him an easement, allowing him to move forward with the project.

“Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t be sitting with you right now,” Hartman said.

Today, Hartman oversees a growing network of inclusive ventures anchored by Morgan’s Wonderland, which opened 16 years ago, and the 165,000-square-foot Morgan’s Multi-Assistance Center. He said the center has helped about 10,000 people in just three and a half years and is one of 12 Morgan’s initiatives, with three more projects in development.

Hartman, who received an honorary degree in social work, now describes himself simply.

“I’m a social worker,” he said. “That’s the way I think of myself.”

He said his daughter Morgan remains the inspiration behind the mission, even if she doesn’t fully understand her impact.

“We’re just getting started,” Hartman said. “We’ve got a lot more we can do.”

Watch the full Pickup Lines with Gordon Hartman in the video player above.

More Pickup Lines episodes:

• Pickup Lines: USAA executive Jenna Saucedo-Herrera reflects on leadership, resilience and giving back
• Pickup Lines: Kristi Waters shares journey from bullied student to beloved San Antonio performer
• Pickup Lines: Radio legend Elizabeth Ruiz reflects on decades in San Antonio media, music and resilience

Ernie Zuniga started Pickup Lines, a digital talk show, straight from his vehicle. The segments feature a diverse range of guests, including executives, small business owners, and everyday individuals, as they share personal journeys, news, and stories.

Les Bleus, with a star striker who said he's fine despite a right ankle issue, are headed back to the semifinals for the third straight World Cup tournament.

Mbappé had a goal and an assist after missing a first-half penalty kick, Ousmane Dembélé also scored and two-time champion France beat Morocco 2-0 Thursday in the quarterfinals.

“There’s only one way to relax, and that’s by winning. Until we’ve done that, we don’t let up,” Mbappé said. “We’re in the semifinals and we’re very happy, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Mbappé’s goal in the 60th minute was the 20th of his World Cup career and came in his 20th match at the tournament, moving him one behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Dembélé scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the 66th.

Mbappé went down to the ground in the 76th minute, about 13 minutes after being hit hard by a Moroccan defender, and was taken off for a substitute a minute later. He was then shown sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle.

After the match and with both shoes on, Mbappé ran and jumped in celebration with his teammates.

“I took a knock to the ankle, but I’m fine," Mbappé said. “At that point, JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) was in better shape than I was to play the final minutes.”

France will face either Spain or Belgium in the semifinals in Dallas on Tuesday.

France beat Morocco by the same score in the semifinals of the 2022 tournament in Qatar when the Atlas Lions became the first African team to make it that far. France now remains on track to become only the third nation to play in the final of three consecutive World Cups.

“It is a confirmation of how we’ve played so far,” said France coach Didier Deschamps, who added there is a reason for his team's success in recent World Cups.

“Having great players. Excellent players. My credit goes to the players. But maybe I do my job well," he said. "The only truth is the one on the pitch.”

Mbappé got his goal with a perfectly placed shot just inside the far post after Morocco failed to clear the ball. He received the ball just outside the area, took a couple steps forward and then sent his shot sailing into the net. He extended both arms and ran to the sideline to celebrate with his teammates.

France's second goal came after Mbappé took a pass and tapped it back for Dembélé. Mbappé kept running forward and took defenders with him, opening space for Dembélé's shot.

Dembélé said he wasn't surprised with how Mbappé stepped up after his penalty miss in the first half.

“He's our captain and he has an incredible mentality,” Dembélé said. “We're expecting even more goals from him.”

France held a 21-4 advantage in shots on goal and 8-1 edge in shots on target for the game.

“We are very disappointed. We wanted to go on,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. “When we had ball possession, our transitions were not great and we had to run a little more. Their players were in their comfort zone.”

Mbappé also had the first shot on goal of the game, just missing wide right in the fourth minute. Then, in the 25th, he was running up the left side when he was chopped down in the box by Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui. Referee Facundo Tello quickly pointed to the penalty spot.

Mbappé lined up waiting for his attempt but was held up by a lengthy video review. He was finally cleared to shoot in the 28th minute, but after a hesitation, Mbappé’s shot toward the right corner was corralled by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who guessed the direction of the shot correctly.

Deschamps said the long review also included a review for another foul.

Mbappé made his only other penalty attempt at this year's World Cup in France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16.

Still, France was by far the more active team offensively in the first half, holding a 13-1 advantage in shots on goal.

Morocco’s best opportunity came just before the halftime whistle when Achraf Hakimi sent a free kick from just outside the box past the right post.

France now has a chance to emulate Brazil and West Germany in reaching three straight World Cup finals.

“We realize that what lies ahead is even tougher than what we’ve been through," Mbappé said, "but we’re ready to face anything.”

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Cases involving violent extremists targeting kids online have increased 300% in the San Antonio area in just the last two years, according to the FBI. Predators are contacting children on social or gaming apps, forming relationships with them and coercing them to do violent things.

While the agency knows this is terrifying for parents to hear, they say awareness is saving lives.

At a press conference Thursday, the FBI talked about 19-year-old Alexis Chavez from San Antonio, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison for being a part of one of these extremist groups.

“Alexis Chávez was part of a group called 764. They style themselves as a nihilistic violent extremist group. Those who believe in that type of ideology really are seeking to bring down the United States government and modern society in general. Basically by corrupting our youth through horrible acts committed online,” said Justin Simmons, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.

Members of these online gangs coerce kids to commit sexual and violent acts on themselves, other kids and animals.

Some children have tragically been forced into suicide.

“The FBI is currently investigating over 500 subjects who are tied to violent online networks, more than double the number at this time last summer,” said Special Agent in Charge Daniel Faith for the FBI San Antonio division.

Faith said there are entire teams dedicated just to bringing down these suspects.

“We are working around the clock with our partners to identify offenders, dismantle their networks and hold them accountable,” he said.

However, Faith and Simmons said they need help from parents.

“There’s good for parents out there. The power is in your hands,” Simmons said.

Simmons suggests delaying open internet access to kids for as long as possible.

“If you are going to give your kids access to internet, there are plenty of commercially available monitoring types of software out there that you can use to keep close track of what your kids are looking at, who they’re talking to,” Simmons said.

He also said to look for changes in your kids, especially physical things, like cuts.

Parents or guardians who suspect something, or have a child make an outcry, are asked to contact the FBI immediately.

The FBI will have resources for children to make sure they know they’re not alone and these crimes are not their fault.

The FBI asks families to keep all information regarding the incident (usernames, email addresses, websites or names of platforms used for communication, photos, videos, etc.) and immediately report it in one of these ways:

• Visit the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
• Go to the FBI Tip website
• Call the general line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324)
• Contact the local San Antonio FBI office at 210-225-6741

Read also:

• San Antonio man sentenced to 40 years in prison for sexual exploitation of children, racketeering activity

“We are standing in the National Historic Landmark Spanish Governor’s Palace,” Colleen Swain said. “It houses the original remnants of the 1722 presidio. It was the comandancia, which is the home and office of the Spanish garrison captain.”

The building has served many purposes over the past three centuries. Swain said it remained a military residence until the early 1800s before becoming everything from a tire shop to the Hole in the Wall Saloon.

“It was a lot of different things until the 1920s,” Swain said.

The structure narrowly escaped destruction thanks to preservationist Adina De Zavala, who successfully urged the city to purchase and restore the property in 1928. The palace underwent another major renovation in 2010.

Beyond its architecture, the site also tells the story of San Antonio’s connection to the American Revolutionary War.

Swain said Spanish citizens in San Antonio and Goliad answered a request from Bernardo de Gálvez, sending thousands of head of cattle and other supplies to Louisiana to support Spanish forces aiding the American colonies.

“Those supplies were cattle because they were very successful ranchers,” Swain said. “A couple thousand head of cattle were sent to support the American war effort.”

The Spanish Governor’s Palace is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for military members with an I.D. and children 7 to 13 years old.

Visitors can also see a commemorative plaque installed by the Daughters of the American Revolution recognizing the site’s historical significance.

