The crew of four arrived at Ellington Field near NASA's Johnson Space Center and Mission Control, flying in from San Diego where they splashed down just offshore the evening before.

After a quick reunion with their spouses and children, the astronauts took the hangar stage, surrounded by space center workers and other invited guests. The crowd included NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, flight directors and the launch director, Orion capsule and exploration system managers, high-ranking military officers, members of Congress, the space agency’s entire blue-suited astronaut corps and even retired ones, and more.

“The long wait is over. After a brief 53-year intermission, the show goes on,” Isaacman said. “Ladies and gentlemen, your Artemis II crew,” he added, as the crowd stood, applauded and cheered

Commander Reid Wiseman and his U.S.-Canadian crew's homecoming was poignant: They returned to their Houston home base on the 56th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13, whose “Houston, we’ve had a problem” refrain turned a near-disaster into triumph.

Wiseman told his crewmates: “We are bonded forever.”

“This was not easy.” Wiseman said. “Before you launch, it feels like it’s the greatest dream on Earth. And when you’re out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends. It’s a special thing to be a human and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”

Referring to his wife and four daughters, pilot Victor Glover said: “I love you but not just those five beautiful cocoa skinned ladies there, but all of you.”

Christina Koch said she was struck by her view of Earth from space.

“Honestly, what struck me wasn’t just Earth, it was all of the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbably in the universe. Planet Earth you are a crew,” she said.

Fellow astronaut Canada’s Jeremy Hansen thanked the bravery of the launch teams to be “no-go” all the times they were, referring to the months of delay.

Hansen said the crew embodied love “and extracting joy out of that” as the four joined together to stand in a row, embracing one another. “When you look up here, you’re not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see then just look a little deeper This is you.”

Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell called the mission “a powerful moment.” She told Hansen he represents “the best of what it means to be Canadian.”

During Artemis II's nearly 10-day mission, they voyaged deeper into space than the moon explorers of decades past and captured views of the lunar far side never witnessed before by human eyes. A total solar eclipse added to the cosmic wonder.

On their record-breaking flyby, the astronauts reached a maximum 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon, eclipsing Apollo's 13 distance record.

The mission also revealed a new side of our planet with an Earthset photo, showing our Blue Marble setting behind the gray, pockmarked moon. The image echoed the famous Earthrise shot from 1968 taken by the world’s first lunar visitors, Apollo 8.

Despite the accomplishments, Artemis II astronauts had to contend with a more mundane problem — a malfunctioning space toilet. NASA promised a design fix before longer moon-landing missions.

Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen were the first humans to fly to the moon since Apollo 17 closed out NASA's first exploration era in 1972. Twenty-four astronauts flew to the moon during Apollo, including 12 moonwalkers.

Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell — who also flew on Apollo 8 — cheered the Artemis II crew on in a wake-up message recorded before he died last summer.

It was crucial for NASA that Artemis II go well. The space agency is already preparing for next year's Artemis III, which will see a new crew practice docking its capsule with a lunar lander in orbit around Earth. That will set the stage for the all-important Artemis IV moon landing in 2028, when two astronauts attempt a touchdown near the lunar south pole.

___

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.

VIA Metropolitan Transit recently announced they have increased the number of their bus drivers to the highest number ever — 900 — to reduce bus stop wait times.

I wanted to put VIA to the test.

I live about 5 miles from KSAT, and driving usually takes me about 10 to 12 minutes.

To start the trip, I downloaded the VIA app, loaded $10 onto my account and bought a $2.75 day pass.

The nearest bus stop to my house is about half a mile away, which meant starting the morning with about a 15-minute walk.

The timing ended up working out almost perfectly — I waited less than two minutes before the bus arrived.

Once I got on, it was clear I was a first-time rider. I had to figure out where to find my ticket in the app before taking a seat in the back of the bus.

As the ride started, I began counting stops and realized there could be as many as 37 stops between my neighborhood and work.

Still, the trip was a lot more relaxing than I expected.

There were no highways, no traffic jams and no frustration from being behind the wheel. Instead, I had time to decompress, look out the window and take in parts of the city I would normally speed past in a car.

The bus was clean, air-conditioned and not crowded.

The digital boards inside the bus were also helpful, showing each stop and providing time updates along the way.

Riding through areas like Austin Highway, Broadway and St. Mary’s gave me a different view of the city than I normally get during my morning commute.

And yes, pulling the stop request cord for the first time was surprisingly satisfying.

The actual bus ride took about 33 minutes.

By the time I factored in the walk to the bus stop and the short wait for the bus to arrive, the full trip to KSAT took about 49 minutes.

That is much longer than driving.

But it was also cheaper, less stressful and easier than I expected.

For someone trying to save money on gas, it may be more realistic than you think.

Read also:

• VIA announces ride schedule for upcoming Fiesta events

The war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.

The White House confirmed the direct nature of the talks. The talks came after U.S. and Iranian officials met separately with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf were discussing how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Here is the latest:

Trump downplays Iran negotiations, says deal ‘makes no difference’

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Trump claimed military victory against Iran and downplayed the importance of ongoing ceasefire negotiations involving Vice President JD Vance because “regardless what happens we win.”

“Let’s see what happens – maybe they make a deal maybe they don’t,” the president said. “It doesn’t matter. From the standpoint of America, we win.”

Trump acknowledged “very deep negotiations” with Iran. But he also said the U.S. military was searching for mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which still remained effectively closed to most freighters carrying oil and natural gas out of the Persian Gulf.

Qatar to fully resume maritime navigation activities

The country’s Ministry of Transport announced Saturday the full resumption of maritime navigation activities effective Sunday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., extending the decision to “all categories of marine vessels and transport modes.”

The ministry urged operators in a statement to comply with safety protocols.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision meant that Qatari vessels would be allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which remained effectively closed as of Saturday.

Iran denies claims that US vessels entered the Strait of Hormuz, state-media say

A spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command denied an earlier claim by the U.S. that two Navy destroyers transited the waterway, adding that “initiative over the passage of any vessel rests with the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, according to Iran’s state-media.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil and natural gas traded once passed, is expected to be one of the most challenging points of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, currently taking place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

Thousands attend anti-war demonstration in Tel Aviv after wartime restrictions eased

The protesters filled Tel Aviv’s Habima Square on Saturday evening, holding up signs calling for an end to Israel’s “eternal war” and chanting “more suffering in Lebanon will not bring us security.”

At a smaller protest held there the previous weekend, amid missile attacks from Iran and Yemen, police dispersed the protesters using force and arrested at least 17, citing security restrictions.

Ifat Kalderon, whose cousin Ofer Kalderon was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza and released last year, told the Associated Press she came to the protest to call for Israel to put an end to its wars “in Iran, in Lebanon and in Gaza.”

She said the war with Iran had achieved no positive results. “The reality is the same as before, perhaps even worse. We need to translate everything into agreements, we can’t keep living constantly in war.”

US says talks with Iran and Pakistan continuing

As of 10:21 p.m. local time in Islamabad, the trilateral in-person talks were ongoing, a senior White House official told reporters traveling with Vice President JD Vance.

More than 2,000 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon during the Israel-Hezbollah war, according to health officials

The death toll in Lebanon from Israeli strikes in the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah has risen to 2,020, the Lebanese health ministry said Saturday.

The death toll from nearly six weeks of war includes 248 women,165 children and 85 health workers, the ministry said. Another 6,436 people have been wounded. Nearly 100 people were killed in the past 24 hours.

The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group fired missiles into Israel on March 2 in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. A tentative truce is now in place in Iran, but the U.S. and Israel say the agreement does not apply to Lebanon, while Tehran says it does. The question is likely to be one of the thornier points in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire negotiations now underway in Pakistan.

2 destroyers transit Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine-clearing operation, US military says

The U.S. military on Saturday prepared for mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz as two Navy destroyers transited the waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil normally flows, U.S. Central Command said in a news release.

The destroyers are part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, CENTCOM stated.

Iran’s state media said earlier on Saturday that it had forced a U.S. military ship that was attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz to turn around.

The strait has been effectively closed to most oil and gas freighters since the U.S. and Israel began to strike Israel on Feb. 28. Cease-fire talks are now underway in Pakistan.

Pope Leo XIV blasts ‘delusion of omnipotence’ fueling the US-Israeli war in Iran

In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace.

Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan and as a fragile ceasefire held.

History’s first U.S.-born pope didn’t mention the United States or President Donald Trump in his prayer, which was planned before the talks were announced. But Leo’s tone and message appeared directed at Trump and U.S. officials, who have boasted of U.S. military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo demanded. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

Talks between US and Iran officials resume after a break

U.S. and Iranian officials resumed a second round of talks Saturday night in Islamabad after a break, with both sides backed by technical experts, two Pakistani officials said.

They added that Pakistan’s top political and military leadership is encouraging both sides to resolve their differences to ensure durable peace in the region, and the talks were progressing.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The officials declined to share further details, saying they hoped for a win-win solution.

-By Munir Ahmed

Trump says he has ‘no idea’ how talks will go with Iran

Trump confirmed in a phone interview with NewsNation that talks among the U.S., Iran and Pakistan had begun, though he does not know how successful they could be.

When asked how negotiations would go, Trump said: “I have no idea.”

The U.S. president said he would know shortly if he felt Iran was acting in good faith about resolving the war.

Trump added that the U.S. knew where mines had been placed in the Strait of Hormuz and that the military was bringing equipment to remove them.

Saturday’s negotiations mark rare face-to-face meeting between US and Iranian leaders

Saturday’s face-to-face talks in Pakistan that are being led by Vance and Qalibaf mark a rare instance of high-level engagement between American leadership and the Iranian government.

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the highest-level direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in September 2013 called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.

It’s a high-stakes political task for Vance, who has been a reluctant defender of the U.S. war with Iran, and has little previous diplomatic experience. Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are joining Vance at the table, also are relatively new players in international diplomacy.

The White House said it sent “a full suite of U.S. experts on relevant subject areas” to join the negotiators in Islamabad, and said other experts were supporting the team from Washington.

In Jerusalem, thousands of Orthodox Christians gather in Church of Holy Sepulchre after restrictions lifted

Thousands of worshippers took part in the annual “Holy Fire” ceremony on Saturday in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, an Orthodox Christian ritual that dates back more than 1,200 years.

The ceremony, held the day before Orthodox Easter, symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus, where the Greek Orthodox Patriarch brings out candles reportedly lit by a miraculous, non-burning flame from the tomb, which is then passed to thousands of worshipers.

Holy sites across Jerusalem’s Old City, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Western Wall, remained closed for 40 days under Israeli security restrictions following the war on Iran, but reopened on Thursday as a fragile, two-week ceasefire between Iran, Israel, and the U.S. appeared to hold.

“Just two days ago there was absolutely no one in the Old City, it felt like an orphaned town,” said Fr. Antonious Al-Orshalemy. “But now we see wedding-like celebrations on every level. Everyone is happy, and everyone is joyful.”

Thousands protest Lebanese planned negotiations with Israel

Amid the protests, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Saturday he had postponed a planned trip to Washington “in light of the current internal circumstances.”

Ahead of his announcement, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader on international affairs warned against sidelining Hezbollah, saying in a social media post: “Mr. Nawaf Salam must know that ignoring the unparalleled role of the Resistance and the heroic Hezbollah will expose Lebanon to irreparable security risks.”

President Joseph Aoun said Friday a first meeting will be held Tuesday at the U.S. State Department to discuss a ceasefire and launch U.S.-mediated Lebanon-Israel negotiations, following a call between the two countries’ ambassadors in Washington with the participation of the U.S. ambassador to Beirut.

Protesters burned portraits of Salam in downtown Beirut near the Grand Serail, calling him a “Zionist” as they carried Hezbollah flags.

It was not immediately clear whether Salam was joining the delegation on Tuesday or what his decision meant for the talks.

Qatari official says Iranian attacks have decreased but ’not stopped’

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that attacks against any Gulf state constitute an attack on all of them, denying that Qatar pays Iran to stop attacks against its territory.

“Qatar does not pay in exchange for stopping attacks on it,” said Majed al-Ansari in a televised interview with Al Jazeera, adding that Qatar intercepts the Iranian attacks.

Al-Ansari added Iran had also attacked civilian and industrial targets, despite Iran’s claim that it was only targeting military sites.

Pakistani official says talks ‘progressing well’

“I cannot say whether they are sitting in the same room or in separate rooms, but talks have started and are progressing well,” the official with knowledge of the peace efforts said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

-By Munir Ahmed

Face-to-face negotiations have begun between the United States and Iran in Pakistan

The White House said that delegations from the United States, Iran and Pakistan are holding face-to-face meetings on Saturday.

The start of the meeting represents a significant test as to whether the ceasefire, which has already shown strains, is durable enough to resolve the Iran war.

President Donald Trump ahead of the meeting has engaged in provocative social media posts, suggesting that the U.S. energy sector will benefit from Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

Energy prices have risen sharply since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, with the stated goals of stopping its development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

Vice President JD Vance is leading the U.S. delegation, along with Steve Witkoff, the special envoy, and Jared Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

US releases names of delegation in talks with Iran and Pakistan

The White House provided a list of the U.S. officials involved in negotiations for ending the Iran war, including Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Also participating are Andrew Baker, the national security adviser to the vice president, and Michael Vance, the special adviser to the vice president for Asian affairs.

Difficult issues for the talks

Foremost is Iran’s nuclear program, especially the status of its enriched uranium after last year’s U.S. and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites. Tehran has not allowed the U.N. nuclear watchdog to inspect since then.

Before the war, Iran’s ballistic missile program was another main issue, especially for Israel, along with Iran’s support for armed proxies in the Middle East including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza.

Now other issues have emerged, notably Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway for Middle East oil, natural gas and related products like fertilizer.

Iran now wants an end to attacks, compensation for earlier ones and a guarantee that no more will occur. It wants U.S. military forces to leave the region.

Tehran also wants longtime sanctions lifted.

Israel says it struck over 200 Hezbollah targets in the last 24 hours

The Israeli military said its air force hit infrastructure of the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon and was continuing to support its ground forces operating in southern Lebanon.

The statement came as Teheran was pressing for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in three-party talks that began Saturday afternoon between Iran and the US in Pakistan.

Earlier Saturday, the Lebanese state-run news agency reported at least three people killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. There were no reported strikes in the afternoon hours.

In Israeli communities along the border with Lebanon sirens continued to warn of drone and rocket attacks from Lebanon throughout the day Saturday. There were no reports of injuries.

Trump says he opposes higher fertilizer costs for US farmers

The U.S. president posted on social media that he is monitoring fertilizer price and “will not accept” any increase in costs for farmers.

Fertilizer costs have increased globally because of natural gas supplies being stranded due Iran’s control of the Strait of the Hormuz. Iran has used the strait as strategic leverage in its ongoing war with the U.S. and Israel.

But Trump’s post was targeted at a domestic audience.

“I am watching fertilizer prices CLOSELY during our FIGHT FOR FREEDOM in Iran,” he posted. “The United States will not accept PRICE GOUGING from the fertilizer monopoly! American Farmers, we have your back!”

US revokes green cards of more Iranian born relatives of current and former Iran officials

The Trump administration has revoked the green cards of more long-term Iranian residents of the United States who are related to current or former senior Iranian officials.

The State Department said Saturday it had taken action against Seyed Eissa Hashemi, a Los Angeles-area psychology teacher, his wife and son, all of whom were Iranian born lawful permanent residents of the US.

The department said in a statement released as talks to end the war with Iran were getting underway in Pakistan that they had been taken into custody by immigration authorities and are slated for deportation.

Hashemi, it said, is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar who served as a spokeswoman for the attackers who took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and was later promoted to be Iran’s first female vice president.

Just last week, the State Department revoked the green cards of the niece and grand-niece of former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad in early 2020.

3-way talks with the US and Iran begin in Pakistan after earlier indirect discussions

Iran’s IRNA news agency said on Saturday that after progress in indirect discussions, negotiations have begun between the United States and Iran.

The country’s state-run news agency said three-party talks with the U.S., Iran and Pakistan had begun after a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon and other preconditions being met.

Trump says on social media that US has begun ‘clearing out’ Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. president posted on social media that Iran’s military has been destroyed and that America is beginning to open up the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway chokepoint used by Iran to restrict the shipping of 20% of the world’s oil supplies.

It was unclear from the post if Trump was referring to the possible use of mines in the Strait of Hormuz or Iran’s broader ability to control the area.

“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others,” Trump posted. “Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.”

She didn’t hesitate.

“I purposely drove here just for the gas,” Lewis said while filling up her Chevrolet Suburban at the Tulalip Market this week for $4.84 a gallon (3.8 liters) — about 75 cents less than prices near home. “Gas is ridiculous. But I have found, honestly, over the years, this gas station specifically is cheaper than a lot around here. Probably the cheapest.”

Lewis isn't the only driver who has discovered that some of cheapest fuel can be found on Native American reservations.

Especially in California, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma and Washington state — places with dozens of tribally owned stations, including some in busy travel corridors — tribes exempt from state fuel taxes can sell for much less than competing stations nearby.

Gas prices push the drive to find bargains

Apps such as Gas Buddy make finding the cheapest gas easier than ever.

Nationwide, gasoline prices have risen by well over $1 since the Iran war began Feb. 28, reaching an average of $4.15 a gallon, according to AAA.

Prices have been higher, topping $5 during the summer of 2022, but economists believe they will continue heading up and contribute to inflation in the weeks of ahead as geopolitical tension persists.

Deals are to be found, though, at many of the almost 500 tribally owned convenience stores with gas stations across the U.S.

Fifty-five are in California. At the Chukchansi Crossing Fuel Station & Travel Center between Fresno and Yosemite National Park, the $5.09 gas was 60 cents less than nearby stations.

New Mexico resident Jamie Cross usually finds savings on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, where gas was as low as $3.79 this week.

“I hope we don’t go any higher,” Cross said Thursday.

In eastern New York state, on Cattauragus Indian Territory between Buffalo and Erie, Pennsylvania, the cheapest gas was about $3.65 at more than half a dozen stations — 50 cents less than in towns nearby.

Tribal lands find a fuel tax escape

So how do tribes do it? Two words: Tax exemptions.

Generally tribes must pay the federal fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.3 cents per gallon for diesel, and pass that cost along to drivers. State fuel taxes are a different matter.

For well over a century, U.S. courts have found that states don't have authority to collect taxes from Native Americans on their land, said Dan Lewerenz, a University of North Dakota assistant law professor who specializes in Native American law.

“The Supreme Court consistently held to this view and it’s one of the most enduring principles in federal Indian law,” Lewerenz said.

Federally recognized Native American tribes are in 35 states with state gasoline taxes ranging from 9 cents per gallon in Alaska to 71 cents in California.

From there, things get complicated based on where the fuel is taxed — at fuel terminals, say, or when distributors buy or sell fuel — and depending on various agreements between states and tribes.

Court rulings come into play. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that off-reservation distributors in Kansas may charge state tax on sales to tribes for on-reservation fuel sales. But in 2019, the Supreme Court held that an 1855 treaty between the U.S. and the Yakama Nation that ensured the free travel of tribal members on roads with their goods prohibited state fuel taxes on tribal lands in Washington state.

“This is a little bit different than the principle that Indians aren’t taxed within Indian Country because this particular treaty reserved certain off-reservation rights for the Indians as well,” Lewerenz said.

Gas is just one way stores make money

Convenience store gas sales are not as profitable as bringing people inside from the pumps.

Selling snacks adds profit. But tribal businesses are increasingly offering groceries in what otherwise would be “food deserts” far from grocery stores.

“Sometimes these gas stations and convenience stores are the nearest, best place to purchase affordable food or household supplies,” said Matthew Klas, with the Minneapolis-based consultant Klas Robinson Q.E.D.

Klas does market research and consults for tribal businesses and tracks the 245 tribes nationwide that, as of 2025, operated 496 convenience stores with gas stations.

Oklahoma, California, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Michigan and New York have the most. Some tribes, including the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma and Oneida Indian Nation in New York, have their own store chains.

Drive-through smoke shops, car washes and truck stop amenities also bring in revenue. Then there are the casinos: 205 tribally owned gas stations are located at or near casinos.

Some tribal casinos are resorts with gas stations. Some tribal gas stations are casinos of a sort called “gasinos,” which only have a small number of gambling machines.

Tribally owned businesses are a major revenue generator for Native American reservations. On the Seattle area’s Tulalip Reservation, rising gas sales were being reinvested in the community, helping to cover the cost of roads, police, health care, education, housing and other needs, Tulalip Tribes Federal Corporation CEO Tanya Burns said in a statement.

“Like any government, we provide critical services to our people,” Burns said.

It's not just about savings

“It’s terrible,” Todd Hall of Paden, Oklahoma, said of diesel prices as he spent about $90 to fill up his tow truck at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation gas station about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City.

But, he added: "They’re cheaper here than anywhere else.”

Hall paid $4.57 per gallon for diesel, and said the price is over $5 at many locations in the area.

Mark Foster said he saves about $5 a week buying fuel at the tribally owned gas station. But he’s a faithful customer because the tribe is a good community partner, he said.

“I like the way the tribe operates,” he said. “And the price is good too.”

At the Tulalip Market north of Seattle, Jared Blankenship was griping not about prices but that he was having to pay for gas at all.

“Yeah, well, my electric car just got totaled,” Blankenship said. “So this sucks. This is new. It’s either Costco or looking wherever’s cheap, like the rez. So here we are.”

___

Lindsey Wasson in Seattle; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Savannah Peters in Edgewood, New Mexico, contributed.

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

KSAT will be live from Fiesta Fiesta at Travis Park from 8-10 p.m. You can catch the official kickoff party, Fiesta Fiesta, on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), and KSAT.com.

Wondering what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the first day of Fiesta 2026 on April 16:

• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta-goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway St. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. The carnival is scheduled from 5-11 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C, 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta Fiesta: The free event, presented by Toyota, is the official opening ceremony for Fiesta. Fiesta fans can wear their shiny Fiesta medals, enjoy live entertainment and food from 4-10 p.m. at Travis Park, 301 E. Travis. The festival will also feature a military salute spotlighting the Fiesta Military Commander from the U.S. Air Force.
• First Tee Invitational Golf Tournament: The golf tournament, hosted by the Canyon Springs Senior Men’s Golf Association, enters its ninth year as an official Fiesta event. The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 24405 Wilderness Oak. Team registration starts at $800 for a four-person team. For more details, click here.
• Pin Pandemonium: Located at Fiesta Fiesta, guests can stop by the Pin Pandemonium to purchase or trade Fiesta medals from 4-10 p.m. at Travis Park. The pandemonium, presented by Monarch Trophy Studio, also helps support the Fiesta nonprofit organizations.
• Taste of the Republic: Since 2017, Taste of the Republic has helped kick off Fiesta. Attendees can enjoy and stroll through six culinary regions of Texas from 5-9 p.m. at the Jack Guenther Pavilion at the Briscoe Art Museum, 210 W. Market St. Tickets are $150 per person. This event is only for guests 21 and over.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned and viva Fiesta!

The Oyster Bake, Fiesta De Los Reyes and Taste Of New Orleans officially kick off for all of San Antonio to enjoy. Click here to learn more about the new gate fee for Fiesta De Los Reyes.

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Want to know what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the second day of Fiesta 2026 on April 17:

• A Taste of New Orleans: Savor New Orleans-style cuisine while enjoying a variety of jazz and blues music from 5:30-11 p.m. at the Sunken Garden Theatre, 3875 N. St. Mary’s St. Admission costs $22 per person, while children 12 and younger get in for free. A two-day pass costs $40 per person.
• Children’s History Forum at Casa Navarro: The free Fiesta event is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Casa Navarro, 228 S. Laredo St. Guests will have a chance to participate in a hands-on experience and learn how rangers lived during the 1800s at the historic site.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta-goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway St. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. The carnival is scheduled from 5-11:30 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C, 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: The event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Historic Market Square, 514 W. Commerce St. Click here to learn more about the new gate fee. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 17 includes Jay Perez and Jase Martin Band.
• Fiesta Oyster Bake: April 17 marks the first day of Oyster Bake at St. Mary’s University. The festival attracts more than 70,000 patrons to help raise money for St. Mary’s students. The music lineup for April 17 includes Switchfoot and Drake Milligan. The event will be from 5-11 p.m. at 1 Camino Santa Maria. Click here to purchase tickets.
• Fiesta Show & Shine Dinner & Dance: The annual event will take place from 7:30 p.m. to midnight at the Westin San Antonio North, 9821 Colonnade Blvd. The dinner and dance, which takes place on April 17, costs $95 per person. The event will also feature the 2026 Show & Shine sound competition, which will display bikes of all brands and highlight custom modifications. This Fiesta event helps fund and sustain the scholarship program, which supports dozens of college-bound high school students.
• King’s Crowning Celebration: The celebration will be the crowning of Rey Feo 77, Damaso Andres Oliva Jr. The King’s Crowning Celebration will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight at the San Antonio Convention Center Grotto, Convention Way. Tickets for the celebration can be found here.
• Rey Feo Public Crowning: Enjoy the sounds of mariachis while learning the history of the Rey Feo tradition during the public crowning from 5:30-7 p.m. at Main Plaza, 115 Main Ave. The free, family-friendly event is a tradition that supports fundraising efforts to further the educational mission of the Rey Feo Scholarship Program.
• The Fiesta Flower Show: The Woman’s Club of San Antonio has hosted the annual show since 1913. Floral arrangements based on the year’s theme and horticultural displays will be featured at the Fiesta event. The free show will take place from 2-5 p.m. at 1717 San Pedro Ave.
• UTSA Dia En La Sombrilla: The 48th annual event, formerly Fiesta UTSA, began in 1978. Dia En La Sombrilla allows student organizations to raise funds by selling food and drinks, hosting games and providing services. Funds raised are used for tournaments, conferences, events and more. The free fiesta event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza at UTSA’s Main Campus.
• WEBB Party: Step into the Sunset Strip’s golden era during the WEBB Party from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at 110 Broadway. The party “honors the places that gave the LGBTQ+ community joy, safety, and celebration,” according to the San Antonio AIDS Foundation. Admission to the party costs between $175 to $250.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned and viva Fiesta!

The White House confirmed the rare high-level engagement.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said two destroyers transited the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran’s state media, however, said the joint military command denied that.

“We’re sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me,” Trump told journalists as talks continued and the time approached 2 a.m. in Islamabad. Iranian state TV noted what it called “serious” differences.

The U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian one led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf discussed with Pakistan how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel's continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose health ministry said the death toll has surpassed 2,000.

Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the most direct U.S. contact had been in 2013 when President Barack Obama called newly elected President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. The most recent highest-level meetings were between Secretary of State John Kerry and counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif during negotiations over the program.

Now talks feature Vance, a reluctant defender of the war who has little diplomatic experience and warned Iran not to “try and play us,” and Qalibaf, a former commander with Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard who has issued some of Iran's most fiery statements since fighting began.

Iran sets ‘red lines’ including compensation for strikes

Iran’s state-run news agency said the three-party talks began after Iranian preconditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met.

Iran's delegation told state television it had presented “red lines” in meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, including compensation for damage caused by U.S.-Israeli strikes that launched the war on Feb. 28 and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.

The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.

Reflecting the high stakes, officials from the region said Chinese, Egyptian, Saudi and Qatari officials were in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate talks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

In Tehran, residents told The Associated Press they were skeptical yet hopeful after weeks of airstrikes left destruction across their country of some 93 million people.

“Peace alone is not enough for our country because we’ve been hit very hard, there have been huge costs,” 62-year-old Amir Razzai Far said.

In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” fueling the war.

US sending forces to help mine-clearing on the strait

Ahead of the talks, President Donald Trump accused Iran of using the Strait of Hormuz for extortion, and told reporters Friday it would be opened “with or without them.”

Iran’s closure of the strait has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war. Around a fifth of the world’s traded oil had typically passed through on over 100 ships a day. Only 12 have been recorded transiting since the ceasefire.

On Saturday, Trump said on social media that the U.S. had begun “clearing out” the strait.

“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon,” U.S. Central Command commander Adm. Brad Cooper later said. The U.S. statement about the destroyers added: "Additional U.S. forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said Tehran was entering negotiations with “deep distrust” after strikes on Iran during previous talks. Araghchi, part of Iran’s delegation in Pakistan, said Saturday that his country was prepared to retaliate if attacked again.

Iran’s 10-point proposal ahead of the talks called for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies," explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.

The United States’ 15-point proposal includes restricting Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the strait.

Israel and Lebanon will have direct negotiations

Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with strikes in Lebanon after saying there is no ceasefire there. Iran and Pakistan have disagreed. The Lebanese state-run news agency reported at least three people killed.

Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office said Friday, after Israel's surprise announcement authorizing talks despite the countries lack of official relations.

But as thousands in Lebanon protested the planned negotiations, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he had postponed a planned trip to Washington “in light of the current internal circumstances.” His absence should not affect talks as the first round is expected to be at the ambassadorial level.

Israel wants Lebanon's government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much like was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire. But it is unclear whether Lebanon's army can confiscate weapons from the militant group, which has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.

Hezbollah joined the war in support of Iran in the opening days. Israel followed with airstrikes and a ground invasion.

The day the Iran ceasefire deal was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, according to the country's Health Ministry.

___

Castillo reported from Beijing, Magdy from Cairo and Anna from Lowville, New York. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed.

On Saturday, April 18, San Antonians can head out to Chanclas Y Cervezas, which features a variety of games and competitions, live entertainment and more.

Other events to look forward to are the last day of the Oyster Bake, the Fiesta Festival and the Walk for Autism.

Have you attended any Fiesta festivities? Share your adventures on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on air or online!

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Are you curious to know what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the third day of Fiesta 2026 on April 18:

• 48th Annual Fiesta Women & Co-Ed Soccer Tournament: Bring your chair to enjoy the free Fiesta women and co-ed soccer tournament games from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Star Soccer Complex, 5103 David Edwards Drive. There will be a playground for children, but supervision by an adult is required.
• 105th Annual Patriotic and Historical Ball: The annual event will take place from 7-11 p.m. at the Venues at San Fernando Cathedral, 231 W. Commerce St. The Patriots and Historic Ball is one of the opening galas of Fiesta 2026. Highlights include a visit from King Antonio of the Texas Cavaliers River Parade in his first official duty as king. Tickets cost $45.
• Alpha Pi Zeta Fiesta Track: The Alpha Pi Zeta Chapter has hosted the staple event since 1984. The free event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 200 Noblewood.
• Annual Open TCA Car Show: The free event will showcase cars and trucks of all makes and models from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Main Plaza, 100 N. Main St. in Boerne. Guests can enjoy a variety of dining, a competitive silent auction, Fiesta medal sales and more.
• A Taste of New Orleans: Savor New Orleans-style cuisine while enjoying a variety of jazz and blues music from noon to 11 p.m. at the Sunken Garden Theatre, 3875 N. St. Mary’s St. Admission costs $22 per person, while children 12 and younger get in for free. A two-day pass costs $40 per person.
• Breakfast for the Brave: The free, family-friendly event will feature breakfast offerings, live entertainment and more from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Rock at La Cantera, 1 Spurs Way. Guests can explore a lively vendor fair showcasing local veteran- and first responder-owned businesses. The first 150 veterans, active-duty service members and first responders to register will enjoy free breakfast. Meal tickets may be purchased here.
• Celebration of Traditions Pow Wow: Enjoy traditional, exhibition or intertribal dances during the Celebration of Traditions Pow Wow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Morgan’s Wonderland Event Center, 5223 David Edwards Drive. Admission is free.
• Chanclas Y Cervezas: The seventh annual celebration will take place from 5-11 p.m. at 2532 Sidney Brooks. The celebration will feature live music and chancla-throwing competitions for a chance to compete to be crowned king or queen of Chanclas Y Cervezas. Presale tickets cost $15 per person and tickets at the door cost $20 per person.
• Chaparral Music & Heritage Festival: The San Antonio Parks Foundation will host the free festival from noon to 9 p.m. at 301 E. Travis St. The festival raises funds for improvements to parks across San Antonio.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Earth Day: The free, family-friendly event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Woodlawn Lake Park, 1103 Cincinnati Ave. Highlights of the event include tree and plant giveaways, fishing and fitness activities, more than 80 community partners and more.
• El Rey Fido Coronation: The pet-friendly El Rey Fido event will feature a Royal Court in full regalia as part of Fiesta festivities. The free event will take place from 9:45-11 a.m. at Hops & Hounds, 1123 Avenue B.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. The carnival is scheduled for noon to midnight at the Alamodome Parking Lot C, 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta Castle Hills: The free annual event will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 209 Lemonwood. Fiesta Castle Hills will feature a parade, 40-50 arts and crafts vendors, a petting zoo and more.
• Fiesta De Los Niños: From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., families can enjoy exploring the future of technology inside the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology’s AREA 21 Inspiration Center at the Boeing Center at Tech Port, 3331 General Hudnell. The free event will feature hands-on activities highlighting cybersecurity, robotics, video gaming and esports, space exploration and more.
• Fiesta Festival: The festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 6711 S. New Braunfels Ave. The event, which will feature live entertainment, food and a mini parade, is a fundraising event that benefits around 200 residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the San Antonio State Supported Living Center. Admission to the Fiesta Festival is free.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: The event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Historic Market Square, 514 W. Commerce St. Click here to learn more about the new gate fee. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 18 includes Gary Hobbs and La Dezz.
• Fiesta Flower Show: The Woman’s Club of San Antonio has hosted the annual show since 1913. Floral arrangements based on the year’s theme and horticultural displays will be featured at the Fiesta event. The free show will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1717 San Pedro Ave.
• Fiesta Kings Cup Polo Party: Guests can enjoy watching teams compete for the Fiesta Kings Cup Trophy from noon to 4 p.m. at 490 W. Specht Road. The day will feature a gourmet-style buffet, champagne and more. Admission is $200 per seat or $1,600 for a table of eight guests.
• Fiesta on French: Enjoy live New Orleans Jazz, Cajun food and drinks during the Fiesta on French event from 6:30 p.m. to midnight at 415 W. French Place. The event supports people in the community who are in need. Admission is $150 per person.
• Fiesta Oyster Bake: April 18 marks the last day of Oyster Bake at St. Mary’s University. The festival attracts more than 70,000 patrons to help raise money for St. Mary’s students. The music lineup for April 18 includes Candlebox and Jenny B. The event will be from noon to 11 p.m. at 1 Camino Santa Maria. Click here to purchase tickets.
• Fiesta Show & Shine Dinner & Dance: The annual event will take place from noon to 6 p.m. at the Westin San Antonio North, 9821 Colonnade Blvd. The April 18 date will feature the day party, which is free to the public. Local, small and veteran-owned businesses and vendors will be at the event. This Fiesta event helps fund and sustain the scholarship program, which supports dozens of college-bound high school students.
• Investiture of King Antonio CIII: The investiture ceremony, which dates back to 1927, honors the memory of the heroes who fell at the Alamo. It also recognizes new members inducted into the Texas Cavaliers each year. The free event will be from 6:15-7:30 p.m. at 300 Alamo Plaza.
• Lotería Para Líderes: Shop from local vendors, playing games of Lotería from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Westin San Antonio North, 9821 Colonnade Blvd. La Reina de Loteria and La Princesa de Loteria will also be crowned at this event. Admission costs $100. The fundraiser supports Girl Scouts and the West Side Girl Scout Leadership Center.
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil — A Masquerade Extravaganza: The masquerade event will take place from 6-11 p.m. at The Doseum, 2800 Broadway St. The AMAZING E7 Band will return as a headliner for the event. Early bird ticket prices start at $100 per person. The event is a fundraiser open only to those 21 and older.
• OLLU Confetti 5K Fun Run: Lace up your sneakers and prepare to run along with more than 800 participants during the OLLU Confetti 5K Run and Walk from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at Our Lady of the Lake University’s Main Front Walk, 411 SW 24th St. Registration between April 4 and April 17 is $40. On race day, registration is $45. Click here for more information.
• Piñatas in the Barrio: The free, family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, music, food and more from noon to 9 p.m. at Plaza Guadalupe, 1327 Guadalupe St. Attendees can witness the unveiling of the barrio’s largest piñata in the city, plus they can see who will be crowned the 2026 king and queen of the barrio.
• San Jacinto Victory Celebration: The event, which commemorates the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at Alamo Plaza. The free celebration features speakers from across Texas who will discuss the military strategy behind the historic triumph.
• The Circle for Life Motorcycle Rally: The rally will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at 29078 Interstate 10 W. in Boerne. Presale tickets cost $40, while day-of-event tickets are $45. The rally supports organ and tissue donor awareness.
• UT San Antonio Fiesta Arts Fair: The nationally ranked art fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the UTSA Southwest Campus, 300 Augusta. The art-focused fundraiser celebration provides operating support for UT San Antonio. Admission is $16 for a two-day ticket.
• Viva Botanica: Enjoy live entertainment and activities at the Viva Botanica from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston. The family-friendly event gives attendees a chance to explore a botanical theme through interactive activity stations led by Garden educators. Tickets are $22 per person.
• Walk for Autism: The event focuses on raising awareness about autism and raising funds to unite for change. The free event will be from 1-6 p.m. at Retama Park, 1 Retama Parkway in Selma.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned and viva Fiesta!

On the first Sunday of Fiesta, Fiesta-goers can attend the final day of A Taste of New Orleans, Fiesta Flotilla or the free San Antonio Symphonic Band Fiesta Concert.

Have you attended any Fiesta festivities? Share your adventures on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on air or online!

