Brian Joseph Ciaravino, 50, has been charged with making terroristic threats against public servants, according to Bexar County court records. The charge is considered a third-degree felony.

According to Ciaravino’s arrest affidavit, San Antonio police officers were dispatched to the BASIS San Antonio Primary North Central campus on March 30 in the 300 block of East Ramsey Road after school staff accused Ciaravino of sending multiple threatening messages.

A spokesperson for BASIS Education confirmed Ciaravino was a former employee of the charter school but declined to state his length of service at the school or his position.

Police reviewed at least six text messages from a number they believe belonged to Ciaravino.

“I’m killing everyone in there but the kids and you,” one of the alleged messages read. Other texts also referred to “someone” who was going to be “shot” as well as him threatening to commit a sexual crime against an unknown female.

In those same messages, Ciaravino admitted to texting the threats to staff after he “failed a breathalyzer” test, the affidavit states.

Staff members who received the messages “expressed fear for their safety” and were “visibly shaken” in their interview with SAPD.

According to jail records, Ciaravino was arrested in an unspecified jurisdiction and virtually booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on April 1. Records also indicate his in-person booking happened on April 10.

His bond was set at $50,000. Ciaravino fulfilled the amount and bonded out of custody on Monday afternoon, jail records show.

Ciaravino is expected to make his next pre-indictment court appearance on June 9.

Read also:

• SAPD looking to expand investigation into local minister accused of sexual assault of a child
• Man detained, woman critically injured in North Side stabbing, SAPD says

In a district meeting on Monday, the NEISD board of trustees voted in favor of opening its boundaries to allow expanded enrollment.

Families are encouraged to start the application process on Monday, April 20, the release stated.

The applications will be reviewed based on the student’s prior attendance, academic history, campus capacity and discipline history.

Families have plenty of NEISD campuses to choose from, with over 70 schools and magnet programs.

In June 2025, the Northside Independent School District (NISD) also expanded its enrollment to all families in the San Antonio area.

More NEISD coverage on KSAT:

• TEA recommends conservator to oversee NEISD’s cellphone policy
• San Antonio students build rockets as historic NASA launch approaches

In a letter of resignation obtained by KSAT, former Castle Hills Police Chief Gary McHone said the position was not the “right long-term fit for (him).”

McHone was sworn into office on Oct. 1, 2025 and officially departed six months later — on April 10.

His resignation comes less than a month after a Castle Hills police officer fatally shot an armed suspect.

McHone has 30 years of law enforcement experience in numerous cities and school districts.

Castle Hills City Manager Chris Duque said the hiring process will begin as soon as possible.

Castle Hills Police Captain Jose Davila has been named interim chief.

More recent Castle Hills coverage on KSAT:

• Armed man fatally shot by Castle Hills police officer identified, DPS says

In March, Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz and Mayor John Whitmire announced a new rule directing local law enforcement to wait 30 minutes for federal agents to arrive at the scene, if they encounter people with administrative immigration warrants during situations like traffic stops. But on April 8, the city council voted overwhelmingly for an ordinance to stop that practice, while also requiring the Houston Police Department to deliver quarterly reports on its coordination with ICE. 

Two days later, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office launched an investigation, alleging the ordinance violates Senate Bill 4, which bans cities from adopting policies that “materially limit” immigration enforcement. It says that the requirements would have a “chilling effect” on Houston police’s cooperation with federal agents, though the measure’s backers said the ordinance only undoes a previous city policy that went beyond what state law mandates on the city’s engagement with ICE. 

State leaders then turned up the dial Monday, as Gov. Greg Abbott’s office threatened to withdraw $110 million in public safety grants from the city and block it from future funding — if the ordinance stays. 

In response, the city council is now expected to hold a special meeting and consider whether to repeal the ordinance Friday. 

“It does not matter what a council member’s legal opinion is,” Whitmire told reporters Tuesday. “There’s only one opinion that matters, and that’s the governor’s.”

Whitmire was one of the 12 people who voted in favor of the ordinance, despite previously downplaying Houston police’s cooperation with ICE before acknowledging it in November. The Houston Chronicle also reported that the mayor felt that the ordinance “codified existing policy,” despite the measure eliminating a part of the ICE directive he announced in March.  

“The potential loss of state funding poses real challenges for the Houston Police and Fire Departments and will impact public safety services across our city, the 2026 FIFA World Cup preparations and the Homeland Security Department,” he added. “Our public safety departments rely on a combination of local, state, and federal resources to operate effectively.”

Whitmire then told local media outlets Tuesday that the city’s ability to access the fund was already cut Monday afternoon.

Though, in the letter to the mayor, Abbott’s office said the city must respond by April 20 to confirm that it will act to repeal the ordinance or risk the grants’ termination. 

In a Tuesday statement to The Texas Tribune, Abbott’s spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said “as of now, future funding is on hold.”

“Additionally, under the terms of the contract between the City of Houston and Texas, the State will submit a bill to the City—if it does not immediately reverse course—for the $110 million the City would owe the State,” Mahaleris added. “If the City refuses to pay, the Texas Comptroller is required to deny the payment of *any* funds to Houston until the debt is paid.” 

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who is in the primary runoff against Paxton to be the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, said in a social media post that he supports Abbott’s push, calling Houston’s ordinance “absurd” and “dangerous.” 

Paxton’s  office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request.

Council member Alejandra Salinas, who led the push for the ordinance, said in a Tuesday statement that the city should challenge Abbott’s threat on the public safety funding in court instead of immediately bowing to the governor’s demand. 

“If we don’t, we set a dangerous precedent that the State can bulldoze lawful city policies and constitutional rights whenever it chooses. Houstonians deserve a City willing to fight for them, defend our laws, and protect our residents,” she said. 

The ACLU of Texas similarly urged the city council to protect constitutional rights of all residents, adding that the ordinance “supports longstanding protections under the Fourth Amendment.”

“Gov. Abbott is putting the safety of Texans at risk to score political points,” Caro Rivera Nelson, an ACLU Texas attorney, said in a statement. “By threatening to withhold $110 million in public safety funding over this common-sense ordinance, the governor is not only turning his back on law enforcement; he’s trying to usher in a new era of state overreach.”

Besides Houston, Paxton’s office is also investigating Austin for its new policy on ICE and administrative warrants, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

James Heaps was originally sentenced in 2023 to 11 years in prison after being convicted of five counts of sexual battery and penetration involving two patients he saw while affiliated with the university. It was overturned by an appeals court in February, which ruled that Heaps was denied a fair trial because the judge did not share with his attorneys a note from the jury's foreman sharing concerns about a juror's English proficiency.

Instead of going to trial again, Heaps pleaded guilty to 13 felonies involving a total of five victims and was again sentenced to 11 years in prison.

After his conviction was overturned in February, his attorney Leonard Levine said he believed "it’s just a matter of time before he is totally exonerated.”

Levine did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the guilty plea.

LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said it was a significant milestone for the seven-year case, during which Heaps had tried to delay proceedings and discredit survivors that testified against him.

“While no sentence can undo the incredible harm that James Heaps engaged in … hopefully these admissions of guilt and the sentence he received today are a small measure of justice for all that the survivors had to endure,” Hochman said.

The renowned UCLA campus gynecologist was indicted in 2021 on multiple counts each of sexual battery by fraud, sexual exploitation of a patient and sexual penetration of an unconscious person by fraudulent representation. The charges were linked to the sexual assaults of seven women between 2009 and 2018.

In the wake of the scandal that erupted in 2019 following the doctor’s arrest, UCLA agreed to pay nearly $700 million in lawsuit settlements to hundreds of Heaps’ patients — a record amount by a public university amid a wave of sexual misconduct scandals by campus doctors in recent years.

UCLA patients said Heaps groped them, made suggestive comments or conducted unnecessarily invasive exams during his 35-year career.

He pleaded guilty Tuesday to six counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person, five counts of sexual battery by fraud, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a patient, Hochman said.

“I didn’t know that this day would come,” said Nicole Gumpert, one of Heaps’ victims, at a news conference. “There were many, many women involved in this case. We refuse to be silent.”

The Associated Press typically does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they identify themselves publicly.

John Manly, who represented more than 200 of Heaps’ former patients in lawsuits against the university, said Heaps' guilty plea and sentence sends a clear message that “there will be severe consequences for any violation of patients’ rights and dignity.”

The storied studio will take the main stage at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas Tuesday for the annual CinemaCon convention and trade show. But this year is not just business as usual, with its pending acquisition by another legacy studio, Paramount, looming.

Filmmakers like Denis Villeneuve and J.J. Abrams are expected to make appearances to hype their upcoming films with Warner Bros. Villeneuve has “Dune: Part Three” arriving in December, and Abrams has a Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega sci-fi movie, “The Great Beyond” in November. The two filmmakers also share something beyond fall releases for the same studio: Unequivocal opposition to the merger. They were among the over 1,000 signers of an open letter published Monday to a website called BlocktheMerger.com. Some attendees at the convention have also been wearing #blockthemerger pins as well.

Greg Marcus, whose company's Marcus Theaters is the fourth largest theater circuit in the United States with 78 locations in 17 states told The Associated Press Monday that he was concerned as well for what it means for moviegoers and the price of tickets.

“The concentration of power at the studio level has allowed them to raise the cost of going to the movies to the consumer quite significantly,” Marcus said. “Our margins are no better. We’re not making more money. And yet the cost to the consumer has far outpaced inflation.”

Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the movie theater trade organization, reiterated his group’s opposition to the merger Tuesday morning.

“Consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” he said. “We believe this transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire industry.”

O'Leary told reporters that the decision is in the hands of regulators now.

Not everyone in the business of making and releasing movies is opposed to a Paramount owned Warner Bros. James Cameron is, in fact, a supporter. He also publicly opposed the idea of a Netflix owned Warner Bros. because of the possible implications for theaters. But he doesn't have the same fears with Paramount.

Speaking to the AP last week on behalf of the upcoming big screen concert film “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D),” which is being released by Paramount, Cameron said “I’m a supporter of it, I know it’s controversial.”

Cameron worked with Paramount Skydance chair and CEO David Ellison closely on “Terminator: Dark Fate.” Ellison has promised to grow the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. slates to some 30 theatrical releases a year.

“I know David quite well. And I know that he really cares about movies. And he’s a natural born storyteller and thinks like almost an old school entrepreneurial producer that was a storyteller that loves storytelling and loved putting on spectacular shows,” Cameron said. “He’s the right man for the job to run a major studio, and now it looks like he’s going to have two of them, you know, swept under his leadership, which doesn’t bother me at all.”

Super Typhoon Sinlaku pounded the Northern Mariana Islands for hours before daybreak Wednesday, slowing just to inflict more damage across the islands of Tinian and Saipan, home to nearly 50,000 people.

In the village Susupe on Saipan, resident Dong Min Lee said it was still too dangerous to head outside to thoroughly inspect for damage at daybreak Wednesday. From his apartment windows he could see a car sitting on top of two others in his building’s parking lot below. The winds also tore off part of his balcony railing.

“I hope people will take an interest and help. The damage is really huge here,” Lee said in a Facebook message.

The tropical typhoon — the strongest on Earth this year — was packing sustained winds of up to 150 mph (240 kph) when it made landfall on the islands, the National Weather Service said.

Tropical force winds and torrential rainfall also led to flash flooding on Guam, a U.S. territory to the south with several U.S. military installations and about 170,000 residents, the weather service said.

“I’m guessing anything that was made of wood and tin did not survive this,” said Glen Hunter, who grew up on Saipan and watched at least three tin roofs fly past his yard.

Hunter, who has weathered numerous typhoons, told The Associated Press this felt like the strongest yet. Rain was seeping into every crevice of his concrete home, he said.

“It was a losing battle because the rain was coming through everywhere,” he said. “Every house is just flooded with water, no matter what type of structure you’re in."

While wind gusts did slow a bit on the Mariana Islands early Wednesday and the storm started tracking to the north, the conditions did not improve right away, the weather service reported.

Ed Propst, a former lawmaker in Saipan who works in the governor’s office, said he heard “banging and clanging through the night.”

“We haven’t heard of any — knock on wood — deaths so far,” he said, attributing that to residents heeding warnings to take shelter if they weren't in a concrete home.

Typhoon slows, increasing risk of widespread damage

The monster storm slowed to a crawl as it approached the islands.

“This is not going to be an easy night for anyone across Tinian or Saipan. This is going to be a loud night,” said Landon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the weather service. Many people “will wake up to a different island,” he said during a Facebook video broadcast.

Saipan is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands as well as its capital, known for its resorts, snorkeling and golf.

Mayor Ramon “RB” Jose Blas Camacho said late Tuesday that the heavy rain and wind around Saipan made it tough to reach people needing to be rescued.

“Objects are just flying left and right,” he said.

The worst of the storm hit during darkness and was expected to continue until at least sunrise Wednesday, the weather service said. While it’s expected to weaken slightly over the next few days, Sinlaku was crossing the islands as a Category 4 typhoon.

Still recovering from a 2018 typhoon

In Guam, where Typhoon Mawar knocked out power for days in 2023, U.S. military officials warned personnel to shelter in place. The military controls about one-third of the land on Guam, a critical hub for U.S. forces in the Pacific.

Before turning toward the Northern Marianas, the storm left significant damage to the outer islands and atolls of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, Aydlett said from his weather service station on Guam.

Tourism-dependent Saipan — the site of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles in the Pacific — was still recovering from 2018’s Super Typhoon Yutu when the coronavirus pandemic hit, Hunter said. The economy has yet to rebound, he said.

Yutu destroyed 85% of the Saipan campus of Northern Marianas College, said the school's president, Galvin Deleon Guerrero. The institution secured $100 million in grant funding to rebuild.

“Just as we were finally beginning to recover and rebuild, we get hit with this,” he said. “Climate change is real.”

He said he worries about people still suffering from the post-traumatic stress of Yutu.

“We are an incredibly resilient people,” he said, noting that he’s Chamorro, the Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands. “But just people we’re resilient doesn’t mean that we should be subjected to this on this frequent basis.”

Disaster declaration

President Donald Trump approved emergency disaster declarations ahead of the latest storm for Guam and the Mariana Islands. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was coordinating support across multiple agencies, dispatching nearly 100 FEMA staff as well as other personnel.

Super typhoons are the equivalent of Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with winds of at least 150 mph (240 kph). There have been more than 300 super typhoons identified over the past 80 years by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Guam.

Typhoons are “very common” in the Pacific, but the peak season is similar to the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from summer to fall, said Jason Nicholls, AccuWeather’s lead international forecaster.

“As we’ve seen this year, you can get tropical systems in the West Pacific any time of year,” Nicholls said. “But getting them in April is a little unusual.”

___

Associated Press writers Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.

District 5 councilwoman Teri Castillo is initiating a step to distance San Antonio from Chávez’s alleged actions, which were made public less than a month ago.

Castillo requested to rename the street back to Durango Boulevard, citing a recent city-curated survey.

“Residents made it crystal clear that it was time for a change, and I am grateful for everyone’s feedback,” Castillo said in a city news release.

Castillo and fellow council members decided on Durango based on results from an online city survey and two community listening sessions.

The city said more than 18,000 people participated in the survey from all districts. The highest participation came from residents in districts 1, 7 and 9.

Sixty-four percent of people in the survey preferred reverting the name back to Durango. Among those who current live along César E. Chávez Boulevard, 79% of respondents also preferred Durango, a city spokesperson said.

“Public spaces should reflect the community’s values and culture, and honor only upstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to San Antonio,” Castillo said in the release.

Durango Boulevard was a San Antonio staple that dated as far back as the late 1800s, according to UT San Antonio archives.

Following a heated city council debate in 2011, Durango Boulevard was renamed to César E. Chávez Boulevard, a street that stretches from the west to the east sides of San Antonio.

According to Castillo’s CCR, residents and businesses located along this street were financially responsible for costs associated with the 2011 name change.

Three weeks ago, city officials told KSAT more than 300 addresses would be affected by a name change and would cost an estimated $200,000 to complete.

In lieu of the cancelation of what would have been the 30th César E. Chávez March for Justice last month, Castillo is also requesting for city funds originally budgeted toward the march to be used for “costs associated” with the “street name change, to include street sign replacement costs.”

Council members Sukh Kaur (D1), Phyllis Viagran (D3), Edward Mungia (D4) and Ric Galvan (D6) supported Castillo’s request, according to the news release.

Other cities in the state have jump-started the process of renaming their own streets that bear César E. Chávez’s name, including Houston and Austin.

More related coverage of César E. Chávez Boulevard on KSAT:

• Most survey respondents support changing César E. Chávez Blvd. name back to Durango, city says
• City of San Antonio estimates César E. Chávez Boulevard name change could cost $200K
• Should César E. Chávez Boulevard be renamed? City of San Antonio holds listening session

With Pakistan racing to bring the sides together for more talks, U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a second round “could be happening over the next two days.” The first round ended without an agreement on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which the White House says is a sticking point.

Neither side has indicated what will happen after the ceasefire expires on April 22.

Lebanon and Israel opened their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington, as fierce fighting between the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants rocks southern Lebanon. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio took part, joining the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. Hezbollah opposes the direct talks and won’t abide by any agreements made as a result, a high-ranking member of its political council told The Associated Press.

Here is the latest:

Vance says American conservatives are missing Charlie Kirk’s voice in Iran debate

The vice president credited the late conservative activist with being the glue within the Republican Party on divisive issues.

“Charlie would be the guy who was talking to the people who really wanted to go to war with Iran, and the people who really didn’t want to go to war with Iran,” said Vance, speaking at an event in Georgia hosted by Turning Point USA, the group Kirk found. “And he would try to find ways for those guys to work together, even if they disagreed over one issue, right. And so Charlie’s absence is a huge thing.”

Kirk was assassinated in September during a Turning Point USA event at a Utah university.

Kirk had raised concerns last year as Trump was weighing U.S. involvement as Israel launched what would turn into a 12-day war on Iran. The conservative activist made the case that direct U.S. involvement in the conflict could be seen as a betrayal to some members of Trump’s coalition and cause a schism in MAGA world.

Trump ultimately decided to launch limited strikes that badly damaged three Iranian nuclear facilities during that conflict.

Vance acknowledges that ‘a lot’ of young voters ‘don’t love’ Iran war

“A lot of young voters don’t love the policy we have in the Middle East. I understand that,” Vance said.

But, rather than offering a full-throated defense for the war, the vice president urged conservative activists who disagree with the Trump administration on top issues to avoid becoming “disengaged.”

Vance said Trump is pushing to make sure Iran never has a nuclear weapon, but added, “I’m not saying you have to agree with me on every issue.”

“What I’m saying is, don’t get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one issue,” Vance said.

He added of conservatives staying united, “that’s ultimately how we take the country back.”

Vance says Trump wants a ‘grand bargain’ reached with Iran

Addressing a Turning Point USA event in Georgia, the vice president discussed the 20-plus hours of negotiations with Iran where he lead the U.S. delegation. He said that Trump “doesn’t want to make, like, a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain.”

Vance added, “That’s the trade that he’s offering,” and that Trump is telling Iran, “If you guys commit to not having a nuclear weapon, we are going to make Iran thrive.”

“We’re going to make it economically prosperous, and we’re going to invite the Iranian people into the world economy in a way they haven’t been in my entire life,” the vice president said.

Pakistani official says government will ‘keep at it’

Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press that “our leadership is not giving up” on its efforts to help the U.S. and Iran negotiate. He noted the talks marked the first direct discussion between the two in nearly 50 years.

“We would very much like to see if we can continue to pursue the dialogue,” he added, speaking on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. “We’ll keep at it, and our leadership is at it.”

Aurangzeb said he also this week met with U.S. officials including Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss trade and finance concerns. He plans to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday.

Treasury says US will not renew Iranian oil sanctions waiver

The Treasury Department says “the short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil already stranded at sea is set to expire in a few days and will not be renewed,” in a post on X.

The administration allowed for the delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil already in transport before March 20, and would last through April 19.

Additionally, the administration allowed a waiver on Russian oil at sea to expire on Saturday.

Israeli strike in Gaza kills 6 more Palestinians, health officials say

The Israeli drone strike on a group of people in Gaza City brought the total number of Palestinians killed Tuesday to 11, according to health officials at Shifa hospital.

The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas militants in the area.

Separate Israeli strikes earlier Tuesday killed two children, including a 3-year-old, and three adults, an official at the hospital said.

Deadly airstrikes are a near-daily threat in Gaza, where more than 750 Palestinians have been killed by Israel despite a ceasefire with Hamas since October, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Lebanon praises first talks with Israel in decades as ‘constructive,’ calls for ceasefire

Lebanon’s top envoy to the U.S. says the first high-level diplomatic engagement between her country and Israel was “constructive,” but urged an end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants that has displaced thousands of Lebanese.

After participating in Tuesday’s talks with Rubio and Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Nada Hamadeh Moawad said she had “underscored the need to preserve our territorial integrity and state sovereignty” during the two-hour discussion.

“I called for a ceasefire and the return of displaced persons to their homes,” she said in brief comments released by the Lebanese embassy in Washington.

US could sanction Chinese and Arab banks for doing business with Iran

The U.S. Department of the Treasury sent a letter, viewed by The Associated Press, to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, warning about the risks of doing business with Iran. The Treasury Department threatened secondary sanctions against the nations’ banks and accused those countries of allowing Iranian illicit activities to flow through their financial institutions.

The letter states that Iran processed at least $9 billion through U.S. correspondent accounts in 2024 using a series of front companies, most notably in Hong Kong and the UAE.

The Treasury Department’s account on the social platform X posted on Tuesday that financial institutions “should be on notice that the department is leveraging the full range of available tools and authorities and is prepared to deploy secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that continue to support Iran’s activities.”

Ships near Strait of Hormuz alter signaled destinations on first full day of US blockade

A Malawi-flagged oil tanker entering the Strait of Hormuz revised the destination it was broadcasting over its tracking system on Tuesday, according to maritime data. The Rich Starry was the only ship that shipping data firms and maritime analytics trackers reported as entering the blockaded waterway.

On Monday morning, it listed Sohar, Oman, a port just south of the strait, as its destination. By evening, it was broadcasting no destination, according to MarineTraffic, a maritime analytics provider.

The Rich Starry was among several tankers to change their reported destinations. So-called “shadow fleet” ships like the vessel sometimes fly flags of landlocked countries and alter signals or transmit false positions, including to evade sanctions on Iran. Other ships also adjusted their signals to avoid listing Iranian ports, according to shipping publication Lloyd’s List.

U.S. Central Command said no ships transited the strait on Tuesday and did not respond to questions about the shadow fleet vessels.

US says first Israel-Lebanon talks ‘productive,’ will continue with aim of launching formal negotiations

The State Department says the first high-level meeting between Israel and Lebanon in decades was “productive” and will continue with the aim of launching direct negotiations.

In a statement released after the two-hour session in Washington between Rubio and the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States, the department said, “All sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue.”

Israel has been fighting Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and demands that the group, which opposed the talks and was not represented, be disarmed.

It’s time for Lebanon and Israel to work together, UN chief says

Guterres said Tuesday’s first Israeli-Lebanese meeting in decades will be very important if the talks create a change in their actions.

“The truth is that Hezbollah and Israel have always helped each other to destabilize the government of Lebanon,” the secretary-general told U.N. reporters Tuesday while the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel were meeting in Washington with Rubio.

Whenever Israel occupies part of Lebanon, Hezbollah uses it as a pretext to say it can’t disarm and must keep up the resistance, Guterres said, and Israel uses Hezbollah rocket attacks into its territory as a pretext for massive operations against Lebanon.

Lebanon’s government is committed to having the monopoly on the use of force, which implies the disarmament of Hezbollah, Guterres said. “So, it’s time for Israel and Lebanon to be working together instead of Lebanon being the victim” of the negative actions of Hezbollah and Israel.

There needs to be a ‘complete’ separation between Lebanon and Iran, Israeli envoy says

Leiter, who was the only diplomat to come out and speak after the talks, described the meeting among the U.S., Israel and Lebanon in an extremely positive tone despite Rubio earlier describing the gathering as part of a longer “process.”

The ambassador highlighted several areas of consensus while making it clear that Israel needs to see Lebanon “completely” separate itself from Tehran and its proxy Hezbollah.

“The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah and Iran has been weakened; Hezbollah is dramatically weakened,” Leiter said. “This is an opportunity.”

Second round of talks has not been scheduled, official says

A U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that future talks with Iran are under discussion, but no talks have been scheduled at this time.

Israeli ambassador says Israel and Lebanon are ‘on the same side of the equation’ after DC talks

In a statement to reporters Tuesday after the historic talks, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter praised his Lebanese counterparts for their cooperation in the meeting in Washington despite pressure from Hezbollah not to.

“We discovered today that we’re on the same side of the equation. That’s the most positive thing we could have come away with,” Leiter said. “We are both united in liberating Lebanon from an occupation power dominated by Iran called Hezbollah.”

Israel and the Western-backed Lebanese army have both been unable to forcibly disarm Hezbollah.

The talks between envoys from longtime adversaries began at 11 a.m. EDT and lasted for two hours.

399 US troops have been wounded in the Iran war

The formal injury count, provided by Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, says three service members have been seriously wounded.

Central Command said two weeks ago in a previous update that 348 troops were wounded, six of them seriously. However, the military command does not provide any further details about the wounded, so it’s unclear whether anyone’s status improves or worsens.

Hawkins says of the total wounded to date, 354 service members have returned to duty.

Since the Iran war began, 13 U.S. service members have been killed in combat.

UN chief says it is 'highly probable’ that US-Iran talks will restart

Guterres said this was the indication he had after a phone call on Tuesday with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, who is also the country’s foreign minister.

The U.N. secretary-general expressed “enormous admiration” for Pakistan’s initiative to bring peace to the Middle East.

“I consider it essential that these negotiations go on,” Guterres told U.N. reporters, explaining that it would be “unrealistic” for long-lasting and complex problems between the U.S. and Iran to be resolved in a first negotiating session.

“We need negotiations to go on, and we need a ceasefire to persist as negotiations go on,” he said.

UN chief says international law is ‘being trampled’ — especially in the Middle East

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that violations of international law are fueling instability and mistrust. Speaking to reporters at the U.N. headquarters, he urged renewed U.S.-Iran talks and respect for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The secretary-general said he will travel to The Hague, Netherlands, later this week to mark the 80th anniversary of the International Court of Justice, the U.N.’s highest tribunal, and send “a message that in a world moving toward greater fragmentation and sharper power competition, international law is indispensable.”

US State Department issues $10 million reward for Iraqi militia leader

The bounty was placed on Ahmad al-Hamidawi, secretary general of the Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah. In a post on X, in which it published al-Hamidawi’s photograph, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program wrote that the group was “responsible for attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq, the kidnapping of U.S. citizens, and the killing of innocent Iraqi civilians.”

Last month, Kataib Hezbollah kidnapped an American journalist, Shelly Kittleson, in Baghdad, but released her several days later on condition that she leave the country. Officials with the group at the time told The Associated Press that in exchange, the Iraqi government would release several members of the militia who had been previously detained.

Kataib Hezbollah is allied with Lebanon’s Hezbollah but they are two entirely different groups with different leaders.

Trump says talks with Iran could resume this week

In a phone call with The New York Post, Trump said a second round of talks with Iran “could be happening over next two days.”

Trump initially told the newspaper they would likely be held somewhere in Europe but later updated that they could be held again in Pakistan’s capital.

An initial round of talks ended without an agreement on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which the White House says is a central sticking point.

US military claims blockade success

The U.S. military claims that it has successfully begun to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports, though at least one ship with apparent ties to Tehran has transited the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said that “during the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade and 6 merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.”

While some tankers approaching the strait on Monday did turn around shortly after the blockade took effect, the tanker Rich Starry reversed course again and transited the waterway early Tuesday.

Rubio says Israel-Lebanon talks are a process but doesn’t expect an immediate agreement

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that historic Israel-Lebanon peace talks the U.S. is mediating are a “process, not an event,” downplaying expectations for any immediate or significant agreement.

Meeting at the State Department with the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States, along with the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Rubio said the Trump administration is “very happy” to be facilitating the discussions.

“This is a historic opportunity,” he said. “We understand we’re working against decades of history and complexities” that will not be quickly resolved.

Israeli fire kills 5 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say

Among the killed are a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old in the two separate strikes in northern Gaza and Gaza City on Tuesday, according to a health official at Shifa hospital, where the casualties arrived.

The Israeli military said it was looking into it.

The first strike on a police vehicle in Gaza City killed four, including the 3-year-old who was standing nearby, and another in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed the 15-year-old, the hospital and the families said.

“What was this little kid’s fault? He was walking in the street,” said Samia al-Malahi, the grandmother of the 3-year-old.

The Gaza Strip has seen near-daily Israeli fire and strikes since a fragile ceasefire was reached in October, and more than 750 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Turkey presses with diplomatic push for Iran-US talks

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has held separate telephone calls with his Iranian and Pakistani counterparts on Tuesday to discuss the negotiation process, a Turkish official said.

The conversation with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar centered “on the steps to be taken in the days ahead,” the official said.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity as required by protocol, did not provide further details.

— By Suzan Fraser

Death toll in Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon rises above 2,100

Israeli strikes have killed a total of 2,124 people during the six-week war, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Among them are 254 women, 168 children and 88 health workers. Another 6,921 have been wounded.

Israel has halted its strikes in Beirut since last Wednesday, when a massive barrage on the capital drew international outcry, but strikes and ground fighting have continued in the country’s south.

The war in Lebanon started on March 2, when the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired missiles across the border, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran.

UN chief praises Pakistan’s role in US-Iran talks

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar received a call Tuesday from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who appreciated Pakistan’s “constructive role” in bringing the United States and Iran to the negotiating table to advance regional peace.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to promoting dialogue and diplomacy to ensure peace and stability in the region.

Hezbollah appears to step up its fire on northern Israel as talks in Washington begin

The incoming fire triggered nonstop drone and rocket alert sirens in Israeli communities near the Lebanese border on Tuesday.

Ahead of the negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, the first direct talks between the two countries in decades, the Israeli military issued a warning to northern residents to be prepared for a possible increase of fire from Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which is opposed to the direct talks, claimed 26 attacks on northern Israel and on Israeli ground troops in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. It said it won’t stop its attacks until Israel halts its strikes on Lebanon.

Shortly after taking office, Jones and city council members had to address a budget shortfall and a plan to fund a new $1.3 billion arena that will be the new home of the San Antonio Spurs. She said the city still needs to finalize the term sheet with the Spurs on that.

Jones said that the 2027 budget will be a challenge given cuts at the federal and state level.

“The budget will be tougher than it was last year, but I imagine, my guidance will be the same: fund no fail missions,” Jones said. “Those folks that keep us safe, we must fund their their activities, minimize cost to the most vulnerable, and minimize short term cuts that have long term impacts as best able.”

During her first ten months, the city council has hosted discussions on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence in San Antonio and also voted to move municipal elections from May to November. Jones said she believes moving the election to November will help increase voter turnout.

“I’m thankful enough of my colleagues recognized this gift and the responsibility we have to increase turnout and save money where we can,” Jones said. “Failing to do so would have left us as the only major city in Texas that still had municipal elections in May.”

One area Jones says she continues to work on is discrimination against veterans when it comes to affordable housing in San Antonio.

“This discrimination is the equivalent of a college or university denying a kid admission because they can’t pay full tuition out of pocket and need a scholarship to attend,” Jones said. “See how ridiculous that sounds in Military City, USA? So let me say this unequivocally we don’t deserve to call ourselves Military City USA if we allow veterans seeking affordable housing to be discriminated against simply because they are using a voucher to pay and I will continue working with the community and my colleagues to end this shameful discrimination.”

During her ten month tenure, Jones has faced ethics complaints, multiple staff turnovers and clashes with several city council members. In February, the city council voted 8-1 to censure her. It marked the first time a sitting mayor was censured since the city charter was adopted.

The State of the City address was hosted by the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

Daniel Moreno-Gama made his first court appearance on state charges Tuesday, wearing an orange jail uniform and with disheveled hair. The 20-year-old, whose attorney said is autistic, kept his gaze down during the brief hearing and softly answered “yes” when asked by a judge whether he agreed to continue his arraignment. San Francisco Judge Kenneth Wine ordered him held without bail set his arraignment to May 5.

Authorities say Moreno-Gama, of Spring, Texas, hurled the incendiary device at Altman’s home Friday, setting an exterior gate on fire before fleeing on foot. Less than an hour later, Moreno-Gama went to OpenAI’s headquarters about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away and threatened to burn down the building, they said. They said he traveled to the city from Texas.

No one was injured at Altman’s home or the company's offices. San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Diamond Ward called the case a “property crime, at best,” and said that prosecutors are pursuing higher charges to curry favor for Altman. Moreno-Gama also faces federal charges.

“It is unfair and is unjust for the San Francisco district attorney and the federal government to fear monger and to exploit the mental illness of a vulnerable, young man by turning a vandalism case into an attempted murder, life exposure case to gain support of a billionaire, and to get political points at the expense of true justice for everyone involved,” Ward said.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins disputed that he was overcharged, saying Moreno-Gama carried out a “targeted attack on Mr. Altman” and that prosecutors had evidence to back up the charges. She said prosecutors would act the same whether the victim was a “billionaire or a CEO or any average San Franciscan.”

“Regardless of a victim's status, they all deserve justice and they all deserve safety,” she said.

Authorities said Moreno-Gama, who works part-time at a pizzeria and is attending community college, expressed hatred of artificial intelligence in his writings, describing it as a danger to humanity and warning of “impending extinction,” according to court filings.

“This was not spontaneous. This was planned, targeted and extremely serious,” FBI San Francisco Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo said during a news conference Monday.

Moreno-Gama is charged in California state court with two counts of attempted murder and attempted arson. He tried to kill both Altman and a security guard at Altman’s residence, she alleged. Officials have not said whether Altman was home at the time, prosecutors said.

Jenkins said the state charges carry penalties ranging from 19 years to life in prison.

