The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, erasing its loss from the day before, even though the United States launched new airstrikes against Iran, which responded by targeting U.S. allies in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 198 points, or 0.4%, as of 12:33 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% higher.

In the oil market, prices gave back some of their jumps from the day before. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.1% to $76.39. That’s down from $78.02 the day before but still above its $71.80 price from the end of last week.

The worry is that a return to full-blown war will block oil tankers from the Strait of Hormuz and prevent the delivery of crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That could worsen inflation, which economists expected would ease with oil prices, and in turn force the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

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

But Trump also said Wednesday that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in “long-term” military action, raising uncertainty about just what will happen.

The swings for oil prices have halted what had been a steady decline in gasoline prices, and the cost for a gallon climbed a nickel overnight, according to motor club AAA. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.85 Thursday, up 68 cents from a year earlier.

In the meantime, renewed strength for makers of computer chips and other winners of the boom around artificial-intelligence technology is helping to support stock markets worldwide.

In South Korea, whose stock market is dominated by two companies that make semiconductors, the Kospi index rose 0.6% after tumbling 5.3% the day before. SK Hynix, which is preparing to sell shares of its stock that will trade in the United States, jumped 5.3% in Seoul.

On Wall Street, Micron Technology’s rise of 6.8% was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500. Micron cited “surging demand for memory in the AI era” as it gave a progress update on construction in central New York of what it says is the largest semiconductor manufacturing site in U.S. history.

Such stocks have become some of Wall Street’s most influential after growing so big in the euphoria around AI. But AI stocks have also come under pressure recently because of worries their prices shot too high and that AI may not create enough productivity and profits to make all the investments in chips and data centers worth it.

Stocks broadly got some help from stabilizing yields in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.54% from 4.56% late Wednesday.

It had been climbing on worries about high oil prices and the potential for higher interest rates, which cranked up the pressure on stocks and prices for other investments.

Besides the war with Iran, another big event for Wall Street is the upcoming start of earnings reporting season for companies. Next week, the biggest banks are set to unveil how much profit they made from April through June. Companies across industries will need to report strong growth to justify the big moves their stock prices have made.

PepsiCo fell 3.1% even though it reported slightly better revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Numbers released by the company behind Gatorade and Doritos showed weakening trends in its North American food and drinks businesses.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.

Besides Seoul’s climb, stock indexes rose 1.7% in Shanghai and 0.9% in Paris.

On the losing end was Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which slipped 0.7% as shares of Apple supplier Luxshare fell 1.5% in its trading debut.

___

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

Arthur Fery honed his game by playing three years of college tennis for Stanford University, where he was a two-time All-American.

Now he's the first former Stanford player to reach the last four at Wimbledon since John McEnroe's eighth and final Wimbledon semifinal in 1992, when McEnroe was beaten by eventual champion Andre Agassi.

Stanford University coach Paul Goldstein flew in for the occasion and was watching inside Centre Court when Fery eliminated French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli in straight sets in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

“Arthur always displayed an emotional maturity and a wisdom beyond his years,” Goldstein told The Associated Press. “When I worked with him at school, it always felt like it was as much of a peer-to-peer relationship as it was coach-to-student relationship with a 25-year age gap between us.”

As a sophomore in 2021-22, Fery became Stanford’s first No. 1 ranked singles player since Bob Bryan nearly quarter century before him.

Before Fery signed for Stanford, Goldstein came over to see him play in the Wimbledon junior tournament in 2019. Fery reached the third round in singles and the semifinals in doubles.

“Just a highly intelligent person, certainly plays the game with a high tennis IQ as well,” Goldstein added. “His game was at an elite level from an early age. A very independent thinker, he just approached the game with a high level of professionalism from the time he got to school.”

Still, Fery’s 58-16 singles record over his three years at Stanford didn’t make anyone think he would make the jump to a Grand Slam contender.

In what has been labeled a “Ferytale,” Fery faces French Open champion Alexander Zverev on Friday for a spot in the championship match — with Sunday’s final to be played on Fery's 24th birthday.

Ranked No. 114, Fery is the outlier in the semifinals among No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner — who will meet seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic (No. 8) in the other semifinal — and No. 3 Zverev.

“What you’re seeing on display this week is a level of poise and composure that is beyond words,” Goldstein said. “Pick your superlative and multiply it by 100.”

Fery is now coached by Jeroen Benard and Benoit Foucher.

“Full credit to Arthur and his team for what they are accomplishing this year,” Goldstein said. “I am privileged to be an observer. And supporter.”

Academics led Fery to Stanford

Fery, who was also an Academic All-American at Stanford, said he selected the school in Palo Alto, California, because of the academics.

“Because it was going to give me a great backup plan if tennis didn’t work out,” Fery said. “It was just a great mix between academics and a super-strong tennis program.”

Fery majored in science, technology and society at Stanford.

“It helped me mature, gave me a bit of time without too much pressure," Fery said. "Just develop personally more than tennis-wise."

Fery doesn’t need to worry about his tennis career fizzing out anymore. He's the first wild card to reach the men’s singles semifinals at the All England Club since Goran Ivanisevic’s run to the Wimbledon title in 2001.

Bryan brothers

Bryan and his identical twin brother, Mike, developed into the sport’s best doubles team after their time at Stanford during the late 1990s. They credit Stanford with preparing Fery to handle the pressures of playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon.

“When we went to the University of Georgia, there were 6,500 barking dogs eating us alive,” Bob Bryan said. “We went to Spain (for Davis Cup) and played in front of 30,000 in a soccer stadium, it wasn’t that bad. So college tennis prepares you for these environments.”

The Bryans and Goldstein were teammates at Stanford as players, winning two national championships together. Bob Bryan beat Goldstein in the 1998 NCAA singles final.

The Bryans — who have a total of four Wimbledon titles between them — got Goldstein a last-minute pass into Wimbledon when he came over.

“We’ve met Arthur a few times in Palo Alto,” Bob Bryan said. “We compared him a little bit to (former U.S. Open finalist Kei) Nishikori: Same build, beautiful backhand, can change direction. He was a quiet leader at Stanford. But all the players really respected him and they knew his ability. I don’t think it’s a big surprise to anyone that knows Arthur."

Critical time for college tennis

Fery’s breakthrough coincides with several college tennis programs being cut in recent months as Division I schools choose to redirect resources to fund direct payments to athletes in football and basketball.

With elite D1 tennis programs populated by foreigners, there’s also a debate about introducing regulations to reserve spots on teams for American players.

There were 36 players in this year's men’s and women’s singles at Wimbledon with college experience.

“This is another validation and example of how college tennis is being played at the highest level,” Goldtsein said. “More and young people are globally seeing this as a viable pathway towards making an impact at the professional game.”

Added Bob Bryan, “The level is off the charts. There’s definitely a place for college in between the (World Tennis) juniors and pro tennis. I think anyone coming out of the juniors should go test their level collegiately and to see if they’re ready for the pros.”

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AP Sports Writer Ken Maguire contributed.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Fery's quarterfinal opponent was Flavio Cobolli.

___

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

Trump deposited the money in an account shortly after a jury ruled against him in 2023. The U.S. Supreme Court recently let the civil verdict stand, clearing the way for Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to release the money. The initial $5 million award has grown with interest.

The jury found Trump attacked Carroll in 1996 in the dressing room of a luxury Manhattan department store, and defamed her after she described it publicly in a 2019 memoir, during his first term as president. Trump called her allegations false and said “ she’s not my type ” in an interview.

Trump’s lawyers said Wednesday they would continue to appeal and accused his political opponents of using the legal system against him. They argued in appellate papers that Kaplan’s decision shouldn't be allowed to take effect because Trump has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision.

Late Wednesday, Judge Eunice C. Lee of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their request to stop the money from being transferred to Carroll.

“It is time for this case to come to an end,” Carroll’s lawyers wrote in a filing with the appellate court.

“Carroll has waited more than three years for a jury’s verdict to be paid,” they wrote. “She should not have to wait any longer.”

The jury had reached its verdict — in a trial that Trump did not attend — after Carroll testified that their flirtatious and friendly chance encounter at the department store turned violent.

Trump insisted he never knew Carroll, now 82, a former advice columnist. He accused her of trying to sell books at his expense and of having political motives.

Carroll sued Trump after New York changed its laws to give sexual abuse survivors a fresh chance to sue over attacks that happened in the distant past.

Trump “has been stalling this case for years,” Kaplan wrote in a memorandum detailing his decision. “It is time for him to ‘do equity’ and pay the judgment.”

Trump is also appealing $83 million in defamation compensation granted to Carroll by a separate Manhattan jury after a 2024 trial where Trump briefly testified.

At that trial, Kaplan required the jury to accept the findings of the previous jury and only determine how much money, if any, Trump owed Carroll for comments he made about her while he was president.

Trump's lawyers complained that the judge, in setting rules for the damages trial, had barred Trump and his defense team from telling the jury that the encounter with Carroll never happened.

When the 2nd Circuit declined to let all of its judges rehear an appeal of the $83 million award, Circuit Judge Denny Chin wrote that Trump had said multiple times over many years that Carroll lied for political and financial gain and had suggested she was too unattractive for Trump to have sexually assaulted her.

“As a result of Trump’s statements, Carroll was harassed and humiliated, subjected to death threats, and feared for her physical safety for years,” Chin said.

“And Trump showed no remorse, continuing his attacks against Carroll during and after two federal trials, and even proclaiming two days into the Carroll I trial that he would continue to defame her ‘a thousand times.’”

Here are this year’s finalists:

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Pulisic has a bone bruise and a microfracture of his tibia and fibula, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Thursday. The diagnosis was made after an X-ray and MRI on Tuesday.

He would not have been able to play during the remainder of the tournament had the U.S. advanced.

Pulisic is expected to resume training before AC Milan's Serie A opener at Torino on Aug. 23.

Pulisic hit a leg of Belgium captain Youri Tielemans while attempting a shot in the 52nd minute of Monday's 4-1 round-of-16 loss at Seattle. He remained in the game but was hobbling and Sebastian Berhalter replaced him in the 59th minute.

Pulisic failed to score in the World Cup, missing one of the Americans' five matches because of a calf injury and leaving two other games early. He has 30 goals in 90 international appearances.

Pulisic, who turns 28 in September, is entering his fourth season with Milan.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Democrats need to pick a candidate to replace Platner on the ballot by July 27, according to state law. Whoever is selected will have less than four months before facing longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. Potential candidates had already been teasing their interest before Platner, who denies the allegation, announced he intends to drop out. But a growing number began formally launching their campaigns Thursday.

The Maine Democratic Party has said it will hold a nominating convention to choose the replacement. The party says the convention will involve hundreds of delegates from across the state, but how and when that’ll take place remains unknown.

Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats are desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Collins while President Donald Trump is broadly unpopular.

These are some of the people who have shown interest in the Maine Senate race:

Troy Jackson

Jackson is Maine’s former state Senate president. He unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for governor earlier this year with the backing of Platner and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Shortly after Platner said he would quit the Senate race, Jackson launched his campaign, arguing that Mainers want “a progressive fighter." Our Revolution, the organization founded by Sanders, has since said it would back Jackson, 58.

Jackson released a statement with dozens of endorsements, many from current and former state and local officials, on Thursday.

Nirav Shah

Shan, former director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced Thursday he was vying to be the next Democratic Senate candidate. He came in second in this year’s Maine Democratic governor's primary and was seen as more of a moderate candidate compared with Jackson while running for governor. "To the movement that supported Graham Platner, my message is this: you have a place in this campaign," Shah, 49, said in a statement.

Dan Kleban

The co-founder of Maine Beer Company, Kleban also confirmed his candidacy on Wednesday after Platner's announcement. Kleban briefly entered the Senate race last year before dropping out when Gov. Janet Mills announced her candidacy. Kleban, 49, endorsed Mills, who later dropped out of the Democratic primary.

“I'm ready to fight for Mainers and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington,” Kleban said.

Shenna Bellows

Bellows is Maine's secretary of state. She hasn't announced she'll run for Senate but she has expressed interest in the job.

This wouldn't be her first time running for political office. Bellows, 51, placed fourth in the state’s Democratic governor's primary in June. And in 2014, Bellows ran against Collins as the Senate Democratic nominee and lost in a landslide.

Jordan Wood

Wood, 36, initially attempted to run in the Maine Democratic Senate primary last year but dropped out to run in the state's 2nd District. He lost that race, coming in third to state Auditor Matt Dunlap. He's since said he's interested in running for the Senate again, and announced as of Thursday.

“To beat Susan Collins, we need a candidate who can provide a true contrast and run an unapologetically progressive campaign: Passing Medicare for All. Stopping ICE terrorizing our streets,” Wood wrote on social media on Tuesday.

Paige Loud

Loud filed paperwork to run for the Senate seat earlier this week. The 29-year-old social worker also ran in the state's 2nd District Democratic primary, but came in last during the state's first round of ranked choice voting.

Valli Geiger

Geiger, a previous Platner supporter and a state Democratic lawmaker, is another potential candidate. She hasn't announced her candidacy, but in an interview with MS NOW on Wednesday, Geiger, 70, said she would hire Platner's staff, whom she described as “deeply impassioned and confident young people.”

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Kruesi reported from Providence, R.I.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

• A FEW DOWNPOURS FRIDAY/SATURDAY: Hit-or-miss activity, brief, heavy rainfall
• HAZARDS?: Minor street flooding, lightning
• MORE CHANCES NEXT WEEK: Unsettled pattern continues, daily chances and cooler temps

FORECAST

TODAY

It’ll be generally quiet and hot today, with slightly hazy skies. A high temperature in the upper-90s will allow for heat indices to top 100 for a few hours during the afternoon.

FRIDAY

A surge of deep moisture arriving from the Gulf is scheduled to arrive by Friday afternoon. When it does, it should help to touch off scattered downpours. The rain won’t be for everyone, but those who do see it can expect it to come down heavy. Minor street flooding is possible.

WEEKEND

On Saturday, once daytime heating kicks in, more random, spotty downpours will develop. Like Friday afternoon, some of the downpours could produce brief, heavy rainfall and minor street flooding. Otherwise, it’ll be partly cloudy and humid. It WON’T be raining all day, but do have a backup plan for any outdoor activities.

Sunday will be quieter, with only spotty activity possible in the afternoon.

MORE UNSETTLED WEATHER NEXT WEEK

As the heat high shifts away from us, the pattern stays fairly busy through the middle of next week. Chances of rain stay with us Monday through Wednesday. Timing of this rain remains uncertain, and it may occur at any point in the day. Like with this weekend, any rain could cause street flooding.

This is a GREAT forecast for mid-July, which is typically dry and hot.

QUICK WEATHER LINKS

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

Defense attorneys fought against the public release of the statements from Tyler Robinson's roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. They said prosecutors would characterize the statements as a confession, undermining Robinson's right to a fair trial if the statements are broadcast by the media.

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

Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for Twiggs that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” Robinson also allegedly sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

Twiggs spoke to authorities on Sept. 12 — two days after Kirk was assassinated while speaking to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University — and again on April 20. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case.

State District Judge Tony Graf will decide at the conclusion of this week’s preliminary hearing if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial.

Robinson’s attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence but have sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.

Attorneys for the media and for Kirk's widow, Erika, who has attended this week's hearing, had urged the judge to make Twiggs' statements and other evidence public.

“To not be transparent, to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system,” Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman told Graf Wednesday.

Neiman filed a request late Wednesday for all evidence against Robinson to be displayed openly and in real time during this week's hearing. Neiman wrote that Erika Kirk and Kirk's parents had waited 10 months for the hearing but at times have been denied the chance “to meaningfully observe” it.

The judge said in response that not all evidence would be openly displayed and he needs to protect the rights of both victims and the defendant.

Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once through the neck as the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk was declared dead after being taken to a hospital.

Investigators found the suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.

Robinson’s lawyers earlier this week questioned the reliability of DNA testing used to link the defendant to the towel and gun.

A member of Tyler Robinson’s defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to the evidence. Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst’s conclusions.

“She can’t match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,” Burt argued.

But forensics expert Lawrence Quarino said law enforcement agencies use “extremely reliable” tests to determine the probability that a person matches with DNA found at a crime scene.

DNA testing “is the gold standard in forensic science,” said Quarino, a professor and director of the forensic science program at Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania.

___

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

Muchova won 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) to become the fourth Czech woman in the last six years to reach the championship match of the grass-court Grand Slam.

“It was such a big fight,” Muchova said. “It was a roller coaster.”

Gauff wasted a match point in the tiebreaker when she dinked an attackable forehand into the net to follow a powerful first serve.

Muchova then produced a lob winner to set up her first match point, which she lost when she slipped to the grass and a passing shot from Gauff sailed by her.

But Muchova quickly set up another match point and produced a series of shots to the corners. Gauff, on the full run, reached the last ball but her forehand response landed in the net and Muchova covered her hands in disbelief.

“You’re up and down in 10 seconds. You have a match point, then match point down. It’s no time to think, but very nerve-wracking,” Muchova said. “I’m really kind of shaking and trying to sink it in.”

Earlier in the tiebreaker, Muchova produced a diving forehand volley winner at full stretch that brought back memories of the way three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker used to play. She ended up face down on the grass, her racket lying next to her, as the crowd roared.

Czech representation

It will be the ninth-ranked Muchova’s second Grand Slam final after losing to Iga Swiatek in the 2023 French Open championship match.

Muchova could face another Czech player in Saturday’s final, with Linda Noskova to play Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the other semifinal next on Centre Court.

The other Czech women in the Wimbledon final recently were: Karolina Pliskova (runner-up in 2021); Marketa Vondrousova (champion in 2023); and Barbora Krejcikova (champion in 2024).

While Muchova has been slowed by injuries to both wrists over the past two years, she has now reached the semifinals or better at all four Grand Slams.

Gauff's Wimbledon history

For Gauff, it was still her most successful Wimbledon. Previously, the seventh-ranked American had gone only as far as the fourth round three times – including during her breakthrough run as a 15-year-old in 2019.

Gauff had had won six of her seven previous matches against Muchova.

But Muchova has been nearly unbeatable on grass this year and extended her record this season on the surface to 11-1 after a title in Bad Homburg, Germany. Her only loss on grass this year came against Madison Keys in the Berlin Open round of 16.

Muchova beat Gauff for the first time in April on clay in Stuttgart, Germany.

It was another hot day in London with the temperature soaring to 91 degrees Fahreinheit (33 Celsius), prompting spectators to fan themselves in the stands in an attempt to keep cool.

Muchova appeared to be struggling physically as the match wore on, bending over in exhaustion after one long rally and holding her abdomen in apparent pain during the final game.

“I’m OK,” Muchova said. “I just was trying to catch a breath.”

Muchova said she took a photo of Centre Court when she came to practice on the famed lawn ahead of her first career match on the most revered court in tennis.

“There are so many of us tennis players and I don’t think many of us get to play on this court,” she said. “It’s just a nice moment to experience all of this and this court is beautiful.”

The men’s semifinals on Friday feature top-ranked and defending champion Jannik Sinner against seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic and French Open champion Alexander Zverev against British wild card Arthur Fery.

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Associated Press writer Mattias Karén contributed to this report.

___

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

The singer, best-known for her chart-topping power ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” died unexpectedly in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated for an illness, her family said Thursday. She was hospitalized in May in Faro, where she had a home, for emergency intestinal surgery. She had been placed in an induced coma for a period but was reportedly improving last month.

Some notable reaction:

Catherine Zeta-Jones

“My heart is broken with the news that our dearest Bonnie Tyler has passed away. Bonnie was married to my cousin and has been such a part of my life. We are photographed here together the night before my wedding. So sang and rocked it at my wedding. An extraordinary woman with vocals to match. A one of kind artist, who so easily could have been a comedian because she was one of the funniest people I ever met. Thank you Bonnie for the joy you brought so many. Sleep tight beautiful lady. We shall forever ‘Keep A Welcome In The Hillsides’ of Wales for you. Sending my love to Robert and the family. God Bless” — on Instagram

Rod Stewart

“We shared similar styles of vocalizing. She was a good pal, a true soul stirrer. I sing ‘It’s A Heartache’ every night on tour. I’ll miss you darling Bonnie.” — on Instagram

Bryan Adams

“Dear Bonnie Tyler passed today, she had such a great voice and I’ll always be grateful of her beautiful version of Straight From The Heart. Thanks Bonnie. RIP” — on X

Katrina Leskanich of Katrina and the Waves

“I'm so sad for Robert, Bonnie's extended family and the whole world who loved Bonnie Tyler. She was incredibly fun to tour with, always laughing, warm hearted and effervescent. There will never be a voice so instantly recognisable and distinctive. She will be so missed but like Bonnie, her iconic sons will be in our hearts forever.” — on Instagram

Kevin Bacon

“One of the great voices of rock. … I could not imagine chicken racing a tractor to any other song. RIP” — in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, referencing the use of Tyler's “Holding Out For a Hero” in his iconic 1984 film, “Footloose”

Tony Hadley

“So sad to hear about Bonnie Tyler. She was an incredible woman, so kind and friendly to me as a young artist. Over the years, we met several times and she was always the same Bonnie. Her voice was truly amazing and standing next to her you really got to feel her power. A beautiful legend. My sincere condolences to her lovely husband Bob, her family and her wonderful band at this very sad time.” — on Instagram

Sir Cliff Richard

“Another wonderful friend gone too soon. Bonnie’s infectious zest for life entertained so many around the world, and to be a good friend to all, including me. It is shocking news to wake up to you this morning and I send my love to her family at this very sad time. RIP Bonnie…. Cliff xx” — on Facebook

Johnson died Monday at his home in downtown Chicago. A cause of death was not released.

Johnson and his late wife and high school sweetheart, Joan, started Johnson Products Company in 1954 on Chicago’s South Side after securing a $250 loan. It grew into a hair care empire catering almost exclusively to Black people, with brands like Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen.

People who remember Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen in their heyday also remember the brands’ marketing campaigns and their association with the “Black is Beautiful” movement, which promoted cultural and racial pride among Black people. The iconic 1970s commercials, which featured variations of the “Watu Wazuri” (“Beautiful People”) jingle, have enjoyed a resurgence on social media in recent years.

The commercials aired primarily during the hit music-and-dance television show “Soul Train," which his company was a national sponsor of and once owned.

“It was just a wonderful opportunity for Don Cornelius to be able to go national. He wouldn’t have been able to do that without George Johnson’s partnership,” said John W. Rogers, the founder of Chicago-based Ariel Investments who was a mentee of Johnson. “And so, to see it work out for everyone and for our community all together was part of his genius.”

A legacy worth celebrating

During its annual gala in November, the Chicago Urban League celebrated Johnson as the Edwin C. “Bill” Berry Civil Rights Award honoree, named for the League’s iconic leader. Berry joined Johnson Products when he left the organization, according to Karen Freeman-Wilson, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. She said the honor was a full-circle moment for Johnson, who was a longtime board member.

"Just 12 or 14 days ago, he was standing with Barack Obama in the presidential library, dedicating a room for he and my mother," Eric George Johnson, the eldest of Johnson's four children, told The Associated Press. “It's a wonderful life to celebrate.”

Johnson's trajectory started from humble beginnings.

He was born in 1927 in Richton, Mississippi. Johnson’s mother, Priscilla Dean Johnson, was just 18 when she left her husband, took her children to Chicago and found a job at a local hospital, said Hilary Beard, a Philadelphia-based author who worked with Johnson on his memoir.

Their move occurred during what’s known as the First Great Migration, between 1910 and 1940, when tens of thousands of southern Black people moved to northern and Midwestern cities for jobs and to escape racial oppression.

“There was just enough money for food, clothing and shelter, but not for anything extra,” Beard said.

Johnson and his older brother, John, would collect cigarette packages, peel out the aluminum linings, roll them into balls and sell them to people who collected junk for resale, Beard said. Johnson also shined shoes, cleared tables in eateries and set up pins in a bowling alley.

A source of pride and inspiration

As an adult, Johnson worked for the Black-owned Fuller Products Co. in Chicago. Beard said Johnson met a barber who was distraught because he couldn't convince Fuller to back a product he was developing that straightened men's hair. The drawback was the product burned the scalp.

Johnson worked with Fuller's chemist to revamp the barber's formula and started his business after ultimately convincing a bank he needed a $250 loan to take his wife on a vacation, Beard said. That business would become Johnson Products.

Johnson's company offered above-market salaries, profit-sharing for its workers, healthcare and other benefits at a time when many companies didn’t provide such perks, Beard added. Johnson Products was sold in 1993 to a pharmaceutical firm in a deal worth more than $60 million.

Johnson later founded Independence Bank and became the first Black person to serve on the board of directors of the Illinois electric utility Commonwealth Edison. The George E. Johnson Educational Fund awarded more than 1,000 college scholarships.

Rogers remembers his father taking him to Independence Bank to open a checking account and being awed that Johnson owned it.

“That was just so impressive to me that he would start the largest Black bank in the country" which helped Black entrepreneurs, homeowners and anyone who needed assistance as they were building their lives, Rogers said.

The Golden Rule

Though Johnson is gone, the lessons he imparted continue to shape the family’s future.

Eric Johnson, who served as CEO, left Johnson Products Company in 1992. He said he purchased Baldwin Ice Cream in 1997, intending to keep the company in the family for generations to come. Eric Johnson officially retired from Baldwin Richardson Foods on May 9 after successfully transitioning ownership to his daughters, Erin Tolefree and Cara Hughes.

“He saw his children come along and be successful, and now his grandchildren being successful,” Eric Johnson said.

Eric Johnson isn't the only one who sees that legacy continuing. Rogers points to the company’s third generation of leadership as evidence.

“Eric’s positioned his kids who are now running the business day-to-day. So it’s a third generation, which is remarkable. They’re doing so well," Rogers said.

Johnson’s memoir, “Afro Sheen: How I Revolutionized an Industry with the Golden Rule, from Soul Train to Wall Street,” was published in 2024.

Being fair and treating people the way you want to be treated was Johnson's golden rule, according to his son. And it's a cherished piece of advice that Eric Johnson said his father instilled in him.

"And it’s a foundation that was established in him as a child by his mother, that he established in all of us,” he said.

___

This story has been updated to restore the first reference to John W. Rogers.

___

Williams reported from Detroit.

The confusion and uncertainty in Trump’s mixed messaging and his approval of back-to-back military strikes leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.

The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program — something Trump has tried before.

Whether it is a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions — which could spell problems for Republicans in November’s midterm elections if gas prices stay high.

Trump warned Wednesday that a new round of U.S. attacks was coming, even as he attempted to shrug off suggestions of a return to full-scale war. Hours later, the military announced it was carrying out new attacks on Iran that were meant to “further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said earlier. “We’re not looking for a long time.”

Officials rush to save the ceasefire

A regional intelligence official involved in the mediation efforts said the conflict had reached a critical stage as mutual mistrust rises. But high-level communications are happening around the clock to salvage the ceasefire, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations.

The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Qatar, as well as Egypt’s intelligence chief, are leading the efforts, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — whose country hosted the NATO summit that wrapped Wednesday — and leaders from Saudi Arabia are also involved, the official said.

The U.S. is upset about ships being attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and accuses Iran of slow-playing discussions on curtailing its nuclear program, the official said. Nuclear talks were a major next step to try to turn the interim deal announced last month into a lasting end to the war.

Tehran, meanwhile, says Washington is the one violating the agreement regarding the strait and failing to ensure that a ceasefire in Lebanon, including an Israeli withdrawal, is being implemented, the official said.

Michael Eisenstadt, a former U.S. military analyst who now directs the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that “we’re still in negotiating mode, no matter what the president says."

"This is part of negotiating, and declaring that the MOU is over is part of the negotiation as well,” Eisenstadt said, referring to the memorandum of understanding that the ceasefire was built on.

Trump, though, has been explicit in public comments, saying he's lost interest in preserving the ceasefire: “I think it's over.”

“We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal,” he said during the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, adding that the U.S. military might “just finish the job.”

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, said the Trump administration had repeatedly violated the terms of the initial pact, forcing the country to respond appropriately.

“The era of bullying and extortion is over," Qalibaf posted on X. “It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”

Trump says ‘we’ll probably hit them hard again'

Pakistan, which helped broker the ceasefire, said renewed conflict is in "no one’s interest” and urged both sides to uphold their commitments.

“There is no alternative to continued engagement, dialogue and diplomacy to achieve shared goal of peace in the region,” its Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Trump, nonetheless, dismissed Tehran's leaders, calling them “scum" and “sick people." Just last month, Trump said Iran’s leadership was “very rational” and "nice to deal with,” while also calling the country's leaders “smart people.”

Speaking at an event in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance, who led U.S. efforts to reach the initial deal with Tehran, said Iran was “well behaved for about a week.” He added that lately the country had begun attacking the strait and said, “If they shoot at ships, we’re going to knock the hell out of them.”

Could this be another negotiating tactic?

Before the U.S. and Iran reached their first, two-week ceasefire in April, Trump intensified his threats, pledging that American forces would bomb Iranian bridges, roads and power plants. He even posted online, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again."

He repeated dire threats before the tentative 60-day deal to end the war was reached last month.

Trump likes to seek ways to negotiate from a position of strength, and he could be looking for more leverage with new strikes. But being unequivocal about the end of the ceasefire also could free up Iran militarily — which could again roil oil prices and financial markets.

Ali Vaez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, argued that escalating threats may be a riskier maneuver this time around, given the domestic and international stakes for the U.S.

“It certainly looks like an effort to turn up the military heat without yet closing the diplomatic door," Vaez said. “But coercive bargaining is a dangerous game: At some point, a pressure campaign can acquire a momentum of its own and become the war it was ostensibly meant to avoid.”

He added, however, that Iran still has every reason to return to the table because it desperately needs the economic relief that was promised under the interim deal.

Trump also has sent mixed signals about the fallout.

He long insisted that rising gas prices for Americans didn't factor into his calculations on Iran — only to say that part of the reason he agreed to the interim deal was to avoid an “economic catastrophe." He has since touted the falling price of oil after the deal was reached.

Elections ahead could scramble Trump's political calculus

The president again resumed his past threats to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure, possibly including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.

“We may take over Kharg Island," he said. "There’s not a thing they could do about it.”

Still, the midterm elections — when Republicans hope to retain control of the House and Senate — are now less than four months away. Oil prices rising again amid greater uncertainty about the war means Americans will likely continue to see higher prices at the pump.

The president tried to play down such concerns, saying, “Any time we hit them, it goes up a little bit — $2.” In fact, U.S. oil futures jumped far higher and may keep climbing — even as Trump acknowledged, "As oil goes, so goes everything else.”

He argued that an increase in oil prices was worth it to bar Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “It's all right.”

___

Amiri reported from New York and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.49% from 6.43% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.72%.

When mortgage rates rise they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, reducing their purchasing power.

Mortgage rates have remained elevated after the average rate on a 30-year loan briefly dropped below 6% in February for the first time since late 2022. It then climbed in May to its highest level in nine months. The uptick in mortgage rates has weighed on home sales this year.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate increased to 5.82% from 5.79% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.86%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Expectations of hotter inflation amid higher crude oil prices have pushed up long-term bond yields relative to where they were before the war with Iran began in late February, causing mortgage rates to trend higher.

The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.55% at midday Thursday on the bond market, up from 4.49% a week ago. It was just 3.97% in late February, before the war broke out.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now back to where it was two weeks ago.

While average long-term mortgage rates remain lower than they were at this time last year, uncertainty about their trajectory amid the war with Iran has kept many would-be homebuyers on the sideline.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes declined in the first three months of the year compared to a year earlier, extending a nationwide housing slump that dates back to 2022 when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows.

Through the first half of this year, seasonally adjusted sales of existing U.S. homes are up only 0.7% compared to the same period in 2025, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Still, sales of existing U.S. homes continue to hovering close to a 4-million annual pace, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2-million.

The conceptual artist, who died at the age of 83, first created the Pindakaasvloer, or peanut butter floor, in 1969. The work was unveiled on Thursday at the Depot offshoot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam for a two-month show.

Schippers was a beloved non-conformist character in the Netherlands, where he also voiced Ernie and Kermit the Frog in the Dutch version of “Sesame Street,” and created absurdist and silly works that challenged conventional ideas about the meaning of art.

“Isn’t it fantastic that we are all standing here looking at peanut butter?” Schippers told journalists gathered at the Central Museum in Utrecht in 1997 where Pindakaasvloer was on display for the second time.

Schippers created the work as part of a Floor Covering Series, which also included floors covered with glass shards and salt.

The aroma, redolent of breakfasts and lunch boxes, is what lingers with many who experience the work first hand. Museum staff directed visitors for the opening to “follow the smell” which was wafting by the ticket counter, three floors below where the artwork is laid out.

“The thing I remember is the smell,” Mieke Weismann told The Associated Press. The food photographer and writer saw the 1997 exhibition as a teenager.

The art installation may not be for everybody. A sign at the museum's entrance warns visitors with peanut allergies that they might not want to enter the space.

It took two employees of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen several days to spread 40 buckets of peanut butter across a 25-square-meter (270-square-foot) hexagon last week.

“It was a lot of work,” Leon Duenk, one of the two men who installed the artwork, told AP.

The pair used drywall trowels to smear the peanut butter to a thickness of 2 centimeters (0.8 inch).

Prior to his death the museum and Schippers discussed how to recreate the work in the future, producing a 20-point plan that included the requirement to apply the peanut butter “as smoothly and boringly as possible” and that “no one is supposed to stand in, or lie down on the peanut butter.”

Schippers did not specify the size or shape of the work, but he did say it needed to be smooth peanut butter and that he preferred the Dutch peanut butter brand Calvé. The company donated 40 tubs of peanut butter for the work.

Multiple visitors stepped into the sticky artwork when it was on display in 2011. In 1997, the work was “vandalized” when a group of people placed 12 slices of bread and several bags of hagelslag — chocolate sprinkles commonly eaten on bread at breakfast in the Netherlands — on the floor.

“It doesn’t look bad,” Schippers told Dutch newspaper Volkskrant at the time. “The sprinkles have been applied with a sense of proportion and a skillful hand.”

———

Associated Press writer Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed.

Pogacar, who first wore the yellow jersey after winning at Les Angles earlier this week, made the most of the first big mountain trek of this year's Tour in the Pyrenees to stamp his authority, sending a clear message to his rivals that he remains in a class of his own.

The two-time world champion covered the final 43 kilometers (around 27 miles) alone, crossed the Stage 6 finish line 2 minutes, 38 seconds ahead of his main challenger, Jonas Vingegaard, and reclaimed the coveted jersey.

“I would say this one goes in the top five of my Tour de France victories," Pogacar said. “This is an incredible victory, and one of the sweetest for sure. I was not calculating seconds or minutes, I just wanted to go full gas all the way to the finish.”

Pogacar's teammate, Isaac del Toro, was third, 2:57 off the pace, ahead of Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas. Overall, Vingegaard lags 2:42 behind Pogacar, with del Toro in third place.

With his latest show of force, the UAE Emirates-XRG leader took a big step toward a record-equaling fifth Tour victory. Only Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault have won five Tours.

Scorching heat and iconic ascents

The stage started in scorching heat and was marked by several unsuccessful attempts of breakaways early on. Pogacar's teammates, along with those of Vingegaard in Visma-Lease a Bike, set a fast tempo even before the day’s biggest climbs.

The last stage in the Pyrenees took riders through two iconic ascents, the Col d’Aspin and the Tourmalet.

Once Ben O’Connor managed to get away, he was allowed some freedom because he was not a threat in the general classification. He was first at the foot of Aspin and was caught with about 5 kilometers of the climb left.

Riders then tackled the grueling 17.1 kilometer ascent up the Tourmalet, the first HC climb of the 2026 Tour — which means Hors Catégorie (beyond classification), because it is the hardest level.

Overnight leader Torstein Træen was dropped before del Toro accelerated with his leader on his wheel about 4.5 kilometers from the summit. Træen later crashed on the descent and was assessed by the race's medical team before resuming his effort.

Pogacar then went solo, with Vingegaard digging deep to limit his losses. Pogacar reached the summit first, and Vingegaard tried to claw back his 30-second deficit in the downhill. But tucked into an aerodynamic position, his rival took the same risks and was even faster.

Pogacar had a lead of more than a minute as he tackled the final climb up to the finish line in the town of Gavarnie-Gedre. He never looked back and the gap kept increasing.

“I woke up at 7 this morning and my mind was going crazy,” Pogacar said. “I was really excited for today. I knew it was going to be a good day.”

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But the way popular AI notetakers accomplish those tasks makes some people avoid using them. The technology turns everything said during meetings into data. Confidential personnel information, corporate strategies, trade secrets and remarks that could later be seen as incriminating — all of it could end up in the wrong hands.

“There are huge risks to the organization on AI notetakers,” Amy Dufrane, the chief executive of human resources training and certification provider HRCI, said. “I don’t think companies should use it at all.”

An AI notetaker is a software application or device that uses artificial intelligence, speech recognition and large language models to record, transcribe and summarize conversations. The tools are intended to save time and improve participation, but professionals in a number of fields say there are reasons to be wary.

Chief among them is uncertainty about where the collected data is stored and for how long. Privacy advocates worry the companies behind the AI notetakers are creating voiceprints without consent. Voiceprints — a type of biometric profile similar to a fingerprint but tuned to the unique intonations and characteristics of one’s voice — can be used to access restricted or confidential information, including the contents of bank accounts.

Some tech companies resell data from the notetaking tools they created or use confidential meeting transcripts and recordings to train their AI models. There’s also the risk that conversations between an attorney and client could become fair game in legal proceedings; a New York federal judge in February ordered a criminal defendant to provide prosecutors with documents he created for his lawyers because it already had been shared with a third party, which was Anthropic's Claude.

“People who use AI notetakers, they don’t always know where the data goes,” said Justin Daniels, an Atlanta-based corporate attorney at law firm Baker Donelson. “And in my context, if the data goes anywhere else and they’re not aware of it, that attorney-client-privileged conversation may not be attorney-client-privileged anymore.”

Here are some tips on the etiquette of kicking an AI notetaker out of a meeting, the risks of using one and how to protect yourself.

The first step when you join a meeting is check for bots

When you join a meeting, make it a habit to check whether an AI notetaker is present. It might appear as a meeting attendee, often labeled as an AI notetaker, or a pop-up message on the screen informing participants the meeting is being recorded. The latter could signal the presence of an AI notetaker.

Virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet let users know when recording is underway, but some meeting software does not make it clear when a notetaker is present, according to Thorin Klosowski, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's senior security and privacy analyst.

Participants also may use personal notetaking devices that are separate from the meeting platform, in which case the other attendees wouldn’t necessarily know a discussion was being recorded and transcribed.

“You hope the other person would tell you that they’re doing that,” Klosowski said. “Asking everyone for consent before doing a sensitive meeting would be the most polite approach to take.”

If you're unsure whether someone has deployed an AI notetaker, you can ask. You can also state at the beginning that a meeting is not authorized for recording.

A polite way to establish such a boundary is to say, “Our company policy is that this meeting cannot be recorded," Dufrane suggested. This relieves the employee, such as a salesperson who wants to make a good impression, of having to be the “bad guy,” putting the onus on the company instead, she said.

Another option is to allow the notetaker for part of the gathering but turn if off at the end to dedicate time for more delicate topics.

“I won’t start talking about anything substantive until it’s shut off, because I just don’t want to take the risk,” Daniels said.

Assert your privacy rights to protect voiceprints

Many AI notetakers determine unique acoustic signatures, or voiceprints, for each speaker in the room, said Chris Pluymers, associate attorney at The Dillon Law Group in East Lansing, Michigan. That’s how the companies distinguish one speaker from another, labeling them with monikers “Speaker 1” or “Speaker 2.”

One way voiceprints are used is to verify the identities of bank account holders over the phone. If bad actors got ahold of a person’s vocal signature, they could use it to access files, commit fraud or take over accounts, he said.

Laws in some states govern how voiceprints can be created and stored and provide rights that individuals can assert to object to the use of an AI notetaker during meetings they attend.

In Illinois, voiceprints are considered biometric identifiers, similar to fingerprints, and are covered under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act, which requires written notice and informed consent before an AI notetaker or other agent collects voiceprints. The law also mandates a documented data retention schedule and destruction policy, Pluymers said. But most companies using the tools have none of those systems in place, Pluymers said.

“In the world of AI, the world of data and privacy, the world of biometric identification, I don’t think you can have such a lax approach to it,” Pluymers said. “I think getting out ahead of it is crucial.”

Under the Illinois law, employees can say they don't want to attend a meeting with an AI notetaker until they have assurances of where and why the data is being stored, and when it will be deleted, Pluymers said. They can also ask if there is a policy and written consent form to sign.

If an AI notetaker shows up at a meeting unexpectedly, a participant could say, “I prefer we keep this meeting without AI recording or transcript tools and I’d be happy to take my own notes and share a recap if that’s helpful,” Pluymers suggested. “Just being warm and genuine about it and asking them to respect your wishes.”

Know where your data goes

When working with AI notetaking apps, find out whether the companies that built them retain recordings, transcripts or metadata indefinitely or use them to train AI models, said Danielle Kays, a partner at Fisher Phillips who represents businesses on privacy and employment law matters.

“If there is some sort of speaker ID or voice recognition, really understand what that is and how it works,” Kays said.

Even when content is deleted, metadata about meetings can remain stored with the vendor, meaning sensitive business information could influence how the model behaves and in some cases could be memorized or reproduced, she said.

AI notetakers generate text, and that’s easier for outsiders to search through than video or audio files, according to EFF.

“Storing a bunch of video isn’t easy, it’s costly and hard to look through, but text is much easier to search and cheaper to store,” said Klosowski of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

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Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well

LUFKIN — Kaesha Avishai picked her corner of East Texas five years ago. It was, for her, the ideal spot — close enough to town for shopping and doctor’s visits and far enough away to care for her cats and chickens in peace.

Then, men on four-wheelers began crossing her land. Pesticides and herbicides were sprayed along the edges of her property, killing every bit of life they touched. Helicopters and drones flew overhead. And one day, the buzzing powerlines on the easement through her property went quiet.

When she read in the paper that the land had been sold to Denver-based AmpZ Champion Data Center Holdings and its partner, Atlanta-based EPG Champion Development LLC, a renewable energy company, she wasn’t surprised in the least. And she was certainly angry.

“I can’t promise to keep the Second Commandment to love my neighbor if my neighbor is not human,” she said.

Due to the explosive use of artificial intelligence, data centers, many of which are used to power AI, are popping up across rural Texas and have attracted the attention — and scrutiny — of lawmakers and residents alike. Two data centers, including the one near Avishai, are planned for Angelina County. East Texas, in particular, has become a target for data center developers because of the available water and land.

Now East Texans, who moved to the region for peace and quiet, are faced with a form of economic growth they believe will take that away. If Angelina County is going to sign any agreements with developers, residents say they want guidelines in writing that ensure these data centers won’t disrupt their communities.

After more than a year of disruption, Avishai, a retired nurse, had had enough of the disruption to her land. She used ChatGPT to write a speech to the Angelina County Commissioners and attended their first meeting in early June alongside dozens of neighbors.

The irony of using ChatGPT — an artificial intelligence chatbot — wasn’t lost on her.

“You can use their weapons against them,” she said.

Data centers promise economic opportunities for communities fighting for growth and a stronger tax base. In communities like Lufkin, a project like this fits with the dozen or so companies that have sought tax abatement agreements with the city and county.

But in the face of community backlash, even Gov. Greg Abbott, who has built support based on his pro-business stance, has called for regulations and an outright ban on data centers in rural neighborhoods like Avishai’s.

She was disappointed when county officials said they couldn’t do much. Avishai, a born-again Christian, moved to Texas believing it was a stronghold of faith and peace. She believes the impact on Texas’ land imposed by data centers is a violation of that ideal.

“I would have thought — or hoped or prayed — that our representatives would have had a little more of that Christian backbone to stand against something that is so obviously evil,” Avishai said.

However, Lufkin Mayor Mark Hicks who has long-championed this project for its potential benefits to the county, has faith it will bring jobs and tax money to the county. And he hopes the companies building the center will make sure it is safe.

“I’m not going to say that there was not a data center built somewhere where promises were made and broken, or things didn’t pan out the way that they should have, or maybe these communities didn’t have the infrastructure to support the data center,” Hicks said. “But from what I have been told about the one here, I just don’t see an issue.”

East Texans are concerned

At a meeting in Angelina County one June evening, a room full of East Texans buzzed with the many possibilities of what the data center outside of Lufkin would mean for the region. Research they found, in the wake of few answers from the company itself, said data centers drank up tons of local water, caused electric bills to skyrocket and the hum led to health problems and stress.

That’s what brought Christina Perez, a Houston-based political activist, back to her family farm.

“I really just want to make sure that we don’t see some big tech company from Denver — or any of these different places from out of state — come and take away our resources and turn our home into an industrial wasteland,” she said.

In 2025, data centers consumed an estimated 25 billion gallons of Texas’ water, representing less than 1% of the state’s total usage that year, according to the Houston Advanced Research Center, an independent nonprofit research organization focused on sustainability solutions. That number is projected to rise to 2.7% by 2030. Those numbers are based on the cooling systems and power generators that data centers currently use.

In the last two years, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said 519 companies have asked to connect to the system. That would increase power demand by 438,595 megawatts — or, roughly, one-third of the power generation in America. These types of requests have been followed by rate increases across the rest of the country, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

A Time Magazine investigation found that the humming from bitcoin mining operations — which are similar to certain data centers — led to mysterious ailments in Granbury that doctors tied to stress from noise pollution.

“I don’t want to be by a data center,” Avishai said. “I don’t want to hear the buzz, the hum.”

Raine Cotton, managing partner for EPG Champion Development LLC and a representative of the project, said the company is open to working with the county and protecting the neighborhood. In fact, some of the concerns residents have expressed are being considered in the company’s plans.

For example, the proposed facility would use a closed-loop cooling system, meaning it would fill the system once with about 30,000 gallons of water and reuse it for up to 10 years instead of drawing in new water every day. Part of the 1,000 acres the company purchased would be used as a sound buffer zone to reduce the impact on nearby neighborhoods and also to preserve the natural wetlands that surround the site.

Cotton also said it would be no issue to provide regular reports to the county that address any environmental concerns, he said.

“There are more than 100 of them operating around Dallas, and oftentimes, you don’t even know they’re there,” Cotton said. “They look like a warehouse, sometimes there’s a facade on them. The community will benefit greatly from having that site cleaned and put in its place a state-of-the-art producing facility that will clearly be the No. 1 taxpayer in Angelina County.”

The data center would be built on 1,000 acres along State Highway 103 East at the site of a former papermill just outside of Lufkin. While the site is outside of the city proper, it is surrounded by small neighborhoods and homesteads like Perez’s and Avishai’s.

A town built on industry

The project could represent $1 billion in private capital investment, 30 full-time jobs and 500 construction jobs, according to Lufkin city officials.

Lufkin and Angelina County have long been friendly to economic development, especially smaller, diversified industrial operations that invest heavily in local land. Between 2018 and 2023, the city enticed half a dozen such companies to build in the city and its extra-jurisdictional territory through grants and tax abatements. Many of those agreements came through Keith Wright, the Angelina County Judge who was once Lufkin’s city manager.

This business-friendly mindset is not new. Lufkin has a long history as an industrial town. The city was built on major industries, like the papermill which once employed hundreds of people. It is the home of the oil pump that changed the game for the oil and gas industry in the 1950s, and community members still celebrate that legacy every Christmas.

Wright fully supported the data center until he learned more about the potential harm that comes with data centers. He said his goal is to establish a tax abatement agreement with AmpZ with some conditions that would make the company a better neighbor to Avishai and the community at large.

“They would have to ensure there’s no environmental impact to the county and that we’re protecting residents adjacent to this thing,” Wright said. “All of those are going to be conditions. But whether we can actually come to an agreement or not is going to be another question.”

Trying to be a good neighbor

Moving forward, residents want more information on the center and if they have the ability to stop this project if it fails to meet their expectations. Only one of those things will likely happen, however.

Abbott released recommendations for industry regulations for lawmakers to consider in 2027, such as:

• Requiring new facilities to add power generation to the grid
• Mandating the use of “closed-loop” water systems
• Mandating reporting on electricity and water use
• Establishing standards that address community concerns

None of those recommendations give Texas counties the power to stop a project, which means residents won’t have that power either.

Cotton promised to hold town hall meetings in Angelina County in August or September to address residential questions and concerns. Up to this point, he hasn’t had all the answers and said he didn’t want to give them information that could change, he said.

“I know specifically in the Lufkin/Angelina County area there is a perception that perhaps we’re hiding, or not being transparent,” Cotton said. “That’s really not the case. We’re in the planning, engineering and regulatory environment right now.”

Momentum behind the grassroots organizations formed to address this center is not likely to slow, especially as AmpZ makes progress on the papermill. But, after town hall meetings and consultations with experts, East Texans will be turning their attention to Austin.

Avishai debates whether it’s worth continuing to invest in the flower farm she started this spring or if she should pack her animals up in her truck and leave. She sees the data center as an inevitability now that Texas has embraced them as part of its future industrial structure.

But it’s hard to let go of the home where she finally felt at peace.

“I would just like to stay here in my little cocoon by myself,” she said. “To take care of my animals and feed birds and la la around like Sleeping Beauty or something. But I’m afraid the giant has awakened, and the giant is coming.”

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

Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded “an all-out search and rescue effort," urging a swift investigation of the incident and “strictly hold those responsible accountable.”

The blaze started at a factory in Huiteng shoe company in the city of Jinjiang, the city’s fire department said in a statement. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

There were 237 factory workers and two visitors in the building when the fire broke out. Authorities evacuated or rescued 213 people. Of the 28 people who died, two were pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Xinhua said the factory’s owner and others in charge have been arrested and the company’s accounts have been frozen.

Video by CCTV shows the facade of a building of several floors charred black and covered in white smoke. Earlier footage shows fires were burning on multiple floors and the building shrouded in thick, black smoke.

Jinjiang, the city where the fire happened is known as China’s shoe capital.

David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered the plea through one of his attorneys during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted last Thursday on a single felony count of property destruction.

Before the country's 250th independence celebrations, President Donald Trump launched a multimillion dollar renovation project for the Reflecting Pool, which was plagued by problems, including damage to its new coating. Trump, without providing evidence, has alleged the damage was caused by vandals.

Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker. He is accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage.

“Every American should be alarmed about this prosecution,” defense attorney Norm Eisen said after the hearing. “It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool.”

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, said vandalizing the nation's monuments and public spaces is “an affront to our shared history.”

“The law applies equally to everyone, and when it is broken, there are consequences," she said in a statement on Thursday.

Defense says prosecutors' evidence is ‘weak’

In front of a packed courtroom, D.C. Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean did not require Hearn to be supervised by the court while he is free awaiting a trial. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 5.

A prosecutor, Kevin Reddington, said the government wasn’t seeking any court supervision for Hearn, but just a “stay-away order” without specifying in court where it wanted to keep Hearn away from.

Mary Dohrmann, one of Hearn’s attorneys, urged the judge not to impose any conditions of court supervision, calling Hearn an “upstanding citizen and member of the community.”

“The government’s evidence is weak,” she added.

Supporters cheered after the hearing

Dozens of supporters, many carrying homemade signs, gathered outside the courthouse and chanted “Davey!” as Hearn left after the hearing. Hearn joined his attorneys in front of a bank of cameras and smiled to supporters but did not speak. He raised his right hand and pumped his fist as he left.

Adam Van Grack, who chaired the U.S. Olympic national governing body for canoe and kayak sports, joined the throng of supporters who cheered for Hearn after the hearing. Van Grack said Hearn has spent decades voluntarily maintaining National Park Service property that the canoeists used as a training course along the Potomac River.

“This is a person who has devoted his life to representing the United States on an international stage, caring for the community and protecting and caring for National Park Service property,” Van Grack said. “So the idea that he is a malicious destroyer of federal property shocks the conscience and makes no sense to anybody who’s ever known Davey Hearn.”

Hearn previously told The Associated Press that he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a 64-mile (103 kilometer) bike ride on June 19. He said he reached in to examine newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.

Pool project has been plagued by problems

The pool's renovation has been riddled with problems. Workers have used devices called nanobubblers to curtail an algae bloom. The devices infuse ozone into the water to kill algae and bacteria. Officials have said the pool most likely would need to be drained again for liner repairs after chunks of blue coating were seen floating at the surface.

Trump has claimed without substantiation that vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter. Pirro, a former Fox News host who was appointed by Trump, said last week that six other people were arrested on misdemeanor charges related to the $16 million pool project.

Pirro accused Hearn of causing more than $1,000 in damage by ripping up recently installed sealant from the pool and acting belligerently toward an employee who told him to stop.

Hearn’s attorneys have said the charges against him are based on a “concocted narrative” and “should be alarming to every American.”

“This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures,” the lawyers said in a statement. “The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly and AP video journalist Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report.

Iran responded by targeting U.S.-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accused the U.S. of striking near its sole nuclear power plant.

Back-and-forth attacks, including on Wednesday, have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire, but Thursday’s appeared bigger all around. And Trump’s mixed messaging — approving back-to-back military strikes while insisting they don’t mean a return to full-scale war — is fueling uncertainty about what comes next.

Here's the latest:

Ships are still going through the Strait of Hormuz but the situation remains volatile

Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst for maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence, said in a news briefing that ships were still passing through the strait as of Wednesday, but Lloyd’s is still reviewing the numbers since some passages are “dark,” when ships stop broadcasting signals that show their location.

“The situation does remain really volatile,” she said.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence said preliminary data shows there were at least 576 transits in June, up from 233 in May, but down from 3,131 in June 2025.

Non-Iranian traffic in June included 264 outbound vessels and 137 inbound ships.

Outbound ships included bulkers, crude oil tankers and product tankers. Inbound ships included crude oil tankers, product tankers, bulk carriers and gas carriers.

In June, there was an even split between “dark” transits and online transits that broadcast their locations.

Germany reaches a deal with the US to buy long-range Tomahawk missiles, Merz says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the agreement on the long-range cruise missiles, which are used to strike targets deep inside enemy territory, was reached this week on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.

“This will close an important strategic gap in our defense, and at the same time, we will work to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” Merz told parliament after returning from the two-day summit.

The deal struck with the Trump administration amounts to broader export of American know-how to some of its major allies in Europe, whose security posture has been upended by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in Reflecting Pool damage case after Trump alleged vandalism

The former Olympic canoe racer pleaded not guilty Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a politically charged case that his defense attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided as an abuse of prosecutorial power.

David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered the plea during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted last Thursday on a single felony count of property destruction.

Trump ordered a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary this month, but the project has been plagued with problems. Workers have used chemicals to curtail an algae bloom. Trump has said the pool likely would need to be drained again for liner repairs after chunks of blue coating were seen floating at the surface.

Trump has claimed without substantiation that vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter.

▶ Read more

Ukraine says its Patriot production will take months

During Wednesday’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the U.S. will meet a longstanding request from Ukraine and give it a license to make the Patriot air defense systems. He also praised Zelenskyy for doing “an amazing job” — a sharp change in tone from past criticisms of the Ukrainian leader.

But setting up domestic production of the mobile, surface-to-air systems will take many months, said Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister.

A production license would typically come with technical process documentation, training for specialists, supplier contacts and foreign consultants to help launch manufacturing, Beskrestnov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The main obstacle would be time, rather than Ukraine’s technical or organizational capacity, he added.

Eswatini receives 11 people deported from the US as part of migration crackdown

The southern African kingdom of Eswatini has accepted a fourth group of people deported from the United States under a bilateral agreement to host third-country nationals, with 11 people arriving this week, the government said Thursday.

Acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said the group, predominantly from African countries, would remain in the kingdom temporarily while their rights were protected.

“The government reaffirms that, during their temporary stay in the Kingdom, the fundamental rights of the third-country nationals will be respected and protected in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the Kingdom’s international obligations,” Mdluli said in a statement.

Under a series of often-secret agreements that are part of a broad U.S. crackdown on immigration, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, advocates say.

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Global markets are mixed and oil prices rise as Iran and US launch new attacks

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1% before the opening bell Thursday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%. Nasdaq futures were up 0.5%.

Oil prices inched up again Thursday, with Brent crude, the international standard, rising 64 cents to to $78.66 per barrel. It briefly topped $80 on Wednesday. Before the Iran war began, Brent oil was trading at around $72 a barrel. Earlier optimism over an interim peace deal recently brought it back to prewar levels.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 54 cents to $74.06 a barrel.

▶ Read more

New attacks raise questions about what comes next in the Iran war

President Donald Trump says he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over. He says he’s not sure he wants a deal anymore and says the U.S. should “finish the job.” But he also insists continued attacks don’t mean a return to war or long-term action.

The confusion and uncertainty in Trump’s mixed messaging and his approval of back-to-back military strikes leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.

The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program — something Trump has tried before.

Whether it’s a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions.

▶ Read more

This week, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation kicked off the 26th annual “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy” campaign nationwide.

The effort targets straw purchases, which happen when someone purchases a gun for another person who cannot legally buy a firearm.

The campaign is focused on education and prevention. Firearm retailers are often the first line of defense, officials said, because they are in a position to spot and deter illegal purchases before a gun leaves the store.

A straw purchase is considered a felony. It can carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

ATF agents said they did not have statistics on the number of illegal gun purchases made in the San Antonio area or nationwide. Still, the agency said straw purchases remain a serious concern.

“They simply cannot control their drug routes or their territories without firearms,” U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons said. “Many of those firearms originate right here in San Antonio.”

Michael Weddle, an ATF special agent, said the consequences go beyond criminal penalties.

“It’s not worth it. The penalties are severe,” Weddle said. “Not only the penalties, but the consequences. It can be devastating to a family that is a victim of gun violence.”

Straw purchases should not be confused with ghost guns. Straw purchases involve traditional, serialized firearms that can be bought at gun stores. Ghost guns are privately made firearms assembled from kits or 3D-printed parts and lack a commercial serial number, making them more difficult to trace.

The campaign will run through September, with billboards and advertisements appearing across San Antonio.

Read also:

• City of San Antonio names Jesse Salame as SAPD’s acting police chief

Experts at the University of the Incarnate Word’s Rosenberg School of Optometry say the most important feature to look for when buying sunglasses is UV protection, not the darkness of the lenses.

“The UV light protection is a clear coat; it’s not actually the tint on the glasses,” said Stephanie Schmiedecke Barbieri, dean and professor at the Rosenberg School of Optometry.

Without proper UV protection, harmful ultraviolet rays can pass through the eye and cause long-term damage.

“Ultraviolet light is a short-wavelength light that can enter the eye, and when it does that, it can cause damage, including cataracts and damage to the retina,” Barbieri said.

Homer Martinez, optical manager at the Rosenberg School of Optometry, demonstrated a simple at-home test using a UV flashlight. By shining the light through a pair of sunglasses onto a dollar bill with a UV-reactive watermark, people can get an indication of whether their lenses are blocking ultraviolet light. If the watermark is still visible through the lens, the sunglasses may not provide sufficient UV protection.

The demonstration showed that even a pair of dark-tinted sunglasses failed the test, highlighting that lens color alone does not determine eye protection.

Experts recommend choosing sunglasses labeled “UV 400,” which indicates the lenses block nearly all UVA and UVB rays.

However, UV protection does not necessarily last forever.

“You start to notice scratches on your lenses, and that is absolutely going to be a red flag for you,” Martinez said. “Scratches can actually start to affect any kind of topical coatings.”

Martinez said sunglasses can begin showing signs of wear after about three years, depending on how frequently they are used and how well they are cared for.

For a more precise measurement, the UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry also offers testing with an ultraviolet photometer, which measures how much UV protection a pair of lenses provides. According to the university, a reading below 10 indicates strong UV protection.

During a demonstration, one stylish pair of $60 sunglasses with dark tinted lenses received a poor reading, while a pair of $1.50 SpongeBob-themed sunglasses had an excellent UV protection reading.

Barbieri said price is not an indicator of how well sunglasses protect your eyes.

“As long as it has that UV-400 or that ultraviolet protection that’s met the stringent criteria that we have for glasses, then it meets the criteria that you need to be safe,” she said.

Eye care professionals encourage consumers to verify that sunglasses provide UV-400 protection and replace heavily scratched or aging lenses to help protect their vision from the intense South Texas sun.

Martinez also says to look for frames that fully cover your eyes. Smaller, trendy styles may leave gaps that allow sunlight to reach both your eyes and the delicate skin around them.

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is New World Screwworm?

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

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

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

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

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

Read more about the screwworm here.

“I think the consumer is worse than what we had anticipated, and it’s driven mainly by gas prices,” PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said Thursday during a conference call with investors.

PepsiCo's shares fell 4% in morning trading Thursday.

The food and beverage giant said its net revenue rose 6.4% to $24.2 billion for the April-June period. That was better than the $23.9 billion Wall Street expected, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

PepsiCo began cutting prices on value brands like Santitas last year as U.S. customers grew increasingly exasperated after years of price hikes. In February, ahead of the Super Bowl, PepsiCo slashed U.S. prices on Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos chips by up to 15%, which boosted snack demand in the first quarter.

But in the second quarter, as gas prices rose, PepsiCo’s snack sales volumes were flat in North America, while its beverage volumes fell 4%. Laguarta said impulse purchases at gas stations and convenience stores were particularly hard hit.

Laguarta said the company is working with those stores to entice customers with more affordable pack sizes and meal bundles.

“Will it change in the coming months? It all depends on the price of gas. So clearly that’s something that is beyond our control,” Laguarta said.

Americans’ attitudes toward the economy have improved slightly as gas prices declined, but their outlook remains mostly negative. And hostilities in Iran have begun to escalate again, driving gasoline prices higher over the past two days.

Sales were stronger overseas, and its overall snack volumes rose 3% while beverage volumes rose 2%. World Cup -themed products, including limited-edition Lay's flavors like Portuguese Chorizo and Onion, boosted sales, particularly in Europe, the company said.

PepsiCo, based in Purchase, New York, said it will continue to invest in making its products more affordable. The company is also trying to meet consumer demand for healthier products. In March it introduced Doritos Protein and Gatorade Lower Sugar, which has no artificial flavors or colors.

The company said it's working with retailers to add shelf space for its products, which should help boost sales in the second half of this year.

Net income more than doubled in the second quarter to $2.98 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $2.20 per share, ahead of analysts' forecast of $2.19.

Existing home sales fell 2.4% last month from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Sales rose 2.8% compared with June last year.

The latest sales tally fell short of the roughly 4.21 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home sales have been mostly hovering close to a 4-million annual pace going back to 2023, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2-million.

Sales have remained sluggish as mortgage rates have mostly trended higher in the months since the war between the U.S. and Iran started. Expectations of higher inflation amid surging oil prices have pushed up the long-term bond yields that lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans, causing mortgage rates to climb. Still, mortgage rates remain below where they were a year ago.

Despite the lackluster sales, home prices continued to rise nationally last month. The U.S. median sales price increased 1.8% in June from a year earlier to $440,600, an all-time high on data going back to 1999, NAR said. Home prices have risen on an annual basis for 36 months in a row.

First-time buyers accounted for 33% of home purchases last month, down from 35% in May and up from 30% in June last year. Historically, they made up 40% of home sales.

“Without a doubt, the affordability is a major challenge for people who want to become homeowners, which is the reason why we need more supply,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low.

Through the first half of this year, seasonally adjusted sales of existing U.S. homes are up only 0.7% compared to the same period in 2025.

Years of soaring home prices, especially in the early part of this decade when rock-bottom mortgage rates fueled a buying frenzy, have left many would-be homebuyers frozen out of the market. And a chronic shortage of homes for sale nationally, due partly to years of below-average new home construction, has helped prop up home prices even in a multiyear sales slump.

Many of the homes purchased last month likely went under contract in April and May, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 6.23% to 6.53% -- the highest level going back to late August, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.

Those who can afford to buy at current mortgage rates or pay all cash are likely to encounter buyer-friendly trends in many markets. In June, median list prices fell 2.5% from a year earlier, the steepest annual drop on data going back to 2017, according to Realtor.com.

Still, housing market pricing trends vary widely regionally and locally. Consider, since peaking in 2022 at $449,000, list prices have come down 7.3% in the West and 3.5% in the South, but are up 10% in the Midwest and 12.6% in the Northeast, according to Realtor.com.

Meanwhile, home shoppers have more homes on the market to choose from than this time last year, although home inventory levels remain well below historical norms.

There were 1.56 million unsold homes at the end of last month, down 0.6% from May and up 1.3% from June last year, NAR said. That’s still well short of the roughly 2 million homes for sale that was typical before the COVID-19 pandemic.

June’s month-end inventory translates to a 4.6-month supply at the current sales pace. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

“We need to see 30%-40% growth in inventory,” Yun said. “We’re not seeing that, so inventory (is) still remaining relatively tight.”

A top Ukrainian official, meanwhile, cautioned that it could take a year or more for the country to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.

The Kremlin said the license deal reflected what it called Washington's “ambivalence” but noted it appreciated Trump’s efforts to help broker a peace deal to end the war, which Russia launched over four years ago.

Ukraine's drone strikes on oil refineries and other infrastructure across Russia have triggered a widespread fuel crisis with gasoline shortages and rationing in multiple regions and motorists waiting for hours to fill their tanks. Moscow has responded by intensifying its bombardment on Kyiv and other cities, exposing Ukraine's vulnerability to ballistic missile strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the latest strikes on Russia's infrastructure as part of Kyiv’s campaign of “long-range sanctions” carried out in response to Moscow's refusal to halt the fighting.

“We have long proposed that Russia end this war, and every day of delay should bring the feeling of war to where it all began — to Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine hits oil depots in western Russia and tankers at sea

A Ukrainian drone strike triggered a fire at an oil depot in the western Russian city of Tver, according to acting Gov. Vitaly Korolyov.

Oil reservoirs also were set ablaze by drones in Vyazniki, in the southern Stavropol region, said Gov. Vladimir Vladimirov, forcing the evacuation of several apartment buildings near the facility.

In the Sea of Azov, Ukrainian drones set two oil tankers on fire, according to Rostov Gov. Yuri Slusar, who said one of the ships was still burning and its crew evacuated.

The attack was the latest in a series of strikes on oil tankers in the area in recent days, part of Ukraine efforts to cut fuel supplies to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

In addition to strikes on oil facilities in Stavropol and Tver, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces hit fuel infrastructure deep inside Russia, including one in Ufa, as well as an oil-loading terminal in the Rostov region closer to Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its defenses downed 73 Ukrainian drones from late Wednesday into early Thursday.

Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 94 long-range strike drones and two ballistic missiles. While 72 drones were jammed or intercepted, 19 drones and both missiles damaged 13 locations, it said.

Ukraine says its Patriot production will take months

During Wednesday’s meeting with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the U.S. will meet a longstanding request from Ukraine and give it a license to make the Patriot air defense systems. He also praised Zelenskyy for doing "an amazing job” — a sharp change in tone from past criticisms of the Ukrainian leader.

But setting up domestic production of the mobile, surface-to-air systems will take many months, said Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister.

A production license would typically come with technical process documentation, training for specialists, supplier contacts and foreign consultants to help launch manufacturing, Beskrestnov wrote on his Telegram messaging app.

The main obstacle would be time, rather than Ukraine’s technical or organizational capacity, he added.

Recent media reports pointed to two likely bottlenecks: the long production cycle for some subcontracted components, which could take 12 to 24 months, and limited global output of key parts, including components supplied by Boeing and L3Harris, Beskrestnov added.

The Pentagon had signed contracts to expand production capacity, he said, but added that the timeline for those contracts to translate into increased output remained unclear.

Germany also has a license to produce Patriot systems, and in 2022, Raytheon and MBDA Deutschland announced they planned to manufacture Patriot GEM-T missiles in the country, according to a news release at the time. The goal was to produce them in a German facility and ultimately provide them to other European allies.

The facility is expected to open in September with its first missiles scheduled to be delivered next year, with Ukraine as the first recipient, according to Defense Express, an online Ukrainian military-oriented publication.

Kremlin says Ukrainian strikes won't hasten peace

Commenting on Trump’s statement about the Patriot missile licenses, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered a vague response, saying Moscow is aware of the U.S. military support for Ukraine but appreciates Washington’s declared commitment to help achieve peace.

“The U.S. position is somewhat ambivalent,” Peskov said in a call with reporters. “Still, unlike the Europeans, the United States maintains a desire to facilitate a move toward a peace process. They may be misguided or mistaken at times, but we see that desire as sincere. We welcome it, and we hope that once the Americans manage to resolve the situation regarding Iran despite the significant complications involved their efforts on the Ukrainian track will resume.”

Asked about Trump’s comment that Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia could hasten a peace settlement, Peskov reaffirmed that the more strikes Kyiv launches, the broader “security zone” Moscow will seek to carve out in Ukraine via what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation.”

“It’s a mistake to think that escalation and military pressure could pave the way to a peaceful settlement,” Peskov said. “Further escalation may prolong the special military operation, we can’t say precisely to what extent, but it will force us to create a larger security zone, a larger buffer zone. Therefore, inciting tensions and taking escalatory action will in no way contribute to the peace process.”

Ukraine has urged the U.S. and other allies to provide binding security guarantees as part of any prospective peace deal, including the deployment of NATO forces. Russia has strongly warned against the presence of any NATO troops in Ukraine, saying it would view them as legitimate targets.

Asked Wednesday if he would be ready to enact a no-fly zone over Ukraine as part of security guarantees, Trump responded by saying “if it’s necessary, yeah,” but he argued that it might not be needed if a peace deal is reached.

“When we have a deal, we’re going to have a deal, security guarantee or no security guarantee,” Trump said as he sat next to Zelenskyy.

Commenting on the issue, Peskov warned that an attempt to establish a no-fly zone would amount to “NATO military forces being active on the territory of Ukraine -- exactly what the special military operation is being waged against.”

Peskov said President Vladimir Putin is “open to dialogue” and ready for another phone call with Trump.

The newspapers allege the ChatGPT maker is hiding evidence important to what could be a landmark copyright infringement trial over how OpenAI and its business partner, Microsoft, built their AI technologies using millions of news articles. At issue is whether AI chatbots are unfairly competing as an information source, siphoning off web traffic without doing the journalistic work involved in gathering the news.

A filing Thursday in a Manhattan federal courthouse alleges OpenAI “chose obstruction” over releasing datasets and ChatGPT logs that could show how the AI system used copyrighted news content. The plaintiffs are asking the judge to penalize the company for "discovery misconduct” that could distort evidence, saying a recent deposition of an OpenAI employee contradicts the company's earlier claims.

New York Daily News attorney Steven Lieberman said OpenAI has been "making misrepresentations" for two years about its ability to search for copyrighted content in its AI training datasets and logs.

“This motion asks the court to punish OpenAI for hiding and destroying evidence showing how ChatGPT was trained on stolen journalism,” said Lieberman, who represents the Daily News and seven of its sister papers.

OpenAI didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in late 2023, about a year after ChatGPT's debut sparked a commercial AI boom and began changing the way people search for information online. The threat to news publications became even more apparent when Google in 2024 introduced AI-generated summaries at the top of online search results, cutting off the advertising dollars that come when people click a link to the information's original source.

The Times has since been joined by other news organizations, including MediaNews Group-owned newspapers the Daily News and the Chicago Tribune, digital media publisher Ziff Davis and the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting.

OpenAI and other tech companies have argued the process of training their AI systems on digitized books, online articles and other writings found on the internet is protected by the “fair use” doctrine of U.S. copyright law. It's a theory being tested in dozens of lawsuits as visual artists, novelists, music record labels and other creative industries take AI companies to court, with mixed results.

In the case involving the biggest copyright settlement so far, OpenAI rival Anthropic agreed to pay book authors $1.5 billion for training its chatbot Claude on their pirated works — an amount that represents a small fraction of Anthropic's $965 billion market valuation as it prepares to become publicly traded.

The New York Times' arguments are different from those brought by book authors. In its original lawsuit and an amended complaint filed last month, it focused on the unfair competition of companies that “seek to free-ride on The Times’s massive investment in its journalism by using it to build substitutive products without permission or payment.”

The Times has already spent more than $28 million on fighting AI companies in court, according to filings with financial regulators that disclose its litigation costs. The costs include another lawsuit the newspaper filed last year against AI company Perplexity. Among the sanctions sought by the newspapers Thursday are attorney fees that would pay for the efforts to secure “improperly withheld” evidence.

The mounting costs come as a growing number of media organizations have signed licensing deals with OpenAI and other AI companies such as Google and Facebook parent Meta that typically pay the outlet a fee to be able to train AI systems on their news feeds or archives. The Associated Press was the first to announce such a deal with OpenAI in 2023.

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O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

Dozens of Santas, Mrs. Clauses and elves from around the world have descended on Denmark's fourth-largest city for the Nordic nation’s annual World Santa Claus Congress, a colorful midsummer tradition for decades.

First staged at an amusement park near Copenhagen in 1957, the congress moved to Aalborg on Denmark’s Jutland peninsula two years ago. This year, the Santa suits looked a little stifling under the Danish summer sun.

The event, which marks its 70th anniversary next year, was created to entertain children, but became a popular gathering for Santas who appear in stores and shopping malls during the Yuletide season.

The gathering offers a chance for professional Santas — not the real one, of course! — to swap stories, compare beards, sharpen their craft and compete in lighthearted contests months before anyone checks naughty-or-nice lists for the Christmas rush.

The packed agenda features events like gingerbread eating, gift wrapping, balloon modeling, and several noisy parades.

“The grandmas say: ‘Oh, it’s too early to come here’," said organizer Peter Gislund, himself a Santa Claus in Aalborg during the Christmas season. “The kids say: 'Hooray! Santa’s here already'.”

Christmas as a state of mind, not just a season

Over the years, the annual four-day gathering has attracted Santas and Mrs. Clauses from as far away as Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States.

Most of the three dozen or so Santas and Mrs. Clauses at the congress this week hail from Scandinavia, but some flew in — like Paradise Yamamoto from Tokyo.

“This is very fun, so many children … Ho, ho, ho!” said Yamamoto with a laugh after parading through Aalborg waving a Japanese flag and dancing to the song "Feliz Navidad” — one of many Christmas classics played during the event.

Robert Hercz, a 64-year-old Norwegian Santa from Oslo, said that despite their different nationalities, all Santas on hand share “a gene” — for generosity and spreading joy.

“You have it or you don’t,” said Hercz, who was attending the congress for the first time. “We have the true Santa spirit. And it’s all about giving, sharing, and putting a little bit of joy in people’s hearts.”

It’s not all ho-ho-ing and belly rubs.

“When Santas are together, they always mingle and talk a little bit,” said Gislund. “Maybe I put a little bit of sparkle in the beard and so on. That’s the good part of meeting some Santas from all over the world.”

For Simon Brøns, a 33-year-old Danish Santa, the event is proof that the festive spirit isn’t just for Christmas.

“Christmas is not a season. It’s a feeling you have in your stomach," he said with a smile. "So if you want, you can have Christmas the whole year.”

Back-and-forth attacks, including a day earlier, have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire. But Thursday’s appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least three times in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters, and missiles targeting Kuwait and Qatar.

Sirens sounded Thursday afternoon in Jordan as well, where the U.S. has stationed troops and aircraft.

An Iranian official accused the U.S. of launching an airstrike later Thursday targeting the area around Iran's sole nuclear power plant, and other explosions were reported elsewhere in the country during the afternoon.

The strikes came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of a fragile ceasefire and threatened to escalate the conflict if they didn't stop. That raised concerns that the region could tip back into a war that would engulf several countries and could halt energy shipments through the strait that are crucial for the global economy.

In Iran, the two days of American airstrikes have killed at least 14 people and wounded another 78, Iran’s Health Ministry said Thursday. Most were reportedly members of the armed forces.

In Kuwait, the military said falling debris wounded one person as the nation shot down three ballistic missiles, a cruise missile and 10 drones. Bahrain said it shot down incoming fire, without elaborating, and Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said all incoming fire from Iran had been intercepted. Iranian state TV said the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan.

There was no immediate word of damage in Qatar.

US strikes hit more targets

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit 90 targets across Iran, releasing black-and-white footage of what appeared to be strikes on an airport runway and missile launchers.

The U.S. said the strikes were intended to “further degrade” Iran’s ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Traffic has picked up somewhat since a tentative deal last month included opening the waterway. Maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence said Thursday that preliminary data showed at least 576 ships passed through the strait in June, compared to 233 in May. More than 3,100 transited the strait in June 2025.