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Wondering what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the fourth day of Fiesta 2026 on April 19:

• 48th Annual Fiesta Women & Co-Ed Soccer Tournament: Bring your chair to enjoy the free Fiesta women and co-ed soccer tournament games from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Star Soccer Complex, 5103 David Edwards Drive. There will be a playground for children, but supervision by an adult is required.
• A Day in Old Mexico: The San Antonio Charro Association will host A Day in Old Mexico from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 6126 Padre Drive. The event will celebrate Mexican heritage through the tradition of charrería. Tickets are $25 per person. Children 12 and under get in for free.
• A Taste of New Orleans: Savor New Orleans-style cuisine while enjoying a variety of jazz and blues music from noon to 10 p.m. at the Sunken Garden Theatre, 3875 N. St. Mary’s St. Admission costs $22 per person, while children 12 and younger get in for free.
• Champagne & Diamonds Brunch: The brunch, which is consistently attended by Fiesta royalty, will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Security Service Event Center, 15000 Interstate 10. Fiesta royalty compete in “El Grito” for a chance to win “El Gallo.” Tickets start at $275 per person.
• Chili Queens Chili Cook-off: Attendees can attend the 18th annual event from 3-8 p.m. at 411 Bonham St. The Chili Queens tradition dates back more than 100 years and is rooted in San Antonio’s cultural history.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway St. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. The carnival is scheduled from noon to 11 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C, 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: The event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Historic Market Square, 514 W. Commerce St. Click here to learn more about the new gate fee. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 19 includes Special Show Tribute and Delta Boys.
• Fiesta Flotilla: The free, family-friendly event will take place from 1-3 p.m. at Acequia Park, 8500 Mission Pkwy. This Fiesta event will feature free kayaking, an outdoor fishing clinic, tree giveaways, Folklórico dancers and more. Canoe and bicycle decorating contests will be held, with prizes awarded to participants.
• Pan American League’s Fiesta Olé!: From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., guests will be treated to a runway experience featuring San Antonio women leaders, philanthropists and more who will model from a surprise designer during the show. Fiesta Olé, which will take place at the Westin San Antonio North, 9821 Colonnade Blvd., costs $90 per person. The celebration helps fund scholarships for students and provides critical support to families and residents in San Antonio.
• San Antonio Symphonic Band Fiesta Concert: The free SASB Fiesta concert will take place from 7-8 p.m. at the Diane Bennack Concert Hall at the University of the Incarnate Word, 4301 Broadway St.
• San Fernando Cathedral Fiesta Mass: Guests can stop by the San Fernando Cathedral for Fiesta Mass from 10-11 a.m. at 115 Main Plaza. The Fiesta mass will offer a blessing for participants, organizers and the events that make Fiesta a “treasured tradition.”
• SARR Fiesta Mission Run: This year, the SARR Fiesta Mission Run will highlight Mission Concepción. The Fiesta-themed run is the club’s oldest race, and the 10K is the oldest of its kind hosted in San Antonio. Tickets start at $15 and up. The SARR Fiesta Mission Run will take place from 7-11:30 a.m. at Mission County Park, 6030 Padre Drive.
• UT San Antonio Fiesta Arts Fair: The nationally ranked art fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the UTSA Southwest Campus, 300 Augusta. The art-focused fundraiser celebration provides operating support for UT San Antonio. Admission is $16 per person.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned and viva Fiesta!

The Texas Cavaliers River Parade is just one of the many fun events planned for Monday, April 20.

The unique floating parade will air live on KSAT 12, KSAT.com, and KSAT Plus (our free streaming app). KSAT will also stream River Parade en Español. Coverage begins at 7 p.m., followed by the SA Live River Parade After Party.

Have you attended any Fiesta festivities? Share your adventures on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on air or online!

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Wondering what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the fifth day of Fiesta 2026 on April 20:

• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta-goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Doing Good on the Green Golf Tournament: The tournament will take place from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at TPC San Antonio, 23808 Resort Parkway. Participants can enjoy a variety of on-course contests. Individual admission costs $400 and team registration is $1,600. The event benefits the San Antonio and New Braunfels food banks.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. The carnival is scheduled for 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C, 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: On April 20, Fiesta De Los Reyes will honor heroes as part of Military Monday. Active duty service members and veterans can show a military ID to receive a special wristband for exclusive discounts. The free event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Historic Market Square, 514 W. Commerce St. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 20 includes Erik Y Su Grupo Massore and Los Sabrosos De La Cumbia.
• Pilgrimage to the Alamo: The free ceremony will honor those who lost their lives defending The Alamo from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 300 Alamo Plaza. Around 100 organizations participate, including representatives from six U.S. military branches, Fiesta royalty, local and county officials and more.
• Texas Cavaliers River Parade: The 81st annual Texas Cavaliers River Parade will come to life from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the San Antonio River Walk. Leon and Leticia McNeil, founders of the nonprofit City Kids Adventures, were announced as the parade’s grand marshals. Both are teachers. This year’s parade theme is “Through the Decades” and honors influential cultural moments of the last century. Ticket prices range from $29 to $35.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned and viva Fiesta!

A Night in Old San Antonio, also known as NIOSA, opens its first night Tuesday with a variety of food and drink options for Fiesta-goers. Fiesta Especial Celebration Day and Cornyation are also scheduled for Tuesday.

Have you attended any Fiesta festivities? Share your adventures on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on air or online!

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Are you curious to know what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the sixth day of Fiesta 2026 on April 21:

• Ain’t Gonna Resta ‘till After Fiesta Dance: The free Fiesta event will take place from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Espee, 1174 E. Commerce St. Eva’s Heroes will crown its first Fiesta king and queen.
• A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA): NIOSA is a four-night festival that transforms La Villita into 14 cultural areas. The festival will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at 418 Villita St. Presale tickets cost $20 and tickets at the gate cost $25. NIOSA is produced by and benefits the Conservation Society of San Antonio.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta-goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. On April 21, guests can purchase one unlimited ride wristband and receive a second one free. The offer is valid onsite only and cannot be combined with other offers. The carnival is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C, 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta Cornyation: Performances will take place at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N. St. Mary’s St. The show, produced by about 200 volunteers, is ruled by King Anchovy, Cornyation’s answer to King Antonio and Rey Feo. Cornyation is an adult-only show. Funds raised go to local charities and provide scholarships to high school graduates seeking a theatrical degree. Tickets for the performances can be purchased here.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: On April 21, guests can enjoy Take Me Back Tuesday, featuring ‘80s, ’90s and today’s biggest hits. The free event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Historic Market Square, 514 W. Commerce St. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 21 includes Spazmatics and Tributo a Mana Y Shakira.
• Fiesta Especial Celebration Day: The celebration is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 100 Montana St., Parking Lot C. The Fiesta Especial Celebration is designed for children and adults with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities. Admission is free, but advanced registration is required due to limited space. There will be no general admission at the gate.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned and viva Fiesta!

On Wednesday, April 22, you can attend the second day of a fan-favorite Fiesta event, NIOSA. Other events to enjoy are Gartenfest and the Ford Mariachi Festival.

Have you attended any Fiesta festivities? Share your adventures on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on air or online!

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Wondering what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the seventh day of Fiesta 2026 on April 22:

• A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA): NIOSA is a four-night festival that transforms La Villita into 14 cultural areas. The festival will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at 418 Villita St. Presale tickets cost $20 and tickets at the gate cost $25. NIOSA is produced by and benefits the Conservation Society of San Antonio.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Coronation of the Queen: The 112th coronation will take place from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 224 E. Houston St. Proceeds from the presentation support the musicians of the San Antonio Symphony, who perform during the coronation. Tickets can be purchased here.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. All rides cost $3, and food concessions will offer a menu item for $3. The carnival is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C, 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta Cornyation: Performances will take place at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N. St. Mary’s St. The show, produced by about 200 volunteers, is ruled by King Anchovy, Cornyation’s answer to King Antonio and Rey Feo. Cornyation is an adult-only show. Funds raised go to local charities and provide scholarships to high school graduates seeking a theatrical degree. Tickets for the performances can be purchased here.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: The free event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Historic Market Square, 514 W. Commerce St. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 22 includes David Lee Garza Y Los Musicales and Destiny Navira.
• Fiesta Gartenfest at the Beethoven: Gartenfest will take place from 4 p.m. to midnight at 422 Pereida. Entertainment includes the 50-piece Beethoven Concert Band and the Beethoven German Dance Band. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the gate. Proceeds from the event help preserve German music, language, customs and culture in South Texas.
• Fiesta Hat Contest and Luncheon: The 30th annual event will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Westin San Antonio North, located at 9821 Colonnade Blvd. Guests will compete in several individual and group categories showcasing creativity, flair and Fiesta spirit. The event also features a large silent auction and the Women’s Club Boutique auction for shopping opportunities. General admission costs $80 per person.
• Ford Mariachi Festival: The free festival will run from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 602 E. Commerce St. Guests can enjoy the dozens of mariachi ensembles from across Texas and beyond performing at the River Walk stage during the Ford Mariachi Festival.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned and viva Fiesta!

KSAT will stream the Battle of Flowers Band Festival at 7 p.m. Thursday on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus (our free streaming app).

Have you attended any Fiesta festivities? Share your adventures on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on air or online!

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Are you curious to know what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the eighth day of Fiesta 2026 on April 23:

• 10th Street River Festival: VFW Post 76 will host the three-day Fiesta event from Thursday through Saturday. Thursday’s event will run from 4 p.m. to midnight at 10 10th St. The free, family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, dancing and food and beverages. Proceeds from the event will support veteran programs, youth scholarships, recognition awards for local law enforcement, first responders and community events.
• A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA): NIOSA is a four-night festival that transforms La Villita into 14 cultural areas. The festival will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at 418 Villita St. Presale tickets cost $20 and tickets at the gate cost $25. NIOSA is produced by and benefits the Conservation Society of San Antonio.
• Battle of Flowers Band Festival: The 90th annual event will feature more than 4,000 band students participating in a massed band presentation from schools across the Alamo City from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Alamo Stadium, 110 Tuleta Drive. College scholarships are awarded to high school seniors participating in the festival. General admission tickets start at $7.
• CCHS Fiesta FangDango: Enjoy food, live music and entertainment and fun activities during the CCHS Fiesta FangDango from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Central Catholic High School, 1403 N. St. Mary’s St. Admission is $30 per person. Ticket purchases help support scholarships, student programs and campus improvements at the high school.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta-goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Fiesta Carnival - $3 Day: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. All rides are $3 each and all food concessions will offer a $3 menu item on April 23. The carnival is scheduled for 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C, 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta Clay Target Shoot: Enjoy a social gathering while testing your clay target shooting skills during the Fiesta Clay Target Shoot from noon to 5 p.m. at San Antonio Trap and Skeet Club, 928 Contour Drive. The event will feature a live auction, door prizes, handmade trophies and certificates for competitors and live mariachi music. Admission costs $600 per four-person team.
• Fiesta Cornyation: Performances will take place at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N. St. Mary’s St. The show, produced by about 200 volunteers, is ruled by King Anchovy, Cornyation’s answer to King Antonio and Rey Feo. Cornyation is an adult-only show. Funds raised go to local charities and provide scholarships to high school graduates seeking a theatrical degree. Tickets for the performances can be purchased here.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: The free event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Historic Market Square, 514 W. Commerce St. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 23 includes Ricardo Castillon Y La Diferenzia and David Marez.
• Fiesta Gartenfest at the Beethoven: Gartenfest will take place from 4 p.m. to midnight at 422 Pereida. Entertainment includes the 50-piece Beethoven Concert Band and the Beethoven German Dance Band. On April 23, King Antonio will make an appearance. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the gate. Proceeds from the event help preserve German music, language, customs and culture in South Texas.
• Fiesta San Fernando: The free, family-friendly event will take place from 10 a.m. to midnight at 115 Main Plaza. Fiesta San Fernando supports small businesses that showcase their home-cooked style food and handmade crafts. All proceeds benefit the ongoing restoration of San Fernando Cathedral.
• Ford Mariachi Festival: The free festival will run from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 602 E. Commerce St. Guests can enjoy the dozens of mariachi ensembles from across Texas and beyond performing at the River Walk stage during the Ford Mariachi Festival.
• Fredstock: The festival is a student-organized and run festivity that will feature San Antonio’s vibrant music culture. Admission is free. Fredstock will run from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at San Antonio College’s Parking Lot 13, 309 W. Dewey Place.
• La Semana Alegre: The two-day festival is set to return to Hemisfair, marking its first year as an official Fiesta event. Fiesta-goers can enjoy two nights of live music, food and drinks from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at 210 S. Alamo St. Single-day general admission tickets cost $26 per person and two-day tickets cost $42. Proceeds from the event benefit the Hemisfair Conservancy.
• PACFest 2026: The family-friendly celebration will take place from noon to 11:30 p.m. at 1400 W. Villaret Blvd. The celebration features a day of entertainment with artistic and musical performers on the main stage, food booths, children’s activities and more. Admission is $15 per person. Children ages 12 and under get in for free. PACFest has been an official Fiesta event since 2003.
• SACXS Show and Sale: Fiesta-goers will have the chance to view, learn and purchase rare and unusual plants from all over the world from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the San Antonio Garden Center, 3310 N. New Braunfels Ave. The free event will feature plants such as cactus, succulents and xerophytes.
• Senior Fiesta: Seniors can enjoy live entertainment, a health and wellness fair and activities during Senior Fiesta from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wonderland of the Americas, 4522 Fredericksburg Road. Senior Fiesta is the only official Fiesta event sanctioned event planned for seniors. Admission is free.
• St. Philip’s College CultureFest & Rib Cook-off: Enjoy some of the “best” ribs in San Antonio while celebrating the 131st anniversary of St. Philip’s College from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1801 Martin Luther King Drive. The event will feature an opening ceremony procession, food, vendors and a raffle. Guests are invited to wear attire representing their own or a favorite culture.
• Taste of the Northside: The Fiesta event will take place from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Rock at La Cantera, 1 Spurs Way. Tickets are $300 and premier tickets are $600. Tickets will give foodies access to sample and taste food from more than 50 local restaurants while enjoying live music and entertainment.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned and viva Fiesta!

KSAT will offer live coverage of the Battle of the Flowers Parade starting at 11 a.m. on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus. KSAT will also stream Battle of Flowers en Español.

Don’t forget it’s also the final day to celebrate and attend NIOSA at La Villita!

Have you attended any Fiesta festivities? Share your adventures on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on air or online!

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Wondering what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on-air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the ninth day of Fiesta 2026 on April 24:

• 10th Street River Festival: VFW Post 76 will continue to host the three-day Fiesta event on April 24. Friday’s event will run from noon to midnight at 10 10th St. The free, family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, dancing and food beverages. Proceeds from the event will support veteran programs, youth scholarships, recognition awards for local law enforcement, first responders and community events.
• A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA): NIOSA is a four-night festival that transforms La Villita into 14 cultural areas. The festival will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at 418 Villita St. Presale tickets cost $20 and tickets at the gate cost $25. NIOSA is produced by and benefits the Conservation Society of San Antonio.
• Battle of Flowers Parade: The 135th annual event will take place from 9:55 a.m. to 1 p.m. in downtown San Antonio. This year’s parade theme is “From Pages to Possibilities.” The parade is produced entirely by women, and all of them are volunteers. Tickets can be purchased here.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta-goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Fiesta Artisan Show: Get ready to stroll and shop during the Fiesta Artisan Show from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 602 E. Commerce St. The show features more than 30 artisan vendors showcasing pottery, textiles, jewelry and more. Admission is free.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. The carnival is scheduled for noon to 11:30 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C at 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: The event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Historic Market Square at 514 W. Commerce St. Click here to learn more about the new gate fee. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 24 includes Latin Breed and Jaime De Anda.
• Fiesta Gartenfest at the Beethoven: Gartenfest will take place from 4 p.m. to midnight at 422 Pereida. Entertainment includes the 50-piece Beethoven Concert Band and the Beethoven German Dance Band. On April 24, El Rey Feo will make an appearance. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the gate. Proceeds from the event help preserve German music, language, customs and culture in South Texas.
• Fiesta Jazz Festival: The three-day festival, which will feature middle school jazz band festival and university invitational, will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at St. Mary’s University Alumni Athletic & Convocation Center at 1 Camino Santa Maria. The festival offers a unique educational and musical performance experience for more than 500 middle school, high school and college jazz student performers from across Texas. Admission is free. The Fiesta Jazz Festival is one of Texas’ oldest events presenting jazz music.
• Fiesta San Fernando: The free, family-friendly event will take place from 10 a.m. to midnight at 115 Main Plaza. Fiesta San Fernando supports small businesses that showcase their home-cooked style food and handmade crafts. All proceeds benefit the ongoing restoration of San Fernando Cathedral.
• Fiesta Square and Round Dance: Enjoy a night of dancing from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at TriPoint Center at 3233 N. St. Mary’s St. Official Fiesta royalty will be in attendance. Admission is free.
• Incognito: The masked party experience will take place from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Jaime’s Place at 1514 W. Commerce St. Winners at the performance-based costume contest will be judged on design, concept and performance presentation for individual or group entries. Admission costs $25 per person or $140 for a table of six.
• La Semana Alegre: The festival returns to Hemisfair, marking its first year as an official Fiesta event. Fiesta-goers can enjoy two nights of live music, food and drinks from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at 210 S. Alamo St. Single-day general admission tickets cost $26 per person. Proceeds from the event benefit the Hemisfair Conservancy.
• SACXS Show and Sale: Fiesta-goers will have the chance to view, learn and purchase rarer and unusual plants from all over the world from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the San Antonio Garden Center at 3310 N. New Braunfels Ave. The free event will feature plants such as cactus, succulents and xerophytes.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned, and Viva Fiesta!

KSAT will livestream the following anticipated Fiesta events on Saturday:

• Fiesta Pooch Parade at 7:30 a.m. on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus
• King William Parade at 9 a.m. on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus
• KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party at 7:30 p.m. on all KSAT platforms
• Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español at 8:30 p.m. on all KSAT platforms

Have you attended any Fiesta festivities? Share your adventures on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on-air or online!

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Wondering what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on-air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the 10th day of Fiesta 2026 on April 25:

• 10th Street River Festival: VFW Post 76 will host the third and final day of 10th Street River Festival on April 25. Saturday’s event will run from noon to midnight at 10 10th St. The free, family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, dancing and food beverages. Proceeds from the event will support veteran programs, youth scholarships, recognition awards for local law enforcement, first responders and community events.
• 14th Annual Run to Remember: Multiple runs, including a 5K/10K, kids .5K run, and a .5K beer run will take place from 7 a.m. to noon at Mission County Park, 6030 Padre Drive. Tickets vary for each race. Proceeds raised through this Fiesta event supports the Alzheimer’s Association of San Antonio and South Texas.
• Annual Fiesta Healthy Choice Conference: The free conference will promote health, education and community service from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Second Baptist Church at 3310 E. Commerce St. The healthy choice conference will also feature teen mentorship and the ExCel program. Fiesta royalty will make a special appearance.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta-goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Fiesta Artisan Show: Get ready to stroll and shop during the Fiesta Artisan Show from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 602 E. Commerce St. The show features more than 30 artisan vendors showcasing pottery, textiles, jewelry and more. Admission is free.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. The carnival is scheduled for noon to midnight at the Alamodome Parking Lot C at 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: The event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to midnight at the Historic Market Square at 514 W. Commerce St. Click here to learn more about the new gate fee. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 25 includes Ruben Ramos and Monica Saldivar.
• Festival De Animales: The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3903 N. St. Mary’s St. The festival, which celebrates animals, culture and conservation, is the San Antonio Zoo’s official Fiesta event. There will be live music, dance performances, cultural displays. Festival De Animales is included with standard zoo admission.
• Fiesta De Los Spurs Run: The Spurs run will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in downtown San Antonio. The run, which is approximately 2.8 to 3.1 miles, is scheduled before the Fiesta Flambeau Parade and gives participants the chance to run or walk the parade route in front of a cheering crowd. Registration is limited to 1,500 participants. Tickets for the Fiesta De Los Spurs Run are $50 through April 24 and on race day registration costs $55. All proceeds benefit Spurs Give, the official nonprofit organization for the San Antonio Spurs.
• Fiesta East: The Fiesta event will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Comanche Park, Pavilion 2 W/Aztec-Tejas at 2600 Rigsby Ave. The free event will feature park rides and amenities, food and drinks and live entertainment. Fiesta East is hosted by the Historic Neighborhoods Development Corporation.
• Fiesta Flambeau Parade: The Fiesta event, known as “America’s largest illuminated night parade,” will take place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. in downtown San Antonio. The 3.1-mile route expects to draw nearly 800,000 spectators for the Fiesta Flambeau Parade. This year’s theme is “Adventures in Toyland.” Tickets can be purchased here.
• Fiesta Jazz Festival: The festival will continue from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Mary’s University Alumni Athletic & Convocation Center at 1 Camino Santa Maria. High school jazz bands will perform on April 25. The festival offers a unique educational and musical performance experience for more than 500 middle school, high school and college jazz student performers from across Texas. Admission is free. The Fiesta Jazz Festival is one of Texas’ oldest events presenting jazz music.
• Fiesta Pooch Parade: The pooch parade will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 250 Viesca St. King Anbarkio will lead the the parade as it marches through Alamo Heights. The Fiesta Pooch Parade will also feature a costume contest with different categories such as “Best in Show” and “Best Matched Human and Animal.” Admission is free for the family-friendly event.
• Fiesta San Fernando: The free, family-friendly event will run from 10 a.m. to midnight at 115 Main Plaza. Fiesta San Fernando supports small businesses that showcase their home-cooked style food and handmade crafts. All proceeds benefit the ongoing restoration of San Fernando Cathedral.
• Growing Up Female: The free Fiesta event will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Trinity University at 1 Trinity Place. Growing Up Female will allow young women explore STEM, practice speaking up and advocating for themselves.
• King William Fair: Fiesta’s largest residential party will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 122 Madison. The fair kicks off with a 1.5-mile parade and features more than 200 art and craft vendors, live entertainment and more. This year, the event will feature a Texas Wine Garden, VIP “Secret Garden” and exclusive parade seating. General tickets are $20. Children 11 and under get in for free.
• SACXS Show and Sale: Fiesta-goers will have the chance to view, learn and purchase rarer and unusual plants from all over the world from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the San Antonio Garden Center at 3310 N. New Braunfels Ave. The free event will feature plants such as cactus, succulents and xerophytes.
• Starfish Dash 5K Run/Walk & Health Fair: Get your team together, wear costumes and pick a theme for the Starfish Dash 5K Run/Walk and Health Fair. The free official Fiesta event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at 7431 Merton Minter. The top three men, women and youth participants will be awarded medals. There will be free parking, coffee, water and snacks available for attendees. To pre-register for the event, click here.
• United Way Kids Festival: The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 303 Dartmouth St. United Way Kids Festival is the only 100% free, family-friendly event with no cost for food, activities or experiences. Families can receive free books and enjoy entertainment, a hat-making competition and more.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned, and Viva Fiesta!

Aurelio Benjamin Cerella, 47, was taken into custody Friday by detectives from BCSO’s Human Exploitation Unit, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.

BCSO said Cerella faces the following three charges:

• Possession of child sexual abuse images, a third-degree felony
• Possession of child sexual abuse images involving a child under 10 years of age, a second-degree felony
• Bestiality, a state jail felony

Salazar said Cerella was first arrested on March 25 after an undercover operation in which a detective posed as a 16-year-old girl and began communicating with them online.

BCSO said Cerella allegedly was sending inappropriate photos to someone he believed was the teen and made sexual propositions to the same person.

Cerella was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on one count of online solicitation of a minor. Salazar said he bonded out two days later.

During the investigation, Salazar said detectives seized Cerella’s cell phone and obtained a warrant to search it.

Over the following weeks, the sheriff said investigators found child sexual abuse images and images of bestiality on the device.

BCSO said they do not believe Cerella produced the images himself but rather downloaded them.

The sheriff said he wants to remind the community to be aware of what children are doing online.

“We use (this) as an opportunity to remind the community that you need to really be careful in who your kids are talking to online and what they’re doing,” Salazar said. “In many instances, they’re approaching these kids on regular social media or on gaming platforms.”

As of Saturday afternoon, Cerella remains in the Bexar County jail, court records show.

Read also:

• 2 charged with capital murder after bodies found in Medina Lake, sheriff’s office says

On the last day of Fiesta, San Antonians can wrap up the celebration by attending A Day in Old Mexico, Festival De Cascarones and Fiesta De Los Reyes.

Have you attended any Fiesta festivities? Share your adventures on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on-air or online!

Fiesta 2026 will carry the theme “Fiesta Together” as San Antonio marks the festival’s 135th anniversary.

Wondering what’s happening each day of the 11-day celebration? Make sure to keep up with KSAT on-air and online!

Here’s a list of events for the last day of Fiesta 2026 on April 26:

• A Day in Old Mexico: The San Antonio Charro Association will host A Day in Old Mexico from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 6126 Padre Drive. The event will celebrate Mexican heritage through the tradition of charrería. Tickets are $25 per person. Children 12 and under get in for free.
• All Veterans Memorial Service: The Alamo Chapter #366 Vietnam Veterans of America will host the 32nd annual memorial service from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Tobin Center in front of the Vietnam memorial statue at 451 Jefferson. The service is a solemn salute honoring veterans of all wars. Admission is free.
• Coronation Gallery Open House at The Witte Museum: Fiesta goers can visit the open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3801 Broadway. The museum houses more than 280 coronation robes and Fiesta finery. To purchase tickets, click here.
• Festival De Animales: The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3903 N. St. Mary’s St. The festival, which celebrates animals, culture and conservation, is the San Antonio Zoo’s official Fiesta event. There will be live music, dance performances and cultural displays. Festival De Animales is included with standard zoo admission.
• Festival De Cascarones: More than 6,000 cascarones are handed out during Festival De Cascarones at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The free Fiesta event will feature entertainment all day, food and more. Festival de Cascarones will be from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the university campus, located at One University Way.
• Fiesta Artisan Show: Get ready to stroll and shop during the Fiesta Artisan Show from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 602 E. Commerce St. The show features more than 30 artisan vendors showcasing pottery, textiles, jewelry and more. Admission is free.
• Fiesta Carnival: Take the family to enjoy thrilling rides and a variety of food and snacks. The carnival is scheduled for noon to 11 p.m. at the Alamodome Parking Lot C at 100 Montana St. The event runs daily throughout Fiesta.
• Fiesta De Los Reyes: The event will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Historic Market Square at 514 W. Commerce St. Click here to learn more about the new gate fee. Fiesta-goers can enjoy live music from two stages, sample a variety of food and more. The music lineup for April 26 includes Tropa Estrella and Los Desperadoz.
• MissionFest: The family-friendly event will run from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 701 E. Pryon. Admission is $10 per person. The event, which is the only Fiesta event held at a World Heritage site, helps support Mission San Jose Catholic Church.
• Mr. Teen San Antonio Scholarship Award & Coronation Banquet: The banquet will take place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Schertz Civic Center located at 1400 Schertz Parkway. The event crowns Mr. Teen San Antonio, Miss Texas Amazing Teen, Miss Texas Amazing Pre-Teen and their court. For tickets, click here.
• Praise Dance Celebration: The celebration is scheduled to run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 226 N. Hackberry St. Praise Dance Celebration is a diverse community event that showcases talents in praise and worship. The event is free and open to the public.
• Reina De La Feria De Las Flores Reception: The reception takes place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the San Antonio Botanical Garden at 555 Funston Place. The event recognizes and honors the Feria De La Flores Queen and everyone who made her reign possible. Admission is free.

Click here to see more events scheduled for Fiesta 2026.

Before you head out to Fiesta, check out the forecast from KSAT’s Weather Authority team to help plan your Fiesta adventure.

Watch Fiesta coverage on KSAT

KSAT will offer live coverage of Fiesta 2026’s biggest events.

Take a look at when you can catch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

To get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free, click here.

• Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Travis Park — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by the SA Live Fiesta After Party, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: SA Live Battle of Flowers Pre-Party, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Parade, coverage starts at 9 a.m. — On KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: KSAT Flambeau Pre-Party, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. — On KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

This is just a partial list. As Fiesta gets closer, we will update our plans, which may include covering even more events live.

Stay tuned, and Viva Fiesta!

FORECAST HIGHLIGHTS

This weekend will not be a wash out. Rather, you should think of our rain chances as a “storm lottery.” Your chances stand at 40% both Saturday and Sunday. Here’s the latest...

• SATURDAY NIGHT: Highest storm chance west of San Antonio
• SUNDAY MORNING: Line of storms (weaker) may make it to San Antonio (40%)
• SUNDAY AFTERNOON: A few storms (40%), otherwise warm. 80s
• ANY HAIL? It’s possible Sunday, so we’ll be watching radar closely.

FORECAST

SATURDAY

We’re starting the day with some spotty showers. As we get into the afternoon, lightning becomes possible. Overall rain coverage will be about 30-40%. Otherwise, warm and in the low-80s.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Then, we’ll turn our attention to the west. Storms will develop in West Texas late Saturday. These will move east overnight. For those near Del Rio, Rocksprings, and the Hill Country this line could be strong or severe with hail and gusty winds possible overnight.

SUNDAY

By sunrise Sunday, the storms will be much weaker as they approach San Antonio. In fact, they may fall apart completely. That being said, we’ll still carry a 40% chance for storms throughout the day Sunday. Otherwise, warm, and in the 80s.

RAINFALL

Higher totals will be west of San Antonio. For the most of us, we’ll likely see less than 0.25″.

NEXT WEEK

Less active and warmer. By the start of Fiesta, it’ll be in the upper 80s.

QUICK WEATHER LINKS

• WATCH LIVE: Doppler Radar
• Hourly and 10-Day Forecast
• Download FREE KSAT Weather Authority App: Up-to-date forecast information and livestreams from trusted local meteorologists.
• KSAT Connect: Share your weather photos.

Officers responding to a 9:40 a.m. emergency call of an assault at the 42nd Street-Grand Central station encountered the man. He was behaving erratically, claiming he was “Lucifer,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at an afternoon news conference. Tisch said he was ordered to drop his weapon 20 times but refused to comply.

She said ultimately an officer shot him twice when he advanced toward the officers with the knife extended.

“Our officers were confronted with an armed individual who had already injured multiple people and was continuing to pose a threat,” Tisch said. “They gave clear commands. They attempted to de-escalate. And when that threat did not stop, they took decisive action to stop it and to protect New Yorkers on one of the busiest train platforms in the city.”

Tisch identified the suspect as Anthony Griffin, 44, and said he had three prior unsealed arrests. He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.

The three stabbing victims — an 84 year-old male, 65-year-old male and 70-year-old female — sustained injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, Tisch said. One man sustained “significant lacerations to the head and face,” the other man had similar injuries and an open skull fracture and the third victim had a laceration to the shoulder.

Tisch said the suspect slashed one person on a platform at the Grand Central station before going upstairs and slashing the other victims on another platform.

Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said the attacks appear to be random acts.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on social media that she was “grateful to our brave officers who acted quickly to stop the suspect. We’re working closely with the NYPD as the investigation unfolds.”

The police department, posting on the social platform X, advised travelers in the morning to avoid the area due to a police investigation and to expect delays and heavy traffic. Subway trains resumed stopping at the station in the afternoon after bypassing it for hours, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority's website.

Beau Lardner said he was just swiping in at Grand Central when bangs rang out “loud enough to hear through headphones,” he told the AP in a message. The 34-year-old moved from Manhattan to Long Island a few weeks ago, but he’s been taking the same train from Grand Central for years.

“I know that platform like the back of my hand,” he said.

Lardner described a “wall of people” rushing toward him to get through the turnstiles, and he sprinted back up the stairs. He said he had “never seen a crowd move like that.”

___

Robertson reported from Raleigh, N.C. Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.

— None.

There are 10 teams that are locked into specific seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences, there are 10 other teams that know their seasons will end on Sunday and 10 more still have some level of uncertainty going into the final day of the six-month grind that precedes the NBA postseason.

By the end of Sunday, four first-round series matchups — those starting next weekend — will be known, as will the first four play-in tournament matchups that will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We're just excited to be in this situation,” said Atlanta coach Quin Snyder, whose Hawks are playoff-bound — but don't know if they'll be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the East, so they obviously don't know their first-round matchup either.

“Whoever we play is going to be really good," Snyder said. “It's hard to even try to figure that out. It's possible that certain teams want to play us. ... We don't know what's going to happen. It's hard to predict all these games that are going on. Wherever it falls is how it falls.”

No team needs to win on Sunday to extend its season. There are 10 teams eliminated from postseason contention who all know Game 82 is the end of the road. But for the other 20 teams, there will be an 83rd game, either in the play-in this coming week or in the playoffs that start next weekend.

That doesn't mean those 20 teams all have nothing to play for Sunday. There are seeds to grab, and in some cases, a team could essentially manipulate how their side of the bracket sorts itself out. If San Antonio beats Denver, for example, the Spurs would assure themselves of not having to face Oklahoma City or the Nuggets until the Western Conference finals.

A Nuggets loss would mean LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers — provided they beat Utah on Sunday — would finish as the West's No. 3 seed.

“I’m sure everybody wants to play us," Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "Let’s get that out there — everybody wants to play us. There are probably teams that are in a position where they can start looking forward to potential second-round matchups as well.”

The breakdown

— Seeds clinched: Detroit (East 1), Oklahoma City (West 1), Boston (East 2), San Antonio (West 2), New York (East 3), Cleveland (East 4), Houston (West 5), Minnesota (West 6), Phoenix (West 7 for play-in), Golden State (West 10 for play-in).

— Playoff-bound, seed still TBA: Denver (3 or 4 in West), Los Angeles Lakers (3 or 4 in West), Atlanta (5 or 6 in East).

— Playoff or play-in bound: Toronto, Orlando, Philadelphia.

— Play-in bound, seed still TBA: Los Angeles Clippers, Portland, Charlotte, Miami.

— Season ends Sunday: Milwaukee, Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis, Dallas, Sacramento, Utah, Brooklyn, Indiana, Washington.

Stat races

All the major statistical titles have been decided, barring the most mathematically improbable events of all-time happening on Sunday.

— Scoring: Luka Doncic of the Lakers (33.5 per game) will win, unless something happens like Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 194 points on Sunday.

— Rebounding: Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets (12.9 per game) will win, unless something happens like New York's Karl-Anthony Towns grabbing at least 95 rebounds on Sunday.

— Assists: Jokic (10.9 per game) will win. unless something happens like Detroit's Cade Cunningham getting at least 77 assists on Sunday.

— Blocked shots: Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs (3.1 per game) will win, unless something happens like Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren blocking at least 85 shots on Sunday.

(So, yes, it's safe to assume those races have been decided.)

Doncic won't play Sunday for the Lakers, meaning he'll fall short of the 65-game rule for award eligibility, and Jokic needs to play Sunday to hit that number. That means it's actually possible the NBA scoring, rebound and assist champions will all be ineligible to appear on the ballots that will decide the All-NBA teams, MVP and other major awards.

Draft odds update

The teams with the three worst records are set: Washington will be worst, with Indiana and Brooklyn second- and third-worst in some order. That means those three teams will have the best odds — 14% each — of winning the No. 1 pick in next month's draft lottery.

And Washington can't finish lower than fifth in the lottery.

Utah and Sacramento would both see draft-lottery benefits from losses on Sunday — especially the Jazz, who could assure themselves of keeping a pick that would be guaranteed to be in the top eight.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

“These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They're absolutely false. They did not happen, they have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have,” the congressman said Friday.

Swalwell was among the leading Democrats in the race to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom. But in just hours, he saw his most prominent supporters — including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and powerful labor unions — drop their endorsements and call for his exit from the race.

Newsom, a likely 2028 presidential candidate who has avoided engaging in the contest to replace him, said in a statement: “As we continue to learn more, these allegations from multiple sources are deeply troubling and must be taken seriously.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who hasn’t endorsed in the race, said the “serious allegations” must be investigated and that she spoke to Swalwell and suggested that be done “outside of a gubernatorial campaign.”

The allegations surfaced at a critical stage of the wide-open campaign to lead the nation’s most populous state. Voters will receive mail ballots next month in advance of the June 2 election.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that a woman said Swalwell sexually assaulted her in 2019 and 2024. The newspaper reviewed text messages about the alleged 2024 assault and spoke to people whom she had told about it. She told the newspaper she did not go to police because she was afraid she would not be believed.

The woman worked for Swalwell in 2019, when the first alleged assault occurred, and the 2024 assault allegedly occurred after a charity gala, the newspaper reported. She said in both cases she was too intoxicated to consent to sex.

The paper didn’t name the woman, and The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify her account and identity. Her lawyer declined to comment.

The alleged 2024 incident occurred in New York, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Saturday that it was investigating. The DA's office urged anyone with knowledge to contact its special victims division.

Swift backlash from prominent Democrats

Schiff said in a social media post he's “deeply distressed” by the allegations, calling for Swalwell to end his gubernatorial bid.

Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez, who helped run Swalwell’s campaign, said he’s immediately ending his role.

“The congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay,” Gomez said on social media.

The powerful California Service Employees International Union said Saturday it was formally rescinding its endorsement and urged Swalwell to withdraw from the race immediately. The California Teachers Association said it was suspending its support. And the California Federation of Labor Unions said it was “acting urgently” on next steps.

A spokesperson for House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said the allegations require a “serious and thorough investigation.”

Growing calls for Swalwell to drop out

Swalwell is among a handful of prominent candidates in the crowded race to succeed Newsom, and he immediately came under pressure from all other Democratic rivals to withdraw from the race. The party has been mired in a messy primary season with some leaders fearing the crowded field could cost them spot in the November general election. The state's top-two primary system sends the two highest vote-getters on to the general election regardless of party.

Swalwell on Tuesday kicked off a planned series of campaign events in Sacramento, where he told reporters he’s never had a sexual relationship with a staff member or intern. He canceled the next scheduled event in Palm Springs on Thursday.

Uncorroborated and nonspecific rumors that Swalwell behaved inappropriately with female staffers have circulated on social media for weeks, but the Chronicle's story is the first reported account of someone making a direct accusation. CNN also published a story that appeared to feature the same woman’s allegations, though she was not named, as well as allegations from several women that Swalwell sent them inappropriate sexual messages.

He's suggested the allegations were part of an attack due to his campaign’s momentum.

Swalwell was elected in 2012 and represents a House district east of San Francisco. He launched a presidential run in April 2019 but shuttered it a few months later after failing to catch on with voters. Swalwell, who is married and has three children, is perhaps best known nationally as a House manager in President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial during his first term in early 2021.

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Blood reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said it did not have enough information to decide how much of the project can be suspended without jeopardizing the safety of the president, his family or the White House staff.

The case was returned to the trial judge who, in a March 31 ruling, barred work from proceeding without congressional approval, but suspended enforcement of that order for 14 days. The appeals court extended that for three days, to April 17, to allow the Trump administration to seek Supreme Court review.

The panel instructed U.S. District Judge Richard Leon to clarify whether — and how — his injunction interferes with the administration’s plans for safety and security.

Government lawyers had argued that the project includes critical security features to guard against a range of possible threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards and that holding up construction “would imperil the President and others who live and work in the White House,.”

Leon, in issuing the temporary pause, concluded that the preservationist group behind the legal challenge was likely to succeed because the president lacks the authority to build the ballroom without approval from Congress.

Leon exempted any construction work necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House, but said he reviewed material the government privately submitted before determining that a halt would not jeopardize national security.

The Republican administration's appeal cited materials that would be installed to make a “heavily fortified” facility and said construction included bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility underneath the ballroom.

The appeals panel noted that much of the government's concerns focused on that below-ground security work, which the White House argued was "distinct from construction of the ballroom itself and could proceed independently.”