On Monday morning, FBI agents went to Moreno-Gama’s home in a Houston suburb where they spent several hours before leaving. He has also been charged by federal prosecutors with possession of an unregistered firearm and damage and destruction of property by means of explosives. Those charges carry respective penalties of up to 10 years and 20 years in prison.

“We will treat this as an act of domestic terrorism, and together with our partners, prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law,” U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said when announcing the federal charges Monday.

The federal court documents do not list an attorney for Moreno-Gama, and he has not yet had his first appearance in federal court.

The document in which Moreno-Gama discussed his opposition to AI also made threats against Altman and executives at other AI companies, officials said.

“If I am going to advocate for others to kill and commit crimes, then I must lead by example and show that I am fully sincere in my message,” Moreno-Gama wrote, according to authorities.

Advocacy groups that have issued grave warnings about AI’s risks to society condemned the violence.

Anthony Aguirre, president and CEO of the Future of Life Institute, said in a written statement Friday that “violence and intimidation of any kind have no place in the conversation about the future of AI.”

Another group, PauseAI, said in a statement that the suspect had no role in the group but joined its forum on the social media platform Discord about two years ago and posted about 34 messages there, none containing explicit calls to violence but one that was flagged as “ambiguous.”

Discord said Monday that it has banned Moreno-Gama for “off-platform behavior.”

“How do I check that it’s not a hoax?” said Ari Hodara, 58, after organizers called him following the draw at Christie’s auction house in the French capital.

Hodara described himself as an art amateur fond of Picasso and said he bought his ticket over the weekend after finding out about the charity raffle by chance during a meal in a restaurant.

“First, I will tell the news to my wife, who has yet to return from work,” said Hodara, a sales engineer. “And at first, I think I’ll take advantage of it and keep it.”

The third iteration of the “1 Picasso for 100 euros” lottery was for Picasso’s “Head of a Woman,” a portrait of Picasso’s longtime muse and partner Dora Maar. The gouache-on-paper was painted by the artist in 1941.

The online draw offered the chance to win a $1 million portrait by the Spanish artist in aid of Alzheimer’s research.

Organizers said all 120,000 tickets were sold worldwide, netting 12 million euros ($14 million). Of that, 1 million euros will be paid to the Opera Gallery, an international art dealership that owned the painting.

Gilles Dyan, the gallery founder, said he offered a preferential price for the painting, with the public price at 1.45 million euros.

The first raffle in 2013 saw a Pennsylvania man who worked at a fire-sprinkler business win “Man in the Opera Hat,” which the Spanish master painted in 1914 during his Cubist period.

The oil-on-canvas “Still Life” was raffled off in 2020 and won by Claudia Borgogno, an accountant in Italy whose son bought her the ticket as a Christmas present.

Painted in 1921, that painting was purchased for the raffle from billionaire art collector David Nahmad, who argued in an interview with The Associated Press that Picasso would have approved of his work being raffled. Picasso died in 1973.

The Alzheimer Research Foundation, the charity raffle’s organizer, is based in one of Paris’ leading public hospitals and says it has become France’s leading private financier of Alzheimer-related medical research since its founding in 2004.

Organizers said the two previous Picasso raffles raised a total of more than 10 million euros for cultural work in Lebanon and water and hygiene programs in Africa.

The defending champion advanced to the semifinals of European club soccer’s biggest competition by dumping out six-time winner Liverpool on Tuesday.

A 2-0 win at Anfield sealed a 4-0 aggregate victory and moved PSG a step closer to becoming only the second club to retain the trophy in the modern era after all-time king of Europe Real Madrid.

“It’s difficult to defend the Champions League, we know that,” said coach Luis Enrique. “We are here again and we need to make the most of these opportunities.”

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Debele scored two second-half goals to kill off Liverpool’s fight and book a semifinal clash against either Bayern Munich or Madrid.

Also Tuesday, Atletico Madrid advanced to the semifinals after a 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona.

It takes something special to hold onto the Champions League and PSG is a special team. Madrid won a hat trick of titles between 2016-18, but no other team has managed back-to-back wins since the European Cup was rebranded in 1992.

PSG is out to make history after ending its long wait to conquer Europe for the first time last year. It is the second time in as many seasons that the French giant has knocked out Liverpool, which was in search of another famous Champions League comeback and dominated PSG for periods.

“It is a real pleasure for me to know that my team is at that level and can play at that level no matter who they are playing against,” said Luis Enrique, who is a two-time Champions League-winning coach, having triumphed with Barcelona as well. “You can see what sort of team we are, what players I’ve got. We’ve got confidence and belief. It’s wonderful to be living this experience with this team.”

Dembele’s first goal ended Liverpool's hopes — a left-footed shot from the edge of the area in the 72nd minute. His second came at the end of a sweeping move in stoppage time.

Dembele had been guilty of wasting chances in the first leg to effectively put the tie to bed and he failed to capitalize on two more first-half opportunities to put the French champion further ahead at Anfield.

But his opening goal was dispatched with precision — nestling in the bottom corner. His second was a clinical finish from close range.

Liverpool had been dominated in Paris last week. But the Merseyside club knows all about comebacks in this competition.

It was 3-0 down to AC Milan in the 2005 final and powered back to win on penalties. More recently, it routed Barcelona 4-0 in the 2019 semifinals to overturn a 3-0 first-leg loss and go on to lift the trophy.

Anfield is famed for its white-hot atmosphere, especially on European nights, and the PSG team bus was greeted by red flares as it approached the ground. But inside, the French fans more than held their own — singing loudly in the away section as the home crowd seemed strangely subdued at times.

Liverpool had its chances despite losing Hugo Ekitike to an early injury. Virgil van Dijk was denied a first-half tap-in when Marquinhos pulled off a last-ditch block.

In the second half, belief among the home fans began to grow as Liverpool applied the pressure.

And a comeback looked on when referee Maurizio Mariani pointed to the spot for a foul by Willian Pacho on Alexis Mac Allister shortly after the hour.

With the score at 0-0, this was the chance to test PSG's resolve. But celebrations soon turned to disappointment when the penalty was overturned after review.

“We are very disappointed because I think there were parts in the second half where you could just feel that if we can score now this is going to become a special night,” said Liverpool coach Arne Slot. “But the future looks very bright for this team, for this club, because we’ve shown that we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium.”

___

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

___

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

The resignation letter, which goes into effect at 10:59 p.m. central time, was read on the House floor by reading clerk Tylease Alli on Tuesday afternoon.

“It has been my privilege to serve the residents of Texas’ 23rd Congressional district,” wrote Gonzales.

The Republican representative dropped his bid for re-election shortly after confessing to the affair. At the time, he said he would serve the rest of his term in Congress.

Gonzales posted on X on Monday afternoon that he planned to file for “retirement” once Congress returned to session on Tuesday.

The post, which was published at 5:30 p.m. Monday, came as bipartisan support mounted for expulsion measures against both Gonzales and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.

Gonzales’ announcement came about an hour after Swalwell also said he planned to resign from Congress. Swalwell is facing his own allegations of sexual misconduct.

Gonzales has been scrutinized for months following the affair with Uvalde-based staffer Regina Santos-Aviles and calls to drop his bid from House Republican leadership.

Gonzales, who avoided answering KSAT Investigates’ questions about his affair with Santos-Aviles for months, told reporters in February he would “not resign.”

The San Antonio Express-News reported that Gonzales also allegedly asked a separate staffer for nude photos and attempted to start a sexual relationship with her during his 2020 campaign.

Gov. Greg Abbott has the authority to call a special election to fill his seat — should he choose to do so.

KSAT reached out to Abbott’s office on Tuesday, but the office has yet to respond to the request.

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

San Antonio police found the couple after 8 a.m. Tuesday inside their home on West Lullwood Avenue, near Hildebrand Avenue.

Public Information Officer Sharavious Jackson said the couple’s son called 911 after making the discovery.

“The mom called the son, letting the son know that, ‘Hey, your dad is acting really strange,’” Jackson said.

Within minutes, police had assembled outside the home along with an ambulance. They took the woman’s 82-year-old husband into custody.

A report said he would face a charge of aggravated assault.

“I came out and there were police cars up and down the entire street. There were probably at least 10 police cars,” said Pam Flather, a neighbor who has known the couple for about 20 years. “I know that she had been bedridden for a long time, so I just thought that she’s probably not doing well.”

Flather said she was shocked to later learn about the stabbing.

Police did not say right away what type of weapon was used, but the stabbing left the woman in critical condition.

Neighbors gathered near the crime scene Tuesday wondered aloud what they might have been able to do to help the couple.

What happened, Flather said, seems out of character for the husband, who she said was a dedicated caretaker for his wife.

“I could see if he was disoriented or something like that, but never in his regular capacity could he ever do any harm,” Flather said.

Letty Inabinet and her husband own Visiting Angels in Windcrest, an organization that provides in-home help to local veterans and seniors.

The work they do also helps to take a bit of the burden off loved ones of those patients.

“It is a lot for families to bear,” said Inabinet, who, herself, is a veteran. “When they take that scope of responsibility, it does become overwhelming and it could lead to burnout or something more tragic.”

Inabinet advises families not to wait too long to explore other options for help.

The Alamo Area Council of Governments’ (AACOG) Alamo Service Connection recommends the following tips to manage caregiver stress:

• Prioritize self-care: Your needs are as important as the needs of the person you care for. These needs include doing the things that interest you and bring you joy.
• Recognize when you need to take breaks: Schedule respite time for yourself and honor each appointment.
• Admit when you need help and accept it: Create a plan that works for you and allow others to assist.
• Build a strong support system: Connect with a trusted friend or confidant who genuinely listens. Also, consider joining a caregiver group to reinforce your support network.
• Get connected to local resources: Contact your local Area Agency on Aging by calling the Alamo Service Connection at 210-477-3275.

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

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

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

Read also:

• Chilaquiles Buen Dia near Pearl temporarily closes due to vandalism
• SAPD: Woman murdered in shooting, found dead at Northwest Side home
• ‘It’s mind-blowing’: Man, 31, charged with tampering his father’s dead body, SAPD says

As a result, some of your favorite ABC and local programs will be shown at a different time than usual.

Here are the TV listings with the dates and times for the shows scheduled to be preempted by KSAT’s Fiesta coverage:

Thursday, April 16: Fiesta Fiesta (8-10 p.m.)

• “911 Nashville” will air on KSAT 12 from 1:35 a.m. to 2:35 a.m. Friday, April 17
• “RJ Decker” will air on KSAT 12 from 1:35 a.m. to 2:35 a.m. Saturday, April 18

Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade (7-10 p.m.)

• “American Idol” will air on KSAT 12 from 1:05 a.m. to 3:05 a.m. Tuesday, April 21
• “The Rookie” will air on KSAT 12 from 1:35 a.m. to 2:35 a.m. Wednesday, April 22

Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade (10 a.m.)

• “The View” will air on KSAT 12 from 1:35 a.m. to 2:35 a.m. Saturday, April 25.

Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival (2 p.m.)

• The 2026 NFL Draft (Rounds 4-7) will air on KSAT 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., then continue on MeTV from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The broadcast will be simulcast with ESPN.

Sunday, April 26: First Baptist Church (11 a.m.)

• UFL: Columbus Aviators at Houston Gamblers will air in its entirety on MeTV from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• UFL: Columbus Aviators at Houston Gamblers will join in progress on KSAT 12 from noon to 2 p.m., following First Baptist Church.

Additional preemptions will be added from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on April 25.

Click here to view program listings on KSAT.

📺 Watch Fiesta anywhere with KSAT

Fiesta starts on Thursday, April 16 and ends on Sunday, April 26, bringing 11 days of food, music and culture to San Antonio.

Here’s when you can watch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

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

You can get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free here.

Read also:

• 🎊 ¡Viva! Your guide to Fiesta 2026 in San Antonio

Moore was facing a possible sentence of up to six months in jail after pleading no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device. But Judge J. Cedric Simpson ordered no time in custody.

He said jail wasn't warranted, though he warned Moore that “all bets are off” if he violates probation. Simpson, too, said his decision was greatly influenced by the ex-coach's wife, Kelli.

Moore, 40, was fired on Dec. 10 after leading the Wolverines for two seasons, following Jim Harbaugh’s move to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. It was a stunning dismissal at one of college football’s most prestigious programs.

Moore was accused that same day of confronting Paige Shiver, with whom he had been having an affair, and blaming her for his firing, even threatening to kill himself with butter knives and kitchen scissors in her apartment. Authorities said she had ended the affair and spoken to school officials about it.

By ordering probation, “I would let Ms. Shiver know that this court is not by any means lessening the impact of those events,” the judge said.

“Frankly, Mr. Moore, you had no right to do what you did,” he added. “I know that she was placed in fear. It was a traumatic experience that day for you. It was certainly a traumatic experience for her. But you had no right to spread your pain to her.”

Shiver did not attend the hearing but released a statement, saying the sentence “does not reflect the harm done to me.”

“He broke into my apartment, crying, yelling, enraged, and came at me with knives. I was threatened, and I feared for my life,” she said.

Moore was initially charged with felony home invasion, stalking and illegal entry. But Washtenaw County prosecutors agreed to a deal in which he pleaded no contest to two other misdemeanors.

Moore spoke briefly in court, thanking his wife for standing by him but not saying anything about Shiver. Defense lawyer Ellen Michaels told the judge that Moore had received counseling and was focused on his family.

The judge repeatedly praised Kelli Moore. Simpson said he was especially moved by a letter she wrote in support of her husband. He also noted that she was concerned about Moore's mental health when she calmly called police on the day of his firing in search of him.

“The person, quite frankly Mr. Moore, that is saving you from the full wrath of this court is the one you betrayed,” Simpson said. “I don't know where your wife Kelli finds her strength.”

Moore responded to the judge by nodding, while his wife’s eyes welled with tears in the courtroom's front row.

The judge also cited the “courage” of prosecutors by backing off from the initial charges.

"When the charges were filed they were appropriate," Simpson said. "But as with any case, as more facts become known and as more things happen, the facts and the analysis change.”

The plea deal came after Michaels planned to aggressively challenge how police gathered and shared information to get an arrest warrant. She argued that police didn't disclose that Moore and Shiver had a working relationship that involved calls and text messages.

Moore did not harm himself on Dec. 10 and was peacefully arrested in a parking lot away from Shiver's apartment.

When the hearing ended, Moore leaned over a courtroom barrier and hugged his wife. Outside the courthouse, he held a Bible in one hand and her hand with the other.

“Sherrone is grateful for this matter to be resolved and he and his wife, Kelli, are ready to move forward with their family and focus on the next chapter,” Michaels said.

___

White reported from Detroit.

___

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

They chanted along with the fans, and jumped and danced among themselves.

It was a big night for Atletico.

Diego Simeone’s team held on after an early charge by Barcelona to make it back to the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in nearly a decade.

Atletico lost 2-1 but advanced 3-2 on aggregate after having won the first leg 2-0 in Barcelona last week. It will be the team's first last-four appearance in the European competition since 2017.

“To play in a Champions League semifinal, how nice, how nice...” said Simeone, who was visibly moved after the thrilling back-and-forth game.

“It’s been 14 years and honestly, seeing the team still competing really moves me," Simeone said. "The players have changed, we’ve had to start over many times and yet here we are again among the top four in Europe.”

Simeone has been in charge of the club since late 2011. Atletico, seeking its first Champions League title, lost in the 2017 semifinals to Real Madrid. It also lost to Madrid in both finals it played against the city rival in the Champions League, in 2014 and 2016.

Barcelona, trying to return to the last four for the second season in a row, scored twice in the first 24 minutes to even the series, with Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres finding the net.

Atletico struck back still in the first half with a goal by Ademola Lookman.

The Catalan club played a man down from the 79th after defender Eric García was shown a red card for fouling Alexander Sorloth to stop a breakaway.

“We played a very good match, we gave our lives out there, we tried everything,” Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong said. “Luck wasn’t on our side this time. When you go a man down it’s always harder.”

Atletico will face either Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the semifinals. Arsenal won the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon last week. Their second leg in London is on Wednesday.

“Extremely happy to eliminate a Barcelona team that has a lot of quality,” Atletico midfielder Koke said. “We struggled in the beginning but we found a way to recover. It was a great effort by the entire team.”

In the other quarterfinal on Tuesday, defending champion Paris Saint-Germain advanced past Liverpool, winning 2-0 for an aggregate score of 4-0.

The game in Madrid was stopped for several moments near the 70th minute because Atletico defender Matteo Ruggieri sustained a cut on his forehead after being elbowed by Barcelona midfielder Gavi during a dispute for the ball.

Yamal opened the scoring four minutes into the match at Metropolitano stadium, entering the area free from defenders after Atletico lost possession on a passing mistake by defender Clément Lenglet.

With his goal, Yamal became the top Champions League scorer under the age of 19 with 11, one more than Kylian Mbappé.

The visitors added to the lead on the night — evening the tie at 2-2 — in the 24th, with Torres picking up a through ball by Dani Olmo and finding the top corner by the far post.

Fermín López nearly added the third a minute later but his close-range header was saved by Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso.

The hosts struck back in the 31st with Lookman scoring from inside the area in a breakaway after a low cross by Marcos Llorente.

Barcelona thought it had equalized the series again, but Torres’ 57th-minute goal was disallowed for offside.

Defender Ronald Araujo had Barcelona’s last chance but his close-range header in stoppage time went over the crossbar.

“We’re disappointed. We had plenty of chances, especially in the first half. We had the chance to score a third goal, but instead we conceded," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. "That’s just how football is. We need to do better, but in the end, in terms of mentality and attitude, the team gave it their all. They did a fantastic job, but we just didn’t come through.”

Simeone kept Musso in goal instead of promoting the return of regular starter Jan Oblak, who has recovered from a muscle injury but hasn’t played since March 10.

Atletico can cap its week with the Copa del Rey title on Saturday. It will face Real Sociedad to try to win the competition for the first time since 2013.

Dembele scores twice for PSG

PSG kept its title defense on track with a 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield. Ousmane Dembele’s two second-half goals sealed a 4-0 aggregate victory.

Dembele’s first goal killed off Liverpool’s fight as the Premier League club went in search of another famous Champions League comeback. The Ballon d’Or winner swept a low left-footed shot from the edge of the area past goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to quieten the home crowd.

His second came at the end of a sweeping move in stoppage time.

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

Trump commuted the prison sentences of several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders last January in a sweeping act of clemency for all 1,500-plus defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

The request by the Justice Department would go a step further and erase all the convictions for the extremist group leaders, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who didn't receive pardons last January.

The move to abandon the convictions represented a stunning reversal from the Biden administration, which hailed the guilty verdicts as a crucial victory in its bid to hold accountable those responsible for what prosecutors described as an attack on the heart of American democracy. It’s part of the Trump administration’s continued efforts to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack and downplay the violence carried out by the mob of Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured.

In court filings, prosecutors asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to vacate the convictions so that the government can permanently dismiss the indictments.

“The government’s motion to vacate in this case is consistent with its practice of moving the Supreme Court to vacate convictions in cases where the government has decided in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of a criminal case is in the interests of justice — motions that the Supreme Court routinely grants,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

Juries in Washington, D.C., convicted the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Trump's 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

The department's dismissal request also includes the convictions of Oath Keepers members Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson and Jessica Watkins and Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola.

Other extremist group members, including former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, received pardons from Trump on the first day of his second term in the White House.

Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison after he and several lieutenants were convicted in one of the most consequential cases arising from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.

Prosecutors said Rhodes and his followers stockpiled guns for possible use by “quick reaction force” teams at a Virginia hotel, but they never deployed the weapons.

Nordean's attorney, Nicholas Smith, said they are grateful to the Justice Department for its “wise decision" in seeking dismissal of the convictions.

“We don't want a precedent that says that any physical confrontation between protesters and law enforcement means a crime akin to treason, such as seditious conspiracy,” Smith said.

Cynthia Dominique Gonzalez and Fernando Alejandro Rivera-Rojas are accused in the human smuggling attempt, the document states.

On April 12, a Fort Brown Border Patrol agent conducting highway operations noticed a white GMC Yukon making several unusual driving patterns on Highway 4.

The document states it’s a common practice among vehicles attempting to pick up migrants along the road.

U.S. Border Patrol agents attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle. When agents activated lights and sirens, the document states the Yukon fled at a high rate of speed near FM 511 and Indiana Road in Brownsville.

Agents lost sight of the vehicle and continued to search the area. They later found the Yukon, which the document states had rolled over at FM 511 just south of the Highway 550 toll road.

Four people were found allegedly hiding in nearby brush.

One person found at the scene was pronounced dead. In an X post, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio said six people were also injured due to the crash.

A witness told authorities that Rivera-Rojas allegedly crossed the group into the U.S. and guided them up the road to get picked up. According to the document, the witness also identified Gonzalez as the driver of the Yukon.

In a post-arrest interview, the document states that Rivera-Rojas admitted to being the “foot guide” for the group and identified Gonzalez as the driver.

The investigation is ongoing.

Read also:

• ‘Someone is getting shot’: Man accused of threatening San Antonio charter school, SAPD says

The New York Post last week published the photos of Vrabel and Russini at the Sedona hotel and said they were taken before the NFL owners meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29.

“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published. When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful. In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts,” Russini said in a letter sent Tuesday to Athletic Executive Editor Steven Ginsberg and obtained by The Associated Press.

“Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept. Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”

Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after nearly a decade at ESPN, where she held various roles, including “SportsCenter” anchor, NFL analyst and insider. She hosted a podcast for The Athletic and made appearances on their video platform.

Vrabel and Russini, who are both married, released statements to the Post after publication of the photos downplaying what the photos depict.

Russini said they “don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.”

Vrabel told the newspaper: “Those photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”

Vrabel didn’t attend New England’s pre-draft news conference on Monday.

The New York Times reported Saturday that the digital outlet was investigating Russini’s conduct.

That decision came after Ginsberg previously told the Post that the photos “lacked essential context” and lauded her work with The Athletic.

“When this situation was brought to our attention last week, there were clear concerns, but we received a detailed explanation and it was our instinct to support and defend a colleague while we continued to review the matter," Ginsberg said in a note to staff on Tuesday announcing Russini’s resignation. “As additional information emerged, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation. While our investigation into Dianna’s conduct was ongoing, she chose to resign.”

Ginsberg said the review of Russini's work will continue.

Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a player with New England, is preparing for his second season as coach of the Patriots. He was the AP NFL Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 14-3 finish last season, which ended with a Super Bowl loss to Seattle. Vrabel previously won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award with Tennessee in 2021.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

U.S. President Donald Trump said a second round of talks could happen "over the next two days," telling the New York Post the negotiations could be held again in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres concurred, saying it’s “highly probable” that talks will restart. He cited a meeting he had with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, Ishaq Dar.

Meanwhile in Washington, the first direct talks in decades between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the U.S. concluded on a productive note, according to the U.S. State Department.

Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said the two countries are “on the same side of the equation” in “liberating Lebanon” from the militant Hezbollah group. Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad called the meeting “constructive” but urged an end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Since March, that war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.

First round of talks failed to end conflict

Last weekend in Pakistan, an initial round of talks aimed at permanently ending the U.S.-Iran conflict failed to produce an agreement. The White House said Iran’s nuclear ambitions were a central sticking point.

A U.S. official said Tuesday that fresh talks with Iran were still under discussion and that nothing has been scheduled. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive negotiations.

Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan’s finance minister, told The Associated Press that “our leadership is not giving up” on efforts to help the U.S. and Iran end the conflict.

“We'll keep at it,” Aurangzeb said Tuesday.

Though the ceasefire appeared to hold, the showdown over the strategic Strait of Hormuz risked reigniting hostilities and deepening the regional war's economic fallout.

The war, now in its seventh week, has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region.

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

Tankers turned around after blockade took effect

The blockade is intended to pressure Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil, mostly to Asia, since the war began on Feb. 28. Much of it has likely been carried by so-called dark transits that evade sanctions and oversight, providing cash flow that’s been vital to keeping Iran running.

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday no ships made it past the blockade in the first 24 hours, while six merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.

Tankers approaching the strait on Monday turned around shortly after the blockade took effect, though one reversed course again and transited the waterway.

The tanker Rich Starry had been waiting off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to shipping data firm Lloyd’s List, which cited data from the energy cargo-tracking firm Vortexa. It was not immediately clear whether the tanker had earlier docked in Iran. Yet it was listed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control as linked to Iranian shipping.

Lloyd’s List, citing ship registry and tracking data, reported that the vessel is owned by a Chinese shipping company and was ultimately bound for China with a stopover in an Omani port, south of the strait. The vessel updated its broadcast signal on Tuesday evening to no longer show it was headed for Sohar, Oman, according to tracking data reported by maritime analytics firm MarineTraffic.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Chinese tankers will not be allowed passage through the strait. "So they're not going to be able to get their oil,” he told reporters Tuesday.

In rare public criticism seemingly directed at Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping said nations should “oppose the world’s retrogression to the law of the jungle.” Xi said nations should work to “jointly safeguard genuine multilateralism.”

Since the start of the war, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic, with most commercial vessels avoiding the waterway. Tehran's effective closure of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.

Trump has threatened to destroy any Iranian military vessels that challenge the U.S. blockade. Iran has threatened to retaliate against Persian Gulf ports if attacked.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a conference Friday for nations willing to deploy warships to escort oil tankers and container ships through the strait. The deployment will happen “when security conditions allow,” Macron’s office said Tuesday.

Israel and Lebanon conclude talks

The Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington were “productive,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement, adding that “all sides agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who facilitated the talks, had downplayed expectations for any immediate agreement.

Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S, said after the talks that both countries saw eye-to-eye in several areas.

“The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah, and Iran has been weakened. Hezbollah is dramatically weakened,” he said. “This is an opportunity.”

Moawad, Lebanon's top U.S. envoy, said in a brief statement that she had called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and the return home of Lebanese displaced by the fighting.

After the ceasefire in Iran, Israel pressed ahead with its air and ground campaign, insisting that the truce does not apply to fighting in Lebanon. It has, however, halted strikes in Beirut, the country’s capital since April 8, after a deadly bombardment that hit several crowded commercial and residential areas in central Beirut and killed more than 350 people in one day.

The deaths sparked an international outcry and threats by Iran that it would end the ceasefire.

Lebanese officials have pushed for a ceasefire. Israel has framed the negotiations around Hezbollah’s disarmament and a potential peace deal, without publicly committing to halting hostilities or withdrawing its forces.

Israel wants Lebanon’s government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much as was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire. But the militant group has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades and said on Monday that it will not abide by any agreements that may result from the talks.

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Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee, Fatima Hussein, Collin Binkley, Chris Rugaber and Konstantin Toporin in Washington; Sylvie Corbet in Paris; Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo; Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem; Edith Lederer and Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Jury selection started Tuesday in the onetime movie mogul's latest retrial, where jurors will weigh — for the third time — whether he raped hairstylist and Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel in 2013.

It's a more streamlined proceeding than the array of allegations that were aired at Weinstein’s previous trials in New York and Los Angeles. The Oscar-winning producer denies all the accusations and declared in court this winter that he had “acted wrongly, but I never assaulted anyone.”

Still, the retrial is expected to last up to six weeks. Questioned about the length of the proceeding and whether they could be fair and impartial about the much-publicized case, more than 80 people asked to be excused during initial screening Tuesday morning. The day ended with no jurors chosen.

The process is scheduled to resume Wednesday with prospective jurors being questioned individually in private about their knowledge of the case and Weinstein. Wider-ranging questioning in court should follow eventually.

A surprise move from prosecutors

In a surprise move before jury selection began, prosecutors said they had a new piece of evidence — a remark that Weinstein allegedly made to a court officer six years ago.

According to Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Candace White, the officer told prosecutors last week that he was present during Weinstein’s February 2020 sexual assault conviction — which was later overturned — and heard Weinstein say: “If you had seen these girls, you would have done the exact same thing.”

Weinstein’s lawyers urged Judge Curtis Farber to keep any mention of the supposed remark out of the upcoming retrial.

“This sounds far-fetched,” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said, also arguing that it emerged too late.

A subject that was explored in prior trials — a claims fund for women who said Weinstein sexually mistreated them — likely won't come up again. The defense team doesn’t intend to raise the subject, Farber said.

A new defense team

Agnifilo and his partners took on the case in February, when longtime Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala stepped aside from the retrial to focus on the former studio boss’ appeals and civil matters. Both Aidala and Agnifilo are well-known New York defense attorneys, but their litigation styles differ. Aidala is folksy, while Agnifilo is more buttoned-up.

Weinstein wielded significant clout in the entertainment industry, having built his reputation on such critical and popular hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat.” He also became a prominent Democratic donor.

Then a series of sexual harassment and sex assault allegations against Weinstein began to emerge in news media in 2017, propelling the #MeToo movement.

He was criminally charged in New York in 2018 and in Los Angeles two years later.

A tangled series of trials

Weinstein went to trial and was convicted of some — but not all — counts in both cases. His initial New York convictions were overturned, spurring a retrial last year.

The retrial verdict was mixed: Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on production assistant and producer Miriam Haley in 2006, but he was acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on model-turned-psychotherapist Kaja Sokola. The jury didn’t decide on the rape charge involving Mann because the foreperson refused to keep deliberating.

Mann has testified that she had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with the then-married Weinstein. But when he cornered her in a Manhattan hotel room where she was staying on a weekend getaway, she protested, “I don’t want to do this,” she told jurors. She said he kept making advances and demands until she “just gave up.”

Weinstein hasn’t testified at any of his trials. His lawyers have contended that he never had non-consensual sex.

At his trials to date, the defense claimed that his accusers accepted his sexual overtures because they wanted his help in show business. The women said Weinstein dangled his Hollywood influence to attract and victimize them.

He's appealing the Los Angeles verdict and is expected to appeal the New York conviction involving Haley. It carries the potential for up to 25 years in prison; no sentencing date has been set.

In this case, the rape charge is a lower-level felony punishable by up to four years behind bars. Weinstein, 73, already has served longer than that.

Weinstein has various health problems and uses a wheelchair. He told the judge in January that his “mental state is collapsing” in New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people without their permission if they say they have been sexually assaulted. Haley, Mann and Sokola agreed to be named.

Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown and Jones remained the top five last names in the United States in 2020, as they were in 2010, according to a tally from the last U.S. head count. Most of the fastest-growing last names from 2010 to 2020 were Asian, according to the Census Bureau.

The top three of those were Zhang, Liu and Wang. In the 21st century, Asians have been the fastest-growing of the country’s largest racial or ethnic groups, and they now make up 7% of the U.S. population.

While Asian growth will continue to outpace overall U.S. growth, the immigration crackdown during the second Trump administration could slow down future expansion of that population in the United States, said Paul Ong, a public affairs professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Much of the growth of the Asian population has been driven by immigrants and their children,” Ong said Tuesday. “Consequently, when Asians crack the top surname rank will be pushed further into the future.”

Rounding out the top 10 most common last names in 2020 were Garcia, Miller, Rodriguez, Davis and Martinez. The only change from 2010 was Rodriguez, which jumped ahead of Davis for the No. 8 spot.

There were 7.8 million unique last names, according to the Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau has tallied counts of the most common last names in each once-a-decade head count since 1990. The 2020 census was the first since 1990 to provide data on first names, although the Social Security Administration keeps a count of the most popular male and female first names for babies each year.

The census tally showed that the most popular male first names at the start of this decade were Michael, John, James, David and Robert, while the most common female first names were Mary, Maria, Jennifer, Elizabeth and Patricia.

Not too much has changed since 1990, though there was a little more variety for female names. Back then, the most popular male first names were James, John, Robert, Michael and William. The most popular female first names were Mary, Patricia, Linda, Barbara and Elizabeth.

“The names people choose are a function of what they are exposed to, so culture certainly plays a role, but so does social influence,” said Jonah Berger, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania. “People are constantly exposed to names of others around them, and that can shape not only which names they like, but also which ones they avoid.”

Unlike the Social Security Administration's count, the Census Bureau's tally includes everyone, not just newborns. Liam and Olivia have been the top names for babies over the last several years in the Social Security Administration's annual count.

The most popular first names were so different between the two federal agencies because the 2020 census captured people from all age groups, and not just newborns like the Social Security Administration's tally, said Michelle Napierski-Prancl, a sociologist at Russell Sage College in New York.

“So you have generations that were likely named Mary or John and follow more traditional family naming patterns or religious naming patterns," Napierski-Prancl said Tuesday.

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An earlier version of this story included misinterpreted data about the most common last names among various ethnic groups. Those paragraphs have been deleted.

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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

The USSF said Crocker was leaving to pursue an unidentified international soccer opportunity, and a person familiar with the decision, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Crocker's new job was not announced, said he will work in Saudi Arabia. His hiring by Saudis was first reported by Fox.

Crocker's departure was a surprise, given the U.S. is co-host of the World Cup starting June 11 and the contract of men’s coach Mauricio Pochettino ends after the tournament. The USSF next month will open its 200-acre, 17-field training center and office complex in Fayetteville, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb.

Former U.S. defender Alexi Lalas, now Fox's lead soccer analyst, called Crocker's departure “an own goal" for the USSF.

“It’s a strange and negative message to be sending out to America and the soccer community 59 days or whatever it is before we play," Lalas said. “Obviously Matt Crocker is not going to kick a soccer ball this summer for the United States or for Saudi Arabia, but he is the architect of what we are going to see this summer, and at a time where there is I think fair criticism and concern relative to this team, it’s just an unnecessary message to be sending out. A sporting director is kind of like a general manager. For a general manager to leave right before the most important moment would be strange in any sport."

USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone did not respond to a request for comment.

“This is one that makes zero sense. Why now?" said former American goalkeeper Kasey Keller, now an ESPN analyst. "Saudi Arabia isn’t changing anything that a sport director is going to do for the World Cup. You could bring somebody in and say: OK, we want this long plan now for the next four, six, eight years, but that can wait 'till July. It truly is really, really strange.”

Dan Helfrich, hired as the U.S. federation's chief operating officer in November, “will provide executive oversight and support across the federation’s sporting operations,” the USSF said in a statement. Helfrich will work with assistant sporting director Oguchi Onyewu — a former national team defender — and Tracey Kevins, head of development for the women’s youth national team.