Attacks on ships — and the threat of such strikes — virtually halted traffic in the waterway during the conflict, making oil prices skyrocket and raising the cost of food and other basic goods far beyond the region.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex, and southern port cities. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Ehsan Jahanian, a local official in Bushehr, as accusing the U.S. of striking near the plant around noon, hours after the U.S. military’s Central Command said it had ended its latest round of strikes on Iran. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During the war, several strikes hit the area around the plant but didn't damage it.

For the first time since April, U.S. strikes also appeared to target Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Iran’s northeastern Golestan province, and the Revolutionary Guard said two bridges were attacked on the route to Mashhad, where officials plan to bury the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday.

Trump warns that ‘it will get much worse’ if attacks on shipping happen again

After leaving a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran and issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote.

Trump said earlier in the day that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in lengthy military action.

Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric and desalination plants, and to seize Kharg Island, through which some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass.

The exchange of fire began after Iran attacked three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

The new attacks, despite the ceasefire, could reflect a divide among Iran’s leadership. Hard-liners want to ensure lasting control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical lever in confronting the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace deal to lift international sanctions and provide desperately needed economic relief.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X on Thursday morning: “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: If you strike, you’ll get hit.”

Strikes raise fears that war could resume

Trump fueled concerns that the war could restart by saying Wednesday that the interim agreement to pause the fighting was “over.” He added that he would allow negotiations to continue but thought negotiators were "wasting their time.”

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also a top negotiator, retorted on X that Trump’s remarks “are not a sign of power but an admission of the failure” of U.S. policy toward Iran.

Negotiations to reach a final deal were due to start after the dayslong funeral for Khamenei, who was killed in the war’s first moments. He was to be laid to rest Thursday.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

According to the Congolese health ministry, suspected cases have now been recorded in the provinces of Tshopo and Haut-Uele, signaling the continued spread of the disease beyond the epicenter in Ituri.

A Congolese government report, published late Wednesday, said two new cases were suspected in Kisangani, in Tshopo province. The minister did not say how many cases were suspected in Haut-Uele. The total number of confirmed cases across the country has now reached 1,759.

The report said one of the two suspected cases in Tshopo was linked to the Nia-Nia health zone in Ituri province, where the first cases were reported, while the other case “has no apparent geographical connection to known outbreaks.” Authorities were investigating.

The Africa Centre for Disease Control said on Thursday that the latest outbreak is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on the continent.

The Congolese authorities declared a fresh Ebola outbreak on May 15, after the disease had been transmitting for weeks without official detection, according to the World Health Organization. The latest outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment.

Last week, clinical trials for treatment began after researchers launched a highly anticipated study in the hope of fighting the virus.

Efforts to contain the virus have also been hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, and an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak.

———

Justin Kabumba reported from Goma, Congo.

Now Francesca Hong, a single mother who has worked as a dishwasher and line cook, is trying to do the same with her campaign for governor in Wisconsin, a swing state known for razor-thin election margins where winning over moderate, independent voters is crucial.

Hong's candidacy has turned the Democratic primary on Aug. 11 into the latest test of just how far left voters are willing to go in the November midterms.

“We do this in Wisconsin, we’re going to change politics across the country,” the 37-year-old Hong said as she headed into the final month of campaigning. "People who are frustrated and have a lot more to lose — and I’m one of those people — are ready to coalesce around someone they can believe in.”

John Ravdabaugh, an undecided independent voter, came away impressed after hearing Hong speak at the retirement home where he lives. Even though the democratic socialist label concerns him, Ravdabaugh said he would consider voting for Hong.

“Every system reaches a point where change is necessary,” he said.

Whoever wins the primary will advance to almost certainly face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, one of the most conservative members of the House, who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Tiffany has only token opposition in the primary.

The governor's race is integral to Democrats’ hopes of earning full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010, and it will send a signal about where the country's politics are headed by shaping a key political battleground that helps decide presidential campaigns.

Trump-backed Republican d

erides Democratic rivals as ‘crazy’

Tiffany has focused much of his criticism on Hong and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, another Democratic candidate for governor.

“This November, the choice is common sense or crazy,” Tiffany posted on social media in June. Tiffany included screenshots of a Barnes post where he voiced support for cutting prison populations by half and Hong's posts where she advocates for defunding and abolishing the police.

As a candidate, Hong has not backed away from her calls to defund and abolish the police. Hong also supports increasing taxes on the wealthy and creating a state-owned bank to help pay for free health care and free child care, a $20 minimum wage, and a moratorium on data center construction.

Hong dismisses concerns that she’s too liberal to win over key independent voters in a state Trump carried twice and narrowly lost a third time.

“I worry that’s a miscalculation of where voters are at in our state, that we’re underestimating what people want,” Hong said in an interview.

There's a history of socialism in Milwaukee

Last month, democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, setting herself up to clinch the office in November.

Then three congressional candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, another democratic socialist, defeated establishment-backed politicians.

And just last week, democratic socialist Melat Kiros beat U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in the Colorado primary, a stunning victory for the 29-year-old, first-time candidate against an incumbent who took office before she was born.

But those victories have been in either congressional or mayoral races in large urban centers, a far different landscape than Wisconsin.

In 1910, during socialism’s heyday in the United States, Milwaukee sent the first socialist to Congress and was the first major American city to elect a socialist mayor. Milwaukee elected two more socialist mayors before 1960.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, perhaps the best known democratic socialist, won all but one county in Wisconsin in the 2016 Democratic primary. In 2023, two state lawmakers from Milwaukee revived the socialist caucus in the Legislature, which had been dormant since 1935.

Hong, the first Asian American elected to the state Assembly in 2020, is one of four members of that caucus.

Barnes, 39, served four years in the state Assembly before his four years as lieutenant governor under Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. In 2022, Barnes came within 27,000 votes of ousting Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.

“I’ve been around longer than anybody fighting these fights,” said Barnes, who grew up in Milwaukee and is vying to become Wisconsin's first Black governor.

He played down the idea that democratic socialists are surging.

“People aren’t looking for labels, necessarily,” he said. “People are looking for bold solutions.”

Longtime Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki, who is not working for any of the Democrats running this year, said Barnes has an advantage as the most well-known candidate in the race.

“I have believed from the day since Mandela Barnes got into the race, he's the favorite,” Zepecki said. “It is his race to lose.”

Hong rival leans into electability argument

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a former nurse and health care executive who is also running for the Democratic nomination, said she'll have broader appeal in November. She cites her experience in the private sector and her flipping of a state Assembly seat in a conservative Milwaukee suburb, and she emphasizes her ideas for lowering costs for working people.

“I’m not worried about other candidates in this race,” Rodriguez said in an interview. “What I’m worried about is making my argument to Wisconsinites about why I’m the best person to lead the state, how I am going to fight for them."

She launched a $1 million television ad campaign this week that features her in nursing scrubs talking about taking on Tiffany and lowering health care costs.

Other Democratic candidates are state Sen. Kelda Roys, who has the endorsement of the statewide teachers union, and Joel Brennan, a former top aide to Evers.

Missy Hughes, the state’s former economic development director, dropped out of the race in June and endorsed Rodriguez. David Crowley, the top elected official in Milwaukee County, dropped out this week and also backed Rodriguez.

Mainstream Democrats worry about winning in November

More moderate Democrats worry that nominating Hong could hurt them in the general election, especially in Wisconsin where independent voters are key in statewide races that are often decided by tiny margins.

Neera Tanden, who leads the Center for American Progress, said "it’s especially important in the age of Trump” to select viable candidates.

“In Wisconsin, whoever wins the general election will be the person overseeing elections in 2028 and whether people are seated in 2029.”

Evers won his two races for governor by just over 1 percentage point in 2018 and just over 3 points in 2022. Trump won Wisconsin by less than a point in 2024, and lost by less than a point in 2020.

Dave Smith, 72, a retired doctor from Madison who heard Hong speak Tuesday, said the democratic socialist label will be tough for voters of his generation to accept.

“The platform, much of that resonates well,” said Smith, who is undecided whom he will vote for in the Democratic primary. “My vote will likely go to who is the most electable in the fall.”

___

Associated Press writer Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

Officers were dispatched for a reported collision just before 11 a.m. at the post office in the 12900 block of Huebner Road, according to a San Antonio police preliminary report.

When officers arrived, SAPD said its officers found an older woman who had inadvertently driven into the post office.

The unidentified woman was treated for her injuries and later taken to a hospital in an unknown condition, SAPD said. Police said the woman may have suffered a “health episode,” during the crash.

Becky Hernandez, a USPS spokesperson, said the post office’s front door, retail lobby and P.O. box lobby were damaged following the crash.

Hernandez said no injuries were reported.

For any customers affected, retail services are available at the Cedar Elm Post Office located at 5837 De Zavala Road between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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The show, premiering Thursday and set in the late 1800s, follows the Ingalls family led by Charles and Caroline and their two daughters Mary and Laura — as they settle in the American frontier. It's adapted from a series of semi-autobiographical books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder about her own family's pioneer life. In 1974, Michael Landon co-created the TV series based on the books where he played Pa alongside Melissa Gilbert as Laura. It aired for nine seasons. In the new version, Luke Bracey plays Pa and Alice Halsey is Laura.

Sonnenshine says the same frontier spirit from back then is baked into how Americans see themselves, even today.

“This idea of rugged individualism is the cornerstone of American mythos,” Sonnenshine says. “It's still manifesting in our lives constantly … We're real go-getters.”

In “Little House,” we see the Ingalls family seeking land and opportunity as they move west. In real life, Sonnenshine says, those settlers often didn't understand what they were part of.

“There was no CNN or up-to-date newspapers, telling you” what was really happening, she says. “They did not understand the politics of land ownership or these treaties that have been made or these reservations,” she said. In the show, we see Charles begin to grasp the politics at play as the family encounters the Osage Nation and their new neighbors — and keeps some of that to himself. Sonnenshine says “it's not out of malice, exactly” but because “knowledge did not flow as freely as it does now.”

Writers made keeping key events from originals a priority

As the Ingalls family builds their new life, we're introduced to various neighbors who help them do it. That includes an Osage family adjusting to their own new way of life as settlers claim parts of their land. Laura strikes up a friendship with an Osage girl, and there's a mutual respect among Charles and the Osage family patriarch.

“A lot of what this show is about is getting to know people that are not like you, all kinds of different people, because once you get to know people, that’s where all the change happens,” said Sonnenshine.

Mr. Edwards, a fan favorite from the books and series, helps Pa build the family's cabin. He's a rugged Civil War veteran with a heart of gold — grieving the loss of his own family, finding a new one in the Ingalls.

Staying true to characters like Edwards and including key events from the source material was a priority for Sonnenshine. She and her writers made a list of “iconic moments” with a checklist to follow. “We just crossed them off as we went along. ‘OK, we’ve found a way to incorporate this' or ‘Ma gets a chair,' which is very important, or 'great Pa builds a door.’” Building a door, says Sonnenshine, is “a whole chapter in a book.”

Trip Friendly, whose father Ed co-created the series with Landon and was an executive producer, controls the overall rights to the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories. He's an executive producer on the remake, and Sonnenshine says Trip is “very passionate about telling the story of the books.”

Pa is good but not perfect

Landon's portrayal of Pa made him arguably one of the most popular TV dads in the history of the medium. He was a devoted family man with strong morals and compassion for others.

Bracey had never watched the original which he says was beneficial to creating his own interpretation of the character.

“I didn't feel that burden,” said Bracey. “The intimidating factor has come after making it. When I’ve told people what I’ve done, and I’ve been told how important it is to them. That’s where it’s got intimidating.”

Bracey said it's refreshing to play a genuinely good person, who makes mistakes, but is good.

“There’s very few really good people in television and movies. I feel lots of times they have to have a dark secret or a checkered past or whatever,” he said.

Crosby Fitzgerald, who plays Ma, says that goodness is present off-screen too. “Working with Luke is incredible. He actually is like Pa in person. Just really lifted me up all the time. It's impossible to work on a set like this, especially with this legacy, and not be uplifted by the vibe.”

Sonnenshine says Season 1 is also about Laura learning that neither of her parents are perfect, particularly Pa. She comes to understand that “he does make mistakes and that’s OK.' And even Charles talks about that. I think that’s a more honest portrayal of fatherhood.”

Second season will add Laura's rival

Sonnenshine most recently wrote the adaptation for the hit film “The Housemaid” starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried and is writing its sequel. She was also a writer on “The Boys,” which was known for its explicit language and sex and graphic violence. It's not an exaggeration to say that writing for “Little House,” even on a streaming platform, is different.

“This is the first time I’ve ever written without using any curse words,” said Sonnenshine.

“I’ve usually done, like much darker material. So I always say, well, I’m in my family era right now.”

Filming on the show's second season is underway. Netflix recently confirmed the addition of another popular character from the originals. Willa Dunn has been cast as Laura's rival Nellie Oleson, whose father owns the general store.

“She’s here and she’s acting up a storm,” said Sonnenshine. “It’s really fun. People love that character. I think we’re doing a slightly different take on the character, which is also really fun. The book is our sort of touchstone and then building upon that for her and her family has been — it brings a new dynamic to the Ingalls family.”

Pena was stabbed multiple times on June 25 after what witnesses described as an altercation at a home in the 800 block of East 10th Street involving Pena and three women.

The confrontation spilled into a neighbor’s yard, where dried blood could still be seen on a walkway and on a truck Pena leaned on after she was injured, police said.

>> 3 women accused of murder in connection with deadly stabbing in Del Rio, police say

Pena was taken to a local hospital and later transported to San Antonio, where she died.

Del Rio police arrested Kitty Mia Diaz, 21, and Amaya Cookie Diaz, 19, around 4 p.m. that day in the 300 block of West Strickland. Video of the arrest shows the two women being taken into custody while smiling and laughing.

Michael Elizondo, a freelance journalist in Del Rio, recorded the arrest without knowing at the time that the suspects were accused in Pena’s killing. He later learned Pena was a distant relative.

“It’s staying in my mind, that mental picture of that girl,” Elizondo said. “It didn’t phase them. They didn’t care.”

When he found out who the victim was, Elizondo said, “That hit me hard.”

Kyandra Renee Faz, 21, was also arrested in the case.

Investigators have not released a possible motive.

“This is still ongoing, so we don’t have that information at this point,” said Peter Ojeda, communications director for the City of Del Rio.

Ojeda said Del Rio police acted quickly in the case.

“I do hope that the swift action of Del Rio police brings some solace to the community,” Ojeda said.

Investigators continue to work the case while keeping the Val Verde County district attorney informed.

Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham will be collecting signatures from Labour lawmakers, and needs at least 80 to run – a target he’s likely to well exceed.

Lawmakers trudged up a narrow staircase to a Labour office in Parliament throughout the day to sign nomination papers.

“It's all starting to feel very real,” Burnham said in a social media video confirming that he had nominated himself.

Nominations remain open until July 16. Burnham is highly likely to be announced as the new Labour leader the following day, and to become prime minister after a meeting with King Charles III on July 20.

Other potential contenders have all ruled themselves out. Former Defense Minister Al Carns, who had been pondering a run, confirmed late Wednesday that he will not challenge Burnham.

“I’d hoped a leadership contest would give us the opportunity for a proper debate,” Carns said in a statement. “But months of internal Labour politics isn’t what the country needs right now. We’ve got to get on with the job. Andy Burnham’s earned this and he’s got my full backing.”

Starmer announced last month that he would resign as soon as his center-left party chose a successor. He was elected in a landslide in July 2024, but quit after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.

Burnham spent almost a decade running Manchester in northwest England before returning to Parliament by winning a special election last month. He’s promising sweeping change, vowing to reverse almost two decades of low growth since the 2008 financial crisis through an approach dubbed “Manchesterism” — harnessing private and public money to invest in areas like transport, housing and infrastructure.

But he will face many of the same political and economic challenges as Starmer, including a sluggish economy, tattered public services and a cost-of-living squeeze.

He also promised continuity in foreign policy, writing in The Times of London that the government’s “commitment to NATO and the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent will remain absolute.” He said Britain will remain a firm ally of the United States and a strong supporter of Ukraine.

Tyler died unexpectedly in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated for an illness, her family said Thursday in a statement on her website. She was hospitalized in May in Faro, where she had a home, for emergency intestinal surgery. She had been placed in an induced coma for a period but was reportedly improving last month and expected to make a good recovery.

“Bonnie’s family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for,” her family said.

Tyler earned three Grammy nods and in 2013 represented Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest, where she came in 19th. She was honored as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2022 for her services to music by Queen Elizabeth II, thanks mainly to “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which has had more than 1 billion streams, boosted by real eclipses in 2017 and 2024.

The song spent four weeks at No. 1, and when Stereogum reevaluated it in 2020, the music outlet declared it an “extinction-level event rendered in musical form.”

“It’s pop music as heart-pounding, chest-thumping, blood-gargling, heavens-falling passion explosion. It’s sheer spectacle. It’s fireworks and lasers and lightning and thunder. It soars and swoops and barrel-rolls,” the site said.

The song has never really gone away: it was covered by the English singer Nicki French in 1995, and the band Westlife in 2006. Cate Blanchett sang it while hitting Billy Bob Thornton with her car in 2001’s “Bandits,” it appeared in a wedding scene in 2003’s “Old School” and One Direction sang it in 2010 on a U.K. version of “The X Factor.”

Early life

Tyler was born — as Gaynor Hopkins — a coal miner’s daughter in public housing with an outside toilet in Skewen, Wales, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) outside Swansea. She grew up with three sisters and two brothers.

She adored the Beatles and her first album was “A Hard Day’s Night.” The first song she bought, at 13, was “Hippy Hippy Shake” by the Swinging Blue Jeans and she watched “Top of the Pops” religiously, according to her memoir, “Straight From the Heart.”

She would record “Top of the Pops” on a reel-to-reel two-track recorder and write down the lyrics of songs she loved. Her favorites were by Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding.

“I used to sing them into my hairbrush for hours and hours, and that’s how it all started for me. I fell in love with singing just from doing that. Looking back, even then my voice had a husky tone to it, but I didn’t think much of it. I thought everyone’s voices were different from each other’s,” she wrote.

In 1976 she had to have surgery to remove nodules on her throat, leaving her with that trademark vocal sound. Changing her name to Sherene Davis, she was fronting a soul band when she was discovered by talent scout Roger Bell, who brought her to London for demo sessions. Then she waited for a label until RCA said it was interested.

Under her new RCA-sanctioned name Bonnie Tyler, her debut album “The World Starts Tonight” in 1977 contained her first chart hit, “Lost in France,” and she was nominated for a breakthrough artists award at the Brit Awards. She then had a No. 3 hit in 1978 with “It’s a Heartache,” but soon drifted. She then signed with Sony and saw Meat Loaf perform “Bat Out of Hell” on the BBC. Impressed, she requested to work with Meat Loaf songwriter and producer Jim Steinman.

‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’

Steinman introduced her to his song “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which would become the debut single for her fifth studio album, “Faster Than the Speed of Night.” He borrowed one of the song’s lyrics — “Turn around, bright eyes” — from his 1969 musical “The Dream Engine,” written when he was a student at Massachusetts’ Amherst College. He told her the song was from a prospective musical version of “Nosferatu.”

“Jim liked to put down a basic rhythm track, do nine takes of the song, choose the best one and then put the kitchen sink on there, like Phil Spector used to,” Tyler told The Guardian in 2023. “He gave me a cassette to listen to in my hotel and we both preferred take two.”

Featuring E Street Band members Roy Bittan on piano and Max Weinberg on drums, “Total Eclipse” is a rumination on lost love: “Once upon a time there was light in my life/But now there’s only love in the dark,” she sings.

The video, a staple of early-days MTV, was shot in a frightening gothic former asylum in Surrey, where the guard dogs apparently wouldn’t set foot in the rooms downstairs where they used to give people electric shock treatment. The visuals included slow-motion tossed doves, candles, dancing ninjas, dancing greasers, Tyler in frighteningly big shoulder pads, fencers, gymnasts, wind machines and shirtless boys wearing swim goggles being doused with water.

“Faster Than the Speed of Night” earned a Grammy nomination for best rock vocal performance — losing to Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield” — and Tyler got another nod for “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in the best pop vocal performance category, losing to Irene Cara’s “Flashdance — What a Feeling.”

After the ‘Eclipse’

Tyler never reached such dizzying heights again but stayed current with such movie soundtrack singles as “Holding Out For a Hero” — from 1984’s “Footloose” — and “Here She Comes” from “Metropolis” also in 1984.

Her 2019 disc “Between the Earth and the Stars” featured duets with Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard and Status Quo’s Francis Rossi, and she ended that year performing a Vatican Christmas concert before Pope Francis.

In 2013, she switched gears to make a country-flavored record in Nashville, “Rocks and Honey,” which included the Vince Gill duet “What You Need From Me” and a little ballad called “Believe in Me,” written by American songwriter Desmond Child and British songwriters Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide. “Believe in Me” was picked to represent the United Kingdom at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden.

“It was an absolutely wonderful atmosphere there,” she told the San Francisco Examiner in 2023. “I was being interviewed every 15, 20 minutes, and when I walked out onstage behind the British flag, I thought the roof was going to come off! It was awesome, just awesome!”

In 2017, she joined Joe Jonas’ band DNCE for a performance on the cruise ship Oasis of the Seas as part of a “Total Eclipse Cruise.” When the moon passed in front of the sun, they played “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

Tyler was married to property developer and former Olympic judo competitor Robert Sullivan.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Melley in London contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that Tyler was honored by Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, not 2023.

U.S. applications for jobless aid in the week ending July 4 ticked down by 2,000 to 215,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast 220,000 new applications.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the U.S. job market.

In its more comprehensive June jobs report last week, the government reported that employers pulled back on hiring in June, adding only 57,000 jobs. That’s less than half the previous month’s total and a sign that companies remain cautious. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though that decline is mostly because many out-of-work people gave up looking for jobs and were no longer counted as unemployed.

June’s tepid hiring comes after a relative surge in job gains the previous three months, countering concerns that the war in Iran could trip up an already wobbly labor market.

Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

Among the companies that have trimmed their workforce recently are Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.

Earlier this week, Microsoft said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its Xbox video game business.

Thursday’s layoffs data showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which softens some of the week-to-week swings, fell by 3,750 to 218,750.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending June 27 rose by 8,000 to 1.81 million, also a historically healthy figure.

Work location: Detroit, MI

Description

The Director of Digital Sales leads Graham Media Group’s digital sales strategy across all markets, driving revenue growth and collaboration between station sales teams and digital specialists. Reporting to the Senior Director of Sales, this role owns the total digital revenue goal for the company and oversees a team of six Digital Sales Strategists (DSS) embedded within GMG stations. The Director of Digital Sales ensures every market has the tools, training, and leadership to develop and close high-value, multi-platform deals that deliver measurable client outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of six Digital Sales Strategists across GMG markets.
• Own the overall digital revenue goal for the company, ensuring accountability and strategic focus on growth.
• Partner with station leadership and Account Executives to identify, strategize, and close high-dollar, multi-platform opportunities.
• Oversee category strategies, pricing, packaging, and inventory management across all digital products (display, OTT/CTV, social, audio, video, search, etc.).
• Collaborate with internal teams and vendors to enhance product offerings, improve margins, and maintain consistent execution quality.
• Use data, pacing, and forecasting tools to monitor performance and adjust sales strategy accordingly.
• Drive a culture of collaboration between traditional and digital sellers, ensuring shared accountability for total revenue goals.
• Represent GMG in strategic vendor meetings and industry events to maintain awareness of emerging platforms and opportunities.

Requirements

• BA/BS degree in related field preferred; or equivalent work experience.
• A minimum of 7 years of experience in digital media sales, with at least 3 years in leadership or senior sales capacity.
• Proven success leading digital sales teams or strategists across multiple markets.
• Strong understanding of digital advertising products, campaign strategy, and performance metrics.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and motivational skills.
• Data-driven mindset with the ability to interpret and act on performance metrics and trends.
• Experience managing vendor relationships and negotiating partnerships.
• Ability to travel up to 75% of the time.

Contact: Shosh Abromovich, Senior Director of Sales

sabromovich@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.

In a news release, TxDOT said the southbound I-35 main lanes at Judson Road will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Thursday and Friday.

As a detour, the release said to exit the southbound I-35 main lanes at the Judson Road off-ramp, which leads to the I-35 access road.

Drivers can then enter the on-ramp back onto the southbound I-35 main lanes just south of Judson Road, TxDOT said.

The closure is weather-permitting and is subject to change.

Read also:

• Driver dies after crashing into vehicle, fence on Northwest Side, police say

Omaira Garcia didn’t realize life on her small ranch in Abilene was about to change forever until clouds of dust — kicked up by a mysterious construction next door — began to engulf her home.

The Air Force veteran said she was never told about OpenAI’s plans to build its flagship “Stargate” data center directly beside her property until well after construction began in the summer of 2024. Now, the site’s large-scale power plant sits roughly 500 yards from her house — the exhaust stacks of gas-powered turbines clearly visible from her kitchen window.

“We weren’t given any time to understand what this impact was going to be on us,” the mother of two said through tears. “We’re trapped here.”

OpenAI did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Stargate’s developer, Crusoe, told Floodlight that the data center has “contributed meaningfully to the economic development” of Abilene, and its investments are “funding new fire trucks, school expansions, and road improvements across the city.”

Garcia’s situation isn’t unique: Data centers like Stargate, along with their accompanying power plants, are proliferating across the country, helping to satisfy an immense demand for artificial intelligence.

And despite lofty promises to fuel data centers with renewable energy, data shows AI companies are mostly relying on gas to satisfy their insatiable energy demands. Nationwide, nearly 60 data centers are planning to build their own gas plants to avoid connecting to the grid, according to research by energy analytics firm Cleanview released last month.

Including Stargate’s Abilene campus, at least 15 gas plants tied to data centers are planned for Texas, according to Cleanview. Available permits reviewed by Floodlight show that nine of them combined could emit more than 130 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. That’s the equivalent annual emissions of 35 coal-fired power plants, according to an Environmental Protection Agency calculator.

While actual emissions are usually lower than estimates, the impact on the climate could still be enormous: If completed, these nine plants have the potential to emit more annual greenhouse gases than most countries do — even if emissions end up being half of what’s permitted.

In Abilene, Stargate’s developers have already built 10 gas-powered turbines and 62 backup diesel generators and want to add 41 more turbines and 18 more generators to the sprawling site. If approved, the expansion would make Stargate one of the largest fossil fuel power plants in the state — capable of powering more than 1 million homes and emitting more annual greenhouse gases than nearly 2 million cars.

On paper, Stargate’s Abilene campus started out small, but through a permitting loophole identified by Floodlight, it was able to quietly construct massive power sources with little-to-no public notice.

Dozens of Texas data centers have obtained these minor air permits — which avoid public scrutiny and extensive environmental reviews and are more commonly associated with dry cleaners and auto body shops. In several cases, data centers secured these permits before seeking massive expansions later on, deploying a “small first, big later” strategy that watchdogs say limits public input and creates unstoppable momentum for their projects.

“All of this should have been rolled into one permit,” said Bruce Buckheit, a former air enforcement chief for the EPA who served under multiple Republican administrations, when briefed on Stargate’s expansion plan.

These minor permits — as well as the nondisclosure agreements many developers require in their dealings with local governments and residents — are how communities like Garcia’s are left stunned when exhaust stacks pop up in their backyards.

Texas on track to lead U.S. in data centers

Stargate was first announced in January 2025 as part of a $500 billion joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle to construct hyperscale AI data centers across the country.

“It’s big money and high-quality people,” President Donald Trump said at the time. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called it “the most important project of this era.”

Construction was already well underway in Abilene. The 1,100-acre campus, along with its 360 megawatt on-site gas plant, were among the first hyperscale AI data centers to break ground in Texas. A wave of similar proposals has since made the state ground zero for the AI-driven build-out of fossil fuel power plants across the US.

With roughly 300 operational data centers and 200 more in development, Texas is expected to surpass Virginia as the nation’s leading data center market by 2030. Lured by prolific gas reserves and an industry-friendly government, AI companies have flocked to Texas in droves and begun erecting a “shadow grid” of custom-built power plants capable of fueling entire cities.

For example: Meta’s data center in El Paso plans to rely on a new 366 MW gas plant; Chevron is planning a 2.5 GW–5 GW natural gas-fired power complex in the Permian Basin exclusively meant to power data centers; and Pacifico’s GW Ranch in Pecos County was recently granted the country’s largest air pollution permit, allowing emissions of up to 33 million tons per year of greenhouse gases — equal to nearly 5% of Canada’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Overall, Texas has put more than 80 GW of new gas power plants into its construction pipeline, more than any country besides China. Roughly half of that capacity will provide power exclusively to data centers according to a report from Global Energy Monitor.

“You haven’t seen anything like that since the fracking boom,” said Jenny Martos, who authored the report. She described the trend as “enormous” and said it risks “locking in fossil fuel for the foreseeable future.”

The “bring your own power” strategy once thought of as a novel approach embodied by Elon Musk’s controversial data centers in Tennessee and Mississippi has now gone mainstream, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Texas.

Minor permits lead to major construction projects

In 2024, Stargate’s developers secured permission to operate 10 gas-powered turbines and 62 backup diesel generators through minor permits known as “permits by rule” and “standard permits.” Under the minor permits, Stargate’s fleet of turbines and generators are currently allowed to emit more than 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gases and 1,000 tons of combined harmful air pollutants every year. Despite being permitted for continuous use, Stargate’s developer, Crusoe, told Floodlight that the turbines will only be used for back up power.

Widely understood to be used by low-level polluters across the country, these permits don’t require environmental studies, public notice or public comment periods, according to experts like Kathryn Guerra, who spent nearly four years at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before joining the watchdog group Public Citizen.

“Those lower level permits get granted very quickly and often without the public knowing,” Guerra said — and “that feels pretty intentional.”

Buckheit, the former EPA air enforcement chief, agreed.

State agencies typically use the permit by rule process “for small things that happen a lot,” like gas stations or dry cleaners, so “they don’t have to waste their time reinventing the wheel for common stuff,” Buckheit said.

But Stargate “isn’t common stuff,” he said.

“Normally that permit by rule was conceived of and implemented in a case where an operator wanted a backup generator or three backup generators. When you get to 62, you start thinking, ‘Well, wait a minute, maybe the scale is wrong here,’” Buckheit said.

Since 2024, at least 38 data centers across Texas have received minor permits to operate on-site power sources, according to a Floodlight analysis. As a result, Texas regulators quietly sanctioned the use of more than 2,100 backup diesel generators across the state.

While intended for emergency power, the generators are also routinely operated for testing and maintenance, according to their permits. Operating data center backup diesel generators for less than an hour per week, on average, creates the same public health impact as five large scale gas-fired power plants, according to an analysis by Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Washington.

Taken together, the thousands of new generators identified by Floodlight in Texas are permitted to emit nearly 2,500 tons of nitrogen oxides into Texas communities every year — more than triple the state’s newest coal-fired power plant. (Nitrogen oxides are highly toxic gasses associated with severe respiratory illness and even premature death.)

In the small town of Whitney, a data center owned by Cyrus One got the permit to operate hundreds of generators that the company estimates will emit 249.1 tons of nitrous oxides every year — just shy of the 250 tons-per-year limit that would have triggered more stringent permitting.

Outside of San Antonio, a Vantage data center received permission to emit 99.8 tons per year of the gas — barely below the area’s 100 ton-per-year threshold.

In fact, more than half of the data centers identified by Floodlight provided regulators with annual nitrogen oxide emission estimates that were just shy of thresholds that would require public input and more detailed environmental reviews.

In several cases, data centers secured minor permits to begin construction before seeking massive expansions later on.

After initially obtaining minor permits for 22 diesel generators at its San Antonio location, Vantage is now seeking to operate more than 80 diesel generators at the data center.

In Abilene, Stargate’s developers applied for a major air permit the year after securing a minor one as they sought to more than quadruple the number of gas powered turbines located on the campus.

Buckheit said Stargate’s staggered permitting approach could violate EPA “aggregation” policies, which are intended to evaluate the whole project. The agency’s own handbooks refer to minor permits that precede major ones as “sham permits.”

“You can’t come in with a permit application for two [turbines], and then three months later, you come in with a permit application for two more,” Buckheit said.

Former TCEQ veteran James Doty suspects the move was likely intentional.

“I sincerely doubt that the company made some last-minute decision to suddenly expand,” said Doty, who spent nearly 30 years at TCEQ. “They’re trying to get their foot in the door.”

The massive emissions estimates associated with Stargate’s expansion have forced its developers to apply for a major permit that requires the additional turbines to be equipped with the most effective emissions reduction technology available and triggers extensive environmental reviews and upcoming public comment periods. But nearly two years after construction began on the project, it may be too late for local residents to do anything.

“If a data center gets its operating permit, it’s too late,” Doty said. “The only chance to stop something like this is to do it at the very, very, very beginning of the process — before the permit is issued — through the public participation process.”

Doty and Guerra, both former TCEQ staffers, recommend concerned residents pay close attention to notices from state environmental agencies to spot incoming projects and request contested case hearings when possible.

Few of those avenues remain viable for Abilene residents. Guerra believes “it’s a foregone conclusion” that the expansion request will be granted.

Can state regulators keep up with data centers?

Even if Stargate secures more appropriate permits, both former TCEQ staffers doubt the agency is properly equipped to enforce them.

“The data center industry is expanding at a rate that is beyond the capability” of TCEQ to sufficiently regulate, Guerra said, adding that the agency’s enforcement backlog consists of more than 1,400 cases.

“This past year, they were able to resolve 39 of those 1,400 cases. At that rate, it’s going to take them 35 years to resolve all of them,” she said.

“Every single permit that this agency issues, in my opinion, is one more than they can effectively regulate,” she added.

An agency spokesperson refuted Guerra’s claims, writing that “industry growth has not compromised TCEQ’s commitment to fulfill its mission of protecting public health and the environment.” The representative wrote that TCEQ had conducted more than 100,000 investigations in 2025 and claimed that the low number of enforcement actions taken by the regulator “reflects high overall compliance rates” rather than “a lack of enforcement activity.”

Guerra said that TCEQ is “full of folks who are very interested in protecting the environment,” but leadership has made the agency notoriously lax on enforcement.

The policies may be drawing investments for the state, but those gains aren’t being felt by some fenceline residents in Abilene.

Worries about the future

Garcia and her husband spent more than a year looking for their “piece of heaven” in the country.

“We took so much time to get it, and my kids absolutely love it. But under these conditions, we no longer have that,” she said.

In addition to concerns about air pollution, Garcia said the data center has transformed the quality of life on her once-quiet country road. Trash regularly lines the fences and gridlock traffic has sometimes made it difficult to leave her own driveway.

Crusoe wrote that the company takes “quality-of-life concerns seriously” and is committed “to being a responsible neighbor throughout construction and operations.”

Yet despite prominently featuring in a Floodlight/PBS short documentary on the topic — viewed millions of times — Garcia said Stargate’s developers have yet to reach out to her or her family.

Garcia’s nextdoor neighbor, Paul Daniel, said his family has lived in the area for more than 200 years, and he has been living in his current home for 44 years.

“Living here and having to deal with this, you can lose the value of your property,” the 81-year-old retiree said. Like Garcia, he said he didn’t know the data center was coming until it was too late to sell the property.

“We were never advised or anything,” Daniel said. As a result, he said the home he had planned to leave for his children has been seriously devalued.

“I don’t have a legacy,” he said.

Garcia says she wasn’t made aware of Stargate’s recent expansion plans until Floodlight informed her of the pending major air permit applications. Already coping with the presence of 10 gas-powered turbines beside her property, the plan for 41 more came as a gut punch.

“I can’t even begin to understand what kind of impact that’s going to have on me and my health in the future,” she said.

She tried to put the house on the market after learning about what was being built next door, but said she didn’t get a single offer. Realtors suggested she convert it into an Airbnb for Stargate workers but Garcia said she can’t afford to buy another home to live in while keeping the one beside the data center.

“It feels almost impossible unless Stargate purchases it, because what other homeowner is going to want to deal with what we’re dealing with?”

The dilemma has left her feeling helpless.

“I don’t know what the future looks like.”

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

Several of the events are on a first-come, first-served basis, so arriving early is recommended.

Check out this list of where you can find free resources in the San Antonio area:

• CentroMed: Parents who schedule a well-child appointment at CentroMed will receive a free backpack with school supplies for their child while supplies last. The offer runs through Aug. 14. Click here for more details.
• Grace First Baptist Church: The church’s interdisciplinary healthcare team and outreach ministry will host its annual Health & Resource Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 2514 Observation Drive. The free event will feature free backpacks, health screenings, giveaways and more. More information can be found here.
• IDEA Monterrey Park: The annual event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 18 at 222 SW 39th St. Backpacks will be given out to students on a first-come, first-served basis. No reservations are needed.
• IDEA South Flores: The Backpacks for Bright Futures event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 11at 6919 S. Flores St. Backpacks will be available to the community on a first-come, first-served basis. Students must be present to receive one. No reservation is needed. More information can be found here.
• KLRN Back to School Bash: The event is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 11 at the San Antonio Food Bank, offering free school supplies, community resources, games and activities for families. Click here for more details.
• Pica Pica Plaza’s Back 2 School: The market will host its annual “Back 2 School” giveaway from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on July 29. Children must be present to receive a free backpack and must have a wristband. The wristbands will be given out at 9:30 a.m. The event is on a first-come, first-served basis. A health and community resources event will also take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. More details can be found here.
• Southeast Baptist Church: Free school supplies and clothes will be given out while they last from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on July 18 at 2414 S WW White Road. Students must be present at the back to school bash. More information can be found here.

This list will be updated as more places announce back to school giveaways.

Read also:

• San Antonio mother praises new one-stop shop workforce institute at Alamo Colleges
• How 15 new parks help Uvalde heal four years after Robb Elementary School shooting

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a man from Mexico whom ICE said was undocumented, was shot after agents attempted to pull his vehicle over early Tuesday, according to an ICE statement. The statement said Salgado Araujo attempted to evade arrest and tried to run over a federal officer.

The shooting — the second of its kind in Texas — prompted local leaders to call for an independent investigation of the incident, as ICE’s description of the shooting mirrors previous contradictory accounts of fatal shootings by the agency, including the killing of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island last year.

According to a Texas Tribune analysis of federal detainee death notifications and media reports, at least 14 other people have died in custody in Texas since January 2025.