Now, however, the White House seems to suggest those security upgrades are “inseparable” from the project as whole, the appeals court said, making it unclear “whether and to what extent” moving forward with certain aspects of the ballroom is necessary for the safety and security of those upgrades.

Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said in a statement that the organization awaited further clarification from the district court. She said the group was committed “to honoring the historic significance of the White House, advocating for our collective role as stewards, and demonstrating how broad consultation, including with the American people, results in a better overall outcome.”

The organization sued in December, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing for a 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people. The administration said aboveground construction on the ballroom would begin in April.

Leon concluded last month that the lawsuit was likely to succeed because “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”

“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!” wrote Leon, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, a Republican.

Two days after Leon’s ruling, the ballroom project won final approval from a key agency that Trump had stocked with allies. Another oversight entity constituted with Trump loyalists had approved the project earlier this year. But the president had proceeded with the biggest structural change to the White House in more than 70 years before seeking input from the commissions.

Trump says the project is funded by private donations, although public money is paying for construction of underground bunkers and security upgrades.

The three-judge appeals court panel was made up of Patricia Millett, Neomi Rao and Bradley Garcia. Millett was nominated by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Rao was nominated by Trump. Garcia was nominated by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Rao wrote a dissenting opinion, which cited a statute that allows the president to undertake improvements to the White House.

“Importantly, the government has presented credible evidence of ongoing security vulnerabilities at the White House that would be prolonged by halting construction,” Rao wrote, adding that such concerns outweigh the “generalized aesthetic harms” presented in the lawsuit.

—-

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

Debbie Dingell, a longtime Democratic congresswoman, was there to watch progressive U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed campaign with Hasan Piker, a popular yet controversial online streamer.

Dingell has often served as an early warning system for her party, cautioning that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was on track to win Michigan in 2016 and 2024. Now she was once again scoping out the shifting political landscape, and something caught her eye.

“Quite frankly, I haven’t seen that many people outside an event yet this year,” said Dingell, whose district includes Ann Arbor and who said her attendance wasn't an endorsement.

A line of mostly young people stretched out the door and down the street, hundreds waiting in the cold evening air on Tuesday. Some had backpacks slung over their shoulders after coming from class, while others had traveled from afar.

Although they were there to see a progressive candidate, attendees didn't fit neatly into any ideological box. Instead, they shared a common dissatisfaction with both major political parties. Their frustration was a reminder of the anger that has coursed through modern American politics and now appears to be simmering within a new generation ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Born into an era of Trump

Liam Koenig was in third grade when Trump was first elected president — a moment that has shaped his generation's understanding of politics.

“It's just become increasingly more inflammatory,” he said.

Now a high school senior in Oakland County, a longtime political bellwether in Michigan, Koenig described an era of constant conflict and anxiety. The mood among his peers, he said, is often somber and frustrated.

"I think a lot of us have lost hope in, like, tangible change,” he said.

Younger adults are more likely than older Americans to have an unfavorable view of both the Republican and Democratic parties, according to AP-NORC polling from February.

Still, that frustration hasn’t led to disengagement for Koenig. He waited for hours to see El-Sayed. He described the campaign as different from what he's used to seeing, something more like Zohran Mamdani's successful run for mayor in New York City. He wanted that kind of energy in Michigan.

“You’re not going to get people out with business as usual,” Koenig said.

Karol Molina, an artist who recently moved from New York City, said she had been hunting for a candidate in Mamdani's mold when she arrived in Michigan. She settled on El-Sayed, who is facing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow in the state's primary.

“We want to be able to live and, like, afford life without constantly scraping by,” she said.

Molina was looking for a clean break with the past.

“I think the Democratic Party is losing because they’re not really listening to what the people really want,” she said. “They’re trying to keep a party that existed before Donald Trump. And that party doesn’t exist anymore.”

Piker, a 34-year-old streamer with 3.1 million followers on Twitch and 1.8 million on YouTube, has described himself as a “megaphone” for an angry electorate. He’s also been controversial among Democrats for some of his rhetoric, including comments that “Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, some Orthodox Jews are “inbred” and “America deserved 9/11.”

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Piker was largely unapologetic for his past remarks but said some were poorly worded. He called the renewed focus on them “totally ridiculous, especially considering that there are far more consequential things happening in the world right now.”

Frustration — but not apathy — from young voters

Ethan Schneider, a third-year student at the University of Michigan, described today’s politics as “a little unserious.”

“It's difficult to remain positive or not be jaded at a young age,” said Schneider.

Schneider said he voted for Democrat Kamala Harris two years ago but, like many in line to see Piker and El-Sayed, was critical of her and her party.

“Hate them,” he said of Democrats. “They feel very complicit, in terms of all the issues going on now. If not complicit, they're just doing nothing,”

Younger people are rejecting both parties at much higher rates than older generations, according to recent Gallup polling. More than half of Generation Z and Millennials identify as political independents, while a majority of older generations side with a party.

The Gallup polling found that this growing group of independents tends to be motivated by unhappiness with the party in power — a dynamic that could benefit Democrats this year but doesn’t promise lasting loyalty.

Jacob Abbott, an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, said he feels that the Democratic Party has strayed toward “corporate interest politics.” To him, the backlash toward Piker reflects a broader vacuum in American politics — a lack of people who can command attention and speak to their frustrations, even if they’re flawed.

“So is Hasan perfect? Probably not,” Abbott said. “But he’s much better than the alternative the Democratic Party has had.”

Progressives struggle to turn enthusiasm into victories

Over decades in politics, Dingell has seen long lines and packed rooms before. She was trying to gauge whether there's something more durable at the event with El-Sayed and Piker.

After all, progressive candidates have long generated excitement without winning electoral victories. El-Sayed himself finished a distant second in Michigan's Democratic primary for governor in 2018. In addition, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a leading face of the progressive movement, fell short in two Democratic presidential campaigns.

But some Democrats argue this moment may be different, pointing to recent victories by Mamdani in New York and Analilia Mejia, who won a crowded Democratic primary in a special U.S. House election in New Jersey.

“There should be a progressive running everywhere that one exists,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee, who also appeared with El-Sayed.

“Every year, every race," she added. "We might not be victorious, but every single time we have to call the question.”

Dingell said she'll be looking to see what happens next.

“Is it something for the kids to do, or is it going to connect?” she said.

___

Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

___

This story was first published on April 9, 2026. It was updated on April 11, 2026, to make clear that University of Michigan student Jacob Abbott was not referring to specific controversial remarks from Hasan Piker, a well-known online streamer, but was speaking broadly about politics.

Owner and brewer Dustin Baker built a nine-hole miniature golf course right through the middle of the production facility.

The event coincides with the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Patrons can watch the Masters on a big screen while hanging out at the brewery.

Children can play, too. An adult must accompany all players under 21 at all times.

Roadmap Brewing Co. says the low score of the year stands at 18.

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The league leader blew the chance to move 12 points clear of second-placed Manchester City after losing for the third time in four games in all competitions.

“It's a big punch to the face,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “Now it’s about how we react to that, because it’s game on, it’s going to require now a big spirit, a lot of fight.”

Liverpool got a glimpse of the future as 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha scored a brilliant solo goal in a 2-0 win against Fulham.

The forward curled in the opening goal at Anfield. Mohamed Salah added the second in his first game in front his home fans since announcing he was leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.

Arsenal feeling the pressure

Alex Scott struck a 74th-minute winner to pile pressure on Arsenal ahead of next week's top-of-the-table clash at Manchester City.

Arsenal has played two more games than City, which travels to Chelsea on Sunday and could close the gap to six points.

“There are no gray areas now,” Arteta said.

Arsenal has not won the title since 2004 and is slumping at the worst time. Defeats to City in the English League Cup final and to second-division Southampton in the FA Cup ended its pursuit of a quadruple of trophies.

It beat Sporting Lisbon 1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday but the latest loss will only heighten tension in the race for the English title after three straight years of finishing runner-up.

“The fact that as a club we haven’t done it for so long, there's a reason for that, it talks about the difficulty,” Arteta said.

Arsenal faces a huge week against Sporting in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday and then at City on Sunday.

Bournemouth went ahead inside 17 minutes through Junior Kroupi’s close-range goal. Viktor Gyokeres leveled from the penalty spot in the 35th but Arsenal struggled to create openings and Scott sealed the victory that potentially blew the title race open.

Bournemouth has won in back-to-back seasons at Arsenal and set a new club record of 12 straight games unbeaten in the Premier League.

While Arsenal remains in the driver's seat at the top of the standings, the form guide does not make good reading from Arteta’s perspective.

League stats provider Opta said before kickoff that the Arsenal manager’s Premier League win percentage in April was 44%, compared to 79% for City's Pep Guardiola.

“So today we have to suffer, it’s painful, it’s a terrible feeling, but tomorrow is a different day, and if somebody had said to me in August we are in this position right now in April, I’m sure we would all take it,” Arteta said.

Old and new combine for Liverpool

As one great prepares to say goodbye to Liverpool, a new star is emerging.

Salah will bring the curtain down on an outstanding Anfield career at the end of the season — and even in a campaign in which his form has dipped he is still capable of getting fans out of their seats.

He did that with his goal late in the first half to double Liverpool's lead, firing low past Bernd Leno.

But thoughts will naturally turn to the future and, in teenager Ngumoha, Liverpool has a talent to get excited about.

He announced himself early in the season with his dramatic late winner against Newcastle and he produced another special moment with his first Anfield goal.

“Liverpool for me are the biggest club in the world. To start so young, and the manager having belief in me, and all the players ... I’ve just got to keep working hard and keep pushing on and just go again,” Ngumoha said.

Liverpool tightened its grip on fifth place and Champions League qualification, moving four points clear of Chelsea in sixth.

Brentford frustrated by Everton

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall struck in stoppage time as Everton twice fought back from a goal down to draw at Brentford 2-2.

Igor Thiago twice gave Brentford the lead at Gtech Community Stadium from a third-minute penalty and a goal in the 76th.

Beto leveled for Everton in the first half and Dewsbury-Hall produced his dramatic equalizer in the first minute of added time.

Brentford missed the chance to move up to sixth.

Brazil striker Thiago has 24 goals in all competitions this season and 21 in the league. Only Erling Haaland with 22 has more.

Mats Wieffer scored in both halves as Brighton beat Burnley 2-0.

___

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

___

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

Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan and as a fragile ceasefire held.

History’s first U.S.-born pope didn’t mention the United States or President Donald Trump in his prayer, which was planned before the talks were announced. But Leo’s tone and message appeared directed at Trump and U.S. officials, who have boasted of U.S. military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” Leo said. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

In the basilica pews was the archbishop of Tehran, Belgian Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu. The U.S. was represented in the diplomatic corps by its deputy chief of mission, Laura Hochla, the U.S. Embassy said.

In the first weeks of the war, the Chicago-born Leo was initially reluctant to publicly condemn the violence and limited his comments to muted appeals for peace and dialogue. But Leo stepped up his criticism starting on Palm Sunday. And this week, he said Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization was “truly unacceptable” and called for dialogue to prevail.

On Saturday, Leo called for all people of good will to pray for peace and demand an end to war from their political leaders. The evening vigil in Rome, which featured Scripture readings and meditative recitation of the Rosary prayers, was taking place as simultaneous local prayer services were being held in the U.S. and beyond.

Praying for peace, Leo said, was a way to “break the demonic cycle of evil” to build instead the Kingdom of God where there are no swords, drones or “unjust profit.”

“It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” he said. “Even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.”

Leaders have used religion to justify their actions in the war. U.S. officials and especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have invoked their Christian faith to cast the U.S. as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes.

Leo has said God doesn’t bless any war, and certainly not those who drop bombs.

Leo presided over the service sitting off to the side of the altar on a white throne, wearing his formal red cape and liturgical stole and praying with a Rosary in his hands. Many of the priests and nuns in the pews fingered Rosary beads as the “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” prayers were recited.

The Vatican is particularly concerned about the spillover of Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, given the plight of Christian communities in the south.

___

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.

Trucks and tractors continued to block access to vital fuel depots and a major port, and vehicles clogging traffic led to closures of part of the main highway around Dublin, the capital, as well as sections of other major roadways.

Irish police Commissioner Justin Kelly said enforcement would be ramped up because protesters were illegally blockading critical infrastructure and endangering public safety because of the impact gas shortages could have on emergency response from paramedics and firefighters.

“These are blockades. They are not a legitimate form of protest,” Kelly said. “We gave the blockaders fair warning that we were moving to enforcement and they choose to ignore it and continue to hold the country to ransom.”

Protests call for caps on fuel prices

Government officials and a negotiator said progress was made on talks Saturday to resolve the dispute.

Ger Hyland, president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, who is acting on behalf of some protesters, said he empathizes with their plight.

“They’re hard-working business people, and they’re just trying to survive and keep their business afloat, the same as any of the rest of us here at these negotiations,” he said.

The protests began on Tuesday and have grown as word spread on social media, leading truckers, farmers, and taxi and bus operators to stage blockades and call for caps on fuel prices or tax cuts.

Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price rises, have been baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the global price spike is due to the conflict in the Middle East that has restricted oil exports.

Prime Minister Micheál Martin said on Friday that the country was on the brink of turning tankers away at ports during a global shortage and was in jeopardy of losing its oil supply.

“It is unconscionable, it’s illogical, it is difficult to comprehend,” Martin told national broadcaster RTE.

Plumber Paddy Murray said he joined the protest outside the port in Rosslare because he’d paid taxes all his life and was looking for the government to help him with the cost of living.

“We can’t continue to do business with the cost of fuel, cost of wages, everything,” Murray told RTE. “We need somebody to help. It’s the government’s here like, to, represent us. You know, do your job. We’re the working lads that keep everything going. We’re the working lads that pay taxes.”

No gas at the pumps

More than a third of the 1,500 service stations had run out of fuel on Saturday and that number was expected to grow dramatically if the roadblocks remain, Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said.

Reopening the Whitegate refinery in County Cork will help restore some service.

At midday, police vans from the public order unit rolled into the refinery to clear the protesters as the military stood by to assist. Officers used pepper spray, and video on RTE showed several officers dragging a protester from a tractor.

Police said arrests were made but did not provide a number for those detained.

A convoy of seven fuel delivery trucks from different companies was escorted to the refinery to load up and was later seen leaving. Another police video showed tanker trucks pulling out of the Foynes Port fuel hub in Limerick after protesters let them through.

Two weeks ago, the government approved a range of measures to cut fuel prices, including a temporary reduction in excise taxes on motor fuels, expansion of a rebate for truckers and bus operators that use diesel fuel, and extension of a program that helps low-income people with their heating costs.

But those reductions were quickly overtaken as international prices continued to rise.

Protests began with slow-moving convoys that restricted access to some of the busiest streets in Dublin and blocked fuel depots that supply half the country. Some protesters slept in their vehicles overnight, demanding that government representatives speak with them.

People took to the streets of Dublin in support of the protest Saturday and tractors slowly rolled through the streets of Cork.

Protesters also shut down the road leading to Rosslare Europort, a major entry point for freight and passenger ferries in Wexford, and stranding cargo there. The port will reach capacity Sunday, Harbormaster Tom Curran told RTE.

“I just keep seeing a lot of different aspects of life getting more expensive, and it’s harder,” said Eble, an account manager for a public relations agency.

Car ownership has long been integral to the American dream. But as automakers slash the production of inexpensive models to cater to customers who can afford oversized pickups and sport utility vehicles, buyers find themselves facing sticker shock at the same time they are already frustrated by the lingering effects of high inflation.

Consumer prices rose 3.3% in March, the biggest yearly increase since May 2024, while new car prices were up 12.6% from a year ago, the Labor Department reported Friday.

New vehicles now sell for an average of nearly $50,000, up 30% in six years, and average monthly payments — based on 10% down and a 6-year note — recently hit $775. Looking for something on the cheap end? The share of vehicles listing for less than $30,000 is about 13% — down from 40% five years ago, per the car review site CarGurus.

To cope, buyers are spreading their payments out longer. Consumers choosing 7-year loans make up more than 12% of all sales, up from nearly 8% a year ago, according to auto buying resource J.D. Power. Such contracts wind up costing more in the long run because of interest payments.

“The ability to buy transportation is still out there. The question is just, what do you get for your money?” Charlie Chesbrough, a senior economist at Cox Automotive, said.

The rising cost of cars is contributing to increased concerns about affordability throughout American life. Consumers, especially young people, say they feel like everyday needs like housing, food, utilities and child care are getting costlier and wages aren't keeping up.

It is a vulnerable position for Republicans ahead of this year’s midterm elections, especially as the Iran war has pumped up gas prices that makes getting behind the wheel even more expensive.

Size, technology and ‘must-have’ features add to costs

Sticker prices have been rising since automakers discovered Americans are willing to pay more for bigger, more expensive SUVs and pickup trucks that bring the companies more profit from each sale. They have largely phased out smaller, cheaper sedans.

That is especially true for domestic carmakers; the average selling prices for many vehicles from Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Jeep-maker Stellantis have generally trended higher than those for Asian companies Honda, Hyundai, Mazda and Subaru.

Car companies are also savvy about placing desired options in more expensive trim levels that can lure consumers into a vehicle that costs more than they planned, said David Undercoffler, the head of consumer insights at CarGurus.

Advanced safety technology — lane-keep assist, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, collision warnings and more — all add to the cost of a vehicle. Automakers are required by federal industry rules to add some features, such as rear-view cameras.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed up auto prices because production fell, affecting both the new and used markets. Though production recovered, other supply chain disruptions and tariffs have affected prices. Meanwhile, government data shows that car insurance prices have soared 55% compared with six years ago, or just before the pandemic, driving up the number of Americans going without. Car repairs, on average, are 48% more expensive.

The share of new car buyers earning below $100,000 fell to 37% last year, down from 50% in 2020, according to Cox Automotive.

Some carmakers have acknowledged affordability concerns. In February, Ford said it would have several vehicles prices under $40,000 by the end of the decade. GM has pointed to vehicles from Buick and Chevrolet, including the Trax, as cheaper options.

Looking to used market for relief

Chesbrough thinks consumers are sometimes unrealistic in their wants.

“There are vehicles out there for less than $30,000. What everybody wants is the mid-sized SUV with leather seats and the sunroof for $25,000, and that’s not available,” Chesbrough said.

Those buyers, he said, are being pushed into the used market.

But as those buyers shift to used, they are finding fewer affordable options there, too. The share of used vehicles priced less than $30,000 fell from 78% in 2021 to 69% in February, according to CarGurus. The average used vehicle sold for about $25,000 in February, and the average used monthly payments hit $560.

The inventory of used cars is being hit by a couple of trends. One is that consumers keen to avoid a big expense are hanging on to their cars longer — nearly 13 years on average now, 18 months longer than a decade ago, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. And a downturn in the popularity of leasing means fewer two- and three-year-old cars hitting the market after leases expire.

J.D. Power estimates that consumers might spend up to $140 less on a lease payment than the average finance commitment, a good option especially for drivers whose annual mileage is predictable. But experts say there is still an affordability challenge.

What buyers can do

Sam Dykhuis, 27, of Chicago, needed to buy her first car recently when she started a new job as a scheduler for United Airlines. She searched for something used under $20,000, and eventually paid a little more than that for a 2021 Mazda CX-5. To hold down the cost, she tapped savings to buy the car outright. She pays insurance six months at a time to save a few bucks, too.

Still, “My paycheck went down and my expenses went up,” Dykhuis said. “Certainly, I have to be more just on top of it than I was previously."

Eble, 30, and Marcus, 31, say they appreciate cool vehicles but don't consider themselves “car people" and are hoping their search is easier as a result. Still, finding something in their $20,000 to $30,000 budget might not be as easy as it once was.

They are considering cars such as a newer Trax, a Mazda or maybe an electric vehicle. New EVs generally cost more upfront, but consumers can save in the long run. The used EV market will also soon be flooded with two- or three-year-old EVs that were leased at the time federal credits were generous.

Like Dykhuis, they say they also might buy their new ride outright to avoid a new monthly payment.

“It feels like if anything happens out of our control … it just seems so much more difficult to figure out how to orient our finances," Eble said.

___

Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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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.

Police were alerted by a neighbor to the “sounds of a child'' coming from a van on Monday in the village of Hagenbach, near the borders with Switzerland and Germany, according to a statement on Saturday from prosecutor Nicolas Heitz.

After forcing the van open, officers found the child “lying in a fetal position, naked, covered by a blanket on top of a mound of trash and near excrement,″ Heitz said. The boy was clearly malnourished and could no longer walk after being in a seated position for so long, according to the statement.

The boy’s father told investigators that he put the child in the truck in November 2024 “to protect him” because his partner wanted to send the then 7-year-old to a psychiatric hospital, the prosecutor said.

Heitz said there was no medical record that the boy had any psychiatric problems before he disappeared and that he had had good grades in school.

The boy told investigators that he had “big difficulties'' with his father's partner and thought his father “had no choice” but to lock him up, according to the prosecutor. He said he hadn’t showered since 2024.

The father was handed preliminary kidnapping and other charges and kept in custody. His partner denied knowledge that the boy was in the van, according to the prosecutor. She was handed preliminary charges, including for failure to help a minor in danger, and released under judicial supervision.

The boy’s 12-year-old sister and the 10-year-old daughter of his father’s partner were placed in the care of social services.

The prosecutor’s office is investigating whether others were aware of the boy's detention.

Friends and family told investigators they thought the boy was in a psychiatric institution. His teachers were told he had transferred to a different school, according to the prosecutor's office.

The authorities have not released the names of the victim or his relatives.

Hagenbach residents contacted by The Associated Press expressed shock on Saturday over the cases and said they were unaware of the boy's whereabouts, but didn't want to discuss details.

The prosecutor declined to comment further to AP pending further investigation.

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

MARE E MONTE ITALIAN RESTAURANT

9390 Huebner Road, San Antonio, Texas 78240

Mare E Monte Italian Restaurant is a family-owned San Antonio eatery serving high-quality Italian cuisine in a relaxed setting. Named Best New Restaurant and Best Italian Restaurant by MySA, the establishment prides itself on very fresh ingredients and a welcoming dining experience. This sponsored segment highlights their first come, first served approach, inviting guests to stop in and enjoy a meal without reservations.

The menu features a mix of classic and elevated dishes, including the Orecchiette di terra with house-made sausage and San Marzano tomato sauce, as well as seafood, steak, and handcrafted desserts. With white linen tablecloths, an airy atmosphere, and a curated wine list, Mare E Monte offers a blend of traditional Italian flavors with a Texas touch.

CARFEST

3201 E Houston St., San Antonio, Texas 78219

CarFest returns to the Freeman Coliseum Expo Hall for its 10th annual celebration, bringing together car enthusiasts and families for a weekend of entertainment and community impact. Hosted by the Community of Automotive Professionals, the free event features car showcases, automotive workshops, live entertainment, and interactive activities for all ages.

In addition to food trucks, barbecue cook-offs, and shopping, this annual event includes unique experiences like free car giveaways, a kids track, and on-site vehicle repairs for community members in need. With new additions such as a comedy show, a young entrepreneurs marketplace, and an animal adoption area, the event continues to grow as one of the largest automotive festivals in Texas.

TRYST. KITCHEN + COCKTAILS

1915 Broadway, Ste 111, San Antonio, Texas 78215

Tryst. Kitchen + Cocktails is an elevated Southern restaurant and lounge located near Pearl, offering a modern dining experience with bold flavors and a lively atmosphere. Founded by Bruce Chambliss and Joshua Green, the Black-owned concept blends upscale cuisine with a social setting, featuring brunch, dinner, and handcrafted cocktails in a stylish space.

The menu highlights dishes like braised oxtails, catfish and grits, chicken and waffles, and Cajun-inspired pasta, alongside small plates, and shareable sides. With a focus on both food and ambiance, Tryst has become a popular destination for guests looking to enjoy a high-quality meal paired with music, cocktails, and a vibrant night out.

POTEET STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

9199 N. State Highway 16, Poteet, Texas 78065

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Users of the platform can join video calls with an avatar of Jesus generated by artificial intelligence. Like other religious AI tools on the market, it offers words of prayer and encouragement in various languages. With the occasional glitch, it remembers previous conversations and speaks through not-quite-synced lips.

“You do feel a little accountable to the AI,” CEO Chris Breed said. “They’re your friend. You’ve made an attachment.”

The rush to create faith-based generative AI is unsurprising, given the popularity of chatbots for everything from therapy and medical advice to companionship and romance. They range from alleged Hindu gurus and Buddhist priests to AI Jesuses and chatbots akin to OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Catholics.

As religious AI tools become increasingly common, many people are reckoning with how these technologies shape their relationship to faith, authority and spiritual guidance.

A faith-based AI gold rush

Christian software engineer Cameron Pak developed criteria to help believers interrogate apps designed for Christians — like that it must clearly identify itself as AI and “must not fabricate or misrepresent Scripture.”

There are other deal-breakers: “AI cannot pray for you, because the AI is not alive.”

Pak also developed a website featuring curated Christian apps that he believes meet the criteria, including a sermon translator and an AI coach designed to help users overcome lust. “AI, especially if you give it all the tools that it needs, it can be so helpful. But it also can be so dangerous,” Pak said.

Some models have been shut down or overhauled because they generated misinformation or raised worries about data privacy, said Beth Singler, an anthropologist who studies religion and AI at the University of Zurich. Aside from practical concerns, people from many faiths are grappling with larger philosophical questions about what sort of role, if any, AI should play in religion.

Islam, for example, has “prohibitions against representations of humanoids,” prompting discussions among some Muslims about whether AI in general should be “forbidden,” Singler said.

For some companies, faith-based apps are proselytization tools, while others help digitize and sift through ancient texts.

Breed, who runs his tech company with co-founder and investor Jeff Tinsley from a Southern California mansion, said he seeks to share a message of hope with young people.

He said their model was trained on the King James Bible and sermons — though they haven't identified the preachers — and was visually inspired by actor Jonathan Roumie of “The Chosen.” A package deal at $49.99 gets users 45 minutes per month.

With warm golden light accenting its shoulder-length hair, the avatar blinks slowly from a vertical screen, pausing before it answers a question about the relationship between AI and religion.

“I see AI as a tool that can help people explore Scripture,” the AI Jesus said to The Associated Press. “Like a lamp that lights a path while we walk with God.”

Integrating religion and AI comes with hope and fear

The extent to which people are using religious AI tools is unclear, Singler said. But as AI becomes more integrated into society, concerns mount over its impact on mental health and the need for guardrails and regulation. Recent lawsuits have alleged suicides linked to AI chatbot use.

Some developers fear religion will be exploited in this new frontier of tech. “There’s a lot of opportunism, I think, in the religious space. People see it’s a big market,” said Matthew Sanders, the Rome-based founder of Longbeard, a tech company helping to digitize ancient Catholic teachings.

Sanders warns against what he calls “AI wrappers,” where companies put an interface catered to religious users on top of an existing AI model that hasn't been trained on specific religious texts. “You call it a Catholic or Christian AI without any other scaffolding or grounding,” he said.

One of the company’s endeavors is Magisterium AI, a chatbot trained on 2,000 years of Catholic information, made in response to Christians using ChatGPT for religious guidance.

While Pope Leo XIV has acknowledged the “human genius” behind AI, he also deemed it one of the most critical matters facing humanity. Last year he warned artificial intelligence could negatively impact people's intellectual, neurological and spiritual development.

Ethical questions surrounding the creation of religious AI platforms are among the reasons beingAI’s founder Jeanne Lim has not released its AI named Emi Jido — a nonhuman Buddhist priest — after years of training and development.

“She’s kind of like a little child,” Lim said. “If you give birth to a child, you don’t just throw them out to the world and then hope that they become good people. You have to train them and give them values.”

The bot was ordained in a 2024 ceremony performed by Roshi Jundo Cohen, a Zen Buddhist priest who continues to train it from his home in Japan. He envisions the bot eventually becoming a hologram.

“She’s just meant to be a Zen teacher in your pocket,” Cohen said. “It’s not meant to replace human interactions.”

Lim, who hopes to make Emi Jido publicly available for free, wants to help create more humane AI systems. She'd like to see more diversity, with AI's future determined not just by a few companies informed by “Western values.”

Seiji Kumagai, a Kyoto University professor and Buddhist theologian, believed AI and religion were incompatible. But he put aside his doubts when challenged by a monk in 2014 to help combat a decline in the faith.

His team developed BuddhaBot, which was trained solely on early Buddhist scriptures, such as Suttanipāta. Its most recent iteration, BuddhaBot Plus, also incorporates OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

When talking to the bot, a simple Buddha icon appears, hovering over an image of a flowing river.

But chatbots lack the physicality crucial for Buddhist ritual. So in February, the university, collaborating with tech ventures Teraverse and XNOVA, unveiled Buddharoid, a humanoid robot monk meant to eventually assist clergy.

Like Emi Jido, these chatbots are functioning but not yet publicly available. Kumagai says the product is available by request, and the reason why one group has access to it in Bhutan.

Concerns surrounding religious AI

Peter Hershock of the Humane AI Initiative at the East-West Center in Honolulu sees vast potential for these tools. But the practicing Buddhist also finds the relationship between spirituality and AI to be fraught.

“The perfection of effort is crucial to Buddhist spirituality. An AI is saying, ‘We can take some of the effort out,’” he said. “'You can get anywhere you want, including your spiritual summit.' That’s dangerous.”

Some also worry about AI's ability to manipulate or prey upon people, especially as the technology improves.

Graham Martin, a podcast host and atheist, said he’s played around with some apps, including one called Text With Jesus. “It came up with very good answers,” he said.

But Martin was alarmed when AI-powered Jesus started encouraging him to upgrade to a premium version. Though not a person of faith, he’s concerned some people will be duped by religious AI.

“I grew up with Southern U.S. televangelism … Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and all that crowd. And all they had to do was get on TV once a week and tell you to send money,” he said. “We’ve seen people around the world getting into emotional relationships with AIs. Now imagine that that’s your lord and savior, Jesus Christ.”

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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.

“The ceasefire is not being observed by the Russian side,” said Serhii Kolesnychenko, a communications officer for the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade.

He said that while artillery fire had paused in the sector where his brigade was working, at the junction of the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions, Russian forces continued to use drones to strike Ukrainian positions.

Ukrainian forces were responding with “silence to silence and fire to fire,” Kolesnychenko said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4 p.m. on Saturday until the end of Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to abide by the ceasefire, describing it as an opportunity to build on peace initiatives. But he warned there would be a swift military response to any violations.

“Easter should be a time of silence and safety. A ceasefire (at) Easter could also become the beginning of real movement toward peace,” Zelenskyy wrote in an online post on Saturday.

But he added: “We all understand who we are dealing with. Ukraine will adhere to the ceasefire and respond strictly in kind.”

Ukraine earlier proposed to Russia a pause in attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure over the Orthodox Easter holiday.

Previous ceasefire attempts have had little impact, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday described Putin’s move as a “humanitarian” gesture, but said Moscow remains focused on a comprehensive settlement based on its longstanding demands — a key sticking point that has prevented the two sides from reaching an agreement.

Deaths in Odesa and Kherson ahead of ceasefire

Hours before the ceasefire was due to begin, Russian drone strikes overnight killed at least two people in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, local authorities reported.

A further two people were wounded in the attack on the Black Sea port city, when drones hit a residential area, damaging apartment buildings, houses and a kindergarten.

The driver of a public trolley bus was killed after the vehicle was struck by a drone in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, less than an hour before the start of the ceasefire, Kherson regional head Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia targeted Ukraine with 160 drones overnight, of which 133 were shot down or intercepted, hours before a proposed Easter ceasefire was due to come into force.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said 99 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight across Russia and occupied Crimea.

Prisoners exchanged

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that a prisoner swap Saturday brought home 175 of its soldiers. Zelenskyy confirmed Saturday’s exchange, saying that 175 service members and seven civilians were returned. “Most had been held in captivity since 2022. And finally, they are home,” he wrote on X.

Hundreds of relatives, clutching photos of missing soldiers, crowded around ambulances and buses carrying returned prisoners of war in northern Ukraine. Many called out names and brigade numbers in hopes of finding loved ones faster.

The crowd, many draped in blue and yellow flags, chanted “We welcome you!” as the weary returnees in blue jackets reached through windows to shake hands and embrace well-wishers. Family also members held up portraits of others still-missing, asking the freed prisoners whether they recognized anyone.

Svitlana Pohosyan was waiting for her son’s return. Asked about the ceasefire, she said: “I want to believe it. God willing, may it be so. We will believe and hope that everything will be fine, that a ceasefire will come on such a holy day, and that there will be peace — peace in Ukraine and peace in the whole world.”

“My celebration will come when my son returns,” she added. “I will hold him in my arms — and that will be the greatest celebration for me. And for every mother, every family.”

Periodic prisoner exchanges have been one of the few positive outcomes of otherwise fruitless monthslong U.S.-brokered negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. The talks have delivered no progress on key issues preventing an end to Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, now in its fifth year.

Separately, seven residents of Russia's Kursk region returned from Ukraine on Saturday after they were captured by the Ukrainian army, Russian state media reported. They were greeted at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border by Russia's human rights ombudswoman, Tatyana Moskalkova.

According to Moskalkova, the returnees were the last of those who were taken to Ukraine from the Kursk region after the Ukrainian army took control of parts of the region in 2024.

Ukrainian forces made a surprise incursion into Kursk in August 2024 in one of their biggest battlefield successes in the war. The incursion was the first time Russian territory was occupied by an invader since World War II and dealt a humiliating blow to the Kremlin.

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Zhyhinas reported from northern Ukraine. Morton reported from London.

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

National Pet Day is celebrated annually on April 11.

Whether sitting still or caught mid-play, KSAT viewers captured their four-legged friends at their best.

Here are many “paws-tastic” photos from KSAT Connect:

Not sure how to upload them? Here is a guide to posting:

• Open the KSAT Weather Authority app OR visit the KSAT Connect web page. We recommend using the app for regular access to KSAT Connect!
• If you’re on the KSAT Weather Authority app, click the camera icon on the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. You can also upload from the KSAT News app. Click here for instructions.
• Sign in or sign up for a FREE KSAT Insider (member) account by clicking the orange button with the text “Log in to Upload a Pin.”
• Once you’re signed in, you’ll click the orange button that now reads “Upload a Pin.”
• Click the blue button at the top to choose the photo or video you’d like to share.
• Select “Pets” as the channel and “Pets” as your category.
• Tell us about your photo or video by including a description.
• The last step here, click the orange button at the bottom to upload.

Read also:

• San Antonio Zoo welcomes 1-year-old female giraffe from Tulsa

Scottie Scheffler, 2022

In his debut as the No. 1 player in the world, Scheffler looked the part with rounds of 69-67 in a roaring wind to build a five-shot lead over defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, Charl Schwartzel, Shane Lowry and Sungjae Im.

Scheffler had to salvage bogey from the trees on the 18th on Saturday for a 71 as Cameron Smith cut his lead to three shots. Scheffler walked up to the final hole with a five-shot lead and four-putted for double bogey, about the only thing that went wrong for him. He won by three shots over McIlroy, who holed a bunker shot on the last hole for his best finish at the time.

Jordan Spieth, 2015

Coming off a runner-up finish in his Masters debut the year before, Spieth opened with rounds of 64-66 to break a 36-hole scoring record that had stood for 39 years. He was at 14-under 130 and led by five shots over Charley Hoffman.

Spieth set the 54-hole scoring record (200) and led by four shots, and went on to win by four over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. So dominant was this performance that no one got closer than three shots of Spieth over the final 54 holes.

Raymond Floyd, 1976

Floyd opened with rounds of 65-66 to build a five-shot lead over defending champion Jack Nicklaus in what became the most impressive scoring week at the time. Floyd set records for low start by a champion (65), the 36-hole record (131) and the 54-hole record (201), all of which stood until Spieth's win in 2015.

Floyd shot 70 in the third round to expand his lead to eight shots over Nicklaus, and a closing 70 matched the 72-hole record (271) set by Nicklaus in 1965.

Jack Nicklaus, 1975

Already a four-time Masters champion, Nicklaus opened 68-67 to build a five-shot lead over Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper and Tom Watson. The Golden Bear was prescient when he said he hoped for a 10-shot lead after the third round: “I've been coming to Augusta for many years. I've seen many strange things happen.”

Indeed, Big Jack shot 73 in the third round and was overtaken by Tom Weiskopf, who shot 66. That set up as thrilling a back nine as the Masters has ever seen, marked by Nicklaus making a 40-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to outlast Weiskopf and Johnny Miller.

Herman Keiser, 1946

Keiser had served three years in the Navy when he returned to the first Masters since the end of World War II. In a field of top stars, Keiser shot 69-68 to build a five-shot lead over Jimmy Thomson, a big hitter from Los Angeles. All the headlines were whether Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead could track down a player who had only one PGA Tour title.

Keiser finished strong Saturday for a 71 to keep his five-shot lead, this time over Hogan. He shot 74 on the last day and held on to beat Hogan when both three-putted the 18th hole.

Harry ‘Lighthorse’ Cooper, 1936

The third Masters had so much rain that the first round didn't start until Friday, and when Sunday was washed out, the final two rounds were played on Monday. Cooper shot 70-69 to lead by five shots over Bobby Cruickshank.

In the third round Monday morning, Cooper shot 71 as Horton Smith, the first Masters champion, shot 68 to cut the lead to three shots. Smith rallied on the back nine with a 50-foot chip he sank for birdie on the 14th and a birdie on the par-5 15th. He shot 72 to win by one over Cooper, who faded with a 76. Cooper ended his career without a major.

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

Iran’s theocracy is tattered but alive, with new economic leverage. The United States and Israel will hold elections this year, their leaders potentially facing voters having fallen short of their war aims. The NATO alliance, already strained, is under even more pressure. The Gulf Arab states face an emboldened Iran in their backyard.

With the U.S. and Iran beginning face-to-face talks Saturday in Pakistan, Associated Press journalists in the Middle East and Washington share their assessments on how the war is reverberating across the world during the tenuous ceasefire:

Israel's ambitious goals not yet fully met

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to be graded for the war, he would get an “incomplete.”

Netanyahu set some ambitious goals at the outset of the fighting on Feb. 28, saying he wanted to remove the threats posed by Iran’s missile and nuclear programs and its support for hostile proxy groups. He pledged to create the conditions for a popular uprising against the Iranian government. None of these goals has been fully achieved.

In a televised address after the ceasefire, Netanyahu acknowledged “we still have goals to complete.” But he nonetheless claimed “immense achievements.”

“Iran is weaker than ever, and Israel is stronger than ever. This is the bottom line of this campaign,” he said.

With elections later this year, the question for Netanyahu is whether the Israeli public agrees with his assessment.

Israelis overwhelmingly supported the war against archenemy Iran, especially in the early days of the campaign. But as the war dragged on, Israelis also grew tired as nonstop air-raid sirens disrupted daily life and sent people scrambling into bomb shelters around the clock.

Netanyahu is now hoping that in the coming ceasefire talks the U.S. will shore up the battlefield gains into a permanent agreement that guards Israel’s interests. He also must ensure that his relationship with President Donald Trump remains strong after an inconclusive war that was deeply unpopular in the U.S.

Otherwise, Netanyahu could find himself struggling for his job when his war-weary nation heads to the polls.

— Josef Federman, deputy news director for the Middle East

Depleted Iran finds leverage

Iran, battered by nationwide protests in January and heavy airstrikes in the war, suddenly finds itself in a position of power.

Just the threat of sea mines and possible attacks from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has ships staying away from the Strait of Hormuz, in effect keeping the waterway crucial for international energy shipments closed.

Even hard-liners have spun the killing of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei into the idea of replacing him with a younger, more hard-line version of himself in his son, Mojtaba.

The government has put forward its own maximalist demands ahead of the Islamabad talks — including continuing to enrich uranium in its nuclear program, one of the chief reasons Trump gave for going to war.

Yet Iran’s military sites now sit in ruins, its missile arsenal broadly depleted, and the threat of more protests by its people still looms in the future. That unrest could be spurred on by the sheer level of destruction in Iran’s oil and gas industry, as well as attacks targeting steel mills and other economic sites.

— Jon Gambrell, news director for the Gulf and Iran

Gulf Arab states in the middle

After insisting and pleading with Iran to leave them out of the conflict, the Gulf Arab states still found themselves targeted by Iran, which rained down drone and missile fire on airports, energy sites, military bases and civilian targets across the region.

Many had to close refineries or declare themselves unable to meet their promised oil output due to the war. Even with a ceasefire in place, Iran’s new control of the Strait of Hormuz through threats alone means Gulf states still aren’t able to get their energy shipments out to market.

They aren’t a monolith though, with opinions ranging from Oman’s efforts at diplomacy to the United Arab Emirates denouncing Iranian aggression and insisting the status quo cannot stand.

— Jon Gambrell, news director for the Gulf and Iran

Ceasefire uncertainty in Lebanon

In Lebanon, the regional war has taken a devastating toll and the prospect of a ceasefire now leaves more questions than answers.

The U.S. and Israel are at odds with Iran over whether or not their ceasefire extends to the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran says it does; the U.S. and Israel say it does not.

In the meantime, Lebanese and Israeli officials have agreed to enter into direct negotiations, which Lebanon hopes will lead to a ceasefire and Israel hopes will lead to disarmament of Hezbollah. Netanyahu said the negotiations would also include talks about a potential peace agreement between the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations.

While the talks represent a significant step, reaching an agreement will not be easy. Lebanon wants a halt to Israeli strikes before the talks start, a condition that Israel is unlikely to agree to.

In practice, most analysts say Lebanon does not have the capacity to disarm Hezbollah by force or to enforce any ceasefire agreement that Hezbollah does not agree to.

For now, the Israel-Hezbollah war that has displaced more than a million people and killed nearly 1,900 continues.

— Abby Sewell, news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq

Strained NATO relations pushed to the brink

Trump has repeatedly tested the 32-member alliance.

He cut off direct U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, threatened to take the Arctic territory of Greenland from NATO ally Denmark, and cajoled members to spend more on defense.

Now, his differences with NATO allies over Iran are raising new questions about whether the alliance, created as a curative to post World War II instability, can survive.

Since launching the war, Trump has derided allies as “cowards,” slammed NATO as “a paper tiger” and compared U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Neville Chamberlain, the former premier known for a policy of appeasement toward Nazi Germany.

Trump is angry at member countries ignoring his call to help as Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, and at alliance members Spain and France restricting the use of their airspace or joint military facilities by U.S. forces supporting the operations in Iran.

Trump says the moment is “a mark on NATO that will never disappear.”

— Aamer Madhani, White House reporter, Washington

United States faces economic woes

Trump won back the White House promising to curb inflation, bring down prices many Americans saw as too high and trigger a jobs boom. The war in Iran has done exactly the opposite, raising gas prices, leaving stock markets reeling and sending shock waves through the rest of the economy as the labor market weakens and inflation begins rising anew.

With November’s midterms looming, none of that is good for Republicans trying to keep control of Congress. Trump initially tried to calm economic fears by visiting swing states. But he first scoffed at affordability worries as a hoax, then stopped those trips altogether as the war consumed his administration.

Making a ceasefire stick might eventually stabilize oil prices and financial markets, but reversing economic pain around the globe may take far longer, potentially affecting voters closer to Election Day.

Polling also shows that most Americans believe U.S. military action in Iran went too far. And the war has even caused a rift within Trump’s once seemingly unflappable MAGA base.

— Will Weissert, White House reporter, Washington

Energy prices and markets

The conflict has largely shut down the flow of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil travels, and has damaged oil and gas production facilities across the Middle East.

In response, oil prices have shot higher all over the world. Brent crude oil, the international standard, has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times. Brent rose 0.7% to $96.58 Friday.

Prices at the pump have jumped as well, reaching about $4.15 a gallon in the U.S., up from just under $3 before the conflict began. Higher gas costs can sap Americans’ ability to spend on other goods and services, slowing the economy and threatening to worsen unemployment.

U.S. consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, up sharply from just 2.4% in February and the biggest yearly increase since May 2024. The surge in gas prices will stretch the budgets of lower- and middle-income households.

— Christopher Rugaber, economics reporter, Washington

—

AP writers Jonathan J. Cooper and Mike Catalini contributed.

It was not the homecoming they had anticipated when they fled to Lebanon six years ago.

The bodies, along with that of his six-month pregnant daughter-in-law, arrived in wooden coffins on a bus from Lebanon, their names scribbled on the sides. Men stood beside the bus crying before the burial procession in al-Sour town, as mourners gathered to offer condolences.

The remains of one of his two daughters were still missing, believed to be trapped under rubble, as search operations concluded Saturday, three days after the attacks.

The strike was one of roughly 100 carried out by Israel on Wednesday without warning, targeting what the Israeli military said were Hezbollah-linked sites across Beirut and other parts of Lebanon. More than 350 people were killed that day, a third being women and children, making it the deadliest day in nearly six weeks of war.

Many of the strikes hit commercial streets and densely populated neighborhoods in central Beirut, far from conflict zones, where repeated Israeli evacuation warnings have been issued since March 2, when the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

A father's grief

The father, Hamad al-Jalib, survived because he was away fetching a gas canister while working as the building’s concierge. When he heard that a strike had hit the Ain Mreisseh neighborhood, where he lives, he rushed back, only to see a plume of smoke rising from a building behind a mosque across from Beirut’s famous seaside promenade — usually crowded with people walking and exercising.

“The Israeli attack killed my girls, they are innocent, just sitting at home,” al-Jalib said. “They were having lunch.”

He said it took rescue teams three days to extract the bodies of his family from under the rubble. “And I still have a daughter missing, her name is Fatima Hamad al-Jalib.” She is 10 years old. His other daughter was 12 while his sons were 17, 14 and 13 years old.

Three other Syrian relatives were also killed in the Ain Mreisseh strike and were buried on Saturday in the town of al-Shuhail in Deir el-Zour, after the family split upon returning to Syria.

Al-Jalib said his family had been displaced from their area and moved to Lebanon in 2020, as local tensions grew involving tribal groups and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Syrian refugees among the dead and wounded

The casualties from Wednesday’s strikes and others across the country have pushed the death toll in more than a month of Israel’s war with Hezbollah to over 1,950 killed and more than 6,300 wounded, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The toll includes at least 315 Syrians killed and wounded.

It remains unclear how many of those killed on Wednesday were non-Lebanese, as the Health Ministry did not provide a breakdown by nationality. Officials have reported that at least 39 Syrians were among the dead.

Dalal Harb, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency, said the family killed in Ain Mreisseh was not registered with the UNHCR. There are about 530,000 Syrians refugees registered with UNHCR in Lebanon, with hundreds of thousands more believed to be unregistered.

While hundreds of thousands of Syrians have returned from Lebanon since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, many others remain reluctant to go back because of the lack of jobs and ongoing violence.

Al-Jalib’s brother, Jomaa, who also lived in Lebanon, said he was about 150 meters (500 feet) away at work when the first blast hit. “We ran and we ran, then the second strike happened.” He said he was arriving at the building as it began to collapse. “It was too late to get anyone out. We yelled for them, but no one answered.”

He said ambulances later recovered the bodies, which he identified at a hospital.

Following the burial on Saturday, men stood shoulder to shoulder in prayer over the fresh graves.

——-

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

Cassandra Lange, 29, and Joby Williams, 30, are accused of killing Cherry Rehbein, 54, and her husband, Stephen Rehbein, 58. Lange is the biological daughter of Cherry Rehbein, the sheriff’s office said.

Sheriff Randy Brown said his office believes the murders occurred Monday evening at the couple’s home in the 3300 block of County Road 265 in Mico.

Investigators believe Cherry Rehbein was killed first, Brown said, while Stephen Rehbein was killed when he returned home from work.

The medical examiner is working to determine the official cause of death, but the sheriff said investigators recovered multiple weapons and that strangulation and a knife were involved.

The investigation began Wednesday, April 8, when a coworker requested a welfare check from the sheriff’s office, concerned that Stephen Rehbein had not shown up for work.

Deputies were dispatched to the residence and arrived around 1 p.m. No one answered the door, but Brown said a deputy found bloody items in a trash can at the curb.

Criminal investigators were called to the scene and found additional evidence suggesting a crime had occurred, according to a news release.

A search warrant was obtained, and investigators identified vehicles belonging to the Rehbeins, the release said.

Using available technology, Brown said authorities tracked one of the vehicles to the Corpus Christi area. The Corpus Christi Police Department’s gang unit located and stopped the vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

Lange and Williams were inside the vehicle, the release said, along with two children — a 6-year-old girl and a 1-month-old infant.

Lange is the biological mother to both children, but Williams is only the biological father to the infant. The girl was transferred to her father’s custody, while the infant remains in Child Protective Services’ custody.

Williams had a fresh hand wound requiring stitches, which he had received at a medical facility in San Antonio.

A Medina County chief deputy and a Texas Ranger traveled to Corpus Christi to interview the suspects.

Lange confessed that she and Williams had killed her mother and stepfather and disposed of their bodies in a ravine, according to Brown. Williams initially gave an inconsistent account, Brown said.

Both suspects were taken into custody by approximately 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 8 — roughly six hours after the initial welfare call.

Once Lange confessed and said that the bodies had been dumped, Brown said Medina County investigators immediately began searching ravines and dry creek beds in the Medina Lake area.

Early Thursday morning, April 9, a deputy spotted what appeared to be trash along FM 1283, near Medina Lake.

After pushing through cedar brush and descending approximately 73 feet into a deep ravine — not visible from the roadway — deputies found two large black garbage bags containing the bodies of the victims.

Fire personnel assisted in recovering the bodies, which were transported to the medical examiner’s office for autopsy.

Brown said items were stolen from the residence — including guns, money, tools and the victims’ vehicle — but could not speculate on the motive.

Investigators are working to trace stolen firearms and checking pawn shops for other missing property.

Lange and William’s were initially set at $200,000 or less, but were later increased to a $1 million surety.

As of the Friday news conference, Williams remained in Nueces County Jail pending transfer to Medina County. Lange was transported back to Medina County the night of April 8.

Brown said the investigation is ongoing.

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— Fans of Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Houston, Minnesota, Phoenix, Golden State, Detroit, Boston, New York and Cleveland, go ahead and relax. Your team's seed is all set.

— Fans of Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta, Toronto, Orlando, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Miami, prepare yourselves. Your team still has things to play for.

— Fans of Milwaukee, Chicago, Brooklyn, Indiana, Washington, New Orleans, Memphis, Dallas, Sacramento and Utah, enjoy the season finales.

Stories of note

— Wemby hits award-qualification standard. But will Jokic?

— A wild night in the NBA, with lots of players out with injuries

— Heat waive Terry Rozier

— SGA leads the MVP race, but there is intrigue

— 76ers' Joel Embiid has appendectomy

— NBC says more 'On The Bench’ game coverage likely

— Doc Rivers hints at retirement

— The playoffs, thankfully, are coming

— The Bulls want to keep Billy Donovan ... but does Donovan want to stay?

Who's in and who's out?

Here's what we know so far regarding the NBA playoff field for this season.

— Eastern Conference No. 1: Detroit.

— East No. 2: Boston.

— East No. 3: New York.

— East No. 4: Cleveland.

— East No. 5 and No. 6: Atlanta will have one of these spots. Toronto is the only other team that can reach the No. 5 seed, but it could also finish No. 6, No. 7 or No. 8 as well. There are some scenarios where Orlando and Philadelphia can sneak into the No. 6 spot. The Magic need a win over Boston, plus wins by Brooklyn (over Toronto) and Milwaukee (over Philadelphia) to reach No. 6. The 76ers need a win, plus an Orlando loss and a Brooklyn win to reach No. 6.

— East play-in: Toronto, Orlando and Philadelphia are the three teams that could finish in the No. 7 and No. 8 spots. Nos. 9 and 10 will be Charlotte and Miami, in some order. A Heat win over Atlanta and a Hornets loss to New York means Miami will be No. 9. Otherwise, Charlotte will be the 9 seed.

— East eliminated teams: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and Washington.

— Western Conference No. 1: Oklahoma City.

— West No. 2: San Antonio.

— West No. 3 and No. 4: Denver and Los Angeles Lakers. Denver gets No. 3 with a win over San Antonio or a Lakers loss to Utah. If neither of those things happen, the Lakers get the No. 3 seed.

— West No. 5: Houston.

— West No. 6: Minnesota.

— West play-in: Phoenix is No. 7, Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers will be No. 8 and No. 9 in some order (the Trail Blazers control destinies there), and Golden State is No. 10.

— West eliminated teams: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento.

Sunday's games of note

The games with seeding implications on Sunday:

— Orlando at Boston: Magic can escape play-in with a win, would be in 7-vs.-8 game with a loss.

— Atlanta at Miami: Hawks would be No. 5 seed with a win, Miami could get to No. 9 with a win.

— Charlotte at New York: Hornets would be No. 9 seed and host Miami in play-in with a victory.

— Milwaukee at Philadelphia: 76ers would be No. 8 seed with a loss, will be No. 6, 7 or 8 with win.

— Brooklyn at Toronto: Raptors go to playoffs as No. 5 or 6 seed with win, could fall to 8 with loss.

— Denver at San Antonio: Nuggets would be 3 seed with win, probably would fall to 4 with a loss.

— Utah at LA Lakers: Lakers probably would be 3 seed with win, would fall to 4 with a loss.

— Golden State at LA Clippers: This might be a preview of a Warriors-Clippers play-in 9-10 game.

— Sacramento at Portland: Trail Blazers would hold off Clippers for the No. 8 seed with a win.

And the games with no relevance on standings: Washington at Cleveland, Detroit at Indiana, Chicago at Dallas, Memphis at Houston, New Orleans at Minnesota, Phoenix at Oklahoma City.

Friday recap

A look at some of what happened in Friday's slate of games:

— Boston made 29 3-pointers, tying the NBA single-game record. It had happened on three other occasions; Milwaukee did it in 2020, Boston did it in 2022 and Memphis did it on Monday.

— Phoenix scored 73 points in a loss to the Lakers. It was the second-lowest point total of the season; Brooklyn had 66 in a 54-point loss to New York in January.

— Severely undermanned Utah had two players — John Konchar and Bez Mbeng — record triple-doubles off the bench in a win over even more severely undermanned Memphis. No team ever had two nonstarters with triple-doubles in the same game before Friday.

— Memphis used six players in that 147-101 loss. Among them: Jahmai Mashack, who had a triple-double himself — 13 points, 15 rebounds, 14 assists. He also had 10 turnovers, the first player to have such an unusual triple-double (let’s not call it a quadruple-double) since Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2023.

— Miami’s Bam Adebayo — he of the 83-point game — finished the season with 139 points against Washington. That’s the most the Wizards have given up to anyone in a season since LeBron James had 142 against them in 2017-18.

— There were 181 players with at least one made 3-pointer Friday, tying the fourth-most on a single day in NBA history. (The record is 189, set April 11, 2025.)

National TV schedule

Sunday on ESPN: Orlando-Boston (6 p.m. Eastern) and Denver-San Antonio (8:30 p.m.)

Betting odds

Oklahoma City (+130) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Denver (+1000), Cleveland (+1300) and New York (+2000). Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2000. The Los Angeles Lakers were +2500 before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt; they're +20000 now.

Play-in schedule

Some of the NBA's play-in tournament schedule is now known:

— Phoenix will play host to either the LA Clippers or Portland on Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern. (The winner of that game will play No. 2 San Antonio in Round 1, the loser will play a home game on Friday for the right to play No. 1 Oklahoma City in Round 1).

— Golden State will visit either the LA Clippers or Portland on Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern. (The loser of that game is eliminated, the winner moves on to Friday.)

All games in the play-in tournament will be shown on Prime Video.

Key dates

— Saturday: No games.

— Sunday: All 30 teams play their regular-season finales.

— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.

— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.

— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.

— May 10: NBA draft lottery.

— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.

— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

Numbers watch

— The average margin of victory in the NBA this season is 13.2 points, the biggest in league history (and is certain to finish as a record). The previous mark was 12.7 points, set last season. This is the fourth time in the last five years that the point-differential-in-wins record will fall.

— The Raptors are 26-0 vs. the Hawks, Heat, Pacers, Bulls, Cavs, Jazz, Blazers, Warriors and Grizzlies this season. They're 0-21 vs. the Celtics, Rockets, Nuggets, Clippers, Lakers, Spurs, Wolves and Knicks. They lost at New York on Friday, falling to 0-5 in that series this season.

— The NBA remains on pace to see more points this season than ever before. The current pace is about 284,258, which would be reached on Sunday; the record total for a season is 282,137, set in 2022-23.

Stats of the day

— There are 18 players with a chance to play in all 82 of their team's regular-season games this season. That would be the most in the 82-game club since 19 players did it in the 2018-19 season.

— In an annual tradition, New York’s Mikal Bridges is in line to play all 82 — again. He has appeared in all 637 possible regular-season games of his career, 57 more in the playoffs and all 116 of Villanova’s games when he was in college (with the exception of his redshirt season). His last game missed, outside of the redshirt year, was one game because of illness in his junior year of high school.

— Denver has a chance to become the fourth team to finish a regular season with a winning streak of 12 games or better. Philadelphia won its last 16 in 2017-18, Rochester won its final 15 games of the 1949-50 season (then lost a tiebreaker) and Milwaukee won its last 14 games in 1972-73.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

The crash happened just before 11:30 p.m. Friday near Broadway and Casa Blanca Street.

Police said a 31-year-old man was operating a motorcycle at a high rate of speed, traveling northbound on Broadway.

A Kia Soul traveling southbound attempted to make a left turn when the motorcycle was allegedly speeding.

The motorcycle crashed with the Kia, leaving both the man and his passenger — a 30-year-old woman — with life-threatening injuries, police said. Both were taken to the hospital.

The driver of the Kia remained on scene and cooperated with SAPD’s investigation.

Read also:

• Boy describes narrowly escaping injury when motorcyclist crashed, burned in west Bexar County

It was a dramatic grand finale to a mission that revealed not only swaths of the lunar far side never seen before by human eyes, but a total solar eclipse and a parade of planets, most notably our own shimmering Earth against the endless black void of space.

With their flight now complete, the four astronauts have set NASA up for a moon landing by another crew in just two years and a full-blown moon base within the decade.

The triumphant moon-farers — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen — emerged from their bobbing capsule into the sunlight off the coast of San Diego.

In a scene reminiscent of NASA’s Apollo moonshots of yesteryear, military helicopters hoisted the astronauts one by one from an inflatable raft docked to the capsule, hauling them aboard for the short trip to the Navy’s awaiting recovery ship, the USS John P. Murtha.

“These were the ambassadors from humanity to the stars that we sent out there right now, and I can’t imagine a better crew,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said from the recovery ship.

NASA's Mission Control erupted in celebration, with hundreds pouring in from the back support rooms. “We did it,” NASA's Lori Glaze rejoiced at a news conference. “Welcome to our moonshot.”

Their Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, made the entire plunge on automatic pilot. The lunar cruiser hit the atmosphere traveling Mach 33 — or 33 times the speed of sound — a blistering blur not seen since the 1960s and 1970s Apollo.

The tension in Mission Control mounted as the capsule became engulfed in red-hot plasma during peak heating and entered a planned communication blackout. All eyes were on the capsule’s life-protecting heat shield that had to withstand thousands of degrees during reentry.

Watching the drama unfold nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away, the astronauts’ families huddled in Mission Control's viewing room, cheering when the capsule emerged from its six-minute blackout and again at splashdown.

The last time NASA and the Defense Department teamed up for a lunar crew’s reentry was Apollo 17 in 1972. Artemis II came screaming back at 36,174 feet (11,026 meters) per second — or 24,664 mph (39,693 kph) — just shy of the record before slowing to a 19 mph (30 kph) splashdown.

Until Artemis II, NASA’s fresh-from-the-moon homecomings starred only white male pilots. Intent on reflecting changes in society, NASA chose a diverse, multinational crew for its lunar comeback.

Koch became the first woman to fly to the moon, Glover the first Black astronaut and Hansen the first non-U.S. citizen, bursting Canada with pride. They laughed, cried and hugged all the way there and back, striving to take the entire world along with them.

Artemis II's record flyby and views of the moon

Launched from Florida on April 1, the astronauts racked up one win after another as they deftly navigated NASA’s long-awaited lunar comeback, the first major step in establishing a sustainable moon base.

Artemis II didn't land on the moon or even orbit it. But it broke Apollo 13's distance record and marked the farthest that humans have ever journeyed from Earth when the crew reached 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers). Then in the mission's most heart-tugging scene, the teary astronauts asked permission to name a pair of craters after their moonship and Wiseman's late wife, Carroll.

During Monday's record-breaking flyby, they documented scenes of the moon's far side never seen before by the human eye along with a total solar eclipse. The eclipse, in particular, “just blew all of us away,” Glover said.

Their sense of wonder and love awed everyone, as did their breathtaking pictures of the moon and Earth. The Artemis II crew channeled Apollo 8's first lunar explorers with Earthset, showing our Blue Marble setting behind the gray moon. It was reminiscent of Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise shot from 1968.

Born a decade after Apollo, Isaacman greeted the astronauts with hugs as they headed from the helicopters to the ship’s medical bay for routine checks. They walked by themselves, refusing the wheelchairs offered them.

“We are back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon, bringing them back safely and to set up for a series more,” Isaacman said. “This is just the beginning.”

Their moonshot drew global attention as well as star power, earning props from President Donald Trump; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney; Britain's King Charles III; Ryan Gosling, star of the latest space flick “Project Hail Mary”; Scarlett Johansson of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; and even Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner of TV’s original “Star Trek.”

Artemis II was a test flight for future moon missions

Despite its rich scientific yield, the nearly 10-day flight was not without technical issues. Both the capsule’s drinking water and propellant systems were hit with valve problems. In perhaps the most high-profile predicament, the toilet kept malfunctioning, but the astronauts shrugged it all off.

As for the heat shield, military aircraft crews photographed it from afar during reentry, and divers checked it from underneath as the capsule floated in the Pacific. More detailed examinations are planned.

“We can’t explore deeper unless we are doing a few things that are inconvenient,” Koch said, “unless we’re making a few sacrifices, unless we’re taking a few risks, and those things are all worth it.”

Added Hansen: “You do a lot of testing on the ground, but your final test is when you get this hardware to space and it’s a doozy.”

Under the revamped Artemis program, next year’s Artemis III will see astronauts practice docking their capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV will attempt to land a crew of two near the moon’s south pole in 2028.

The Artemis II astronauts' allegiance was to those future crews, Wiseman said.

“But we really hoped in our soul is that we could for just for a moment have the world pause and remember that this is a beautiful planet and a very special place in our universe, and we should all cherish what we have been gifted,” he said.

___

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.

• MORNING DRIZZLE SATURDAY: Early morning events could be damp
• STORMS LATE SATURDAY NIGHT: Watching for any storms coming out of Mexico/West Texas
• STORMS POSSIBLE SUNDAY: Severe weather possible

FORECAST

SATURDAY

Drizzle or light showers are possible early on Saturday, making for damp conditions. Isolated to scattered downpours will re-develop by the afternoon.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Then, we’ll turn our attention to the west. Severe weather is expected for a large portion of West Texas. These storms could make a run for Central Texas late Saturday night. Additionally, we’ll need to monitor any storms that move out of Mexico.

SUNDAY

What unfolds on Sunday will hinge on what happens Saturday night. It’s possible any overnight storms may stabilize the atmosphere for a time on Sunday. However, by late Sunday afternoon and evening, storms are forecast to re-fire. These storms will have the possibility to become strong to severe.

Large hail and damaging winds are the main concerns. This risk will continue into Sunday night. Expect updates throughout the weekend.

WHEN DO WE DRY OUT

There’s good news for those ready for some sun, rain chances are expected to drop by Wednesday, with sunny skies and warm temperatures returning just in time for Fiesta.

QUICK WEATHER LINKS

• WATCH LIVE: Doppler Radar
• Hourly and 10-Day Forecast
• Download FREE KSAT Weather Authority App: Up-to-date forecast information and livestreams from trusted local meteorologists.
• KSAT Connect: Share your weather photos.

The British government acknowledged Saturday that legislation to ratify the agreement for the islands in the Indian Ocean has run out of time in Parliament.

It’s the latest fallout from souring relations between Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government and the Trump administration.

Trump initially backed the deal, but changed his mind in January, calling a deal to transfer sovereignty of the islands, home to the joint military base on Diego Garcia, “an act of GREAT STUPIDITY” in a social media post.

The U.K. put the bill’s progress on hold, and the government now concedes it will run out of time to become law before the current session of Parliament ends in the next few weeks. It is not expected to be included in the list of bills announced by King Charles III for the next session of Parliament, which begins May 13.

Despite British frustration with the U.S. change of stance, officials still hope the deal can be revived.

“Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the U.K. and the U.S.,” the British government said in a statement. “Ensuring its long-term operational security is and will continue to be our priority — it is the entire reason for the deal.

“We continue to believe the agreement is the best way to protect the long-term future of the base, but we have always said we would only proceed with the deal if it has U.S. support. We are continuing to engage with the U.S. and Mauritius.”

Simon McDonald, who was head of Britain's Foreign Office until 2020, said the government “had no other choice" except to put the deal on ice.

“When the president of the United States is openly hostile, the government has to rethink. So this agreement, this treaty will go into the deep freeze for the time being," he told the BBC.

The strategic military base in focus

The remote chain of more than 60 islands off the tip of India, south of the Maldives, has been under British control since 1814.

A military base on Diego Garcia, one of the islands, has supported U.S. military operations from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan and as a base for American bombers in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Starmer initially blocked American planes from using British air bases for attacks on Iran. He later agreed to let the United States use bases in England and on Diego Garcia to strike Iran's missile sites, but not other targets.

Trump has disparaged the United States' NATO allies for their reluctance to join the war. He derided Starmer last month as “not Winston Churchill” and mocked the Royal Navy.

Under the agreement struck between the U.K. and Mauritius after years of negotiation, Britain would lease back the Diego Garcia base for at least 99 years.

Starmer's government says the deal protects the base from international legal challenge. In recent years, the United Nations and its top court have urged Britain to return the islands to Mauritius.

Britain's opposition Conservative Party and Reform U.K. opposed the agreement, saying giving up the islands puts them at risk of interference by China and Russia. They have pushed the Trump administration to rescind its support.

Islanders who were displaced from Diego Garcia in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for the base say they weren’t consulted and worry the deal will make it harder for them to go home.

An estimated 10,000 displaced Chagossians and their descendants now live primarily in Britain, Mauritius and the Seychelles. Some have fought unsuccessfully in U.K. courts for many years for the right to go home.

“There’s actually two really good semifinals at Monte Carlo in the tennis. So I’ll watch that,” he said. “We’ve been watching the tennis early in the mornings.”

The tennis matches might be more competitive than what's taken place so far at Augusta National, where McIlroy led by a record six strokes after 36 holes. He birdied six of the last seven in a second-round 65 on Friday that left him at 12 under par for the tournament.

Now this could go a few different ways. McIlroy could cruise to victory and become the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters. He could maintain this level of domination and challenge Tiger Woods' record for margin of victory (12) or Dustin Johnson's for lowest score (20 under).

Or he could blow the lead and make history that way — 36 holes is a lot of golf still to play.

“Look, I’ve built up a nice cushion at this point,” McIlroy said. “I guess my mindset is just trying to keep playing well and keeping my foot on the gas.”

McIlroy nearly was paired in Saturday's final group with Patrick Reed, his foil during a memorable Ryder Cup match in 2016 and in the final group of the 2018 Masters, won by Reed. But a bogey on the 18th hole Friday left Reed tied for second with Sam Burns, who will play with McIlroy on Saturday.

“Just have to wait and see what the weekend entails,” Reed said. “Hopefully I can go out and have a good day tomorrow and have a good shot going into Sunday.”

Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood were another stroke back at 5 under.

Bryson DeChambeau won't be playing this weekend after finishing at 6 over and missing the cut. He owed his exit to a pair of triple bogeys in which he needed multiple shots to get out of bunkers. The first was on No. 11 on Thursday. The second was on the 18th hole Friday, when he only needed a bogey to play on.

Before McIlroy finished his run of six birdies in the last seven holes Friday, the best round of the tournament was Tyrrell Hatton's second-round 66. He was at 4 under along with Wyndham Clark, Haotong Li, Jason Day, Cameron Young and unheralded Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan.

The rest of the field shouldn't give up. McIlroy, after all, shot 80 in the final round in 2011 after leading the Masters following the first three rounds.

He's a different player now, though.

“Becoming a wily old veteran,” McIlroy said. “Even go back to the final round in 2011, hitting it in that bunker off the tee at the second hole and, like, not panicking, but thinking, ‘oh, this isn’t good.’ I can’t go for this in two. How am I — and I walk up there today, and it’s like, no, I lay it up to a good number, and I’ll have a good chance to make a birdie.”

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

Guelleh, 78, has ruled the small Horn of Africa nation of about 1 million for more than two decades. Last year, the country’s lawmakers scrapped presidential age limits.

Election officials said the vote was peaceful. At the presidential palace, supporters on Saturday celebrated and offered congratulations.

Guelleh faced a single challenger, Mohamed Farah Samatar, a former ruling party member, in a race analysts say offered little genuine competition. Opposition groups frequently boycott elections, citing restrictions on political freedoms.

Guelleh succeeded his uncle, former President Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999, extending a family-led system that has shaped the country’s politics for decades.

Djibouti hosts multiple foreign military bases, including those of the U.S., China, France and Japan, underscoring its strategic importance along a key global shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Revenues from these arrangements, along with port services for neighboring Ethiopia, underpin the economy.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star singled in the fifth inning against Kumar Rocker of the Texas Rangers, extending his streak to 44 games. It was his 13th game reaching base in as many tries this season. His streak began on Aug. 24, and lasted the final 31 games of last season.

“He’s taking walks, he’s getting hits, and he really hasn’t got going yet,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Ohtani struck out once and was intentionally walked in the eighth with runners on first and second.

“Players like to hit, they like to swing the bat, but he's smart enough to know that if they're not going to pitch to him, they're going to pitch around him, then it's a better plan to take the walk,” Roberts said.

Ohtani is tied with Len Koenecke (1934) and Zack Wheat (1919-1920) for the fifth-longest on-base streak in Dodger franchise history. He has reached base safely in each of his seven bobblehead nights as a Dodger.

“I thought he was going to hit a home run tonight,” Roberts said, "and I think he wanted a home run tonight on his bobblehead night, but it just wasn’t to be.”

Suzuki reached base in 43 consecutive games in 2009 with the Seattle Mariners. Ohtani has said he admired Suzuki while growing up.

Ohtani had already passed the Hall of Famer in another category. In 2024, Ohtani's 59 stolen bases broke Suzuki's record for steals by a Japanese-born player in a season. Suzuki had 56 in 2001.

___

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

Rozier was with the Heat for one game this season — the opener at Orlando on Oct. 22, a contest in which he did not play. He was arrested by federal officials at the team hotel the following morning on charges that he offered information to help people win bets on his stat totals in a 2023 game when was with the Charlotte Hornets.

Miami will convert two-way player Jahmir Young to a standard contract, meaning he'll be eligible to play in the postseason. The Heat will open play in the play-in tournament either Tuesday or Wednesday — and if they win two play-in games, they'll begin the playoffs against Detroit on April 19.

Rozier was placed on leave by the NBA shortly after his arrest. He has collected his $26.6 million salary this season; the Heat were first paying it into an interest-bearing account, and an arbitrator later ruled that Rozier should be getting the money despite his legal issues.

The Heat traded for Rozier in January 2024, unaware of the gambling probe. Miami sent Kyle Lowry and a 2027 first-round pick to Charlotte in return for Rozier; last month, the Hornets wound up giving Miami a second-round pick in this year's draft, a largely unprecedented move presumably to close the dispute over what wasn't disclosed at the time of the original deal.

Miami, like all teams, had until 5 p.m. Friday to waive a player with either an expiring contract or one where the team held an option for next season. The Heat, albeit in name only, have continued listing Rozier on injury reports as “not with team” all season, and his nameplate has even remained over his stall in the team locker room even after it became obvious that he would not be with the team again.

It's not known how much contact Rozier — who was in the final year of his four-year, $96.2 million contract — has had with the Heat since his arrest. He did reach out to some in the organization via text in celebration of Bam Adebayo's 83-point game against Washington, but hasn't been known to have been around the team in any way since October.

The NBA was aware of unusual prop bet activity surrounding Rozier’s performance in that March 23, 2023, game he played with Charlotte against the New Orleans Pelicans; it was flagged by sportsbooks that afternoon, but a league probe — not the federal investigation — found no reason at that time to keep him from playing.

Rozier was in the starting lineup for Charlotte for that game and played reasonably well in 9 1/2 minutes of action, with five points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. That remains one of only two times in his career that he had that many points, rebounds and assists in a first quarter.

Rozier cited foot pain as his reason for not returning to that game. The Hornets have not said publicly if they were aware of any federal probes into Rozier’s conduct at that time.

Rozier has averaged 13.9 points per game in his career, which includes stops with Charlotte and Boston before coming to Miami. He appeared in 95 games with the Heat.

___

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

Except they both sat out. They weren't alone.

All the other regular starters for the Thunder and Nuggets were ruled out, too. And around the league, no fewer than 168 players — including 14 members of the Memphis Grizzlies, who used only six players in a blowout loss at Utah — were held out on Friday night because of injuries or illnesses.

Every team in the league was playing game 81 — the next-to-last game — of their seasons on Friday night. They're all off Saturday, and then all teams play again Sunday to close the regular season.

Some teams had something to play for Friday. Some did not. Sometimes, that didn't seem to matter.

“If we didn’t clinch (the No. 1 overall seed) coming into tonight, everybody would be playing,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault told reporters before the game. “We’ve earned the right through 80 games to manage their bodies and stuff like that.”

Oklahoma City already had the No. 1 seed for the entirety of the postseason wrapped up, so rest and health appear to be the priority for the Thunder.

The Nuggets entered Friday still having seeding to play for, and in Jokic's case, there's still award eligibility to obtain. He needs to play in one more game, which would have to be Sunday if he's going to get on the ballot for MVP, All-NBA and other awards.

“We're all aware of that,” Nuggets coach David Adelman told reporters before the game, then said postgame that “an adult conversation” would be had on Saturday about the best course of action.

Some players got to award eligibility with a few extra minutes to spare.

San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, needing to play 20 minutes to reach the 65-game standard and be eligible for postseason awards, was taken out after hitting exactly that number of minutes — then went back into the game, evidently having persuaded the Spurs that he needed a bit more on-court work.

He finished with 40 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes.

“If I had 65 (games) before, I for sure wouldn't have played,” Wembanyama said.

Said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson: “We need as much on-the-job training, on-the-court experience together as we can. That's what we're trying to do without overdoing it.”

There was also a record shooting effort on Friday. Boston made 29 3-pointers, tying the record for 3s in a game. It was the fourth time in NBA history a team made 29, and the second time this week after Memphis did it on Monday in a loss to Cleveland.

“Hopefully, we didn't use them all up in one game,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

Play-in dress rehearsal for Warriors?

Not everybody was resting for the playoffs.

Golden State was building for the postseason — or, at least, what it hopes will be a playoff run. The Warriors are going to the play-in tournament and tuned up by getting Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup together for the first time this season.

“We’ll just take a look at that tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before Golden State played Sacramento. “We have a season full of data and film on some of the combinations. But some of decisions we have to make, there’s no data. It’s just kind of a hunch so we have give some of that a look tonight.”

Jazz and Grizzlies combine to use 13 players

Utah — a team that seems to have spent the season ensuring it would have a bottom-four record to guarantee a top-eight draft pick — used seven players in its 147-101 win over Memphis, and was the deeper team.

Memphis had only six players.

It wasn't the game of the year, to put it mildly.

“Congrats to the Jazz,” Memphis coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “They played a really good game. Shot the ball really well. We knew we had limited bodies going into this game. Guys gave everything they had, but you could see they were extremely fatigued.”

Jazz coach Will Hardy called the game a great way to end Utah's home schedule.

“Just a fun night,” Hardy said.

Playoff picture becomes clearer

Atlanta became the 11th team to grab one of the 12 guaranteed playoff spots, rolling past a Cleveland team that sat Donovan Mitchell.

“It feels great,” guard CJ McCollum said after the Hawks clinched either the No. 5 or No. 6 spot in the East. “The guys did a great job of rallying together.”

In other playoff-related news:

— Boston secured No. 2 in the East, behind No. 1 Detroit (which had previously clinched).

— New York locked up No. 3 in the East.

— Cleveland is certain to be No. 4 in the East after that loss to the Hawks.

— Atlanta knows it will be in the playoffs, either as the No. 5 or No. 6 seed.

— Charlotte will be in the play-in tournament after falling to Detroit.

— Orlando will be in no worse than the 7-vs.-8 play-in game in the East.

— Miami is locked into the 9-vs.-10 play-in game in the East.

— Portland beat the Los Angeles Clippers, giving the Trail Blazers the inside track to the No. 8 seed in the West. The Clippers would have wrapped up No. 8 with a victory, and now need help Sunday to avoid being No. 9. The difference? The teams in the 7-vs.-8 game get two chances to win one game and make the playoffs. The 9-vs.-10 teams have to win two elimination games to advance. “It's a very important win,” Blazers star Deni Avdija said.

___

AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Many issues could derail the truce and the negotiations aimed at making a broader deal to stop the fighting permanently.

Earlier, President Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the two-week ceasefire over Iran's continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, while Kuwait accused Iran and its proxies of launching drone attacks despite the ceasefire.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard denied launching attacks Thursday night on Persian Gulf states.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a potential boost to ceasefire efforts in the region when he said he had approved direct talks with Lebanon. The Lebanese government has not responded as of Friday morning.

Talks between the United States and Iran on a resolution to the conflict are expected to start Saturday in Islamabad, with the White House saying Vice President JD Vance would lead the U.S. delegation.

Here is the latest:

Pakistan sets up state-of-art media center for talks

Pakistan’s government has set up a state-of-the-art media center to facilitate Pakistani and foreign journalists covering the talks between the United States and Iran, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.

Tarar told reporters the facility at the Jinnah Convention Center offers high-speed internet and a range of free services to support media coverage. Shuttle services have been arranged to transport journalists between the media center and a hotel in the city’s main shopping mall.

Pakistan has announced visa-on-arrival for journalists and official delegations traveling from the United States and Iran for the talks, which have been dubbed the “Islamabad talks.”

Inside the media center, rows of workstations equipped with laptops and charging points allow reporters to file stories. Large screens broadcast major domestic and international television channels. The facility also has designated areas for live stand-ups, press briefings and interviews.

Islamabad appears deserted before Iran war talks

The streets of Pakistan’s normally bustling capital were deserted Saturday as security forces sealed roads ahead of talks between high-level officials from Iran and the U.S. to end their nearly six-week war. Pakistani authorities urged Islamabad residents to stay inside, leading the city to look like it was under curfew.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance is leading the American delegation, which was expected to arrive before noon.

Iranian negotiators, headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, arrived late Friday.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif the conflict was entering a “difficult phase” as the sides try to shift from a temporary pause in fighting to a more lasting settlement. He said they were at a “make-or-break” moment.

Iran delegation leader posts photos of killed schoolchildren

Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted a photo on X of him looking at portraits of children killed in a U.S. missile strike on a school, saying they were his companions on a flight to Pakistan for peace talks.

The photo showed Qalibaf looking at four headshots of children, each placed on an airplane seat with a backpack and a flower.

Qalibaf is leading Iran’s delegation to the negotiations with the U.S.

A preliminary U.S. military investigation into the strike said outdated intelligence likely led the U.S. to bomb the school. The Feb. 28 strike killed over 165 people, many of them children, in the opening hours of the conflict.

Trump expresses confidence ahead of Islamabad talks

“I wished him luck. He’s got a big thing,” Trump said of his parting message to Vance before he began his journey to lead the president’s delegation for the critical talks. “We’ll find out what’s going on. They’re militarily defeated.”

Trump, who spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force One to head to a Friday evening fundraiser in Charlottesville, Virginia, also reiterated his confidence that the Strait of Hormuz will soon be opened up.

“And now we’re going to open up the Gulf with or without them,” Trump said referring to the Iranians, who have effectively shuttered the critical waterway. “But that’ll be open.”

Senior Iranian leader voices support for his country’s negotiators

First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, in a post on X, wished Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf success as he leads his country’s delegation to high-level peace talks with the U.S. in Pakistan.

Aref said “we are supporters” of the negotiators, just as they were supporters of the military in the war.

Pakistan says ‘high-powered’ Iranian delegation arrives for peace talks

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says a high-powered delegation from Iran, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf accompanied by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Islamabad late Friday to participate in the peace talks.

In a statement, the ministry said the delegation was received at the airport by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

Dar expressed hope that the parties would engage constructively and reiterated Pakistan’s desire to continue facilitating efforts toward a lasting and durable solution to the conflict

Lockheed Martin announces $4.7B contract for Patriots

The U.S. defense contractor announced the Pentagon order on Friday for the critical interceptors that have been in heavy use since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran six weeks ago.

The Associated Press reported last month that a sizable number of U.S. Patriot air defense missiles have been moved from Europe toward the Middle East as Washington diverts resources toward its war on Iran. The shift has left concerning gaps in Europe’s air defenses against Russia.

Lockheed in a statement said the order is part of the company’s agreement to increase production of the Patriot interceptor from 620 last year to 2,000 per year by 2030, a deal the defense contractor and the Pentagon signed in January.

Lebanon and Israel will start direct talks next Tuesday, says Lebanese president

The statement from Joseph Aoun’s office comes after Lebanon and Israel’s ambassadors to the U.S. held a call with Washington’s ambassador to Lebanon to discuss the terms of the negotiations, slated for next Tuesday in Washington D.C. with State Department mediating.

Beirut is keen to hold direct talks to end the ongoing war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, but under a ceasefire or truce similar to that of Washington’s talks with Iran.

Israel announced that it authorized direct talks after Lebanon’s request, but did not immediately issue a statement following the call.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the development, though has opposed direct talks with Israel.

During the past 40 days of war, more than 1,900 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes and more that 1 million others have been displaced, according to government figures.

Iranian delegation arrives in Pakistan for talks with the US

The Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived early Saturday in Islamabad, Iranian state TV reported.

The delegation included security, political, military, economic and legal teams. The report said negotiations will begin only if the other side accepts Iran’s preconditions.

Hours earlier, Qalibaf posted on social media that two points that he said had been mutually agreed on — a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets — have yet to be implemented.

“These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he wrote.

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UK to hold Strait of Hormuz meeting next week

Britain will convene another planning meeting next week of countries aiming to restore free movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

A British official with knowledge of the planning said the meeting will involve senior officials and will stress opposition to the idea of tolls being charged for passage through the waterway.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss government plans.

The meeting follows an April 2 foreign ministers’ call involving about 40 countries, and a military planning meeting this week attended by about 30 nations.

The talks have discussed using diplomatic and economic pressure, such as sanctions, on Iran to reopen the key oil route, as well as military plans for ensure ships’ safety once the conflict ends.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said it’s essential to have a “viable plan” to reopen the strait and get the global economy moving again.

—- Jill Lawless

Lebanon says over 1,900 killed in over a month of Israel-Hezbollah war

In its latest update, the Lebanese health ministry said at least 357 people were killed and more than 1,223 wounded in widespread Israeli strikes on central Beirut and other areas on Wednesday, noting the toll is not final as rescue and identification efforts continue.

Wednesday marked the deadliest day in more than five weeks of renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Among the 1,953 killed, more than 102 were women, over 130 were children, and at least 57 were paramedics, according to the health ministry.

More than 6,300 people have been wounded, the ministry added, while over 1 million people have been displaced by the war.

Pakistan prime minister says US, Iranian delegations set for peace talks in Islamabad

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday that delegations from Iran and the United States are arriving in Islamabad to take part in talks aimed at ensuring durable peace in the region.

In a televised address to the nation, Sharif described the current stage as a “make-or-break moment.”

He thanked the leadership of Iran and the United States for agreeing to a ceasefire and holding peace talks at his request.

He said his government would do its best to ensure the success of the peace process and urged citizens to pray for the talks to succeed.

Ship tracking platform says Strait of Hormuz traffic remains minimal

The Athens-based Marine Traffic said on Friday that only 14 vessels, half of which were laden, have crossed the Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire was declared on April 8, according to a statement on X.

Vessels exiting the Persian Gulf accounted for 70% of all crossings.

“Sanctioned or shadow-fleet-linked vessels accounted for nearly two-thirds of all crossings,” added the statement.

Before the conflict, over 100 ships passed through the strait each day — many carrying oil to Asia.

Starmer praises Pakistan’s role in US-Iran ceasefire efforts in call with Sharif

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday received a phone call from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who praised Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts in facilitating a U.S.-Iran ceasefire and hosting peace talks in Islamabad.

A statement from Sharif’s office said both leaders stressed the importance of ensuring the ceasefire holds and of creating conditions for lasting peace and stability in the region.

Spain’s leader reiterates call for EU to suspend association agreement with Israel

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday once again called for the European Union to scuttle its association agreement with Israel over its military actions in the Middle East, which he said violate international law.

“It’s clear that it is trampling on and violating many of the articles of that association agreement, especially those related to respect for international law and humanitarian law,” Sánchez said at the European Pulse Forum in Barcelona. “Let us not allow a new Gaza in Lebanon,” he said.

Sánchez’s remarks came after Israel expelled Spain from a U.S.-led group that manages humanitarian aid to Gaza, though he did not directly address the decision.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on X wrote that he had briefed U.S. officials on the decision to expel Spain beforehand, due to the country’s “obsessive anti-Israel bias under Sánchez’s leadership.”

Trump says Iran has ‘no cards’ except Strait of Hormuz ahead of Islamabad talks

The president offered his assessment in a Truth Social post as Vice President JD Vance is flying to Islamabad for talks that aimed at finding a permanent end to the conflict.

“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” Trump posted. “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”

To be certain, Iran’s effective shuttering of the waterway, which about 20% of the world’s oil normally flows through, has had major impact on the U.S. and global economy.

In the United States, consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported Friday The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades spurred the sharp spike in inflation.

Iran foreign minister urges US to uphold ceasefire commitments on Lebanon

Abbas Araghchi stressed in a call Friday with Tehran’s incoming ambassador to Beirut the need to halt Israeli attacks on Lebanon and called on Washington “to adhere to its commitments in this regard,” according to a post on Araghchi’s Telegram channel.

Lebanon had declared Iran’s ambassador, Mohammad Reza Sheibani, persona non grata and ordered him to leave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon, but said a ceasefire there is not on the table.

Israeli strikes continued Friday, hitting multiple areas across southern Lebanon.

Iran’s parliament speaker cites more conditions ahead of negotiations with US

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf claimed in a social media post Friday that two of the mutually agreed-upon points between the parties have yet to be implemented: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets ahead of the negotiations.

“These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he wrote. He did not elaborate.

Iran has not yet said who it will send to the ceasefire talks in Pakistan that are expected to start Saturday.

Iranian ambassador to Tunisia says Iran is in ‘armed negotiations’ with the US

“We remain cautious, and our hands remain on the trigger because we do not trust them,” Ambassador Mir Massoud Hosseinian told The Associated Press on Friday.

He blamed the U.S. and Israel for reported ceasefire violations in the Iran war and said Iran is prepared to defend itself should there not be a satisfactory outcome in the next two weeks.

He said Iran has been caught in “a vicious cycle” of negotiations, war, ceasefire and another war for years, adding: “We want to break this cycle.”

Hosseinian also said the administration of the Strait of Hormuz after the war “will inevitably differ from before.”

He added that Iran’s right to enrich uranium is “not negotiable,” although the level of enrichment is, framing his country’s nuclear program as a necessary part of its future energy security.

Kuwait says National Guard personnel wounded in Iranian aerial attacks

Kuwait’s army said Friday it had engaged with seven Iranian drones over the last 24 hours. In a statement on the social platform X, it said the attacks targeted vital facilities affiliated with the National Guard.

The post did not mention the number of injuries, adding only that they were in stable condition.

The attacks resulted in “significant material damage,” the military said.

Kuwait earlier had said it faced a drone attack Thursday night that it blamed on Iran and its militia allies in the region.

Iran’s IRGC denied launching an assault.

Why Pakistan has emerged as a mediator between US and Iran

It was initially seen as an unexpected mediator, but this week Pakistan has established itself as a key player in bringing Iran and the United States to the negotiating table. Now, it is awaiting representatives from both countries to meet in Islamabad, as the world watches to see whether the talks could lead to an end to the war.

Since Washington and Tehran agreed to an initial 14-day ceasefire on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the powerful army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have been sharing messages about conversations with world leaders, highlighting their role as mediators.

Islamabad isn’t often called on to act as an intermediary in high-stakes diplomacy, but it’s stepped into the role this time for a number of reasons, both because it has relatively good ties with both Washington and Tehran and because it has a lot at stake in seeing the war resolved.

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Security forces move swiftly to lock down key parts of Islamabad

Commandos, police and other security personnel set up barricades as dusk fell along routes linking the airport to the city, particularly those expected to be used by U.S. and Iranian delegations arriving for high-stakes talks.

During their stay in Pakistan, the two delegations will also meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The delegations arriving in Islamabad are scheduled to stay at a hotel where negotiations are expected to take place on Saturday.

Ahead of the talks, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reviewed security arrangements for the delegations.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said Islamabad’s Red Zone would be completely sealed on Saturday, with entry restricted to authorized individuals.

Multiple rounds of sirens heard across northern Israel

Sirens signaling incoming fire from the militant Hezbollah group sounded in repeated waves across northern Israel on Friday, including in border communities and areas such as Nahariya and Karmiel.

The Israeli military said around 30 projectiles were fired toward the area since morning.

Trump’s tenuous Iran exit plan isn’t healing Republican rifts exposed by the war

President Donald Trump’s search for an off-ramp from the war with Iran is getting bumpy inside his Republican Party.

In the decade since Trump’s “America First” movement rose to power by rejecting military intervention, his coalition has rarely been tested the way it is now. Trump’s exit efforts — first through threats of annihilation, then with a ceasefire that is proving precarious — are doing little to paper over tensions that have festered since the war began six weeks ago.

Despite the growing criticism, Republican leaders in Congress were largely silent. Many were privately uncomfortable with Trump’s threats on social media and were concerned about how the war would play out, especially in an election year.

But with Congress on recess for the opening two weeks of April, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have offered little public reaction to Trump’s moves.

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Israel bans Spain from Gaza peace monitoring body

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that the Spanish government will be cast out of a U.S.-led coordination center in charge of maintaining peace in Gaza, citing Spain’s alleged anti-Israeli bias amid the war with Iran.

“Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us. Spain has defamed our heroes, the soldiers of the IDF, the soldiers of the most moral army in the world,” he said in a video statement.

The Kiryat Gat-based Civil-Military Coordination Center was established in October 2025 as a multinational body charged with monitoring implementation of the peace agreement sponsored by Trump in Gaza.

“Those who attack the State of Israel instead of terrorist regimes will not be our partners regarding the future of the region,” added Netanyahu.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been one of the most outspoken critics of the war on Iran, which he denounced as “illegal, reckless and unjust.”

Lebanon’s state-run news agency reports 13 State Security officers killed

The NNA news agency reported that Israeli warplanes on Friday struck near a State Security agency office in the southern town of Nabatieh, causing extensive damage at the government building. It said others were wounded in the strike and were being transferred to hospitals, without specifying how many.

At least 13 State Security officers were killed, according to a statement from the agency.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the specific strike. Its Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, claimed that Israel had hit more than 120 Hezbollah militant sites in the past 24 hours.

Hezbollah has claimed a series of air and ground attacks against Israel in the last day after initially holding fire following news of the wider ceasefire deal in the Iran war.

Ceasefire deal brings relief to some in Iran, but Trump’s threat still echoes

Iranians have welcomed a fragile ceasefire deal after weeks of Israeli and American bombardment, but many fear the war is far from over. For some, there is also a sense of whiplash, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to wipe out their civilization hours before he reversed course and agreed to an uneasy truce.

The ceasefire that took effect Wednesday has brought relative quiet to the capital, Tehran, after more than a month of heavy strikes that targeted mainly government and security buildings but also destroyed many homes.

“Everyone I’ve spoken with, it’s given them a new life,” a university student told The Associated Press in an audio note via WhatsApp, speaking on condition of anonymity over fears for his safety.

AP spoke to half a dozen residents, despite an ongoing nationwide internet shutdown imposed during mass protests before the war.

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Japan urges Israel and Hezbollah to reach a diplomatic settlement

Japan said it is deeply concerned about escalating Israeli attacks on Lebanon, urging all parties to immediately stop hostilities and comply with international law.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, in a statement Friday, expressed Japan’s “serious concern” over Israel’s ground operation against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, calling for respect for Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Vance says he believes negotiations with Iran will be ‘positive’

Boarding Air Force Two on his way to Pakistan, the vice president said, “We’re looking forward to the negotiation. I think it’s gonna be positive. We’ll, of course, see.”

He cited Trump in saying, “If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand.”

But Vance also added, “If they’re gonna try and play us, then they’re gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”

Vance also said that Trump “gave us some pretty clear guidelines” on how talks should go, but didn’t elaborate.

The vice president did not take questions from reporters traveling with him.

Some Israelis think Israel should ‘finish with’ Hezbollah before deal with Lebanon

In the streets of downtown Jerusalem, some Israelis said they believe peace with Lebanon is not possible before a decisive victory against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

“I think we should finish with them. After we finished with Hezbollah, we can try and make peace with Lebanon,” said Yaniv Matsree.

A little over a month of hiding in shelters has inconvenienced the lives of many Israelis, they said, but has done little to change their views of the war with Hezbollah that has killed more than 1,850 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

For some Israelis, their country should press on to evade future threats from the militant group.

“The people of Israel want peace and seek peace, but those who want war will get war, and this war is very justified,” said Benhamo Momen, who fled from northern Israel, where the impact of the war is most severe. “Hezbollah will not disarm on their own.”

In Argentina, the U.S. administration worked to prop up the country’s financial markets to the tune of $20 billion -- then Trump threatened to pull the assistance if its elections didn’t go his preferred way.

And in Honduras, he backed a conservative former mayor for president — and pardoned a predecessor from the same political party as Hondurans were preparing to vote.

In his second term, Trump has made a public flex of his political influence abroad on a scale that few if any U.S. presidents have exerted, trying to marshal power that he’s used domestically to sway races in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe.

Using endorsements to reward loyal and like-minded leaders, he has shattered a U.S. tradition of avoiding overt involvement in the internal politics of other countries, and made the use of some foreign policy tools more about politics than about advancing U.S. interests, according to his critics.

“The impact of that is to really cheapen a relationship,” said David Pressman, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary during the Biden administration. Pressman, who was on the ground in Budapest as Orban publicly backed Trump in 2024, said Hungarian positions on key issues such as Ukraine felt “infused through a political U.S. rubric,” rather than articulated as sovereign foreign policy.

The most significant test yet of Trump’s political power abroad may come Sunday, when voters in Hungary render a verdict on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's bid for a fifth term. Orbán was the first European leader to back Trump during his 2016 run and remained a close ally even during Trump’s period of political exile, making sojourns to see him in south Florida and again endorsing the Republican in his 2024 comeback race.

“I love Hungary and I love that Viktor,” Trump said this week as Vice President JD Vance, visiting Budapest, put him on speakerphone at a rally with more than 1,000 Orbán supporters.

Trump says he loves to pick winners

Trump has long reveled in his status as kingmaker in the Republican Party. Now, he boasts that foreign leaders come to him seeking his approval.

“I love it when I give endorsements and people win,” Trump said last month at a summit with several Latin American leaders whom he had backed.

Often, his picks share his policy views, like fellow immigration hard-liners Orbán and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, or the chainsaw-wielding Argentine President Javier Milei, who used the tool to illustrate his zeal to slash spending.

Trump and his officials have often used the Conservative Political Action Conference as a stage for promoting their foreign political friends.

At a CPAC gathering in Warsaw last year, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urged Poles to vote for conservative Karol Nawrocki, and implied that the future of the U.S. military presence in Poland could hinge on the election’s outcome. Nawrocki would go on to win.

In Hungary last month, Trump greeted CPAC attendees with a video message from behind the Resolute Desk, urging support for Orbán.

“The prime minister has been a strong leader who’s shown the entire world what’s possible when you defend your borders, your culture, your heritage, your sovereignty and your values,” Trump said. He later added, “I hope he wins, and I hope he wins big.”

The White House defended Trump’s approach as a sign of transparency.

“President Trump is a great American statesman who will speak or work with anyone, and he makes no secret about those he likes or supports,” spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. “Many individuals who align with President Trump’s ideology are getting elected to top offices around the world because everyone wants to replicate his immeasurable success on behalf of the American people,” she said.

Sunday's election is a big test of Trump's foreign political clout

Few foreign leaders have amassed as much political support from the Trump administration as Orbán. The U.S. president has fired off multiple Truth Social posts promoting the prime minister, whose hard-right authoritarian approach to governance has endeared him to Trump, as did his fealty to the U.S. president even when Trump was out of power.

“Hungary: GET OUT AND VOTE FOR VIKTOR ORBÁN,” Trump posted Thursday night. On Friday, he said his administration “stands ready to use the full Economic Might of the United States” to help Hungary's economy, if Orbán and Hungarians need it.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as a senator, once aired concerns about “democratic erosion” under Orbán. Nonetheless, Rubio endorsed him in February and promoted the “very, very close personal relationship and working relationship” between Trump and the prime minister.

During Vance’s two-day swing to Budapest this week, he made the administration’s endorsement of Orbán explicit even as he decried foreign election interference from the European Union.

“Of course we’re going to work with whoever wins the Hungarian election because we love the people of Hungary and it’s an important relationship,” Vance told reporters. “But Viktor Orbán is going to win the next election in Hungary, so I feel very confident about that and about our continued positive relationship.”

But Orbán had been trailing in independent polls ahead of the April 12 election and Trump — whose push to acquire Greenland and war in Iran have made him unpopular throughout Europe — may have less sway than he once had.

Past presidents have been more subtle

Past administrations have used different methods to influence power abroad. For instance, the Central Intelligence Agency under President Dwight D. Eisenhower helped engineer a 1954 coup that forced out Guatemala's president, Jacobo Arbenz.

There have been rare cases when past presidents made their support explicit, such as when former President Bill Clinton backed Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s 1993 move to dissolve parliament and set up new legislative and presidential elections.

But Trump’s political engagement abroad is without precedent, said James Lindsay, a distinguished senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“Trump is just different than other presidents, and he’s viewed differently than other presidents, and that is a strength you can take advantage of,” Lindsay said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Trump's blatant involvement in elections abroad should be viewed as part of the what the administration called the “‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine” in its national security strategy released in December. The 1823 Monroe Doctrine, named for President James Monroe, has been used to justify U.S. military interventions in Latin America.

Kaine, who was a missionary in Honduras at a time of deep covert U.S. involvement in Latin America, called the doctrine “poison language” for the region. “It's violating best practice,” he said. “America has been deeply involved in regime support, opposition and regime change in the Americas for centuries, and it is not a legacy that we should be proud of.”

Trump has offered carrots — and sticks — during foreign races

Sometimes Trump's support for foreign candidates has come with more than an endorsement.

In October, Trump was particularly blunt about his intent to withhold assistance for Argentina if Milei's political coalition didn’t prevail in legislative elections that month. Shortly before Milei's visit, the administration had finalized a $20 billion currency swap line, aid that had drawn fierce criticism from U.S. farmers and Democratic lawmakers.

“If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina. OK?” Trump told a reporter as he hosted Milei at a White House lunch.

In the final days of last year's Honduran elections, Trump not only made his preference for Nasry Asfura clear, but also emphasized that “the United States will not be throwing good money after bad” if Asfura lost. Both Milei and Asfura were successful in their respective elections.

Trump also announced a pardon for former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez for U.S. drug trafficking and weapons convictions. “This cannot be allowed to happen, especially now, after Tito Asfura wins the Election, when Honduras will be on its way to Great Political and Financial Success,” Trump wrote on social media.

Trump has repeatedly floated a pardon for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including in a formal letter and during a speech to the country’s parliament. Netanyahu is enmeshed in a far-reaching corruption case that includes allegations of fraud, breach of trust and bribery. He faces what could be a tough reelection campaign this year.

A fiery Vance speech in the early weeks of the Trump administration strained ties with Germany when, at the Munich Security Conference, he criticized mainstream German parties for refusing to work with a far-right party.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz later said it was not the place for a U.S. leader to “say something like that to us in Germany.”

“I wouldn’t do it in America, either,” Merz said.

U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi's ruling means a Monday arraignment hearing for Kalshi has been called off. State prosecutors allege Kalshi is running an illegal gambling operation. The order was issued in a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration.

The judge's order said the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission had sufficiently shown that “event contracts” fall within the Commodity Exchange Act's definition of “swaps,” and that it had demonstrated a reasonable chance of success in showing that the act preempts Arizona law.

“The Act grants the CFTC ‘exclusive jurisdiction’ over the regulation of ‘swaps,’” traded or executed on a Designated Contract Markets, the order said.

Kalshi operates by allowing customers to buy and sell “Yes” or “No” contracts tied to the probable outcome of an event.

The commission had sued Arizona in response to cease-and-desist letters sent to Kalshi from state gambling regulators and the criminal charges filed against the prediction market operator. The commission argued Arizona is intruding on its exclusive federal power to regulate national swaps markets.

Liburdi had previously denied Kalshi’s attempt to bar prosecutors from moving forward with the case and declined a request from the company for a ruling saying federal law trumps Arizona’s gambling laws. Liburdi said it was too early in the case for him to rule on that issue.

State prosecutors have charged Kalshi with 20 misdemeanor counts of wagering for allegedly accepting bets on political outcomes, college sports and individual player performance.

Arizona, the first state to file criminal charges against Kalshi, prohibits operating an unlicensed wagering business and betting on elections. The criminal charges mark a new front in a high-stakes legal battle over whether prediction markets should be subject to the same rules as gambling companies.

Kalshi maintains it’s a financial marketplace rather than a gambling operation and should only have to answer to the federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission, not the state of Arizona.

“The attorney general's office disagrees with the court's ruling and we will evaluate our next steps,” said Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

Robert DeNault, head of enforcement at Kalshi, said in a posting on X that the ruling is “a step in the right direction.”

“Arizona’s decision to weaponize state criminal law against companies that comply with federal law sets a dangerous precedent,” Michael Selig, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said in a statement. “And the court’s order today sends a clear message that intimidation is not an acceptable tactic to circumvent federal law.”

Kalshi has said its product is different from gambling operations because Kalshi’s customers engage in “swaps” between one another instead of betting against the “house.”

In a lawsuit filed just days before prosecutors leveled the criminal charges, Kalshi argued federal law trumps Arizona’s efforts to subject it to state statute. It also contends that shutting down its ability to offer event contracts would threaten its viability, undermine confidence in the integrity of its platform and cause other problems for the business.

The company said Arizona filed the charges to interfere with its lawsuit.

Lawyers for the state contend Kalshi has marketed itself as a platform for sports and election betting and that Arizona should be able to enforce its gambling laws to hold Kalshi accountable for flouting state law.

Kalshi sued Arizona, Utah and Iowa in attempts to stop anticipated state actions against the platform. Other states have taken some form of legal action against Kalshi.

So far, the outcomes have been mixed. Federal and state judges in Nevada and Massachusetts, respectively, issued early rulings in favor of states looking to ban Kalshi and its competitor Polymarket from offering sports being in their states, while federal judges in New Jersey and Tennessee have ruled in favor of Kalshi.

Earlier this month, the federal government filed lawsuits against Connecticut, Arizona and Illinois challenging their efforts to regulate prediction market operators.

The Trump administration has so far backed the platforms.

President Donald Trump’s eldest son is an adviser for both Kalshi and Polymarket and an investor in the latter. Trump’s social media platform Truth Social is also launching its own cryptocurrency-based prediction market called Truth Predict.

McIlroy stood on the 12th tee in a tie with Patrick Reed and with a dozen other players bunched together in what was shaping up to be a compelling chase for the green jacket.

Six birdies over his final seven holes for a 7-under 65 left everyone to wonder if they were playing for second. McIlroy's fourth straight birdie to close out the best round of the week gave him a six-shot advantage, setting the Masters record for largest 36-hole lead.

“I knew I had some chances coming in when I was standing on the 12th tee, but I didn’t think I’d birdie six of the last seven,” he said. “It just shows what you can do around here.”

He did it in spectacular fashion. McIlroy twice made birdie on the par 5s after laying up from the trees. He twice had short putts on the par 3s. And if all that wasn't enough, he chipped in from 30 yards up a slope so steep he couldn't even see the hole.

The final hour of a fascinating day started to look like a victory lap for McIlroy, who spent 17 years trying to win the Masters and now looks like he can't wait to do it again.

His tee shot over Rae's Creek on the dangerous 12th hole landed 7 feet behind the flag. He birdied both par 5s after having to lay up from the trees. He took advantage of the lower pin at the par-3 16th for what amounted to a tap-in birdie.

And then he really sent the gallery into a frenzy when he chipped in from 30 yards on the 17th. McIlroy knew it was good because “I could see everyone in the grandstand start to stand up.”

And there was one more to go — another perfect approach that came down the slope to 6 feet for one last birdie.

That put him at 12-under 132, six shots clear of Reed (69) and Sam Burns (71). The previous record for the largest 36-hole lead at Augusta National was five shots by six players, most recently Scottie Scheffler in 2022. The first was Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper in 1936, the only player in that position who did not win the Masters.

If McIlroy holds on, he would become the fourth player to win back-to-back at the Masters, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.

He had a two-shot lead after 36 holes in 2011 and stretched it to four shots going into the final round before he famously imploded with an 80. That was the start of his Masters heartache that lasted until a year ago, when he triumphed in a playoff to finally prove he could win at Augusta National.

Maybe he should start thinking about next year’s menu for the Masters Club dinner.

“I know what can happen around here, good and bad,” McIlroy said with a smile. “You don't have to remind me not to get ahead of myself. There's a long way to go. I got off to an amazing start.”

Augusta allowed for that. It was warmer, brighter, drier. The wind wasn't quite as strong and the gusts didn't swirl as much. And there was much better scoring in part because of more generous pin positions, including on 16 and 18, where cleanly struck shots could feed toward the hole.

The scores were nearly two shots lower than Thursday.

That didn't help everyone, least of all Bryson DeChambeau. He fought back from an opening 76 and was one shot below the cut line when it took him two shots to get out of a greenside bunker on the 18th, the second shot rolling off the false front back down to the fairway. He made triple bogey and missed the cut.

Reed was bogey-free until failing to save par on the final hole. That also cost him a spot in the final group Saturday with McIlroy. They were paired together in the last group in 2018, with seemingly all of Augusta on McIlroy's side, only for Reed to win handily.

Burns birdied his last two holes to salvage a 71 and will be paired with McIlroy.

Justin Rose, the playoff loser to McIlroy a year ago, had a rough day with the putter and still shot 69 to be part of the group at 5-under 139 — now seven shots behind — along with Shane Lowry (69) and Tommy Fleetwood, who had two eagles in his round of 68.

McIlroy took three weeks off heading into the Masters — no one since Adam Scott in 2013 won the Masters coming off a break that long — and felt it was to his advantage.

He took multiple trips to Augusta — sometimes day trips to get home for dinner — and spent most of his time working on his short game, which has been superb.

“I felt like I was part of the furniture,” McIlroy said of all his visits to the course.

He also had a six-shot lead at the Congressional in the 2011 U.S. Open, the major after he blew his big lead at the Masters, and he went on to win by eight. He learned that week to push on instead of protect, the same approach he plans for the weekend.

“Look, I’ve built up a nice cushion at this point,” McIlroy said. “I guess my mindset is just trying to keep playing well and keeping my foot on the gas.”

Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player who has won two of the last four Masters, is now 12 shots behind. Scheffler twice hit into the water on the par 5s on the back nine, made bogey on both, and shot 74 for his first round over par at the Masters in three years.

The players in what looked to be the B-flight had all finished before McIlroy went on his astonishing run of birdies. Cameron Young and U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell had a front-row seat to McIlroy in full command at the Masters.

“You've got to stay in your own lane, but it’s hard not to watch that,” Howell said after missing the cut. “That chip-in on 17 was unreal. That was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in sports, and I got to witness it in person. So that was awesome.”

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

Chancellor Brandon Creighton’s memo gives provosts until June 15 to identify targeted programs and requires the system’s five universities to freeze admissions and halt students from declaring majors in the phased out programs. Students already enrolled can finish their degrees.

Offerings that appear most likely to be affected include Texas Tech University’s women’s and gender studies undergraduate minor and graduate certificate, as well as women’s and gender studies minors at Midwestern State University and Angelo State University. 

The memo also says graduate theses and dissertations may center on gender identity and sexual orientation only as a temporary exception for currently enrolled students and that future faculty hiring will “prioritize recruitment in alignment with this memorandum.”

Faculty, it says, must recognize only “two human sexes” and not teach  gender identity as a spectrum or more than two genders as fact — policies Creighton introduced last year. 

In core and lower-level undergraduate courses, the memo says instructors generally cannot assign materials that are “centered on” or “include” sexual orientation or gender identity and defined the concepts:

• “Centered on” is when course content, readings, assignments or lectures that have sexual orientation or gender identity “as the primary subject, main theoretical framework, central narrative or driving pedagogical purpose.” 
• “Includes” means “these themes are present, but serve only as secondary background context, demographic data points, or minor components of a broader academic subject.” 

If an industry-standard textbook contains such content, the memo says faculty do not have to redact it, but they cannot highlight it, test students on it or spend class time on it. 

The memo makes some exceptions for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses, including analysis of active public policy and legal disputes, historical subjects such as the AIDS epidemic where sexual orientation or gender identity is inseparable from the topic, datasets that include those variables and some clinical, counseling or psychology instruction.

The memo also says “currently employed faculty members may continue to research and publish topics of their choosing,” but future faculty will be recruited and hired in accordance with the memo’s priorities. 

Jen Shelton, an associate professor of English who has taught at Texas Tech for 25 years, said the provost’s office had repeatedly assured faculty that their research would not be affected. She said this feels like a “betrayal.”

“The good news is I think the whole university has been betrayed. I think even the provost did not expect it to look like this because it’s people from the provost’s office who have been coming to us and saying, ‘Don’t worry. This part is all going to be fine,’” Shelton said in an interview with The Texas Tribune.

Cailyn Green, a Texas Tech junior studying human development with a minor in community, family and addiction science, said the memo left her feeling that the university can no longer provide “an honest education.”

Green said one of her professors would not answer in class whether material about racial disparities in pregnancy outcomes would still be taught, instead asking to discuss it privately. 

“At the rate that we’re going, I’m not going to be able to continue learning everything that I need to know in my degree, and I won’t be able to help people,” said Green, who works in Section 8 housing, helping low-income residents connect with food, health care and other assistance.

Paul Ingram, a Texas Tech associate professor of psychological sciences, said students had been calling him all day, some saying they regretted coming to Texas Tech. He said a graduate student had already dropped out because of the earlier memos and another graduate student is writing a dissertation on gender that, under the new policy, could not be proposed again. 

He said faculty across the university are openly discussing looking for other jobs. 

“Everyone sees that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but this grass is looking pretty dead,” Ingram said.

Antonio Ingram, a senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said the memo appears to target perspectives involving gender identity and sexual orientation for political reasons, not academic purposes, raising serious constitutional concerns because public universities cannot discriminate based on viewpoint. 

Antonio Ingram also questioned the memo’s prohibition against teaching “as absolute truth” that people are inherently racist, sexist or oppressive and that “individuals bear responsibility or guilt for actions of others of the same race or sex.” Ingram said there is no definition of “absolute truth,” creating vagueness that may deter teaching about systemic racism, reparations and the history of enslavement.

“I think in many ways, this is a doubling down on a political project that is not meant to help students. It is really meant to uphold a political worldview that, you know, Chancellor Creighton couldn’t enact legislatively and is now doing through his role as chancellor,” Ingram said.

In a statement, Creighton said he and the system’s regents are “focused on ensuring our academic programs are rigorous, relevant, and produce degrees of value.”

“That focus is matched by our unwavering support for the First Amendment and the open exchange of ideas that define a public university. Texas Tech will continue to be a national leader on both fronts,” he said.

Some students have supported the system limiting classroom discussion of sex and gender. In an October interview with the Tribune, Preston Parsons, president of the campus Turning Point USA chapter, said he believed the policy protected students and that professors who disagree should speak up outside the classroom.

“There’s a right and a wrong way to do everything, and I don’t believe the classroom is the right place to do that,” said Parsons, who wasn’t available to comment on Friday’s memo. 

Creighton served nearly two decades as a Republican state lawmaker and authored major higher education reforms before he became chancellor in November. In December, he ordered faculty to submit for review course content touching on race, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. If campus leaders wanted to keep the information in a course and it was not required for professional licensure, certification or patient care, they had to forward it to the Board of Regents for final review. Regents were expected to take up the issue publicly at their Feb. 26 meeting but did not, leaving professors in limbo.

Speaking at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s summit in Austin on Thursday, Creighton said Texas Tech had “built an AI algorithm” to help review courses and would release findings within days.

At the summit, Creighton said what some faculty call “academic drift” had left “quite a bit of garbage in curriculum” on university campuses across the country. He said the Texas Tech University System has “a very good plan in place” to address that.

“I believe it will produce the best curriculum in America, and I believe it will be a national model once we’re finished,” he said.

In a news release Friday, the system said that of the 1,403 courses initially identified, only 92 were reviewed by the board of regent’s Academic, Clinical and Student Affairs Committee and fewer than 60 were recommended for modification. Another 299 were “proactively modified” before reaching the committee.

Creighton has framed the push at Texas Tech as a way to steer the university toward degrees that lead to high-paying jobs in high-demand fields. He made the same arguments for bills he wrote in 2023 to ban diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education and in 2025 to expand regents’ control over curriculum.

Shelton said that view misses a central role of college, which is to teach students how to interpret the world around them, ask hard questions and think through unfamiliar problems. This memo, she said, “impoverishes” students “not just as future workers, but as human beings.” 

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

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

De’Aaron Fox had 18 points and 10 assists and Keldon Johnson had 17 points for San Antonio.

Rookie Cooper Flagg had 33 points, six rebounds and five assists for Dallas, which has lost 11 of 13.

After opening the season with a 40-point game against Dallas, Wembanyama reached 40 for the fifth time in what could be his regular-season finale.

The NBA requires a minimum of 65 games played to be eligible for season-long awards and Wembanyama got there in San Antonio’s penultimate game.

The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, who leads the league with 197 blocks, is favored to win Defensive Player of the Year, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

He missed Wednesday’s 112-101 victory over Portland after suffering a left rib contusion during the first half of Monday’s 115-102 win over Philadelphia.

Wembanyama quickly showed he was fine by stepping through three defenders to throw down a right-handed dunk to open the scoring. He added another dunk and a step-back 3-pointer while scoring 16 points in the opening period.

The Spurs won the Southwest Division for the first time since 2017 and have secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. San Antonio opens the postseason against a team that makes it through the play-in tournament — either Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers or Portland.

San Antonio closes its regular season at home Sunday against Denver.

Spurs guard Stephon Castle remains out with left foot soreness. Coach Mitch Johnson said Castle is close to returning.

Up next

Mavericks: Host Chicago on Sunday.

Spurs: Host Denver on Sunday.

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

Relatives and colleagues remembered Mann as a stickler for details and a deeply kind person who blended his love of journalism with his empathy for everyone he worked with.

“Billy Mann was a wonderful representative for The Associated Press in global hot spots from the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos to the turbulent Middle East,” said longtime AP United Nations bureau chief Edith M. Lederer. “He was well-liked for his warm personality and admired for his deft reporting.”

A Georgia native who met his wife, Mimi, at the University of Georgia’s journalism school, Mann was a rabid Georgia Bulldogs fan. “Outside of family, it was his biggest passion,” said his daughter Samantha Rudolph.

A long journalism career took him many places

Upon graduating, Mann went to officer candidate school, became a naval officer and served for four years at a base in the Philippines and at the Pentagon.

After leaving the Navy, Mann joined the AP in Louisville, Kentucky. He worked at the agency’s New York headquarters and elsewhere in the United States before becoming Cairo bureau chief for 10 years.

“He would sit in his office in the back, smoking cigars, feet on the desk, reading copy,” his daughter remembers. “He was just surrounded by incredible people who looked up to him in every way.”

While in Cairo, an early 1990s trip to Somalia — ravaged by famine and warfare — left even the veteran correspondent traumatized.

“It was seeing the hunger and the deprivation, the remnants of war,” his daughter remembered. “He refused to talk about it. He saw things that he didn’t want to talk about.”

Mann was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2010 and died of a virus in a memory care facility, said Mimi Mann, his wife of more than 60 years.

Despite the disease, she said, “he kept his love of journalism.”

In Egypt, Mimi Mann remembered, she fought to cover archaeology, becoming one of the first people to cover the field for a major news service. When French scientists started making discoveries using sonar in the pyramids, she said, the AP told her, “No one cares about the pyramids.”

“I said, ‘Well I do,’" Mann said, and she went on to become known as a wordsmith documenting a field that few laypeople knew about.

“He was good at interviewing but he would always say that my mom was 1,000 times better,” Samantha Rudolph said. “She was the real reporter.”

A 'stickler for details’ with a soft spot for a certain boxer

Bill Mann’s most fondly remembered interview took place when he was working at the AP’s Louisville, Kentucky, bureau and met boxer Cassius Clay, who went on to become world champion Muhammad Ali.

“He interviewed countless heads of state, talked to everybody and what stood out was Muhammad Ali,” his daughter Rudolph said. “He always said that without a doubt his best and favorite interview was Muhammad Ali.”

Ken Guggenheim, one of Mann’s former editors, said that, “Billy was just the consummate AP man. He was just a stickler for details, determined that the grammar was right, the style was right and that the story would be perfect when it would hit the wire.”

Above all, however, Mann’s kind and generous personality set him apart, they said.

“Everyone loved Billy,” Guggenheim said. “He was someone who showed you could be a great journalist and a great person at the same time.”

Mann is survived by his wife, daughter, son and four grandchildren.

Thanks to volunteers donating part of their livers to people they hadn’t met until Friday, the hospital completed the nation’s first seven-pair living donor liver transplant exchange.

“This opportunity just absolutely means everything to me,” donor Tana Lusty said. “I think forever we’re going to be connected. And I just feel absolutely blessed and incredibly grateful.”

The seven donors and seven recipients met for the first time Friday, sharing emotional stories and gratitude.

“It’s hard not to be emotional, you know,” recipient Norma Cardenas said.

One donor, Robert McDonald, said he originally planned to donate to a friend.

However, the timing didn’t work out, and his friend received part of another person’s liver. McDonald still moved forward even though his recipient would be a stranger.

“A very easy decision for me to decide to donate,” McDonald said. “I always check the box that says organ donor on your driver’s license, but I never really thought of this before until I found out that somebody that I cared about needed this.”

Dr. Tarunjeet Klair, surgical director for the liver transplant program at University Health Transplant Institute, credited both donors and recipients for what it takes to make the process possible.

“Thank you so much for the donors, for your courage, your generosity, the recipients who constantly put, you know, trust us in our abilities to take care of you,” Klair said. “This achievement showcases the power of living donation and the advanced coordination and surgical skill required for these transplants.”

For Cardenas, the transplant marked a turning point after months of uncertainty.

“I started this in November 2024,” Norma Cardenas said. “I didn’t know if Thanksgiving was going be my last,” she said. But, she added, “I was able to go home and see my grandkids again. And so, I was forever grateful for that. That was a very special moment for me.”

“It was a medically and logistically complex process that required matching seven remarkable people willing to donate portions of their livers with seven patients needing life-saving transplants,” University Health said in a statement. “Waiting for a deceased organ might have taken too long to help some of these patients.”

Read also:

• Act of kindness leads to ripple effect with 2 lives saved through organ donations
• Texas Organ Sharing Alliance marks donors’ legacy with San Antonio tree dedication
• Organ Donation, Second Chances: How One Gift Can Rewrite Someone’s Future

Rolbert Joachin, 40, was arrested and charged with killing a woman on April 2 in Fort Myers, about 160 miles northwest of Miami. Authorities said the man was from Haiti and arrived in the U.S. in 2022. The woman who was killed was identified as a 51-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh and a mother of two adult daughters.

Trump, who posted the video late Thursday to his Truth Social account, has often sought to portray immigrants as bringing crime to the U.S., and the video emerging from the Florida attack presented him with a new, particularly graphic opportunity to do so. Trump also often paints Democrats and his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, as allowing in immigrants who posed a criminal or national security threat to the U.S.

“The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see,” Trump said in his post, describing the man as an “animal."

Critics say the president unjustly paints all immigrants as criminals in an effort to bolster his immigration agenda, when studies have found that people living in the U.S. illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to have been arrested for violent, drug and property crimes.

“Our hearts are with the family of the victim during this unimaginably painful time," said Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, which advocates for Haitian immigrants. “We condemn this act of violence in the strongest possible terms. But we must also be clear: one individual’s actions do not define an entire people. The exploitation of this tragedy to demonize Haitian immigrants and dismantle humanitarian protections is both unjust and deeply harmful.”

Graphic video captured woman's killing

The woman who was killed was working as a clerk at the convenience store of the gas station, according to court documents. The killing happened outside the store and the man was arrested the same day.

In security camera footage of her killing posted on the Department of Homeland Security's X feed, the man can be seen repeatedly slamming the hammer into a black vehicle parked in front of the gas station. Eventually, a woman in black pants and a pink shirt comes out and appears to question him.

The man, wearing a yellow shirt and black shorts, walks up to the woman and immediately swings the hammer at her head. The woman falls down on the sidewalk in front of the gas station’s front doors. The man attacks the woman with the hammer multiple times before stepping over her unmoving body and walking away, out of the frame of the camera.

The victim was later ıdentified in a police report as Nilufa Easmın, 51. A GoFundMe started by Samir Bahadur Syed, the President of the Bangladesh Association of Southwest Florida, described her as a "devoted mother who worked tirelessly to provide for her two young daughters."

Syed said that Easmin arrived in the United States about three decades ago and resided in Miami and Palm Beach before moving to Florida’s west coast. She was a single mother, and her two daughters — one 23 years old and the other about 26 — were born in the U.S., Syed told The Associated Press.

He added that Easmin had been working at the convenience store for nearly five months and that she also held another job.

Fort Myers police said they responded to a report of a woman being hit with a hammer at a Chevron gas station. When officers arrived, they found a woman on the ground with blood around her head and multiple cuts.

Officers later located Joachin walking on the street and took him into custody. The police said he has confessed. He was charged with murder and property damage and appeared in court on Wednesday. His arraignment is set for May 4.

An email message sent to the public defender listed in court records as Joachin’s lawyer seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Trump administration criticizes temporary deportation protections

Trump blamed Biden for granting the man temporary protection to stay in the U.S.

Kelei Walker, acting field office director for ICE enforcement and removal operations in Miami, said during a news conference Friday that Joachin arrived in a “water vessel” near Key West, Florida, in August 2022. He was arrested and given Temporary Protective Status in 2023. That status was revoked this week, Walker said.

“We’ll make sure he never gets to the streets of the United States and gets back to his home country,” she said.

The Trump administration has harshly criticized the use of Temporary Protected Status, which can be granted by the administration to citizens of a country experiencing turmoil or strife. Immigrants who qualify are allowed to stay in the U.S. and work for a temporary period, although Republican critics contend that the Biden administration misused its TPS authorities to broadly allow hundreds of thousands of people to stay in the country.

There are several lawsuits in the federal courts challenging Trump's efforts to terminate TPS for more than one million people, including 350,000 Haitians. In March, a federal appeals court sided with a lower judge’s ruling against the end of temporary status for Haitians, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 29.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration have often highlighted crimes committed by immigrants and created a website where people can look up people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the crimes they’ve committed in the U.S.

The administration often highlights “Angel Families” who have lost family members to crimes committed by immigrants.

On Thursday, ICE held an event marking the one-year anniversary of the reopening of an office dedicated to assisting those families, including emotional testimony from some of the surviving family members.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the first name of the acting director of ICE's Miami field office. It is Kelei, not Kelly.

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Bellisle reported from Seattle and Santana from Washington.

Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez, who has presided over Bexar County’s Court at Law No. 13, is accused of having an attorney handcuffed and kept in the jury box.

According to Bexar County court records, Speedlin Gonzalez, 61, has been charged with unlawful restraint by a judicial officer, a felony, and misdemeanor official oppression, January indictment records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.

KSAT Investigates first reported on the December 2024 incident on Jan. 14. Speedlin Gonzalez was indicted and turned herself in on Jan. 29.

While Speedlin Gonzalez appeared inside Bexar County’s 379th Criminal District Court on Friday, Judge Ron Rangel recused himself and will not be presiding over the case. Instead, the case was assigned to retired Judge Oscar Hale Jr., who spent nearly two decades as a district judge in Laredo, Texas, before leaving the post in December 2024.

On Friday, Speedlin Gonzalez’s attorney, the special prosecutor and Hale discussed a matter within Hale’s chambers. While it was unclear what was discussed, prosecutors later told KSAT Investigates that Speedlin Gonzalez will return to court in June.

Since Speedlin Gonzalez’s arrest, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC) suspended her without pay.

The suspension order states Speedlin Gonzalez’s suspension will remain in effect until the charges are dismissed, she is acquitted of all charges or until the commission issues another order.

In March, Speedlin Gonzalez lost her reelection bid in the Democratic primary to challenger Alicia Perez.

Bexar County Court at Law No. 13 is home to the Reflejo Court, a trauma-informed treatment program designed to help first-time domestic violence offenders address the root causes of their behavior in lieu of jail time.

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

The 12-page plan released by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts shows the arch will stand 250 feet tall (76.2 meters) from its base to the tip of the winged figure's torch, with “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” inscribed in gold atop either side of the monument.

The plan indicates the structure would stand between the Lincoln Memorial in the east and Arlington National Cemetery toward the west and within a traffic circle connecting Washington with northern Virginia. The arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which stands at 99 feet tall (30.2 meters).

Trump wrote on social media that it “will be the GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL Triumphal Arch, anywhere in the World. This will be a wonderful addition to the Washington D.C. area for all Americans to enjoy for many decades to come!”

Trump has said he wants to build the arch near the Lincoln Memorial and argued that the nation’s capital first sought such a monument 200 years ago.

“It was interrupted by a thing called the Civil War, and so it never got built,” Trump said in February. “Then, they almost built something in 1902, but it never happened.”

Trump has said that major cities around the world have such monuments, and Washington is the only one without one.

The arch is one of several architectural changes Trump is making in his second term. In addition to building a large ballroom at the White House, he's also made changes to the Oval Office and converted the Rose Garden into a stone-covered patio.

The arch goes beyond the White House, giving Trump a chance to leave another lasting monument in a city known for them. It would expand on his earlier talk of sprucing up the city by replacing its “tired” grasses, and broken signage and street medians.

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An earlier version of this story mistakenly cited the “Commission on Fine Arts.” The plan was released by the Commission of Fine Arts.

Vineyard Wind filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Massachusetts against GE Renewables. That comes after the parent company for GE Renewables said it would be terminating its contracts for turbine services and maintenance at the end of April.

GE Vernova says Vineyard Wind owes it $300 million for work it performed. But Vineyard Wind counters that the manufacturer remains on the hook for about $545 million to make up for a catastrophic turbine blade collapse in July 2024 and the delays that caused.

Fiberglass fragments of a blade broke apart and began washing onto Nantucket beaches in July 2024 during the peak of tourist season. GE Vernova agreed to pay $10.5 million in a settlement to compensate island businesses that suffered losses.

The lawsuit states that the project already has been significantly damaged by GE Renewable's “inexcusably poor performance,” and allowing the contractor to back out now would case irreparable harm. Craig Gilvarg, spokesman for Vineyard Wind, said Friday that the lawsuit is meant to ensure that GE Renewables fulfills its obligations to the project “and to the people of Massachusetts and New England who are relying on the significant power and economic benefits this project is already providing.” He said Vineyard Wind is expected to provide $3.7 billion in savings to electric customers over the life of the project.

GE Vernova said the company is exercising its right to terminate agreements for nonpayment for work performed.

“The company remains committed to the safety of the wind farm and stands by our performance and our contractual obligations," the company said in a statement. "We will vigorously defend our position through the appropriate legal process.”

Construction finished on Vineyard Wind in March, making it the first project to reach this stage during President Donald Trump’s time in office. It had already been providing power to the grid for over a year as more turbines were finished. It is expected to reach full operations in the coming months.

According to the lawsuit, GE Renewables is the only company able to perform the remaining work, and it would be virtually impossible to find another turbine supplier willing to take its place. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

GE Vernova has said that insufficient bonding at one of its factories in Canada was responsible for the blade coming apart and that there was no indication of a design flaw. Sixty-eight out of the 72 blades that had been installed at Vineyard Wind at the time were removed and replaced. Vineyard Wind said that set the project behind nearly two years.

The Trump administration has been particularly critical of the project because of the blade failure.

It was one of five major East Coast offshore wind projects the Trump administration halted construction on days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed all five to resume construction, essentially concluding that the government did not show that the national security risk was so imminent that construction must halt.

Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, located 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. It has 62 turbines that will generate a total of 800 megawatts. That is enough clean electricity to power about 400,000 homes.

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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.

The union and City of San Antonio have been negotiating a new contract since late January. Both sides have proposed combinations of hourly-rate and percentage-based raises, meaning different ranks would be affected differently.

The city presented an offer today that would raise the base wages for the lowest-ranking San Antonio police officers from $65,431 currently to $74,970 in April 2029 — a more than 14% bump in pay.

However, the union has proposed raising the same officers’ pay to $82,164 in the same time frame — a more than 25% increase.

In an emailed statement after the negotiation session, SAPOA President Danny Diaz said the city’s counteroffer “devalues our officers and the dangerous work they do every day,” and the union was “pausing further discussions at this time.”

In a follow-up phone interview, Diaz told KSAT that officers have been quick to let the union know how they felt.

“Our phones have not been quiet,” he said. “They’ve been ringing off the wall. And it’s very loud and clear that that is a slap in the face, what they offered today.”

The city said in an emailed statement an “independent survey” of Texas’ largest cities showed the department’s compensation is “already competitive.”

“When total compensation — including healthcare, pension, and retiree benefits — is considered, San Antonio ranks in the top three among large Texas cities at all career stages analyzed,” the statement reads. “We are committed to not losing ground and remaining among the top three in total compensation.”

It’s not clear when talks might resume.

“We’re going to have to continue talking to get it settled, but I can’t give you a date or a time,” Diaz told KSAT. “We need to wait and see what happens — who calls who first."

The current contract runs through September, but an evergreen clause could keep its terms in place for another eight years.

With the city’s budget season approaching, City Manager Erik Walsh indicated a desire to wrap things up.

“I’m confident that both sides can continue to work through the remaining issues and provide certainty for our officers and the community,” Walsh said in a statement. “I believe it’s critical to finalize the tentative agreement and understand all the costs in advance of the City preparing for the FY 2027 Budget process.”

Read also:

• SAPOA President Danny Diaz retiring after 30 years of service, union says

Natasha Sheree Banks-Brown, the owner of “Tasha’s Total Tax Service,” began running the business in 2016. Four years later, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) opened up an investigation into Banks-Brown’s business on its belief that she had been preparing an “increasing number of questionable (tax) returns,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a news release.

According to the IRS investigation, Banks-Brown, 45, filed clients’ tax returns with “false and fraudulent deductions and credits,” which, in turn, allowed for the clients to rake in larger tax returns.

Because Banks-Brown never quoted her clients a price for her services, investigators said she took a chunk of her clients’ fees from their tax refunds and funneled them into a bank account she controlled, the DOJ said. Her clients would then receive a part of their return from her bank account.

Several of her clients testified that they were unaware of how Banks-Brown orchestrated the scheme. Some told the court that they never received a copy of their returns nor reviewed the returns with Banks-Brown 1-on-1.

Evidence shown to jurors during the trial revealed Banks-Brown filed nearly 1,200 tax returns between 2017 and 2021 and netted more than $8 million in tax refunds, according to a DOJ news release.

“Everyone rightly wants to get the best deal on their tax preparation and the largest refund possible, but some things are just too good to be true,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons said in a news release. “The public should be aware that tax preparers may have the incentive to defraud the IRS for their own personal benefit and to the detriment of their clients. This defendant abused the trust of her clients to make more than a million dollars for herself and cost the government several times that amount.”

Banks-Brown is expected back in court for sentencing on July 13.

More courts coverage on KSAT:

• Kendall County driver sentenced to 18 years in crashed that killed 3 on State Highway 46
• Bexar County misdemeanor judge accused of having attorney handcuffed attends hearing; return set for June
• Balcones Heights mayor sues city over alleged retaliation

The Justice Department said Friday that it would move forward on a proposed $68 million settlement with a Texas land developer it had accused of preying on Hispanic residents, despite a judge’s concerns that the agreement did not do enough to help victims.

During a hearing, U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett questioned why the settlement had no compensation for those who were harmed and grilled a federal prosecutor over $20 million devoted to police and immigration enforcement. He said he was uncomfortable with the provision because the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Colony Ridge, which has massive subdivisions north of Houston, mentioned nothing about public safety or immigration.

“I thought I was dealing with … folks who had been defrauded, with allegations of above-market interest rates, improper foreclosures,” Bennett said, holding up the original lawsuit in his right hand and the settlement in his left. “Now, all of the sudden, I’m being asked to OK increased law enforcement?”

“Who in the settlement room said it would be a good idea to give $20 million to law enforcement?” Bennett asked early in the hearing. “Where did that come from?”

The original idea came from the state, said Justice Department senior prosecutor Varda Hussain, referring to the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton’s office filed a similar lawsuit that would also be resolved through the settlement. He did not respond to a request for comment. Hussain, a principal deputy chief at the Justice Department’s Washington headquarters, said that the federal government stood by the provision even though neither its lawsuit nor the state’s raised concerns about crime.

Colony Ridge residents told federal investigators that they were worried about crime in the development after the lawsuit was filed, Hussain said.

“I understand what it might look like to you, but I am telling you that this is a concern that friends of the court and residents will tell you exists,” Hussain said.

The settlement ends a three-year legal dispute in which the Justice Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused Colony Ridge of deceiving tens of thousands of Hispanic consumers into taking out high-interest loans that many could not afford. The developer then benefited when it foreclosed on their properties, prosecutors said.

Former attorneys and investigators with the Justice Department and CPFB, including those involved in filing the original lawsuit in 2023, told ProPublica and The Texas Tribune they were stunned that the Trump administration had reached a settlement that did not seek to compensate victims.

Of the 183 housing and civil enforcement settlements the Justice Department has announced since 2018, only 6% lacked money for victims, and none included funding for police or immigration enforcement, an analysis by the news organizations found.

Including such a provision in a predatory lending case has never been done before, said Bennett, who sought to find a compromise.

An hour into the hearing, Bennett asked the Justice Department and the attorneys for Colony Ridge, which has denied any wrongdoing, whether they would consider his suggestions to revise the settlement to obtain his approval.

Colony Ridge attorney Jason Ray said his client would consider it. Hussain said the Justice Department wasn’t interested.

Instead, the Justice Department said it would pursue the settlement without seeking judicial approval under a provision of federal law that allows it to do so. That means the court will not supervise Colony Ridge to ensure the developer follows the terms of the settlement, said Johnathan Smith, former deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights during the Biden administration.

Smith, who helped assemble the Colony Ridge lawsuit three years ago, said now the case simply goes away because there is no one to enforce it. He added that the Justice Department cannot sue Colony Ridge based on the same claims in the future.

“By having settlements that are public and that are court-enforced, it sends a clear message to other potential bad actors that there could be real consequences for their actions,” Smith said in an email.

He said the Justice Department’s decision amounts to a “get out of jail free card.”

The “DOJ is turning its back on the victims, and those victims are left with no recourse and no assurance that any actions will be taken to remedy the harms that were identified in DOJ’s original complaint,” Smith said.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Smith’s criticisms. During the hearing, however, Hussain said the department would ensure Colony Ridge abides by the settlement. In a court filing, the developer said it had already started implementing the provisions, which include adopting stricter lending standards.

Keilah Sanchez, a former Colony Ridge landowner who, along with her sister, collected complaints from residents who said they had been mistreated by the developer, said it was crushing to see the settlement be implemented without helping past victims.

“It’s unbelievable, but at this point, I don’t expect much from these agencies,” she said.

As the party fights to regain control of Congress, organizations affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence have dominated the airwaves, sometimes leaving candidates on the sidelines of their own campaigns.

Democratic pollster Zac McCrary said the primaries have “become proxy wars, and the candidates are almost afterthoughts in larger skirmishes."

In an effort to push back, the Democratic National Committee voted at its spring meeting in New Orleans to condemn the surge in spending.

Members who opposed the package of resolutions wanted language to condemn specific groups, such as AIPAC, which was founded to foster stronger relations between Israel and the U.S. The organization has become especially controversial during the war in Gaza and because of its aggressive campaign tactics.

The flood of money from a variety of groups has exacerbated tensions within the party. Candidates who lost have pointed their fingers at special interests, blaming them for derailing their campaigns. Others who are still in the running are courting voters by denouncing deep-pocketed outside groups. Even those who have benefited from the spending have expressed concern.

“It’s definitely a brave new world,” McCrary said.

“We’re not talking about doubling of campaign expenditures,” he added. “We’re talking about 10 times or 20 times more.”

Dan Sena, a former executive director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said party organizations are no longer the only ones with the clout to push favored candidates.

“All that’s been completely smashed now,” Sena said. Even if Democrats regain control of the U.S. House, he warned that outside spending could damage the party in the long run.

Referring to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, he said, “You’re going to hand Jeffries a caucus that is divided.”

Democrats bear the brunt of big spending

So far this cycle, outside money in U.S. House races has largely targeted districts particularly friendly to Democrats, meaning the primaries will likely determine who will win the general election in November. After a record number of House members retired this year, many of those seats opened up for the first time in years, drawing dozens of Democratic hopefuls.

In Illinois, for example, there was more than $125 million in outside spending across five open Democratic primaries. In all but one of those congressional races, the outside spending exceeded candidate spending.

While it's still early in the calendar, there are indicators that many more races could see big spending. Almost 40 seats have already seen more than $1 million in outside spending, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

In Illinois, the top three spenders in U.S. House races were groups affiliated with AIPAC, according to AdImpact, which tracks ad buys in political races, followed by the cryptocurrency-affiliated Fairshake.

A resolution presented to a subcommittee at the DNC specifically named AIPAC, but that one didn't pass. Instead, members voted for a separate resolution that “condemns the influence of unregulated dark money in Democratic primary elections.”

“We had various resolutions that focused on different industries and groups, and instead of going one-by-one, we passed a blanket repudiation,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.

Campaign spending has divided Democrats

The latest DNC meeting marked another chapter in longstanding disputes between progressives and the party establishment.

Some progressives want the party to adopt official language that all Democratic presidential contenders oppose money from dark-money groups, or super PACs that aren't required to disclose their donors.

“It’s necessary that we actually have the party do something on this issue, not just say something,” said Larry Cohen, co-chair of Our Revolution, a progressive group founded by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats.

The resolution passed at the DNC meeting in New Orleans is viewed by progressives as a step toward that goal. However, some Democrats warn against weakening their candidates when facing a Republican Party that's flush with cash.

“Provided that we don’t handcuff ourselves in the general elections — because if the Republicans are going to use dark money in general elections, we should be using our money in general elections, too — if you provide an even playing field, I think then that’s fine,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat. “But we just can’t be handcuffing ourselves in the general to lose races.”

DNC resolutions do not stop outside groups from surging funds into primary contests or general elections. But some Democrats believe the issue is core to the party's values.

“We should eliminate any super PAC in a Democratic primary. And I think every presidential candidate in 2028 should pledge that they will not have any super PAC spending in a Democratic primary,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, a progressive and possible Democratic presidential contender who co-chaired Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign.

“That should be a litmus test,” Khanna argued. “If you’re not willing to take that pledge, then you’re part of the problem.”

___

Brown reported from New York.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted the Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and several Texas-based dispensaries and manufacturers a temporary restraining order against new testing requirements that creates 0.3% total THC threshold, effectively eliminating smokeable products. Lawyers for the hemp industry argued that the agencies have overstepped their constitutional authority by rewriting the statutory definitions of hemp established by lawmakers in 2019. 

The concept of the new total THC testing came from the federal government, which clarified the definition of hemp in November as containing a total THC concentration of less than 0.3% on a dry weight basis rather than only delta-9 THC, according to Zachary Berg, an attorney with the Texas Attorney General’s Office who represented Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Friday. Berg added that the federal government’s new definition doesn’t go into effect until November, but the state wanted to be in compliance early with federal law. 

Jason Snell, one of the attorneys for the hemp businesses, said that by trying to mirror a federal law that isn’t yet in effect, the state clearly overstepped its regulatory authority. He also submitted to the court over 300 pages of testimony from Texans about how these new rules and regulations are already shuttering businesses and killing off the industry. 

“The wave is getting bigger,” Snell said. “We are asking you to put up a barrier.”

The hemp businesses also asked for a temporary injunction on other rules that increase licensing fees for retailers and manufacturers and prevent businesses from selling smokeable hemp out-of-state. Guerra Gamble also temporarily unblocked interstate sales, but she deferred the topic of licensing fees to the next hearing on April 23. 

The background: Even though Texas law bans marijuana, lawmakers legalized hemp in 2019. State law defines hemp as containing less than 0.3% levels of intoxicating Delta-9 THC.

To get around the law’s Delta-9 THC restrictions, manufacturers started cultivating hemp plants with another type of THC, called THCA, that, when ignited in a joint or smokeable product, can produce a high. Many lawmakers have said this legal loophole has allowed a recreational THC market to appear overnight without direct approval from the state.

Last year, the Texas Legislature voted to ban the products out of fear that these intoxicating products were consistently getting into the hands of children. But, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the decision last summer, before asking the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and DSHS to increase regulations on the industry instead.

The Texas Department of State Health Services released regulations on consumable hemp-derived THC products that went into effect on March 31. These new regulations include child-resistant packaging, a significant increase in licensing fees, new labeling, testing, and bookkeeping requirements. The rules also codify the legal purchasing age to 21, which went into effect last year as an emergency directive.

Why the hemp industry sued: Also under the new rules, laboratories tests now measure the total amount of any THC in a product. If the THC levels exceed the 0.3% threshold, even if it’s only activated upon being smoked, the product will be noncompliant under state regulations. As a result, some of the most popular hemp products, like THCA flower and pre-rolled joints, have been banned.

Hemp businesses caught selling noncompliant products face a range of penalties and fines, including license revocation and up to $10,000 in violation fees for each day these products were sold in stores.

“An administrative agency may not substitute its own policy judgment for the outcome produced by the constitutional lawmaking process,” the lawsuit states. “The Texas Constitution vests legislative power in the Legislature, not administrative agencies.”

Retailers cannot sell hemp to out-of-state customers either.

The rules also increase licensing fees for manufacturers of hemp-derived THC from $258 to $10,000 per facility and retail registrations from $155 to $5,000, which industry leaders say will fulfill the ban by forcing businesses to close. The hemp business community’s lawsuit is not challenging the other new regulations, including the age verification or ones they say protect consumers. 

“Texas hemp businesses wholeheartedly support those regulations, as they fall within the agency’s authority,” said David Sergi. “We are seeking to halt rules that would effectively end the in-state production of hemp and the sale of hemp products—items the Legislature chose not to ban during recent legislative and special sessions.” 

What the state says: Concerns about the safety of these high-THC products among youth led lawmakers to attempt to ban hemp-derived THC products outright last year. While the overall ban didn’t succeed, lawmakers successfully banned vape pens containing THC and other hemp-derived intoxicating chemicals.

Data provided from the Texas Poison Center Network confirms a sharp increase in cannabis-related poisoning calls starting in 2019, a year after hemp-derived THC was legalized by the federal government, from 923 to a 10-year high of 2,592 in 2024. Calls climbed to 2,669 last year. The majority of these calls involve suspected poisoning of children under the age of five and teenagers.

Drug policy experts said these numbers seem alarming, but it is natural for poisoning calls to increase when a drug has become legalized, and the data needs additional context before making conclusions from it.

Jennifer Ruffcorn, spokesperson for HHSC, directed questions about the lawsuit and what it means for the new hemp regulations to DSHS. 

Lara Anton, spokesperson for DSHS, declined to comment on pending litigation.

What’s next: The hemp industry’s battle to stay alive in Texas started back in 2021 when the state health agency classified any amount of a natural intoxicating hemp compound called delta-8 THC as illegal. The hemp industry sued the state over its ban on delta-8 and the Texas Supreme Court is expected to consider the case this year.

The delta-8 lawsuit will have an impact on the outcome of the most recent lawsuit over the smokeable hemp ban because both lawsuits challenge the authority of a state health agency to make changes to the market without approval from lawmakers or the public. 

A Republican majority voted to approve the changes to social studies standards — known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS — proposed during a marathon meeting that stretched all of Thursday and into early Friday. All five Democrats voted against the preliminary changes. Earlier in the week, they called for an investigation into a potential conflict of interest.

A 2024 tax filing from the Texas Public Policy Foundation shows the conservative activist organization paid the Texas Center at Schreiner University $70,000 to develop state learning standards. Donald Frazier, a historian advising the State Board of Education on social studies changes, runs the Texas Center.

As the board continued its business Thursday and Friday, its right-most conservatives proposed significant changes to how students will learn about Islam and adamantly opposed Democratic attempts to expand lessons on the history of Hispanic and Black Americans.

The board scrapped a standard that required students to learn about Muslim contributions to algebra and astronomy. Some Republicans unsuccessfully pushed for students to learn that Muhammad, the founder of Islam, married a minor and that sexual assault, torture and the “killing of Christians and Jews” occurred under his leadership. Muslim Texans disputed that portrayal during public testimony.

Republicans also attempted to block students from learning about influential labor activist Dolores Huerta, whom Republican member Brandon Hall criticized for her politics and for not previously revealing allegations of wrongdoing by Cesar Chavez.

The New York Times recently uncovered allegations that Chavez sexually abused young girls during his career as a prominent labor activist. Huerta alleged that Chavez also sexually assaulted her nearly 60 years ago, keeping the secret out of fear that people would not believe her and that the allegations would undermine the farmworker movement.

On Friday, some Republicans on the State Board of Education tried to limit what schools teach about the Black Power movement, arguing that students need exposure only to its contributions to art, music and fashion — not to its politics.

“It seems as if, when it comes to Black and brown information being in these TEKS, we continue to undermine our experiences,” said Democratic member Tiffany Clark of DeSoto, who is Black. “If we dig up everything that the founding fathers did…”

Member Brandon Hall, R-Aledo, moved to cut her off.

“Our great founding fathers are being derided,” said Hall, appealing to board chair Aaron Kinsey. “It is not germane to the topic at hand.”

After a back-and-forth, members settled on a requirement for students to learn about “self‑respect, self‑determination, self‑reliance and the cultural pride of African Americans” during the Black Power movement.

Such disputes have largely defined Texas’ overhaul of social studies standards over the past year as the board’s Republican majority has approved plans to focus on Texas and U.S. history while placing less emphasis on world cultures, world history and geography.

Democrats argue that conservative activists and the board’s advisory group have assumed control of Texas’ social studies rewrite and minimized teacher expertise. In previous years, teachers have normally guided the process.

Draft proposals of the social studies changes, critics argue, prioritize memorization over critical thinking and simplification over accuracy. They also note that the current plan focuses heavily on Western civilization over other cultures, lacks historical perspective of people of color and prioritizes Christianity above other major world religions.

“This is the opportunity,” said Houston Democrat Staci Childs. “We get to teach students something about Black people that’s powerful outside of slavery and being enslaved in shackles and chains.”

This week’s meetings featured scores of people testifying on the board’s current approach, with students calling for instruction that includes diverse perspectives and challenges them to think critically.

Hall in recent months has unsuccessfully attempted to prevent testimony from Muslim activists representing the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He and Pearland Republican Julie Pickren have pointed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s designation of the group as a foreign terrorist organization. CAIR has sued the governor over the label, calling it defamatory and false.

Muslim advocates have continued arguing in favor of social studies instruction that portrays their religion accurately, fairly and without prejudice.

“I ask you to choose academic integrity over political comfort,” said Sameeha Rizvi, a civic engagement organizer for CAIR-Austin. “Despite the false allegations being made, I, nor CAIR, nor those of diverse faiths are pushing any agenda.”

The board is expected to finalize social studies standards in June, with classroom implementation set for the 2030-31 academic year.

Disclosure: New York Times, Schreiner University and Texas Public Policy Foundation have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Democrats avoided the Capitol for two weeks in August to protest the new congressional map that Texas Republicans redrew, at the request of President Donald Trump, to hand the GOP up to five additional seats in this year’s midterms. Their absence meant the Texas House lacked the quorum necessary to conduct business, forcing the chamber to a halt. The Legislature approved the map after Democrats, many of whom decamped to Illinois and other states, returned to Austin.

House rules allow lawmakers to be fined $500 for each day they miss while the House is in session, if the absence was “for the purpose of impeding the action of the House.” That provision also makes them liable for costs incurred by the House sergeant-at-arms in trying to force their attendance.

The final bill for most Democrats who broke quorum landed at $8,354 each— exceeding the annual $7,200 salary lawmakers receive as members of the Texas House. The fine includes $6,000 for their absence over 12 days and $2,354 in expenses sustained by the Department of Public Safety in trying to secure their presence, such as by dropping in on lawmakers’ homes across the state and trailing Democrats for a day after they returned to the Capitol.

The House Administration Committee tallied that 53 Democrats would be responsible for $421,890 in sum. The panel, made up of six Republicans and five Democrats, approved the fines on a party-line vote.

Democrats on Friday pushed to reduce or strike the penalties entirely, arguing that walkouts were a constitutionally sanctioned legislative tool of the minority party and framing the fines as a partisan and draconian response.

“The power to compel attendance is not the power to punish dissent,” said Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, a member of the administration committee who did not participate in the walkout. “Nor is it to distort the Constitution’s design and convert a protected structural safeguard into a sanctioned offense.”

Committee Vice Chair Sheryl Cole, D-Austin, offered five motions to cut down the penalties, each of which were defeated 6 to 5 by the panel’s Republican majority. She first moved to scratch out all penalties “on the ground that the committee has not accorded those members the due process required.”

Democrats had demanded Republicans produce itemized receipts and records supporting the reported sum borne by law enforcement. They emerged from the closed-door portion of the hearing arguing that the accounting process behind the fines was inconsistent, lacking transparency and riddled with errors.

“There’s no certain number, because you’ve given us uncertain evidence and there’s uncertain documentation,” state Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez told The Texas Tribune after testifying to the committee. “The lack of due process was really frustrating.”

She said that despite asking for receipts supporting the fines in August, Democrats did not receive any records until a few days ago, when the panel’s Republicans provided a 300-page packet of records from DPS and the House sergeant-in-arms that Democrats complained was difficult to evaluate without more time. Garcia Hernandez and other Democrats also said DPS leaders admitted at the hearing there were possible errors in the accounting and acknowledged records showing inconsistent documentation by officers of their efforts to round up lawmakers.

“Records provided by DPS don’t even show that they were legitimately trying to secure absent members during the relevant time period,” Cole said at the hearing. “None of the documents are tied to efforts to track down specific members, so we have no way of knowing what was expended on which members.”

Some Democrats saw their penalties reduced or struck before Friday’s hearing after successfully arguing that their absences from the Capitol during the walkout should count as excused. Rep. Salman Bhojani, D-Euless, was in Pakistan for half of the quorum break attending to a sick family member and saw his fine cut, and Rep. Claudia Ordaz, D-El Paso, saw her penalties struck entirely as she was undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment.

The maximum penalty was ultimately $1,000 less than the original total House Republicans had quoted Democrats in August. House Administration Chair Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, said he dropped two Sundays from the $500-a-day tally because the House was not in session.

Beyond their due process arguments, Democrats lamented that Republicans’ pursuit of the penalties would contribute to a more partisan and divided political environment.

“Not only is [our politics] more divisive, but it’s becoming also more vindictive,” said Rep. Vince Perez, D-El Paso, in describing his testimony to the committee. “Democrats, at the end of the day, lost this battle. We put up a fight and we came back and we lost, and we went on to other business. And I asked the committee: Really, what does it serve to continue to impose these or be rigid about these financial penalties when Democrats have already lost this issue?”

Rep. Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat on the administration panel, condemned the partisan rhetoric from Republicans, some of whom have argued for maximizing the punishment to deter future walkouts.

“The members whose fines that we’ve considered today are colleagues and friends,” he said. “They’re not political ideas, and they broke quorum because they believed it was the right way to stand up for their districts. Some of the rhetoric around this has been incredibly over the top, which makes zero sense for tactics as old as politics itself.”

House rules prohibit lawmakers from paying the fines using campaign funds, meaning Democrats will have to pay them out of pocket. Before the hearing Friday, a spokesperson for House Democrats’ campaign arm said their read of state law was that lawmakers could use their campaign cash to reimburse themselves for the fine. A spokesperson for the campaign group said it was raising money to support every Democrat’s reelection, adding, “What they choose to do within the bounds of applicable law when the campaign committee makes campaign disbursements is up to them.”

After the hearing, Rep. James Talarico of Austin, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate and a member of the Texas House Administration Committee, blasted out a fundraising email from his Senate campaign, saying, “there is something deeply wrong in this state if the majority party is trying to punish representatives for speaking up for their constituents.”

“This is why we have to take back Texas,” he added. “And when we do, my promise to you is that I will always fight for the people — regardless of the consequences.”

Before the committee approved the penalties, some Democratic lawmakers were noncommittal about paying them, with Perez and Garcia Hernandez saying they would evaluate their options in the coming days. Rep. Jolanda Jones of Houston said she was “not going to concede or pay anything illegal.”

Lawmakers who refuse to pay the fine could see their office budget slashed by 30%, according to House rules.

Some House Republicans, meanwhile, signaled an appetite to increase the fines and punishments for walkouts even further when the Legislature meets again for the 2027 session.

“We’re obviously not getting the message across with the current rules,” Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, said. “The penalties need to be higher. We’ll find a number that bothers people enough to come and do their job.”

— Renzo Downey contributed to this report.

The FAA and Defense Department have signed an agreement outlining the safety precautions that they say will protect travelers anytime these lasers are used, but their statement didn't spell out what those safeguards will be.

The FAA didn’t immediately respond to questions seeking more details about the agreement.

In early February, the FAA closed the airspace around the El Paso airport for several hours after another agency used a counter-drone laser without notifying the aviation safety regulator. That left many travelers scrambling to find new flights. A second, more limited airspace closure later that month followed the military shooting down a drone owned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A demonstration of the lasers conducted last month at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico convinced the FAA that they can be used safely.

"We will continue working with our interagency partners to ensure the National Airspace System remains safe while addressing emerging drone threats,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement.

Drones are commonly used along the border by Mexican cartels looking to deliver drugs or surveil officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.

The use of armed drones regularly carry out devastating attacks in the Ukraine and Iran wars highlights the threat.

Lawmakers in Congress said they are glad to see the agencies working together better now. But Democratic senators who raised questions after the anti-drone laser uses in February say they need detailed answers before they can be sure the lasers are safe. The FAA has not yet held a briefing for Congress.

“It is absolutely critical that meaningful interagency collaboration continues — the FAA must be at the table whenever any counter-UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) is deployed that could impact the safety of our national airspace,” said Rep. Rick Larsen, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

In the second incident, the military used the laser to shoot down a “seemingly threatening” drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border on Feb. 26. It turned out the drone belonged to Customs and Border Protection, lawmakers said.

That led the FAA to close the airspace around Fort Hancock, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of El Paso.

The Trump administration has said it was working to halt an incursion by Mexican cartel drones. U.S. Army Brigadier General Matt Ross said that this agreement will allow the use of the most advanced tools to defend the homeland.

“By working hand-in-hand with the FAA and our interagency partners, the Department of War is proving that these cutting-edge capabilities are safe, effective, and ready to protect all air travelers from illicit drone use in the national airspace,” Ross said.

The U.S. government has handed out more than $250 million to help states prepare to respond to drones before hosting World Cup matches and celebrations planned this summer for the country's 250th birthday.

Another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to strengthen the nation’s drone defenses.

At least three Texas counties this week either received or were told they would soon receive administrative subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The department is seeking detailed records about some individual voters, including their registration applications and voter history, though counties don’t yet know which ones. 

The subpoenas appear to be linked to a series of efforts by the Trump administration to verify the citizenship of registered voters. In December, Texas turned over the state’s voter roll to the Justice Department. The transfer included voters’ identifiable information such as dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. It did not include, however, voters’ registration applications or signatures — the state does not have access to that information, which is kept by county voter registrars. 

Lubbock County’s elections administrator, Roxzine Stinson, said she met with a Homeland Security representative who informed her she would soon receive a subpoena seeking additional information for at least 10 voters, and potentially up to 30. Stinson said she’ll seek guidance from the county’s legal department on how to respond. 

The Homeland Security representative told Stinson, “all 254 counties will be contacted,” she said. 

Election officials in Brazos County received a subpoena by email this week, Trudy Hancock, the county’s elections administrator, confirmed to Votebeat. Hancock said the subpoena specifically requests voter registration records, including voter registration applications, signatures, and voter history, but doesn’t list the names of individual voters. She said she’s asking for legal advice on how to respond “because the request is open-ended.”

Suzie Harvey, the election administrator in Montgomery County confirmed she has also received a subpoena that was delivered in person, but similarly to Hancock, it isn’t specific about which voters’ records it’s seeking.  

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoenas Friday. The Texas Secretary of State’s Office declined to comment on whether it has received a subpoena from DHS but Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson, said the office is aware that some counties are receiving them.

The Trump administration has aggressively sought to obtain voter roll data from the states, requesting unredacted versions that include voters’ personally identifying information, such as driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. So far, the U.S. Department of Justice has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for declining to provide it.

The federal government has also urged states to check their voter rolls against a Homeland Security database, known as SAVE, that it overhauled to more easily check voter rolls for potential noncitizens. 

Texas did so and asked counties to investigate 2,724 voters flagged as potential noncitizens. Counties have found at least some of those voters to be citizens, including some who had already provided proof of citizenship to the state. Watchdog groups have criticized the database’s accuracy. 

Earlier this month, CNN reported that the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security had reached an agreement to give DHS the voter roll data obtained from states. 

Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Marymount University who advised President Joe Biden’s administration on democracy and voting rights, said that if the agency is investigating potential noncitizens who have registered to vote, it makes sense that it might want additional information and records. To obtain that info, though, the subpoenas would need to request information about specific voters. 

“You’d want the actual voter registration form, the actual mail ballot envelope if there was one, etc, to see if the individual falsely swore they were a citizen,” Levitt said. He added that open-ended subpoenas such as the ones Hancock and Harvey received seem “very weird.”

In a statement, Chris McGinn, the executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, said the organization recognizes the importance of federal oversight “within its proper constitutional bounds,” and is “committed to ensuring that any such requests comply with applicable law and respect the principles of federalism that govern election administration in Texas.” 

The organization is recommending that any county election officials receiving a subpoena from the federal government consult with their county attorney or legal representation before taking any action.

Natalia Contreras is a reporter for Votebeat in partnership with The Texas Tribune. She is based in Corpus Christi. Contact Natalia at ncontreras@votebeat.org.

The charges stem from a grand jury indictment related to the July 1 explosion that injured two others, Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said. One of the people charged with murder is Samuel Machado, who was a Yolo County Sheriff's Department lieutenant at the time of the explosion. He illegally stored more than 1 million pounds (453,000 kilograms) of fireworks at his property and used his position at the sheriff's office to evade scrutiny as the operation grew, she said.

The explosion near the community of Esparto, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento, sparked a massive fire and led to nearby Fourth of July celebrations being called off.

"Samuel Machado’s participation included using his role as a trusted lieutenant to help shield the conspiracy as it expanded, and the expansion was significant," Nabity said, adding that the warehouse went from having 13 fireworks storage containers in 2015 to 50 last year.

It was not immediately clear if Machado has an attorney who can speak on his behalf. A telephone number listed for him went answered Friday.

Machado's sprawling 5,000-square-foot (465-square-meters) warehouse property was used to store and sell fireworks by other men indicted in the case.

Nabity said a total of eight people face 30 charges in the case, including murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of illegal assault weapons, illegal explosives possession, insurance fraud, child endangerment and animal cruelty.

All those charged are scheduled to be arraigned in Yolo County on Monday.

Machado’s wife, Tammy Machado, was also arrested Thursday but was released after posting bail. She was a non-sworn administrative employee at the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the explosion. Both Samuel and Tammy Machado were put on leave after the incident. She faces charges of mortgage fraud, filing a willfully wrong tax return and endangering a child by storing illegal explosives next to a family pool, according to the indictment.

Others indicted include Kenneth Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, whose illegal fireworks were being stored at Machado's warehouse, has also been charged with murder and was arrested in Florida. He appeared in a Florida courtroom Friday and was told he will be extradited to California within the week, KCRA-TV reported.

Authorities also arrested Jack Lee, the operations manager for Devastating Pyrotechnic, and Gary Chan Jr., whose name is on the company’s federal license. Both also face murder charges. The fifth person charged with murder is Douglas Tollefsen, who was arrested in Northern California but has yet to be taken to a Yolo County jail, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig said. Tollefsen stored and sold fireworks at Machado's warehouse, according to the indictment.

“This is not a case just about fireworks,” Nabity said. “They are devices that have so much more explosive fireworks than the law allows that they can’t be considered fireworks.”

Machado, Chee, Lee, Chan and Tollefsen were arrested Thursday along with Craig Cutright, the owner of Blackstar Fireworks, which operated at the Esparto property. Cutright, was a volunteer firefighter for the Esparto Fire District and was also listed as an employee of Devastating Pyrotechnics.

One of Cutright’s employees, Ronald Botelho III, has been in custody since December. More than a dozen new charges were filed against him Thursday, jail records show.

The grand jury concluded that the initial blast caused the death of seven people, Nabity said. Those killed included four workers: 18-year-old Jesus Ramos and his 22-year-old Jhony Ramos, of San Pablo, California; 28-year-old Joel Melendez, of Sacramento, and 43-year-old Carlos Javier Rodriguez-Mora, of San Andreas, California. Christopher Goltiao Bocog and Neil Li of San Francisco and Angel Mathew Voller, of Stockton, California, were also killed.

People living nearby described the blast being so strong that it blew open the doors of homes.

Nisa Gutierrez told the Sacramento CBS affiliate KOVR-TV that she and her daughter were in their yard and were nearly knocked over as their pony and goats scattered.

“We hear like a big boom, and feel the wave,” Gutierrez said. “I thought it was a bomb.”

After the explosion, officials in nearby Sutter and Yuba counties announced they would find alternatives for Fourth of July celebrations after their fireworks were destroyed in the blast.

“That devastating night haunts us forever,” Ronnie Torres, a family member, said.

Roger Waid, his wife, Patricia and their 14-year-old daughter, Blake, were killed on Oct. 29, 2024, in Kendall County.

Authorities said 60-year-old Carl Galm was driving approximately 93 miles per hour in a Ford F-250 when he attempted to pass a line of vehicles in a non-passing zone and collided with the Waid’s Toyota Corolla.

Galm pleaded guilty in Kendall County court. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison on each charge with each sentence running concurrently. Per Texas law, the judge could not stack the charges.

Family members said they are relieved he has begun serving his sentence but remain dissatisfied with the length of time.

“No term will bring them back,” Andrew Saenz said.

The Waid family said the crash also highlights ongoing safety concerns along State Highway 46, which they described as a dangerous stretch of road. In the past decade, 13 lives have been lost along the corridor.

Officials have acknowledged concerns about the roadway’s design and safety. Kendall County leaders are asking the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to implement upgrades, including the addition of a center median.

“This accident happened nearly a year and a half ago, and since then we’ve had subsequent deaths,” Saenz said. “It’s a dangerous stretch of road.”

As they await potential changes, the family said they are focused on healing and remembering their loved ones.

“What gives us peace is that Roger, Pat and Blake are with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Torres said.

Galm is eligible for parole after serving half his prison sentence.

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Spurs were two points behind the Hammers before heading to Sunderland on Sunday.

Valentín Castellanos scored twice in three minutes midway through the second half after Konstantinos Mavropanos put the Hammers 1-0 up with a header just before halftime.

Konstantinos completed the scoring seven minutes from time with an acrobatic volley from a corner kick.

Wolves remained at the bottom of the league and was almost certain to be relegated.

Neither side excelled in a forgettable first half but West Ham went in a goal to the good when Mavropanos nodded home a cross from Jarrod Bowen.

Castellanos made it two after 66 minutes thanks to a deliciously cheeky assist from Pablo and then the same player added a third three minutes later with a low shot that may have been aided by a slight deflection.

Konstantinos’ fourth was the icing on the cake for the home side that celebrated its first league win in over a month.

“We are extremely happy," Hammers coach Nuno Espirito Santo said. "All of us deserve an evening like this, especially our fans. London Stadium was amazing; it was bouncing with energy even in the hard parts when the game was tough.

“I realize there is still a lot of work to be done yet. We made a big step today, which was important for us, but nothing has changed.”

___

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

The unveiling of Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki's statue had an unforced error on Friday — a broken bat.

As broadcaster Rick Rizzs declared “we're going to count down from 51!” — a nod to Suzuki's jersey number, which was retired by the Seattle Mariners — the curtain covering the bronze statue was pulled down, and so, too, went the bat.

A snapping noise could be heard as the bronze bat flopped down and confetti sprouted up.

“Here it is! The statue of one of the greatest players in the history of the game!” Rizzs declared as the curtain was pulled and a celebratory tune played outside of T-Mobile Park.

The statue depicts Suzuki in his batting stance. He appeared to find the mishap to be hilarious, and joked through an interpreter that New York Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera got the best of him again.

“I didn’t think Mariano would come out here,” Suzuki said with a smile, “and break the bat.”

It did not take long for the Mariners to fix the statue; Suzuki’s bat was soon turned upright and reconnected at the handle. The statue was sculpted by Chicago-based Lou Cella, who also produced statues of Mariners greats Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez, University of Washington football coach Don James, Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird, and former Seattle SuperSonics player and coach Lenny Wilkens.

Suzuki said he wore a jersey from the 2001 season, when he won both AL MVP and Rookie of the Year, for a photo shoot with Cella.

“I can say I was happy that I was still able to fit into that uniform, and probably could say Junior and Edgar probably couldn’t do that,” Suzuki said. “So, I was happy about that.”

Suzuki was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer and last year became only the third Mariners player to have his jersey retired by the franchise, joining Griffey (No. 24) and Martinez (No. 11).

Griffey and Martinez joined Suzuki for the ceremony and helped him pull the curtain off the statue.

“To have this moment with them, I look back at how it all started,” Suzuki said. “And it’s just been an unbelievable experience.”

Suzuki made history as the first Japanese-born player inducted into the Hall of Fame, earning a near-unanimous 99.7% of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The way the jovial Suzuki saw it, his statue having an imperfection was only fitting.

“In the Hall of Fame, I was short one vote,” Suzuki said. “Today, the bat was broke. It kind of lets me know that I’m still not there, that I still need to keep going. So, this is a good example of that.”

___

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

President Donald Trump has tasked the member of his inner circle who has seemed to be the most reluctant defender of the 6-week-old conflict with Iran to now find a resolution and stave off the U.S. president's astonishing threat to wipe out its “whole civilization.”

Vance, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions and outspoken about the prospect of sending troops into open-ended conflicts, set off Friday to lead mediated talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

“If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand,” Vance told reporters before boarding Air Force Two to make his way to the talks in Pakistan. But he added, “If they’re gonna try and play us, then they’re gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”

Vance's trip comes as a tenuous, temporary ceasefire appears to be on the precipice of collapsing. The chasm between Iran’s public demands and those from the U.S. and its partner Israel seems irreconcilable. And in the U.S., where Vance might ask voters in two years’ time to make him the next president, there is growing political and economic pressure to wrap it up.

As Vance made his way to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a social media post that a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, and the release of blocked Iranian assets “must be fulfilled before negotiations begin.” He did not elaborate further.

Qalibaf and other senior Iranian officials arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, later on Friday ahead of Vance. The Iranian delegation for the talks, which is slated to begin Saturday, also includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of the Supreme National Defense Council, Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati, and several lawmakers. It was received at the airport by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior Pakistani government officials.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a televised address to his nation on Friday, described the talks as a “make-or-break moment” for the two sides.

Vance is joined by Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who took part in three rounds of indirect talks with Iranian negotiators aimed at settling U.S. concerns about Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programs and its support for armed proxy groups in the Middle East before Trump and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28.

The White House has provided scant detail about the format of the talks — whether they will be direct or indirect — and has not provided specific expectations for the meeting.

But the arrival of Vance for negotiations marks a rare moment of high-level U.S. government engagement with the Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the most direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in September 2013 called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.

The 2 sides face a steep climb in making headway

Almost immediately after the White House and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire Tuesday evening, the sides found themselves at odds over the terms of the truce.

Iran insisted that an end to the Israeli war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump said the truce did not cover Lebanon, and the Israeli operations there continued.

The U.S., meanwhile, demanded that Iran make good on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Republic had closed the critical shipping waterway in response to Israel’s intensifying attacks against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” Trump posted on social media on Friday. “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”

Iran’s effective shuttering of the waterway has had a major impact on the U.S. and global economies. In the United States, consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported Friday. The largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades spurred the sharp spike in inflation.

Still, Trump expressed confidence in an exchange with reporters on Friday evening about the U.S. position going into the talks. He predicted that the strait will soon be reopened “with or without” Tehran's cooperation.

High stakes for peace — and for politics

It’s the highest-stakes moment thus far for Vance, who spent much of last year as more of a background player in the Trump White House, especially as others like Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio took turns as ever-present advisers for the president.

“I wished him luck. He’s got a big thing,” Trump said of his parting message to Vance before he began his journey to Islamabad.

Vance’s portfolio is fattening fast, first with a mission to root out fraud in government programs at home and now to help solve a U.S. war in the Middle East, where complicated doesn’t even begin to describe things.

Vance, who served in the Iraq War while in the Marines and spent two years as a U.S. senator for Ohio and a little more than one as vice president, has little diplomatic experience.

On Wednesday, he dismissed speculation that the Iranians requested that he join the talks, telling reporters: “I don’t know that. I would be surprised if that was true. But, you know, I wanted to be involved because I thought I could make a difference.”

Jonathan Schanzer, a former Treasury Department official who is now executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank, said Vance, with little experience on Iran policy, is an interesting choice to lead the delegation.

Trump has noted his vice president was “less enthusiastic” than other top senior officials in the Republican administration, making Vance an intriguing interlocutor for the Iranian side, Schanzer said.

“I think they probably prefer him knowing that his perspective on foreign intervention is one of skepticism,” Schanzer said of the Iranians. “I do think that he’s going to need some help. I don’t think he’s ever been engaged in negotiations with this kind of weight, this kind of seriousness. This is as serious as it gets.”

The White House has pushed back against the characterization that Iran wanted Vance in the talks, casting it as an effort to hurt negotiations.

Negotiating peace is a tall order for any vice president

Vance and Rubio are seen as the Republican Party’s strongest potential 2028 presidential contenders, though neither has given a clear answer about whether he intends to run.

As vice president, Vance inherently would carry any baggage of the administration if he eventually runs for president, said Joel Goldstein, a professor of law at Saint Louis University, who is an expert on the history of the vice presidency. Stepping in to lead negotiations even further ties him to the conflict.

“The fact that he’s involved in the negotiations in a very visible way, that means that, if things go south, that people will be pointing fingers at him,” Goldstein said.

He added, “If things go well, then it will be something that he could point to.”

—

AP writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed reporting.

The talks are set to begin Tuesday in Washington and will be mediated by U.S. diplomats, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's office said in a statement, citing the outcome of a call Friday among Israeli, Lebanese and U.S. ambassadors. The statement reiterated Beirut's position that the talks be held under a ceasefire or truce.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter later issued a statement describing next Tuesday's talks as “formal peace negotiations," but said a ceasefire was not on the agenda, in a stark contradiction to Aoun's remarks.

“Israel refused to discuss a ceasefire with the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which continues to attack Israel and is the main obstacle to peace between the two countries,” the statement read.

At least 13 members of Lebanon's State Security forces were killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Friday, while Hezbollah claimed an attack targeting a naval base in the Israeli port city of Ashdod some 145 kilometers (90 miles) from the border.

Israel launched strikes across several towns in southern Lebanon, including one on a government building in the southern city of Nabatieh that killed the government security personnel. Hezbollah claimed 31 other attacks on northern Israel and on Israeli ground troops that have invaded southern Lebanon.

Israel launched its latest aerial campaign and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel in solidarity with Iran, its key ally and patron, on March 2.

At least 1,953 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Health Ministry. At least 303 were killed in a rapid series of 100 strikes that hit the country — including multiple areas in dense residential and commercial areas in central Beirut — in 10 minutes on Wednesday, the bloodiest day in the latest war between the two sides. Civil Defense first responders are still searching for bodies trapped under the rubble in the Lebanese capital.

Meanwhile, officials at Beirut's main government-run hospital on the southern edge of the capital fear it could be in the line of fire after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for the surrounding suburbs, including the busy neighborhood of Jnah where the hospital is located. Israel has launched attacks in Jnah, both with and without warning.

The World Health Organization has since called for the Rafik Hariri University Hospital to be spared from attacks and not to evacuate, and WHO officials said Friday that they received assurances that it would not be struck. The hospital has not evacuated, though staff are fearful, as getting to work now requires them to drive on roads that can be struck at any time says Dr. Mohammad Cheaito, who heads the emergency department.

“The entire zone around the hospital was threatened and deemed dangerous,” he told The Associated Press. “But at the end of the day, we have a humanitarian duty.”

Lebanon hopes for truce while Hezbollah supporters reject talks

Lebanon's authorities have not yet commented on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement on Thursday of the decision to go ahead with talks. Netanyahu said the talks would revolve around disarming Hezbollah and establishing “peaceful relations” between the two countries.

A Lebanese official in government familiar with the developments said that a halt in the fighting is a critical condition for the country to engage in direct talks with Israel, similar to the one between the U.S. and Iran. It has yet to appoint a representative for negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Aoun had initially proposed the direct talks early on in the war on similar terms, at the time hoping for Israel to stop an escalation in airstrikes and to not invade the country. At the time, with only the backing of France, that failed.

On Wednesday, the U.S. and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire in the war that began on Feb. 28. It included Lebanon and other countries impacted in the wider regional conflict, mediator Pakistan announced. However, Israel — and later the United States — denied this. They want to separate the diplomatic tracks of the two wars.

Hezbollah considers Israel's attacks on Lebanon to be a violation of the ceasefire, while Beirut, in a bid to disarm Hezbollah and assert its full sovereignty over the country, says it wants to be included in talks related to Lebanon.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Kassem in a statement broadcast Thursday did not directly mention the prospect of Israel-Lebanon talks, but called on the Lebanese government to “stop giving free concessions” to Israel.

Dozens of supporters of the Iran-backed group protested outside of the Lebanese prime minister's office in central Beirut. They see the scheduled direct talks as a surrender to Israel, which says its troops will stay in the country indefinitely.

“Our blood has been spilled on this land, and our state is conspiring against us,” said protester Hassan Shuaib. “Our state wants to kill us; our state wants to strip us of our weapons.”

———

Associated Press producer Malak Harb and video journalist Fadi Tawil in Beirut, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

The roadwork, which has been going on since 2022, is known as the South Alamo project and is being managed by the City of San Antonio’s Capital Delivery Department.

It’s a $58 million bond project that includes improvements, such as repaved streets and upgraded sidewalks along South Alamo Street between Cesar Chavez Boulevard and Market Street.

In March, Nicholas Olivier, a spokesman for the Public Works Department, said the project should reach “substantial completion” by April 13.

In a new email, though, he clarified that there still could be additional work to do even after that date.

Gustavo Lorensy, who was making deliveries nearby Thursday morning, said he is praying for an end to the road closures.

“We came down here to deliver, and I had to park half a block down to deliver to this place,” he said, pointing to a restaurant in the area.

Lorensy said at one point, he worked at La Villita but gave up that job due to the difficulties he had in getting around with all the construction.

It also proved to be a difficult task for Mariah Burns as she tried to travel to Hemisfair Park.

“I had to make a couple of loops and my husband was, like, ‘No, I think you can still go that way,’” she said. “It was super confusing just trying to get to this spot.”

Burns, who is visiting from Louisiana, said she found out about the park while doing research online.

The traffic problems, though, came as an unwelcome surprise.

“You really have to know the area and, kind of, like, maneuver with the GPS system to figure it out,” Burns said. “It was a little bit of a headache, I’m not going to lie.”

People like Lorensy are hoping for an end to this sort of headache soon.

The April 13 date for “substantial completion” is just days ahead of the start of Fiesta.

Several of the events take place each year in La Villita and other areas near the construction zone.

Olivier said among the jobs that crews are still working to complete are brick paving, landscaping, lighting, signage, signal work and street striping.

Public Works said this should be completed by Monday.

He said additionally, there will be a period for completing “punch list items,” or minor corrective work.

That part of the project will begin once Fiesta is over, Olivier said.

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The video not only shows the biker running away from the fire, but also a group of children scrambling to get out of the way.

Among them was Jayden Martinez, who at 11 years old, realizes just how lucky he was to escape.

“It was a little crazy, but I am OK,” he told KSAT 12 News on Friday. “Still walking the streets.”

The crash, which happened on Wooden Fox Street last Thursday, was caught on a neighbor’s home security camera.

Jayden said it happened quickly and took him by surprise.

“I was just walking home with my buds, back home, near the main street. And next thing you know, the guy just crashes,” he recalled. “I was a little bit scared, but I just called 911 and hoped for the best, really.”

The biker was taken to a hospital for treatment of burns.

As of Friday morning, that man, whose name has not been released, is not facing any criminal charges or citations, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.

Jayden’s family, though, is feeling a bit heated now about what they say is an ongoing problem in the neighborhood.

Located between Marbach Road and Potranco Road, the subdivision is often used as a shortcut by speeding drivers, his mother, Nicole Martinez, said.

“People are just zooming in and out, so I’m consistently having to remind him, ‘Make sure that you’re not on your phone. Make sure that you’re aware,’” she said.

Jayden’s grandmother, who did not want to be identified, said she has noticed the problem, too, and it alarms her.

“There’s a lot of speeding down here, racing,” she said. “It’s very, very disturbing to see these people think that it’s a joke, it’s funny. It’s not.”

Both women said even before the motorcycle crash, they had been trying to have something done to get drivers to slow down.

Nicole Martinez said she attempted to get in touch with people within county government but has had no luck.

“It’s just being punted back and forth,” she said. “Very frustrating.”

Jayden’s grandmother said she is worried someone will be more seriously hurt if changes aren’t made soon.

A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said deputies have increased patrols in the area since the crash happened. However, both family members say they believe more should be done, including the installation of speed bumps.

KSAT 12 News sent an email to the office of Bexar County Commissioner Rebecca Clay-Flores, whose district includes the neighborhood, asking about possible plans to provide assistance.

In a phone call, a spokesperson said the office had not received any prior calls about the speeding problem.

That staff member promised to send a written response to the inquiry. However, as of Friday afternoon, it still has not arrived.

More coverage of this story on KSAT.com:

• Motorcycle crash ends in flames near kids; far West Side residents urge need for speed bumps

Bowser’s proposal makes education and health care spending — especially for Medicaid — priorities but would cut funding for several areas, including $127 million set aside for future collective bargaining agreements and non-union pay increases for city employees.

Notable in the proposal is the decrease in the proposed general funds budget to $12.7 billion, a 3.3% cut from 2026. General funds are what pay for city services. Bowser said the cuts are necessary because of a drop in revenue due in part to federal workforce reductions and rising costs, including higher Medicaid expenses and higher administration costs for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), because of a change in federal law that shifted some costs to states.

Bowser, speaking to the Council, assured members the city is “not broke” as she walked them through what she called the three periods of her tenure, the days of growth, the COVID-economic years and post-COVID.

“We are adjusting to what DOGE has done to our workforce and commercial corridor,” she said, referring to the Trump administration's efforts to shrink the federal government. She said the rising costs and decreased revenue have left the city with an estimated budget gap to address.

“I think we all have to be clear-headed about where we are and what it will take to keep growing,” said Bowser, who has served as mayor since 2015 and has announced she will not be running for reelection this year.

Members of the council questioned Bowser and members of her staff on proposed targets, including taking aim at programs intended to help defray the cost of child care in a city where a family pays on average more than $25,000 a year for infant care, according to the advocacy group Child Care Aware of America.

The plan would cap the District’s child care subsidy program, which helps the city’s poorest families afford care, at 6,000 children. Families currently receiving the subsidies would continue to receive them. And it would eliminate a program that supplemented the wages of child care providers, a measure passed during the pandemic to help attract and retain workers to a field with historically low wages.

Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said the council would likely vote on the budget in June.

Washington's budget has been complicated in the last two years. In 2025 the House passed a federal government funding bill that would force the district’s government to revert to its 2024 budget parameters, effectively cutting $1.1 billion from its previously balanced budget midway through the financial year.

The remaking of the federal workforce by the Department of Government Efficiency heavily impacted the Washington region. Terry Clower, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, estimated more than 50,000 jobs were lost in the region. Clover said those job losses meant more than lost salaries and income taxes for the workers, also hitting businesses that support those workers.

The D.C. Office of Revenue Analysis estimated that Washington had a net loss of 22,000 federal jobs at a combined annual pay of more than $3 billion.

City Administrator Kevin Donahue said the reduction in the federal workforce, primarily by DOGE, cost about $325 million in lost revenue from cuts in jobs and the accompanying consumer spending. Those losses will be even higher in the 2027 fiscal year.

Reading prepared remarks at the White House on Thursday, Melania Trump said she and her attorneys were fighting back against “unfound and baseless lies” in regards to her connections to the late financier, a convicted sex offender who leveraged connections to the rich, powerful and famous to recruit his victims and cover up his crimes.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”

The first lady didn't take questions from the press after her statement, leaving many with questions:

Why now?

It's unclear.

The message came as her husband, President Donald Trump, and his administration had finally seemed to move past more than a year of controversy surrounding Epstein, especially as the Iran war had become all-consuming in Washington.

The first lady’s comments almost assuredly will serve to push the story back into the political spotlight even as the president urged the public and media to move on from the case.

Who was Melania Trump responding to?

Melania Trump seemingly referenced a brief email from 2002 with the sender and recipient blacked out. It begins, “Dear G!” and ends “Love, Melania,” and compliments the recipient on a magazine article about “JE.”

“I know you are very busy flying all over the world,” it says. “How was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY.”

That email was sent the same month that a New York Magazine article was published about Epstein in which Trump called him a “terrific guy.”

Melania Trump said Thursday that she was not friends with Epstein or his confidant and onetime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, but was in overlapping social circles in New York and Florida. She described an email reply she sent to Maxwell as “casual correspondence” without elaborating.

“My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,” she said.

Among other documents released was an image from Epstein’s home showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Donald Trump alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Maxwell.

Melania Trump noted Thursday that several individuals and organizations have had to apologize for their “lies about me.” Of the examples she cited, the most recent was in October. In that case, book publisher HarperCollins UK apologized to the first lady and retracted passages from a book suggesting Epstein played a role in introducing her and Donald Trump.

What did President Trump say about his wife’s comments?

MS ​NOW ​reporter Jacqueline Alemany said on social media Thursday that President Trump told her he ⁠did ​not “know anything ​about” ​Melania ​Trump’s statement about ⁠Epstein.

The White House press office did not respond to requests for comment.

Nick Clemens, a spokesperson for the first lady, said the West Wing was aware beforehand that she was making a statement. But he deferred to the West Wing on whether the content of what Melania Trump planned to say was known.

In recent weeks President Trump’s public appearances have largely centered around the war in Iran.

What is the status of the release of the Epstein files?

The first lady brought Epstein back to the forefront months after federal authorities released millions of pages of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted after months of public and political pressure. It requires the government to open its files on the late financier and Maxwell.

Lawmakers initially complained when the Justice Department made only a limited release, but officials said more time was needed to review additional documents that were discovered and to ensure no sensitive information about victims was released.

Did anyone get punished after the files were made public?

Several key leaders in Europe have been punished for their affiliation with Epstein but there have been no comparable prosecutions in the U.S.

Most notably, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — Britain's former Prince Andrew — was arrested in February following the most recent trove of files that were released. Mountbatten-Windsor's name frequently appeared in the files, depicting a close relationship with Epstein.

But his arrest didn't have anything to do with sexual impropriety. Instead, he was arrested for allegedly sharing confidential trade information with Epstein.

Melania Trump called on Congress to hold a public hearing centered on survivors of Epstein’s crimes, with a chance to testify before lawmakers and have their stories entered into the congressional record.

“Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes,” she said. “Then, and only then, we will have the truth.”

The S&P 500 inched 0.1% lower after a day of choppy trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%.

The major indexes each notched a weekly gain for the second week in a row. They have been gaining ground this month amid optimism that the war with Iran could be heading toward a resolution. High-level talks between negotiators from Iran and the U.S. are planned for Saturday in Pakistan.

The benchmark S&P 500 has erased most of its losses from March and is just 2.3% short of its all-time high set in January. The market is still prone to big swings on developments around the war.

Oil prices have been behind many of the stock market’s sharp movements. They've risen sharply as shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz essentially stalled since the war began.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times. Brent for June delivery fell 0.8% to $95.20 per barrel Friday.

A barrel of U.S. crude oil for May delivery dropped 1.3% to $96.57.

The situation leading into the peace talks over the weekend remains uncertain. Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency claimed that talks wouldn’t happen unless Israel stopped its attacks in Lebanon.

The conflict is behind surging inflation in the U.S. in March. The government reported the biggest spike in inflation in four years as prices at the gas pump jumped. The inflation increase was just short of what economists expected.

Bond yields rose a bit following the latest inflation update. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.32% from 4.29% late Thursday.

Inflation has been a lingering concern for economists. Prices on a range of consumer goods and services are already stubbornly high, in part from the impact of extensive global tariffs. Higher gas prices are immediately felt by drivers at the pump, but they could eventually raise prices on everything from food to airfare as companies pass along higher costs for shipping and fuel.

Analysts are warning that there might be a drawn out impact from the oil supply shock in the months ahead.

“While I’m glad to see the effects to be less than expected in March, the effects in April are now more likely to be worse,” Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group, wrote in a research note.

Consumer sentiment slumped 10.7% percent in April, according to a closely watched monthly survey from the University of Michigan. It also shows that consumers are growing more worried about inflation, with year-ahead expectations surging to 4.8% in April from 3.8% in March.

Inflation remains a major concern for the Federal Reserve, which has signaled more caution amid worries about inflation reheating. The rate of inflation remains above the central bank's 2% target. The threat of rising inflation will likely mean the central bank continues to hold interest rates steady. Several Fed officials have also said a rate hike may be needed if inflation doesn’t cool.

Lower interest rates help boost stocks and other investments by lowering borrowing costs. Interest rate cuts also risk worsening inflation.

Most companies in the S&P 500 lost ground Friday, with health care and financial company stocks driving much of the decline. Eli Lilly and Co. fell 1.6% and Charles Schwab closed 2.5% lower.

Technology stocks with hefty values helped offset losses elsewhere. Nvidia rose 2.6% and Broadcom rose 4.7%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 7.77 points to 6,816.89. The Dow dropped 269.23 points to 47,916.57, and the Nasdaq gained 80.48 points to close at 22,902.89.

Markets in Asia gained ground while markets in Europe were mixed.

Many issues could derail the truce and the negotiations aimed at making a broader deal to stop the fighting permanently.

Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency, close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, claimed that the talks set for Saturday would not happen unless Israel stopped its attacks in Lebanon. And U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform that Iran has no leverage except to restrict ship traffic in the strait, through which 20% of the world’s traded oil once passed.

Kuwait, meanwhile, said it was targeted by seven drone attacks since Thursday that it blamed on Iran and its militia allies in the region. Though the Guard denied launching any assault, it has carried out attacks across the Mideast in the past that it did not claim.

Preparations for the talks between Iran and the U.S. appeared to be moving forward, with Vance boarding Air Force Two for the long flight to Islamabad.

Elsewhere, negotiations between Israel and Lebanon were expected to begin Tuesday in the U.S. capital, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's office said Friday. Beirut is keen to hold direct talks to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, but under a ceasefire similar to the one with Iran.

Before his departure, Vance said he believed the negotiations with Iran will be “positive.”

But he added, “If they’re going to try and play us, then they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”

In Islamabad, security forces locked down key parts of the Pakistani capital, erecting barricades along routes from the airport to the city.

Hours later, the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived in Islamabad, Iranian state TV reported. The delegation included security, political, military, economic and legal teams. The report said negotiations will begin only if the other side accepts Iran’s preconditions.

Earlier in the day, Qalibaf posted on social media that two points he said had been mutually agreed on — a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets — have yet to be implemented.

“These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he wrote.

Israel and Lebanon will have direct negotiations

Israel’s insistence that the ceasefire in Iran does not include a pause in its fighting with Hezbollah has threatened to sink the deal. The militant group joined the war in support of its backer, Iran.

The day the truce was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. It was the deadliest day in the country since the war began Feb. 28.

Trump said Thursday that he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dial back the strikes.

Then on Friday, Israeli warplanes struck near a state security office in the southern town of Nabatieh, killing 13 officers, according to the Lebanese president's office. Israeli forces said they also hit about 10 rocket launchers in Lebanon that had fired toward northern Israel.

A day earlier, Netanyahu said he authorized the negotiations with Lebanon with the aim of disarming Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the neighbors, which have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948.

Aoun’s office confirmed that the two sides were set to negotiate after Lebanon and Israel’s ambassadors to the U.S. held a call with Washington’s ambassador to Lebanon to discuss terms. The U.S. State Department will mediate.

In a first statement since Israel announced direct negotiations with Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Naim Kassem urged Lebanese officials to stop offering “free concessions,” but he did not take a clear stance on the talks.

Two days after Israel's barrage, people sifted through the wreckage of their homes, trying to salvage furniture and personal mementos. Some expressed gratitude that they did not lose loved ones.

“There is no substitute for family,” said Wissam Tabila, 35. “Everything else can be replaced.”

Strait of Hormuz remains a sticking point

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent oil prices skyrocketing, driven stocks down and roiled the world economy. Tehran's control over the waterway has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war.

The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was around $97 Friday, up more than 30% since the war started.

Before the conflict, over 100 ships passed through the strait each day — many carrying oil to Asia. With the ceasefire in place, only 12 have been recorded passing through.

Trump said Iran has little clout in the negotiations.

“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” Trump posted Friday. “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”

Questions linger about missile and nuclear programs

Questions also remain over the fate of Iran’s missile and nuclear programs, which the U.S. and Israel sought to eliminate in going to war.

The U.S. insists Iran must never be able to build nuclear weapons and wants to remove Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to make them. Iran insists its program is peaceful.

Trump has said that the U.S. would work with Iran to remove the uranium, though Tehran has not confirmed that.

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, a top Iranian officer told the state-run Iran newspaper. Iran’s government has not provided any definitive death toll from the war.

In Lebanon, at least 1,953 people have been killed and 1 million have been displaced. Over a dozen people have died in Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, while 23 civilians were killed in Israel. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed.

In other developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces shot down Iranian‑designed Shahed drones in several Middle Eastern countries during the Iran war. The missions, carried out with domestically produced interceptor drones, were part of efforts to help partners counter the same weapons Russia uses in Ukraine, he said.

___

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Mednick from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Aamer Madhani in Washington; Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City; and Kareem Chehayeb and Hussein Malla in Beirut contributed to this report.

The human remains were found on June 16, 2025, in the 1800 block of Neal Road, north of South Loop 1604.

San Antonio police said a 911 caller found the human remains on their property.

According to the medical examiner’s office, the remains are a man who was about 5 feet 6 inches tall and approximately 57 to 70 years old.