Read also:

• America’s military aviation legacy took flight in San Antonio
• New initiative aims to help descendants of San Antonio Missions uncover Indigenous roots

Despite overwhelming public opposition, the National Capital Planning Commission voted to approve preliminary site and building plans for the 250-foot (76-meter) arch the Republican president wants to build on a traffic circle at the Virginia end of the Memorial Bridge from Washington.

The project, one of several being pursued by Trump in his quest to reshape parts of the nation’s capital to his liking, moved a step closer to reality with the vote.

Staff had recommended in its report on the project that the commission grant such approval and request a series of changes so the arch would comply with the Height of Buildings Act. The suggested changes included redistributing the heights among the main structure of the arch, the habitable roof, where an observation deck is planned, and the statues that would top it.

But commissioners, led by chairman Will Scharf, voted to continue deliberations on whether the law indeed applies.

The staff report said the commission has long applied the law in its approval process. Scharf said the applicant, which is the Interior Department, had, as requested, provided a legal analysis that he said makes a “compelling argument" that the law "is not binding on the federal government." The Interior Department oversees the federal land where the arch would be built.

“My view is that, today, we are just considering this project for preliminary approval and that, as a result, it’s not necessary for us to take up this broader issue of the applicability of the Height of Buildings Act to federal construction until our next meeting at the earliest,” Scharf said.

Arch is one of Trump's many construction projects

Eight of the 12 commissioners, including Scharf and two others appointed by Trump, voted for preliminary approval. One was against, and the remaining three commissioners voted present.

“This is a complex project,” Scharf said before the vote. He said a vote on final approval could come at the agency's next meeting, in September.

All 12 commissioners listened to a summary of the staff report and its recommendations, and heard from several dozen people who had signed up to testify about the project.

As the commissioners met, construction continued at the White House on a $400 million ballroom Trump is building there and crews draped tarps over the stone columns at the north entrance to the mansion, where work is being done to scrape off layers of paint.

Various reasons cited in opposition

Some of those who testified against Trump's project opposed building a celebratory arch so close to the solemn burial ground of Arlington National Cemetery. Others suggested it would be more appropriate for a neighborhood near the Capitol and sporting venues.

Michael Lemmon, who is among three Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian who have sued in federal court to stop the arch construction at Memorial Circle, said the arch would disrespect the memory of those laid to rest at the revered burial ground. Trump has said the arch will celebrate 250 years of America's independence.

“As a combat veteran, I feel a duty to protect the memory and honor the sacrifice of my comrades and all those buried there,” Lemmon said. "This vainglorious monumental arch does neither.”

Others noted that memorials to Vietnam veterans, those who fought in World War II and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were built after much debate and years after they were first proposed, and pleaded with the commission for a more deliberative process for the arch.

Opponents say the arch is too big and would disrupt the carefully designed view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery that was meant to symbolize the reunification of the North and the South after the Civil War.

The arch would be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and close to half the height of the Washington Monument, at about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.

Concerns about vehicular traffic and pedestrian safety also were expressed on Thursday. Others insisted that Congress must approve the arch — a position Trump disagrees with.

No cost estimate yet for the arch

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a separate federal agency, approved the design for the arch in May. The National Capital Planning Commission oversees construction on federal land in the city and began reviewing the arch plan in June.

Trump had said last year that the arch could be paid for with unused funds from the hundreds of millions of dollars he said he has raised from corporations, donors and other wealthy people to pay to build a new $400 million ballroom at the White House.

But, as it turns out, some public money will be used for the ballroom project, as well as the arch. The White House has not released a cost estimate for the arch.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the arch's height is planned for 250 feet, not 260 feet.

• DOWNPOURS FRIDAY/SATURDAY: Random downpours - brief but heavy rain
• HAZARDS: Minor street flooding, lightning
• MORE CHANCES NEXT WEEK: Unsettled pattern continues, daily chances and cooler temps

FORECAST

FRIDAY

A surge of deep moisture arriving from the Gulf is scheduled to arrive by Friday afternoon. When it does, it should help to touch off scattered downpours. The rain won’t be for everyone, but those who do see it can expect it to come down heavy. Minor street flooding is possible.

WEEKEND

On Saturday, once daytime heating kicks in, more random, spotty downpours will develop. Like Friday afternoon, some of the downpours could produce brief, heavy rainfall and minor street flooding. Otherwise, it’ll be partly cloudy and humid. It WON’T be raining all day, but do have a backup plan for any outdoor activities.

Sunday will be quieter, with only spotty activity possible in the afternoon.

MORE UNSETTLED WEATHER NEXT WEEK

As the heat high shifts away from us, the pattern stays fairly busy through the middle of next week. Chances of rain stay with us Monday through Wednesday. Timing of this rain remains uncertain, and it may occur at any point in the day. Like with this weekend, any rain could cause street flooding.

This is a GREAT forecast for mid-July, which is typically dry and hot.

QUICK WEATHER LINKS

• WATCH LIVE: Doppler Radar
• Hourly and 10-Day Forecast
• Download FREE KSAT Weather Authority App: Up-to-date forecast information and livestreams from trusted local meteorologists.
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The U.S. launched new airstrikes against Iran hours after Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the ceasefire and threatened to escalate the conflict if they didn’t stop. Iran responded by targeting U.S.-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accused the U.S. of striking near its sole nuclear power plant.

Back-and-forth attacks have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire, but Thursday’s appeared bigger all around. And Trump’s mixed messaging — approving back-to-back military strikes while insisting they don’t mean a return to full-scale war — is fueling uncertainty about what comes next.

Whether it’s a negotiation tactic or a signal of further escalation, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal. The inflamed tensions could also spell trouble for Republicans in November’s midterm elections if gas prices stay high.

Here's the latest:

The final funeral procession for Iran’s late supreme leader

People pressed forward to touch the vehicle carrying Ali Khamenei’s body.

Many carried Iranian flags, images of Khamanei or banners evoking Shiite Islam’s long history of martyrs.

Some signs called for the death of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been laid to rest months after being killed in Iran war

Khamenei ruled Iran for nearly 37 years before dying in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that started the war Feb. 28. He was laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad early Friday after days of public mourning.

Khamenei is only the second ruler of the nation to be buried in the city. In 1747, Nader Shah was buried there after he was assassinated following nearly 11 years in power.

The funeral processions began Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran and other cities, as throngs commemorated the man who led Iran with an iron fist for decades while confronting the West.

A bitterly divided Iran grapples with Khamenei’s legacy as he is laid to rest

The funeral for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was designed to showcase unity in a country that is bitterly split over his decades-long rule. Supporters thronged the streets for a leader they view as a martyr who defied the West and Israel.

But Khamenei’s long rule left large sectors of Iranian society disillusioned as he oversaw increasingly bloody crackdowns, economic stagnation and the empowerment of the Revolutionary Guard. Anger and despair run deep after a January crackdown killed thousands.

The war launched by the United States and Israel brought more suffering while leaving the government intact, deepening the feeling of hopelessness among its opponents.

▶ Read more

How a push to disarm Hezbollah is deepening divisions in Lebanon and raising fears of civil war

A deal between Lebanon and Israel was billed as paving the way for peace. But in Lebanon, it is deepening longtime divisions and raising fears of political paralysis or even a return to civil war.

The U.S.-brokered deal envisions an Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon and an eventual peace agreement between the two countries — which technically remain in a state of war nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment. But the agreement says a full Israeli withdrawal will happen only after Hezbollah is disarmed, infuriating the Iran-backed militant group.

The tensions have stirred up memories of Lebanon’s devastating 1975-1990 civil war and reminded many of more recent clashes between Hezbollah gunmen and pro-government fighters in 2008. They also have raised deep questions over whether the U.S.-brokered deal will be able to get off the ground.

A resumption of the war between the U.S. and Iran would further complicate the deal’s prospects and raise the risk of renewed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

▶ Read more

Stocks recover losses, and oil prices ease as calm returns to financial markets worldwide

Stocks rose, and oil prices eased Thursday as financial markets calmed in the wait to see what will come next after President Donald Trump raised doubts about the temporary truce in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and more than recovered its loss from the day before, even though the United States launched new airstrikes against Iran, which responded by targeting U.S. allies in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 139 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.3%.

In the oil market, prices gave back much of their jumps from the day before. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.2% to $76.30. That’s down from $78.02 the day before though still above its $71.80 price from the end of last week.