A crackdown on illegal immigration was a cornerstone of Trump’s 2024 campaign for reelection, which he claimed was fueling violent crime in the country. Since his reelection, he has embarked on mass deportation efforts and deployed thousands of ICE agents across the country. The impact of his immigration enforcement has been particularly felt in Texas, which reportedly holds the most immigrants of any state at its 23 detention facilities.

What we know about Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s death

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was identified by ICE as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. Public records searches revealed a 52-year-old Houston man by the same name had no criminal record in the state.

The Department of Homeland Security said agents were attempting to stop Salgado Araujo’s vehicle as part of an unspecified “targeted enforcement operation” in Houston’s East End, a predominantly Latino neighborhood.

At a news conference Wednesday, Salgado Araujo’s son, Ronaldo Salgado, said his father was on his way to his job building homes when the shooting happened. Salgado said his father may have feared he was about to get robbed, and if he had seen a law enforcement logo, he would have stopped.

Salgado Araujo was found with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, the Houston Fire Department said, and died at a local hospital, according to ICE.

Salgado said his father was in the process of applying for a work permit and had been in the country for almost 35 years.

Local leaders, including U.S. Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Christian Menefee, and the League of United Latin American Citizens, called for an independent investigation.

American killed

In March 2025, 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed by an ICE agent in South Padre Island after officers said he “bumped” them with his car. The death of Martinez, a Hispanic man born and raised in San Antonio, is the first known killing of an American by immigration agents under Trump’s second administration.

Martinez was driving in South Padre with his friend, Joshua Orta, in the passenger seat when they came upon a car accident. As they attempted to navigate the roadway, ICE agents said they asked him to stop, but Martinez bumped the legs of an officer. An officer shot at Martinez repeatedly, killing him.

Camera footage released by the Texas Department of Public Safety in March did not make it clear whether Martinez had hit the officers with his car, as they had claimed. And a Cameron County grand jury declined this spring to indict the officers involved in the shooting.

Deaths in detention

In addition to Martinez’s killing, a series of deaths in ICE detention sites in Texas has also prompted criticism of the expansion of immigration enforcement. Texas ICE facilities hold the greatest share of the country’s immigrant detainees, more than 18,700, according to federal data as of Feb. 5.

There have been at least 14 deaths of immigrants in ICE custody in Texas since 2025, according to ICE detainee death notifications. They include two deaths that resulted from a gunman opening fire at a Dallas detention facility, as well as the following:

• Nhon Nguc Nguyen, a 55-year-old Vietnamese man died in April 2025 of “natural causes,” ICE said, after being held at El Paso Processing Center. He first entered ICE custody in 2013 after serving a sentence for second-degree murder, according to ICE.
• Tien Xuan Phan, a 55-year-old Vietnamese man held at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center outside San Antonio, died in July 2025. ICE said the cause of death was still under investigation.
• Kai Yin Wong, a 63-year-old Chinese man, died in ICE custody in October 2025 at a San Antonio hospital after complaining of shortness of breath. He had been held at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall and ICE said he died of “suspected complications from heart surgery.”
• Francisco Gaspar-Andres, a 48-year-old Guatemalan man, died in December 2025 at Camp East Montana of liver and kidney failure after being hospitalized for more than two weeks, ICE said. His wife told the El Paso Times that Gaspar-Andrés had been relatively healthy prior to his detention.
• Pete Sumalo Montejo, a 72-year-old Filipino man, died in December 2025 after being held at the Montgomery ICE Processing Center in Conroe. ICE said he had been hospitalized several times for medical issues such as anemia and septic shock.
• Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, a 48-year-old Pakistani man, died in December 2025 after being hospitalized for low oxygen and a high heart rate, after being held at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado.
• Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban man, died on Jan. 3 at Camp East Montana. His death was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner. ICE initially had said Lunas Campos died “after experiencing medical distress”, before quietly updating the cause of death to “spontaneous use of force” by staff trying to prevent him from harming himself.
• Luis Gustavo Núñez Caceras, a 42-year-old man from Honduras, died in ICE custody on Jan. 5 from complications due to heart failure, according to ICE, after being held at the Montgomery Processing Center.
• Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan man, died on Jan. 14 at Camp East Montana. His death was reported as a “presumed suicide,”, and ICE sent him to a U.S. Army hospital rather than the local medical examiner, saying his autopsy would not be made public.
• Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, a 41-year-old man who fought alongside U.S. forces, died on March 14, from an allergic reaction to an unidentified substance one day after he was detained for deportation proceedings, the Associated Press reported.
• Felix Alcorta-Rodriguez, a 63-year-old Mexican man, died on June 19, after being found unresponsive at the Webb County Detention Center. His official cause of death is pending an autopsy, according to ICE.
• Adrian Andreas Florian, an 85-year-old from Germany in ICE custody, died June 24 after receiving long-term care for health issues at the Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen.

Aggression against ICE in Texas

Federal immigration authorities and police in Texas have faced aggression in recent years, and two gunmen have died in such encounters.

In September 2025, a 29-year-old man opened fire at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas, fatally shooting one immigrant — 37-year-old Norlan Guzman-Fuentes of El Salvador — and injuring two other detainees. Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, a 31-year-old Mexican immigrant who was one of the two injured people, died less than a week later, according to ICE. The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said, and left notes saying he intended to target ICE officers.

More than a dozen people were arrested last year in connection with a July 4, 2025, shooting outside the Prairieland immigration detention center in North Texas. The group, which set off fireworks toward the detention center, faced various charges after correctional officers called police and a shooting took place, injuring a local police officer, according to public radio station KERA.

In July of 2025, another man fired dozens of rounds at federal agents leaving a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen. One police officer was injured before authorities shot and killed the shooter, the Associated Press reported.

Increased ICE activity in Texas

ICE agents have been arresting more immigrants on the streets and at routine check-ins than under President Biden, but most of them don’t have criminal convictions.

Average daily arrests by ICE in Texas more than doubled from 85 under the Biden administration to 176 within Trump’s first six months in office, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of federal government data. From Trump’s inauguration to July 29, 2025, about 1 in 4 ICE arrests happened in Texas. During its first six months, the data show that the Trump administration arrested more people who didn’t have a criminal record than the Biden administration did in its final 18 months. In Texas, 58% of people ICE arrested under Biden had criminal convictions, compared to 42% under Trump, according to the data, which doesn’t specify the type or seriousness of those crimes..

What rights do immigrants have?

Under the U.S. Constitution, experts say immigrants have these rights when interacting with authorities:

• The right to remain silent by saying “I wish to remain silent.” Texas law requires anyone who is arrested or detained to give their name, date of birth and address, but they don’t have to answer other questions.
• The right to refuse an officer entry to their home without a valid search or arrest warrant signed by a state or federal judge (not an immigration court judge).
• The right to hire an attorney.
• The right to request an interpreter if they face removal proceedings.

People also have the right to ask an officer what agency they’re from and ask for their name and badge number and to record an encounter with police, according to experts. Having evidence and taking note of who the officers are, their badge numbers, what they were driving and what they said can become important to prove that someone’s rights were violated. However, police can ask someone, such as a bystander recording, to step away to a reasonable distance to carry out their work for questioning, detention, or arrest.

In any situation, experts say it is important for immigrants and people to remain calm to avoid escalating the situation. They also recommend preparing by having documents, such as scanned copies of proof of identity ready, and having a family plan in case of arrest, including contact information for the following:

• family members, friends and others who may be able to help;
• an immigration attorney or legal aid organization;
• their home country’s consulate or embassy.

Read more insights about immigrant rights from experts here.

Colleen DeGuzman and Lomi Kriel contributed.

Disclosure: El Paso Times and Valley Baptist Medical Center have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in The Texas Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Plus, check out Perrito Lindo for all your summer dog must-haves. Our producer, Robert Morin, takes us inside for a tour.

Plus, how would you like to never visit a dentist again? Stone Ridge Dental is sharing their life-changing testimonials after dental implants help build confidence.

Impress your guests with summer grazing from Graze and Wine. The woman-owned business offers catering services and she will soon open a new storefront, Dalton on the Green at Providence by the Green.

All that and more on SA Live today.

Texas was one of a handful of states to increase its ACA enrollment at the beginning of the year, a surprising data point in the wake of the expiration of tax credits that had subsidized premium costs for most enrollees.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released new provisional data on those who “effectuated” their coverage, which means enrollees who have activated their coverage, usually by paying their first month’s premium in February. That data shows that Texas’ effectuated ACA population fell from 3.42 million 2025 to 3.28 million in 2026 after the credit expiration and subsequent higher premiums.

That 4% year-over-year decrease is the first drop in the effectuated population in Texas since 2019, when the ACA population was a third of what it is today, and the state’s largest numeric decline since the CMS began tracking the figure.

“We saw record growth in ACA enrollment when there was an enhanced premium tax credit,” said Justin Lo, a senior researcher for national health policy group KFF. “This is the first time we’ve seen a decrease in the enrollment.”

But Texas, which has more ACA enrollees than any state but Florida, has still fared better in 2026 than most states. The national decline in year-over-year February effectuated enrollment was 12%.

On that benchmark, “the story is pretty good for Texas, compared to other states,” said Charles Miller, director of health and economic mobility policy at nonpartisan think tank Texas 2036.

“The overall direction is down,” Miller said. “We did lose effectuated enrollment year-over-year. That’s not terribly surprising, given the expiration of the enhanced subsidies at the federal level. And I think what the positive story is is how well Texas did on that measure compared to other states.”

CMS data from February showed that year-over-year effectuated enrollment declined in 49 states, but was less steep in Texas than in most other states. Only Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania had a smaller drop, by percentage, than Texas. And neighboring New Mexico, which used state funds to replace the expired federal subsidies, was the only state to experience growth in its ACA population.

Congress expanded the ACA tax credits in 2021 during the Biden administration, capping the amount ACA enrollees could pay towards their premiums and expanded eligibility for the subsidies. This had allowed millions to qualify for health insurance plans that had low or no-cost premiums through the federal marketplace. As a result, ACA enrollment surged — particularly in Texas, which is among a small number of states to never expand Medicaid to people earning more than 100% of the federal poverty limit. Because that low-income population cannot access Medicaid in Texas, the ACA marketplace became a popular source of coverage.

The issue became a massive political sticking point last fall as the expiration date loomed. Senate Democrats blocked annual government funding from passing to attempt to pressure Republicans into a tax credit extension deal, triggering a lengthy government shutdown. While the U.S. House ultimately passed a subsidy extension, supported by all Democrats and 17 Republicans, a Democratic bill in the Senate to similarly extend the tax credits for three years fell short of the 60 votes needed for passage, earning the support of all 47 Democrats but just four Republicans.

ACA enrollment grew from about 1.3 million Texans in 2021 to nearly 4 million in 2025, the last year of the enhanced subsidies, and experienced a record high this year of 4.17 million during open enrollment.

But each year, the number of enrollees who effectuate coverage by making a payment is smaller than those who initially sign up. In 2025, for example, while about 3.97 million Texans enrolled in an ACA plan, only 3.42 million — or 86% of enrollees — effectuated their coverage that February.

This year, 79% of enrollees effectuated their coverage, meaning that nearly 900,000 of the 4.17 million Texans who selected Affordable Care Act plans during open enrollment had canceled their plan or not paid after the first premium payment deadline.

Most ACA enrollees are eligible for a three-month grace period to catch up on premium payments before insurers can terminate their plans.

While this year’s effectuation rate, the lowest in nine years, is less rosy for Texas, it is hard to understand the full impact because the CMS has not yet released specifics about the non-effectuating population, including whether or not they had been auto-enrolled or any regional or income characteristics.

Expiration of the enhanced tax credits spiked premiums for silver plans and mostly eliminated silver plans where enrollees owed $0 toward their premiums. Miller speculated that people who auto-enrolled and then saw that their plans were no longer free could be driving the drop-off between the enrollment and effectuation figures, but said more detailed CMS data is needed to know for sure.

“You can imagine a scenario where last year, [someone] had been enrolled in a $0 premium [plan] that made great sense for them,” Miller said. “They didn’t take any action during the open enrollment period. So they were passively re-enrolled in that plan, and that plan, because the enhanced subsidies expired, now has a premium that is greater than $0 — and they just never made that payment.”

Beyond the drop, CMS open enrollment data also showed changes in Texas’ plan selection mix, presumably reflecting cost changes brought on by the tax credit expiration. There are four metal tiers — bronze, silver, gold and platinum — for ACA coverage plans, which each have different cost-sharing plans. Bronze plans have lower monthly premiums but higher deductibles, while gold and platinum plans have higher premiums but lower out-of-pocket costs for enrollees when they receive care.

The size of tax credits is calculated using a benchmark silver plan, which is typically the most popular metal tier, especially among people who qualify for tax credits.

The CMS’ open enrollment data showed that enrollees were more likely than in years past to select a bronze or gold plan, reflecting the expiration of the tax credits. Silver plans had been the most popular selection in Texas each year until 2026, when it fell to third behind gold, which is now 41% of selections, and bronze, at 31%.

“There was a migration away, in plan selections, from silver towards bronze and gold,” Miller said. “And that was concentrated in people who actively selected a plan — people who were first-time market entrants or went back and actively re-enrolled.”

The percentage of ACA enrollees on bronze plans rose from 18% of plan selections in Texas in 2025 to 31% in 2026.

Experts said Texas’ relatively small year-over-year drop in its effectuated population likely owes to regulation around pricing of silver plans, a policy referred to as premium alignment. This has kept bronze and gold plan prices lower, and maintained the lower-income nature of ACA enrollees in Texas. Texas passed a premium alignment law in 2022, and subsequently saw a spike in gold plan selection.

And while Texas’ monthly average per person premium rose from $57 during 2025 open enrollment to $89 this year post-subsidy, ACA enrollees in the state pay the lowest premiums in the nation, according to a KFF analysis of CMS data.

“One [reason] is behavior change — people, instead of buying silver plans, did drop down to lower coverage bronze plans,” Lo said. “We see that in Texas specifically…also, the marketplace population in Texas skews lower-income. This is not a Medicaid expansion state, and so a lot of the people that are signed up for ACA plans in Texas still do get some subsidy.”

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

The memorial honors the 53 migrants killed in a 2022 smuggling tragedy along Quintana Road.

KSAT crews counted seven damaged crosses, which all have the Mexican flag colors painted on them. Several other crosses with the Mexican flag colors were not damaged.

SAPD said it’s not clear if the damage, which was discovered at approximately 9:30 a.m., was intentional.

The incident is being investigated as criminal mischief. Officers said they do not have any information on a suspect.

District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia said in a statement to KSAT that his office is working to decrease vandalism at the memorial site.

“The District 4 Council Office convened a group of stakeholders on June 1 to discuss lighting and security improvements. The extension of power to this location is difficult for several reasons, but my office is working closely with CPS Energy to provide additional lighting in the vicinity of the migrant memorial. We continue to urge residents to report incidents of vandalism and request SAPD patrol bys”

Wednesday was not the first time the site had been wrecked.

In March 2025, SAPD opened an investigation after the agency said the site had been vandalized after the crosses were tipped over from behind. Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said he intended to charge the person or people involved with a hate crime.

Since then, SAPD confirmed it had been called out to the memorial at least 10 times for reports of vandalism, theft and inappropriate behavior.

Earlier this year, KSAT reported on calls for increased security at the memorial site.

Angelita Olvera, who takes care of the memorial, told KSAT the city had told her that they had planned to add lights and cameras.

In May, Mungia told KSAT in a statement that his office has been working with community members to discuss lighting and safety concerns.

Mungia said that his office had requested more frequent SAPD patrols and arranged meetings with city staff to talk about the concerns.

“We are in the process of scheduling an additional meeting with CPS Energy to assess the existing infrastructure and determine the most suitable recommendations to improve lighting and deter illicit activity,” Mungia said in the statement.

Three convicted in connection with human smuggling tragedy

Three men have now been convicted for their roles in the Quintana Road tragedy, which is considered the deadliest human smuggling case in U.S. history.

Earlier this month, Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco pleaded guilty in federal court to three felony charges:

• Conspiracy to bring an alien into the United States resulting in death
• Aiding and abetting bringing an alien into the United States resulting in death
• Aiding and abetting bringing an alien into the United States resulting in serious bodily injury

Miranda-Orozco is expected to be sentenced on Oct. 8 and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Last year, two men were found guilty on three charges.

Armando Gonzales-Ortega, the alleged coordinator, was sentenced to 87 years and six months in prison.

Felipe Orduna-Torres, a leader and organizer in the incident, received two life sentences and a 20-year sentence that will run consecutively.

More recent coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Third man pleads guilty in connection with Quintana Road human smuggling tragedy

Most of the deaths were in Hengzhou, where the partial collapse of a reservoir dam sent torrents of water into the city and claimed 26 lives, said Ding Wei, the vice mayor of Nanning city, which has jurisdiction over the area. Nine people remained missing in the broader Guangxi region.

Tropical Storm Maysak brought record rainfall to Guangxi starting Saturday, breaching reservoirs and stranding people for days in homes and other buildings. The previously announced death toll on Tuesday was six people.

A second storm, Typhoon Bavi, was at sea on a northwest track that would take it over some remote Japanese islands and then just north of Taiwan before making landfall in China's Fujian or Zhejiang province on Saturday. Fishing boats could be seen tightly packed at ports in northern Taiwan on Thursday in anticipation of heavy rain hitting the island of 23 million people.

Bavi, which brought violent winds to Saipan and other U.S. territories earlier this week, was downgraded Thursday from super-typhoon strength but still had maximum sustained winds of 184 kilometers (114 miles) per hour, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration. Classes were suspended in several cities and towns in the Philippines and ships prohibited from leaving northern ports as the typhoon passed east of the northern island of Luzon.

In southern China, military rescue teams finished bringing out more than 10,000 trapped students and teachers from a cluster of schools in Guigang city, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Hengzhou. Video on state broadcaster CCTV showed the students, wearing bright orange life vests, clambering onto boats that took them away from the surreal scene of school buildings rising out of a lake of muddy water.

Animals were also stranded or swept out by the floodwaters.

A zoo in Guigang said more than 100 animals were missing, including two zebras, four porcupines and dozens of tropical birds. In Hengzhou, encounters with snakes that reportedly escaped from a farm prompted authorities to stock up on antivenom and advise residents what to do if they were bitten.

An animal shelter operator in Binyang country, about 75 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Hengzhou, struggled in recent days to rescue about 200 cats and dozens of dogs, bringing the dogs two at a time through deep water. The cats climbed up to the rafters as the water level rose.

Drones and some 5,700 boats have been used in a massive relief and rescue operation to deliver drinking water and other supplies and bring out trapped residents. About 130,000 people have been evacuated.

Ding said the floodwaters are receding but more rain is expected in some areas in the next two days. Crews have been deployed to clear mud and debris and disinfect several towns in Hengzhou.

Road repairs are ongoing and electricity has been restored to more than 60,000 homes, Ding said at a news briefing.

Heavier-than-expected rain battered southern Guangxi for days, with cumulative rainfall of 10 to 40 centimeters (4 to 16 inches) in some areas and more than 90 centimeters (35 inches) in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological center said.

Severe weather also hit central China this week, leaving 11 dead and many others homeless in Hubei province after thunderstorms and tornadoes on Monday night.

Elsewhere in Asia, landslides caused by monsoon rains have killed at least 13 Rohingya refugees in camps in Bangladesh this week. Authorities were moving refugees to safer areas on Thursday.

___

Associated Press video producers Wayne Zhang and Olivia Zhang in Beijing, videojournalist Taijing Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, and writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

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

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

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

The sale was funded by the San Antonio Spurs, per the Project Marvel term sheet signed last year.

GSA Administrator Edward Forst said the deal represents the Trump administration’s push to create efficiencies in the government’s real estate portfolio.

“Through an accelerated disposition process, we completed this transaction five years ahead of schedule, facilitating the federal government to divest an asset that no longer supports its operational needs,” he said.

As the Business Journal previously reported, the city council unanimously approved the acquisition of the 5.7 acres in a January meeting. City officials previously said federal ownership of the parcels has been a “significant buffer” to Hemisfair access. The GSA listed them as surplus properties in 2025.

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

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

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Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was working toward securing legal status in the U.S. and knew what to do if stopped by ICE, his son said.

Federal officials said they were stopping the vehicle in an immigration enforcement operation. Ronaldo Salgado said his father may have been scared that the people in unmarked vehicles were coming to steal the tools he had used for 35 years to build homes so he could send his three American sons to college.

“He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of Mexican man shot and killed by ICE. He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father and a job creator for dozens of men who also wanted the American dream,” Salgado said during a news conference.

The shooting happened Tuesday in Magnolia Park, a neighborhood that has been a hub for Houston’s Mexican American community for a century. On Wednesday night, hundreds of people marched through the neighborhood chanting “ICE out of Houston!”

Federal officials say their vehicle was rammed but don’t provide evidence

Salgado Araujo was shot after he ignored commands and attempted to ram an officer who fired his weapon in self-defense, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday. ICE officers were targeting him because he was living in the country without legal permission, according to the department, which oversees ICE. The man’s car struck an ICE vehicle, the department added.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said Salgado Araujo had no criminal convictions.

Houston firefighters said he was shot in the abdomen. He died at a hospital.

Three other men appeared to be detained as Salgado Araujo lay moaning on the ground, according to his son, who said one of them was his uncle.

Daniel Tirado was one of the other men in the van and called his wife briefly to say they were being followed, Tirado’s stepdaughter Juana Degollado told The Associated Press.

“What he remembers is that an ICE agent shot Lorenzo and the van door was closed,” Degollado said.

Tirado wasn’t able to contact his family until Wednesday morning, and the call lasted only five minutes, his stepdaughter said. They haven’t been able to get additional information from ICE or the FBI.

Jose Rojas was also detained, according to his stepdaughter Griselda Silva. The 51-year-old Mexican national had lived in the U.S. for decades without legal status or a criminal record, she said.

ICE has not released the names of the people detained.

Federal officials have not released video or images of the shooting or the vehicles. Salgado on Tuesday joined civil rights groups and Democratic officials in urging federal authorities to release all the footage and other information it has on the shooting.

In several other shootings involving federal officers, initial descriptions by immigration officials have sometimes been contradicted later by video evidence.

Civil rights groups say ICE can’t be trusted with the investigation

The federal crackdown has created a country where officers think they can “shoot and explain later,” League of United Latin American Citizens President Roman Palomares said.

The league offered a $5,000 reward for information and videos from witnesses. Ronaldo Salgado and several civil rights organizations called for an independent investigation. Some begged anyone with videos to not turn them over to ICE.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said Salgado Araujo’s family and the community deserve the truth, but federal authorities are exclusively handling the investigation.

ICE and DHS representatives have not responded to repeated requests for additional comment Wednesday.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin took over the department in March aiming to keep it away from the controversies that marked the tenure of his predecessor, Kristi Noem.

The shooting was at least the eighth death resulting from an encounter with federal immigration officers since the start of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Son says his father worked hard for decades

Ronaldo Salgado said his mother was told something bad had happened to his dad around 7 a.m. Tuesday. After frantically looking for him at his job site and finding his empty van, he saw a video.

“I recognized him, not from his appearance but from his voice crying for help as he lay on the street,” Salgado said.

Salgado Araujo met his wife as a teenager in Mexico. She made his lunch before he left for the day. He would listen to music and pet his dog on his porch, Salgado said.

Salgado said his dad had started the process of obtaining his work permit.

“We dotted every I, crossed every T, filled every document, attended every appointment,” Salgado said. ”He was close to obtaining his legal status.”

Salgado Araujo had biometric scan and fingerprints done earlier this year and had carefully studied what to do if ICE pulled him over.

“Had my father seen an emblem of ICE or an emblem that says anything about a law enforcement agency, my father would have complied,” his son said.

Crowd marches in Houston, and Mexico’s president criticizes the killing

On Wednesday night, a large crowd marched through the city’s streets, with some waving Mexican flags or holding a banner that said “Abolish ICE,” while others held signs with Salgado Araujo’s face on it.

The crowd started feet from where Salgado Araujo was shot and held a ceremony in his memory and prayer. They also filmed a video for his family of the crowd chanting, “You’re not alone!” Garcia announced that she and other lawmakers sent a letter Wednesday to DHS demanding answers.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that the country is “preparing legal measures” over the killing of Salgado Araujo because “we cannot allow the mistreatment of our brothers and sisters in the United States.”

In April, Sheinbaum expressed concern about the deaths of Mexican nationals in U.S. immigration detention, saying her government would support lawsuits filed by detainees over poor conditions or by the families of those who died. She raised the detainees’ deaths to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and said she was considering an appeal to the United Nations.

___

Brook reported from New Orleans and Collins from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press reporters Hallie Golden in Seattle; Gisela Salomon in Miami; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; and Ryan J. Foley in Omaha contributed.

___

This story has been corrected to show Sheinbaum’s comments about possibly approaching the U.N. were made in April.

Thirteen of the 25 nominations for HBO Max's drama about a Pittsburgh ER went to its actors in one of the great achievements for a cast in Emmy history.

In its rookie season last year, “The Pitt” got just three acting nominations but it won all three: best actor in a drama for star Noah Wyle, best supporting actress for Katherine LaNasa and best guest actor for Shawn Hatosy. The trio was nominated again, but this time had a ton of company.

“It feels really exciting to have more of my colleagues up on the board,” LaNasa told The Associated Press on Wednesday during a break in the shooting of Season 3. “You’re happy when you get acknowledged, but you kind of know that you’re only there because of everybody else. So the more people that are getting acknowledged, the better it feels.”

She said that like her character, Nurse Dana, she has a “motherly feeling” toward her colleagues, who are nearly all first-time nominees.

“I’m very wanting them to have this experience as well," she said.

LaNasa was joined in the supporting actress category by doctor-portrayers Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif and Sepideh Moafi, who played a new attending physician reckoning with a seizure disorder that is returning in the stress of the ER.

Hatosy, whose night-shift leader Dr. Jack Abbott won a big fan base and was the object of many crushes in Season 2, was bumped up from the guest actor category to supporting actor, where he's joined by Gerran Howell and Patrick Ball.

The 13 nominees will be competing against one another so much that there are only five acting Emmys they can win. That's one for every drama category except best actress, where it didn't submit anyone. The show makes only Wyle a lead.

In the guest acting categories, Brittany Allen and Jeff Kober both pulled off the coup of getting nominations from self-submissions of their portrayal of patients with heartbreaking arcs. Ernest Harden Jr. got a guest nod for playing the ER's constant presence and struggling alcoholic Louie Cloverfield.

And Tal Anderson, an autistic actor who has been an advocate for neurodivergent performers and portrayals, got her first Emmy nomination for playing Becca King, the younger sister of Dearden’s Dr. Mel King who is striving to be treated as an adult.

“Besides the fact that I get to have a small role in this giant, amazing show with so many talented people in the cast and on the crew, it means so much to me to be able to help this character, Becca, be seen and to have a voice,” Anderson told the AP. “As a disabled person myself, it’s such an honor to be able to, through this role, call attention to issues that are so important to the disabled community. It’s everything to have the opportunity to do that.”

LaNasa's Nurse Dana was already among TV's most beloved characters, but went even deeper on the drama in Season 2, in which she gives a rape kit and emotional counseling to a sexual assault victim.

Nurse Dana went meme-able with her loud pronouncements about the ER's “Baby Jane Doe.” The child also provided a pivotal and heart-wrenching scene for Wyle's Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch that may well win him a second best actor trophy at the September ceremony.

With the numbers “The Pitt” pulled in, it was almost surprising to find the many babies that played Baby Jane Doe didn't get nominated.

___ AP video journalist Brooke Lefferts in New York contributed.

The totals give HBO Max the top spot for both drama and comedy, with “Hacks” breaking the record for most nominations for a comedy series held jointly by “The Studio” last year and “The Bear” in 2024. HBO Max led all outlets with 122 overall nominations and has three shows up for both best drama and best comedy series.

The nominees announced for 118 Primetime Emmy categories included the late Rob Reiner for his guest acting on “The Bear,” Bad Bunny for his Super Bowl halftime show, and newlywed Taylor Swift for “The Eras Tour - The Final Show” concert special.

‘Hacks’ gets a special send-off and ‘The Pitt’ grows up

Emmy voters love a departing show, and have loved the tension-between-comedy-generations “Hacks” since its first season, allowing it to run up the numbers as a fifth-year senior. Star Jean Smart has won best actress in a comedy for all four previous seasons, and it would be stunning if she didn’t claim a fifth.

Her sidekick throughout the series Hannah Einbinder, who last year broke through and won supporting actress in a comedy in her fourth nomination, got a fifth. Her castmate, the show’s co-creator Paul W. Downs, got three nominations, for acting, writing and producing.

The day-in-the-life emergency room series “The Pitt” was a rookie upstart last year with big wins including best drama series, best actor for Noah Wyle and best supporting actress for Katherine LaNasa.

Already a beloved veteran show, it owned this year’s acting categories. Wyle was nominated again for best actor (along with nods for his directing and producing) as was LaNasa. Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif and Sepideh Moafi also got nominations, with “The Pitt” taking four of the seven supporting actress spots and three supporting actor slots.

In an era when major Emmy contenders — like 2025’s top drama nominee “Severance” — take years off between seasons, “The Pitt” came right back for another round. And its claim on the acting categories was helped by the between-seasons absence of “The White Lotus,” and its elite ensembles.

A solid showing for Apple TV

Two new shows from Apple TV, the one-woman-against-the-hivemind drama “Pluribus” and the horror comedy “Widow’s Bay,” both scored big in their first seasons.

“Pluribus,” from “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” creator Vince Gilligan, got 18 nods. They included best actress in a drama for its only lead cast member Rhea Seahorn, considered the favorite to win.

“Widow’s Bay” got 19, including best actor for star Matthew Rhys, who was also nominated as a producer and for his acting in the limited series “The Beast in Me.”

Two other Apple TV shows are also up for best comedy, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” whose stars Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer got acting nominations, and “Shrinking.”

The “Shrinking” nominations included best supporting actor in a comedy for Harrison Ford. The force could be with Ford, with many prognosticators saying this will be the year the Hollywood legend finally wins an EGOT-tier award. His castmate Jason Segel is up for lead actor.

Big day for Bateman, Short and Brunson

Many close observers also think this will be the year the perennially nominated Martin Short wins best actor in a comedy for “Only Murders in the Building.” He was nominated for three trophies, including nods for his producing of “Only Murders in the Building” and hosting “The Match Game.” A Netflix documentary about him, “Marty, Life is Short,” also got two nominations.

Jason Bateman got four nominations, for his performing and producing on both “Black Rabbit” and “DTF St. Louis.”

ABCs “Abbott Elementary” remained a rare bright spot for the traditional broadcast networks that have been marginalized in top categories by cable and streaming shows. Creator, star and two-time Emmy winner Quinta Brunson was nominated for three more, and the show got seven.

Reiner, Swift, Bunny and Fox are among the notable nominees

The vast range of Emmy categories brings unexpected stars and beloved figures into the mix.

Rob Reiner, who was killed along with wife Michele Singer Reiner in December, has a chance at his third Emmy. He was nominated for guest actor for “The Bear,” about 50 years after winning two for his acting on “All in the Family.”

Five-time Emmy winner Michael J. Fox, also got a nomination in the same category for playing a patient with Parkinson’s disease, which the actor was diagnosed with in the 1990s, on “Shrinking.”

The Super Bowl halftime show is nearly always nominated, but this year's featuring Bad Bunny on NBC went above and beyond with nine nominations.

Swift's “Eras Tour” concert special got five nominations days after her marriage to Travis Kelce, one of them for the singing superstar herself as producer. She has one previous Emmy, for interactive media in 2015, to go with her 14 Grammys.

And after a year of targeting from the Trump administration for late-night hosts and their shows, the now-off-the-air “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” got nine nominations and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” got six.

‘Beef’ and ‘Euphoria’ are back in the mix

Netflix’s “Beef” was tops in the limited or anthology series categories with 16 nominations. “Beef” had a dominant first season in 2023, and the anthology’s all-new grudge holders, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac and Charles Melton, all got nominations.

“Euphoria” made its Emmys return after a long absence and got seven nominations. Zendaya, who won best actress in a drama for the first two seasons in 2020 and 2022, got a nod for the recently aired third season.

Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller announced the nominees at the Television Academy in Los Angeles. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, airing on NBC, will be held Sept. 14. Mariska Hargitay, the longtime star of NBC's “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” will host and is a double nominee for directing and producing the documentary “My Mom Jayne.”

At some moments, the scene turned chaotic, with mourners swarming the coffin, forcing pallbearers to lower it to avoid losing control.

The ceremonies began on Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran, Iran's capital, as throngs commemorated the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. His body was later taken from Najaf to Karbala before it is to be returned to Iran.

Khamenei was killed in late February in wide-scale U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that started the war. The 86-year-old supreme leader was among several senior Iranian leaders killed in strikes during the war.

Talks on ending the war between the United States and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial.

However, strikes from both sides in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday and into Wednesday raised risks that the interim agreement to end the monthslong conflict that engulfed the Middle East could completely break down.

The U.S. military attacked Iran early Wednesday after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then launched retaliatory strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain.

Khamenei's body arrived on Tuesday in Najaf, considered one of the holiest of cities for millions of Shiite Muslims worldwide. Mourners holding portraits of Khamenei welcomed the body and senior officials escorting it, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The body was placed in a casket draped in the Islamic Republic’s flag and encased in glass.

Some supporters performed self-flagellation on the streets, while others waved Iranian as well as red and black flags symbolizing mourning and revenge.

Muhammad Taqi al-Hakim, a senior scholar at the Najaf seminary, led the funeral prayers at the Shrine of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law.

As the coffin was carried into the shrine, large crowds pushed and shoved their way to get close to it. Some threw themselves onto the casket, as attendants struggled to control the crowd, urging the pallbearers to carry it closer to the ground for fear it might fall.

“We, the people of Iraq, will remain a thorn in the eyes of the enemies,” said Jaafar Jawad, a funeral attendee. “(His body arriving here) is the greatest possible honor, and God willing, we will be loyal and repay a little of his debt in the holy city of Najaf.”

The body later arrived in Karbala, also a holy city for Shiites, where Imam Hussein, the grandson of the prophet, was killed in 680 AD. Thousands of supporters gathered in the desert heat in and around the shrine while Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalaei, a representative of Iraq's top Shiite religious authority, led the prayers there.

In Karbala, also, crowds repeatedly swarmed the coffin, which nearly fell several times in the journey between two shrines. Inside the Imam al-Abbas Mosque, organizers decided to lower the coffin in an attempt to stop people who were pushing forward to seek blessings or to participate in carrying it.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to make an appearance at the funeral ceremonies, which are unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.

The facility will be built in Sturgeon County, Alberta, and powered by a natural gas-fired plant being developed by a consortium that includes Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Ltd.

Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish called the project “a big deal for Alberta,” saying the province had created a regulatory framework to attract data center investment.

Alberta has been courting hyperscale data centers as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure surges. But the rapid growth of AI has fueled concerns about the vast amounts of electricity and water such facilities require, as well as their strain on power grids and nearby communities.

Because Alberta’s electricity grid cannot support multiple large AI data centers, the province is prioritizing projects that build or secure their own power generation, as Meta plans to do.

Meta said the data center will use a closed-loop cooling system that won’t draw water from surrounding sources. The company also plans to invest US$42 million in local infrastructure, including roads and water systems.

Last week, Pembina Pipeline, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Kineticor Asset Management announced they would proceed with the Greenlight Electricity Center in Sturgeon County. Meta was identified Wednesday as the customer. The 932-megawatt power plant is expected to begin operating in the second half of 2030.

For San Antonio’s Christian “Sonic” Paez, those plans are on hold as he chases his dream to represent the United States in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

KSAT 12 Sports recently caught up with the Southwest High School graduate to learn more about his first international tournament and becoming a 10-time national champion.

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Stevens flipped a Republican-held House seat in suburban Detroit in 2018 and hasn’t lost since, including surviving a bruising primary against a fellow Democratic incumbent after redistricting in 2022. She says it's what sets her apart from her opponent in the Aug. 4 primary, progressive Abdul El-Sayed.

“It is not a hypothetical that I beat Republicans,” Stevens told The Associated Press after a campaign stop in West Michigan this week. “I win tough races. I have had Republicans throw everything at me and still managed to win.”

Holding Michigan’s Senate seat is essential to any Democratic path back to the Senate majority this fall. That imperative only grew this week after Democrats' nominee in Maine, Graham Platner, said he planned to drop out after he was accused of sexual assault, threatening another seat the party had hoped to keep competitive. While no Republican has won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan since 1994, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers came within 20,000 votes of doing so in 2024.

That calculation has led Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and influential Michigan Democrats, including former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, to rally behind Stevens, arguing she gives Democrats their strongest chance in November against Rogers, who is running again.

But if electability is the party establishment’s top priority, it’s an open question whether Democratic primary voters agree.

“Democratic leadership should think more in terms of what we want to accomplish, and less about, ‘We’ve got to make it appeal to everybody,’” said Dave Burdick, 71, of Douglas, Michigan. He's backing El-Sayed, who has surged by arguing that Democrats don’t have to run to the middle to win.

El-Sayed has built his campaign around bold policy proposals, rejecting corporate PAC money and casting himself as an alternative to the status quo of the Democratic Party.

“People don’t want a moderate. They want somebody who’s going to come in and effect change,” Burdick added.

Stevens makes the case for retail politics

On a summer afternoon in South Haven, a community along Lake Michigan, Stevens walks into a pet supply store with the ease of a seasoned campaigner. Within minutes, she's chatting with the owner about the area, greeting reporters by first name and striking up conversations with customers. She slips easily between small talk and campaign mode, asking about customers’ lives before mentioning legislation she’s championed and asking for their vote.

“I thought she was great fun,” said owner Roxanne Leder. “She was energetic and had a positive outlook.”

It’s the kind of campaigning Stevens’ allies say has defined her political career. They acknowledge she lacks the viral progressive moments that have fueled El-Sayed’s rise, but say she’s at her best in small rooms, union halls and local businesses — which they say is where elections are won.

Stevens has leaned into that contrast herself.

“Unlike my opponent, I’m not running at the first mic or camera I see,” Stevens said during a debate Tuesday. “We do not need a celebrity senator. We need a workhorse.”

It’s also a style familiar to Michigan Democrats. From former Gov. Jennifer Granholm to current-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, successful statewide candidates have often paired an upbeat, personable campaign style with a pragmatic message centered on economic issues.