Crocker, a 51-year-old Welshman, was hired by the USSF in April 2023 after serving as Southampton's director of football since February 2020.

Crocker oversaw the decisions to rehire Gregg Berhalter as men's coach in June 2023, to fire Berhalter in July 2024 after first-round elimination at the Copa America and to hire Pochettino that September.

He also made the recommendation to hire Emma Hayes as women's national team coach starting in the spring of 2024. Hayes led the women's team to the Olympic gold medal.

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

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program cancels loans for qualified public service workers after they've made a decade’s worth of payments. It has long been open to those who go to work for the government, public schools, fire and police departments, public hospitals and nonprofits. But last fall, President Donald Trump's administration wrote a new rule that will empower Education Secretary Linda McMahon to kick employers out of the program if she decides their work has a “substantial illegal purpose.”

Set to take effect in July, the vaguely phrased rule is targeted at employers who support undocumented immigrants or transgender youth, potentially affecting borrowers who work at schools, public hospitals and legal aid groups.

On Tuesday, Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced a resolution to overturn the rule. A similar measure was brought forward in the House by another trio of Democrats: Joe Courtney of Connecticut, Alma Adams of North Carolina and Scott Peters of California. The lawmakers called the rule “a clear attempt to intimidate and punish certain organizations.”

Nicholas Kent, the Education Department's higher education chief, equated the Democrats' effort with “standing up for criminal activity.”

“This is a commonsense reform that will stop taxpayer dollars from subsidizing organizations involved in terrorism, child trafficking and child mutilation procedures that are doing irreversible harm to children,” Kent said in a statement. The rule, he said, will be enforced neutrally, "without consideration of the employer’s mission, ideology or the population they serve.”

While the Democrats' measure may get a vote, it's unlikely to pass.

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

The House bill, called the Alert Act, has the backing of key industry groups. The National Transportation Safety Board recently said that the legislation, since amended, now addresses its recommendation to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have key locator systems that let pilots know more precisely where other aircraft are.

The NTSB has been recommending the new technology systems since 2008, and Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has said such a system would have prevented the collision of the American Airlines jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter that sent both aircraft plunging into the icy Potomac River.

Two key House committees unanimously advanced the bill last month. The bill is now being brought up for a full House vote under rules that won't allow any amendments. But victims’ families said they want to make sure the bill has strict timelines to guarantee the reforms will be completed. And they worry the House bill would allow military flights to continue flying without broadcasting their locations on routine training flights and not just secret missions.

“January 29, 2025 made clear what is at stake. The 67 lives lost that day should be honored with an improved system that prevents this from happening again,” the main families group said Tuesday in a new statement. “And the flying public should not have to wait longer than necessary for those protections to be in place.”

Sponsored by Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri and Democrat Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, the legislation needs two-thirds of the House’s support to advance to the Senate. Separate legislation, the ROTOR Act, that the Senate crafted came up one vote short in the House. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, a Democrat, have also said that the Alert Act still needs improvement.

“A warning to my colleagues in the House: the Alert Act would not deliver the safety measures necessary to prevent another midair collision, as it lacks the critical improvements our aviation system needs,” Cruz, the Texas Republican, posted on X ahead of the vote on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the NTSB's Homendy sharply criticized the original version of the bill as a “watered down” measure that wouldn’t do enough to prevent future tragedies. But the board said the revised version would now address the shortcomings their investigation identified and require the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Department and the military to take needed actions.

Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose Virginia district lost a number of constituents in the crash, said it's important to get this bill right and address all 50 of the recommendations the NTSB made in its final report.

“It wasn’t just one issue that led to this crash. It was a combination of systemic problems that made our national airspace unsafe,” Subramanyam said during debate.

National Transportation Safety Board members at a hearing in late January were deeply troubled over years of ignored warnings about helicopter traffic dangers and other problems, long before the collision.

Everyone aboard the American Airlines jet, flying from Wichita, Kansas, and the helicopter died when the two aircraft collided. It was the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001, and the victims included 28 members of the figure skating community.

A helicopter route in the approach path of a Reagan National Airport runway didn't ensure enough separation between helicopters and planes landing on the airport's secondary runway, and the route wasn't reviewed regularly, the board said. The poor design of that route was a key factor in the crash, along with air traffic controllers relying too much on pilots to see and avoid other aircraft.

The bill now requires planes to have Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In systems that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft. Proponents of such systems said they would have alerted the pilots of an American Airlines jet sooner to the impending collision with the Black Hawk helicopter. Most planes already have the complementary ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their locations.

In addition, the House bill requires the next generation of collision avoidance systems to be installed alongside ADS-B In systems, so pilots will be able to receive alerts about nearby traffic and not just see it on a display. The Air Line Pilots Association expressed concerns that the approach could delay installation of the required locator systems because the new collision avoidance system has not yet been fully certified.

The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as the main causes of the crash, but Homendy has said that if both the plane and the Black Hawk had been equipped with ADS-B In and the systems had been turned on, the collision would have been prevented. The Army’s policy at the time of the crash mandated that its helicopters fly without that system on to conceal their locations, although the helicopter involved in this crash was on a training flight, not a sensitive mission.

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This story has been updated to correct the last name of the Democratic congressman. It is Larsen, not Larens.

The lottery game that has made millionaires in the United States will expand this summer to include players in England, Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom.

An agreement was announced Tuesday between the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the lottery game, and Allwyn UK, which operates the U.K.'s National Lottery. The deal still must be approved by a U.K. gambling commission.

It will mark the first time a lottery outside the United States will contribute to the Powerball jackpot.

“We're constantly looking for ways to make sure that we're keeping Powerball culturally and commercially relevant,” said Matt Strawn, who heads Powerball and is chief executive of the Iowa Lottery. “And this really is the next natural progression in doing just that.”

The same jackpot amount will be available to players on both sides of the Atlantic with U.S. payouts in dollars and those in the U.K. in pounds.

For players in the U.S., nothing changes, including the $2 cost of a Powerball ticket and the long odds of winning the jackpot of 1 in 292.2 million, Strawn said. But with U.K. players buying tickets, a larger player pool will grow jackpots more quickly.

“Players consistently tell us in survey after survey that faster growing Powerball jackpots is what they'd like to see,” Strawn said. “Not surprisingly, the higher the jackpots grow the more people play the game in a particular drawing. The more people play, the higher sales grow. The higher sales grow, the higher the jackpots get, the more people play."

For U.K. players, Powerball will offer a chance at much larger jackpots than are now available at lotteries in the country and Europe.

The largest Powerball payout was just over $2 billion from a ticket bought in 2022 in California. EuroMillions, a lottery offered across nine European countries and also operated in the U.K. by Allwyn, paid the biggest prize to a U.K. player of £195 million ($265 million) in 2022.

“Our ambition is to bring more games, more innovation and more excitement to The UK National Lottery — and it doesn’t get more exciting than Powerball, with its transformative jackpots and life-changing contribution to good causes,” Allwyn UK Chief Executive Andria Vidler said in a statement.

Although jackpots will be the same in each country, estimated jackpot amounts will be different due to currency conversion rates and because the U.S. advertises prize amounts pretax, unlike in the U.K.

U.K. Powerball jackpots also will be paid over 30 years whereas in the U.S. jackpot winners have a choice between taking their winnings spread over years through an annuity or in cash — nearly all winners opt for cash.

All players will vie for the same jackpot prize, but smaller prizes will be different in the two countries.

Powerball is played in 45 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In the game, players choose numbers displayed on five white balls numbered 1 to 69 and one number from 1 to 26 on the red Powerball numbered. Drawings will continue to be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

More than 31 million people play at least one National Lottery game each year across the U.K.

The new agreement won't change how Mega Millions, the other large U.S. lottery game, operates.

The school’s Board of Trustees voted to close after the fall semester over what its president and the board described as “increasingly complex” financial pressure. In a statement put out by the board and its president, Jennifer Chrisler, the school said efforts to increase enrollment, refinance existing debt and bring in new revenue from land sales had fallen short.

“The rationale behind this painful vote reflects several realities. The College no longer has the resources to sustain full operations and meet our regulatory responsibilities,” the school said in a statement.

In a separate statement on Instagram, Chrisler acknowledged the decision was difficult. “This is an incredibly painful moment for the Hampshire community, and we are doing everything to support our students in completing their studies and assist our faculty and staff in navigating what comes next," she said.

The school said the timing of the closure will allow current undergraduates at the small liberal arts school in western Massachusetts to complete their education at Hampshire or a partner institution.

The school, which was founded in 1965, has struggled for several years. It launched a $60 million fundraising campaign in 2020, which resulted in several big donations, including a $5 million gift in honor of Burns.

The college got some attention in 2023 when it announced that students from a Florida school that was taken over by conservatives picked by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis could enroll there.

Hampshire College had said that any students in good standing from New College of Florida can transfer there and, with the help of student aid, pay the same amount in tuition they are paying in Florida. The two academic institutions each are known for progressive, free-spirited students, a lack of traditional grades, and opportunities for students to design their own course of study.

The school joins a long list of small schools in New England and across the country that have been forced to close in recent years.

College closures have become increasingly common as campuses compete for a shrinking pool of U.S. students. Birth-rate decreases have translated to fewer college-age Americans overall. At the same time, some states have seen smaller percentages of high school graduates heading to college since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those shifts have left higher education with more supply than demand. Many colleges, especially small, private ones, have seen long-term enrollment decreases that put a pinch on finances. New England, with its high concentration of colleges, has been especially hard hit in recent years.

Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, sought major disaster declarations for wildfires that scorched 240 square miles (615 square kilometers) in the western part of the state and for floods that inundated mountain communities in southern Colorado last year.

Polis requested FEMA public assistance, which enables communities to get reimbursed for debris cleanup and infrastructure rebuilding, as well as hazard-mitigation funding, which helps states build back with more resilience.

Trump first denied Colorado's requests late last year. On Monday, Trump upheld that decision on appeal after a “thorough review," FEMA acting administrator Karen S. Evans told Polis in a pair of letters.

The letters didn’t explain the denials in detail. Polis in a statement called it “incredibly disappointing” after Colorado communities responded quickly to the disasters, documented the damage and worked in good faith with federal officials.

“These disasters caused real damage to homes, infrastructure, and local economies, and Coloradans should not be left to shoulder these costs alone,” Polis said.

While FEMA assesses damage and uses a specific formula to analyze the possible impact on states and local jurisdictions, disaster declarations are ultimately at the president’s discretion.

In December, when Trump first rejected Colorado, Polis accused the president of playing “political games” with the disaster declarations.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson denied the decisions were political. The administration responds to each request with “great care and consideration” to make sure federal revenue is used appropriately and efficiently to supplement, but not substitute, states' obligation to respond to disasters, Jackson told The Associated Press in a statement Tuesday.

“President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any administration has before him," Jackson said.

Other Democrat-led states have complained about being denied disaster declarations despite proving need.

Nearly 84% of disaster requests from states that voted for Trump have been approved in his second term, while about 42% of requests from states that voted for 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris were approved, according to an analysis of public FEMA data by Andrew Rumbach, senior fellow at the nonpartisan think tank Urban Institute.

Rumbach was uncertain whether politics clearly came into play with the decisions. There have been about 60 requests from states, a small sample size, he said, and it was possible that states made insufficient cases that they needed the help.

“These are definitely questions worth asking, but I haven’t reached a conclusion that there’s clear political bias going on here,” Rumbach said. “That’s why it’s really important that FEMA and DHS be as transparent as possible about how they’re making these decisions.”

Rejections have prompted criticisms from Democratic governors like Wes Moore of Maryland and JB Pritzker of Illinois, who called Trump’s February rejection of the state’s appeal for help recovering from August 2025 floods “a politically motivated decision that punishes thousands of Illinois families in a critical moment of need.”

Meanwhile, Colorado’s attorney general, Phil Weiser, has been pushing back against other recent federal decisions against Colorado, including dissolving a climate research lab, threatening to cut transportation money, withholding funds for needy families and relocating the U.S. Space Command to Alabama.

Some U.S. communities have also experienced unprecedented long waits for answers on their disaster requests during Trump’s second term, which critics say delays their response and puts particular pressure on rural towns and counties with smaller budgets.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin last week vowed to clear out some of the backlog of requests in the run-up to Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1. Trump approved major disaster declaration requests for at least seven states last week after being briefed by Mullin.

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Associated Press writer Aoun Angueira reported from San Diego.

The firings are the latest wave of terminations of employees involved in cases criticized by conservatives or because they were perceived as insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump's agenda. The terminations came before the release of a report accusing the Biden administration of biased prosecutions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act or “FACE Act."

“This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, said in a statement. "No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.”

The report is the first released from the Justice Department's “Weaponization Working Group,” created by former Attorney General Pam Bondi to scrutinize the federal prosecutions of Trump and other cases criticized by conservatives.

Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith, the special counsel who prosecuted Trump, have said they followed only the facts, the evidence and the law in their decisions. Critics of the Trump administration say Bondi — who was fired by Trump this month — and Blanche are the ones who politicized the agency, with the norm-breaking actions that have stirred concern that the institution is being used as a tool to advance Trump’s personal and political agenda.

The Biden administration brought cases against dozens of defendants under the FACE Act, which makes it illegal to physically obstruct or use the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services, and prohibits damaging property at abortion clinics and other centers. It was signed into law in 1994, when clinic protests and blockades were on the rise along with violence against abortion providers such as Dr. David Gunn, who was murdered.

The Trump administration alleges in the report that prosecutors under Biden often “ignored and downplayed” attacks against pregnancy resource centers or houses of worship, which are also protected under the law. It also claims that the Biden administration pushed for harsher sentences against anti-abortion activists than it did in cases against abortion-rights defendants. Trump last year pardoned anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances, calling them “peaceful pro-life protesters.”

Kristen Clarke, who led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division under Biden, defended the prosecutions, saying the attorneys "enforced the law even-handedly and put public safety at the center of this work.”

“The Civil Rights Division brought law enforcement leaders, crisis pregnancy center representatives, faith leaders, and reproductive health care staff together to address the real violence, threats of violence, and obstruction that too many people face in our country when it comes to reproductive health care," Clarke said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.

Former Civil Rights Division attorneys accused the Trump administration of cherry-picking emails and other documents to paint a misleading picture of prosecutions that were supported by evidence presented to judges and juries. Maura Klugman, who was a deputy chief in the division’s special litigation section until last year, described one of the fired lawyers, Sanjay Patel, as an ethical and “respected career prosecutor who would never go out of bounds.”

The firings are part of a broader personnel purge that has shaken career Justice Department lawyers, generally insulated from changes in administrations, thanks to long-recognized civil service protections.

Justice Connection, a network of former department employees, said the agency leadership’s “cruelty and hypocrisy are on full display in this report.”

“They insist on zealous advocacy by career staff in advancing the President’s priorities, while shaming and firing those who did just that in the prior administration,” Stacey Young, a former department lawyer who founded Justice Connection, said in a statement. "They’ve put career employees on notice: if they do their jobs, they face potential termination if future political leadership disagrees with the policy goals of prior leadership.”

The S&P 500 added 1.2% to its leap from the day before, and the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts is just 0.2% below its record set in January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 317 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 2%. They followed gains for stock markets worldwide as diplomats worked through back channels to arrange a new round of talks between the United States and Iran.

If talks succeed and the war ends up being only a temporary setback for the global economy, rather than a new normal of very high oil prices and inflation, investors can turn their attention back to what matters most for stock prices: How much money are companies making?

Positive trends there had stock markets worldwide doing well before the war began, and analysts see continued growth ahead, for now at least.

Lower oil prices help bring down costs for all kinds of businesses, and the price for a barrel of Brent crude to be delivered in June fell 4.6% to settle at $94.79 Tuesday.

While that’s still above its roughly $70 price from before the war began in late February, it’s well below the $119 peak it has hit when worries about the war have been at their heights.

To be sure, hope has often swung quickly into doubt since the war began, which has caused extreme and sudden reversals in financial markets. Much of the stress has been due to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that’s the main avenue for crude oil produced in the Persian Gulf area to reach customers worldwide. Blockages there have kept oil off the global market, which has in turn driven up its price.

And that has meant a blast of higher inflation. In the United States, inflation at the wholesale level accelerated to 4% in March from 3.4% the month before, according to the latest data released Tuesday. That was actually better than the 4.6% rate economists expected.

The effect is worldwide. Global inflation this year looks set to accelerate to 4.4% from 4.1% in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund, which had earlier thought inflation would slow to 3.8%.

The IMF on Tuesday also downgraded its forecast for global economic growth to 3.1% this year from the 3.3% it had forecast in January.

On Wall Street, strong profit reports from companies are helping to make up for such worries. Over the long term, stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits, and analysts are forecasting S&P 500 companies will report solid growth of more than 12% for the most recent quarter, according to FactSet.

Optimism remains high enough that analysts have raised their estimates since the war began for S&P 500 profits over the first six months of the year, according to strategists at Morgan Stanley.

BlackRock gained 3%, and Citigroup rose 2.6% Tuesday after the financial companies reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

JPMorgan Chase likewise delivered a better-than-expected quarter, but its stock dipped 0.8% as CEO Jamie Dimon said bank officials cannot predict how the “increasingly complex set of risks” will play out given so much uncertainty.

Amazon climbed 3.8% after saying it would buy Globalstar, a mobile satellite services company, for $90 per share in either cash or Amazon stock. Globalstar jumped 9.6%.

Software companies also rallied for a second day, recovering more of their sharp losses from earlier in the year on worries they could be made obsolete by artificial-intelligence technology. AppLovin rose 3.9%, and an ETF from iShares tracking the software industry added 1%.

That in turn helped private-credit companies recover. These companies have lent money to software businesses and others that may be under threat from AI, and some have seen a rush of investors trying to pull out their money.

Blue Owl Capital rose 8.5% to trim its loss for the year so far below 39%. Ares Management climbed 5.6%, and Apollo Global Management rose 4.4%.

They helped offset a 5.7% drop for Wells Fargo, which reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 81.14 points to 6,967.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 317.74 to 48,535.99, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 455.35 to 23,639.08.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.7%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.4% for two of the bigger gains.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased as the fall for oil prices took some of the pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.25% from 4.30% late Monday.

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

The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms.

“We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content.

Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.

“The Commonwealth would have a better chance of getting around the First Amendment if they alleged that the speech was false or fraudulent,” Mosier said. “But when they acknowledge that its truthful that brings it in the heart of the First Amendment.”

Several of the judges, though, seem to more concerned about Meta's functions such as notifications than the content on its platforms.

“I didn't understand the claims to be that Meta is relaying false information vis-a-vis the notifications but that it has created an algorithm of incessant notifications ... designed so as to feed into the fear of missing out, fomo, that teenagers generally have,” Justice Dalila Wendlandt said. “That is the basis of the claim.”

Justice Scott Kafker challenged the notion that this was all about a choose to publish certain information by Meta.

“It's not how to publish but how to attract you to the information,” he said. “It's about how to attract the eyeballs. It's indifferent the content, right. It doesn't care if it's Thomas Paine's ‘Common Sense’ or nonsense. It's totally focused on getting you to look at it."

Meta is facing federal and state lawsuits claiming it knowingly designed features — such as constant notifications and the ability to scroll endlessly — that addict children.

In 2023, 33 states filed a joint lawsuit against the Menlo Park, California-based tech giant claiming that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law. In addition, states including Massachusetts filed their own lawsuits in state courts over addictive features and other harms to children.

Newspaper reports, first by The Wall Street Journal in the fall of 2021, found that the company knew about the harms Instagram can cause teenagers — especially teen girls — when it comes to mental health and body image issues. One internal study cited 13.5% of teen girls saying Instagram makes thoughts of suicide worse and 17% of teen girls saying it makes eating disorders worse.

Critics say Meta hasn't done enough to address concerns about teen safety and mental health on its platforms. A report from former employee and whistleblower Arturo Bejar and four nonprofit groups this year said Meta has chosen not to take “real steps” to address safety concerns, “opting instead for splashy headlines about new tools for parents and Instagram Teen Accounts for underage users.”

Meta said the report misrepresented its efforts on teen safety.

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Associated Press reporter Barbara Ortutay in Oakland, California, contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to show the lawsuit was filed in 2023, not 2024..

Authorities in Kansas reported several people with minor injuries after storms passed through on Monday. Three people were left with minor injuries in rural Franklin County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, according to the sheriff’s office. In Ottawa, a city of about 13,000 people, officials said there was structural damage, but there were no deaths or injuries. Power lines and trees were damaged, as well as several businesses, including one where outside walls were gone.

A National Weather Service survey team will assess damage in the Ottawa area on Tuesday to determine whether a tornado passed through there, according to Chelsea Picha, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Topeka.

In neighboring Miami County, two people reported minor injuries, several homes were destroyed and recreational vehicles and campers were overturned, according to the sheriff’s office. Power lines were de-energized in Hillsdale until cleanup could be safely completed, the sheriff’s office said.

Three tornadoes touched down in southern Minnesota, where some damage to farms was reported, according to Jake Beitlich, a meteorologist in the Twin Cities office. There were also reports of baseball-sized hail that caused damage to vehicles in the area, he said.

A tornado touched down near Gilman, a village of about 380 people in northwestern Wisconsin, said Jeff Boyne, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s La Crosse, Wisconsin, office, but he said the damage was minor. The weather service was still working to determine the tornado’s rating. The storms peeled the roof off a manufactured home in Steuben, a village of about 120 people in southwestern Wisconsin, he said, but there have been no reports of any injuries in the state.

A number of schools around the Madison area were forced to close Tuesday morning due to lack of power. More than 25,000 customers were without power in Wisconsin on Tuesday morning, according to poweroutage.us.

Forecasters warned of significant river and small stream flooding expected through the end of the week in the Upper Great Lakes with the heaviest rainfall expected overnight into Wednesday with scattered flash flooding.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency Friday at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex as record snowfall in March and the recent rain have elevated water levels. More pumps were being added to help push water toward Lake Huron on Monday. As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, the water level was 7.68 inches (19.5 centimeters) below the top of the structure, according to a state website.

In a statement after the two-hour session ended, the State Department praised the two sides for what it called “productive discussions on steps toward launching direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.” Hezbollah opposed the direct talks and was not represented, appearing to step up its fire on northern Israel as the discussions began.

“The United States affirmed that any agreement to cease hostilities must be reached between the two governments, brokered by the United States, and not through any separate track,” the State Department said.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter hailed what he called a convergence of opinion about removing Hezbollah’s influence from Lebanon, saying he was encouraged by a “wonderful exchange."

“The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah," he said. "Iran has been weakened. Hezbollah is dramatically weakened. This is an opportunity.”

Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad “reaffirmed the urgent need” for an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, “underscoring the principles of territorial integrity and full state sovereignty.” She also called for a ceasefire, the return of displaced people to their homes, and “concrete measures to address and alleviate the severe humanitarian crisis” resulting from the conflict.

Despite Hezbollah’s outright rejection, the talks are a major step for two countries with no diplomatic relations that have been officially at war since Israel’s inception in 1948. The latest round of fighting was sparked by Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel on March 2, days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, Hezbollah’s key ally and patron.

Hezbollah pushes back as Lebanese government hopes for end to war

As the talks began, Rubio said the Trump administration was “very happy” to facilitate but noted that “we understand we’re working against decades of history and complexities” that will not be quickly resolved.

“But we can begin to move forward with a framework where something can happen — something very positive, something very permanent — so that the people of Lebanon can have the kind of future they deserve, and so that the people of Israel can live without fear,” Rubio said.

The Lebanese government hopes the talks will help pave the way to an end to the war. While Iran has set ending the wars in Lebanon and the region as a condition for talks with the U.S., Lebanon insists on representing itself.

Hezbollah and other critics say Lebanon’s government lacks leverage and that it should back Iran’s position. Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of the militant group’s political council, told The Associated Press that the group will not abide by any agreements made during the talks.

On the day of the discussions, incoming fire triggered nonstop drone and rocket alert sirens in Israeli communities near the Lebanese border. Hezbollah, so far on Tuesday, has claimed 24 attacks on northern Israel and on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

At least 2,124 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said, including hundreds of women and children. More than 1 million people are displaced. The deadliest day of the war took place last week, when Israel launched 100 airstrikes across Lebanon in 10 minutes, including in the heart of the capital, killing over 350 people.

The Israeli military has invaded southern Lebanon, a move some Israeli officials have said aims to create a “security zone” from the border to the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the north.

Israel’s defense minister says hundreds of thousands of people uprooted from southern Lebanon will not be allowed to return home until the area is demilitarized and Israel believes its northern communities are safe. Hezbollah, though weakened in its last war with Israel that ended in November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery daily into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon.

Hezbollah enjoys wide influence in Beirut’s southern suburbs, as well as large swaths of the country’s southern and eastern provinces. Hezbollah-allied politicians hold two Cabinet minister positions, though the group’s ties have soured with Lebanon’s top political authorities, who have been critical of Hezbollah’s decision to enter the war last month and who have since criminalized the group’s military activities in the country.

First Israel-Lebanon talks in more than 30 years

The talks are the first between Israel and Lebanon since 1993. Both countries have relied on indirect communication, often brokered by the United States or UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s top political authorities, critical of Hezbollah’s decision to fire rockets toward Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran, quickly proposed direct talks in a bid to stop the escalation, hoping that Israel would not launch its ground invasion.

Israel did not respond positively until last week, after its deadly bombardment hit several crowded commercial and residential areas in Beirut, sparking an international outcry and triggering threats by Iran that it would end the ceasefire with the United States and Israel.

Lebanese officials have pushed for a truce, which Israel has ruled out. Israel has, however, halted strikes on Lebanon's capital following the bombardment.

“Israel’s destruction of Lebanese territories is not the solution, nor will it yield any results,” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday. He came to power vowing to disarm non-state groups, including Hezbollah. “Diplomatic solutions have consistently proven to be the most effective means of resolving armed conflicts globally.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday denied having disputes with Lebanon and said, “The problem is Hezbollah.”

Hezbollah wants a return to the 2024 agreement under which talks were conducted indirectly with the U.S., France and UNIFIL as mediators.

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Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations and Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed to this report.

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

TAKITOS CON SABOR

1607 W Hermosa Dr, San Antonio, TX 78201

Takitos Con Sabor has expanded from Eagle Pass to San Antonio, bringing its popular birria-focused menu to a new audience. Founded by Andres Echavarria, the family-operated concept has built a strong following with its bold flavors and signature dishes, including quesabirria tacos served with rich consomé and fresh toppings.

The new food truck location continues that tradition, offering items like birria ramen, carne asada tacos, and esquite, along with fresh-squeezed lemonade. With its motto of “Tacos equals happiness,” this neighborhood favorite is quickly becoming a go-to spot for those looking to experience authentic, flavorful Mexican street food in the city.

DOMINION COUNTRY CLUB (PUTTS FORE PUPS)

1 Dominion Dr, San Antonio, TX 78257

The Dominion Country Club served as the setting for the 2026 Putts for Pups charity golf event, bringing together community members for a day of golf and giving back. The event benefits the Puppy Food Bank, a San Antonio nonprofit that provides pet food to rescue organizations across Texas and beyond.

This year’s event raised approximately $160,000 to support local shelters during peak puppy and kitten seasons. In addition to fundraising, the event highlighted pet adoption and responsible ownership, with adoptable animals on site and resources available for attendees looking to make a difference.

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

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“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all,” Gonzales said in a statement Monday evening previewing his intention to leave office. “When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.”

His resignation goes into effect at midnight.

Gonzales’ announcement came about an hour after Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, announced his own resignation from the House. Swalwell’s move to step down came in the wake of allegations from numerous former staffers who said the Democrat engaged in sexual misconduct, including sexual assault.

Members of Congress had planned to bring expulsion resolutions against both lawmakers this week, and numerous members from each party indicated they would vote in favor. Gonzales’ statement did not specify whether his “retirement from office” would be effective immediately, though his prior announcement that he would not seek reelection suggested his latest statement referred to resignation.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, a New Mexico Democrat and chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, had announced plans to bring an expulsion resolution against Gonzales this week.

Leger Fernández filed her resolution Tuesday afternoon, shortly before Gonzales’ resignation letter was submitted and read by the House clerk. But his official resignation eliminates the ability to expel him.

Gonzales, a Navy veteran first elected in 2020, admitted to having an affair with a staffer in early March, weeks after the San Antonio Express-News reported on the extramarital tryst, including text messages in which the staffer pushed back against Gonzales’ requests for nude photos.

After finishing second in the March Republican primary, GOP leaders — including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson — urged him to drop his reelection bid, and Gonzales followed suit soon after. But most Republicans had stopped short of calling for his resignation or expulsion until the Swalwell allegations brought sexual misconduct to the fore, opening the door for expelling one member from each party without upsetting the partisan makeup of a narrowly divided House.

The House Ethics Committee had opened an investigation into the San Antonio congressman to determine whether he “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his office” and “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”

House rules prohibit members of Congress from engaging in sexual relationships with their employees.

Ethics investigations typically end once a member has left Congress, given that the committee only has jurisdiction over current members.

A former Gonzales campaign staffer came forward last week saying Gonzales had been sexually inappropriate with her as well, including sharing text messages in which the then-candidate had asked her for nude photos and for sex.

The most moderate Republican from Texas in Congress, Gonzales was both an outspoken voice on the need for border security and an occasional critic of his party’s approach to immigration.

His pending resignation will leave Texas’ 23rd Congressional District vacant. Gov. Greg Abbott has the power to set a special election date at his discretion.

The 23rd District, which runs from San Antonio to El Paso County and includes numerous West Texas border towns, was a swing district throughout the 2010s but had become more Republican in recent cycles through a combination of redistricting and political shifts, especially among its majority-Hispanic population.

But with Democrats enthused by a recent string of special election overperformances, including a state Senate flip in North Texas, the race to replace Gonzales could be more competitive. National Democrats were already eyeing the seat as a pickup opportunity in the November general election, encouraged by recent trends suggesting Hispanic voters have shifted leftward since 2024.

The Republican nominee in the November general election is Brandon Herrera, a gun rights activist and YouTuber who had challenged Gonzales in the primary in two successive cycles.

Herrera, who is much further right than Gonzales, initially took issue with Gonzales’ vote, in the wake of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, for a bipartisan gun safety bill loathed by hardline gun rights activists. As Gonzales’ affair came to light, Herrera has been deeply critical of the congressman’s ethical conduct, and had called for him to resign for months.

Gonzales has previously called Herrera a “known neo-Nazi” — an allegation Herrera disputes as “obvious[ly]” untrue.

“Nature is healing,” Herrera wrote on social media, responding to Gonzales’ announcement Monday.

While the district is not on congressional Democrats’ target list, Herrera’s controversial online persona has made Democrats in Texas and Washington more interested in the seat. Democrats have shared clips of Herrera discussing owning a copy of “Mein Kampf” and YouTube clips in which he refers to a gun as the “original ghetto blaster” and makes Holocaust puns.

The Democratic nominee in the November election is Katy Padilla Stout, a San Antonio attorney and former elementary school teacher.

Both would be expected to enter a special election for the remainder of Gonzales’ term if Abbott schedules it. Unlike the general election, it would be open to multiple candidates from both parties.

Padilla Stout called on Abbott to schedule the special election “at the earliest possible date.”

“The hard working people of this district have not had the full attention of their representative in Congress for far too long,” Padilla Stout said in a statement. “They deserve an opportunity to elect a representative from this district who shares their values and work ethic.”

In a fuller statement Tuesday, Herrera indicated that he did not expect a special election before November.

“I promise to do everything in my power to advocate for the constituents of this district at a federal level in the interim until I’m able to take the seat officially after November’s election,” Herrera said.

Matt Floca, the performing arts institution's new executive director and chief operating officer, is leading a series of tours this month that show water damage and intrusion to expansion joints, marble slabs and exterior pavers. Participants are guided through the building's water and HVAC systems, as well as the parking garages and loading docks that are said to need repairs.

The sessions began earlier this month while Congress was in recess and included staff for a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrats on Capitol Hill. A representative for Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser was also included on the tour.

Similar access has been provided for several corporate and individual donors and in the coming weeks, Floca is expected to provide tours for the lawmakers themselves and members of the media.

Assessing a suddenly controversial operation

Once one of Washington's relatively few apolitical spaces, the Kennedy Center has become a source of controversy during President Donald Trump's second term. Shortly after returning to office, Trump ousted the institution's previous leadership and replaced it with a handpicked board of directors.

The president's name was added to the building's facade and its programming took a Trump-friendly turn, serving as a venue for events such as the premiere of first lady Melania Trump's documentary, “Melania.”

Trump's move to shutter the building for two years starting in July, which was approved by the board last month, has spurred lawsuits and an outcry that the closure is merely a response to plunging sales as artists canceled Kennedy Center performances in droves.

The tours are intended to cut through that and show that the Kennedy Center, which began construction in 1965, is in genuine need of a fundamental update.

“As the July closure approaches, the Trump Kennedy Center is leading with transparency and making sure Congress and the public understand what’s at stake and why the work can’t wait,” Floca said in a statement.

In addition to staff for Schumer, Jeffries, and Bowser, the recent tour included representatives for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Mark Warner, D-Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., along with Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Rick Larsen, D-Wash.

By virtue of their positions, these lawmakers are ex officio members of the Kennedy Center's board. Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi said working with both parties was a “top priority” as the institution implements Trump's vision for the renovation.

None of the participants discussed the tour on the record.

Need for repairs is not disputed

Trump secured nearly $257 million from Congress to repair the Kennedy Center. Those who are arguing against its closure haven't disputed the need for routine maintenance and repairs. They say the more substantial changes Trump has hinted at are in the works and should go through the typical review process that governs many major projects in the nation’s capital.

Trump has suggested changes at the Kennedy Center could be so dramatic that the steel supporting the structure could be “ fully exposed.”