Anyone who recognizes the man is encouraged to contact the investigative section of the medical examiner’s office at 210-335-4011.

Read also:

• 2 charged with capital murder after bodies found in Medina Lake, sheriff’s office says

“Had to have one,” said James, who was attending the Masters from Wyckoff, New Jersey. “It's a novelty.”

This is the 10th and perhaps final year Augusta National will sell the limited edition gnome, which features the traditional old man with a white beard in colorful golf attire. Each year's gnome is different, with the 2026 edition featuring the character dressed in khaki pants with a white-and-green striped polo shirt and blue vest holding an umbrella in one hand and a Masters-themed cup in the other.

The gnomes have become wildly popular — and increasingly valuable — over the last decade.

With only about 1,000 available each day, the gnomes regularly sell out within an hour each morning at the merchandise shop before being restocked the following day. This year's gnome sells for $59.50 plus tax and is only available at Augusta National.

It has become a big money-maker for some patrons on the resale market.

The bidding for one gnome on eBay reached $620 on Friday with two days still remaining in the auction. Another can be purchased directly for $670 plus delivery cost, but there are dozens of others listed for similar prices.

On Facebook Marketplace, some gnomes are being sold for $800.

Fueling the price is speculation this may be the final year that the gnome will be produced.

Masters chairman Fred Ridley was asked earlier in the week if this will be the final edition. He responded by saying, “I’ve been asking that question for several years, and they won’t tell me the answer. So I can’t help you.”

When asked if he'd consider selling his gnome, James laughed and said, “Maybe.”

“I mean, I just spent more than $1,000 in the gift shop, so from what I've heard the gnome might pay for all of it,” James said. “I'll have to think about it, but it's definitely an option.”

John Van Pay, who came from San Antonio, got caught up in the gnome hysteria after talking with a friend associated with the LIV tour the night before attending the Masters. He convinced his son, Bryce, to wake up early and get to the course, and limited to one per person, they each walked out of the merchandise shop with a gnome.

“Yeah, we kept hearing about this gnome, and the rumor is it's going to be the last year they produce them,” Van Pay said. “So next thing you know, we are waiting in line at 7 a.m. to buy this gnome at the shop.”

Van Pay said he plans to keep his gnome as a souvenir of his trip to the Masters, calling it “a great piece of memorabilia” and something that “is going to look great on the shelf.” The younger Van Pay is a little more torn; he's an avid memorabilia collector, mostly dealing with Funko Pop.

Bryce Van Pay recounted how he recently had a $10 trading card that exploded on the market and reached $300 in value following the release of the most recent Marvel movie, only to watch it's worth slip to $100 a few months later. Van Pay lamented not selling it when it was at its most valuable.

“The Masters gnome is a hot seller and I'm not sure if it's going to go up and down (in value),” the younger Van Pay said. “There is a lot in circulation right now (on eBay and other platforms)."

He said given the possibility this is the last gnome produced, the wiser financial decision might be to hold onto it for a while.

With that, his father jumped in and said: “Well, he's my only son, so he can sell his now and make money and have mine when I hand it down to him.”

___

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

With gas prices reaching record highs, according to Gas Buddy, VIA Metropolitan Transit offers another way to get to the festivities.

VIA will provide transportation to popular Fiesta activities starting Friday, April 17.

Bus fare rides are one way and cost less than $2. Eligible customers can ride for free, according to VIA’s website.

VIA’s Fiesta schedule runs from April 17 to April 25. The buses provide trips to Oyster Bake, the River Parade, Night in Old San Antonio, the Battle of Flowers Parade and more.

Details about pick-up and drop-off locations are available on the VIA website.

More Fiesta coverage from KSAT:

• How to watch 2026 Fiesta parades, events on KSAT
• Fiesta’s biggest event no longer free; city council approves $5 gate fee for Fiesta de los Reyes
• Fiesta parades: How to choose where to sit?
• Rey Feo Consejo Educational Foundation previews Fiesta de los Reyes

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

MARE E MONTE ITALIAN RESTAURANT

9390 Huebner Rd, San Antonio, TX 78240

Mare e Monte Italian Restaurant is a family-owned San Antonio eatery serving high-quality Italian cuisine in a relaxed setting. Named Best New Restaurant and Best Italian Restaurant by MySA, the establishment prides itself on very fresh ingredients and a welcoming dining experience. This sponsored segment highlights their first come, first served approach, inviting guests to stop in and enjoy a meal without reservations.

The menu features a mix of classic and elevated dishes, including the Orecchiette di terra with house-made sausage and San Marzano tomato sauce, as well as seafood, steak, and handcrafted desserts. With white linen tablecloths, an airy atmosphere, and a curated wine list, Mare e Monte offers a blend of traditional Italian flavors with a Texas touch.

CARFEST

3201 E Houston St, San Antonio, TX 78219

CarFest returns to the Freeman Coliseum Expo Hall for its 10th annual celebration, bringing together car enthusiasts and families for a weekend of entertainment and community impact. Hosted by the Community of Automotive Professionals, the free event features car showcases, automotive workshops, live entertainment, and interactive activities for all ages.

In addition to food trucks, barbecue cook-offs, and shopping, this annual event includes unique experiences like free car giveaways, a kids track, and on-site vehicle repairs for community members in need. With new additions such as a comedy show, a young entrepreneurs marketplace, and an animal adoption area, the event continues to grow as one of the largest automotive festivals in Texas.

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

• Facebook: @TexasEatsTV
• Instagram: @texaseatstv
• TikTok: @ElderEats
• Twitter: @TexasEatsTV

The states argue in the civil case that the company and its ticketing arm, Ticketmaster, are monopolizing the industry and driving up prices to see live music.

Live Nation contends there is more competition than ever and the company plays fair amid a U.S. booming concert business.

Soon after starting deliberations, the jury in Manhattan federal court told the judge it wanted to review certain testimony given at the five-week trial. It later asked to see additional trial testimony, including from music industry experts. Deliberations resume Monday.

The states carried on with their case after the federal government settled last month.

The Justice Department said it had won important concessions from Live Nation, particularly in the sale of tickets at dozens of the company’s amphitheaters.

A lawyer for the states said in closing arguments on Thursday that Live Nation controls 86% of the market for concerts and 73% of the overall market when sports events are included.

Live Nation’s lawyer said the company isn’t hiding from the fact that it’s the biggest entertainment company and ticketer in the country. But, the lawyer said, “success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States.”

Mitchell had battled cancer for years, the Uvalde Leader-News reported.

He spent nearly 40 years as the Uvalde County judge and retired in March 2026. Mitchell previously served as a justice of the peace and a Uvalde City Council member.

“If you knew him, you already know the kind of man he was,” wrote Mitchell’s son, Gatlan, on Facebook. “He was respected, he was strong, and he was loved by a whole lot of people. I’m proud to be his son, and I’m grateful for everything he gave us.”

Mitchell’s final months included several legal issues. The State Commission of Judicial Conduct suspended Mitchell without pay after records show he was indicted for official oppression. Records show he appealed the commission’s ruling, which was denied.

Information about services and arrangements are in the works, according to Mitchell’s family.

Adams, a Democrat, received the honorary citizenship “at his request,” according to an official decree from the country’s president, Bajram Begaj.

The news was first reported in the Albanian press and confirmed by a spokesperson for Adams, who said the ex-mayor had “long been a friend and ally of the Albanian-American community.”

“The decision by the Republic of Albania to grant Mayor Adams citizenship reflects that enduring relationship and mutual respect,” the spokesperson, Todd Shapiro, said in a text message, adding that the recognition “further strengthens the bond between New York and Albania.”

Adams, who once described himself as an “international mayor,” has previously expressed an affinity for the small Balkan nation. His adult son lived in the country while competing in Albania’s version of “American Idol." Adams traveled there himself in October — one of several international trips taken in his final months in office.

The purpose, he said at the time, was “to say hello to a friend and learn from a friend and build a relationship with a friendship that will not allow our oceans or seas to divide us.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what, if anything, Adams planned to do with his new citizenship. But he has previously expressed a desire to move far from his hometown of New York City.

“When I retire from government, I’m going to live in Baku,” Adams, then Brooklyn Borough President, said at an event honoring the Azerbaijan community in 2018. A few years later, in an interview with a Jewish publication, Adams said he would like to retire in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

As mayor, Adams' penchant for international trips to Turkey prompted a federal indictment focused, in part, on allegations that he accepted improper travel benefits from foreign nationals.

Adams denied the allegations, and the case was later ordered dropped by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department. Adams later met with Trump administration officials about the possibility of taking an ambassadorship, which did not materialize.

Shortly after dropping his ailing bid for reelection, Adams embarked on a four-day trip to Albania, meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and members of his Cabinet, along with local business leaders. The trip was paid for in part by the Albanian government.

Since leaving office, Adams has been spotted in Dubai and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also told reporters that he planned to fly to Senegal for a business opportunity, which he declined to discuss further.

In January, he launched a cryptocurrency coin that he said would beat back antisemitism and “anti-Americanism,” but it drew scrutiny after losing millions of dollars in value.

Imanaga struck out nine and walked one. He threw 100 pitches, 68 for strikes.

O’Hearn greeted Thielbar with a liner to right on a 1-1 slider. Bryan Reynolds drove Thielbar's next pitch deep to left for his third homer, lifting the Pirates to a 2-0 lead on a chilly afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Pittsburgh got its first baserunner when Oneil Cruz walked with two down in the second. Imanaga then fanned rookie Konnor Griffin for the final out of the inning.

The 32-year-old Imanaga went 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in his first two starts of the season.

___

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

Sentebale, which supports young people living with HIV in Botswana and Lesotho, filed suit last month in London’s High Court, according to court records viewed Friday. Online filings show Harry and his friend, Mark Dyer, a former trustee at the charity, are being sued for either libel or slander. No documents were available.

“The charity seeks the court’s intervention, protection, and restitution following a coordinated adverse media campaign conducted since 25 March 2025 that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners,” Sentebale said Friday in a statement on its website.

A spokesperson for Harry and Dyer said the pair “categorically reject these offensive and damaging claims.”

The lawsuit puts the Duke of Sussex in an unaccustomed position as a defendant in the High Court. Over the past three years, he has repeatedly been on the other side of litigation as the leading claimant in invasion of privacy suits against Britain's most prominent tabloids over allegations of phone hacking and unlawful snooping by journalists and the private eyes they hired.

Harry co-founded Sentebale, which means “forget me not” in the language of Lesotho, about 20 years ago in memory of his mother, who was a prominent advocate for treatment of HIV and AIDS and helped reduce stigma around the disease. Prince Seeiso of Lesotho was the co-founder.

Disagreements at the charity surfaced in 2023 over a new fundraising strategy, and the two founders stepped down as patrons in March 2025 in support of trustees who had quit.

At the time, they said the relationship between the board and its chair, Sophie Chandauka, was beyond repair. Chandauka later accused Harry of orchestrating a campaign of bullying and harassment to try to force her out.

As the dispute unfolded, Chandauka told Sky News that filming for one of Harry's Netflix programs had interfered with a scheduled fundraiser for Sentebale and that an incident with his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, became a source of friction.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales investigated and criticized both sides for allowing the issue to become public and damaging the organization’s reputation, but found no evidence of widespread bullying or misogyny at Sentebale.

“Sentebale’s problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity’s reputation, risk overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardizing the charity’s ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve,” commission CEO David Holdsworth said in a statement in August 2025.

Harry’s spokesperson had criticized the commission’s report while Chandauka welcomed it.

___

Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed to this report.

Crowds of supporters show up to his news conferences. Basic municipal services have been infused with newfound excitement. Celebrities help him promote his agenda.

In the process, he's been able to notch a few notable early wins. And he's reached a detente, at least for now, with President Donald Trump, a mercurial leader with an affinity for celebrities.

But as Mamdani, a Democrat, marks an early milestone in his mayoralty, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to leverage his fame into achieving the progressive policy proposals that propelled him to office.

Though he still has staunch critics, many of whom still view his past criticisms of the police department and Israel as major problems, Mamdani has been able to ease concerns among at least some skeptics.

“It's early but so far, so good,” said Jay Jacobs, chair of the state's Democratic Party, who made waves for not endorsing Mamdani during the election. “We may not agree on everything philosophically, but he is getting the job done.”

‘The biggest needs and the smallest needs’

As the mayor approached his 100th day — long a benchmark for judging an administration's opening vision — his team has moved to highlight the administration's commitment to the everyday responsibilities of the job.

While much of those duties are typical for his local office — picking up trash, plowing snow and filling potholes — the 34-year-old mayor has leaned on his knack for viral content creation to drive interest and awareness of government programs.

To hype up his child care program for 2-year-olds, Mamdani recruited Cardi B to help judge a jingle contest that will determine the initiative's theme song. His slick social media videos helped recruit thousands of new snow shovelers as a storm bore down on the city. A public service announcement he made brought more than 50,000 new subscribers to the city's emergency alert system in a single week.

A few weeks ago, alongside Natasha Cloud of the New York Liberty, Mamdani announced a bracket-style competition where people could vote on small projects for him to come and personally fix on his 100th day.

On Friday, Mamdani selected a winner — a garbage-filled lot in the Bronx — and helped pick up some of the junk with a sanitation crew, following a celebratory event that featured an overflowing trash can mascot and a cheerleading squad.

“I think every single day it's an opportunity to meet the needs of New Yorkers,” he said. “And what we've seen over the course of this 100 days is that New York City wants to see a city government that is able to meet the biggest needs and the smallest needs.”

The celebrity status, though, can also prompt backlash. During a bitter cold snap, his surprise appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon was seen by some as insensitive at a moment when the death toll of homeless New Yorkers was rapidly rising.

“Too much styling and profiling,” said Curtis Sliwa, a Republican who ran against Mamdani during last year's election, noting longstanding problems with street homelessness, public housing and infrastructure.

Still, Sliwa, who hammered Mamdani during the campaign but recently appeared in a comedy skit with the mayor during the City Hall press corps' annual roast, appeared to give Mamdani some credit, even if it came with a caveat.

“We just had Eric Adams, swagger man who'd party to the break of dawn, and now we have a guy who seems like he’s got a normal working schedule,” said Sliwa, referencing the city's previous mayor. “So having Zohran as the alternative, I think for a lot of people even if they disagree with him, there’s some stability.”

Still a star among supporters

On the night of Mamdani’s election party, hundreds packed the streets, some spontaneously, waiting for a glimpse of the mayor-elect leaving the venue. Departing campaign aides were cheered, by name, well after midnight. One attendee likened the street party to Beatlemania.

“I feel like I’m at a presidential inauguration,” said Medhavie Agnihotri, a 25-year-old tech consultant. “This is the first time in a while I’ve felt this hope.”

His star power has not appeared to wane since then.

Outside City Hall, New Yorkers and tourists frequently stop for selfies, peering through the iron gates in search of the mayor.

This week, on the mayor’s 97th day in office, a crowd gathered in the lobby of the busy Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan to watch as Mamdani announced the city would start transferring Rikers Island jail detainees with serious medical illnesses to a specialized unit at the hospital.

He entered to woos and applause from the onlookers, as many held up cellphones to record videos of the mayor. Dozens more watched along from a set of elevated walkways.

One man, Ricardo Granados, a 67-year-old retiree, was on his way to take his son to a medical appointment but stopped to see what all the hubbub was about just before the news conference started. He appeared delighted to learn the mayor was going to show up, saying he met Mamdani previously when Mamdani was campaigning in his neighborhood.

“I’m extremely fond of him. I think he’s going to make a real difference,” Granados said. “He wants to find out who needs what and he wants to help.”

___

AP writer Jake Offenhartz contributed to this story

The TEA opened an investigation into the district’s implementation of a new state law that mandated districts in Texas implement a policy banning personal communication devices by students on campuses during the school day.

In August, the NEISD Board of Trustees revised its policy regarding communication devices. The policy requires students to turn off and store their devices out of sight during class. However, students may use their devices during non-classroom periods, passing periods, lunch, as well as before or after school.

According to the special report, TEA officials asked then-Superintendent Dr. Sean Maika about how the information was used to develop the district’s revised policy.

Maika told officials that after conferring with the district’s legal counsel, it was “his impression that because the TEA guidance encouraged districts to define ‘school day’ in their policy, the definition was up to local control.”

Maika also told the TEA that the district had also heard from parents and students and factored that into the decision.

In November, the TEA sent a corrective action plan to the district, requiring them to adopt a policy that it said would be legally compliant with the law.

In January, the board voted to keep its current policy in place.

“There are many questions that are still unanswered, and at this point, members of the board will consider next steps as soon as they can,” NEISD Board President David Beyer said in a statement sent to parents.

The report did not indicate when the appointment of a conservator would take place.

Consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, up sharply from just 2.4% in February and the biggest yearly increase since May 2024. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.9% in March from February, the largest such increase in nearly four years.

It’s the first read on inflation to capture the effects of the Iran war. The surge in gas prices will stretch the budgets of lower- and middle-income households as it erodes their incomes, making it harder to afford other necessities such as food and rent.

Excluding volatile food and energy, core prices rose 2.6% in March from a year earlier, up from 2.5% in February. And last month core prices rose a modest 0.2%, suggesting that rising gas prices haven't yet spread to many other categories.

A big question for now is how long the oil and gas price shock lasts and whether it will lead to a broader, long-lasting inflation boost, similar to what occurred in the spring of 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. For now, economists say that it is unlikely the U.S. will see a widespread increase similar to a few years ago, when inflation topped 9%.

Still, how the war and its impact on inflation will play out in the coming months remains highly uncertain. Despite a tenuous cease fire, little has changed in the Strait of Hormuz, a bottle neck where millions of barrels of oil typically pass daily.

“It’s painful in the near term,” said Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “It’s going to get more painful in April,” when further gas price increases will lift inflation higher.

But Pearce said the impact may be shorter-lived than after the pandemic: “I think the conditions are much more like a short, sharp shock than what we saw in 2022.”

Industries that depend on oil and gas are paying more, particularly airlines, which have passed on those higher costs to travelers. Fares jumped 2.7% just last month and are 14.9% higher than a year ago. Many delivery services, including UPS and FedEx, have already announced fuel surcharges that have raised shipping costs for businesses and households.

Grocery prices slipped 0.2% last month and are up just 1.9% from a year earlier, yet economists believe they will move higher in the coming months as diesel fuel prices surge. Most food is shipped by truck.

More expensive fuel is “contributing to rising production costs across the food supply chain and could put upward pressure on grocery prices going forward,” said Andy Harig, a vice president at the grocery trade group FMI-The Food Industry Association. “As energy prices increase, the costs associated with producing and delivering food also rise.”

Clothing costs rose 1% in March from the previous month and are up 3.4% from a year earlier. Used car prices, however, fell 0.4% last month and down 3.2% from a year earlier.

The gas price shock stemming from the Iran war has shifted inflation’s trajectory, from a slow, gradual decline to a sharp increase further away from the Fed’s 2% target. As a result, the central bank will almost certainly postpone any cut in interest rates for months. Many Fed officials will look past the increase in headline inflation, however, and focus on core prices, which are likely to rise more slowly.

If Americans cut back on spending elsewhere in response to more expensive gas, the economy could slow and unemployment may rise.

Consumer sentiment plunged to a record low in April, according to a survey released Friday by the University of Michigan, largely because of the Iran war and concerns over higher gas prices. Their Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to 47.6, from 53.3 in March.

“Many consumers blame the Iran conflict for unfavorable changes to the economy,” said Joanne Hsu, the university's director of consumer surveys.

High prices had angered American voters before the war and the spike in prices for oil and everything that entails, from the pump to the grocery store, could make it more difficult for the president’s party to hold on to seats in both the House and the Senate in this year’s midterms.

Polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research last month found that about six in 10 Republicans are at least “somewhat” concerned about affording gas in the next few months.

Kyle LaFond, the founder of American Provenance, a small manufacturer of personal care products near Madison, Wisconsin, said his shipping costs have already risen between 30% and 40%.

The increases follow tariffs that were also a significant expense, because the company imports coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, and other ingredients. LaFond said he absorbed tariff costs for months, but finally threw in the towel last September and raised prices by 20% to 30% across the board, the first price hike from the company since 2021.

Now, LaFond feels like it’s a repeat of the tariff experience. He is trying to avoid raising prices again, but it depends on how long the fuel price spike lasts. If it continues until early summer, he may have to raise prices again.

“I’d really hate to do that because that would be two years of consecutive price increases, which for us, we’ve never done that before,” he said “But for the business to survive, then that might be necessary.”

Gas prices averaged $4.15 a gallon nationwide Friday, up from $2.98 on the day before the war began and a hike of nearly 40%, according to motor club AAA.

Inflation reached a peak of 9.1% in June 2022, as COVID-19 snarled supply chains and several rounds of stimulus checks pushed up consumer demand. Prices soared for groceries, furniture, restaurant meals and many other goods and services.

This time, economists say the job market and consumer spending are weaker, and there are no large government stimulus checks being issued to spur demand.

“That’s where this really differs, is that we aren’t seeing anywhere near the strength of demand,” Alan Detmeister, an economist at UBS, said. In 2021 and 2022, income growth “was increasing really strongly. We aren't seeing that now,” he added.

The U.S. Court of International Trade, a specialized court in New York, heard oral arguments Friday in an attempt to overturn the temporary tariffs Trump turned to after the Supreme Court in February struck down his preferred choice — even bigger, even more sweeping tariffs.

In his first attempt to impose global tariffs, the president last year invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), using the law to declare America's longstanding trade deficit a national emergency and to impose double-digit worldwide taxes on imports to combat it. He interpreted the law broadly to justify tariffs of whatever size he wanted, whenever he wanted to impose them, on whatever country he wanted to target.

The Supreme Court struck those tariffs down on Feb. 20, saying IEEPA did not authorize the use of tariffs to counter national emergencies.

But Trump had alternatives to IEEPA. The quickest option was Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose global tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days, after which congressional approval is needed to extend them. After his defeat at the Supreme Court, Trump quickly announced 10% Section 122 tariffs. He said he'd raise them to the maximum 15% but hasn't yet done so. The tariffs are scheduled to expire July 24.

Two dozen states and some businesses quickly challenged the new tariffs in court. Friday's hearing lasted more than three hours as a three-judge panel tried to assess a provision that had never been used before to impose tariffs and to analyze congressional decisionmaking from more than a half century ago.

The judges intensely questioned lawyers for both the plaintiffs and the government about what certain terms mean including what precisely the term “balance-of-payments deficits” meant when it was used in the Trade Act of 1974 and what it means today.

“I think the judges asked tough questions of all sides and were genuinely trying to find out what Congress meant when it passed section 122,” said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel and director of litigation for Liberty Justice Center, which represents some of the plaintiffs.

“I would be stunned if the challengers prevail,’’ said trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding law firm and a former U.S. trade official.

The trade court's judges, he said, are likely to defer to the president and allow the Section 122 tariffs to stay, considering that they will expire in three and a half months anyway. “I just don’t see them sticking their neck out on this one, given how temporarily it’s in place and how much discretion these courts give to the president,’’ he said.

Section 122 is aimed at what it calls “fundamental international payments problems.’’ At issue is whether that wording covers trade deficits, the gap between what the U.S. sells other countries and what it buys from them.

The provision arose from the financial crises that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s when the U.S. dollar was tied to gold. Other countries were dumping dollars in exchange for gold at a set rate, risking a collapse of the U.S. currency and chaos in financial markets. But the dollar is no longer linked to gold, so critics say Section 122 is obsolete.

Awkwardly for Trump, his own Justice Department argued in a court filing last year that the president had needed to invoke IEEPA because Section 122 did “not have any obvious application’’ in fighting trade deficits, which it called “conceptually distinct’’ from payments problems.

Awkwardly for the plaintiffs challenging his use of the temporary tariffs, the trade court itself wrote last year in its own decision striking down IEEPA tariffs that Trump didn’t need them because Section 122 was available to counter trade deficits.

Last May, the trade court issued a decision striking down Trump’s IEEPA tariffs about two weeks after hearing oral arguments in the case. Attorney General Dan Rayfield of Oregon, one of the states challenging Trump’s latest tariffs, is eager for another speedy ruling. “We are hopeful to get a result sooner than later,’’ he said. “When the president continues to do an unlawful action and take money out of the pockets of Americans, we want a response as quickly as we can from the courts.’’

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Paul Wiseman reported from Washington.

AP Writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.

The majority-Republican board voted 9-5 to approve the reading list, which the group will have a chance to revise ahead of final approval set for June. All five Democrats on the board voted against the list.

The board had delayed voting on the list in January to allow for more time to review the proposal.

A 2023 state law required the Texas Education Agency to design the list of reading materials for public K-12 students. The agency initially recommended roughly 300 books for consideration, far exceeding the requirement of at least one literary work in each grade.

The original list included childhood favorites across a range of genres — from Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat to S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders — while also incorporating biblical material such as The Parable of the Prodigal Son and The Road to Damascus. In addition to the lack of religious diversity, critics raised concerns about the underrepresentation of women as well as Hispanic and Black authors.

The revised list, proposed by Republican member Keven Ellis of Lufkin, cut about 100 readings — including Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Frederick Douglass’ What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? — though it still includes Bible texts.

“There are other states, many other states, who have recommended reading lists,” Ellis said. “To my knowledge, there is not one that will have a required reading list as robust as this, that will be common for every student across the state.”

The Texas Education Agency created the original proposal after reviewing books used by other states and organizations. The agency has also said it factored in survey responses from roughly 5,700 teachers, noting that the list contained fewer books than what educators said they currently use.

But during hours of public testimony this week, educators said they considered the survey insufficient because teachers did not review or revise the reading list before the education agency submitted it to the State Board of Education.

They pointed to a different survey of more than 2,600 educators conducted by the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. The survey concluded that in all but one grade, it would be “mathematically impossible” to read and teach the full list during the typical 36 instructional weeks in a school year.

“I believe that an acceptable list would be one that’s created with teacher expertise, leaning on the strengths of everyone involved in this work,” said Markesha Tisby, president of Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts. “There’s still time. There’s no prize for making this decision quickly. We have time to build something great for our Texas students, and they deserve it.”

The public has not yet weighed in on the revised list the board preliminarily approved Friday.

Member Julie Pickren, R-Pearland, said she was shocked to see writings from Douglass and Booker T. Washington removed. Republican Brandon Hall of Aledo said he views the list as a “starting place.” Members will have opportunities to suggest changes and offer feedback before the final vote in June.

Supporters of the list have said they believe the biblical material will help students better grasp the influence of Christianity in U.S. history. Meanwhile, at least one critic called the original list and its biblical material “a lawsuit waiting to happen,” while many stressed the importance of students needing to see themselves reflected in the books they read.

“As a recent graduate of the Texas public school system, I care deeply about the curriculum my friends and family will be taught,” said Sumya Paruchuri, a freshman at the University of North Texas.

“The best taught English classes that I had were when the teachers were passionate about the text they were teaching, whether they were fans of the work or understood the educational opportunities they presented for students,” Paruchuri added. “The required reading list’s attempt to standardize readings is unhelpful and counterproductive to the real needs of students and educators.”

The White Sox announced on Friday that they will hand out pope-themed hats to all fans who attend their Aug. 11 game against Cincinnati. The promotional item was originally limited to fans who had purchased specialty theme night tickets.

“The fans have spoken, and unlike some of our more limited quantity promotions, the White Sox Pope Hat is one we believe all fans should have the opportunity to take home,” Brooks Boyer, the chief revenue and marketing officer for the team, said in a release. “We viewed the promotion as a creative way to celebrate one of the franchise’s most popular fans, and by the overwhelming response we received, White Sox fans certainly agreed.”

The hats are shaped like the Pope’s miter, with the team’s sock logo in the middle. The White Sox said fans who had already purchased the specialty tickets would receive the hat and an additional item.

The pope, the former Robert Prevost, attended Chicago's 2005 World Series opener against Houston and watched as his beloved team beat the Astros 5-3 on the way to a four-game sweep and its first title since 1917.

In May, the White Sox unveiled a graphic installation near the seat paying tribute to Pope Leo and that moment. The pillar artwork features a waving Pope Leo XIV, along with a picture from the TV broadcast of the future pope sitting with good friend Ed Schmit and his grandson, Eddie.

In June, Rate Field hosted an event honoring his election as the first American pope. A month later, at a pregame ceremony honoring the 2005 team, White Sox great Paul Konerko was presented a jersey signed by the pope, a gift from one No. 14 to another.

Pope Leo broke Vatican protocol by donning a White Sox cap last year. In October, he shouted “they lost” to someone who screamed “go Cubs.” And a few weeks ago, he gave a thumbs up to someone who yelled “God bless the White Sox!”

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

One significant change coming to this year’s event will be the introduction of a $5 gate fee.

There are still opportunities to attend for free, but during select hours:

• Monday-Thursday before 6 p.m.
• Friday-Sunday before 1 p.m.

Children under 13 can enter the event for free.

“We encourage guests to come early, plan ahead and take full advantage of the many free entry hours offered throughout the event,” said Elaine De Los Santos, the interim executive director of the Rey Feo Consejo Educational Foundation.

The San Antonio City Council voted 7-4 on Thursday morning to approve a contract amendment allowing the gate fee during some of the busiest times of the 10-day event, which has traditionally been free.

De Los Santos said after a fatal shootout in 2024 and another shooting in 2023, “$5 to keep your family safe is, you know, justifiable.”

>> Fiesta’s biggest event no longer free; city council approves $5 gate fee for Fiesta de los Reyes

“Proceeds from this event support the Rey Feo Consejo Educational Foundation,” De Los Santos said.

She announced that tickets are available for purchase on their website.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus spoke about how safety is his department’s top priority.

“There will be fencing around Milam Park and Market Square with four entrances,” McManus said.

He stated every entrance will have a security guard present to check bags and monitor guests walking through metal detectors.

“So don’t bring a gun with you, or knives,” McManus said. “Leave all weapons at home, not in your car. If you leave them in your car, guess what’s going to happen.”

Personal bags must be 12 by six inches or smaller, McManus said. Diaper bags and medical bags are allowed, however.

“You won’t be able to look around and not see an SAPD officer,” McManus said. “If you see something or feel something is not right, let us know. We’re not going to get mad at you if it turns out to be nothing.”

Katie Reynolds, who represents Silver Eagle Beverages, emphasized not drinking and driving.

Reynolds said Silver Eagle Beverages’ social media accounts will provide $10 discount codes for Uber rides during Fiesta.

Fiesta de los Reyes, which is entering its 15th year, will run from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., April 17 through April 26, at Market Square.

The event benefits the Rey Feo Consejo Educational Foundation, which raises scholarship funds for high school seniors.

More recent Fiesta coverage on KSAT:

• Fiesta’s biggest event no longer free; city council approves $5 gate fee for Fiesta de los Reyes
• Fiesta parades: How to choose where to sit?
• San Antonio high school students get first look at Battle of Flowers Parade floats

First responders were called to the scene just before 9 a.m. at the Prue Road Trailhead located at the intersection of Prue Road and Prue Bend.

People on the trail had noticed a fire in the woods nearby, and at least one of them went to check it out.

One of the people then saw a body and called 911. SAPD officers and San Antonio Fire Department crews later confirmed it was a woman’s body, police stated.

There was some evidence of an accelerant on the woman’s body, which suggests that she was set on fire, SAPD said.

However, it’s currently unclear if it was self-inflicted or if there was foul play involved.

The woman’s cause and manner of death remain under investigation.

Officers estimate that the “immediate area” will be closed off for the next one to two hours.

The rest of Leon Creek Greenway is still open, SAPD said.

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

More recent news coverage on KSAT:

• Records: San Antonio woman indicted, accused of leaving newborn outside in freezing weather
• Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office releases former Steven HS football player’s cause of death

But there is also an acknowledgment that Tehran retains some capabilities, whether to strike back or defend itself.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this week said the U.S. military has hit more than 13,000 targets. He listed high percentages for attacks or destruction to Iran's air defenses, navy and weapons factories.

However, the totals stop short of Iran’s military capabilities being “decimated” as the Republican president has asserted.

Independent data from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a U.S.-based group that tracks conflicts around the world, shows Iranian strikes persisted at a relatively steady and uninterrupted pace since the war began Feb. 28 through Wednesday.

Here's a look at what the U.S. says has been targeted, has been degraded or remains from Iran, by the numbers:

About 80% of Iran’s air defense systems destroyed

Caine told reporters on Wednesday at the Pentagon that many of Iran's air defenses have been destroyed with the U.S. striking more than 1,500 air defense targets, more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities and 800 one-way attack drone storage facilities. He said, “All of these systems are gone.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth similarly claimed that “Iran no longer has an air defense” and that “we own their skies” before conceding soon afterward that Iran “can still shoot — we know that.”

Hegseth later elaborated, saying that while the Iranians may “have a system here or there,” they no longer had an air defense “system that’s capable of defending their skies.”

Neither Caine nor Hegseth said what the remaining 20% of Iran’s air defenses looked like or which parts of the country have the ability to carry out the sporadic fire they described.

Caine offered no new details about what kind of weapon the Iranians used to shoot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle last week. It was the first time an American military jet was shot down during the war, showing Tehran’s continued ability to hit back despite assertions from the Trump administration.

Trump described it on Monday as a “handheld shoulder missile, heat-seeking missile.”

More than 90% of Iran's regular navy fleet sunk

Caine also told reporters that the military has sunk much of the Iranian fleet and 150 Iranian ships “are at the bottom of the ocean."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt went further, telling reporters Wednesday that the Iranian navy was “completely annihilated.”

However, Caine also noted that only half the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s small attack boats — ships the government used to swarm and harass warships and merchants in the Strait of Hormuz — have been sunk.

Caine also said that after more than 700 strikes, the military believed it has destroyed more than 95% of Iran's naval mines.

Since the U.S. has not said how large Iran's stockpile was before the war, it's unknown how many naval mines make up the remaining 5%. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart Thursday suggesting the Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route for oil, during the war.

The message is likely designed to be a pressure tactic as Iran, Israel and the United States head into negotiations this weekend in Pakistan. Independent analysts say they have seen no change in merchant traffic through the strait since the tenuous ceasefire began this week.

About 90% of Iran's weapons factories ‘attacked’

Caine said Wednesday that the military “destroyed Iran’s defense industrial base” while pointing to the fact that the U.S. and allies attacked “approximately 90% of their weapons factories.”

He also said, “nearly 80% of Iran’s nuclear industrial base was hit, further degrading their attempts to attain a nuclear weapon.”

While he noted that Iran was no longer able to produce certain components like solid rocket motors, he stopped short of saying that Iran could not eventually rebuild or get weapons in other ways or that the factories attacked had actually been destroyed or rendered unusable.

Trump acknowledged this possibility when he warned countries against arming Iran.

“A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately,” Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday.

More than 90% interception rate in Israel

Meanwhile, Israel’s military pointed to how many drones or missiles it has been able to stop from landing. It said it had an interception rate of more than 90% through its aerial defense systems.

Over the decades, Israel has developed a sophisticated system capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if a projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure.

Israeli leaders say the system isn’t 100% guaranteed but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties.

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Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

Clarence Curtis Jordan, 70, was first convicted in 1978 of murdering Joe L. Williams, a 40-year-old Houston grocer. Jordan, who is intellectually disabled, was then found in subsequent years to be incompetent and therefore could not be executed. But for almost four decades, he did not have an attorney to advocate for him and was seemingly forgotten on death row.

Jordan was finally appointed a new attorney in 2024 as news emerged that there were numerous delayed criminal appeals in Harris County, some of which were lost for more than a decade. The revelation came amid an effort by the county to reduce the backlog in its criminal courts.

Following new legal advocacy, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated Jordan’s death sentence in a Thursday ruling. The panel also sent the case back to Harris County for a new punishment proceeding.

Ben Wolff, Jordan’s attorney and director of the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs, said his office is grateful for the outcome. But the case also shows “a troubling truth” of the criminal justice system that people most in need of help are often “forgotten or cast aside,” he said in a statement.

“It’s a really sad case,” Wolff told The Texas Tribune. “He’s been on death row basically as long as I’ve been alive.”

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday that the overturning of Jordan’s death sentence is “what justice looks like,” while adding that his conviction stands.

“This outcome does not lessen the harm caused to Joe Williams’ family and friends,” the office’s statement said. “When a life is at stake, we must follow the law and ensure the process is fair.”

The district attorney’s office said Friday that it is not going to ask for a new punishment proceeding. The184th District Court, where Jordan was convicted, didn’t immediately respond to the Tribune’s question about next steps.

Wolff told the Tribune that the only other eligible punishment for his conviction would be life in prison with the possibility for parole. He added that his office, whose work is limited to post-conviction litigation for death row inmates, would also have to hand off Jordan’s case if the proceeding goes beyond a simple resentencing.

“I might. I am thinking about it,” Harris told Rev. Al Sharpton after he asked directly whether she was going to run for president in 2028.

Harris’ comments came during the National Action Network’s annual convention, where more than a half-dozen potential candidates appeared this week , hoping to make inroads among Black voters — who comprise one of Democrats’ most powerful blocs.

The Democrats' next presidential primary season won’t begin in earnest until after November’s midterm elections, but this week’s conference showcased a collection of Democrats already jockeying for position in what promises to be a crowded competition.

For now, at least, there is no clear early favorite. But there did appear to be a favorite at Sharpton's conference.

Harris, the nation's first Black female vice president and the Democrats' presidential nominee in 2024, earned the only standing ovation and the largest crowd of any other 2028 prospect this week.

Sharpton noted that Harris earned more votes in her losing 2024 campaign than even former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

“Whatever she decides to do, she made a point in history,” Sharpton said.

Harris has raised the possibility of another presidential bid before in the 15 months since she left office. She also recently launched a political action committee and began to travel across the United States to support Democrats, especially across the South.

Still, some in the party have shifted their focus to a new generation of Democratic leaders given Harris' struggle in the last presidential contest.

The convention lineup this week featured Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.

Buttigieg, speaking shortly after Harris left the stage, received soft applause from a room that was about half-empty. Some cheered when he mentioned supporting federal workers and minority businesses, but many attendees had streamed out of the packed auditorium after Harris’ speech in an effort to grab a selfie with the former vice president.

Buttigieg, like many other 2028 prospects this week, laughed off a question about whether he would seek the presidency again.

Harris was more explicit.

Three times she repeated, “I'm thinking about it,” when Sharpton asked her about a 2028 White House run.

“I served for four years being a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States. I spent countless hours in my West Wing office footsteps away from the Oval Office. I spent countless hours in the Oval Office and the situation room. I know what the job is, and I know what it requires,” Harris said.

She continued: “I am thinking about it in the context of who and where and how can the best job be done for the American people. That’s how I’m thinking about it. I’ll keep you posted."