But unlike Granholm or Whitmer, Stevens has yet to generate the kind of broad grassroots enthusiasm that defined their statewide campaigns. El-Sayed, meanwhile, has packed rallies with progressive supporters and high-profile endorsers.

Stevens has leaned more heavily on tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, which could become one of Stevens’ biggest liabilities in the primary. Outside groups have spent more than $30 million to boost her candidacy, dwarfing the spending behind El-Sayed. The largest spender, United Democracy Project, the super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has spent more than $13 million on Stevens’ behalf and reserved another $7 million before the primary.

For Burdick, the 71-year-old El-Sayed supporter, that spending is disqualifying. He said he would not vote for Stevens in the general election because of her support from AIPAC.

Leder, by contrast, said she expects to vote for Stevens in August because she’s far more familiar with the congresswoman than with El-Sayed. She said she still plans to do more research before making a final decision.

“I'm just a Democrat,” said Leder. “Please, please no Mike Rogers.”

Michigan has a populist streak

El-Sayed is running on Medicare for All, campaign finance reform, abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and ending all U.S. weapons sales to Israel. He’s also a Muslim who has never held elected office.

To many Democratic leaders in Washington, that makes him a risky nominee in a battleground state often viewed as moderate and centered on manufacturing.

But Michigan has repeatedly rewarded candidates who cast themselves as outsiders challenging the political establishment. In 2016, Sen. Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton in the state’s Democratic presidential primary by running against party leaders. Donald Trump later built his own anti-establishment coalition, carrying Michigan in 2016 and again in 2024.

Burdick, a self-described “old white guy living in rural Michigan” who is a democratic socialist, said Trump and Sanders resonated with voters because they were upset.

“Well, you know what? They’re still mad,” he said. “They portray people like Abdul as unrealistic, but I think it’s unrealistic to think that we can continue the way that we’re heading.”

A two-person race changes the calculus

On Sunday, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign. It prompted establishment Democrats to jump off the sidelines and back Stevens, including Democratic group EMILY’s List and Attorney General Dana Nessel.

“Haley is wicked smart, has won multiple highly competitive races, and she connects with people on a level so sincere and genuine that everyone who meets her feels truly seen and heard,” Nessel said in a statement.

El-Sayed has also built support among labor groups that have played an influential role in Democratic politics, including an endorsement from the United Auto Workers.

Fems for Dems, an influential Democratic grassroots group in the state, is not endorsing in the primary. But its founder, Lori Goldman, told AP in an interview that she planned to vote for El-Sayed.

“I personally am not going to have business as usual when I go to the ballot box. I want to vote for people, candidates that are going to go there and fight on our behalf,” she said.

Goldman, who founded the group 10 years ago in the politically important Oakland County, acknowledges the changing dynamics of Democratic primaries.

“Who would the natural choice be 10 years ago? Haley Stevens, right? Because we just followed the party line,” she said.

“People are breaking away from the party line. People want change.”

Whitmire expressed his condolences to the family and described the shooting as a “tragedy” during a morning City Council meeting. But he questioned whether the city had the authority to conduct its own investigation, saying “there cannot be two ongoing investigations, certainly when there’s not jurisdiction by one of them.”

“We’re monitoring it very carefully,” Whitmire added. “We’re in constant touch with our federal elected officials, insisting that there’s a transparent, independent investigation — and if I learn of any new information, I’ll certainly share it with the council.”

The mayor stressed that responsibility for the shooting lies entirely with federal agents.

“There was no involvement of [Houston police officers],” he said. “It’s a very tragic, complex issue that is brought to us by our federal officials.”

Whitmire’s comments came nearly three months after the city navigated a major fight over local police coordination with federal immigration agents.

Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to withdraw public safety grants from Houston and two other major cities over policies that he said limited police cooperation with ICE, including rules directing local officers not to prolong traffic stops and other encounters to give federal agents time to respond to suspected undocumented individuals. Civil rights groups said Houston effectively dismantled its ordinance to keep $114 million in grants.

Whitmire’s remark about the jurisdiction issue echoed a comment made earlier in Wednesday’s meeting by Council Member Julian Ramirez, a former prosecutor who worked for the Harris County district attorney’s office for 27 years.

Ramirez said that based on his experience, it would be very difficult for local law enforcement to conduct its own investigation in these situations. Federal agencies would control the scene and the evidence and share only what they want with local officials, he added.

“Based on the way they typically handle their investigations, local authorities — including local police departments — are essentially cut out of the primary investigation,” Ramirez said.

But Salgado Araujo’s family, federal lawmakers and community advocates — including the League of United Latin American Citizens, a leading Hispanic civil rights organization — demanded that the city open its own investigation, saying they didn’t trust the Trump administration to conduct a fair probe of the shooting.

Ronaldo Salgado, a school teacher, said his father was killed after being pulled over by agents in unmarked vehicles. He would have stopped had he known he was being pulled over by immigration agents, Ronaldo Salgado said, adding that his father could have feared he was being robbed.

“He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of, Mexican man shot and killed by ICE,” Salgado said, holding back tears while surrounded by family, advocates and lawmakers during a Houston news conference Wednesday.

”He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father and a job creator for dozens of men who also wanted the American dream,” his son said.

According to Salgado Araujo’s son, his father was on his way to work with Salgado’s uncle and two other workers in a van that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to stop. In a statement, ICE said Salgado Araujo tried to ram the agents’ vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands and tried to run over an ICE agent before the federal officer fired his weapon in self-defense.

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said an independent investigation was needed to confirm ICE’s version of events and determine if the shooting was justified. She confirmed that Salgado Araujo had no criminal convictions.

U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, called on the mayor to direct Houston police to conduct its own criminal investigation

“The mayor ought to reconsider what he has said. The mayor ought to give consideration to what’s happening. I believe that the Houston Police Department can investigate this,” Green said at the news conference. “There is no law that prohibits the Houston Police Department from doing this, and the Houston Police Department ought to see this as its responsibility.”

Advocates made the same demand.

Domingo Garcia, LULAC’s national president, asked Houston police to investigate, saying he did not trust a federal investigation.

“We don’t expect the truth from the Department of Justice or from the FBI,” Garcia said. “We expect a whitewash. That’s just what we expect. But let me just be very clear, the only way we hold them accountable is if the citizens and the residents of Houston hold them accountable.”

It’s not uncommon for law enforcement agencies to investigate a different department’s police shootings. But it has been rare and often difficult for local authorities to investigate a federal incident. 

Local police did not open investigations into six of the 12 shootings by on-duty federal agents that since September have led to the deaths or injuries of citizens and immigrants, according to a ProPublica analysis earlier this year. And in cases where the local officers do try to launch independent inquiries such as in Minnesota, ProPublica found that they ran into roadblocks created by the Trump administration.

The Houston Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety have so far indicated that they’re not investigating Tuesday’s shooting. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Harris County Precinct 6 constable’s office didn’t immediately respond to comment requests.

Houston police said Tuesday that their officers were not involved in the ICE shooting, arriving afterward to help direct traffic. When asked whether the department would investigate the shooting, spokesperson Shay Awosiyan said the case involved a federal agency.

“We can’t speak about an incident involving someone else,” Awosiyan said.

Meanwhile, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said in a Wednesday post on X that his office would usually open an investigation when anyone dies in the county during an interaction with local enforcement.

“Unfortunately at this time, federal authorities continue exclusively handling all aspects in this case,” he added, urging eyewitnesses and anyone with videos or photos of the shooting to come forward.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo also called for a “full and complete investigation” of the shooting but did not say in her post on X which agency should lead it. 

When asked who should spearhead that inquiry, her office said in a statement that it was working on identifying options: “Every agency with jurisdiction should work to establish the truth. Congress needs to exercise its oversight authority. To the extent an independent investigation can be launched, that needs to be the case.” 

At the state level, 13 Democratic senators and representatives from Harris County signed an open letter calling on DPS to open a parallel investigation. The department had said in a statement earlier Wednesday that the Texas Rangers are not investigating the shooting, citing the probe led by the FBI. 

DPS had previously investigated an ICE officer’s fatal shooting in South Padre Island of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez, whom the federal agency also accused of intentionally trying to run over an agent. Body camera and security footage, later released by the department, didn’t definitively show Martinez attempting to do so.

The Texas Rangers also investigated a December fatal shooting in Starr County involving a U.S. Border Patrol officer.

Meanwhile, FBI Houston spokesperson Connor Hagan told the Tribune on Tuesday that the agency is spearheading the probe into the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer. The investigation into the shooting is led by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, he said.

In a subsequent statement Wednesday, Houston police said Whitmire instructed the department to stay in contact with the FBI and Homeland Security’s inspector general office. 

“Federal law states local law enforcement has no independent jurisdiction to investigate federal agencies or federal law enforcement personnel who are acting in the course and scope of their official duties,” the department said.

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

Monce was walking home after her shift at El Pollo Loco when police say she was hit by 19-year-old Vynzell Edward McGarity.

McGarity is facing one charge for racing on the highway causing serious bodily injury or death, according to county records.

“I still can’t believe that my daughter is not here,” Sandra Maldonado, Monce’s mother, told KSAT in Spanish. Monce’s sister, Alexyza De la Cruz, translated.

“Now everything is gone,” De la Cruz said.

The San Antonio Police Department said McGarity was driving at a “high rate of speed, racing another vehicle. The driver changed lanes, striking a pedestrian who was crossing the street.”

According to a police report obtained by KSAT, McGarity was also arrested on March 13, 2026, for reckless driving. In that report, an SAPD officer said they searched McGarity to arrest him and found a ticket in his pants pocket from March 12, 2026, the day prior. The ticket was for speeding, and said McGarity was driving 90 mph in a 70 mph zone.

Calls for enforcement and roadway improvements

District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran said the city has been working to address safety issues along Southwest Military Drive.

“It comes in cycles really with the drag racing and it just seems to be back on our side of town and it’s very troublesome,” Viagran said. “We’ve taken care of some of our issues on the southeast side of Military Drive with HAWK lights and putting in more traffic lights.”

De la Cruz said she wants to see more police patrolling along Southwest Military.

Viagran said curbing racing will require coordination across multiple groups.

“More SAPD monitoring and more reports by the neighbors,” Viagran said. “If (drag racers) take off from Military Drive and they’re speeding down the road, they quickly enter into county area.”

De la Cruz told KSAT she just wants justice for her sister.

“She was so kind,” De la Cruz said. “She was everything for us and she had goals, she had dreams.”

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Supreme Court judges in London held a hearing Wednesday on a landmark human rights case that could decriminalize gay sex in the eastern Caribbean nation, potentially setting a precedent for the largely conservative Caribbean region.

The case was filed in February 2017 by Jason Jones, who argues that so-called “buggery” laws in the twin-island nation that prohibit gay sex, dating from when the country was a British colony, are unconstitutional. Those found guilty could receive up to five years in prison.

Jones is represented by lawyers including Anand Ramlogan, the former attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago.

“Who are we to volunteer that gay people should starve because we don’t like the meat that they eat?” Ramlogan told the panel of judges. “Constitutional rights exist precisely because majorities are not always right. They ensure that the dignity and equality of every citizen are not left to the changing tides of public opinion.”

A move to protect colonial laws is under scrutiny

Opposing Jones are Trinidad and Tobago’s government, backed by the country’s Council of Evangelical Churches and its largest Hindu organization, Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha.

The case has wound its way through several courts. In April 2018, Trinidad’s High Court found the laws unconstitutional, but a local appeals court partially reversed that ruling in March 2025. Four months later, Trinidad's Court of Appeals allowed Jones to seek a ruling from the final court of appeals in England.

Attorneys representing Trinidad and Tobago's government are seeking a decision that upholds the March 2025 ruling. A majority of justices in 2025 found that the High Court erred by allowing judges to change a law. A provision in some Caribbean constitutions protects colonial laws from legal challenges, including in Trinidad and Tobago.

The case, which is now before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, is being closely watched by activists across the Caribbean.

Trinidad and Tobago is an independent country but also a republic within the British Commonwealth, so the Privy Council is its final court of appeals. The country has pushed for the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice to replace the Privy Council.

In an October 2023 speech, Justice Adrian Saunders, former president of the Caribbean Court of Justice, argued for that change, noting that the provision protecting pre-independence laws is especially tricky in Trinidad and Tobago.

“Caribbean judges being naturally ‘closer to the ground’ than their British counterparts in the (Privy Council) may well be keener to be more sensitive to and proactive in remediating the debilitating consequences of constitutional or legal provisions that deprive Caribbean people of the full enjoyment of their human rights,” he said.

In 1991, the Bahamas decriminalized homosexuality, while the U.K. government repealed such laws in 2001 in Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Elsewhere in the Caribbean, judges have recently struck down similar laws in Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda.

Gay sex remains a crime in Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines — all former British colonies. In the U.K., gay sex was decriminalized in 1967, more than 400 years after buggery laws were passed during the reign of King Henry VIII, with the last executions associated with the crime occurring in 1835.

“Jason Jones asks for no special privilege. He asks that the Constitution protects him as it does every other citizen,” Ramlogan said.

Supreme Court president warns of a complex legal case

Jones, 61, who has been openly gay since age 16, left Trinidad and Tobago in 1996 because of what he described as homophobic violence and discrimination.

“His experience is part of a wider picture,” LGBTQ groups supporting Jones said in a recent court filing. “(He) is unable to fully express his sexuality without being branded a criminal.”

Jones argues that criminalizing gay sex is a moral stance, asserting that “Trinidad and Tobago is a secular society and a multiracial one. Christian morality is neither universal nor superior.”

While the country’s so-called buggery laws have not been enforced in recent history, attorneys and activists say they still send a message.

“A law of this kind operates not only through arrest and conviction, but through the stigma, fear, concealment and exclusion,” according to a recently filed written argument by activists in favor of Jones.

It asserted that criminalizing gay sex “compounds stigma at precisely the stage at which young people may be forming identity, seeking support, accessing education and healthcare, and deciding whether it is safe to disclose abuse, bullying or self-harm risks.”

It's unclear when the Privy Council might issue a ruling. Justice Robert Reed, president of the Supreme Court, said at the end of the hearing that the case is “of great concern to many people on both sides of the debate” and that it raises some very complex legal questions.

The strikes came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the fragile ceasefire. The U.S. struck a variety of military sites and port facilities early Wednesday following Iran’s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman, sparking Iranian fire then as well.

But Thursday's attacks appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least twice in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters. There was no immediate word of damage in the three Gulf Arab countries. Kuwait’s military said it was actively intercepting incoming drones and missiles. Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait.

Military officials said in a social media post that the latest strikes were intended to “further degrade” Iran's ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex, and the southern port cities of Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas and Sirik. In Iranshahr, authorities said a strike killed a firefighter at an airport.

For the first time since April, it also appeared the U.S. strikes targeted Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Iran's northeastern Golestan province. The Guard said two bridges had been attacked on the way to Mashhad, where officials plan to bury the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday. It wasn't clear if the Golestan attack was the same one mentioend by the Guard.

Trump warns that ‘it will get much worse’ if attacks on shipping happen again

After leaving a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran and issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote.

Trump had said earlier in the day that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in “long-term” military action.

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said, though he also suggested the U.S. military might “just finish the job.”

Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.

After three tankers were hit Tuesday, the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, and Iranian forces retaliated by targeting American military sites in the Persian Gulf.

Iran has asserted that the interim ceasefire deal gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X on Thursday morning: “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit.”

Strikes raise fears that war could resume

Trump fueled concerns that the war could restart by saying the interim agreement to pause fighting was “over,” although he added that he would allow negotiations to continue.

Attacks have repeatedly threatened the shaky ceasefire, but Trump's comments added new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke. A renewed conflict could engulf the wider Middle East and would likely again halt energy shipments through the strait.

“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump said when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that U.S. representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also a top negotiator, retorted on X that Trump's remarks “are not a sign of power but an admission of the failure” of U.S. policy toward Iran.

Trump has made other threats to seize Kharg Island, including last month, when he also questioned whether the U.S. “has the stomach for it.” Some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass through the island.

The new attacks on ships in the strait, despite the negotiations, could reflect a divide among Iran's leadership. Hard-liners seek lasting control over the waterway, which is a globally important conduit for fuel shipments and has become a critical lever in confronting the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace deal to lift international sanctions and provide desperately needed economic relief.

Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after the funeral for Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 in the war’s first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

___

Kim reported from Ankara, Turkey. Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Najaf, Iraq; and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report.

Hundreds of people flooded the residential street where the 52-year-old was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent a day before during an unspecified “targeted enforcement operation” in the predominantly Latino neighborhood in the city’s east side. The crowd rallied around speakers, which included several U.S. representatives from the Houston area as well as residents and advocates, gripping signs that called for ICE to leave the state, some with Salgado Araujo’s face.

A candlelight vigil was also held at a newly crafted mural not far from where Salgado Araujo was shot on Canal Street. People left candles, stuffed animals, notes and more as they paid their respects to Salgado Araujo, whose family said had lived in Houston for 35 years. The peaceful gathering drew a heavy police presence that took up most of the parking on the block.

Daniel Rodriguez, a 20-year-old attendee, said he was proud of the diverse group of people who were at the vigil to express solidarity with those most at risk of being targeted by ICE. He said he worries about his own family and the families of others in the city in the wake of Salgado Araujo’s killing.

“It’s just sad, it’s just tragic, because that man had a beautiful family, and there’s other stories that aren’t told,” Rodriguez said.

ICE claims that Salgado Araujo, who had no criminal history, attempted to ram his van into an ICE vehicle and run over an agent before the federal officer fired his weapon in self-defense. But the man’s family and speakers at the vigil have said that description of events was unlikely, both because of Salgado Araujo’s nature and because they did not trust the agency’s recounting.

One of Salgado Araujo’s sons, Ronaldo Salgado, said during a press conference Wednesday morning that his father likely panicked after unmarked cars followed him, concerned someone was trying to steal his van and work tools inside.

It’s not uncommon for ICE agents to use unmarked cars and wear masks as they attempt arrests, and advocacy groups say the tactic means people often aren’t aware that it’s federal agents detaining them.

U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Houston, cast his own doubts on ICE’s recounting at the vigil, and pointed to other instances earlier this year in Minnesota, where initial claims about ICE agents being attacked were later contradicted by videos of the incidents.

“ICE came to Houston and killed one of our own,” Menefee said. “This is not the first time this has happened … and every single time they come and they tell us their version of events, but we don’t see any evidence.”

A statement from Salgado Araujo’s family that was read during the vigil asked for three things: a full independent investigation into their loved one’s killing; reform for “ambush-style” ICE tactics; and that the neighborhood take care of Maria, his widow and their mother.

Residents of the neighborhood were still in disbelief that ICE had killed Salgado Araujo there and that they had done so after emerging from unmarked vehicles.

Geneva Rajpute, who lives on the street where the shooting occurred, said she and neighbors “shouldn’t be afraid to go down the street” but that the shooting has left them shocked.

“I never thought something like this would happen this close to my home,” Rajpute said. “We are the melting pot. It’s Houston.”

Calls for an independent investigation into the shooting have grown significantly in the hours since Salgado Araujo’s death, including from multiple members of Congress and the state Legislature. The FBI is currently handling an investigation into the shooting. Houston’s police department, which was not present when Salgado Araujo was shot, is not currently investigating, nor is the Department of Public Safety, which regularly investigates police shootings in the state.

After remarks in both English and Spanish and a vigil near the site of the shooting, attendees marched briefly down the street before stopping to hear from advocates and community leaders at the end of the two-hour vigil and watch dancers perform.

Bianca Santorini, an immigration attorney and Democratic candidate for Brazoria County district attorney, said in a speech that people who put down immigrants for not doing things “the right way” have no understanding of how immigration in the U.S. operates and the difficulties families face.

“You don’t know how long it takes, you don’t know that the immigration system is treated like a pendulum every four years depending on who is in the White House,” Santorini said.

Lomi Kriel contributed to this story.

The video showed Robinson standing in a room at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office wearing a T-shirt and baseball cap. There was no audio, but an investigator said he spoke to Robinson that night to get his name and date of birth.

The short clip played as state District Judge Tony Graf sought to keep a weeklong preliminary hearing on track and said he wanted to give both sides time to present their cases.

Instead, much of Wednesday was consumed by arguments over whether prosecutors can play a recorded law enforcement interview with Robinson's roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, in court.

Graf indicated he would allow prosecutors to play redacted audio of those statements Thursday. The judge will decide after the hearing if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial on an aggravated murder charge in Kirk’s Sept. 10 shooting on the campus of Utah Valley University.

Robinson has not yet entered a plea and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.

Robinson’s lawyers said they were concerned about his right to a fair trial if Twiggs’ statements were played in open court and then broadcast by media outlets. They said prosecutors would attempt to portray Twiggs’ statements about what Robinson allegedly told him as a confession from Robinson, which could bias potential jurors.

Attorneys for Kirk’s family and the media had urged the judge to make Twiggs' statements and other evidence public.

“To not be transparent, to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system,” Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman told Graf.

Prosecutors allege Robinson sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

Twiggs was interviewed twice as part of the investigation, State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis testified Wednesday. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case, Davis said.

DNA analysis described by expert as ‘the gold standard’

Robinson's lawyers have questioned the reliability of DNA testing used to link the defendant to the suspected murder weapon.

A member of Tyler Robinson’s defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to a towel wrapped around a rifle found at the college campus, where Kirk was shot while speaking to a large crowd.

Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst’s conclusions.

“She can’t match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,” Burt argued.

Forensics expert Lawrence Quarino said law enforcement agencies use “extremely reliable” tests to determine the probability that a person matches with DNA found at a crime scene.

DNA testing “is the gold standard in forensic science,” said Quarino, a professor and director of the forensic science program at Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania.

FBI analyst Amanda Bakker said that after Twiggs provided a DNA sample for comparison, she was able to rerun her tests and attribute all of the DNA to two people.

Investigators found the towel and suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.

DNA on the towel matched to two people, Jennifer Faumuina with the State Bureau of Investigation testified. One was Twiggs and the other was very likely Robinson, she said.

Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for Twiggs that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”

The defense team pushes back

Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once through the neck as the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk was declared dead after being taken to a hospital.

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

Robinson’s defense team has pushed back on the idea that he was hostile to Kirk’s politics. Defense attorney Richard Novak sought to block prosecutors from introducing a statement describing the traditional Christian values of Turning Point USA.

___

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

The IMF now expects the global economy to expand by a sluggish 3% in 2026, down from 3.5% last year and from the 3.1% it had forecast for this year back in April. The fund expects worldwide growth to rebound to 3.4% next year.

Iran responded to U.S. and Israeli attacks Feb. 28 by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude oil and natural gas passes. Energy prices soared, squeezing businesses and consumers. The IMF now expects oil prices to be up nearly 32% this year and for global consumer prices overall to increase 4.7% in 2026. That would be up from 4.1% in 2025 and would mean that two years of progress against inflation has stalled.

The IMF forecasts assume that the Strait of Hormuz reopens later this month — even though U.S. strikes on Iran resumed and President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that a ceasefire with Iran was over. They also assume that commerce through the strait returns to normal by next March.

“The world economy has weathered the shock from the war better than feared,″ Petya Koeva Brooks, deputy director of the IMF's research department, told reporters Wednesday. The economic damage from the energy shock has been limited partly because countries could draw on existing oil stockpiles and because oil-exporting countries outside the Persian Gulf stepped up production.

Countries that produce and export their own energy and that benefit from AI investment are insulated from the war's economic damage. Among them is the United States. The IMF expects the U.S. economy — the world's largest — to grow a solid 2.3% this year, up from 2.1% in 2025 and unchanged from the April forecast. President Donald Trump's 2025 tax cuts, big gains in productivity and a strong stock market are also giving the American economy a lift.

The 21 European countries that share the euro currency, hit hard by higher energy prices, are collectively forecast to grow just 0.9% this year, down from 1.4% in 2025.

China, the world's No. 2 economy, is expected to expand 4.6% this year, down from 5% in 2025 but a bit faster than the IMF had expected in April. Weighed down by higher energy prices and a property market collapse, the Chinese economy is getting offsetting help from public works spending, a surge in high-tech manufacturing and booming exports.

India is once again forecast to be the world's fastest-growing major economy, advancing at a 6.4% clip (down from a sizzling 7.7% last year) on strong consumer spending.

The IMF is a 191-nation lending organization that works to promote economic growth and financial stability and to reduce global poverty.

___

This story has been corrected to show that China’s economy expanded 5% in 2025, not 2026.

Platner’s exit could exacerbate divisions between the party’s moderate and progressive factions, as Democrats debate who should replace him on the ballot and struggle to unify ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats were desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins while President Donald Trump is broadly unpopular.

In an 11-minute video posted to social media, Platner said the process to replace him needs to be "open, transparent and democratic” and to reflect the will and values of people who supported him. He also lashed out at Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C.

“People in D.C. need to stay in D.C.,” Platner said. “Decisions should not be made by people in places of political power.”

At times scratching his beard and looking off camera as he spoke, Platner seemed to become emotional as he announced his plans, seated on what appeared to be a wooden deck as the noise of nearby traffic whizzed by. He also stressed that his decision was not an admission of guilt.

Although Platner had never before held elected office, progressive leaders promoted him over Gov. Janet Mills, who was favored by the Democratic establishment. Mills dropped out of the race in late April as Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer, consolidated support from primary voters who were eager for a more combative candidate and were willing to overlook his checkered past, which included a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol and online postings dismissive of sexual assault.

Shortly before Platner clinched the Democratic nomination in the June 9 primary, there were reports that he had exchanged sexually explicit messages with other women while married and that he had become physical with a previous girlfriend during an argument.

But Platner’s support didn’t crater until Monday, when Politico reported that a woman said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop.

Jenny Racicot, who lives in Maine, told Politico she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner but cut off contact with him after that night in 2021 and told him the encounter wasn’t consensual. In a CNN interview, she said she had been raped “by definition.”

After the story was published, Platner in a video released on social media denied the allegation as “categorically false” but said he would be “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” for his campaign. High-level backers pulled their support, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said the next day that he spoke with Platner and that “in light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

State law includes a provision for Democrats to replace Platner before the general election. The state Democratic Party held an emergency meeting Wednesday, where more than 100 state committee members signed off on holding a nominating convention, in the event of Platner’s withdrawal.

Platner announced he would do just that less than an hour later.

According to the statute, party officials may select a new nominee if a candidate who won the primary withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13. The replacement candidate must be named by July 27.

Democrats must net four Senate seats to gain control of the 100-member chamber, and party leaders viewed Maine as a critical piece of the puzzle, along with Alaska, Ohio and North Carolina.

Nazi tattoo, Reddit posts and more had already been challenges for Platner

Platner has faced difficult questions almost from the moment he started his campaign last year. News outlets uncovered years-old comments on Reddit that appeared to endorse political violence, dismiss rape in the military, criticize rural Americans and use anti-gay slurs.

There was another controversy over the skull-and-crossbones tattoo, which is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol, on his chest. He said he was unaware of the history and chose the tattoo while drunk and on leave with fellow Marines in Croatia. He covered the tattoo after becoming a candidate, and he said in an Oct. 21 interview with the Pod Save America political podcast that he was “not a secret Nazi.”

“Skulls and crossbones are a pretty standard military thing,” Platner added.

However, a former girlfriend told The New York Times that Platner joked about the tattoo being a Nazi symbol and called it “my Totenkopf.”

The revelations about the tattoo and the online comments stirred concern among Democrats that Platner had been poorly vetted as a political candidate and demonstrated questionable judgment. Some party leaders despaired over Platner’s chances to win even before allegations about previous relationships began to surface.

Platner drew progressive buzz and support

Before Politico’s story was published, Platner canceled some town halls planned around the state. Such events were a calling card for his campaign, which prided itself on a willingness to go anywhere to rally voters. Volunteers hosted happy hours and trivia nights that helped generate enthusiasm for a generational shift from Collins, 73, to Platner, 41.

At a time when Democrats have grown dissatisfied with the party establishment, Platner seemed like an appealing alternative. His deep voice could command a room, and voters were drawn to his gruff populism and focus on economic inequality.

They were also willing to look past controversies as Platner portrayed himself as a regular person who had made mistakes and was striving to better himself and his community. Sometimes he talked about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he focused on the power of redemption.

Before the sexual assault allegation became public, some voters said they also wouldn’t want to be judged on their worst moments, such as drunken behavior or crude comments.

Platner was backed by progressives including Rep. Ro Khanna of California, but that support quickly eroded after Racicot’s allegations.

“I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” Khanna said Monday. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”

Sonja Birthisel, a Democrat and data analyst in Orono, Maine, voted for Platner in the primary. But she said he did the right thing by dropping out.

“My hope for the future of our democracy is that we can hold all of our elected officials to higher standards,” she said.

But the 38-year-old said she rejects the idea that the race is a proxy battle between moderate and progressive forces nationwide.

“Maine is a big small town,” she said. “I’d really love to see out-of-state influence and out-of-state money keep out of our beeswax as much as possible.”

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Ali Swenson contributed reporting from New York City.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Trump offered little clarity on the swap, instead saying he would fly on the legacy aircraft “for old time’s sake,” and indicating that both aircraft would make a previously unscheduled stop on the way back to the United States at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, a base used by U.S. troops.

The travel switch raised fresh security questions about the new aircraft that the U.S. spent $400 million to retrofit. Images of the Qatari-gifted jet captured since its unveiling show it is not equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets.

Trump boarded the new jet at Mildenhall, and it promptly took off for Joint Base Andrews outside Washington after he greeted service members stationed there.

“We just landed and met up with our new Air Force One, which was sent earlier to RAF Mildenhall, so we could show the wonderful Servicemembers, as per the entire Base’s request,” the Republican president said on social media. “They were very excited.”

He said stopping at Mildenhall “was on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.”

During the flight, Trump denied to the reporters accompanying him that security concerns involving Iran were a factor in flying two planes home. Asked if he was aware of any credible threats against Air Force One by Iran, Trump brushed off the question.

“I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list,” he said, repeating comments from earlier Wednesday that he is one of Iran’s top assassination targets.

When the reporters asked Trump if he knew why they were asked to keep their window blinds closed during the flight from Turkey to the U.K. aboard the older Air Force One, Trump replied that it probably was due to the “sleazebags over here” — an apparent reference to Iran. He said he was not asked to close the window blinds in his compartment. Iran and Turkey share a border.

New Air Force One doesn't have same security measures

The swap was also announced less than a day after the U.S. military conducted a series of large strikes in Iran in retaliation for its attacks on merchant shipping in the region, and before a new series of strikes on Wednesday.

Trump first announced in a social media post that the gleaming new plane he had proudly shown off a day earlier would instead visit the U.K. base on the way home so military members could “tour the Aircraft.” Trump said he instead would be flying home in an older plane previously used as Air Force One.

When asked later during a news conference if security concerns had played a role in the switch, Trump didn’t directly answer but said that when it came to Iran, he was “No. 1 on the list for killing.”

When another reporter followed up, Trump said he’d be “going home by normal methods” while the new plane would be shown off to troops.

When asked if the missing countermeasures systems played a role in the jet being swapped out, the U.S. Air Force directed questions to the White House.

“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff," spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. "As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats.”

Plane's transponder was turned off for some of the flight

Trump departed Turkey aboard one of the older Boeing VC-25As that have carried presidents for 3 1/2 decades. Consumer flight trackers were unable to monitor its transponder early in the flight after takeoff, suggesting it had been temporarily disabled by the crew -- a security measure used when ferrying the president to and from high-risk environments like war zones, not a major NATO ally hosting a long-scheduled summit.

Other world leaders’ flights departed with trackable transponders, including those from Germany and the U.K.

The luxurious Boeing 747-800 gifted by Qatar, that was modified to carry Trump, departed earlier Wednesday from Turkey and landed at RAF Mildenhall on Wednesday afternoon, flight trackers showed.

Iran has several missiles and drones in its inventory with enough range to make the roughly 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) flight from its own borders to Turkey, including some of its Shahed drones and Shahab ballistic missiles.

However, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Iran does not possess weaponry that would be capable of effectively striking England at a range of roughly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers).

The U.S. Air Force, which oversees the running of the fleet of aircraft used by every president, had previously said that they had to prioritize making only some of the necessary upgrades and changes in order to deliver the Qatari jet — also known as the “bridge” aircraft — into service.

The Air Force argued that the rapid conversion of the jet was done “without accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications,” but did concede that “several highly complex engineering modifications required for the final (Air Force One aircraft) were intentionally excluded from the Bridge aircraft.”

Jeremiah Gertler, a senior analyst for Teal Group, an aviation and defense consulting firm, previously told The Associated Press that the absence of countermeasure systems, as well as a seemingly smaller number of communications antennas, suggested that the Qatari jet was better suited to only work as a domestic aircraft.

Trump's first flight on the new Qatari jet was to North Dakota last week.

The original Air Force One planes were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War and they were hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and included a range of security features, such as anti-missile countermeasures and an onboard operating room.

The jets are also equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities for contingencies, though it has never been utilized with a president on board.

The pair of Boeing jets that are currently being modified to act as the permanent upgrades to the Air Force One jets have been delayed, and are expected to be delivered in 2028.

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Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

The central government allocated 50 million yuan ($7.4 million) to restore roads, schools and other facilities in central China's Hubei province and another 20 million yuan to help rebuild homes and resettle residents there, state media said. Eleven people died and hundreds were injured Monday night in violent thunderstorms and rare tornadoes.

The government also allocated 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) to Gansu province, where the landslide buried the forestry workers.

The money came on top of 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) allocated earlier for schools, hospitals, transport and other infrastructure in southern China's Guangxi region, where severe flooding inundated cities and stranded residents after heavier-than-expected rainfall from a tropical storm.

Lu Xiaofei, who works in Shenzhen, a tech hub near Hong Kong, said her brother’s family was stuck at his house in Lu village in Qintang district. His brother was with his wife, his 9-month-old baby, their parents and grandfather.

“The water in the house is over one person’s height. They have to all move to the second floor. The power has been out since yesterday morning, and now they don’t have running water, either,” Lu told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Lu said her brother told her that the water level rose last night and their situation was so dire that drinkable water would be running out soon, and local authorities had not reached out to them. Many villagers nearby were facing the same challenges, she said.

Others called for help on social media, showing videos of their flooded surroundings and highlighting their lack of resources.

Reservoirs were breached or burst after Tropical Storm Maysak hit the southeastern Guangxi region, sending torrents of water into towns and cities. Six people were reported dead and about 130,000 have been evacuated. More than 8,000 people and about 5,700 boats have been deployed in the rescue operation, according to the Guangxi regional propaganda office.

Unconfirmed local media reports said hundreds of snakes escaped breeding facilities after being washed away, and Beijing News reported that a woman in the town of Yunbiao died after she was bitten by a snake.

The Associated Press could not verify the reports, but a statement released Wednesday from the regional office said “snakes have appeared in some waters” after multiple villages in the Hengzhou area were submerged in water. It did not give details on where the snakes had come from.

It also said a local hospital has increased its stock of snake antivenom to meet treatment needs.

Heavy rain has been battering parts of Guangxi since last Saturday, with cumulative rainfall of 10 to 40 centimeters (4 to 16 inches) in some areas and more than 90 centimeters (35 inches) in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological center said.

Another storm, Typhoon Bavi, is forecast to hit southeastern China over the weekend. In Taiwan, some farmers rushed to harvest their rice ahead of the typhoon, which was moving west-northwest in the Philippine Sea.

Elsewhere in Asia, severe weather also caused deaths. Landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in southeastern Bangladesh killed several Rohingya refugees, including five children. Heavy monsoon rains battered parts of neighboring India, leaving over a dozen of people dead over the past few days.

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AP writer Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this story.

The nine recommendations from the Mayor’s Commission on Voting range from transitioning a current city department into an “Office of Civic Participation” to increasing the number of polling locations during local elections to establishing a fund that could support civic engagement organizations.

At least some of the recommendations will likely require city council action, and each has a different timeline and potential cost to implement.

“Some of these aren’t all or nothing, right,” Jones said when asked about the total potential cost. “I think there’s a discussion to be had about how can we, you know, better support and invest in the civic participation infrastructure our community deserves.”

Jones created the group in May, asking council colleagues for recommendations on potential members before selecting the final participants.

Despite its name, city staff said the group is actually an advisory board or task force, created under the mayor’s own authority, rather than a municipal board or commission, which requires approval from the whole city council.

In any case, the group’s 56-page report is available online. The report encourages the city to solicit feedback on the recommendations — something the mayor echoed.

A link to do so is available on the city website through July 31.

“In concert with the city staff, my council colleagues, as well as of course the city attorney, we’ll make sure that we look at what is the most the judicious way, appropriate way to implement those,” she said.

Recommendations

1. Transform the City of San Antonio’s Communications and Engagement Department into a dedicated office of civic participation with expanded authority, mission, and community accountability.
2. Leverage city administrative and fiduciary authority to engrain civic participation access across all city-funded venues, events, projects, and partners
3. Establish a civic engagement nonprofit coordination roundtable as a collaboration hub.
4. Establish a city-supported community civic engagement fund and strategic corporate partnership program to sustain nonpartisan civic participation infrastructure in San Antonio.
5. Launch a city-supported culture of voting initiative to build long-term civic participation habits among San Antonians.
6. Establish annual municipal civic participation goals.
7. Expand polling-location availability during municipal, bond, and local ballot-initiative elections.
8. Establish a city-managed centralized voting information hub with proactive multichannel outreach.
9. Standardize dormitory addresses for voter registration purposes across San Antonio university and college campuses.

Read also:

• Council staffer accused by mayor of leaking information departs City Hall

“He’s always been aware of what to do in the event that he got pulled over, he was detained,” his eldest son, 29-year-old Ronaldo Salgado, said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. “He knew he wasn’t supposed to sign anything, he knew that he wasn’t supposed to give them a hard time.”

That’s why the family doesn’t believe the claims made by federal agents that Salgado Araujo allegedly rammed an unmarked car driven by a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent early Tuesday morning. ICE officials claim that the 52-year-old “refused to follow multiple verbal commands” and “weaponized his vehicle” to try to run over the agent who fired the fatal shot.

Instead they believe that their father, a construction worker who had no criminal record, panicked after unmarked cars followed him and suspected someone was trying to steal his van and his work tools. It’s not uncommon for ICE agents to use unmarked cars and wear masks as they attempt arrests, and advocacy groups say the tactic means people often aren’t aware that it’s federal agents detaining them.