▶ Read more

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, and raises ‘security concerns’ about Turkey

The Israeli prime minister’s office posted on the social platform X that the pair spoke on Thursday and that Netanyahu “raised the severity of the statements made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his people against the existence of the State of Israel.”

After this week’s NATO summit in Turkey, Trump indicated he may be ready to have the U.S. sell F-35 fighter jets to Erdogan’s country -- but he also says he’s not yet fully made up his mind.

Turkey and Israel have acrimonious relations. Netanyahu has urged Trump not to sell the jets to Turkey, saying it would put Israel in danger.

The statement from Netanyahu’s office also said Trump had updated the prime minister on American moves in the Persian Gulf.

South Florida’s Palm Beach airport renamed President Donald J. Trump International

A South Florida airport has officially changed its name to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport.

Signs for the Palm Beach International Airport have been removed, while new signs were unveiled Thursday.

“Trump Force One,” a Boeing 757 owned by The Trump Organization, was the first plane to arrive at the airport under its new name, shortly after 5 a.m. The president’s son, Eric Trump, was one of the passengers.

The Trump family regularly uses the West Palm Beach airport when they visit Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in nearby Palm Beach. A stretch of road from the airport to Trump’s estate was renamed Donald J. Trump Boulevard earlier this year.

▶ Read more

Deal between Israel and Lebanon is moving forward, US official says

After weeks of stagnation, an American official said Thursday that the U.S.-brokered framework agreement soon will shift to technical discussions in Rome.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic details, said “pilot zones” that both sides had agreed to will launch in the coming days while additional zones are mapped out and planned.

The zones will be where the Israeli military is to turn over control to the Lebanese army after clearing the areas of any Hezbollah presence. U.S. Central Command is coordinating with Israel and Lebanon on the zones, the official said.

The dates of the meetings and the location of the zones were not yet clear. A State Department spokesperson said they were not previewing those details yet.

— Farnoush Amiri

Iran’s foreign minister speaks to regional leaders about the escalating tensions with the US

Abbas Araghchi said on his Telegram channel on Thursday that he spoke with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Oman. He also spoke with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been one of the main mediators in the war.

Araghchi repeated Iran’s assertion that the U.S. has violated the interim peace deal reached last month. The U.S. says Iran violated the deal by firing on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The diplomatic outreach suggested efforts may be underway to reduce tensions.

Tarps go up as part of Trump’s restoration project to the front of the White House

Crews have draped tarps over the towering stone columns on the north side of the White House, where work is underway to scrape away decades of paint.

The new tarps on the building’s façade are partially see-through. They feature images of columns designed to cover the actual ornate stone columns beneath.

Scaffolding went up several days ago for work on the columns. It is the latest in dozens of projects Trump has led to remake the White House to his own tastes – including a massive ballroom and helipad on the South Lawn.

The White House hasn’t provided details on what is being done to the columns or how much it will cost. But Trump said on Monday: “We’ve taken about 150 years of paint off of the columns” and added that, “If you don’t strip the paint off, it gets worse and worse and worse.”

Ships are still going through the Strait of Hormuz but the situation remains volatile

Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst for maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence, said in a news briefing that ships were still passing through the strait as of Wednesday, but Lloyd’s is still reviewing the numbers since some passages are “dark,” when ships stop broadcasting signals that show their location.

“The situation does remain really volatile,” she said.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence said preliminary data shows there were at least 576 transits in June, up from 233 in May, but down from 3,131 in June 2025.

Non-Iranian traffic in June included 264 outbound vessels and 137 inbound ships.

Outbound ships included bulkers, crude oil tankers and product tankers. Inbound ships included crude oil tankers, product tankers, bulk carriers and gas carriers.

In June, there was an even split between “dark” transits and online transits that broadcast their locations.

Germany reaches a deal with the US to buy long-range Tomahawk missiles, Merz says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the agreement on the long-range cruise missiles, which are used to strike targets deep inside enemy territory, was reached this week on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.

“This will close an important strategic gap in our defense, and at the same time, we will work to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” Merz told parliament after returning from the two-day summit.

The deal struck with the Trump administration amounts to broader export of American know-how to some of its major allies in Europe, whose security posture has been upended by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

▶ Read more

Former Olympian pleads not guilty in Reflecting Pool damage case after Trump alleged vandalism

The former Olympic canoe racer pleaded not guilty Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a politically charged case that his defense attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided as an abuse of prosecutorial power.

David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered the plea during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted last Thursday on a single felony count of property destruction.

Trump ordered a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary this month, but the project has been plagued with problems. Workers have used chemicals to curtail an algae bloom. Trump has said the pool likely would need to be drained again for liner repairs after chunks of blue coating were seen floating at the surface.

Trump has claimed without substantiation that vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter.

▶ Read more

Ukraine says its Patriot production will take months

During Wednesday’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the U.S. will meet a longstanding request from Ukraine and give it a license to make the Patriot air defense systems. He also praised Zelenskyy for doing “an amazing job” — a sharp change in tone from past criticisms of the Ukrainian leader.

But setting up domestic production of the mobile, surface-to-air systems will take many months, said Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister.

A production license would typically come with technical process documentation, training for specialists, supplier contacts and foreign consultants to help launch manufacturing, Beskrestnov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The main obstacle would be time, rather than Ukraine’s technical or organizational capacity, he added.

Eswatini receives 11 people deported from the US as part of migration crackdown

The southern African kingdom of Eswatini has accepted a fourth group of people deported from the United States under a bilateral agreement to host third-country nationals, with 11 people arriving this week, the government said Thursday.

Acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said the group, predominantly from African countries, would remain in the kingdom temporarily while their rights were protected.

“The government reaffirms that, during their temporary stay in the Kingdom, the fundamental rights of the third-country nationals will be respected and protected in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the Kingdom’s international obligations,” Mdluli said in a statement.

Under a series of often-secret agreements that are part of a broad U.S. crackdown on immigration, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, advocates say.

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Global markets are mixed and oil prices rise as Iran and US launch new attacks

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1% before the opening bell Thursday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%. Nasdaq futures were up 0.5%.

Oil prices inched up again Thursday, with Brent crude, the international standard, rising 64 cents to to $78.66 per barrel. It briefly topped $80 on Wednesday. Before the Iran war began, Brent oil was trading at around $72 a barrel. Earlier optimism over an interim peace deal recently brought it back to prewar levels.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 54 cents to $74.06 a barrel.

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New attacks raise questions about what comes next in the Iran war

President Donald Trump says he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over. He says he’s not sure he wants a deal anymore and says the U.S. should “finish the job.” But he also insists continued attacks don’t mean a return to war or long-term action.

The confusion and uncertainty in Trump’s mixed messaging and his approval of back-to-back military strikes leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.

The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program — something Trump has tried before.

Whether it’s a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions.

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MISSION — A historic chapel that served as the basis for the city’s name will no longer lie behind a border wall as community leaders and church officials initially feared.

The future of La Lomita Chapel, which sits near the Rio Grande, came into question amid plans of border wall construction under President Donald Trump’s first term. At the time, the federal government planned to seize the chapel’s land to construct a border wall along a levee near the chapel that would have isolated the historic site between the wall and the river.

But under new plans, the wall will be behind the chapel and closer to the river, according to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, who said he’s been trying to protect specific sites along the border from border wall construction.

During a visit Wednesday to a couple of those sites — including La Lomita Chapel and the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge — Cuellar revealed these updated plans from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“They’re trying to accommodate to an extent,” Cuellar said, though he noted the construction of border wall in close proximity to the river could pose flooding concerns.

Because of fears of how the chapel and other significant sites would have been impacted by the border wall during Trump’s first term, Cuellar, along with the Rio Grande Valley congressional delegation, secured protections in the fiscal 2020 appropriations bill, assuring that funds could not be used to build a border wall there.

The protected areas include the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, La Lomita Historical Park, the National Butterfly Center, the Vista del Mar Ranch tract of the Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and historic cemeteries.

However, through the One Big, Beautiful Bill, Trump’s signature funding bill, the Department of Homeland Security was able to bypass the appropriations process and use funds for constructing a border wall in those areas.