According to a lawsuit filed last month against Trump, the Kennedy Center and others in the administration, “Demolition, new construction, major reconstruction, major renovation, or major aesthetic transformation of the Kennedy Center would permanently destroy historic fabric, degrade the monumental core’s vistas and public grounds, and compromise the Kennedy Center’s memorial purpose and architectural integrity, causing permanent, irreversible harm that no subsequent remedy can fully undo."

The Kennedy Center is entering a critical period before its anticipated July closure, which will produce staff reductions.

In the meantime, the Kennedy Center is still hosting shows, including the musical “Chicago,” which Trump attended this month. Performances of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” are on the calendar from June 18 through July 5. Comedian Bill Maher will be presented the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on June 28, just before the closure begins.

The Kennedy Center is part of Trump's broader effort to leave a lasting imprint on the Washington cityscape. He demolished the East Wing of the White House last year and wants to replace it with a ballroom, an effort that is also tangled in litigation.

The president also unveiled plans on Friday for an arch that 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.

Electoral authorities continued to count the ballots for a third straight day as authorities were forced to extend voting into Monday after ballots had not been delivered in time to polling stations.

With 77% of ballots tallied, official results on Tuesday showed Keiko Fujimori, the conservative daughter of a disgraced former president, leading the count with 16.86% of the votes, while Rafael López Aliaga, the ultraconservative former mayor of Peru’s capital, Lima, earned 12.66%.

Jorge Nieto Montesinos was close in the third place, with 11.74% of the vote, maintaining a narrow chance of making it into the June 7 runoff.

The sluggish pace of the count mirrored Peru’s 2021 presidential election, a contest where final tallies weren't completed until five days after polls closed.

A presidential candidate needs more than 50% of votes to win outright. The two candidates with the most votes in a first round advance to the runoff. The winner will be Peru’s ninth president in just 10 years.

A European Union election observation mission said Tuesday it didn't see “sufficient grounds” supporting claims of fraud, following allegations by López Aliaga, who described the election — without providing evidence — as a “fraud of a kind unique in the world.”

The election has been mired with logistical issues that left thousands in the country and abroad unable to cast ballots. That prompted authorities to allow more than 52,000 residents of Lima to vote on Monday. The extension, announced after vote counting had begun Sunday evening, also covered Peruvians registered to vote in Orlando, Florida, and Paterson, New Jersey.

“I’m fed up,” Iris Valle, 56, said as she waited to vote on Monday at a public school in Lima, the country's capital. She feared that her employer would cut her pay for not showing up early, because she had to fulfill her voting obligation.

Voting is mandatory for Peruvians from the ages of 18 to 70. Failure to vote comes with a fine of up to $32.

The election took place amid a surge in violent crime and corruption that has fueled widespread discontent among voters, who largely view candidates as dishonest and unprepared for the presidency.

Peru’s economy, however, has defied both the crime surge and the political instability stemming from a revolving door of presidents, having had three since last October alone. Aided by its status as one of the world’s largest copper producers, the country posted more than 3% growth in 2024 and 2025, though that’s lower than the 5%-6% annual growth it saw in the 2000s.

Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, explained that the independence of the country’s central bank has also contributed to economic growth.

“Although Peru has had all these presidents, it has had only one central bank president since the mid-2000s, Julio Velarde,” Freeman said. “He’s been a real source of stability and given investors some confidence that there is an institutional core that remains from one presidency to the next in Peru.”

Still, Freeman warned, Peru can't afford to be complacent as current growth is lower than the 5%-6% annual rates the country saw in the 2000s and recent congressional decisions point to “a more conservative economic populism.”

In her fourth bid for the presidency, Fujimori has promised to crack down on crime but has also defended laws that experts say make it difficult to prosecute criminals. The laws, which her party backed in recent years, eliminated preliminary detention in certain cases and raised the threshold for seizing criminal assets.

If elected, she has said that judges presiding over criminal cases will be anonymous and prisoners will have to work to earn their food.

Meanwhile, López Aliaga has proposed building prisons in the country’s Amazon region, and lobbied for allowing judges to conceal their identities and expelling foreigners who are living illegally in Peru.

For the first time in more than 30 years, voters were also asked to choose members of a bicameral Congress, following recent legislative reforms that concentrate significant power in the new upper chamber.

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Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

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

Josh D'Amaro, who in February succeeded Bob Iger as chief executive, announced broader layoffs following a move in January to consolidate Disney's marketing division. The cuts are expected to fall across the Burbank, California-based company's traditional television businesses, including ESPN, as well as its movie studio. Employees in product and technology, and in certain corporate functions will also be affected.

“Over the past several months, we have looked at ways in which we can streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney,” D'Amaro said in a memo to employees obtained by The Associated Press. “Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs.”

Disney last went through a round of layoffs soon after Iger returned for a second spell as chief executive office in 2022. The company cut around 8,000 jobs then. As of late 2025, Disney had about 230,000 employees.

D'Amaro, who previously oversaw Disney's lucrative parks division, has been at the company since 1998.

Contraction has recently been a widespread concern in Hollywood. Paramount Skydance has shed 2,000 jobs since the studio was taken over by David Ellison's company, and Ellison has acknowledged layoffs would follow Paramount's planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, if the deal wins approval from shareholders and government regulators. Last week, Sony Pictures Entertainment said it would eliminate hundreds of jobs.

The negligence case centers on seven medical professionals accused of failing to provide adequate care in the weeks leading up to Maradona’s death five years ago at a home outside Buenos Aires. Maradona, widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, died at age 60 from cardiac arrest while recovering from a procedure to treat a blood clot on his brain.

The seven defendants are charged with culpable homicide, a crime similar to involuntary manslaughter, which alleges that the accused were aware that their reckless conduct posed a risk and failed to prevent it. If convicted, they face prison sentences ranging from eight to 25 years.

“Maradona was abandoned to his fate, condemned to death,” said Patricio Ferrari, one of the prosecutors. He added that with the evidence, the judges “will see that the defendants were a group of ill-prepared professionals” who “did nothing to prevent Maradona from dying.”

Among those on trial are physician Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s personal doctor during the final years of his life, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Díaz.

Defense attorneys argue that the captain of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup-winning team suffered from multiple serious medical conditions and that no crime was committed.

Maradona had suffered a series of medical problems, some because of an excess of drug and alcohol consumption. He was reportedly near death in 2000 and 2004.

"Beyond the factual, medical and scientific issues, there is also a matter arising from the autopsy. The defense will prove that, unfortunately, Mr. Maradona’s death was the result of a progressive deterioration of his health that at one point simply gave out,” said Vadim Mischanchuk, Cosachov's attorney.

Hearings will take place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Slightly less than 100 witnesses are expected to testify, including family members, people close to the former player, medical professionals and police officers.

Judges Alberto Gaig, Alberto Ortolani and Pablo Rolón are expected to deliver a verdict in early June.

“Diego was murdered,” Fernando Burlando, attorney for Maradona's two eldest daughters and plaintiffs in the case, Dalma and Giannina, said on Tuesday. He added that the defendants “pushed him toward death” and that “Diego had thousands of chances to live.”

The initial trial ended in a mistrial last May after Julieta Makintach, one of the three judges overseeing the proceedings, stepped down following criticism over her participation in a documentary about the case.

Makintach withdrew after prosecutors presented footage showing her featured prominently in the documentary “Divine Justice,” which covered events from the aftermath of Maradona’s death, when allegations and suspicions of foul play first emerged, through the start of the trial.

“I present my resignation with serenity, without renouncing the right to exercise my defense in the appropriate arenas,” Makintach wrote in a letter sent to judicial authorities in June.

Maradona died on Nov. 25, 2020, weeks after undergoing surgery for a subdural hematoma. He had been admitted earlier that month to a clinic in La Plata, suffering from anemia and dehydration, before being transferred to Clinica Olivos, where he underwent the procedure. After being discharged on Nov. 11, he moved to a home outside Buenos Aires, where he remained under medical supervision.

A 20-member medical panel appointed to investigate Maradona’s death released a report in 2021, where they accused Maradona’s medical team of acting in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner,” leaving him in agony and without help for more than 12 hours before his death.

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

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

LA CARNICERIA MEAT MARKET

8771 TX-151 Ste 101, San Antonio, TX 78245

La Carniceria Meat Market is a family-owned butcher shop known for its premium selection of high-quality meats and custom cuts. Established in 2017, the market has built a reputation for offering everything from A5 Japanese Wagyu to prime cuts of beef, along with house-made chorizo and marinated options that cater to a variety of tastes.

Customers can work directly with skilled butchers to select and prepare cuts to their preference, creating a personalized experience for home cooks and grill enthusiasts alike. In addition to meats, the market also offers fresh tortillas, salsas, charcoal, and seasonings, making it a one-stop shop for those planning their next cookout or family meal.

SA AIRPORT (FIESTA TAKES FLIGHT PARADE)

9800 Airport Blvd, San Antonio, TX 78216

San Antonio International Airport brought the spirit of Fiesta to travelers with its 7th Annual Fiesta Takes Flight Parade, held inside Terminal A. The event transforms the airport into a colorful celebration, complete with vibrant decorations like piñatas and papel picado, welcoming visitors and locals alike.

The parade features decorated floats, airport and airline staff, Fiesta royalty, and community participants, all coming together to kick off the city’s signature festival season. With music, costumes, and a festive atmosphere, the event offers a unique way to experience Fiesta while highlighting San Antonio’s culture at one of its busiest travel hubs.

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

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On the corner where his first ice cream shop opened in 1978 — and where the first Free Cone Day was held a year later — Ben Cohen called on Ben & Jerry’s owner The Magnum Ice Cream Co. to sell the brand. Cohen said Magnum is stifling Ben & Jerry's social activism and he wants to see the brand sold to a group of socially-minded investors.

“Magnum prevented Ben & Jerry’s from putting out a post supporting Black History Month," Cohen said. "(Ben & Jerry's) wanted to come out with a post calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Magnum prevented that. We wanted to support the student protesters. Magnum wouldn’t allow that.”

“The longer this goes on, the more they’re destroying the brand equity,” Cohen added.

Ben & Jerry's other half, Jerry Greenfield, resigned from the company in September 2025, calling it a “painful” decision after nearly 50 years with the brand and bemoaning in his resignation letter the disappearance of its independence. Cohen is still a paid employee of the company, but said he has no authority or responsibilities.

Cohen believes Ben & Jerry's is now worth between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. He wouldn't name any of the investors who are interested in buying the brand, but said they're eager to talk to Magnum, which is based in Amsterdam.

However, Magnum said Tuesday that Ben & Jerry's is not for sale.

“Ben & Jerry’s is a proud and thriving part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company," Magnum said in a statement. “We remain fully committed to the Ben & Jerry’s model and its three-part mission — product, economic and social.”

Tuesday's protest was Cohen’s latest action in a years-long campaign to make Ben & Jerry’s an independent company again. Here's the scoop on Ben & Jerry's evolution:

Unilever acquisition

Unilever, a London conglomerate that also owns Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000 for $326 million, or the equivalent of $625 million today. At the time, Cohen and his co-founder, Jerry Greenfield, said the partnership would help the progressive Vermont-based ice cream company expand its social mission globally. As part of the deal, Unilever agreed that Ben & Jerry’s independent board would be free to pursue its social mission, including longstanding support for causes like racial justice, campaign finance reform and fair trade.

Controversy erupts

In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop serving Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and contested east Jerusalem. The move was condemned by Israel, and Unilever distanced itself from it. The following year, Unilever sold its Israeli business to a local company that said it would sell Ben & Jerry’s throughout Israel and the West Bank. Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever in 2024, accusing it of silencing its statements in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war. Ben & Jerry’s said Unilever also blocked social media posts that were critical of President Donald Trump and threatened to dismantle Ben & Jerry’s independent board.

Magnum takes over

Unilever announced the spinoff of its ice cream business — including Ben & Jerry’s — in March 2024. It was part of a larger strategy at Unilever, which wants to focus more on health and wellness products and less on food. Magnum, which became an independent company in July 2025, is one of the world’s largest ice cream companies. It also owns brands like Breyers and Cornetto.

The 30-second message features a variety of voters, among them a busy farmer and a flight attendant, explaining why they cast their ballots by mail. Sponsored by the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union, the advertising campaign announced Tuesday will begin airing this week in Ohio, where Union Army soldiers during the Civil War cast the first mail ballots in 1864. It will then move to other states.

The ad ends with the message: “Vote by mail — keep it, protect it, expand it.” It comes two weeks after Trump signed an executive order that seeks to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and subsequently bar postal workers from sending absentee ballots to those who are not on each state’s approved list.

The order was met swiftly with lawsuits and opposition from postal workers. The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association said USPS is “not equipped or authorized to decide who is or is not entitled to vote” and pushing it into such a role “risks politicizing one of the nation’s most trusted public institutions.” The union also said it threatens confidence in the mail and in elections.

Jonathan Smith, president of American Postal Workers, said his union's TV ad was produced before Trump's executive order was issued, not in response to it. An executive order on elections that Trump signed last year also targeted mail ballots by seeking to require they be returned by Election Day, even though more than a dozen states allow a grace period.

Smith said the union wants to encourage people to continue voting by mail. But he expressed concern about the potential ramifications of requiring postal workers to determine who should receive an absentee ballot and who should not.

“It is our position that it is not the job of the postal workers to verify voter eligibility," he said. "It is our job to move mail from one destination to the next. He added: “We do not want to be politicized.”

Trump's latest election executive order is already facing lawsuits by various groups, including Democrats in Washington who argue that the Constitution empowers states and Congress, not the president, to set election rules.

Trump, who as recently as last month voted by mail, has publicly bashed mail voting. Mail voting has existed for more than a century and had steadily been increasing in popularity in both Democratic- and Republican-led states until 2020, when Trump started to target the method, levying baseless claims of mass fraud. It has now becomes less popular among Republicans.

A report by the Brookings Institution published in 2025 found that cases of mail voting fraud occurred in only a tiny fraction of total mail ballots cast — about four cases out of every 10 million mail ballots.

A White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson, responded to the ad campaign by saying Trump “will do everything in his power to defend the safety and security of American elections and to ensure that only American citizens are voting in them.”

Voting by noncitizens also is rare and, when caught, is punishable as a potential felony and with the possibility of deportation.

The Postal Service did not return a request for comment.

The union's TV ad campaign is intended to be a direct message to voters, not the president, Smith said.

“Our message is to America: Vote by mail is efficient, it’s safe, and it’s successful. Period,” he said. “This is educating the American people that you can use vote by mail and you can be guaranteed that your voice will be heard and your vote will be counted.”

Lonna Drewes said during a news conference that the assault occurred at a hotel in Southern California. She said she had one glass of wine that evening and believes Swalwell drugged her before raping her. Swalwell dropped out of the California governor’s race on Sunday and said he would resign from Congress this week following earlier allegations of sexual assault from a different woman.

“I did not consent to any sexual activity,” Drewes said.

Attorney Sara Azari released a statement Tuesday on Swalwell's behalf saying he “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him." She pledged to "pursue every available legal remedy against those responsible for orchestrating this reprehensible campaign of lies.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of sexual assault. If you or someone you know needs help, please call 1-800-656-4673 for the national sexual assault hotline in the U.S.

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Drewes' allegation comes a day after Swalwell said he would resign from Congress following other allegations of sexual misconduct, including at least two other alleged incidents of nonconsensual sex. Other women have accused him of sending them inappropriate messages and nude photos. Swalwell denied the prior accusations of sexual assault but said he had made unspecified errors in judgment.

Drewes said she did not undergo a rape kit but disclosed the alleged assault to people close to her and documented it in her journal. She said she discussed the alleged rape during therapy sessions at a sexual assault center in Connecticut.

Attorney Lisa Bloom said those journal entries, along with text messages and photographs, will be included in the forthcoming report to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Drewes said she was working as a model and owned a fashion software company based in Beverly Hills when she met Swalwell. He offered to help her with connections to further her company and knew she had an interest in local politics.

She had met him twice before the night when she says he raped her. That night, the two met at a restaurant opening and were set to attend a political event, she said. On their way to the event, Drewes said Swalwell wanted to stop back at his hotel room to get some paperwork. By the time they reached the room, she said her limbs felt heavy and she felt like she had been drugged.

Swalwell raped her and later choked her, causing her to lose consciousness, she said.

In a letter read on the House floor, Swalwell said his resignation is effective as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.

“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff and constituents for mistakes in judgment I have made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations made against me,” a clerk said in reading the letter. “However I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

Swalwell's abrupt downfall followed allegations published in the San Francisco Chronicle and later by CNN.

Not anymore.

Thanks to a variety of factors — especially money and technology — the MLB and NCAA versions of baseball have never been more similar. There's also been more movement between the two versions of the sport in recent years.

It's part of the reason Tony Vitello is now the manager of the San Francisco Giants despite never working or playing for a professional organization before he was hired — a first in MLB history. It's also a factor in why Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2025 barely one year after finishing a decorated college career at Wake Forest.

“The college game has definitely taken a bigger step toward the pro game — mainly because of the almighty dollar,” said Arizona State coach Willie Bloomquist, who played 14 big league seasons.

“Essentially what’s happened, the Power 4 Conferences are basically the minor leagues."

Athletics general manager David Forst — who selected Kurtz with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 draft — said the first baseman's quick rise through the minors made him realize how good college baseball had become. Kurtz needed just 210 plate appearances in the minors before dominating MLB pitching, batting .290 with 36 homers and 86 RBIs over 117 games in 2025.

“There’s no doubt that top-level college baseball is High-A or Double-A now. It’s really close,” Forst said. “I never would have imagined a player like Nick Kurtz coming to the big leagues for us 11 months after he was drafted.

“That was unthinkable when I first started doing this. The timeline is squashed because these guys are coming out of college so ready, so physically advanced. Some of them — frankly — don’t need the minor league at-bats they used to need.”

One reason the college game has improved so much is an influx of cash. Coaching salaries have exploded over the past few decades: LSU's Jay Johnson is at the top of the scale at more than $3 million per year while Mississippi State's Brian O'Connor is second at $2.9 million.

Those are outliers, but it's not uncommon for power conference coaches to make more than $1 million.

The highest paid MLB managers make around $8 million per season, but top assistants like pitching and hitting coaches usually make six figures.

The advent of NIL money has also made playing college baseball more lucrative, even if payouts lag well behind their football and basketball counterparts. There's also the fact that top-level NCAA programs are investing in technology.

“We have one of the better pitching labs on the West Coast,” Bloomquist said. “I think it would rival a lot of professional organizations. From a data standpoint, it’s all trickled down to the college level.”

After retiring as a player, Bloomquist worked in the Arizona Diamondbacks' front office before getting hired by the Sun Devils. His pitching coach — Jeremy Accardo — spent 18 years in professional baseball as a player and coach.

Bloomquist said that MLB teams have become more comfortable trusting NCAA programs to develop professional talent instead of taking the risk of drafting an unproven 18-year-old straight out of high school. He added that it's probably one of the reasons that MLB felt comfortable cutting 40 minor league affiliates back in 2020.

In the 2025 MLB draft, 56 college players were selected in the top 90 picks.

“These guys trust (college) programs,” Bloomquist said. “They say, ‘We’ll just watch them in college in three years at a Power 4 program, see how they development and then we'll go get them.’"

Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson is another coach who has bounced between MLB and NCAA with success at both levels. He was hired as the pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins and had a strong 3 1/2-year run between 2019 and 2022 before going back to the college game. He helped develop 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes as LSU's pitching coach before landing the head job with the Bulldogs.

Johnson said there's little doubt that the college and pro games have never been more similar, but added that there are still real differences for players and coaches. The biggest is the schedule.

In college, the condensed schedule makes all 56 regular-season games feel huge. A three-game losing streak is the end of the world. In professional baseball, it's just a small bump in the road.

“With the Twins, we played 33 spring games, then played 162 in the season and then made the playoffs,” Johnson said. “It’s every day there. That's the hardest challenge you have when you go from college to the big leagues. We won 101 games in 2019 (in the regular season). That means we only lost 61 games.

"But that’s the most I’ve ever lost in my life in one year.”

Bloomquist agreed that the schedule is much different. He said age is a factor as well.

“There’s a different style in college than there is in professional baseball — to an extent that’s accurate," Bloomquist said. “There’s an intensity in college, motivating 18 to 20 year olds, as opposed to guys who are making $20 million. Can you relate to those guys in pro ball?”

San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman played in college at Cal State Fullerton before becoming a five-time Gold Glove winner the big leagues. Even though there are some differences — like many more native Spanish speakers in professional baseball — he wasn't worried about Vitello's transition.

“Winning baseball looks the same," Chapman said. "It’s pitching and defense, knowing how to run the bases and then managing personalities. He has a lot of experience with that.

“There will be a learning curve in some areas. You just can’t fully know how to run a Major League clubhouse unless you’ve been in one. But it’s not foreign to him. He’s a baseball guy.”

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

The resolution to a months-long worry in western Pennsylvania about the paper's shutdown comes at a difficult moment for the American newspaper industry, which has shed jobs, resources and sometimes entire companies due to the upending of the traditional revenue model by the internet at the beginning of this century.

The Post-Gazette dates its ancestry to 1786, the first newspaper to open west of the Allegheny Mountains, and its closure would have left Pittsburgh as the nation’s largest community without a city-based paper.

"For us to be a vibrant, strong city, as we are, it’s imperative that we have a newspaper that demonstrates that,” said Jay Costa, the top-ranking Democrat in the Pennsylvania state Senate, whose district encompasses about half of Pittsburgh.

Operations to continue in Pittsburgh

The Post-Gazette's owners, Block Communications, said the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which publishes the digital Baltimore Banner, had agreed to buy its assets. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Post-Gazette said the new owners would continue to print the newspaper on two days, Thursday and Sunday, and would operate a website on the other days.

The newspaper had been due to close on May 3.

“We are committed to working with exceptional journalists, along with civic and business leaders across the region, to build a new future for local journalism in Western Pennsylvania,” said Bob Cohn, CEO of the Venetoulis Institute. “We are clear-eyed about the task ahead. We have learned in Maryland that this work takes time, discipline and investment.”

The institute, which opened the Banner in 2022, said it has appointed David Shribman, who was executive editor of the Post-Gazette from 2003 to 2019, to its board of directors.

The Post-Gazette won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in 2018 under Shribman, but it has been mired in labor strife in recent years.

Block Communications announced in January that it would shut down the newspaper, on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear its appeal of a lawsuit regarding health benefits to formerly striking workers.

More hope, but more questions too

The Banner, despite being so young, has also won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting. In a difficult time for the news business, the Banner has grown to have 79,500 paid subscribers.

“I'm more hopeful now for the future of the Post-Gazette than I was yesterday,” said Steve Mellon, a longtime photographer at the newspaper. Employees worried that the newspaper would be sold to a hedge fund known stripping assets of media companies, instead of a nonprofit committed to local journalism.

But he said there are still many questions, such as how many staff members will stay on with new ownership and how much Venetoulis would be willing to invest in a newspaper that has been losing money. Mellon and some other journalists at the newspaper have been exploring starting a co-op news website, and he's not sure what will happen with those plans.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a newspaper based in a Pittsburgh suburb, had been planning to add staff in Pittsburgh and begin publishing a weekend city edition the week after the Post-Gazette was set to close. Its CEO, Jennifer Bertetto, said Tuesday that those plans would not change as a result of its rival's sale.

Andrew Conte, a journalism professor at Pittsburgh's Point Park University who's been active in encouraging small news organizations in the community, said the sale offers a challenge to people in the region: To what extent will they support local journalism? “It's really in their hands,” he said.

Sara Innamorato, the executive of Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, called the paper a cornerstone of the region’s civic life for generations. Innamorato said in a written statement that the “transition to a nonprofit model represents an opportunity to strengthen independent, community-centered reporting and ensure residents continue to have access to the information they need to stay engaged and informed.”

She said a strong local news source is essential to a healthy democracy, “and that must include supporting the journalists and workers who make this work possible with good-paying, family-sustaining jobs.”

Both Block and Venetoulis described their deal as reflecting “a shared commitment to sustaining local journalism in Pittsburgh.”

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Associated Press journalists Mark Scolforo and Rebecca Boone contributed.

Brian Hooker, of Onsted in southern Michigan, had been in police custody since April 8 after being questioned by authorities. He told CBS News shortly after his release that he wants to believe his wife is still alive and plans to go back out to look for her as soon as possible.

“I won’t be able to stop looking,” Hooker said, getting emotional.

Law enforcement freed him after consulting with prosecutors who recommended against filing charges at this time, with investigations underway.

Brian Hooker told police that Lynette Hooker, 55, fell overboard the night of April 4 as they were traveling in an 8-foot (2.4-meter) motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, a group of small islands on the eastern end of the Bahamas. He said Lynette had the boat's keys, causing its engine shut off and forcing him to paddle ashore.

“Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her,” police said in a statement.

After reaching shore, Brian Hooker alerted someone about his wife's disappearance early the following day, according to authorities.

Hooker has denied any wrongdoing, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler. She did not immediately respond to an email Monday from The Associated Press requesting comment on Brian Hooker's release.

The U.S. Coast Guard has opened an investigation separate from the one being conducted by authorities in the Bahamas.

The couple has been married for more than 20 years and chronicled their adventures sailing around the Caribbean on their “Sailing Hookers” Facebook page. They posted videos in 2023 of buying a sailboat they named Soul Mate in the coastal town of Rockport, Texas, and then embarking on a cruise through the Gulf of Mexico from the port town of Kemah, Texas.

The couple’s home in Onsted is about 70 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of Detroit.

Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC News that it is unlikely her mother would “just fall” off the boat, saying she was an experienced sailor. She noted the couple had been sailing for years on their voyages.

The couple has had a history of contention, with Brian and Lynette Hooker accusing each other in 2015 of assault, according to a Kentwood, Michigan, police report obtained by NBC.

Brian Hooker, who was intoxicated and bleeding from the nose, told police at the time that his wife had struck him multiple times in the face, the report said. He told officers Lynette also was drunk. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. A warrant was denied because it wasn’t clear “who started the assault.”

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Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu and Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama contributed to this report.

Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion in forging ahead with criminal contempt proceedings stemming from the March 2025 deportation flights, according to the majority opinion by a three-judge panel from U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The ruling is the latest twist in a yearlong legal saga that has became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign. The White House has portrayed Boasberg as a biased judge who overstepped his authority.

Trump’s administration has a “clear and indisputable” right to the termination of the contempt proceedings, Circuit Judge Neomi Rao wrote in the court’s majority opinion.

“The legal error at the heart of these criminal contempt proceedings demonstrates why further investigation by the district court is an abuse of discretion,” Rao wrote. “Criminal contempt is available only for the violation of an order that is clear and specific. (Boasberg's March 2025 order) did not clearly and specifically bar the government from transferring plaintiffs into Salvadoran custody.”

Lawyers for the deported migrants will ask the full circuit court to review the panel’s decision, according to plaintiffs' attorney Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union. Gelernt said the majority opinion is “a blow to the rule of law.”

“Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders. In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order,” Gelernt said in a statement.

Rao was nominated by Trump, a Republican. Boasberg, chief judge of the district court in Washington, D.C., was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.

On March 15, 2025, Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order barring the administration from transferring a group of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century law. After the order was entered, two planeloads of migrants protected by the order departed from the U.S. on their way to El Salvador, where they were locked up in one of the world's most violent prisons. The administration said then- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was responsible for the transfer decision.

Boasberg has said the Trump administration may have acted in bad faith by trying to rush Venezuelan migrants out of the country in defiance of his order. He said he gave the administration “ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions” but concluded that “none of their responses has been satisfactory.”

Last year, the Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint accusing Boasberg of making improper public comments about Trump and his administration. Trump has called for impeaching Boasberg. In a rare rebuke, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts publicly rejected calls for Boasberg's impeachment.

The case is assigned to Rao and Circuit Judges Justin Walker and J. Michelle Childs. Walker, also a Trump nominee, wrote a separate opinion concurring with Rao's. Childs, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, dissented from the majority.

Childs said the court's majority has trampled on Boasberg's authority “in a way that will affect not only these contempt proceedings but will also echo in future proceedings against all litigants.”

“Now, any litigant can argue, based on their preferred interpretation of a court’s order, that they did not commit contempt before contempt findings are even made,” Childs wrote in her 80-page dissent.

The concert is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2026, at the Alamodome, according to a Live Nation Entertainment news release.

“The R&B Tour” is the first time Usher and Chris Brown have scheduled a tour together, having more than two decades of experience each as artists.

There are three additional stops in Texas on the tour, which include AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the Sun Bowl in El Paso and NRG Stadium in Houston.

Early access tickets are available at noon on April 21 exclusively to Citi credit card holders.

All fans can sign up for the presale by 9 p.m. on April 21. The presale remains open until April 23, when tickets become open to the general public.

Read also:

• FBI says suspects tried to rob Offset outside a Florida casino when he was shot in the leg

About the Role

This position is responsible for all aspects of the accounts receivable functions at Graham Media Group for designated stations. Credit processing and approval, daily program log reconciliation, invoice processing, and cash application will all be maintained by the GMG Credit and Accounts Receivable Specialist team. The position is responsible for communication of discrepancies to local or national staff for resolution. This is a position that reports to the Graham Media Group VP/CFO.

Job Responsibilities:

• Process and Approve Credit Applications
• Create and Maintain Client Profiles
• Approve Orders Associated with Credit Inhibits
• Daily program log reconciliations
• Handle spot issues with Traffic Hub
• Process weekly billing, along with electronic invoicing.
• Maintain Client Payment Portal
• Initiate, Track and Post Receivable Sales Adjustments and Client Refunds
• Posting and application of cash receipts
• Credit Card, ACH, and Wire Processing
• Generating and distributing cash workbook
• Maintain and manage accounts receivable.
• Work with Collection Companies on uncollectable accounts.
• Process approved Credit/Debit Memos and Bad Debt Write Offs
• Generating Account Receivable Collections Report for Sales Management
• Review incoming Department emails for appropriate follow-through.
• Communication with Business Managers and Sales Managers, Account Executives and Sales Support
• Month End Reporting
• Special Projects as assigned.
• Providing back-up support for other Credit and Accounts Receivable Specialists

Experience:

• 5+ years of Accounts Receivable and/or Credit experience
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong Microsoft Excel, Outlook, and Word Skills
• Ability to work independently with little supervision to accomplish daily responsibilities and departmental goals.
• Broadcast and/or Wide Orbit experience a plus

Requirements:

• Proficient in Microsoft office applications and experience with accounts receivable applications, Wide Orbit traffic experience a plus
• Industry experience a plus
• Ability to meet assigned deadlines.
• Highly detail oriented and organized.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to act and operate independently with minimal daily direction from manager to accomplish directives.
• Associate degree in accounting or business preferred or equivalent experience.

Contact:

Kim Parker,

kparker@grahammedia.com

Graham Media Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In addition to complying with the requirements of federal law, GMG will comply with applicable state and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a pre-employment drug screening, investigative background check, employment/education verifications and reference checks.

Barely four months later, Mascherano is done with the club.

Mascherano is out as Inter Miami’s coach, the team announcing that stunning development on Tuesday with the club off to a 3-1-3 start and sitting in third place in MLS' Eastern Conference — but winless in its first two matches at its new stadium.

The team said Mascherano cited personal reasons, much like his predecessor, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, did in November 2024 when he stepped aside in the move that ultimately led to Mascherano joining the club and reuniting with Messi. Mascherano and Messi were teammates with Barcelona and Argentina's national team.

In Mascherano's place is another Argentine with ties to Barcelona — Guillermo Hoyos, who is credited, at least on some level, with discovering Messi at the Spanish club’s academy and predicting that he could become an all-time great.

“I would like to thank the club for the trust they placed in me, every employee who is part of the organization for the collective effort, but especially the players, who made it possible for us to experience unforgettable moments,” Mascherano said in remarks released by the team.

Mascherano's entire coaching staff has also left the club, though the team did not reveal any specifics as to why. Mascherano was 27-9-11 in 47 regular-season and playoff matches with Inter Miami.

“Javier will forever be part of this club’s history. ... We respect his decision and are deeply grateful for everything he contributed,” managing owner Jorge Mas said in comments released by the team. “Wishing him nothing but the very best in his professional and personal future.”

It is the latest in a line of surprising moves around the club in recent months, including Jordi Alba — another longtime Messi teammate — deciding to leave the final two years of his contract on the table and retire after last season. His retirement announcement came just days after the team held a retirement ceremony for another longtime Messi teammate, Sergio Busquets.

And now, Mascherano is out as well.

In barely over a year, he not only got the team its first MLS Cup but helped the Herons reach the knockout stage of the Club World Cup, the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup final. The team clearly was disappointed by falling flat in the CONCACAF Champions Cup earlier this year — getting ousted in the round of 16 after making some offseason moves largely with that trophy in mind.

But even amid the frustration with not advancing in that tournament, few would have thought Mascherano's time with the club would soon be ending.

“I will always carry with me the memory of our first star, and wherever I am, I will continue to wish the club all the best moving forward,” Mascherano said. “I have no doubt that the club will continue to achieve success in the future.”

Hoyos and Messi have a relationship that goes back for more than 20 years.

Hoyos famously touted Messi as a potential all-time great back when the then shaggy-haired kid was playing for Barcelona's B team. Messi was 16 at the time, in the very earliest days of a career that would see him win eight Ballon d'Or trophies, the World Cup and four Champions League titles. Messi has referred to Hoyos in interviews over the years as a mentor of sorts.

Hoyos is Messi's coach now, though how long that'll be the case remains a bit unclear. As part of Tuesday's moves, the team also said chief soccer officer Alberto Marrero is assuming the duties of sporting director, filling the spot vacated by Hoyos.

___

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

The progressive Mexican leader has walked a careful line with Trump for more than a year, addressing provocations with a measured tone and meeting U.S. requests to crack down on criminal cartels more so than her predecessors, in an effort to offset threats of tariffs and U.S. military action against the gangs.

But in the wake of mounting deaths of Mexican citizens in custody of immigration officials and the Trump administration’s decision to impose an energy blockade on Cuba — a key Mexican ally — Sheinbaum has taken a harder line.

“We’ve seen the president raise her tone,” said Palmira Tapia, an analyst for Mexico’s Center for Economic Research and Teaching. “There’s been a shift, and we’ve seen Sheinbaum be more vocal than before.”

Deaths in ICE custody

Sheinbaum's latest rebuke came on Tuesday, a day after 49-year-old Mexican citizen Alejandro Cabrera Clemente died in a detention center in Louisiana of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, the fifteenth death of a Mexican citizen in U.S. custody in little over a year.

Mexico's government quickly called the deaths “unacceptable” and the ICE detention centers "incompatible with human rights standards and the protection of life.”

During a Tuesday press briefing Sheinbaum added that she requested investigations into the deaths of the 15 migrants, and instructed Mexican consulates to visit detention centers daily.

She said her government would raise the deaths in detention centers to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and was considering appealing to the United Nations. Her government already said it would support lawsuits in the U.S. filed by detainees over poor conditions.

“We are going to defend Mexicans at every level,” Sheinbaum said, adding that “there are many Mexicans whose only crime is not having papers.”

The moves by Sheinbaum's government come on top of mounting disapproval in the U.S. of Trump's immigration enforcement. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a February AP-NORC poll.

“Growing dissatisfaction around ICE activities in the United States creates a more comfortable platform for members of the Mexican government to raise concerns about the fate of Mexican citizens,” said Carin Zissis, vice president of content strategy for the Council of the Americas.

A ‘cool head’

Sheinbaum has maintained what she has described as a “cool head” to provocations by Trump, who has exerted more pressure on Latin America than any U.S. leader in decades. In just a few months, the Trump administration deposed Venezuela's president, imposed an oil blockade on Cuba and threatened military intervention against Mexican cartels.

She has to balance maintaining a strong relationship with Trump while repeatedly stressing Mexico's sovereignty to appease her own base. Her measured responses resemble that of a lawyer rather than the head of Mexico’s most powerful populist political movement.

Her government has come down harder on cartels than her predecessor and bolstered trade relations ahead of renegotiations of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, free trade agreement.

While Trump has taken public jabs at Sheinbaum — at one point suggesting cartels have greater control over Mexico than her government — he's also regularly made nods to their amicable relationship.

“She is really a nice person, I like her a lot,” he said last month, proceeding to imitate the Mexican leader in a high voice.

Divide over Cuba

But shifting geopolitics in the region, and the mounting deaths in ICE facilities, have also opened the door for Sheinbaum to take a firmer stance.

The main point of contention between the two governments has been Cuba. Solidarity with the U.S. adversary has been a cornerstone of Mexico’s political ethos since the Cuban revolution, which Fidel Castro, Ernesto “Che” Guevara and a group of exiles famously planned while in Mexico City. It's a particular sticking point with her progressive Morena party, whose founder ushered Sheinbaum into office.

The relationship hit a hurdle in late January, when Trump announced he would slap tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba. The move directly impacted Mexico, which for years has shipped oil to Cuba.

While Sheinbaum reluctantly paused oil shipments to Cuba, she has continued to challenge the Trump administration's push for regime change.

“Mexico has every right to send fuel, whether for humanitarian or commercial reasons,” Sheinbaum said earlier this week.

She has described Trump's energy blockade of Cuba as “unjust” and accused the U.S. government of “suffocating” Cubans with sanctions. The Mexican leader has sent shipments of food and other aid, and even donated $1,000 of her own money to relief efforts in a symbolic gesture.

“This is a Rubicon issue for her," said Arturo Sarukhan, former Mexican ambassador to the U.S.

Even then, the moves by the Mexican leader have raised eyebrows in Washington.

Sheinbaum recently announced that her country would continue to have Cuban doctors work in the country, diverging from other nations in Central America and the Caribbean that have ended their programs in the face of U.S. pressure.

It was met with veiled threats from the Trump administration, which pointed to visa restrictions imposed on Central American officials with ties to what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to as a “forced labor scheme.”

The White House offered no comment on Tuesday about Sheinbaum's tougher stances, nor did it comment on the rising number of deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody.

Greater leverage

Sheinbaum's recently bolder tone suggests a calculation that her administration can push back on some politically important fronts as long as they also are making progress on strengthening trade and meeting Trump administration requests on security and migration, Zissis said.

At the same time, surging energy prices due to the Iran war have made the U.S. more dependent on allies in Mexico, she and other analysts said, prompting Washington to walk back from any drastic moves against Mexican cartels or Cuba, at least in the short term.

”We’re at a moment where, due to global events, we’re facing different economic uncertainties. That gives the U.S. and Mexico more reason to work together," she said.

At the same time, former Mexican ambassador Sarukhan said that Sheinbaum will have to be careful not to put at risk upcoming USMCA renegotiations, for which her government has made painstaking efforts to build a strong foundation.

"What’s going to be interesting going forward is whether she can continue to have her cake and eat it too,” Sarukhan said.

——

Weissert reported from Washington D.C.

According to earnings filings published last week, 7-Eleven's North American operator plans to close 645 stores in the 2026 fiscal year — outpacing the 205 locations it forecasts it will open during that same time.

Seven & i Holdings Co., the Japan-based parent of the convenience chain, noted that these closures “include the conversion to wholesale fuel stores.” Financial documents show that 7-Eleven Inc. has steadily opened new wholesale fuel stores in North America over recent years, which accounted for more than 900 locations as of December 2025.

The company did not immediately explain the closures or specify which locations could be impacted. The Associated Press reached out for further information.

According to the company's website, there are over 86,000 7-Eleven stores across 19 countries today. 7-Eleven Inc., the brand’s North American operator based in Texas, oversees more than 13,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

The convenience giant has closed hundreds of underperforming locations over the years, and the latest cuts arrive as higher prices strain consumers worldwide. The U.S. and Israel's war against Iran has especially rattled energy markets, with drivers now facing soaring gas prices.

Consumers were facing stubborn inflation even before the war. In North America specifically, Seven & i noted in its April 9 report, “although the economy remained robust, personal consumption also began to soften" for the 2025 fiscal year — "particularly among low-income households, as inflation continued to weigh on spending."

Openings for Seven & i subsidiaries outside of North America are set to outpace the stores they’re closing — including Seven-Eleven Japan, which expects to close 350 stores and open 550 locations, per financial filings.

Seven & i expects its revenue to fall 9.4% for the current fiscal year, totaling a projected nearly 9.45 trillion yen (about $59.5 billion).

The company has been looking for new opportunities for growth, and last year outlined a wider transformation plan aimed at boosting its convenience store offerings. Among goals, Seven & i has said it would invest in more fresh food offerings and expand its “7NOW" delivery service.

The changes also arrive under new leadership. Stephen Hayes Dacus became Seven & i's CEO last spring.

The crash happened around 12:25 a.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of Fair Avenue, which is located near South Hackberry Street.

The motorcyclist, a 23-year-old woman, was heading southbound on the Interstate 37 access road prior to the incident.

At some point, according to a preliminary report, she pulled the motorcycle’s brake instead of the clutch.

The mix-up caused the motorcycle to skid and eventually land on the woman’s lower body, the report stated.

SAPD said the investigation remains ongoing.

More recent news coverage on KSAT:

• New Braunfels man killed in crash involving UPS delivery truck, DPS says
• SAPD: Driver hospitalized after losing control of vehicle, colliding with Interstate 35 highway sign

Officers responded to a call for a stabbing around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday in the 200 block of West Lullwood Avenue, which is located near Hildebrand Avenue.

The woman, 79, told her son during a phone call on Tuesday that his father was acting “really strange,” SAPD Public Information Officer Sharavious Jackson said.

SAPD stated that the woman asked her son to come over to check on the situation.

The son later arrived at the home and found that his mother had been stabbed multiple times on her upper body, Jackson said.

The woman was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, police stated.

SAPD said that the father has since been detained for further questioning. He could face aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and family violence charges.

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

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

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

More crime coverage on KSAT:

• SAPD looking to expand investigation into local minister accused of sexual assault of a child
• SAPD: Woman murdered in shooting, found dead at Northwest Side home

• STORMS WEST TODAY & TOMORROW: Isolated storms this evening along Rio Grande, staying west of San Antonio
• TOMORROW: Morning mist, humid warm afternoon
• THURSDAY & FRIDAY: Near 90°
• COOL FRONT SATURDAY: Times of light rain. Cooler
• MONDAY: On & off light rain. 60s

FORECAST

TODAY

Tonight, isolated storms are possible along the Rio Grande. These storms will be capable of large hail and gusty winds. This activity will drift east this evening and tonight, however, the odds of any rain making it to San Antonio are low.

REST OF THIS WEEK

Another small shot at storms, mainly west of I-35, returns tomorrow. Thereafter, it’ll just be warm and humid. The start of Fiesta on Thursday will see highs near 90. Friday will also be warm, humid, and rain-free.

WEEKEND COLD FRONT

A front will push through the area on Saturday. It’ll usher in cooler weather, as well as light, on & off again rain. DO NOT CANCEL YOUR SATURDAY PLANS. Rather, if you have outdoor plans, bring the umbrella with you. While light rain is possible, we do not expect any dangerous storms. Temps will fall from the 70s in the morning into the 60s Saturday afternoon.

Sunday’s highs may only reach the low-70s, while clouds likely hang around.

MONDAY & THE RIVER PARADE

On & off again light rain returns Monday, keeping temperatures cool -- in the 60s. Once again, while it may be damp at times during the River Parade, we do not expect any dangerous weather or lightning.

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.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin defended his coalition government by saying it had acted to end the “destructive blockade which threatened to cause much deeper damage."

The 92-78 vote in support of the government preserved his leadership. If the confidence vote failed, his government would have been forced to resign and Parliament would have either elected a new prime minister or called a general election.

Protests began April 7 with slow-moving convoys clogging roadways. They grew as word spread on social media as truckers, farmers and taxi and bus operators blocked key infrastructure and the main thoroughfare in the capital, Dublin.

Demonstrators called for price caps or tax cuts to alleviate soaring fuel costs they said would drive people out of business.

After the vote, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the Dáil, the parliament building in Dublin, chanted “sell out” and “get them out.”

Opposition politicians blasted Martin for failing to respond sooner to the protests, criticized the aid package he offered as insufficient and said the government was failing to tackle the broader cost-of-living crisis in Ireland.

Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald said it was brazen of the coalition to bring the confidence vote after abandoning struggling, hardworking people.

“Beyond your bubble people see a government out of touch,” McDonald said. “It is your own arrogance, your lack of judgment, your lack of any empathy that has left people with no conclusion other than this: Your time is up.”

Social Democrats, Labour, People Before Profit, Aontu, The Green Party and Independent Ireland supported the vote against the government.

The protests reflect the deep concern voters around the world have about living expenses since the inflation spikes that followed the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war in Iran has exacerbated fears after gas and diesel prices have risen steeply.

Cost of living was the top issue for Irish voters in 2024 that put Martin and Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris back into a power-sharing government shored up with help of several independents.

Martin defended the tax cuts the government was offering as the largest in Europe to help cope with fuel prices that have soared after the U.S.-Israel war on Iran led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital channel for the world’s oil.

“The basic core claim that we are doing nothing and are falling behind other countries is simply untrue,” Martin said.

Martin led a motion to support his coalition made up mainly of the center-right Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties ahead of a no-confidence vote brought by Sinn Fein, the largest opposition party.

One of Martin's junior ministers, Michael Healy-Rae, an independent from Kerry, surprised his peers by saying he would vote against the government and resign because it had let down the people.

“I’ve always looked at myself as a gauge of the people of rural Ireland," he said. “When I met tractor men, lorry men, farmers and when they were telling me how unhappy they were, the leader of the country should have listened.”

Martin said the government can learn from the protests, but defended the response by police and military to clear roadblocks at the country's sole oil refinery at Whitegate in County Cork and at several depots. They caused more than a third of gas pumps to run dry.

“We had to clear Whitegate and the ports because we export about 90% of everything we make in this country,” Martin said. “The ports are the lifeblood of economy, and if the ports were blockaded for any length of time, people would have lost jobs, part-time production would have ceased, and it would have been very, very serious."

The demonstrations were tolerated until the weekend, when police used pepper spray in clashes with some protesters and an army truck knocked down a log barricade at the Galway port. Some protesters said they achieved their goal in getting the government to compromise.

Lawmakers were also scheduled to vote Tuesday on the fuel support package amounting to 505 million euros ($595 million) that Martin said will ease some cost-of-living pressures.

The package would include direct payments to truckers and school bus operators and fuel subsidies for agricultural and fishing industries. The relief measure would follow a 250 million euro tax break approved three weeks ago.

Geoff Yang, chairman of the Masters competitions committee, issued a code-of-conduct warning to the Garcia on the fourth tee. The conduct policy was new to the Masters this year.

“I want to apologize for my actions Sunday at The Masters tournament,” Garcia said in a social media post. “I respect and value everything that The Masters and Augusta National Golf Club is to golf. I regret the way I acted and it has no place in our game. It doesn't reflect the respect and appreciation I have for The Masters, the patrons, tournament officials and golf fans around the world.”

Garcia, the 2017 champion, began with a bogey and then hit a weak fade on the par-5 second hole that was headed to the bunker. He recoiled his driver onto the tee, and then turned and slammed his club into the turf.

Without repairing the damage, Garcia then smacked his driver against a wooden bench holding a water cooler, and the head of the club was left dangling from the shaft.

Garcia declined to discuss what was said by the official, saying after his round, “I’m not going to tell you.” When asked about it again he replied, ”Next question."

He also did not apologize for his behavior after his closing 75 to finish in 52nd place among the 54 players who made the cut.

“Just obviously not super proud of it, but sometimes it happens,” Garcia said.

Garcia has not finished in the top 10 in the 29 majors he has played since beating Justin Rose in a playoff at Augusta National in 2017. He has missed the cut six times in eight appearances at the Masters since winning.

Asked about his record, Garcia said, “Bad golf.” When a reporter asked him to be more specific, Garcia said, “Bad shots.”

Garcia was disqualified in 2019 at the Saudi International for damaging greens in frustration. His antics over the years include angrily kicking off his shoe when he slipped during a tee shot at the World Match Play in 2001, and the shoe nearly struck an official.

He also spit into a cup during a World Golf Championship at Doral after three-putting.

The PGA Tour has been developing the code-of-conduct policy the last few years, and the Masters was the first tournament to put it into effect. The PGA Championship also be using it next month at Aronimink Golf Club.

After the warning, a second violation during the tournament is a two-shot penalty, while a third violation would mean disqualification.

___

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

Aris Jamal Ransom-Powell, 28, was wanted on a motion to revoke bond for manslaughter and theft.

After executing an arrest warrant, the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, along with the San Antonio Police Department, arrested Powell in the 300 block of Hinge Loop in Cibolo. During his arrest, GCSO said deputies located a stolen vehicle.

Powell’s criminal history includes weapons charges, manufacturing and delivery of narcotics, multiple thefts, failure to identify and bail jumping.

He is currently booked in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.

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Federal investigators said that they are still searching for the suspects who assaulted Offset last Monday night outside of Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, just north of Miami. Throughout the assault, a single shot was fired into Offset's leg before an unsuccessful attempt to remove the rapper's watch, the statement said. Offset, who rose to fame as part of the influential hip-hop trio Migos, was hospitalized for a couple of days, but swiftly returned to the stage at a performance at a music festival at the University of Arkansas on Saturday.

The suspects fled the scene in two Chevrolet SUVs that went in separate directions: A black Suburban that fled towards Hollywood, Florida, and a Tahoe that fled southbound towards Miami.

Following the shooting, officers detained two people, but law enforcement hasn't shared evidence to directly tying either one to the shooting.

One of the people detained was rapper Lil Tjay, born Tione Jayden Merritt. He was arrested in connection with an altercation that occurred before the shooting, the Seminole Police Department in Florida said. He was charged with disorderly conduct and operating a vehicle without a valid license. His lawyer, Dawn M. Florio, told The Associated Press last week that Lil Tjay did not have a gun and was not charged with any weapons or gun-related crimes. He was swiftly released after posting bond.

Offset, born Kiari Kendrell Cephus, launched his career with Migos, one of the most popular hip-hop groups of all time. The Atlanta trio is celebrated for their rapid-fire triplet flow, an often-imitated delivery that changed the trajectory of trap.

The group had several multiplatinum selling singles, including “Bad and Boujee,” which went No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Stir Fry,” and “Narcos.” Migos released four full-length albums across their career.

More than three years ago, Offset’s cousin Takeoff, another member of Migos, was shot and killed at a Houston bowling alley.

The approach sharply differs from much of Europe’s prevailing attitudes on immigration in which governments are trying to reduce the number of arrivals and step up deportations, and contrasts with the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hailed the measure as “an act of justice and a necessity." He reiterated his government's position that people who already live and work in the country of 50 million people should “do so under equal conditions” and pay taxes.

“We recognize rights, but we also demand obligations,” Sánchez wrote on social media.

Those who meet certain conditions can now seek a one-year residency and work permit. Migration Minister Elma Saiz said migrants could apply in person starting April 20 and online on Thursday. The window will close on June 30.

Those who apply must have arrived in Spain before Jan. 1 and prove that they have been living in the country for at least five months. That can be done by presenting “public or private” documents, Saiz said. Applicants must also show that they have no criminal record, the government said.

After a year, those granted the temporary measure will be eligible to apply for other work or residency permits.

The government estimates that half a million people living in the shadows of Spanish society could be eligible; analysts say the figure is likely higher. Spanish think tank Funcas estimates there are roughly 840,000 migrants living in Spain without authorization.

Spain's population has sharply risen in recent years to include around 10 million people who were born outside the country, or one in every five residents. Many are from Colombia, Venezuela and Morocco, having fled poverty, violence or political instability.

Many immigrants from Latin America and African countries work in key areas of Spain's economy, including agriculture, tourism and the service sector.

Major questions remain about how the government will handle the expected caseload within the short timeframe.

A Spanish union representing immigration officers on Tuesday demanded more resources, warning that the government is not prepared to meet the challenge.

Migrants will be able to apply in-person in 60 social security offices, 371 post offices and five immigration offices across Spain, the government said.

It's not the first time that Spain has granted amnesty to immigrants in the country illegally. It did so six times before between 1986 and 2005, including under conservative governments.

Spain's opposition Popular Party criticized the move, with party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo calling it unsustainable. His center-right party carried out two previous mass legalizations of migrants in the early 2000s.

The Sánchez government's measure was fast-tracked via a decree that amends immigration laws. By doing it that way, the government was able to bypass parliament, where it lacks a majority and where a previous amnesty attempt stalled.

Saiz lauded the measure as a way that Spain, which has been among the fastest-growing European Union economies for two years, can continue to expand.

“Our prosperity is demonstrably linked to our management of migration and the contributions of foreign workers,” Saiz said. Their contributions, she said, allow Spain to “grow economically, generate employment and wealth, and maintain our welfare system.”

Coel, taking a break from writing her upcoming BBC-HBO series “First Day on Earth” in Ghana, turned up at McKellen’s house in London to go over the script with him and screenwriter Ed Solomon.

“I walked into your house,” Coel recalls in an interview alongside McKellen. “I knew who you were. You were like, ‘Hello! What are you? What are you then?’”

“You looked interesting and beautiful,” says McKellen, smiling. “And you are.”

On-screen chemistry can be elusive, especially when two characters are intended to be diametric opposites. In “The Christophers,” McKellen stars as the artist Julian Sklar, a David Hockney-like star who hasn’t painted in years and now spends much of his days grousing in his disheveled townhouse while filming personalized videos that trade on his celebrity. Coel, the creative force behind “I May Destroy You,” plays Lori Butler, an art restorer hired to be Julian’s assistant with the tacit task, while she’s there, of forging additional paintings of “the Christophers,” Julian’s most famous and highly lucrative series.

The movie, crafty and charming, is almost entirely a two-hander. It belongs to McKellen and Coel and the charged interplay between them. They are bitter foes, scheming co-conspirators and fellow artists weighing the erratic value of their work.

As screen presences and cultural figures, McKellen, 86, and Coel, 38, could hardly be more different. McKellen, a titan of Shakespeare, Gandalf of the big screen, is more than twice the age of Coel, the multihyphenate whose autobiography-tinged work has made her a voice of a much different generation.

Yet in “The Christophers,” they make one of the more memorable on-screen pairs in years, matching McKellen's warm grandiosity with Coel's cool cunning. (The difference in cheekbones, alone, is vast.) And as they showed on a recent day in downtown New York, they are also now great chums. If “The Christophers” is about two artists from wildly different backgrounds finding an understanding, its stars have gone a few steps further.

“We’re a bit silly about each other,” grants McKellen.

“Yes, we are,” agrees Coel. “It’s morning kisses. It’s cuddles. It’s ‘Oh should we have a nap?’ We buddied up very much.”

Soderbergh on ‘where life starts’

Steven Soderbergh, the restless, mercurial director of “Out of Sight,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Black Bag,” has found himself increasingly focused, he says, on distilling something to its absolute essence. “The Christophers,” which Soderbergh kick-started by throwing a few ideas at Solomon, was conceived with an old-fashioned set up.

“Two people in a room together is where life starts,” says Soderbergh.

His guiding principle in shooting “The Christophers” was not to interfere with the magnetism of his lead performers. Soderbergh serves as his own cameraman, making him essentially the third player in every scene.

“There’s something about the two of them together that adds up to more than the two of them,” the director says. “My job was to be sure I’m in the right place, always, to capture it and not indulge in any kind of trickery that would distract or diminish what they’re doing. So you have to be secure in the material and the performers and not try to tart it up because you’re worried about boring people.”

While McKellen and Coel's differences might be glaring, the two quickly found common ground.

“Guess what we’ve got in common,” McKellen says. “We’re neighbors.”

Both McKellen and Coel live in East London, about a 15 minute walk from each other. McKellen remembers being curious about the nearby Catholic school Coel attended as a girl.

“I promise you I’ve longed to look inside there,” McKellen says. “I wonder who those kids are?”

“Maybe I’ve been on the bus when you’ve been walking past,” says Coel, smiling.

Unanswered questions

They are also both, in their own way, novices when it comes to film acting. Coel has only appeared in a handful of movies; her last one was “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” a big-budget experience she’s said she wasn’t ready for. McKellen, of course, has acted in many more films — among them “Gods and Monsters,” the “X-Men” films and “Mr. Holmes.” But he begins every movie by asking his directors how to act in front of a camera.

“And they’ve never given me an answer,” says McKellen. “Martin Mann, John Schlesinger, Bill Condon, Peter Jackson, now Soderbergh.”

Coel is confused. “Are you tricking them with this question?”

“No, it’s a genuine question,” McKellen replies. “There must be a technique for acting in front of the camera. All I know is what I’ve heard Michael Caine say in chat show interviews.”

Caine’s advice was technical; in close-up, talk to the eye closer to the camera. And Kenneth Branagh once gave him a note: “Don’t move your head so much.” But as an actor most home on the stage, the camera remains mystifying to McKellen.

“Having done so much theater where the audience is present, you can hear the audience. You can detect when they’re bored, when they’re excited,” McKellen says. “You’re controlling them in a sense. You’re the master of ceremonies. They’re there. Making a film, they’re not there. The real audience doesn’t get there until the actors have gone on to the next job or died.”

Coel offers that she was once told not to blink.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” McKellen says with mock offense.

‘The cheekiest artistry’

The life of an artist — the craft, the compensation, the legacy — is at the forefront of “The Christophers.” Julian, nearing the end of his life, is pondering what he’s leaving behind. The subject of the Christophers paintings relates to a long-ago relationship that prompts Julian to remark: “That’s the thing, isn’t it? To linger in the minds of others.” For a performer whose presence has loomed so large for so many, it’s a poignant line.

“It’s been the greatest delight of my life to know that there are people in whose minds my work has lingered,” says McKellen. “Sometimes at the stage door you’ll meet a couple of my age and they’ll say, ’We just wanted to let you know we had our first date when we saw you play Romeo at Stratford in 1976. And I said, ‘Are you still together?’ ‘Yes.’ (McKellen sighs with great relief.) But to be part of people’s lives who you’ve never met, what a feeling.”

Coel is at a different point in her career, still awakening to the thrill of acting. She loves it, she says. “This is the cheekiest artistry,” Coel says, grinning.

McKellen leans back and reconsiders.

“I just had a thought that you’d be very good at playing Julian Sklar, my part in the film. And I’d have a crack at playing your part.”

Coel laughs. “I love that. Swap? Well it kind of happens in a way, doesn’t it?

“It does, actually,” McKellen agrees. “They do overlap.”

“How fab,” says Coel.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.5% from February and 4% from March 2025. The year-over-year gains was the biggest in more than three years. Energy prices surged 8.5% from February.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core producer prices rose a modest 0.1% from February and 3.8% from a year earlier. The gains in wholesale prices were smaller than economists had forecast.

The surge in prices complicates the work of the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve, who have faced intense pressure from President Donald Trump to lower their benchmark interest rate. But some Fed policymakers are inclined to raise rates instead, as higher energy costs increase the inflation threat.

Food prices, which will most certainly be front and center in next year's midterm elections, fell by 0.3% in March after surging by 2.4% in the previous month.

Wholesale prices can offer an early look at where consumer inflation might be headed. Economists also watch it because some of its components, notably measures of health care and financial services, flow into the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index.

The most recent peek at inflation in the U.S. validates a recent shift by the U.S. Federal Reserve to intensify its focus on rising costs, wrote Carl Weinberg, the chief economist at High Frequency Economics.

“The decline in food prices is overdue, and welcome news for everyone,” Weinberg said Tuesday. “Food price increases are at the core of political arguments over affordability.”

The Labor Department reported last week that soaring gasoline prices pushed consumer prices up 3.3% last month from a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year increase since May 2024. Compared to February, March consumer prices jumped 0.9%, biggest gain in nearly four years.

The war in Iran will lead to an annual decline in oil demand for the first time since the pandemic, when billions of people were trying to live in isolation, according to a forecast Tuesday by the International Energy Agency.

The agency, formed after the 1974 oil crisis, said that oil demand is expected to decrease by an average of 80,000 barrels a day this year, a sharp revision from the increase of 850,000 barrels a day that it had forecast before the war began.

The drop-off in March was particularly severe because of attacks on energy infrastructure and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the IEA, which expects a decline in demand of 1.5 million barrels in the current quarter.

While the biggest cuts in oil usage have initially come from the Middle East and Asia Pacific region, demand destruction is anticipated to spread as oil prices increase and scarcity continues.

In fact, a new Fox News poll indicates people are more upset about taxes than they were last year. The findings from the survey, which was conducted in late March, are another sign that Americans are on edge about their personal finances as the U.S. experiences a spike in inflation and sluggish economic growth. Other polling finds that frustration goes beyond personal tax obligations, with many believing that wealthy people and corporations are not paying their fair share, while others worry about government waste.

The surveys come after Trump and Republicans passed a massive tax and spending cut bill last year. The legislation enacted a range of tax breaks, including a boosted child tax credit and new tax deductions for tips and overtime. Tax refunds are up this season, and many households are expected to see more income from the Republicans' tax legislation, but the Congressional Budget Office estimated it will ultimately give the largest benefits to the richest Americans.

Republicans have touted the law as evidence that they are making life more affordable for working families. But polling shows that many Americans may not be feeling the benefits, especially as their tax refunds get eaten up by higher prices.

Most say taxes are too high

About 7 in 10 registered voters say the taxes they pay are “too high,” according to the Fox News poll. That’s up from about 6 in 10 last year. The poll shows heightened concern among very liberal voters and Democratic men, but there has also been a sizable increase among groups that Republicans want to court ahead of the midterm elections, such as moderates, rural voters and white voters without a college degree.

Discontent about taxes has been rising for the past few years. Recent polling from Gallup, conducted in March, found about 6 in 10 U.S. adults say the amount of federal income tax they have to pay is “too high,” a finding that’s been largely consistent in the annual poll since 2023. That’s approaching the level of unhappiness found in Gallup’s polling from the 1980s through the 1990s, before President George W. Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

Now, about half of Democrats and about 6 in 10 Republicans say their federal income taxes are too high. Republicans tend to view their tax bill more negatively than Democrats, but Gallup’s polling shows that this gap often shrinks when a Republican is president.

Many believe the rich aren’t paying enough in taxes

Most Americans are troubled by the belief that some wealthy people and corporations don’t pay their fair share of taxes, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted in January. About 6 in 10 Americans said each of those notions bothers them “a lot,” a measure that is largely unchanged in recent years.

By contrast, only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults in that poll said the amount they personally pay in taxes bothers them a lot.

About 8 in 10 Democrats are bothered “a lot” by the feeling that some corporations and rich people aren’t paying their fair share, the Pew survey found, compared to about 4 in 10 Republicans. Government spending is a bigger issue for Republicans, according to the Fox News poll, which found that 75% of registered voters — and a similar share of Republican voters — say “almost all” or “a great deal” of government funding is wasteful and inefficient.

That points to a perception problem for many Americans. Even if their own tax bill is manageable, the idea that the wealthy are underpaying — or that the government is wasting their dollars — bothers many. About half of Americans, 49%, in the Gallup poll say the income tax they will pay this year is “not fair,” which is in line with the record high from 2023.

Broad unhappiness with Trump’s tax approach

Americans’ tax frustration was rising before Trump re-entered the White House, but it’s still a problem for the president's party — especially if Americans are not feeling the relief that he promised.

The Fox News poll found that about 6 in 10 registered voters, 64%, say they disapprove of how Trump is handling taxes, up from 53% last April. Disapproval has risen most sharply among independents, but also among Democrats and Republicans.

This aligns with a broader feeling that Trump isn’t doing enough to address inflation. Most Americans said Trump had hurt the cost of living “a lot” or “a little” in his second term, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in January. Roughly 9 in 10 Democrats and about 6 in 10 independents said Trump has had a negative impact on the cost of living.

——-

This story has been updated to correct that less than half of Republicans, 43%, said Trump has helped the cost of living, while 33% said he hasn't made a difference and only 23% said he has hurt it.

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The Fox News poll was conducted among 1,001 registered voters from March 20-23. The Gallup poll was conducted among 1,000 U.S. adults from March 2-18. The Pew Research Center poll was conducted among 8,512 U.S. adults from Jan. 20-26. The AP-NORC Poll was conducted among 1,203 U.S. adults from Jan 8-11.

• 📍 Location: Tia’s Taco Hut Leon Valley
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Arrive early, grab your place in line, and get ready to shout “¡Viva Fiesta!” as you snag this year’s Texas Eats medal. Once they’re gone, they’re gone - so dust off your flower crowns, throw on your brightest Fiesta gear, and meet David Elder at Tia’s Taco Hut for Fiesta vibes and KSAT fun!

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Prize(s) One Texas Eats 2026 Fiesta Medal to the first two hundred entrants at Co-Sponsor site. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of prize: $10.00. ARV of all prizes: $2000.00 Unless otherwise stated, subject to winner verification and compliance with these Official Rules, all prizes will be awarded on site directly to winning entrant. Sponsor and Co-Sponsor are not responsible for loss, delay, or damage. There will be no substitution, transfer, or cash equivalent for prizes, except at the sole discretion of Sponsor, which may substitute prizes of comparable value. Limit one prize per person and per household. Payments of all federal, state, and local taxes related to the award of the prize are solely the responsibility of the winner. Prizes may not be sold, bartered, or auctioned. Prize is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied. All properly claimed prizes will be awarded provided a sufficient number of eligible entries are received, but in no event will Sponsor award more prizes than are provided for in the Official Rules. Unclaimed prizes will not be awarded.

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They’re not the only perennial contender to miss the playoffs, either, with the reigning Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets as well as the Toronto Maple Leafs failing to qualify.

The Buffalo Sabres among the half dozen newcomers in the 16-team field. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers are back in the dance, too, and set for a cross-state rivalry series in the first round.

The Colorado Avalanche have been dominant since October and go in as the favorite after clinching the best regular-season record in the NHL. That has rarely been an indicator of who hoists the Cup at the end of four rounds.

“Every team in the playoffs can win,” Dallas Stars defenseman Tyler Myers said. “Every series is a tough series. That’s what’s so amazing about the NHL playoffs: It brings out the best in everybody, in every team, and it creates an unbelievable battle no matter who’s playing.”

New blood in the NHL playoffs

Buffalo ended the longest postseason drought in league history at 14 seasons and did so after losing 18 of its first 29 games. The Sabres not only did that but finished atop the Atlantic Division.

“It’s something that we strived for from Day One,” said Lindy Ruff, who is among the favorites to be coach of the year. “You’ve got to feel good about getting there. It’s hard. We’re in a division that’s been extremely hard to get there. You’ve got to look back and say that we did a lot of good things to get to this point.”

The Sabres also look as if they can do some damage in the wide-open East without Florida. They've been the best team since the Olympic break.

Also hot down the stretch was Pittsburgh, which qualified for the first time since 2022 in new coach Dan Muse's first season. The Penguins were 6-1 long shots on BetMGM Sportsbook in October to make it, but now the trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang gets another chance.

“A lot of people doubted us and I guess counted us out, and it just put fuel on the fire for us,” said defenseman Ryan Shea, who's set to make his NHL playoff debut at 29. “I’ve been in the playoffs in the AHL, which was fun, but this is the best league in the world.”

The Utah Mammoth made it in the franchise's second season in Salt Lake City. The Anaheim Ducks are also back with a young core coached by three-time Cup-champion Joel Quenneville.

The Central Division path is the toughest

Colorado is justifiably the best bet to win it all. Nathan MacKinnon could be the MVP, Cale Makar the top defenseman, and the reacquisition of Nazem Kadri at the trade deadline gives the Avalanche the depth to envision another parade in Denver this summer, four years since the previous one.

To do so, they'll have to go through either Dallas or the Minnesota Wild in the second round just to reach the West final.

“Confident for sure: Believe in this group. I know we have what it takes,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "It’s going to be a long, tough road and mentally, physically grinding. I think we’re ready for it.”

Stars versus Wild opens the playoffs with a bang, pitting two of the top seven teams in the league in a best-of-seven series that ensures one of them will be golfing by mid-May. It's the result of a division-focused format that Commissioner Gary Bettman has said leads to the best first round in sports.