“I know this in my heart, he thought that he was going to get robbed for his tools,” the younger Salgado said. “One of his worst fears is that someone took away his work tools because that is how he made his livelihood.”

Salgado and his brother, a 27-year-old engineer who lives in Washington, D.C, spoke at an emotional, often heated, press conference Wednesday in which Houston leaders and civil rights advocates said that they had received little information from ICE about the fatal shooting and urged the city and county to launch a full, open investigation.

“There must be such an investigation,” said U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Houston Democrat. “We must not only have it, we must have a hearing, so that the public can see and hear as much evidence as is available, especially body camera footage.”

After the press conference, the family met with Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, who has called for anyone with video or witness accounts to come forward.

The younger Salgado said that his father, who came here from Mexico with his high school sweetheart nearly four decades ago, had built up a thriving construction business. He urged his sons to work hard like him and all three graduated from college, one from the prestigious Tufts University in Massachusetts.

Salgado, a Houston teacher, said that his dad “wanted nothing else in life but to provide for his wife and see his sons become great people.”

He was a “man of routine” who always began his day before sunrise and typically left the house around 6 a.m. after a hearty breakfast cooked by his wife to head to his job building homes in North Houston.

But early Tuesday morning, after Salgado Araujo picked up three other men, including his brother, to go to a construction job, federal agents in unmarked vehicles suddenly stopped him. An unnamed spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in a statement that the arrest was part of an unspecified “targeted enforcement operation” in Houston’s East End, a predominantly Latino neighborhood.

Spokespeople did not say why Salgado Araujo was on their radar.

Salgado said his father knew to respect law enforcement.

“Had my father seen an emblem of ICE, or an emblem that says anything about law enforcement agency, my father would have complied,” the son added. “He would have not run away because he feared for his life.”

On Wednesday evening, DHS issued a statement saying the agency would not “expose the name” of the officer who shot Salgado Araujo.

Demands for an investigation

Local elected leaders and other advocates echoed demands for an independent investigation into Salgado Araujo’s death.

“What we know is very thin,” said Juan Proaño, who heads the League of United Latin American Citizens, an advocacy group that was founded nearly a century ago in Corpus Christi. “We want a full and transparent investigation. Every piece of evidence, body camera footage, dash cam footage, bystander video, dispatch records must all be preserved and released to an independent investigator and to the public.”

LULAC is offering a $5,000 reward for information and videos leading to “the arrest, indictment, conviction, or exoneration of any person involved in this potential murder.”

Proaño told the Tribune that the family plans to file a federal lawsuit against the government, but first must lodge a complaint under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows people to sue the government for injury, death or property damage caused by the negligence or wrongful acts of a federal employee acting within their job duties.

Domingo Garcia, LULAC’s national president, asked the Houston Police Department to investigate, saying that he does not trust a federal investigation.

“We don’t expect the truth from the Department of Justice or from the FBI,” Garcia said. “We expect a whitewash, that’s just what we expect. But let me just be very clear, the only way we hold them accountable is if the citizens and the residents of Houston hold them accountable.”

Speaker after speaker on Wednesday — including U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, another Houston Democrat who represents the area of Houston where the shooting occurred — urged a thorough and transparent investigation from an entity unaffiliated with ICE.

They hammered comparisons with the fatal ICE shooting in January of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother who was at a protest during ICE’s Operation Metro Surge that month when federal agents shot and killed her in Minneapolis. Like Salgado Araujo, federal spokespeople accused Good of “weaponizing” her car and said ICE agents acted in self-defense, although available footage draws that account into question.

Despite attempts by local prosecutors, no one has been charged in her killing.

Texas political leaders and advocates also drew a comparison to an ICE officer’s fatal shooting last year of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island. The federal agency accused the San Antonio man of intentionally trying to run over an officer as ICE agents helped direct traffic around an accident. Body camera and security footage, later released by DPS, didn’t definitively show Martinez attempting to do so.

“The same thing,” said Johnny Mata, a veteran Houston civil rights advocate who now serves with the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice. “That’s why every public official in an important position in this county, city and surrounding area needs to step forward and say what happened there is not going to happen here.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety investigated Martinez’s shooting and cleared the two ICE agents. A grand jury decided earlier this year not to prosecute the agent who fired through Martinez’s window.

A DPS spokesperson said in a statement that the agency is not investigating this shooting, citing the probe launched by the FBI.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire, a Democrat, said he wasn’t sure if the city could investigate the incident given the federal agency’s jurisdiction.

Local and state law enforcement agencies often investigate a different department’s police shootings.

But it has been rare for local authorities to investigate a federal incident. For example, a ProPublica analysis earlier this year found that local police did not open investigations into six of the 12 shootings by on-duty federal agents that since September have led to the deaths or injuries of citizens and immigrants.

Son learned of father’s death from Facebook

The younger Salgado said that he learned about his father’s death not from law enforcement, but through a social media video an hour after the shooting. The graphic video shows Salgado Araujo moaning in pain as he is on the road while ICE officials appear to be attending to him.

“I saw a video posted on Facebook that he had been shot,” the son said through tears. “I recognized him immediately, not from his appearance, but from his voice, crying for help as he lay on the street, bleeding out.”

His younger brother, named after his father, said that he would never forget that video.

“Hearing him cry out in agony, and you know, seeing that he’d been shot, and they’re not providing any first aid care, they’re just on him, they’re holding him down, letting him bleed like a dog,” he told the Tribune. “I don’t want him to be remembered like that. I want him to be remembered as a hard worker, someone who always pushed for my brothers and my education as a way to make it forward in life and someone who really embodies the American dream.”

His brother said his father was pronounced dead at the same hospital where he, his youngest son and 27-year-old Lorenzo were born, Harris Health’s Ben Taub Hospital.

For most of the 35 years that his father lived in Houston, Salgado said he usually carried out the same daily routine.

“Every evening after work, resting on his porch, listening to music, petting his dog,” Salgado said.

“That’s how I want the world to know my father, not as someone who got shot and killed, but as a family man, a man who understands that good things come to those who put in hard work,” he added through tears.

Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones, whose family immigrated from Mexico, said her “heart breaks for Lorenzo’s family, who will never have him home again. He literally built people’s American dream for decades, and his was ripped away. We must have the truth, we must have answers, and we must have accountability.”

The killing, coming as at least the fourth involving ICE agents since Trump took office again, has resonated across the state and country.

In Austin, for example, civil rights organizations and faith leaders denounced the death Wednesday, urging elected officials to take action against ICE violence in their communities. Another rally in Houston is planned Wednesday night.

“This killing is the direct result of the militarization of our communities,” Mario Gaona with the Party for Socialism and Liberation said at a downtown Austin press conference. “The terror and corruption have to stop. $30 billion in taxpayer money this year has been funneled into this deportation machine.”

For Salgado Araujo’s sons, the death of their father has not only ripped apart their family, but made them question their concept of justice and being an American.

Their father is dead and their uncle — who the family said also has no criminal record — has decided to return to Mexico from ICE detention. The other two passengers in the car are also going back to Mexico, the sons said.

“To have been killed by our own federal government, aided by federal policies that are deliberate choices, just makes me so angry,” Lorenzo Salgado told the Tribune. “Especially being in D.C., just seeing the monuments over the weekend filled me with amazing pride.”

Now, he asked, “how can we be proud of our country?”

Alex Nguyen, Uriel Garcia and Alejandro Santos Cid contributed to this story.

For much of the year, Republican operatives have been quietly considering the real possibility that their party might lose the Senate. No longer.

While much can change before November, Republicans have already begun to rethink their national strategy to take advantage of a political map that suddenly looks much more favorable in the wake of Maine Democrat Graham Platner's announcement that he intends to withdraw from the race. His decision Wednesday follows Platner's latest controversy — an accusation of sexual assault that even his most loyal allies have described as credible.

Platner, who denies the allegation, was under intense pressure to quit the race. And the lineup of potential replacements has hardly inspired fear among the Republicans backing incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, who is seeking her sixth term this fall. The Maine Democratic Party said it's planning a convention to choose Platner's replacement.

The incredible Democratic dysfunction transforms the Maine Senate race from perhaps Democrats' best pickup opportunity in the nation to one where dejected and divided Democrats don't know who their nominee will be four months before Election Day.

“Obviously, expectations are that this certainly will be helpful overall,” said Joanna Rodriguez of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Without Maine, Rodriguez added, “Democrats have no path to a majority."

The math suggests she may be right.

Democrats need to flip four seats to claim the Senate majority for President Donald Trump's final two years in office.

Maine stands alone as the only 2026 Senate battleground where a Republican is facing reelection in a state Democrat Kamala Harris carried in 2024. North Carolina, where Democrats have rallied behind popular former Gov. Roy Cooper, likely represents the party's next best pickup opportunity, while Democrats are fighting to compete in the deeper-red states of Iowa, Alaska, Ohio and Texas. At the same time, Democrats are defending seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire.

To claim the Senate majority without Maine, Democrats must win all the seats they current hold and four of five in states where Trump won by an average of more than 10 points.

“I’m convinced Republicans are holding the Senate,” says New York-based Republican donor Eric Levine, who has hosted fundraising events for Collins and other vulnerable GOP senators. The situation in Maine, he continued, “makes it easier.”

What changes for Republicans

It's hard to overstate how focused Republicans have been on protecting Collins, the last Republican senator serving in New England.

So far this election cycle, Republicans have spent $108 million on her race — more than almost every other Senate race in the nation, but just behind Texas's record-breaking Republican primary, according to data complied by AdImpact.

And the GOP was planning to spend much more in Maine, according to Republican strategist Chris Hartline.

“Republicans were in a situation where we were going to have to go all in on Maine,” he said.

The Platner explosion does not mean that Maine suddenly becomes an easy Republican hold, Hartline noted, but it does give the national party some “breathing room” to shift resources elsewhere.

On Wednesday, for example, the Republican super PAC One Nation announced plans to spend a combined $45 million in three Senate races: Ohio, Iowa and New Hampshire. The Maine contest was excluded from the super PAC's Wednesday list, even though One Nation has already spent $23.5 million in the state, according to AdImpact.

Republicans are not planning to divert all of their money out of Maine in the short term, however.

Operating under the assumption that Platner would quit the race, Republicans were planning a negative ad blitz to undermine Collins' next opponent immediately.

“The candidate we’re running against is largely undefined,” Rodriguez said. “So there will have to be spending and a campaign on behalf of Collins to be sure that that person is defined early.”

Collins, meanwhile, who was already planning for a difficult reelection, was sitting on nearly $10 million in her campaign account near the end of May.

“Fundraising continues on at a strong clip and we are heartened to see support from Mainers and Americans across the nation continue to grow,” said Collins' campaign spokesperson Blake Kernen. “Our cash position remains very strong.”

What's next for Democrats?

The Maine Democratic Party held an emergency meeting Wednesday, where state committee members approved a plan to hold a nominating convention in the event of a vacancy.

Virtually all of his high-profile supporters this week called for Platner to step down, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had stood by the oyster farmer even after revelations of a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, extramarital sexting and controversial social media posts that would have wrecked a typical campaign.

Everything changed this week when a former girlfriend told reporters that Platner drunkenly entered her house and sexually assaulted her in 2021, an allegation the candidate denied.

According to Maine law, Platner needs to file paperwork to formally withdraw by 5 p.m. July 13 before any other contender can replace him.

State law then says the Maine Democratic Party has the authority to choose a replacement, which must be done by July 27 — just 99 days before Election Day.

“Democrats have taken their No. 1 pickup opportunity and completely fumbled it,” said Rodriguez, of the NRSC. “This is the strongest Susan Collins has ever been.”

Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was happy to let him try.

“Dylan came in after the sixth (inning) and said, ‘I’ve got 120.’ I said, ‘OK.’ And then after the seventh, he said, ‘I’ve got 130,’” Schneider said.

Cease carried his bid for a second career no-hitter into the ninth inning Wednesday against the Giants before Heliot Ramos broke it up with a line-drive single to center field.

Cease was lifted after Ramos’ hit and got a standing ovation from the San Francisco crowd. Tyler Rogers came on and got the last three outs on four pitches as the Blue Jays won 10-0.

The 30-year-old Cease threw a career-high 118 pitches, 81 for strikes, as he sought the first solo no-hitter in the majors since 2024. The All-Star right-hander struck out 11 to increase his American League-leading total to 148.

“I kept saying, ‘Whatever it takes,’” Cease said. “I guess in my mind I thought maybe 130 at that point was what it was looking like.”

Schneider said he left Cease in the game because of his career durability and because he can get extra rest during next week's All-Star break.

“I’m a fan of baseball,” Schneider said. “I think if a guy has a chance to throw a no-hitter, I think you let him do it and I think you make adjustments after that.

“If I can let a player have that opportunity, I’m going to do it every single time. Maybe not every single time, but as long as I’m allowed to.”

Cease threw a no-hitter for the San Diego Padres at Washington on July 25, 2024. He thought he was in better form Wednesday than he was that day against the Nationals.

“I was really commanding the ball well, mixing the ball well,” Cease said. “I’m just happy it wasn’t Luis (Arraez) that broke it up again.”

While pitching for the Chicago White Sox, Cease lost a no-hit bid on Sept. 3, 2022, with two outs in the ninth inning when Arraez singled for Minnesota. Arraez, now San Francisco’s second baseman and a winner of three batting titles, was the hitter after Ramos.

Eight days after Cease's no-hitter two years ago, Blake Snell threw one for the Giants at Cincinnati.

Since then, there have been two combined no-hitters — including one in March by Tatsuya Imai, Steven Okert and Alimber Santa of the Houston Astros — but no one has done it on his own as managers more frequently pull pitchers in the middle of hitless outings because of concerns over pitch counts and injuries.

Cease had plenty of velocity in the ninth, throwing two 97 mph fastballs to Ramos before giving up the hit on a 96 mph sinker.

“I’m thinking he’s probably going to be looking for a slider at some point,” Cease said. “I figured if I go a couple of heaters and a sinker in, it would surprise him.

“I wish I got it a little more in, but a good batter got a hit. It’s baseball.”

The Blue Jays have gone nearly 36 years without a no-hitter. Dave Stieb threw one on Sept. 2, 1990.

Including playoffs, 35 big league pitchers have thrown multiple no-hitters. Mike Fiers of the Athletics became the last to do it on May 7, 2019.

Cease set down the first 14 San Francisco batters before he walked Willy Adames with two outs in the fifth. Cease also walked Drew Gilbert leading off the sixth and Rafael Devers with one out in the seventh.

Toronto’s defense made two solid plays to sustain the no-hit bid. With two outs in the seventh, Adames sent with a grounder up the middle, and second baseman Ernie Clement ranged to the left side of the bag and made a nice pickup and throw to first.

Leading off the eighth, Bryce Eldridge hit a drive to deep left-center. Center fielder Daulton Varsho raced to make an excellent catch before running into the wall.

Cease then struck out Gilbert and pinch-hitter Drew Cavanaugh.

“When Daulton made that play,” Cease said, “it was like, ‘Man, that’s what happens in no-hitters.’ At that point, I really did it have it on my mind and I thought, ‘All right, we’ve got a shot today.’”

Ramos said Cease “had it going on today. I think we should have done a better job attacking the zone, just being aggressive, but at the end of the day, he’s a really good pitcher.

“I think he’s Cy Young-caliber.”

___

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

Platner announced Wednesday that he was withdrawing from the high-stakes Senate race following an accusation from a former girlfriend that he once sexually assaulted her. The oyster farmer and Marine veteran, who denies the allegation, had secured the Democratic nomination in June to go up against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

In an editorial published in the Portland Press Herald, Dempsey wrote that Mainers are facing challenges including housing, healthcare and education, and whoever is elected as Maine's next senator should work to enact meaningful change.

“As I reflected on all of this, I kept coming back to one question: Do I truly want to serve in Congress?” Dempsey wrote. “After a lot of thought, I realized the answer is no. Not because public service isn’t honorable — it absolutely is. But because I believe I can contribute more effectively through the life I’ve already built.”

Dempsey did not endorse any other candidate from those currently teasing their interest in replacing Platner, nor did he name Platner. Instead, he wrote that the candidate should offer “a new approach to how we govern ourselves.”

“Most of all, I want integrity. That may sound idealistic today, but it shouldn’t,” he added.

Dempsey grew up in the Lewiston-Auburn area and is the founder of The Dempsey Center in Maine, which provides free care to people impacted by cancer.

That may be a TV exaggeration, but tornadoes and other dangerous storms do hit the city regularly. When they do, many people here turn to Nashville Severe Weather.

This group of dedicated volunteers can be found on social media, calmly explaining the storm movement, advising when to take cover and giving the “all clear.” The coverage by Will Minkoff, Andrew Leeper and Tom Johnstone draws tens of thousands of viewers who interact with them in real time. It’s a service that evokes the early promise of the internet, before the rise of the influencer.

This is happening at a time when many people no longer watch local news and weather reports. Yet Kevin Trowbridge, who teaches strategic communication at Belmont University in Nashville, says an informal survey of his students found many are tuning in to Nashville Severe Weather.

“The millennials and Gen Z — and teaching college students, I know this all too well — their source of information is that handheld device,” he says. “It’s not turning on a TV. And it’s not even looking at a traditional media outlet’s online presence. It’s finding sources that provide them quick information when they need it.”

They are ‘prepared, not scared’

The rise of Nashville Severe Weather is a modern case study in multiple areas — a shifting tornado alley, a changing climate, the prevalence of social media and the value of instantaneous, hyperlocal information that can save the day or save lives.

The initiative has evolved over more than a decade from its origins as a Twitter feed and blog. Today, volunteers livestream on their YouTube channel whenever Nashville or surrounding counties face severe weather. Because Leeper, Minkoff and Johnstone all live here, they are facing the same threats as their audience.

“There’s something about Nash Severe Weather that’s different from the hobbyist enthusiast,” Trowbridge says. “I think that’s why people are following them. That’s why they are trusting them. That’s why they’re tuning in and turning to them. ... It is authentic and real.”

Leeper, a church pastor, has a soothing voice and a sign on a shelf behind him that reads “prepared not scared.” He has had to leave the stream to wake up his family and hunker down in their safe space. He did so calmly, modeling the behavior of his motto. After the threat passed, he rejoined the stream.

Katherine Moffat, who works as the executive director of the Tennessee Academy of Physician Assistants, says local TV weather can be “a little over-the-top” when storms are threatening. Nashville Severe Weather, she says, is different.

“They’re a little more calm and telling it to you straight,” she says. “They don’t get people overly excited.”

Tornado Alley has shifted

The need for their service has never been greater. “Tornado Alley” has been shifting from the Midwest plains to states further east, says Johnstone, a meteorologist who joined the group last year after 33 years with the National Weather Service.

“The mid-South, especially down through Alabama, Mississippi, and into Tennessee and western Kentucky, has been where tornadoes have been most frequent ... and people have been dying in the highest numbers,” he says.

Michelle Stewart gets all her weather information via push notifications from Nashville Severe Weather on her phone. It's a service she found invaluable during an ice storm that left much of the city without power or internet service for days.

“They are very informative about, not just what to expect, but how to be prepared, and just giving everybody the lay of the land without it being too science-y. You know, it kind of feels like you’re talking to your neighbor,” says Stewart, a project manager at a healthcare research company. “They are so calming to me during those live events.”

Brett Withers, a former Nashville city councilman who saw two people die in his district during a 2020 tornado that killed 24 people in Tennessee, calls Nashville Severe Weather a “godsend.”

“We have so many people moving to Nashville, and they might move from places where tornadoes are rare, if they ever happen,” he says.

Low production value with a ‘volunteer heart’

The popularity of Nashville Severe Weather defies much of the received logic about how to build an audience on social media. There's nothing fancy or highly produced about their livestreams. They don't try to play up danger or excitement. They certainly don't try to chase down tornadoes or run around outside in hurricane-force winds.

Their streams are visually dominated by weather radar. Minkoff, Leeper and Johnstone, sometimes joined by other volunteers, each stream from their own homes and appear in little boxes at the bottom or side of the screen. Graphics, when they have them at all, look like they could have been drawn by a 5-year-old.

Take the beloved “Dry Air Monster,” a stick figure with an huge head and chomping Godzilla jaws.

Nashville Severe Weather co-founder David Drobny drew this to explain how dry air could “eat” snow that was headed toward Nashville. In a Southern town that usually sees snow on the ground only a few days each year, many people look forward to it as a mini-vacation. The monster's motto is “No Snow for You.”

Its hyperlocal focus stays grounded

Their hyperlocal focus allows Nashville Severe Weather to fill a niche left open by the local TV meteorologists who have to report on dozens of counties.

“One of the things that Nash Severe can do that even the TV stations have trouble doing is really bring it down to intersection level, school level, church level to let people know where the danger and the threat is,” Johnstone says.

Their coverage is a two-way street. Audience members provide photos and video showing on-the-ground conditions and comment in the chat. Nashville Severe Weather shares that information with the National Weather Service and TV meteorologists. They also try to answer people's questions as they stream.

Leeper remembers a day when schoolchildren were sent home because of a tornado threat. When one child commented in the chat about being home alone, his heart sank.

“We just stopped what we were saying on the stream, and I said, ‘Hey. It dawns on me that we’ve got a bunch of kiddos at home that are maybe by themselves. Hey. Here’s what you do’,” Leeper recalls. “I love those moments where we can just sort of put everything else aside to talk to the people who are listening, in whatever situation they’re in.”

It's moments like that that help them stay grounded.

In 2023, a tornado killed a mother and young child here who lived in a trailer. Leeper didn't know them, but he attended the visitation.

“It just creates a whole other emotion when you walk into a funeral visitation for hurting families when it’s a weather event that you covered,” he says. “It’s not all action and adventure. It really affects people’s lives forever.”

Defense attorneys have also used portions of the weeklong hearing to question the reliability of DNA testing that prosecutors say links the defendant to the suspected murder weapon.

Prosecutors are seeking to convince state District Judge Tony Graf that they have enough evidence to bring Tyler Robinson to trial on an aggravated murder charge. After the weeklong hearing concludes, Graf must determine if the case should proceed, which experts say is likely.

Robinson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder in Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination on the Utah Valley University campus, for which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Robinson has not yet entered a plea, and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.

Here's the latest:

Kirk family lawyer says video interview, other evidence should be public

A lawyer for Charlie Kirk’s family says they want video footage and other evidence to be made public in the criminal case against the man charged with aggravated murder in Kirk’s shooting death.

Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman spoke Wednesday during a preliminary hearing for defendant Tyler Robinson. Neiman said that “to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system.”

A defense lawyer sought to prevent the publication in open court of an interview with defendant Tyler Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. Robinson’s lawyer said prosecutors would attempt to portray Twiggs' statements as a confession by Robinson, hurting the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

This week’s hearing will determine if the case will proceed to trial.

Hearing ended for the day, set to resume Thursday

State District Judge Tony Graf ended the preliminary hearing Wednesday slightly ahead of the usual time of 5 p.m. It resumes Thursday morning.

Attorneys argue over whether Robinson’s texts should be shown in court

Defense attorney Richard Novak says allowing the video of Lance Twiggs’ interview to be shown publicly will violate Robinson’s right to a fair trial, in part because prosecutors will characterize the video as a “confession,” based on what Twiggs claims Robinson told him.

The same is true of text messages, discord chats or other communications that the prosecutors say Robinson made, Novak says.

The defense team does not characterize those as confessions, but as communications by an individual, according to Novak.

The judge has not yet said whether the video of Robinson’s roommate or other pieces of evidence will be published — or shown — in court.

____

Correction: This post has been updated to correct that Novak was referring to the roommate’s video and other communications allegedly made by Robinson.

Livestream makes it hard to see Tyler Robinson

The livestream of the courtroom hearing in the case of Charlie Kirk’s killing shows defendant Tyler Robinson from behind, making it hard to see his face unless he turns.

A decorum order issued by Judge Tony Graf requires a photographer and a videographer with the media pool to get images only when court is in session and Robinson is seated with his defense attorneys.

Cameras were at the front of the courtroom when the case began. But Graf moved them toward the back of the court following defense complaints that close-up shots could reveal what Robinson and his lawyers were saying.

Those close-ups led to a story in one outlet that was based on a purported lip-reading analysis of Robinson’s conversations with his attorneys.

Robinson’s attorneys pushed unsuccessfully to ban cameras altogether. They argue that coverage of the trial is biasing potential jurors.

Defense attorney says video of roommate’s interview not admissible

Defense attorney Robert Novak has taken issue with the prosecution’s characterization of his opposition to the videotaped interview with Tyler Robinson's roommate as a last-minute “surprise.”

“There’s no surprise here,” Novak said of the interview conducted with Lance Twiggs, Robinson's romantic partner. “There’s been all of Monday, all of Tuesday evening, this morning,” Novak said.

He added that the defense team created a 20-page transcript of the interview and a proposed redacted transcript of just the admissible portions it thought could be highlighted for the court.

Novak said Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride conducted the interview with Twiggs in a leading manner. He said such leading questions would never be allowed in a court setting.

Novak also said portions of the video weren’t relevant and that allowing the video to be seen by the public would damage Robinson’s right to a fair trial.

David Reymann, an attorney representing the news media, urged Graf to allow the video to be seen by the public if it is admitted, saying there are ways to ensure fair trials even with extensive media coverage.

The judge called a recess afterward to review the issues presented.

Agent says roommate was given ‘use immunity’ for statements

State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis said at Wednesday's preliminary hearing that Lance Twiggs was given “use immunity” for Twiggs’ statements, meaning a prosecutor has agreed not to use those statements against someone in a criminal case.

Twiggs’ April 20 interview was conducted and recorded in lieu of bringing the roommate to the preliminary hearing as a witness, Davis told the court.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Lauren Hunt said she expects the defense team to object to the introduction of the videotaped statements in court, explaining to the judge why she thought the evidence should be allowed.

Hunt also said the defense team proposed multiple redactions at the last minute. But she said redacting a video is complicated and that the defense team should have requested redactions sooner if it had wanted them.

Investigator describes interviews with Robinson’s roommate

Tyler Robinson’s roommate Lance Twiggs was interviewed twice as part of the investigation, State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis said Wednesday.

Two FBI agents were on hand for the first interview on Sept. 12, Davis told the judge. The second interview with Twiggs — Robinson's romantic partner — was April 20, Davis said, and he was one of several law enforcement agents and prosecutors present.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Lauren Hunt appeared to be laying a foundation Wednesday seeking to get a recording of Twiggs’ statements introduced as evidence.

Agent describes the night Tyler Robinson turned himself in

State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis narrated a video clip from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, where Tyler Robinson turned himself in the day after Charlie Kirk's shooting.

Davis said at a preliminary court hearing Wednesday that the video clip shows Robinson standing in a room at the sheriff’s office. Robinson is wearing a T-shirt and a baseball cap.

Davis told Deputy Utah County Attorney Lauren Hunt that after Robinson and his parents were interviewed, Robinson was placed under arrest.

Davis said he interviewed Robinson’s mother, and that other law enforcement officers interviewed Robinson and Robinson’s father. A family friend who came in with the Robinsons also was interviewed, Davis said in testimony.

The clip was one of several presented over days of hearing testimony to decide if the case should proceed to a trial.

Judge asks attorneys for a ‘road map’ for rest of hearing

State District Judge Tony Graf reminded attorneys on both sides that the hearing is scheduled to end Friday. And he asked them to give the court a "road map" of their plans for the rest of the proceeding.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander said his office will call Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis to testify Wednesday. If time allows, he said, they may also bring Utah Department of Public Safety Sergeant Jennifer Faumuina back to the stand Wednesday afternoon.

Grunander says Faumuina’s testimony will likely extend into Thursday, and then the prosecution’s presentation will be concluded.

The defense team said it plans to call two remaining witnesses, both from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

DNA expert says it’s a reliable science

Forensics expert Lawrence Quarino said law enforcement agencies use “extremely reliable” tests to determine the probability a person matches with DNA found at a crime scene.

Quarino, a professor and director of the forensic science program at Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania, called DNA testing “the gold standard” of forensic science.

A lawyer for Tyler Robinson on Tuesday questioned the reliability of DNA tests authorities said have linked him to the suspected murder weapon – a rifle found wrapped in a towel after Charlie Kirk was shot.

There are ways to challenge DNA evidence, Quarino noted. He said a defense attorney, for instance, could claim DNA material was transferred to a location by an intermediary who shook the hand of a suspect. But he said government labs that analyze DNA have strict quality controls and their science is sound.

Kirk's parents arrive at courthouse, then Tyler Robinson's parents

Charlie Kirk’s parents arrived at the courthouse for the resumption of the preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Robert and Kathryn Kirk have attended every day of the preliminary hearing so far. Sometimes, however, they have left the courtroom to avoid hearing details about their son’s death.

A short while later, Tyler Robinson’s parents arrived at the courthouse. Matt and Amber Robinson have attended every day of the hearing so far, usually seated a row or two away from the Kirk family in the courtroom gallery.

A woman brings a sign in support of the Kirk family

Sydney Young came from Alpine, Utah, to the courthouse with a handmade sign decorated with hearts and the words, “Prayers 4 the Kirks.” She also held a silver star-shaped balloon.

Young, who’s been watching the preliminary hearing off and on via livestream, said she wanted to show support for Kirk’s widow, Erika.

“I recently just lost my father, right after Kirk. He died of a heart attack, and I know from personal experience how horrible it is,” she said, fighting back tears.

Young said her message to Erika Kirk is this: “Erika, I’m so sorry for your loss, and I hope you know this action doesn’t represent all of Utah.”

A law officer told Young signs weren’t allowed on courthouse property, so she moved across the street.

Robinson’s defense disputed the idea that he was hostile to Kirk’s politics

Defense attorney Richard Novak sought to block prosecutors from introducing a statement describing the traditional Christian values of Turning Point USA.

“This doesn’t say anything about Mr. Robinson’s state of mind,” Novak said about Turning Point USA board member David Engelhardt's statement. “I don’t think that this court should be deciding — based on the record before it — where, if at all, politics and religion intersect.”

The judge ruled that the Turning Point statement was relevant and would be “provisionally admitted,” with a final decision at a later date.

Robinson’s roommate provided investigators with a DNA sample

FBI analyst Amanda Bakker said after Robinson’s roommate provided a DNA sample for comparison, she was able to rerun her tests and attribute all of the DNA to two people.

Investigators found the towel and suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.

DNA on the towel matched to two people, Jennifer Faumuina with the State Bureau of Investigation testified. One was Robinson’s roommate, Lance Twiggs, and the other was very likely Robinson, she said.

Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst’s conclusions

It’s a theme that’s likely to come up again during the weeklong preliminary hearing.

“She can’t match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,” Burt concluded.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride countered that the reliability of the DNA testing could be examined if the case goes to trial. He suggested the preliminary hearing was not the time to take up the matter.

“The point is there are explanations that are susceptible to different interpretations and arguments,” McBride said. “The court is going to determine if it meets the threshold of reliability at trial.”

DNA evidence from Charlie Kirk's assassination disputed by defendant’s lawyers

Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk are expected to keep questioning the reliability of DNA testing that prosecutors said links the defendant to the suspected murder weapon when a weeklong hearing continues Wednesday.

A member of Tyler Robinson’s defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI on Tuesday about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to a rifle found wrapped inside a towel at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot in September while speaking to a crowd.

Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst’s conclusions — a theme that’s likely to come up again.

Philippe Jones is a rising junior and tennis player who fell in love with the sport in elementary school. That passion led Jones to create ‘Tennis 4 All,’ a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to tennis for young people.

Jones gave credit to his parents for introducing him to the sports and then supporting his mission.

“I found that I really love the sport,” James said. “I learn that it had a certain skill required to play the sport and I also learned that it taught, not just lessons about the sport itself, but about life.”

“I saw that there were many kids that didn’t have the same opportunity as I had to play the sport that I loved,” Jones said. “I wanted to make sure that these kids had the opportunity.”

Through the nonprofit, Jones collects and donates gently used tennis equipment to communities around the world. Most recently, Tennis 4 All sent a shipment to Colombia.

Jones said in November 2025, the organization donated 49 pairs of refurbished tennis shoes, 12 tennis rackets and 14 tennis hats.

Working with Tennis4Colombia, the equipment will be distributed to young athletes who could benefit from the equipment across the country.

Jones said his goal is to give more young people the opportunity to experience and enjoy the game of tennis.

Find more information on Jones’ mission and how to get involved on the Tennis 4 All’s website.

An extended version of this story will air on KSAT Sports Now, the week of July 5.

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• SA Lady Dolphins Elite 10U flag football team preparing for 2 national tournaments

After crews worked through the night to stabilize a section of the building where beams had buckled and floors had sagged, Mayor Zohran Mamdani sought to reassure wary New Yorkers, saying no more movement had been detected in the massive office-to-apartment conversion project at Pfizer’s former headquarters near Grand Central Terminal.

But several other nearby buildings remained off-limits, and the city will conduct a broader inquiry into what went wrong and what can be done to prevent a more devastating development such as a collapse, the mayor vowed.

“As soon as we answer the emergency questions around safety in this moment, we are going to be conducting a full investigation as to how we got to this point,” Mamdani said. “Because this is not a necessary consequence of an office to residential conversion. This, however, is clearly a breakdown in that process.”

Buckled columns and sagging floors triggered collapse concerns

Authorities responding to emergency calls at the building discovered two mangled support columns on the 21st floor as well as multiple cracks and slumping floors early Tuesday, triggering mass evacuations and street closures in a bustling area not far from the Grand Central transit hub and the Chrysler Building.

In the initial hours, officials believed the steel-framed building, which was empty other than the workers, wasn’t at risk of a total collapse, but “more of a localized collapse,” as Fire Chief John Esposito described it.

On-site contractors were eventually allowed to reenter the building late Tuesday to do emergency repairs after city officials conducted a floor-by-floor inspection.

The renovation project is billed as the largest office-to-residential conversion in the city’s history, creating some 1,600 units of housing by adding more than a dozen stories atop one tower in the complex and redesigning the other. Plans also call for adding roughly 100,000 square feet (9,300 square meters) of amenities, including a rooftop pool, a fitness center, ground floor retail and offices.

Pfizer, which was originally founded in Brooklyn in 1849, established its headquarters in the building in 1961. A massive mosaic of metal and tile honoring ancient and modern figures in medicine was displayed prominently in the high glass-windowed lobby. The pharmaceutical giant moved out in 2023 after opening a new office near Penn Station, leaving the property vacant.

Spokespersons for MetroLoft, the project developer, didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday but have previously voiced optimism that the project could resume quickly as they’ve stressed that the building is not at risk of collapse.

Nathan Berman, the firm’s founder, acknowledged in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, though, that the added weight from widening the top 15 or so floors of the building likely caused the damage.

Residents and hotel guests return as evacuation orders are lifted

Sally Grant and Margaret Clark were among those Wednesday waiting to be let back into the Hampton Inn near the damaged building.

They had traveled from Scotland to see Bon Jovi perform at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday but were evacuated and told to leave their belongings, including their credit cards, passports and medication.

“They could have given us five minutes to grab our belongings, you know, instead of just saying, ‘Everybody out, everybody out,’” Clark said. “We’ve been left with nothing. We slept in the streets last night. The police wouldn’t help us. It’s been awful. Absolutely it’s ruined our holiday.”

There were signs of things returning to normal Wednesday on the streets surrounding the construction site, with people walking dogs, pushing strollers and riding bikes.

Some streets remained closed for much of the day while gawkers paused to take photos of the now-infamous high-rise. Unionized construction workers staged a protest — complete with a large inflatable rat — slamming the building's developers for using non-union labor.

Elinor Ruskin, 94, was among those redirected by police after trying to get through a closed block in the morning. She took it in stride.

“These things happen. I don’t know if they will catch the mistake or what they will do,” she said. “Anyway, you know, this is New York City.”

More thorough inquiry to come as repairs are ongoing

Temporary shoring and beams were installed throughout the 37-story building as crews made their way to the top.

Photos shared on social media by the city's Department of Buildings showed multiple steel rods inserted side-by-side next to one badly bent column.

The department said the emergency work is being supervised by the owner’s engineer and an independent, third-party engineering firm hired by the owner.

Once the emergency repairs are complete, Mamdani said city building officials will conduct a “rigorous assessment” to ensure the plans and the site are fully compliant with all codes before any non-emergency work proceeds.

New York, along with other major cities, has for years been pursuing ambitious overhauls to transform underused office space into residential buildings, in part to help struggling business districts and take strain off tight housing markets in need of more apartments.

Mamdani, a Democrat, told reporters Wednesday that he considers the conversions “part of our answer to the housing crisis,” but he added that the projects must be done “safely and in a way that is fully accountable.”

Real estate expert thinks project will still find tenants

Joshua Harris, director of Fordham University’s Real Estate Institute, said it remains to be seen whether the building's problems were caused by faulty engineering, a failure to follow design plans or even hidden flaws in the original building's construction. It also remains to be seen whether the developers have the financing to absorb the cost of the delays and added expenses to make the needed fixes, he said.

What is almost certain, Harris said, is that the hulking tower, if completed, would still find willing tenants, given its prime location and the nearly unquenchable demand for housing in New York City.

“There’s no real stigmatization from a death or something that was like tragic,” he said. “It’s probably going to be one of the safest buildings out there when it’s done. You’re not going to cut any corners at this point. There's too much attention on it."

Walking near the high-rise Wednesday, Sabrina DeRizzio wondered why developers keep trying to turn outdated office towers into modern housing, as she lives in one herself.

“It’s not the best,” she said of her building, adding that it’s impossible to hang anything on the concrete walls and the unit never feels properly insulated. “The infrastructure is just not the same.”

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This story was updated to correct the name of Grand Central Terminal.

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Associated Press video journalist Ted Shaffrey in New York contributed to this story.

In a Wednesday statement, the city said Jesse Salame — a 26-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department — is set to be the acting police chief, effective Saturday.

Salame is currently SAPD’s assistant police chief.

“I know Jesse well and he is a strong leader who is well respected within and outside the Department,” City Manager Erik Walsh said in the statement. “I have full confidence in Jesse leading the Police Department.”

McManus originally said he would retire from the department on Sept. 30. Earlier this month, he announced an accelerated retirement that will go into effect Friday.

During a KSAT interview that aired Tuesday, McManus highlighted some of Salame’s qualifications for the top job at SAPD.