Cuellar has added a legacy rider into the appropriations language for 2027 that would prohibit DHS from using funds for border wall construction in those previously protected areas, but that legislation likely will not be voted on until the end of the year.

That will likely be too late to spare the wall’s construction at the Santa Ana refuge which is expected to begin next week, Cuellar said. Last month, the refuge announced the closure of the levee to bicycle and pedestrian traffic for construction.

“What they’re doing, in my opinion, and I think we all know, is they’re trying to beat the clock on this to say, ‘Before that law comes in, we’re going to go ahead and get it built,’” Cuellar said of DHS’ plans.

The only way to stop it at this point, Cuellar said, would be to find a way to delay construction or convince the agency to pause.

DHS did not respond to questions about border wall construction at Santa Ana or La Lomita.

While Cuellar said DHS’ current plans are to build the wall behind La Lomita, the interactive map of border wall plans posted online by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is part of DHS, shows the wall would still be built in front of the chapel. However, the interactive map doesn’t update in real time. Father Roy Snipes, a member of the Oblate priests who has fought for the preservation of the chapel, said he would be happy if the border wall were placed closer to the river.

“You wouldn’t even know the wall was there,” said Snipes, who holds mass at the church every Friday morning.

“If you could come here and pray, and not even see the wall, or know the wall was there, that would be pretty sweet,” he said.

But not all agreed. Stephanie Lopez, executive director of the National Butterfly Center, said the wall would still affect the livelihood of border residents who would lose access to the river.

“Knowing that those buoys are coming in on the river, plus the wall right on there, would be such a shame and so bad for our environment,” Lopez said.

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

Phyllis Sentiva Ochoa is scheduled to be released on parole on July 15, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).

Ochoa, 35, is the voice behind the untitled, polarizing track about San Antonio that some have called the city’s unofficial anthem. It’s catchy “where we roll, where we roll” lyric has been played millions of times across social media platforms.

Earlier this year, Ochoa sat down for an exclusive interview with KSAT Investigates reporter Daniela Ibarra, where she opened up about how the song came to be, the decisions she made that led to her imprisonment, and her plans once she is released.

>>EXTENDED INTERVIEW: How the infamous ‘where we roll’ freestyle about San Antonio came to be

She was convicted in 2016 on charges of aggravated robbery and human trafficking of a minor. Ochoa was sentenced to 16 years in prison, records show.

Ochoa told KSAT that she took full accountability and responsibility for her crimes.

She became eligible for parole in 2023, and records show the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole approved her release in October 2025. It is unclear how long Ochoa will be on parole.

Because Ochoa was convicted of human trafficking of a minor, Texas law requires her to register as a sex offender. TDCJ records show she is currently in a sex offender education program.

TDCJ rules state that people released on parole have to follow several rules, including reporting to their parole officer, following all laws, and avoiding people or places of “disreputable or harmful character.” People on parole are also barred from owning, possessing, selling, or using any weapon.

“What are your plans once you’re out of prison?” asked Ibarra.

“I think when I get out I just want to kind of like live for a second,” Ochoa replied, adding that she plans to spend time in an undisclosed location while she gets back on her feet. “I want to try to reconcile with my son, with my family.”

Ochoa said she has not had any contact with her son, who is now in his late teens, during her decade in prison.

“I would want him to know that I love him and I haven’t forgot about him and that he has been my motivation,” Ochoa said.

She has been studying to get her driver’s license and to get a job, with eventual plans of returning to San Antonio.

Ochoa said she hopes to help other women who’ve survived what she has. She told KSAT Investigates that she agreed to the interview to help amplify domestic violence understanding and human trafficking resources.

“My really big, like, heart goal is to like really like put an awareness out there for like women who are in abusive relationships, stuck into prostitution, drugs and stuff like that,” she said.

Resources

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

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

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

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, there is help for you.

If it’s an emergency, text or call 911. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center can help find you local assistance by calling (888) 373-7888 or texting ”HELP" or “INFO” to the number 233733 for discreet help.

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

The news was first reported by Front Office Sports.

Spurs Sports & Entertainment, the team’s parent company, declined requests for comment to KSAT for this story. Multiple sources, who are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, confirmed the report’s accuracy to KSAT on Thursday.

While the team has yet to comment on the report, Tobey was the subject of a social media firestorm earlier this week.

A woman, who claimed to be Tobey’s longtime girlfriend, accused him of being unfaithful with the relative of a Spurs player. KSAT could not independently confirm the woman’s allegation.

Tobey’s time in San Antonio

Tobey recently wrapped up his second full season calling Spurs games alongside team legend Sean Elliott.

Three weeks ago, Tobey announced via X that he was set to be a part of the organization for the foreseeable future.

“Thank you to the @spurs players, coaches & fans! I’m excited to announce that I signed a multi-year extension to stay with the Spurs (on the ⛳️😆),“ Tobey wrote in the June 18 post. ”I love this city!”

Tobey has since set his X account to private. In October 2024, he was hired by the team to replace longtime play-by-play announcer Bill Land.

Before joining the Spurs, Tobey previously worked as a sports anchor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Denver while also moonlighting as a play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports and the Pac-12 Network.

More recent San Antonio Spurs coverage on KSAT:

• San Antonio closes on $30M land deal to advance Project Marvel
• Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg shares why he wants to play former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
• Spurs can play an additional home game outside of Frost Bank Center in 2026-27, 2027-28 seasons

No deaths have been reported and the source of the cyclospora infections hasn't been identified. Meanwhile, investigations into similar illnesses have been going on in 28 other states, including in Ohio, where people just across the Michigan border are also becoming sick.

Michigan officials first announced the outbreak last week, when they were aware of more than 170 cases — all in the southeastern corner of the state — since June 22. Michigan usually identifies only about 50 cases each year.

On Wednesday, the state reported the number had grown to 992, including about 40 hospitalizations. Just across the state line, Lucas County, Ohio, reported 306 cases as of Wednesday. Northwest Ohio has seen more than 500 cases.

Cyclospora surges can be tricky to investigate, and food poisoning sources can be hard to establish. But “there is clearly a linked outbreak happening right now,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Here's what to know about the current situation:

What is cyclospora?

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is not usually life threatening and is typically treated with antibiotics. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.

It’s less common than a number of other kinds of foodborne illnesses, including salmonella and E. coli. For years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported each year. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019. Experts attribute the increases to climate change and better detection.

How does this outbreak compare to previous ones in the US?

Comprehensive data on cyclospora outbreaks is lacking. But available information shows only a small number of documented outbreaks in the last 20 years have surpassed 1,000 cases. That short list includes a 1997 outbreak tied to Guatemalan raspberries that sickened more than 1,000 in the U.S. and Canada, and a 2019 outbreak linked to Mexican basil that sickened more than 2,400.

There are several reasons it's challenging to know the exact toll, said Melanie Firestone, a University of Minnesota foodborne illness researcher. Some tests used to check for types of food poisoning are not geared to detect cyclospora, “so there is a lot of underreporting when it comes to this,” she said.

Other challenges: Technicians aren't able to grow the parasite in labs, making it hard to draw evidence from contaminated produce. And it can be hard to figure out what food sick people had in common, because sometimes it’s a single ingredient that might be common in multiple recipes — like basil or cilantro.

Also, it's possible that food distributors may channel contaminated foods to both grocery stores and restaurants, making it hard to discern where tainted food came from. Investigations can take months and sometimes never find a clear source.

What's the current situation?

Cases seem to be surging in and around southeastern Michigan. But it's not considered a national health emergency.

There's no evidence that the parasite has evolved to become more infectious, said Dianna Blau, the CDC's acting parasitic diseases branch chief.

Thousands of cyclospora illnesses are reported in the U.S. each year and it's not yet clear how unusual this year will be, she added. That said, the case total so far is four times higher than at the same point last year, according to current CDC national data, which lags dramatically from what's being reported by the states.

Michigan appears to be suffering the worst of it, but the state's aggressiveness in investigating and reporting cases may be “part of the reason why this looks like a Michigan problem,” Bagdasarian said.

How can you protect yourself from cyclospora?

People who have diarrhea that hasn’t gone away on its own within a few days should see a health provider and discuss the possibility of cyclospora, officials say.

The best way to prevent infection with a parasite is to avoid food or water that may have been contaminated.

Fresh produce should be thoroughly washed before being eaten. But be aware that cyclospora can really stick to some foods, so washing may not eliminate the risk of infection.

As Michigan officials investigate the potential source, they recommend consumers purchase whole heads of lettuce rather than prewashed, bagged lettuce or salad mixes, and to remove the outer two to three leaves before washing the remaining leaves under running water.

They also say to cook vegetables when possible.

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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.

Police said the shooting was reported around 10:45 p.m. on July 4 at an apartment complex in the 1700 block of Lamar Street, near North Mittman Street.

Upon arrival, SAPD said its officers found multiple people with apparent gunshot wounds outside the complex.

According to a preliminary report, officers were told several people walking near the area began firing at a residence, striking multiple individuals both inside and outside the building.

In a Facebook post, police initially said three people were walking when they shot a gun toward the complex.

The man, later identified as Cory Goode, was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office ruled Goode’s death a homicide.

Among the five others wounded were two girls, ages 5 and 12, an unknown person, a 41-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man. All were taken to local hospitals in “critical but stable condition,” police said.

SAPD’s Facebook post stated one of those shot was a suspect, though the preliminary report does not confirm that detail.

Several individuals were detained for questioning, the report states, but no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.

It is unknown what led up to the shooting. The investigation is ongoing.

It was Smith's first time on the LA Metro in a decade, and the experience exceeded his expectations.

“Seems like a very functioning transit system, which is somewhat surprising given its reputation,” he said.

That is the reaction Metro officials were hoping for as they used the 2026 FIFA World Cup's eight LA games to introduce — or reintroduce — people to the region's public transit system, often an afterthought in car-centric Los Angeles. It is an early test run of sorts for the 2028 Olympics, which organizers have billed as a “no car” Games where there will be no parking for attendees at any of the venues. Spectators will have to rely on transit and shuttles to get to events.

Nearly 50,000 rides were taken on rail lines for the July 2 Spain-Austria game that Smith and his son attended. There is no train that runs directly to SoFi Stadium in the LA suburb of Inglewood, but Metro has added 15 shuttle lines to transport people there from major rail stations and transit centers — the farthest route taking one hour and 15 minutes. More than 30,000 rides were taken on those shuttles for that game alone, the agency said.

The Metro will take a similar approach for the Olympics because many venues don't connect directly to the system. For the World Cup, the agency borrowed about 200 buses to meet the increased demand. Officials have said they will need to borrow 3,000 buses for the Olympics.

Officials work to overcome safety fears

For many residents, public transit isn't baked into everyday life in Los Angeles, the nation's second most-populous city, quite the same way it is in other major urban centers like New York and Chicago. LA Metro estimates the system provides about 1 million rides each day — roughly the same as Chicago, a smaller city. In New York, meanwhile, it is well over 3 million on the average weekday.

Many view LA's rail and bus system as unreliable at best and unsafe at worse. Certain high-profile violent incidents, such as a 67-year-old woman who died from being stabbed on a Metro train in 2024, have driven those perceptions. Some riders are also concerned about drug use, cleanliness and the presence of homeless people.

In June, Metro opened applications for its police force, which it hopes to have fully deployed by 2029 to replace the LAPD. The agency hopes having its own sworn officers working along with homeless outreach and crisis response teams will help riders feel safer on its trains and buses.

Metro has also touted data that showed a decline in violent crime over the past two years, with a 13.6% decrease in overall crime in March 2026 compared to a year before.

Martha Banuelos used the transit system sporadically before but generally preferred to “avoid it like the plague.” She started riding the trains again recently to get into the city from North Hollywood for World Cup watch parties.

“It’s a lot cleaner and smells way better,” she said.

Officials see World Cup as an opportunity

Metro has partnered with FIFA to host fan zones and watch parties at key transit hubs — where thousands of fans from around the region gathered to drink, dance to DJ sets, and cheer for their favorite teams. Metro has advertised limited edition tap cards for different countries and leaned into social media to promote public transit during the games.

The system also upgraded its payment options before the World Cup to allow riders to pay directly with a credit card like other cities that have done away with tap cards.

Those efforts worked to draw in new riders like Yasmin Cortez, a 32-year-old who took the train for the first time ever to attend the official FIFA Fan Festival at the LA Memorial Coliseum to watch matches, volunteer for FIFA, and soak in the World Cup spirit. A week later, she took the rail again to root for Uruguay at the Union Station Fan Zone, from Cerritos about 16 miles (26 kilometers) southwest of LA.

“Especially with gas prices now, yeah I should be taking the Metro,” she said. “There’s a lot to explore, and I bought some new walking shoes.”

Looking ahead to 2028 Olympics

During the last Summer Games, Paris was lauded for how accessible the Games were, with nearly every venue reachable by Metro, commuter train, tram or bus.

LA, long known for congested roadways, is hard at work to expand its own transit options as the Games quickly approach.

Transit enthusiasts rejoiced at the long-awaited extension of the D line in May, which runs east-west connecting downtown LA to Koreatown, and now further west, where popular tourist attractions like the Grove shopping mall, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the La Brea Tar Pits are.

It marked the first opening of a heavy rail expansion project in the U.S. since 2020. Four more stations are under construction to extend the line to the University of California, Los Angeles campus, which will serve as the official Athlete Village for the 2028 games.

“LA is a transit city,” said Jennifer Vides, Metro's chief customer experience officer. “People want to try to say that it’s not. Obviously we have a lot more expansion to do and we’re working on it. But people really want transit.”

David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered the plea through one of his attorneys during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted last Thursday on a single felony count of property destruction.

Before the country's 250th independence celebrations, President Donald Trump launched a multimillion dollar renovation project for the Reflecting Pool, which was plagued by problems, including damage to its new coating. Trump, without providing evidence, has alleged the damage was caused by vandals.

Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker. He is accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage.

“Every American should be alarmed about this prosecution,” defense attorney Norm Eisen said after the hearing. “It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool.”

At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool, according to online court records. All three pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearances Wednesday, records show.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, said vandalizing the nation's monuments and public spaces is “an affront to our shared history.”

“The law applies equally to everyone, and when it is broken, there are consequences," she said in a statement on Thursday.

Defense says prosecutors' evidence is ‘weak’

In front of a packed courtroom, D.C. Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean did not require Hearn to be supervised by the court while he is free awaiting a trial. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 5.

A prosecutor, Kevin Reddington, said the government wasn’t seeking any court supervision for Hearn, but just a “stay-away order” without specifying in court where it wanted to keep Hearn away from.

Mary Dohrmann, one of Hearn’s attorneys, urged the judge not to impose any conditions of court supervision, calling Hearn an “upstanding citizen and member of the community.”

“The government’s evidence is weak,” she added.

Supporters cheered after the hearing

Dozens of supporters, many carrying homemade signs, gathered outside the courthouse and chanted “Davey!” as Hearn left after the hearing. Hearn joined his attorneys in front of a bank of cameras and smiled to supporters but did not speak. He raised his right hand and pumped his fist as he left.

Adam Van Grack, who chaired the U.S. Olympic national governing body for canoe and kayak sports, joined the throng of supporters who cheered for Hearn after the hearing. Van Grack said Hearn has spent decades voluntarily maintaining National Park Service property that the canoeists used as a training course along the Potomac River.

“This is a person who has devoted his life to representing the United States on an international stage, caring for the community and protecting and caring for National Park Service property,” Van Grack said. “So the idea that he is a malicious destroyer of federal property shocks the conscience and makes no sense to anybody who’s ever known Davey Hearn.”

Hearn previously told The Associated Press that he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a 64-mile (103 kilometer) bike ride on June 19. He said he reached in to examine newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.

Pool project has been plagued by problems

The pool's renovation has been riddled with problems. Workers have used devices called nanobubblers to curtail an algae bloom. The devices infuse ozone into the water to kill algae and bacteria. Officials have said the pool most likely would need to be drained again for liner repairs after chunks of blue coating were seen floating at the surface.

Trump has claimed without substantiation that vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter. Pirro, a former Fox News host who was appointed by Trump, said last week that six other people were arrested on misdemeanor charges related to the $16 million pool project.

Pirro accused Hearn of causing more than $1,000 in damage by ripping up recently installed sealant from the pool and acting belligerently toward an employee who told him to stop.

Hearn’s attorneys have said the charges against him are based on a “concocted narrative” and “should be alarming to every American.”

“This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures,” the lawyers said in a statement. “The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”

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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly and AP video journalist Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report.

The demand for help comes as the United Nations launched an appeal for roughly $300 million to assist 1.3 million people in urgent need of aid in the South American country where nongovernmental organizations until recently were targets of government repression. Mobile kitchens and clinics as well as field hospitals now dot public spaces in the northern state of La Guaira, where most of the devastation occurred.

“It is clear at displacement sites that, particularly after two weeks, that people are turning up because they haven’t been able to get their other treatments,” U.N. relief chief Tom Fletcher told The Associated Press during his visit to Venezuela. “So, they’re not turning up with just the fractures now, they’re turning up with those longer-term health needs. And it’s vital that we’re there for them.”

Doctors treating people in that state’s Catia La Mar community on Thursday reported an increase in skin conditions and diarrheal diseases, as well as of requests for medications for the treatment of chronic illnesses, including diabetes and high blood pressure. The emerging diseases can be tied to crowded living spaces and poor water and sanitation conditions, which in many communities predate the earthquakes.

Irma Echarri showed up at a mobile unit on a sidewalk across the street from a church with the boxes of the eyedrops and pain reliever she usually takes, hoping that doctors there could give her new ones. She also wanted to be seen for the pain she developed in her nose after the June 24 earthquakes.

“It hurts a lot,” Echarri, 67, said while waiting to be seen. “It hurts because it hurts.”

Echarri’s home was not damaged, but many of her neighbors are living in temporary shelters or outdoors after 190 buildings collapsed and 856 others were damaged, according to Venezuelan officials, in the back-to-back earthquakes that killed 3,889 people.

The government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez has estimated that the earthquakes left about 18,000 people without a home. The displaced are now living in schools, sidewalks, parks, plazas and other public spaces.

Fletcher, the head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told AP the United States has so far provided most of the earthquake-response aid. Much of the assistance on the ground is being delivered by local groups that have partnered with global humanitarian organizations.

Among the displaced is Zulbey Reyes, who went to the clinic ran by the Venezuela-based organization Paluz in partnership with the global relief agency International Rescue Committee. Reyes, who was also robbed by the earthquakes of her job as a nanny, sought treatment for the onset of chest pain.

“I thought it was my heart that was sick,” Reyes, 41, said after being diagnosed and receiving medication. “But it’s a nerve that became inflamed after the screams that day.”

Armando Denegri, representative in Venezuela of the Pan-American Health Organization told reporters Thursday that “50% of the health professionals in La Guaira were directly affected" by the earthquakes.

"Some disappeared, some died, others were severely affected by the crisis, impacting their families,” Denegri said without giving further details.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has estimated direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure around $37 billion.

The widespread presence of nongovernmental organizations in the country and the freedom with which the government is allowing them to operate contrasts with the repression and persecution to which they were subjected in recent years. While Rodríguez served as vice president to former President Nicolás Maduro, organizations were repeatedly accused of anti-government activities and the U.N. local human rights office expelled.

“When you have a crisis of this magnitude, people put the politics to one side and are able to focus on saving as many lives as possible, and that’s what I’m seeing so far in this response,” Fletcher said.

Funk died Wednesday at her apartment in an assisted living facility in the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O'Dell said Thursday. O'Dell, who described herself as Funk's caregiver, said she was by Funk's side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.

“It took its toll,” O'Dell said in a phone interview.

Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but never made it into space with that agency. In 2021, she got her chance aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.

At the time, the 82-year-old was the oldest person to go into space, though the record was later broken by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate. They were both 90.

Bezos chose Funk as an “honored guest” to ride alongside him and two others on an up-and-down hop from West Texas.

In a post on X, Blue Origin said Funk was a “pioneer in every sense of the word.”

“We were humbled to be part of her journey,” the post said.

O’Dell said Funk was the “most eternally optimistic person” she had ever met.

“She was told by many, many, many men, ‘No, you can’t do this. No you can’t do that,’ ” O’Dell said. “And she never got mad about it. She just was more determined.”

Funk was the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, according to a brief biography released by the City of Grapevine.

In the 1960s, she and other female pilots went through astronaut training in the Mercury 13 program, but they were not allowed to become astronauts.

“Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day she would reach space. Her passion for flight, perseverance, and love of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Godspeed, Wally,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted Thursday on X.

It does not necessarily mean that the trade is off. The Raptors said they still want Leonard, and the Clippers, in a statement sent to multiple outlets including The Associated Press, again insisted that they are not guilty of any wrongdoing related to an endorsement contract between Leonard and a now-bankrupt California-based digital bank that touted itself as environmentally friendly.

But the probe, as detailed by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, could lead to penalties that include a substantial fine, the loss of draft capital — and, potentially, even the voiding of a player contract — if the league finds there was a deliberate circumvention of cap rules.

“The NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi,” the Raptors said. “In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”

There is no timetable for the conclusion of the NBA's probe, which is being performed by outside counsel — Wachtell Lipton, a New York-based firm. Commissioner Adam Silver said in recent weeks that he'd like to see a conclusion.

“My instruction to them is we can’t be investigating forever. At some point you have to wrap it up,” Silver said last month at the NBA Finals. “But at the same time, the most important thing is that we get it right."

Through a spokesman, the NBA said Thursday that it doesn't “have a specific timeline for the conclusion of the investigation but expect the firm to finalize its work in the coming weeks”

The NBA opened an investigation back in September into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC — a company that filed for bankruptcy in 2025 — broke league rules, following a report by journalist Pablo Torre. Last month, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding investors and lenders of at least $248 million.

“At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration,” the Clippers said Thursday in a statement. "We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration. Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

“We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues. We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.”

For its part, Toronto reaffirmed that it still wants to acquire Leonard.

“The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization, and our fans,” the Raptors said.

The Raptors and Clippers struck a deal on June 30 on a trade that would send Leonard back to the city that helped win the 2019 NBA championship.

The Raptors agreed to send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks and pick swaps to the Clippers for Leonard — who spent one season in Toronto, and that was the year the Raptors won their lone title.

He turned 35 earlier this month but is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career, averaging 27.9 points for the Clippers in 65 games.

Leonard is a seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, a two-time NBA champion (also winning in 2014 with San Antonio) and is generally considered one of the game’s top defensive players. He has said there was no wrongdoing.

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

The story begins in 2016, when singer/guitarist Jack Heartilly and two roommates, tired of solo gigs, decided to “do a thing.” They posted demos on Facebook and found Brandon Jordan Olmedo Davila, who’s been the band’s constant through every lineup change.

Their first show was a birthday bash at The Korova (now closed), which became an annual tradition. Over the years, they added Ted Martinez on drums, Desiree Barrera on bass and vocals, and Josh Barrera on keys and lights — the latter initially working behind the scenes before stepping into the spotlight.

Describing their sound, Heartilly says, “It’s this kind of fun mix between like a poppy post-rock and little twinkles of math rock. We try to aim for something that’s really pretty while also being kind of fun and dance-y at the same time.”

The band’s influences are as diverse as their sound: From Indian Lakes, Anthony Green, Foxing, The Mars Volta, Circa Survive, Interpol, Bloc Party and more.

Davila, the band’s sonic architect, revealed how he crafted the album’s lush strings and ambient textures.

“I just kept pushing buttons until it sounded pretty,” he said, laughing. “There weren’t any real violins, just virtual instruments layered for hours.”

The result is an atmospheric beginning and bookend to the album, with a more chaotic close that mirrors life’s unpredictability.

Songwriting is a mix of pre-written gems and full-band collaborations. Heartilly explained, “Sometimes I bring a song pre-written, and everyone fills in the blanks. Other times, we write from scratch together, and those are the ones we’re most proud of.”

Lyrics mostly come from Heartilly, but inspiration is a group effort. Davila penned “Ben,” a poignant tribute to a friend lost to suicide, aiming to encourage listeners to reach out and support those struggling.

The band’s setlist is a journey through raw emotions and storytelling. “Done and Done” captures the bittersweet realization of growing up and losing things, balanced by hope and togetherness.

“In Honest Company” delves into toxic relationships and their ripple effects. “Curse” warns of chasing dreams at a cost, inspired by an image of someone crying in a pool of sludge. And “Only Daughter” confronts patriarchal pressures and the helplessness of witnessing a loved one’s struggle.

A quirky band ritual involves a six-foot whiteboard covered in notes, song parts, and mood cues — a visual map of their creative process.

“It helps us stay intentional about every part, making sure the song sounds exactly how we want,” Desiree Barrera said.

Davila added a playful twist: he snuck in the “Fairy Fountain” melody from The Legend of Zelda video game into “Curse,” initially as a joke, but it stuck because it sounded cool.

When it comes to the San Antonio music scene, The Frog & Bandit appreciates its longevity and camaraderie.

“There are people playing music here as long as I have, and it’s amazing to share the stage with them,” Martinez said.

The band acknowledges challenges like noise ordinances and the struggle to keep the scene vibrant as musicians juggle adult responsibilities. They champion expanding audiences beyond musicians and friends by hosting shows in unconventional venues — think night markets and daytime gigs at places like GameStop (which the band has done a couple of times).

The band’s message to anyone worried about the local scene? “Just go out and play music,” Martinez said. “If you do it, you build it, and they’ll come.”

Their latest album, “Impending Cycle of Loss,” dropped in May and is ready to soundtrack your next late-night reflection or dance session. You can find it on any streaming platform, but we’ve got the Spotify playlist here for your listening pleasure!

Oh, and the band name? Inspired by the cult classic “Smokey and the Bandit” and the quirky tavern names from the video game Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.

“It just rolled off the tongue and felt right,” Heartilly said.

The Frog & Bandit are proof that San Antonio’s music scene is alive, evolving and full of stories waiting to be told.

For this SA Vibes set, The Frog & Bandit performs “Done and Done,” “In Honest Company,” “Ben,” “Curse,” and “Only Daughter.”

You can follow the band on Instagram and Facebook. You can also visit their YouTube page and their Bandcamp.

After you check out this set, they recommend you check out Mary Maria, Roshii, The Way The World Ends, Brisbane and Pop Pistol.

Special thanks to Jacob Guerrero at The Starlighter for mixing and hosting this SA Vibes!

About SA Vibes

San Antonio is well-known for its culture, but the local music scene has always seemed a bit hidden.

Unless someone takes you to a local show — at venues like The Lonesome Rose, Hi-Tones, The Mix, The Starlighter and 502 Bar — chances are you’ll never even know our music scene exists. That’s what made me decide to launch this passion project that we’re calling “SA Vibes.”

My name is Valerie, and I’m a video editor at KSAT. I’ve been attending local shows for over a decade, and I want to put a spotlight on the great talent that San Antonio has to offer.

Each month, we’ll be releasing a new “SA Vibes” video across all KSAT digital platforms and our YouTube channel, showcasing a local musician performing live versions of their songs from music venues around the city and the KSAT garden.

If you’re a San Antonio musician and would like to be a part of this project, please send information about your next show to our SA Vibes email. (We can only feature original music because of licensing.)

More episodes of SA Vibes on KSAT:

• Jonah Vin’s Return: Reviving San Antonio’s Emo Spirit with a Mathy Twist
• SA Vibes: The Lost Project blends nostalgic sound with a healthy dose of reality
• SA Vibes: Combo Cósmico takes listeners on a trip
• SA Vibes: Anthony Prater sings San Antonio’s history
• SA Vibes: Garrett T. Capps blends Alt-Country sound with SA flavor
• SA Vibes: Caroline Hale expresses all the emotions in debut album
• SA Vibes: Country folk artist Mikey Vibe kicks off series highlighting San Antonio musicians

“I was looking to just go back to my roots, and that’s pop and rock and reggae, and I just wanted to combine everything together,” said Chris Talavera, lead vocalist and songwriter.

This mix of genres, combined with earlier influences from Backstreet Boys to Britney Spears, helped shape the sound of the band. Inspired by dreams and the ideas Chris saves in his voice memos, the collaborative songwriting process begins to form.

“A lot of my voice memos are just little ideas, little snippets, and then I just turn it into a song, and then I send it to [the band], and they kind of just take the reins,” Chris said.

“Kudos to my guy, Chris, here on really steering the ship and making something that is wholly unique in the amalgamation of what, you know, his influences are,” said bassist Ray Ramirez.

The mix of influences has set the tone for the band, and they’re looking for a sense of community in the music scene.

“It’s really cool seeing a lot of local acts just kind of band together and really kind of raise each other up,” Ray said. “I was talking to a friend of mine the other day, and we were really excited about where the scene is and where the state of the bands is and how willing and able they are to help each other out and grow their fan base.”

Guitarist J.D. Estrada agrees.

“It’s cool to see people come out and support local music and to see new talent,” he said.

“When I was a teenager, if you’re bored, you just went to a show...” said drummer Stephan Estrada. “You just went to the White Rabbit, and local shows were packed door-to-door, sold out. So I think we just got to figure out a way to get kids excited or just to realize how exciting and fun these shows really are. It doesn’t matter who’s playing, just go.”

We also asked the band for a few local music recommendations! After you check out their set, they recommend you give a listen to INOHA, mypilotis and Eyes Like Fire.

As of 2026, the band is no longer active. Check out the members’ other projects, Eyes Like Fire and C’lovers.

For this SA Vibes set, PRSNT performs “Over It,” “Pain,” “Stay Home,” “We Ain’t Gotta Hold On,” and “Dive In.”

You can find more information and music from PRSNT on their LinkTree or their Spotify. Want to book the band for a show? Send them an email at prsntmgmt@gmail.com.

You can learn more about this SA Vibes venue, The Starlighter, on their Instagram. Special thanks to Jacob Guerrero for mixing the music for us!

About SA Vibes

San Antonio is well-known for its culture, but the local music scene has always seemed a bit hidden.

Unless someone takes you to a local show — at venues like The Lonesome Rose, Hi-Tones, The Mix, Paper Tiger and 502 Bar — chances are you’ll never even know our music scene exists. That’s what made me decide to launch this passion project that we’re calling “SA Vibes.”

My name is Valerie, and I’m a video editor at KSAT. I’ve been attending local shows for over a decade, and I want to put a spotlight on the great talent that San Antonio has to offer.

Each month, we’ll be releasing a new “SA Vibes” video across all KSAT digital platforms and our YouTube channel, showcasing a local musician performing live versions of their songs from the KSAT garden.

If you’re a San Antonio musician and would like to be a part of this project, please send information about your next show to our SA Vibes email.

More episodes of SA Vibes on KSAT:

• SA Vibes: The Lost Project blends nostalgic sound with a healthy dose of reality
• SA Vibes: Combo Cósmico takes listeners on a trip
• SA Vibes: Anthony Prater sings San Antonio’s history
• SA Vibes: Garrett T. Capps blends Alt-Country sound with SA flavor
• SA Vibes: Caroline Hale expresses all the emotions in debut album
• SA Vibes: Country folk artist Mikey Vibe kicks off series highlighting San Antonio musicians

His comment came amid mounting calls for independent investigations of the Tuesday shooting in Houston, particularly from 52-year-old Salgado Araujo’s family and community advocates who said they didn’t trust the federal government to fairly scrutinize the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the case. 

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General is leading the federal investigation, and Teare said it remains to be seen whether the agency would share anything with his office. Meanwhile, the FBI’s Houston office is spearheading an inquiry into whether there was an assault on a federal law enforcement officer, which Teare called “a moot point in this case.”

“My office is running an investigation,” he said in a radio interview with Houston Public Media, adding that his investigators have visited the scene and collected surveillance evidence. “But we do not have the same level of access that we do in almost any other officer-involved shooting.” 

Homeland Security, which has declined to identify the officer who shot Salgado Araujo, citing violence and threats against ICE agents, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Texas Tribune also called the main number listed for the department’s inspector general office, but it is not in service. 

Teare also said he has been in contact with the Hennepin County attorney’s office, which launched inquiries into the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents earlier this year. The Minnesota officials sued the federal government to gain access to evidence.

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

When asked if he was considering any legal challenges to get better access to case information, Teare said his office was not yet at that point in the investigation. 

A day earlier, Harris County’s top prosecutor had taken to social media to publicly call for witnesses and anyone with photos or videos of the fatal shooting to step forward. At the time, he said only that his office would usually investigate any fatal interaction with law enforcement in the county, adding that federal officials had continued “exclusively handling all aspects in this case.”

State and federal Democratic lawmakers have also publicly demanded independent investigations of the shooting. 

Though the Texas Department of Public Safety has already said it will not investigate the Houston shooting, citing the FBI probe. The department previously investigated an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez, who was also accused of trying to run over a federal agent. But footage that DPS released this year didn’t definitively show the 23-year-old man doing so. 

Ultimately, Teare said, it’s critically important to properly investigate killings by law enforcement to maintain community trust. 

“We have got to be able to explain to the community, in these cases more than any other, that we are above board, that we are transparent, that we are going to get to the bottom of it, whether we like the outcome or not,” he said.

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

Alecsis Skie Roberts, 30, was arrested by San Antonio police Wednesday after they boxed in the stolen ambulance near Highway 90 and Southwest Military.

Police say Roberts had jumped into the driver’s seat as EMT workers tended to a 65-year-old patient in the back of the ambulance. They say along the way, the three had tried to persuade Roberts to stop, but she ignored them.

In an email Thursday morning, a fire department spokesman said the employees and patient were all unhurt but shaken.

Roberts is in jail facing numerous charges, including kidnapping.

The email also mentioned that all SAFD ambulances are equipped with anti-theft devices, and that an investigation is underway to determine if Roberts somehow was able to disable it or break it.

“I thought it was just, that was the craziest thing I ever heard,” Victor Young said Thursday morning, reflecting on the incident.

Young saw the tail-end of Roberts’ arrest as he worked nearby at Kel-Lac Uniforms.

“We see an ambulance with a bunch of cops running up,” he said. “It was about, I want to say about 10 to 15 police.”

Young said this was a first for him, seeing an ambulance stolen with workers and patients still inside it.

Stolen ambulances, though, are not exactly unheard of in San Antonio.

Phillip Perez, 38, was sentenced to 18 years in prison earlier this year in connection with the theft of an ambulance back in 2023.

He was arrested by Kerr County sheriff’s deputies after driving the stolen ambulance from San Antonio to Boerne.

KSAT 12 News reported on another stolen ambulance in 2020.

In that case, Ashley Moreno, now 36, was accused of driving off in an ambulance from Methodist Metropolitan Hospital, then abandoning it several miles away.

Six months prior to that, Monica Ray Silva was arrested after allegedly stealing an ambulance and causing a crash that left several people injured.

“Thank God everything, everybody was OK, mainly the patient,” Young said of the latest case. “He was the victim stuck in the middle of everything.”

SAFD reported that after Wednesday’s incident, the patient in the stolen ambulance was transferred to a different ambulance, then taken to a hospital.

Read also:

• San Antonio woman behind viral ‘Where we roll’ rap song set to be released from prison next week
• Man records arrest of 2 murder suspects in Del Rio, later learns victim was his relative
• Crosses at Quintana Road memorial damaged again months after calls for improved security, lighting

County records cite “insufficient evidence” as the reason for the case’s dismissal.

Below is the original story from March 9, 2026.

ORIGINAL: A man was arrested in connection with a deadly 2024 shooting on the Northwest Side, according to an arrest affidavit.

Felix Brandon Garcia, 24, is accused of fatally shooting Isaiah Guevara, 20, in October 2024.

A caller reported hearing gunshots at an apartment building around 4 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2024, in the 5300 block of Fredericksburg Road.

The affidavit states the caller observed bullet holes in the wall of their apartment, a wall which was shared with Guevara’s neighboring apartment.

The caller estimated the shots had occurred about 15 minutes before they called police, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states officers found Guevara’s door ajar with no signs of forced entry and discovered Guevara dead of apparent gunshot wounds. Several spent shell casings were also found.

A witness who lived near Guevara’s apartment told investigators they heard loud pops without knowing they were gunshots.

When the witness looked through his apartment peephole, the affidavit states they reported seeing a young adult male wearing a red hoodie leave Guevara’s apartment, followed by a teenage male in a black shirt and cap.

The affidavit states the witness heard a female yelling at the two males, apparently from near the parking lot, but the witness could not see her.

The affidavit states that video from a doorbell camera on a garage facing the East Side of Guevara’s apartment building shows three people running through the parking lot at 3:39 a.m.

The footage shows one person with long red hair wearing light-colored long sleeves and pants, another in a red hoodie and a third in a black shirt, the document states. A female voice was also heard in the video.

Further investigation led to the probable cause to arrest a female suspect, who, according to the affidavit, has since been indicted.

The affidavit states that the female suspect initially refused to provide information about the males who were with her at Guevara’s apartment complex.

A tipster provided information about a younger male who had been at Guevara’s apartment complex when he was shot, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states that the male gave a statement to investigators and positively identified Garcia as the person who shot Guevara.

The female suspect was reinterviewed and identified Garcia as the shooter, the affidavit states.

Garcia was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on a murder charge on Monday, jail records show.

KSAT reached out to the San Antonio Police Department for more details about the female suspect’s arrest.

Read also:

• ‘That has to be a gun’: Woman recounts hearing shots that killed 1, wounded 1 at West Side apartments

Judge Christopher Wagner said Thursday the NCAA eligibility rules have been applied to 2022 high school graduates in an arbitrary and capricious manner, adding the plaintiffs would suffer “irreparable injury” without an injunction.

“We hope the NCAA reconsiders its position and allows all other similarly situated athletes from the high school class of 2022 to compete for remaining roster spots in all sports,” attorney Ryan Downton said.

Wagner's ruling allows the athletes in the lawsuit an opportunity to enter the transfer portal. He scheduled a conference for Aug. 4 to prepare for a trial.

“While we will seek to overturn this ruling, it is now apparent that Congress must act swiftly to restore stability, uniformity, and fair competition in college athletics,” the NCAA said in a statement.

The Protect College Sports Act has moved forward with Senate committee approval in June. However, the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences oppose the bill designed to stabilize college sports and are seeking revisions.

Downton has filed similar lawsuits against the NCAA on behalf of nearly 30 men's and women's basketball players.

The lawsuit in Cincinnati was filed shortly after the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a monumental change in eligibility rules last month.

“When each plaintiff completed their fourth season of competition during the 2025-26 academic year, they had every reason to know it was the end of the line and time to make way for the next generation of college athletes,” the NCAA wrote in a filing.

The plaintiffs are seeking to be eligible to play a fifth year during the upcoming season, representing athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and began their college sports careers that autumn and never redshirted.

“Each plaintiff was harmed each time he or she competed in a basketball game against a fifth or sixth-year player without being offered the same opportunity to compete in a fifth season themselves,” Downtown wrote in a filing.

The NCAA now allows athletes five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.

The move will all but eliminate waivers or redshirt years for extended eligibility except for religious missions, pregnancy or active-duty military service. Extensions will no longer be considered for athletes who are injured.

Athletes whose eligibility expired by spring 2026 under the traditional model — four years of competition over five years — will not be allowed a fifth year of competition under the new rules that go into effect this fall.

The Division I Cabinet has said in a statement posted on X that it was aware of legal action challenging its decision and that “we do not intend to change course.”

Three basketball players, including Xavier forward Filip Borovicanin of Serbia, and three coaches, including Xavier coach Richard Pitino, along with an agent testified at a hearing in Cincinnati earlier this month, while the NCAA did not call any witnesses.

Wagner appeared to be critical of the NCAA in his written ruling, saying the governing body resembles “a highly profitable professional sports league," more than its argument of being a voluntary association.

“The court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury if the preliminary injunction is not granted,” Wagner said.

The NCAA said the decision was wrong.

“We will immediately seek all avenues for reversal, including a stay of the court’s order pending appeal,” the NCAA said. “The court disregarded over a century of precedent and substituted its own judgment, on a limited factual record, for the collective expertise of the nation’s leading higher education institutions.”

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