"That makes for great matchups," Bettman said. “If you’re a fan of the game and you’re looking for excitement, you’re looking to be entertained, you’re looking for intriguing stories, this format does it.”

From going for gold to chasing the silver chalice

Several players who won gold with the U.S. at the Olympics have the chance to add a Stanley Cup ring to their trophy case for the year.

Colorado's Brock Nelson scored 30 goals after being a difference-maker in Milan. Carolina's Jaccob Slavin, Buffalo's Tage Thompson, Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel, Minnesota's Matt Boldy, Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber, Ottawa's Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson are all in the running, as are two goaltenders: Boston's Jeremy Swayman and Dallas' Jake Oettinger.

The same goes for some Canadian stars who see their silver medals as a symbol of losing and get an opportunity to make up for it. That includes Edmonton's Connor McDavid following two consecutive losses in the final, and Crosby after an injury kept him from playing in the gold medal game and is chasing a fourth NHL title.

"That’s the best time of year," Crosby said. “That’s why you play.”

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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

“We have proposed to Germany a bilateral drone deal covering various types of drones, missiles, software and modern defense systems. Our teams are starting concrete work,” Zelenskyy said at a joint news conference with Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to Berlin.

Merz said that Germany’s commitment to supporting Kyiv's war effort is “a very clear signal” to Russia.

“We will not waver in our efforts to defend Ukraine,” he said.

U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war on its neighbor have recently petered out as the Iran war grips the Trump administration’s attention, although Tammy Bruce, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that Washington “will continue to push for a negotiated and durable end” to the war.

Russia has occupied about 20% of Ukraine so far. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.

Weapon production funding

Ukraine has the capacity to produce twice as much military equipment as it's currently deploying, but lacks funding to step up production, according to Zelenskyy.

“We simply don’t have enough money,” he said.

A key to unlocking that potential lies in obtaining a promised loan of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) from the European Union, which had been held up by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, but his impending departure from office after a weekend election could now free up the money.

Ukraine needs those funds “urgently,” Merz said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who accompanied Zelenskyy to Berlin, said Germany and Ukraine agreed a defense package valued at 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion). The agreement is “a massive boost” for Ukraine's air defense against Russian barrages, Fedorov said on X, allowing Kyiv to buy “several hundred” American-made Patriot missiles.

After Berlin, Zelenskyy was due to visit Norway, another important financial and military ally, while defense leaders from the 50-plus partner nations who regularly gather to coordinate weapons aid for Kyiv will hold an online meeting Wednesday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said.

Ukrainian troop shortfall

Kyiv is heavily reliant on U.S. intelligence for targeting inside Russia and needs more sophisticated American-made air defense systems to stop Russian missile attacks on its power grid. If the Iran war drags on, it could erode vital U.S. support for Kyiv, Zelenskyy fears.

Furthermore, the Ukrainian army is short-handed, facing around 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people, Fedorov said in January.

Germany will help Kyiv facilitate the return home of Ukrainian men of military age, Merz said.

“We need rapid, tangible progress here,” he said.

Domestically developed unmanned platforms are playing a vital role in holding back Russia's invasion. Ukraine makes air and sea drones, missiles that have reached around 1,750 kilometers (1,000 miles) into Russia, as well as battlefield robots that help make up for its troop shortage.

Ukraine has been approached about security cooperation, especially battle-tested drone production, by eight Middle East and Gulf countries, as well as Turkey, Iraq and countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, Zelenskyy said on Monday.

Ukraine reportedly posts battlefield successes

Despite its handicaps, Western analysts and officials say Ukraine has in recent months recorded battlefield successes against Russia’s bigger army, disrupting a spring offensive started by Russia amid improving weather, as fields dry out and new foliage on tree lines offers more cover.

Meanwhile, the long-range drones and missiles that Kyiv designs and produces are repeatedly striking oil facilities and manufacturing plants deep inside Russia.

Ukraine “is in a much better place than it has been at any stage in this horrific war,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday.

Ukraine “is on top from a military perspective,” Stubb said, noting that last month Ukraine fired more drones and missiles at Russia than vice versa.

Moscow has also claimed progress on the battlefield. Independent verification of each side’s claims wasn't possible.

Russian attacks on Ukraine kill 5 civilians

Meanwhile, a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukraine city of Dnipro killed four people and left 21 hospitalized with injuries, 10 of them in serious condition, regional authorities said Tuesday.

The city’s attorney general’s office said the victims, all civilians, were driving or walking past the scene of the strike in the city, 485 kilometers (300 miles) southeast of Kyiv.

Elsewhere, a 52-year-old woman was killed in a Russian drone strike in the southern city of Kherson that also left one man seriously wounded, authorities said.

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Hanna Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report from Kyiv.

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

Leo’s visit to Annaba, the modern-day Hippo, was a spiritual homecoming for the American pope on his second full day in Algeria. He arrived Monday on a first-ever papal visit, against the backdrop of his calls for peace that have sparked a feud with U.S. President Donald Trump over the war in Iran. It's the first stop on Leo’s four-country Africa tour.

The pope arrived at the ruins in a rainstorm and with tight security, with sharpshooters positioned around the site and policemen stationed every few yards (meters) along roads leading to it.

Leo prayed under under a tent looking out over the ruins of the ancient Roman city, including its theater, market and basilica where Augustine preached and the adjoining baptistry. In a sign of peace, he planted an olive tree and watched as white doves were set free.

Accompanied by the current head of his Augustinian religious order, the Rev. Joseph Farrell, Leo then walked amid the muddy ruins for a few minutes, pausing to listen to an Algerian choir.

Leo proclaimed himself a “son of St. Augustine” on the night of his election and has cited Augustine prolifically in his first year, making clear that he's the guiding inspiration of Leo's pontificate. For this trip, Leo is focusing on Augustine as a bridge-builder as he aims to press a message of peace and Christian-Muslim coexistence.

“God’s heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies,” Leo later told a small gathering of nuns and elderly people in Annaba.

The visit also draws attention to the North African origins of Augustine, who spent only five years in Italy but is often seen through a Eurocentric lens as one of the greatest Western thinkers of Christianity for his writings on truth, evil, creation and grace.

Leo's Augustinian religious order was founded in Italy in the 13th century, inspired by the saint.

A life in North Africa, looking to Rome

St. Augustine was born in 354 to a Berber mother and Roman father in Thagaste, today the Algerian city of Souk Ahras near the border with Tunisia. At the time, the swath of North Africa was part of the Roman Empire, including Carthage in today’s Tunisia, where Augustine was educated and taught rhetoric.

He left North Africa for Rome in 383 and then Milan, where he converted to Christianity. He returned to his homeland soon thereafter, founded a monastery at Hippo where he developed the rule of his order in use today, emphasizing community life. He became a bishop and in Hippo wrote some of the most important works in the Western canon, including “Confessions” and “The City of God.”

A new book, “Augustine the African,” by Catherine Conybeare, an Augustine scholar at Bryn Mawr college in Pennsylvania, explores Augustine from his perspective: As a North African, looking to Rome as the center of his universe but feeling insecure there about his Punic-accented Latin.

“One of the most important thinkers in the Western intellectual tradition actually came from Africa, spent almost his whole life in Africa,” Conybeare told The Associated Press. “How does that change things?”

“Of course, because his successors — the people who carried on his heritage — were in Europe, they got to tell the story,” she said. And Europe got his body: After Augustine died in Hippo in 430, his body was taken eventually to Pavia, Italy, though a forearm remains in the basilica dedicated to him in Annaba.

In welcoming Leo, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed the “immense pride” Algerians feel over St. Augustine. He called him “a cherished son of this land, which having been his first cradle, proudly became his initial resting place.”

A personal visit for Leo

Leo made clear en route to Algeria and in remarks to Algerian authorities how deeply personal and important this visit is to him, because of his spiritual connection to St. Augustine. He had visited twice before, while he was superior of the Augustinian order.

“This journey, which is very special for several reasons, was supposed to be the first of my pontificate,” Leo told reporters on the papal plane. “As early as last May, I had said that on my first journey, I would like to visit Africa. Several people immediately suggested Algeria because of St. Augustine.”

In the end, other trips intervened, but he kept the appointment.

The saint, he said, represents “a very important bridge in interreligious dialogue" that the world could use today.

“We must always seek bridges to build peace and reconciliation," he said. "This journey, then, truly represents a valuable opportunity to continue with the same voice, with the same message, that we wish to convey: to promote peace, reconciliation, respect and consideration for all peoples.”

Also Tuesday, Leo was visiting a small community of Augustinians in Annaba. He was finishing the day by celebrating Mass at the Basilica of St. Augustine, the 19th century basilica overlooking the ruins of Hippo which contains the relic of the saint. Thousands of pilgrims visit the basilica each year, including Muslims.

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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.

We’re so close to Fiesta San Antonio and we’re live at WellMed giving away those coveted KSAT medals.

A Taste of New Orleans brings Mardi Gras to San Antonio with face painting, bounce houses, clowns and activities for all ages.

Espinoza and Brock stop by to talk about workers rights and one of their most recent cases that earned their client $20 million. We learn what that means for the rest of us.

Jewelry, apparel, food, drinks, home decor, art and much more. Get your tickets now and stop by the Boerne Handmade Market this weekend.

The 10th annual Crunchyroll anime awards are coming up and you get to vote on the best animes of the year.

Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union announced on social media that it won a tentative agreement with “major gains” including raises and more hours. The district announced that an agreement in principle had been reached with SEIU Local 99 allowing schools to be open Tuesday and they would work to finalize the details of a tentative agreement.

SEIU Local 99 said the tentative deal also included protections against subcontracting, stopped IT layoffs and increased staffing. SEIU Local 99 told members to report to work as usual on Tuesday and thanked its fellow unions and the Los Angeles community, saying the “victory belongs to ALL of us.”

Teachers, principals and staff had been prepared to walk out for a strike if the deal was not reached. Unions representing teachers and principals reached tentative contract agreements with nation’s second-largest school district over the weekend.

All three unions that represent about 70,000 workers across the Los Angeles Unified School District had pledged to go on strike if any of the three did not reach a tentative agreement.

The three unions have never gone on strike at the same time — administrators have remained on duty during previous teacher walkouts to help keep schools open. That was the case in 2023 when Local 99 workers went on strike and teachers joined them for three days. About 150 of the district's 1,000 schools remained open.

The IMF downgraded its forecast for global growth to 3.1% in 2026 from the 3.3% it had forecast back in January. The expected growth would mark a deceleration from a 3.4% expansion in 2025.

U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — and Tehran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz and retaliatory strikes on oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in neighboring countries — have driven oil and gas prices sharply higher around the world.

As a result, the IMF marked up its expectation for global inflation this year to 4.4% from 4.1% in 2025 and from the 3.8% it had forecast for this year in January.

Until the war, the world economy had shown surprising resilience in the face of President Donald Trump's protectionist policies, which built a wall of import taxes around the United States, the world's biggest economy and once a market practically wide open to imports. The damage was less than feared partly because Trump's tariffs last year ended up being lower than what he'd originally announced.

A tech boom, marked by massive investment in data centers and artificial intelligence, and rising productivity also combined to strengthen the world economy.

"War in the Middle East has halted this momentum,'' IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas wrote in a blog post accompanying the fund's latest World Economic Outlook.

The IMF's forecast assumes that conflict in the Persian Gulf is short-lived and that energy prices rise "a moderate 19%'' this year. Things could be much worse. In a “severe scenario'' in which the energy shocks spill into next year and central banks are forced to raise interest rates to combat inflation, global growth could drop to 2% in 2026 and 2027. ”Despite the recent news of a temporary ceasefire, some damage is already done, and the downside risks remain elevated,'' Gourinchas wrote.

The fund slightly downgraded its forecast for U.S. growth this year to 2.3%. The 21 European countries that share the euro currency, hard hit by soaring natural gas prices, will collectively grow 1.1% this year, down from 1.4% in 2025, the IMF forecast.

Hardest hit are likely to be deeply indebted poorer countries that import energy and can't afford to buffer their economies with stepped-up government spending and tax relief. The IMF sharply lowered the outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, to 4.3% this year from the 4.6% it had expected in January.

One winner that's emerging from the conflict is Russia, an energy exporter that stands to benefit from higher prices. The IMF upgraded its forecast for the Russian economy, hard hit by sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to a still-modest 1.1%.

Meanwhile, the governor of the National Bank of Ukraine has tried to keep Russia’s war in his country at the center of talks among global economic leaders. But in a Monday interview with reporters, Andriy Pyshnyy noted how higher oil prices due the war in Iran are hurting his country.

He said through a translator that annual inflation in March hit 7.9% in Ukraine, well above the forecast of 7% in large part because of higher fuel costs. He estimated that fuel prices could push up annual inflation by 1.5 percentage points to 2.8 percentage points.

Pyshnyy noted that there could also be higher fertilizer and production costs in an economy that is seeking stable prices as part of the ongoing war with Russia, which attacks Ukraine by air on average every 3 to 4 minutes.

“We are trying to walk on a razor blade,” he said of a mission complicated by external factors.

The IMF is a 191-nation lending organization that works to promote economic growth and financial stability and to reduce global poverty.

The clock officially ran out on the proposal late Monday night as the state legislative session ended, a casualty of internal party disagreements. In the end, the Maryland Senate left the bill in a committee, with Democrats who control the chamber concerned it could backfire under judicial review.

The unusual mid-decade redistricting, which started when Trump encouraged Republican-controlled Texas to redraw their map last year, is expected to continue next week. Republicans want to change congressional boundaries during a special legislative session in Florida, while Democrats are asking voters to approve a redistricting referendum in Virginia.

But Democrats will not be poised to pick up a seat in Maryland, where the proposed map would have made it easier for voters to oust the state's lone Republican member of the U.S. House.

Moore disagreed with another powerful Maryland Democrat on plans

Moore, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said he disagreed with another powerful Maryland Democrat, state Senate President Bill Ferguson, about “what is required to be able to make sure we’re fighting back” against Trump.

“This is not a political game to me,” Moore said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I don’t look at this as some kind of political talking point. I look at the fact that I think Donald Trump is actively trying to manipulate and change the rules around the November election and beyond because he knows he cannot win on his policies.”

Ferguson has said redistricting could actually cost Democrats seats in Maryland because, in the inevitable legal battle that would ensue, a court could order a new map that would be even less favorable to the party. He refused to budge despite pressure from Moore and U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

While speaking at National Action Network in New York on Thursday with the Rev. Al Sharpton, Moore complained that Trump was urging some states to redraw maps to favor Republicans, while telling other states to “sit on your hands.”

“Don’t play with me,” Moore said. “And if the rest of the country is going to have this conversation about mid-decade redistricting, then so should Maryland, and so should every other state. Because until it is done nationally, we have to make sure that this election is not stolen right before our face so this pain is made permanent.”

But while Moore named a panel in November that proposed the new map for Maryland, the governor could not prevail on the heavily Democratic Maryland Senate to approve it.

When it was before the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, the governor told lawmakers in January that the state needed to act to counter what he called “political redlining” by Trump in other states at the cost of Black representation in Congress.

Moore, who is the nation's only serving Black governor, compared Trump’s push for Republican-friendly redistricting to discriminatory housing practices, saying the president and his allies “are doing everything in their power to silence the voices and trying to eliminate Black leadership — elected leadership — all over this country.”

Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in Maryland and already hold a 7-1 advantage in the state’s U.S. House delegation, with Rep. Andy Harris the lone GOP representative.

The Maryland House passed legislation containing a new map in early February, but the measure ran into opposition from Ferguson.

The senator pointed out a map adopted in 2021 that would have made it easier to flip Harris’ seat was ruled unconstitutional by a judge who called it “a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering.” Maryland passed another map in 2022, and the parties dropped their legal fight.

Meanwhile, here's a look at what's happening in other states this month in mid-decade redistricting efforts:

Florida

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has scheduled a special session next week for the Republican-dominated Legislature to draw new congressional districts.

Currently, 20 of Florida’s 28 congressional seats are held by Republicans.

Congressional districts in Florida that are redrawn to favor Republicans could carry big consequences for Trump’s plan to reshape districts in GOP-led states, which could give Republicans a shot at winning additional seats in the midterm elections and retaining control of the closely divided U.S. House.

Virginia

Early balloting has already begun for a vote on a constitutional amendment for a new congressional map in Virginia next week.

After a cascade of redistricting efforts, Republicans believe they can win a combined nine more U.S. House seats in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, while Democrats think they can win a total of six more seats in California and Utah. Virginia could give Democrats an extra four seats.

Vitale said Monday that biopsy results had confirmed a diagnosis of melanoma in his lung and liver cavity, which will have him starting immunotherapy. It marks his fifth battle with cancer, which sidelined him from the airwaves for two years before his return shortly before March Madness in 2025.

“I've beaten melanoma,” the 86-year-old Vitale said in a statement released by ESPN. “I've beaten lymphoma. I've beaten vocal-cord cancer. I've beaten lymph-node cancer. I'm 4 for 4 and I'm fully confident I'm going to make it 5 for 5."

Separate from his ESPN statement, Vitale posted on social media Monday that he had gone through 10 days of testing that included scans, MRIs, bloodwork and a biopsy.

"I obviously did not get the report today that I was hoping for when my oncologist called,” Vitale said, noting he planned on “winning the battle” and adding: “Now at least I know what I face.”

Vitale has made himself a fixture in college basketball, earning the affectionate nickname “Dickie V” with his voice and exuberant style offering a soundtrack to some of the biggest moments in the sport's history. He's inching closer to five decades with ESPN going back to its 1979 launch, armed with a contract through the 2027-28 season as well as the creation of a basketball event named in his honor this past season.

And every step of the way he's quick to tell anyone and everyone how “lucky” he feels to still be working after years of fighting cancer.

That started in 2021 with melanoma, followed by treatments for lymphoma. There were also chemotherapy treatments, radiation for vocal-cord cancer and surgery by summer 2024 to remove cancerous lymph nodes from his neck, while he was unable to speak for a time after the vocal-cord surgery, leaving him having to scribble on eraser-board messages to communicate.

Still, Vitale said in his ESPN statement that he feels “fantastic." And he quickly turned the focus of his statement to his long-running efforts to raise money for pediatric cancer research, notably with next month’s annual gala in his name that has raised more than $105 million in its two-decade history.

“At 86 years young, I've lived a hell of a life, and I'm more motivated than ever to raise money for kids battling cancer,” Vitale said, adding that he hopes to raise $12 million with the 21st “Dick Vitale Gala” set for May 1 in Sarasota, Florida.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Alex Rodriguez is a member of the national nonprofit organization, Sad Dads Club, that meets virtually to help men.

“We say it’s the worst club, but the best guys,” Rodriguez said, in part. “We’re sorry to see the group grow, right? We never want to see dads join the group, but we’re always happy that dads connect and find us.”

Rodriguez and his wife experienced a stillbirth at seven months. He sought grief counseling at ABC of Southwest Texas.

Desiree Holmes, the executive director for the Bereavement program, told KSAT that it’s common for men to put their grief aside. She also says men need to find a way to cope so they don’t “erupt”.

“We’re not meant to do life alone. There’s some healing in connection, so I would just say, ‘Encourage yourself to come out to a support group,’” Holmes said.

For Rodriguez, helping other fathers find community has been a way to honor his daughter, Isabella.

“As dads of child loss, our way to parent is to keep our kids’ memory alive, talk about them, protect that memory, and that’s how we keep on parenting them,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez’s wife is also connecting with mothers facing similar loss.

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“I’m not really sure I have words to describe that feeling, what that meant,” Fudd said of getting drafted. “I don’t think it’s fully sunk in. It's nothing I could have imagined. The feeling of sitting with my family, with Morgan (Valley), hearing your name called, go up there. Such a surreal feeling,”

Fudd will pair again with former Huskies teammate Paige Bueckers, who was the Wings' top pick last year. Bueckers — who along with Fudd gave UConn a record seven No. 1 selections — was in attendance at the draft along with Fudd's Huskies teammates.

“Paige is an incredible player, everyone knows that,” Fudd said. “She’s someone that makes playing basketball with easy.”

UCLA stars Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez went in the top five, a little over a week after leading the Bruins to their first NCAA championship.

Their teammate, Kiki Rice, went sixth to Toronto, the first pick for the expansion franchise. The Tempo chose to have the higher pick in the college draft after winning a coin toss, giving the Portland Fire the top choice in the expansion draft earlier this month.

UCLA broke UConn’s record of having four players drafted in the first round, a mark the Huskies set in 2002, when Angela Dugalic went ninth to Washington, teaming her again with Betts. And, Giannna Kneepkens was chosen by Connecticut with the last pick of the opening round.

The Bruins later broke the mark for the most players drafted from one team when Charlisse Leger-Walker was selected by Connecticut with the third pick in the second round. Tennessee (1997, 2008), Notre Dame (2019) and South Carolina (2023) held the previous record with five players taken.

The new collective bargaining agreement that was ratified last month gave huge pay raises to rookies. Fudd will make nearly seven-times what Bueckers earned last season as the top choice. The No. 2 and No. 3 picks will get $466,913 and $436,016, respectively.

Second- and third-round picks will make $270,000 — which is more than the previous maximum salary in the old CBA.

“I’m just blessed and grateful to come at this time,” said No. 8 pick Flau'jae Johnson, who was drafted by Golden State before getting traded to Seattle. “The 30th season. My goal is to leave it better than I found it. It’s a gratitude thing, but also a responsibility thing. I’m taking that with full force.”

Minnesota took Olivia Miles of TCU with the No. 2 pick. Miles decided to stay in college last season instead of enter the WNBA draft. She transferred from Notre Dame to the Horned Frogs. She helped the team reach the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year.

“Deep breath that’s why I got emotional,” Miles said of finishing her journey. “It’s finally here, finally heard my name. This is what this was for.”

After Seattle took Spain center Awa Fam Thiam at No. 3, Washington selected the 6-foot-7 Betts before the Chicago Sky followed with Jaquez, who is the sister of Miami Heat player Jaime Jaquez Jr. She now has family bragging rights not only with a national championship, but also was picked higher than him. Jaime was taken 18th in the NBA draft in 2023.

Portland took Spanish guard Iyana Martin Carrion with its first-ever pick. Indiana took South Carolina's Raven Johnson with the 10th pick and Washington drafted Cotie McMahon of Ole Miss next.

Connecticut took French player Nell Angloma with the 12th pick. A second Gamecock went next with Madina Okot drafted by Atlanta. Seattle drafted Duke's Taina Mair with the 14th choice.

The Sun closed out the first round choosing Kneepkens.

International flavor

There were 11 international players taken in the draft who didn't play at a U.S. college, including three in the first round with Fam Thiam, Martin Carrion and Angloma.

Fam Thiam was the highest selected player from Spain ever drafted in the league. Three Spanish players were taken in all.

“Incredibly excited for our country and the global game,” said Marta Suarez, who was drafted by Seattle in the second round before getting traded to Golden State. “The WNBA is growing, attracting talent from all over the world.”

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in her pre-draft press conference that the league planned to play either an exhibition game or a regular-season game overseas next year.

Mother-daughter combo

Fudd and her mother, Katie Smrcka-Duffy Fudd, became the second mother-daughter pair to have been drafted into the WNBA. Smrcka-Duffy Fudd was taken in 2001 by the Sacramento Monarchs in the fourth round, but never played a game. Pam McGee was taken second overall in the 1997 draft, also by Sacramento. Her daughter, Imani McGee-Stafford, was drafted 10th overall by Chicago in 2016.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

The 18-year-old attacker, armed with a shotgun, fired randomly inside a vocational high school in Siverek, Sanliurfa province. He later killed himself with the same shotgun after being “cornered by police,” Gov. Hasan Sildak said.

The attack left 10 students, four teachers, a canteen employee and a police officer hurt, Sildak said. While most of them were being treated in Siverek, five of the teachers and students were transferred to a hospital in the provincial capital because their conditions were more serious, the governor said.

The motive for the attack remains unclear. School shootings are rare in Turkey.

The attacker did not have a criminal record, Sildak said. The school had been declared safe and no permanent police officer was assigned to protect it, he added, calling the shooting an “isolated incident.”

NTV television and other media reports said the assailant had threatened an attack on the school on social media prior to the shooting.

One student told the state-run Anadolu Agency that he and a friend jumped out of their classroom window to flee the attacker.

“He suddenly entered the classroom and fired. He fired four or five times. Two people were hit. He then went into the next classroom,” Anadolu quoted Omer Furkan Sayar as saying. “We first threw ourselves to the ground and then two of us jumped out of the window.”

Sayar continued: “He didn't say anything, he entered and started to shoot directly.”

Earlier, media reports said all students were evacuated and police special operations units were deployed after the assailant refused to surrender.

“The individual was cornered inside the building through police intervention and died after shooting himself," Sildak told reporters, adding that a “comprehensive” investigation into the shooting would be carried out.

Video footage showed dozens of students running out of the school toward the gate and onto the street.

Anna Opara, 32, has been located, DPS said.

ORIGINAL STORY: A CLEAR Alert was issued Sunday night for a 32-year-old woman who was last seen in west Bexar County, according the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) alert system.

In the alert, DPS said Anna Opara’s last known whereabouts were at approximately 11:25 a.m. Sunday at 11811 Potranco Road.

Opara is 5 feet, 9 inches tall with black hair and black eyes.

Authorities said she was wearing a tan jacket, black shirt with a race car on it, teal pants and tan crocs.

Anyone with information on her new whereabouts is asked to call the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at 210-335-6000.

Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah's political council, spoke on the eve of the talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, meet face-to-face in direct talks.

“As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all," Safa told The Associated Press.

"We are not bound by what they agree to,” he added in a rare interview with international media. He spoke next to a cemetery as an Israeli drone buzzed overhead.

Historic negotiations at a sensitive time

Lebanese officials are looking to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war in the U.S. talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has said the goal is Hezbollah's disarmament and a potential peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Netanyahu said Monday that there will be no ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Separately, in U.S.-Iran peace talks held last weekend in Pakistan, Iran has sought to include Lebanon in any ceasefire deal of its own with the U.S. Israel and the U.S. have insisted Lebanon would not be a part of it.

Hours after Tehran and Washington announced a truce last Wednesday, Israel launched more than 100 strikes across Lebanon, including in densely packed residential and commercial areas of central Beirut.

And though the U.S.-Iran talks broke up without an agreement, Safa said Hezbollah has been informed that Iran “was able to obtain a cessation of attacks" in the entire administrative region of Beirut, Lebanon's capital, including Beirut's southern suburbs — a Hezbollah-strong area known as Dahiyeh.

Israeli strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs have halted since Wednesday but intense fighting has continued in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah's entry into the war

Israel and Hezbollah have fought multiple wars since the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group was formed in the 1980s as a guerrilla force fighting against Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon at the time.

The latest round began on March 2, two days after Israel and the U.S. launched a war on Iran. Hezbollah entered the fray, firing missiles across the border into Israel. Israel responded with aerial bombardment and a ground invasion.

Since then, the war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon and killed more than 2,000, including more than 500 women, children and medical workers. Many Lebanese have blamed Hezbollah for pulling Lebanon into the war, accusing it of acting on behalf of its patron, Iran.

Safa said Hezbollah's actions were preemptive because its leaders believed “Israel was preparing for a second battle with Lebanon” with the aim of destroying Hezbollah.

It was “an appropriate moment for Hezbollah ... to rebuild a new equation” and restore deterrence against Israel, he said, denying any prior deals with Tehran that Hezbollah would enter the war if Iran was attacked.

After a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted the last Israel-Hezbollah war in November 2024, Israel continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it said aimed to stop the group from rebuilding. Hezbollah wants to avoid a return to that status quo, Safa said.

‘Black Wednesday’

Israel has claimed that its strikes on Lebanon last Wednesday killed more than 250 Hezbollah militants. More than 100 women and children were among the over 350 people killed, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

That would mean that, according to Israel’s assertion, every adult male killed that day was a Hezbollah member.

“None of our officials or cadres was killed in Beirut," Safa said. ”Those who died in Beirut are 100% civilians." He did not deny that members of the group were killed outside of the Lebanese capital.

Israel claimed to have killed Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem's secretary who was also his nephew, Ali Yusuf Harshi, as well as some high-level commanders.

Safa said Kassem’s secretary was not killed, although “maybe a relative of his was.”

He also confirmed for the first time that he was wounded during the earlier, 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war, after being targeted by two Israeli strikes in Beirut, "but God granted me survival.”

Later Monday in a televised address, Kassem himself urged Lebanon to pull out of direct talks with Israel, calling the negotiations a “free concession” to Israel and the U.S.

Souring relations with the government

Relations between the Lebanese government and Hezbollah — which is not just a militant group but also a political party with a parliamentary bloc — have grown increasingly tense.

The government last year approved a plan to remove all weapons that are not property of the state — its security forces or military — and later said it had largely completed the task south of the Litani River, where Hezbollah militants are now fighting with Israeli forces.

After March 2, the government went further, declaring Hezbollah's armed wing illegal.

Safa said Hezbollah is currently not directly speaking with President Joseph Aoun or Prime Minister Nawaf Salam but that all its communications are going through Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the head of the Hezbollah-allied Amal party.

Safa said that if there is a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, Hezbollah — which calls itself a “resistance” movement against archenemy Israel — is ready to negotiate with the Lebanese government about the fate of its weapons.

“The issue of resistance weapons is a Lebanese matter that has nothing to do with Israel or the United States,” he said.

Tesla’s Giga Texas increased its annual treated water use by more than 200 million gallons in just two years, raising concerns about whether Austin can fulfill its long-term water conservation plans as Elon Musk advances plans for a new semiconductor plant expected to push demand even higher.

From 2023 to 2025, Tesla’s annual treated water use rose about 68% to 556 million gallons becoming Austin Water’s third-largest customer — up from fifth in 2023, according to Austin Water. The increase is raising new concerns about how water limits are applied, as residents are urged to conserve water while large industrial users continue to expand. In March, Musk announced Terafab, a proposed $20-25 billion semiconductor fabrication plant near Giga Texas, also known as the Gigafactory, in eastern Travis County. Environmentalists warn the project could further strain a persistently drought-stricken region and potentially clash with the city’s long-term water planning efforts.

“It’s extremely alarming,” said Paul DiFiore, an environmental attorney who sits on Austin’s Water Forward task force. “All of a sudden, they’re using more water than the vast majority of people in the city.”

Tesla began construction of the Gigafactory in the summer 2020, with the help of $13.9 million tax rebate from Travis County. The factory opened in April 2022 and has since become one of Austin Water’s largest consumers, with usage rising in a short period of time.

Environmental Attorney Sarah Faust, who also sits on Austin’s Water Forward Task Force, said that Tesla was granted a service extension request from Austin Water, a process that does not require City Council approval. Austin Water said it provides water to only a portion of the Gigafactory, and the company’s property extends across the service boundaries of multiple utility providers.

By last fall, the factory had produced 500,000 vehicles — a manufacturing process that, Faust noted, requires a significant amount of water.

In a separate city process first approved in 2018, the city has worked to solidify and refine its 100-year water resource plan known as “Water Forward.” The plan, which was last updated in 2024, is intended to balance water needs against a future of climate change, the possibility of increasingly severe drought and continued growth.

Faust said the task force charged with updating the plan takes into account large commercial consumers, but “when we get new, big users that grow dramatically in a short amount of time, that does cause a little bit more concern.”

She acknowledged that economic development is important, but said as many Austinites are being asked to conserve, the sharp increase in water use raises questions about whether conservation efforts are being applied evenly, or whether large industrial users are operating under different constraints.

“From a policy perspective, from a water planning perspective,” Faust said, “I hope [Austin Water] is utilizing [its tools] to the greatest degree to ensure that as much recycling and reuse is done and that appropriate limits are put on water used for commercial purposes.”

Austin Current reached out to Tesla to ask what is driving the increase in water use, whether it expects demand to rise and what conservation measures are in place or plans to put in place. The company did not respond before publication, leaving key questions about future water demand unanswered.

In a statement, Austin Water said it is required to provide water within its service area for any permitted development. Per the city’s Drought Contingency Plan, the utility could limit or curtail water usage under emergency conditions.

Keisuke Ikehata, a water treatment expert and associate professor of civil engineering at Texas State University, agreed the increase in water use from 2023 to 2025 “is quite a big jump,” one that underscores the scale of industrial demand entering the region

“We really need to be very careful in terms of planning how the industry grows and how our community grows,” he said, “That is certainly a lot of water.”

But Tesla’s current water use in Central Texas may be just the start to much larger demand curve.

New factory could multiply water demand

In March, Musk announced at Austin’s old Seaholm Power Plant plans to build Terafab as part of a joint effort involving SpaceX, Tesla and xAI. The factory would produce chips to power Musk’s vast technology portfolio. When announcing the venture, Musk called it “the most epic chip-building exercise in history by far.”

Ikehata said a typical North American semiconductor plant might require one to two million gallons of water a day, or around 350 to 700 million gallons of water annually, a baseline that underscores how water-intensive chip manufacturing can be.

Reports indicate that at least part of the facility would be built near the Gigafactory in eastern Travis County. But Musk said in an X post last month that Terafab would not fully fit on that campus and would require “thousands of acres.” A Travis County commissioner said the court has only recently been made aware of the plans and has not yet received any formal proposal, leaving key details about water sourcing and infrastructure unresolved.

“It will be far bigger than everything else combined there,” Musk wrote.

If the facility lives up to its promise, Ikehata said it could need several more million gallons of water a day — potentially billions annually — than a typical semiconductor plant. Those millions of gallons of additional water would push total demand far beyond current levels in the area.

“​​They use a lot of water at their facilities,” Ikehata said. Water “is required to clean all kinds of things that they are manufacturing.”

Austin Water told Austin Current it has not yet received a request for water service at the proposed facility.

The water must be extremely pure when cleaning chips, which are exceedingly small and precisely fabricated, he said.

Those chips are in “cars and satellites and cell phones, we need those chips everywhere,” Ikehata said. “The tiniest bit of an error can cause a complete catastrophe.”

Balancing growth against limits

Ikehata acknowledged an ongoing tension in Central Texas: balancing rapid growth with the reality of a limited water supply, a constraint that becomes more acute as large industrial users expand.

“I’m very much supportive of economic growth. I’m an engineer. I love development,” he said. “But I want responsible development… Responsible water use is very important and has to be carefully evaluated. Stakeholders should be involved, and I’d like to see transparency.”

Council Member Ryan Alter echoed Ikehata’s sentiment, saying the economic benefits of bringing Terafab to Austin could be significant, particularly as the region competes for major industrial projects.

“We want those jobs. We want the economic activity that comes along with that,” Alter said. “But we also have to balance the environmental impacts.”

Alter said the key to making the proposal successful in Austin will be strong collaboration between the company and the city, especially as questions about water capacity and long-term supply remain a top concern.

“I think water is the limiting factor of our city,” he said. Alter said large water users could help offset their impact through reuse, infrastructure improvements or other measures that reduce strain on the system, though those solutions would need to scale alongside demand.

“I think there are ways where we can work together so that everyone comes out ahead,” he said. “That’s hopefully the conversation we’re going to have.”

But no birthday cake, because sugar isn't healthy for the aging primate.

Fatou, a western lowland gorilla, arrived in what was then West Berlin in 1959. She was believed to be about 2 years old at the time, though her exact birth date isn't known — April 13 is her designated birthday. Gorillas can live for around 35-40 years in the wild and longer in captivity.

Fatou became the zoo’s oldest resident in 2024, following the death of Ingo the flamingo. The bird was believed to be at least 75 and had lived at the zoo since 1955.

Fatou was likely born in the wild in western Africa, but the story goes that a French sailor took her out of Africa and bartered her to cover his bar tab in Marseille, France, according to the Guinness World Records. A French animal trader then reportedly sold her to the zoo.

These days, Fatou lives in an enclosure of her own and prefers to keep her distance from the zoo’s other gorillas in her old age. She's lost her teeth and she suffers from a touch of arthritis and hearing loss.

But Christian Aust, the Berlin Zoo's primate supervisor, said that she's friendly with the zookeepers, if still a bit stubborn.

At 69 years old, she's earned it. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Fatou.

Trout's second home run of the game bounced off the back wall behind the Angels bullpen in left-center, giving Los Angeles a two-run lead in the eighth inning on a night when Judge had already homered twice to put the New York Yankees ahead.

And there was more drama to come — after two three-time MVPs both homered twice in the same game for the first time in 70 years.

Trent Grisham hit his second homer of the evening (and season) to tie the score in the ninth. Moments later, José Caballero trotted home on Jordan Romano's game-ending wild pitch to give the Yankees a pulsating 11-10 win that stopped a five-game losing streak.

“It was great. That’s baseball for you,” Trout marveled. "It’s what fans want, and to be able to see something like that, pretty cool.”

Only once before had a pair of players already three-time MVPs each homered twice in the same game, according to STATS Perform.

After Stan Musial had gone deep twice, Roy Campanella hit a tying, three-run drive in the ninth for his second of the game and Don Zimmer followed with a walk-off single to lead the Brooklyn Dodgers over the St. Louis Cardinals 9-8 at Ebbets Field on June 21, 1956.

Trout nearly hit a third Monday night. He flied out to Cody Bellinger in front of the center-field wall, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth after the Angels tied the score 4-all with four unearned runs following Caballero's error on Trout's leadoff grounder to shortstop.

Judge had looked forward to crossing paths with Trout in a Yankee Stadium weight room.

“I was going to talk some smack to him after the one he hit all the way to the warning track,” Judge said, “but I didn’t get a chance to and then he answers right back with two big homers for him. You put that guy in a clutch situation, a big moment and he’s going to show up every single time, so it’s fun going back and forth with a guy like that, especially in New York and the Bronx.”

New York had lost five straight after an 8-2 start and had been 0-6 in one-run games.

There were seven home runs that traveled a total of 2,846 feet — more than half a mile — with the Yankees hitting five. Judge's first went 456 feet deep into the left-field bleachers and left the bat at 116.2 mph, the hardest-hit home run of the season.

Grisham and Trout each had five RBIs, and Judge had three.

Baseball's top four active home run leaders were all in the game. Judge, with 374, moved one ahead of teammate Paul Goldschmidt. New York slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who leads active players with 454, missed by about a foot with a double off the center-field wall in the fifth. Trout has 408 homers.

Trout, 34, won AL MVPs in 2014, '16 and '19 but has struggled with injuries for much of the past five seasons.

“He’s the greatest of all time. It’s been fun to watch his whole career, coming up at such a young age and instantly just putting yourself at the top of the list. It's special," Judge said.

Judge, who turns 34 on April 26, won AL MVPs in 2022, ‘24 and ’25.

“Those are two of the greats, so it’s really fun to watch,” Yankees starter Will Warren said.

Judge and Caballero each hit a two-run homer off Yusei Kikuchi for a 4-0 second-inning lead on an unseasonably warm 77-degree night. After Caballero’s error led to the unearned runs off Warren, Grisham pinch hit in the fifth and connected for a three-run drive against Shaun Anderson for a 7-4 lead.

Trout countered with a three-run homer in the sixth against Jake Bird, who was demoted to Triple-A after the game.

Judge’s homer off Anderson leading off the bottom half gave him 47 multi-homer games, one more than Mickey Mantle and trailing only Babe Ruth’s 68 among Yankees.

“To be surrounded by some greats like that, it’s special,” Judge said.

Josh Lowe knotted the score at 8 with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, and Trout’s two-run drive in the eighth off Camilo Doval put the Angels ahead 10-8 with his 31st multi-homer game. Judge, watching from right field, shook his head.

“Every time he comes to the Bronx, man, he puts on a show," Judge said. "I hate to see it, but it’s fun competing against a guy like that.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled to start the ninth against Jordan Romano, and Grisham reached down and pulled a slider into the right-field seats as the closer put both hands on his head.

Caballero doubled and stole third without a throw. And after Austin Wells walked, Caballero scored when Romano bounced a full-count slider to Ryan McMahon to the backstop on the ninth pitch of the plate appearance.

New York had not won a game while allowing double-digit runs since beating Minnesota 14-12 on July 23, 2019.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone described his own feelings as “tough ... for the belly.”

Then he switched his thoughts to his players.

“You get a lead, then you get another lead, and then it’s gone,” he said. "For the guys, maybe it was good to have a game like that where it was a little messy."

___

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

Wearing formal office wear, reading glasses and leather shoes, the 68-year-old leader said he did the impromptu workout to ease any worry about his health at a time when people were already beset with problems sparked by the war in the Middle East.

“I challenge anyone who are saying that I am sick, that they come and exercise with me,” Marcos told reporters. “You come to the gym with me. Let’s see who can lift the weights better.”

“Those people who tell you that I’m sick, that I’m paralyzed, they’re all liars,” Marcos said.

Rumors about the president’s deteriorating health and even death have swirled on social media after he briefly vanished from public view in January then later acknowledged in a video message that he was taken to a hospital for an abdominal ailment that he ascribed to stress and age.

Marcos then laughed off rumors of his demise and said he had been diagnosed with diverticulitis. The condition involves inflammation of small pouches in the digestive tract, usually in the colon, that causes pain, fever, nausea or constipation.

His last hospital checkup a couple of months ago showed he had been cured of that ailment, Marcos said, and added that he was back on normal diet and was regularly exercising.

When asked if he was taking any maintenance medicine, Marcos said he was taking medication for gout and for high blood pressure.

Since taking office in mid-2022, Marcos has grappled with multiple complex problems and political dilemmas.

Those include an increasingly hostile territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea, devastating earthquakes, typhoons and flooding, economic difficulties, tumultuous relations with his vice president and a corruption scandal involving powerful legislators and allies that has sparked public outrage.

The March export data released by China’s customs agency Tuesday missed analysts’ estimates and was sharply down from the 21.8% export growth recorded for January and February.

Imports last month surged 27.8%, up from the 19.8% year-on-year increase in the first two months of this year.

Technology-related exports including a jump in shipments of semiconductors from China on the global artificial intelligence boom have powered its robust exports in early 2026, but economists say impacts from the prolonged Iran war could affect overall global demand for Chinese exports this year.

“China’s exports have decelerated as the Iran war starts to affect global demand and supply chains,” said Gary Ng, a senior economist for Asia Pacific at French bank Natixis.

Despite the significant rebound in China's export growth in January and February, external demand is likely to weaken due to the war's energy shock, Bank of America economists led by Helen Qiao wrote in a recent research note. The risks will "arise from a persistent global slowdown in overall demand if the conflict lasts longer than currently expected,” they wrote.

But economists, including those from Bank of America, also noted that the energy supply disruptions could further strengthen global demand for China’s renewable energy technologies such as solar cells, wind turbines and electric vehicles, while enduring semiconductor demand on the AI frenzy is expected to help export momentum.

“Despite the energy price shock, exports should stay solid in the coming quarters, thanks to strong demand for semiconductors and green technologies,” wrote Zichun Huang, a China economist at Capital Economics in a note Tuesday.

The late timing of the Lunar New Year, which fell in mid-February, probably also negatively impacted China's export data last month with some holiday-related disruptions spilling over, Huang added.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s elevated tariffs on Chinese exports and tensions between Washington and Beijing have also been straining China’s shipments to the U.S. over the past months, with China stepping up its exports to other regions including Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Analysts are also closely watching Trump’s planned visit to Beijing in May to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping following a delay due to the Iran war.

China's exports to the U.S. fell 26.5% year-on-year in March, widening from a 11% drop in January and February, while those to the European Union and Southeast Asia rose 8.6% and 6.9%, respectively.

Chinese leaders have set an annual economic growth target for 2026 of 4.5% to 5%, the lowest since 1991. China met its “around 5%” economic growth target for 2025 on strong exports — with a record high $1.2 trillion trade surplus — and analysts say exports likely will continue to be a key driver for maintaining economic expansion this year as a prolonged property sector slump in China weighed on domestic demand and investments.

Some economists believe China has so far been relatively well-positioned in shielding itself from the impacts from the Iran war, which has sent fuel prices surging and is threatening worsening global inflation. China’s vast oil reserves and diversified energy sources mean it’s less affected by the fallout from the war, including shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy transport, they said.

Sony Pictures unveiled new footage from “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” Monday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, in which Zendaya’s character MJ apparently has a boyfriend.

Five years after “Spider-Man: No Way Home” became a sensation in theaters, earning over $1.9 billion worldwide thanks in part to the appearance of past Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, the webslinger’s fourth standalone movie is one of the most hotly anticipated of the summer. Its trailer already broke records, with over 1 billion views in its first four days.

Tom Holland, in a video message, told the exhibitors in the audience that it’s the most emotional Spider-Man movie yet, and “the most grown-up.” He introduced an early scene in the new film showing the aftermath of his decision at the end of “No Way Home.” In the sequence, he attends a housewarming party for MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned and introduces himself as “Maynard … just a neighbor from across the hall.”

Destin Daniel Cretton, who made the Marvel movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” stepped in to direct this newest “Spider-Man,” which opens in theaters on July 31.

Sony Pictures has for years kicked off the annual conference and trade show for movie theater owners, where throughout the week Hollywood's major studios bring out stars and new footage hoping to wow the people putting their films on the big screen. The studio announced the development of an R-rated adaptation of the video game “Bloodborne,” and the release date of “Godzilla Minus One” director Takashi Yamazaki’s English language debut, “Grand Gear,” which will begin filming soon. It’s scheduled to hit theaters on Feb. 18, 2028.

They also debuted new footage from the “Spider-Verse” finale, revealed the title of the next “Jumanji” movie — “Open World” — previewed “Weapons” filmmaker Zach Cregger's “Resident Evil,” and gave the audience a first look at Jeremy Strong playing Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin's “The Social Reckoning,” a companion piece to “The Social Network.”

Oscar-winner Mikey Madison (“Anora”) plays Facebook engineer Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White is then-Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz in the film, which comes out in October. Haugen leaked thousands of pages of internal Facebook records to the Journal, yielding a 2021 investigation known as the “Facebook Files.” The series of stories alleged the social media giant was prioritizing profits over safety and hiding its own research from investors and the public.

“It was time to say more,” said Sorkin, who described this film as “a real David and Goliath story.”

In the footage, Strong's Zuckerberg quips that he's “a professional defendant” and pushes back on an adviser saying, “I’m not two years out of a dorm room anymore.”

Sony Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman said he believes “it’s going to be an Olympic level movie year overall” while also acknowledging the industry’s “serious challenges” including that admissions have been down since before the pandemic.

Studios, he said, need to deliver a variety of great films for all audiences. He also made some recommendations for theaters, imploring them to enforce longer theatrical windows “even if that means you cannot play every film,” to get rid of endless advertising before films and make going to the theater more affordable.

“I’m not heckling,” Rothman said. “I’m rooting for you.”

The lower-key four-day Australian visit comes after the couple announced in 2020 they planned to “step back” as senior royals and to become financially independent in their Californian base.

The Sussexes describe their visit as privately funded, and they flew to Melbourne business class from Los Angeles on a commercial Qantas Airways flight. But there have been public complaints about the added security costs for police agencies as the couple visits Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

The cost of security explains why the couple won’t be greeted by thousands of people at public events as they were during their 16-day tour as newlyweds in 2018 to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.

The couple’s children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, are not traveling with them. Meghan announced she was pregnant with their first child while she was in Sydney in 2018.

Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper descried the latest visit as a ”faux royal tour to shore up Brand Sussex.”

There have been criticisms of the couple attending paid ticketed events while in Australia.

The Sussexes reject criticisms that the visit is a publicity tour.

“The program is rooted in long-standing areas of work for the Duke and the Duchess, with a clear focus on amplifying organizations delivering measurable impact. The visit prioritises listening, learning and supporting communities rather than promotion,” the Sussexes' office said in a statement.

There were also “a small number of private engagements” to “support broader commercial, charitable and commercial objectives,” the statement said.

Afua Hagan, a media commentator on the British royal family, said the news media typically portrayed the Sussexes as “villains.”

“This is a privately funded trip. To pay for that, they’re going to have to have some commercial interest,” Hagan told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“If they didn’t have commercial interest, the problem would be: ‘Oh my goodness, these people are leeching off the Royal Family and the taxpayers whether or not they’re making their own money. How dare they make their own money.’ They can’t do right for doing wrong,” Hagan added.

Giselle Bastin, a Flinders University expert on the British royals, said the Sussexes’ decision to use their titles to pursue private interests will be perceived by many as a conflict of interest.

“It’s well known that the Sussexes are in dire need of income and so a staging of a quasi-royal tour to Australia is being regarded as a rather desperate attempt to monetise their status as royalty,” she said.

Their first public engagement was at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II opened the facility in 1963 and his parents, Princess Diana and the then-Prince Charles, visited in 1985.

The Sussexes shook hands with dozens of well-wishers and were filmed by hundreds of onlookers' phones as they entered the hospital foyer.

When asked by a reporter what he looked forward to most about his Australian visit, Harry replied: “Everything.”

“It's good to be back,” he added.

Also in Melbourne, Meghan is scheduled to visit a women’s shelter and Harry a veterans’ art museum.

Harry will visit the Australian War Memorial in the national capital, Canberra. The couple will join an Invictus Australia sailing event on Sydney Harbor.

The 2018, the couple hosted the opening of the Invictus Games in Sydney. Harry founded the sporting event in 2014 where sick and injured military personnel and veterans compete.

Once a leading candidate to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, Swalwell suspended his campaign — then announced he would resign from Congress — following allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman. A lengthy lineup of remaining candidates is scheduled to gather Tuesday in Sacramento, their first public appearance together since Swalwell's departure reshaped the wide-open contest.

Meanwhile, lawyers said a woman would detail new allegations of misconduct against Swalwell on Tuesday in Beverly Hills.

In a crowded race with no clear leader in the heavily Democratic state, Swalwell's exit presents an opportunity for his one-time rivals to pick off former supporters just weeks before mail ballots go to voters in early May. The outcome of the June 2 primary election featuring more than 50 candidates is unpredictable.

Democrats have feared for months that the large field of candidates dividing the vote could result in the party being locked out of the November election, with only Republicans appearing on the general election ballot under a quirk in the state's election rules.

Republicans, meanwhile, have yet to settle on a preferred candidate. President Donald Trump endorsed conservative commentator Steve Hilton, but Republicans at a state convention did not endorse a candidate for governor, with Hilton splitting support with Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff.

No clear beneficiary with Swalwell out

Swalwell’s decision to suspend his campaign Sunday followed allegations published in the San Francisco Chronicle and later by CNN. He remained defiant, saying, “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

On Monday, he said he planned to resign from Congress but did not provide a date for his departure. He wrote on X that it was unfair for his constituents to have him distracted from his duties. He said he would continue to fight the allegations against him and added, “I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

It's difficult to predict where Swalwell's supporters will go, and it's possible they could scatter across the field of seven established Democrats remaining in the race, with some voters losing interest in the contest.

Swalwell is perhaps best known nationally as a House manager in Trump’s second impeachment trial in early 2021, and he didn't have strong ties to Democrats across the state outside his San Francisco Bay Area district.

Democrats have been struggling to find traction with voters.

Billionaire hedge fund manager-turned-liberal activist Tom Steyer has tapped his personal fortune to blanket media with ads. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is trying for a comeback after he flopped in a 2018 run for governor, and Katie Porter is among the leading Democrats after she fell short in a 2024 run for U.S. Senate.

Porter posted a line from a San Francisco Chronicle column on X saying “Democrats can pull victory from the jaws of defeat by coalescing around Porter.” Steyer said he secured the support of a handful of lawmakers, including Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat whose coastal district runs north of San Francisco, not far from Swalwell’s home turf. Villaraigosa pitched a new ad promising to lower gas and grocery costs in a state known for its punishing cost of living.

While Swalwell has suspended his campaign, his name cannot be removed from the ballot.

“Nobody has really caught fire,” said Democratic consultant Andrew Acosta, who is not involved in the campaign. Swalwell’s supporters “will scatter out to other candidates.”

Many Democrats hoped former Vice President Kamala Harris, or U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, would enter the contest, but they declined.

Lawmakers switch support

In Sacramento, a handful of state lawmakers quickly switched their support from Swalwell to Steyer. Democratic Assemblymember Nick Schultz said he believes Steyer will put in the work to form strong relationships with the legislature. Steyer’s business background — he has never held public office — means he’ll challenge the status quo, Schultz added.

Democratic Assemblymember Corey Jackson — who also shifted to Steyer — said he wanted to back a candidate who had a legitimate chance of winning. He said in a statement that he and Steyer shared a “commitment to building an economy rooted in dignity for working people.”

San Jose’s Democratic Mayor Matt Mahan, running for governor in his first statewide election, sought to distinguish his record from Steyer and Hilton, the Republican candidate known for hosting a show on Fox News for six years.

With Swalwell out, “now we have a field that’s got a billionaire who made his fortune investing in private prisons, ICE facilities, oil and gas companies … and a MAGA-backed TV commentator on the other hand,” Mahan said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe.”

“California deserves so much better,” Mahan said.

Swalwell’s swift downfall came amid rising pressure for him to leave Congress. He earlier lost the support of powerful labor unions that had backed his candidacy, along with one-time allies, including California U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Jimmy Gomez.

Leo’s arrival in Algiers marks the start of an 11-day tour of four African nations — Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea — that will bring the first U.S.-born pope deep into the growing heart of the Catholic Church.

Leo is in Algeria to promote Christian-Muslim coexistence in the majority Muslim nation at a time of global conflict, and to honor the locally born inspiration of his religious spirituality, St. Augustine.

The trip began, however, against the backdrop of a growing feud between the Leo and Trump over the Iran war. Trump overnight said he didn’t think Leo was doing a good job as pope and suggested he should “stop catering to the Radical Left.”

Leo responded by saying his appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he didn’t fear the Trump administration.

‘Neocolonial tendencies’

In his first remarks in Algiers, Leo tied his current appeal for peace to the country's struggle for independence from France, obtained in 1962. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the revolution during which French forces tortured detainees, disappeared suspects and devastated villages as part of a strategy to maintain a grip on power.

“God desires peace for every nation, a peace that is not merely an absence of conflict but one that is an expression of justice and dignity,” Leo told a crowd of several thousand people at the monument to Algeria’s martyrs.

At a later meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and other government authorities, Leo praised Algerians for their solidarity and respect for one another, which he said provided an important perspective today “on the global balance of power.”

“Today, this is more urgent than ever in the face of continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies,” he said without elaborating, though he has previously spoken about Russia's war in Ukraine, the Iran war and Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon.

Great Mosque visit

Leo's visit dominated news headlines in Algeria, where a tiny Catholic community of around 9,000 people made up mostly of foreigners exists alongside the Sunni Muslim majority of about 47 million.

El Moudjahid, a state-run daily newspaper, declared that “the planet is staring at Algeria,” while Arabic-language daily Echorouk wrote that “the land of peace and coexistence speaks to the world.”

Leo visited the country's Great Mosque and stood silently with his hands clasped in front of him, as if in prayer. He thanked the mosque rector for receiving him in this “divine space, space of God” that is also a study center.

“Through this place of prayer, through the search for truth, including through study and through the ability to recognize the dignity of every human being, we know — and today’s gathering is proof of this — that we can learn to respect one another, live in harmony, and build a world of peace,” Leo said in Italian in a rare, off-the-cuff comment.

Tebboune hailed the historic nature of Leo's visit and the pride Algerians felt over St. Augustine, “a cherished son of this land.”

But others downplayed the significance of the visit.

“God’s religion is Islam, which has illuminated this land for 14 centuries,” said Lamia Sellimi, a literature teacher at a high school near the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa. “Algerians are deeply attached to their religion, which is one of the foundations of our identity. As such, this visit is merely a circumstantial event.”

A violent past of martyrs

Algeria fought a civil war in the 1990s that is known locally as the “black decade,” when around 250,000 people were killed as the army fought an Islamist insurgency. Among them were 19 Catholics, including seven Trappist monks from the Tibhirine monastery south of Algiers, who were kidnapped and killed in 1996 by Islamic fighters. Also among them were two nuns from Leo’s Augustinian religious family.

All 19 were beatified in 2018 as martyrs for the faith in what was then the first such beatification ceremony in the Muslim world.

Leo paid homage to the 19 martyrs and visited the remaining Augustinian nuns who run a social services project out of the Algiers basilica that helps people of all faiths.

The Algiers archbishop likes to remind audiences that Leo was elected on May 8, the Catholic feast day of the 19 martyrs. Immediately after Leo’s election, Vesco invited him to visit.

Leo has also made a mantra out of one of the sayings of the martyred prior of the Tibherine monastery, Christian de Chergé, who spoke of an “unarmed and disarming peace.” Leo has cited the line starting from the night of his election.

Personal and pastoral visit

Leo's Augustinian religious order was inspired by the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo, the fifth-century theological and philosophical titan of the early Christian church who was born in what is today Algeria and spent all but five years of his life there.

On Tuesday, Leo will visit Annaba, the modern-day Hippo where St. Augustine was bishop for three decades, and will literally walk in the footsteps of the saint.

From his first public words as pope, Leo proclaimed himself a “son of St. Augustine,” and he has repeatedly cited the church father in speeches and homilies.

“I don’t know if I have seen a statement, a homily, an apostolic letter or exhortation that doesn’t reference Augustine,” said Paul Camacho, associate director of the Augustinian Institute at Villanova University, Leo’s Augustinian-run alma mater outside Philadelphia. “The shadow that he casts on Western thought, not just the Roman Catholic Church but on Western thought more broadly, is very, very long indeed.”

___

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 local nonprofit uses the cutouts as an entry point for conversations that can feel uncomfortable, but advocates say are necessary. Participants are encouraged to decorate the figures with children, using the activity to introduce age-appropriate safety language and identify trusted adults kids can go to for help.

“It’s an art project, right? So it’s not like sitting down and having this uncomfortable conversation,” ChildSafe President and CEO Randy McGibeny said.

Schools are often first to notice changes

Child abuse “happens in every ZIP code, every neighborhood,” and educators are often among the first adults outside the home to notice when something is wrong, counselors and prevention leaders said.

“Teachers can see, or staff members can see and notice any changes in their moods, any physical appearance changes,” said Rosemary Morales, director of guidance and counseling for South San Antonio Independent School District.

Morales said warning signs may not look like the obvious bruises many people associate with abuse.

“They also can start feeling anxious. They can also be afraid to go home,” Morales said.

Texas law requires school staff to report suspected child abuse to Child Protective Services within 24 hours of becoming aware of allegations.

A campaign that’s grown to tens of thousands of cutouts

ChildSafe works with children and families after abuse has occurred, but also focuses on prevention. The “Cardboard Kids” effort has expanded significantly since it began.

“We started out with just a few thousand for that 2014 year, and now we’re over 85,000 Cardboard Kids,” said Ana Munoz, ChildSafe’s director of education.

Munoz said the cutouts are meant to be more than a symbol.

“We say, ‘It’s not just cardboard,’” she said.

During decorating, Munoz said, caregivers can practice teaching children how to say no and what to do if someone does not respect boundaries.

“When you’re decorating the eyes, and you’re decorating the mouth, let’s talk about things that, you know, what should we be saying? How do you say no in a powerful way? And if someone doesn’t respect your no, who do you go to?” Munoz said.

ChildSafe has also rolled out caregiver and professional resources intended to make those conversations easier.

“We’ve launched another set of caregiver resources, professional resources, so they can have that language and they’re not so afraid to have those conversations at home,” Munoz said.

‘My Body Safety’ resources emphasize clear, simple rules

Among the resources are “My Body Safety” workbooks that use straightforward examples for young children, Munoz said.

“So simple as, you know, if your body is covered by a bathing suit, those are the places that no one should be touching, no one should be asking for you to touch and what do you do if that happens?” she said.

Munoz also encourages caregivers to help children distinguish between safe surprises and unsafe secrets.

“I call it the tummy flip rule,” Munoz said, describing guidance to tell children that a feeling of discomfort in the pit of their stomach can be a sign they should talk to a trusted adult.

Leaders say community stress can fuel higher abuse numbers

McGibeny said Bexar County continues to report some of the highest child abuse numbers in Texas.

“I think the biggest precursor that we have in Bexar County, unfortunately, is that we don’t have a lot of corporate positions here in the community,” he said.

McGibeny said when families lack resources, stress and anxiety can rise at home and can contribute to abuse.

“If I lack the resources to provide as a caregiver or for my children inside the home, then I can’t adequately provide for them, and that raises stress and anxiety inside the home, which oftentimes turns into child abuse,” McGibeny said.

He said community members may not be able to change broader economic conditions, but they can take steps to build awareness and start conversations.

“When we don’t talk about it, we perpetuate the child abuse issue in our community,” McGibeny said.

Munoz said the goal is not to put responsibility on children.

“We don’t expect children to protect themselves,” Munoz said. ”We expect to give them language so they can get help if they need it.”

How to participate

ChildSafe’s website offers free downloadable resources connected to the “Cardboard Kids” campaign, including materials for caregivers.

For more information, click here.

Read also:

• Scholarship supports UTSA student after father died while serving in the military

Trump later suggested he was willing to engage with Iran, saying he had spoken to “the other side.” This came after he warned on social media that Iranian warships coming “anywhere close” to the U.S. blockade would be destroyed.

Ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran ended Sunday without an agreement, raising questions about what happens when the current two-week truce expires on April 22. The Israeli military, meanwhile, pushed ahead with its offensive in southern Lebanon, engaging in fierce fighting with Hezbollah militants over a strategic town, while the group fires rockets and drones at northern Israel.

Here is the latest:

China’s export growth slows as war raises uncertainty

China’s exports grew 2.5% in March from a year ago, significantly slowing from the previous two months as uncertainties rose from the Iran war and its impact on energy prices and global demand.

The March export data released by China’s customs agency Tuesday missed analysts’ estimates and was sharply down from the 21.8% export growth recorded for January and February.

Technology-related exports including a jump in shipments of semiconductors from China on the global artificial intelligence boom have powered its robust exports in early 2026, but economists say impacts from the prolonged Iran war could affect overall global demand for Chinese exports this year.

Israeli military says soldier killed in Lebanon

Israel’s military said a reserve soldier was killed and three others wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon.

The military said late Monday that the reservist killed was a firefighting vehicle driver.

The death brought the number of Israeli soldiers killed in the current war in Lebanon to 13.

Pakistan proposes second round of talks in Islamabad

Pakistan has proposed hosting a second round of talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad in the coming days, before the end of the ceasefire, two Pakistani officials said.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the press, said the proposal would depend on whether the parties request a different location.

One of the officials said that, despite ending without an agreement, the first talks were part of an ongoing diplomatic process rather than a one-off effort.

— By Munir Ahmed

Vance says Iranians made ‘some progress’ in talks on nuclear issues

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” that negotiations “did make some progress” in the Islamabad talks on the U.S. insistence on the removal of nuclear material from Iran as well as a mechanism to ensure uranium cannot be enriched in the future.

“They moved in our direction,” Vance said in the interview. He said he thought Iranian negotiators were “unable to cut a deal” and needed to get approval from others in Tehran.

Vance also said that U.S. negotiators made clear that Trump “would be very happy if Iran was treated like a normal country, if it had a normal economy,” but he did not go into details about what he meant.

“There really is, I think, a grand deal to be had here. But, it’s up to the Iranians, I think, to take the next step,” Vance said.

The White House won’t say if talks are in the works

The White House was not responsive to queries about whether new talks were being weighed.

“President Trump, Vice President Vance and the negotiating team have made the U.S. red lines very clear. The Iranians desperation for a deal will only increase with President Trump’s highly effective Naval blockade now in effect,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

US and Iran could be headed toward a second round of talks, AP sources say

The sides are weighing new in-person negotiations in a bid to reach a deal aimed at ending their six-week war before the ceasefire expires next week, two U.S. officials and person familiar with the development said.

The three said discussions were still underway about a new round of talks, while a diplomat from one of the mediating countries went further to say Tehran and Washington have agreed to it.

All four spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic negotiations.

It’s unclear if the same level of delegation would be expected to attend, the diplomat and U.S. officials said.

The diplomat and U.S. officials said Islamabad, Pakistan, was once again being discussed as the host location. The U.S. officials also said Geneva was a possibility, and that while the venue and timing had not been decided, the talks could happen Thursday.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Trump told reporters earlier Monday that “we’ve been called by the other side” and “they want to work a deal.”

— By Farnoush Amiri, Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee

Official says Iran is seeking compensation from 5 Middle East countries

Iran’s representative to the United Nations has demanded compensation from countries it says participated in the U.S. and Israeli war effort against Iran.

Iran’s state media report the nations include Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, said that the U.N. representative, Amir-Saeid Iravani, claimed the countries had violated international law and had to “make full compensation for the damages caused to the Islamic Republic of Iran, including payment of compensation for all material and moral damages resulting from their international violations.”

Many US Catholics dismayed by Trump’s verbal attack on Pope Leo

A majority of U.S. Catholic voters supported Trump in his 2024 presidential victory.

Yet across the broad Catholic political spectrum – even among conservative-leaning bishops – there is dismay over Trump’s unprecedented verbal assault on Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead their church.

Leo says he is sharing a Gospel message and not directly attacking Trump or anyone else with his appeals for peace and criticism of attitudes fueling the Iran war.

Criticism of Trump came from Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and from Minnesota-based Bishop Robert Barron, who only a few days ago was applauding Trump as an Easter guest at the White House.

Barron called the president’s remarks “entirely inappropriate and disrespectful” and urged him to apologize.

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Thune says US has been ‘effective’ in Iran war but needs a plan to end it

“They do need a plan for how to wind this down, how to get an outcome that actually leads to a safer, more secure Middle East and, by extension, a stronger national security position for the United States,” the Senate majority leader told reporters after returning from a two-week recess Monday.

On Trump’s blockade of ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, Thune said that “penalizing those who do business with the Iranians may get people’s attention,” including China, which depends on energy in the region.

“That probably more than anything else right now, is going to be the key issue to resolving the situation, getting the Iranians to the table,” Thune said.

Majority Leader Thune says White House spending request for war ‘has been scaled back’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says it’s his understanding that a potential request from the White House to pay for the Iran war has been scaled back, but he did not give a specific number.

Congress is still waiting for the request, which could total hundreds of billions of dollars. The Pentagon sent the White House a request for $200 billion last month, but Trump has not yet asked Congress to approve any new amount for the war.

Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, told reporters that the request will be an “inflection point” for Republicans, as Congress will have to vote to approve it. That is a “power that Congress has to influence what happens there,” he said.

UN says Israel has opened second crossing for aid deliveries to Gaza

The U.N. humanitarian office reports that Israeli authorities reopened the Zikim crossing into northern Gaza for the first time in more than 40 days, the U.N. spokesperson said.

Five international aid groups recently said humanitarian conditions in Gaza have deteriorated further since the Iran war began.

Over the weekend, supplies were unloaded, and the U.N. resumed collecting the cargo inside Gaza on Monday, starting with food, nutrition products and other humanitarian items, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Opening the Zikim crossing “will help address a critical need by allowing supplies to enter northern Gaza directly, so we don’t have to truck them from the south,” where Kemen Shalom is the only other crossing open for goods, he said.

But despite the opening, Dujarric said, “Major constraints remain.”

He pointed to Israeli customs clearance delays, insufficient screening capacity, which makes approval for critical items difficult, and blanket bans on some U.N. agencies and partner organizations “that are central and critical to the joint humanitarian response in Gaza.”

Global financial organizations warn of oil shock

The directors of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the International Energy Agency said Monday that the war’s damage to energy facilities could keep fuel and fertilizer prices high for “a prolonged period.”

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said the disruptions to oil supplies from the conflict is “the greatest energy security challenge in history.” One-third of the 80 Mideast energy facilities his agency is monitoring have been damaged.

Birol spoke at IMF headquarters after meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, and Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank.

Birol warned that April could be worse than March for the world economy because many fuel shipments from before the war were still arriving in ports last month.

U.S. oil prices were $98 a barrel in afternoon trading, after topping $100 earlier Monday.

US military has 16 warships in the Middle East

But military officials have offered few details about how a blockade of Iranian ports would actually work.

Aside from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy has 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, and a littoral combat ship, all in the waters of the Middle East, a defense official said.

A second defense official says no U.S. warships are in the Persian Gulf — the body of water that forms most of Iran’s coastline.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

Trump said the blockade had taken effect Monday.

The second defense official pointed to a notice to mariners as a more accurate representation of the military’s plans. It says access to Iranian ports is being restricted, but how these measures “will be applied in practice ... are in development.”

— By Konstantin Toropin

Oil prices ease back from their morning spurts as US stocks rally on a still-hopeful Wall Street

The S&P 500 rallied 1% Monday and is back to within 1.3% of its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.2%.

Even in the oil market, where prices jumped above $100 per barrel after ceasefire talks failed to end the war, prices pared their leaps as Monday progressed. The moves for financial markets overall were much more modest than the extreme swings that have hit since the war began in late February.

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Naval blockades can be a tool for applying pressure

Blockades alone typically don’t settle military conflicts, but they can be a way of exerting pressure on an adversary’s economy, experts tell the AP. That’s likely President Donald Trump’s intention in declaring a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

Blockades are “very much a gradual tool,” said Sidharth Kaushal, a naval power expert at the Royal United Services Institute defense and security think tank in London.

Throughout history, blockades have been a way for one power to drain another’s economy by disrupting the flow of goods in and out of a country. But they take time, and can also require significant resources by the blockading force.

“It’s a form of economic warfare,” said Raul Pedrozo, professor of international law at the U.S. Naval War College.

Navigating the legal questions of a US blockade

To meet international law, a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz must be officially announced and effectively and impartially enforced, legal experts tell the AP.

“You have to apply it to everybody going in and out of Iran,” said Raul Pedrozo, professor of international law at the U.S. Naval War College. “It doesn’t just apply to people we don’t like.”

The requirements are to warn mariners of any blockade and ensure it is enforced fairly and responsibly. International law experts will also be watching to see if the U.S. allows humanitarian aid, food or medicine to reach Iran.

“How it is carried out will determine whether it is lawful or not,” Todd Huntley, a retired Navy captain and director of Georgetown University’s National Security Law Program.

Netanyahu focuses on Iran in Holocaust speech

The Israeli leader says the war against Iran was a powerful contrast to the Holocaust.

In an address marking Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial day, Netanyahu said that while Jews were like an “abused animal crying in agony” at the hands of the Nazis, the modern state of Israel fights back against its enemies.

He then listed several Iranian nuclear sites alongside Nazi death camps.

“Had we not acted, the names Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan and Parchin might have been remembered eternally in infamy, just like Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek, and Sobibor,” he said.

Netanyahu often uses the annual address to lash out at Iran.

Finnish president says he doesn’t see US withdrawal from NATO; allies will assist after Iran war ends

During a panel on Monday, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said that he “sees no signs” of America abandoning the trans-Atlantic alliance despite Trump’s threats over NATO countries’ refusal to help with the Strait of Hormuz.

“So don’t underestimate the interest of the United States to stay engaged with the alliance,” Stubb said at an event at the Brookings Institution.

The European leader has often leveraged his good relationship with Trump — the two men have played golf together and speak regularly — to argue against his “America First” posturing. Stubb also reiterated that a “coalition of the willing” would help ensure the critical waterway was opened after the war ended.

“It’s my job as president of Finland to try to save the situation and convince the Americans that without allies, it’s difficult to project power,” he said.

At least 2 tankers turn around after approaching the Strait of Hormuz

The vessel-tracker MarineTraffic said in a post on the social platform X that the ships reversed course within minutes of approaching the critical waterway, shortly after the U.S. blockade began.

It said one of the tankers departed the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah anchorage on Monday, bound for China. It was not immediately clear where the second vessel was headed.

Iran war has some US water utilities facing a fluoride shortage

It’s not just gas prices: Some U.S. water utilities are reporting that the war is disrupting their ability to maintain recommended fluoride levels in the drinking water.

The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies says it expects additional shortages as the war stresses the supply chain. Israel is a major supplier of the chemical used to fluoridate drinking water.

The number of water utilities affected so far is small, but the shortage is affecting hundreds of thousands of people.

Dentists say a short-term drop in fluoride levels should be fine for most people, but longer-term disruptions could put Americans, especially young children, at higher risk for tooth decay.

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Trump says ‘we’ve been called by the other side’ but offers no details on conversation

Speaking outside the Oval Office on Monday, Trump suggested the U.S. is still willing to engage with Iran to negotiate a resolution.

“I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side,” Trump said, adding, “We’ve been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal.”

Trump did not say who called or what was discussed.

Trump confirms that Strait of Hormuz blockade started at 10 am Monday

“We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world because that’s what they’re doing,” Trump said of Iran.

Trump repeated his argument that safeguarding the strait is of greater concern to other parts of the globe than the United States. The effective closure of the strait since the start of the war, however, impacts global oil prices — which has led to surging gas prices for American motorists and rising inflation on other goods.

“We don’t use this strait,” Trump said. “We have our own oil and gas, much more than we need.”

Trump says he won’t apologize to Pope Leo over Iran war criticisms

Trump is refusing to apologize for sharply criticizing Pope Leo, saying that the pontiff “went public” in his criticisms of the war in Iran, and “I’m just responding.”

In comments to reporters outside the Oval Office, Trump added, “There’s nothing to apologize for” and said of Leo, “He’s wrong.”

Trump was also asked about posting an image of himself as a saintlike healer, which seemed to draw comparisons between himself and Jesus Christ.

The image was posted Sunday night and drew widespread condemnation from Evangelical Christian leaders and has since been taken down.

Trump said, “I did post it.” But he suggested it had something to do with the Red Cross and insisted: “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better.”

Iranian official says US blockade will backfire

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei derided the blockade as a “revenge of choice” against the global economy.

“Is it ever worthwhile to cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face?!” he wrote on the social platform X.

OPEC oil production tumbled before US threatened blockade

The closure of the strait severely crimped output from OPEC last month. The 12-nation oil cartel, with members in the Middle East, Africa and Venezuela, said Monday that production tumbled by 7.89 million barrels a day in March, to 20.79 million barrels.

“Disruptions to shipping operations in the region raised persistent concerns about regional supply flows, while strong buying of prompt spot market barrels, production cuts, and declarations of force majeure further supported the upward price momentum,” OPEC said.

The organization said demand appears to be steady this year, but cut its forecast for the current quarter, citing the war.

Netanyahu spokeswoman rules out a ceasefire with Hezbollah

Shosh Bedrosian told reporters Monday that Israel’s upcoming talks with Lebanon will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between the two countries.

“We will not discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah, which continues to carry out indiscriminate attacks against Israel and our civilians,” she said.

Israel and the Lebanese army have both been unable to forcibly disarm Hezbollah.

US-Iran ceasefire is holding despite failed peace talks, Pakistan’s prime minister says

Efforts are underway to resolve the remaining disputes between Washington and Tehran as a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan remains intact, said the country’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif.

In televised remarks at a Cabinet meeting, Sharif cautioned that peace efforts take time, citing past agreements such as the Geneva accords.

Trump says Iranian ships that come ‘anywhere close’ to US blockade will be destroyed

The president made the comment on social media just after the blockade of Iran was expected to begin. Trump said Iran has some “fast attack ships” remaining even after much of its navy was destroyed by U.S. strikes.

“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He added: “It is quick and brutal.”

Where things stand on ceasefire talks

The current truce between the U.S. and Iran appears to be holding, with no word on whether negotiations will resume before it expires on April 22.

Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said his country will try to facilitate a new round of dialogue between Iran and the U.S. in the coming days. There was no immediate reaction from either side.

A key obstacle seems to be a perception on both sides that they won the war and that each has time on its side.

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Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed 2,089 people during the latest Hezbollah-Israel war

That’s an increase of 34 deaths since the previous day’s count, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. It said Monday that among those killed were 252 women, 166 children, and 88 medical workers.

The number of wounded has increased to 6,762 people since the war began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel in solidarity with Iran, sparking Israel’s ground invasion and aerial bombardment campaign that has displaced over one million people.

Ahead of anticipated direct talks in Washington on Tuesday, the strikes across both sides of the tense frontier and fierce ground fighting in southern Lebanon have intensified.

Stage is set for an extraordinary showdown over shipping off Iran’s coast

The U.S. military has vowed to blockade all Iranian ports to pressure Tehran into agreeing to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz and accepting a peace deal. Iran responded with threats on all the ports of U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The showdown contains serious risks for the global economy and raises the specter that a ceasefire that is currently holding could collapse.

It was not clear if the blockade had started when the designated time of 10 a.m. EDT (2 p.m. GMT) arrived. Minutes earlier, a notice to mariners issued by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, which monitors maritime security, said the restrictions included “the entirety of the Iranian coastline, including ports and energy infrastructure.”

The notice added that transit through the strait “to or from non-Iranian destinations is not reported to be impeded by these measures,” but it added that ships “may encounter military presence” in the strait.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku is on track to barrel over the Northern Mariana Islands late Tuesday local time with widespread rain and flooding along with destructive winds that could cause lengthy power outages, the National Weather Service said.

Guam, a U.S. territory with several American military installations and about 170,000 residents, isn't expected to take a direct hit but still could see damaging winds.

The tropical typhoon — the strongest on Earth so far this year — was producing sustained winds of 173 mph (278 kph) on Monday as it neared the islands of Rota, Tinian and Saipan, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

While it’s expected to weaken slightly over the next few days, Sinlaku should cross by the islands as a Category 4 or 5 typhoon.

The typhoon has stayed mostly on a track that puts it going over or just skirting along Tinian and Saipan, said Joshua Schank, a lead meteorologist in Guam for the weather service.

About 50,000 people live on the three islands, with most on Saipan, known for its laid-back resorts, snorkeling and golf as well as the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Saipan was the site of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles in the Pacific, in which more than 50,000 Japanese and American soldiers and local civilians died.

In Guam, where Typhoon Mawar knocked out power for days in 2023, U.S. military officials warned personnel to prepare for the storm and shelter in place. The military controls about one-third of the land on the island, a critical hub for U.S. forces in the Pacific.

The island already was being hit by heavy rains and wind gusts up to 60 mph (96 kph) very early Tuesday, Schank said. Most businesses were closed and residents were told to stay home, he said.

Before turning toward Guam and the Northern Marianas, the storm left significant damage to the outer islands and atolls of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, said Landon Aydlett, a meteorologist with the weather service on Guam.

Glen Hunter, who grew up on Saipan, has weathered numerous typhoons. “We sit in what they call ‘Typhoon Alley,’" he said early Tuesday after waking up to strong gusts and seeing downed trees.

For the most part, residents live in sturdy, fully concrete homes and those in substandard wooden houses with tin roofs tend to stay with family or in government shelters, he said.

Tourism-dependent Saipan was still recovering from 2018's Super Typhoon Yutu when the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, he recalled. The economy has yet to rebound, he said.

While bracing to take a direct hit, Hunter is also anticipating the possibility of going weeks or months without electricity and running water.

“We’re remote, beautiful islands in the Pacific, which is a plus, but in times of recovery it becomes a massive negative to getting things into our damaged ports, and so what we would hope for is just as much support as we can get from the outside world, the federal government, the military,” he said.

President Donald Trump on Saturday approved emergency disaster declarations for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, allowing for additional help with emergency services.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it is coordinating support across multiple agencies, dispatching almost 100 FEMA staff as well as personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“We are ready to respond to this event,” Robert Fenton, a FEMA regional administrator, said from Guam on Monday afternoon local time. The agency began preparing supplies and staff late last week, he said.

FEMA’s response comes amid the record-long Department of Homeland Security Shutdown, but the agency’s emergency response functions continue during a funding impasse. Over 10,000 disaster personnel are still paid and FEMA’s disaster relief fund — which the agency said had about $3.6 billion around the end of March — can be spent until it runs out.

A super typhoon is a name given to the strongest tropical cyclones that brew in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where Earth’s most intense storms usually form.

Monitored by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Guam, super typhoons are the equivalent of Category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with winds of at least 150 mph (240 kph). There have been more than 300 super typhoons identified since the warning center started using that name nearly 80 years ago.

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Associated Press reporters Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed.

Keiko Fujimori, the conservative daughter of a disgraced former president, and Rafael López Aliaga, the ultra conservative former mayor of Peru’s capital, Lima, lead the pack of 35 candidates with 62% of ballots tallied. Official results showed Fujimori had received 16.88% of the votes tallied, while López Aliaga earned 13.88%.

Electoral authorities counted votes throughout Monday even though thousands of Peruvians were back at the polls for a second day of voting. Authorities granted the one-day extension for more than 52,000 voters in Lima as well as to Peruvians registered to vote in Orlando, Florida, and Paterson, New Jersey.

Voting is mandatory for Peruvians from the ages of 18 to 70. Failure to do so comes with a fine of up to $32.

“I’m fed up,” Iris Valle, 56, said as she waited to vote Monday at a public school in Lima. She feared that her employer would cut her pay for not showing up early because she had to meet her voting obligation.

A presidential candidate needs more than 50% of votes to win outright. However, a runoff in June is virtually assured given the deeply divided electorate and the pool of candidates, the largest in the Andean country’s history. The winner will be Peru’s ninth president in just 10 years.

The election took place amid a surge in violent crime and corruption that has fueled widespread discontent among voters, who largely view candidates as dishonest and unprepared for the presidency.

Many of the contenders responded to the crime concerns with wide-ranging proposals, including building megaprisons, restricting food for prisoners and reinstating the death penalty for serious crimes.

Peru’s economy, however, has defied both the crime surge and the political instability stemming from a revolving door of presidents, having had three since October alone. Aided by its status as the world’s second-largest copper producer, the country posted more than 3% growth in 2024 and 2025.

In her fourth bid for the presidency, Fujimori has promised to crack down on crime with an iron fist, but she has also defended laws that experts say make it difficult to prosecute criminals. The laws, which her party backed in recent years, eliminated preliminary detention in certain cases and raised the threshold for seizing criminal assets.

If elected, she has said judges presiding over criminal cases will be anonymous and prisoners will have to work to earn their food.

Meanwhile, López Aliaga has proposed building prisons in the country’s Amazon region, allowing judges to conceal their identities and expelling foreigners who are living illegally in Peru.

Voters were also asked to choose the members of a bicameral Congress for the first time in more than 30 years, following recent legislative reforms that concentrate significant power in the new upper chamber.

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Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela.

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

Vassell hosted a meet-and-greet Monday afternoon at the Panda Express located at 7979 Bandera Road, drawing a long line of playoff-hungry Spurs fans.

“It just goes to show the amount of support that they have for us,” Vassell said. “Without them, we honestly wouldn’t be here. I just want to say a huge appreciation and shout out to them.”

The event celebrated Panda Express’ collaboration with Buldak on its Dynamite Sweet & Sour Chicken, which the company bills as its spiciest dish to date.

Vassell went behind the counter to serve customers, injecting some playoff energy into the lunchtime crowd.

“It was surreal, honestly,” Vassell said after seeing the hundreds of fans lined up along Bandera Road. “Then, for it to be Panda Express, my childhood, I used to come here and eat all the time. It’s really a full circle moment.”

The Spurs, who wrapped up the regular season and secured home-court advantage in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs, will hold their first practice on Wednesday.

The team is set to face the winner of the Suns and Trail Blazers Play-In Tournament game in the opening round, with Game 1 scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m. inside Frost Bank Center.

Read also:

• Spurs’ playoff return coincides with Fiesta, igniting San Antonio spirit

Gonzales did not say Monday whether his retirement will take place immediately.

The post, which was published at 5:30 p.m. Monday, comes as bipartisan support mounted for expulsion measures against both Gonzales and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.

There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.

— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) April 13, 2026

Gonzales’ announcement came about an hour after Swalwell said he would be resigning from Congress, as he also confronted allegations of sexual misconduct.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-New Mexico, said that congressmembers were “not backing down” on expulsion measures against Gonzales following Swalwell’s announcement.

The Republican representative previously announced he would not seek reelection, following months of scrutiny against him for his affair with Uvalde-based staffer Regina Santos-Aviles and calls to drop his bid from House Republican leadership.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the San Antonio congressman to determine whether he “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his office” and “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”

House rules prohibit members of Congress from engaging in sexual relationships with their employees.

Gonzales refused to address allegations about the affair for months, dodging questions from KSAT in November, which was the first public appearance made since the Sept. 14 report.

The San Antonio Express-News reported that Gonzales also allegedly asked a staffer for nude photos and attempted to start a sexual relationship with her during his 2020 campaign.

Gov. Greg Abbott has the power to call a special election to fill his seat, should he choose to do so.

Bobby Barrera — who is representing Adrian Aviles, Santos-Aviles’ widower — told KSAT in a statement that Gonzales’ resignation was a result of “intense pressure” from other congressional members.

“His resignation was long overdue. And clearly, it only came about as a result of intense pressure from other congressional members,” Barrera said. “It represents a vindication of his victims, including Regina Aviles. But he should get no credit for doing the right thing.”

In a statement to KSAT, Democratic nominee for Congressional District 23 Katy Padilla Stout said Gonzales’ resignation “comes far too late.” Her full statement can be read below:

“Tony Gonzales’ immediate resignation is a necessary step, but it comes far too late and does not undo the damage he caused or the failure of Republican leaders to act. For months, the people of Texas’ 23rd District watched serious allegations met with silence, deflection and inaction.

“The voters of Texas’ 23rd district have had inadequate and corrupt representation for far too long. I look forward to Governor Abbott calling a special election at the earliest possible date to ensure that the people of TX-23 do not go without a voice in Congress.

“The hard working people of this district have not had the full attention of their representative in Congress, as they should. They should be afforded an opportunity to elect a representative from this district who shares their values and work ethic.”

Katy Padilla Stout

Republican nominee for Congressional District 23 Brandon Herrera said in a statement he is “glad to see real repercussions.” His full statement can be read below:

“I am glad to see real repercussions for the heinous sexual improprieties that both Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell have exhibited in Congress. I do however hate that Tony’s actions have left District 23 without representation.

In the meantime, I promise to do everything in my power to advocate for the constituents of this district at a federal level in the interim until I’m able to take the seat officially after November."

Brandon Herrera

The Associated Press and Texas Tribune contributed to this report.

KSAT Investigates has been following through on the allegations against Rep. Tony Gonzales. Read more of our reporting below:

• TIMELINE: Rep. Tony Gonzales’ relationship with staffer Regina Santos-Aviles
• Rep. Tony Gonzales could face expulsion from Congress amid furor over sexual misconduct
• Scandal-ridden U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales drops reelection bid after admitting to affair with staffer
• House Republican leadership urges scandal-ridden Rep. Gonzales to drop out of runoff election
• Before scandal, Rep. Tony Gonzales had complicated relationship with his West Texas constituents
• US Rep. Tony Gonzales addresses affair accusations on YouTube show, says he ‘made a mistake’
• House Ethics Committee to launch investigation into Rep. Gonzales amid affair accusations with staffer
• Congressman Tony Gonzales sought nude photos in text messages from staffer in 2020, new report says
• Santos-Aviles’ pay spiked same year as alleged Gonzales affair
• ‘This isn’t political for me’: Husband of Rep. Tony Gonzales’ former aide says focus is on the facts
• US Rep. Tony Gonzales refuses to address affair allegations months after dodging KSAT Investigates’ questions
• Selfie of Rep. Tony Gonzales and staffer surfaces after affair admission
• ‘This is going too far’: Husband of Rep. Tony Gonzales’ former aide shares texts between his wife, congressman
• ‘I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED’: Rep. Gonzales accuses former aide’s husband of trying to profit from wife’s death, affair
• Attorney: US Rep. Tony Gonzales had affair with aide who died by suicide

On Oct. 26, 2025, a person drove their car through Juan Rodriguez’ bedroom wall while driving on the Loop 410 access road on the Southwest Side.

“This is the fourth time that there’s been a car wreck in my property, but this is the first time it’s gone into the house,” Rodriguez said back in October.

Since then, several neighbors have shared their complaints of the same issue: speeding.

“Come off that exit flying. They ran through our fence like five times, six times,” neighbor Scott said.

Another neighbor, Marcus, said, “I hear them speeding all night.

District 4 City Councilman Edward Mungia previously said the issue isn’t solely in the city’s hands because the access road is maintained by the state.

Mungia said a project is planned to replace the current barrier system.

“They (Texas Department of Transportation) are going to remove those metal barriers that everyone just goes right through when they crash and they’re going to concrete lips all along the access road,” Mungia said. “It’s just a couple feet, two or three feet off the ground, and it’s got just solid concrete ... to help prevent cars from going past that.”

However, he said that project is still about a year away. In the meantime, there are some mitigation steps planned.

“We talked to TxDOT about adding something in the right-of-way, so we have those out in the community, speed radar feedback signs,” Mungia said. “We will also be having SAPD (San Antonio Police Department) do some enforcement.”

For residents like Rodriguez, the wait is the problem, and the proposed stopgaps aren’t enough.

“What we need is speed bumps so that people can actually be forced to slow down,” Rodriguez said.

He said the repeated crashes have also meant repeated costs.

“I literally paid for a lot of this out of my own pocket,” Rodriguez said.

He added that finances are tight.

“My retirement still hasn’t kicked in, so I’m like, the only reason I’m barely hanging on is because of the VA, my VA check, that’s it,” he said.

In the meantime, Rodriguez took his own steps, buying large rocks and placing them near his property.

“So that if it happens again, another car stops here and doesn’t hit our house and doesn’t hurt anybody,” Rodriguez said.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Car plows through Southwest Side bedroom, man says he thought ‘bomb went off’
• Councilman to increase SAPD patrol after car crash into West Side home

Four business owners and a trade association sued the state of Texas and acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock on March 2 over the agency’s emergency rules that removed women and minorities from the HUB program and stripped their businesses of their HUB certifications. The temporary injunction on Monday blocked the emergency rules and re-instituted the plaintiffs’ certifications.

The HUB program was created through bipartisan legislation during the 1990s to give minority- and women-owned businesses a leg up when seeking state contracts. The program does not set quotas for the the number of HUB-certified businesses, but sets goals that state agencies generally strive to meet.

The plaintiffs include Houston-based general contractors Ipsum General Contractors, LLC and Houston Construction Services; Sugarland-based medical technology distributor Mpulse Healthcare & Technology LLC; Burleson-based restoration firm Williams Professional Water Restoration Service LLC; and the greater Houston chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors, a nonprofit trade association that represents 155 minority- and women-owned contractors.

Along with Hancock, the lawsuit also names Texas Department of Transportation Executive Director Marc Williams, Texas Health and Human Services Commission Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth and Texas Facilities Commission Executive Director Will McKerall, whose departments all implemented Hancock’s changes to the HUB program.

Travis County district judge Amy Meachum set a trial date for the suit for Nov. 9.

The background: HUB businesses received 3,634 contracts totaling more than $4 billion in 2024, according to the Comptroller’s Office. Republicans in the state Legislature filed several bills aimed at killing the HUB program entirely last year, but legislation failed in both chambers.

In October, Hancock announced that his office would not issue new or renewed certifications while the program was being reviewed. His decision pushed the program into the national battle over government initiatives seen as those focused on “diversity, equity and inclusion.” The comptroller’s office then cited emergency powers to restructure the program in December, removing all women and minority business and limiting eligibility to only service-disabled veteran business owners.

“Businesses deserve a level playing field where government contracts are earned by performance and best value — not race or sex quotas,” Hancock, who is running in a competitive GOP primary for comptroller, wrote on social media at the time.

That change shrank the program from more than 15,000 participants to just under 500. HUB certified business owners said at the time that the change risked undercutting their business strategy and would hurt their bottom line.

State Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat who co-authored the 1999 bill that codified the program into state law, said the Legislature, not the comptroller, is empowered to change the program.

“The Legislature voted. The answer was no,” West said. “The Comptroller doesn’t get to override that decision because he disagrees with it — that’s not his role under the Texas Constitution, and these business owners deserve to have that principle upheld in court.”

This is the first lawsuit challenging Hancock’s changes to the program.

Why the businesses are suing: During a news conference in Austin announcing the suit in March, the business owners said they are suing because they all lost out on government contracts after Hancock stripped their HUB certification in December.

“In this country, the legislature passes the laws, not the comptroller, and Texas is no different,” Alphonso David, president & CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum, and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, wrote in a statement. “The HUB case highlights a fundamental American principle — members of the executive branch cannot rewrite laws passed by the state legislature. They cannot deny citizens of their legal rights without a court order, legislative approval, or due process.

“Acting Comptroller Hancock took a program created by statute and rewrote it without any legal authority. His actions are baseless and unlawful and must be reversed.”

The businesses ultimately want the court to restore the program to its original form, arguing that Hancock overstepped his statutory authority, deprived them of state contracts without due process and violated the Texas Constitution.

Ruben Mercado Jr., founder of Ipsum General Contractors, said a contract he was drafting a $1 million bid for was withdrawn after Hancock restructured the program in December.

Wendell Stamley, president of the National Association of Minority Contractors, said its members in Texas have seen government contracts canceled and work they were expecting be unexpectedly returned to competitive bidding.

What state officials said: The comptroller’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the injunction granted on Monday. In a statement in March, Hancock defended the changes to HUB by pointing to the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended affirmative action in college admissions and a 2025 executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott that banned DEI policies in Texas agencies.

“Every Texas business is equally eligible to compete for state contracts, regardless of race or gender,” Hancock wrote. “Through the Centralized Master Bidders List, the primary system agencies use to notify vendors of bidding opportunities, any qualified business can register and compete. Texas will continue expanding opportunity for small businesses across our state the right way — rooted in fairness, equal treatment, and the Constitution.”

“I want to continue being proud of all that my city does for our community, but for that, we need transparency and we need communication,” Alexis Saenz, a McAllen resident, told the commissioners. “I demand you reject public funding, approvals and local resources for ICE.”

Saenz was one of nine speakers during McAllen’s city commission meeting who pushed against the possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. A McAllen warehouse located in an industrial park in McAllen’s trade corridor, less than five miles from the Anzalduas International Bridge, was included in a list of potential sites that circulated online in February.

The pushback comes as more residents across the country, including in Texas, are urging their city officials to use their local authority to stop or disincentive ICE’s use of warehouses for the detainment of immigrants.

A Dallas-area facility was also among the potential sites. In February, the facility’s owner, Majestic Realty Co., confirmed it had been contacted about the potential sale of the facility but said it had not and would not enter into any agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the use of the building as a detention facility.

Aside from the location, little is known about ICE’s plans for the McAllen warehouse. At the end of March, DHS paused the purchase of warehouses as part of a review of contracts signed under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

DHS did not respond to questions from The Texas Tribune.

City officials have also not heard from the federal government on the potential facilityremained in the dark.

In a text message to the Tribune, McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos said he had not heard from anyone on the issue.

Making elected officials aware and getting them to address the issue publicly is the first step in possibly preventing the ICE facility from moving forward for Isaac Amani Newman, co-founder of For the People Alliance, a civic engagement organization in the Rio Grande Valley. The group rallied residents to speak at the McAllen meeting. They previously mobilized residents to speak out against a potential data center near the city of Harlingen and helped push city officials there to approve a resolution opposing data centers.

“We need to know where our city leaders even stand on this to begin with,” Newman said.

After the residents made their public comments, cCity commissioner Rudy Castillo said he had not heard of the issue before the meeting but supported placing an item on the agenda to discuss the potential ICE facility.

“I’m glad people came out,” Castillo said. “Our voice will be heard if we speak.”

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

Iran responded with threats on all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, taking aim at U.S.-allied countries.

At least two tankers approaching the strait Monday turned around soon after the U.S. blockade began, vessel tracker MarineTraffic said in a post on X.

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency said the blockade restricted “the entirety of the Iranian coastline, including ports and energy infrastructure.” Its notice to mariners said transit through the strait to or from non-Iranian places was not reported to be impeded though ships “may encounter military presence.”

The U.S. blockade and Iran's threatened retaliation set up an extraordinary showdown that posed serious risks for the global economy and raised the specter that the ceasefire could collapse and the fighting could resume. Talks aimed at permanently ending the conflict — which began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — failed to reach an agreement this past weekend.

Trump says the blockade has begun

“We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world because that’s what they’re doing,” Trump said of Iran at the White House, where he announced the blockade had started.

He suggested the U.S. remains willing to engage with Iran.

“I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side,” Trump said, adding that "they want to work a deal.”

Discussions between the U.S. and Iran about a second round of in-person negotiations are underway, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the development said Monday. A diplomat from one of the mediating countries said Tehran and Washington have agreed to more talks.

All four spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic negotiations.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.

Before the U.S. blockade, Tehran had allowed some ships perceived as friendly to pass while charging considerable fees, leading to accusations it is holding the global economy hostage.

Some analysts are doubtful that the United States can restore normal shipping through force alone. And it’s not clear how the blockade will work or what the dangers might be to U.S. forces.

The question is essentially who can endure the most pain: Could a blockade make Iran’s economic situation untenable and force it to concede? Or will it drive global oil and other prices so high that Trump is forced to back down?

The blockade could have far-reaching effects

The U.S. military's Central Command announced the blockade would be enforced “against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas” on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

CENTCOM's decision to allow ships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit the strait was a step down from Trump’s earlier threat to blockade the waterway.

In a social media message, Trump said Iran’s navy had been "completely obliterated” but still had “fast attack ships.” Trump warned that “if any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED."

Iran issued threats of its own.

“Security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for NO ONE,” the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported Monday. “An Iranian military statement said: “NO PORT in the region will be safe.”

The threats halted the limited ship traffic that resumed in the strait since the ceasefire, according to a report from Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Marine trackers say over 40 commercial ships have crossed since the start of the ceasefire last week, down from 100 or more vessel passages per day before the war.

The blockade is intended to pressure Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil since the war began, much of it likely carried by so-called dark transits that evade Western sanctions and oversight.

But the effects will be felt far beyond Iran. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, hovered Monday just under $100 per barrel. It cost roughly $70 per barrel before the war.

Iran says ‘if you fight, we will fight'

Top-ranking Iranian officials threatened retaliation.

Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, dismissed U.S. the threat of a U.S. blockade as “more bluffing than reality.”

“It will make the current situation (Trump) is in more complicated and makes the market — which he is angry about — more turbulent,” he said in a post on X.

The Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, addressed Trump in a statement: “If you fight, we will fight.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s representative to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, demanded compensation from five Middle Eastern countries — Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates — that Iran says violated international law by aiding the war effort against it, the Islamic Republic’s state-run media reported.

Legal experts are watching

U.S. military officials have offered few details about how the blockade will actually work.

The U.S. Navy has 16 warships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Middle East, a defense official said. A second defense official said no American warships are in the Persian Gulf, which forms most of Iran’s coastline. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

Under international law, the blockade must be impartially enforced. Legal experts will also be watching to see if the U.S. allows humanitarian aid to reach Iran.

“How it is carried out will determine whether it is lawful or not,” said Todd Huntley, a retired Navy captain and director of Georgetown University’s national security law program.

Ceasefire holds after talks end without agreement

The blockade threat came after marathon U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement on Saturday.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the talks stalled after Iran refused to accept American terms on refraining from developing a nuclear weapon. Vance told FOX News Channel's “Special Report” that some progress was made on nuclear issues, but he felt Iran's negotiators couldn't make a deal without approval from Tehran.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful. However, it has pushed forward with steps that could give it the ability to build a nuclear weapon, including enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels and developing long-range missiles potentially capable of delivering a bomb.

Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, said the main sticking points for Tehran were its nuclear program, war reparations and sanctions relief.

The ceasefire expires April 22. The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,089 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed.

___

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands, Frankel from New York. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations; Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee, Konstantin Toropin, Collin Binkley, Ben Finley and David Klepper in Washington; Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut; Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi; Jill Lawless in London; Ghaya Ben MBarek in Tunis, Tunisia; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

The Council Consideration Request asks that Splashtown Drive be renamed to Willie Mitchell Drive. Splashtown, which closed in September 2021, was a water park that opened in San Antonio as Waterpark USA in 1985.

The former park property adjacent to Splashtown Drive has been redeveloped into a car dealership, yet the street name remains.

McKee-Rodriguez’s request stated that District 2 met with neighbors of the United Homeowners Improvement Association and businesses to come up with an “appropriate name that reflects the area and its history.”

“District 2 states that nearby residential neighbors would like to honor an important member of this community, and the broader San Antonio community, by renaming the street to Willie Mitchell Drive,” the release states.

According to San Antonio Sports, Willie Mitchell is one of the top 50 high school players in San Antonio history.

Mitchell attended and played football at Wheatley High School on the East Side before it was closed in 1970. He was drafted to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1964 and was named an all-pro cornerback the following year.

Mitchell helped the Chiefs reach the first-ever American Football League World Championship, now known as the Super Bowl, in 1967 against the inaugural winner, the Green Bay Packers.

He later won his only gridiron ring against the Minnesota Vikings in 1970.

After eight seasons with the Chiefs, he was traded to the Houston Oilers, where he had career-ending knee surgery, forcing him to retire.

McKee-Rodriguez stated that Mitchell is a pillar of the East Side community and that the designation would reflect his contributions.

“I’m proud to honor one of San Antonio’s own East Side heroes, Mr. Willie Mitchell, who not only demonstrated excellence and commitment in athletics, but also continues to make San Antonio proud by giving of his time and experience to continue serving as a leader here in our city,” McKee-Rodriguez said in the release.

Councilmembers Sukh Kaur (D1), Edward Mungia (D4), Teri Castillo (D5) and Ric Galvan (D6) supported McKee-Rodriguez’s request, according to the release.

The next step in the process is a hearing of a staff recommendation at the next available Governance Committee meeting. A date has not been set.

Read more:

• Most survey respondents support changing César E. Chávez Blvd. name back to Durango, city says