“I met him (Salame) when he was a detective,” McManus told KSAT. “I promoted him up to sergeant, lieutenant, captain, deputy. He was my chief of staff; he was my PIO (public information officer). Jesse’s done a great job. He knows the community, and he knows what path we’ve taken for the last 20 years.”

The next full-time SAPD chief is expected to be named in September, the spokesperson said.

More related news coverage on KSAT:

• SAPD Chief William McManus reflects on 20-year tenure, successor, possible future in politics

The strikes come a day after the U.S. military hit a variety of military sites and port facilities following Iran’s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman. Iranian state media reported explosions including in the port city of Bandar Abbas on the strait and in Sirik, another southern coastal city.

Earlier at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump renewed past threats to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure including electric plants and desalination plants and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.

The U.S. will also, Trump announced, lift sanctions on Turkey that have barred its access to F-35 jets and lift Syria’s terrorism designation.

Here is the latest:

Trump says this won’t be his last trip to a NATO summit

Amid speculation he only attended this week’s gathering as a favor to his ally Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president was asked if this was his last time at a NATO summit.

“No,” he responded, before adding that NATO had made a lot of concessions.

“The meeting today settled a lot of things,” Trump said.

The president also praised Spain after long criticizing that country for not committing to spend 5% of its gross domestic product on its military to be consistent with other NATO members.

Trump said Spain “came back all the way today. Spain was very generous.” He said the country “honored a request of lots of payment,” but without giving further details.

Trump suggests decision on US troop levels in Europe depends on Greenland

“I haven’t made that final determination,” the president said when asked about oscillating on how many troops the U.S. plans to keep in Europe.

“A lot’s gonna depend on Greenland,” Trump added, and on making what he called “a very good deal on Greenland.” He didn’t elaborate.

The Pentagon is still waiting for clarity after Trump recently suggested that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland — weeks after ordering the same number pulled from Europe following a dispute with German officials over the Iran war.

Trump has long caused consternation among U.S. allies by suggesting that Washington should control Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark.

Trump did not suggest before or during the NATO summit that wrapped up Wednesday that Greenland might help determine troop levels in Europe.

Trump says security concerns involving Iran weren’t a factor in flying 2 planes home

Asked if he was aware of any credible threats by Iran against Air Force One, the president brushed off the question.

“I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list,” he said, repeating earlier comments that he’s one of Iran’s top assassination targets. He said the newer plane was sent ahead to a military base in the United Kingdom so service members there could see it.

Reporters traveling with Trump told him they were asked to keep their window blinds closed during the flight from Turkey to the U.K. aboard the older Air Force One.

Trump replied that it was probably due to the “sleazebags over here” in an apparent reference to Iran, which borders Turkey. He said he was not asked to close the blinds in his compartment.

Trump spoke to reporters aboard the Qatari-gifted Air Force One after it left the U.K. for the United States.

Oil prices rise, and stocks drop worldwide after Trump says ceasefire with Iran is ‘over’

Trading was shaky worldwide after The president raised doubts about the truce.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.1% after Trump said the ceasefire was “over,” but the index then trimmed its loss to 0.3% after he said recent fighting did not mean a return to full-scale war. They’re his latest mixed messages on what will happen with the war, which threatens to worsen inflation for the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 576 points, or 1.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% after erasing an early loss.

The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 5.2% to $78.02 and briefly topped $80.

That’s still below its peak from earlier in the war, when the price for the most actively traded contract reached nearly $120. But the jump is unsettling because oil prices had just dropped back to prewar levels.

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New attacks raise questions about what comes next in the Iran war

Trump says he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over. He says he’s not sure he wants a deal anymore and the U.S. should “finish the job.” But he also insists that continued attacks do not mean a return to war or long-term action.

The confusion and uncertainty in his mixed messaging and his approval of back-to-back military strikes leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.

The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program — something Trump has tried before.

Whether it is a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions — which could spell problems for Republicans in November’s midterm elections if gas prices stay high.

▶ Read more

Trump shares images of apparent explosions in Iran

After landing at a military base in the U.K. following the NATO summit in Turkey, the president posted several videos on his social media site showing what he said were explosions in Iran.

He also issued another warning to Tehran: “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!”

More reports of explosions in Iran

Iranian state media reported that explosions also were heard in Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex.

A day earlier state television said eight members of the army’s air and naval forces were killed in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr.

Explosions heard in southern Iran

Iranian state media are reporting explosions, including in the port city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, and in Sirik, another southern coastal city.

US says it’s carrying out more strikes against Iran

The U.S. military has announced that they have launched another round of strikes against Iran “to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz” in a post on social media.

The strikes come just a day after the U.S. military hit a variety of military sites and port facilities following Iran’s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman and just hours after Trump threatened to unleash more military action.

The social media post said that “the United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”

Trump told reporters at a NATO meeting on Wednesday that the U.S. would “probably hit them hard again tonight” but later added that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in “long-term” military action.

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said, though he also suggested the U.S. military might “just finish the job.”

US lawmakers meet with Zelenskyy

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is encouraging Trump to follow through on additional security assistance for Ukraine and the tightening of sanctions on Russia.

The lawmakers issued a joint statement after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.

The group said that some 35,000 Russian soldiers are being killed or wounded each month for no territorial gain and the Russian economy is slowing.

“It is abundantly clear that Russia is not winning this war,” the lawmakers said.

The U.S. lawmakers say Russian President Vladimir Putin is negotiating for time, not peace.

“Putin is at his weakest position in years and real sustained pressure can finally bring this war to a close,” the lawmakers said in their joint statement.

Three Democratic and three Republican lawmakers issued the joint statement.

Trump administration informs Congress of plans to rescind Syria’s terrorism designation

In a statement Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump has told lawmakers that the U.S. will soon remove Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a yearlong normalization process with the country’s new government.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” Rubio said. “A stable, unified Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors benefits not only the region, but the entire world.”

In June 2025, Trump signed an executive order ending several economic sanctions before revoking the terrorism designation a few weeks later for President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who took over after the ouster of former leader Bashar Assad in December 2024.

Trump and Erdogan discussed naval defense cooperation

Trump and Erdogan have discussed possible cooperation in the defense industry, the Turkish president said, pointing specifically to the shipbuilding sector.

Erdogan said the two talked about projects including building frigates and submarines, adding that the vessels could be built in Turkish shipyards.

Starmer says Erdogan gave NATO leaders guns as gifts

Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave NATO leaders pistols as gifts at their summit in Ankara.

Starmer told reporters that each weapon was engraved with the recipient’s name and came with a box of ammunition.

The guns came with a note from Erdogan waiving export controls. But the British prime minister left his in Turkey to be decommissioned, because it would be illegal to import it into the U.K.

Erdogan says Trump is ‘positive’ on F-35s

Erdogan insisted that Trump has a “positive approach” toward the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey.

In his news conference at the end of the two-day summit, the Turkish leader said: “Hopefully, when the F-35s are delivered to Turkey, the whole world will say America kept its promise.”

Erdogan rebuffs Israeli and Greek objections to sale of F-35s

Erdogan dismissed objections from Israel and Greece concerning the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

Speaking at a closing news conference at the end of the two‑day summit he hosted, the Turkish president said opposition raised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis “have no place in my world.”

Trump had announced during a meeting with Erdogan on Tuesday that the U.S. will lift sanctions on Turkey that were issued after Ankara purchased Russian missile defense systems in 2019. The move led to the country being kicked out of the F-35 fighter jet program.

On Wednesday, however, Trump suggested he hadn’t made up his mind concerning the F-35s.

Erdogan, meanwhile, also renewed Turkey’s long-standing offer to mediate between Ukraine and Russia for an end to the war.

Top UN official warns return to full-scale US-Iran war would have ‘catastrophic consequences’

The secretary-general is alarmed by the renewed military confrontations in the gulf,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for António Guterres, told reporters Wednesday. “These incidents risk derailing the diplomatic progress achieved between Iran and the United States.”

He reiterated “the obligation of all parties to fully comply with international law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure,” shortly after Trump repeated his previous threats to target Iran’s electric and desalination plants.

Judge orders E. Jean Carroll be paid $5M after jury found Trump sexually abused and defamed her

E. Jean Carroll can be paid the $5 million that was set aside after a jury found three years ago that President Donald Trump sexually abused her in 1996 before he became president and defamed her after she publicly revealed the attack, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order that says the money can be paid to Carroll, along with interest that has grown since the verdict.

Carroll’s lawyers had requested the disbursement after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the 2023 civil verdict.

Trump had resumed defamatory attacks against Carroll as his lawyers considered asking the high court to reconsider its decision.

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Iran strikes conducted with jets, but a large Navy fleet is off the waters of Iran

The retaliatory strikes against Iran were conducted by Air Force and Navy fighter jets in the region and lasted about four hours, a U.S. official confirmed Wednesday.

The strikes Tuesday evening hit around eight times more targets than the previous round of retaliatory strikes that were conducted at the end of June — an escalation that was prompted by Iran’s ongoing strikes on merchant shipping in the region.

The official also noted that the Navy’s massive flotilla of warships was not involved in last night’s strikes. The force of 19 ships stationed around the waters of Iran is massive. It includes two aircraft carriers — the USS Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush — as well as an amphibious assault ship carrying over 1,000 Marines, 14 destroyers, a cruiser, and an expeditionary sea base vessel.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing sensitive military operation.

— Konstantin Toropin

Trump gives confusing answer on why he’s changing planes on the way home

Trump flew to Turkey on his new Air Force One plane gifted by Qatar.

But he announced in a social media post earlier Wednesday that the plane he had proudly shown off would instead visit Mildenhall Air Force Base in the United Kingdom so military members could “tour the Aircraft.”

Trump said he would be flying home in an older plane used as Air Force One “for old time’s sake.”

When asked Wednesday if security concerns played a role in the switch, Trump didn’t directly answer but said he was “No. 1 on the list for killing” by Iran.

The U.S. Air Force referred inquiries to the White House.

Images of the jet captured since its unveiling show it is not equipped with some of the same missile-detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets.

Trump promises quick resolution in Iran even as he says ceasefire is over

“I don’t think it’s going to start again; I think it’s going to go very quickly,” Trump said when asked whether the war was restarting.

He repeated an earlier threat, saying the U.S. “might” strike Iran again tonight, but he insisted it wouldn’t lengthen the war significantly.

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” he said. “We’re not looking for long-term.”

Trump says there is an ‘oil glut right now’

The president played down the risks that an intensifying war with Iran could drive up oil prices, claiming that the world has an “oil glut.”

“This will end very quickly,” Trump said. “We have an oil glut right now, because we got all those boats out of the strait, and it’s going to drop, and I predicted everything.”

Trump spoke as U.S. oil futures topped $75 a barrel in Wednesday afternoon trading, a daily increase of more than 6%.

The International Energy Agency said this week that oil supplies could exceed demand if there is a durable ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran that keeps the Strait of Hormuz open. It said any surplus would be driven by a 1.1 million-barrel-a-day drop in global oil demand this year.

Trump says of Iran that US military might ‘just finish the job’

“We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal,” the president said. “Just finish the job.”

Trump has said that the tentative ceasefire with Iran may now be off and is threatening a new round of attacks.

His comments about finishing the job came in response to a question about Trump having previously said that Iran’s leaders were rational and acceptable to deal with, only to now suggest they are “crazy.”

The president said he had a change of heart over Iranian leaders because “I got to know them.” He also suggested that leaders who have emerged in Iran after the war began are no longer looking out for the Iranian people.

Trump describes Iran as weakened but alludes to ongoing security concerns

Trump said that all of Iran’s anti-aircraft weapons are “gone” but suggested Tehran still can down aircraft, adding immediately: “That doesn’t mean they’re not going to get a plane at some point.”

He then said, “Everything’s gone,” and remarked on how many of Iran’s leaders were taken out.

“You know what? I may be gone too, because I’m their No. 1 target,” Trump said.

Even before the Iran war, federal authorities have been tracking Iranian threats against Trump for years. The Justice Department in 2024 announced that an Iranian plot to kill Trump before the presidential election had been thwarted.

Trump exaggerates his TikTok popularity

Trump claimed that he’s “No. 1 on TikTok.” He did not specify which metric he used to make that determination, but it’s not true based on follower counts.

As of Wednesday, the Senegalese-Italian influencer Khabane Lame, known for his silent comedy videos, was the most followed user on the platform with 162.3 million followers.

Trump has 16.7 million followers — that doesn’t even put him in the top 50.

Trump suggests that communist candidates are ugly

During his news conference, Trump said that “all I do is talk about communism” on TikTok and in recent public comments.

The president has spent weeks criticizing progressive Democratic primary winners as communists. But he added a new insult this time, implying that none of those candidates are attractive.

“I don’t see any looker,” Trump said. “I don’t see anyone with the look.”

By way of elaboration, he added, “I guess you need something. They don’t have it and I think they’ll fade fast.”

In reference to more moderate politicians in Europe, Trump said, “These are not social democrats” but instead, “These are communists that are running and they don’t want God.”

Trump says there was a lot of ‘love’ in the NATO working session

The president said “there was tremendous love in that room” that the press didn’t get to witness, including what he said was respect and love for the country.

He told reporters that he didn’t want to say it was for him “because you’ll say, ‘Oh, he’s so conceited. He’s such a conceited person.’”

But he then said that the other leaders like the job he’s doing and “grown people” in the room said, “Sir, we love you.”

Trump then mused on whether what he heard was just flattery, saying: “Maybe they’re trying to get to me. And in a way they did.”

Trump has high praise for summit and its ‘tremendous unity’

Despite repeated criticism that NATO has done too little to help the United States, Trump was effusive about the warmth he felt as leaders met on Wednesday.

Trump said there was “tremendous love in that room” along with “tremendous unity.”

He described his allies as “very smart people — they have a lot of good in their heart, not evil, good.”

It was a remarkable turn after Trump had renewed his criticisms against European allies.

Trump begins his NATO remarks

The president has arrived to give remarks on stage, capping his appearance at the two-day summit. It comes about three hours after his address was initially scheduled.

Merz defends US strikes on Iran

The German chancellor said it was clearly Iran that violated the ceasefire agreement. He said the U.S. military had struck back on Trump’s orders and “that is justified.”

But he added that “in the end, there must be an agreement with Iran that ends the nuclear program permanently and reopens the Strait of Hormuz permanently.”

Trump appears to have cooled on the idea of getting Syria to fight Hezbollah

Sitting across from al-Sharaa, Trump gave a cautious response when asked about his earlier suggestion that Syria should lead the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“They could help, we’ll find out,” Trump said. “I think we’re making a lot of progress.”

Al-Sharaa wasn’t asked about it at their one-on-one meeting.

Trump raised the idea at the G7 summit last month, saying he thought Syria would do a better job than Israel. Days later, he again criticized Israel’s handling of the situation and said he was “close to giving it to Syria.”

Al-Sharaa has previously said he has no interest in taking on that role.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa thanks Trump for lifting sanctions

Al-Sharaa thanked Trump for “the historic decision to lift the sanctions,” saying “the entire Syrian people thank President Trump.”

Trump met al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May 2025 months after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Since then, his administration has steadily eased U.S. sanctions on Syria.

Ahead of meeting Trump Wednesday, al-Sharaa met with a U.S. congressional delegation that was also in Ankara for the NATO summit, according to Syrian state media.

German leader says the summit contributed to keeping NATO together

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his expectations of the summit were more than fulfilled.

He said he’s “returning to Germany with the feeling that we made a big contribution to NATO staying together, to it becoming stronger, to it becoming more European.”

Merz said there was “a new feeling of European responsibility in the room.”

Trump says oil prices rise when the US attacks Iran

The U.S. president said oil prices were rising Wednesday after military attacks intensified with Iran in a troubling sign for peace talks.

“Any time we hit them, it goes up a little bit — $2,” Trump told reporters. “As oil goes, so goes everything else.”

The president has taken conflicting stances on the energy price bump caused by the Iran war, saying it wasn’t a consideration for ending the war and then touting price declines after an interim deal was announced in June.

But Trump’s math was somewhat off. U.S. oil futures were trading Wednesday morning at roughly $75 a barrel, an increase of about $5.

Just after 9 a.m. Wednesday, officers responded to the Frost Bank in the 11600 block of Bandera Road for a reported shooting.

Upon arrival, officers found the 60-year-old man, who has not been identified, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene, according to a San Antonio Police Department preliminary report. Police said there were no signs of foul play or criminal activity.

When asked for comment, the bank redirected KSAT back to the police department.

Read also:

• Gunfire wakes residents in Kendall County after at least 1 deputy shoots, kills armed man

The letter released Wednesday from Beshear, a Democrat who is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, to the former Senate Republican leader says, “Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and well-being, and ability to hold office.”

McConnell, whose physical condition has visibly declined in recent years, was hospitalized June 14. He has not released a public statement, photos or videos since. Aides have disclosed nothing specific about his condition, other than to say last week that McConnell “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

That lack of detail has fueled rampant speculation about his prognosis and whether he will return to the Senate when it reconvenes next week. The firestorm was enough that Republican Senate leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, on Tuesday made public statements saying they had talked to McConnell and he was alert and discussing current events.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday evening, as he returned home following the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump was asked about McConnell but said the pair had not spoken.

“I have no idea how he’s doing," Trump said.

McConnell is retiring at the end of his term in January, and the campaign to elect his successor already is underway. Kentucky’s Senate succession law, which Republican legislators have twice changed during Beshear’s tenure, does not give the governor a role in picking a temporary successor should McConnell’s seat become vacant before his term ends.

Under the latest change in 2024, Beshear would call a special election if the seat became vacant. The winner of that election could take office after the result is certified. The general election winner would be sworn in as part of the new Congress in January. But there are unresolved questions about the timing of a special election under the untested law and the possibility the seat could remain vacant until January.

Beshear ended the letter by wishing McConnell “a safe and speedy recovery.”

A look at what an absence from the Senate or a vacancy could mean.

What happens if McConnell isn't able to return?

There is not much, if anything, that Beshear, Kentucky lawmakers or the Senate could do if McConnell remains in office but is unable to perform his duties between now and when the current Congress expires in January.

Senate rules do not allow proxy voting. But there have been extended Senate absences before, and the chamber has continued its business with however many senators are in attendance. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 advantage. Without McConnell, that means a maximum of 52 Republican votes are available.

McConnell had been among the senators blocking war powers resolutions that seek to limit President Donald Trump's military options in Iran. Without him, the administration has less of a buffer. On the other hand, McConnell already had been among the Republicans refusing to support Trump's sweeping elections law overhaul.

Why wouldn't Beshear have a say in filling any vacancy?

The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution calls for Senate vacancies to be filled by popular elections. But it allows state legislatures to empower governors to appoint an interim senator to serve through those campaigns. Most states have taken this option, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Kentucky law allowed interim appointments until 2021, when McConnell and other state GOP leaders persuaded the Republican-run Legislature to make a change. They did not want Beshear to shift the partisan balance in Washington if he got the opportunity. They called for a committee of the previous senator's state party to select three people from whom the governor could choose an interim senator. In this case, that would mean Beshear picking which Republican would fill a vacancy. Several states have this system.

Kentucky lawmakers changed the law again in 2024 to require a special election. The only role for the governor is to call that election.

Beshear vetoed the 2021 and 2024 changes but Republican lawmakers overrode him.

How would a special election work?

The 2024 law says Beshear “shall” issue a proclamation for a special vote but it does not say when he should make that proclamation or what the election date must be. Separate laws require certain minimum windows between a proclamation and the election date, but not necessarily a maximum window.

Some officials have argued that any vacancy after Aug. 3 would mean a special election concurrent with the general. They have even speculated that at some point, it would be impractical to have a special election at all given the regular election already taking place.

The Kentucky secretary of state’s office declined to speculate on a hypothetical time frame.

If a special election was needed, the simplest option would be to hold it at the same time as the regular general election.

For the full Senate term that begins in 2027, Republicans nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and Democrats nominated former state lawmaker Charles Booker. Concurrent elections would be separate, requiring new nominations by the parties, though they could choose Barr and Booker. Regardless, in this scenario voters would be electing the immediate replacement and the full-term lawmaker on the same Election Day.

Multiple vacant House seats have been filled that way with little national attention.

Could there be a legal fight?

Yes. The 2024 law has never been tested. If a vacancy occurred, there could be different interests between parties and even among Republicans about special election timing and whether to hold one at all. That could create any number of legal questions and disputes that have to be settled by the courts.

Beshear's office did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how he interprets the law.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that it depends on what the governor might do to determine whether there might be a special election if there was a Senate vacancy after Aug. 3 and whether the seat might remain vacant until January.

Two companies tied to a Dallas investor filed a federal lawsuit to lift a moratorium in an ongoing East Texas water dispute, alleging a groundwater district has illegally blocked their efforts to extract water from beneath land they own.

This is the latest legal action taken in a growing battle over groundwater resources in East Texas.

Kyle Bass, a venture capitalist and owner of Redtown Ranch Holdings LLC and Pine Bliss LLC, is seeking to end a moratorium on large-scale water extraction projects imposed by the Neches & Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District. The lawsuit, filed through Redtown Ranch and Pine Bliss, argues that the conservation district violated the constitutional rights of Bass and his companies by denying access to water beneath the land and also seeks an undisclosed amount of compensation.

Redtown Ranch and Pine Bliss, both funded by Bass’ private equity firm Conservation Equity Management, filed permits with the Neches & Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District to drill 43 water wells across two counties that, when fully operational, could extract billions of gallons of water from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer.

“What we’re trying to do here is just prevent the district from weaponizing its regulatory power to strip my clients of their property rights,” said Mollie Mallory, an attorney with Tillotson Patton, the law firm representing Redtown Ranch and Pine Bliss LLC. “The whole purpose here is just to hold them accountable and to get them to follow their own rules.”

Bass said he hasn’t been treated fairly by the district despite following its rules for years. He said the roadblocks enacted by the district, such as the moratorium, prevented his company from testing the groundwater beneath land he owns.

“This is bigger than just what happened to me,” Bass wrote in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “My lawsuit is about protecting the property rights of all Texas landowners and making clear that government regulators cannot simply change the rules to pick winners and losers.”

The groundwater district had not been served with the new lawsuit as of Wednesday afternoon, said Holli Pryor-Baze of Skelton Slusher Barnhill Watkins Wells PLLC, the attorney representing the groundwater district.

“We certainly disagree with the allegations, but are not prepared to say more than that,” she said.

A board meeting for the district will be held next week, at which time Pryor-Baze said she hoped to have been served and given time to think through the lawsuit.

Battle over water rights

The lawsuit follows a yearslong battle over groundwater access that reached a fevered pitch during the second special session of the 2025 legislative session in August. State lawmakers at the time tried and failed to set a statewide moratorium on projects of this magnitude until the state could study its aquifers to determine how much water is available and how quickly the groundwater supply replenishes.

It all began when Conservation Equity Management purchased thousands of acres in Houston, Anderson and Henderson counties with the intent to drill 43 high-capacity water wells. The latter two counties are represented by a groundwater conservation district that gave initial approvals for the project to move forward because the applications were administratively complete, a legal term meaning they were filled out properly.

The project drew the ire of East Texans, who were already angry at a number of Dallas-area organizations seeking to extract water from the region. But poultry producer Wayne-Sanderson Farms LLC, which has operations in East Texas, sued to stop the project, claiming that the wells would drain the area of its main water source and impact its operations. Wayne-Sanderson Farms uses water from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer for its processing plants and feed mills.

A district judge approved a settlement between the groundwater conservation district and Sanderson Farms and barred the district from approving certain applications until the aquifer could be studied. It also voided the original decision that the applications were administratively complete.

Then, on May 21, 2026, the district adopted a resolution calling for a moratorium on any “new non-exempt groundwater permit applications.” This moratorium prevents the district from taking action on applications for projects that don’t provide water for local use, such as for households, agriculture or local businesses.

The moratorium will end in October or when the district finishes reviewing and updating its rules — whichever is later. The district is in the process of doing so right now, Pryor-Baze said.

Conservation Equity Management sued to vacate the judge’s moratorium, then filed the latest lawsuit to stop the district’s moratorium in federal court in Tyler on July 7.

The goal is to allow Pine Bliss and Redtown Ranch to finish the administrative process as laid out in the district’s bylaws. This would include going through the State Office of Administrative Hearings before beginning operations.

“We would just continue down that road with the hope that we eventually get to do exploratory drilling to see what water is on their land,” Mallory said.

The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from several states secured a right-to-repair settlement Wednesday with agriculture equipment giant Deere & Co. — commonly known as John Deere — that requires the company to let farmers and independent shops fix their own equipment.

The Illinois-based manufacturer has faced complaints for years for withholding the software needed for repairs and forcing customers to use authorized dealers instead of independent ones.

This marks the second right-to-repair settlement Deere has reached this year, following a separate $99 million class-action settlement with farmers in April. Though the class-action compensated consumers, the FTC's settlement instead requires Deere to make its repair services available to equipment owners and independent shops.

The FTC and attorneys general from Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin brought the antitrust lawsuit in January 2025, arguing that Deere had illegally restricted farmers and independent shops that might otherwise service them from repairing farm equipment such as tractors. Deere also makes engines and equipment for forestry, landscaping and construction.

Under the order filed in Illinois, Deere will now be required to make diagnostic and repair tools available to equipment owners and independent repair shops, not only its own network of authorized dealers. It also prevents Deere dealers from retaliating against equipment owners or repair shops who choose to fix their own equipment instead of paying for Deere's services. The order is headed to Judge Iain D. Johnston for his approval.

“For too long, Arizona farmers and independent mechanics have been at the mercy of Deere’s monopoly over repair tools, forced to wait — and pay — for authorized dealers just to fix broken tractors and other equipment,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement Wednesday.

Deere must pay $1 million collectively to the five states for antitrust enforcement costs and will be subject to strict compliance oversight for the next 10 years.

In the complaint, the FTC argued that Deere provides a service software tool to authorized dealers but does not provide the full version to equipment owners or independent shops. Deere had said the lawsuit was baseless, denied that its distribution of service tools was anticompetitive and argued that it could not monopolize services since it does not directly provide them.

Deere maintained its commitment to independent repair in a statement Wednesday, adding that the agreement with the FTC reinforces its innovation of more flexible repair options.

“This is good news for our customers and for the future of how Deere equipment is supported,” said Denver Caldwell, vice president of aftermarket and customer support.

Right-to-repair has become an increasingly common issue over the years, especially for tech products, with consumers complaining that even simple repairs can only be done by company-authorized dealers.

First responders were dispatched at approximately 10:30 a.m. to the Wells Fargo near the intersection of East Commerce Street and South St. Mary’s Street for a person feeling unwell.

As the person was being loaded into the back of the ambulance, SAPD said the woman entered the driver’s seat and stole the vehicle.

SAPD’s Eagle Helicopter was requested to provide surveillance of the ambulance, according to a preliminary report.

Witnesses told officers that the woman had just been released from a local hospital.

In all, the woman allegedly drove the ambulance approximately 22 miles — between downtown, the Loop 1604-U.S. Highway 90 westbound interchange and the area she was taken into custody near U.S. Highway 90 and Southwest Military Drive.

Two medics and the patient were inside the ambulance as it was stolen, officers said. They attempted to tell the woman to stop the vehicle. However, police said she wouldn’t listen and closed a glass window separating them.

At this time, SAPD said the woman, who was seen wearing a hospital bracelet, could face three counts of kidnapping and one count of theft of a vehicle.

The two medics and the patient were not injured. The San Antonio Fire Department said the patient will be moved to a different ambulance for continued transport.

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

Read also:

• Person ‘wearing only underwear’ found firing weapon in middle of street, Kendall County deputies say

• LIGHT SAHARAN DUST: Slight haze again tomorrow
• MOISTURE SURGE: A round of deep moisture moves Friday
• SCATTERED DOWNPOURS: Friday and Saturday afternoon

FORECAST

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

Tomorrow will be just like today with vast sunshine and afternoon temperatures well into the 90s - around 96° in San Antonio. Things change Friday as very saturated air moves in from the Gulf combined with upper-level rainmaking energy.

Scattered downpours are likely from noon to 8pm Friday with some areas getting a quick 1″-3″, but keep in mind it won’t be for everyone. This is another “rain lottery” situation.

SCATTERED DOWNPOURS SATURDAY

Saturday looks similar with scattered downpours likely to develop especially during the afternoon.

CONTINUED SMALL RAIN CHANCES

More opportunities for rain are in the forecast but the best chances are Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday. Also, temperatures will drop a bit with highs likely to be in the upper 80s Tuesday.

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According to a KCSO social media post, the Boerne Police Department’s Communications Center received a 911 call from a resident in the Bent Tree subdivision around 4:55 a.m.

In the 911 call, the caller told a dispatcher that a “male subject” was standing in the street “wearing only underwear” and firing a handgun, the sheriff’s office said.

A sheriff’s office spokesperson identified the person as Austin Hodo.

As four Kendall County sheriff’s deputies were on their way to the scene, the caller told the dispatcher that Hodo “had fired a shot” in the 911 caller’s direction, according to KCSO.

Within minutes of the 911 call, deputies found Hodo armed with a gun in the 100 block of Bent Tree Drive.

The dashcam video

According to dashcam video from a KCSO patrol vehicle obtained and viewed by KSAT on Wednesday night, the deputies asked Hodo to drop his weapon at least 25 times, but he did not comply.

The 46-second video begins with Hodo’s back turned toward the deputies. The weapon is seen in Hodo’s left hand. An unidentified cloth can be seen in his right hand.

At the 23-second mark of the video, Hodo turned around and began facing the deputies, who continued to ask him to drop the weapon.

“He’s got a gun in his left hand,” one KCSO deputy was heard saying in the video.

At the 37-second mark of the dashcam video, Hodo began sauntering toward the deputies. As he got closer to law enforcement, the video showed the deputies’ commands to Hodo to drop the gun became louder.

At the 45-second mark, Hodo was seen raising and pointing the weapon at the deputies. Gunfire is heard in the video, which showed Hodo being shot at least once.

No deputies were injured in the shooting, the spokesperson said.

Watch the dashcam video below:

Administrative protocol

Per KCSO policy, the four responding Kendall County sheriff’s deputies have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation.

KCSO’s investigation into the shooting remains active.

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In a news conference, BCSO Sheriff Javier Salazar said deputies responded to the 12000 block of East Loop 1604 after a man working on utilities in the area reported finding a body.

The sheriff said that at this time, it’s unknown whether the man was a victim of a crime or if he died of natural causes. The man’s age is also unclear.

The man appeared to be dead for at least several days, Salazar said.

Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents spoke with BCSO about a tip relating to a body dumped in the same area, Salazar said.

Deputies searched the address that the Border Patrol agents provided and didn’t find anything, the sheriff stated.

BCSO is investigating whether the body found on Wednesday is related to the tip that Border Patrol agents received.

Salazar said there is no threat to the community.

Read also:

• Person ‘wearing only underwear’ found firing weapon in middle of street, Kendall County deputies say

Instead, they woke up to gunfire around 5 a.m. Wednesday, when at least one Kendall County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man who they said was armed with a gun.

“It woke me up out of a dead sleep,” said Sheila Ponce. “I heard ‘dut, dut, dut, dut, dut,’ and I come from a background where I figured that was rifle shots.”

Ponce said when she looked outside her front door, she saw first responders gathered nearby and a man, later identified by the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office as Austin Hodo, on the ground who appeared to be dead.

According to a post on KCSO’s Facebook page, deputies were called to the neighborhood off Sisterdale Road, not far from Interstate 10, for a report of a man dressed only in underwear and firing a gun.

Deputies said at some point, the man also fired shots at a neighbor.

A sheriff’s spokesman later confirmed the shooting was fatal and four sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene.

The Facebook post noted that no one else was hurt during the shooting.

The shooting has also left people in the area with many unanswered questions, such as how trouble found its way into their neighborhood.

“Did he come in from Sisterdale (Road) and walk through all that with no shoes on? I don’t know,” she said.

The dashcam video

According to dashcam video from a KCSO patrol vehicle obtained and viewed by KSAT on Wednesday night, the deputies asked Hodo to drop his weapon at least 25 times, but he did not comply.

The 46-second video begins with Hodo’s back turned toward the deputies. The weapon is seen in Hodo’s left hand. An unidentified cloth is in his right hand.

At the 23-second mark of the video, Hodo turned around and began facing the deputies, who continued to ask him to drop the weapon.

“He’s got a gun in his left hand,” one KCSO deputy was heard saying in the video.

At the 37-second mark of the dashcam video, Hodo began sauntering towards the deputies. As he got closer to law enforcement, the video showed the deputies’ commands to Hodo to drop the gun became louder.

At the 45-second mark, Hodo was seen raising and pointing the weapon at the deputies. Gunfire is heard in the video, which showed Hodo being shot at least once.

Watch the dashcam video below:

Administrative protocol

Per KCSO policy, the four responding Kendall County Sheriff’s deputies have been placed on administrative leave, pending the results of an internal investigation.

KCSO’s investigation into the shooting remains active.

Read also:

• At least one KCSO deputy shoots, kills armed person ‘wearing only underwear,’ sheriff’s office says

Fery grew up five minutes from the All England Club and now the 114th-ranked player is a semifinalist at the grass-court Grand Slam.

The 23-year-old British player, who needed a wild-card invitation to enter the tournament, beat ninth-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 on Centre Court in front of roaring home fans and a Royal Box contingent that included Britain’s Queen Camilla on Wednesday.

His run has been dubbed a “Ferytale” and has included a viewing by Kate, the Princess of Wales, earlier in the tournament.

“It gets better and better every match,” Fery said in an on-court interview. “I just can’t believe it.”

The only other wild card to have reached the men’s singles semifinals at the All England Club was Goran Ivanisevic in his run to the Wimbledon title in 2001.

Fery earned a standing ovation after winning the first set. The deafening roar that followed Fery taking the tiebreaker to seal the second set was heard over at Wimbledon’s other main stadium — No. 1 Court, where Alexander Zverev was in the process of beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets.

Fery sealed his memorable victory with an ace and fell onto his back to soak in the applause.

“That last game, I felt emotions that I hadn’t experienced before in my life,” he said.

A short time later, Zverev wrapped up his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win to set up a semifinal against Fery on Friday.

Moments before the start of their quarterfinal match, Fery and Cobolli were surprised to meet Camilla in the hallway moments before they walked onto court.

“She came to say hello, she introduced herself to both me and Flavio,” Fery said. “It’s obviously an honor to play in front of her. Great to meet her. She had some really kind words to me at the end, as well. Playing in front of tennis legends and now the queen, so it’s special.”

Roger Federer had been on hand Monday when Fery ousted Grigor Dimitrov in five sets in a fourth-round match that was also on Centre Court.

A champagne cork popped in the crowd late in the first set and distracted Cobolli during his service motion. The locals will surely pop a few more with a British player to support in Friday’s semifinal.

The 24-year-old Cobolli, who lost the French Open final to Zverev, made 41 unforced errors to Fery's 15 and only broke the British player once — to start the second set, but Fery broke back in the fourth game.

“I felt like I didn’t express even 50% of my tennis. But obviously that had a lot to do with him. He was better than me,” said Cobolli, who also lost to Fery in the first round at this year's Australian Open.

Friday’s other semifinal pits seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic against defending champion Jannik Sinner.

Royal encore for Fery

Camilla wasn't the only royal rooting for Fery on Wednesday. Princess Kate congratulated him in a social media post that noted his “fantastic achievement that has inspired so many.”

The French-born Fery, who said he feels “very British,” also exchanged pleasantries with Camilla after his big victory.

“She was waiting for me at the end of the match. She congratulated me. I told her how much of an honor it was for me to play in front of her,” said Fery, who turns 24 on the day of the men's final. “She just said, ‘Congratulations, keep going.’ I told her it was my birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday.”

Zverev ready for Fery crowd

The second-seeded Zverev, who dispatched Fritz in just under two hours, recalled being impressed by Fery's win over Cobolli in Melbourne.

“I watched that match. I was very impressed back then already. He has a very clean technique and very clean groundstrokes,” said the 29-year-old German, who is also into his first Wimbledon semifinal.

“It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” he said of Friday's match. “Of course, I know that 99% of the people will be cheering for him. But I also enjoy those kind of atmospheres. I enjoy when the energy is very high.”

Kostyuk to meet Noskova in semifinals

Earlier Wednesday, Marta Kostyuk beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 to reach her first Wimbledon semifinals.

The 24-year-old Ukrainian also reached the last four at the French Open, losing to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, the eventual champion in Paris.

Kostyuk raised her hands and dropped to her knees after Paolini scuffed a shot on her second match point. After shaking hands with the Italian, Kostyuk did a pirouette on court.

Kostyuk will be back on Centre Court on Thursday to face Linda Noskova for a spot in Saturday’s final. Noskova beat Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5 on No. 1 Court.

It’s the first career Grand Slam semifinal for the 21-year-old Noskova, who improved to 10-1 on grass this season.

The other women’s semifinal features Coco Gauff against Karolina Muchova, who like Noskova is from the Czech Republic. They’re up first on Centre Court on Thursday.

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

The three-time Cy Young Award winner, two-time World Series champion and 2011 AL MVP will retire after this season with the Detroit Tigers.

Verlander made the announcement on Wednesday, shortly after he was added as a Legend Pick to the American League All-Star roster.

“While I'm fully committed to giving my team everything I have for the rest of this season, I've decided this will be my last,” Verlander shared on social media. “It's fitting that I get to finish where it all started — with the Detroit Tigers, the organization that drafted me and gave me my first opportunity.”

Oldest player in the majors

The 43-year-old Verlander is the oldest player in Major League Baseball. He signed a $13 million, one-year contract to rejoin the Tigers in February.

Verlander allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings during a 9-6 road loss at Arizona on March 30.

That was his only start this year.

“It’s time for the next chapter,” Verlander said. “But first, I’m excited to finish this season the only way I know how — with everything I’ve got.”

Verlander has dealt with injuries this season

Verlander went on the injured list with hip inflammation early in the season and when the right-hander was nearing a return last month, he pulled a hamstring during a bullpen session.

“It just felt like I was plugging holes in a boat,” Verlander said at Wednesday's news conference. “When you kind of put everything together and consider everything, I’ve been kind of trending toward this decision for quite a while."

He was scheduled to pitch in June and make what would have been his first start with the Tigers at Comerica Park since August 30, 2017 — the day before he was traded to the Astros.

He still intends to make that start, and is scheduled to throw a bullpen before Thursday's game against the Athletics.

“I do want to focus on playing the rest of the season,” he said. “I think there will be a time to really sit here and reminisce and focus more on the actual retirement. Right now, my focus is still to get out there and be the best version of myself I can be for this team. We are playing great baseball right now, and things are going well, and we’re trending in the right direction.

“I’m champing at the bit to be part of it.”

Cy Young winner and World Series champion

Verlander went 183-115 from 2005 to 2017 with the Tigers. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006 and both the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in 2011. He helped Detroit reach the World Series in 2006 and 2012 along with four straight division titles from 2011 to 2014.

Verlander was the 2017 ALCS MVP in Houston and helped the Astros win the World Series that year and was a key player for them when they won another title in 2022. He won his second and third Cy Young Award in 2019 and 2022.

“I've been fortunate to play with and against incredible players, for outstanding organizations, and compete in front of fans who deeply appreciate the game,” Verlander said.

All-Star Game tribute

While he will not play in the All-Star Game, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Verlander will be at the game in Philadelphia on Tuesday and will be honored during the festivities.

“The opportunity to attend once again is something I'll cherish and it will be an incredibly special moment for me and my family," said Verlander, who is married to model Kate Upton and has two children.

Verlander has a career record of 266-159 with a 3.33 ERA in 556 starts across 21 Major League seasons with the Tigers, Astros, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. He has 3,554 strikeouts while tossing 26 complete games, including nine shutouts.

He joins Bryce Harper of the host Philadelphia Phillies as a Legend Pick for the 2026 Midsummer Classic. Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera and Clayton Kershaw in 2025 have been recognized as baseball legends at previous All-Star games.

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

No deaths have been reported and the source of the cyclospora infections hasn't been identified. Meanwhile, investigations into similar illnesses have been going on in 28 other states, including in Ohio, where people just across the Michigan border are also becoming sick.

Michigan officials first announced the outbreak last week, when they were aware of more than 170 cases — all in the southeastern corner of the state — since June 22. Michigan usually identifies only about 50 cases each year.

On Wednesday, the state reported the number had grown to 992, including about 40 hospitalizations. Just across the state line, Lucas County, Ohio, reported 306 cases as of Wednesday. Northwest Ohio has seen more than 500 cases.

Cyclospora surges can be tricky to investigate, and food poisoning sources can be hard to establish. But “there is clearly a linked outbreak happening right now,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Here's what to know about the current situation:

What is cyclospora?

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is not usually life threatening and is typically treated with antibiotics. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.

It’s less common than a number of other kinds of foodborne illnesses, including salmonella and E. coli. For years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported each year. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019. Experts attribute the increases to climate change and better detection.

How does this outbreak compare to previous ones in the US?

Comprehensive data on cyclospora outbreaks is lacking. But available information shows only a small number of documented outbreaks in the last 20 years have surpassed 1,000 cases. That short list includes a 1997 outbreak tied to Guatemalan raspberries that sickened more than 1,000 in the U.S. and Canada, and a 2019 outbreak linked to Mexican basil that sickened more than 2,400.

There are several reasons it's challenging to know the exact toll, said Melanie Firestone, a University of Minnesota foodborne illness researcher. Some tests used to check for types of food poisoning are not geared to detect cyclospora, “so there is a lot of underreporting when it comes to this,” she said.

Other challenges: Technicians aren't able to grow the parasite in labs, making it hard to draw evidence from contaminated produce. And it can be hard to figure out what food sick people had in common, because sometimes it’s a single ingredient that might be common in multiple recipes — like basil or cilantro.

Also, it's possible that food distributors may channel contaminated foods to both grocery stores and restaurants, making it hard to discern where tainted food came from. Investigations can take months and sometimes never find a clear source.

What's the current situation?

Cases seem to be surging in and around southeastern Michigan. But it's not considered a national health emergency.

There's no evidence that the parasite has evolved to become more infectious, said Dianna Blau, the CDC's acting parasitic diseases branch chief.

Thousands of cyclospora illnesses are reported in the U.S. each year and it's not yet clear how unusual this year will be, she added. That said, the case total so far is four times higher than at the same point last year, according to current CDC national data, which lags dramatically from what's being reported by the states.

Michigan appears to be suffering the worst of it, but the state's aggressiveness in investigating and reporting cases may be “part of the reason why this looks like a Michigan problem,” Bagdasarian said.

How can you protect yourself from cyclospora?

People who have diarrhea that hasn’t gone away on its own within a few days should see a health provider and discuss the possibility of cyclospora, officials say.

The best way to prevent infection with a parasite is to avoid food or water that may have been contaminated.

Fresh produce should be thoroughly washed before being eaten. But be aware that cyclospora can really stick to some foods, so washing may not eliminate the risk of infection.

As Michigan officials investigate the potential source, they recommend consumers purchase whole heads of lettuce rather than prewashed, bagged lettuce or salad mixes, and to remove the outer two to three leaves before washing the remaining leaves under running water.

They also say to cook vegetables when possible.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Prolonged and intense heat is part of a climate change-driven pattern of weather extremes that has also led to intense flooding and prolonged drought. For farmers, this means shorter planting windows and potential loss of crops because of periods of early-season heat followed by a freeze.

“I think it’s pretty safe to assume these kind of heat waves aren’t going away or they’re not freak occurrences,” Woods said.

The recent heat dome, a high-pressure weather system that traps heat and humidity over a region, affected some specialty farmers who produce crops of fruits and vegetables. Human-driven climate change also has brought more intense heat waves and other extreme weather.

These specialty farmers have found ways to adapt, in part by adjusting their harvest schedules to avoid the hottest parts of the day. But they don’t always have access to the same safety net as farmers of traditional commodity crops such as corn and soybeans when extreme weather hits, experts say.

The heat and humidity that comes with a heat dome can be dangerous for farmworkers and is a “serious threat to human health,” said Melissa Widhalm, the associate director at the Midwest Regional Climate Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Woods works in the coolest parts of the day in the morning and evening, taking frequent water breaks. She plants and harvests by hand, unlike larger farms that often rely on machinery. If it gets too hot and she has to harvest, she pitches a tent she uses for farmer's markets in the fields to create some shade.

Heat can affect crop quality, harvest time

Extreme heat coupled with periods of rain and high humidity can also bring diseases and other pests that can destroy crops. Right now the priority is harvesting those most-vulnerable crops, such as tender salad greens. Woods grows vegetables and culinary herbs for restaurants in the region and for a community supported agriculture program. Harvesting crops when it's too hot outside can affect their quality, she said.

She's also concerned for the health of her seedlings that will grow into fall crops. Right now, Woods keeps her seedlings in an enclosed cabinet inside a barn where it's cooler. Once they've germinated, she moves them into a greenhouse with fans running to keep temperatures manageable.

“We have to do a lot of checking on the greenhouse and watering frequently to keep those teeny tiny plants alive,” Woods said.

For some growers, the recent heat also has shortened the harvest window for certain specialty crops.

For Paul Rasch, who owns and operates multiple fruit orchards in central Iowa, the heat has forced his crew of eight workers to step up harvesting of raspberries. Normally, they'd have about three weeks to harvest this perishable fruit, but “we’re scrambling to pick as many as we can,” he said.

They've started harvesting as early as 6 a.m. some mornings to finish before noon when it gets too hot and unsafe to work. He's also installed air conditioning inside buildings and is adding shade outdoors with trees and covered pavilions so customers coming to pick their own fruit can stay cool. And he's testing a few high tunnels so he can keep conditions more consistent for certain crops.

Rasch said that it seems like these heat events are becoming more common, more intense and lasting longer. These events, along with floods, drought and late-spring frosts are all worrisome and can adversely affect crops throughout the year.

“We don’t ever seem to have a typical year anymore,” he said.

Crop diversity protects against losses, insurance can be hard to access

Smaller farms like Woods' and Rasch's often plant and harvest a wide variety of crops throughout the year. Part of that is a business decision, but it's also to protect against losses that might impact one crop, but not others.

“You’re always gonna have something that will thrive while other things might be more challenged,” Woods said.

Rasch also said that crop insurance for specialty crop farmers is different than for commodity farmers. They're more vulnerable to extreme weather, but they aren't as protected, he said. Woods, who also works with the Organic Association of Kentucky, agrees and said she knows farmers like her who have a difficult time accessing insurance because they farm such a wide range of crops on small acreage.

And that's because federal crop insurance programs are designed to insure single crops with one growing season, like corn, soybean and wheat, said Duncan Orlander, a policy specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

For smaller specialty crop farmers, the paperwork required to cover a larger range of crops on small acreage can be too burdensome and coverage for certain specialty crops may not even be available in certain places. Crop insurers are also disincentivized to sell policies with small premiums and potential payouts, he added.

And although there are federal programs that cover a farm's revenue rather than their specific crops, Orlander said these policies are complicated and widely underutilized.

“We’re not keeping up with the losses and the extreme weather that we’re seeing,” he said. “And we have to think a little bit differently about how we are going to mitigate risk and cover losses into the future when these things occur.”

For Woods, the community supported agriculture program she runs gives her flexibility in case one crop fails. Her customers are supporting the farm for the season regardless of what vegetables end up in their boxes. That program and her crop diversity is one way she “hedges our bets” against heat, floods and drought.

“It’s something you have to be aware of and plan for and have a plan to be resilient in the face of these kind of events,” Woods said.

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Follow Joshua A. Bickel on Instagram, Bluesky and X @joshuabickel.

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

The parasite reappeared in cattle in the U.S. in June, more than 50 years after it had been largely eradicated from the country. The pest is actually the larvae of the New World screwworm fly. It eats live flesh and fluids rather than dead material, as the larvae of most fly species do.

Here is what to know about the parasite, the threat it poses to pets and how to protect them:

Screwworm fly larvae can infest any mammal

The fly's migration north from Panama starting in 2024, and through Mexico in 2025, has agriculture officials warning that it poses a threat to the $113 billion U.S. cattle industry, but the larvae can hatch and breed in any mammal, including wildlife, dogs, cats and occasionally humans.

The problem develops when a female fly lays its eggs in open wounds and mucus. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed for about a week before maturing, dropping to the ground and continuing to develop into an adult fly.

The American Veterinary Medical Association says newborn animals and animals with open wounds or who have undergone surgery or other medical procedures recently are especially vulnerable. Even a tick bite can host an infestation, Aaron Grady, executive director of the Houston Humane Society shelter, said during a webinar on the screwworm.

Infestation signs include restlessness and bad smell

Animal health experts say pet owners in areas where the screwworm is present — southern and southwestern Texas and southeastern New Mexico so far — should watch their animals closely and examine them for wounds, cuts and bites regularly.

Pet owners should look for any maggots or movement in a wound. Other signs include a foul smell and restlessness or anxiety in an animal, or an animal “hyper-fixating on looking or chewing in a certain area of the body," said Melissa Stansell, a veterinarian at the shelter Austin Pets Alive!

Any one of those is reason enough to go to a veterinarian. The affected animal is likely in a great deal of pain, and that can cause death from shock. The larvae also can cause death if they move into vital organs or by causing infections that turn deadly.

Flea, tick medications can stop an infestation

Humane society officials and veterinarians said shelters across Texas are trying to prevent infestations in animals by giving them prescription flea and tick medications. They recommend that pet owners do the same.

“It will kill the larvae as they ingest the blood and tissue,” Stansell said. “The chemical compositions of those products are what kill the actual larval stages of these flies.”

Veterinarians also can treat infestations and animals can recover if pet owners contact them quickly. Stansell said the treatment could include antibiotics.

“It is only fatal if left untreated,” she said.

An effort to eradicate the fly again is underway

The New World screwworm fly is a tropical species and decades ago would disappear each year when colder weather arrived with the fall or winter.

But state and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials aren't waiting for the weather to turn. They've returned to an eradication method that worked decades ago, breeding sterile male flies and releasing them into the wild. The female New World screwworm fly mates once in her monthslong life, and if her partner is sterile, her eggs won't hatch — causing the population in an area to drop and then disappear.

For years, the only factory breeding sterile flies in the Western Hemisphere was in Panama, but the USDA invested $21 million to convert a site in southern Mexico from breeding fruit flies to recently start breeding screwworm flies. The agency also plans to spend $750 million on a new fly factory in Texas, set to open next year.

The aircraft operated by the private carrier K2 Airways had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and reported a navigational system problem before losing contact with air traffic control late Tuesday.

The Pakistani navy and civilian teams in planes and ships found the plane debris after about 12 hours of searching in the Arabian Sea, Pakistan’s Airports Authority said in a post on X.

Retired Rear Adm. Faisal Shah said searchers were dealing with rough seas and that they were still looking for the main wreckage of the plane, which could prove much more difficult to find because the area is believed to be about 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) deep, requiring specialized equipment.

He said recovering debris does not necessarily reveal the aircraft’s exact crash site because ocean currents, waves and wind can carry the floating wreckage far from where the aircraft went down.

In a statement, K2 Airways identified the missing crew as Capt. Muhammad Rizwan Idris, First Officer Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and aircraft loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan.

“We continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues,” it said.

Ghulam Nabi Bahrani, the father-in-law of co-pilot Faisal Jatoi, said the family was in regular contact with him while he was in Sharjah, and that he had called his wife shortly before departure Tuesday. Bahrani said government officials have been in contact with the family since the aircraft disappeared.

“All we can do is wait and pray for a miracle,” he said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif released a statement expressing sympathy with the families of the five crew members, and directed the government to deploy all available resources for the search effort.

Pakistan’s Airports Authority said earlier on X that radar data showed the aircraft making a sharp change in heading and rapidly descending before radar and radio contact were lost at about 9:21 p.m., approximately 155 nautical miles (287 kilometers, 178 miles) west of Karachi.

Aviation expert Imran Aslam told local broadcaster ARY News late Tuesday that it remained unclear what caused the aircraft to disappear from radar. He said that even if an aircraft suffered an engine failure, it would normally continue gliding rather than plunge suddenly. He said the exact cause would become clear only after investigators gathered more evidence.

In May 2020, a Pakistan International Airlines flight carrying 98 people crashed into a densely populated neighborhood near Karachi airport while attempting to land. All but one of the 99 people on board were killed. A government investigation later concluded that human error by the pilots and air traffic controllers caused the crash.

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Associated Press writer Muhammad Farooq contributed to this story from Karachi, Pakistan.

According to reports by multiple media outlets, the NCAA has sent an official letter of inquiry to the school regarding Sorsby, who was ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA in April after he placed thousands of impermissible sports bets over the past four years.

Sorsby spent two seasons each at Indiana and Cincinnati before transferring to reigning Big 12 champion Texas Tech in January, and his ineligibility ruling touched off an unprecedented legal battle that Sorsby ultimately dropped. While Sorsby won’t play and plans to enter next year's NFL draft, coach Joey McGuire said this week that he still expects the quarterback to make occasional trips to Lubbock and will have access to the school’s athletic facilities.

Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield, who was Sorsby's coach during his two seasons with the Bearcats, declined to comment on reports about the letter of inquiry at Wednesday's Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas.

Yahoo Sports was first to disclose the existence of the letter and ESPN also reported that Cincinnati had received it, with both citing anonymous sources. Sending a letter of inquiry is a standard procedural step in which the NCAA notifies a school of plans to examine an issue, though it doesn't automatically equate to the existence of a rules violation.

A Cincinnati spokesperson declined to say if the school had received an inquiry from the NCAA.

“We have had continuous conversations with the NCAA since the initial reports related to impermissible sports wagering began," the spokesperson said in a statement to The Associated Press. "As we have stated before, we do not believe any athletics official or staff member was aware of any impermissible sports wagering."

NCAA spokeswoman Meghan Durham Wright said Wednesday that the organization doesn't comment on pending or potential investigations.

The NCAA declared Sorsby ineligible for making bets worth at least $90,000 during his college career.

Sorsby made at least 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, but none of those bets came on games in he played. He acknowledged placing at least 165 impermissible bets on college and professional sports totaling at least $38,000 in 2024, including three wagers on Cincinnati men’s basketball made on a FanDuel account he shared with a friend. He provided more than $60,000 to the friend to deposit in the shared account between December 2023 and June 2025.

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Commissioner Grant Moody told KSAT he was frustrated after Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting ended without discussion of an item he had spent weeks working to place on the agenda.

The presentation was expected to address the overcrowded Bexar County Adult Detention Center, the region’s shortage of mental health beds and potential solutions to both issues.

“I think most of the residents of Bexar County are frustrated by it,” Moody said. “They see a big problem that we have, and they see inaction that is inexcusable.”

Moody said he was not given a clear explanation for why the item was tabled until August.

“I was really frustrated by it,” Moody said.

A key part of the proposed discussion involved an update from the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC) on the availability of mental health beds at the Laurel Ridge Treatment Center.

Earlier this year, Laurel Ridge lost its Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements, leading to the layoff of nearly 650 employees and the loss of approximately 330 psychiatric beds.

Moody said those beds are critical to helping divert people experiencing mental health crises away from the jail.

“We had the experts there in the room with STRAC to be able to talk in detail about where they stand today, what that looks like in terms of those beds that aren’t being able to be utilized and what their prospects were for getting those beds back online,” Moody said. “I really wanted to hear from them. The whole court should have wanted that update.”

According to Moody, the reduction in mental health treatment capacity has added pressure to an already strained behavioral health system, which makes it more difficult to keep people with mental illness out of the criminal justice system.

Moody said the larger concern is what he described as a lack of urgency from county leaders. He believes delaying the discussion could also hinder the county’s ability to develop a legislative strategy before the next Texas legislative session to seek additional support for mental health resources.

“I feel like we’re playing politics with public safety, and I’m sick of it,” Moody said. “We have a problem in front of us. Let’s try to go solve it.”

Moody also acknowledged that Bexar County will likely need a new jail facility in the future as the county continues to grow. However, the commissioner said current budget constraints make that unrealistic in the near term and that county leaders should focus on other solutions.

KSAT reached out to Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai for comment on the postponed agenda item. Sakai sent the following statement Wednesday afternoon:

“This majority decision was about making sure we get it right. We want to gather any remaining information and fully understand all the potential impacts before moving forward. The criminal justice system is complicated with many stakeholders. Staff is working with University Health on a proposal for our next Commissioner’s Court meeting.”

Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai

More related coverage of this story on KSAT:

• LULAC calls for end to in-custody deaths at Bexar County Adult Detention Center

It's been the same for much of Kostyuk’s run to the semifinals.

On Monday, after Russian missiles struck residential buildings close to where Kostyuk's parents live, she had to block that out to play her fourth-round match at the Grand Slam tournament. Last week, Russia hammered the Ukrainian capital with an 11-hour drone and missile attack that killed at least 21 civilians.

For Kostyuk, every day is about finding a way to focus on tennis while not shutting her eyes to what is going on at home.

“It’s not easy to disconnect entirely,” Kostyuk said after beating Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 to reach the last four at Wimbledon for the first time.

“It was really tough for me last week when the first big attack happened," the 24-year-old Kostyuk continued. "Then on Monday they ruined like four streets of residential buildings. It was like five kilometers away from where my parents live. Again, another difficult night and a lot of dead people, innocent people, kids. It’s not easy. I try to be aware of everything that’s going on. Of course, I try for these things not to influence me too much.”

The 12th-seeded Kostyuk is in her second straight Grand Slam semifinal after losing to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the last four at the French Open. The two did not shake hands before that match, which has become the standard procedure for meetings between Russian and Ukrainian players since the war broke out in 2022.

Like in most sports, Russian players have competed as neutrals on the men's and women's tennis tours since then. But the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday provisionally lifted its ban on Russia and recommended that individual sports drop the neutral status for athletes.

The Kremlin on Wednesday welcomed that decision as an “important step” toward reinstating the rights of Russian athletes.

Kostyuk had a different take.

“My thoughts are that it’s terrible,” Kostyuk said. “I think it’s very, very far from fair play for all the countries involved here, not just for Ukraine. I 100 percent don’t agree with this decision. ... I just want to go out there and hopefully beat every single Russian I play in the Olympics.”

There are no Russian singles players left in the Wimbledon tournament. Kostyuk will face Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic on Thursday. In the other semifinal, American Coco Gauff takes on another Czech player, Karolina Muchova.

Kostyuk is the second woman from Ukraine to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon after Elina Svitolina did it in 2019 and 2023.

Svitolina lost on both occasions. So what would it mean for Ukraine if Kostyuk becomes the country's first finalist?

“I’m hoping,” she said, “it would mean a lot.”

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

The photos were sent to KSAT Friday morning after four officers were seen walking along the trails.

KSAT reached out to ICE to ask why officers were at the park.

An ICE spokesperson sent the following statement in response:

“Every day, ICE carries out law enforcement activities nationwide to protect the American public. As part of these efforts, ICE routinely makes arrests in states across the country. ICE operations focus on apprehending criminal illegal aliens, including individuals charged with or convicted of serious offenses such as murder, rape, sexual offenses against children, gang activity, and other crimes. Notably, approximately 70% of ICE arrests involve illegal aliens who have been charged with or convicted of crimes in the United States.

We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to return to the U.S. the legal way, to pursue the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return."

KSAT went out to Hardberger Park on Friday evening to speak with parkgoers about their reaction to ICE officers being in the park.

Many described the park as a place where they come to exercise, spend time with family and relax.

“It’s kind of scary because usually there’s kids out here, too,” resident Alonso Martinez said when he reacted to the photos.

We showed photos of the officers to another parkgoer, Ella McArdle. She called the images unsettling.

“I think it is disgusting. I’m Hispanic myself. I’ve seen it impact the Hispanic community so much in San Antonio. I see it all over everywhere. In the park, it’s crazy,” McArdle said.

Marquetta Valdez owns a run club that meets at Phil Hardberger Park each week. Valdez said she worries the presence of immigration officers could discourage people from joining the group.

“I’m afraid that if I tell them, ‘Hey, ICE is in the area,’ that they’re not going to want to come anymore,” Valdez said.

KSAT asked ICE if it was common for officers to patrol public parks.

“Allegations that ICE law enforcement engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE,” an ICE spokesperson said. “What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity."

ICE said its officers use “reasonable suspicion” and routinely conduct law enforcement operations to protect the public, but the agency did not say whether any arrests were made at the park.

“ICE has authority for lawful arrests under 8 USC 1357,” an ICE spokesperson said. “Law enforcement officers use ‘reasonable suspicion’ to investigate immigration status and probable cause to make arrests consistent with the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include more information from ICE.

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The 34-year-old Contreras has 20 homers in 306 at-bats, which stands just a few shy of the career best of 24 he had for the Chicago Cubs in 2019. He is looking to become the first Red Sox player to win a Home Run Derby since David Ortiz in 2010.

Contreras and the 23-year-old Caglianone join Ben Rice from the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero in the competition. The other four participants have not yet been announced.

Five Kansas City players have previously participated in the event: Bo Jackson (1989), Danny Tartabull (1991), Mike Moustakas (2017), Salvador Perez (2021) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2024). None have come away with the title.

Witt was the runner-up in 2024 when he hit 50 home runs in total. He hit 13 HRs in the final round, one shy of Teoscar Hernandez’s 14.

In his first full season with the Royals, Caglianone is hitting .258/.322/.455 (77-for-299) with a team-high 14 home runs and 33 RBIs in 85 games. His 14 home runs have averaged 418 feet in length, which is tied for the best average in the majors this season.

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

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.1% after Trump said the ceasefire agreement was “over,” but the index then trimmed its loss to 0.3% after Trump said recent fighting did not mean a return to full-scale war. They’re his latest mixed messages on what will happen with the war, which threatens to worsen inflation for the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 576 points, or 1.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% after erasing an early loss.

The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 5.2% to $78.02 and briefly topped $80.

That’s still below its peak from earlier in the war, when the price for the most actively traded contract reached nearly $120. But the jump is unsettling because oil prices had just dropped back to where they were before the war.

The worry is that a continuation of the war will block the Strait of Hormuz and prevent the delivery of crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That could worsen inflation, which economists expected would ease with oil prices, and in turn force the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

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

On Wall Street, stocks of companies in the housing industry helped lead the way lower. They were hurt by worries that rising Treasury yields in the bond market will mean higher rates for mortgages and chill the industry.

Builders FirstSource, which sells countertops, windows and other building supplies, fell 5.4%. Homebuilders PulteGroup fell 5.4%, and D.R. Horton sank 4.6%.

Companies with big fuel bills also sank. American Airlines lost 4%, and cruise operator Carnival fell 3.9%.

Helping to offset those losses was a steadying for some influential stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry. They’ve been under pressure in recent weeks on worries that their prices shot too high and that AI may not produce enough productivity and profits to make all the investments in chips and data centers worth it.

Their swings carry a lot of weight on Wall Street because AI stocks have grown into some of the U.S. market’s biggest, giving their movements more effect on the S&P 500 than other stocks.

Nvidia rose 3.7%, for example, and was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500 because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street.

Close behind was Broadcom, which climbed 4.8% after Apple announced a multiyear commitment where Broadcom will design and produce custom components for its products. Apple said the agreement’s value could top $30 billion.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 21.14 points to 7,482.71. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 576.76 to 52,348.39, and the Nasdaq composite rose 51.96 to 25,870.65.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rose with the price of oil. The yield on the 10-year Treasury briefly got near 4.60% before pulling back to 4.57%. That’s up from 4.55% late Tuesday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began.

In stock markets abroad, European markets turned sharply lower after Trump said, “For me, I think it’s over” about the status of the ceasefire. He added that U.S. representatives can continue negotiations, “but I think they’re wasting their time.” Germany’s DAX lost 2.2%, and France’s CAC 40 sank 2.2%.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 5.3% and continued its sharp swings amid seesawing worries and euphoria about the AI stocks that dominate its market.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was an outlier and rose 3%. Shares that trade there of Chinese AI startup Zhipu, known also as Z.ai and traded as Knowledge Atlas Technology, jumped 13.4%.

A six-month lock-up period for “cornerstone” investors following its January trading debut in Hong Kong expires this week. China National Radio reported late Tuesday that nearly 70% of Zhipu’s cornerstone investors are committed to stay on, despite previous worries that the lock-up period expiration could trigger a sell-off.

Zhipu’s share price has risen more than 1,300% since its debut.

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

Team physician Michael Terry said Bedard is expected "to make a full recovery in an approximate timeline of four months.” The NHL hasn't announced its regular-season schedule, but the Blackhawks played their first game last season on Oct. 7.

Bedard, who turns 21 on July 17, got hurt while skating with a group of NHL players last week in western Canada. It's a major blow for a Blackhawks team trying to emerge from a painful rebuilding process.

Bedard set career highs with 30 goals and 45 assists in 69 games in his third NHL season. He missed 12 games after he hurt his right shoulder on a draw during a 3-2 loss at St. Louis on Dec. 12.

“He’s so important to our team,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in April. “He took such a big step forward this year in every facet.”

Bedard is a restricted free agent, and it remains to be seen if the injury has any effect on the negotiations for his next contract. He missed nearly six weeks of his rookie season with a broken jaw.

Chicago went 29-39-14 last season, an 11-point improvement and still nowhere near playoff contention. It has finished No. 31 in the NHL each of the past three years.

Defenseman Bowen Byram was acquired in a trade with Buffalo on June 23, and the Blackhawks signed forward Cole Smith and defenseman Ian Cole on the first day of NHL free agency.

Bedard reached out to Byram, Smith and Cole after they were brought in by the team.

“Obviously a superb young talent,” Cole said Wednesday when asked about sharing the ice with Bedard. “Unfortunately, yeah, it sounds like it’s going to be a little later than originally anticipated, but you know he seems like a great guy.”

The Blackhawks haven’t made a postseason appearance since the NHL used an expanded playoff format after the 2020 season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bedard has been the centerpiece of the team since he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft. He made his anticipated NHL debut that October and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year. He had 23 goals and 44 assists while appearing in all 82 games in his second season.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Letters to states and grant application details are the latest in a line of actions by Trump’s administration to shape details of running elections that have long been the job of states.

Courts have largely rejected the administration’s previous efforts, which reflect untrue claims about widespread voting fraud and come less than four months ahead of crucial midterm elections where Democrats seek to take control of one or both chambers of Congress and check Trump’s power.

“The overall point is that Trump is trying to use whatever levers of power and persuasive power that he might have to try to interfere with how states and localities are going to conduct the 2026 election,” said Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor and the director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project. “Some of this is aimed at changing how the rules are conducted. Some of it appears to be aimed at undermining voter confidence in the integrity of the election process.”

Justice Department warns election officials of prosecution

In letters sent Tuesday, to election officials for all 50 states and the District of Columbia — often secretaries of state — the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division said they and other election administrators could face criminal charges if they knowingly allow nonvoters to vote or remain on voting rolls.

It also called on the states to tell the federal government within five days how they intend to comply with the law.

Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in election law, said it’s not clear the 50-state letter means anything except to restate some parts of the law, with a request to follow up, “which I’m sure many states will ignore.”

The letter also warns that anyone who knowingly and willfully gives false information in registering to vote or voting would face criminal prosecution.

Robert Weiner, director of the voting rights project for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the rate of voting by noncitizens is “infinitesimally small,” and he suggested the government's actions are motivated by factors other than securing elections.

"I predict that the president is trying to create chaos and then use that chaos to take drastic measures in states that oppose his policies or to refuse to recognize the results of the elections in those states,” Weiner said.

Antiterrorism grants include election requirements

A Federal Emergency Management Agency antiterrorism grant announcement in June includes a list of election-related requirements, saying that 20% of grants for states and urban areas would be withheld until they comply.

The program includes more than $1 billion for states and local and tribal governments for a variety of programs aimed at preventing terror at crowded places, online, with border security — and around elections. FEMA expects to award 56 grants.

“Recipients can ensure that their efforts contribute to a secure, transparent, and resilient electoral process, thereby reinforcing public trust and the integrity of democratic institutions,” the grant announcement says, noting that securing election infrastructure is a national security priority.

The list of items for states includes verifying the citizenship of all registered voters and election workers.

Places that use electronic voting systems that use bar codes or QR codes to count votes would have to submit plans to switch to hand-marked paper ballots. Every jurisdiction would have to show it audits results.

UCLA's Hasen said it could be difficult even for states that want to comply. It's too close to the midterm election to make some of the changes, he said, and some would require state legislatures to pass new laws.

The White House on Wednesday referred questions to FEMA, which did not immediately respond to an interview request.

Response from states appears to be partisan

Some states are pushing back, while others are defending the latest actions.

They seem to be breaking along party lines.

Oregon’s secretary of state, Democrat Tobias Read, accused the Justice Department of “knocking on our door again with more threats and no evidence to back up their fever dreams about non-existent voter fraud.”

Oregon elections are secure, accurate, and fair, he said, adding that he isn’t “intimidated by political threats or manufactured controversy.”

The Michigan secretary of state’s office, headed by Democrat Jocelyn Benson, said it has discussed its work repeatedly with the Justice Department and in public statements, congressional hearings and court testimony — information that it said “is either in the DOJ’s possession or easy reach.”

“We will be happy to provide it again to help address any confusion,” the office said in a statement.

In a statement, Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose defended the Justice Department’s missive to states, saying it’s reminding them of their legal obligation regarding election integrity. A lot of states aren’t taking it seriously, he said without giving examples or citing evidence. He said Ohio has worked with the federal government to ensure that its voter rolls are accurate and that only U.S. citizens vote.

Georgia's secretary of state's office says the state has already taken many of the actions required in the FEMA grant, including a citizenship audit of voter rolls.

Several of Trump's election actions have faced resistance

Trump has repeatedly and wrongly asserted that fraud cost him reelection in 2020, and his administration has put forth a series of policies and actions aimed at how elections are run.

In recent days, courts have rejected the Justice Department's effort to collect the names and contact information for every election worker in Georgia in the 2020 election and others trying to force New Hampshire and Pennsylvania to turn over detailed information about registered voters. With those rulings, the federal government has lost similar cases more than 10 times around its requests for details from 30 states and the District of Columbia.

Last week, a group of Democratic governors asked the U.S. Postal Service to withdraw its proposed rule seeking to implement an order from Trump to create a list of eligible voters — and potentially limit who can receive a ballot in the mail. A court previously put the order on hold, saying it was unconstitutional.

Also last week, the Supreme Court rebuked Trump and ruled that states can count mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day.

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Associated Press reporters Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Bill Barrow, Kate Brumback and Josh Kelety contributed to this article.

The IOC provisionally lifted a suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and advised Olympic sports bodies they no longer need to be vetting its athletes for permission to compete as neutrals.

“It is an important step toward reinstating our athletes’ legitimate rights to participate in international competitions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday. “Work will continue through our sports authorities. They are conducting this work constantly and consistently, this work will continue.”

Peskov added that “now, it’s very important that all our athletes have the opportunity to compete in major international events.”

Ukraine has strongly objected to the IOC's move to lift restrictions imposed shortly after Russia invaded in 2022.

Ukraine's latest tennis star, Marta Kostyuk, condemned the IOC's “terrible” decision as being “very, very far from fair play” as she reached the Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday.

The IOC’s guidance to reintegrate Russians in international events is not binding for the governing bodies of individual sports.

Track and field has already said it will not follow suit and there is no sign yet of changes which could let Russia return to major soccer events like Euro 2028 or a future World Cup.

“FIFA has been made aware of the decision taken by the IOC to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee,” soccer's governing body said. “FIFA will analyze the decision before deciding on next steps in coordination with the relevant stakeholders.”

FIFA last year invited Russia to send a team to the inaugural boys’ Under-15 Football Festival in Azerbaijan starting Oct. 22. That came soon after the IOC recommended allowing Russian youth teams to compete with the country's flag and anthem.

European soccer body UEFA declined to comment on the IOC decision in an emailed response to The Associated Press.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Allowing foreign manufacture of Patriots, which the U.S. had resisted, was a turnaround for Trump that mirrored his day at the NATO meeting: Upon arriving, he lashed out at European partners for resisting his efforts to take control of Greenland and for not supporting his war in Iran. But by day's end, he described a gathering of unity and “tremendous love," and praised member nations on their progress in increasing their defense spending.

NATO’s European members plus Canada have scrambled to meet the alliance's increased defense spending targets, which Trump has demanded as the U.S. draws down troops in Europe and insists the continent take more responsibility for its own security.

Trump had reopened old wounds among the 32 NATO leaders by insisting again ahead of the summit that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory. That led Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to say her country is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory.”

Trump also blasted some European countries for refusing to participate in the Iran campaign, singling out Spain as “a terrible partner in NATO” and renewing his threats to cut off trade.

Trump strikes a positive tone on Zelenskyy

But the tone of Trump’s meeting with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a break from earlier encounters which ended in acrimony, and Trump praised the Ukrainian leader's willingness to reach a deal on ending the fighting in Ukraine.

“We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe,” Trump said during a news conference with Zelenskyy, adding that he believed a deal on ending the war was on the horizon and that the U.S. would “work on some kind of security package” to provide to Ukraine.

Trump said the Ukrainian president has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective” in the war as he pledged to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture the Patriot defense systems.

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

Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce. Zelenskyy has for years been asking for more of them, and more recently for a license so that Ukraine can manufacture its own.

NATO chief backs latest US strikes on Iran

Ahead of the summit, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised Trump for the series of U.S. strikes on Iran overnight, after Tehran struck three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary,” Rutte said to Trump. “It was a very strong response, and I’m with you on this.”

The U.S. strikes, as well as the revoking of a license allowing Iran to sell its oil on global markets, underscored the fragility of an interim deal to end months of fighting.

Trump said of the interim agreement with Iran: “For me, I think it’s over” — but added he will allow talks to continue.

“It’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he said.

NATO leaders sought to show Trump they were boosting defense

Rutte has dedicated a huge amount of energy to keeping Trump's support for NATO and to holding the summit together. On Wednesday, he sought to tamp down the president’s ire by giving him credit for recent increases in defense spending from NATO allies.

“Grab the win. It’s there,” Rutte told Trump on Wednesday.

The NATO chief pointed to countries including Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Denmark that are investing more in defense, but noted that the Trump administration expects “the Europeans and Canadians will equalize their spending with the United States.”

Last month Rutte went to Washington to hail the “Trump Trillion” — the $1.2 trillion that European allies and Canada have added to defense spending since Trump came to power in 2017.

As leaders converged on Ankara, Rutte hosted a “big reveal” event to showcase the many deals planned for the increased spending — much of it to be spent on U.S. companies, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.

At last year's summit, the allies agreed to invest 5% of their gross domestic product on defense — 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on infrastructure so troops and equipment can move faster in times of conflict.

Yet figures released by NATO on Tuesday showed that Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic have struggled to meet the alliance’s old spending target of 2% of GDP.

The Trump administration wants to see a leaner “NATO 3.0,” with Europe taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, with conventional weapons while America would continue to provide its nuclear umbrella.

The Pentagon has launched a six-month review of U.S. military presence in Europe, leaving allies to seek clarity on just how deeply Trump intends to cut U.S. force numbers.

Zelenskyy pushes for NATO entry

Zelenskyy made a fresh appeal Tuesday for Ukraine to be allowed to join the alliance, saying Ukrainian armed forces are highly experienced and would only boost NATO’s defense capabilities. Russia is vehemently opposed to that.

Zelenskyy has highlighted Ukraine’s adaptability and its ability to strike deep inside Russia. He said Ukraine’s armed forces are “eliminating” on average 30,000 Russian troops every month.

In a declaration following Wednesday's summit, NATO leaders pledged to provide Ukraine with $80 billion to help meet its defense needs this year and next, noting “the long-term threat Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic security.”

Concern has been mounting among some countries with borders near Russia that Moscow might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks — on the continent as Russian President Vladimir Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.

Trump administration to lift Syria's terrorism designation

Trump also met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former insurgent who led the offensive that unseated autocrat Bashar Assad in December 2024. Despite having once been an al-Qaida fighter, al-Sharaa has won Trump’s backing as he seeks to rebuild Syria and restore its shattered ties with the West.

Later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that Trump has told U.S. lawmakers that the U.S. will soon remove Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a year-long normalization process with the country’s new government.

“Lifting sanctions on Syria will unlock international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open up a new chapter for the Syrian people,” Rubio said.

In June 2025, Trump signed an executive order ending a number of economic sanctions before revoking the terrorism designation a few weeks later for al-Sharaa, though the designation for Syria remained.

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Associated Press journalists Collin Binkley and Michelle L. Price in Washington and Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed.